d20 Paradigm Concepts Races of Legend Lords of the Peaks.pdf

Product Identity

All material that appears in a frame similar to this one is

considered to be Arcanis-specific material and is therefore

reserved as product identity. Such product identity may not

be disseminated without express written consent of

Paradigm Concepts, Inc.

DESIGNATION OF OPEN CONTENT

All material contained in a box that matches this one with

the following exceptions: the proper names of NPCs, all

description/persona information, mention of Arcanis

specific locations, deities or races is too be considered to

be open gaming content and if so used must bear the

derivative of the System Reference Document and are ©

1999,2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Cover: Jim Pavelec

Artists: Andrew Baker, Paul Carrick,

Bob Giadrosich, Veronica Jones,

Eric Lofgren, Raven Mimura,

Steve Snyder

Except as otherwise identified, all portions of this publication

reserved. The mention of, use of or reference to any

company, trademark or product in this publication is not a

challenge to the trademark of copyright in question.

Dungeons and Dragons ® and Wizards of the Coast ® are

registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast and are used

with permission. The D20 System and D20 System Logo are

registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast and are used

under the terms of the D20 System Trademark License

Version 1.0. The D20 System Trademark License Version

1.0 can be found at: http://wizards.com/d20/files/d20stlv2.rtf.

Editors: Melissa L Miller

Layout: Victor Choy Designs, Inc.

Art Direction: Jim Beck

Writers: James Maliszewski and

Steve Kenson

LIMITED LICENSE FOR THE USE OF

PRODUCTIDENTITY(PI)

Paradigm Concepts, Inc. hearby grants royalty-free limited

license to use the Arcanis specific PI elements which appear

in the names of Spells, Feats or Bloodline Powers contained

in this book in OGLpublications. Use of PI elements is

restricted to using those PI elements in the Spell Name,

Feat Name, Magic Item Name or Bloodline Power name and

for no other use. EXAMPLE: The Bloodline Power name

"Cadic Guides My Hand" may be used to apply to the

Bloodline Power "Cadic Guides My Hand" even though the

name "Cadic" remains PI of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. From

this example alone, the name "Cadic" cannot be used in any

other way except where it appears as part of the name of

the Bloodline Power "Cadic Guides My Hand." Any

publication making use of such PI must bear a notice

declaring 1) the Feat, Spell or Bloodline Power name is

reserved Product Identity and 2) the Feat, Spell or Bloodline

Cartography: Brian Dalrymple

Additional Material:

