Goliath, Starhelm
Goliaths have been about since the early days of Haven, coming out of the Womb of Humanity a century and a half after the Dwarves did. Their creator, a Luminare named Dowyd, was looking to create a race of large humanoid to compete against the varying Founder Races. Though not as big as the Giants, Dowyd wanted his creations to impress. However, their size made it imperative that they had open land and large areas to roam. Clannish in nature they roam the countryside, tending their herds or seeking out new lands or better conditions to help their tribe. They can be great allies or terrible enemies and many tales have been told about being on the wrong end of a Goliath’s axe.
Goliaths are large creatures, with little hair, and often tattoos or scars they show proudly. They range to be about six to seven feet in height, with large hands capable of lifting and carrying heavy objects. Their skin is grey with earth or stone shades. While a Goliath can grow hair, typically black or brown in colour, you will mostly find that Goliaths are clean shaven from head to toe.
The tattoos of a Goliath tells a lot about his place in his tribe, in the Goliath social structure, and their own personal story. Their tattoos show their social status and their past deeds. Some tribes or individuals will also scar themselves in the same manner. Regardless of scarring or tattoos most Goliaths make sure that their art is visible and prominent for everyone to see.
Goliaths are versatile creatures with a determination to persevere. They are clan oriented, treating the safety and success of their clan first, themselves second, their tribe third, and Goliaths as a race fourth. They they are outgoing but cautious, and they like to travel and discover new things. To those on the outside of a Goliath tribe they may seem barbaric but in truth they are very orderly and rely heavily on their traditions to see them through.
A typical Goliath tribe is made up of a few different clans that are small in number. Essentially they are the different families that make up the larger tribe. Each family has their head, called the Dulwark and he (or she) represents the interests of that clan. Each tribe also has a central chieftain called the Og’Dulwark who is the strongest Goliath of the tribe. Physical strength to a Goliath is very important but an aging chieftain may keep his leadership if he is is also wise and crafty. Experience is very important and the Goliaths look for those who will strengthen their tribe, not just the biggest and strongest.
In the clan or tribe both men and women are looked upon equally and a female Goliath who is strong enough has every opportunity to lead the tribe. The only thing looked down upon in a Goliath tribe is weakness, whether it be of character, of determination, of skill, or of strength. The Goliaths value deeds and they love a good story. Traditionally they take their rite of passage around 30, which requires them to accomplish something of value, but there have been some that have completed their rite of passage much earlier. This earns them their second tattoo and the first that is their alone. The first tattoo is their clan tattoo and every Goliath has one shortly after they are born.
Humans of the Nomad tribes and Goliaths share much in common. They occasionally cross the same migration path and unless they are both starving they take the opportunity to trade stories, goods and warnings of dangers around. Sometimes two tribes may do battle for a shared prize but they don’t often break out into permanent hostilities.
As all creatures in Starhelm, the Goliaths loathe the Witch Queen and her Undead Army. The Witch Queen has taken many natural animals and poisoned them with evil and corruption. The Undead are an affront to the natural order and as such must be destroyed or feared at least.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Golaith have the typical humanoid anatomy. However unique to them is their skin. Goliath Skin is much tougher than normal humanoid skin, it feels very rough and strong that appears like stone however feels more like very calused skin, its also very unique because their skin repairs itself a lot faster than most for surface level injuries.
Genetics and Reproduction
They reproduce just like any other humanoid, and are usually pregnent for about a year. Typically while a goliath female is pregnant her body goes into a very strong survival mode filling her body with adrenline meaning most pregnant goliath are faster, stronger, and more persecptive while pregnant, but the after giving birth her body will crash, it can take about a week for them to be able to stand and about a month for them to go back to normal.
Growth Rate & Stages
Becasue of the adrenline that the goliaths mothers have while pregnant, goliath babies are much more energetic than most babies, and because of their stronger and tougher bodies, they will usually start walking 2 months after their born. at about a year is when they start talking, and by 5 a goliath child will be close to 5' tall. and fairly capable especially compared to children their age from other lineages.
