A
          / \      _             Play Now                         Nemesis on 
          | |     | |  _______   _        _   _______    _______   _    _______
          | |\    | | |   ____| |  \    /  | |   ____|  /   ____| | |  /   ____|
 /-------/-------------------------------------------------------------------,
O= Home <=XX|  About  News  Pics  Adventurers  Wizards  Download  Connect     >
 \-------\-------------------------------------------------------------------'
          | |   \   | |  |____  | |      | | |  |____   ___ \  \  | |  ___ \  \
          | |     \_| |_______| |_|      |_| |_______| |_______/  |_| |_______/
          \ /
           V  

Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/troll

Name:
	Troll  (Humanoid)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1-12
	Climate/Terrain: Any land
	Frequency      : Uncommon
	Organization   : Group
	Activity Cycle : Night
	Diet           : Carnivore

Description:
	Trolls are horrid carnivores in all climes, from arctic wastelands to
	tropical jungles. Most creatures avoid these beasts, since trolls know
	no fear and attack unceasingly when hungry. Their frame appears thin
	and frail, but trolls possess surprising strength. Their arms and legs
	are long and ungainly. The legs end in great three-toed feet, the arms
	in wide, powerful hands with sharpened claws. The trolls' rubbery hide
	is colored a moss green, mottled greeen and gray or putrid gray. A wri-
	thing hide mass grows out of their skulls and is usually greenish black
	or iron gray in color. Their dull, sunken black eyes possess 90-foot
	infravision. Females are easily distinguished from males; they are both
	larger and more powerful than their male counterparts.

	Trolls walk upright but henched forward with sagging shoulders. The
	trolls' gait is uneven and, when running, the arms dangle free and drag
	along the ground. For all this seeming awkwardness, trolls are very
	agile. They are masterful climbers and can scale even sheer cliffs.
	Trolls have a poor hearing, but their sense of smell is superior.

	Trolls have no language of their own, using 'trollspeak' a guttural
	mishmash of common, giant, goblin, orc, and hobgoblin. Trollspeak is
	highly transient and trolls from one are little likely to be able to
	communicate with trolls from another.

Combat:
	Trolls attack with two clawed hands and their bite, and they can attack
	at multiple opponents. They regenerate at an amazing rate. Trolls re-
	duced to 0 of fewer hit points fall to the ground, incapacitated but
	not slain. Incapacitated trolls continue to regenerate and stand up to
	fight as soons as they have a positive number of hit points.

	When using an edged weapon, it is possible to sever the thin libs of a
	troll. Severed limbs continue to fight after separation from the body
	(hands squeeze, heads bite if stepped on, etc.). Separated limbs fight
	for the remainder of the battle, then scuttle back and rebind with the
	body once the battle is over. Limbs unable to reach the body die with-
	ing 24 hours, but this is of little consequence since trolls regenerate
	lost body parts (including the head) within a week. If a troll is dis-
	membered and scattered, the largest surviving piece regenerates. The
	others die within one day if they cannot rejoin that piece. Only fire
	and acid cause permanent damage to trolls. These forms of attack des-
	troy its regenerative ability. A troll reduced to 0 or fewer hit points
	and immersed in acid or burned with fire is killed.

	Trolls have no fear of death, and launch themselves into combat, flai-
	ling wildly at their opponents and biting whoever comes closest. They
	occasionally throw stones before closing with their victimes. Thrown
	stones have a maximum range of 20 yards, and weigh 10 to 20 pounds. If
	confronted by a large natural or magical fire, trolls try to find some
	way around the flames. Trolls combine a ravenous appetite with limited
	intelligence, so they are frequently distracted and break off pursuit
	50% of the time to pick up food dropped by fleeing prey.

Habitat/Society:
	Trolls can survive in all climes, but prefer dense forests and subter-
	ranean locales, since bright sunlight hurts their eyes; trolls suffer
	no combat penalties because of this. They usually make their lairs in
	caves, using great boulders to block the entrances. Inside a troll cave
	are a number of rough nests made of straw and grass, plus scattered
	bones and treasure from victims. If there are no caves in an area,
	trolls dig themselves a trollhole and cover its opening with twigs and
	leaves. Trollholes are usually built near trees and are almost undetec-
	table. Anyone who steps on a trollhole is likely to fall through the
	leafy door and tumble into the den below.

	Trolls live in small packs of 3 to 12 trolls led by a dominant femals
	who acts as a shaman/chieftain, who can usually cast spells. Leadership
	is only retained by combat, so fights for pack control are frequent.
	Often trolls rend each other limb from limb, but these battles are ne-
	ver fatal. Still, it is the custom of trolls to toss the losers head a
	great distance from the fight scene, and frequently losers must sit and
	stew for a week until their new head grows in.

	The pack chieftain's duties are few. She leads the trolls on nightly
	forages, looping along, sniffing the air for prey. If a scent is found,
	the trolls charge, racing to get there first, and letting out a great
	cry once prey is spotted. In return for being the hunt leader, the sha-
	man gets her choice of mates in the pack. Females give birth to a sin-
	gle troll about once every five years.

	Trolls have ravenous appetites, devouring everything from simple grubs
	to bears and humans. Their lairs are often located near human settle-
	ments or along well travelled roads, but not too near, for even trolls
	respect organized resistance by fire-bearing humans. Wandering trolls,
	in search of a new lair, travel by night and sleep by day. Ravenous
	from walking, these packs, on occasion, attack and devour entire huma-
	noid villages.

Ecology:
	Trolls prey on all but the most powerful of creatures. They respect and
	fear dragons, but they hate giants of good alignment and wage war with
	them frequently. The troll's green blood is used to manufacture both
	poison antidotes and healing potions. The blood from one troll, worth
	400 gold pieces, can make three such potions.