Peter Barrenechea, Scott Charlton,

Duane Choquette, Henry Lopez

Team Paradigm: Henry Lopez,

Nelson Rodriguez, Eric Wiener,

Peter Barrenechea, Jim Beck

Introduction ..............................3

Giant Races................................4

Hill Giants ............................5

Hill Giant NPCs ..................10

Stone Giants ............................11

Stone Giant NPCs................15

Frost Giants ............................17

Frost Giant Characters ........20

Frost Giant NPCs ................21

Fire Giants ..............................23

Fire Giant Characters ..........28

Fire Giant NPCs ..................29

Cloud Giants............................30

Cloud Giant Characters........34

Cloud Giant NPCs ..............35

Storm Giants............................37

Storm Giant Characters........41

Storm Giant NPCs ..............41

Celestial Giants........................43

Celestial giant characters......47

Celestial giant NPCs ............48

Giant-Kin ................................50

Ettins ..................................50

Cyclopes ..............................51

Ogres ..................................52

Ogre Magi............................52

Trolls....................................57

Half-Giants ..........................53

Friends and Foes ....................54

Game Mechanics......................58

Giant Examples....................60

New Skills................................63

New Feats................................63

Blood Gift Feats ..................68

Taste of Fear [Bloodgift] ......69

Prestige Classes........................69

Blood Disciple......................69

Catapult ..............................70

Giant-Slayer ........................71

Reaver of Wyrms..................73

Terramancer ........................75

Giant Equipment ....................76

Giant Religion and Magic ........77

Religion................................77

Deities..................................78

Clerical Domains..................80

Cloud Domain ....................80

Cavern Domain....................80

Cold Domain ......................80

Giant Domain ......................81

Storm Domain ....................81

Magic ......................................81

Giant Spells..............................83

Giant Magic Items................86

Giant Lairs ..............................90

Giant Lair Examples ............90

Glacier of a Frost Giant Jarl ....90

Cloud Island of a Giant King....92

ISBN 1-931374-14-7

This product is web enhanced

www.Paradigmconcepts.com

www.LivingArcanis.com

Open Game License

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Rights Reserved.

1. Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners

who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)"Derivative Material" means

copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including

into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition,

extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in

which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) "Distribute"

means to reproduce, license, rent,

lease, sell, broadcast, publicly

d i s p l a y, transmit or otherw i s e

distribute; (d)"Open Game

Content" means the game

mechanic and includes the

methods, pro c e d u res, pro c e s s e s

and routines to the extent such

content does not embody the

P roduct Identity and is an

enhancement over the prior art

and any additional content clearly

identified as Open Game Content

by the Contributor, and means any

work covered by this License,

including translations and

derivative works under copyright

l a w, but specifically excludes

P roduct Identity. (e) "Pro d u c t

Identity" means product and

product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress;

artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements,

dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions,

likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and

other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters,

spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special

abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or

supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any

other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity

by the owner of the Pro d u c t

I d e n t i t y, and which specifically

excludes the Open Game Content;

(f) "Trademark" means the logos,

names, mark, sign, motto, designs

that are used by a Contributor to

identify itself or its products or the

associated products contributed to

the Open Game License by the

Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or

"Using" means to use, Distribute,

c o p y, edit, format, modify,

translate and otherwise cre a t e

Derivative Material of Open Game

Content. (h) "You" or "Yo u r "

means the licensee in terms of this

agreement.

2. The License: This License applies

to any Open Game Content that

contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used

under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open

Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this

License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions

may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License.

3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your

acceptance of the terms of this License.

4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the

Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive

license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.

5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original

material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are

Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights

conveyed by this License.

6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE

portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE

of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and

You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's name to

the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.

7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including

as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another,

independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product

Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any

Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except

as expressly licensed in another,

independent Agreement with the

owner of such Trademark. The

use of any Product Identity in

Open Game Content does not

constitute a challenge to the

ownership of that Pro d u c t

I d e n t i t y. The owner of any

Product Identity used in Open

Game Content shall retain all

rights, title and interest in and to

that Product Identity.

8. Identification: If you

distribute Open Game

Content You must clearly

indicate which portions of the

work that you are distributing

are Open Game Content.

9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated

versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to

copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed

under any version of this License.

10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every

copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.

11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game

Content using the name of any

Contributor unless You have

written permission from the

Contributor to do so.

12. Inability to Comply: If it is

impossible for You to comply

with any of the terms of this

License with respect to some

or all of the Open Game

Content due to statute,

judicial ord e r, or

g o v e rnmental re g u l a t i o n

then You may not Use any

Open Game Material so

affected.

13. Te rmination: This License

will terminate automatically if

You fail to comply with all terms

herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the

breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.

14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such

p rovision shall be re f o rmed only to the extent necessary to make it

enforceable.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip

Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Charlton, Brian Dalrymple, Jarad Fennell, Matt Forbeck, Shawn

Havraneck, Henry Lopez, William Simoni, Eric Wiener, based upon the

original concept by Henry Lopez.

Races of Legend: Lords of The Peaks

Introduction

Welcome to Lords of the Peaks , a sourcebook about giants,

their society, culture, magic, and kin. This book is the first in

a series detailing fantasy races for use in d20 roleplaying

games and includes a lot of information for use by both

players and Game Masters (GMs). Before getting into the

meat of the book, let’s take a look at a few basic questions.

At the same time, there is a lot of detailed information here.

