Goliath

Summary

Called "the tall squishing ones" by their Goblin neighbors, Goliaths typically live in isolated mountainous or hilly areas and prefer to keep their interactions with the outside world at a minimum. Well-suited to their strenuous lives, Goliaths are feared for their strength but respected for their lawful disposition.

Subraces

The Goliaths of Vrashyn are divided into two subraces. Fol are identical to the generic 5e Goliath, while Mul instead have the ability to use boulders in combat. Both subraces share the contents of the following sections unless otherwise stated.
Fol Goliath

The more common of the Goliath subraces, Fol have light grey skin and dark blue eyes. Used to life in the cold mountains near The Rime, they are renowned for their resilience.
Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution increases by 1.
Stone’s Endurance: You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Mountain Born: You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates.

Mul Goliath

Hailing from the scorched peaks along The Scathe, Mul use their strength to hurl boulders at enemy combatants, striking fear into other races that call the arid waste home. Mul have light orange skin and dark red eyes and are said to have partial Dwarvish ancestry.
Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom increases by 1.
Rock Hurler: If you’re in a rocky area or city, you can use boulders or broken masonry as a weapon. The first time you pick up the boulder, you must make a DC 14 Athletics check. Once you succeed on this check, the boulder becomes a two-handed thrown weapon with range equal to your Strength score that deals bludgeoning damage equal to 3d8 plus your strength modifier. You do not have disadvantage when attacking a target within five feet using this weapon. Each time you make an attack with the boulder, it has a 50% chance of breaking.
Mountain Born: You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to arid climates.

Appearance

Though they differ in skin tone and eye color, all Goliaths share similar aesthetic tastes. Preferring to shave most of their hair, Goliaths cover their bodies in black tattoos that represent their achievements. While most Goliaths prefer leather to softer materials, the Fol may augment their attire with furs in the coldest regions of Erek. At 6 or 7 feet tall, Goliaths tower over other races, lending their name to the eponymous adjective in the common tongue.

Culture

Despite their strength, Goliaths are as well known for their sense of fairness as their lethality. Spurning chaos, their communities put significant effort into creating and altering their laws and customs to ensure that their rule is meritocratic. Speaking Giant like their ancient ancestors but only writing and reading in Common, Goliaths on both sides of Vrashyn have picked up on the dominant local religions. Those from Erek practice Spiorady while Mul are often initiates in the Order of the Scathe. Needing far more calories than most intelligent creatures, Goliaths hunt big game and enjoy other food most when it’s fried in animal fat.

Livelihood

Most Fol are hunters, shamans, or traders. Instead of practicing crafts of their own, they usually rely on their Human and Half-Orc neighbors for their tools and other finished goods. Instead of trading in furs and animal meat, most Mul are miners and craftspeople, though they are also gifted hunters. Goliaths live in simple, single-family huts meant to deal with the extreme temperatures of their homes. When food is plentiful, Goliaths host large athletic competitions, crowning champions for each race who participates. They also make use of their tattooing skills to decorate their buildings with elaborately-patterned paintings.

Upbringing

Goliaths grow up in small family units but are highly connected to the other members of their community. Married couples often hunt or adventure together, entrusting their children to grandparents or other families while they are away. Though death is a regular occurrence in a society where strength is power, Goliaths are not desensitized to it, mourning the loss of even their distant relatives and revering their spirits. The kinds of Goliath names described on D&D Beyond are perfect for this setting just as long as you don’t call a Mul something snow or forest-related. Goliaths usually go by their nickname outside their families.

Relations with Others

Goliaths are generous to those of other races but prefer to limit their interactions to those they are familiar with. Humans and Half-Orcs are the best friends of the Fol, while the Mul are closest with the various races within the Order of the Scathe. Both subraces get along well with their Giantkin cousins.

Mul

Racial Features

Ability Score Increase Your Strength score increases by 2.
Age Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.
Alignment Goliath society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a strong lawful bent. The goliath sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self-sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.
Size Goliaths are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Natural Athlete You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Powerful Build You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Languages You can speak Giant and Common, and you can read and write in Common.

Population Map