in a sealed habitat atop a tower taller than the sky
and thinner than a needle, beyond even the meagre warmth of the upper
air, descending from it on the back of a steel centipede.
2
on the verge of a rift in reality that leads to the
negative energy plane, a sucking wound in the world where heat and life
seep away.
3
in a fleet of icebergs hollowed out and converted into dreadnoughts.
4
in log cabins and longhouses in the taiga.
5
on the tundra in tents made from the skins and bones of dragons and other great beasts of the wastes.
6
in a glacier-castle above the snow line of a mountain.
D6
These frost giants have
1
tusks and broad, sharp claws, the better to chip through permafrost and rimy meat with.
2
snowflake patterns burned into their skin.
3
withered noses, ears, and lips, as if they’ve got frostbite.
4
broad antlers decked with lichen.
5
translucent bluish flesh, their organs visible as brilliant sapphires within.
6
stocky limbs and dull grey skin with a thick layer of blubber beneath.
D6
These frost giants are led by
1
a king elected at a decennial assembly called the
skardthing, where warriors compete to show off their most impressive
scar and the story behind it.
2
a weeping prophetess encased in a pillar of ice. She is
able to communicate using only her eyes, which are kept unfrozen by the
warmth of her tears.
3
an inspired poet-chief who is able to weave an irresistably compelling metanarrative for their society.
4
a polar hag, who draws her magic from the act of dividing unities into mutually-destructive opposites.
5
a magnetic medium who can channel the plasmic intelligences of the aurora.
6
raider-plutocrats who buy their influence with stolen wealth.
D6
These frost giants can
1
curse their enemies with a frozen heart that feels no warmth or joy or love.
2
cryogenically freeze themselves, acquiring an odd sort of immortality until they thaw.
3
freeze the air itself into arms and armour.
4
shroud themselves in a sudden blizzard.
5
call up the ravenous spirits that turn cannibals into ghouls.
6
return from death as ice-cold draugr to avenge
themselves if they’re murdered, and raise those they kill as the same as
undead thralls.
D6
These frost giants tame
1
the winds, using them to carry messages, spy, and harass trespassers on their territory.
2
woolly rhinos, which they harness to pull their fir-and-ivory chariots.
3
wolverines, finding their aggression to be cute.
4
snow monkeys, which they train to fetch drinks, smooth out coats, and perform other little chores and tricks.
5
yetis, putting them in crude armour and chasing them into battle as shock troops.
6
dire foxes as big as wolves, using them to flush out prey.
D6
These frost giants enjoy
1
binge drinking accompanied by contests of belching and flatulence.
2
ice-skating as well as a literally bone-crunching sport that's sort of like hockey.
3
lounging in saunas and hot springs.
4
skiing and causing avalanches.
5
riddles and word games.
6
feasts of fermented fish and waterbirds.
Bonus - What even are giants, and why are there so many kinds of them?:
D6
What even are giants?
1
A new generation of nephilim, hybrid experiments created with the angels captured in Sodom.
2
The favoured servants of the gods, bolstered to withstand their glory.
3
Sapient fragments of the primordial titian who was butchered to make the world.
4
An attempt by a forgotten empire to breed a race of supersoldiers.
5
Fey creatures exiled from Fairyland for their coarseness.
6
Descendants of a tribe of former gods thrown down to earth by victorious rivals in the celestial realms.
D6
Why are there so many kinds of giant?
1
They instinctually draw on local geomantic flows to
supplement the energy they get from food. This is turn causes them to
reflect their environment.
2
They must make pacts with the dominant spirits of the land they’re in to keep from collapsing under their own weight.
3
Their particular growth makes them prone to mutation and speciation.
4
Their inherent magic makes their flesh mildly
psychoreactive, like a psychedelic trip, prone to being influenced by
set and setting.
5
There aren’t, in truth. Humans have simply mistook
different giant cultures in different environments for different
essential kinds, in the same way that a giant might believe a person
from Finland to be a “frost human”.
6
They’ve got severe sectarian tendencies and will
deliberately alter themselves on an essential level to distinguish
themselves from other groups of giants.
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