Certain assumptions are made within these pages. For the

most part, those assumptions are made clear in the

appropriate sections. The GM need not be kept in the dark as

to the whys and wherefores of giant culture or magic, for

example. We do make explicit statements about giants and

draw conclusions from those statements. The information in

this book inter-relates and builds upon what we already

know about giants from Core Rulebook III . With luck, it does

so in a seamless and holistic way, so that the largest number

of people can get the widest possible use from this book.

As always, the golden rule remains the same: if you don’t like

it, change it. We believe we have reached a nice balance

between absolutism and wishy-washiness. Rather than say,

"This is how it is," we make suggestions and offer alternatives.

Yet, we do not leave the GM or player stranded without any

guidance. For those who wish simply to enliven their games

with new details about giants, this book provides them.

Almost everything in its pages can be dropped into most

campaigns with minimal changes. Even so, Lords of the Peaks

is not a complete book. To be used most effectively, it requires

GM cooperation and thought – like all good fantasy

roleplaying campaigns.

What this book is

Lords of the Peaks serves two very important purposes. The

first is to provide a wealth of information on giants. In this

book, you will find:

• Detailed descriptions of the standard giant races

including their society and culture

• Detailed write-ups of a variety of giant types

• I n f o rmation on giant-kin, as well as traditional

enemies of the giants

• New feats, skills, and prestige classes

• Discussions of giant magic including new spells and

magic items

• Two examples of giant lairs

This isn’t all that this book contains, but it should give at least

an inkling of the depth and breadth of information contained

within. This book is therefore of interest to both players and

GMs. Anyone who has an interest in giants and their ways,

whether as opponents, allies, or subjects of simple curiosity,

should find something to suit their tastes.

The second purpose is as a toolkit designed to be modified

and altered to suit the needs of an ongoing fantasy campaign.

No two campaigns are alike. Details of history and geography

will differ from world to world and GM to GM. We

understand this fact, which is why a lot of the information

contained within these pages is tentative and conjectural. The

purpose is to give GMs options that might suit their own

campaigns, but also to allow them leeway to use their own

interpretations. No one likes to be put in a straitjacket of

someone else’s making. Lords of the Peaks is thus intended to

offer possibilities to GMs and players, so that they can

include giants in their campaigns in a manner that’s

consistent with their own needs and wishes.

What this book isnÕt

On the other hand, Lords of the Peaks is not a definitive guide

to giants in the sense that very little contained within these

pages is absolute. As noted in the previous paragraph, this

book is a toolkit. Consequently, a lot of the details herein are

couched in terms that give the GM the freedom to accept or

reject as much or as little as he wishes without fear that it will

invalidate large portions of the book. This is important since

roleplaying games, by their very nature, are about creativity

and flights of fancy. Anything that gets in the way of a GM

creating and running the kind of world he wants is to be

avoided at all costs.

Races of Legend: Lords of The Peaks

Giant Races

What is a Giant?

Before jumping into its pages, let’s be clear about what we

mean by giants. For the purposes of this book, a giant is any

creature of immense strength and large use that bears the

"giant" descriptor from Core Rulebook III . Giants are thus a

particular class of monster, but a limited class. There are

many giant-like creatures, such as titans, for example, that

are not considered giants for the purposes of this book. As it

is, we had difficulty giving even a small amount of

information on all the commonly accepted giant races

without making this book immensely long. In the end, we

opted to focus on the most broadly usable giants, in order to

make this more easily accessible to the widest possible

audience of players and GMs.

As you will see, even within this rather nar row definition of

giant, there is still remarkable diversity and variation. Giants

can be good or evil, friendly or antagonistic, heroic or

villainous. They can range in size from just slightly greater

than human norms to towering creatures of truly epic

proportions. They can be warriors, wizards, or even servants

of the gods. They can be altruistic or selfish, humble or

egotistical. Some giants see themselves as servants of the

gods, while others believe themselves to be gods. Yet,

beneath it all, there is enough commonality to make a book

like this possible. Lords of the Peaks concentrates on those

commonalities and expands on them in a variety of ways.

