Goliath

## **Overview**

The Least & the Last, as others sometimes term thems,  Goliaths are probably the final product of the Titans bloodlines in the world. Despite these perjoratives, their tall bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone & give them great physical power. Their spirits take after the wandering wind, often making them nomads who wander from peak to airy peak. Their hearts are infused with the cold of their frigid homelands, burdening each with the responsibility to earn a place in their clan or die trying. Driven competitors, every day brings a new challenge such as the food, water, & shelter so rare in the uppermost mountain reaches or vast blasted plains, where a single mistake can bring doom to the tribe or an individual’s heroic effort can ensure everyones survival.

Goliaths thus place a premium on self-sufficiency & individual skill. They have a compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds & tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Goliaths love to win, & tend to see defeat as a lesson, a prod to improve their skills & outdo their past efforts...such dedication to competition has a dark, obsessive side that has corrupted more than a few. If one slays a dragon, they might seek out a larger, more powerful wyrm to battle. Few goliath adventurers reach old age, as most die attempting to surpass their past accomplishments.

Physically they have no appreciable sexual dimorphism & they find societies with roles divided between the sexes to be puzzling. To a goliath, at the end of the day the person who is best at a job should be the one tasked with doing it, regardless of  temporary or potential conditions such as gestation & societal expectations. Still, these are generalisations of a people of many cultures, the main ones being detailed below...

## **Clans of Parth**

Wild & free are the two words that always fit the many clans of Parth, brutal nomads who wander the vast plains between the Fey forests worshipping the Old Gods. Their pitliess environment demands a pitiless attitude, & even the followers of Crag are harsh toward perceived failures. Whilst these will care for their sick or injured to a point, the hungry & fierce followers of Coldar will certainly tolerate no perceived weakness amongst their number. These are the majority of the barbarian Goliath Clans of Parth, who would rather die in battle at the peak of strength & skill than endure the slow decay of old age...even those who have left their people grapple with the urge to give up their lives as their physical skills decay. Because of their brutal lifestyles, these tribes suffer from a chronic lack of the experience offered by longterm leaders. They hope for innate wisdom in their leadership, for they can rarely count on a wisdom grown with age. This keeps the vast clans fragmented & devoted to their own wellbeing, perhaps for the best when one considers what Parth could do united...

## **Clans of Gram**

Holding to the remnants of their ancestors & finding much in common with their Dwarven neighbours, the rarer Goliaths of Gram adhere to a much more rigid & lawful existence than their cousins in nearby countries. Dwelling in the mountaintops along the south-eastern edges of the Dwarven empire, they keep wary eyes on the world for their allies & in return are viewed with some awe as living manifestations of divine blood by the Dwarvenfolk. Life is still hard, but their active community roles & clergy keep them focused & sincere in their efforts to improve their suroundings, lending them to create permanent, stone-slab based settlements in the heights. These are the Goliaths who give rise to the reputation for honourable competition as recreation & a strict meritocratic mindset.

## **Clans of Tuch**

Bitter & broken, the wane & warped inhabitants of Tuch hold to neither the lawful traditions of their western neighbours nor the harmonious passions of distant Parth's clans. Few in number, these wretched & gaunt beings struggle daily simply to exist, as twisted & tormented by the land as it's other denizens. Most actively worship the Dark Gods but of particular mention are the mad devotees of Syhl, berserk warriors with regard for neither life nor logic, who scream obsenities to the sky as they rend their own flesh along with their foes...

## **Names**

Every goliath has three names: a birth name up to three syllables long assigned by the newborn’s parents, a nickname assigned by the tribal chief, & a clan name five syllables or more & end in a vowel. A goliath’s nickname is a description that can change on the whim of a chieftain or tribal elder refering to a notable deed, success or failure. Goliaths assign & use nicknames with their friends & change them to refer to an individual’s notable deeds. Goliaths present all three names when identifying themselves, in the order of birth name, nickname, & clan name. In casual conversation, they use their nickname.

**Example Birth Names**: Aukan, Eglath, Gae-Al, Gauthak, Ilikan, Keothi, Kuori, Lo-Kag, Manneo, Maveith, Nalla, Orilo, Paavu, Pethani, Thalai, Thotham, Uthal, Vaunea, Vimak

**Example Nicknames:** Bearkiller, Dawncaller, Fearless, Flintfinder, Horncarver, Keeneye, Lonehunter, Longleaper, Rootsmasher, Skywatcher, Steadyhand, Threadtwister, Twice-Orphaned, Twistedlimb, Wordpainter

**Example Clan Names**: Anakalathai, Elanithino, Gathakanathi,Kalagiano, Katho-Olavi, Kolae-Gileana, Ogolakanu, Thuliaga, Thunukalathi, Vaimei-Laga

## **Traits**

* **Ability Score Increase:** +2 Constitution, +1 Strength.
* **Age:** Comparable to a Human. They enter adulthood in their late teens & usually live less than a century.
* **Alignment:** Goliaths of Gram, with its clear roles & tasks, have a strong Lawful bent. Those of Parth possess a sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self-sufficiency & personal accountability, inclining them toward Neutrality. The inhabitants of Tuch are driven to the Chaotic by the very land they inhabit.
* **Size:** Medium. Goliaths average between 7-8' & from 280-340lbs.
* **Speed:** Base Walking Speed of 30'.
* **Languages:** You can speak, read & write Giant as well as your choice of either Common ***OR***Dwarven.
* **Natural Athlete:** Gain Proficiency in the Athletics skill.
* **Powerful Build:** You count as one Size larger when determining your carrying capacity & weight you can push, drag or lift.
* **Mountain Born:** You’re acclimated to high altitude including elevations above 20,000 feet & naturally adapted to cold climates as described in the DMG.
* **Stone’s Endurance:** You may occasionally stoically shrug off injury. When you take damage you may use your Reaction to roll a D12,  add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled & reduce the incoming damage by that total. You can’t do this again until you finish a Short or Long rest.