Cloud Giant 5e: Stats, Spells and Fighting a Giant Who Teleports

The cloud giant is a CR 9 Huge Giant with AC 14, 200 hit points (the most of any giant below the storm giant) and two 10-foot-reach melee attacks at +12. What sets it apart from the other giants is magic. It casts Fog Cloud at will, Misty Step to teleport, Telekinesis to throw characters around, and Gaseous Form to escape. The 2024 rules turn it into a much more mobile fighter: a 20-foot fly speed, Misty Step as a bonus action with no daily limit, and a ranged Thundercloud attack that leaves the target Incapacitated: no actions on its next turn and its Concentration broken.

Table of Contents

• •Cloud Giant Stat Block (2014)
• •The Cloud Giant in the 2024 Rules
• •Cloud Giant vs Other Giants
• •How Cloud Giants Fight
• •Running a Cloud Giant Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Cloud Giant
• •Cloud Giant Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Cloud Giant Stat Block (2014)

The 2014 cloud giant from SRD 5.1:

In melee it makes two morningstar attacks at +12 for 21 piercing each. Against AC 18 each hits on a 6 or higher (75%), for about 31.5 damage a round. At range it throws one rock instead, +12 for 30 bludgeoning (60/240 feet), about 22.5 a round.

The spell list is where it gets interesting. Innate spellcasting means no spell slots, but casting a spell costs the giant's action, so every Fog Cloud or Telekinesis is a turn without attacks:

Fog Cloud, Fly, Telekinesis and Gaseous Form all need Concentration, so the giant can hold only one of them at a time. The 2014 cloud giant is also split down the middle in alignment: the SRD lists it as neutral good (50%) or neutral evil (50%). It speaks Common and has Insight +7, so plenty of cloud giant encounters should start as conversations.

The Cloud Giant in the 2024 Rules

What changes at the table:

• •Thundercloud is the new threat. It's a ranged attack, not a save, at +12. Against AC 13, it misses only on a natural 1. A hit Incapacitates the target until the end of its next turn: no action, no bonus action, no reaction, and Concentration ends. Two Thunderclouds a turn can shut down both of the party's spellcasters for a round.
• •The melee hits harder. About 42 damage a round against AC 18, up from 31.5.
• •It never stays put. The 2024 stat block lists Misty Step as a bonus action with no uses-per-day tag (compare the SRD Mage's "Misty Step (3/Day)"), so as written it can cast it every turn. Plus a hover speed, that means the giant can teleport 30 feet out of a melee every turn and still make both attacks.
• •Fog Cloud no longer costs a turn. It casts the fog and still swings or throws once.

Cloud Giant vs Other Giants

The five other SRD giants (hill, stone, frost, fire and storm) all hit hard and throw things. The cloud giant is the one that plays like a spellcaster.

The cloud giant shares CR 9 with the fire giant, and they're opposites. The fire giant has AC 18 and wants to stand and fight. The cloud giant has AC 14 and 38 more hit points, and uses fog and teleportation to choose where the fight happens. Unlike the fire, frost and storm giants, it has no damage immunities.

How Cloud Giants Fight

Open by isolating the casters. Fog Cloud reaches 120 feet. Drop it on the party's back line: characters inside are effectively Blinded, so they can't target the giant with spells that need sight, and their ranged attacks take Disadvantage. In 2024 this costs one attack. In 2014 it costs the turn, so do it before the fighters reach melee.

2024: Thundercloud the spellcasters. From up to 240 feet, hit the wizard and the cleric with one Thundercloud each. Each hit deals 18 thunder damage and ends Concentration. The party's Bless, Haste or Hypnotic Pattern is gone and two characters can't take actions, bonus actions or reactions on their next turn.

Teleport out of bad melee. When the fighters reach it, the 2024 giant Misty Steps 30 feet away (no opportunity attacks: teleporting doesn't provoke), and either attacks someone else or uses Thundercloud. The 2014 giant can do the same three times a day.

Use Telekinesis for terrain kills. Where the fight is near a cliff, a castle wall or the edge of a cloud, Telekinesis moves a character up to 30 feet in any direction. In 2024 the target makes a DC 15 Strength save; in 2014 the target's Strength check contests the giant's Charisma check. A character lifted 30 feet up falls for 3d6 damage when the spell lets go. A character pushed off a cliff takes 1d6 per 10 feet fallen. Telekinesis ends any Fog Cloud the giant is concentrating on, so pick one.