We hope you enjoy it!

weight and still retain the humanoid shapes they possess. As

usual, there are as many answers to this question as there are

l o remasters. Nevertheless, the most widely accepted

explanation is that magic is involved, perhaps an innate

spark left over from their creation eons ago, or perhaps it is

a gift (or curse) from the gods they hold in esteem. The

debate goes on and the final determination may never be

known, except to those willing to delve deeply into the

origins of these huge beings.

The great size of giants means that they also possess equally

great strength and constitution. This combination gives

giants an incredible hardiness that allows them to take far

more punishment than most other mortal beings. Only the

largest of creatures can compare with a giant’s ability to

withstand damage, especially that dealt by weapons. The

remarkable strength of giants is another significant

characteristic and it colors nearly every aspect of giant

society and culture. Even the most intelligent and magically

adept giants cannot help but recognize how much more

s t rong they are than other beings. Consequently, the

temptation to use this strength to resolve disputes or lord it

over their "inferiors" is powerful, particularly among giants

of an evil disposition.

This tendency to rely on their strength has given giants a

reputation as unthinking brutes. While not without merit,

this reputation has also blinded more than one would-be

giant-slayer to the danger these beings truly pose. At the

same time, the giant’s physical superiority can blind him as

well, leading him to believe that any problem can be resolved

through violence or a show of force. Many giants thus

overlook more appropriate solutions to their problems,

because they require a degree of forethought and patience

that is not common among them. Unsurprisingly, most

giants make poor diplomats and look down on other

creatures as beneath their notice. After all, why negotiate for

food or trade goods when you can simply seize them

through force of arms?

This is not to say that giants are stupid. Only hill giants

exhibit below average intelligence and even they are far from

moronic. Rather, giants so obviously surpass all but the

most powerful creatures in raw physical power that they

find it difficult to treat other races with anything but

contempt. Even the relatively benevolent storm giants often

seem arrogant and overweening in their dealings with

smaller creatures. Giants have few rivals and fewer natural

predators. It is not without reason that they view themselves

as the top of the proverbial heap when it comes to

interacting with other beings.

All giants speak Giant, a language they share with less

powerful members of their kind, such as trolls and ettins.

Giant is an ancient and ponderous language that bears many

similarities to other equally ancient tongues, especially

Dwarven. Scholars contend that Giant is also the root

language of Orc, Goblin, and Gnoll, among others – a not

unreasonable hypothesis considering the close relationship

between evil giants and these humanoid species. Other

scholars claim that, like Draconic, Giant is one of the great

"languages of magic" and that its vocabulary and syntax

contain within it the seeds of powerful sorcery. Those giants

who wield spells do tend to be sorcerers rather than wizards,

Giant Races

While it is true that no two giants are exactly alike, there can

be no denying that there are in fact six commonly

acknowledged giant races. Members of each giant race have a

number of characteristics with one another, based on a

s h a red heritage, culture, and environment, as well as

physiology. Consequently, these races are not merely artificial

categories created by hoary sages and learned scholars for

their own edification. Within these six "standard" races,

though, there is remarkable diversity – a testament to both

the ubiquity and adaptability of these large beings. Nearly

every climate and terrain is home to one giant race or another

and nearly every alignment can be found among them.

Much like smaller races, such as humanoids, giants exhibit

both universal characteristics, shared by all giants, and

unique characteristics, shared only by members of a

particular race, in addition to individual characteristics.

Before examining the six most common giant races, a look at

the universal characteristics of giants is in order.

Universal Characteristics

The most obvious universal characteristic of all giants is their

great size. The smallest giants generally stand at least nine

feet tall, while the tallest tower over most other creatures

from a height of over twenty feet. Unsurprisingly, giants also

weigh immense amounts and their movements, including the

mere act of walking, can shake the earth for many yards

around them. For centuries, loremasters have attempted to

explain how giants can possibly support their incredible

Races of Legend: Lords of The Peaks

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: