TheRPGSite

Um, hi.  I was accused of being a troll in the first thread I made here, and I thought, "well, if you're going to do a thing, do it right."  So here's my attempt.

You have several personal qualities that aren't as good as you think they are.  Additionally, the games that you like are stupid and vastly inferior to the games I like, for incredibly arbitrary reasons.  I shall now proceed to disagree with you over the definition of a term you used WITHOUT ever stopping to define what I mean by the term or what you mean by the term, leading to endless debates.  Also, your personal hygiene leaves something to be desired.  I shall now use a derogatory term to accuse you of being part of a social group that I perceive to have low value.

So... how'd I do?

As your thread has nothing to do with gaming it will be pulled forthwith I am sure, but for whats its worth - I too have been labeled a Troll for similar reasons. Its better to just ignore it and keep commenting... you will get little sympathy here - they actually respect you more if you just throw shit back!

Ah.  Yeah, I looked for an Off-Topic section but couldn't find it.  Was I looking in the wrong place, or does this board just not have one?

I was really hoping this was about actual RPG related trolls since I'm considering running a Forgotten Realms game.

How do you guys make trolls interesting at the table?

Trolls are tough, mean, wicked beasts of legend who will kick your ass, take your bridge toll money, and not waste one minute being bothered by their precious little feelings.  

The trolls you are describing from your campaign sound like wussies.  Use tougher trolls and earn the players' respect.

Quote from: Dave;938619I was really hoping this was about actual RPG related trolls since I'm considering running a Forgotten Realms game.

Yeah, I was expecting something along the lines of this . . .

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p29p4mHpNUs/TxbZonY0RFI/AAAAAAAAD38/bGhC2xgdVf4/s1600/DarkFolk.jpg) (http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2016/12/dark-folk-role-aids-by-by-paul-karczag.html)

. . . instead of the OP's fucking shit-pile.

So let's make this thread awesome in spite of the ass-wipery.

Quote from: Dave;938619How do you guys make trolls interesting at the table?

Out-of-the-box trolls are iconic, but they're also really predictable, so you gotta mix things up.

First, skrags are far more dangerous than conventional trolls by virtue of breathing underwater. In my campaigns back in the day, it was skrags who lived under bridges, down in the reedy stream - grapple an adventurer, drag her in the water, and hilarity ensues.

Second, change up the vulnerabilities. Trolls who are injured by salt or iron filings instead of fire and acid appeared in campaigns I ran.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938622So let's make this thread awesome....

Sgt Dicecock reporting for duty! :)

One of my favorite trolls in cinema, Meg Mucklebones from Legend.
[video=youtube;IxjYJayuWoA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxjYJayuWoA[/youtube]

Not even certain she's supposed to be a fucking troll, but she works for me.

I've done a fair bit of work on the Troll Lands area in Dragon Shadowed Lands because I created it for my last Rolemaster campaign.

There are degenerate trolls like you find in marshes and old ruins, common trolls which are more intelligent and upright, giant troll lords, troll wives, troll princesses, dwarf trolls (closest I've come to being lynched while DMing, see a troll the size of a dwarf doesn't very powerful magic to look like a dwarf and assassinate kings), and various wild life from the volcanic land mass raised out of the oceans by the troll lords.

My Minarian campaign has a Troll Kingdom in it--a confederation of large or larger humanoids. The regeneration makes trolls remarkably slow learners, but the citizens of the troll kingdom tend to wear insignia, to let the "Mur Dur Ho Bows" know that they're not to be killed and looted...indiscriminately, at least.

I was reading about trolls earlier today... and, in regards to actual folklore, they're a murky subject, about as specific a description as 'fairy'. So I think I'd favor giving them a lot of individuality and quirks... fair haired and comely troll queens who will eat a knight's horse right from under him, alongside nests of knobbly warty things with fearsome appearance but no interest in men-things at all. Definitely something I'll want some random tables for... as with goblins.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938622So let's make this thread awesome in spite of the ass-wipery.

