New body, new adventures! The first time I encountered Diancastra was in the dungeons beneath the hill giant lord's hall. I thought her an ordinary prisoner and helped her escape. In return, she taught me the rudiments of rune carving.
Intended for the Dungeon Master, this chapter explores key aspects of giants' life and society. The ideas and tables included here should inspire you as you prepare to use giants in your D&D game. This material is divided into five main sections:
"2" discusses how to bring giants to life during your game.
"2" explores the relationships among and within different giant kinds, with a focus on the ordning's role in driving adventures.
"2" describes a pantheon of gods consisting of Annam the All-Father and his children. It also discusses various "interlopers" that vie for the worship of giants in Annam's absence.
"2" explores various models of giant societies and the relationships between giants and other kinds of creatures.
"2" details organizations that unite giants across the lines of the ordning, bringing them together around common goals and beliefs.
As with the rest of this book, this chapter focuses on the main families of giants described in the Monster Manual, but much of this advice can also be applied to other creatures of the Giant type.
Roleplaying Giants
Apart from their size, giants are much like humans—which is to say that they're tremendously diverse and hard to generalize about. When creating a giant for your campaign, you can use the tables for 4 in the Dungeon Master's Guide to help you make the giant a distinctive character. Just like a Humanoid NPC, a giant with an unusual tattoo, a propensity for punning, or a knack for juggling becomes more vivid in your players' imaginations.
When creating giant characters or roleplaying giants, remember these key elements: size, age, volume, and pride. This section describes traits and behaviors you can incorporate into your portrayal of giants to emphasize each of these elements, and offers example names for each kind of giant.
Size
The giants of the ordning are enormous, ranging from 16 to 26 feet tall. The size relationship between a giant and a human is roughly comparable to that between an adult human and a newborn human baby. A giant might think of Humanoids as akin to helpless babies, adorable pets (like small dogs), disgusting vermin (like large rats), or toy soldiers.
Consider how you can convey a sense of a giant's size as you play the giant. You might stand above seated players to loom over them or describe behaviors that emphasize the giant's size. The Huge Behaviors table gives examples of habits and events that can communicate a giant's enormous scale.
| d8 | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1 | The giant has a pet (a panther, a wolf, or a giant weasel) that sits on the giant's lap or shoulder. |
| 2 | The giant swats at a murmuration of starlings as if it were a cloud of gnats. |
| 3 | The giant uses a dagger as a toothpick, a greatsword as a letter opener, or a pair of javelins as knitting needles. |
| 4 | The giant carefully lifts Humanoids (cradling their heads to avoid injury) to see and hear them better. |
| 5 | The giant exclaims with admiration at the fine detail and exquisite articulation of the characters' armor. |
| 6 | The giant fidgets with the skulls of Humanoids. |
| 7 | The giant drinks from a barrel as a human would from a waterskin. |
| 8 | The giant takes a messy bite from a large melon held in one hand. |
Age
Giants are long-lived compared to humans, though not as much as their semidivine ancestors. Their life spans generally correspond with their place in the ordning, with hill giants living about two centuries and storm giants as many as six. Stone giants are the exception, sometimes reaching over eight hundred years of age, as enduring as the stone for which they're named. The Life Spans table shows the average life span of each kind of giant within the ordning. (Other creatures of the Giant type live about as long as humans, on average.)
In keeping with their long life spans, giants tend to live their lives at a slower pace than smaller folk. They often speak slowly and avoid rushing into decisions. Adding potential confusion to their interactions with smaller races, giants are often comically out of touch with happenings in the wider world, keeping a store of knowledge about Humanoid realms and peoples that was already outdated when they learned it as children. The Ancient Behaviors table suggests some ways you can communicate a giant's age in an encounter.
| Giant Kind | Life Span |
|---|---|
| Hill | 200 years |
| Frost | 250 years |
| Fire | 350 years |
| Cloud | 400 years |
| Storm | 600 years |
| Stone | 800 years |
| d8 | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1 | The giant addresses Humanoids as citizens of a fallen realm (equivalent to calling people in the real world "Babylonians"). |
| 2 | The giant burdens conversation with irrelevant historical context. |
| 3 | The giant is curious about minute details of fashion, slang, and popular culture among Humanoids. |
| 4 | The giant is a hopeless procrastinator, always convinced there will be time later for any task. |
| 5 | The giant is prone to reminiscing about friends and family members who have died. |
| 6 | The giant is unwilling to accept any problems as truly urgent. |
| 7 | The giant is determined to wring every possible ounce of enjoyment from each day. |
| 8 | The giant is convinced that giants were meant to use their long lives to make a mark on the world. |
Volume
Giants are loud. From the earth-shaking rumble of several-ton footsteps to ear-splitting roars supported by lungs the size of barrels, giants can make a lot of noise. Don't yell at your players, but consider raising your voice a little, and perhaps gently shaking the table to demonstrate how the earth trembles at the giant's footsteps. Finding ways to emphasize a giant's volume can help everyone at the table appreciate the scale of the encounter. The Loud Behaviors table offers more suggestions.
| d6 | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1 | The giant constantly (and loudly) encourages smaller creatures to speak up. |
| 2 | The giant's thoughtful "hmm" causes a rumbling vibration in the ground and the pit of listeners' stomachs. |
| 3 | The giant's exclamation of surprise or anger briefly sets listeners' ears ringing. |
| 4 | The giant's sneeze, snore, or sigh rattles windows or blows leaves off trees. |
| 5 | The giant's laughter feels like a small earthquake. |
| 6 | The giant's armor or weapons clang thunderously. |
Pride
Many giants are taught that Annam begot the giants and intended them to rule the worlds of the Material Plane. Though giants have learned many hard lessons in the millennia since their origin, a sense of self-importance still pervades their stories and inflates their vanity. It can be hard for a 16- to 26-foot-tall giant to take 3- to 7-foot-tall Humanoids and their concerns seriously. Use the Proud Behaviors table to inspire your portrayal of giants' pride and vanity.
| d8 | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1 | The giant ignores smaller creatures unless they offer the giant obeisance and flattery. |
| 2 | The giant refuses to bend over, sit, or kneel in the presence of smaller creatures. |
| 3 | The giant ignores the names of smaller creatures, referring to them with generic labels (such as "human" or "armor shaker"). |
| 4 | The giant's first reaction to smaller creatures—even when threatened or presented with a terrible problem—is laughter. |
| 5 | The giant constantly demeans or patronizes smaller creatures, calling them "tiny," "insignificant," "babies," "pests," "vermin," or similar terms. |
| 6 | The giant won't speak any language but Giant. |
| 7 | The giant erupts in rage at the slightest sign of insult or disrespect from a smaller creature. |
| 8 | The giant addresses smaller creatures in a tone that drips with condescension and refuses to take them seriously. |
Names
If you need a name for a giant, use the Giants' Names table and freely combine or change names as you wish. You can also use a name that doesn't match the giant's kind, which might reflect, for example, a hill giant with lofty aspirations or a stone giant raised among frost giants.
| d10 | Hill | Stone | Frost | Fire | Cloud | Storm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adj | Brunnar | Estia | Ashvalk | Alastrah | Adana |
| 2 | Bor | Delveni | Flakkar | Askavar | Cressaro | Bullrak |
| 3 | Cug | Frasta | Grugnur | Brasalag | Eigeron | Eblixten |
| 4 | Dop | Kragsten | Gurdrim | Brimskarda | Kaaltar | Mirran |
| 5 | Gug | Maddag | Jokalla | Glodden | Lissia | Nym |
| 6 | Kru | Olhuud | Kallen | Osaglod | Messet | Orlekto |
| 7 | Moog | Pashka | Luskig | Snurre | Mollen | Serissa |
| 8 | Noad | Ralden | Rimna | Svavehild | Nedimma | Shaldoor |
| 9 | Paff | Steyras | Storvald | Tartha | Santar | Uthor |
| 10 | Tig | Thonna | Thryggid | Zaltasker | Thullen | Vaasha |
The Ordning
As described in the Monster Manual, the giants of many worlds organize themselves in a complex social ranking called the ordning. At the largest scale, the ordning establishes the relative positions of the six main kinds of giants, with storm giants at the top, followed (in order) by cloud giants, fire giants, frost giants, and stone giants, with hill giants at the bottom. Other creatures of the Giant type—such as ettins, fomorians, and trolls—are not counted as part of the ordning, placing them functionally below the hill giants.
