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[✗] [LoreSubmission][Racial Lore] The Valfothr


MajesticOwyn
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The Valfothr

Descendants of Stone

 

The Valfothr are a race of giants who originated on the isles of Fylkrsfjall, a collection of islands far to the north of mainland Aegis. From their origins as a tribal people to their melding with humans and the Gorundyr culture, the Valfothr have remained a stout and reclusive people.

 

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While it is not relevant to the acceptance of this lore, I am including the Gorundyr Culture and Religion post for any interested in the Valfothr, as they and the Gorundyr are culturally one in the same, only differing in appearance.


Origin & Early History

 

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Oknar the Shaper

 

Each Valfothr know the name of their father from the moment they first take breath of the frigid air. Oknar, the father of stone, who carved the valleys and shaped the mountains from rocky base to jagged peak; a giant mythical being as old as time itself. While he is but one of the revered gods in the Gorundyr pantheon, he is the father of the giants and thus worshipped above all by the Valfothr.

 

As he towered over the mountains themselves, Oknar’s horned visage focused as he swung his legendary hammer, Himdah Buld, creating a trio of beings.

 

First was Mamuul, crafted from a block of the purest azure ice. Oknar had set out to create life in Mamuul and the frost giants, a feat he failed at, instead creating an emotionless being that embodied the harsh unforgiving nature of the desolate mountains. They were reckless, chaotic beings that seemed to hold no regard for their father, their minds simple and unable to develop complex thought. Oknar had decided that he failed at his first creation, so Mahmul was quickly abandoned to his own devices, in turn creating his own tribe of lesser giants to inhabit the deepest frost covered valleys.

 

Oknar quickly moved on to his next creation, this time working with a material he was more knowledgeable of. Out of stone he hewed and carved Golhil, the second of the giant-kin. While he was more successful in this pursuit, the beings were still heavily flawed and showed little interest in anything but roaming the lands, seemingly docile in nature. Unsatisfied with his creations once again, Oknar moved on, leaving his children to fend for themselves. It wasn’t long before Golhil and Mahmul butted heads, throwing both of their tribes into conflict

 

Frustrated, Oknar went to Lagara, another god of the Gorundyr pantheon responsible for creating all living beings. He had it in his mind that he was somehow lesser than her in his creation and shaping of the earth, and to humour him, Lagara accepted. Together they created Fariik, a being that was born of stone and flesh both. Fariik seemed to be the most successful yet, capable of speech, thought, free will and emotion. The savagery of his two brothers was still evident, however, and Oknar decided it was in his best interest to purge his three children and go back to perfecting his craft of the earth itself, seeing them as failures. Lagara took him into her embrace and spoke with him, convincing him that he should not see them as failures, that he had created life. Oknar decided to heed her words, sparing the giants, but nonetheless abandoning them. He would return to shaping the land around him.

 

Abandoned by their father, the giants focused on each other, their erratic personalities and wrath throwing them into conflict. What would follow was centuries of war that would see the destruction of a large portion of all the giant-kin, with Fariik and the Valfothr coming out as the victors. It wasn't long until they were all that remained of the giant kin.

 

 

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New Arrivals

 

Long after the time of Fariik and the first giants, the descendant humans rode over the waves and sea and landed upon Fylkrsfjall, stepping onto its rocky shores with a sense of wonder. These humans were some of the first Gorundyr and numbered in the thousands, swarming over the islands and claiming much of it as their own. As they ventured deeper into the mountains and valleys, Gorundyr and Valfothr came face to face, and were immediately embroiled in war.
 

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A Fight for Survival

 

Seeing the Gorundyr as intruders, the Valfothr began to attack their fledgling settlements, vowing to drive the invaders back into the sea, whence they came. What followed was decades of violence and devastating war, with losses on both sides high, though considerably more for the Valfothr. The Gorundyr had the numbers, and they had steel. As the giants were forced back and thinned, they began to grow desperate. It was at this point they were approached by one of the Gorundyr warlords, the Chieftain Tyr of Clan Orvar. An uncertain alliance was made between the two, tipping the scales in their favour in the war.

 

 

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A Bond is Forged

 

Victory came slowly as the warring clans clashed all over the isles, though ultimately Tyr and his people brought an end to the bloodshed and were established as the most powerful clan on the isles. Tyr kept to his alliance with the Valfothr and forged a bond between the two people that has lasted since. He gave the giants land, resources, and even educated them. At this point the Valfothr learned of the Gorundyr religion and culture and would quickly assimilate, even creating their own myth and legend within its confines. Hundreds of years later, the two people are as one in all but appearance.