Two contributions:

1. Troll hunter. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/) Not super recent, but a great movie about a modern troll hunter working as a government employee. You can see it on netflix if you're so inclined. It is so much better than it has any right to be.

2. The lone "boss encounter" troll I put in my current campaign's starting dungeon was befriended and tamed by my wife's character, who now uses it for a battle mount. She named it Torg.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938622Out-of-the-box trolls are iconic, but they're also really predictable, so you gotta mix things up.

First, skrags are far more dangerous than conventional trolls by virtue of breathing underwater. In my campaigns back in the day, it was skrags who lived under bridges, down in the reedy stream - grapple an adventurer, drag her in the water, and hilarity ensues.

Second, change up the vulnerabilities. Trolls who are injured by salt or iron filings instead of fire and acid appeared in campaigns I ran.

This raises an interesting question: how much can you change a troll before it is no longer recognizably a troll?

If I defined a troll as, for example, a human from a different dimension with grey skin, candy-corn horns, the occasional psionic ability, a caste system based on blood color, and a bizarre reproductive system, is it still a troll?

Interesting a troll thread threadjacked by a discussion on Trolls. Only on this site!

Trolls for me will always be epitomized by the works of John Bauer:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/John_Bauer_1915.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Rottrollen_-_John_Bauer_1917.jpg/276px-Rottrollen_-_John_Bauer_1917.jpg)
(http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/bauer11.jpg)
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/16/96/89/1696893050bee485c565b31cc8f426f7.jpg)
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/9a/2a/9e/9a2a9e7c45cbdeae43f68945fff65fea.jpg)
(http://runeberg.org/jbauer/08.jpg)

To be fair, it was never intended to be a genuine troll thread and I'm perfectly okay with the topic shifting to something more relevant to the board.

I wasn't entirely thrilled with the accompanying insults, but I guess haters gonna hate.

(http://i.imgur.com/FU4HT.jpg)

Quote from: Doom;938636My Minarian campaign has a Troll Kingdom in it--a confederation of large or larger humanoids.

I liked having the trolls as allies when I played Divine Right back in the day. They pose an immediate threat to Port Lork, The Pits, and the Walled City of Adeese - ally with Skoagg, then send your ambassador to raise a mess of barbarians, and take Hothior's, Zorn's, or Shucassam's capital in a turn or two. Good times.

Quote from: Azraele;938652Troll hunter. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/) Not super recent, but a great movie about a modern troll hunter working as a government employee. You can see it on netflix if you're so inclined. It is so much better than it has any right to be.

Very, very entertaining movie. Monster hunters as game wardens - there's a d20 Modern campaign right there.

Quote from: abcd_z;938684This raises an interesting question: how much can you change a troll before it is no longer recognizably a troll?

Y'know, changing a troll's vulnerabilities but leaving everything else pretty much the same is nowhere in the same ballpark as making them "human from a different dimension with grey skin, candy-corn horns, the occasional psionic ability, a caste system based on blood color, and a bizarre reproductive system," so what's your fucking point again, exactly?

Quote from: Tristram Evans;938687. . . the works of John Bauer . . .

Those are beautiful.

Quote from: estar;938686Interesting a troll thread threadjacked by a discussion on Trolls. Only on this site!

*bows*

Quote from: Dave;938619I was really hoping this was about actual RPG related trolls since I'm considering running a Forgotten Realms game.

How do you guys make trolls interesting at the table?

I give them all working-class British turn-of-the-century cockney accent.
Also, being able to grow back limbs is a great surprise when a player first fights one.
All my players love encountering trolls.

//Panjumanju

My favorite published encounter with trolls is the nest of like...I want to say there's 20-30 lurking in a chamber in G1, in the dungeon area.  

I like it because it's as though Gary said "Look, your DM has probably been screwing with you guys with Trolls for the last two, maybe three years while you get high enough level to do something about it.  You know what to do, here." (e.g., lob a fireball spell into the room).

WTF. This thread is closed.

Re-opening as long as it remains about gaming.

