Hello everyone!
I hope you are prepared for a new dev diary about our upcoming Tactical RPG Runemaster! If you wonder why we did not post a dev diary last Monday, it is because we have decided to post dev diaries every other week up until August 25th and then we’ll return to our usual weekly schedule.
So what’s on the menu today? Well, I thought we should talk about the giants of Jotunheim, their world, culture and values. As you probably know, we have six different races in Runemaster, with two residing in Jotunheim, Giants and Dwarfs. Giants named the world Jotunheim, as their name for themselves actually is Jotun, and heim means home. So Jotunheim equals “home of the Giants”.
Inspiration
There are many legends about Giants in Norse mythology, and with a teaspoon of creative juices added to those legends, our Concept Artist, Aline Gladh, created some very interesting and beautiful Giants for us. Here’s an example of our concept art for the Giant Berserker: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...Runemaster-Development-Diary-12-The-Berserker
The Mythology: The Creation of Giants
Ymir was the first Giant, and he and the cow Audhumla were created by the frost of Nifelheim and the fire of Muspelheim. Ymir slept for most of his life, dreaming about the worlds that would come, and the beings that would inhabit them. As he dreamt, fire from Muspelheim reached him and made him sweat. From under his left arm, he sweated forth a male and a female Giant, who named themselves ‘Jotuns’. They lived in peace at first, until the first god, Buri, came forth; formed by Audhumla’s licking the salty ice of Ginnungagap.
Buri was the grandfather of Odin and was the ancestor of many gods, but they were not as many as the Jotuns that Ymir continued to bring forth. The gods and the Jotuns often fought, until Odin saw no other solution than to slay Ymir to stop the creation of more Jotuns. The blood that poured from Ymir took many of the Jotuns by surprise, and overwhelmed them. Only Bergelmir and his wife Bera survived. The gods banished them to a world of long winters and short summers; a place of eternal snow. Bergelmir and Bera named the world Jotunheim - home of the Giants - and populated it with their kind. All Jotun are descended from this pair.
The Appearances of Giants
The Giants are a people of shapeshifters, and are able to control their bodies in a way most other races cannot. This is a skill that, sadly, is on the brink of extinction, and the old tales of Giants that could shift from the size of a Dwarf to that of a mountain are nothing but stories in these late days. Once a monstrous race, where claws, fangs and deformed features were more than common, the Giants have slowly reached a point where they look more similar to the other races than to monsters or animals. Two-headed Giants are still being born, but they are also a dying breed. Giants do not reflect much on their own appearances, though, and it is far more practical, they think, with hands instead of paws or claws.
In ancient times branding and scarring was a tradition among the Jotun, but as the centuries have passed, this practice has been largely replaced with tattoos. The tradition of ritualistic self-harm is considered by many as something that ties into the appreciation of being marked by life, and could also be seen as a way for the Jotun to prove their worth. Withstanding pain, in order to gain respect and beauty, is an admirable thing, and also a test of discipline. Younger Jotun will be more likely to simply bear the scars of battle and marks of paint, while the old traditions can be seen etched into the skin of the Elders.
The life, work and traditions of Giants
The Giants care little for the Aesir, and only a minority of Jotuns would even refer to them as gods. Few of the Aesir would be granted entry to Jotunheim, much less be allowed to reside in the world of Giants. However, the goddess Eir has been known to wander the icy plains, and she resides in Lyfjaberg, the hill of healing. While she is known for her medical skill, her exact origins are uncertain.
There are few things the Jotun can’t eat, however, they find certain weeds - as well as most kinds of onions - unpleasant. They have a deep love of red meats and fine wine. In fact, they’ll consume alcohol the way a human would drink water. It’ll take copious amounts of liquor to get a Jotun drunk, and, because of this, they rarely try to achieve intoxication.
It is sometimes assumed that the Jotun must be slow creatures with a quite flowery way of speaking, since time has little meaning to them. However, in reality it’s quite the opposite. Their enormous frames may prevent quick movement, but they have very bright minds; they hold immense wisdom, and some prefer using few words rather than many. In some regions you’d be lucky to get more than a single word at a time from a Jotun, while in other places they are far more outspoken.
The Giants have a strong moral code, and broken promises are considered the most reprehensible of crimes. A recurring problem with the Jotun’s strict sense of duty is that other races take advantage of them, binding them with promises and never repaying the debt. It’s not unheard of to have humans, or even the Aesir, ask the Jotun to build things, only to trick them out of payment once the structure has been built.