At a smaller scale, every giant has a precise place within the larger framework of the ordning, and each kind of giant has a different way of assigning that place. Cloud giants rank themselves based on wealth, fire giants based on crafting skill, frost giants based on physical strength, and stone giants based on a combination of artistry and rock throwing. Hill giants give their respect to larger and stronger giants without putting much thought into hierarchical ranks. Only storm giants, largely solitary and imagining themselves above such petty concerns, have no interest in ranking themselves. Regardless of a giant's ranking within its kind, no giant can transcend the ordning of the six giant kinds; the most accomplished fire giant artisan ranks below the poorest cloud giant, for example.
For any given giant (except a storm giant), you can use the Giants and the Ordning table to determine the giant's place within the ranking of that particular giant kind, and the giant's attitude toward that place. Four more tables provide suggestions for how a cloud, fire, frost, or stone giant's efforts to retain or achieve a high status within the ordning might drive adventures. (Hill and storm giants aren't included here because of their limited participation in the ordning.)
The ordning strikes me as something between a god-ordained hierarchy and a true meritocracy.
| d10 | Ranking | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | High | Very protective of that high status and angling to get even higher |
| 2 | High | Hoping to improve but not doing much to pursue an increase in status |
| 3 | High | Unconcerned with maintaining that status |
| 4 | Medium | On the rise |
| 5 | Medium | Contented |
| 6 | Medium | In a state of decline |
| 7 | Low | Despairing after years of steady decline |
| 8 | Low | Desperate to improve |
| 9 | Low | Resigned to that status |
| 10 | Outcast | Shunned by giant society |
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A cloud giant seeks to gain wealth by investing in an adventuring party (perhaps giving the characters magic items or other valuables) in exchange for a share of the party's rewards. |
| 2 | A cloud giant hosts an art gala in a cloud castle to display their wealth, providing an opportunity for the characters to retrieve an important magic item from the giant's collection. |
| 3 | Wishing to one-up rivals, a cloud giant seeks adventurers to hunt exotic monsters for a lavish banquet. |
| 4 | With two nations on the brink of war, the characters discover cloud giants are betting on the outcome—and at least one giant is meddling behind the scenes to increase the likelihood of one side winning. |
| 5 | A cloud giant who recently lost a large amount of money on bad bets tries to recoup those losses by plundering a royal treasury or the adventurers' stronghold. |
| 6 | A cloud giant offers to buy the adventurers' services as an extravagant (and useful) gift for another giant. |
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A fire giant demands payments from miners transporting a rare ore through a mountain pass. The miners seek adventurers to intervene. |
| 2 | The characters acquire a broken magic weapon that only a renowned fire giant smith can repair. |
| 3 | The characters find a giant-crafted sword—a magical masterpiece; when word of their find gets out, the artisan's descendants come looking for the sword. |
| 4 | When the characters' enemies take refuge in a giant-built ruin, an ambitious fire giant offers to help the characters get inside in return for a share of the treasure. |
| 5 | A fire giant captures a renowned Humanoid smith in the hope of learning a new technique, and the smith's spouse begs the adventurers to help. |
| 6 | A fire giant offers adventurers an extravagant sum for metal ore retrieved from another plane of existence. |
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Planning to claim all the credit, a frost giant seeks the help of powerful adventurers to defeat a foe the giant could never handle alone. |
| 2 | A frost giant wants help obtaining a manual of gainful exercise believed to be in a dragon's hoard. |
| 3 | A low-ranking frost giant prefers to be surrounded with weaker creatures and so leads a band of Humanoid brigands. A merchant council asks for aid against them. |
| 4 | A frost giant keeps a defeated foe's head as a trophy; the foe's family wants justice—and the head back—and asks adventurers for help. |
| 5 | Two groups of frost giants meet near a mountain pass. When their wrestling matches cause avalanches, travelers who rely on the pass ask for help. |
| 6 | A frost giant destroys works of Humanoid construction—such as bridges, barns, and walls—as a show of strength. Affected farmers beg for help. |
Don't forget simple family dynamics—or as simple as a family with ten children can be.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A stone giant has been throwing stones near a city in the mountains. The mayor seeks help to protect the city from the destructive effects of the boulders. |
| 2 | A famous Humanoid sculptor attracts stone giants to the sculptor's town. The struggling town seeks protection from the rowdy giants, who thoughtlessly cause great damage because they believe they're in the dream world. |
| 3 | The characters' discovery of a huge, raw onyx attracts the attention of a stone giant who wants to carve the stone. |
| 4 | A stone giant traveler hones their skills by carving a relief into a city's walls. The city's rulers and masons beg for help. |
| 5 | Characters traveling underground encounter feuding stone giants who accuse each other of destroying their artwork; the characters can end the feud by finding the actual vandal (perhaps a third giant, a group of duergar, or an unwitting umber hulk). |
| 6 | A stone giant tries to manipulate characters into killing a fierce rival. |
Rejecting the Ordning
Some giants reject the ordning, in part or entirely. This rejection most commonly takes one of three forms.
First are giants who hold themselves to a different standard than the one their kind traditionally values. These are often giants whose ranking within their kind is low. For example, a contemplative cloud giant might pursue knowledge rather than wealth, or a weak frost giant might trade in secrets and blackmail to hold onto some measure of power. These giants might avoid the company of their own kind to escape the expectations and customs attached to the ordning. In addition, devotees of Annam's daughters—Hiatea, Iallanis, and Diancastra—tend to push against the strict definitions of the ordning as a matter of principle.
Second, a few giants take a revolutionary stance meant to upset the ordning. A mighty frost giant warrior, not content to rule only frost giants and lesser creatures, could attempt to subjugate fire or cloud giants. Such revolutionaries often aim to impose their own kind's understanding of the ordning on all kinds of giants, so a master artisan among the fire giants might attempt to claim a higher place than storm giants who lack the same crafting skill. These efforts rarely have any lasting impact, but some have managed to upset the ordning at a local level for a few centuries. Because their sense of the ordning relies on physical power and military strength, frost giants are the most likely to impose their standards on other giants. Along similar lines, sometimes giants measure themselves by the standards of a different kind of giant and try to break from the ordning by exceeding those standards. A strong stone giant, for example, might try to claim a place within the frost giants' ordning.
Third, giants who turn from the worship of Annam's children to other powers (as described under "2" later in this chapter) also reject the ordning. In some cases, as in the hierarchical cults of Elemental Evil, the new religion replaces the giants' ordning with a different structure that offers the same sense of order, purpose, and meaning. Such cults place giants at a higher position than the giants would otherwise enjoy in the ordning.
When giants join the cults of demon lords, they reject the entire concept of the ordning—the idea that there is any kind of order to the multiverse at all, which is the literal meaning of the word ordning in the Giant tongue. These giants reject meaning, status, and hierarchy in favor of chaos and destruction.
