Behemoth: Land of Titans; Guardian Giants (v0.3)

Every village has a giant that protects it. If that giant dies a new one will be born into that village. They're a weird cross between a Shinto-style deity and a protector spirit with a bit of Elemental, empowering a human being. They require significantly less food than their size would indicate.

Giants are always born of normal parents. They achieve a growth spurt when "chosen", which is slightly different depending on cultures. The power of the growth spurt can also vary depending on the needs of the village, but at the very least a giant isn't likely going to fit in any houses. During their growth spurt they have trouble with appetite, but as time goes on this wanes to being virtually nonexistent. The appetite will return if they are gone from a settlement for too long, or if too many giants are at a specific settlement that can't sustain them.

The primary goal of a Giant is to protect their settlement. Giants without a settlement (either due to downsizing of the settlements rendering them superfluous or due to their settlement dying off), can go about doing other stuff, but will eventually die, sooner if they don't find a settlement. Giants cannot get pregnant.

A village equips their giant(s) as an indirect form of social competition or warfare between settlements. Periodically, giants in a related area would meet up in order to know each other in case of larger threats. On a normal day, however, standard giant equipment is usually fashioned out of bone, wood, and stone, with some giants utilizing the other body parts of Behemoths they slay.

Giants are traditionally just large humanoids, but regional variations in size and shape exist based on the needs (and potentially worship) of their people. This can change over multiple generations of giants in the same location. On the subject of magical power, it varies depending on the community's needs and location, but giants are almost universally better at magic on an instinctual level than Humans are, whereas Humans have to train themselves to cast even the most simple of spells.

The qualifications for a giant to appear in a settlement are:
>At least 100 people
>Village must be able to sustain the giant
>Village must be able to equip/clothe the giant

Primary foe of Giants is Dragons, but other gigantic creatures exist. These creatures, known as Behemoths, vary wildly, but usually take after various local fauna. There's nothing concrete to prove it, but Behemoths seem to be drawn towards civilization somehow. Behemoths also appear more often when a particular species of fauna is sufficiently threatened, as some sort of "last resort" of their species.

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Pitched Locales:

The Frostland Vanguard

In the frozen northeast is a small kingdom of bitter frontiers men and stout hunters. Their game? The last known gathering of the ancient dragons of old in the Star Scraping Peaks. They train, and prepare, as the very first line of defense against the ancient enemy. Their pride and joy is their Giants, weilding their legendary Redwood Longbows. Wrought from the mightiest trees in world, these bows loose missiles that can split Galleons in half, or so legend claims.

Most Giants belonging to the Frostland Vanguard very angular faces, and sprout eagle like feathers along the tips of their ears and jawline.

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The Magocracy of Molackh Doul.

The people of Molackh Doul are a twice cursed people. They live within the southern Isles, and while lush and verdant, the isles are perhaps some of the most dangerous lands to live, due to the abnormal amount of Behemoths living there.

What's more, the people's sea faring lifestyle has caused precious few giants to be born. However, necessity breeds innovation. The people have discovered the secret taming the Behemoths. A secret which they jealously guard from all foreigners. The secrecy and severe lack of and general distrust of giants the people of Molackh Doul have has causes strain on neighboring lands that would like to trade with them. While official conflict has erupted, rumors of territory disputes and skirmishes with otherwise peaceful settlements are wide spread.

There is even talk of giants made of wood and pulleys within their war stores. but such claims are quickly dismissed.

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>Confederacy of Oros
Covering most of the north-west continent, Oros is a major power in the world. Oros' government is an unusual ogliarchy. There are seven magical colleges that train mages in Oros. The first four (druids, clerics, sorcerers and wizards colleges) formed the confederacy of Oros several hundred years ago. They were joined by the college of Witches 80 years ago. Each of these five colleges trains mages. When they graduate, students become official mages. They are allowed to vote and hold political offices. There are also two other magical colleges in Oros, but these are not official members of the confederacy and so cannot vote.

Giants, while technically allowed to join the colleges, are rare graduates because it takes a decade of study on the campuses to before students are eligible for the final exam and few giants can afford to be away from their villages for so long. Non-mages are excluded from politics by law. It goes without saying that the senate of the Confederacy is horribly, horribly corrupt.

