Half-Giants



Half-Giants are a race of large psionic beings created by an ancient sorcerer who sought to combine the best elements of Human and Sandgiant into his own personal army. Eventually they rebelled forming a group of mostly united tribes that fled back into the seclusion of the deserts from which their giant blood sprang proclaiming they would never again allow themselves to be used by foreign powers. They are a confused amagulation of overlapping human and sandgiant cultures. They are predominatly an honorable people who see cooperation as the best path toward the survival of all those who call the desert lands home.

Half-giants typically stand from 7 feet to nearly 8 feet tall and weigh from 250 to 400 pounds, with men noticeably taller and heavier than women (from Psionics book).

Half-giants speak Common. Many also learn Giant.

They live in the deep deserts of the southeastern continent.

More info can be found in the books Expanded Psionics and also from the section Sand-Giants in one of the monster manuals (though both the DM and Sandserpent's player have taken liberties with this).

Origins
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Culture and Society

 * Values: The Half-Giants are an extremely honarable people who put a lot of stock in productivity and respect to one's tribe.  They respect order, displine and strength. As a result of their origins all half-Giants are inheriently psionic though some study such abilities more than others. For the Half-Giant being able to protect the minds an bodies of themselves and their people via the path of the Psionic Warrior is the ultimate height of society athough crastman, diplomats, and the everyday people are also alloted great respect. Only those Half-Giants who do little for their tribe or actively weaken it with their actions are shunned. As are those who fail to value the judgements and wisdoms of the Elders.
 * Naming:  Each Half-Giant holds two names in his life. His given name that he has since early childhood which is fairly traditional and is used as a personal distinguishment for close friends and familly (eand his True Name which is to be used with the rest of the world.  When a Half-Giant has reached an age of maturity and have accomplished something noteworthy for the tribe they must travel to the Half-Giant capital in the mountains and meet with the Half-Giant Elders to determine his or her True Name. All true names are divined by the elders from the reputation of the youth amongst their clan and from delving lightly into the mind of the youth in an attempt to reveal true nature. These true names are meant to immediately inform the outerworld of the nature of that person and what value they may have to the task at hand.  Most Half-Giants traveling in foreign lands become resigned to the ignorance of those who demand first names from them not understanding that True Names unlike last names are a glimpse into a persons nature and value. In Half-Giant culture this kind of question would be quite the affront but most Half-Giants have the peace of mind to resignedly allow outsiders to use their given names though it is unlikely they wil ever refer to themelves outside of their True Name.
 * Crime and Punishment:  Given the strong cultural emphasis on communal harmony and the fearsomeness and prevelence of Half-Giant warriors in every tribe crime is fairly uncommon amongst Half-Giant people. Small crimes such as theft, assault, and vandalism are sentenced by a tribe Elder and usually are dealt with through means of public shame and the assigning of undesirable work such as latrine repair. For any crimes that do serious harm to another Half-Giant (murder, rape, arson, or treason against one's tribe or the Half-Giant people overall) there is only one punishment. Following being found guilty in a public trial amongst one's tribe the criminal is Exiled from the Half-Giant people. Exile is the lowest place of shame a Half-Giant can reach and it is thought of as the equivalent of execution. An Exile is given two weeks to leave the desert lands of his home continent forever. If they do not it is the duty of any Half-Giant to kill such a criminal on sight. The least honorable exiles refuse to leave joining bandit clans or exile tribes while the most honorable exiles seek death in the form of trying to survive the plights of heading toward the mythical land of The Ancients to the south. The majority of exiles opt to leave for other lands becoming mercenaries or craftsmen on other continents.  The True Name of the criminal is often changed as well to reflect their newly revealed self and role.

Foreign Relations and Notable Figures
The Half-Giants have generally good trade relations with the peoples of the desert continent they call home. In adition given their position as a psionic race Half-Giant leaders and diplomats often act as a sort of middleground of trade and diplomacy between the psionic races of the Planes and the peoples of the continent.

They occasionally fight in wars, generally turf disputes with other races or factions who try to expand into Half-Giant territory or against global threats to the security of the desert such as vicious beasts or bandit clans. Although far from a nonviolent people their political views are very isolationist and they refuse to allow themselves to get tied up in conflicts that do not involve them. They remember how they were once used as implents of destruction for an opressve foreign power and have vowed to never allow that to happen again.

Notable Figures:

Elder Harshwinds (current head of government)

Drogo Sandserpent