Rock Giants

Back in the days when the Empire was just beginning to figure out mineral based life, several thousand experiments were carried out. Of course, not all of these were successful, but they did lead to the creation of rock golems. This lead to thousands and thousands more experiments trying to solve the problem of golem intelligence.

But what happened to the rejects? Uncounted rock creatures were stored underground, tightly packed together. Combine this with the rock golem's ability to very slowly rebuild itself over time, and it was perhaps inevitable that the remains of these creatures did not always remain... entirely separate when reconstructing. And once bound together, the Rock Giants were not eager to fall apart again.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and these titanic creatures display far greater intelligence than their golem components (though four times a golem brain is still dumb). They understand simple commands and can carry them out reasonably well, so rather than being used as brute force defenders, rock giants are used as heavy lifters, miners and construction engineers.

Though unable to fit through the smaller passages, they are formidable in combat. Even a direct sword strike is not enough to kill one, as the giant will break apart into its component golems who will then continue the attack. Aside from the use of heavy explosives or collapsing/heating the floor on which they walk, it is very difficult to do more than break a rock giant apart into a few very angry golems.

Detailed Behaviour Analysis

Rock giants actually share the same movement rules as aumtlich, except they do not waste turns turning - they always automatically face the direction they are moving in, like most other monsters. They also differ, of course, in the fact that they are 2x2 monsters and therefore all 4 pieces must be
able to carry out the move it wants to make. The segment nearest the giant's target determines its move choice.