Giants in the Land

~ inputs for creative outputs ~

                            January 13, 2024

                Giants in the Land

                        I’m writing this before going to see some friends for our annual board game get together. A lovely couple in our group has been running it as a chance to bring people back together as we've dispersed across the Midwest. We’re on our 9th year. I feel fortunate.

The Brain Box
~ inputs for creative outputs ~
📖 Grognardia’s Nothing New Under the Sun resonated with me because of a long term project I’ve been working on — Conceit: City of Devils. I think there’s a school of design that tinkers with rules for the pure joy of hacking and turning the knobs on a system. And there’s another approach - a trap, really - where we feel like a piece of work is only legitimized by being mechanically distinct. Stuff for me think about.
📖 . . . speaking of Conceit, here’s some of what I’ve been reading for that project this week:

Ogee - the name for a kind of S curve that shows up in architecture.

Scroll - in the context of ornamentation, it’s the use of spiraling, connected elements (think illuminated manuscript).

🎵 I got infected with the ear worm This Is Why by Paramore. Dear god, the chorus is so good.

Ten Giants
~ of obscure origins and purpose ~
I wrote this table with the idea of a giant as another traveler you might encounter during your own journeys. Giants can range from complex NPCs to esoteric, one-off quest givers. Of course, this can all just be the window dressing for combat, too.
d10 Giant's Appearance What do they want? And what can they offer you?
1 Long legs. Draped in torn sails as rags. Golden bangles up either arm. Beard plaited into complex knots. To catalog every purple thing. The secret name of a nearby river god.
2 Antler-like growths from the brow, shoulders, and knees. Molten gold drools from the corners of their mouth. To find a safe space for their family to move to. A spinning, golden device that points to the nearest pregnancy.
3 Thick white fur on their many legs and both arms. Head shaped like a bear’s. Long ears. Purple eyes. Smells like lavender. The perfect spot to view an upcoming rare conjunction of stars. To carry you a short (to them) distance to a location of your choice.
4 Ritual scarification and piercings down both arms. A teal and green cloak obscures most of their body. Help finding their pet moose. Divination using a game that resembles checkers.
5 Short, stumpy legs (for a giant), with two long arms dragging the ground. Each oversized hand is wrapped in gauze. Apparently, to debate you about political philosophy. At length. Copies of a popular treatise (the takes are solid, though clearly cribbed from somewhere else by the author).
6 Stooped over from the weight of countless candles and funereal statuary on its back. To get feedback on their latest efforts in poetry. One of the goats from their flock.
7 An elaborate wig stacked comically high on one head, a slim cowl and eyeglass on the other. Wears red chaps. Food to sustain them on their sacred pilgrimage. A silver decanter filled with a syrupy drink. Hallucinogenic.
8 A large-toothed maw across their sagging belly. They keep adjusting the black silk robes they use to cover it. Fastidiously keeps incense burning at all times. To recruit you for a task they are too big to complete themselves. To recruit you into their order. Definitely not a cult.
9 Moves on all fours. Face appears to be upside down. Small, wriggling seeds slough off the giant’s body that take root and mature in a few minutes. To turn you into a pet.
10 Thin, absurdly tall. Wears sturdy, metal greaves and sabatons. Bare-chested, covered in tree sap. The pleasure of immediate violence.

Thanks
Have fun. Be weird.
-Strange Years

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d10	Giant's Appearance	What do they want?	And what can they offer you?
1	Long legs. Draped in torn sails as rags. Golden bangles up either arm. Beard plaited into complex knots.	To catalog every purple thing.	The secret name of a nearby river god.
2	Antler-like growths from the brow, shoulders, and knees. Molten gold drools from the corners of their mouth.	To find a safe space for their family to move to.	A spinning, golden device that points to the nearest pregnancy.
3	Thick white fur on their many legs and both arms. Head shaped like a bear’s. Long ears. Purple eyes. Smells like lavender.	The perfect spot to view an upcoming rare conjunction of stars.	To carry you a short (to them) distance to a location of your choice.
4	Ritual scarification and piercings down both arms. A teal and green cloak obscures most of their body.	Help finding their pet moose.	Divination using a game that resembles checkers.
5	Short, stumpy legs (for a giant), with two long arms dragging the ground. Each oversized hand is wrapped in gauze.	Apparently, to debate you about political philosophy. At length.	Copies of a popular treatise (the takes are solid, though clearly cribbed from somewhere else by the author).
6	Stooped over from the weight of countless candles and funereal statuary on its back.	To get feedback on their latest efforts in poetry.	One of the goats from their flock.
7	An elaborate wig stacked comically high on one head, a slim cowl and eyeglass on the other. Wears red chaps.	Food to sustain them on their sacred pilgrimage.	A silver decanter filled with a syrupy drink. Hallucinogenic.
8	A large-toothed maw across their sagging belly. They keep adjusting the black silk robes they use to cover it. Fastidiously keeps incense burning at all times.	To recruit you for a task they are too big to complete themselves.	To recruit you into their order. Definitely not a cult.
9	Moves on all fours. Face appears to be upside down. Small, wriggling seeds slough off the giant’s body that take root and mature in a few minutes.	To turn you into a pet.
10	Thin, absurdly tall. Wears sturdy, metal greaves and sabatons. Bare-chested, covered in tree sap.	The pleasure of immediate violence.