#Dungeons and Dragons 1e

[universe-in-the-void-in-the-cube]

D&D and Pathfinder RPers tell me what you think.

[3d34-2]

These are available in August!

[justicegundam82]

3.5 to PF1e Conversion: Waterveiled Assassin

Welcome back! This is a conversion I've honestly been eager to do someday.

Back in the good old 3.5 days, there was this evil god, Tharizdun, who was basically like a previous version of Rovagug, in that it just wanted to wreck everything and had suckered the four evil Archomentals (Ogremoch, Yan-C-Bin, Imix and Olhydra) into working for his agenda. Each evil Archomental had some favored avatars for carrying out their will, which were appropriately called Avatars of Elemental Evil.

Since I liked those creatures well enough, and I thought they can easily be incorporated in the Golarion setting with only a few changes... I'd like to try my hand at converting them, starting with the Waterveiled Assassin. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think and where I can improve!

WATERVEILED ASSASSIN

Image (c) Wizards of the Coast, from Monster Manual IV, author Daarken

Before you stands a monstrous, vaguely serpentine shape made of water, with hateful eyes and a mouth turned into a wicked sneer barely visible in what passes for its face.

WATERVEILED ASSASSIN       CR 15

XP 51’200

NE Large Outsider (elemental, evil, extraplanar, water)

Init +12; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +22

DEFENSE

AC 28, touch 17, flat-footed 20 (+8 Dex, +11 natural, -1 size)

hp 225 (18d10+126); fast healing 5

Fort +18, Ref +19, Will +12

Damage Reduction 10 / -; Immune elemental traits

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.

Melee 2 slams +25 (4d8+8 plus grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 20 ft.

Special Attacks churn, drench, engulf (DC 27, 4d8+12), grab, water mastery

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 27, Con 24, Int 10, Wis 19, Cha 15

Base Atk +18; CMB +27 (+31 grab); CMD 45

Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Engulf Revulsion, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Vital Strike

Skills Acrobatics +22, Bluff +16, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (planes) +16, Perception +22, Sense Motive +20, Stealth +32, Swim +36

Languages Aquan

Special Qualities liquid body, malleable form, one with water

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Elemental Plane of Water)

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Churn (Ex): As a swift action, a waterveiled assassin can batter opponents it has engulfed with mighty currents that it creates by controlling its own shape. All creatures currently engulfed within the waterveiled assassin’s body take 4d8+12 points of bludgeoning damage as the currents try to tear their bodies apart. A successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 27) halves the damage taken. The save DC is Strength-based.

Drench (Ex): The waterveiled assassin's touch puts out nonmagical flames of Large size or smaller. The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as dispel magic (caster level 15th).

Liquid Body (Ex): A waterveiled assassin exercises supreme control over its watery form, allowing it to flow around attacks, flatten itself against the ground to avoid a spell’s blast, and so forth. Any effect or spell that allows a Reflex save for half damage has a 50% chance to have no effect on a waterveiled assassin. Even if it is affected, the waterveiled assassin can still attempt a saving throw against the spell’s effect as normal. This ability also gives the waterveiled assassin a greater reach on its melee attacks, effectively increasing its natural reach to 20 ft.

Malleable Form (Ex): A waterveiled assassin’s control overits form allows it to flow through tiny cracks in objectsand move through the earth, walls, and other obstacles.The assassin moves at normal speed through terrainthat slows movement. It can move through permeable objects at half speed, but it cannot move through completely solid barriers, such as those produced by a wall of stone or wall of force spell.

If a waterveiled assassin ends its movement completely within an object, opponents do not have line of sight or line of effect to it. Its reach drops to 0 feet. Any creatures engulfed within the assassin automatically break free of the grapple and fall prone in a square adjacent to the object. If only part of the assassin is in an object, but its remaining space cannot hold all the creatures within it, the assassin may choose which ones to release.

One With Water (Ex): A waterveiled assassin that is completely immersed in a volume of water that’s at least 15 ft. wide, 15 ft. long and 15 ft. deep is effectively invisible, as per the greater invisibility spell.

