Giants

To all intents and purposes, most giants appear humanlike or close to huge humans. A few like Cyclops and Nephilim show minor changes in morphology, such as the former's single eye in place of two. The latter can show elements such as stubby wings, strange skin patterns, a slight glow and further strangeness to their bodies.

Slight differences are unique to specific variants of giants that are regularly encountered. The common traits seen are the following:

• Hill Giants. These giants usually appear as the smallest of all true giants. They are known for their girth due to their constant hunger. They regularly dirty and skin tones similar to humans. They have varying amounts of hair.
• Stone Giants. These giants are slightly taller in general than Hill Giants with stone coloured skin usually in the blue grey tone, and little to no hair. They have a tendency of being thinner than most giants.
• Fire Giants. These giants are taller still and regularly have red hair or dark sooty hair. They are well built and have reddish to sooty skin. Their bodies regularly give of heat.
• Frost Giants. Taller still, these giants are pale in comparison to their kin with icy blue skin, and white hair. Their eyes are usually pale blue to white coloured. They are heavily built and their bodies give off coldness.
• Cloud Giants. The second tallest of the true giants, they are known to be lithe compared to most giants & giant-kin. Their bronzed skin stands out amongst the true giants, and not as hairy as most kinds.
• Storm Giants. The tallest of all giants, and heavily built. They appear almost like huge versions of the Frost Giants with their pale skin and hair. They sometimes give off electrical discharge and thunderous noises when they are close by.

Other giants can vary in size with the Nephilim & Cyclopes being about 10+ feet tall or larger.

A rarer giant species is called the Fomorians, who are linked to the land called Hibernia. Ugly misshapen creatures they are also linked to the Dark Fey and the seas around Hibernia after being driven there by the Tuatha De Danann. They are so warped that the only distinct feature nearly all have is one eye larger than the other. Most are easily 10 feet tall or far larger depending on the individual.

Yet another closely related is the Ettin. Commonly found in Britain especially in Wales, central Britain, and southern Britain, they are large regularly about 10 feet tall or slightly bigger. They appear as dirty creatures with misshapen teeth, large guts, and with two heads constantly fighting each other for control.

Finally, the Oni are the rarest type in many ways. Another giant linked to the Feywild, and the Dark Fey, as well as thought of as a being linked to Hell, and also they are rumoured to be as much natives to another island nation called Nippon, or Japan to many outsiders. They are known for their dark blue skin & long hair, with two horns jutting out of their foreheads. Many have elongated canines and generally follow the usual size of 10 feet or more, though a number seem to be slightly smaller at least in the Material Plane.

Like many other species, giants are generally sexually dimorphic with the males slightly taller than the females. They reproduce like the average mammalian species.

The giants are known to grow slowly and the average size of their babies are about the size of Gnomes & Dwarves. Toddlers & prepubescent children tend to be the height of Humans, Elves, and Orcs. Their 'teenage' years causes them to grow to the size of large humanoids of 7 to 8 feet tall at least. Reaching adult age they have grown to at least 10 feet tall or higher depending on the species.

Different species of giant is generally found in different environments. The common regions are:

