I'm so happy to have the opportunity to play a Firbolg Twilight cleric in my upcoming game, and I'm super excited to learn what my DM has imagined for the Firbolg's place in the world.
First character I ever made was Boulder, a firbolg ranger who was the agent of the goddess of order and disorder, he went through a lot of development before I was happy with him but now he's irreplaceable!
About to be playing a Firbolg Druid of the Moon. Came back yo this to refresh myself on some of the lore of the race. X3. Also just enjoy listening to your vids in general. :)
Love the use of Loial's picture at the end of the video; The Wheel of Time book series is great and the Ogier are certainly related to the Firbolg. Both races are similar to one another. Great Video!
In listing the progenitor giants you mentioned Arno and Julient (I'm guessing on the spelling) as the father(s) of the Ettins. You Ettin video did not mention this at all, but this does confirm what you've touched on about the lore changing from one edition to the next.
This is one of my favorites. I didnt realise they were so complicated. It does confuse me that the artwork for Furbolgs looked super different in one of the older books. But their description was the same. Whatever though. Also i had no idea there was a tribe of humans and furbolgs that rode Mammoths! Thats AWESOME!
I've long needed a healthy bit of info on firbolgs for the campaign I DM. Thanks for doing these. Your videos are quite helpful. ^_^ I vote more on Volo's but I really like the book so I may be a bit biased.
An interesting thing (and I'm really stretching the meaning of interesting here) is that Firbolgs come from celtic mythology and as such comes with Gaelic pronunciation. It should really be pronounced as Feer Bolk. Yeah, some useless info there. Thanks for letting me waste your time.
I love your work. your voice is clear and engaging so i have never had to go back to relisten to something, which is awesome since i listen to you while im Session Prepping you usually give me atleast an encounter to throw in so thank you so much. also What is your favorite non standard race to play? i think my favorite is either the Goliath or the Firbolg i feel the players dont have enough Big guy races, and im average height and because of medical reasons only about 110 pounds so i want to play something i never could be in real life.
@@AJPickett I ask that because they seem like those 2 cultures would positively interact often like Goliaths and Dwarves. Is there Santa Clause like firbolg character with gnome helpers in the D&D universe?
For those who settled further south of the spine of the world mountains, sure. Actually, if he was speaking the common tongue of Faerun, he would sound more Italian, but perhaps with a Norwegian accent.
@@AJPickett Hey, Italian Firbolgs work. The Lombards are essentially descendants of the German tribes that settled in the north of Italy and became Italianized. "Bappity boopy, smallfolk"
Would be fun to see what has changed/added to with the Tarrasque in D&D. Though I did a research kind of D&D adventure in which a group of players were sent by a school of magic an study to uncover as much information on the creature as they could, even possibly finding out the origin of the creature if possible. In the course of the adventure the group found out the Tarrasque (atleast in my version) was related to Goblin-oid races, and that it was a form of champion of the Goblin/orc/hobgoblin pantheon. Though in my setting the Goblinoid races are not different races, but more of one singular race with each race (goblin, hobgoblin, orc, and such) being a stage of their lifecycle. An the Tarrasque being the final stage that only a finite number of their kind could reach, and needed to be chosen by the whole pantheon to actually become.
Kind of a blend of the D&D goblinoids with the Warhammer 40K Orks (who are an awesome monster to do an ecology video on.. heck I may do them right after the D&D orcs, just to show how wildly different they are).
Good question, one that vexed her murderous son as well, Lanaxis (father of titans) settled on poison as the means, but messed up his first attempt and ended up killing all his brothers, except for Dunmore and Arno/Julian. The poison took a while to kill Othea, enough time for her to lay a curse on Lanaxis, that if he ever left the shadow of the mountain, he would forsake his immortality and be able to be killed.. so, he hung out around the corpse of his dead mountain mother for quite a while, and everyone sort of forgot about him.
How did the super laser space mining ship work out against Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy II? Not so easy when it's a living mountain with god like powers.
Hey I have a question that's been plaguing me as a DM that I hope you could give me some pointers on. I guess I need some help understanding the ecology of character levels you cold say. How do I explain why my players at level 8 are beyond the typical city guard come to arrest them for trouble at the inn or that at level 13/14 they really toss around your typical guards like tin toys, then nuke the local knights and really only a lvl 20 grand wizard of the collage will need to be called in to deal with these psychopaths. I guess what my question really boils down to is how would a city like Waterdeep deal with rambunctious player characters at various levels?
