Homebrew Firbolg - Not mixed with Fomorians Species Details

Firbolg

The frozen tundras of the North are called home by many tribes of large, but still human, barbarians. These tribesmen are often mistaken for and commonly attribute their heritage to the firbolgs.

A firbolg is a large humanoid creature distantly related to true giants. While large for humanoids, they are passable (if easy to pick out) in humanoid societies. In these times a firbolg is a natural soldier; its physical strength allows it to dominate a battlefield in a way few others can. Their variety also allows them to be versatile in their vocation, drawing upon their natural giant magic to get things done.

Personality

Firbolgs are a highly varied group given a universally bad rap by the worst of their kind. While some of them are greedy and rapacious raiders and bullies who live on terrorizing the fringes of society, others attempt to make an honest living. Even these are hard-pressed to deny their giant blood, however, and they find themselves drawn to the battlefield as mercenaries.

Physical Description

Firbolgs are large and brutish specimens that stretch the limits of Medium size. Approximately seven feet in height, they at first appear to be extraordinarily tall humans, strapped with a tremendous amount of muscle that evinces their status as giants and not normal humanoids. In all other respects, they would normally appear to mirror humans in their range of skin tones and capabilities.

Relations

Firbolgs are often ostracized from lands that are not their own; most people don’t make doors to accommodate creatures of their size, and are loathe to trust the kin of those who make their living as brigands.

Most firbolgs keep to their own, which is usually more limited to their close kin than the whole species. Firbolgs from a different group are just after the same things; if they’re around they are likely going to target the same people. They settle these differences they way they know best; bloody conflict between two or more groups of firbolgs is even more common than violence against their raiding victims. That may be because the victims have the sense not to fight back, which the firbolgs usually lack.

Alignment

Firbolgs don’t tend to be the nicest of folk, but they aren’t all total ****** bags either. They don’t lean towards any particular alignment.

Lands

Firbolgs are nomadic, populating the sparse tundras far north where other races cannot survive. They keep their numbers small to cut down on their food needs, but they rarely do this out of concern for others. Firbolgs know they are bigger and stronger than most things they are likely to meet should they venture south, and whatever they need they usually take. This includes living space, should their numbers get too high to continue their preferred lifestyle. Firbolgs encountered elsewhere are typically renegades, having left their unit for whatever reason and found employ somewhere else.

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 to any two chosen ability scores: While small by the standards of giants, firbolgs are still big and tough. They are a highly variable race, and upon character creation can choose the racial penalties that they sustain (even if those penalties are applied to the scores to which they gain bonuses).
• Giant type.
• Medium size. Unlike other Medium creatures, firbolgs acquire certain size-related bonuses and penalties as though they were Large due to the Powerful Build special quality (see below).
• Firbolg speed is 30 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• As giants, firbolgs are automatically proficient with any thrown weapons (including projectiles used for Throw Anything). They also possess a slam attack which deals 1d8 points of damage.
• Catch: When a firbolg is targeted with a ranged weapon that they would be capable of throwing (see below) and is aware of the attack, it may attempt to catch the projectile as an immediate action by making an attack roll opposing that of the thrower. It must have at least one hand free in order to attempt to catch something. A firbolg who successfully catches a projectile may elect to throw it at another creature within its normal throwing range as part of the same immediate action. A firbolg may only block weapons with enhancement bonuses up to its character level divided by four; anything with a higher bonus cannot be caught.
• Endurance: A firbolg suffers no harmful effects from adverse weather conditions.
• Powerful Build: Despite only being Medium-sized, firbolgs act in many ways as though they were Large-sized. In addition to gaining a +4 size modifier to grapples, bull rush checks, and all other applicable special attacks, a firbolg can use manufactured weapons up to one size larger than normal without an added penalty for doing so (this does not apply to debris that they can throw by virtue of their giant traits).
• Throw Anything: Firbolgs can throw objects (whether they be rocks, wooden planks, or other pieces of debris) up to four sizes smaller than themselves in one hand (normally Fine, dealing 1d6 points of damage) with a range increment of 40 feet. Firbolgs add their Strength modifier to both attack and damage rolls with these weapons.
• Automatic Languages: Giant, Common.
• Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Goblin, Ignan, Terran.

Firbolg - Not mixed with Fomorians Traits

The average firbolg was stronger than a forest bear. Beyond sheer physical strength, they had innate magical abilities.

Ability Score Increasement

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 to any two chosen ability scores: While small by the standards of giants, firbolgs are still big and tough. They are a highly variable race, and upon character creation can choose the racial penalties that they sustain (even if those penalties are applied to the scores to which they gain bonuses).

Medium Size

Unlike other Medium creatures, firbolgs acquire certain size-related bonuses and penalties as though they were Large due to the Powerful Build special quality. Firbolgs were typically over 10 feet (3 meters) tall, averaging a height of about 10.5 feet (3.2 meters). While firbolgs from other worlds weighed more than 800 pounds (360 kilograms), those of Faerûn were lighter, with males being about 650 pounds (290 kilograms) and females about 500 pounds (230 kilograms)

Speed

A firbolgs base speed is 30 feet.

Dark Vision

Thanks to your Firbolg blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim Conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in Darkness, only Shades of Gray.

Catch

When a firbolg is targeted with a ranged weapon that they would be capable of throwing and is aware of the attack, it may attempt to catch the projectile as an immediate action by making an attack roll opposing that of the thrower. It must have at least one hand free in order to attempt to catch something. A firbolg who successfully catches a projectile may elect to throw it at another creature within its normal throwing range as part of the same immediate action. A firbolg may only block weapons with enhancement bonuses up to its character level divided by four; anything with a higher bonus cannot be caught.

Throw Anything

 Firbolgs can throw objects (whether they be rocks, wooden planks, or other pieces of debris) up to four sizes smaller than themselves in one hand (normally Fine, dealing 1d6 points of damage) with a range increment of 40 feet. Firbolgs add their Strength modifier to both attack and damage rolls with these weapons. They also possess a slam attack which deals 1d8 points of damage.

Languages

You automatically get Giant, and Common as a language, and can choose one of the following; Dwarven, Goblin, Ignan, Terran.

Powerful Build

Despite only being Medium-sized, firbolgs act in many ways as though they were Large-sized. In addition to gaining a +4 size modifier to grapples, bull rush checks, and all other applicable special attacks, a firbolg can use manufactured weapons up to one size larger than normal without an added penalty for doing so (this does not apply to debris that they can throw by virtue of their giant traits).