We added trolls as optional enemies for Salem World for the Hardcover and current release.  They are one of the most overlooked, sometimes wrongly used encounter that a GM has at their disposal.  Think of modifying the base abilities in a D&D campaign enough for lower level groups to succeed (and lower the XP as well).  It will get them the in game information they need for a full version encounter later.

By the way, I too wandered on here thinking it was a "Troll" thread about trolls not trolls... ugh... so confusing...

The most fun I have ever had with trolls in game was when I assumed that they were just like a toy and detach limbs to put together smaller creatures out of them. A smart troll tears its hand off, removes and eye and an ear, then puts them together to be a spy crawler which watches the PCs before coming back to the source troll and reattaching to download the information gathered.

Quote from: jeff37923;938816The most fun I have ever had with trolls in game was when I assumed that they were just like a toy and detach limbs to put together smaller creatures out of them. A smart troll tears its hand off, removes and eye and an ear, then puts them together to be a spy crawler which watches the PCs before coming back to the source troll and reattaching to download the information gathered.

That's awesome.

I think one of the things with (A)D&D trolls, absent a critical hit table, is that the referee needs to figure out how friable trolls are, in order to really take advantage of things like heads or claws attacking on their own. I usually rule that an attack with a slashing weapon like a sword or an axe which causes damage equal to or greater than 6 HTK lops off a limb or the head - a headless troll will move in a random direction each turn until it comes into contact with something, at which point it attacks, which can result in a headless troll attacking one of its mates.

Trolls should also take advantage of this, using lopped off heads and claws like thrown missile weapons.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938622Second, change up the vulnerabilities. Trolls who are injured by salt or iron filings instead of fire and acid appeared in campaigns I ran.

I love the idea of iron filings. It totally fits (at least in my head) with unseely court fae. I dig that very much.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938705Very, very entertaining movie. Monster hunters as game wardens - there's a d20 Modern campaign right there.

Insert game x instead of d0 modern, and I'm in. All fucking in!:)

I'm leaving a link to a story (video) about glow worms in a Cave system.  This could be a great set up to a troll encounter, giving the visuals of the opening up to the point is becomes a water covered floor.  Even past that, I'm going to start on rules for these worms for Salem World as monsters themselves.  Trust me you will get some good ideas from this.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wonder/enter-the-cave-of-glowing-worms/vi-BBxVTpr?ocid=spartandhp

Quote from: abcd_z;938684This raises an interesting question: how much can you change a troll before it is no longer recognizably a troll?

If I defined a troll as, for example, a human from a different dimension with grey skin, candy-corn horns, the occasional psionic ability, a caste system based on blood color, and a bizarre reproductive system, is it still a troll?

I see trolls as having about the least defined platonic form of any mythical creature.  When I played the troll in 5th grade Three Goats Gruff performance, my outfit was nothing at all like a DnD green, rubbery, regenerating giant.

So for me, humanoid is about all needed for a troll.

Quote from: Old One Eye;938881I see trolls as having about the least defined platonic form of any mythical creature.

And yet they are better defined for D&D than just about any other 'giant class' creature, as they come almost verbatim from Three Hears and Three Lions.

No thread about trolls is complete without this illustration.

(http://www.fightingtigersofveda.com/dndtroll.jpg)

Quote from: abcd_z;938684This raises an interesting question: how much can you change a troll before it is no longer recognizably a troll?

If I defined a troll as, for example, a human from a different dimension with grey skin, candy-corn horns, the occasional psionic ability, a caste system based on blood color, and a bizarre reproductive system, is it still a troll?

Dungeon had an adventure revolving around a singing troll (and good at it) and an improbable romance that could go comedy or tragedy. In D&D they werent allways dirt stupid. Hoard of the Dragon Queen for 5e also has a fairly smart troll too.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938942And yet they are better defined for D&D than just about any other 'giant class' creature, as they come almost verbatim from Three Hears and Three Lions.

Actually theres a native american monster called Dzunukwa that is described as an ogress, though her description is is slightly like a D&D troll. She could regenerate from any harm except fire. But it took alot of fire to finally end her. As noted in the other thread. Probably coincidence. ( or maybee Anderson heard the legend or saw one of the masks.)

