Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Trolls speak Giant.
A troll is quite an easy monster for a Dungeon Master to handle due to its lack of intelligence and combat tactics, and are often used as random wilderness encounters. Trolls can easily kill a party if the adventurers don't have enough firepower.
Description
The average troll stands nine feet high and weighs roughly 500 pounds, though females tend to be a bit larger than males. The hide of trolls is rubbery, and usually either moss green, putrid grey, or mottled gray and green. Their coarse hair is typically iron grey, or greenish-black.
Trolls initially seem to be somewhat shorter, due to their sagging shoulders and tendency to hunch forward. They walk with an uneven gait, and their arms dangle and drag the ground when running. Despite this apparent awkwardness, trolls are quite agile.
Society
Trolls worship Vaprak the destroyer.
Subspecies
- Black troll - Also known as demon trolls, these horned trolls reside in the Abyss and possess powerful magical abilities.
- Bloodtroll - Lawful evil red-skinned atheists who often serve devils.
- Cave troll - Powerful, feral trolls that often live underground.
- Crystalline troll - Charismatic troll with crystalline skin.
- Deep Sea troll - These trolls have a primal connection to water. They terrorize the oceans and coastlines.
- Desert troll - Chameleon-like, intelligent ambush hunters.
- Fell troll - Huge, two-headed troll.
- Fire troll - Immune to fire and acid.
- Forest yroll - Includes variant "muskwart".
- Giant Troll - Giant trolls are the result of trolls breeding with hill giants.
- Gray yroll - Having been nearly energy drained to death by undead creatures, these emaciated trolls forge strong ties to negative energy and have venemous spittle.
- Ice troll - Cold-dwelling trolls.
- Mountain troll - Massive trolls that prowl mountains. Includes variant Halruuan mountain troll.
- Mur-Zhagul - Planetouched creatures descended from the mingling of trolls and demons.
- Phaze troll - Mutated by great concentrations of magic or Underdark radiations, these trolls possess some magical powers and are more intelligent than their brethren.
- Pseudotroll - Troll from the Far Realm with the pseudonatural creature template.
- Rock troll - Trolls with an affinity for earth, they possess natural camouflage in areas of stone. Rock trolls sometimes are found on the Elemental Plane of Earth.
- Scrag - These are aquatic cousins of the troll.
- Slime troll - The bodies of these underground-dwelling trolls constantly secrete acid.
- Spirit troll - Spirit trolls are a crossbreed of troll and invisible stalker.
- Stone troll - Stone Trollshave rough, somewhat rocky skin and are generally native to mountain ranges
- Tree troll - small arboreal trolls created by magic gone awry.
- Two-headed troll - These creatures are a horrendous crossbreed of troll and ettin.
- War troll - Trolls bred for war that form mercenary companies.
- Wasteland troll - Found in mountains and badlands of the deserts.
Related creatures
- Trollhound - Wolflike creatures that share many of the same traits as trolls, including the powerful regenerative capabilities. They often associate with trolls.
Creative origins
While trolls can be found throughout folklores worldwide, the D&D troll has little in common with these. Instead it was clearly inspired by Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions. This includes their appearance, as tall skinny humanoids with long noses and rubbery skin, their ability to regenerate, and their weakness to fire. Despite (or because of) this differences, the D&D troll has become a distinguishing characteristic of this roleplaying game and a long-time fan favourite. For example, the trolls in Warcraft are similar in appearance.
References
- Baclawski, Alec. "The Dragon's Bestiary: Those Terrible Trolls." Dragon #199 (TSR, 1993).
- Baker, Richard, Matt Forbeck, and Sean K Reynolds. Unapproachable East (Wizards of the Coast, 2003).
- Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989).
- Cook, Monte. D&D Adventures: Black Rain (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977).
- Leach, Paul. "Malignant Growth: The Ecology of the Troll." Dragon #301 (Paizo Publishing, 2002).
- Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1994).
- Szarmach, Michael J. and Linda Hankins. "The Dragon's Bestiary: Those Nonhuman creatures - with human form." Dragon #141 (TSR, 1989).
- Turnbull, Don, ed. Fiend Folio (TSR, 1981).
- Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
- Various. Dragon Compendium, Volume 1 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Various. Monster Manual III (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).
External links
- System Reference Document listing for trolls [1]
- D&D Adventures: Black Rain