Water Mastery (Ex): A waterveiled assassin gains a +1 bonus on attack and melee damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water. If the opponent or the waterveiled assassin is touching the ground, the assassin takes a –4 penalty on attack and melee damage rolls. These modifiers also apply to bull rush and overrun maneuvers, whether the assassin is initiating or resisting these kinds of attacks.

A waterveiled assassin is a creature of living water sent by Kelizandri, the evil Elemental Lord of Water, to slay his cult’s enemies. This deadly killer can flow through the smallest cracks to ambush and engulf foes, and its fluid form and mastery of water lets it strike at opponents from unexpected angles.

The waterveiled assassin is a canny hunter, making use of terrain advantage and of all their special abilities to surprise foes and dispatch them quickly. A waterveiled assassin has no use for a fair fight; it usually approaches its target in open water, taking advantage of its invisibility, or hides within a wall or a large non-waterproof object that can contain its bulk. When its target closes, the waterveiled assassin surges forth, rolling over its foe and trying to drown him or batter him to death in its liquid body. A waterveiled assassin usually focuses on the least armored foes, knowing they are more likely to be arcane spellcasters or to have dangerous abilities, and drags them off to an isolated spot for the kill.

If a waterveiled assassin has a weakness, it is overconfidence – an assassin might leap on a party’s wizard or sorcerer while disregarding physically capable combatants, and giving them the chance to heap severe punishment upon the elemental.

A waterveiled assassin’s form is unstable, but it usually stands about 12 feet tall and weighs 1'000 pounds.

[eldrxtch]

pathfinder game restarted, and I got to rework some things with Lokee and wanted to illustrate a bit of it!

he has cool mind reading powers now!

[adndmonsteraday]

A wyvern (pronounced: /ˈwɪvɜːrn/ WIH-vurn or: /ˈwaɪvɛrn/ WY-vern) was a large winged lizard, distantly related to the dragon, with a poisonous stinging tail and sharp teeth.

These creatures varied in length from 15​ to ​35 feet (4.6​ to ​11 meters), weighed around a ton, and were covered in dark brown or grey scales. They typically had either red or orange eyes and their jaws were filled with long and sharp teeth.

Unlike true dragons, wyverns only had a pair of hind legs instead of a set four. Their wingspan could get over 50 feet (15 meters) in length. And their tails were often quite long, comprising almost half of their bodies, yet very mobile. These ended in a thick cartilage knot with a stinger protruding out of it, not unlike that of a scorpion.

Wyverns can be both solitary and group animals. They did not have a strong odor, although their lairs often could be tracked by following the smell of their recent kills.

Cloud giants kept griffons, perytons, and wyverns, akin to what humans did with hawks and other birds of prey. These tamed wild creatures could also be often encountered patrolling the cloud giants' gardens, together with other tamed predators like owlbears.Dragons, griffons, and wyverns had a fierce rivalry over hippogriff meat. Manticores, chimeras, griffons, perytons, and wyverns were territorial rivals.

Source: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Wyvern

Have you added wyverns to your game? Talk to us about it!

[aaronmcfocks]

Some late little lunar new year piece with Lixin

[silvercompassmaps]

My Ancient India campaign setting is live on Kickstarter!

This setting features 6 new races, a plethora of historical weapons and armor, 20+ monsters inspired by Indian folklore, and much more.

Check it out here.

[aethira]

“You think that I’m weak because I wasn’t trained like you. You’re going to regret underestimating me.”

Some post-campaign stuff with Seren ✨

[pumaloafing]

For Comparison:

In Pokemon, when you are paralyzed, you have a 25% chance to be unable to act on your turn and your speed is lowered by 50% (speed only determines who acts first, and not number of actions, so it's not too bad).

In D&D 5E, paralysis prevents you from moving or acting, you automatically fail strength or dex saves, attacks against you have about 20% more accuracy, and melee attacks against you automatically crit (if they hit).

In Pathfinder, paralysis also prevents you from moving or acting, and you are considered 'helpless'. Helpless means your dexterity is 0 (tanking your evasion) and in addition melee attacks against you get a +4 to hit (equating to a 20% increase in chance to hit). More importantly, though, if someone is adjacent to you they can make a coup de gras attack. A coup de gras is an automatic hit, an automatic crit, and then the character must make a fortitude save of 10+damage dealt to not instantly die (this is often very difficult, nearly impossible if the coup de gras was done by an actual fighter).