Quote from: Black Vulmea;938947No thread about trolls is complete without this illustration.

(http://www.fightingtigersofveda.com/dndtroll.jpg)

Really happened to Gary Gygax in Blackmoor.

Except the string got sucked out of his hand spaghetti-like.  Complete with "SLLLLUUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPPPP"  noise.

Quote from: Old One Eye;938881I see trolls as having about the least defined platonic form of any mythical creature.  When I played the troll in 5th grade Three Goats Gruff performance, my outfit was nothing at all like a DnD green, rubbery, regenerating giant.

So for me, humanoid is about all needed for a troll.

And "troll" in Scandinavia was a very generic term originally, much like "fairy" or "fae."

And Peer Gynt courted the troll-king's daughter.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;939229And "troll" in Scandinavia was a very generic term originally, much like "fairy" or "fae."

And Peer Gynt courted the troll-king's daughter.

And My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari-no-Totoro) is based on the Norwegian troll (as in under bridge), recast as forest-guardian. To-to-ro is a little girl's attempt at saying "to-ro-ru" or "troll" in Japanese.
https://kotaku.com/the-book-that-inspired-totoro-1686493227

I've always used trolls as a way to up the stakes. Mainly because due to the regenerative abilities, trolls young trolls wade into the fray heedless of the consequences, while older trolls are very cunning predators.

For example, in one campaign, I had locals trying to sell cattle to the group at exorbitant prices. When questioned about it, the locals were very upfront about the fact that there was a troll at the bridge a few days outside of town. They also mentioned that caravans payed well for the "troll insurance".

Needless to say, being adventurers full of piss and vinegar, tbey decided to save the gold.  And were royally screwed when said troll realized the danger several heavily armed people represented, and instead came up out of the river after the easy meal and dragged down their pack mule and took off underwater. With all their supplies. And gold.

And were even more pissed when they realized that having acquired said meal, the troll was content to flee down stream and had no intentions of fighting them.

Has anyone here read the Terry Prachett story "Troll Bridge?" :D

Quote from: Dave;938619I was really hoping this was about actual RPG related trolls since I'm considering running a Forgotten Realms game.

How do you guys make trolls interesting at the table?

I pair up the different kinds of trolls and ogres with the different types of hags. For example, the sea hag is the female aquatic troll or ogre. The annis is the female troll of the hills and the green hag is the female troll/ogre of the forest. I also tinker with the foils of these monsters. For my campaign's version of Grendel, I use an aquatic troll -only instead of regenerating, it is immune to bladed/pointed weapons, as is its mother, only she has the powers of an annis.

Beowulf is one inspiration; Ravaggio and Tourmentine from The Orange Tree and the Bee also come to mind as does the ogre and his witch wife in Time Bandits.

Quote from: David Johansen;939517Has anyone here read the Terry Prachett story "Troll Bridge?" :D

Indeed. There was an early Neil Gaiman story by the same name IIRC that was also quite good, though in a very different way.

Trolls will always have a very specific nostalgic implication in regards to gaming for me, as the year I discovered RPGs with a small group of friends in elementary school, we as a group gathered for the first time at my house upon my birthday of that year, where we also rented and watched for the first time an 80s film by the name of "Troll (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(film))".

A 1986 horror film that was far better than it had any right to be, Troll featured a bevy of folkloric creatures invading our world, a fantastical history of a pseudo-medieval time of legends,and also introduced the world to a young boy wizard by the name of Harry Potter (not even joking, look it up). It also featured this absolutely mad musical number that I still get stuck in my head for days at a time:

[video=youtube;K2GcAVAmgbk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2GcAVAmgbk[/youtube]

Should you really change the troll attributes to avoid metagaming. Why not just not metagame.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;939591Should you really change the troll attributes to avoid metagaming. Why not just not metagame.

