HGd10PHB - Troll

Troll
Trolls are often mistaken for Unbular, but they are a separate kind altogether. A primitive kind in most settings, Trolls are actually quite intelligent and capable of grasping advanced mathematics, mystical arts, and other challenging concepts, which surprises many.

Description
A troll is a humaniform creature that stands anywhere from 2 to 3.5 meters (6.5 to 11.5 feet) tall. They are considered by many to be a hybrid creature perhaps crossing Phymorian with Unbular in the distant past. While this has never been verified, there are many indicators that support this hypothesis. Trolls are most known for their remarkable regenerative ability. Scholars have related this to the property of plants known as vegetative propagation. Troll skin is often some shade of green, but there are earthy browns and stone greys as well. Their hair ranges from dark, high-frequency colors - from green to violet. Patches of thick hair appear in seemingly random places, usually the face and outer joints such as the elbows, knees, and chin. Where there are no patches, there is no hair at all.

Trolls have long, pointed noses that can reach almost a foot in length. Their ears are lobed and pointed at the top and can be anywhere from elfin length to two feet long. Unlike the elf or invar, a troll's ears are broad and tend to flop near the top for the longer kind. Many have tusks jutting from their lower mandible framing their enormous noses on either side. These tusks can be slight or so long as to almost obscure their sight.

Trolls are tall, but their body types range from bulky and muscular to thin and wiry. They can also be overweight from a sedentary life-style when in a more civilized setting.

Regeneration does not make trolls immortal as one might think. In fact, if a troll survives long enough, the regeneration factor is actually what will kill them. A troll of extreme age has cells reproducing so fast that they are a kind of cancer. Once a troll reaches 500 years old, each year there is a chance that their cells will begin to rapidly multiply and kill them. Once the process starts, a troll generally lives for one year and dies in an explosion of goo called trollplasm. Trollplasm is a rare substance that is used in various potions and as a spell component.

Aging Mechanics:

Once a troll reaches 500, the player must roll 1d10 with exploding 10s. This number is recorded and is cumulative each year on the troll's birthday. Each new year, 1d10 is rolled with exploding 10s and accumulated until the number reaches 100. If the total number is at least 100 after a roll, that signifies the over-multiplication process has begun and the troll has one year to get their affairs in order.

Society
On many worlds, trolls are often seen as solitary figures, or living in small, tight-knit groups. Their regenerative capabilities make them practically immortal. There is speculation as to how trolls do reproduces since they can be killed, but their numbers never seem to dwindle to zero. The only trolls most anyone sees are male and their anatomy suggests binary reproduction like other humanoids, but the concept of troll-wives is elusive and something the males never speak of to open society. Some scholars believe the reproductive organs are a hold-over from their Unbular origins and don't actually function. Instead, reproduction is more plantlike using the vegetative propagation property to grow a new troll from a severed body part.

In reality, female trolls do exist. Reproduction is binary but rare. The nature of female trolls varies with the world. On Loar, for example, female trolls are known as ''huldra. ''They are same in coloration with their male counterparts, but otherwise very beautiful to behold. On Majarcania, troll women are called skogsra and are almost indistinguishable from males in normal society except for their overly large bosoms. Huldra are hidden away as a precious resource. They are not slaves and are free to leave, but most will not do so without powerful magic to hide their true nature. Huldra only live for a single millenium while the males are practically immortal. Skogsra, on the other hand, are as active and prevalent as their male counterparts.

When encountered in uncivilized contexts, singular trolls are feral brutes capable of wanton destruction far greater than any ogre or swarm of goblins. Their regenerative ability makes them extremely difficult to kill and their cloning ability can swiftly turn one into an army to the unaware. They are the progenitors of stories concerning bridges and dungeons.

However, when civilized, trolls are scholars, wizards, architects, and the like. They rival Kradok for their architecture if not their mechanical intuition.

