Living and Working With Half-Giants

This book appears to have been written by one of the previous commanders of Windstone Fortress, a Captain Bellix. You do not agree with some of his views -- he interprets Half-Giants' natural thoughtfulness as stupidity, and praises them only for their great strength and fighting skill.
Most of the book deals with logical issues; Bellix appears to have been an expert on adjusting supply trains to account for the greater amount of food needed to feed Half-Giant soldiers, and he spends pages discussing the advantages of hiring additional blacksmiths to repair and craft larger armor and weapons. Skimming past these chapters, you arrive at one passage that you find somewhat interesting, it confirms some of your own suspicions:
'However, though they are slow to anger, their anger can be devastating. This is a great advantage for the commander who has the knack of rousing the ire of his troops immediately before a battle, but an angry Half-Giant is a liability at any other time. To prevent incidents, caution your soldiers to be wary of mentioning the name of Elandir around them. They seem to have an irrational hatred for that name, or any other word or object associated with the mythical Agallans.
This may be difficult for very religious soldiers to get used to. I have advised many commanders to direct their troops' devotions to Elandir in a less inflammatory direction; this has resulted in an increase in Xeria worship in recent years. Fortunately, the Half-Giants seem to have no objection to worshipping the Valiant Battle-Mistress.
Be wary also of drawing attention to the strange scar pattern and tattoos sported by Half-Giants. For creatures who decorate themselves so gaudily, they seem to loathe discussing the meanings of their marking; in fact, they seem almost ashamed of them. I have questioned the Half-Giants in my command about them often, but all I have learned is that the scars are not from battles but are self-inflicted.
I would guess that this is some sort of religious ritual, but the Half-Giants do not seem to have any religious beliefs or customs that they have not picked up from more advanced races. Perhaps the truth will never be known.'
Category:Dungeon Siege II
Category:Books