 

 

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Clan Volsung and the Stone-tender

 

Over the waves now calls a horn, heralding the arrival of Clan Volsung and its leader, Gallan the Stone-tender, upon the shores of Axios. Some of the Valfothr have finally left their homeland at the behest of their leader who has embarked on a quest to find the ancient white tree Vakasul and the mythical realm of dreams, Lein Hahnu, both legends of the Gorundyr people. Sent by the Gorundyr priests, Gallan searches desperately to find an answer to sustain his people and fight back against the undead, who have threatened both Gorundyr and Valfothr since the beginning of time.

 

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Physical Traits and Appearance

 

The Valfothr are large in stature, their height ranging anywhere from 6 foot to 8 foot, and their weight between 200-500 pounds. They have a variety of skin colours, from pale to ashen, to slate black. They can be identified by their broad shoulders, wide jaws, and thick forearms. 


By far their most unique feature are the twisted horns that adorn their heads, numbering in pairs, often two or four. These horns are typically wavy and often bend in multiple directions, looking as if they are flowing in the wind. They are extremely tough and nigh impossible to break.

 

The Valfothr almost always have dense and thick hair on their head and face, most commonly coloured white or black, with varying shades in between.

 

Lastly, they lack pupils, instead their eyes being varying shades of pure blue, seeming as if they have a faint glow.

 

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The Curse of Stone

 

The Valfothr live up to a maximum of 400 years old, though their bodies and minds seem to degrade much sooner due to an imperfection in their creation. As they enter their elder years, typically around 300 years old, they experience what is known as the “Curse of Stone”. Aging rapidly speeds up and their skin, bones, and joints seem to stiffen and harden as if returning to their original state. Dementia and memory loss is extremely common during this period of time, and when a Valfothr finally ‘dies’ it will turn completely into stone.

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

 

The Valfothr have two main strengths, that being of their physical capabilties and their natural resistance to the cold. These giants have no need of fire or stew to warm their bones and bellies, and they can perform functionally on only a few hours of sleep each day. These beings are stronger than your typical human or any race of a similar stature, but much weaker still than Uruks or Ologs. While a Valfothr’s skin is tougher than a humans, it does not offer any additional resistance to any form of weaponry, with the exception being when the giant is in the late stage of its curse, where its skin would take on the property of hard stone. By the time it would offer any kind of significant protection, the being would be barely able to move and would have lost most of its mental capacity.


The Valfothr have a major weakness in their susceptibility to fire. More specifically, when they come in contact to flames or anything similar for extended periods of time, it seems to accelerate the process of their ‘Curse’. A Valfothr that is covered in flames could lose large portions of its mobility as its flesh begins to turn to stone. While the damage from fire may be healed, this is still a major weakness in battle, and the natural progression of the curse in old age cannot be reversed, only simply slowed with extensive treatment.

 

Final Thoughts

 

I created this lore in hopes that it would interest people who like the idea of giants and norse myth. I haven't ever seen lore for giants on the server, aside from fringe ET events, and I thought it would be really cool to include them as a playable race. From the beginning I have fit giants into the lore of the Gorundyr culture and that is why the two are so deeply connected. If you have any questions, feedback, or complaints, I’d love to hear all of it!
 

 

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I appreciate the amount of effort that went into this, but I can't help but see this as basically a larger, stronger version of humans.

Kind of like those 7ft+ tall human berserker edgies.

Overall this feels more like a human subculture rather than a standalone race.

 

I'd try to think of a few ways to truly differentiate this from what we already have, otherwise I simply don't think it should have a place in the playable races of the server.

 

As for what you could possibly tweak, I'd say the curse of stone would be one place to start. Anything related to old age in this server gets completely ignored more often than not. I'd replace it with something more immediate and consistent.

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10 minutes ago, Whimsycal said:

I appreciate the amount of effort that went into this, but I can't help but see this as basically a larger, stronger version of humans.

Kind of like those 7ft+ tall human berserker edgies.

Overall this feels more like a human subculture rather than a standalone race.

 

I'd try to think of a few ways to truly differentiate this from what we already have, otherwise I simply don't think it should have a place in the playable races of the server.

 

As for what you could possibly tweak, I'd say the curse of stone would be one place to start. Anything related to old age in this server gets completely ignored more often than not. I'd replace it with something more immediate and consistent.

 

 

taller, stronger, harder, older humans

 

edit:

jokes aside, there's a problemn that we didn't even release hou-zi to the public so they can be playable without a CA, which somewhat kills their race a good bit; You didn't see any recent creature applications to play monkey men; people can't apply or can't be naturally hou-zi.

 

At first, the Valfothr would likely be a character playable only with a CA.

I, personally, htink that the Valfothr, for now, would also be better to the server as a culture, specially that, if you trial them, you get a chance to know if they'll work out or not.

 

You can make a race by simply being a culture (aka the snow elf doggers).

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Just be an Olog or hou-zi if you want to be a giant.

