Storm Giant

(From D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual - 2014):

Storm giants are contemplative seers that live in places far removed from mortal civilization. Most have pale purple-gray skin and hair, and glittering emerald eyes. Some rare storm giants are violet-skinned, with deep violet or blue-black hair and silvery gray or purple eyes. They are benevolent and wise unless angered, in response to which the fury of a storm giant can affect the fate of thousands.

Distant Prophet-Kings. Storm giants live in isolated refuges so far above the surface of the world or below the sea that they are beyond the reach of most other creatures. Some make their abodes in cloud-top castles so high that flying dragons appear as specks below. Others live atop mountain peaks that pierce the clouds. Some occupy palaces covered with algae and coral at the bottom of the ocean, or grim fortresses in undersea rifts.

Detached Oracles. Storm giants recall the glory of ancient giant empires forged by the god Annam. They seek to restore what was lost when those empires fell. They don’t compete for status in the ordning but live out the centuries of their existence in contemplative seclusion, watching the starry heavens and the ocean’s depths for signs, symbols, and omens of Annam’s favor.

Storm giants see the events of the world in a wide perspective. They can foretell the rise and fall of kings and empires, see the beginnings and ends of fortune and disaster, and find the patterns within seemingly unrelated events. By reading omens and prophesying, storm giants learn of vast secrets previously unknown and troves of lore utterly forgotten.

Kings will rise and fall, wars will be won and lost, and good and evil will wrestle in conflict. Storm giants have watched these events in the manner of mortal gods over many lifetimes, and they know it is pointless to intervene. Even so, a storm giant might willingly disclose certain secrets to benevolent beings that visit its remote domain with specific purpose. Such creatures must speak and act respectfully, however, for a storm giant roused to anger is a force of utter destruction.

Solitary Lives. Storm giants communicate infrequently with others of their kind. They do so usually to compare signs and omens or engage in a rare courtship. Storm giant parents stay together to raise a child to maturity, then return to the solitary isolation they cherish.

Some humanoid cultures worship storm giants as they would worship lesser gods, creating myths and stories around the giants’ exploits and vast knowledge. A storm giant is governed by the dictates of its conscience, however, and not by any culture’s laws or codes of honor. As such, a storm giant that bends its mind toward greed or gains a taste for petty power can easily become a terrible threat.

(From Volo's Guide to Monsters - 2016):

Storm giants, the most powerful and majestic of giant-kind, are also the most aloof and the least understood. Uvarjotens aren’t just forces of nature; they are bound to nature, and are extensions of it, in mystical ways that humans find hard to comprehend.

Ordning of Omens. Each storm giant knows its status in the ordning by the signals the universe sends them. Omens might be seen in the wheeling flight of a flock of birds, the patterns in sand left by a receding tide, the shapes of clouds, or any number of other natural phenomena. Storm giants that receive the greatest number of such messages generally rank highest, but the significance of individual signs can also affect one’s status. On the rare occasions when storm giants meet, omens and signs accompany each individual, making it plain to all present who ranks where. Arguments about ranking within the ordning are rare, but all the giants in the group studiously examine every sign for evidence that one among them might be the greatest yet, since the revelation of that fact would herald Annam’s return.

Ever since Ostoria fell and Annam abandoned his children, no sole king or emperor has ruled over giantkind. According to legend, the arrival of such a leader will be presaged by signs and omens in all the elements of the world: the sky (air), the sea (water), the continents (earth), and the underworld (fire). All of these are realms of the storm giants, which maintain a constant watch for the all-important signs. In ages past, when giant dynasties reigned, the signs that accompanied the leader of them all were clear and unmistakable. In the crawl of centuries since the empire’s collapse, the few signs manifested have been muddied, conflicting, and contentious.

For an obvious reason, every storm giant has a strong personal interest in how soon Annam’s return comes to pass — they all want to live to see it. Some individuals gain a measure of immortality for themselves by merging with elemental forces. These storm giant quintessents are the most reclusive of their kind, lairing in remote and inhospitable sites surrounded by brutal winds and murderous weather.

