Nephilim

What if gods walked among men?  What if there was regular traffic to and from Olympus (or, more accurately, Canaan)?  The demigod-sired nephilim would be the result.  And while I love the idea of a nearly divine race, nephilim might serve for extraordinary individuals as well: Hercules.  Gilgamesh.  Cú Chulain.  Sometimes you need a hero—or a villain (Goliath)—who’s larger than life.

A nephilim warrior labors under a curse of forgetfulness: no deed of his, however great, will be remembered.  Despite carrying this burden for centuries, the injustice still rankles the proud champion.  After saving a town from a flood, he is outraged when a party of mortal heroes is credited with the deed, and he challenges them to battle on the spot.

A climb up the Daggertooth Escarpment leads to Ehurab, a literally larger-than-life nation of where aasimars, intelligent ogres, and half-giants mingle with men.  Nephilim noble families rule this ancient kingdom.  By tradition the rival families are served by the red, blue, brass, and copper dragons that are their steeds and symbols of office.

In Tappanon, nephilim ronin wander ceaselessly with their foo dog or foo lion companions.  In the pyramid-studded region of Djewaret, the nephilim there need no animal followers—they have the falcon, crocodile, cat, ox, hippo, and scarab heads of their divine forbears.  And in the City of Steel nephilim duel religiously, trading the customary longsword and spear for far more exotic weapon combinations.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 3 200

Interestingly, I don’t see a Languages section for the nephilim in print or online.

I’m ashamed to say pretty much everything I know about Gilgamesh comes from one issue of Avengers Spotlight I got in middle school—but that’s where the forgetfulness curse came from.

For Forgotten Realms fans, Unther seems like the ideal place to stash nephilim.

And thanks to syringesin and uwtartarus for weighing in with comments yesterday!