Sand giant

Sand giants were large humanoids that lived in the deserts of southern Faerûn. Their relationship to true giants was unknown.

Description
The average male sand giant stood around and weighed. Females were generally slightly taller and heavier.

The skin of sand giants ranged from dark brown to beige tones, while their hair color ranged from black to blond. Their eyes were usually the same color as their hair. Sand giants wore garments made of light cloth colored to camouflage them while out in the desert. They rarely wore bulky or metal armor as it was inconvenient in the heat.

Abilities
Sand giants were impervious to harm from fire and could in fact manipulate heat to create a shimmer that they used to blur their forms in combat. They were, however, vulnerable to extreme cold. They had additional innate magic that gave them the ability to meld into stone, as well as allowing them to turn creatures into living statues. Sand giants had a moderate ability to burrow through sand and stone.

Combat
Sand giants preferred to dig into the sand and ambush opponents. They would first attack with a weapon known as a sand blaster, a long tube which they could use their powerful lungs to blow a cone of sand through at opponents, partially disabling them. When in melee combat they often used a scimitar. Their champions were tactical masters and served as personal guards for the monarchy.

Society
Sand giants lived in ordered societies, prioritizing caution, discipline, and honor. Their settlements were carefully organized with an emphasis on defense, often being built in an isolated location sheltered by geographical features such as mesas. A settlement had 13-45 inhabitants ruled by a monarch. Monarchs were hereditary, with the primary heir being the first-born child of the current ruler. The succession beyond that is determined by a complex system of blood relation and birth order.

Sand giants previously ranged across the full extent of southern Faerûn, from the Calim Desert in the west to the Plains of Purple Dust in the east. They were most commonly found in Raurin, and their largest settlements could be found there, near the Giant's Belt Mountains.

Despite building their communities away from other people, they were well-respected by many of their neighbors and welcome travelers and trade. They did occasionally have to deal with incursions from eldritch giants and their goblinoid slaves.