Page 32 - Volo's Guide to Monsters

of stone giants, so their clothing tends to be simple and The term refers both to the giants' forebears and to
practical. Second, these giants are the least accom- the chamber inside each stone giant settlement where
plished members of the clan. They are good at ambush- they "reside."
ing and throwing rocks, but they aren't leaders or even A dead (or sometimes merely dying) stone giant is
typical examples of their kind. carried into the ancestors' chamber and leaned up-
Even if the giants accept the offered tribute as permis- right against the end of one of the rows of dead already
sion to enter their territory, they might demand a higher there. The body gradually calcifies over many decades,
price to pass through it. Usually this "gift" is a service until it becomes indistinguishable from an enormous
of some kind-a task the giants would rather not do or stalagmite.
that they're unable to perform, such as chasing kobolds Family members visit this tomb-chamber often to pay
out of a narrow cave or retrieving something from deep respects to their ancestors. Some of these visits, espe-
within a lake. (Stone giants are poor swimmers; they cially by elderly giants who know they will soon take
dislike entering water at all unless they can easily walk their place there, last for weeks or even months.
across the bottom.)
Stone giants rarely keep pets. They sometimes culti- STORM GIANTS
vate colonies of giant bats at the edges of their territory,
Storm giants, the most powerful and majestic of
both for a food source and as a warning system against
giant-kind, are also the most aloof and the least under-
intruders. They also don't mind sharing their caves or
stood. Uvarjotens aren't just forces of nature; they are
warrens with cave bears, fire beetles, and other beasts
bound to nature, and are extensions of it, in mystical
that mean them no harm. They keep their other sub-
ways that humans find hard to comprehend.
terranean neighbors at arm's length. Purple worms
are their greatest bane, because a hungry worm chews 0RDNING OF OMENS
through everything it encounters, including the giants' Each storm giant knows its status in the ordning by the
finest carvings and sculptures. Xorns are among the signals the universe sends them. Omens might be seen
few creatures that are appreciated by stone giants; in the wheeling flight of a flock of birds, the patterns in
their passage through the earth causes no damage, and sand left by a receding tide, the shapes of clouds, or any
their alien modes of thought make them interesting to number of other natural phenomena. Storm giants that
talk with. receive the greatest number of such messages generally
rank highest, but the significance of individual signs
LIFE IN THE DARK
can also affect one's status. On the rare occasions when
Stone giants see well in darkness, and the caves and
storm giants meet, omens and signs accompany each
grottoes where they live are kept dark most of the time.
individual, making it plain to all present who ranks
They don't prefer. to use illumination for any purpose
where. Arguments about ranking within the ordning are
that's not related to creating or displaying art. rare, but all the giants in the group studiously examine
Most of a giant's waking hours are taken up with every sign for evidence that one among them might be
meeting its responsibilities, whether that is a low-rank- the greatest yet, since the revelation of that fact would
ing pursuit or an artistic one. A tribe's chieftain or
herald Annam's return.
another leader such as a shaman determines when Ever since Ostoria fell and Annam abandoned his
the tribe's guards and hunters are on or off duty. Other
children., no sole king or emperor has ruled over giant-
giants align their sleeping and waking schedules with
kind. According to legend, the arrival of such a leader
stone giants higher in the ordning from whom they
will be presaged by signs and omens in all the elements
seek to learn.
of the world: the sky (air), the sea (water), the conti-
Masters of the arts can ask much of lower-ranking
nents (earth), and the underworld (fire). All of these are
students, including waking early to be sure the master
has food upon rising, or staying awake while the master
Mooos O F STRONMAUS
sleeps to create something the master will need (or will
Storm giants pay homage to Stronmaus, the eldest of An-
judge) upon waking. For one reason or another, about
nam's children, who is also the most joyful and the most
three quarters of a tribe's members are awake at any
prone to laughter and enjoying fellowship with his siblings.
given time. That image of Stronmaus is in sharp contrast to how
When outside their settlements, stone giants travel al- storm giants are perceived in the world: aloof and dour.
most exclusively in darkness or-when they dare to visit Nonetheless, it is an accurate one.
the surface world- at night, the better to avoid the glar- In the giants' legends, Stronmaus is subject to gray
ing dreams and visions that would assail them during moods and deep brooding that are just as intense as his
daylight. A stone giant that visits the surface for too long moments of good humor. It is also true that storm giants
or is forced out from underground risks becoming lost aren't as humorless as popular notions paint them to be.
They're quiet and reserved when they're by themselves,
in the realm of dreams, living ever after as a twisted ver-
which is how they spend most of their time. But when they
sion of its former self that the giants call a dreamwalker
get together with others of their kind, they enjoy mirth,
(see chapter 3 for more information on this creature).
song, and drink as much as Stronmaus does. For the sake
of their privacy and for the safety of smaller beings in the
TuE LINJENSTEIN
vicinity, these rare gatherings occur far from the presence
When a stone giant reaches the end of its tremendously of other creatures, thus perpetuating the giants' reputation
long life, it joins the Linjenstein ("ancestors of stone"). for always being gloomy and grim.