Giants

Discussion of Elder Scrolls lore and how it will be used in SHotN
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Taniquetil
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Giants

Post by Taniquetil »

Some named giants + background lore + quest ideas, crossposted from discord.

Hostile giants:

Makon - Mulikykhentha (Eastmarch, Hirsing Mountains)

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  • An old, territorial hill giant who once put the nail though the face of Guri Nail-Face of Skerd. Makon himself would be similarly battle-scarred from centuries of fighting with Guri and his descendants. Leads a small clan, though his family is rarely seen.
  • The player could help Skerd finish off their sworn enemy once and for all, or broker a shaky peace between the two, probably with gifts aplenty for both parties.
Agutasertak - Fort Anthakis (The Pale/White Hold, Gorvigh Ridge)

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  • A clever giant whose territory serves as a convenient buffer zone on Danstrar's southwestern frontier. Tolerated by Queen Macalla and her predecessors ever since Whiterun fell into chaos, Aguasertak has taken the abandoned Reman Fort Anthakis as her stronghold.
  • In order to surreptitiously weaken the Pale and incentivize the Danstrar marriage, King Thian could send the player to "remove" Agutasertak. The PC could just kill her, or get her to leave by some other method (setting her up with Selt?)
Urtalgak and Rukaag - Avighna Cave (Falkreath, Jerall Mountains)

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  • Pair of hill giant brothers living in a cave high in the Jeralls. Some of Elinhir's forces accidentally strayed into the giants' territory when the Bend'r Mahk War was still going in Hammerfell's favor, and Urtalgak and Rukaag slaughtered them mercilessly. Falkreath leaves them alone, out of equal parts gratitude and fear.
  • The player might be tasked with recovering an artifact or treasure of the defeated Redguards from the giants' lair without disturbing them.
Mubrog (White Hold, Troll's Teeth)

Image (art by Ateiggaer)
  • Mubrog's lair is a deep cave system that he wrested from cultists of Vaermina. Rumors say the hill giant lost his sanity in the process, and now wanders ever-dreamwalking beneath the earth.
  • Mubrog's head is wrapped in a curse of perpetual darkness as he dreams of the endless, cold, and lonely cosmos. The Vaerminite curse causes the giant to see the cave as an endless labyrinth and conjures horrors to chase him to exhaustion. The player would have the option to help Mubrog by dispelling the curse (or putting him out of his misery) or leave him to his lifetime of suffering. Ideally, this would involve taking a trip into the dreamworld labyrinth yourself.
Jorok (Hrothgar/The Rift, Gjerde Hills)

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  • An infamously brutal hill giant, Jorok somehow was persuaded to ally with the nearby Darmukh orc stronghold to fight off attacks from Hrothgar and Nimalten.
  • Jorok could be made non-hostile, potentially even a temporary follower, if the player establishes rapport with the orcs.
Thulror (Morrowind, Uld Vraech)

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  • Nasty hill giant menacing both the Nail-Knock Reavers and the Redoran at Mandul. Moved over the Velothis into Morrowind during the chaos of the Simulacrum, and has been a thorn in everyone's side ever since.
  • Player could kill Thulror for House Redoran, or maybe bait him into attacking a Redoran outpost for the Reavers.
Betukk-Ar (Roscrea, [Northern mountains])

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  • Blind, deaf, maybe-senile frost giant clad in ornate, ancient armor. Betukk-Ar was once Atmoran royalty who decided to stay on Roscrea rather than push onward to Tamriel. Due to proximity to nearby time-thawing operations, he woke up a hundred years ago after several thousand years of effective stasis.
  • Although communication with Betukk-Ar is effectively impossible, the player might trick the giant back into a state of relative calm by recreating a facsimile of his court in ways the old giant could still feel with his remaining senses (i.e. lighting braziers for warmth, setting out great feasts of food, burning incense).
Non-hostile giants:

Selt - Iliivatu (Haafinheim, Drajkmyr Marsh)

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  • An ancient Atmoran giant who lives in a mysterious, crumbling temple at the boundary between swamp and sea. Selt is revered and feared in equal measure by the Hjaal, who often bring him offerings. Selt is said to have been among Ysgramor's Five Hundred Companions
Tartaag - Tagutatorvog (White Hold, Skaldring Mountains)

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Tartaag and his clan
  • A hill giant claiming descent from the legendary Valstaag, who seeks to return with his dwindling clan down from the mountains to his forefathers' lands to the west.
  • The player could help Tartaag by recovering "Valstaag's Toothpick", bringing it to Whiterun and demanding that Tartaag's people (no more than 4 or 5 at this point) be allowed back into the western hills in recognition of their ancient pact with Ysgramor. Lainalten would strongly object, of course. Added Jsashe weirdness could add another layer of fun.
Ogartor - Atkgalitum (Winter Hold, Mount Arnthor)

