![[ZaltoPathfinder-v2.webp]] # Duke Zalto _Fire Giant Duke | [[Ironslag]] | [[Ice Spires]]_ ## Summary A ruthless and obsessive fire giant lord who believes he can rule all giants by rebuilding the ancient dragon-slaying colossus, the [[Vonindod]], to destroy their ancient enemies and prove himself worthy of [[Annam]]'s favor. %% ## Now Grieving the wrong son. Tradition forces him to pretend [[Zaltember]] matters while everyone whispers the bastard should have been heir. His rage needs targets—the [[Cinderborn]] who killed [[Zaltimar]], and [[Zaltember]] who lives while the worthy son died. He has sent [[Kartha-Kaya]]'s yakfolk to hunt the [[Cinderborn]]. He drives the rebuild of the [[Vonindod]] from [[Ironslag]], awaiting the Fire [[Devastation Orb]] that [[House Xorlarrin]] owes him to fire the forge. ## Appearance Towering fire giant with charcoal-black skin and a beard of flames. Elaborate plate armor inlaid with dragon scales. Carries a massive iron maul whose head doubles as a cage. Eyes burn with obsessive intensity as they dart between visitors and the war maps covering his chamber walls. ## Personality **Dragon Obsession:** Maintains detailed maps tracking every known dragon in the realms, planning their systematic destruction. Plans to use captured red dragons as living furnaces to power the forge creating their destroyer. **Paranoid Leadership:** Suspects betrayal from everyone, especially [[House Xorlarrin]] after their [[Gauntlgrym]] failure. His plans initially centered on stealing [[Maegera]] from Gauntlgrym. When Xorlarrin failed, he pursued alternatives—including seeking a Fire [[Devastation Orb]] from the Oblivion War. **Succession Crisis:** Secretly admires [[Zaltimar]]'s pragmatism but tradition demands he favor weak legitimate son [[Zaltember]]. Wife [[Brimskarda]] demands faster progress. Daughter [[Cinderhild]]'s drow obsession threatens security. ## Quote _"Every dragon's death brings me closer to godhood. When the Vonindod walks again, even Annam himself will bow before the giant who ended the dragon scourge forever."_ ## Background Rules Ironslag from beneath the Ice Spires, consumed by his obsession to rebuild the Vonindod—an ancient dragon-slaying colossus from the Thousand Year War. After the ordning shattered, he saw his chance to prove himself worthy of ruling all giants by accomplishing what his ancestors could not: the complete destruction of dragonkind. Family pressures compound his obsession: ambitious wife Brimskarda demands faster progress, legitimate son Zaltember grows increasingly unpopular despite his birthright, and bastard son Zaltimar gains dangerous influence through military success. ## Stats **Fire Giant** (MM 154) with Legendary Actions (3/turn), Magic Resistance, lair actions in Ironslag. %%