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4th Movement - Giants

Adapted from forum discussions with Josh and Troels.

Giants, as the name implies, are a large, human-like species scattered all over Near. They vary widely in size from ten-foot brutes to beings capable of felling mammoths by hand. Stories tell of even larger giants, big enough to cast a shadow over a whole city and strong enough to lift castles off the ground.

Giants do not look pretty: their musculature knots like tree roots under their skin, with bones jutting at unpractical angles. Thick layers of dirt cake them where their arms can’t reach to keep them clean; sometimes vegetation grows directly on their thick, unfeeling skin. Most are hairy and naked by necessity. Still, the lumbering creature works even as it creaks, rising with an earthquake to shout its rage.

Unfit for society

Giants are rare creatures, as often born of the Human Equation as naturally; they do start families, but only in the most distant parts of the world, such as the Roof of the World or Vulfland tundra. Elsewhere a giant is much more likely to be hunted down long before he meets his match.

This is not to say that people are hostile towards giants; for most they are little more than stories of far past, so rare these creatures are. Giants are not essentially hostile, either – they have a human-like intelligence and aesthetic, they enjoy the same thing humans do.

What makes this association so painful and impossible is the size of the giant, both physically and psychologically: giants eat a lot and often have little patience or care for those smaller than themselves. Stories know to warn of this: giants are depicted as buffoons or hostile rogues in many places. Living with the “little people” is simply too much of a challenge for most. Think of KING KONG, that’s the sort of thing you’d get most of the time trying to interact with a giant. Naturally enough most giants are loners and wanderers.

Adult Temper

Giants vary in size quite a bit, usually growing larger as they get older. Giants themselves do not look at size as the first thing, however: rather, a giant is only considered an adult once his TEMPER awakens. A giant’s Temper is not quite a natural thing from a human viewpoint: rather, it’s the awakening of the giant’s inhuman lusts and yearnings, like a beast within. Some giants fear their temper, and for a reason: it is not always controllable.

An unawakened giant is much like a large human. When the Temper awakens, however, the giant gains an AURA of sorts: natural forces start manifesting around him, especially when he gets angry. The aura is a dark one, not easy to see; many would mistake it for grime or body hair, except when the giant rages and it crawls all over him. The aura magic provides the giant with elemental, brute power unmatched in this world.

Born giants from the fringes of the world might sometimes talk of how they see themselves and their Temper. It is often a wistful story, one that touches on the First and the Ancient: when the world was made all was well, but ever since then people have started seeing farther and farther, which has made for less and less space for giants, who grow smaller and smaller, straining their Temper more and more. The First had no Temper, for they were permitted to grow as large as they would and could. What any of this means, I doubt a giant could say.

Sleep of Seasons

Giants do not grow old, or at least there is no proof of such. They do, however, grow tired. As a giant grows larger and older he heals slower and needs more food and sleep. Ultimately, the giant may go into a long-term hibernation known as the sleep of seasons. This may last years, decades – even centuries, if the giant is not disrupted and he needs the time to heal. Earth and vegetation gather quickly to cover these giants; in fact, their own skin sheds and provides a starting point for the protective coloration. The breath and heart of such a giant slow down to such an extent that it may easily be mistaken for dead.

Many places in modern Near are known as spots where a giant has presumably fallen, often during the chaos of the Skyfire or the Year of Shadow. Superstitious people tread lightly in these places, in fear of awakening the giant sleeping within the crust. Others seek these places in the hopes of awakening a powerful servant. Some worship giants, such as the eponymous King Khale of the Khaleans.

A sleeping giant seems inactive, but this is not quite so: the giant dream is powerful and may influence the world in different ways. The most dramatic event is when the sleeping giant happens upon an AVATAR, a representative it contacts to advocate for itself in the waking world.

A different form of the sleep of seasons is the sleep of rebirth, which may happen for dying giants who possess the Key of Temper. Unless his body is concernedly destroyed (not a mean task), the death of a giant may be near indistinguishable from his sleep. In time, the giant may awaken from this dream, provided that he succeeds in a STATURE (V) check: if he bought off the KEY OF TEMPER when he died, this rebirth happens in human form: the stony form of the dead giant opens to reveal the man inside. Such a character loses access to his giant crunch (not recovering Advances) and continues as a mortal. However, should a giant die in rage, he will only awaken from the sleep of death as a ONE-EYE, a dead, stony apparition driven by the giant’s unspoken appetite. Should a character not awake at all, the player decides when to let the dreaming afterlife of his character lapse.

I should mention that there is one other way for a giant to become human through the KEY OF TEMPER buyoff: a giant who never rages will slowly diminish in size to match the people around him. This is a long and awkward process, but if he can build ties to a human community and keep his Temper in check, then a giant will one day find himself indistinguishable from the people around him. In practice I’d term this a QUEST if something is.

