Troll

TROLL

Troll Giant Troll Giant Two-Headed Troll Ice Troll Spirit Troll

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Trolls (fully detailed in AD&D MM) are horrid carnivores found in nearly every clime.
They are feared by most creatures. <morale modifier?>
However, certain creatures have cross-bred with them to produce fearsome sub-species of the troll race.

All the sub-species have the troll's ability to direct their various
attacks at different opponents if desired.

REGENERATION

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Trolls have the ability to regenerate as follows:
3 melee rounds after being damaged a troll will begin to regenerate.
Regeneration repairs damage at 3 HP per round;
this regeneration includes the rebonding of severed members.
The loathsome members of a troll have the ability to FIGHT on even if severed from the body;
a hand can claw || strangle, the head bite, etc.
Total dismemberment will not slay a troll, for its parts will slither and scuttle together,
rejoin,
and the troll will arise whole and ready to continue combat.
To kill a troll, the monster must be burned || immersed in acid,
any separate pieces being treated in the same fashion or they create a whole again in 3-18 melee rounds.
<compare with Regeneration, below>
    Q. If a troll's finger is chopped off, would
    the troll grow a new finger or the
    finger grow a new troll?
    A. The troll grows a new finger, unless
    the finger is the last piece of the troll
    left unburnt. Incidentally, how does it
    know when it is the last piece?
        If the regeneration worked the
    other way round the world would be
    knee deep in trolls. Trolls themselves
    would see the advantages of hacking
    off a finger or 2 in the middle of a
    fight to provide instant allies or the
    bits that adventurers missed when
    splashing the oil or acid around
    would spawn their own complete
    trolls...
    (Imagine #26)

The sub-species detailed below have all inherited some of these regenerative
powers as well as the troll's great strength <(18+)>. All have the
troll traits of knowing no fear and attacking unceasingly.

Troll

FREQUENCY: Uncommon <(nearly every clime)>
NO. APPEARING: 1-12
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 12"
HIT DICE: 6 + 6
% IN LAIR: 40% (12 Trolls: mountains, TPL48:8th, REF3.24)
TREASURE TYPE: [D]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 ~ 13 (Multiattack) <>
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-8/5-8/2-12 (clawed forelimb/clawed forelimb/great teeth)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Multi-attack <>
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Surprised on a 1 only, Regeneration (+3/r)
STRENGTH: 18+
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (9'+ tall)
    <12=9.0, 13=9.1, 14=9.2, 15=9.3, 16=9.4, 17=9.5, 18=9.6, 19=9.7, 20=9.8, 21=9.9, 22=9.10, 23=9.11,
    24=10.0, 25=10.1, 26=10.2, 27=10.3, 28=10.4, 29=10.5, 30=10.6, 31=10.7, 32=10.8, 33=10.9, 34=10.10, 35=10.11,
    36=11.0, 37=11.1, 38=11.2, 39=11.3, 40=11.4, 41=11.5, 42=11.6, 43=11.7, 44=11.8, 45=11.9, 46=11.10, 47=11.11,
    48=12.0, 49=12.1, 50=12.2, 51=12.3, 52=12.4, 53=12.5, 54=12.6>
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI | 525 + 8
DEITY: Vaprak

Trolls are horrid carnivores found in nearly every clime.
They are feared by most creatures, as a troll knows no {fear} and attacks unceasingly. <1> <2>

Their sense of smell is very acute, their infravision is superior (90'), and their strength <(18+)> is very great. <4>

A troll attacks with its clawed forelimbs and its great teeth.

Multi-attack: A troll is able to FIGHT 3 different opponents at once. <3>

Regeneration: 3 melee rounds after being damaged, a troll will begin to regenerate.
Regeneration repairs damage at 3 HP per round; this regeneration includes the rebonding of severed members.
The loathsome members of a troll have the ability to FIGHT on even if severed from the body; a hand can claw || strangle, the head bite, etc. <use garrot as a template for strangle?>
Total dismemberment will not slay a troll, for its parts will slither and scuttle together, rejoin, and the troll will arise whole and ready to continue combat.
To kill a troll, the monster must be burned or immersed in acid, any separate pieces being treated in the same fashion or they create a whole again in 3-18 melee rounds.