The Rejecting the Ordning table offers adventure hooks inspired by these ideas, illustrating how giants' attitudes toward the ordning can impact characters and the lives of Humanoids who live near them.
| d8 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A giant wanders into a settlement of Humanoids looking for an opportunity to use talents the giant's kin do not value, but the giant is greeted with suspicion and hostility. The giant seeks adventurers to help negotiate peace with the settlement. |
| 2 | Characters must find a wise giant who has pursued specialized knowledge instead of excellence within the ordning. |
| 3 | A giant tries to use the characters as pawns in a scheme to subvert the ordning and increase the giant's status. |
| 4 | A charismatic leader gathers giants of different kinds into a mighty war band, intending to conquer and settle lands inhabited by Humanoids who seek adventurers' protection. |
| 5 | A storm giant asks adventurers to kill a revolutionary before the ordning is irrevocably disrupted. |
| 6 | A family of giants joined a cult of Elemental Evil and quickly took over the leadership, sorting its membership into a new hierarchy and creating dissension within the ranks—which the adventurers can use as they try to foil the cult's evil schemes. |
| 7 | A giant serving a demon lord attacks a town. The town's leaders ask the characters to retaliate against the giant's kin—which is exactly what the demon cultist was hoping for. |
| 8 | A group of giants seeks adventurers to deal with a surge of demon cult activity within the giants' community. |
Origin of the Ordning
Most giants believe Annam established the ordning at the very beginning and that it reflects the birth order of his sons. One myth likens the ordning to the structure of the mountains: from lowly foothills (hill giants), up to the stone of the mountain (stone giants), the snow on the peaks (frost giants), the lava spewing from the peak of a volcano (fire giants), and then above the peak to the clouds (cloud giants) and the storm (storm giants). These myths depict the ordning as an inherent part of what it means to be a giant, as natural as the geography of the land.
Sagas told among giants on some worlds suggest other explanations for the ordning, linking it to the giants' fall from Annam's good graces. In some of these stories, the ordning isn't natural at all; it's part of the giants' fall—an invention of Annam's sons and a distortion of Annam's will for them. In other stories, it is a consequence of their fall—a punishment Annam inflicted on the giants after they proved themselves incapable of governing the world. The ordning might be necessary, or a burden giants are expected to bear, but giants who hold these views often look forward to Annam abolishing the ordning in some mythic future.
Giants on some worlds (including Eberron) have no concept of the ordning at all. Such giants might think of themselves as a single species, with the differences among giant kinds reflecting a cultural or geographical distinction rather than an inherent one. They might live in bands composed of multiple giant kinds or family groups of a single kind. Or giants of different kinds might not recognize each other as kindred at all. All these giants build a range of social structures in the same manifold ways other peoples do, without regard to an overarching ordning.
Gods and Religion
The myths of giants across the Material Plane differ in many details, but most of them portray giants as descendants of a progenitor god, typically Annam, the All-Father. Giants believe they are nearly divine, and they are inclined to view their existence as part of a mythic story that is still unfolding. Unlike some other powerful, ancient creatures (such as dragons), giants don't typically exalt themselves and demand worship from lesser beings. Rather, they are often drawn to follow gods—and sometimes other powerful beings—who help them live out their part in that epic saga.
| Name | Alignment | Suggested Cleric Domains | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annam | LN | Knowledge | Two hands, wrists crossed, with fingers pointing downward |
| Diancastra | CN | Trickery | Journey rune |
| Grolantor | CE | War | Wooden club |
| Hiatea | N | Life, Nature | Flaming spear |
| Iallanis | NG | Light, Peace* | Garland of flowers |
| Karontor | NE | Death, Knowledge | Broken shackles |
| Memnor | N or NE | Knowledge, Trickery | Black obelisk |
| Skoraeus | N | Knowledge | Stalactite |
| Stronmaus | NG | Life, Tempest | Forked lightning bolt descending from a cloud partly obscuring the sun |
| Surtur | LE | Forge,** Knowledge, War | Flaming sword |
| Thrym | CE | War | White double-bladed axe |
The suggested cleric domains are from the Player's Handbook unless followed by an asterisk.
*Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
**Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Annam and the Ordning
Most giants revere a pantheon of gods comprising Annam and his divine children—a pantheon they call "the Ordning" because it is the archetype of the ordning that structures giant society. The head of the pantheon is the All-Father, but most giants view him as a remote, disinterested, or deeply disappointed father who has little role to play in giant life any more. The other ten gods, generally recognized as his children, are more important in most giants' view. The Gods of the Ordning table summarizes key information about these gods.
Annam
Annam is a complicated figure, depicted in a variety of ways in myths told across countless worlds of the Material Plane. These stories have been altered in the telling over the course of thousands of years. In some myths, he is the creator of worlds, and other gods merely populated the worlds Annam made with peoples of their own creation. Such myths often describe an ancient era when giants were the only people inhabiting the worlds, or giants shared the worlds with dragons. In other myths, Annam worked with other gods to create worlds together. Diancastra's Saga, told in part in the 0 to this book, describes Annam gathering the shattered fragments of the First World (the original creation of Bahamut and Tiamat) and spreading them across the Material Plane to create countless worlds. Still other myths describe Annam as a sleeping god whose dreams formed the substance of reality and allowed other gods to create within it.
Annam is often described as an all-knowing god whose deep learning, profound meditations, and expansive philosophy offer endless wisdom for his descendants to study. Occasionally, he's more of a trickster figure whose escapades across the worlds are greeted with uproarious laughter and serve as cautionary tales.
Giants on most worlds agree that Annam is no longer active in the affairs of giants in the Material Plane. Some say he despaired over his quarreling children. Others believe he lost hope in his descendants when their ancient empires fell into ruin. Some claim he was weakened after a long battle against his brother, Memnor (who is more commonly described as one of Annam's sons), and was forced to withdraw from the world until he regained his strength. Other dubious tales suggest he fled the Material Plane to escape the consequences of some misadventure.
Priests and Rites
Thanks to his prolonged absence from mortal giants' affairs, Annam has few priests. On some worlds, he has no priests and his name is all but forgotten. On other worlds, a priest of Annam serves as an adviser and mediator to scattered groups of giants, traveling extensively to visit far-flung communities. In some places, priests of Annam are great kings who rule over realms comprising different giant kinds. Even on worlds where Annam's priests are important, many giants (sometimes including his priests) are convinced Annam no longer hears the prayers of his people.
Diancastra
Diancastra is the youngest child of Annam, born of a mortal giant mother shortly before Annam retreated from the Material Plane. The saga of her effort to claim her full divine inheritance is a popular tale among giants who value guile and trickery over brute strength or magical might. The tale is also beloved because it offers hope that Annam might emerge from his self-imposed exile if his descendants can restore his faith in them.
Diancastra's Saga tells of the demigod boasting to her father of her clever deeds rather than her feats of strength: she solved a sphinx's riddles, plumbed the secrets of the ocean, and stole a string of pearls from a god of the kuo-toa. Through these and many other exploits, she demonstrated not just her giant-sized might but also her bravery (bordering on foolhardiness), her talent for trickery (often aided by magical illusions), and her cleverness. Giants who value or seek to emulate these qualities pray and sacrifice to her, asking her blessing. Those who hold out hope for the restoration of giants' ancient glory worship her as well, imploring her to find her way once more to Annam's secret sanctum and persuade him to end his seclusion.
Grolantor
Annam's youngest son and Karontor's younger twin is Grolantor, a brash braggart who takes enormous pride in his great strength (which some would say is his only redeeming quality). Tales of Grolantor's exploits highlight his strength and his insatiable hunger, and most of them end with him in conflict with one of his siblings. To hill giants, these stories make Grolantor a figure to be admired. Among the other giants, Grolantor is the butt of every joke, always coming out poorly in comparison to his siblings. Those giants think he is a selfish boor who has no respect for the ordning, as Grolantor refuses to see why his status should not be equal to that of Stronmaus and his other brothers.
