|
I sincerely wish someone to explain this to me. In my copy of "Gods and Magic", the supplement, it lists Minderhal, the Stone giant deity, as LE, but gives no reason for doing so. Knowing stone giants to be a mostly neutral people (Unless this changed between D&D and Pathfinder), and seeing his areas of concern (Creation, Justice, Giants, Strength), he hardly seems evil. The description given does not support him being evil either, unless there is something hidden in this key detail:
"... he gained popularity with other races during the time of the Runelords."
My knowledge of pathfinder lore is far from infinite, and still in need of strengthening. Still, with what is presented here, I am almost convinced that this is a misprint. So, I appeal to you, more learned scholars of lore, to show me exactly how this deity is evil.
All help appreciated. :)
I sincerely wish someone to explain this to me. In my copy of "Gods and Magic", the supplement, it lists Minderhal, the Stone giant deity, as LE, but gives no reason for doing so. Knowing stone giants to be a mostly neutral people (Unless this changed between D&D and Pathfinder), and seeing his areas of concern (Creation, Justice, Giants, Strength), he hardly seems evil. The description given does not support him being evil either, unless there is something hidden in this key detail:
"... he gained popularity with other races during the time of the Runelords."
My knowledge of pathfinder lore is far from infinite, and still in need of strengthening. Still, with what is presented here, I am almost convinced that this is a misprint. So, I appeal to you, more learned scholars of lore, to show me exactly how this deity is evil.
All help appreciated. :)
I'm guessing when "justice" and "creation" are in his portfolio, they apply to giants, not necessarily other races. And giants were a major part of the evil empire created by the runelords. And they were stationed above all other creatures, so the giant's god may have seen forced worship by the slaves and peasants at the time.
|
|
This is completely understandable- I can see how justice can be abused or applied specifically, but it's just that this is not really mentioned. Plus, with some Mammoth Lord tribes still apparently worshipping him, the description doesn't make him out as tyrannical. Of course, brevity leaves many unanswered questions.
Still, again, understandable that he might be, but if there's a more detailed explanation of his dogma or clergy, I would like to see it.
|
|
I don't think Minderhall has really been fleshed out anywhere, as far as I know at least.
One possibility is that his alignment stems from being rather bloody-minded about his portfolio, in a super-harsh Old Gods sort of way. Kind of like Fandarra(Fandalla?), a giant goddess who was a contemporary of Erastil's back in the old days. It's noted that Erastil was a lot more bloody-minded in those days as well, but he moved on with the times while Fandarra didn't, and gave up trappings such as blood sacrifice. It should be noted that Fandarra is neutral rather than evil though.
Or maybe Minderhall's nature is tied into his and giantkinds history with Thassilon, an empire that was built up on virtues on the surface but was quickly revealed to be rotten to the core. Maybe he was the one that sold the souls of giantkind out to their Thassilonian masters, even spurring on the creation of the rune giants and such?
I don't think Minderhall has really been fleshed out anywhere, as far as I know at least.
One possibility is that his alignment stems from being rather bloody-minded about his portfolio, in a super-harsh Old Gods sort of way. Kind of like Fandarra(Fandalla?), a giant goddess who was a contemporary of Erastil's back in the old days. It's noted that Erastil was a lot more bloody-minded in those days as well, but he moved on with the times while Fandarra didn't, and gave up trappings such as blood sacrifice. It should be noted that Fandarra is neutral rather than evil though.
Or maybe Minderhall's nature is tied into his and giantkinds history with Thassilon, an empire that was built up on virtues on the surface but was quickly revealed to be rotten to the core. Maybe he was the one that sold the souls of giantkind out to their Thassilonian masters, even spurring on the creation of the rune giants and such?
Entirely plausible if his alignment is not a typo. Which I don't think it is. RotRL might have info on him somewhere obscure, mentioned during the adventure or in the Rune Giant monster write-up.
|
Or the kindly giant figure is an attempt at propitiation ;)
[/derail]Makes me think of my brother's PFS character. Wears a necklace of 20 clay holy symbols so he can pray to/appease whatever god is appropriate. Just enough Knowledge (Religion) to be dangerous. His companions got a little upset when he wanted a safe voyage and decided to sacrifice a cat to Gozreh...[/derail]
|
|
As a creator of all giants, I could perhaps see the evil in him (assuming his creations didn't just rebel on their own, creating the disappointed father complex of some deities). And yes, I know he is not the only deity worshipped by Stone Giants. However, conversely, it would seem only stone giants worship him. Or at least that others would be a minority, as it does not list him in the summary of deities worshipped by other types of giant.
Still... interesting talk thus far. :P
|
|
As a creator of all giants, I could perhaps see the evil in him (assuming his creations didn't just rebel on their own, creating the disappointed father complex of some deities). And yes, I know he is not the only deity worshipped by Stone Giants. However, conversely, it would seem only stone giants worship him. Or at least that others would be a minority, as it does not list him in the summary of deities worshipped by other types of giant.
Still... interesting talk thus far. :P
G&M also references Taiga Giants, and doesn't mention Rune Giants at all. The other sources mentioned above refer to giants more generally, but also inlude Rune Giants as followers.
Creative Director
|
I sincerely wish someone to explain this to me. In my copy of "Gods and Magic", the supplement, it lists Minderhal, the Stone giant deity, as LE, but gives no reason for doing so. Knowing stone giants to be a mostly neutral people (Unless this changed between D&D and Pathfinder), and seeing his areas of concern (Creation, Justice, Giants, Strength), he hardly seems evil. The description given does not support him being evil either, unless there is something hidden in this key detail:
"... he gained popularity with other races during the time of the Runelords."
My knowledge of pathfinder lore is far from infinite, and still in need of strengthening. Still, with what is presented here, I am almost convinced that this is a misprint. So, I appeal to you, more learned scholars of lore, to show me exactly how this deity is evil.
All help appreciated. :)
Minderhal is a god of evil giants, and while his portfolio doesn't scream evil... he is. He's one of the more complex (and thus more interesting, in my opinion) deities whose domains don't intuitively match his alignment. We've got some others—Pharasma being a non-evil death goddess is one, and Milani being a good aligned goddess of uprisings are relatively non-intuitive choices as well.
Stone giants who worship Minderhal are usually evil, or at least are led by evil stone giants. Still, most stone giants are neutral, and thus they actually usually worship Fandarra. Minderhal, basically, got corrupted by the cruelty and slavery and all that that stone giants endured during Thassilon—and as a result, he's not really all that kind and forgiving even to his own worshipers.