Shattering of the Ordening

The great social structure of giantkind was destroyed by Annam All-Father of Giants. Nothing is certain in the chaos that ensues, dragons stir as tribes of great frost and fire giants hunt them, cloud giants pilfer the ancient ruins of Ostoria, and Storm Giants play a deadly game of internal court politics, all the while an ancient evil plots beneath the oceans.

The ordning was the social structure to which all giants adhered, dating back to the ancient empire of Ostoria. It was similar to a class-based society, but was much more specific, assigning a social rank to each individual. Therefore, each individual giant knew which other giants were inferior and superior to himself, and no giants were equal to other giants.   Each type of giant used a different combination of skills or qualities to determine the ordning. Giants believed excelling in these skills to be the purpose of their lives. Annam All-Father, creator of giants, was seen as the ultimate in each of these skills. In all cases, advancement was made by challenging a superior, but different types of giants used different systems and restrictions upon advancement. It was considered an evil (maug) act to show disrespect to a superior giant. This could be mocking, betrayal, disobedience, or a number of other behaviors.   When it was the smallfolk, not giant kind, that defeated Tiamat's attempt to return to the world in 825pd, the allfather shattered the Ordening, allowing giantkind to create their own social structure and to see which among them would prove the wisest and the strongest.