Without an emperor to serve as their political and spiritual head, the storm giants are adrift on an uncertain sea. Every possibility encapsulated in every sign is exhaustively examined. Debates over the meaning and validity of this or that omen are conducted across human kingdoms and spanning human lifetimes.

Explorers and adventurers can find opportunity in this situation, since the giants sometimes hire agents that they dispatch to investigate portents and to retrieve items the giants need for their oracles. It’s dangerous work, for two reasons. The obvious one is that the task involves delving into Ostorian ruins that have been sealed for millennia. The less obvious one is that certain portents, if confirmed to be true, would indeed bring about the return of Annam, upending the giants’ social order and initiating a new age. Some would welcome such a change; others would oppose it bitterly and do all they could to stop it, possibly resorting to all-out war.

Out for Themselves. In the absence of both Annam and a worldly emperor, storm giants recognize no higher authority. Human, elf, and dwarf kings, liches, grand sorcerers and wizards — all might amass what they consider great power, but they have no influence over the storm giants. Any who try extending their reach in that direction are guaranteed to come to grief.

But as long as the world leaves the storm giants alone, the giants will leave the world alone. They wish neither good nor ill on the realms of humanity; they simply don’t give much thought to the matter, except on the rare occasions when humans crop up in a prophecy or are hinted at by an omen.

When storm giants do interact with non-giants, those on the receiving end of their attention might question the notion that storm giants are “good” creatures. They respect the principle of the sanctity of life, but even the calmest of storm giants has a tremendous temper. When one is roused to anger, principle gives way to fury, and an offense committed by one person against a giant can bring furious retribution down on an entire community.

A storm giant that destroys a town and kills innocents in a fit of rage is likely to regret it afterward and might offer payment to make amends, though a sack of gold is likely little comfort to those who lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. It’s always wise to tread softly, speak deferentially, and act respectfully in the presence of a giant, but this is especially true of storm giants.

Living on the Edge. Once they’re old enough to fend for themselves, storm giants spend most of their lives in contemplative isolation. Storm giants are capable of living wherever they choose, whether that’s atop a mountain, in a glacial cave, or at the bottom of the deepest oceanic trench. One kind of location that invariably draws their attention is an elemental crossing — where the Material Plane and the Elemental Planes intersect and interact. Elemental influence pervades the architecture of storm giants and lends a tempestuous, unearthly quality to their homes.

Storm giants use elemental crossings for their own transplanar wandering, especially into the Elemental Plane of Air and the Elemental Plane of Water. The frequent whirlpools, tornadoes, and lashing rainstorms that buffet the passages to those two planes help to safeguard the giants’ homes and ensure their privacy.

Although a storm giant prefers to live outside the company of other giants, it isn’t necessarily alone in its stronghold. Storm giants share their abodes with other creatures that are comfortable in the environment: a sea-dwelling storm giant, for example, might have a few merfolk, water weirds, or even a dragon turtle for companions, while a storm giant living on a mountain peak would extend a friendly hand to any pegasus that happened by, and might even welcome yetis into its home for a time if it believed they could be trusted. The giant’s guests are expected to be respectful, to make themselves useful, and to provide interesting conversation or other entertainment when the giant feels like being sociable.

Moods of Stronmaus. Storm giants pay homage to Stronmaus, the eldest of Annam’s children, who is also the most joyful and the most prone to laughter and enjoying fellowship with his siblings. That image of Stronmaus is in sharp contrast to how storm giants are perceived in the world: aloof and dour. Nonetheless, it is an accurate one.

In the giants’ legends, Stronmaus is subject to gray moods and deep brooding that are just as intense as his moments of good humor. It is also true that storm giants aren’t as humorless as popular notions paint them to be. They’re quiet and reserved when they’re by themselves, which is how they spend most of their time. But when they get together with others of their kind, they enjoy mirth, song, and drink as much as Stronmaus does. For the sake of their privacy and for the safety of smaller beings in the vicinity, these rare gatherings occur far from the presence of other creatures, thus perpetuating the giants’ reputation for always being gloomy and grim.