The five confederate colleges are:

>College of Sorcerers
Made up of the elite sons and daughters of ancient sorcerous bloodlines, the secretive college of sorcerers used to be a major power in politics. While it is the oldest college and has the most pedigree it has lost a lot of its status and now mainly functions as the "sidekick" of the college of Wizards. Rumour has it the source of the bloodlines is cross-breeding with dragons, which most sorcerers find incredibly offensive.

>College of Wizards
Made up of the children of the nouveau riche who emerged following Oros's dominance of trade, Wizards learn magic through magical rituals, "Rhythm and Repitition". While their magic is slower and not as spontaneous as others', it can be quite potent. It is VERY expensive to attend the college of Wizards, ensuring only the wealthiest can afford it, but this is the only barrier to entry. This means there are many second sons and daughters of other kingdom's in the college, and by extension, in Oros politics.

>College of Druids
The college of druids is the second smallest (larger only than the sorcerers) and poorest of college. Made up of magical prodigies from rural areas, especially small farming villages, this college specializes in communing with the spirits of nature. Members of this college do vote in the senate, but rarely hold office, as most are more interested in ensuring their home has a bountiful harvest than they are in playing politics in the capital. The college of druids has the strongest relationship with giants.

>College of Clerics
The second of the "Big Three" colleges, the college of clerics focuses on channeling the power of the 'divine' through rituals and prayer. Outwardly similar to the college of wizards, these mages usually come from convents or priesthoods. They have the strongest relationship with the Titan of Oros, Sassalia, the guardian of the capital of Oros.

>College of Witches
The youngest and largest college. The college of Witches was not a founding member of the Confederacy. The four original confederate colleges did not allow women to graduate. A few sorceresses founded this college a century ago and it quickly became as large as all the other colleges combined. Fearing a civil war, the other colleges reluctantly allowed the College of Witches to become a member. Although the other colleges have since changed their standards of entry to allow for female mages, the college of Witches remains the largest college. It has the lowest standards of entry, taking any who are gifted in magic and female. This means there is a plurality of political positions within this college, leading to much infighting and backstabbing. Nevertheless, it dominates the senate, and holds many political positions.

Non-confederate colleges:

>College of Warlocks
Founded by anarchists, the College of Warlocks was founded by mages who thought it was unfair that non-mages could not participate in the political process of Oros. They specialize in quickly training people with no magical aptitude to be powerful warlocks by making deals with the oldest and most abstract of Behemoths, who may predate the world. They are attempting to force the senate to accept them into the Confederacy the same way they were forced to accept the College of Witches. They have been repeatedly refused a spot in the Confederacy, citing their demonic heritage and stiff opposition from the College of Clerics. They are a source of much uncertainty and instability in Oros right now.

>College of Archmages
A deliberately non-confederate college, the College of Archmages is made up of graduates of other colleges who grew sick of the politicking of mages, resigned any position they had and gave up their vote in the parliament. Focusing exclusively on magical research and learning, the members of the College of Archmages are some of the strongest mages in the world.

>Giants of Oros
Sassalia Oros - A fifty foot Titan, Sassalia is a mighty mage and the only being to be a member of all five confederate colleges (although three of those graduations were honorary). Though she possesses magical power possibly unmatched the world over, she is not much of a fighter. Few Behemoths make it near the capital city of Oros as to get there they would have to defeat countless lesser giants before reaching the Oros heartlands. Because of this, she spends more time playing poiltics, constructing great magical works or engaging in tremendous acts of sloth or hedonism.

Yuros the Arcane - One of the founders of the College of Archmages, Yuros is possibly the most learned being in all the world. As powerful as Sassalia despite being half her size, mages travel from all over the world to (sometimes literally) learn at his feet.

Cairn the Unstoppable - The OTHER Titan of Oros, Cairn's 'town' is the mighty fortress of Orosain which protects the Oros end of the great bridge. He has spent most of his life fighting against Behemoths of the land and sea, dragons, and giants and titans from Molackh Doul attempting to force their way into the heartlands of Oros. Grim and unsmiling, he is known far and wide as one of the world's greatest warriors.

Oros locations
>Oros Heartlands
Located on the southern end of the continent, the Oros heartlands contains the capital city of Oros, Sassalia's temple and countless miles of surrounding farmlands. It also contains the Colleges of Witches, Wizards, Sorcerers and Clerics.

