Goliath

Goliaths were a nomadic race of humanoids native to the mountainous regions of north Dünya.

Description

Goliaths were massive. They averaged between 7 to 8 feet (2.1 to 2.4 meters) tall, making them even taller than dragonborn and half-orcs.
Goliaths had noticeably bony or prominent supraorbital ridges above their eyes. Goliath eyes were often a bright blue or green and sometimes glowed a little.
Goliath skin was often gray or brown and was extremely tough (often compared to stone). One of the most distinctive features of the goliath was the darker (often vertically symmetrical) patches of skin that covered their entire bodies. Goliaths believedthat these markings somehow explained or controlled their fate or destiny. For this reason, goliaths never tattooed themselves as this could affect their future.

A goliath chieftain

Personality

Goliaths' most notable characteristic was their competitiveness. They kept track of their accomplishments and saw everything as a challenge. Those not familiar with goliath psychology would often get annoyed when goliaths constantly reminded them how many times a certain thing had happened, thinking them arrogant or self-centered. This was not the case however. To goliaths, score-keeping was a natural and integral part of life, not meant to belittle or demean anyone. But a goliath's most fierce competitor was themselves. Beating their own records was the most satisfying victory for a goliath. They were also competitive with their companions and other goliaths, but were never arrogant or cocky.
Their constant comparison to their past accomplishments could be hard on goliaths that failed to meet goals or measure up to achievements of the past. Goliaths would often feel dissatisfied with anything that didn't surpass a victory from their past. This unfortunate element of goliath psychology led many older goliaths to be very unhappy with themselves when they could no longer perform as well as they could in their youth.
Goliaths had little time for cheaters, gloaters, and sore losers. Goliaths never held grudges if they lost a fair fight, and would often repeat the goliath maxim that "Today's rival is tomorrow's teammate."
It was rare for goliath adventurers to retire or live to an old age, as they often died trying to surpass their previous achievements. Permanently injured or aging goliaths often sought death in battle rather than succumb to an existence where they could not excel. Complacency was a trait that goliaths loathed and as a result they never took anything for granted. Even goliaths with magical advantages would continue to train their physical prowess in case they ever lost their power.
Trust and honor were the key aspects of most goliaths. This tradition of honor and trust meant that goliaths tended to be good overall. This combined with their competitive nature often led goliaths to valorous heroics. Goliaths were also notably daring and fearless. Feats of physical strength and agility, like jumping chasms or climbing cliffs, held no fear for goliaths. Goliaths were naturally curious beings and loved to explore.

Society

Goliath society's key focus was competitiveness. Their society also held equality and fairness in high regard.

Tribes

Goliaths lived in small tribes that numbered between forty and sixty goliaths. This was usually made up of three to five extended families. Most goliaths lived in the same tribe their entire life. On rare occasions, a tribe that got too large would split into smaller tribes or smaller tribes would merge together.
The competitive nature of goliaths meant that the attitude and achievements of one would quickly inspire the whole tribe. Individuals within tribes would constantly be trying to outdo each other's good deeds. This meant that nearby settlements often stereotyped goliaths as a heroic and good people.
Goliath tribes had a number of key roles that were filled by the most capable members. Summaries of these roles are included below:

Chieftain

The primary authority figure in a tribe. The chieftain was responsible for choosing when the tribe should move on to new lands. The chieftain also chose who filled some of the other key roles in the tribe. Tribe chieftains only maintained power as long as they could prove they were suitable for that role. As a result, leadership constantly changed. New leaders were chosen by contests. Any goliath could challenge the chieftain in an attempt to replace them. If this happened, the chieftain and the challenger competed in three tasks. The challenger had to win all three to become the new chieftain. The old chieftain would then leave the tribe permanently. Due to the fact that few goliaths lived to old age, goliath tribes relied on innate wisdom in their leaders rather than wisdom gained from years of experience.

Captain

Two captains were assigned to each of the important jobs each morning. These jobs included hunting, gathering, cooking, and scouting. The captains then built their own teams and set out to achieve their task. Two captains were assigned to each task to encourage healthy rivalry.