One-Eyed Memories

One-Eyes are not properly characters; rather, they are echoes of true giants that have died, but refused to give way to new life. Such is the giant’s vitality that it animates earth and stone and weirder things to house the giant’s Temper. The One-Eye is an artificial colossus, a mockery of what the giant was like in life.

One-Eyes, despite their origin, do not necessarily differ that much from living giants in their habits. If left in peace, they roam around, seemingly without aim, perhaps grabbing an animal and gnawing at it in imitation of hunger. They rest and wait as well, even if they need no sleep.

A One-Eye can be dangerous to people who do not know what it is and provoke it; it has no morality, and it will not hesitate to squash small people under its bulk. Sometimes tragedies happen when a One-Eye ignores habitation and walks straight in, crushing everything in its way.

One-Eyes were a much more common sight before the Skyfire, when Academy wizards of Maldor had found ways to influence them and even work them for the Empire. One-Eyes were once even collected and sent against the Hamouadi in a bid of desperation. This did not work too well, for the OneEyes then were tempestuous: whenever two of the kind would meet, they would fight to the utter destruction of both.

When the Skyfire came, the One-Eyes all stopped moving as one. Soon they fell over and did not rise, becoming like the earth they came from. It’s taken centuries, but now these old One-Eyes are coming back, rising from the earth.

One-Eyes today have an unspoken connection to each other. When rarely two of the kind should meet, they often start building structures, such as long walls that snake over the countryside, and stranger things besides. Nobody seems to know what they are doing.

One-Eyes in Play

One-Eyes are not characters. In fact, they’re not even monsters like the forgotten dead, but more like furniture or natural phenomena. They are purposefully mysterious: whatever is going on with them, the answers are only found in play. I have my own theories, but I’m not telling.

When a One-Eye is created, the giant’s last STATURE (V) check becomes an Effect that represents the One-Eye’s might. The player of the giant phrases the Effect, determining whatever scrap of the giant remains in his last creation. This Effect works exactly like any other, insofar as the rules are concerned. It just happens to be quite large in leverage, able to destroy fortresses that happen on its way. Characters will find it simple to destroy if they can match it’s rating with an appropriate Ability or outmaneuver it in some way.

As the One-Eye is not an intentional creature, its Effect rating is only ever compared against a character’s check when the character gets directly in the One-Eye’s way. Otherwise the One-Eye mostly causes circumstance penalties or provokes simple Ability checks. In this regard it works exactly like a sandstorm or landslide or other natural disasters; in fact, the One-Eye is pretty much a fantasy disaster for the Story Guide’s toolbox.

One-Eyes are more dangerous when they get numerous, especially now that they cooperate instead of fighting each other. There is a mud-flat in the eastern parts of the Sea of Teeth where a hundred One-Eyes struggle to break free from the slowly drying sea. When they do, who knows what they will do.

Giants in Near

Giants are usually encountered only one at a time. Were a character to meet a whole family, or a tribe, he’d know that he’s surely on one of the very edges of Near – Roof of the World, perhaps, or other places where giants can live in peace.

In the civilized lands there is hardly any room for giants, whose bumbling ways, troublesome size and temperament are sure to make them enemies of organized government sooner or later. Merely existing among people of normal size is story enough for a giant; indeed, where giants have worked their feats of strength, they’ve rarely been anything but legendary figures.

Goren is something of an exception to this rule in that the Gorenite Jošland has plenty of room for giants. Even in Old Goren probably half a dozen different families herd sheep in the frontier valleys and gorges of the Roof, journeying east to trade with Gorenite towns. The age-old ways tend to be disrupted by Highland Saints, however, as they have learned in the Roof to not trust in the goodwill of giants.

Abilities - Giants

Stature (V)
This Ability reflects the giant’s size, and his skill at using his size effectively. We don’t usually measure giant size in feet or meters; rather, a check of this Ability can be used to find out if a giant is “large enough” for a given purpose. I’m thinking of things like ripping trees from their roots or lifting a person on a rooftop. The Ability is also useful as support in anything where large size and strength would be of use.

