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Nila-Full Body

Art of Nila, a firbolg of the Guiatao Clan, by Ari.[art 2]

Firbolgs (pronounced: /ˈfɪərboʊlg/ FEER-bolg), also known as feygiants,[3] are a tall race of forest-dwelling humanoids, distantly related to giants.[4]

Appearance[]

Firbolgs are among the tallest humanoid races in Exandria, averaging between 7 to 8 feet tall and weighing between 240 and 300 pounds. Firbolgs are covered in thick fur, ranging from earthy colors like brown and ruddy red, to cool grays and blues.[5] Their faces can be somewhat cow-like, having long, floppy, pointed ears and broad, pink noses,[5] or take on a range of shapes to resemble other animals they live among in the wilds.[6]

Society[]

Firbolgs are most common in Wildemount, but have been known to live in Tal'Dorei and at least one individual in the Oderan Wilds of Marquet. A nature-based, free-spirited peoples, firbolgs live mainly towards the Dunrock Mountains and the northern forests in the Greying Wildlands of Wildemount, or travel across the Dividing Plains in Tal'Dorei, and as such are rarely seen ingrained in common society, preferring to spend their days in quiet harmony with the woods.[7] When provoked, firbolgs demonstrate formidable skills with weapons and druidic magic.[8]

Powers and abilities[]

Firbolgs possess great wisdom, living in concert with the natural world. This allows them to communicate with beasts and plants, though they possess no innate ability to understand the creatures in turn. They are capable of detecting the presence of magic around them, and can briefly become invisible to slip away from threats. When a firbolg desires to, they can cloak themselves in a magical disguise, allowing themselves to blend in with the shorter folk of the world. Despite their gentle nature, firbolgs are also capable of prodigious feats of strength.

Notable firbolgs[]

Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein[]

PCs[]

Caduceus - Sam Hogg

Fan art of Caduceus Clay, by Sam Hogg.[art 3]

  • Caduceus Clay: Taliesin Jaffe's second character in the second campaign. For many seasons, he looked after the Blooming Grove, a graveyard in the woods north of Shadycreek Run that his family had spent generations tending, before joining the Mighty Nein when they asked for his help.
  • Nila: A druid member of the Guiatao Clan. Following an attack by the Iron Shepherds, she returned home to find her love and child taken. She briefly joined the Mighty Nein to rescue them.[9]

NPCs[]

Episode-123-Pumat-Sol-Jester-Nott-Caleb-by-Carlos-Lerma

Fan art of Pumat Sol changing the color of Jester's Fantastic Haversack, by Carlos Lerma.[art 4]

The Re-Slayer's Take[]

Campaign Three: Bells Hells[]

NPCs[]

Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn[]

Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep[]

Trivia[]

Ashari Stoneguard by Anna Grinenko

Official art of a firbolg stoneguard surrounded by butterflies, by Anna Grinenko from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 229.[art 5]

  • Though firbolgs in standard D&D lore do not have individual names and only assume them as needed when dealing with others, this is shown to not be the case in the world of Exandria, with even entire secluded clans having family names and individual names for each of their members.
  • The original depiction of firbolgs portrayed them as giant humanoids with greyish skin, hairy limbs, pointed ears and large noses. However, Matt described Pumat as a being covered with fur, and described his nose as cow-like. The official art of Caduceus and Nila, portraying them with a bovine nose and ears, further separated the Exandrian firbolgs from the original race described in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
    • Critical Role's influence led many people to believe firbolgs were "giant cow people", and this depiction became popular in some D&D circles.
    • In the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, this physical description was made official, and sourcebooks after that have portrayed firbolgs with a slightly bovine nose.
  • Nott the Brave strongly believed that all firbolgs knew each other.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Firbolg on D&D Beyond
  2. See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 170. Firbolgs in Exandria speak Common, Elvish, and Giant.
  3. Critical Role: The Mighty Nein - The Nine Eyes of Lucien, p. 180.
  4. The firbolgs canonical to Critical Role may be wholly or partly based on the Dungeons & Dragons race. See D&D: Volo's Guide to Monsters, 5th ed., available online at D&D Beyond.
  5. 5.0 5.1 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 169-170.
  6. Matt Mercer commented on the origin of Exandrian firbolgs' divergence from "official" D&D lore in a series of tweets reading in full: "Regarding Firbolgs: They are these lumbering, fey-giantkin folks that I've grown to love. Some folks are curious about the more "animalistic" designs. This stems from my once describing Pumat with a wide, bovine-like nose. The art community ran with some designs that edged more into that territory, & I kind of loved it! I've adopted a range of firbolg shapes in my head to now be canon within Exandria. Some are more classic, giant-kin, while others resemble the animals they live among in the wilds. Being of the Fey, it fits! It makes for both a varied and special interpretation of the fantasy race, helps them stand out against others like the Hobgoblin, and makes it wholly unique to Exandria." See Matt's tweets, August 1, 2018.
  7. See "The Gates of Zadash" (2x08) at 3:11:32.
  8. See D&D: Volo's Guide to Monsters, 5th ed., p. 106.
  9. See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 0:36:20.
  10. See "Zemnian Nights" (2x11) at 3:44:31.
  11. See "A Hungry Jungle" (3x18) at 2:23:19.

Art

  1. Official art of an Exandrian firbolg, by Nikki Dawes (source). Used with permission.
  2. Art of Nila, a firbolg of the Guiatao Clan, by Ari (source). Used with permission.
  3. Fan art of Caduceus Clay, by Sam Hogg (source). Used with permission.
  4. Fan art of Pumat Sol changing the color of Jester's Fantastic Haversack, by Carlos Lerma (source). Used with permission.
  5. Official art of a firbolg stoneguard surrounded by butterflies, by Anna Grinenko from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 229. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.

External links[]