Felor Jotun
From World of Teréth End
Contents |
Introduction
Most people, when imagining the Jotun, think of the giant stone-bodied Felor Jotun. Dwürnmor for "Stone Child", the Felor are most commonly found in hilly and mountainous regions throughout the World of Teréth End. One story that has been passed through many generations tells of a Felor Jotun that rose from a quarry in Lyrast where it slaughtered hundreds of stonecutters before rampaging through several nearby villages. Stories like this one support the wounded earth theory.
Physiology
The Felor Jotun are composed of stones, dirt, and things that are buried. From all accounts, there is no living matter within the body of these Jotun, unless one wants to count burrowing animals. Jotun are considered of the Felor variety whether they composed of dirt, stone, or some combination of the two. A Dirimoran tale describes how a Felor Jotun rose from a local graveyard with the hands, feet, and heads of corpses hanging from its body while tombstones rose from its back like spines.
Stones and dirt from the bodies of Felor Jotun are valuable to alchemists, arcanists, and the like. It is believed that the stones from the Jotun can be milked for a heavy black ichor called merdtèreð ("earth's blood"). This rare substance can supposedly be used in the creation of exceptional stone golems and animated statues, as well as other magics like petrification. The extraction merdtèreð is no easy matter, requiring a great deal of preparation and materials. The largest operation to extract the ichor was performed in Oð during the period of the Old Empire. Through an exhaustive series of divinations, the priests located the body of a "sleeping giant" within the foothills of the Tor'n Evalshat. The exposed Felor Jotun was quarried by a corps of stonecutters and then carried upon a large wagons to a the Vullinshrith foundry which had been converted by a company of alchemists, at great expense, for this one purpose. Because of exhaustively long and detailed planning the priests of Roð were able to milk an enormous amount of the merdtèreð from the Jotun's pieces. The collected ichor was used to manufacture a small army of Ormic Sentinels, some of which were shipped to all the capitals of the Dekàlan Empire. As a result of this operation, the region's Faldür, which rever the Jotun as children of the Jyar, severed relations with the Oðic government. Some have suggested that it was this one act that also stayed the hands of the Dwürden during the Second Acentyrean-Dekàlan War.
Psychology
It is not known whether the Felor Jotun (or any Jotun for that matter) are sentient, or whether they are simply manifestations of intent (mortal, immortal, or natural). Surviving written accounts of the Felor Jotun would indicate that the giants are mindless, goal-driven monsters, but there might be more to this than meets the eye. The following excerpt is from a 335 DR report, given by a woman named Travæn to Oðic interrogators. Travæn had been arrested in the town Erhet for treason, specifically for affiliation with an outlawed group called the Stonewatchers of Knerl. She had arrived in Erhet to buy supplies before returning to the Tor'n Evalshat.
| "Æráthur, Blessed be the Master, called it forward and it came. There was nothing at first, nothing but cold wind and distant peaks. When it came the earth shook beneath us. Only the Blessed Master kept his feet, the rest of us were thrown to the quaking ground and jumping rocks. First there was a hand, but it was not a hand. No flesh, no muscle, no blood, only stone. It grasped the plateau's edge, cracking ancient rock beneath its grip. Then, heaving itself up the giant rose above us all. Everyone cowered. Everyone screamed. Everyone cried. Everyone except Æráthur, Blessed be the Master, who had been here when his Blessed Master called the Jotun years before. The Blessed Master proceeded with the ritual. After some time I dared look out from my place of hiding and beheld the awesome beast above us. It stood listening to the words of Æráthur, Blessed be the Master. This was the terrible power, wrath, and beauty of the gods, Blessed be those Beneath. We were blessed. Finding strength in my legs, I stood from my hiding place raising my arms, ready to proclaim my faith. The giant then turned, stones shifting within its body like an avalanche. Its empty cave eyesockets glared at me, reminding me that I was Mortal. I could not speak. I could not move. This was no spirit one calls to extract favor, this was a soldier of the gods, Blessed be those Beneath. This was a soldier, a soldier that will grind this wicked city into the dust" |
It is an unfortunate side note to the study of the Jotun and understanding of the Stonewatchers that Travæn's account ended with the excerpt above. Though details are sketchy, it is believed that she was killed when a guard thrust a sword through her neck to end her prophesizing. There is a belief that among many Old Empire peoples that to learn of your future is to set an unwavering course of events. Her execution therefore, may have been precautionary. It should also be noted at this point, that there is no historical record of a Felor Jotun ever attacking the City of Oð.
Culture
No more than one Jotun has ever been observed at one time.
Magic
Characters
Jotun Felor are not appropriate player characters. Their movements across the face of Teréth End often spell disaster on a large scale. Typically, the Jotun Felor are awakened by avalanches, earthquakes, and the like. Mostly, the creatures only goal is to seek new places to rest undisturbed.
Template
The basic template for Jotun Felor characters is 1365 CPs. This template includes:
1685 CPs in Advantages.
| Advantages | Mod | Ref | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | +240 | POWp58 | 480 pts |
| Hit Points | +500 | BASp15 | 200 pts |
| Fatigue Points | +50 | BASp16 | 150 pts |
| Size Modifier | +8 | BASp19 | 0 pts1 |
| Blessed: Heroic Feats | -- | BASp41 | 10 pts |
| Control: Common (Earth and Stone) | +10 | POWp92 | 200 pts2 |
| Doesn't Eat or Drink | -- | BASp50 | 10 pts |
| Elemental Meta-Trait: Body of Earth | -- | BASp262 | 175 pts |
| Extra Attack | -- | BASp53 | 25 pts |
| Hyperspectral Vision (Magic) | -- | BASp60 | 32 pts3 |
| Mana Damper | +3 | BASp67 | 143 pts4 |
| Regeneration: Very Fast | -- | BASp80 | 90 pts5 |
| Supernatural Durability | -- | BASp80 | 150 pts |
| Terrain Adaptation (Land) | -- | BASp93 | 5 pts |
| Unfazeable | -- | BASp95 | 15 pts |
1 CAMp372 Size Limitation; -80% Strength and Hit Points cost
2 POWp92 Natural Phenomenon; +100%
3 BASp60 Hyperspectral Vision; 25 pts (Basic) +30% (Extended: Magic (POWp52)) = 32 pts
4 BASp67 Mana Damper; 30 pts (Level 3) +500% (Area of Effect, 10 (BASp67)) -75% (Limitation, Telepathy (POWp62)) +0% (Special Effect: Stirrings of the Land (POWp39)) = 143 pts
5 BASp80 Regeneration; 100 pts (Very Fast) -10% (Accessibility: Only on Land) = 90 pts
-320 CPs in Disadvantages.
| Disadvantages | Mod | Ref | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | -5 | BASp15 | -100 pts |
| Bestial | -- | BASp124 | -15 pts |
| Cannot Learn | -- | BASp125 | -30 pts |
| Cannot Speak | -- | BASp125 | -15 pts |
| Dependency (Lehya) | -- | BASp130 | -100 pts1 |
| Fanasticism | -- | BASp136 | -15 pts |
| Hidebound | -- | BASp138 | -5 pts |
| Increased Life Support (Lehya) | -- | BASp139 | -10 pts |
| No Fine Manipulators | -- | BASp145 | -30 pts |
1 BASp130 Dependency; -20 pts (Occasional) * 5 (Constantly) = 100 pts
Blood Adepts that have managed to connect with the "mind" of the Felor Jotun have reported finding a bewildering collage of deafening "sounds", like the footfalls of a thousand feet resounding within their skulls. Though no coherent thoughts have been discovered within these elemental giants, every pore and crack of their bodies seems to exude rage.