• Hill Giants are generally found in hills or lower levels of mountain ranges. They prefer areas that are teaming with animal life, or such life nearby, such as plains, forests, and farmsteads. This allows them to hunt and eat anything they can catch. Then when nothing is left, they move on to where the cycle starts over.
• Stone Giants prefer to live in rocky areas beneath the earth. Everything above ground is seen as being all a dream to them. They build stone settlements there and are known for their stonework. Even other Underdark creatures such as Dwarves and Deep Gnomes are viewed as being something out of a dream.
• Fire Giants generally live in regions of volcanic areas, setting up their forges to use magma and the like to fuel these. They dislike the cold so generally avoid these.
• Frost Giants live in cold freezing regions such as mountain tops covered in snow & ice, and Arctic regions. They aggressively raid other settlements, both other Frost Giants and other species living there.
• Cloud Giants live amongst the clouds , cloaking their floating cities & castles in cloud. They float around a region covering many, many miles and deliberately conceal their settlements so others cannot see them.
• Storm Giants sometimes overlap with Cloud Giants high above the surface world. Others live on isolated mountaintops or deep below the sea on the sea floor. Rarely encountered they prefer their isolation.
• Oni are found in a number of places, usually cursed isolated regions in Nippon, with a number living in Hell.
• Fomorians are found in a number of cursed isolated regions in and around Hibernia, with a number living off the coast in undersea settlements. A few are found in the Feywild.
• Nephilim are found in scattered tribes or in solitude spread throughout the Middle East, especially in the Levant region. Most live in isolated pockets that are uninhabited by other intelligent species. Rarely, one will live in amongst other species in the region, acting as a guardian or leader.
• Cyclopes generally live in and around the south eastern region of Europe once controlled by the ancient Greek states & surrounding island in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean See. They prefer to live alone or in pairs, acting as shepherds, and hunter gatherers. They hate other intelligent species living in their territory.
• Ettins live in out of the way places in central & southern Britain and usually are avoided by others. These areas are seen as cursed or dangerous for the other local species.

Each is different though meat eating is common, along with a few other sources. Hill Giants & Cyclopes have a tendency to resort to cannibalism when there is a source of intelligent species available. Oni lives exclusively on meat, and all others will eat a range of plant material where available too, as well as seafood too.

Some species dislike or generally avoid other sapient species such as Cloud Giants, Storm Giants, Nephilim, and Stone Giants. Others will come in contact with other species to some degree, whether seeing others as prey species, seeing a chance to raid, hunting them for sport, or in rare cases to gather information or trade.

All giants belong to the Ordining. This seems to go by height as much as anything. Storm Giants are at the top going downwards to Cloud Giants, Fire Giants, Frost Giants and then Hill Giants. These are also organised to local Ordinings where there is a number of Giants live.

The other Giants are near the bottom of this with Giant Kin being at the bottom if not accepted in some cases.

Worldwide, though specific species is intrinsically linked to specific species.

Giants generally have the same basic set of perception as other species, but many have Darkvision.

Giant Ticks are a constant problem feeding on both giants and animals they herd or have as pets.

Giants are an ancient species, with history dating back to over 3 billion years on Earth.

They appeared after the Dragons & Star Gods, and quickly spread & adapting to their new world. Doing so, it quickly led to war with the Dragons, fighting took millions of years dropping the numbers of each. The Star Gods stood back waiting and watching but never interfering. After the rise of the First Men & Pangea splitting the numbers of both were devastated leading to a massive loss of territory for both too. They took to regions that were distant from the First Men and the rise of newer species. Now they exist in faraway places and feared for their size. Some do interact with other species, usually in a negative way, and rarely in any good way.

Many still live a quiet life away from the empires that rise & fall, and with the drop in magical ley lines of the world, fewer and fewer are born. exactly why is unknown. The Giants could easily survive and take over the lesser races if they wanted, but choose not to. The current theory is that the world has changed too much for them to maintain their numbers and with many of the lesser races actively hunting down & killing both the Giants & Dragons when one or more is discovered.

In some cases there has been some type of interbreeding has took place, along with mutation, creating lesser Giant Kin. Again, how and why is a mystery to many. Certainly there is the Firbolgs, Trolls, and Goliaths exist, and rumoured to be caused by magical experimentation, genetic adaption, and/or interspecies breeding.

All Giants and many Giant Kin belong to the Ordning. Set up by the Giants deities set this up early allowing the leader (usually Storm Giants) to interact with these deities directly. The Ordning deals with all matters of Giants, even the Nephilim. The latter stands apart in a way due to their parentage is seen as unnatural, due to being fathered by angels called Watchers and Human women.. The Ordning lays down laws, sorts out any disputes, and worship of the gods.

The regions that many Giants are found has been altered by them. Gigantic creatures are bred for food, leather, pets, and all manner of reasons. These have bred so even if the Giants have died, many of these creatures still survive and thrive. Stories abound of those who wander into a hidden valley, or landing on a hidden isle, or some similar to the story's beginning, chances upon these gigantic creatures and find the means to get away.