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Atkagalitum
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  • A giant living in an intimidating stone-hewn fortress built on a shoulder of Mount Arnthor. Although travelers avoid him out of fear, he isn't actually hostile, just very prickly and standoffish.
  • Ogartor needs nothing from anyone, but the player might help a Winterhold academic by asking the ancient giant about some touchy, but nearly-forgotten history. The player would need to word their question carefully and with proper reverence to avoid offending Ogartor's pride.
Vrenmalog (Haafinheim, Kilkreath Mountains)

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Vrenmalog wandering the wilds
  • Nomadic giant who has been known to range from Solitude Forest all the way to the shores of the Balothian Bay in High Rock. Locals say he speaks surprisingly good Tamrielic, and will trade a good story.
  • Prince Oringar, younger son of King Barda of the Reach, met Vrenmalog while wandering the wilds just before being shipped out with the Legions from Fort Northwatch. Despite the Reach's fraught history with giants, Prince Oringar and Vrenmalog retain a healthy mutual respect. As part of the Reach Main Quest, if the player chooses to support Oringar's claim for the throne of the Reach, Oringar could ask the player to seek out Vrenmalog to speak on his behalf at the Tsunholm kingsmoot as a show of power/prestige play. The PC would be charged with finding Vrenmalog and convincing him to risk a trip to the Reach.
Gakta (Roscrea, [Whalers' Coast])

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(Minus the heads)
  • Gakta is a peaceable frost giant living on an oceanside plateau. She is angry at a party of Breton whalers who have camped atop an ancient Atmoran burial site Gakta considers sacred. Unfortunately, she doesn't know a single word of Tamrielic, so she's been passive-aggressively taking ivory from the camp to get them to leave.
  • The Bretons have no idea why Gakta keeps taking their ivory, but they're very irritated. The player could steal the ivory back, or find a way to communicate via gestures (or perhaps recovered snippets of Atmoran phrases). If the player chooses diplomacy, they would then need to convince the Bretons to set up camp someplace else.
Ugaar and Niam - Haltogtumiitok (White Hold, White Plains)
  • A younger giant couple, leaders of a fairly ordinary clanstead north of Whiterun. Haltogtumiitok is known for its aggressive mammoths, and Whiterun residents give the clanstead a wide berth.
Jotdhor - Utkarshamut (Eastmarch, Troll's Teeth)
  • The Utkarshamut clanstead is extremely remote and high in the Troll's Teeth mountains. Jotdhor and his clan lead lives of bleak subsistence far from any who may disturb them.
Aduthaalwe - Qimutig-Gilat (The Rift, Hrimbald Plateau)
  • Aduthaalwe is the amiable matriarch of one of Skyrim's more friendly giant settlements. The giants of Qimutig-Gilat often trade mammoth products with the nearby Eastmarch village of Thundstrad, which provides cattle in return.
  • The player might be asked to disrupt this happy trade relationship on behalf of the local Eastmarch Jarl (or Thane).
Jarmungdrung - Ramprasandat (Hrothgar, Throat of the World)
  • Ramprasandat is a colossal fortress built on a high shoulder of Snow Throat, in clear view of Hrothgar city. Jarmungdrung is said to have once been counted among the Greybeards, though it is whispered that he is even older than they. Though he rarely leaves Ramprasandat, Jarmungdrung's bellowing Voice can be often be heard as far away as Helgen and Riverwood.
Hjeorn - Wyl Neidre castle dungeons (High Rock, [Western Reach highlands])

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  • Hjeorn was captured by forces of the local duke after he migrated out of the Malekna Woods a few months ago, and is currently living a bleak existence in the dungeons beneath Wyl Neidre. He's being experimented upon by the court wizard, and generally not doing great. The player can assist the court wizard with experimenting on the giant, or help him escape.
Last edited by Taniquetil on Tue Dec 22, 2020 2:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Taniquetil
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Post by Taniquetil »

I think it might be a good idea to dispense with the frost/hill giant distinction entirely, and have each giant look unique via a base giant race with face and apparel customization, rather than a creature. This would let the player acquire giant items easily, would make giants easy to individually distinguish, and would have the additional advantage of leaving Karstaag as a truly unique entity like King Dead Wolf Deer, something (someone?) who defies classification.
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Post by Vern »

Karstaag is identified as A frost giant though, implying their are others that look as he does. I advocate the race path for hill giants, but Frost Giants should still exist separately as well. Being more bestial they'd not really be applicable for the shift over to being a race though, sadly.

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Post by Taniquetil »

Some images for giant camps

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Post by Taniquetil »

Added several more giants and updated some of the old ones. Unfortunately, several of the new ones don't have concept images - you'll just have to use your imagination.
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Post by Northumbria »

Hmm I might try to post some ideas for giants

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