I love firbolgs in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Their racial traits are weird and mystical and feel like they’re taken right from the pages of a fairy tale. The D&D race straddles the lines of mundane and monstrous, and sweet and savage, creating a dynamic unseen in most D&D stories. Players who want to play a giant character but want something other than a half-orc or goliath barbarian would do well roll up a firbolg.
But for most of D&D’s 40-plus year history, firbolgs were nothing like the red-nosed, gray-furred creatures we recognize from Volo’s Guide to Monsters. They date back to first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, where they debuted in the Monster Manual II (1983) as a type of giant. Here's a look at this unique race and what they look like today, from first edition to their latest touchup in Critical Role.
- An overview of firbolgs through the ages
- Firbolgs in fifth edition D&D
- Critical Role's take on firbolgs
An overview of firbolgs through the ages
Throughout their existence as a creature of D&D lore, firbolgs have always seemed to come in second place. They reappeared as a monster in second edition AD&D in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), the third edition Monster Manual II (2002) as both a monster and a playable character race, and once more in the fourth edition Monster Manual 2 (2009). Even in fifth edition, they debuted as a playable race in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the edition’s second book of monsters.
Art is copyright Wizards of the Coast (1983–2009)
Firbolgs have been giantkin since their inception. But where firbolgs in fifth edition are fuzzy, druidic protectors of nature, firbolgs in first edition were mighty, Viking-like warriors. They were explicitly described as the most powerful of the minor giants—presumably referring to giants outside of the ordning, such as fomorians. Even back then, however, firbolgs had the power to shrink in size to appear akin to a normal human.
Classic firbolgs were cautious, crafty, and solitary giants with a predilection for illusion magic, and their shamans possessed an even greater mastery of illusions. While they favored massive, giant-sized greatswords and halberds to defend themselves, classic firbolgs took great pleasure in assuming humanoid size and using trickery to steal from adventurers that trusted them.
This conception of the firbolg remained more or less unchanged throughout early editions of D&D. Some information was added over the years. For instance, the second edition Monstrous Compendium revealed that firbolgs’ affinity for nature and wild forests and hills arose from their distrust of other mortal races. Since they had no desire to mingle with other people, they simply learned to live amidst nature. By third edition, however, firbolgs had lost much of their illusion magic. The only remnant of their original ability to shrink to human size was a spell-like ability that allowed them to cast alter self once per day. The illusionist firbolgs of yore were fading away as early as 2002.
This dissolution of old abilities and lore was made complete in fourth edition, in which firbolgs underwent a major overhaul. The new firbolgs of fourth edition were no longer cunning and reserved giantkin but shamans and barbarians from the Feywild who commanded the Wild Hunt. These agents of neutrality, destiny, and death were mighty warriors and shamans who worshiped three goddesses that together bore some similarity to the Morrígan, a triple goddess of Irish mythology. These three goddesses were the Maiden (Sehanine), the Mother (Melora), and the Crone (the Raven Queen). Once more, in fourth edition, firbolgs were consigned to a book of monsters without being elevated to a playable race, as they had in third edition.
Firbolgs in fifth edition D&D
The fuzzy-faced firbolgs of fifth edition are, in some ways, a return to form for these proud giantkin. Though the pseudo-Celtic aesthetic of early D&D firbolgs has been scrubbed away and the tie to the Feywild introduced in fourth edition remains, modern firbolgs are once again innate illusionists and reclusive guardians of the forest. They are neither humorless nor aggressive, but their judgment upon those who would defile the woodland is swift and merciless.
Firbolgs largely flew under the radar after the release of Volo's Guide to Monsters. Even though this was the first time in the history of D&D where firbolgs appeared as a player character race but not a monster, their unusual abilities and vague lore made it difficult for them to find an audience. While they could be played as characters in third edition, their steep level adjustment and Hit Die penalties made them difficult to play in anything but high-level campaigns. Now with no level adjustment or other hurdles, firbolgs were ripe for new players—but even with all of these barriers to entry removed, firbolg characters lacked visibility. That is, until Critical Role got a hold of them.
Critical Role's take on firbolgs
Warning! Spoilers for Critical Role campaign two lie ahead!
