Giants
True Giants are hulking creatures that stand 16 to 20 feet tall
sometimes bigger. Orges, Wolfen, Coyles and even trolls are not
considered to be "true giants" True Giants are a dying breed, because
their immense size places huge demands on them and their environment. For
example, giants cannot easily hide from enemies, even though they
are physically powerful, they have fallen victim to the assaults of a
dozen different races who fear and attack them. In addition, they
require 3 to 6 times more food than a human and a much larger supply of
resources to sustain their existence. However, it is the genetic make-up
of the true giants that has hurt them most. True giants have a long
life span, often equal to that of the elf, but like most long lived
creatures, they dont reach child bearing age till late in life
(typically 30 to 50 years) and can only bear a single offspring once
every 3 or 4 years. The typical term of pregnancy for a giant is 2 or 3
years. By comparison, human females can bear offspring at a young age of
every 10 or 11 months, while Wolfen female give birth to young after
only 8 months of pregnancy. Giants just can't successfully compete with
the smaller, more productive and resourceful races.
Giants are usually feared by most humaniods. Their size, fearsome
appearance, and history of atrocities and crimes make them the target of
many (sometimes unjust) accusations of brutal punishment. Many a crusade
has been launched to force giants from territories being settled by
"civilized" people. (usually by destroying them) Giants are also
sometimes hunted for sport. Until 1000 years ago, knights and nobles of
the Western Empire regualarly hunted and slew giants to bolster their
reputations as warriors and defenders of the land, as well as for fun.
Such inhumane acts were justified by declaring giants to be dangerous
monsters and enemies of the Empire.
Giants have also fallen to invaders particularly elves and humans. Even
a few thousand giants are no match agaisnt an army of 20,000 to 60,000
elven or human conquerors convinced they are liberating the land from
monsters or intent on expanding their landholdings. Consequently most
giants have retreated to remote and inhospitalable wilderness regions.
Algor
The legendary frost giants are a fading race found almost exclusively in
the great northern wilderness. Their greatest numbers are found in the
sacred mountains that bear their name. The Algor are extremely hostile
towards elves and dwarves because it was their involvement in the
Elf_Dwarf War that led to obliteration of three quarters of the Algor race: they sided with the Elves, feeling used and manipulated by elven-kind they hate them above all others. Dwarves are the next most hated because they were responsible for the wholesale
slaughter of the Algor people.
Over the last 7 thousand years, Algor around the world have worked to
undermind and destroy elves, dwarves, and humans. Unfortuately, their
animosity is extended to include humans because of man's strong alliance
to both elf and dwarf. Thus, it is no suprise that the algor actively
support the Wolfen Empire and agitate for war. In an ealier day, frost
giants were worshipped by all canine races as gods. Today the giants are
still highly regarded and occasionally hold office in Wolfen cities.
Algor tend to be a simple, wilderness people who prefer to live a quiet
and secluded life away from other humanoids, with the exception of
Wolfen, Kankoran, and Bearmen. They tend to be excessively hostile and
intolerant of humans, elves and dwarves. Most wear armor only when
entering battle.
Jotan
The largest and most powerful giants are the Jotan, masterful metal
workers and swordsmen. They are frequently employed to create weapons and
armor for the other giant races, particularly for Cyclops and Nimro. The
craftsmanship of the Jotan's work is second only to that of the dwarves
and easily the equal of the kobold. The Jotan are extremely aggressive
and war-like. They are bitter towards affronts against their people (usually well deserved) at the hands of humnas, elves, and dwarves,
so they are the focus of most of the their ire. However, these irritable
giants savagely lash out at any non-giant race they may happen upon. One or more frequently lead or serve in groups of bandits and evildoers and have been known to command
armies of orcs and goblins. Jotan, Gigantes and trolls are largely
responsible for the bad reputation assigned to giants as a whole.
Jotan are not the smartest of the gaints, and actually prefer a life of
labor, usually as men of arms, bandits, miners, excavators of mountains,
and manufacturers of weapons, and armor. Like dwarves, the Jotan seem to
have an aptitude for the mechanical and working with metals. They tend
to keep to themselves, largely because their numbers are so small, but
are quite aggressive toward smaller or weaker beings.
Nimro
The Nimor are legendary fire giants of the south. The volcanic Mount
Nimro and Mount Nimro are both named after the fire giants and also
serve as the base of their fledging kingdom of giants. Like so many
others, they resent elves, dwarves, and humans. The Nimro sometimes rule
over villages of humans or other races and have been known to gather
and command small armies of orcs, goblins and occasionally ogres and
other giants. They are especially friendly with the Jotan.
Nimro are clever schemers, good strategists, suprisingly well organized and
socially active with other giants, including trolls and ogres. The
Baalgor Nimro dream of establishing a kingdom of giants where they and
their king can live in relative peace and away from the tiny humanoids
who fear them. They are actually much more united and further along
toward this goal than humans suspect.
Gigant
Perhaps the most feared and bizarre of all the giants is the Gigantes.
They are undoubtedly mutants plagued by an unstable and ever changing
genetic structure that is responsible for a host of monstrous
deformities, features and powers. The gigantes are ignorant, aggressive
misanthropes with a lust for bloodletting. Although humans and elves are
their primary victims, the other non-human races and occasionally the
other giants, also fall prey to their aggression and insanities.
Gigantes are wild, daring and merciless fighters. They are extremely
hostile, aggressive, crule and given to berserker rage and wholesale
slaughter. They are especially murderous towards non-giant races and eat
the flesh of their enemies. Titans and Rahu-Men are their arch-enemies
and villanous Gigantes will attack them on sight. Gigantes often work
with other giants, trolls, ogres, powerful sorcerers, dragons, creatures
of magic and supernatural beings.
These giants possess a host of powers and ablities which vary greatly
from individual to individual. Insanity also plaques these monsters.
They are found throughout the world but are most numerous in the Yin-sloth
jungles, Baalgor Wastelands and the Northern Mountains. Thankfully,
their simple-mindedness, senseless savagery, and low numbers keep them
from becoming a serious threat to humans. Still, they are attracted to
diabolical creatures and frequently ally themselves to Priests of
Darkness, evil wizards, dragnons, Nimro fire giants, and other powerful
beings. Gigantes are favorites in the Western and Wolfen Empires.
Titan
The most famous and glamorous of the giants is the noble warrior known
as the titan. These renowned champions of justice, wander the world like
knights-errant, seeking adventure, combating evil and righting wrongs.
They often travel alone or in pairs and regularly join mixed groups of
adventurers for brief periods. When a titan finds a group he really
connects with, he may stay with them for years. Some such groups have
become legendary. Titans have become such symbols of strength, honor,
and courage that both humanoids and giants alike consider them to be
demigods.
The Titans are one of the archaic races that survived the battle with
the dreaded OLD ONES. Until the Elf-Dwarf war, titans were the elves
greatest ally. The two had faced the OLD ONES together and fought at
each other's sides for the tens of thousands of years that followed.
Sadly, during the Age of Elves, the noble
giants saw their old friends change. They reconized and spoke against
the injustice and degradation committed by the elves of the New Kingdom,
but elves would not listen and continued their crimes against dwarves
and other races. Unable to bring themselves to act against their beloved
allies, the titans abandoned the Elven Empire and stayed out of the
Great War. Even so, the fallout of the war would cause the demise of 20%
of the titan people as they tried to rescue gnomes, Algor and others
from the holocaust that the two insane combatant races rained down upon
each other. Since that day few titans have called the elf friend.
Titans are intelligent, compassionate people with their own agenda in the
war against evil. Their exact numbers are unknown even to them, but most
believe there are fewer than 10,000 in the world. Their never ending
quest to combat evil and injustice has compelled them to travel far,
even to other worlds (including rifts EARTH)
