the surface world the way humanoids might behave
in their own dreams, making little account for their
actions and never fully trusting what they see or hear. A
promise made above ground need not be kept. Insults
can be made without apology. Killing prey or sentient
beings is no cause for guilt in the dreaming world
beneath the sky.
Stone giants lacking in athletic grace or artistic skill
dwell at the fringes of their society, serving as the tribe's
outlying guardians and far-wandering hunters. When
trespassers stray too far into the mountain territory of a
stone giant clan, those guardians greet them with hurled
rocks and showers of splintered stone. Survivors of such
encounters spread tales of stone giant violence, never
realizing how little those brutes dwelling in the unreal
dreaming world resemble their quiet and artistic kin.
STORM GIANT
Storm giants are contemplative seers that live in places
far removed from mortal civilization. Most have pale
pmple-gray skin and hair, and glittering emerald eyes.
Some rare storm giants are violet-skinned, with deep
violet or blue-black hair and silvery gray or purple
GIANT Goos
When the giants' ancient empires fell, Annam, father of all
giants, forsook his children and the world. He swore never to
look upon either again until the giants had returned to their
glory and reclaimed their birthright as rulers of the world. As
a result, giants pray not to Ann am but to his divine children,
along with a host of hero-deities and godly viUains that make
up the giants' pantheon.
Chief among these gods are the children of Annam, whose
sons represent each type of giant: Stronmaus for storm
giants, Memnor for cloud giants, Skoraeus Stonebones for
stone giants, Thrym for frost giants, Surtur for fire giants,
and Grolantor for hill giants. Not all giants automatically
revere their kind's primary deity, however. Many good cloud
giants refuse to worship the deceitful Memnor, and a storm
giant dwelling in the icy mountains of the north might pay
more homage to Thrym than Stronmaus. Other giants feel
a stronger connection to Annam's daughters, who include
Hiatea, the huntress and home warden; lallanis, goddess
of love and peace; and Diancastra, an impetuous and
arrogant trickster.
Some giants abandon their own gods and fall prey to
demon cults, paying homage to Baphomet or Kostchtchie.
To worship them or any other non-giant deity is a great
sin against the ordning, and almost certain to make a
giant an outcast.eyes. They are benevolent and wise unless angered, in
response to which the fury of a storm giant can affect
the fate of thousands.
Distant Prophet-Kings. Storm giants live in isolated
refuges so far above the surface of the world or below
the sea that they are beyond the reach of most other
creatures. Some make their abodes in cloud-top
castles so high that flying dragons appear as specks
below. Others live atop mountain peaks that pierce the
clouds. Some occupy palaces covered with algae and
coral at the bottom of the ocean, or grim fortresses in
undersea rifts. l
Detached Oracles. Storm giants recall the glory of
ancient giant empires forged by the god Annam. They
seek to restore what was lost when those empires.fell.
They don't compete for status in the ordning but live
out the centurie s of their existence in contemplative
seclusion, watching the starry heavens and the ocean's
depths for signs, symbols, and omens of Annam's favor.
Storm giants see the events of the world in a wide
perspective. They can foretell the rise and fall of kings
and empires, see the beginnings and ends of fortune
and disaster, and find the patterns within seemingly
unrelated events. By reading omens and prophesying,
storm giants learn of vast secrets previously unknown
and troves of lore utterly forgotten.
Kings will rise and fall, wars will be won and lost,
and good and evil will wrestle in conflict. Storm giants
have watched these events in the manner of mortal
gods over many lifetimes, and they know it is pointless
to intervene. Even so, a storm giant might willingly
disclose certain secrets to benevolent beings that visit
its remote domain with specific purpose. Such creatures
must speak and act respectfully, however, for a storm
giant roused to anger is a force of utter destruction.
Solitary Lives. Storm giants communicate
infrequently with others of their kind. They do so
usually to compare signs and omens or engage in a rare
courtship. Storm giant parents stay together to raise a
child to maturity, then return to the solitary isolation
they cherish.
Some humanoid cultures worship storm giants as
they would worship lesser gods, creating myths and
stories around the giants' exploits and vast knowledge.
A storm giant is governed by the dictates of its
conscience, however, and not by any culture's laws or
codes of honor. As such, a storm giant that bends its
mind toward greed or gains a taste for petty power can
easily become a terrible threat.II 53