Fomorian (Dungeons & Dragons)

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Fomorian
Fomorian.JPG
First appearance The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (1982)
Based on Fomorians
Information
Type Giant

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the fomorian is a giant. Fomorians are hideously ugly and grossly deformed behemoths. They may be loosely derived from the Fomorians of Irish mythology.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> fantasy role-playing board game

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. It was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry.

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Giant (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) creature in "Dungeons & Dragons"

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature, or in third edition, a "creature type".

Contents

Publication history

The fomorian may be loosely derived from the Fomorians of Irish mythology.[ citation needed ]

Fomorians

The Fomorians are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings who come from the sea or underground. Later, they were portrayed as giants and sea raiders. They are enemies of Ireland's first settlers and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the other supernatural race in Irish mythology. However, their relationship with the Tuath Dé is complex and some of their members intermarry and have children. The Fomorians have thus been likened to the jötnar of Norse mythology.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)

The fomorian first appears in the module The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (1982), [1] and later appears in Monster Manual II (1983) under the giant entry. [2]

<i>The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth</i> book

The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the Greyhawk campaign setting. It is divided into two parts, a 32-page adventure, and a 32-page booklet of monsters and magic items. The plot involves the player characters investigating rumors of lost treasure. After traversing a wilderness and two levels of dungeons, the players face Drelnza, the vampiric daughter of long-deceased archmage Iggwilv.

<i>Monster Manual II</i> book by Gary Gygax

Monster Manual II is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999)

The fomorian appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989) under the giant-kin entry, [3] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993) under the giant entry. [4]

<i>Monstrous Compendium</i>

The Monstrous Compendium is a series of accessories for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000–2007)

The fomorian appears in the Monster Manual II (2002) for this edition. [5]

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008–)

The fomorian appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the fomorian warrior and the fomorian painbringer. [6] The fomorian ghost shaman, fomorian cackler, fomorian totemist, fomorian blinder and fomorian butcher appeared in the Monster Manual 2 (2009).

<i>Monster Manual 2</i>

Monster Manual 2 is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

Society

Fomorians are usually found in caves, abandoned mine shafts, or like areas, decorated by the half-eaten remains of their last meal. The strongest fomorian rules over the rest, and women and children are treated no better than slaves. Violent acts are commonplace. Captives are usually tortured for their captors' amusement, then eaten.

A fomorian is usually neutral evil in alignment. If a formorian chooses a character class, the formorian is usually a barbarian.

In the game's 4th edition, they live in the Feywild [6] underground in the parallel of the Underdark, the Feydark.

Combat

Fomorians try to catch a foe off-guard and hit as hard as they can while they're unaware, since, unlike other giants, they don't throw boulders. They can be "convinced" to fight alongside a travelling party, but this companionship only lasts as long as the fomorian fears his dominator.

Religion

Fomorians primarily worship the god Karontor.

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This is the Index of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition supplements published by TSR, Inc. or Wizards of the Coast, not licensed or unlicensed third party products such as video games or unlicensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition manuals.

References

  1. ↑ Gygax, Gary. The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (TSR, 1982)
  2. ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983)
  3. ↑ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)
  4. ↑ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  5. ↑ Bonny, Ed, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter. Monster Manual II (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)
  6. 1 2 Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
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