Hello everyone! It’s been a while. I’ve been grinding hard on another new character in DDO. As a result, I’ve been neglecting you all. But I have returned with another monster minute, this time with a classic D&D monster: Trolls. Trolls in Real-World Mythology Trolls first originated from the imaginations of Nordic storytellers. They are the Nordic equivalents of fearsome giants, and are quite similar to the ogres of England. Tales tell us that these creatures roam the Scandinavian wilderness, living in underground mounds, caves, and within hills. Where the word troll comes from is debatable among scholars, but the closest word is “trollteri” which in old Swedish means “a kind of magic intended to do harm.” It may also have roots in other North Germanic terms such as “trolldom” which means “witchcraft” or “trolla,” meaning “to perform magic tricks”. In the oldest folk tales, trolls are large and brutish, reflecting the traits from their ancestors the Norse giants. They have beast-like features such as tusks. Male trolls are also very dumb, while females are quite smart. Males are very strong, have big noses, and long arms. But female trolls are frequently described as pretty. These same tales don’t really depict trolls as pure evil creatures, but only reacted in a bi-polar manner to the way people treated them. They could be amazingly kind and playful when treated nicely, near sadistic and cruel if treated badly. They often used magic as a means when interacting with humans. Trolls are known for their thievery stealing food or causing food to spoil. They also abducted people and used them as slaves. In Scandinavian fairy tales, trolls turn to stone if caught in sunlight. Most of the modern concepts of trolls come from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world of Middle-earth. Tolkien trolls are large, standing 12 feet tall mostly mirroring the Nordic descriptions in folk tales in look and manner. They are Morgoth’s mockery of Ents and are divided into subtypes, such as hill-trolls, mountain-trolls, cave-troll, stone-trolls. And like in the Scandinavian tales, they turn to stone in sun light. Though in later in the Middle-earth’s timeline, the Olog-hai came into being, a mysterious type of troll that could resist being turned into rock during daylight. Trolls in D&D Gary Gygax took the basic ideas of the D&D troll from Poul Anderson’s 1953 novel, Three Hearts and Three Lions (1). Similar to the book, D&D trolls are tall monsters with large, pointy noses, and green skin. They have the uncanny ability to steadily regenerate all damage, unless it’s caused by acid or fire. The troll was one of the first monsters introduced in the D&D “white box” set in 1974 and has been a staple monster in nearly every manual, module, and supplement since then. They have been depicted in various subtypes, much like in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, but in more imaginative ways – the phaze troll (Underdark magically mutated trolls) and the mur-zhagul (planetouched demon-halfbreed troll) come to mind. In most D&D campaigns, the average troll weighs in at a hefty 500 pounds, and stands a good 9 feet or more high. Female trolls are bit heavier due to their larger size (2). Though in earlier depictions, they were sorter and lankier. Both incarnations are rather nimble, despite their oddly shaped bodies. Trolls are famous for their regeneration, and are able to recover from wounds quite quickly and even re-grow limbs. The only way to prevent regeneration is to cauterize the wound with fire or acid. Trolls in Eberron In the Eberron Campaign world, trolls are of the giantkin races and are distantly related to ogres and the elemental giants. Wizardly scholars believe that trolls originated from Xen’drik, and spreading out to other continents. The religious sects of Cazhaak Draal believe that The Shadow (the Sovereign of Magic and Mayhem – god of corruption, dark magic, and ambition in the Sovereign Host pantheon) gave many of Eberron’s creatures super natural abilities, including the troll’s regenerative powers. In modern day Eberron, many trolls can be found in the nation of Droaam, the nation of monsters ruled by the Daughters of Sora Kell. Trolls served as warlords and are merciless warriors in the armies of Sora Kell during their invation western Brelan, in the forming of Droaam. Also, House Tharashk isn’t afraid to contract trolls for mercenary work on occation. In Xen’drik, trolls roam the jungles, caves, and ruins scavenging and living their lives out in tribes. Often troll tribes compete with ogre tribes for land and resources, in places such as Sorrowdusk Isle. In Ataraxia’s Haven, scrag trolls (a kind of sea cave troll) can be found annoying Duergar’s working vacation. While in Stormreach, trolls can easily be found under employment with House Tharashk’s arena.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:19:01 +0000
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