In addition to hill giants, some frost giants admire Grolantor's physical might, and many ogres and ettins revere him as well. Grolantor exemplifies the principle that the strong should take what they want, without regard for the needs of weaker creatures. The ordning holds no meaning for hill giants—who are on the bottom rung—or ogres and ettins, who are even lower. The only social order they recognize is "might makes right."
Priests and Rites
Grolantor's priests often boast of having experienced a personal interaction with their god—a dream, waking vision, or even an encounter with a manifestation of Grolantor. These encounters typically involve the god demanding something he wants from the priests, such as a fresh kill or a precious trinket. His priests then demand (and often take by force) sacrifices for Grolantor from their kin, with a minimum of ritual or prayer involved.
Hiatea
Hiatea is Annam's second child, after Stronmaus, and the companionship and friendly rivalry between these two oldest children are the focus of many myths. In these stories, Hiatea is both a protective figure who keeps watch over the hearths and fields of giants, blessing their agriculture and their family lives, and a wild huntress who wields the power of nature as a weapon of destruction as well as a source of bounty. Some myths suggest her mother hid her among firbolgs after her birth, where Hiatea focused on strengthening communities. Then, when she learned of her true parentage, she pursued arduous quests as a hunter and monster slayer to prove her worth to her father. (It's possible that Diancastra's Saga, excerpted in the 0 to this book, alludes to this story when Annam compares Diancastra's deeds to Hiatea's.) Another myth suggests Stronmaus taunted Hiatea for remaining aloof from a bitter war against dragons, spurring her to prove herself a valiant warrior as well as a champion of peaceful giants.
Priests and Rites
Giants of all kinds offer prayers to Hiatea, ranging from simple blessings at the kindling of a hearth fire to thanksgivings at the conclusion of a successful hunt or harvest. She is the most popular god of the Ordning among goliaths and firbolgs, who claim a distant kinship with giants.
Hiatea's priests adopt one of two roles, reflecting the god's dual areas of concern. Some live within the giants' enclaves and focus their efforts on maintaining the community, tending to agriculture, and educating children. Others patrol the wilderness surrounding the enclave, guarding against threats to the community.
Iallanis
Born about the same time as Grolantor, Iallanis is everything her boorish brother is not: kind, loving, merciful, joyful, and thoughtful. She loves every part of the worlds her father made, and she constantly strives to bring not only her divine family but also mortal giants together in harmony. Iallanis envisions a restored giant empire as a realm of benevolence, learning, and innovation where giants lead but do not rule like tyrants.
Priests and Rites
Good-aligned giants who appreciate her ideals pray to Iallanis for peace, unity, and mercy. Her priests often officiate weddings among giants, even evil ones. Stone giants frequently appeal to her as an artistic muse, trusting that her love of beauty will inspire their work.
Karontor
Karontor is the elder twin of Grolantor. In a handful of myths, Karontor appears as a wicked schemer whose hatred of his brothers knows no bounds. The fomorians once occupied a place in the ordning corresponding to Karontor's place, but then Karontor incited the fomorians to assault the Feywild. Just as the fomorians were banished into the Underdark, so too did Annam banish Karontor to a subterranean prison.
Priests and Rites
Few dare to worship Karontor, even in secret. Superstitious giants believe if his name is spoken, Karontor might burrow up from the Underdark to drag the hapless speaker underground to an eternity of torture. To avoid uttering his name, giants sometimes refer to him as "the banished son," "the forgotten one," or "the king that crawls." A few cults revere him, beseeching him for sinister magical secrets or to consume their enemies.
Memnor
When it comes to Memnor, the wisest policy is the simplest: don't believe a single thing you read.
Memnor is an ambiguous figure in the mythology of giants, and the tales concerning him are so disparate that it's possible two gods exist with the same name. More likely, the confusion surrounding his nature and identity is a result of his own duplicity. In most myths, Memnor is constantly tricking and infuriating his father, drawing Annam's wrath down on himself and (more often) his brothers. In one myth, Memnor is Annam's sinister twin, constantly challenging his brother for control of the worlds. In this tale, Annam defeated Memnor but was left so weakened by the contest that Annam fled to his private sanctum, leaving his children to govern the affairs of the giants.
Memnor is typically described as clever and persuasive on the one hand, and as sly and manipulative on the other. His brothers often suspect him of trying to usurp Annam's place at the head of the Ordning to rule all the affairs of giantkind. Among mortal giants, the same accusation is often leveled against his priests. But giants who revere him for his charisma and intellect insist he has the welfare of all giants at heart, seeking to restore them to their proper place at the head of all creation.
Priests and Rites
Memnor has wicked priests within his fold who emulate his duplicity, his self-interest, and his manipulative ability to make others do exactly what he wants—usually to their own detriment. These priests often undermine or exploit the ordning to their own benefit. Without careful investigation, it's impossible to separate these villains from the ranks of those priests of Memnor who faithfully serve the ordning, acting as advisers and advocates at every rank of giants' society.
Skoraeus
Despite being the fifth of Annam's sons, Skoraeus (called "Stonebones" by his stone giant followers) is depicted as the wisest among them, particularly knowledgeable about magic, wards, hidden treasures, and the secrets of the earth. It is said he gave Surtur the secret of smelting, showed Thrym how to carve magic runes on weapons, and crafted spears for Hiatea so she could complete her tasks of valor. A dour loner, Skoraeus often sits on the sidelines during the schemes and battles of his siblings. He appears in one myth after other as an observer, a confidant to the other gods, and a keeper of secrets.
Priests and Rites
Giants invoke Skoraeus's name when they begin any work of art or craft, particularly stonework, and they often dedicate the final product to his glory. Stone giants pray to Stonebones, the Great Creator, in a much broader range of circumstances, eager for divine insight as they carry out their daily lives. His priests undertake frequent pilgrimages into the Underdark, seeking revelation from Skoraeus in the depths of the earth.
Stronmaus
Annam's eldest child is jovial Stronmaus, whose greatest failing in myth is his inability to see the foolishness, jealousy, and outright evil that festers in the souls of his brothers. His boundless energy, sunny optimism, and zest for life pervade the legends that tell of his many mighty deeds. A few tales, though, describe a dramatic change in Stronmaus after his father's withdrawal from the Ordning, which left Stronmaus effectively in charge of the pantheon. Since then, Stronmaus has become brooding, aloof, and melancholy, deeply frustrated with his inability to unite the gods of the Ordning—and hurt by his father's abandonment.
Priests and Rites
All giants acknowledge Stronmaus's place on the throne of the gods in Annam's absence, but to most of them, he is but a steward, an inadequate substitute for the All-Father. They offer the required prayers and sacrifices (a scattering of fragrant herbs and incense on the wind each morning), but their prayers often sound more like a list of grievances than honest worship. His priests are drawn from giants who occupy high positions within the ordning of their kind, including wealthy cloud giants, strong frost giants, and accomplished stone giants. Being a priest of Stronmaus has no effect on a giant's rank in the ordning; instead, it often makes the giant a target of resentment and complaints from other giants.
Surtur
Surtur is the elder twin of Thrym, and rivalry has driven the two gods from the moment of their birth. Surtur is generally depicted as the cleverer of the two, often outwitting his brother in contests where Thrym's greater strength might otherwise let him prevail. Their history of competition ranges from striving to outdo each other in childhood accomplishments to bloody battles that ended only when their father or one of their siblings intervened. Other myths describe cunning Surtur leading his brother on dangerous adventures, typically leaving mayhem and destruction in their wake. Aside from his escapades involving Thrym, Surtur is known for his unsurpassed skill at metalwork, especially forging weapons and armor.
