Mountain Troll

Mountain trolls are closely related to rock trolls but are larger, generally eight feet or more in height and more massive. In overall appearance, however, they are almost identical, and it is clear that these two branches of troll-kind are quite close to one another on the tree of evolution.

Mountain trolls are much less intelligent than the smaller rock trolls and far less sophisticated. They rarely use weapons more sophisticated than simple, poorly fashioned clubs, and often prefer to use hands, claws, and fangs. They have virtually no concept of social structure above that of the family and sometimes don't seem to care much about close family members either. Thus, they are usually found dwelling alone. From time to time, a rock troll clan or goblin tribe will take in a handful of mountain trolls whose size and strength can be put to good use with intelligent direction.

Mountain trolls are tireless creatures who possess incredible strength. They can pick up and hurl stones with the same effects as a light catapult. For this reason, rock trolls often make a place for mountain trolls in their siegecraft, employing them as "living artillery" in combat situations. The terrifying strength of a mountain troll makes it possible for these creatures to pick up a human-sized opponent with one hand and hurl the victim as much as twenty feet.

Since mountain trolls are not particularly bright, they rarely build things. Usually, they lair in caves, though mountain trolls will sometimes take over an abandoned hovel (or make such a hovel become abandoned in short order).

Stats:

Height/Length: 7-9 feet

Weight: 500-700+ lbs.

Attributes: STR: 21, INT: 6

Level: 5-8+

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Damage: Bite: 1-6, Claw/Fist: 1-8 (+STR) or as per weapon employed

Special Attributes: Hurl boulders (range: 10 ft. x STR, damage: 6-36), Hurl human-sized prey (damage: 3-24), Infra-vision

Armor: As leather armor

Hit Points: 30-66

Comments: Mountain Trolls are occasionally found in the company of Rock Trolls. Some few of these creatures rise to greater than eighth level (all are warriors). Though Mountain Trolls possess infra-vision, they see very poorly in any kind of light, which hurts their eyes .

Ogre

Tall, broad, and massive in build, ogres are a branch of giant-kind but are even more cruel and evil in nature than most of their giant relatives. Typically, these creatures are a yellowish-brown in color, with scabrous, dark, mottled skin, and thick, shaggy facial and body hair. They have eyes that show no obvious pupils, and their bodies emit an overpowering stench. Knotted muscles and a powerful build combine to make them appear misshapen, and they are exceedingly ugly in form and feature alike.

Ogres are bestial creatures, incredibly strong and ferocious, and quite stupid. They are easily confused or duped and often fall prey to magic spells based on illusion. They may also be distracted by a variety of simple deceptions, puzzles, or questions. However, an ogre in a killing frenzy is unlikely to be diverted from his prey.

Ogres are usually rather solitary in their ways, though bands of up to a dozen individuals are sometimes encountered. They are fond of appropriating a cave, an abandoned building, or some other lair, and then terrorizing the surrounding region. Fascinated by shiny trinkets and similar objects, they frequently amass sizable treasures from waylaid travelers or as tribute from frightened locals.

The main diet of ogres is meat, often human flesh. They delight in brutality and cruelty, preferring smashing and crushing weapons above all others and frequently taking prisoners to torture at leisure. They are greatly feared as Chiron the Wise points out in his Natural History:

'Upon learning that an ogre had taken up residence in the abandoned keep, the townsfolk determined to appease the creature for fear of otherwise provoking its wrath. Small jewels and other treasures were part of the tribute offered up. In addition, a lottery was decreed, and one victim chosen every week turned over to the monster for its cruel sport. Ultimately, a wandering mercenary substituted himself for one of the chosen victims and surprised the ogre. It was killed in the struggle that followed, and the mercenary was given land, a title, and a great fortune by the townsfolk he had thus freed.'

Because of their low intelligence, ogres are generally primitive and barbaric. They dress in ragged uncured hides and generally carry simple clubs or occasionally maces or other weapons captured from their victims.

