A towering figure, the humanoid looms with skin resembling the pre-storm sky. Cascading white hair and eyes gleaming with curiosity hint at an otherworldly intellect. Adorned in flowing silk, silver-trimmed, they bear no weapons or armor, embodying an ethereal elegance that sways with the wind.
Cloud giants live extravagant lives high above the world, showing little concern for the plights of other races except as amusement. They are muscular with light skin and have hair of silver or blue.
High and Mighty.
Cloud giants are spread to the winds, encompassing vast areas of the world. In times of need, scattered cloud giant families band together as a unified clan. However, they can seldom do so quickly.
Attuned to the magic of their airy domains, cloud giants are able to turn into mist and create clouds of billowing fog. They dwell in castles on high mountain peaks, or on the solid clouds that once held their fiefs.
Still gracing the skies on occasion, these magic clouds are a lasting remnant of the giants' lost empires. Better spellcasters than most other giants, some cloud giants can control weather, bring storms, and steer the wind almost as well as their cousins, the storm giants.
Affluent Princes.
Although cloud giants are lower in the ordning than storm giants, the reclusive storm giants rarely engage with the rest of giantkind. As a result, many cloud giants see themselves as having the highest status and power among the giant races.
They order lesser giants to seek out wealth and art on their behalf, employing fire giants as smiths and crafters, and using frost giants as reavers, raiders, and plunderers. Dimwitted hill giants serve them as brutes and combat fodder-sometimes fighting for the cloud giants' amusement. A cloud giant might order hill or frost giants to steal from nearby humanoid lands, which it considers to be a fair tax for its continued beneficence. On their mountain summits and solid clouds, cloud giants keep extraordinary gardens. Grapes as big as apples grow there, along with apples the size of pumpkins, and pumpkins the size of wagons. From the errant seeds of these gardens, tales of cottage sized produce and magic beans are spread in the mortal realm.
As humanoid nobles keep an aerie for hunting hawks, so do cloud giants keep griffons, perytons, and wyverns as their own flying beasts of prey. Such creatures also patrol the cloud giants' gardens by night, along with trained predators such as owlbears and lions.
Children of the Trickster.
The patron god and father of the cloud giants is Memnor the Trickster, the cleverest and slyest of the giant deities. Cloud giants align themselves according to the aspects and exploits of Memnor that they most admire, with evil cloud giants emulating his deceitfulness and self-interest and good cloud giants emulating his intellect and silver-tongued speech. Family members usually align in the same direction.
Wealth and Power.
A cloud giant earns its place in the ordning by the treasure it accumulates, the wealth it wears, and the gifts it bestows on other cloud giants.
However, value is only one part of the assessment. The extravagances a cloud giant wears or places about its home must also be beautiful or wondrous. Sacks of gold or gems are worth less to a cloud giant than the jewelry that might be crafted from those materials, creating treasures that bring esteem to a cloud giant's household.
Rather than steal from one another or fight over treasures, cloud giants are inveterate gamblers with a hunger for high risks and high rewards. They frequently bet on the outcome of events nominally outside their control, such as the lives of lesser creatures. Ordning ranks and kings' ransoms can be won and lost in bets over the military triumphs of humanoid nations. Fixing wagers by interfering in the conflict causes the loss of the bet, but such deceit is considered to be cheating only if it is discovered. Otherwise, it is cleverness honoring Memnor.
Environment:
High above the mortal world, where the air grows thin and the horizon bends into infinity, the cloud giants reign as undisputed lords of the sky. 🏰 Descended from the noblest lineage of giantkind, these towering beings embody regal majesty and untamed power. Their skin gleams like pale marble kissed by dawn or storm-dark granite, and their eyes crackle with the electric promise of lightning, veiled by an aura of serene wisdom. With every step, they move with a grace that belies their colossal stature, as if the winds themselves bow to their will. To encounter a cloud giant is to witness a living myth, a sovereign of the heavens whose presence reshapes the fates of those below.
Cloud giants dwell in realms beyond the reach of ordinary eyes, their cities carved from floating mountains or woven from the very essence of storms. 🌩️ These celestial strongholds—known as Aetherholds—are marvels of architecture, with spires of crystal that refract starlight and bridges of solidified mist that span bottomless voids. Their culture is a tapestry of refinement, valuing intellect, artistry, and beauty as fiercely as martial might. Clad in robes spun from thunderclouds and embroidered with threads of captured starlight, cloud giants stand taller than their earthbound kin, their forms both imposing and ethereal.
Time touches cloud giants lightly, sculpting them over centuries into figures of enduring grandeur, like mountain peaks weathered into sharper clarity. They are said to trace their origins to the primal tempests of creation, born from the union of sky and stone in an age when gods walked the earth. Some legends claim they are the stewards of the heavens, tasked with guarding the balance between earth and sky, while others whisper they are exiles from a divine court, cast out for their ambition. Whatever their truth, cloud giants live as philosophers and kings, their lives a delicate dance of contemplation and conquest.
