Cormyr and the Dalelands

The Giant Pantheon

The giant pantheon (or Ordning when used with an initial capital) was the group of deities worshiped by giants and giant-kin led by Annam the All-Father.

• Annam
  
• Grolantor
  
• Hiatea
  
• Iallanis
  
• Memnor
  
• Skoraeus Stonebones
  
• Surtr
  
• Thrym
  
• Stronmaus
  
• Vaprak
  

Annam
All-Father, The Prime, The Great Creator, The Fertile Progenitor of Worlds

Greater Deity
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: Two hands, wrists together and fingers pointing down
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Hidden Realm)
Portfolio: Giants, creation, learning, philosophy, fertility
Worshipers: Giants
Favored Weapon: Unarmed strike

Annam All-Father (ON-urn) sits atop the Ordning. Rumored to be the son of a conjunction of Chaos and Law, he is the progenitor of the Ordning and all the giant breeds. All that giants are and will become is owed to his influence. All that giants do is in his service. Annam has a dual nature. On the one hand he is wise, learned, and philosophical. On the other, he is lustful, instinctive, and unpredictable. Equally notorious are his insight and jealousy, wit and impatience-he is proud of what his sons have accomplished but still yearns for the day they will accomplish even more. He foresees the future but cannot prepare for it.

Annam came across the planet of Abeir-Toril at a time before the existence of dwarves, elves and humans. He met and married Othea who took the form of a mountain on the edge of the Cold Lands. They had children, who were not Annam's first (he had previously had immortal children), but they were Annam's first terrestrial children.

Like most of the giant gods, Annam is seen in a different light by each of his worshipers. Hill giants imagine him as an enormous glutton and master of the grandest pantry in the multiverse. Stone giants envision him as an unparalleled artist. Frost giants see him as a glorious reveler and warrior.

Dogma:

The giants are destined to rule Faerûn; Honor the Ordning and your ordning; Never raise your hand against a brother giant, there must be peace between breeds to see Annam's prophecies to their fruition; Ostoria is the only hope for Toril. Do not fear time; it is the bane of your enemies. Do not underestimate other peoples, but do not allow them to distract you from your destiny.

Grolantor
Lord of the Hill Giants

Intermediate Deity
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Symbol: A Spiked Club
Home Plane: Jotunheim (The Steading)
Portfolio: Hunting, combat, hill giants
Worshipers: Hill giants, frost giants
Favored Weapon: Club

Grolantor (GRO-lan-tor) is yet another son of Annam and the unnamed sky goddess. Many years ago, the pair's treachery prompted Annam to prohibit Grolantor and his brother Memnor from involving themselves in the affairs of the Jotunbrud. Now that the All-Father has fled Gudheim, however, his decree is no longer applicable.

Once free to roam Toril in the wake of his father's exile, Grolantor started sending his avatar amongst the Jotunbrud, hoping to persuade the giants to accompany him on his mischievous outings. Naturally, he received the warmest response from the hill giants and frost giants, who most admire the godling's pride, courage, and skill in battle. Neither Stronmaus nor Hiatea is very pleased with Grolantor's activities, though neither feels empowered to
put a stop to them.

Grolantor is wholly dedicated to his own conceit. He absolutely refuses to admit that any other being or deity is his superior and tries to instill this attitude in his followers. Without such pride, he believes, Ostoria can never be reborn. Needless to say, such impetuousness has made him a number of enemies, particularly the gods of the dwarven pantheon, most of whom attack Grolantor on sight.

The god of the hill giants has a small realm located in the foothills of the great mountains of Jotunheim. Called the Steading, this realm is little more than an enormous wooden house built for the greatest chief of the hill giants. Grolantor's petitioners roam the hills all around the Steading, preying on other petitioners when they can catch them.

Dogma:

Never admit weakness! Crush the weak underfoot! The Jotunbrud are destined to rule Faerûn! Annam's sons stand above all others in the grand ordning!

Hiatea
Nurturer and Destroyer, Reaper and Sower

Lesser Deity
Alignment: Neutral Good
Symbol: A Flaming Spear
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Woodhaven)
Portfolio: Nature, agriculture, hunting, childbirth
Worshipers: Giants, voadkyn
Favored Weapon: Spear

Hiatea (hee-AH-tee-uh) is the daughter of Annam and sister to Stronmaus, Grolantor, Iallanis, Memnor, and Skoraeus. After she and her siblings developed an interest in the Jotunbrud, she claimed dominion over its hearths and fields, developing a strong influence over both agriculture and family life in the Jotunbrud society.

Just after the war with the dragons reached its bitter conclusion, Stronmaus taunted Hiatea about her uselessness during the affair, prompting her to undergo a stunning transformation. To establish the might of her domain, Hiatea reinvented herself as an avenging huntress, capable of employing nature as a powerful weapon of destruction as well as a peaceful source of bounty. Though Stronmaus has since apologized for the incident, Hiatea has never forgotten it. She is now fiercely committed to maintaining a dual nature: nurturer and destroyer, reaper and sower. Hiatea is the only member of the Ordning still worshiped by the voadkyn, the giant-kin who fled the Ice Spires several centuries ago.