They are found almost everywhere, though ogres are far from common. A few have been known to attach themselves to bands of goblins or other evil creatures, but for the most part, they are too primitive and quarrelsome to cooperate with members of other races.

Stats:

Height/Length: 7-8 feet

Weight: 400-500 lbs.

Attributes: STR: 19, INT: 3-5

Level: 3-5

SPD: 5, DEX: 7, WILL: 7-11, CHA: 2

CON: 20, PER: 12-16

Damage: Bite: 1-6, Claw/Fist: 1-6 (+STR) or as per weapon employed

Special Attributes: Ogres are often hideously misshapen. Some are known to be two-headed, three- or four-armed, or have similar such defects. Many are cannibalistic and will prey even on their own kind. They are notoriously stupid creatures who are easily baffled by clever tricks of almost any sort .

Swamp Troll

Swamp trolls, like rock trolls, are massive creatures, brutish and ugly. Many of their features are similar to those of rock trolls, though swamp trolls are taller and heavier and sport longer, sharper fangs than their cave-dwelling relatives. They are not as bright, though they have a bestial cunning which makes them dangerous foes.

A solitary species of troll-kind, the Swamp Troll is adapted to an aquatic existence and is commonly found inhabiting pools, rivers, marshes, and coastal waters. They are air-breathers but a massive lung capacity permits them to stay underwater for long periods of time. Indeed, most prefer to lair in air-filled caves accessible only from underwater entrances. When such a cave is found, a swamp troll will excavate air vents to the surface too small for most creatures to enter. With a secure air supply, the troll has a safe and well-protected lair.

Swamp trolls, like others of their race, are carnivores. They will kill and eat almost any living thing and are especially fond of men as food. They love treasure of all types, not for its value, but because they happen to take a fancy to glittering objects. For this reason, swamp trolls can sometimes be "bought off" with an offering of treasure, which they usually hide in their lairs.

Long ago, swamp trolls hit upon the concept of establishing themselves near bridges, lurking in the shadows and awaiting the appearance of wayfarers. These trolls demand the payment of a "toll" to permit passage; travelers who cannot pay are seized and devoured. Kullervo the Wanderer tells us that one of his party was killed fighting a swamp troll for a bridge and several others of the party injured before the troll was finally killed.

Most of the time, swamp trolls appropriate bridges built by Man to levy their tolls. A few, however, will actually construct bridges of their own where no such structure exists. They are lazy creatures, rarely exerting themselves, but they can fashion crude tools and weapons when forced to do so.

Swamp trolls prefer to live alone, but occasionally a family group is encountered. In such cases, the death of the dominant troll may lead to a vengeful rampage by other members of the family. In many cases, authorities tolerate the depredations of a troll rather than risk the possibility of a reign of terror that could result from the killing of a family member.

Swamp trolls dislike sunlight and can tolerate the direct rays of the sun for only a short time. They stay in the shadows as much as possible but will come forth to confront travelers at need.

Height/Length: 7-9 ft.

Weight: 500-800 lbs.

Attributes: STR: 20, INT: 8

Level: 4-7

Alignment: (Not specified in the provided text)

Speed (SPD): 10, Dexterity (DEX): 10-14, Will (WILL): 8-14, Charisma (CHA): 4, Constitution (CON): 20, Perception (PER): 12-16

Damage: Bite: 1-8, Claws: 2-16

Special Attributes: Water breathing, Infra-vision

Armor: As leather armor

Hit Points: 20-38

Comments: At least 50% of all Swamp Trolls are able to converse in one of the human or humanoid tongues. Unlike other trolls, Swamp Trolls rarely associate with any but their own kind. They are unaffected by daylight but prefer dwelling in dark and shadowy places. It is not unknown for exceptional individuals of this species to attain heights of up to nine feet .

Rock Troll

Rock Trolls are the most common species of Trolls, an evil and dangerous race of creatures feared for their great strength and cruelty. Rock trolls are the smallest of troll-kind but also the cleverest. As cleverness is relative, however, even rock trolls are, by human terms, brutish and stupid.