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I'm finding comments saying that this race brings nothing new and that you can just play something else if you want to be a giant irritating. No, this provides a new style in which to play something as. Not everything has to fit your subjective view of what "copies"  or not for it to be enjoyable for players. This race brings a dedicated Nordic culture to the server.

+1

Edited by LeoRabbit99
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Thanks for all the feedback, I can see where everyone is coming from and some solid points have been made. 

 

4 hours ago, Whimsycal said:

I'd try to think of a few ways to truly differentiate this from what we already have, otherwise I simply don't think it should have a place in the playable races of the server.

 

I will definitely take this to heart and think on ways to expand them and make them more unique. I didnt want to go too crazy seeing as races are already very hard to get accepted. Aside from their curse and physical attributes/appearance, most of the unique RP would come from their language, religion, etc.

 

4 hours ago, Man of Respect said:

taller, stronger, harder, older humans


While it seems like this is just the case (I know you said you were sort of joking after) it just comes with the territory of being giants. I suppose their age could be reduced, but since they really dont have human blood in them I figured they could live longer since the curse isnt present. Perhaps that could be revisited.

Lastly, just to clarify the curse for anyone, it is not intended to give them an advantage in combat. It was simply something I thought up to give more flavor to the race, and I would never intend for them to be these stone skinned berserkers that are impervious to damage. By the time their skin has hardened to give any significant protection, they'd struggle to even move.
 

 

3 hours ago, 6xdestroyer said:

Just be an Olog or hou-zi if you want to be a giant.

2 hours ago, LeoRabbit99 said:

No, this provides a new style in which to play something as.


Leo basically addressed this with what he said, so I'll just toss in my own comment. Olog and Hou-Zi simply arent giants and dont look anything like my vision for them. Originally I wanted the Gorundyr culture I created to just be giants, so all of the development of that lore was really meant for the Valfothr. 

I dont see any reason why a race like this couldn't co-exist with the others and even not have the need for an application. Plenty of people can hop into the seat of an Orc without any restrictions, and they are much more physically capable than the Valfothr. I personally dont think there is anything here that would need a barrier like an application.

Please keep giving me your feedback, I'd love to hear more!

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6-8 foot tall and a quarter of a ton in some cases. Sorry I already can't get behind this lore simply for that reason. Love the writing and the origin, it /is/ unique regardless of what anyone says and the stone aspect is something very interesting and new to the server as far as I'm aware. That being said, besides what I already stated about the height and weight, adding a new race especially one so possibly and probably powerful as this one is a dangerous game. Hou Zi had to go through quite a few alterations to make them work and even now you have to apply to even be considered to play one. I personally think this would be something better as an applicable creature and not an entire race on its own, and even then it needs to have further drawbacks besides 'the process of turning to stone nearing 300', that's close to 6 years irl.

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1 hour ago, Wendigo said:

Sorry I already can't get behind this lore simply for that reason.

 


Thanks for the feedback, I'd like to address your concerns. If we compare the Valfothr to a standard Orc, the Valfothr top out at 500 pounds, which is nearly an Orcs minimum weight. Valfothr top out at 8 foot (which would be extremely rare, the average being around 7 foot) where as Orcs top out at 9 foot. I can understand the concerns with their size, but they are still smaller and much weaker than another standard race on LotC, one which has no applications or red tape barring its play. 

If someone were to abuse the strength of the Valfothr, it should be treated the same as someone abusing the power of an Orc. Or anyone power gaming. My desire is just for the aesthetic of a giant but still in the realm of reason. I didn't make them even larger, like a Troll or Olog because those races clearly have major downsides (their intelligence) and one isn't even playable. At the same time, I didnt just want to make them slightly oversized humans. So I intentionally looked at a standard Orc and used them as a reference for size so that I could make sure they were considerably weaker.

Lastly, while the permanent effects of the curse only come into play in the later years of their life, their weakness to fire and the damage it causes to them would be significant at any point. Think how we classify burns. First degree? It'll harden the skin slightly, stiffen it up. Third degree? The skin would completely lock up and turn to stone. I do see that as a major weakness that could be exploited with a bit of creativity on the attackers side.

I understand the apprehension everyone has over their size and power, but I personally think something like this can co-exist on LotC and anyone who abuses it can be treated like any power gamer. 

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The Valfothr are large in stature, their height ranging anywhere from 6 foot to 8 foot, and their weight between 200-500 pounds

 

I think you and I have a different perception of what is classified as "giant" because that right there is pretty much just Dutch people.

 

I think a lot of the comments above have highlighted the main concerns which are balancing the power budget and the necessity of what seems to more or less just be a very beefy human with a Norse flavor. Not that I don't like these themes, but they are pretty saturated in the LotC universe already and new playable races need a lot of justification before they are implemented.

 

 

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Thank you for submitting your piece! This is now under review and you can expect a verdict in roughly a week.

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This Lore has been denied. Topic moved to Denied Lore forum.

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