Woodhaven is Hiatea's realm, located in the heart of a great forest where oak trees grow larger than terrestrial redwoods. There her petitioners hunt with their patron, returning in the evenings to great longhouses where her gift of community and family is celebrated every night.

Dogma:

Nature is both creator and destroyer; though the reawakening of Ostoria is the destiny of the Jotunbrud, there are some prices too high to pay for even this lofty goal; the admission of defeat is the very worst fate that can befall a true child of the Ordning; though kin are not of the blood and can never claim an equal status in Jotunbrud society, they are of the faith and should always be welcome in the steadings.

Iallanis
Fair Lady of Florallium

Lesser Deity
Alignment: Neutral Good
Symbol: A Garland of Flowers
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Florallium)
Portfolio: Love, forgiveness, beauty, mercy
Worshipers: Giants, giantkin
Favored Weapon: Unarmed strike

One of her father's favorite children, Iallanis (EEuh-lan-is) was introduced to the Jotunbrud and their struggles while still an adolescent. She assumed her spot in the Ordning shortly thereafter. Iallanis advocates love, forgiveness, beauty, and mercy. She never turns a giant of a good nature from her flock. Her ultimate ambition is to reunite all of the Jotunbrud and reestablish Ostoria as a kingdom of benevolence, ambition, and learning.

Iallanis is particularly beloved by the stone giants, cloud giants, storm giants, and kin of the Ice Spires. She is said to have befriended Fionnghuala, queen of the swanmay.

The realm of Ialannis is Florallium, a place of quiet gardens and crystal springs. By unspoken consent, Florallium has become neutral territory for the deities and petitioners of Jotunheim, a place where peace can be negotiated in times of conflict and joyful occasions can be celebrated in quieter times.

Dogma:

Honor mercy above all save the gods; honor beauty above all save mercy; an evil deed never goes unpunished nor a good deed unrewarded; kindness is the milk of might; passion is the milk of life.

Memnor
The Wise Deceiver

Intermediate Deity
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Symbol: A thin black obelisk
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Thraotor)
Portfolio: Pride, mental prowess, control
Worshipers: Giants
Favored Weapon: Morningstar

When Memnor and his brother Grolantor were just children, their 'play' resulted in a mischievous plot that ultimately thrust the Jotunbrud into a minor war against the ogres. As a consequence, Annam forbade the children from interfering in the affairs of the giants for as long as he sat atop the Ordning.

Once Annam exiled himself from Gudheim, however, Memnor and Grolantor managed to convince Stronmaus and Hiatea that the All-Father's decree was no longer valid. Since that day, the brothers have incessantly meddled in the affairs of the Jotunbrud, sometimes forcing Stronmaus and Hiatea to put an end to their shenanigans.

Memnor is subtle, charming, intelligent, cultured and deeply, intensely cruel. His sin is pride, the desire to eventually usurp Annam's throne atop the Ordning and become lord over all the affairs of giantkind. His chosen instruments in executing these plans are the handful of evil cloud giants he has accepted into his priesthood. To most members of the Jotunbrud, Memnor is a proud and determined servant of his father. Only his priests know the truth, and they share his ambition.

Memnor's realm is Thraotor, an enormous thunderhead with a great palace of adamantine at its highest point, miles above the ground. Thraotor floats across the landscape, bringing destructive storms wherever it goes. At a whim, Memnor can turn the ordinary rain or hail beneath his realm into a storm of vengeance effect.

Dogma:

Annam has grown old and weak; Ostoria's collapse was due to Annam's own ineptitude; no weapon ever forged is half as sharp as cunning; surprise is half the battle; victory through secrecy.

Skoraeus Stonebones
The Delver in Stone, King of the Rock

Intermediate Deity
Alignment: True Neutral
Symbol: A Stalactite
Home Plane: Jotunheim
Portfolio: Stone giants, buried things
Worshipers: Stone giants
Favored Weapon: Club

Skoraeus is yet another of Annam's sons. Unlike most of his siblings, he is generally disinterested in the affairs of the Jotunbrud as a whole, though he is obsessed with the stone giants in particular and often intervenes in their affairs in order to guide their development. Skoraeus is knowledgeable about banes, magics, and the legends of great treasures buried in the Underdark. His chosen sphere is artistic achievement. Although generally expressionless, dour, and something of a loner, Skoraeus has been known to occasionally consort with the gods of the dwarves and the svirfnebli.

Dogma:

Beauty is truth; knowledge is power; the affairs of outsiders serve only to distract the faithful from the matters of true import; a secret is the ultimate power and the Underdark is a world of secrets.