However the ages of 5-25 are very slow for a goliath, usually in this time they will only grow about 2', and hit puberity around the age of 15. Once a goliath reaches 25 they have reached adulthood, and it won't be until their 175 that time will sttart to catch up with them, though even an elderly goliath is still physically impressive.
Ecology and Habitats
Goliaths like to live in low tempature flat terrain, like nothern plains or tundras, someimes they will go in hills or the foot of mountains but they try to avoid those as much as possible. They prefer when their terrain doesn't slow down travel, and like to have an abundance of larger aniamls, ttypcailly with fur.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Because of their size and lifestlye goliaths eat and a lot, its not uncommon for a goliath to eat twice tto three times as much as is required, but their bodies are also designed for long term hunting so they can survive on much less than what other humanoids of a similar size and stature would need.
Goliaths are typically hunters but they don't only hunt and have a thriving and diverse agriculture that they survive off of as well.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Facial characteristics
Goliath have very strong features, sharp jaws and cheekbones, a pronounced eyebrow ridge, a large mouth witth big teeth.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Plains and Tundra, occationally hills and mountain bases.
Average Intelligence
Goliaths aren't dumb or simple like some would think, but becasue of their physicalaclity they think with their bodies first, and if that doesn't work then they will move on to other methods. But goliath don't just throw themselves at a probelm blindly, they will and will think though how to best handle a situation using their physical attributes.
They are also a very competitive people, who will challenge and compete constantly, and while most of them don't hold gruges about their losses they usually won't handle consistant loss after loss very well.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
They don't have any special senses.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Beauty Ideals
Goliath see beauty in strength, typically this is physical strength, but any forms of strength can be beautiful to a goliath. Because of this goliaths will try and accentuate whatevr their strengths are, either with grooming, clothing, or jewerlery.
Gender Ideals
Goliath's have a strong sense of gender, but they don't discriminate because of gender, there aren't a lot of physical differences between goliath genders when it comes to size, strength, or potential, and often times female goliaths will be taller than male goliaths, though male goliaths are often broader than females.
Because of the spike of adreneline while goliaths are pregnant its common for pregnant goliaths to be doing more of the physical activities as a way of expending this excess energy.
Courtship Ideals
Goliaths will look for a partner that complements their strengths, and help them get better in areas they are weaker in. To goliaths a partner that will always have your back and help you improve the greatest show of love.
When a goliath finds a person they wish to court and marry, they will issue a challenge of marrage, when they do it is up to the person being proposed to agree to the challenge, this is one of the only times in goliath culture with it is acceptable to refuse a challange, and they can refuse for any reason they wish, and no reason is necessary to refuse. But if a challenge is accepted then both parties will pick two compitition to partisipate in, and for the proposal to be successful, each person must win two challanges, because of this sometimes it takes multiple challenges for a proposal to be successful. For goliaths you want to pick a challage you are good and and one you aren't, so that way you can see if your partner is able to help in your weaknesses while also being able to keep up with your strengths.
Average Technological Level
goliaths are slightly more primitive technologically that other lineages, howeve they make up for that by being physically superior to most of the lineages. and just being they are behind doesn't be they aren't knowledgable about technological advancements, they just progress at a slower rate that the others.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Goliaths can speak, read, and write Common and goliath. Goliath as a language has a lot of its roots in giant. though at this point its progressed so far from that origional language that knowing giant would only make it easier to learn the language than actually being able to use giant or goliath to understand the other.
Common Etiquette Rules
To goliath common eitquette to always compete in challenges to the best of your ability, even when everyone invloved knows the most likley outcome, to give up or go easy on your competitor is seen as very rude.
Common Dress Code
Goliaths perfer wearing very pratical clothing, though just because clothing is protical doesn't mean it has to be boring. Goliaths will often use clothing as a way of expressing thier skills and strengths, a hunter might wear a necklace of animal teeth, a blacksmith might wear hand crafted rings, a scholar might wear glasses even if they don't need their eyes corrected.