In 5th edition it comes down to numbers, pure and simple, a higher level character gets more and more guards show up, and in those groups of guards are more dangerous veterans, knights, captains and spell slingers.. then you can use the Mob rules in the DMG (I did a video in this) and your cocky high level characters will be scrambling to get out of there within a few rounds, as they take some shocking amounts of damage, while only being able to pick off the guards one or a few at a time. Bounded accuracy in 5th edition means that it is more of a level playing field, and outnumbering your foe makes a big difference, combine that with the guards being able to move in formations to divide the party and concentrate on one of them at a time, and when the first character drops to 0 with the last few hits in subdued damage (and being trussed up in enchanted manacles), the players will probably react emotionally.. lets be honest, they won't like being ass whipped by simple city defenders.. then you let them know they are in jail, all their equipment is now owned by the nobility and we rejoin the game four years later when they are thrown out of prison dressed in rags, minus some constitution and strength thanks to undernourishment. You know how much damage of volley of 30 crossbow bolts does? It is a LOT.
AJ Pickett thank you so much for that. I did see your video on the guards and absolutely loved it. Your really doing an amazing job here. I especially like the idea of rejoining the campaign four years later. They really could use some humbling and I think this would do the trick. Once again your videos are awesome thanks for all you do man.
You mentioned the Firbolg have a connection to the Fomorian, and them generally being forest people, would they have any special connection with fey and the Feywild? Might their ability to speak towards animals and plants out them in unique relationships with Dryads or Treants? Seeing what I have I mostly have thought of one as a good guardian for the forest to talk on its behalf.
I dislike how nerfed the firbolgs are size and racial bonus wise. Males hit 11 foot 10 inches and they +3 regen each turn. Also their new design is lackluster, and 3rd edition has the best design for them.
I think they were just expanded on, Yuan-ti are not that different, stat wise, to the other humanoids, the Firbolg have been nerfed A LOT since first edition, I wonder what's next, playable mind flayers? :)
Damn... i really want to play a mind flayer. As a lovecraft fan i find Mind flayers to be extremely cool. Though Try to convince a dm to allow you to play one in a good party. On the topic of Yuan-ti the purebloods now seem to live a very short time span unlike the one in your video who lasts for two thousand years which is unfortunate.
I suggest you go with the version you prefer.. perhaps something went wrong with their creation and there are now True purebloods, and the lesser, short lived mutant scum :D
So Goliath are basically half giants, how they fit into the genealogy is wide open to debate however, I would hazard a guess that they are related to Stone Giants. Firbolg and Goliath probably have an amicable relationship, culturally and personally. The Firbolg are physically impressive humanoids and Goliath respect strength and stature, so, off to a good start from first impression, the lack of competitiveness would incite the Goliath to try and provoke the Firbolg into some sort of friendly rivalry, to 'settle who can lift more, in case anyone wonders" or some such. The Firbolg would sense that there is a deeper connection to the land, the stone and roots of the world in the extroverted Goliath, and strive to connect to their more mystical side.
I'm so happy to have the opportunity to play a Firbolg Twilight cleric in my upcoming game, and I'm super excited to learn what my DM has imagined for the Firbolg's place in the world.
First character I ever made was Boulder, a firbolg ranger who was the agent of the goddess of order and disorder, he went through a lot of development before I was happy with him but now he's irreplaceable!
i made rhumpus dumpus which is a druid and/or rogue
About to be playing a Firbolg Druid of the Moon. Came back yo this to refresh myself on some of the lore of the race. X3. Also just enjoy listening to your vids in general. :)
Love the use of Loial's picture at the end of the video; The Wheel of Time book series is great and the Ogier are certainly related to the Firbolg. Both races are similar to one another. Great Video!
The wheel of time series starts great, but there needs to be an abridged version, preferably an audio book, read by Peter Cullen... quickly.
they have an abridged version for like the first 2 books but thats it i think. or maybe it was a childrens edit i cant remember.
I can see a firbolg PC using the casting within a party. That would be cool.
In listing the progenitor giants you mentioned Arno and Julient (I'm guessing on the spelling) as the father(s) of the Ettins. You Ettin video did not mention this at all, but this does confirm what you've touched on about the lore changing from one edition to the next.
yes
My bois... The Firbolg...
They are great Totem Barbarians, Druids (I prefer moon druid), or Both!
