Gegenees — Six-Armed Giants of Greek Myth
The Gegenees are the six-armed Earth-born giants of Bear Mountain in Mysia, remembered for meeting the Argonauts with hurled stone rather than ceremony. Each has two arms at the shoulders and four more along the flanks, giving a single giant enough reach to batter a boarding party, threaten several foes at once, or turn a cliff face into ammunition.
In SpiralWorlds, the old story is history rather than metaphor. The Argonauts destroyed the Gegenees host they encountered at Bear Mountain, but that battle is not treated as proof that the whole people vanished. By 1454, the Gegenees are not presumed extinct. Confirmed populations are rare and poorly documented; isolated survivors and small kin-groups are the most plausible encounters unless another SpiralWorlds regional source establishes something larger.
They are dangerous when their ground is threatened, but they are not automatically mindless, predatory or evil.
- Type
- Huge six-armed giant-kind
- Mythic Identity
- Earth-born Gegenees of Mysia
- Signature Tactics
- High-ground boulder attacks and repeated multi-arm melee pressure
- Best Terrain
- Rocky coasts, mountain passes and broken uplands
- Typical Height
- About 21 ft. (6.4 m)
- Typical Weight
- About 14,000 lb. (6.35 tonnes)
- D&D 5.5e
- CR 12 SpiralWorlds conversion
- Pathfinder 1e
- CR 16 Bestiary 5 adaptation
Gegenees Game Statistics
Gegenees — D&D 5.5e / 2024
Huge Giant, Any Alignment
AC 17
Initiative +1 (11)
HP 210 (20d12 + 80)
Speed 40 ft.
PB +4
| Ability | STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 25 | 12 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 11 |
| Mod | +7 | +1 | +4 | +0 | +1 | +0 |
| Save | +11 | +1 | +8 | +0 | +5 | +0 |
Skills Athletics +11, Perception +5
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 15
Languages Varies by individual; no language is granted merely by being giant-kind
CR 12 (XP 8,400; PB +4)
Traits
Rocky Stride. The Gegenees ignores Difficult Terrain caused by natural rock, scree and uneven stone.
Clobber. Once per turn, immediately after the Gegenees hits the same Large or smaller creature with at least three Slam attacks on that turn, that creature must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or have the Prone condition and be pushed up to 20 feet away from the Gegenees.
Actions
Multiattack. The Gegenees makes four Slam attacks or two Boulder attacks.
Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 15 ft. Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) Bludgeoning damage.
Boulder. Ranged Attack Roll: +11, range 60/240 ft. Hit: 29 (4d10 + 7) Bludgeoning damage. If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or have the Prone condition.
Boulder Barrage (Recharge 5–6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 19, each creature in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centred on a point the Gegenees can see within 120 feet. Failure: 44 (8d10) Bludgeoning damage. Success: Half damage.
Design benchmark: Four Slams average 72 raw damage before hit chance, while the Gegenees lacks the greater accuracy, defences, senses, mobility and spellcasting of an SRD 5.2.1 Storm Giant. The legacy nonmagical weapon resistance, Frightened immunity, contradictory six-attack trait and legendary actions are removed.
Gegenees — Pathfinder 1e
CR 16 XP 76,800
CN Huge monstrous humanoid (giant)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +24
Defense
AC 30, touch 10, flat-footed 28 (+2 Dex, +20 natural, –2 size)
hp 250 (20d10+140)
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Melee club +26/+21/+16/+11 (2d6+12), 2 heavy picks +26 (2d6+8/×4), 2 slams +21 (2d6+4 plus grab) or 6 slams +26 (2d6+8 plus grab)
Ranged spear +20/+15/+10/+5 (3d6+8/×3), 2 spears +20 (3d6+8/×3)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks clobber, extra attacks, multiweapon mastery
Statistics
Str 26, Dex 14, Con 25, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +20; CMB +30 (+32 bull rush, +34 grapple); CMD 42 (44 vs. bull rush)
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical
Skills Climb +16, Craft (any one) +6, Intimidate +31, Perception +24, Stealth +17, Survival +11, Swim +16
Languages Giant
Special Abilities
Clobber (Ex). When a gegenees damages a creature with three or more successful melee attacks in the same round, the gegenees can perform an awesome blow combat maneuver against the creature as a free action. If the awesome blow succeeds, the target must succeed at a DC 30 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1d4 rounds, in addition to the normal effects of the awesome blow. The save DC is Strength-based.
Extra Attacks (Ex). When a gegenees attacks as a standard action, it can make two additional attacks, even if its movement would normally restrict it to one attack. These additional attacks must be made with its other arms, and are made at its highest base attack bonus with a –2 penalty.
Ecology
Environment any temperate or warm land
Organization solitary, hunting party (2–5), or clan (6–25 plus 1 clan headman [barbarian, druid, or ranger of 4th–8th level] and 3 venerable mothers [oracles or witches of 3rd–5th level])
Treasure standard
Pathfinder adaptation: Blue skin, tusks, tattoos and ritual scarification, clan structure, venerable mothers, Giant language and CN alignment belong specifically to this Pathfinder treatment. They are not presented as details supplied by Apollonius or as universal SpiralWorlds canon.
Pathfinder Lore
The Pathfinder adaptation describes the Gegenees as a race of six-armed giants who live far from civilisation, favour clubs and spears, dress in skins and furs, and use elaborate tattoos and ritual scarification to record personal and ancestral history. They are territorial and xenophobic but not inherently malevolent.
Each clan is guided by a chieftain advised by three venerable mothers, the oldest and most revered women of the clan. These blind seers possess supernatural gifts and may advance as oracles.