Priests and Rites
Giants pray to Surtur in search of creative inspiration and ask his blessing on their smithies. They invoke his name when they light forges, kilns, and ovens. Among fire giants, the worship of Surtur is often tinged with the expectation of a coming battle that will destroy worlds, slay many gods, and upend the ordning, leaving fire giants as the undisputed masters of all creation. Surtur's fire giant priests stoke the flames of this expectation when they address Surtur as "the All-Consuming Flame" or "the Cleansing Fire." Some priests stockpile weapons—ranging from ordinary swords and axes to magical devices of devastating potential—in preparation for this great battle.
Thrym
As Surtur's younger twin, Thrym is described in myths as his brother's rival and coconspirator. He is depicted as the stronger and braver of the two, and he often comes out on top in contests and conflicts where those qualities outweigh Surtur's cleverness. Thrym is often described as a bully, frustrated that Annam seemed to favor Surtur; he vents that frustration by harassing his younger brother Skoraeus. Thrym appears in myth as the greatest warrior of the Ordning. He leads bands of mortal giants in raids and skirmishes, bringing glory to giantkind and striking terror into the enemies of Annam's children.
Priests and Rites
Giants sometimes ask Thrym for his blessing before hunting or going to war, and they pour out blood from their kills to thank Thrym for their success. Thrym's priests are war leaders who offer military counsel to the leaders of giant communities.
Interloper Gods
Annam's withdrawal has caused ongoing upheaval in the religious lives of giants across the Material Plane. Most believe Annam turned from his descendants in anger or disappointment, and many hope he can be convinced to return to his divine throne if the giants restore their ancient glory. But some giants believe that Annam is dead, that he is petulant and unworthy of worship, or that he will never reclaim his throne. Some of these giants look for purpose in the service of other gods or powers. Giants who remain faithful to the gods of the Ordning call these other powers "interloper gods," believing they are trespassing on the territory of Annam's children and intruding into the affairs of giants. A giant who worships these gods violates the ordning; giants' proper place in the multiverse is above such monstrous beings as demon lords, elemental evils, and gods who are not Annam's children, so it is upside-down for a giant to serve these entities. Giants who follow interloper gods are cast out of society if they are discovered, but they believe the benefits of serving those powers outweigh the risk of exile.
Vaprak
Some myths suggest Vaprak is a child of Annam and thus properly belongs to the Ordning, but others say he formed from Annam's spilled blood. For a variety of reasons, he is never accorded equal status to the All-Father's other children. Known as the Destroyer, Vaprak is prone to mindless, destructive rampages. The god is described as a greenish creature strongly resembling a troll. Indeed, legend suggests trolls formed from Vaprak's blood in the same way he came from Annam's, and many trolls venerate him. Some ogres and giants also worship Vaprak, particularly giants who despair of ever rising in the ordning.
Demon Lords
Service to a demon lord is tempting to many giants, particularly those frost and hill giants who value size and strength above all. For these giants, demon worship paradoxically offers both freedom from the strictures of the ordning (and from the notion of a cosmic order more generally), and exactly the kind of power their ordning rewards. Of the countless rulers of the infinite Abyss, four have particular influence among giantkind.
Baphomet
As described in the Monster Manual, Baphomet the Horned King encourages his followers to embrace their fundamentally bestial nature. Giants who delight in the frenzy of battle and bloodshed are easily lured to the demon lord's service. Stone giants who feel stifled and repressed by their society sometimes break free in dramatic fashion by embracing Baphomet's creed (see the stalker of Baphomet in 6).
Demogorgon
Demogorgon has few followers among the giants of the ordning, but ettins often recognize a kindred spirit in the two-headed demon lord. The echo of Demogorgon in 6 is an ettin cultist who has received Demogorgon's hideous gifts.
Kostchtchie
Though he is not terribly important in the Abyss, the demon lord Kostchtchie is revered by many giants, particularly frost giants. Part of his appeal is his willingness (when bribed with bloody offerings) to inspire his worshipers with ferocity and bloodlust. More than any other demon lord, what he offers his followers—raw strength and fury in battle—appeals directly to the values shared by many frost giants, making him appear as an exemplar of the giants' ideals. The fury of Kostchtchie in 6 is an example of a frost giant whose devotion to the demon lord has brought great and terrible rewards. (Kostchtchie is described in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus.)
Yeenoghu
Gnolls, ghouls, and some hill giants share two strange commonalities: insatiable hunger and a tendency to serve the demon lord Yeenoghu. Sometimes a hill giant who delights in senseless slaughter turns to the Beast of Butchery for help in achieving more senseless slaughter. Occasionally, an indiscriminately hungry hill giant consumes some item of unspeakable corruption and takes on a fiendish nature, falling under Yeenoghu's sway. In either case, the result is a horrible monster with a gullet akin to the bottomless Abyss itself (see the maw of Yeenoghu in 6).
Elemental Evil
Another popular avenue for giants who turn from the gods of the Ordning derives from giants' close ties to the Elemental Planes. The nameless horror called the Elder Elemental Eye perverts natural elements, limiting them to their most destructive aspects in a way that appeals to giants who are disposed toward evil. More than most members of individual Elemental Evil cults, giants see the big picture of the four cults working toward the common goal of elemental cataclysm. Some giants even worship the Elder Elemental Eye directly rather than serving one of the subordinate cults.
As described earlier in this chapter (see "2"), membership in the cults of Elemental Evil replaces the ordning with a different hierarchy—one in which giants gravitate toward the top. Giants who worship Elemental Evil alongside smaller peoples offer welcome physical (and sometimes magical) power to these cults, making them an even more significant force in the world. Intelligent and charismatic giants might enter positions of leadership in an elemental cult, while less cunning giants might become lieutenants or personal bodyguards of cult leaders.
Examples of giants serving each of the Elemental Evil cults appear in 6.
Cult of Evil Earth
Giants who devote themselves to Ogrémoch and his earth cult—mostly hill and stone giants—seek the power to destroy the works of civilization with landslides, sinkholes, or mighty earthquakes. They believe the earth thirsts for the blood of those who don't give it proper veneration.
Cult of Evil Water
Giant cultists of Olhydra are mostly frost giants who see ice and cold as ultimate expressions of water's destructive power. They believe the seas and deep waters are eager to reclaim the water trapped in the bodies of living creatures and feel duty-bound to return others to the primal waters by drowning them, shedding their blood, or freezing them in ice.
Cult of Evil Fire
Fire giants who join Imix's cult yearn to burn away the impurities of the world in volcanic eruptions and uncontrolled fires, creating a wasteland of ash ruled by fiery Imix alone. They believe the world and all its peoples are wicked and degenerate and seek to purify the world by reducing it to smoking cinders.
Cult of Evil Air
Giants who follow Yan-C-Bin and his air cult, mostly cloud and a few storm giants, worship the devastating power of wind and storms. They aren't generally interested in destruction for its own sake, but they delight in the power to punish those who have wronged them and to express personal freedom through mayhem.
Other Evils
Some giants devote themselves to other powerful primordial creatures of the Elemental Planes, such as Maegera the Inferno, Mual-Tar the Thunder Serpent, and Draunn the Stonemaw. In practice, cults devoted to these primordials have similar aims and methods to cults of Elemental Evil.
Other Gods and Cults
Like other peoples, giants may choose to give their service and devotion to many different gods, not just the children of Annam or particular cults. On some worlds, the gods of the Ordning are unknown (perhaps forgotten) or known by different names. There, giants might have their own gods or worship the same gods other peoples do.
Giants might also turn from their traditional gods to serve devils, krakens, Great Old Ones, archfey, or other powerful ancient beings. 6 includes examples of several such giants: the fire hellion, the storm herald, and the fomorian warlock of the dark.
