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Arms of Giant's FastnessArms of Giant's Fastness

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[top]Description


Of all the lands in Dhoesone, Giant's Fastness most often feels the tread of giants. Several nomadic giant clans winter in the province before travelling north to spend summer in the Giantdowns.

Fortunately these nomadic giants do not seem overly interested in the folk of Dhoesone, unlike the Fhoimorien who raid every few years. Giant's Fastness is one of the three provinces, along with Dharilein and Soniele, where the Sons of Hjalsone have significant influence and as a result many of the people live a nomadic life.

[top]People


Ingrid Redwolf is the Countess of Giant's Fastness.

Rhuimach Taeline is the Lord of Taeline.

[top]Towns

[top]Greendale


The largest town in Giant's Fastness sits in the south and is called, somewhat optimistically, Greendale. The motto of the town is officially "defiant, we stand united". Unofficially its detractors say the motto should be "don't let's get excited". for the townsfolk have a well deserved reputation across Dhoesone for being stolid and dogmatic shepherds and spinners.

Strict laws in Greendale ban public disturbances, extravagant behavior, or, Erik forfend, "undue exuberance". The main concerns of the mayor are over the feuding clans of the Wyndll family who control the hills to the east and the Shepherds, who control the hills to the west. No-one quite knows why the feud started but the extended families miss no opportunity to cause each other trouble. The mayor's worst fear however is that adventurers, murderers and cut-purses will take root in the town and use it to explore the wild north, he does his utmost to discourage such folk often levying harsh taxes on them.

[top]Grunsdell


Home to the ancient stone giant Grun, the small village of Grunsdell has a reputation far beyond that which its size would normally warrant. What purposes the statues constantly carved by the giant have, or why they are placed so precisely but seemingly randomly, about the village and dale is unclear.

Locals insist that Grun is friendly; the simple minded giant helps the village in quarrying, building, carrying and the like. Villagers also speak admiringly of his prowess in defending the village against raiders, his huge maul has struck down ogres by the dozen and no Fhoimorien raider has even approached the village in the centuries that Grun has lived in the dale. Aside from Grun and his works the village is mainly noted for a series of ruins built long ago to protect against the giants of the downs and long since destroyed in raids or abandoned.

[top]Sites and features

[top]Fort Gyr


This 'fort' was built by the third governor of Hjalsone to defend the new province of the Empire against the raiding giants of the Giantdowns after the failure of the pacification efforts in the Downs.

Called by some a visionary (by others a fool) Gyr saw that giants were not hampered by the palisades, moats, and walls common to Anuirean forts of the time. Instead he built a radically different type of fortification, one designed solely to defend the province against Giants.

Fort Gyr is a series of towering pillars of rock topped with cross pieces, packed closely enough that a giant has difficulty swinging one of their great clubs or even running, while allowing smaller humans to pass between the stones readily and fight without hindrance.

Fort Gyr was built with the aid of the Druid Kay Ingasdottar and much of it is said to have been summoned from the bones of the earth overnight. Whatever the truth of the fort's creation, the pillars are resistant to damage and most stand as proudly now as when they were first raised. The arrangement of the pillars is not purely military for each solstice the sun lines up with a series of pillars and similarly other events of import to Druids are marked by greater or lesser alignments.

Nearly four hundred years after its creation Sir Raenwe, count of Dharilein, added a series of fences and the like to try and make the fort effective against orogs from the Bloodskull Barony, but with only minimal success. The pillars work well against giants, raiding griffins, and other large animals, but, as intended when raised, are mostly ineffective against foes of normal size.

DM secret: The fort acts as a L4 fort against giants, but has no impact against smaller foes. Defences could be built (at half the usual cost) to make it effective against smaller foes, however these would require the standard maintenance cost. The fort is generally home only to a handful of travellers, herdsmen, and druids unless a giant raid is expected.

The fort is considered holy land by the druids and spells cast by a druid on a holy day are more effective than usual (halve any costs, increase save DC by 2, add a 1-2 step metamagic feat, realm spells are only 75% of cost and the fort acts as a L2 temple for druids (in a similar fashion to the way a mebhaighl stone acts as a source).


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