We ALL KNOW OF DWARVES WHOFELL SO DEEP IN LOVE
WITH THEIR CRAFT, OR THE SEEKING OF TREASURE OR
ALE, THAT THEY FORGOT HOW TO LIVE IN ANY OTHER WAY
BUT IN PURSUIT OF IT. THAT'S WHAT STONE GIANTS DO.
-ElminsterOf course, not all stone giants have the hands of a god.
Those who show little skill in carving are considered
pathetic and viewed with a combination of pity and con-
tempt. To determine the ordning beneath the highest
levels of artistry, stone giants compete in games of boul-
der hurling and catching. Their rock-throwing skills suit
stone giants well when they have cause to defend their
homes or attack enemies. But even where boulder toss-
ing is concerned, artistry is fundamental to the effort. A
stone giant hurling a boulder isn't only performing a feat
of strength but is also striving to display consummate
athleticism and grace.
Those who can't infuse artistry into every aspect of
their lives fall to the lowest rungs of the ordning and are
often pushed literally to the perimeter of stone giant so-
ciety, to serve as guards on the tribe's most distant bor-
ders or as hunters that wander beyond those borders.
As such, the stone giants that are first encountered by
outsiders are almost always the least successful mem-
bers of stone giant society and the poorest examples of
the ideals stone giants aspire to. They are the brutes and
boors cast out by a society of artists and philosophers.SKORAEUS STONEBONES, THE G REAT CREATOR
Stone giants worship Skoraeus Stonebones as the Great
Creator, second in skill to Annam, but master of the other
deities in his father's absence. He appears in stone giant
art in two ways: as a pair of hands, one holding a chisel
and the other a hammer, and as the largest statue or relief
carving of a stone giant in a tribe's caves. Typically, Sko-
raeus is de picted twice as tall as any other stone giant.
In the legends of the giants, Skoraeus often sits on the
sidelines during the schemes and battles of his siblings.
He acts as an observer, a confidant to the other god s, and
a keeper of secrets that he must be forced or t ricked into
divulging.
In a classic tale, Memnor came to Skoraeus and whis-
pered somet hing in his ear. When Surtur demanded to
know what Memnor had said, Skoraeus told his brother ex-
actly what he had heard. Surtur brooded on that message,
which was misleading when taken out of context, and
eve ntually reacted ras hly, but the consequences of his acts
were seen as no fault of Skoraeus. lfSurtur had instead
asked Skoraeus for advice about Memnor's words, the leg-
end would have ended differently.
Skoraeus is considered the most knowledgeable of the
giant gods about magic, wards, banes, hidden treasures,
and the secrets of the earth. Skoraeus gave the secret of
smelting to Surtur. Skoraeus showed Thrym how to carve
runes on his old weapons to imbue them with magic when
Surtur refused to forge new ones for him. Skoraeus crafted
spears for Hiatea so she could complete her ten tasks
of valor. Skoraeus tapped with his hammer on the stone
under the sea, so that Stronmaus could find the chain-tun-
nels that allowed him to pull the tarrasque down to the
bed of the ocean where at last it would drown.For a people that spend their lives mostly in darkness,
stone giants have a nuanced appreciation of the effects
of shadow and light. They design carvings to produce
shadows in specific ways when a light source is placed
in the proper location. Without both the light and the
shadow, the carving is incomplete and can't be viewed
in its true form. For example, a tale carving made with
these special techniques tells one story when it's viewed
in flat, dim light, but it reveals a second, much deeper
tale with the addition of proper illumination.SPEAKING STONES
Although they are unsurpassed masters of tale carving,
stone giants also employ mundane writing in their stone
tableaux. Names, dates, and descriptions appear in their
tales, often as part of an image (a character's arms or ar-
mor might incorporate runic letterforms, for example).
Stone giants also make extensive use of the carved
word through "speaking stones." A speaking stone is an
upright stone cylinder into which writing is carved in a
descending spiral. When the cylinder is turned in one's
hands (a feat impossible for any creature of human size
and strength) or when it's rotated with its base placed
in a cradle designed to balance it upright, the writing
can be read as the cylinder goes around. The message
wraps around the pillar like the threads of a screw, but
in two alternating spirals. The first is read from top to
bottom as the cylinder rotates; then the cylinder must be
flipped over to reveal the second line of script, also read
from top to bottom.
Speaking stones are sized to match the length of
the message they carry, so there is no blank space on
a stone. A cylinder that turns out to be too long or too
thick, so that the message ends before the entire surface
of the stone is used, is considered poor artistry. Tradi-
tion and honor demand that it be crushed into gravel
and a new speaking stone begun.GENTLE GIANTS?
Newcomers who know only about the stone giants' focus
on artistry might think them to be a peaceful and rea-
sonable people. Among their own kind, they tend to be
so. But outsiders, particularly non-giants of any sort, are
unwelcome in the stone giants' caverns, and trespassers
aren't treated politely.
A creature's first sign that it has intruded into stone gi-
ant territory might be a boulder, thrown seemingly from
nowhere and exploding into shards against a nearby
rock. Those who know anything about stone giants
understand that this wasn't a miss; it was a measured
warning, and the next stone won't land so harmlessly.
It's possible for travelers to negotiate with stone giants
for safe passage through their territory, if someone in
the group speaks Giant and the giants are offered a trib-
ute. Beautiful and large furs, exotic food, or art objects
are suitable tributes; money is a weak inducement for
all but the lowest of stone giants. If offered such entice-
ments, one or two giants might come forward to negoti-
ate while others remain at rock-throwing range.
To unfamiliar eyes, stone giants encountered on the
fringes of their territory look and behave like primitives.
First, personal adornment has little value in the ordningCHAPTER l l MONSTERLORE