Most rock trolls stand between six and seven feet in height, are brawny and over-muscled, and extraordinarily ugly. Their skin is greyish in color, and their bodies are hairless. Rock trolls have flat-featured faces with low foreheads, broad noses, and elongated ears. Their mouths are wide and filled with long sharp teeth. Being fairly intelligent, rock trolls are capable of manufacturing various types of equipment, from weapons, shields, and armor up to massive siege engines. Such equipment is normally crude in the extreme, though effective enough. Rock trolls usually organize into large, warlike clans under the leadership of a troll king, who is generally the strongest of the tribe. Unlike other trolls, they are not so much governed by their appetites. They take prisoners, employing them as slave laborers in their underground mines. Rock trolls covet mineral wealth of all kinds and spend much of their energy in the planning and construction of mining operations.

By and large, however, these creatures prefer to take treasures from others, an approach that to their minds is far more appealing. As a result, rock trolls are continually at odds with the race of dwarves, who are their most dire enemies. Underground wars between dwarves and rock trolls break out frequently, and it is in these subterranean conflicts that the rock trolls exercise their considerable abilities in the area of siegecraft. Kullervo the Wanderer, in The Travels, recounts the story of a siege of this type in which he and his companions were involved:

'On the fifth day, there was a new breach made on one of the upper levels on the south side. None of the defenders had expected an assault from this quarter. Evidently, the rock trolls had excavated a mine in that area long before in anticipation of the attack, and it had gone undiscovered. The defenders rallied after losing much of the south quarter of level two, and we were among the reserves thrown in. Soon we found ourselves in an awful melee, facing these fell monstrous beings. By now, many were armed with hammers and axes captured from the dwarves, and our only advantage was the superior strategy of the General, who lured their best fighters into a trap and then launched a counter-offensive which carried us back to the breach...'

Rock trolls occasionally cooperate with goblins and sometimes 'tame' the bestial cave trolls. They will ally themselves with any creature which can help them achieve their immediate ends, though they are treacherous and cruel partners in any endeavor.

Height/Length: 6½-7 feet

Weight: 300-400+ lbs.

Attributes: STR: 17-19, INT: 6-10

Level: 3-6+ (see Comments)

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Speed (SPD): 8, Will (WILL): 10

Dexterity (DEX): 10, Charisma (CHA): 4

Constitution (CON): 15-19, Perception (PER): 10-16

Damage: Bite: 1-4, Claw/Fist: 1-6 (+ STR) or as per weapon employed

Special Attributes: Infra-vision

Armor: As leather armor

Hit Points: 20-50

Comments: Rare individuals may exceed the sixth level of ability in the following professions: Warrior, Shaman. Rock Trolls are skilled at constructing crude but effective siege engines and fortifications. Sunlight causes them pain and does 1-6 points of damage per minute of exposure .

Cave Troll

Cave trolls have a humanoid form similar in many respects to that of mountain trolls: massive, heavily muscled, and hairless, with broad, flat features and elongated ears. There are several startling differences, however. First, the cave troll is much larger than any other form of troll, ranging from ten to twelve feet in height when fully grown. The cave troll is also covered with a greenish, scaly hide. The fangs are smaller and less numerous, for cave trolls usually feed on smaller prey than do other trolls. Most interesting of all is the fact that the cave troll lacks pupils in its eyes and is quite blind.

Adapted to an underground existence where perpetual darkness reigns, the cave troll species has developed other senses to compensate for its lack of sight. They can detect even the slightest vibrations in rock for up to a 1000-foot range and have some sort of "sonar" like a bat's for the detection of obstructions in their immediate vicinity. They also have an amazingly accurate sense of smell which leads them unerringly to prey. Subterranean disturbances of any kind, including mining, combat, or even the passage of a large party making no particular precautions to move in a stealthy fashion, may draw curious cave trolls rapidly to the scene. The scent of other creatures may encourage them to attack, the smell of blood driving them into a killing frenzy of unimaginable ferocity.

