Runeslaves

The ageless monuments and awesome cities of Thassilon rose upon the backs of countless slaves, but none bore the sin-poisoned civilization’s burden more than the giants. Able to perform the work of dozens of human slaves, Thassilon’s titanic servants – hill giants, stone giants, taiga giants, and others – crafted marvels nigh unparalleled in any era before or since, and shaped the face of what is now modern Varisia. Yet as viciously as the runelords worked their slaves and for all they demanded, the giant-crafted marvels were not enough. And thus, working the corrupt rune magic that was theirs alone, the runelords manufactured a damning curse and laid it over their most tireless and effective workers, and in so doing created a new breed of servant: the runeslave.

The symbols etched upon a runeslave’s body put great stress on its physical form, choking its mind and ultimately killing the giant in time. Each runeslave has a predominant Thassilonian rune associated with one school of magic inscribed on its body. Traditionally, this rune is of a school of magic directly opposed to the runelord the runeslave serves – as a sort of brand of shame. The slow decay of a runeslave’s mental faculties manifests as a gradual loss of life and sanity, represented by the accumulation of rune-shaped scars all over the body. The disease has no additional physical or mental effects until these magical runescars completely overwhelm their host, at which point the accumulated pain the giant has endured since becoming a runeslave is released in a fatal surge of unleashed suffering. All runeslaves are “infected” with this disease. Only limited wish, miracle, or wish can prevent or cure arcane decay, but in so doing removes all the runeslave powers, reverting the runeslave back to the base creature. The decay can be delayed but not cured.

Numerous severe-looking runes spark and flicker upon a runeslave’s body, seemingly seared into the creature’s flesh. One of the runes is larger and more prominent than the others – this is always one of the runes of Thassilonian magic. Although a runeslave’s mind is dulled, its muscles bulge grotesquely, as if barely contained beneath a thin layer of skin, and such behemoths move with unnatural agility for creatures of their ponderous size.

A runeslave can gain the benefits of the spell haste for a limited time. Using this ability makes the giant susceptible to arcane decay.

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