In battle, cloud giants wield the raw fury of the skies with devastating precision. A single gesture can summon a bolt of lightning to sunder stone or conjure gales fierce enough to hurl armies skyward. 🌬️ Their footsteps echo like rolling thunder, shaking the ground far below, and a swing of their massive arms can scatter foes like leaves in a hurricane. Masters of aerial maneuverability, they glide effortlessly on currents of enchanted wind, shifting their position with the unpredictability of a storm. Some are said to ride tempests into battle, their laughter mingling with the roar of the gale as they descend upon their enemies.
Cloud giants forge weapons imbued with the essence of the sky—hammers that crackle with static, spears that trail wisps of cloud, or shields that shimmer like the aurora. Their combat style is both art and destruction, a choreography of power that blends brute strength with supernatural finesse. To face a cloud giant in open conflict is to challenge the storm itself, a gamble few survive unscathed.
Beyond their martial prowess, cloud giants are visionaries whose creativity shapes the heavens. They are poets who weave epics from the whispers of the wind, architects who craft palaces that float on nothing but will, and musicians whose instruments—harps strung with storm-silk or flutes carved from petrified lightning—sing with the voice of the cosmos. 🎶 Their crystalline halls, suspended over abyssal drops, are adorned with murals that shift with the mood of the sky, depicting tales of ancient heroes or prophecies yet to unfold.
Their libraries are legendary, vast repositories of knowledge etched on tablets of solidified cloud or bound in tomes of star-dust leather. These archives are said to contain secrets older than the mountains—spells to tame the winds, maps of forgotten sky-realms, or the true names of storms that have raged since the world’s birth. Cloud giants are also philosophers, debating questions of existence and eternity in symposiums held atop thunderheads, their voices carrying across the heavens. To them, beauty and wisdom are as vital as power, and they pursue all three with relentless passion.
Cloud giants are rarely seen by those bound to the earth, their Aetherholds hidden behind veils of mist and magic. Yet their influence ripples across the world, subtle as a breeze or cataclysmic as a tempest. 💫 They trade in rare commodities—gems forged in the hearts of storms, elixirs distilled from moonlight, or artifacts imbued with celestial power—through intermediaries who brave the climb to their realms. Their prophecies, delivered in booming voices that echo through canyons, have guided kingdoms to glory or ruin. On rare occasions, a cloud giant descends to the mortal plane, their arrival heralded by darkening skies and a chill in the air. Whether as allies offering wisdom, adversaries claiming ancient rights, or rulers returning to reclaim lost dominions, their presence is a force that reshapes the world.
In the myths of lowland folk, cloud giants are both revered and feared. Some cultures worship them as demigods, offering tributes of incense and song to appease their whims. Others tell tales of hubris, of mortals who sought the giants’ secrets and were cast from the heavens, their screams swallowed by the void. To the cloud giants themselves, the world below is a fleeting concern, a canvas for their ambitions or a stage for their art. Yet, when their gaze turns downward, empires tremble, for the sovereigns of the sky are as boundless in their wrath as they are in their majesty.
You gaze up as the cloud giant steps through the mist, towering and robed in flowing fabric that shifts like drifting fog. Their eyes glint like distant stars, and the air bends gently around them.
Giantfolks are a remarkable and formidable race, born of the noble lineage of giants. They possess a unique combination of giant strength, imposing stature, and remarkable intelligence.
Giantfolks: The Titans of Balance:
Giantfolks are a rare and awe-inspiring race, born of the rich heritage of giants, but marked by a unique equilibrium of might and intellect. Their massive bodies, towering over most other races, exude an imposing presence. However, their immense size takes a toll on their bodies, and they do not live as long as humans, their giant essence balanced by a vulnerability to time.
Supernatural Feats of Strength:
In the heat of battle, giantfolks are known for their supernatural strength. They can lift their own weight effortlessly and employ a remarkable technique - hurling themselves at their opponents with the intent to crush them beneath their colossal mass. The mere charge of a giantfolk can be a devastating force, leaving a trail of flattened adversaries.
Unleashing the Power of Giants:
As giantfolks age, they unlock more of their latent giant powers, further enhancing their strength and battlefield prowess. They can harness these powers in various ways, calling forth thunder and lightning to strike down their enemies or stomping the ground with such force that it cripples and disorients their foes. Their size and strength allow them to serve as living bulwarks, protecting themselves and their allies from harm, making them indispensable assets on the battlefield.
Cunning and Craftsmanship:
Despite their fearsome reputation for strength and combat prowess, giantfolks are far from being mere brutes. They possess a keen intelligence and a natural cunning that enables them to outmaneuver opponents and devise clever tactics during battles. Furthermore, they are accomplished craftsmen, known for creating tools and weapons of immense size and strength that surpass anything crafted by other races. Their works are a testament to their remarkable ingenuity.
A Few, But a Force to Be Reckoned With:
While giantfolks may be a rare race in the world, their presence on the battlefield is nothing short of game-changing. Their might, intelligence, and tactical acumen can singlehandedly turn the tide of a war in favor of their allies. The appearance of giantfolks in your campaign offers opportunities for players to interact with and learn from these unique beings, who embody a striking blend of strength and intellect, presenting a complex and compelling addition to your game world.