Venerable Mother. Venerable mothers have Charisma scores of at least 15 and the clouded vision oracle curse as a 20th-level oracle. Once per day, they can use commune with nature, legend lore, and true seeing as spell-like abilities.
Gegenees — D&D 3.5e
Huge Monstrous Humanoid, Any Alignment
Hit Dice 20d8+140 (230 hp)
Initiative +6
Speed 50 ft.
Armor Class 30 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +20 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 28
Base Attack/Grapple +20/+36
Attack Slam +26 melee (2d6+8) or rock +20 ranged (2d8+8)
Full Attack 2 primary slams +26 melee (2d6+8) and 4 secondary slams +24 melee (2d6+4)
Space/Reach 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks Clobber, many-armed assault, rock throwing
Special Qualities Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities Str 26, Dex 14, Con 25, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 11
Skills Climb +18, Listen +13, Spot +13, Survival +13
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack
Environment temperate or warm mountains and rocky coasts
Organization solitary, pair, or band (3–8)
Challenge Rating 14
Treasure standard
Alignment any
Combat
Clobber (Ex). If a Gegenees hits one creature with three or more Slam attacks during the same round, it may immediately attempt an Awesome Blow against that creature as a free action. If the Awesome Blow succeeds, the target must also succeed on a DC 28 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round. The save DC is Strength-based.
Many-Armed Assault (Ex). As a standard action, a Gegenees may make three Slam attacks: one primary Slam at +26 and two secondary Slams at +24. This lets it exploit several arms even when it cannot make a full attack.
Rock Throwing (Ex). A Gegenees can hurl rocks with a range increment of 120 feet. A thrown rock deals 2d8+8 points of bludgeoning damage.
Rules note: The two shoulder-arm slams are primary natural attacks and the four lower-arm slams are secondary. Multiattack reduces the secondary attack penalty to –2; secondary slams add half the Strength bonus to damage.
What Are Gegenees?
The name is commonly translated as Earth-Born, linking the Gegenees to Gaia in the Hellenic mythic tradition. In Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica, the Gegenees inhabit Bear Mountain in Mysia and confront the Argonauts. The defining physical detail is not colour, tusks or armour: it is the arrangement of six arms, two from the shoulders and four lower along the flanks. Their battle is fought with enormous rocks as well as close violence.
Do not merge them with every Greek giant. The Gegenees are not simply another name for the Gigantes of the Gigantomachy, nor are they Hecatoncheires. They are a distinct Mysian six-armed people in the Argonaut tradition.
What Do Gegenees Look Like?
The primary Greek source gives a firm anatomical anchor—six arms—and places them at Bear Mountain, but does not provide a canonical skin colour, tusks, tattoos, fur clothing or stone armour. Those familiar details belong to later artistic or RPG interpretations.
A typical Gegenees stands about 21 feet (6.4 metres) tall and weighs roughly 14,000 pounds (6.35 tonnes), immense by human standards without being mountain-sized.
For SpiralWorlds illustration, the default is therefore a huge humanlike Earth-born figure with exactly six arms, built for hauling and hurling stone, shown against the rocky Mysian coast. Game-specific visual traits can appear when discussing that game adaptation, but should not be presented as ancient evidence.
Behaviour and Territory
The Gegenees should not be written as animal-like ambush predators. The surviving myth shows an organised group defending its territory against intruders and fighting with terrain and enormous stones. The Pathfinder adaptation likewise presents a territorial people rather than creatures that are inherently malevolent.
A Gegenees encounter works best when the landscape matters. High ledges, steep approaches and loose stone let one attack long before an enemy reaches its 15-foot reach. Once engaged, several arms make repeated attacks from different angles and allow the giant to dominate narrow ground.
Gegenees in 1454
The Argonaut episode records the destruction of the Bear Mountain host encountered by the heroes; it does not establish the extinction of the entire people. In the campaign present, Gegenees are not presumed extinct, but confirmed populations are rare and poorly documented. Isolated survivors and small kin-groups are the default encounter model unless another regional page establishes something larger.
Their oldest reputation remains Hellenic and maritime. A Gegenees appearing in 1454 should feel like an old myth walking out of difficult ground, not like a generic fantasy giant with extra arms.
Encounter Tactics
- From high ground, open with Boulder Barrage or ordinary boulders to disrupt an approach.
- In close combat, focus several Slam attacks on one dangerous foe to trigger Clobber rather than spreading every attack randomly.
- Use narrow ledges, scree and broken rock to exploit Rocky Stride.
- Retreat uphill if badly hurt; its identity is tied to terrain and thrown stone, not to standing in an empty chamber trading attacks.
Adventure Hooks
The Harbour Mouth
A coastal anchorage long believed safe is being sealed by deliberate rockfalls. The pattern resembles the old story of Bear Mountain too closely to dismiss.
The Argonaut Stone
A Hellenic collector acquires a boulder said to have been thrown during the ancient battle. A living Gegenees claims it as part of a family death-site and wants it returned.
Six Hands on the Pass
Merchants vanish on a mountain road without signs of ordinary banditry. Witnesses speak of stones arriving from impossible angles and enormous handprints on the cliff face.
Video
Related SpiralWorlds
Sources
Primary mythic source: Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, Book I. SpiralWorlds uses concise paraphrase rather than reproducing a long translation.
The Pathfinder 1e tab preserves the published Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 Gegenees treatment as a game-specific adaptation. Its blue skin, tusks, tattoos, clan culture, venerable mothers, Giant language and CN alignment are not treated as statements from Greek antiquity.
Rules and Licensing
D&D 5.5e / 2024
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e
The Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e Gegenees rules use and adapt Open Game Content under the Open Game License Version 1.0a.
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Gegenees D&D 3.5e rules adaptation. Copyright 2026 SpiralWorlds.