Goilath's also have a strong cultural connection to their tattoos. golaith tattoos will start at the hands and build from there all across their body, it isn't uncommon for a goliath to get their hand tattoos around the age of 3 and continously get more thoughout their lives. A goliath will typically avoid face tattoos except in specific situations, when they leave a throng, either by choice or exile, or when they die.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Worship: Dowyd
Golaith express themselves in a wide varity of ways, with each goliath expressing themselves in different ways. pottery, sculpting, craving, and dancing are all very popular amongest goliath, however the biggest form of expression are tattoos. Tattoo's hold so much cultral importance with goliath, and they get them at such a young age, that some beilve that their tattoos are natural markings. A tattoo artist holds a lot of respect and the art they perform is seen as the hight of importance.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
To goliaths their tattoos will mark events in their lives, both positive and negitive.
When a Rove has ended there is a week long celebration that happens at the Home to celerate all that has been accomplished both during the Rove and at home. This is also when people that were on the rove settle back into the Home, and people that were at the Home perpare for their rove.
Common Taboos
refusing a challenge without consirderation is very rude to goliaths. Usually goliaths will accept most challeges issued to them though its not uncommon for challenges to be refused, however if a challege is refused some level of thought should go into to the refusal, an immediate refusal would either make you look like a coward, or make others believe that you don't consirder the person issuing the challege to be worthy of partisipating.
returning from a rove early or leaving the home early for no important reason. To goliaths the rove cycle is more than just a way to get resources or complete goals, its a way of life, and ingoring that for no reason is seen as going against the throng.
History
Goliath were created during the time of Haven by Dowyd, a Luminare of Strengh and Power. He moddled the goliath after himself, but he gave them to much of a drive to fight and grow in strength, while their weren't mindless this drive quickly overtook any other thoughts, they spent a lot of their time fighting anyone and everyone they came across, they quickly gained a reputation as a dangerous nuisance, and other lineages began seeing them as a threat to dangerous to leave alone. To prevent his lineage from being wiped out he approached his brother Yonto to help him, where Dowyd is a god of power, Yonto is a god of percision, Dowyd didn't want his goliaths to lose this drive but he needed a way for them to channel this drive into something less destructive. So Yonto gave them a place to channel their drive by introducing them to competition, changed their drive to be one focued on competing rather than fighting, this change allowed the goliath to move passed this destructive nature of their and move on as a people.
As goliaths progressed they found that when they congragated in large numbers there usually wasn't engough to go around due to their size, but they could accomplish more in larger numbers so they found a way to do both by introducing the Home and Rove system that way they can still keep their larger numbers while not requiring as many resources.
Racial Features
Select two of the below per Goliath lineage chosen:- Hardy (Mandatory): Your skin is thicker, and your muscles and bones are denser than normal, almost acting as a type of armour. You gain a second special armour scale called Natural Armour. Your natural armour has an armour scale of your Fortitude value + your level. If this is reduced to 0 it doesn’t recover until you take a long rest, in which case it recovers fully.
- Darkvision: You can see clearly up to 60' in dim light and can see darkness as if it were dim light to the same distance. While seeing in darkness you can only see in shades of grey.
- Powerful Build: Your body is large and naturally more muscular than even someone the same size. you can add 2 additional dice when making Brawn attribute checks. Also, your carrying capacity is treated as if you were one size larger.
- Plains Hunter: You are very adept at traveling in open areas and covering ground quickly, as well as hiding and hunting in those same areas. While in open environments, such as plains, fields, steppes, light rolling hills the Plains Hunter, at the end of their turn can drop to prone costing no extra movement. At the start of their turn, if they are prone they can stand without spending extra movement. In addition, they can add 5 miles to whichever travel pace they are moving at, but this only applies to their own travel pace, not the group they are traveling with.
- Brute Strength: Goliaths are very strong and tend to strike hard. Regardless of the weapon they are wielding (including unarmed strikes), the minimum grimness is equal to their Brawn attribute.
Lifespan
Goliaths mature around the age of 25, but live until early to mid 200s
Average Height
6-8 ft. tall
Average Weight
350-400 lbs
Average Physique
Goliaths are size medium. They are very muscular with skin skin.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Goliath will usually have grey skin, that ranges from dark grey to light grey, they will also usually have tribal tattoos and markings over their body.
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