2014: Fly above melee range. With Fly active (Concentration), the 2014 giant hovers out of reach and throws 30-damage rocks every round. Characters without ranged attacks can't touch it.

Leave when it's losing. Gaseous Form gives it Resistance to nonmagical damage (2014) or to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage (2024) and lets it drift away at a 10-foot fly speed through narrow openings. It's a Concentration spell, so casting it drops any fog. A cloud giant below 60 hit points that has nothing to gain leaves.

Running a Cloud Giant Encounter

A cloud giant is 5,000 XP. Using the 2024 budget per character from SRD 5.2.1, for four characters:

Levels 7-8 are the sweet spot for a single cloud giant. At level 10 and up, give it support: a second cloud giant (10,000 XP total, High at level 10) or a group of guards that keeps the party's melee busy while the giant fogs and teleports. The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines put one cloud giant at Hard for four level 7 characters. Check your version in the encounter calculator.

How Players Beat a Cloud Giant

• •Attack its Dexterity save. Dex 10 with no proficiency means +0. Fireball and Lightning Bolt work well. Avoid Constitution (+10) and Wisdom (+7) saves.
• •Hit its AC. AC 14 is low for CR 9. Martial characters land most attacks, and it has no resistances to soak them.
• •Clear the fog. A strong wind, like the Gust of Wind spell, disperses Fog Cloud. Or break the giant's Concentration: 200 HP and Con +10 make that hard, but every hit forces a save.
• •Plan for Thundercloud. Its range is 240 feet, so distance alone rarely helps; cover and walls that block line of sight do. If two characters can hold Concentration spells, run one each so a single Thundercloud doesn't end the party's only buff.
• •Counter the spells. Counterspell can stop Telekinesis or Gaseous Form. In 2014 a 3rd-level Counterspell automatically stops Gaseous Form (3rd level), but Telekinesis (5th level) needs a 5th-level slot or a DC 15 spellcasting ability check. In 2024 the giant makes a Constitution save against it, and Con +10 means it often succeeds. Nothing stops the 2024 Thundercloud, which is an attack, not a spell.
• •Use the weather. Control Weather in the party's hands (or a natural storm) can produce wind strong enough to keep fog from forming.
• •Talk first. The SRD cloud giant speaks Common, Insight +7, and in 2014 is good half the time. A cloud giant is a strong candidate for a negotiation that never becomes a fight.

Cloud Giant Encounter Ideas

The sky bridge. A mountain pass crosses a 300-foot chasm on a narrow stone bridge. A cloud giant collects a toll from travelers. It doesn't need to fight: it fogs the bridge and uses Telekinesis to hold the lead traveler over the drop until someone pays. Fighting it here means fighting on a bridge where every Telekinesis can end a character.

The cliffside feast. A wealthy cloud giant has invited the party to a feast at its cliffside manor to settle a dispute between it and a nearby town. The giant is neutral, perceptive (passive Perception 21 in 2024) and very hard to lie to. The town's envoy plans to poison the giant at the feast and frame the party.

The fog over the harbor. A port town has had fog every night for a month, and ships keep running aground on the reef. A cloud giant on the cliffs is casting Fog Cloud at will over the harbor approach to wreck ships and salvage their cargo. Catching it means finding a 20-foot-radius patch of magical fog in a harbor full of real fog.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a cloud giant in 5e?

CR 9 (5,000 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 14 and 200 hit points.

What spells can a cloud giant cast?

In 2014: Detect Magic, Fog Cloud and Light at will; Feather Fall, Fly, Misty Step and Telekinesis 3/day each; Control Weather and Gaseous Form 1/day each. In 2024: Detect Magic, Fog Cloud and Light at will; Control Weather, Gaseous Form and Telekinesis 1/day each; and Misty Step as a bonus action with no daily limit (spell save DC 15).

Can a cloud giant fly?

The 2024 cloud giant has a 20-foot fly speed and can hover. The 2014 cloud giant can't fly naturally but can cast Fly on itself three times a day.

What does the cloud giant's Thundercloud do?

It's a 2024 ranged attack (+12, range 240 feet) that deals 18 (3d6 + 8) thunder damage and Incapacitates the target until the end of its next turn. The target loses its action, bonus action and reaction and its Concentration ends.

Is a cloud giant good or evil?

In the 2014 SRD, a cloud giant is neutral good (50%) or neutral evil (50%). In the 2024 SRD it's neutral.

What's the strongest giant in 5e?

Among SRD giants, the storm giant is the strongest at CR 13 with 230 hit points. The cloud giant and fire giant tie at CR 9 below it.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.