Campaign Setting - Vaults of Pandius

throughout the nation and beyond. In addition
she has installed many fey servants in positions of
power, especially in the larger more prominent
giant communities. Smaller communities retain
their traditional rulers as long as they pay lip
service to the Queen.
The practice of switching out troll offspring for
mortal children has become widespread in the
past several decades, and many of these “mortals”
have grown up in the Queens Court under her
parentage. These children may be sent out as
agents of the Queen, completely loyal and ready
to do her bidding. Likewise, her own children,
disguised to look like the mortals they replaced,
may exist anywhere in the Known World.
Greed and lust drive the Queen and her court, and
their ultimate goals are to consume as much of
the mortal world as they can, pulling it into the
Realm of Fairae to be trapped for all time.
Religion
During the last few decades the giant immortals
have been slowly supplanted by those worshiped
in the fey realm. Faunus is chief among these
with Terra and Ordana following a close second.
The giant immortals still retain worship among
devout followers, especially those with a militant
bend that chafe under the rule of the fey. Zugzul
is popular among fire giants, with Zalaj and
Gorrziok being more popular among frost giant
tribes.
Settlements of Note
Iron Hill (pop 0): Pure rumor, some speculate that
Iron Hill does not really exist, which is exactly
what the Troll Queen wants folk to think. This
secret location, deep in the realm of Fairae, is
where the Queen stockpiles all the iron and steel
that she has acquired over the years. Weapons,
ingots, tools, and even utensils of every shape and
size intertwine to form a gigantic mound of iron.
Inimical to fey creatures, the Queen has secretly
been removing the substance from her kingdom
for decades. Rumors among the fey also exist
that she uses Iron Hill as a prison for those fey
who oppose her will.
Abbadh (pop. XXX): Built around the caldera of
an active volcano by fire giants centuries ago,
Abbadh is now one of the chief weapon
producers in Grondheim. Many of the bronze
weapons forged here find their way into the
armies of the Troll Queen. The city’s ruler, an
XXX named YYY mistreats the native giants to
the point that they actively speak of sedition.
Appearance and Dress
Trolls can appear human or giantish, but their real
form is that of an ugly green monster with
exaggerated facial features, warts, and oily black
hair. Many choose to appear as an attractive
member of the race they are dealing with, at least
until whatever agreement they are seeking has
been struck.
Giant and fey nobility wear the finest silk or linen
cloth, dyed in bright brilliant colors. Often they
adorn themselves with jewelry made of gold and
silver and inlayed with finely cut gems. Some
giants have taken to wearing iron jewelry in
defiance of their new fey masters. Commoners
dress simply, and it is readily apparent at the
amount of hard manual labor they do.
Weapons and Armor
Iron weapons are outlawed by the Troll Queen’s
decree, although a few of the older giant families
manage to retain an ancient family heirloom or
two in secret. Most other weapons fall into the
category of stone clubs and axes. Several of the
fire giant emirs craft swords and spears of bronze,
but those tools are highly prized and only rarely
traded. Much of this weaponry ends up in use by
the troll army.
Armor among the giants of Grondheim varies
depending upon giant clan. Frost giants typically
wear furs supplemented by chain mail and bronze
breastplates. Fire giants tend toward banded
bronze mail or hardened leather cuirasses. Most
other giantish folk (including stone and hill
giants) make due with what they can find and
piece together.
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