Fomorian

Fomorians, seafaring kin of the Jotun and aegir, form clans of 30-300 living in walled forts and villages of roughly shaped stone. Their handiwork is generally poor, yet their ships are strong and surprisingly fast, and most are treated with herbal extracts that make hull and mast resist fire. Most are Corsairs or Warriors.

Their name is a byword for piracy and slaving of the vilest kind; they are cruel and enjoy tormenting smaller beings. Village life is hard and dull. Females and young, about two-thirds of any clan, do most of the labor with help from slaves, while the grown males, when ashore, lounge about, squabble over loot and get drunk on fomor, a potent, vile-tasting drink they brew. Their other pastimes are hunting, supervising slave-worked mines and brewing more fomor.

Every Fomorian has three eyes, goat-like horns and a bald head, and many are hunchbacked or otherwise deformed, mostly from frequent fighting between clans. All are short-sighted except in the central eye, which sees very far and can detect invisible presences; to look at something closely a Fomorian shuts its two lower eyes, which is said to be most unsettling to watch. Despite some scholars' claims, they cannot learn magic, so they often capture human or demi-human spell casters and force them to serve. As corsairs most have some thieving skills, but like most giants they are too crude for bows or complex equipment. Typical skills among them include seamanship, swimming, thieves' cant, appraising treasure and street fighting.