Cloning

When a portion of a troll's body of no less than 10% of the trolls total mass is severed, that portion will grow into an exact physical copy of the original troll in one full Round. It has the same Physical Combat Skills, Movement Skills, Traits, and Foibles as the original troll but none of the Crafting, Knowledge, or Social, or Mystical Skills. Clones only last for 1 minute times the CON score of the original troll. Clones do not have the animus or soul of the original troll in them and are not considered sentient free-willed beings. They instinctively follow the will of the original and are perfectly loyal to it. They also have the capacity to communicate using whatever primary language the original troll uses.

Troll clones have the cloning ability, but their clones and any subsequent clones are on the original time restraint. So if a troll has a CON of 10 any clone produced will last for 10 minutes. At the end of that 10 minutes, that clone and any that proceeded from it will all die and form a gooey green or grey mess on the ground. This goop dissolves into simple organic chemicals within seconds.

Base Characteristics
Male Trolls and Skogsra: Huldra

Character Creation
 Key Characteristic:  Constitution

 Base Characteristics: 

Troll and Skogsra: -2 BEA, +5 CON; +4 INT; +2 PRC; +1 PRS; +4 STR; +3 WIS

Huldra: +3 AGL; +3 BEA; +3 CON; +4 INT; +3 PRC; +3 PRS; +3 WIS

When choosing a troll character the player needs to determine the background of the troll to determine which set of Kind Bonuses they will receive. Huldra are only civilized no matter what

Uncivilized
 Skill Bonuses : Character adds 5 to these skills as soon as they are taken.  Traits & Foibles: 
 * Hand to Hand
 * 1H Melee
 * 2H Melee
 * No Armor
 * Craft: Simple Weapons
 * Climb
 * Jump
 * Earth/Body/Spirit - May only gain 5 bonus points in one of these. Once chosen, it cannot be switched.
 * Regeneration (10) - fails when fire or acid is applied to the wound.
 * Cloning
 * Weakness (+6) - Fire

Civilized
 Skill Bonuses (BP) : Character gains 5 points in any 3 of these upon taking the skill. Once chosen, they cannot be switched.  Traits & Foibles: 
 * Accounting
 * Alchemy
 * Architecture
 * Education
 * Knowledge: Magic
 * Knowledge: Spiritualism
 * Linguist
 * Oratory
 * Persuade
 * Sense Motive
 * Surgeon
 * Any Life Spectrum
 * Regeneration (10) - fails when fire or acid is applied to the wound.
 * Cloning
 * Weakness (+6) - Fire

As Heroes
Uncivilized trolls hardly make good adventuring companions or heroes, but it can happen. In these rare instances, the troll has stumbled into the roll and the party has somehow managed to befriend it. Such a grouping is tentative over the short term and near impossible in the long term as feral trolls are often suspicious of non-trolls. Eventually, a long term party member who is a feral troll will become civilized through osmosis if nothing else. They aren't necessarily stupid, just primitive.

Sometimes, a solitary feral troll may begin an adventure unwittingly and become the champion of unlikely wards. In the beginning, such a hero is reluctant and often swept along by events until they become civilized enough to take the reigns of their own destiny.

On the other hand, civilized trolls are a superb companions and accomplished heroes. They will champion a cause for all the same reasons as any other adventurer, often with a bit of flash and flair for the dramatic. These trolls are many times enigmatic to an extent to their companions because of so many of the hidden aspects of troll society, and sometimes because they simply enjoy trolling their friends.

Navigation

 * Hero's Guild Players Handbook Home
 * Chapter 1 - Creature Kinds
 * Chapter 2 - Primary Characteristics
 * Chapter 3 - Skills
 * Chapter 4 - Traits and Foibles
 * Chapter 5 - Physical Combat Skills 
 * Chapter 6 - Mystical Skills
 * Chapter 7 - Equipment
 * Chapter 8 - Crafting
 * Chapter 9 - Knowledge Social and Movement Skills
 * Chapter 10 - Optional Classes
 * Chapter 11 - Rules of Engagement