Giant

The appearance of giants varies according to the type of giant but they are generally humanoid in appearance, just much larger. Their bone structure is more dense than that of humans, giving them extra toughness but slowing them down a little.

Biology

Most giants had superior senses to most humans. In general they could see and hear twice as well. The cloud giant, hill giant and stone giant species had a particularly good sense of smell. Some had the capacity to see well in low light or total darkness as well. They were immune to almost all diseases, and had a slight resistance to poison.
A female giant had a pregnancy of between nine and fifteen months, depending on the type of giant. Their offspring reached maturity in around fifty years.

Society

Giants, or "jotunbrud" in their own tongue, were intelligent creatures with their own set of cultures and customs. The intelligence varied according to the type of giant (and as with humans, with the individual) but most were at least on a human level of intellect, with the exception of hill giants. Most giants saw themselves as superior to all other creatures. The ordning was one reason for this, but they were also much larger than many other species, so they would talk down to and patronize smaller folk, regarding them as unimportant. Giants lived in tribes or families, but their numbers were limited because of their size, and the difficulty of finding plentiful food.
Ancestry was important to giants. Most giants could trace their lineage back to Annam , and it was recited formally when introducing oneself to other giants. Once a relationship had been established between giants, whether it was amiable or hostile, this would be continued further down the lineage. Therefore, reciting one's lineage helped to dictate the relationship that would be established. Frost giant skalds (bards) would include lineage in the sagas they wrote.
Good and evil
Giants had a different sense of good and evil than most other creatures. A "good" (maat) act for a giant was an act that honored a giant's deity or family, displayed bravery, or honored another "good" giant, regardless of the consequences. An "evil" (maug) act was one of cowardice, stealing, betraying a giant's deity, family or trust, or an act that forced a giant from its natural terrain type. Violating the ordning was also considered evil (see Ordning below).

Ordning

The ordning was the social structure to which all giants adhered, dating back to the ancient giant empire of Ostoria. It was similar to a class-based society, but was much more specific, assigning a social rank to each individual. Therefore, each individual giant knew which other giants were inferior and superior to himself, and no giants were equal to other giants.
Description
Each type of giant used a different combination of skills or qualities to determine the ordning. Giants believed excelling in these skills to be the purpose of their lives. Annam, creator of giants, was seen as the ultimate in each of these skills. In all cases, advancement was made by challenging a superior, but different types of giants used different systems and restrictions upon advancement. It was considered an evil (maug) act to show disrespect to a superior giant. This could be mocking, betrayal, disobedience, or a number of other behaviors.
Organization
The ordning applied to individual tribes, but it was an insult to treat a higher-ranked giant from another tribe as an inferior. Between different types of giant, there was a totally separate system, and even the lowest ranked giant of one type was superior to the highest ranked giant of an inferior type, but importantly, it was not considered evil to betray a giant of another type, merely rude.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Jotun (Giant)