[chronotsr]

No. 1 - G1, The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (July 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): Erol Otus, Dave C. Sutherland III (cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 9, preferably 5+ players Theme: Standard Swords and Sorcery Major re-releases: G1-3 Against the Giants, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Dungeon #197, Tales from the Yawning Portal

I'm not sure if G1-G3 are the most remastered adventures of all time, but it's gotta be competitive. I think Tomb of Horrors might have it beat, but I haven't counted. The 4e conversion [the Dungeon #197 one] is really weird in particular because…4e feels like the edition least interested in the legacy of DND? It was boldly doing its own thing. A good quality, actually.

Anyway, it's time to slag off* on a beloved adventure. Note, I am using the earliest copy of G1 I can find, which is from waaaay later when D3 was complete. I apologize.

*And by slag off, I mean "be critical of at all". In practice, this module is actually showing some unusual acumen compared to its contemporaries.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a rather important thing when this was made live -- note the title there! We are officially in ADND land now, so put away your little brown booklets and switch over to the fuck-off awesome player's handbook with the iconic Moloch statue!

Somehow I had gotten my whole life at this point never really…understanding what this structure was supposed to look like? It looks like this.

I honestly think exterior shots of dungeons are critically underrated. Handouts are amazing and being able to flash the back cover art to safely show the party "like this" is actually great, I deeply wish that….any? of the previous modules had done that? I think the only one that did was Tsojconth. Weirdly, the interior drawing is very subtly different. Look at how the logs face:

Not a huge deal but, a kind of weird inconsistency that top one looks like a stockade and the bottom one looks like a log cabin. Side note, we know that the long dimension of this is using 210 feet tall logs, which is to say, the size of an average redwood. These are some big fuck-off trees -- which could be a very interesting detail about the local area.

Now the setup is pretty simple. You were hired to go beat up the giants because they've been raiding the local humans, figure out why they're raiding, and comeback posthaste. The locals have kitted you out with horses, guides, maps, et c -- but no compensation, they have simply omitted a finder's fee (cheap bastards). Also, if you fail, they'll execute you. With friends like these, who needs Giants?

Gary starts with some mild railroading (you accepted the job already, you are already kitted out, you already walked to a nearby cave, you waited til dusk to approach, you notice two guards are missing, and the cave is guaranteed to be moderately hidden. Sure, whatever, I'm going to ignore that if I run this tho. Gary notifies us of a few critical details:

Don't run this stock, that's immoral

Any surviving giants will flee to G2 if they have the opportunity (which, kind of inherently punishes clever play that avoids combat?)

There is a 2% chance per round that the wooden structure will be lit on fire due to chronic rain (why is this a dice roll??)

If you will permit me a tangent, player arson is truly the bane of interesting scenarios everywhere. Whenever a player wonders, "why are all the GM's dungeons underground or in stonework buildings?", it's because doing anything else invites arson as the default and best answer to all problems. Magic items are fireproof and most metal items will not get hot enough to be destroyed, so very often the best solution is to burn the place to the ground and loot it the next day. So, yeah. No wood buildings. Gary's fix is to have all the giants flee into the basement, then waste a week of the PC's time for daring to use arson. Kind of sucks!

Tangent complete.

Here's some random interesting bits:

Gary explicitly states that you can pass yourself off as hill giant kids, which is extremely funny. Minus the implicit child murder.

Naturally there are giant moms doing giant housemaid shit in several rooms. Presumably they have giant curlers too.

The secret door is, literally just a doorway covered by a pelt. I have to hand it to them, that'd trip up most players in 2024 AND make them feel stupid for not figuring it out!

The big reveal that Eclavdra the Drow is secretly behind it all is so lightly teased that it feels downright tasteful.

A giant that uses a ballista as a crossbow (based) and spears for arrows (also based) -- between the prevalence of lightning spears and greatarrows, one starts to think of a certain famous video game. Genuinely I think it'd be a fun exercise one day, for someone who is more knowledgeable than me about Japanese fantasy roleplaying culture, to talk about how anglophone fantasy works made their way into Japan and were interpreted.

One of the cloud giants has hidden a sentient giant slaying sword that speaks all the giant languages, it feels like there's a hell of a story going on there that is only alluded to!

To my knowledge, this is the first official depiction of an orc in DND? Which implies that Gary is team pig-orcs, which is cool. Frankly, I love porcine orcs, or even better just pigfolk in general, they're great.

I think it is actually a rather bold early stance for Gary to hold that, even here in 1978, Chaotic aligned creatures are not automatically friends. Granted, that's how it is in Elric, so it's not THAT bold, but clearly everyone else missed the memo. The orcs are willing to side with you at least in the short-run, and in our previous modules it was very rare to have groups of chaotic-aligned creatures fighting one another. It was always just personal beefs. In fact, the overall theme of G1 so far is that despite the boxy-ass dungeon design, there's already a command of naturalism that even modern dungeons really struggle with. Factionalism truly is the gift that keeps on giving for the GM!

So the big reveal internally to G1 (just think of that -- a reveal internally to G1, and externally to the GDQ supermodule -- we're already getting pacing!) is that the orc slaves have rebelled. And -- hey -- good for them. There's also a kind of…built-in companion refill system going on here? So in oldish DND the way it works is, the expectation is the party is not just 5 guys with swords. You've got companions to help fight, and you've got hirelings to do other stuff (test suspected traps, if you're evil). And you can only hire so many of these guys from town, but attrition is going to happen. So the modules simply provides, automatic replacements should you negotiate worth a quarter of a shit. A dwarf slave here, an orc slave there. Maybe a giant dissenter if you're really clever. One of the potential "rewards" you can get is more dudes to throw at problems.

More interesting bits

There is, what I can only really call an abortive idea going on here where there's a scary temple in the basement? But no one worships there and no information is provided. It is merely a fucked up altar. I think I vaguely recall that it's retconned Tharizdun in one of the remakes? They always retcon things to be Tharizdun. Busy man, Tharzy.

Gary, Gary no. Stop it. Stop this 78 guys bullshit. I thought we had established that giant rooms of giant clumps of guys was bad. I know you have terminal Napoleonics brain but stop.

Wait, Steading is a noun? I always thought it was a verb. Yknow, like "Steading those hill giants", taking 'em down a notch. Apparently, a Steading is a small farm -- same etymology as Homestead. I guess mark that as our first Gygaxism?

Our second Gygaxism is gill, which is "a quarter pint of an alcoholic drink", which is to say a few mouthfuls

Always end your adventures with weird, ominous non-diegetic text. On the flip-side, absolutely do not do what the adventure does, and end on a teleporter that takes you to the next dungeon. That is the worst option.

Anyway, that's the whole Hill Giant situation. Honestly, it's better than I remembered, but in proud module tradition up to this point it gets weirdly filler-y in the basement. There's just something about basements that makes dungeon designers stop giving a shit, I swear. I do need to give the man his due, even though he was a shitass person: Gygax wrote an 11 page module that is of noticeably higher killer-to-filler ratio than any of his contemporaries. G1 is better than any of its predecessors, pound for pound. It is way, way shorter which is I suppose a plus to me and a minus to others, but -- there is a clear internal logic to this place that is tragically missing from (say) The Dwarven Glory. And that internal logic is the beginning of good adventure design. Anyway, we have two fun tidbits to discuss before we end for the day.

First up, we have an of-the-time account of events in Dragon #19! It turns out that in Origins '78 they played G1-G3's prototype. The account is of the winners (mostly West Virginians, a few Michiganders), who used their magic extremely liberally to hide what they were doing as well as to scout. They did opt to light the place on fire, good for them! If you want to check this out, it's on page 3. I will mention G2 and G3 here as relevant later.

Second up, there's a weird interquel hiding in Dungeon #198! Hanging out as an informal G1.5 is "The Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane!" I will not review it in full because my understanding of 4e is, basically just skimming the PHB and reading the DMG, but essentially the Stone Giants are hypothetically aloof and not particularly loyal to their Fire Giant superiors, but someone gave them The Rock That Makes You Crazy and so now they are. Smash the rock!