(A)<round 1, you hit the troll. round 1 + 3 = round 4>
<at the begin of round 4, troll regenerates 3 hp>

(B)<round 1, init. count 3 (1.3), you hit the troll. round 1.3 + 3 = 4.3>
<when initiative count = 4.3, troll regenerates 3 hp>

Q. If a troll is reduced to -8 HP by normal
combat (not by being burnt), and then
a cleric casts an animate dead spell
on the body, what happens? Is the
result a zombie with regenerative
power, a normal zombie or a troll
which regenerates and negates the spell?
A. This is a tricky one. If the troll were
left alone it would regenerate into an
active, very much alive, troll. If burnt
it would be permanently dead; the
regenerative power would have been
interrupted. Therefore, casting an
animate dead spell upon the hapless
body of a troll will also interfere with
its regeneration, 'killing it', and
resulting in a zombie -- without the
power to regenerate because this
had been ruined by the casting of the
spell. This, of course, leaves the party
with a zombie as a faithful porter. On
the whole, this is not a bad way of
dealing with a troll.
(Imagine #7)

Description: Troll hide is a nauseating moss green, mottled green and gray, or putrid gray.
The writhing hair-like growth upon a troll's head is greenish black || iron gray.
The eyes of a troll are dull black.

Tribal Spell Casters : Shamen (C3 maximum). Not recommended for random encounters.

<1: "feared by most creatures" : just use faced by obviously superior force (DMG.67 : check morale each round) as a default?>
<2: "knows no fear" : no morale checks?>
<3: Multi-attack?>
    <
    If so,
    then update statblock
    && make note1 at Explanatory Notes : All of a creature's attacks must be against 1 opponent.
    && make note2 Multiattack : The creature can divide it's NO. OF ATTACKS against more than 1 opponent.
    >
    <note: problem with the SA at D150>
<4: DSG: odor detection, dogs>

FREQUENCY: Uncommon <(nearly every clime)>

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Cold Civilized Forests], [Cold Civilized Swamp]), ([Cold Wilderness Forest], [Cold Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Cold Civilized Mountains], [Cold Civilized Hills], [Cold Civilized Plains], [Cold Civilized Desert])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Cold Wilderness Mountains], [Cold Wilderness Hills], [Cold Wilderness Plains], [Cold Wilderness Desert])

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Temperate Civilized Forest], [Temperate Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Civilized Mountains], [Temperate Civilized Hills], [Temperate Civilized Plains], [Temperate Civilized Desert])

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Temperate Wilderness Forest], [Temperate Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Wilderness Hills], [Temperate Wilderness Plains], [Temperate Wilderness Desert])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Plains])

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Tropical Civilized Forest], [Tropical Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Tropical Civilized Mountains], [Tropical Civilized Hills], [Tropical Civilized Plains], [Tropical Civilized Desert])

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Tropical Wilderness Forest], [Tropical Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Tropical Wilderness Mountains], [Tropical Wilderness Hills], [Tropical Wilderness Plains], [Tropical Wilderness Desert])

FREQUENCY: Common ([Dungeon Level VI])

ScottyG wrote:
Gary, I have a question for you on AD&D trolls. How do you handle zero hit points or lower? Once a troll reaches zero or lower HPs due to combat do you track the negative total and require the regeneration from that point? A whole new troll can be generated from complete dismemberment in as little as three rounds. In that case, it seems like going below zero wouldn't be correct, and that being knocked out for a single round before rising again might be the correct way to handle it.
Scott

Christmas Greetings Scotty:)

Actually, I did keep track of negative HPs, and I still do for LA game critters that regenerate.
At 3 HPs per round recovery most trolls were back in their feet in a couple of rounds...if left alone.
Not a few of the poor things got knocked down to something like -20 by a mass attack, and by the time they were getting things back together in came the flaming lamp oil...

Yuletide best,
Gary

Handy Haversack wrote:
Gary, would you then have a troll stand up as soon as it was at positive hit points, even if only 3, say, and continue to fight?

Happy Yuletide:)

Indeed I would, as trolls are not overly bright, eh?
LA game demoniacals that can regenerate are smart/cunning, so they play dead until back to real Health potential

Christmas cheer,
Gary

oldschooler wrote:
Yep, that's some great stuff! I love how your descriptions don't really sync up with later illustrations or written descriptions in, say, Monster Manual or other sources.
Just goes to show the only official humanoids are those presented by the individual Referee!
The only one you missed was (true) Troll, but it's easy to assume how you describe them as that critter's based on the big fellah from Three Hearts & Three Lions

IMO the troll is described correctly in the books.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
Hey, looks good, but how about a real troll button.
You know the kind... "horrid carnivores... loathsome... thin and rubbery."
Did I leave any descriptives out?

Gray Mouser

'Mouser...

Just wait uintil you see pics of us in those bowling shirts. Speaking of loathsome... <mad>

Bah!
Gary

Troll	Giant Troll	Giant Two-Headed Troll	Ice Troll	Spirit Troll
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