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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9794969" data-attributes="member: 58172">A Norse setting translates oddly into 5e, relating obliquely to both Giant and Fey, Material and Ethereal.On the one hand, "jǫtunn" often connotes "giant" because some are the larger presences of mountains, but really means any wild nature being of any size.On the other hand, the term "troll" that is generally synonymous literally means "mage", enchanter. It appears to be a loan translation of English "fairie" that likewise literally means "magic", a creature of magic. While there is some semantic shift, the concept of troll generally derives from the beautiful "cliff giant" berg-risi that inhabits the appealing and animistically sacred aspects of mountains.An other generally synonymous term is "huldufólk", the "hidden community", where this "unseenness" hulda refers to the presence of minds whose bodies are elsewhere -- or in this case whose mountains, lakes, etcetera are elsewhere but exerting mindful influence.To represent all these Norse concepts in 5e 2024, everything is the natural features of the Material Plane: mountains, lakes, etcetera. Yet the magical presences and influences relate to the Border Ethereal that overlaps -- observes and influences -- the Material Planes.All nature beings including Humans can learn the same kinds of magic. Some individuals have more talent, a more powerful visualization (ham-ramr) than others. It is often the case that a nonhuman nature "being" (vættr) is a mentor, who teaches a Human how to do magic, and often while the Human enters a magical trance to encounter the being outofbody. The forceful presences are all around but "unseen" from the perspective of the Material Plane. But enter the Ethereal Plane and one can see them everywhere. These ethereally "hidden" nature beings project out from their individual natural features, socializing with other natural features, and occasionally traveling great distances away remote from their Material locations.The natural features are Elemental, such as a particular earthy mountain, or a specific watery waterfall. These kinds of animistic elementals are natives of the Material Plane. And each is a unique individual, an identifiable formation somewhere in nature. These features can project their influences, and the magically powerful sometimes even manifest as a humanlike apparition or an animallike apparition. Nature can use the same shamanic techniques to travel outofbody that Human shamanics and other mages can. They project into the Border Ethereal and populate it, while observing plainly the goings-on in the Material Plane. These magically talented nature beings (including some Humans) can roam ethereally while wielding magic.A "giant" is the influential presence of an individual mountain. The mind of this mountain magically projects and can form a humanlike visualization within the Ethereal Plane. This humanlike ethereal form is sometimes as Huge as a mountain, but usually these mountanous inhabitants manifest forms of humanlike sizes. The ether is physical but immaterial like gravity. The ethereal forces are usually subtle and unnoticeable unless personally exerting magical strength. Any of these ethereal presences can manifest physically within the Material Plane if their magic is strong is enough.The D&D Giant creature type can specifically mean an Elemental that is native to the Material Plane and projecting from the Material Plane into the overlapping Border Ethereal. These ethereal Giants can manifest from the Ethereal into the Material, seemingly outofnowhere as wondrous apparitions of nature that vanish again back into the ether.In a Norse setting all Giants are mages, by definition, because they are manifesting by means of magic. Typically these Giants know other kinds of magic as well.The nature beings that source from the elements of nature are often D&D Sorcerers. The beings are necessarily mages, which is how an apparently inert natural formation somewhere in nature is exerting personal presence and influence in the first place. This personal magic is Psionic, as the natural feature is a kind of person, a mindful soul. Humans can form personal relationships with environmental nature all around. And this magic of nature is innately Elemental, correlating the earthy, watery, stormy, and solar fiery aspects of D&D sorcery. Not all beings are the Sorcerer class, but it has affinity and often happens. Notably, these animistic Sorcerers are typically non-Human species. Occasionally, Humans also learn how to do this Elemental kind of magic.I detail Feywild and Shadowfell for this setting in a future  post. Here emphasizes the centrality of Material Plane. Its physical features are a kind of persons. These Material natural "beings" (vættir) exhibit minds and exert personal magical influence via the Border Ethereal that overlaps the Material Plane. These forms within the ether can see matter plainly and if the magic is strong enough can interact physically with it. However the beings in the Ethereal Plane are "hidden" from persons in the Material plane. Unless, the Material person is also a mage with some form of "paranormal" vision (ófreski), such as Truesight. All animistic beings including Human and nonhuman can learn and wield the same kinds of magic.</blockquote>

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