Gods and Adventures
The two tables in this section—the 2 and the 2—offer adventure hooks that involve the gods worshiped by giants.
Many of my adventures in Diancastra's company revolved around combating the influence of these interloper gods among the giants. From the maddening corruption of Elemental Evil to the utter degradation of demon cults, I've seen the corrosive effect of these groups not just on individual giants, but on whole societies.
It's hard to express just how deeply most giants loathe and distrust those who turn to the service of interloper gods. It's not about religion; it's a betrayal of family.
| d12 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A storm giant prophet claims a revelation from Annam and begins a campaign of unification and conquest to prepare the way for the All-Father's return. A rival asks adventurers to stop the prophet. |
| 2 | A mysterious woman leads adventurers through a perilous dungeon to find an ancient giant queen's crown. In the end, she reveals herself to be Diancastra and either blesses or curses the adventurers, depending on how they acted. |
| 3 | A stone giant recluse asks adventurers to help stop a hill giant who has gathered a band of other giants and is plundering nearby giant steadings in Grolantor's name. |
| 4 | A fire giant priest of Hiatea warns a city of a titanic monster wandering nearby. The city asks adventurers for aid, and the priest offers to help. |
| 5 | A cloud giant priest of Iallanis seeks a neutral party to negotiate a truce between warring giant families whose conflict threatens a town. |
| 6 | Adventurers investigating a series of kidnappings discover a stone giant carrying people into the Underdark as an offering to Karontor. |
| 7 | Adventurers sent as emissaries to a cloud giant enclave find the place in chaos, sown by a devotee of Memnor in a bid to seize power. |
| 8 | Adventurers find a stone giant community in distress because its priest of Skoraeus has not returned from a pilgrimage to the Underdark. The giants suspect the priest has been captured by mind flayers. |
| 9 | Adventurers are shipwrecked in a mighty storm and rescued by storm giants, who believe the storm is a message from Stronmaus and are trying to discern its meaning. |
| 10 | A metallic dragon wyrmling asks adventurers for help stopping a fire giant who is slaughtering older dragons. The giant hopes to provoke a conflict between giants and dragons that will lead to Surtur cleansing the world with fire. |
| 11 | When winter stretches too long, food grows scarce and a priest of Thrym leads a hunting band to prey on the beleaguered people, who seek adventurers' protection. |
| 12 | A frost giant seeks help protecting a strange baby giant whom she believes to be a child of Annam who will herald a new age for all giantkind. |
| d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A giant who worships Vaprak leads ogres and ettins in a rebellion against their steading. The leaders ask adventurers for help. |
| 2 | Adventurers traveling underground become lost in a labyrinthine network of passages and are hunted by stone giant cultists of Baphomet. |
| 3 | A storm giant devotee of Demogorgon begins summoning the Prince of Demons in a sea cave, but before the ritual is complete, hordes of aquatic monsters swarm the area. Local fishers seek protection. |
| 4 | After being cast out from a steading, a frost giant devotee of Kostchtchie attacks caravans. The drivers hire adventurers as guards. |
| 5 | The characters discover a large horde of gnolls attacking a hill giant steading, but the more gnolls the hill giants kill (and eat), the more the giants seem to change into demonic forms. |
| 6 | The characters experience a series of small earthquakes while visiting a mountain town. Their investigation suggests Evil Earth cultists might be active nearby, practicing for a larger catastrophe. A stone giant leads the cult. |
| 7 | Adventurers encounter a longboat crewed by frost giant cultists of Evil Water, which is plundering a busy trade route. |
| 8 | Forest gnomes seek protection from Evil Fire cultists who are burning the forest, having grown impatient waiting for Surtur to cleanse the world in flames. |
| 9 | A storm giant cultist of Evil Air unleashes an endless storm upon a thriving seaport. The locals ask for help. |
| 10 | A fire giant opens a gateway to the Nine Hells in the heart of a volcano. Locals seek protection from the lava and marauding fiends. |
It should not surprise me that the corruption of the Temple of Elemental Evil has spread far beyond my world of Greyhawk and infected even giants. It certainly does sadden me, though.
Social Structures
Though giants are not numerous on most worlds (at least compared to various Humanoid peoples), they are generally social creatures who prefer to live with others of their own kind. They also keep appropriately sized animals as pets and beasts of burden, and they often share their living space with smaller people.
As you create an encounter, adventure, or campaign involving giants, you can use these models to help you decide how many giants are present in an area and what other creatures might live alongside them. You can use the various tables in "3" (in 3) to flesh out the details of encounters with these giants.
Recluse
Though most giants are social creatures, some live alone by choice or circumstance. They establish lairs in remote places, or they tend ancient ruins or enclaves that were more recently abandoned. Some wander the world, hoping to learn as much of its ways as they can; others are hermits who seek spiritual enlightenment in solitude. Some reclusive giants enjoy their solitude, while others are desperately lonely or eager to find a settlement where they can live among their own kind.
The Recluses table offers adventure hooks you can use to launch an adventure with a reclusive giant.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adventurers stumble upon a giants' enclave where a deadly plague wiped out most of the inhabitants. One survivor remains, tending the site and trying to hold back the ravages of time. |
| 2 | A new settlement in a remote region seeks to hire adventurers to get rid of a giant lairing nearby. The giant just wants to be left alone and is tired of having to move every few decades as other creatures crowd too close to the giant's dwelling. |
| 3 | Adventurers are hired to deal with a rampaging wild beast, but they discover the beast has a collar. The beast's owner is a giant who was forced to move recently, and the beast got lost trying to find its new home. |
| 4 | A wandering giant comes to a city looking for people who are knowledgeable about the world and might possess maps of remote regions. City authorities point the giant to the adventurers. |
| 5 | An approaching giant alarms the people of a small town, who ask the adventurers to protect them. But the peaceful giant is just searching for a new community of giants to join after fleeing a community ravaged by internal conflict. The giant agrees to leave the town in peace if the adventurers will help find a new home for the giant. |
| 6 | Adventurers stumble across the humble abode of a reclusive giant who is hungry for company and doesn't want them to leave. |
Exile
When giants are separated from or shunned by their own kind, they often end up living as exiles among other peoples. Giants who are very low in the ordning might leave their own kind to lord over lesser creatures. Giants who turn to the worship of interloper gods and are cast out of giants' society might live among other worshipers of the same gods. Occasionally, giants take up residence in bustling cities full of Humanoid peoples where they might attract attention but not necessarily open hostility.
Giants who live among smaller folk tend to gravitate to positions of importance. They might take on the role of crime lords or business owners. They often surround themselves with luxury as if they were aristocrats among their smaller neighbors. They sometimes take on the role of patrons for artists or adventurers, or take it upon themselves to teach smaller folk. The Exiles table offers ideas for adventures featuring exiled giants in a variety of such roles.
Many giants who wander the world in solitude offer prayers and homage to me, and I keep an eye on them as best I can. We are not that different.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Characters get entangled in the affairs of a criminal gang operating in a major city and eventually discover the gang's leader is a giant whose headquarters is a huge warehouse at the city's outskirts. |
| 2 | Adventurers discover a secret cult conducting sinister rites in a vast mansion where a giant lives in luxury. |
| 3 | A giant takes up residence in a city and demands a huge share of tax revenue in exchange for protecting the city from outside threats. |
| 4 | An adventurer receives an exclusive invitation to study a topic of interest (perhaps giants' sagas or religion), but the invitation seems suspicious—demanding secrecy, traveling to a remote place, and so on. The teacher is a giant living near a city who is trying not to attract attention. |
| 5 | A group of adventurers—supplied with superior equipment and information by their giant patron—pursues the same goal as the characters. |
| 6 | A giant who lives in a city asks the characters to take the giant's teenage child with them on their next adventure. (See the "2" sidebar for suggestions on how to represent the teenage giant with a stat block.) |
Band
The giants most commonly encountered in the world are bands of two to four who are united by a common purpose. These are often warriors engaged in raiding, hunting, or a mission on behalf of the leader of their home community. Sometimes these bands are religious in nature—a small community dedicated to the service of a god (whether a member of the Ordning or an interloper god) and pursuing that god's interests in the world. A band could also be a group of young giants who want to experience the world before they get tied down with the responsibilities of adult life. A giant band might be accompanied by pets or by other creatures that share the giants' purpose or do the giants' bidding.