However, many Jotun consider themselves the only “real” race of the nine worlds - a belief that could perhaps be traced back to Ymir - and in some cities it’s considered forgivable for a Jotun to break a promise if it was made to a member of another race. Because of this it is not as easy to trick the Jotun as it used to be.
Despite their strong beliefs and traditions, the Jotun are not religious, and they disdain superstition. They have no deity they look up to, as they have tumbled with the “gods” - in more ways than one - and they know that there’s nothing extraordinary about those creatures.
With a naturally eternal life, the Jotun have a quite relaxed relationship with death. When they get tired of living they simply end it. Some seek the final rest in the company of their families or members of their city, while others will seek out the untamed regions of Jotunheim and give themselves to Ymir, becoming one with what once was.
The Heroes of Giants
You can choose to play as either a Giant female Berserker or a Giant male Skald. We have talked about the Berserker and Skald in earlier dev diaries, if you wish to freshen your memory you can find them here:
Berserker: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...Runemaster-Development-Diary-12-The-Berserker
Skald: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?772808-Runemaster-Development-Diary-11-The-Skald
The Units of Giants
Every race has six different units, three standard units and three unique units. The Giant’s three standard units are melee, assault and armored. We are working with the names for these units and haven’t made decision on what they will be called yet. All three standard units are grouped in teams of two. The melee units have a decent amount of armor and damage. The assault units do more damage than the melee units, but are more vulnerable. The armored units have a lot of armor but do little damage.
The three unique Giant units are Storm Giants, Frost Giants and Eagles. The Frost Giant is a female Giant whose control over wind and water can be a great asset in battles. Her abilities are mostly defensive or offensive, with no focus on healing. The Storm Giant has similar abilities, and he can also command lightning, which might aggravate Thor, god of Thunder, since this is his turf. It is said that in the beginning there were Giants who could shapeshift into eagles. How much truth there is to that legend, we do not know. However, the Giants have always bred eagles, and used them in battle. These are magical beings, larger than ordinary eagles, and with abilities that can be more than useful on the battlefield.
Here you can see a screenshot of two Giants:
I hope you have found this dev diary about the Giants of Jotunheim interesting, and have many questions for us. The very next dev diary will be about Svartalfheim!
I hope you are prepared for a new dev diary about our upcoming Tactical RPG Runemaster! If you wonder why we did not post a dev diary last Monday, it is because we have decided to post dev diaries every other week up until August 25th and then we’ll return to our usual weekly schedule.
So what’s on the menu today? Well, I thought we should talk about the giants of Jotunheim, their world, culture and values. As you probably know, we have six different races in Runemaster, with two residing in Jotunheim, Giants and Dwarfs. Giants named the world Jotunheim, as their name for themselves actually is Jotun, and heim means home. So Jotunheim equals “home of the Giants”.
Inspiration
There are many legends about Giants in Norse mythology, and with a teaspoon of creative juices added to those legends, our Concept Artist, Aline Gladh, created some very interesting and beautiful Giants for us. Here’s an example of our concept art for the Giant Berserker: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...Runemaster-Development-Diary-12-The-Berserker
The Mythology: The Creation of Giants
Ymir was the first Giant, and he and the cow Audhumla were created by the frost of Nifelheim and the fire of Muspelheim. Ymir slept for most of his life, dreaming about the worlds that would come, and the beings that would inhabit them. As he dreamt, fire from Muspelheim reached him and made him sweat. From under his left arm, he sweated forth a male and a female Giant, who named themselves ‘Jotuns’. They lived in peace at first, until the first god, Buri, came forth; formed by Audhumla’s licking the salty ice of Ginnungagap.
Buri was the grandfather of Odin and was the ancestor of many gods, but they were not as many as the Jotuns that Ymir continued to bring forth. The gods and the Jotuns often fought, until Odin saw no other solution than to slay Ymir to stop the creation of more Jotuns. The blood that poured from Ymir took many of the Jotuns by surprise, and overwhelmed them. Only Bergelmir and his wife Bera survived. The gods banished them to a world of long winters and short summers; a place of eternal snow. Bergelmir and Bera named the world Jotunheim - home of the Giants - and populated it with their kind. All Jotun are descended from this pair.