This is one of my favorites. I didnt realise they were so complicated. It does confuse me that the artwork for Furbolgs looked super different in one of the older books. But their description was the same. Whatever though. Also i had no idea there was a tribe of humans and furbolgs that rode Mammoths! Thats AWESOME!
Can't wait to see a video on Orcs and Half-Orcs
That's one I am looking forward to as well, I will count this as a request and bump them up the list :D
How was it?
I've long needed a healthy bit of info on firbolgs for the campaign I DM. Thanks for doing these. Your videos are quite helpful. ^_^ I vote more on Volo's but I really like the book so I may be a bit biased.
An interesting thing (and I'm really stretching the meaning of interesting here) is that Firbolgs come from celtic mythology and as such comes with Gaelic pronunciation. It should really be pronounced as Feer Bolk. Yeah, some useless info there. Thanks for letting me waste your time.
I call them Beer Folk, have I been saying it wrong?
@@sextwister works for me lol
Love it. Your audio is much much better in this vid than in this Gem Dragons one.. Vast improvement. Cheers!
Teacher teacher! I need you to repeat the first half of the lecture. Too many Names!
Yeah, the lore is DEEP.
@@AJPickett it made me take notes. Haha
@@sagesheahan6732 you would never guess the rich history of this race based solely on the 5th edition information.
I think in Irish legends the Firbolg (people of the bag) were the 2nd settlers in Erie.
Great video the giant kin are really cool and I hope you do more of them
Great video btw, will be playing as a Firbolg Oath of nature pally in a custom setting soon.
Had the same idea....
Well now my game is gunna have firbolg... thanks for the good info AJ !! Also more volo race videos would be awesome :D
2:15 That is how I want to start an adventure! Describe to my players they are just walking along and then a Giant steps out from behind a rock!
Geez…… I feel like I need a chart just to keep track of everyone… there's too many dang names!
"With me so far?"
No, I...
"OK good."
So.... they're the most democratic race.
"The cast" sounds like direct democracy or a referendum.
So you want to play a Wheel of Time style Ogier in a D&D game? Here you go.
Aye I needed this. Have a Firbolg in my game and I do not know much about Firbolgs.
Well, now you know too much! Bwua ha ha ha
I'll take the latter rather than the former.
I love your work. your voice is clear and engaging so i have never had to go back to relisten to something, which is awesome since i listen to you while im Session Prepping you usually give me atleast an encounter to throw in so thank you so much. also What is your favorite non standard race to play? i think my favorite is either the Goliath or the Firbolg i feel the players dont have enough Big guy races, and im average height and because of medical reasons only about 110 pounds so i want to play something i never could be in real life.
Firbolgs in lore: thick red noses, bluish skin, clearly giant-like features.
Firbolgs according to fan artists: *pastel coloured cow people!*
Lore wise... current firbolgs are SUPER weird. They don't make any sense in Faerun lore at all.
It would be so helpful if you spelled out the names on the screen
Yes, it would.
How would Firbolg Gnome hybrid traits manifest? Would I get bonuses in both intel and wisdom? Are there any extra spells it would be privy to?
You get a variant option to select an extra feat at character creation.. because you are a human. 😄
@@AJPickett I ask that because they seem like those 2 cultures would positively interact often like Goliaths and Dwarves.
Is there Santa Clause like firbolg character with gnome helpers in the D&D universe?
So Irish/Scottish accents are mandatory for all Firbolg characters?
For those who settled further south of the spine of the world mountains, sure.
Actually, if he was speaking the common tongue of Faerun, he would sound more Italian, but perhaps with a Norwegian accent.
@@AJPickett
Hey, Italian Firbolgs work.
The Lombards are essentially descendants of the German tribes that settled in the north of Italy and became Italianized.
"Bappity boopy, smallfolk"
I actually roleplay my Firbolg with a very thick English accent. He talks very slowly and in a deep voice
In my game all firbolgs speak with an Irish accent. Firbolgs do come from Irish mythology after all.
@@AJPickett Firbolg: "Mama Mia! Bababity Bapa?! Babbity Boppity!! Bippoty Babba?!"
That's Peter griffin's Italian from Family Guy, btw
Would be fun to see what has changed/added to with the Tarrasque in D&D.
Though I did a research kind of D&D adventure in which a group of players were sent by a school of magic an study to uncover as much information on the creature as they could, even possibly finding out the origin of the creature if possible. In the course of the adventure the group found out the Tarrasque (atleast in my version) was related to Goblin-oid races, and that it was a form of champion of the Goblin/orc/hobgoblin pantheon.