Secrets - Giants

Secret of Giant
Giants are much larger than most people. When a giant can make his size count in conflict, he can annul the result by flexing himself; this does not by itself cause a simple conflict to extend, but if it does, the opposition cannot benefit from SURPRISE bonus dice. However, there is a price: the giant heals slowly, and any Harm he has at the end of extended conflict goes up one step (to a maximum of MORTAL (6)) instead of shaking down.
Cost: check difference in Vigor to shake off the result.
Secret of Bulk
The character has an extra level in his Harm track, sharing a number with an existing level. This Secret can be gained multiple times. The first extra level is Mortal, the second Major, the third Minor, and repeat; the extra levels are distributed evenly to numbers in their categories.
Secret of Soft Touch
The character has learned to restrain himself when interacting with lesser creatures. His STATURE associates with INSTINCT as well, and he can buy penalty dice for it as well as bonus dice, should he wish to intentionally reduce the impact of his size on the environment.
Secret of Deep Sleep
The character’s rest is deep and healing. By forgoing a refreshment opportunity and sleeping instead, he can shake down all of his Harm and make a STATURE (V) check to heal a level. Waking up to disturbance requires a RESIST (R) check.
Secret of True Avatar
The giant’s dream avatar can be a person who visits the dreaming place. The giant is aware and can communicate with his avatar freely. He can also share his Pools with the avatar, as well as any Secrets the avatar is physically capable of using.
Requirements: SECRET OF DREAM AVATAR
Secret of Temper
The character has awakened his AURA. The character can shake off any social or magical compulsion by going into a rage; this does not by itself cause a simple conflict to extend, but if it does, the opposition cannot benefit from SURPRISE bonus dice. However, there is a price: anybody refreshing Pools with the giant is prone to suffer Harm equal to a STATURE (V) check when interacting intimately with his unrestrained nature; a REACT (I) check from the victim can be used to reduce the amount of Harm.
Cost: check difference in Instinct to shake off the result.
Secret of the Sleep of Seasons
The giant can go into a long, deep sleep. The sleeping giant is considered a part of the landscape by the fauna and flora, and will not care for sustenance nor conditions of his environment while he sleeps. The sleeping giant can awaken by being Harmed or with a successful REACT (I) check in reaction to considerable disturbance; otherwise he continues sleeping indefinitely. The sleeping giant is healed of all Harm, and will not need sleep afterwards for however long the sleep of seasons lasted.
Requirements: SECRET OF TEMPER, SECRET OF DEEP SLEEP.
Secret of Chaos Aura
The character’s very movement causes a disturbance within his aura. Elven auras are suppressed in the presence of the giant, unless the elf succeeds in a RESIST (R) check against his STATURE (V). When the character rages, others nearby have to make REACT (I) checks against his STATURE (V) to regain their balance.
Requirement: SECRET OF TEMPER
Secret of the Giant Dream
The giant’s dream world is somewhat real, reflecting his experiences and knowledge welling from deep inside. The character may have normal scenes framed for him within his dream, in which he is human and not a giant. Anything may happen to the character mechanically in the dream, except that dying in the dream ends the sleep.
Requirements: SECRET OF DEEP SLEEP
Secret of the Evil Eye
The character’s eye holds such power that it kills on sight. Using the eye enables mortal stakes in conflict. A RESIST (R) check against his STATURE (V) may be used to resist. The eye cannot be turned off.
Requirement: SECRET OF TEMPER
Secret of Encompassing Dream
The giant’s dream influences the place of his rest in subtle ways. The spot becomes a soft place of dream shamanism. The player of the giant can describe how natural forces and happenstance shape the terrain. In any scene happening in the place, the player can make a STATURE (V) check for a pool of dice, usable as bonus or penalty Gift Dice for anything happening in the scene.
Requirements: SECRET OF THE SLEEP OF SEASONS
Secret of Colossal Size
The character is of an older breed, of a clearly larger scale than the average giant. He can feasibly use his STATURE (V) for Gulliver-style feats, such as damming rivers with his body. He also has superior LEVERAGE in conflicts where his size matters; he wins wrestling matches and such automatically against lesser creatures. However, the colossal giant does not recover normally: he cannot use natural healing or plain Ability checks to heal Harm.
Requirements: SECRET OF TEMPER, more SECRET OF BULK than any other character in the campaign has at the moment.
Secret of Dream Avatar
The sleeping giant’s consciousness can possess the form of an animal in his place of dreaming. The giant is still dreaming, so the avatar’s actions are non-aware, even if full of intent. If the giant’s spot is a soft place, he can also manifest in a elemental shape or plant life.
Requirements: SECRET OF DEEP SLEEP

Keys - Giants

Key of Temper
The character suffers of a volatile temperament that almost has a mind of its own.
1xp: Over-react to stimulus of any kind.
2xp: Regret your indiscretions.
5xp: Go on a rampage.
Buyoff: Become human by dying satisfied, or by slowly diminishing in stature.
Key of Awkward Size
The character is like a Disney movie protagonist, earnestly looking for his place in the world.
1xp: Cause humiliating trouble by being clumsy or inconsiderate.
2xp: Complain to a friend about how inconsiderate other people are.
5xp: Break a relationship out of frustration.
Buyoff: Save everybody with your thews.
Key of Society
The character has managed to create himself a place in community.
1xp: Interact with the others.
2xp: Work around your size to participate.
5xp: Use your strength and size to help the community greatly.
Buyoff: Lose your place and become outcast.