Pholskar
Planet of the Giants
near-space SYSTEM
PHYSICAL DATA
IndependentCULTURAL DATA
OVERVIEW
MOONS (3)
Thremyr's Eye
One of Pholskar's three moons, home to moon giants who maintain ancient observatories. The moon giants rarely descend to the planet below, preferring their lunar isolation.
Minderhal's Eye
The second moon of Pholskar, inhabited by moon giants who watch over the planet's surface from their celestial vantage points.
Fandarra's Eye
The third moon orbiting Pholskar, serving as another moon giant sanctuary where these enigmatic giants conduct mysterious astronomical research.
MAJOR SETTLEMENTS (7)
Agrishall
The magnificent floating sky city of the cloud giants, Agrishall serves as the seat of power for the Cloud Imperium and showcases the pinnacle of giant engineering. The city's crystalline spires generate and sustain a perpetual tempest that surrounds the settlement, providing both defense and a source of electrical power. Thousands of cloud and storm giants inhabit the towers, conducting advanced research into weather manipulation, aeronautics, and arcane meteorology. The city's central tower houses the Imperium Council chamber where technocratic oligarchs debate policy while hovering above swirling storm clouds. Visitors must obtain special clearance and demonstrate flight capability or secure passage on authorized vessels to access this aerial metropolis.
Anduwar
A sprawling stone giant city carved into the heart of Pholskar's tallest mountain range, Anduwar represents the architectural and artistic zenith of stone giant civilization. Miles of corridors connect vast cathedral-like chambers illuminated by bioluminescent gardens cultivated over centuries. The city is famous for the Gallery of Ancestors, a chamber containing colossal stone sculptures of every notable stone giant from recorded history, each carved with such skill that visitors swear the statues' eyes follow them. Anduwar's artisans produce the finest stone carvings in known space, and their works command astronomical prices in Pact Worlds art markets. The city maintains strict neutrality in giant political conflicts and serves as a neutral meeting ground for inter-species giant diplomacy.
Crucible
Built within an active volcanic caldera, Crucible is the primary forge-city of Pholskar's fire giants and the center of the planet's legendary weapons industry. The settlement's foundries never cool, fed by lava channels directed through ingenious systems of heat-resistant aqueducts. Fire giant smiths produce weapons and armor prized throughout the galaxy for their exceptional durability and exotic properties—blades that hold edges indefinitely, armor that regulates temperature, and tools that never rust or break. The city is dominated by the Eternal Forge, a massive open-air smithy where master crafters work on commission pieces for wealthy offworld clients. Competition between smiths is fierce, with duels over techniques and customers occurring regularly in designated combat arenas. Despite the heat and danger, numerous offworld traders maintain permanent residences here, hoping to secure early access to legendary creations.
Elysius
Elysius is an ambitious storm giant settlement built atop a network of floating platforms tethered to mountain peaks, existing in perpetual twilight between the cloud layer and the surface. Storm giants here have developed a unique culture blending cloud giant technological sophistication with the honor-bound warrior traditions of surface giants. The city serves as a major trading hub where all giant species meet to exchange goods and settle disputes through ritualized single combat. Elysius hosts an annual Grand Tournament that attracts competitors from across Pholskar and visiting warriors from other worlds who wish to test their mettle against giant champions. The settlement's markets offer everything from cloud giant weather control devices to fire giant weapons to stone giant artistic masterpieces.
The Iris
The Iris is a mysterious neutral zone—a perfectly circular valley surrounded by impassable mountains where all forms of giant-on-giant violence are magically prevented. This ancient location predates current giant civilizations, and none can explain its origin or the source of its pacification magic. Representatives from all giant species maintain embassies here, and it serves as the primary location for treaty negotiations, trade agreements, and conflict resolution. A permanent mix-species population of giants lives in the valley, along with a thriving community of smaller humanoids who serve as mediators, translators, and merchants catering to giant clientele. Mysterious pre-Gap ruins at the valley's center hint that the site once held greater significance, drawing archaeologists and historians who hope to uncover Pholskar's hidden history.
Talgradur
Talgradur is a slag giant stronghold built into cooled lava flows and volcanic ash fields, representing a darker aspect of Pholskar's giant civilization. Slag giants—cousins to fire giants adapted to toxic volcanic environments—maintain a fiercely independent culture centered on survival, raiding, and mercenary work. The settlement consists of fortified compounds connected by tunnels through solidified lava, easily defended and nearly impossible to assault. Talgradur's warriors hire themselves out as guards, enforcers, and soldiers to anyone willing to meet their prices, and the settlement serves as a hub for less savory trades including smuggling, weapons dealing, and information brokering. Despite their fearsome reputation, slag giants follow their own brutal code of honor, and contracts made in Talgradur are considered ironclad—breaking one invites collective retaliation from the entire settlement.
The Terraforge
The Terraforge is an ancient pre-Gap facility of unknown origin, discovered by stone giants deep beneath the planet's surface. The massive complex appears to be designed for planetary engineering on a scale beyond current understanding, with control systems suggesting it once regulated Pholskar's volcanic activity, atmosphere, and possibly even its gravity. Much of the facility remains inactive or incomprehensible despite centuries of study by giant scholars. Stone giants maintain the site as a research station and sacred location, believing their ancestors built it during a mythical golden age. Recently, sections of the Terraforge have begun activating on their own, producing inexplicable effects—localized gravity fluctuations, sudden weather changes, and brief tremors—prompting urgent investigations by the Cloud Imperium and concern that someone or something is attempting to reactivate the facility's full capabilities.