As a DM, it's much easier to change a monster than it is to get PCs to stop using tactics that work. A hundred-plus years of novels and horror movies means that most people know that silver weapons will hurt werewolves, garlic and crosses will ward off vampires and so on. So use a new monster or change an existing one. One example I always use is taking the vampire, changing its name to the Baobhan Sith (http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/the-tale-of-scottish-banshees-baobhan-sith-1-4087544) (the "White Ladies" of Gaelic folklore) and changing its weaknesses from garlic and running water to iron. There's no reason NOT to do the same with trolls: either change the name ("trow" is a good one) or change its weakness from fire and acid to sunlight -like the ones in Norse myths and The Hobbit.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;939591Why not just not metagame.

What, did the twelve page thread on this very topic you started (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?31368-PCs-magically-knowing-monsters-metagaming) fail to answer this question for you? Like, in the very first reply (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?31368-PCs-magically-knowing-monsters-metagaming&p=807146&viewfull=1#post807146), maybe?

Quote from: Elfdart;939691A hundred-plus years of novels and horror movies means that most people know that silver weapons will hurt werewolves,

See , that is exactly the sort of Hollywood invention that I would consider anathemic to the folklore-based settings I run.

You want to hurt a werewolf? You've got to find him during the day and steal the wolf pelt from him that he got from a demon at a crossroad, or poison the ungent that he smears over his body.

Quote from: Tristram Evans;939729See , that is exactly the sort of Hollywood invention that I would consider anathemic to the folklore-based settings I run.

You want to hurt a werewolf? You've got to find him during the day and steal the wolf pelt from him that he got from a demon at a crossroad, or poison the ungent that he smears over his body.

Or hit the werewolf with weapons coated in wolfsbane. Silver doesnt work.

Or get the wolfsbane into that unguent. Watch the fun next wolfout. ow.

On that note. The only way to kill a troll is to immerse them in running water. Turns them permanently into stone.

The only way to kill a Werewolf or a Troll is to have a Werewolf eat a Troll's heart.  Poisons the Werewolf and the Troll heart can't regen and the body dies. :D

Or another old one for Werewolves thats rarely used anymore.

The werewolf has to kill someone to enable it to change back to human.

As for Trolls. The turn to stone in sunlight type are from Scandinavian legends.

Trolls of Norwegian type are more like dryads.

And in some sources Troll and ogre are about the same thing. While in others trolls are a type of giant.

Here are the Trolls in Salem World

A feared enemy, and a powerful foe in combat.  Trolls come in various shapes and sizes, each having a different set of difficulty in overcoming.  They can have multiple heads, be overly huge, or even look halfway normal in low light.  No matter the type, they have a weakness in common.  If they are in direct sunlight, they start to become stone.  The full transformation happens in four rounds, unless they can find shelter.  
   All Trolls are light green in color, with a scale like look to the skin.  They grow random lumps and tumors at random, causing many to appear hunched over.  Their eyesight is poor, limiting their vision comprehension to a 10' radius.  The following are the types:

Curmudgeon – They resemble a harry old man, with larger than normal ears and noses, and stand at six feet in height.  They tend to stay around, and claim as their own, structures they can use for daytime cover; bridges, natural overpasses, shallow or deep caves, and will attack or challenge any who come near.  They are curious and collectors of anything they find valuable, leading to many stories of them trying to swindle people out of things for safety.  They are the most intelligent of the Troll race.  Curmudgeons use standard weapons.

Heart – 3
Soul – 2
Mind – 6
Strength – 5
Reflex – 2
Strike – 3
Repel – 4
Resist – 4
Skill – 2
B.D. - 68

Sourcil – They can grow upwards of ten feet in height, and are mostly found in deep forests near large water sources.  Their main diet consists of fish, and large game; but the occasional lost traveler is never overlooked.  Because of a large nose that hangs below their mouth, a Sourcil gains Advanced Smell, and can track a target by scent over three miles.  They can use any blunt weapon as long as it has been modified for their size (+5 damage)

Heart – 2
Soul – 2
Mind – 3
Strength – 7
Reflex – 3
Strike – 5
Repel – 4
Resist – 5
Skill – 3
B.D. - 260