Man, map design in the 4e era was so fucking bad. It looks fine, but like, this is four circles. And downstairs is, of course, cave as far as the eye can see. Aren't stone giants supposed to be skilled carvers? Anyway, If you feel like G2 would be too big of a jump mechanically compared to G1, this exists. I'm sure you could use it if you liked, and certainly there is a Genre of Grognard who would be kinda tickled at the thought of finding "lost content" for el classico GDQ.

Next week, we cover G2, which was also in July. So was G3! They're triplets!

[inbarfink]

[ninjasylveon]

Another artfight revenge for the lovely @sadincae! I wanted to make them something SUPER nice after their attack on Lily, so I animated their blorbo Keeva! My computer did not like this, though I got it to work and this was the result!

I'm fighting for team stardust on artfight here!

[tenmeithesinisterminister]

highlights from the first three sessions of my pathfinder 1e campaign:

The Inquisitor LITERALLY CHOPPED OFF THE INVESTIGATOR'S FOOT IN SESSION ONE? (with a bastard sword, no less.)

The Wood Elf Healing/Community Cleric killed an orc, and apologized with each hit.

Obligatory Fool's Gold reference

"I will die on the hill that this book is worth something!" "Then die." - A merchant successfully avoiding being swindled and the Investigator's response

The Chess Guild? The Chess Guild.

No Name Elf Boi joined the party in session 3

The entire party wanted the Kobold Chieftain and the Orc Chief to kiss.

"RELEASE THE AUTISM"

Discussions of eating kobolds and the ethics of doing so, for some reason?

*little elf fella waving at the Orc Chief who just slaughtered a kobold infront of everyone*

Ooze

"Oh god, this music is making me tense" - me, the GM who *intentionally picked the dungeon music to be scary* (It's wesker's theme from the og ps1 resident evil) Anyway, they're 3 sessions in and 2ish sessions away from finally making it out of the dungeon. They are in for a wild ride.

[eldrxtch]

I've been working on this reference for the past week, and it's finally finished \o/

[adndmonsteraday]

Firbolgs (pronounced: /ˈfɪərboʊlg/ FEER-bolg) were a reclusive race of giant-kin who preferred to avoid contact with other sentient races. They were both the most intelligent and the most powerful of the giant-kin.

“Well, now. They live in the Big Cave – here in the fens. They look like you, as, of course, I said already, except they're much taller and broader and, well, hairier, and their noses are huge, I mean they just hang out of their faces like a limb hangs off a tree, and, well, they smell bad, and …” — Newt, the faerie dragon

Firbolgs resembled humans, and the males would sport great, thick beards. Their thick, tough skin was fleshy pink, and their hair, though it came in many colors, was usually either red or blond and worn long. A firbolg's voice was deep and smooth, and they tended to roll their consonants when speaking.

Firbolgs were typically over 10 feet (3 meters) tall, averaging a height of about 10.5 feet (3.2 meters). While firbolgs from other worlds weighed more than 800 pounds (360 kilograms), those of Faerûn were lighter, with males being about 650 pounds (290 kilograms) and females about 500 pounds (230 kilograms).

The firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles were said to be considerably ugly.

The average firbolg was stronger than a forest bear. Beyond sheer physical strength, they had innate magical abilities. Firbolgs were said to be resistant to magic. They could sense the presence of magical auras innately. They also had the power to change their physical appearance, including making themselves larger or smaller. They sometimes used this magical power to blend in or interact with smaller races.

They had excellent vision at night and could perhaps see in the dark. Some sages claimed that firbolgs had regenerative abilities. Other sages reported that firbolgs could make themselves turn invisible. They were also said to be able to communicate to a limited effect with both plants and animals of their forest homes.

Firbolgs enjoyed quiet time in the woods, in harmony with nature. The forests were sacred to them and symbolized the heart of the earth and the adaptability of life. They saw themselves as the forests' caretakers.

While firbolgs of other worlds may have had tendencies toward a variety of alignments, those of Faerûn were usually lawful good in alignment, although they were seen as maug ("unholy" or "dishonorable") creatures by other giants, because of the sin of the goddess Othea.

