Feee Figh Foh Fuhm: GIANTS!

[W E Ray]

What are Giants, exactly?

Well, lemme ask a different question first so you see where I'm going with this -- Do you see the difference between the "Flavor" of the Fire Giant on p128 of the Bestiary (pure Elemental: Fire subtype) and the Frost Giant (humanoid-looking) on p129?

Artists in the D&D monster books have been consistently illustrating Giants as more "humanoid" looking. But there are a handful of illustrations over the years of Giants seeming more Elemental.

Wolfgang Baur's Fire Giant daughter (Dungeon 39) seems more "humanoid" -- albeit with very "Pathfinder-esque" First World, Fey feel. While Wolfgang Baur's Pathfinder Stone Giants seem like Earth Elemental Giants, essentially Easter Island megaliths.

The famous King Snurre is a humanoid-looking giant.
The more recent Snurreson is an elemental-looking giant.

We have had Shadow and Sun Giants.
We have had Fog and Jungle Giants.

. . . .

All this has gotten me to thinking about breaking Giants down into two categories: ancient, "linnorm-style" Giants that are Elemental subtypes, and the traditional, humanoid-but-still-Fire or Frost-Giant.

So,...

What exactly ARE Giants?

More importantly, what can I name the ancient race, the "elemental" Giants?

[Brambleman]

Id say Titans, but thats taken

[Drejk]

W E Ray wrote:

What are Giants, exactly?

Well, lemme ask a different question first so you see where I'm going with this -- Do you see the difference between the "Flavor" of the Fire Giant on p128 of the Bestiary (pure Elemental: Fire subtype) and the Frost Giant (humanoid-looking) on p129?

Artists in the D&D monster books have been consistently illustrating Giants as more "humanoid" looking. But there are a handful of illustrations over the years of Giants seeming more Elemental.

Wolfgang Baur's Fire Giant daughter (Dungeon 39) seems more "humanoid" -- albeit with very "Pathfinder-esque" First World, Fey feel. While Wolfgang Baur's Pathfinder Stone Giants seem like Earth Elemental Giants, essentially Easter Island megaliths.

The famous King Snurre is a humanoid-looking giant.
The more recent Snurreson is an elemental-looking giant.

We have had Shadow and Sun Giants.
We have had Fog and Jungle Giants.

. . . .

All this has gotten me to thinking about breaking Giants down into two categories: ancient, "linnorm-style" Giants that are Elemental subtypes, and the traditional, humanoid-but-still-Fire or Frost-Giant.

I prefer giants-as-humanoids, bigger brothers to ogres and trolls than giants-as-elementals (not to start 3rd vs 4th edition war here, but... while I had no problems with some of the changes with the very ideas behind certain creatures in 4th edition, I disliked change of giants to elemental beings).

Quote:

So,...

What exactly ARE Giants?

They are humanoids that grow larger than other humanoids and share common heritage with ogres and, to lesser degree, with trolls. Like trolls they may have supernatural affinity to certain environments, sometimes even reaching degree of elemental affinity.

Quote:

More importantly, what can I name the ancient race, the "elemental" Giants?

Elemental Titans, more primordial and wild kin to extraplanar titans.

[karkon]

I would put them as all elemental tinged. Some show it more than others and the ones who are more in touch with their element are more powerful. That lets you explain the plain janes all the way to the out there looking ones.

[Detect Magic]

In the world I am building, giants are elementals. Though, their form is humanoid. Similarly, dwarves are something of lesser elementals.

Though those born in the material realm lose a bit of their power with each generation (like elves, who originate from the realm of the fey).

Edit: Like the fey, the "eldest" giants are akin to gods. Indeed, they form a sort of pseudo-norse pantheon.

[Drejk]

I would go with opposite approach to giants - them being humanoid entities that slowly acquire elemental traits from their extended exposure to elemental energies.

[Mon]

W E Ray wrote:

More importantly, what can I name the ancient race, the "elemental" Giants?

Jötunn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6tunn

[W E Ray]

Jotun -- yeah.

So let's see how this looks:

Frost, Fire, Stone, Cloud, Storm Giant (Ancient, Elemental, "True Giant")

Frost Giant Jotun,
Fire Giant Jotun,
Stone Giant Jotun,
Hill Giant Jotun.
(descended from the ancients, mixed with "giant-human" ancestry)
((maybe Mountain Giants -- original "Jotunn" -- long ago, bred with the ancient "true" giants))

So, no Storm Giant Jotun / no Hill Giant (ancient, "true," elemental)

And where shall I put
Sun Giants,
Shadow Giants,
others...?

[Kevin Andrew Murphy]

Trouble is, you've got giants coming from several different ends: Norse myth and Scandinavian fairytales; Celtic myth and British Isles fairytales; French art fairytales and German folktales; and Greek myth and legend. There are all sorts of giants in all of these, ranging from monsters the size of mountain ranges to relatively ordinary Joes who can ask for the king's daughter's hand and get it without this being thought too weird.

Working out a definitive family tree isn't always going to work.

[sunbeam]

This is just an impression but I think Stone Giants have always had that earth elemental look since the beginning.

Fire Giants are sometimes drawn to look like large dwarfs (especially in the early days), but lately look like big humans with red hair and golden eyes.

Frost Giants seem like they have always been drawn as big blue muscular humans.

Hill Giants usually look like big dumb humans.

I always pictured Ogres as being smaller Hill Giants but in 3.x at least they had a funky deformed head.

That is the sum total of what I have observed about Giants and their depiction.

Except I'd like to add that Storm Giants always look like they leaped off of a can of vegetables. Ho ho ho.