Critical Role did to firbolgs on the small scale what they did to D&D on the larger scale: they helped bring them into the mainstream. In campaign two of Critical Role, Matthew Mercer kicked off a massive outpouring of firbolg love when he created the fan-favorite NPC shopkeeper Pumat Sol, a firbolg enchanter who ran a magic item shop in the city of Zadash. He made a lasting impression on both the cast and fans of Critical Role because of his charming accent and his striking simulacra.
Later in the campaign, two new firbolgs joined the party when guest star Sumalee Montano joined as the firbolg druid Nila, and later, Taliesin Jaffe introduced to the main cast a firbolg Grave Domain cleric known as Caduceus Clay. Both of these firbolgs’ appearances departed from the traditional firbolg design laid out in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, a visual distinction heightened by Critical Role artist Ari Orner. Departing somewhat from the iconic gray fur and big red nose, which characterized Tyril Tallguy, Pumat Sol, and the firbolg in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Nila has brown fur, a wide, cow-like nose and floppy ears. Caduceus Clay, on the other hand, has the traditional gray fur and red nose, but with that same cow-like visage and a hot pink, side-shave mohawk.
In the wake of these three characters’ appearances, fans of D&D had refreshingly different interpretations of the firbolg race. And because of how beloved these characters were, countless players have since flocked to create firbolg characters of their own.
Firbolgs in Exandria
By the end of campaign two of Critical Role, the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount solidified the unique take of firbolgs in Exandria. For example, they are described as having thick fur "ranging from tones of earthen brown and ruddy red to cool grays and blues, and even to wild hues of pink and green." The book also gave players and Dungeon Masters lore that helped place these characters in the world.
Firbolgs typically hail from the icy Greying Wildlands and the corrupted Savalirwood and are a rarity elsewhere in Wildemount. Nevertheless, firbolg adventurers will find their reputations proceed them. Those who journey to the Dwendalian Empire will discover people who believe them to be ruthless killers, owed to ridiculous folktales. That said, citizens of Zadash are more likely to be welcoming of firbolgs, thanks to Pumat Sol. In the deadly wastes of Xhorhas, they are likely to be more welcome. The Kryn Dynasty has brought together all manner of people under their rule, and firbolg communities have cropped up in Xhorhas as a result.
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A firbolg of your own
This variety just goes to show that, no matter what kind of character race you’re playing in D&D, you should never feel limited by the information put forth in the rulebooks. Whether it’s art, lore, or (with your DM’s permission) statistics, you should always feel empowered to create a character that speaks to your style of play.
So if you love the old style of firbolgs, don’t despair! There’s room within the fifth edition rules for you to have your greatsword-wielding, vaguely Celtic giantkin. Just do a little bit of reskinning; there’s plenty of images of suitably Irish fantasy warriors with pinkish skin and flowing blond or red hair out there to offer inspiration. And if you love the fuzzy-faced forest guardians of modern D&D, go out and create a firbolg of your own and tell your own unique story with that character!
James Haeck (@jamesjhaeck) is the former lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, and is also a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and Kobold Press. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and two wilderness defenders, Mei and Marzipan.
Michael Galvis contributed to the reporting for this article.
I have to say I fell in love with firbolgs when they were first released and created a cleric firbolg almost immediately. I play him in Adventurers League and he is a pacifist. He is level 14 and has never struck or killed a creature. He does assist his party and has no pretenses about the need to kill sometimes, but his own backstory prevents him from harming anything until he feels he has repayed a debt he owes. I appreciated critical role having firbolgs, but am still frustrated at not finding any minis!
This inspired me so much, thank you!!
I have to say I was very disappointed in the Firbolg entry in Volo's Guide to Monsters. No-where there does it actually describe a Firbolg. It gives us information about their society, yes, but at no point does it describe how an individual Firbolg might look or act. "Vague" is almost an understatement. That red nose you keep mentioning? It' does not appear in the text, just in a single piece of possible non-representative art. It really feels like the writers dropped the ball on this entry in what is otherwise an excellent book.
This Article is Dope, I think that Firbolg are awesome and criminally under appreciated
I’m really caught between being super hyped that more people are jumping on the firbolg train after CritRole, and being mad that now everyone thinks Firbolgs are cow people. Maybe I’m just worried that Wizards is going to make the bovine look canon forever and the fey giants I was so charmed by are going to fall into obscurity.
