Mages of Monvesia - Malefactors

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Mages of Monvesia;" see also "Mages of Monvesia - Scholars."

Mastery of the arcane arts can be achieved by strengthening one's connection to the Spheres of Power.  This can be approached through formal study (see scholars), or else through otherworldy pacts or natural power.  The latter typically exist outside of "accepted" society, and are therefore called malefactors--commonly understood as "evil-doers," though originally meant to mean "incorrect doers."  There is nothing inherently evil about the sorcerer or warlock.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Sorcerer

Different races have their own traditions "explaining" the nature of sorcerers.  To an extent, each version of the sorcerer story is true.  That is, these different versions of what a sorcerer is represent the sorcerous origins common to that race's history.

According to the omnipresent Senarian churches of the humans in Prace, sorcerers are possessed of an inborn connection to one of the Spheres.  While all adherents of the elemental philosophies believe that every being has such a connection, it is the sorcerers who have accepted it and gained power from it.   A sorcerer's elemental connection may be tied to his or her race (or culture, if human), personal philosophy/temperament, season of birth, etc.--but it does not define every aspect of the character.  Two origins reflect this:  Shadow Magic (Xanathar's Guide) and Storm Sorcery (Sword Coast or Xanathar's Guide).

Until such time as other, official origins are introduced, these two can be used to mimick the other elements.  Use Shadow Magic for Light Magic: reversing references to necrotic and radiant damage as well as darkness and light.  Use Storm Sorcery for other primal elements, such as Flood, Quake, and Wildfire Sorcery:  use alternate damage types and movement speeds as appropriate.

Among the successors races of the Empire of the Morning and Evening Star, it is said that sorcery is the result of having had a Dragon Ancestor.  This connection is not necessarily one of direct ancestry, but could represent a bloodline having been favored by one of the dragon lords of old.

Remember, there are only six types of dragons in Monvesia--each associated with one of the elemental forces of one of the Spheres.  Therefore, this is one origin that also follows the Temperamental beliefs of the Senarian churches.  (An early version of 5th Edition Monvesia used a variation on the Dragon Ancestor to represent Elemental Magic).

In the land of Desolation in Raviq, the HMDJVNW have taken control and cursed the native races into submission with a psychosomatic ailment known as Taint.  This cure is so potent in Desolation, that even the land, the neighboring Frenetic Ocean, and magic itself have become warped.  Some who have been affected by the Taint have also gained a connection to the Wild Magic that was released into the world because of it.

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.

Creatures NOT of Monvesia

In "Other Races in Monvesia," I briefly touch on player character races that do not [currently] exist in the campaign setting.  While some of those were ruled out completely, others were reserved for speculative purposes.  The difference between does not exist and will never exist is fuzzy--after all, halflings came to be an important part of the setting, when I had first ruled them out as over-used; similarly, half-orcs have also since found a home here.  Nevertheless, there remain some aspects of traditional fantasy gaming that I have continued to avoid.

Having already learned to avoid saying never in Monvesia, my aversion to certain elements can still be rated:

• Aversion Level:  0 - This is an element of fantasy gaming that I think may have a fit in Monvesia, but I have yet to fully incorporate it.  There may not be a need for this element in the world--but I reserve the right to introduce it at a later date.
• Aversion Level: 1 - This is an element of fantasy gaming that I often enjoy, but I do  not think it has a natural place in Monvesia
• Aversion Level: 2 - This is an element of fantasy gaming that I think is overused, and would like to avoid using in Monvesia
• Aversion Level: 3 - This is an element of fantasy gaming that is hand-crafted for another game world, and/or has developed a very particular, expected culture that does not fit in Monvesia.  Such elements would require an amount of work to untangle that may not be worth the time {ex. Drow}
• Aversion Level: 4 - This is an element of fantasy gaming that is poorly conceived and/or wholly redundant.