Macrogenesis

Macrogenesis is the term to refer to certain individuals of a race or species that exhibits incredible yet deliberate giant growth during their early years. It is explained as a special organ within the affected child that invokes and regulates their growth and development that their unaffected members lack. Those with Macrogenesis average a height of 30ft or more, with sizes between species being significantly less affected than normal members of their species; in other words, a giantish Firbolg will not be too much taller than a Human or a Dwarven giant. Affected individuals are simply known as 'Giants', there is no special culture surrounding them as giants from different species and cultures treat giants differently. Most regard giants as a double-edged blessing, ones with the power to help and protect their way of life, while others disregard them merely as troublemakers or liabilities.

The condition is an explanation to why people, from any race, player or otherwise, can become giant-sized. As well as the benefits and drawbacks of such.

Player Characters: You are permitted to play as a Giant-class character but be aware of your limits and the culture surrounding your size. Check the Character Creation article on what to consider before doing so!

Biological Implications

Biomechanical benefits

Aside from gigantic size, biomechanically Giants are fit and healthy without medical issues that plague the rare few whose growth disorders lack the special organ that Giants possess to maintain their condition. With proper nutrition and exercise, most giants often display a high degree of strength and athleticism thought to be at peak levels according to species of the same size. Giants have no known negative impact on their mental capacities but only little positive effect on their ability to learn, think and adapt.

From the few oldest giants out there, it is shown that giants tend to live long lives with slowed signs of aging. For Giant humans, it was seen that those who were in their early-30s physically were as old as some of the oldest recorded human beings to date, and those with physical ages of the elderly were a couple hundred years old.

While giants often need to consume large amounts of food and water in order to survive, a metabolic control enables them to minimise the amount of nutrients in order to not starve. On average, a human Longstrider giant was found to feed comfortably on an amount of food equaling to 75 normal-sized meals per sitting. However a trial discovered that they could consume as little as 15 meals per sitting without much ill effect. When compared to a burlier Broadback their comfortable range was about 100 meals per sitting to as low as 20 meals per sitting. It showed that Giants can consume about 30% less food on average for their size.

Giant Proportions

There are some physical differences between a Giant and normal members of their species. Proportional differences in the length and girth of their limbs, enlarged hands and feet, elongated or broad torsos and shoulders for males. A mathematical analysis between a human and a giant human showed that equipment and clothing scaled up from a human design did not 100% fit a giant human properly due to enlarged limbs and appendages. Shoes and gloves were often many sizes too small, sleeve and legging length too short and narrow in some cases and shirt length being too short and narrow. Surprisingly, despite some proportional variance amongst giant subtypes, the head remains mostly proportional to their base species, making it somewhat easier to produce helmets and eyewear for giants.

Broadbacks and Longstrider Archetypes

Dependant on species, Giants can grow into the Broadback or Longstrider archetype. Broadback giants often have immense physiques and thick muscles and bones to create the most leverage as possible, known as giants of power. Longstrider types are the least encumbered but possess great degrees of mobility and reaction time and are often known as giants of speed. The diverse nature of the two archetypes can blur slightly as some Broadbacks can appear lighter and more agile while some Longstriders possess a heavier build than some.

A survey shows that amongst Human giants, 3 out of 5 males were known to be Broadback in stature (remaining 2 as Longstriders) whereas females were shown to be the inverse, 3 out of 5 being Longstriders and 2 out of 5 as Broadbacks. No survey on other species has been validated yet.

Growth Cycle

From birth to a young child, the individual's growth cycle is no different from the base species. However in their informative years, the growth rate accelerates, with 10 year olds often growing as tall or as large as adults. Between childhood and their teens, Macrogenic individuals can often grow as tall as the tallest of their kind, above the norm of their species. Finally during puberty the rate of growth accelerates rapidly up until full maturity where they reach heights of 30 to 36ft tall. From then on the individual's growth rate slows dramatically but remains ever present, slowly growing larger over the years until they dwarf their younger selves.