Cave trolls are superb tunnelers, using their immense strength to claw through stone and rock. In a single minute, a cave troll can clear a five-foot cubic volume of such material. In this fashion, they can rapidly burrow new tunnels as needed. This ability has led rock trolls and some goblin tribes to attempt to capture and train cave trolls to aid them in mining and tunneling work. Cave trolls are incredibly stupid, however, and it requires constant supervision to keep them working in the desired manner. As such, cave trolls are generally of little value in this type of work. Attempts to cross-breed cave trolls with rock trolls in the hope of obtaining a species with similar abilities but a higher intelligence have never met with any degree of success.

Cave trolls are strictly creatures of the darkness. Exposed to daylight, they turn to stone. This has prompted the other major theory of cave troll origins which claims that cave trolls were in fact animated from stone in imitation of ordinary trolls by some powerful black magic. Ludicrous as this theory may seem, it is not without its own adherents.

Height/Length: 10+ feet

Weight: 1400+ lbs.

Attributes: STR: 22, INT: 4

Level: 6-10

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Damage: Bite: 1-6, Claw/Fist: 2-16 each

Special Attributes:

Sense vibrations (range: 1000 feet)

Acute sense of smell

Tunneling (5 feet per minute)

Immunity to illusions (see Comments)

Armor: As chain mail

Hit Points: 30-70

Comments: Cave Trolls are turned to stone by exposure to daylight. As they are blind, Cave Trolls are unaffected by spells of Illusion .

Goblin

"The term 'goblin' is actually applied to a whole range of different but related humanoid creatures. They are an ugly misshapen race varying in size from three feet in height to a very large species standing seven feet tall and weighing upwards of 350 pounds. As a common facet of all goblin tribes is rule by the strong, smaller weaker individuals tend to be easily dominated by their more powerful cousins.

The overall appearance of goblins, aside from size, is basically similar from one to another. They are humanoid in shape but tend to be bowlegged with long, almost apelike arms, and misshapen features. Skin coloration varies from yellow to brown or even a murky shade of dark green. A goblin's eyes are jet black with white or yellow pupils. Their faces are broad and flat, and their mouths lined with sharp teeth and protruding lower fangs.

Goblins are an evil race, warlike, quarrelsome, and nasty. They hate and fear the sun, though a few can tolerate it at need. For the most part, they live underground, coming forth at night to raid neighboring territories for booty, food, and slaves; the latter two commodities are interchangeable for goblins are carnivores who will eat prisoners for whom they have no other use.

As goblins are generally poor craftsmen, their equipment tends to be ragged. They occasionally acquire good quality weapons, armor, shields, and similar items from their raids, booty which generally goes to the strongest of the tribe. Thus, the better-equipped goblins are also those most capable in the use of such gear.

Goblins are the fierce and determined enemies of dwarves above all others, for both races compete for the best underground tunnel complexes. They occasionally cooperate with rival goblin tribes, trolls, ogres, and other foul creatures, and sometimes are found in the service of evil spell casters. For the most part, though, each goblin tribe works alone and quarrels between tribes, often leading to outright wars, are quite frequent.

Goblins are not particularly bright, and few have ever been known to become conversant with magic of any kind. There are exceptions, and occasionally an intelligent goblin can rise to a position of power. Such a leader may be a focus of a powerful alliance of tribes and can pose a serious threat to civilized peoples for miles around."

Height/Length: Variable

Weight: Variable

Attributes: STR: 14-18, INT: 6-12, SPD: 8-14, WILL: 4-12, DEX: 6-12, CHA: 2-8, CON: 15-19, PER: 12-16

Level: 1-10+ (see Comments)

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Damage: Bite: 1-4 or as per weapon employed

Special Attributes: Infra-vision

Armor: Unarmored

Hit Points: 10-40+

Comments: Goblins vary considerably in size, from dwarfish three-footers to ape-like seven-foot individuals, with weight ranging from 40-240+ lbs. Their level of ability can vary widely, though most do not rise above the fourth level. Exceptional individuals may exceed even the tenth level of ability in professions such as Warrior, Rogue, Shaman, Necromancer, and Witch Doctor .