Degoutant – The largest Troll kind, that lives in mountains and rocky outcroppings.  Each of these resemble a Sourcil, only growing upwards of 15' and having two heads.  They think individually, react as individuals, but only control one side of the body.  By nature they normally work together flawlessly.  They can; however, be confused in combat with random attacks (Regent's call).  They also receive Advanced Smell, and use an enormous Spiked Club (DV - 12)

Heart – 2
Soul – 2
Mind – 2/3
Strength – 7
Reflex – 7
Strike – 5
Repel – 5
Resist – 6
Skill – 3
B.D. - 505

Learnaean – Deadly to the core, and hard to kill, this Troll is mostly monstrous and aggressive.  It is called a Learnaen for a good reason, The Hydra of Learnaen could not be stopped, as when one head was removed two grew in it's place.  Only burning the stump would help, and the same goes for this Troll.  They only stand near 7' tall, but can have multiple heads and limbs.  Unlike the Degoutant, they are controlled by a single mind hidden inside the body.  Each head has a bite attack (TD – 10), each arm can wield a Club (DV – 4), and each leg can kick (STR +7).  There are only two ways to defeat a Learnaen.  First:  Remove all heads and burn all stumps (the hidden mind will be severed at that point.  Second:  Get them into the sun!  
   All extra heads and appendages will fall of naturally in 24 hours, and turn to dust.  When they are normal they have a single head, and resemble a Curmudgeon (slightly taller).  If they grow too many limbs, they will become incapacitated for three rounds.  After this the Body will reject the extra parts quickly, creating a dust bowl in a 20' radius.  Visibility  is only 1' in the dust. They tend to migrate to a good food source, and Human cities can provide that.

Heart - 1
Soul - 1
Mind - 4
Strength – 7
Reflex – 3
Strike - 6
Repel - 4
Resist - 4
Skill - 4
B.D. - 260

And for another type of Troll. Check out the ongoing web comic Stand Still Stay, Silent.

Quote from: Omega;940062......

Trolls of Norwegian type are more like dryads........

No, that would be "huldrefolk". Trolls are usually seen as ugly as hell, and often huge. Of course, mythological words often mix up over time, so I would not be surprised if some call Huldra (a feminine huldrefolk) a "trollkvinne" (troll-woman)

Hence my note at the end that the terms are sometimes interchangeable. One persons giant is anothers ogre and anothers troll and who knows what else. And Yeah defining the Huldra as a troll is odd. But there you go. Someone thought it fit. Kind of like how D&D elves would be faeries in some tales.

I have been trying to think of a good alt-name for the D&D/Poul Andersen troll when I import it into Earthdawn. Maybe 'fell-troll'.

Trolls in Earthdawn are one of the Namegiver races (those able to practice Disciplines and the magical arts). Here's there description as a PC race, where they have very high Toughness(Con) and Strength. Ver similar to the Shadowrun (& 1879) trolls.

QuoteTrolls
Honor is the blood and bone of our people. The other races may use the word, but do not understand it as we do. Our highland cousins forget this, and their anger lessens us all. Act with honor in all things. Respect those who do the same, and remember those who do not.
— Shara Spearcraft, Weaponsmith
Trolls are massive, standing eight and a half feet tall and weighing 500 pounds or more on average. Many trolls sport pronounced lower canines similar to orks. Skin color ranges from beige to olive and dark brown, and their skin has a rough texture with minor ridges and plating made of trolthelia, a material similar to rhinoceros horn or deer antler. Trolthelia is also the material that makes up a troll's most prominent physical feature, the horns that grow from their heads. These horns grow slowly throughout a troll's life, frequently into asymmetrical shapes. Some isolated clans have practices that shape their horns, while others may inscribe runic designs into them.