Skywatcher

Often the most experienced druid or shaman of the tribe. Skywatchers made sure that resources were not over harvested and game animals weren't needlessly slaughtered. Skywatchers were often exempt from the teams that the captains assembled each morning. Skywatchers also oversaw festivals, rituals, and celebrations.

Dawncaller

Responsible for guarding the camp overnight and alerting the tribe if there was trouble. At dawn, they sung or bellowed tales of goliath bravery or heroics to wake everyone up. Dawncallers were assigned daily and given less work throughout the day so they could rest and be alert at night.

Adjudicator

Adjudicators settled disputes. Unless urgent, an adjudicator would hear disputes after the evening meal. Tough decisions were often settled with a contest of the adjudicator's devising. If a goliath appealed against an adjudicator's decision, the chieftain had to settle the dispute, and would dismiss the adjudicator from their position if they were overruled. Adjudicators also acted as referees for sports.

Tent-mother

The only sex-specific role in the tribe because one of her jobs was to be a wet-nurse. The tent-mother was responsible for care and teaching of the tribe's infants and toddlers, as their parents were often busy with other responsibilities. It was also tent-mothers who decided when young goliaths were old enough to start contributing to the tribe (usually around the age of 10).

Lamentor

Responsible for determining when a member of the tribe was too old or weak to serve as a productive member of the tribe. Good lamentors would then approach the individual to explain their decision and consult the chieftain. Once it had been decided, the lamentor prepared a long chant to commemorate the goliath before the tribe exiled the old or weak individual from the tribe

Law and Justice

Although goliaths had no written laws or codes, there were a number of unspoken rules that were commonly followed by most goliath tribes, discouraging theft and cheating. The greatest rule was obedience to the chieftain and captains.
Because they were nomadic tribes who shared belongings or traded goods rather than use gold, conventional punishments like imprisonment or fining were not possible. Instead, tribes often employed the following punishments:

Beating

Goliaths caught stealing, cheating, or disobeying the chieftain were beaten. Pain was considered a healthy motivator in goliath society.

Shunning

Shunning involved the tribe acting like the criminal didn't exist. They were not picked for teams or sports and were not provided with food and shelter. A lesser form of shunning for minor crimes, called "half-shunning", saw the offending goliath simply treated poorly and as a second-class member of the tribe. The duration of the shunning was never spoken outright, but rather was communicated and decided via body language. Many goliaths claimed to "just know" how long a shunning should last. Goliaths who broke the shunning risked being shunned themselves. This was a serious transgression, as it threatened goliath society itself.

Exile

The worst punishment a goliath could receive was exile. Before being exiled the chieftain assigned a new honorific middle name to the goliath. Exile was also the fate of the old, weak, or badly injured who couldn't contribute to the tribe. It should be noted that these individuals received a lament to commemorate their lives before their exile. Criminals received no such treatment. It was common for a goliath who knew they had failed their tribe to leave the tribe of their own accord, rather than force the tribe into the awkward position of exiling them. Some stubborn goliaths however had to be forced into exile.

Culture

The cultures and traditions of goliath tribes varied from tribe to tribe and region to region but a number of traits were common across several tribes.
Goliaths had little empathy or pity for adults who couldn't take care of themselves but they would treat and take care of the injured and sick. Permanently injured goliaths were still expected to contribute in every way that they could.
Arts and crafting in goliath culture were limited by the resources they had at hand in the mountains. As a result, goliaths were skilled in crafts like flintknapping, tanning, stitching, creating simple pottery, bone-carving, and painting. Goliath art was often colorful and expressive. Art was one of the few things that goliaths understood to be non-competitive; they fully appreciated that art couldn't have a winner. Goliaths believed that art should be used to show people something they couldn't see in the real world. Goliaths decorated their tents, caves, weapons, and clothes with abstract designs (often jagged, parallel lines and symbols that had astronomical significance).
Considering their competitive nature, it's not surprising that sports were often played by goliaths to improve their physical skills and pass time. Simple games included climbing, sprinting, and wrestling. Other games that were popular amongst many tribes included:

• Goat-ball: This involved the use of a stuffed goat hide, which was tossed around by two teams (usually four a side). The two teams would jump around on several raised platforms (usually rocks or logs) trying to pass, intercept, and hit each other with the goat-ball. Any participants that were hit by the goat-ball were out of the game. Participants who fell or were knocked from their platform were also out. One team lost once all their players were out.
• Stubborn-root: One goliath was chosen to be the "root" and would have to defend a ridge or peak from the other competitors (similar to king of the mountain played by children in towns and cities).
• Cliff-climb: A simple cliff-climbing race. Most races involved climbing up a cliff and then climbing back down. Participants could choose to fall part of the way on the return climb to save time, but risked injuring themselves. The winner was often the best of three races. Particularly skilled climbers would often handicap themselves by wearing backpacks full of stones.

Religion

Goliath origins were shrouded in mystery, and were viewed very differently by different clans. In general, goliaths fell onto a spectrum ranging from ancestral worship to the more conventional worshipping of deities.
Religious goliaths viewed themselves as distant relatives to stone giants through Myndhöggvari and Hálfgerður. They believed the goliath race came about when Myndhöggvar carved a humanoid from stone which Hálfgerður then breathed into life. These goliaths worshipped tended to only worship their 'parent' deities and largely ignored the other members of the Giant Pantheon.
On the other side, some goliaths paid little heed to deities and chose instead to venerate ancestors who had performed extraordinary feats. Tribes who believed this were even more fervently competitive and used stories of their ancestors to push them to achieve even more legendary acts.
The vast majority of goliaths fell somewhere between. It was largely believed that goliaths were an offshoot of stone giants, but not directly created by or related to Myndhöggvari. As such, they only loosely worshipped the Giant Pantheon and instead lived their lives in a more generally spiritual way. They would occaisionally pray to the stone giant deity, but most feasts, celebrations, and myths were based on noteworthy ancestors and taking inspiration from animals and forces of nature.

Interracial Relations

Goliaths were friendly to anyone who didn't threaten their tribe, but wouldn't wait around for travelers who couldn't keep up with them.
Goliaths were particularly fond of dwarves and had great respect for dwarven blacksmiths. Some goliaths would even venture into mountain tunnels to seek out Dwarf blacksmiths to trade with.
Human rangers or druids were known to sometimes work together with goliath tribes in hunts. Both the humans and goliaths could mutually benefit from these temporary alliances.
Goliaths often referred to Firbolg as their "cousins". The two races maintained a friendly rivalry.
Elves were somewhat intimidating to goliaths, owing to their long lifespans. Goliaths often struggled with the idea that an Elf could grow old enough to have known their great-grandparents and ancestors.
Although they had no particular hatred of Goblin, Orc, or Half-Orc people, goliaths were wary of them. This was mostly due to the stories that they heard from passing travelers about the trouble they caused.
Attitudes towards giants varied. Some tribes traded with giants. Giant weapons were not as well crafted as dwarven ones, but they were a far more suitable size. Some giants, however, would try and make goliaths into slaves. This led to conflicts and goliaths being wary of giants.
Goliaths who ventured out of their tribes would often find issue with the class divisions found in other societies. Goliaths struggled with the idea that an incompetent king could rule over hard-working peasants. These opinions were often shared and goliaths would openly mock incapable leaders or rich nobleman who relied on social structures to maintain their power.

Player Race Features

• Ability Scores. Choose any +2; choose any other +1.
• Size. Medium.
• Speed. 30 feet.
• Little Giant. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill, and you count as one size larger when determining your carrying weight and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• Mountain Born. You have resistance to cold damage. You also naturally acclimate to high altitudes, even if you've never been to one. This includes elevations above 20,000 feet.
• Stone's Endurance. You can supernaturally draw on unyielding stone to shrug off harm. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Giant.