Expanding 5th Edition Goliaths

Goliaths entered Dungeons and Dragons in 3rd edition's Races of Stone.  They were carried over into 4th edition's Player's Handbook 2.  In the current, 5th edition we first saw the race in the Elemental Evil Player's Companion; it later appeared again in Volo's Guide to Monsters.  In its relatively short time as part of the game, the goliath race took an important step in its development in 4th edition's rendition of the Dark Sun campaign setting:  In this setting, the goliaths replaced its quintessential half-giants--a race of true-breeding human-giant hybrids.

In this post, I will explore the giant-ness of golaiths.  When adapting the goliaths to Monvesia, I had replaced the Stone features of the race with Storm traits, highlighting their half-giant nature.  Now, I choose to explore how each true giant race could be reflected as its own goliath subrace.

To play an alternate goliath subrace, disregard the features identified below as being specific to the Stone Goliaths. Instead, apply the traits of your chosen subrace.

Cloud Goliath

Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Cloud Magic:  You know the light cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the fog cloud spell once and need to finish a long rest before you can cast it again. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the misty step spell once and need to finish a long rest before you can cast it again. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Sky Born:  You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell, and you can attempt to smell out hidden creatures rather than using your other senses.

Fire Goliath

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Fire's Tenacity:  When you successfully hit with a melee weapon, an unarmed strike, or a ranged weapon with the Thrown quality, your weapon ignites in flame and you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit. This extra damage is fire damage regardless of the weapon damage type.  You can't use this ability on a critical hit. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you complete a short or a long rest.
Flame Born:  You have resistance to fire damage.

Frost Goliath

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Frost Magic:  you know the frostbite cantrip and can cast it at will. Starting from 3rd level, you know the spell ice knife and can cast it once, regaining the ability to cast it when you complete a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Ice Born:  You have resistance to cold damage.

Hill Goliath

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Hill's Strength: When you successfully hit with a melee weapon, an unarmed strike, or a ranged weapon with the Thrown quality, you may choose to roll twice as many dice when determining how much weapon or unarmed strike damage you deal. You can't use this ability on a critical hit. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you complete a short or a long rest.
Ground Born:  You have advantage on saving throws against poisoned, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Stone Goliath

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Stone's Endurance:  (see Volo's Guide to Monsters)
Mountain Born:  (see Volo's Guide to Monsters)

Storm Goliath

Ability Sore Increase:  Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Storm's Fury:  You may use your action to call upon the tempest in your blood and hurl a bolt of lightning at a single creature you can see within 120 feet. It must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. Taking 2d8 lightning damage, your choice, upon a failed save, or half as much damage upon a successful save. This damage increases to 3d8 at 6th level, 4d8 at 11th level, and 5d8 at 16th level. Once you use this power, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Ocean Born:  You are amphibious, and can breathe both air and water.

Giant Sorcery

Just as Dragon Ancestor sorcery can be loosely paired with the Dragonborn, so can Giant Soul sorcery be loosely paired with Goliaths with this expansion.  However, just as a particular race of dragonborn is not explicitly tied to its equivalent draonic ancestry, a goliath sorccerer is not bound to choose the same Giant Soul as their sub-race.

In Monvesia, Giant Soul sorcery is only available to humans and goliaths--the two races originally native to Desolation, where the giant civilization once ruled millennia ago.

Monvesia RetCon: Goliath Tribes

Originally, I had identified 18 goliath tribes--each descended from the refugees of one barge that fled Desolation (Raviq) and came to Inheritance (Prace).  These are now the goliath clans; the tribes are the six subraces above--a division of the race far more ancient than the clans.

At the dawn of time, giants ruled over humans in the land of Prosperity.  Without warning, the HMDJVNW emerged from the Parasphere onto the Mortal Plane--and war between them and the giants began.  The onflict between the two races would last for centuries; but over time, the giants slowly diminished in strength and numbers.  Once they accepted that defeat would be inevitable, they took action to preserve their legacy.

The human Golai had served them well in the last years of the war.  To honor him (and save what they could of themselves), the giants chose to bless his six children:  To Odom the cloud giants granted the magic of the sky; to Ashram the fire giants granted their tenacity; to Ezrom the frost giants granted the magic of the glaciers; to Noab the hill giants granted their stubbornness; to Eshum the storm giants granted their fury; to Kish the stone giants granted their endurance.  These became the patriarchs of the Golaite tribes.

It was the Eshumites, the storm goliaths, who would lead the whole their people across to the sea to the land of Inheritance.  All six subraces can now be found in Monvesia, though not in equal numbers.