The Bands table offers hooks you can use to build an adventure around a band of giants.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A band of giants is spotted near a town, and the adventurers are asked to dissuade the giants from coming any closer. |
| 2 | A raiding band of giants draws disaffected citizens of the region to join its ranks. The region's desperate despot hires adventurers to fight the giants. |
| 3 | A giant-led cult devoted to a demon lord or Elemental Evil wreaks destruction across the countryside. |
| 4 | A band of nature-revering giants seeks adventurers' help dealing with a corruption spreading through the local flora and turning animals into Aberrations. |
| 5 | A band of hunting giants has driven its prey—enormous beasts—into pastureland. The local farmers seek help. |
| 6 | Devout giants live a monastic life at a sacred site with vast magical power—power the adventurers require to deal with a cosmic threat. |
From the perspective of smaller people, a roving giant band bent on mayhem or plunder is often the most common experience of giants. Even a small band can be extremely dangerous to a farming village or small town.
Family
Most giants live in family groups, typically four to six adult giants from multiple generations and one or two younger giants. The work of hunting, gathering, or cultivating food, as well as other household tasks, is divided among family members according to their abilities. These groups often include at least one member with exceptional abilities, such as the magic-wielding giants found in 6. Giant families almost always include companion animals as described in the Monster Manual and shown on the tables in "3" in 3.
The Families table provides adventure hooks involving a family group of giants and its associated creatures.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | After a family of giants plunders a farming village of grain and livestock, adventurers are asked to track the raiders to their lair and prevent any further raids. |
| 2 | After a devastating storm, a lost giant child wanders into a settlement, looking for help getting home. |
| 3 | A giant begs adventurers for help after a family member becomes possessed by a murderous ghost. |
| 4 | Lost or stranded in the wilderness, the adventurers stumble upon a giant family's home. |
| 5 | Adventurers follow or track a fugitive to a giant family's home, where the villain hides from both the giants and the characters. |
| 6 | Characters seeking a mighty magical artifact learn it was lost during a battle against giants, and magical divination reveals it's now an heirloom treasured by a family of giants. |
Steading
Giants live in larger groups when circumstances allow it. Such circumstances might include an abundant food supply, a charismatic or powerful leader who can unite multiple families, or a dangerous environment where the giants benefit from greater numbers. In these situations, two or three family groups might dwell together in some kind of stronghold, often accompanied by companion animals and Humanoid allies.
The total population of a steading typically includes eight to twelve adult giants, including a leader, and three to five younger giants. Sometimes a few ettins or ogres and as many as two dozen Humanoids might live alongside the giants. Animal companions, elementals, and even a dragon might also dwell in a giant steading.
Any of the locations described in 4 might serve as a giant steading, and you can use the tables in 3 to help you populate the site. The Steadings table suggests adventure hooks you might use to bring characters to such a place.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A young giant looks for adventurers' help turning the rest of the steading, including the young giant's family, away from the worship of a demon lord. |
| 2 | The only possible source to learn about an ancient evil threatening the world is a steading of giants who preserved a detailed history of the evil's previous appearance thousands of years ago. |
| 3 | Giants raided a village and took several prisoners to their steading, and adventurers must free them. |
| 4 | An evil conqueror tries to recruit giants from a steading, which would be disastrous for the peaceful peoples standing against the conqueror. Adventurers are asked to make sure no alliance is made. |
| 5 | A dozen people arrive in a small town after escaping from captivity in a giant steading. Their fierce habits disrupt the peace in the town while they look for heroes who can help free the remaining captives. |
| 6 | A metallic dragon asks adventurers to help reclaim the dragon's lair, which has been occupied by giants. |
In my experience, nearly every steading or larger settlement of giants has a leader who imagines their tiny cluster of giants is an echo of a glorious fallen empire. Even the giants struggle to imagine the grandeur of what they once had and have now lost.
Settlement
Larger settlements of giants are rare. Where they do exist, they are typically clusters of family groups and steadings in close proximity, united under the leadership of an exceptional ruler. A mountain might have several steadings and households at various points along its slopes, for example. Or a vast Underdark chasm might have many caves in its walls, each of which holds a giant steading linked to the others by a tangled network of bridges.
Steadings that make up a larger settlement are often arranged geographically according to the ordning ranking of the giants who live there. A giant sovereign's steading might be at the peak of a mountain or in the depths of a chasm. High-status giants populate nearby steadings, while the lowest-ranking giants inhabit those farthest away.
A larger settlement includes many Humanoid inhabitants, as well as companion animals and other creatures of the Giant type, such as ettins, ogres, or cyclopes. Often these are divided among the component steadings, but sometimes they live in a different part of the settlement—on the lower slopes of a mountain, for example.
The Settlements table offers adventure hooks that might bring adventurers to one of these places.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adventurers track marauding giants to a settlement where a cult of an interloper god dominates about half the steadings. The giants who remain faithful to the gods of the Ordning are barricaded in their steadings. |
| 2 | Adventurers are sent on a diplomatic mission to a giant sovereign to ask permission to open new mines in the giants' territory. |
| 3 | Adventurers need to infiltrate a giants' settlement to discover who is leading its ruler on the path to war. |
| 4 | The death of a giant monarch is an opportunity for adventurers to help a giant who has a peaceable attitude toward smaller folk to claim the throne. |
| 5 | Characters investigating a magical catastrophe discover that it engulfed a giants' settlement, and the giants need help dealing with its effects. |
| 6 | Adventurers are asked to deliver a ransom to a giants' settlement to secure the freedom of a very important captive, but the giants decide the adventurers would be even more valuable captives! |
Organizations
Many giants are oriented to small family groups or particular interests of their kind. However, some organizations unite giants across the divides of the ordning and of devotion to particular deities or powers in pursuit of a common purpose. This section presents examples of such organizations whose interests extend across small regions, whole worlds, or multiple worlds.
Hidden Rune
To the giants of the Hidden Rune, the children of Annam are in a temporary state of decline, a pause between two great moments in their history. The mission of this scholarly order is to collect the accumulated learning of the past and preserve it so a future giant civilization can build upon it.
Giants of the Hidden Rune are active across many worlds of the Material Plane. On worlds that had giant empires in the ancient past (such as Ostoria in the Forgotten Realms and the giant empire of Xen'drik in Eberron), members of the Hidden Rune venture into the ruins of these lost civilizations to collect any writings, technology, and artifacts they find. On worlds with no historical record of such past glories, members of the organization nevertheless search for any remnants of an empire that might have been forgotten. If traveling giants from other worlds discover a rare world where giants' civilization is flourishing, they strive to document every aspect of that civilization.
A key assumption underpinning their work is that these ancient giant empires sprang from a common source—perhaps Annam and his sons, or a single civilization that colonized other worlds. By gathering as much information as possible about the ancient empires, the scholars hope to piece together a picture of the proto-empire behind them all.
The Hidden Rune maintains a vast archive in a secret location on the Elemental Plane of Earth. Miners work constantly to excavate new halls to store the troves of knowledge gathered by the order's agents across the Material Plane. Scholars pore over each new item in the collection, assessing its place not only in the history of the world it came from but also in the overall history of giants.
