Voadkyn

Voadkyn, otherwise known as wood giants, were a race of giant-kin who shunned contact with other giants and lived in temperate and warm forests.

Description
Voadkyn heads were comparatively larger than the rest of their body, with prominent jaws and chins, and their bodies lacked any form of hair. Though overall their appearance was seen as similar to that of a wood elf.

Voadkyn were generally known to wear either leather armor or ring mail alongside a kilt or pair of loose-fitting trousers.

Personality
Voadkyn were said to dislike jovial behavior, preferring instead to brood in silence. Others said that they were fun-loving creatures with a rather flighty and frivolous nature. Many were noted as having a fondness for finely cut gems and magic items of quality craftsmanship.

Much like firbolgs, voadkyn were often known to be benevolent creatures.

Abilities
They had the ability to magically disguise themselves as a generic specimen of any humanoid creature in height. And though it was a rare occurrence, some voadkyn were known to possess druidic powers.

Lycanthropy
Voadkyn were known to be highly susceptible to all forms of lycanthropy and were one of only two giant races in which "true" lycanthropes were known to exist. These true lycanthopes were a form of werebat that the voadkyn referred to as shadkyn and a great enmity existed between them and their non-afflicted brethren.

History
There was some dispute as to whether the voadkyn race was created when Othea, wife of the giant deity Annam All-Father, had an affair with Ulutiu, or whether the race was the product of Annam. A giant stormazîn apparently once proved that Dunmore was Ulutiu's child and that Othea tricked Annam into believing that he was his own so that Dunmore could spy on Annam and his children, meaning that the voadkyn were giant-kin and not "true giants", but the voadkyn preferred to believe the opposite.

Like all the giant-kin races, they were never granted a portion land by Annam from which to found their own "dynasty" inside the kingdom of Ostoria. They were initially welcomed by their fellow giants and learned their ways, but once their true parentage had been discovered by Annam he cast them out. They became excluded from the societies of true giants, despite Othea's best efforts to protect them. They then decided that since Annam had not given the forests of Ostoria to any of his sons, they would take them as their own domain, after which they cut off most relations with both giants and giant-kin.

In, the entire population of the Netherese enclave of Jockteleg were turned into voadkyn by a failed experiment by the city's founder, Quantoul.

Rumors & Legends
In the Ice Spires there were stories that there were huge voadkyn mazes in the Forgotten Forest that contained treasures at their centers. And around 1366 DR, it was rumored that a large number of voadkyn were living deep within the Cold Wood alongside treants and wood elves.

Society
Due to their shunning of other giants, the voadkyn were the only race among them that had no expertise in the art of runecasting.

Homelands
Much like the wood elves, the voadkyn respected their forest environment and took it upon themselves to tend to it, creating vast landscaped gardens and large labyrinths.

In interior Faerûn, they inhabited the forest of Chondalwood, primarily in its southern reaches. These voadkyn were allied with the centaurs and satyrs that lived in the forest in an effort to keep out humans. In the 14 century DR, these voadkyn only had the village of Elbulder to contend with.

In the Unapproachable East, some could be found within the forests of Rashemen.

Beyond Toril, this race of giants was also known to occur on the planet of Oerth.

Religions
Voadkyn primarily worshiped the goddess Hiatea. Some were known to worship Rillifane Rallathil and serve him as druids.

Relationships
Voadkyn generally did not associate with other giant races. They believed themselves to be their superiors and that they were unfairly placed near to the bottom of the ordning in terms of racial status.

Compared to other giant races, the voadkyn had good relations with elves, often co-existing with wood elves and occasionally living within their lairs. But beyond elves and the occasional treant, voadkyn were not known for socializing with other intelligent races.

They sometimes acted as servants of the deities Rillifane Rallathil, Solonor Thelandira, and Baervan Wildwanderer. Some wood giants were also known to operate in the Harpers.

Notable Voadkyn

 * Fargoren Thundermist
 * Ombidias, a voadkyn that lived in the city of Sigil.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Sword of the Dales
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards