Goliath
Goliaths are massive humanoids.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Golaiths anatomy is roughly the aame as a humans, though they are taller, tougher, and have rougher and thicker skin. Males are incapable of growing hair, but female goliaths do grow hair on their head.
Even though they do not have hair, goliath skin is able to trap heat in their bodies very efficiently and keep themselves warm. The skin is usually a pale tone with bold, dark patterns of stripes or blotches known as bjomnä sjalt ("patterns of destiny" in Giant). This allows them to blend into snow, stone, and weathered bark backgrounds easily.
Goliath blood and lungs are especially adaptive at operating in low-oxygen and low-pressure environments. They are able to easily function at high altitudes, but this does make them more susceptible to high pressure environments, like diving.
The goliath eye has a white sclera, iris, and a very pale pupil that is often not visible. The eye has a coating that allows the goliath eye to adapt easily and swiftly to the bright snow and stone during the day as well as protect the eye from the harsh environment of mountains.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Goliaths require a high amount of caloric intake to maintain their massive physiques. Many goliaths favor a protein heavy diet. The most common source of protein is fish and game hunting, which is usually smoked and preserved to last through the tough seasons in the north.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Depending on where in the world they are found, Goliaths have varying social structures. They are all often built around tests of strength and brawn, as the majority of Goliaths tend to be strong imposing figures.
Facial characteristics
White pupiless eyes
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Dependant on the subrace of Goliath
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
A goliath has three names. The first name is one granted to him by his parents at birth and is usually the name they casually go by. The second name is bestowed by their leader and acts as an indicator of their quality, good or bad. The third and final name marks a goliath as a member of their clan or family.
Major Organizations
Kingdom of Jhordheim has a large population of goliaths and it is where many come from.
Beauty Ideals
For a goliath, the ideal beauty tends to focus on their bjomnä sjalt skin markings and patterns. They will often claim that, when meeting a goliath, they can judge a goliath's nature and personality based on their facial bjomnä sjalt. Whether or not this is true is up for debate -- these markings are an innate part of what makes one goliath beautiful to another.
Gender Ideals
There are clearly defined genders for goliaths which largely align with human gender preconceptions. The most prominant difference is the nature of hair -- female goliaths proudly feature a long head of hair while male goliaths completely bald over their entire body. Long hair is considered a sign of femininity and this perception can color how a goliath views another race which has hair.
Unlike human gender roles, goliaths do not associate strength of physical prowess with either gender. Female goliaths can carry and create life, which the giants have honored as part of the goliath purpose. Beyond this, though, gender does not play a significant purpose in goliath society.
Courtship Ideals
Because of the focus that a goliath puts on their own bjomnä sjalt and the bjomnä sjalt of other goliaths, it is important to goliaths that are intent on entering into a relationship to reveal their markings in increasingly exposed stages. This is an important component in the process since the markings cover their entire body. Different body parts carry different meanings and 'destinies'. Eventually, both members of the courtship will fully see each other's markings nude.
Relationship Ideals
When goliaths decide that they do want to engage in a relationship, it is because they have witnessed the other's bjomnä sjalt and find themselves compatible. It doesn't necessarily have to take a long time, but any parties involved should find each others markings pleasurable.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Goliaths speak Giant, a language handed down to them by their giant forebears.
Common Etiquette Rules
Due to the intimacy of revealing the bjomnä sjalt, it is a sign of friendship, trust, and openness to be naked with a goliath. Goliath friends will often be nude together in private settings. Thus, it is considered foolish to recklessly be nude with strangers.
Common Dress Code
The dress code for a goliath is intrinsically tied to the amount of trust and openness they are expressing to fellows. The more skin a goliath reveals, the more they are drawing attention. This is because skin exposure is a ritual to show pride and beauty. When clothing covers most of a goliath's body, this tells the people around them that they are not in a flaunting state and are instead focused on professionalism and work. Shorter hem cuts, deeper necklines, open backs, slitted dresses, and other methods of skin showing through clothing are indications of a socially comfortable goliath. Nudity is the ultimate expression of comfort, power, trust, and beauty a goliath can express
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
A common custom amongst goliath family groups and clans is having a gothi read the bjomnä sjalt on an infant goliath to determine that child's future. When a child's reading is claimed as a bad omen such as a bringer of destruction to the goliath people, they are often given away to another family. This can sometimes mean that a travelling merchant caravan travelling through goliath territory might find themselves in possession of a child deemed too dangerous for the goliaths to keep. The goliaths refer to these sometimes coerced adopters as svaldr, which translates to "provider".
Common Taboos
One of the greatest insults is to stop revealing your bjomnä sjalt with another goliath after already sharing them. It is considered a great shame for them to have lost that trust with you.
It is also considered taboo to cover the bjomnä sjalt with tattoos, but tattoos that work between the markings, or incorporate them, are not forbidden. Some traditional goliaths will still frown upon it -- it is sometimes seen a challenging fate.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
Humanlike in terms of longevity
Average Height
7 to 8 ft.
Average Weight
280 to 340 lbs.
Average Physique
Tall, strong, and tough
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Linear markings on the skin contrast with the color of the skin of a Goliath.
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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