Strong and tough, trolls reach maturity in their early teens and live into their fifties. They live primarily in the mountainous regions of Barsaive, and due to their size and weight find it difficult to live among the other races. They frequently feel a kinship with obsidimen, who they call "rock brothers", and find their serenity deeply moving. Trolls are fiercely loyal to their families, and organize themselves into clans and moots—an alliance of several clans. The largest population of trolls in Barsaive—the Crystal Raiders of the Twilight Peaks—are known for their airships, which they use to raid lowland settlements and caravans, carrying the spoils back to their mountain homes. The clans of the Twilight Peaks are believed to have been the originators of the Sky Raider Discipline, and trolls are the most common race to practice that Discipline to this day. Trolls place great value on honor, following complex rules and guidelines for personal behavior that frequently baffle other races. There are three main concepts in troll honor: katorr, kat'ral, and katera, loosely translated as personal, clan, and racial honor. Individual trolls define these values in different ways and to varying degrees, and a troll that lives among other Namegivers is less likely to react violently to an insult than a Crystal Raider, but a troll will defend his honor if he believes it has been slighted. Highland trolls guilty of crimes against honor will sometimes have their horns cut off, marking them as kava, or "mud people", and exiled from troll society. Some trolls voluntarily undergo this punishment as a way of maintaining personal honor, and take pride in their status as outcasts.

Some images.

Troll Illusionist (very iconic 1st edition image):
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/10/92/34/1092341488cb7b666346eef582ec3142.jpg)

Horn variations:
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i137/svensvedmyr/Earthdawn/Trolls.jpg)

Crystal Raiders:
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d6/b8/1e/d6b81e66db67ef4a07f764fcc6b4d26b.jpg)

There is also an entry for "Cave troll" as a creature encounter. I think the D&D troll is going to be a cursed version of the Cave or Namegiver troll whos horns have gone soft an fallen out. Maybe a fungus/slime related curse to go with that theme in the Greyhawk material.

Oh, the Sky Raider Discipline (Class) gets the Fire Blood talent, and I think this is to mirror the regen effect, as it allows you to burn a Recovery Test in combat (instead of while resting) to heal damage. Fire licks the wounds closed from the inside, in mimicry of how a lava flow "heals itself".

Quote from: Omega;940337And for another type of Troll. Check out the ongoing web comic Stand Still Stay, Silent.

Seconded.

I absolutely recommend SSSS. It start slow, but the art is terrific and when the story drops a hammer on the audience, its impressive.

And yes, the SSSS take on Trolls is very good stuff. Rather Lovecraftian.

http://www.sssscomic.com/

Quote from: Telarus;940350Maybe a fungus/slime related curse to go with that theme in the Greyhawk material.

Might be interesting to have such trolls symbiotically linked to something like green slime or yellow mold - hit the troll with a weapon, it comes back covered in green slime or releases a toxic cloud of spores.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;940431Might be interesting to have such trolls symbiotically linked to something like green slime or yellow mold - hit the troll with a weapon, it comes back covered in green slime or releases a toxic cloud of spores.

Green slime troll is fucking horrid.  Gah!!!!  The gift that keeps giving...

Forgot all about GW trolls and their projectile acid vomit!
(http://i.imgur.com/Wppmlve.jpg)

(http://img14.deviantart.net/9189/i/2013/309/6/3/warhammer__invasion___troll_vomit_by_jbcasacop-d6t5hy2.jpg)

Who the fuck in their right mind would ever want to fight a damn troll???

Quote from: RunningLaser;940433. . . projectile acid vomit!

Reminds me of a weekend in Ensenada when I was in college.

Ha, brilliant.

Quote from: Tristram Evans;939729See , that is exactly the sort of Hollywood invention that I would consider anathemic to the folklore-based settings I run.

You want to hurt a werewolf? You've got to find him during the day and steal the wolf pelt from him that he got from a demon at a crossroad, or poison the ungent that he smears over his body.

That was the point I was making: There are different versions of what are more or less the same monsters, so why not use the alternate version(s) instead? This vampire is killed only by sunlight; that one by iron, the other by beheading or a stake through the heart... or all of the above or none of the above? Stoker used several sources, including the White Ladies (Dracula's brides).