Firbolgs considered greed to be one of the worst vices. They believed that one should only ever take what one needs and no more. They saw no value in material wealth such as gems and gold, but sometimes would find prankish ways of taking valuables from strangers, out of a sense of fun.

Firbolgs believed that charity was a virtue but also believed that it was harmful for the recipient to know the identity of the provider; because of this they appeared to be reclusive amongst the other races, although they were very sociable with established friends. They were extremely honest and could not lie without feeling physical discomfort, even if the lie was by omission.

Firbolgs tended to be over-confident and fearless, except for a pervasive phobia of humanoid mobs. They saw the wearing of armor as cowardly, and thus did not usually wear armor, nor did they carry shields.

Firbolgs were cautious and shrewd in their dealings with outsiders. They distrusted most humans and demihumans. Among non-giants, they were neutral with druids, elves, and fey. They were on good terms with storm giants, whom they looked up to and tried to emulate, but they avoided other giant races, and actively fought against the other giant-kin.

Firbolgs enjoyed quiet time in the woods, in harmony with nature. The forests were sacred to them and symbolized the heart of the earth and the adaptability of life. They saw themselves as the forests' caretakers.

While firbolgs of other worlds may have had tendencies toward a variety of alignments, those of Faerûn were usually lawful good in alignment, although they were seen as maug ("unholy" or "dishonorable") creatures by other giants, because of the sin of the goddess Othea.

Firbolgs considered greed to be one of the worst vices. They believed that one should only ever take what one needs and no more. They saw no value in material wealth such as gems and gold, but sometimes would find prankish ways of taking valuables from strangers, out of a sense of fun.

Firbolgs believed that charity was a virtue but also believed that it was harmful for the recipient to know the identity of the provider; because of this they appeared to be reclusive amongst the other races, although they were very sociable with established friends. They were extremely honest and could not lie without feeling physical discomfort, even if the lie was by omission.

Firbolgs tended to be over-confident and fearless, except for a pervasive phobia of humanoid mobs. They saw the wearing of armor as cowardly, and thus did not usually wear armor, nor did they carry shields.

Firbolgs were cautious and shrewd in their dealings with outsiders. They distrusted most humans and demihumans. Among non-giants, they were neutral with druids, elves, and fey. They were on good terms with storm giants, whom they looked up to and tried to emulate, but they avoided other giant races, and actively fought against the other giant-kin.

Firbolgs had a family-centered, clan-based society. They lived in settlements in remote hilly or forested areas. Their settlements were strongholds, including wooden structures, built from the trees around them, with defensive towers with catwalks between them. Rarely, they inhabited cavern complexes dug into the hillsides. They used their magic to ensure that their homes remained a secret to outsiders. These clan settlements were small, with between about four and sixteen members, often with a shaman or druid, and lived separate from each other. A few firbolg clans were nomadic.

A typical firbolg home was a huge one-story log building with strong walls. A large fireplace with multiple openings warmed a central common room.

As caretakers of the woods, they carefully and resourcefully lived off the land, making sure to ensure balance. During summer, they stored excess nuts, fruits, and berries, so that they could provide food to the forest animals during winter. Although they did farm, it was only to supplement their diets; they preferred a more hunter-gatherer lifestyle, rather than the brigand/raider lifestyle of many other giants. Their hunting grounds were usually spread out in a 20‑mile (32‑kilometer) radius from their clan homes. They ate small portions of meat with most meals, and reserved large roasts of meat for special celebrations.

Most firbolg tribes preferred isolation from other races, avoiding their politics and struggles. If intruders entered their territory, they would usually try an indirect approach at causing the "invaders" to leave—driving game away to discourage hunters or redirecting streams or forest trails to confuse parties. If these methods failed, the firbolgs would at last confront the outsiders. If the outsiders seemed peaceful, the firbolgs would peacefully ask them to leave; if the outsiders seemed evil or seemed to have no concern for the forest lands, the firbolgs might mount a devastating attack. On occasion, they would trade with peaceful folk living nearby in exchange for providing services utilizing their great strength.

Firbolg adventurers were rare and most often were individuals separated from their tribes—orphans, exiles, lone survivors, or the like. A few adventured to gain knowledge.

