Giants
Giant society (such as it is) is defined in large part by the ordning, a caste system imposed upon the giants by their gods, chief among them Annam the All-Father. The ordning determines where a giant stands among his or her ilk.
Traditionally, storm giants have stood at the top of the ordning. Tall and powerful, they struggle to keep the weaker races of giants from despoiling the realms of small folk and sparking conflict. The greatest storm giants are powerful seers, skilled at identifying and interpreting cosmic signs and divine omens.
The aloof and aristocratic cloud giants, one step below the storm giants, rarely condescend to deal with lesser giants or small folk. Extravagance defines their culture and their place in the ordning.
Below them are the tyrannical, warmongering fire giants and the merciless, predatory frost giants.
Fire giants rank themselves by their forging skill, whereas frost giants rank themselves by their martial prowess.
Near the bottom of the ordning are the xenophobic stone giants, who mostly live underground and regard the surface world as a realm of dreams. How well they sculpt stone determines their place among their peers. The lowest and smallest of the true giants are the hill giants, as gluttonous as they are loathsome.
Hill giants are dullards who live in fear of their more powerful giant cousins. In hill giant society, the biggest rule. Dragons are the ancient enemies of giants. Thousands of years ago, the last great empire of giants — Ostoria — fell after a long and brutal conflict with dragons. Little of Ostoria remains in what is now called the Savage Frontier. The civilizations of small folk have taken over the land once ruled by giants. Although evil giants make occasional forays into territory settled by small folk, their ambitions have long been curtailed by their lack of cohesion and the imposition of good-aligned storm giants and cloud giants whose memories of ancient, glorious Ostoria have faded over time.
Traditionally, storm giants have stood at the top of the ordning. Tall and powerful, they struggle to keep the weaker races of giants from despoiling the realms of small folk and sparking conflict. The greatest storm giants are powerful seers, skilled at identifying and interpreting cosmic signs and divine omens.
The aloof and aristocratic cloud giants, one step below the storm giants, rarely condescend to deal with lesser giants or small folk. Extravagance defines their culture and their place in the ordning.
Below them are the tyrannical, warmongering fire giants and the merciless, predatory frost giants.
Fire giants rank themselves by their forging skill, whereas frost giants rank themselves by their martial prowess.
Near the bottom of the ordning are the xenophobic stone giants, who mostly live underground and regard the surface world as a realm of dreams. How well they sculpt stone determines their place among their peers. The lowest and smallest of the true giants are the hill giants, as gluttonous as they are loathsome.
Hill giants are dullards who live in fear of their more powerful giant cousins. In hill giant society, the biggest rule. Dragons are the ancient enemies of giants. Thousands of years ago, the last great empire of giants — Ostoria — fell after a long and brutal conflict with dragons. Little of Ostoria remains in what is now called the Savage Frontier. The civilizations of small folk have taken over the land once ruled by giants. Although evil giants make occasional forays into territory settled by small folk, their ambitions have long been curtailed by their lack of cohesion and the imposition of good-aligned storm giants and cloud giants whose memories of ancient, glorious Ostoria have faded over time.