In irish mythology the Fir Bolg where the inhabitants of Ireland before what became the Irish pantheon arived on the island, and they were more wariors where as the panthon were more magicy. They were either forced off the island or were resticted to one provice, so thats probably where the not interacting with most races comes from. They are called Fir Bolg because it means "men of bags/bellies" either in reference to their enslavement by the greeks before thier flee to Ireland, or to imply they were bulging with battle fury.
Does this new Firbolg feel like the old Dragonlance “Irda” to anyone else besides me?
Huh. From not having watched CritRole yet, I never got the cow impression (and having an obsession with cows in my youth). I always got a deer/fawn impression from the Firbolgs. That's the feel I kept when I made mine anyways. I also hope that the bovine thing doesn't become canon.
Will there be a firbolg update to the character sheet generator? Thanki
I have a theory that Lorax is a Firbolg with dwarfism
like this alot!
brilliant article :>)
I am at the start of a campaign and was looking at creating a character sheet for a Firblog Druid, but cannot see how this can happen... Any advice? or am I so of tack!?
Thanks 👍🏻
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Voadkyn
Today's firbolg sucks. When I use a firbolg in an online game, I use the older version pic for avatar. They should bring back Voakyn
They should bring back voadkyn
I suppose I don't have any strong feelings about voadkyn, but I do about firbolgs. Voadkyn just match the description and character features of this race much better than firbolgs do. I'm not about to cry "cultural appropriation!", but it does feel a bit willful for Wizards to disregard the mythological basis for the race so suddenly and completely.
I rolled up a nature cleric Firbolg in 2018. It was my second campaign ever, only second or third time making a character, and nothing in the core book caught my fancy. I told my DM I wanted to be a nature-based character, one who lived in the woods and had a giant ferret at a pet (RIP Azi, you were a good girl). He suggested a few things, one of which being firbolgs. I loved the idea of a kindly nature giant and made my lady Phirelli. Trying to make a Pinterest board for inspiration was difficult because there weren't many firbolgs out and about at that time, I was shocked, I loved the idea of these forest-dwelling peoples! I didn't have a great idea for appearance, but a few doodles later, I landed on a light purple, broad-nosed, large but not droopy eared, thick built lady who could take your head off with a mace if the need arose, but was gentle and kind to those who needed her. Ahead of my time for odd-colored firbolgs I guess haha.
She is one of my favorite characters I've ever played, Phi and her adoptive daughter make me warm and fuzzy inside.
TL:DR I really love firbolgs and managed to make a purple nature cleric firbolg literally weeks before firbogs exploded on the internet-
Perhaps it'd be better to create a firbolg race that matches better to the ones from mythology. It's important to remember that while Critical Role appeals a lot to new players, the more modern firbolg was the basis for critical role, and a more traditional firbolg would be a truly different experience. That said, the only traits I'd change is allowing their disguise self to bring them 3 feet taller as well as shorter (to make them appear as the 10-foot-tall giantkin we are familiar with) and put Strength above Wisdom (although I might not even do those things).
I have a traditional, Celtic firbolg In my D&D games, and his story paints firbolgs in an interesting light. He stole from his tribe to save a family member, and when his tribe found out, they exiled him, burning the firbolg code that was tattooed on his back and casting him out with nothing but a pot of porridge, a loincloth, and a club. This depiction shows their guardianship of the forest in a new light, yet serves to show how these creatures are not to be crossed.
Many people have a problem with inherently good races in D&D; I have a problem with inherently good ones. I like to say that races like the gnomes and halflings that don't get involved in conflicts a lot are more often good than even elves and dwarves, but really, anyone has the capacity for evil, and there is no such thing as a perfect society. If something seems too utopian in D&D, I'm ready to tear that down. If I ever run a Theros game, you'd best believe that Setessa is going to be depicted as either and unjust matriarchy akin to Mezzobarren or a warlike city of conquerers similar to its mythological roots.
It's not Fur-borg it's Feer-borg
Modern Firbolgs are an insult to their Celtic roots in every single way possible.