JotunbornRare Giant Humanoid Jotunborn Source Battlecry! pg. 10Jotunborn were forged from the blood of an ancient group of giants called titans, tasked to watch over the Universe.According to their oldest stories, the first jotunborn were the direct creations of the earliest gods. Having just completed the majority of the creation of Golarion, these gods created several groups of people to act as stewards for this new world. Among these groups were jotunborn, beings who were formed from the remains of titans who dared rebel against the gods in the earliest days of existence. Rather than give jotunborn the full power they gave the titans, the gods instead instilled the first jotunborn with the faintest spark of creation and gave them slighter forms. These new servitors would be just as capable at helping to shape the rest of Golarion but would also be weaker and easier to strike down should they rebel like their progenitors.
Fortunately for the gods, jotunborn saw no reason to rebel and dedicated themselves outright to their duties. These first jotunborn used their abilities to grow mountains, carve out rivers, and more as they continued to mold Golarion at the behest of the gods. When the task was done, the gods took the first jotunborn and placed them in the space between the mortal
Universe and the
Ethereal Plane. This sub-planar space sat “beneath” the surface of the Universe and served as the new home for jotunborn. The gods commanded the jotunborn to remain in this realm, watch over their creation from afar, and return to the “surface” of the Universe to tend to it during times of great need.
Now, jotunborn remain mysterious beings whose existence is only briefly mentioned in scattered points throughout history. They are tasked to return to Golarion only when a major disaster—natural or otherwise— changes the world. Jotunborn then appear to assess the issue and determine what steps to take to return the world to a more stable state. This typically only draws a handful of jotunborn to the world. Earthfall caused a mass arrival of jotunborn, though their visit was brief. In the wake of the Godsrain, hundreds of jotunborn have appeared once more. Unlike past visitors, these jotunborn can’t easily return to their home. Now these gigantic humanoids must learn to adapt to life among the people of Golarion.
If you want to play a character who is a towering being with the potential of creation and has a unique connection to planar powers, you should play a jotunborn.
You Might...
- Rely more on your size and might to accomplish your goals.
- Have a desire to take care of others or specific natural sites.
Others Probably...
- Assume you descend from the likes of fire giants, stone giants, and so on.
- Think you are a lumbering sort based on your appearance.
Physical Description
Jotunborn are large humanoids, roughly twice the size of the average human, with most jotunborn growing to be about 12 feet in height and weighing upwards of 1,500 pounds. Their bodies are particularly thick and muscular, with particularly large shoulder and neck muscles. Skin tones across jotunborn are generally pale purples, blues, and light grays. Despite their large frames, jotunborn are surprisingly agile and can make use of their particularly powerful legs to move at great speeds. Most jotunborn reach adulthood at the age of 20 and can live to be up to 200 years old. Jotunborn continue to grow slowly as they age, with particularly old jotunborn growing to 20 feet tall.
Beyond their size, the most notable feature of a jotunborn are the threads woven along the surface of their skin. Jotunborn raise planar, insectile creatures called iivlars. An iivlar’s silk has minor magical properties and, when woven into skin, allows a jotunborn to directly tap into these magical effects. A jotunborn can use the magic to cause their weaving to glow with light, which is particularly helpful in keeping track of fellow jotunborn within sub-planar locales. While initially a magical effect, the weaving becomes so connected to a jotunborn’s body that the effect eventually becomes purely biological, allowing a jotunborn to make use of their weaving even in areas where magic doesn’t function. Some jotunborn can make greater connections with their weaving, allowing them to develop magical abilities.
Society
Most jotunborn live in small, semi-nomadic clans consisting of upwards of 100 members. Each clan has several key roles important to the well-being of the entire group. These include iivlar keepers, clan chroniclers, guards, scouts, and weavers. These groups don’t have definite leaders, instead looking to the most senior person among these key roles in the clan for overall guidance. If disagreements or a need for decision rises among the group, the key members come together to determine a resolution, usually through a vote. At times, these senior members of the community will declare a fellow jotunborn the new senior in their given role and step down to apprentice status. This usually occurs when a younger jotunborn has proven themself capable or even more skilled than the current senior. It’s not uncommon for a given member to rise to senior status and return to apprentice status multiple times throughout their life.
The nomadic jotunborn lifestyle developed from their time in the sub-planar realm between the mortal Universe and the Ethereal Plane known as the Fray. Access to food is somewhat limited within the realm, as there are very few native plants in the Fray. Though there are strange, ethereal copies of many objects and creatures from the mortal Universe within the Fray, their partial nature means that they provide limited sustenance. Jotunborn clans must keep moving to follow migratory patterns or to forage within “in-season” regions. Clans also migrate to follow iivlars as necessary. Jotunborn used to travel into the Universe occasionally to maintain sites of great importance to a given individual or clan, but with the advent of the Godsrain, most jotunborn find their ability to return to the Fray disrupted and have reduced their planar travel as of late. Jotunborn still in the mortal Universe try to remain close with their fellow jotunborn or attempt to make strong bonds with other mortals.
Names
Jotunborn names generally consist of rough, guttural sounds. They derive surnames from clan roles or associations with given sites from the Universe. These site names are used in full, so a jotunborn’s surname could be longer names like “Mordant Spire” or “of the Grove in the Diamond Clearing.” When introducing themselves, jotunborn typically share their name and personal surname, adding the names of their parents when speaking with fellow jotunborn.
Sample Names
Bronric, Clarden, Gremm, Hilgrid, Ingard, Jorynn, Kromari, Rodro, Tatro, Yraldis
Jotunborn Mechanics
Hit Points
10
Size
Large
Speed
25 feet
Attribute Boosts
Strength
Wisdom
Free
Attribute Flaw
Charisma
Languages
CommonJotunAdditional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from
Cyclops,
Dwarven,
Empyrean,
Fey,
Orcish,
Petran,
Shadowtongue, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your
region).
Iivlar Weaving
Planar thread produced by creatures called iivlars is woven into your skin. This thread glows with
dim light in a 10-foot
emanation. You can
Sustain to extinguish, reactivate, or adjust the coloration of this light.
Low-Light Vision
You can see in
dim light as though it were
bright light, so you ignore the
concealed condition due to dim light.