The Appearances of Giants
The Giants are a people of shapeshifters, and are able to control their bodies in a way most other races cannot. This is a skill that, sadly, is on the brink of extinction, and the old tales of Giants that could shift from the size of a Dwarf to that of a mountain are nothing but stories in these late days. Once a monstrous race, where claws, fangs and deformed features were more than common, the Giants have slowly reached a point where they look more similar to the other races than to monsters or animals. Two-headed Giants are still being born, but they are also a dying breed. Giants do not reflect much on their own appearances, though, and it is far more practical, they think, with hands instead of paws or claws.
In ancient times branding and scarring was a tradition among the Jotun, but as the centuries have passed, this practice has been largely replaced with tattoos. The tradition of ritualistic self-harm is considered by many as something that ties into the appreciation of being marked by life, and could also be seen as a way for the Jotun to prove their worth. Withstanding pain, in order to gain respect and beauty, is an admirable thing, and also a test of discipline. Younger Jotun will be more likely to simply bear the scars of battle and marks of paint, while the old traditions can be seen etched into the skin of the Elders.
The life, work and traditions of Giants
The Giants care little for the Aesir, and only a minority of Jotuns would even refer to them as gods. Few of the Aesir would be granted entry to Jotunheim, much less be allowed to reside in the world of Giants. However, the goddess Eir has been known to wander the icy plains, and she resides in Lyfjaberg, the hill of healing. While she is known for her medical skill, her exact origins are uncertain.
There are few things the Jotun can’t eat, however, they find certain weeds - as well as most kinds of onions - unpleasant. They have a deep love of red meats and fine wine. In fact, they’ll consume alcohol the way a human would drink water. It’ll take copious amounts of liquor to get a Jotun drunk, and, because of this, they rarely try to achieve intoxication.
It is sometimes assumed that the Jotun must be slow creatures with a quite flowery way of speaking, since time has little meaning to them. However, in reality it’s quite the opposite. Their enormous frames may prevent quick movement, but they have very bright minds; they hold immense wisdom, and some prefer using few words rather than many. In some regions you’d be lucky to get more than a single word at a time from a Jotun, while in other places they are far more outspoken.
The Giants have a strong moral code, and broken promises are considered the most reprehensible of crimes. A recurring problem with the Jotun’s strict sense of duty is that other races take advantage of them, binding them with promises and never repaying the debt. It’s not unheard of to have humans, or even the Aesir, ask the Jotun to build things, only to trick them out of payment once the structure has been built.
However, many Jotun consider themselves the only “real” race of the nine worlds - a belief that could perhaps be traced back to Ymir - and in some cities it’s considered forgivable for a Jotun to break a promise if it was made to a member of another race. Because of this it is not as easy to trick the Jotun as it used to be.
Despite their strong beliefs and traditions, the Jotun are not religious, and they disdain superstition. They have no deity they look up to, as they have tumbled with the “gods” - in more ways than one - and they know that there’s nothing extraordinary about those creatures.
With a naturally eternal life, the Jotun have a quite relaxed relationship with death. When they get tired of living they simply end it. Some seek the final rest in the company of their families or members of their city, while others will seek out the untamed regions of Jotunheim and give themselves to Ymir, becoming one with what once was.
The Heroes of Giants
You can choose to play as either a Giant female Berserker or a Giant male Skald. We have talked about the Berserker and Skald in earlier dev diaries, if you wish to freshen your memory you can find them here:
Berserker: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...Runemaster-Development-Diary-12-The-Berserker
Skald: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?772808-Runemaster-Development-Diary-11-The-Skald
The Units of Giants
Every race has six different units, three standard units and three unique units. The Giant’s three standard units are melee, assault and armored. We are working with the names for these units and haven’t made decision on what they will be called yet. All three standard units are grouped in teams of two. The melee units have a decent amount of armor and damage. The assault units do more damage than the melee units, but are more vulnerable. The armored units have a lot of armor but do little damage.
The three unique Giant units are Storm Giants, Frost Giants and Eagles. The Frost Giant is a female Giant whose control over wind and water can be a great asset in battles. Her abilities are mostly defensive or offensive, with no focus on healing. The Storm Giant has similar abilities, and he can also command lightning, which might aggravate Thor, god of Thunder, since this is his turf. It is said that in the beginning there were Giants who could shapeshift into eagles. How much truth there is to that legend, we do not know. However, the Giants have always bred eagles, and used them in battle. These are magical beings, larger than ordinary eagles, and with abilities that can be more than useful on the battlefield.
Here you can see a screenshot of two Giants:
I hope you have found this dev diary about the Giants of Jotunheim interesting, and have many questions for us. The very next dev diary will be about Svartalfheim!
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