Sorry if this has been posted before, but I've been trying to figure this one out for about 2 weeks now and I haven't been able to find sources that state the direct origins of Goliaths. I'm looking for a deep-dive into the lore over each edition.
Are they considered to be Giant-kin or do they have any place in the Giant's Ordning in the Forgotten Realms? While "commonly believed" to be related to Giants, I've never seen it directly stated or proven in the sources that I've found. I know that Goliath tribes have had varied relations with those of Giants in the past, ranging from strongly bonded allies to slaves to heated rivals, but is there any source that directly states their lineage, or have they kept it ambiguous for a reason and left it up to DM interpretation?
While I'm also interested in reading where the race's origins are placed in other settings, I'm primarily looking for the Goliaths of Toril.
For those curious, my DM's planning on running SKT and we've been given guidelines to base our characters on having at least some insight into or relation to giant society.
The Forgotten Realms wiki only says that they might be distantly related to stone giants, but offer up an alternative backstory that they were humans changed by mountain magic. They have no place in the Ordning
Given the fact that according to some lore I heard there are no dorevtnites saying goliaths are related to giants directly but there is some thing saying Firbolgs originated by the same goddess that mothered the first giants. So while theres nothing directly relating them I personally place goliaths along with trolls, ogres and Ettins as a type of giant-kin, it just makes sense to me thematically because reading into the lore of goliaths they have alot in common with many true giants aside from the physical similarities to stone giants. But tbh it would be up to interpretation by your dm, this is just my opinion and how I deal with it.
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Sorry if this has been posted before, but I've been trying to figure this one out for about 2 weeks now and I haven't been able to find sources that state the direct origins of Goliaths. I'm looking for a deep-dive into the lore over each edition.
Are they considered to be Giant-kin or do they have any place in the Giant's Ordning in the Forgotten Realms? While "commonly believed" to be related to Giants, I've never seen it directly stated or proven in the sources that I've found. I know that Goliath tribes have had varied relations with those of Giants in the past, ranging from strongly bonded allies to slaves to heated rivals, but is there any source that directly states their lineage, or have they kept it ambiguous for a reason and left it up to DM interpretation?
While I'm also interested in reading where the race's origins are placed in other settings, I'm primarily looking for the Goliaths of Toril.
For those curious, my DM's planning on running SKT and we've been given guidelines to base our characters on having at least some insight into or relation to giant society.
The Forgotten Realms wiki only says that they might be distantly related to stone giants, but offer up an alternative backstory that they were humans changed by mountain magic. They have no place in the Ordning
Given the fact that according to some lore I heard there are no dorevtnites saying goliaths are related to giants directly but there is some thing saying Firbolgs originated by the same goddess that mothered the first giants. So while theres nothing directly relating them I personally place goliaths along with trolls, ogres and Ettins as a type of giant-kin, it just makes sense to me thematically because reading into the lore of goliaths they have alot in common with many true giants aside from the physical similarities to stone giants. But tbh it would be up to interpretation by your dm, this is just my opinion and how I deal with it.