Jump to content

ABaB Design Thread


Sean_RDP

Recommended Posts

A first pass at Frost Giants.  As you can see they are tied to their element (air) but not necessarily tied to the cold.  It also establishes two areas of geography that will be significant. This helps us map out key areas of adventure and interest. Also note that typically cold creatures are associated with "The North". We may be trying to break that with this world. In addition, what is an air or storm wyrm?  Something to ponder. 

Frost Giants

These tall and lanky giants have fine white or blue hair and pale skin with a hint of blue or violet in patches around their necks and pelvic regions. They are creatures of air and storm, embracing the cold weather of their homes or the stormy seas of the southern lakes.

STR

CON

SIZ

INT

POW

DEX

APP

2D6+6

3D6

1D6+15

2D6+6

3D6

3D6

3D6

Frost giants tend to live in nomadic bands made up of a dominant mother-priest, her consorts, and the extended families. When the mother-priest dies the two most powerful women of the tribe journey to the home of their matron air wyrm and gain her blessing, before doing battle. The loser leaves with her closest consort to try and form another band of their own. Often they migrate to other lands or live as loners, moving from place to place. The winning giant returns to her band and continues the cycle.

The frost giants of the southern lakes follow the storm wyrms and often live on large ships or in seaside moots. Less nomadic than their cousins, they still follow the same tradition of the mother-priest. Among these storm followers however, the succession battle is always to the death.

Edited by Sean_RDP
  • Like 1

Its 2300hrs, do you know where your super dreadnoughts are?

http://reigndragonpressblog.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, lawrence.whitaker said:

Are these giants in the traditional sense: ie, substantially bigger and stronger than humans? If so, the STR and SIZ stats need adjusting. If they're just meant to be taller (but not significantly so) than humans, then these ranges probably work. Some more context would help. 

They are just meant to be taller than humans, a different evolutionary path from back in the day. Originally I had considered giants that were maybe 8' to 10' tall as opposed 6' to 7', but I wanted to keep the various species closer in size. I think the ancestors of the giant would have been 10' tall or even bigger but over the years the smaller giants survived while the larger giants died off. 

Its 2300hrs, do you know where your super dreadnoughts are?

http://reigndragonpressblog.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The discussion reminds me of the debate over the height of Goliath of Gath in the book of Samuel in the Old Testament.  Traditionally he’s said to have been 9 feet 9 inches tall, unable to stand erect in my living room with an 8 foot ceiling.  Some scholars say he was 6 feet 9 inches tall, equivalent to a modern basketball center and in the ancient world of 5 foot people still a pretty big guy.

If your frost giants are the descendants of ancient starfarers that might explain both their stature (low gravity aboard ship) and their odd skin tones (different minerals in their hemoglobin).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, seneschal said:

 

If your frost giants are the descendants of ancient starfarers that might explain both their stature (low gravity aboard ship) and their odd skin tones (different minerals in their hemoglobin).

That's an angle I really like for sword&sorcery settings: Ancient starfarers, if done non-cheesy and sparingly, can provide a lot of sense of wonder. Just don't put them in starships that look like future earth technology, because than you get that kind of genre-mix that feels a little too meta-textual for my taste. Maybe they flew around in giant, hollowed-out trees powered by rune magic, or in some kinds of cocoons. Maybe instead of AIs, they had bound demons for interstellar navigation (and what are these demons up to now ...?). Certainly, there will be crashed and buried ships to be found, or maybe even deserted ships in orbit that could be reached by some kind of magic (MW's "Breath of Life" spell could substitute for a space suit).

Sorry for going off on a tangent, I just entered brainstorming mode ... anyway, I like these frost giants, they sound sufficiently alien, not just like "really big, strong northland barbarians with blue skin."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, seneschal said:

If your frost giants are the descendants of ancient starfarers that might explain both their stature (low gravity aboard ship) and their odd skin tones (different minerals in their hemoglobin).

That is an interesting take on the lore. We have not delved back that far, but certainly it may be possible. 

Its 2300hrs, do you know where your super dreadnoughts are?

http://reigndragonpressblog.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...