The Stune-Gut Tribe is a primal and grotesque society of Stone Giant who have built their entire culture around the savage act of consumption. To them, eating is more than survival—it is divine worship, a sacred ritual, and a way to determine one’s strength and worth. These massive beings reside on the edge of the Maw of the Earth, a seemingly endless chasm they revere as a god of insatiable hunger, constantly offering sacrifices—both of beasts and their own kin—to appease its eternal craving.
The Faith of Hunger
Unlike other giants who may venerate the Titan Lords of Old, the Stune-Gut Tribe bows only to what they call The Maw—an entity they believe to be the endless hunger of the world itself. They claim that all things must be consumed eventually, whether by time, death, or the abyss itself, and thus, the greatest honor is to eat or be eaten.
To honor this belief, they practice ritual stone-swallowing, devouring massive boulders to strengthen their stomachs and enhance their ability to digest even the toughest materials, including bone, metal, and even flesh. It is said that the most powerful among them have stomachs so hardened that they could swallow a blade and feel no pain.
The Chieftain’s Feast
The chieftain of the Stune-Gut Tribe is not chosen by strength in combat or wisdom in leadership, but by the sheer magnitude of their gluttony. The title belongs to the most grotesquely bloated and rotund of the tribe—an embodiment of the Maw’s endless hunger. To challenge the chieftain, one must invoke the Great Feast, a sacred competition in which a challenger must out-eat the current chief.
Should the challenger consume more food in a single sitting than the reigning chief, they are deemed worthy of leadership. However, the rite does not end there—the victor must consume the previous chieftain himself in a gruesome act of ultimate dominance, solidifying their rule as the hungriest and strongest of all.
Life on The Maw’s Edge
The Stune-Gut Tribe makes their home in a crude settlement of stone huts carved into the rocky terrain that surrounds the Maw of The Earth. Their structures are simple, built more for practicality than comfort, often filled with the remnants of their last great feasts—bones, shattered armor, and even the half-digested skulls of past meals.
At the very edge of the Maw, they hold sacrificial rites, tossing livestock, captured foes, or even disfavored kin into the abyss. The deep rumbling echoes from below are interpreted as the Maw's pleasure, and any sudden rockslides or quakes are seen as signs of its displeasure, requiring even greater sacrifices.
The Outside World
The Stune-Gut Tribe is widely feared and reviled by neighboring peoples, as their endless hunger knows no bounds. They frequently raid other settlements, stealing livestock, resources, and even captives to add to their grisly feasts. Tumb stonekin, Basha' Tribe Orc, and even other Stone Giants have learned to tread carefully near their domain, lest they end up as an offering to the Maw.
However, their sheer size, brutality, and numbers make them valuable mercenaries for those willing to meet their price—often paid in food, treasure, or captives. Some warlords have attempted to recruit them, only to regret it when their allies became the main course of their supposed reinforcements.
Legends of the Maw
Among the more superstitious scholars and adventurers, there are whispers that the Maw of The Earth is not simply a bottomless chasm—but something far worse. Some claim that deep within the darkness, something stirs, a monstrous devourer of worlds awaiting the day it will rise again. If true, then the Stune-Gut Tribe’s offerings are not mere superstition… but preparations for the return of something ancient and unspeakable.
"To feast is to live, to starve is to die. If you cannot eat, then you will be eaten."
— Chieftain Gulthrog Stone-Gut, last words before being devoured by his own son