“Let’s play Storm King’s Thunder,” they said. “We’ll all be giant killers.” One of them even made Jack the Giant Killer a la the fairy tale. So I made a giant killer, but APPARENTLY making a serial killer of giants is “too much” and one bag of giant ears is one bag too many (SPOILER: there are good giants in the adventure, this halfling just didn’t believe any giants could be good thus his penchant for killing giants). So after a dozen or so games Belton here is taking a seat.

I’m not going to complain too much because his replacement is awesome (Nehdd Heavycavern and his giant subterranean lizard [using the monster tamer class from Masterclass Codex] are excellent), and frankly there’s always a time limit on any full spellcaster I play anyway (eventually they get the big magics and things go awry), but I am sad to see him get retired.

BELTON’S STAND OUT MOMENT was probably hanging a giant. Mind you the giant was already dead, it’s just that he really wanted to make a point to other giants not to trouble the region and figured an example needed to be made. It was an expensive endeavor and required quite a few resources to accomplish (and a number of rolls that made it clear the digital dice wanted this event to happen), but by golly if there isn’t (probably still) a giant gibbeted from a very tall tree somewhere in Faerun.

Belton Handerfist

Small humanoid (lightfoot halfling), CN sorcerer (shadow) 9/bard 1
Armor Class 15 (18 with mage armor and bracers +2)
Hit Points 62 (9d6+1d8+20)
Speed 25 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	16 (+3)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)	20 (+5)

Saving Throws Con +6, Cha +9; Proficiency Bonus +4
Skills Arcana +5, Deception +9, Persuasion +9, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +7
Tools disguise kit, harp +9, thieves’ tools (+5 extra bonus to lockpick)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages Common, Halfling

Background Class Feature – Urchin: City Secrets. Belton knows the secret patterns and flow to cities and can find passages through the urban sprawl that others would miss. When not in combat, he (and companions he leads) can travel between any two locations in the city twice as fast as their speed would normally allow.

Bardic Inspiration (1 spent of 5/long rest). Belton can use a bonus action on his turn to choose one creature other than himself within 60 feet of him who can hear him. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6. Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time. 

Brave. Belton has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Halfling Nimbleness. Belton can move through the space of any creature that is Medium or larger.

Lucky. When Belton rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, he can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Naturally Stealthy. Belton can attempt to hide even when he is obscured only by a creature that is Medium sized or larger.

Sorcery Points (9/long rest). Belton can use his sorcery points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points. 

• Creating Spell Slots. Belton can transform unexpended sorcery points into one spell slot as a bonus action on his turn. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell slot of a given level. Belton can create spell slots no higher in level than 5th.
• Converting a Spell Slot to Sorcery Points. As a bonus action on Belton’s turn, he can expend one spell slot and gain a number of sorcery points equal to the slot’s level.
• Eyes of the Dark. Belton can cast darkness by spending 1 sorcery point. He can see through any darkness spell he casts using this ability. 
• Hound of Ill Omen. As a bonus action, Belton can spend 3 sorcery points to summon a hound of ill omen to target one creature he can see. The hound uses a dire wolf’s statistics with the following changes: 
  • The hound is size Medium. (37/37 hp)
  • It can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The hound takes force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.  
  • At the start of its turn, the hound automatically knows its target’s location. If the target was hidden, it is no longer hidden from the hound. 

The hound appears in an unoccupied space of Belton’s choice within 30 feet of the target. Roll initiative for the hound. On its turn, it can move only toward its target by the most direct route, and it can use its action only to attack its target. The hound makes opportunity attacks, but only against its target.
Additionally, the target has disadvantage on all saving throws against Belton’s spells while the hound is within 5 feet of it.
The hound disappears if reduced to 0 hit points, if its target is reduced to 0 hit points, or after 5 minutes. 

• Metamagic: Quickened Spell. When Belton casts a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, he can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.
• Metamatic: Twinned Spell. When Belton casts a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, he can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible for Twinned Spell, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level.

Spellcasting. Belton is a 9th-level spellcaster that uses Charisma as his spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17; +9 to hit with spell attacks). Belton knows the following bard and sorcerer spells:

• Cantrips: acid splash, fire bolt, mage hand, minor illusion, ray of frost | thunderclap, vicious mockery
• 1st-level (4 slots): detect magic, mage armor, magic missile | charm person, cure wounds, dissonant whispers, identify
• 2nd-level (3 slots): invisibility, misty step
• 3rd-level (3 slots): blink, fireball
• 4th-level (3 slots): greater invisibility, vitriolic sphere
• 5th-level (2 slots): teleportation circle

Strength of the Grave. Whenever damage reduces Belton to 0 hit points, he can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken). On a success, he instead drops to 1 hit point. Belton cannot use this feature if he is reduced to  0 hit points by radiant damage or by a critical hit. 

ACTIONS

Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage.

Dagger (4). Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 20/60, one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage.

Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 80/320, one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.

EQUIPMENT

acid, anstruth harp (attuned), antitoxin, bag of tricks (tan), bowl of commanding water elementals, bracers of defense (attuned), broom of flying, castle banner (made from giant-sized bed sheets; reads “Horse Scream Castle; NOT giant-owned”), climber’s kit, eversmoking bottle, gloves of thievery (+5 Sleight of Hand and lockpicking), Harper pin, hat of disguise (attuned), map of Waterdeep, pet mouse named Tenbrae, potion of clairvoyance (10 minutes), potion of healing, potion of superior healing, rope, Pentz the Griffon (super vanilla, doesn’t like to be left alone with women, leaves public functions when offended, great at being a distraction), scrolls (dispel magic, gaseous form x4, fireball x3, lightning bolt x3, slow, tongues; banishment 2, confusion 2, polymorph 2, storm sphere 2; vitriolic sphere 2, cone of cold, immolation, invisibility at 5th level), set of common clothes, token to remember his murdered parents by, 100 gp

TROPHIES

ears of 4 cloud giants, 9 hill giant ears, 2 ettin ears, middle finger from giant stone statue, ear of a frost giant, giant sized bone comb