Random World Part 7: Hungry, Angry Trolls

Trolls are an ancient race, distant cousins to the races of goblin. No, that's wrong: they are precursors to mankind. That is also wrong: some myths say trolls are spirits cursed into a grotesque which reflect their base instincts. Or maybe trolls all of the above and none at the same time.

Troll Biology and Psychology

There aren't many conclusive evidences on the origins of trolls, only myths, legends and folklore and as such beyond the basic facts I intend to play fast and loose with how trolls are like. Research on the true origins of trolls is difficult as they tend to eat those who attempt to study them. All that can be fully confirmed is the following:

Troll by Abner Martin

• Trolls are ancient beings, often tied to primordial places and wild locales.
• They are large, hungry monstrous giants with a usually foul disposition. Trolls are angry and hungry and that basically form the basis of their entire mentality. They are simplistic in nature but they aren't all dumb.
• They usually have sharp senses. Some breeds, however, especially underground and nocturnal trolls can be partially or completely blind.
• Many troll breed dislike sunlight to a certain extent but this is hardly as universal as people believe.
• Magical abilities possessed by trolls can include regeneration, immunity to certain forms of damage, supernatural 'berserker rage' and camouflage with their local environment.
• Trolls vary widely in form, shape and attitude depending on the region but also between individuals.
• Troll Wyrd are trolls who display magical abilities which are quite uncommon to the rest of their kin, such as the ability to cast spells as Magic-Users do. They are strange-looking and very unique even by troll standards.
• There may or may not exist long-lost, ancient 'troll magic'.
• Trolls can cross-breed with other creatures, or at least could in the past, which explain beings such as Ogres, Ettins and Bugbears which supposedly posses human and/or goblin blood.

Trolls are often categorized by their environment, such as Mountain Trolls, Forest Trolls, Swamp Trolls and more. These aren't really cut and dry categories so much as classifications made by humans and other races to keep up with troll variations. They are true to a certain extent, however, as Trolls tend to reflect their environment.

Troll Wyrd

Trolls are ancient beings with potent, primordial (and often chaotic) magic in their very flesh, that much is a fact. A Troll Wyrd is a mutant troll born with truly unusual powers and appearance. These beings are randomly born from seemingly normal (if such a thing exist) troll parents for no apparent reasons. Crazier, stronger and often smarter than other trolls they are walking piles of chaos.

• Troll Wyrd are spontaneous mutations of trolls.
• They are easily noticed as being different from other trolls around them, usually due to bright colors.
• They are innate spellcasters but not all of them control their magic. Those who do become truly fearsome sorcerers.
• Some Troll Wyrds just burst with power and vomit energy in the form of brightly colored 'trollfire'. Sometimes Trollfire can cause spontaneous mutations in others.
• Their magic is either incredibly flashy and destructive or it is some fate-warping nonsense which suddenly make every sword swing miss and arrows bend their course and stab the butt of the archer. Fighting one can be very annoying.
• In spite of their apparent eccentric behavior, Troll Wyrd are potent magicians and often wise guru and hermits. It is not unknown for magicians to seek them out to learn spells and Troll Wyrd are usually more cooperative than other trolls. That doesn't mean what they demand in exchange for their service is safe and simple.

Ogres

Ogre by Kyle Bastian.

By far one of the more prolific Troll-kin, Ogres are comparatively more mundane than their ancestors. Their appearance is far more human-like, as they appear as large and grotesque human caricatures with a few monstrous traits, such as sharp teeth, abundant body hair, odd skin color or horns. They are more common than true Trolls but live much shorter lives, about the same as a human to sightly longer. They are more likely than trolls to produce stable, recognizable traits shared across a family or tribe such all having red skin or abundant red hair.

• Ogres are basically big, ugly troll-like humans. They are the byproduct of an ancient mixing of human and troll blood, some believe.
• Ogres are much more social than Trolls but only barely more likable: they are loud, boorish and over-the-top brutes and hedonist. An ogre isn't just a bigger and uglier human on the outside but also on the inside.
• Greed, lust, hunger and anger is what motivate them. As a result they are often mercenaries and bandits.
• They can crossbreed easily with humans to produce Half-Ogres. These creatures can use the Hobgoblin, Gnoll or even the Orcs stats but they are none of those.
• Ogre Wyrd are quite rare but is what we know as 'Ogre Mages'.
• Ettin are subrace of Ogres.

Troll Adventures and Encounters

Much like the Orc, the troll is very much a monster built for heart-pounding action and fear. However it doesn't have to be just that: trolls are capable of playing other roles and, provided they are offered some food and/or something shiny they may very well be placated long enough to talk and even let people go, at least for the more intelligent ones. Here are some adventure ideas for trolls beyond just fighting them when encountered in the wild.

1. A lone troll is encountered. Wizened and bent, this old creature speak in riddles and/or odd prophecies speaking of the future written in the bones of the earth. It is unlikely to attack unless provoked but it will most likely try to make life miserable if it gets frustrated at the party's inability to make sense of its riddles.
2. A smaller troll is looking for help to defeat a larger, older rival. It claim that his rival has a collection of magical items, which the troll would not mind giving if the rival is slain. Is this a trap? Who knows?
3. A Troll Wyrd is leading a band of bandits with its mind control powers. The bandits collect odd trinkets for the troll's fruitless magical experiments.
4. It's troll mating season and trolls are now kidnapping goats! NO! Not to breed with, that's disgusting: rather these are offerings to the females.
5. A raging troll is rampaging toward the village and the party are the only ones equipped to (maybe) defeat it. Even worse, it's coming any minute now. Worse still, the troll is on fire because the last people it encountered threw their torches at it.
6. When the party set up camp, the ground shake beneath them and a large earth-and-stone troll wakes up, confused by the noise and maybe smell of cooking food. It may or may not attack.
7. Troll activity has swelled in the region: in truth, ancient Troll Wyrds are preparing for an ancient troll ritual celebration....which will end in a lot of drinking followed by more drinking and eventually pillage of local alehouses.
8. A troll cook is wandering from town to town looking for things to spice up it's stew. It will probably go on a rampage when it knock at the door of a city with sufficiently armed guards willing to try to push the troll back.
9. A three-headed trolls is causing a rampage because it's three heads can't agree. As they wrestle for control, they are destroying whole villages. This is a regenerating troll: the solution is to cut them in three parts.
10. A local evil sorcerer has charmed a bunch of trolls and equipped them with spiky plate armor and giant war hammers. Good luck surviving that!