Though in my setting the Goblinoid races are not different races, but more of one singular race with each race (goblin, hobgoblin, orc, and such) being a stage of their lifecycle. An the Tarrasque being the final stage that only a finite number of their kind could reach, and needed to be chosen by the whole pantheon to actually become.
Kind of a blend of the D&D goblinoids with the Warhammer 40K Orks (who are an awesome monster to do an ecology video on.. heck I may do them right after the D&D orcs, just to show how wildly different they are).
Oh yeah, for me orcs in the warhammer setting are so interesting, and unique.
Hold onto your dicebag made me laugh and Im upset
A short version lol! I see what you did there!
Nyar har har
I wish... I wish I had diagrams or something...... Taking notes to this has been difficult. Thank you for the content though!
Always a pleasure :)
You weren't the only one taking notes. XD
These used to be one of my favorites...I hate what D&D did to them.
I played a half firbolg pc one time. That was a lot of fun.
Ugh I was born into a wrong realm!!! I wish I lived in forgotten realms universe...imagine the possibilities you would have.
I want to ascent to divinity and become aasimar and smite evil with the power of light
I'd visit Lantan, see the wondrous island of the Gnomes.
Julia Sanchez aaaand then you end up as a commoner and get eaten by a purple worm or something :_D
AJ Pickett I role play a Kobold mainly so your comment triggers me.
You'd probably get the plague
Can you cover the People of the Black Blood?
How do you get killed in the form of a mountain exactly?
Good question, one that vexed her murderous son as well, Lanaxis (father of titans) settled on poison as the means, but messed up his first attempt and ended up killing all his brothers, except for Dunmore and Arno/Julian. The poison took a while to kill Othea, enough time for her to lay a curse on Lanaxis, that if he ever left the shadow of the mountain, he would forsake his immortality and be able to be killed.. so, he hung out around the corpse of his dead mountain mother for quite a while, and everyone sort of forgot about him.
Do you think mining out the mountain would work as well?
How did the super laser space mining ship work out against Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy II? Not so easy when it's a living mountain with god like powers.
I don't know, I never saw that one. Do you think a living mountain would experience erosion at all?
How did the human mother survive birthing a half giant son? How did she survive having sex with a 12 foot giant??
Hey I have a question that's been plaguing me as a DM that I hope you could give me some pointers on. I guess I need some help understanding the ecology of character levels you cold say. How do I explain why my players at level 8 are beyond the typical city guard come to arrest them for trouble at the inn or that at level 13/14 they really toss around your typical guards like tin toys, then nuke the local knights and really only a lvl 20 grand wizard of the collage will need to be called in to deal with these psychopaths. I guess what my question really boils down to is how would a city like Waterdeep deal with rambunctious player characters at various levels?
In 5th edition it comes down to numbers, pure and simple, a higher level character gets more and more guards show up, and in those groups of guards are more dangerous veterans, knights, captains and spell slingers.. then you can use the Mob rules in the DMG (I did a video in this) and your cocky high level characters will be scrambling to get out of there within a few rounds, as they take some shocking amounts of damage, while only being able to pick off the guards one or a few at a time. Bounded accuracy in 5th edition means that it is more of a level playing field, and outnumbering your foe makes a big difference, combine that with the guards being able to move in formations to divide the party and concentrate on one of them at a time, and when the first character drops to 0 with the last few hits in subdued damage (and being trussed up in enchanted manacles), the players will probably react emotionally.. lets be honest, they won't like being ass whipped by simple city defenders.. then you let them know they are in jail, all their equipment is now owned by the nobility and we rejoin the game four years later when they are thrown out of prison dressed in rags, minus some constitution and strength thanks to undernourishment. You know how much damage of volley of 30 crossbow bolts does? It is a LOT.
AJ Pickett thank you so much for that. I did see your video on the guards and absolutely loved it. Your really doing an amazing job here. I especially like the idea of rejoining the campaign four years later. They really could use some humbling and I think this would do the trick. Once again your videos are awesome thanks for all you do man.
At 11:13 you said DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, i love you, have a hug and a nice day. =D
*gratefully accepts a big hug*
Thanks for this video,such a great race :) Hey,any info or speculation on relations between firbolg and goliaths?
Almost 8k subs!
*singing* we've only just begun...
