Lesser Giant-Kin

The lesser samordai are somewhat weaker than the Greater Giant-Kin, but still possess power. The larger among them are given precedence in the Orden, for while size is not rated above all, it is rated. These lineages have a reputation for stubbornness and stupidity that is not entirely fair. Pushed into the shadows of their larger kin and often given barely-adequate land to subsist on, the lesser giant-kin live much of their lives in a state of perpetual hunger. Much of their lives are spent in mere survival, and their hunger often drives lesser giant-kin to take on challenges far beyond their ability, both factors tend to restrict their ability to advance culturally. While not incapable of sophistication, their limited opportunities, and combination of strength and hunger leads most of these giant-kin to view the rest of the world as either food or something that is preventing them getting food. This can change if an individual or group manages to find a more advantageous position in life, or receives or secures some form of education or other social benefit.
By the lights of the Orden, there are four separate samordai of lesser giant-kin - ettin, ogres, jotnar and trolls - but the differences between them are less absolute. In truth, ogre and jotnar are names variously given to any giant-kin between around nine and fifteen feet in height and lacking the innate powers of the oni, with little consideration for any biological distinction.
'Ogre' is used primarily to describe lowland giant-kin who live in settled, tribal and early-state cultures. The majority of these cultures occupy towns and small cities in the Donar Wastes, where they typically experience cycles of social growth and decline, finding their own path when left alone, and being pressed back into serf status with the next round of Eurosian aggression. They primarily worship gods of stone and strength, but some bands come under the sway of oni priests or other inspirational leaders who can guide them to be something more, or simply strike it lucky and acquire a windfall of wealth which allows them to transform the limiting bases of their society. 'Jotnar', in comparison, is used to describe the nomadic bands of the highland giant-kin. They tend to avoid the gaze of the Eurosian giants as much as possible. This prevents the rise and fall which characterises the ogres' fortunes, but provides its own limits on their social and technological development.
The orden allocates the ogres the virtues of excess - ogres are accustomed to their plans falling through, and so lean towards immediate gratification - and loyalty, and the jotnar those of persistence and balance. Jotnar who settle quickly become considered ogres, while ogres forced to leave their villages and towns are viewed as jotnar. The exception to this is that giant-kin who find work as mercenaries, even goliaths, tend to be dubbed 'ogre'.
Trolls, on the other hand, are a distinct lineage, marked by an exceptional, even uncanny, level of regenerative ability, either from a fluke mutation, or as a result of experimentation in their ethnic past. This rapid healing makes trolls incredibly resilient and potentially immortal, but can have downsides. They stand in defiance of the natural order of life and death, and minor complications can swiftly compound to warp their bodies and minds, their physical forms becoming riddled with tumours and external material that has healed into their wounds. Wracked by pain, their thoughts become focused narrowly on mere survival. The higher giants look on them as tools at best, brutes at worst, and their constant exclusion by the Orden has contributed profoundly to their cultural development.
Grudglingly assigned the virtue of 'relentlessness', most trolls have little organised society, in large part because their bands are typically broken up by 'civilised' lineages who fear their cultural and military growth. A few larger villages in the Wastes and the Darklands have managed to move beyond this stage, forming villages and even small towns. Mutual care and support allows these trolls to exercise better physical and mental health care, resulting in the almost complete elimination of their 'natural' aggression and brutality.
The ettins are not a distinct race or culture, but rather are distinguished by a peculiar mutation; they have two heads each, typically displaying greatly divergent personalities. The few scholars who have made a study of giant-kin reproduction have speculated that ettins are the result of in utero complications in mothers with mixed ogre/jotnar and troll heritage - unusual numbers of arms, or even multiple heads are note so uncommon among trolls - but this theory has received no rigorous support.
Lesser giant-kin are influenced by their giant blood and culture to a high degree of bio-normative gender identity, but do not have fixed roles for the genders within society. As individuals and as societies, lesser giant-kin are often consumed by feelings of inadequacy and fatalism.