Unlike various religious groups among giants, such as the destructive priests of Surtur and the hopeful followers of Iallanis, the giants of the Hidden Rune do not believe they have any active role to play in building the future of giantkind. They are concerned only with preserving the past so that giants of the future—however that grand future might come into being—can access the riches of this knowledge.
Hidden Rune Adventures
The Hidden Rune Adventures table suggests ways characters on any world might encounter agents of this order.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | While exploring an ancient giant ruin, adventurers encounter an agent of the Hidden Rune who tries to drive them from the ruin. |
| 2 | After adventurers discover an artifact made by ancient giants, an agent of the Hidden Rune approaches them and demands the item for the order's archive. |
| 3 | A collector hires adventurers to retrieve stolen items, but the thief has already sold the items to a giant. The chase could lead all the way to the Elemental Plane of Earth. |
| 4 | An agent of the Hidden Rune is unable to open the sealed entrance to an ancient ruin. The giant lures adventurers there, hoping they'll figure it out. |
| 5 | A comet appears in the sky, last seen when giants ruled the world. Adventurers discover there is information about the comet in the Hidden Rune's archive, if the giants can be persuaded to share it. |
| 6 | An agent of the Hidden Rune steals an important artifact and flees to another world, but the adventurers have a chance to follow. |
There's a myth behind the name of the Hidden Rune. According to this story, Annam gave the great giant empires of the past access to a rune of such enormous power that it guaranteed their dominance over the world. But when the empires fell, one of the giant gods (Diancastra, in some versions of the myth!) took the rune and hid it. The giants of the Hidden Rune hope to find it and use its power to restore their ancient might.
If these stories are true, I'd be the last to tell you!
Stewards of the Eternal Throne
Myths and histories include many explanations for the decline of giants' ancient empires and Annam's abandonment of his descendants. The Stewards of the Eternal Throne posit the ancient giants failed in their responsibility to care for the lesser peoples of the worlds. Instead of tending the worlds Annam made and guiding their inhabitants toward greater wisdom and prosperity, the giants tried to rule the worlds, exploit their resources, and subjugate their peoples. For this sin, the stewards believe Annam cast down the giants' empires and turned his back on his children. Only by undoing that folly can giants return to their intended place in Annam's creation and regain his favor.
The Stewards of the Eternal Throne are organized as a knightly order with many chapters. Each chapter encompasses all the stewards who live across a wide geographical region, perhaps a continent or an entire world of the Material Plane, and is led by a chief steward. Each chapter is independent from all others, and the chief stewards of different chapters rarely meet and coordinate their efforts, except in cases where evils arise that threaten an entire world or multiple worlds.
Members of the Stewards of the Eternal Throne swear an oath of service to the order's mission. The specifics of the oath vary from chapter to chapter, but the fundamental tenets are the same in every chapter:
Knights of the Stewards of the Eternal Throne are mostly giants (predominantly cloud and storm giants), but some orders have been known to accept goliaths, firbolgs, and members of other peoples into their ranks. (Goliaths and firbolgs appear as character races in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, and examples of these peoples appear in 6 of this book.)
The principle of peace leads the knights to cooperate with other peoples, especially with beings they regard as near equals in age and importance, including dwarves, elves, and dragons. If a fundamental sin of the ancient giants was warring with these folk in the early years of the world, then cooperation with them is essential to undoing that sin and charting a new course for giantkind and other peoples. As part of this commitment, the stewards honor not just the gods of the giants, but also the gods revered by these other folk.
Each chapter of the Stewards of the Eternal Throne has a stronghold that is intended as a living embodiment of its central principles. These strongholds are mighty fortresses meant to withstand whatever evils might besiege them. They are bastions of peace and equality where diverse peoples can live together under the leadership, protection, and tutelage of giants—as Annam intended.
Eternal Throne Adventures
The Eternal Throne Adventures table offers hooks you can use to involve characters in the business of these giant knights.
Many people know of giants only as raiding bands. Such folks often greet well-meaning knights of the Stewards of the Eternal Throne with fear, to their detriment.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Characters arriving in a remote village are greeted by a stern giant who urges them to move along quickly, as the town is under the giant's protection. |
| 2 | A wandering knight of the stewards asks adventurers for help closing a planar portal that is allowing demons to spill across the countryside. |
| 3 | A Fiend or Undead hunted by a knight of the stewards poses as human and tells adventurers the giant is a dangerous marauder. |
| 4 | A giant knight is convinced the adventurers pose a threat and must be eliminated. |
| 5 | Following rumors of a "dangerous giants' hideout" in the mountains, the adventurers discover a bastion of the stewards. |
| 6 | After defeating a terrible evil, the adventurers receive an invitation to a stronghold of the stewards, where they are welcomed warmly and offered a peaceful life in the bastion if they agree to help protect it. |
Worldroot Circle
A saga chanted among the giants of the Worldroot Circle describes a great tree that grew on the First World at the dawn of time. Planted and tended by the god Corellon, this tree was a seedling of the mighty Yggdrasil, the World Tree that connects all the Outer Planes. When the First World was destroyed, seeds from this great tree scattered into the void of the Material Plane. Myths say Annam nurtured each of these seeds until they sprouted and formed worlds of their own—all the myriad worlds that now constitute the Material Plane.
Giants of the Worldroot Circle tell this story as a way to remember their purpose. They imagine themselves to be Annam's gardeners, tasked with tending the roots of all the worlds he made. On some worlds, they literally tend a great world tree they believe to be a seedling of the tree on the First World. On other worlds, they believe some other geographical feature is the "root of the world," such as a towering mountain or mesa, a yawning cavern deep under the mountains, or a meteorite in an enormous crater. Whatever forms these roots take, the giants believe they are nexus points linking the worlds to each other and to the Outer Planes.
When giants of the Worldroot Circle gather at the roots of their worlds, they perform rites meant to preserve the roots, nurture the health of the world, and enable a mystical communion among members of the order—both the ones present and those on other worlds. Much like Humanoid druids, these giants strive to maintain the forces of nature in their delicate balance and oppose any forces—even the forces of gods such as Surtur and Thrym—that threaten to elevate one element over the others or to distort the elements beyond their natural proportions.
Worldroot Circle Adventures
Though the giants of the Worldroot Circle tend to live in remote wildernesses, they protect their worlds and are often concerned with global or even planar threats. They fiercely oppose the cults of Elemental Evil and remain constantly vigilant against unnatural corruption, including Undead and Aberrations. They guard against forces that threaten to undo the work of creation or corrupt the roots of the worlds, including destructive demons. The Worldroot Circle Adventures table provides examples of how these druidic giants might become involved in adventures in your campaign.
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Giants of the Worldroot Circle need smaller adventurers to brave the caves beneath their world tree to stop whatever is gnawing or corrupting its roots. |
| 2 | A druid who saw the root of the world in a vision hires adventurers for protection on a pilgrimage to the site, which is guarded by the Worldroot Circle. |
| 3 | Long ago, the Worldroot Circle helped seal portals where invaders from another plane broke through. Now one of those portals has reopened, and the characters must find giants to reseal it. |
| 4 | Multiple oracles see visions of a great evil entering the world through a portal at its root, so adventurers are sent to find the place and ensure the portal doesn't open. They arrive to find giants of the Worldroot Circle locked in a losing battle to hold back the evil. |
| 5 | The characters find a magic staff made from a branch of a world tree, but the staff gives its owner haunting dreams that echo the Worldroot Circle's rites. |
| 6 | A giant of the Worldroot Circle comes to a city and insists a portal to the Far Realm has opened somewhere inside. Adventurers are tasked with helping the giant find and seal the portal. |