Some videos I would be interested in seeing Vecna, The Ancient Brethren and Tharzidun.
The Ancient Brethren, cool, good request! I have Tharizdun on the list, and Vecna (I am a fan of Vecna).
Are you going to do the lesser known true Giants like desert and jungle?
The giants of Zakhara? Hmmm, probably something to mention in an Explores video.
If I get the chance to play not as a GM I plan on making a Firbolg fighter.
You mentioned the Firbolg have a connection to the Fomorian, and them generally being forest people, would they have any special connection with fey and the Feywild? Might their ability to speak towards animals and plants out them in unique relationships with Dryads or Treants? Seeing what I have I mostly have thought of one as a good guardian for the forest to talk on its behalf.
Weren't the Firbolg based on Celtic Myths?
So, Firbolgs are like true Rasta's. Hippy-dippy rep but just a sleeping warrior.
Snoop Bolg???
I wish there was a transcript of this, trying to follow the names using generic subtitles does't work.
Fomorians were once arrogant Fey/Elves. Thats brilliant.
Are you going to do kitsune any time soon?
added to the list.
AJ Pickett yay!
Can we have a video on the skycleaver axe?
I was starting to get worried lol.
Lots of research, took some time.
Rejected their ordnung? Must have had a wild Rumspringer. The Amish of the D&D world.
I really want to make a furbolg nature cleric.
Thanks again AJ! Every video I see uploaded gets watched within 24hr.
I dislike how nerfed the firbolgs are size and racial bonus wise. Males hit 11 foot 10 inches and they +3 regen each turn. Also their new design is lackluster, and 3rd edition has the best design for them.
How do u spel higatea?
Paladin video is my vote.
Next Character Class video is going to be the Warlock, but I'll get to all of them eventually, rest assured.
Vote 2 for a paladin vid AJ
Has volo changed anything about that Yuan-Ti? to me they are the second coolest playable race and Dragonborn being the first.
I think they were just expanded on, Yuan-ti are not that different, stat wise, to the other humanoids, the Firbolg have been nerfed A LOT since first edition, I wonder what's next, playable mind flayers? :)
Damn... i really want to play a mind flayer. As a lovecraft fan i find Mind flayers to be extremely cool. Though Try to convince a dm to allow you to play one in a good party.
On the topic of Yuan-ti the purebloods now seem to live a very short time span unlike the one in your video who lasts for two thousand years which is unfortunate.
I suggest you go with the version you prefer.. perhaps something went wrong with their creation and there are now True purebloods, and the lesser, short lived mutant scum :D
Hmmmmm "intense story writing"
A 50 headed hydra or a *(AD) Buy One And take one free at Olive Garden.*
Wow the giant gods are NOT faithful lovers at all
I thought you spoke Danish/Scandinavian for a second there, (the holy brother titles). Sounds very much like old-nordic speech.
Am i right in understanding firbolg are the children of uthea? so half brothers to true giants?
Nathanael Clarke yes.
thank you for reply if i may ask another question how would firbolg and goliath be related?
So Goliath are basically half giants, how they fit into the genealogy is wide open to debate however, I would hazard a guess that they are related to Stone Giants. Firbolg and Goliath probably have an amicable relationship, culturally and personally. The Firbolg are physically impressive humanoids and Goliath respect strength and stature, so, off to a good start from first impression, the lack of competitiveness would incite the Goliath to try and provoke the Firbolg into some sort of friendly rivalry, to 'settle who can lift more, in case anyone wonders" or some such. The Firbolg would sense that there is a deeper connection to the land, the stone and roots of the world in the extroverted Goliath, and strive to connect to their more mystical side.
once again thank you this will help me role play in my next dnd session
Most welcome, any time :)
Tried to find if you had done a vid on the Dragonborn, but could't find it. So if you haven't, Dragonborn next?
Found it.
Ha ha, great, enjoy :)
Can you talk about the fey giants
Are you going to talk about tritons? their my favorite race in volo's
What version is this? 3.5? 5?
Chocolate Sunday fifth edition.
tree giant hippies.
firbolg looked a lot better in 2nd edition
do tabaxi to
ruclips.net/video/hRDksTpgYsE/видео.html way ahead of ya Dutch :)
Honestly there's no such thing as Giantkin. Annam isn't the All-Father, Othea is the All-Mother, giants are just sexist.
11:40... I'm pretty sure that's not how pregnancy works...
First!
*hands over trophy*