>Forest of Behemoths
A brooding, nightmarish, overgrown place. North-east of the heartlands and west of the Rocky Hills, the Forest of Behemoths lies along the Valley River, with its main centre between the two Great Salt Lakes. Early in its history Oros made multiple attempts to carve its way through the forest in order to create highways to the Oros Reaches beyond. This resulted in a great many Behemoths - animals and trees - growing there, further damaging the environment. After generations of this awful cycle the forest has become a much-feared battleground of monsters. The Forest Guardians were formed in response to this danger and defend the Heartlands against any threat from this quarter.

>Valley River and the Great Salt Lakes
A river valley. Unusual in that water flows inwards from the sea to here, instead of the other way around. Not drinkable, but a great source of fish, as several species use it as breeding grounds. Beware overfishing, as it causes behemoths.

>Oros Hills
Centre of Oros mining. Giants here frequently fight subterranean behemoths forged from rock, offspring of the depleted hills. It would have been long ago abandoned, but there are always new seams of ore to find.

>Oros Reaches
Hilly grasslands that made perfect farmlands. Originally home to the nomadic Hill People. Their acquisition of the Reaches was how the Oros discovered humans did not spawn behemoths if they were... depopulated. Houses the college of druids, which is spread between several large farming towns.

>The Deadly Straits
A thin strip of water between the Oros Reaches and the Rocky Isles. Very dangerous, contains many reefs. A major impediment to Orosian imperial ambitions in the central isles.

>College of Archmages
Located atop the cliffs at the very north-east of the continent, as far from Oros ass they could possibly be. Due to the nature of the college, magical phenomena in the surrounding area are common.

>Kanan's folly
Ruins of what was to become the second Great Bridge, stretching between the north east of this continent, near the college of mages, and the Easttern continent. Repeated behemoth attacks and the unhelpfulness of the natives on the other side lead to repeated failures and the unfinished bridge being abandoned. Exists only as ruins now.

>Forbidden Forest
A thick, overgrown forest. Deforestation is utterly forbidden under pain of death, in order to avoid a repeat of the Forest of Behemoths.

>Dragonspine Mountains
Many dragons here. Stay away.

>College of Warlocks
High in the north, close to the mouth of the Valley River. A black, towering fortress, although it is not known what the Warlocks would need to defend themselves from. Rumoured that their magic has warped the sky itself, creating vast shimmering curtains of light.

>Land of Ice and Twilight
A wasteland rumoured to exist beyond the northern sea. Most sensible Orosians dismiss it as hearsay.

>Southern coast
South-western coast of Oros. Main Orosian ship-building ports are located here. Shame there's no one to trade with.

>Orosain Fortress
A series of large fortresses that grew so large they joined and became one. Encircles the end of the Great Bridge. Home of many small giants and the Titan Cairn. Also the centre of Orosian military power.

>The Great Bridge
A series of mighty bridges built between the isles linking the north-western and southern continents. Originally built to allow the forces of Oros to march directly on Molackh Doul without the need to first defeat their mightier Navy. Has since become a frequent target for Molackh ships and a series of naval fortresses in their own right.

>Colonies of Oros
Three large islands in the south-west of the world. Colonized by Oros before they were discovered by Molackh Doul, whose empire spread southwards from their tropical heartlands. Islands themselves are fairly useless, with few resources or people living there. Rumours Oros use the islands as naval bases to launch expeditions into Molackh waters to deliberately overfish are denied at all levels of the Oros government.

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In the archipelago to the east known as "The Shattered Heart" there is a multi-island civilization, Tethiti. They have a fanatical religion surrounding the sea and the beasts in it. The giant of this place is known as Ekem, Lord of Lightning. He has an innate control of magical electricity and is known to use it to augment his physical abilities, causing him to be faster and stronger as the need arises. He shares his domain with a lesser giant and together they protect the town's from the behemoths of the deep. They believe their may be something even bigger than a behemoth, perhaps even a Leviathan, hiding in the sea.

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Mechanical Foci:
-Needs to have a focus on location-based defense
-Short-term adventures are needed
-Progression should feel as if it is guided primarily by the community's needs, but smaller details can be left exclusively up to the PC. A couple of suggestions were made to give this weight: Use a "hat drawing" method of ability gains (X number of options are drawn out of a pool of needs/wants of the community, and the player chooses 1), and a "Reincarnation" system that gradually changes the giant over many different generations, while still letting new players be made.