Firbolgs seemed to have a natural tendency toward druidic magics, and many of their chieftains were thus druids. Others became rangers or fighters. Other adventuring vocations were rare; firbolg monks were completely unknown. About five percent of firbolgs encountered were shamans.

Firbolg communities were known to rally around individuals who contracted lycanthropy, rather than shun them, using all resources at their disposal to help the afflicted find a cure.

The firbolgs had rejected the ordning, the customary social order amongst giants and giant-kin, and preferred to exercise free will by using a system called "the code". This was conceived in ancient times, although its exact origins had been lost,[13] and a written copy was usually required to be carried by all firbolgs,[21] but the exact implementation varied from one community to the next. It promoted the idea that the society was the most important aspect and superseded the individual. Actions were more important than relatives or heritage. If "the code" was breached, a firbolg might be enslaved within their own tribe or banished completely, although transgressions were uncommon. The implications of "the code" meant that the firbolgs would treat all intelligent creatures as equals, and thus they did not exhibit the same superior attitude that other giants and giant-kin displayed. For every decision made, they considered the effects on the forest and the rest of the natural world. During a famine, they would rather go hungry themselves than strain the land.

Firbolgs had a rough form of democracy known as "the cast". This involved summoning all the firbolgs in a tribe who then would cast their vote on an issue by using a rune-engraved stone. The actual "casting" of votes varied from clan to clan. In some cases, it involved literally tossing the stones. At one firbolg settlement in the Cold Mountains, they had built an enormous scale and set their votes in the appropriate weighing pan.

Exile was often used as a form of punishment for an unforgivable act, such as killing a rare or beautiful animal or starting a forest fire. An outcast firbolg was never permitted to return home.

Nearby clans would gather once a year at the fall solstice at an enclave to settle any disputes among the clans. Shamans would preside over such events, which often simply were a time of celebration.

In general, firbolgs admired the goddess Iallanis. However, the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles were an exception to this. They worshiped the demigod Grond Peaksmasher, thought by religious scholars to be the son of Hiatea. While in truth, the firbolgs were descendants of Othea and Ulutiu, the firbolgs of the Moonshaes believed that Grond carved them from stone and that the dwarves were the result of the "leftovers" of this process. Before Grond was reawakened, many of the firbolgs of the Isles were ruled by Kazgaroth, an aspect of Malar.

On the Moonshaes, the worship of Grond was originally led by shamans, but after Grond's reawakening, priests became active. Grond's priests were allied with the druids of the Earthmother.

Firbolgs had their own tongue, but also spoke Common, Giant, and Elven. Sometimes, firbolgs who interacted with outsiders took elven names. The traveler Volothamp Geddarm reported that firbolgs had no names for themselves or their homes, but there were many named firbolgs and tribes in the region of Hartsvale in the North.

The firbolg race was created when Othea, wife of the giant deity Annam All-Father, had an affair with Ulutiu. While, as noted above, the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles believed themselves created from the rock of the islands, the other races of those islands held to legends that the firbolgs crawled out of the sea, called forth by the Beast.

Like all the giant-kin races, the firbolgs were never granted a portion land by Annam from which to found their own "dynasty" inside the kingdom of Ostoria. They were initially welcomed by their fellow giants and learned their ways, but once their true parentage had been discovered by Annam he cast them out. They became excluded from the societies of true giants, despite Othea's best efforts to protect them.

In -5000 DR, in a great conflict with the land's dwarves, Grond Peaksmasher was imprisoned on Oman's Isle beneath the great Ice Peak. Without his guidance, the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles over time degenerated into a barbaric culture little better than that of hill giants, engaging in violent raids against the humans of the islands.

In -2000 DR, a race of giants known as the fomorians were brought to the Moonshae Isles by the Beast's master, and they overpowered the native firbolg tribes, taking them as slaves. After a couple generations of forced breeding, the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles began to assume some of the same disfigurements commonly associated with fomorians.

In 1365 DR, the firbolgs managed to awaken their patron god Grond Peaksmasher with the aid of Deirdre Kendrick. Grond then sought to elevate the firbolgs back to their full potential and culture. At this time, many of the firbolgs of the Isles began migrating to Oman's Isle to live in isolation from the other races.

Source: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Firbolg