# Hill giant

H hill giant 

Difficulty

10

Attacks

Weapon 2d8

H hill giant 

Difficulty

10

Attacks

Weapon 2d8

Base level

8

Base experience

174

Speed

10

Base AC

6

Base MR

0

Alignment

-2 (chaotic)

Frequency (by normal means)

1 (Very rare)

Genocidable

Yes

Weight

2200

Nutritional value

700

Size

Huge

Resistances

None

Resistances conveyed

Increase strength (50%)

A hill giant:

 has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso.

 is carnivorous.

 is a giant.

 is nasty.
 is strong.
 can throw boulders.

 likes gems.
 can pick up weapons and food.

 has infravision.
 can be seen through infravision.

 normally appears in small groups.

Reference

monst.c#line1402

The hill giant, H, is a monster that appears in NetHack. Despite the stone giant having the lowest difficulty of the giants, the hill giant has lower base damage, which is also the lowest among all giant humanoids; it also has the highest base AC of all giants, and is tied with the minotaur for highest among its monster class.
As with all giants, they can pick up and throw boulders, and eating their corpse may increase your strength.

Generation
Like other giants, hill giants can appear in groups and may be generated with a small assortment of gems, along with a chance of receiving a boulder. They may also be generated in throne rooms, becoming eligible as early as dungeon level 13.
Several hill giants appear on each floor of the Caveman quest except the Chromatic Dragon's domain; they are also the second quest-specific monster, and make up 14% of randomly generated monsters within the branch. Hill giants are also among the H that can be generated in the Valkyrie quest. A peaceful hill giant is imprisoned in the Dark One's dungeon on the goal level of the Wizard quest.

Strategy
Main article: Giant#Strategy
Hill giants are not particularly dangerous unless you are lacking in AC, but can still pose a threat if they start with or come across a dangerous wand. Wands or spells can in turn bring down hill giants quite easily; while they are faster than stone giants, hill giants are much easier to hit in melee.
Hill giants provide an ample opportunity for Cavemen in particular to improve their strength during their quest, especially when combined with the co-aligned sanctuary that the quest guardians and quest leader reside in; the boulders can optionally be used to fill inconveniently-placed pit traps.

Encyclopedia entry

Giants have always walked the earth, though they are rare in these times.  They range in size from little over nine feet to a towering twenty feet or more.  The larger ones use huge boulders as weapons, hurling them over large distances.  All types of giants share a love for men - roasted, boiled, or fried.  Their table manners are legendary.

 