25 May 2022

d20 Personages of the mid-winter court of the storm giant king

Serving as a record of the impressions of the giants of the Storm Kings Court from a night of feasting. Also a d20 random giant NPC list. The atmosphere in the court has been grim throughout the night. Some small groups have seemed to enjoy each others company but most of the tale telling has had a thread of spiteful competitiveness. Noone doubts that very few of the giants present actually want to be here.

1. Crom Danu the Omen-haunted. Storm giant King, slumped brooding in his throne staring out at the storms that wrack the mountaintops below. His griffons roost along the edge of the open throneroom. The tales proclaimed of him are of mighty battles against the dragons hundreds of years ago and harsh judgements that often turned out to be for the best later. The whispers around the tables are that he has grown obsessed with the firbolg and druidic rebels who defy the Orthang.

2. Irsun Lenevar, Elder of the Court, an ancient cloud giant dressed in ceremonial garb of the storm giants, gnarled hands locked around his rune-carved staff. Hailed in tales as scourge of the upstarts - half-giants, goliaths, firbolgs, animalings - once regent of the cloud giants, master of the castle Lightnings Bane, now keeper of the ancient ways and advisor to the Storm King on his judgments. The tales of his victories are from centuries ago, before the dragonblooded came down from the mountains, when the Old Kings of the animalings ruled.

3. Duchess Tigern Belenus - ruler of the cloud giants, magnificently costumed in the wealth of a nation, with a glare to challenge a basilisk. Lady of the Garden of Ambul, which she won from a djinni after it promised she could not tour its home without expressing awe at its magnificence. After touring the citadel and finding it lacking to her desires, the duchess captured the djinni and forced it to now bear its one-time castle about through the skies. The talk of the tables is of her challenge to the king, that he has stalled too long seeking the right omens. The hill giants and goliaths are said to run riot in the lands of the small folk, why are their betters kept from doing as they see fit? She is not pleased that her challenge to produce the missing Charter Stone has been met by these small folk visitors.

4. Sarathul, Kings Hunter, a lean fire giant with no flame licking over his charcoal grey skull and staring eyes that give the impression of wishing they were swinging their greatsword at you already. Hailed as the provisioner of the feast, bringer of the most to the kings table, tireless hunter that always catches what seeks. Partakes of foot wrestling against the fire gianst in his retinue, throwing them without fail in hall-shaking victories.

5. Oromus the Hold-Breaker, stone giant, simply dressed. Lauded as dwarf-eater and favoured by the storm king for bringing the most treasure to his vaults. He sits still among the scowling stone giants, letting them argue before quelling them with a twitch of his lips when he deigns to speak.

6. Zen the Cunning, frost giant elder, gaunt and clothed in seers robes. Said to have a great hoard hidden deep in the northern mountains, one he tricked white dragons to gather for him, raiding the lands of the small folk and each other until they were weak from gathering all their treasure, and Zen slew them one by one and took the treasure for his own. First to leave the hall once the feasting neared its conclusion.

7. Emil the Far Ranging, dressed in great furs of no creature anyone recognises. Said to keep a menagerie of creatures from every land on this world in his flying castle, Cloud Piercer, every one of which he hunted with his own hands. Speaks loudly against the bar on raiding small folk, glares venomously at the new guests.

8. Aloine the Watcher, clothed in swathes of rich cloth embroidered with all the stars of the night sky. Said to have faced down a star creature that landed on her flying castle, the Golden Tower, and so twisted its minds with her riddles that it threw itself from her castle walls in despair and plummetted to its doom. Sits still as a clear sky, listens to the Duchess mostly.

9. Pegel the Wary - a stout frost giant, clad to display his mighty physique, impressive even for giant-kind. Hailed as peerless tracker, bringing of legendary beasts to the king, inescapable hand of the kings wrath. Brags to the other frost giants in his retinue, springs easily to his feet to tell tales of his great deeds. Watches Sarathul when he thinks Sarathul is not looking.

10. Wrog the Stargazer. Storm giant. Reads the omens in the shiftings of the stars. Dressed in great flowing robes with tightly braided hair. Said to have thrown a spear through a storm and split a mountain with the gathered lightning because both the mountain and the storm were in the way of his viewings. Argues loudly with the other storm giants, insists that the stars show that a time of great change is upon them.

11. Cerosh the Soothsayer. Storm giant. Dressed in hunters furs, tales about her are incomprehensibly strange accounts of deep sea exploits. One that draws the most approving nods from the other giants is how she wrenched the pearl as big as her fist that tops her staff from an enormous scallop. Pokes idly through the remains of the feast.

12. Gron the Bonecaster. Storm giant. Dressed in the most formal robes of any of the storm giants. Said to have caught a roc with their own hands and followed the tellings of its bones to the richest vein of ore on the Plateau. The fire giants all toast this while Gron sits expressionless, watching the room.

13. Mal the Reader of Prophecy. Storm giant. A diver of the deeps beneath the mountains. Said to have braved a maelstrom in the roots of the earth, stolen a library of the tentacled ones and brought it back to gift to the king. Makes up the other side of most of the arguments to Wrog.

14. Shar Danu. Cloud giant, youngest of those in the hall, she sits near the fire giants and stares out into the storms like her father. No one speaks of her deeds, nor whispers about her when they talk amongst themselves.

15. Donnacha the Brewer, Fire giant, taciturn, sits glowering into his tankard or stares into the great fireplaces flames. His presenting tankards and casks to the King was the only time the King looked pleased this night.

16. Vosemar Matrigan, lord of the Stone giants, not present. Spoken only of in whispers or obliquely with a shrug or a wince by others, often followed by a glance to the west.

17. King Machan of the Fire giants. Present in the tales of the court though absent in body. The fire giants speak of his valour and great craftworks. The storm giants speak of his great friendship and loyalty to Crom Danu.

18. Thane Airgetlleu of the Frost Giants, not present. Tales speak of mighty beasts of the frozen north subdued by this greatest of hunters. The tales say she may be the greatest of her kind since the ice age. The fire giants say this warily, the frost giants with pride.

19. Brok the Brutal. Not present. Hill giant overlord. The butt of jokes in the tales. No mention is made of the destruction being wreaked by the hill giants across the small folk of the low lands.

20. Ulsan the white wolf. The winter wolf who came with the frost giants. Has been watching the new comers unceasingly.

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