Surtr
Lord of the Fire Giants

Lesser Deity
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Symbol: A flaming sword
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Muspelheim)
Portfolio: Fire giants, fire, destruction
Worshipers: Fire giants
Favored Weapon: Greatsword

Surtr is the lord of the fire giants. His animal is the hell hound. His symbol is a flaming sword. Surtr looks like an immensely large fire giant with crackling flames for hair and eyebrows. He wears armor of blazingly hot iron and wields a flaming iron sword 15 feet in length. Surtr's realm is known as Muspelheim. This enormous plain of burning earth stretches farther than the eye can see in all directions. At the shores of a lake of molten lead looms the Spire of Surtr--a towering needle of dark stone in which the ruler of all fire giants sits in state.

Thrym
Lord of the Frost Giants

Lesser Deity
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Symbol: White double-bladed greataxe
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Fibulwinter)
Portfolio: Cold, ice, magic, frost giants
Worshipers: Frost giants
Favored Weapon: Greataxe

Thrym is a hulking menace, appearing as a mighty frost giant with white eyes, blue hair, and a constant snarl. Thrym's realm is called Fibulwinter, or sometimes simply Jotunheim. A region of endless frost, snow, and ice, Thrym's realm is more mountainous than similar divine realms (such as Loviatar's and Auril's). Thrym wanders from glacier to glacier but does not maintain a permanent palace anywhere in the plane.

Dogma:

Thrym's cults teach that the world will end with Fimbul Winter, and that cold will triumph after Surtr's fire burns everything.

Stronmaus
Annum's Steward, Lord of the Skies, The Storm Lord, The Smiling God, The Thunderhead.

Greater Deity
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: A forked lightning bolt descending from a cloud, obscuring the sun.
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Stormhold)
Portfolio: sun, sky, weather, joy, cloud giants
Worshipers: non-evil cloud giants, storm giants
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Stronmaus (STRAWN-mawz) is the eldest son of Annam and brother to Hiatea, Grolantor, Memnor, Skoraeus, and Iallanis. Shortly after he came of age, Stronmaus adopted the skies as his purview. With Annam gone, however, he is now responsible for the affairs of the entire Ordning, though he certainly doesn't covet his father's power. The moment Annam returns, Stronmaus will happily relinquish the throne. Though he is often encountered among the mountains of the Beastlands, Stronmaus inhabit's a spectacular cloud palace called Stormhold, attached to Annam's steading in Gudheim. Stormhold, the realm of Stronmaus, is the mirror image of Thraotor. Despite its ominous name, Stormhold rests on a magnificent white cloud that only rarely brings rain or storms to the land beneath. Though it casts an enormous shadow on the land, the sun always shines brightly at its top, glittering on Stronmaus's palace of gold, platinum, gems, and marble. Within the palace is a magical opal pool, which seems to be of endless size to swimmers in its holy waters. Immersion in the waters of this pool grants the effects of the heal, greater restoration, and regeneration spells.

Many thousands of years ago, after the titan Lanaxis finally united all of Annam's sons on Toril, Stronmaus gave Lanaxis a sample of his waters as a gift, allowing the titan to create a smaller version of the pond at the center of Voninheim. In fact, Lanaxis delivered his poison to Othea by fouling waters drawn from this magical font. Whether or not the fountain still exists at the heart of Voninheim's ruins, of course, is unknown. Like all members of the Ordning, each of the giant breeds tends to see Stronmaus in a different light. To the hill giants he is a mighty fisherman. To the frost giants he is a bold sailor/explorer. To the cloud giants he is a thundering god of storms. In any case, all see him as far more youthful, vigorous, and carefree than the All-Father. Stronmaus is frequently depicted smiling or reveling, and he certainly seems to enjoy crafting his powerful rainstorms and lightning bolts.

Dogma:

Rain cleanses and offers salvation; freedom is the greatest bounty one can bestow; good-natured merriment is the milk of life (cloud giants only); life is a test of will (storm giants only).

Vaprak
The Destroyer

Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Symbol: Taloned Claw
Home Plane: Jotunheim (Shatterstone)
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, War
Vaprak is known simply as "The Destroyer". This deity has a quality of elemental savagery well suited to the ogre race, which holds him as a patron, a well-deserved honor, as he fathered the ogre race on Othea in an adulterous affair. Rapacious and violent, Vaprak is nonetheless in awe of the giantish gods and lives in fear that his race may abandon him to worship them. Vaprak's behavior and edicts to his ogre priests and shamans are thus driven and somewhat frenetic; he constantly urges his followers to combat, aggression, and frenzy. Vaprak does not plan, scheme, or contemplate. He simply expends his energies in destruction and uncompromising ferocity.

Vaprak lives in Shatterstone, a pitiful cave at the base of a great cliff. Vaprak and his petitioners are despised by all the other inhabitants of the plane, and they hide from the giants at all costs.