ECOLOGY
Huge Ugly Beasts
Trolls, or Real Trolls as they are usually called, are very large humanoids dwelling mainly in the Troll Mountains, but they can be found almost anywhere: in cold Northeim, the misty Cairnlands or in the snowy Iron Mountains the echo of their mighty bellow can be heard in the wind.
Physical Aspect. Generally speaking, they range from three yards to six or even seven yards in height, and are as heavy as a cart full of stones. On this last point, the general belief that these beasts are made of stone is false, but they have grayish, very thick skin, and surprisingly little body hair, apart from on the loins. Their faces are ugly and flat, with long canine teeth protruding from the lower jaw and sunken eyes.
They are almost nose-less, but with very ample nostrils, nothing more than holes in their face, which constantly inspire air, probing the surrounding environment. In fact, despite being quite short-sighted, they have an excellent sense of smell.
Growing and Aging. You can guess the age of a Troll by the size of the antlers, which branch like those of stags, but are much thicker and sturdier. They are permanent and continue to grow until the beast dies, or breaks them during the fights that happen during the mating season.
They are various stories about the lifespans of these creatures: the Northlanders think that they are almost immortal, and that they continue to grow forever until killed: an infant Troll is as big as a full-grown human, a young one can easily reach four yards in height and there are rumors of very old ones as tall as city gates.
The Sages of Syranthia, by examining the old bones and antlers of Trolls, estimate that a Troll’s lifespan is between thirty and one hundred years, even if they have found some rare cases of beasts several hundreds of years old.
Despite the fear they provoke in people, today Trolls are fairly rare and sparse, not more than one per several hundred square miles, mainly because of the quantity of food they require.
Behavior
Life Cycle. Trolls share some similarities with bears: during winter, they find some secluded spot and hibernate in lethargy, waking up at the beginning of spring, terribly hungry.
There are two exceptions to this rule: first, Ice Trolls (see Subspecies below) have an inverted life cycle, and second, if a Troll eats Troll Berries (see sidebar) in the moon immediately before the first snowfall, he cannot sleep anymore, and passes the whole winter awake. In this case he is very dangerous, because he has the hunger typical of summer, and he seeks human settlements in order to satiate it.
Intelligence. There are different stories about the intelligence of these creatures, too: basically a Troll has animal cunning, being no more intelligent than a dog or an ape. He doesn’t know how to use tools, is not capable of speech, apart from some unintelligible grunts, and isn’t capable of foresight. But there are cases of beasts, especially older ones, who recognize people and places, have more or less organized lairs and use huge clubs as weapons.
According to the Northlanders this second type of Trolls are sons of the dark gods of the mountains, and for this reason must be respected and feared. For the Sages of Syranthia, they are a separate sub-race of humanoid, probably derived from some archaic crossbreed with mankind.
Ethology. Trolls are lonesome beings, and they shun even other members of their own race, except during the mating season, which happens only once in many years. Trolls aren’t very fertile and few of these unions produce offspring.
There are two exceptions to the solitude of Trolls.
First, the most ingenious ones tame packs of mountain wolves and live in a sort of symbiosis with the pack, acting as leaders.
Second, certain Nandal tribes capture infant Trolls and raise them in the clan, usually under the control of a cunning shaman who uses them as petty deities. These beasts are more or less tame, while they are kept well fed, but during the direst winters they become very dangerous and have no qualms about eating their kinsmen.
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Hero’s Journal: Troll Berries [[CHEAD]]
These reddish fruits, similar to strawberries, grow only on piles of Troll dung, in the few cases when the wind blows the seeds upon them. They are a particular type of Lotus that, thanks to a strange alchemy caused by the exotic components present in the Troll’s waste, causes a stimulant effect.
If consumed raw, a single berry allows a man to ignore the effect of Fatigue from sleep deprivation for a week. After that period the user must make a Vigor (-4) roll or be Exhausted and fall asleep for three days.
They count as Refined Lotus for the purposes of making a succor concoction, in addition the Lotusmaster adds +2 to the Power roll when making the potion.
Trolls are very fond of these berries and eat as many of them as they can find. This alters their metabolism, preventing them from falling asleep. If this happens during the month immediately prior to the lethargy, they totally skip the winter sleep period, and remain awake.
A single Troll Berry is worth 150 Moons to Lotusmasters and is considered a Rare Item.
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Subspecies
Although Trolls are a unique race, Northlanders identify several subspecies of them, depending on the environment where they are found. They are three main subspecies: Mountain, Forest and Ice Trolls.
Mountain Trolls. The typical Troll, they dwell in high mountains and hills. Their skin is brown to gray, in certain rare cases even black. They aren’t tall as Forest Trolls or massive as Ice ones, but they are very sturdy and with very long tusks. Their antlers are very sturdy and highly sought by artisans, because they are the sturdiest ones (comparable to iron). They have a very fine sense of smell and emit terrible bellows.
Forest Trolls. These beasts are taller and leaner than the other races, with skin ranging from light green to bark-like brown. Unlike other Trolls, they have long sharp noses, pointing toward the chin like deformed beaks, and dull elk-like antlers, often covered in velvet. The horn of Forest Trolls is the weakest, but very elastic, so it is favored for building bows.
These creatures, as the name suggests, dwell in forests, woods, or swamps, and even near lakes. Excellent swimmers, they are probably amphibious or with an unusual lifecycle, because when they fall into their winter lethargy they bury themselves under piles of mud, rotten foliage or even in the beds of lakes and rivers. Forest Trolls are strange; they are silent, you’ll never hear one bellow or howl, and they are very stealthy. Their favorite hunting technique consists of quietly stalking prey and then crushing them with their long hands.
Ice Trolls. If you have ever met an Ice Troll, you’ll surely remember him. They are the biggest of their race, some of them are as tall as the pines of the northern forests, and their fists could easily smash the gates of an Imperial fort. They have white or even azure skin, often blubbery and with many folds, inside which lichens and parasites grow. They have short, dull antlers, but long, razor-sharp teeth, both of an uncanny blue hue. There is a legend among Northlanders saying that they are made of ice and will melt if exposed to fire.
Ice Trolls have an inverted life cycle: they are fully active during winter and generally sleep in summer. They adapt to the scarcity of food in winter by eating large chunks of dirt, which probably they digest in some manner. They are totally impervious to cold, but generally quite sensitive to heat and they absolutely hate fire. Ice Trolls are very rare and often considered a legend except by the Northlander clans living near the Troll Mountains.