Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

roleplaying game. Dungeon Master

Dungeon Master

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...

s can use them as enemies or allies of the player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

s.

Publication history

While trolls can be found throughout folklores worldwide, the D&D troll has little in common with these. Instead it was clearly inspired by Poul Anderson

Poul Anderson

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...

's Three Hearts and Three Lions

Three Hearts and Three Lions

Three Hearts and Three Lions is a 1961 fantasy novel by Poul Anderson. It is also a 1953 novella by Poul Anderson which appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction.-Plot:...

. This includes their appearance, as tall skinny humanoid

Humanoid

A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...

s with long noses and rubbery skin, their ability to regenerate

Regeneration (biology)

In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...

, and their weakness to fire.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The troll was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set

Dungeons & Dragons (1974)

The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...

 (1974), where they are described as thin and rubbery, loathsome creatures able to regenerate.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The troll appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where they are described as horrid carnivores that know no fear and are able to regenerate damage taken.

Several new varieties of troll were introduced in the Fiend Folio

Fiend Folio

Fiend Folio is the title shared by three products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...

(1981), including the giant two-headed troll, the giant troll, the ice troll, and the spirit troll. The module Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the World of...

(1982) introduced the marine troll, also known as the scrag, which was later reprinted in Monster Manual II (1983).

The black troll and rock troll were introduced in Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

#141, in the Dragon's Bestiary column (January 1989).

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the troll, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set

Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set

The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed set was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1977, and comprised a separate edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, distinct from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, which was initially published in the same...

(1977), and Expert Set

Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set

The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...

(1981 & 1983). The troll was featured as a player character race in the gazetteer The Orcs of Thar

The Orcs of Thar

The Orcs of Thar is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:This book covers the Broken Lands that are inhabited by humanoids such as orcs, goblins, and bugbears...

(1989). Trolls were also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game

Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991 boxed set)

The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991....

set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The troll appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993) along with several troll variants.

The Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix (1992) reintroduced the ice troll. The snow troll first appeared in Dungeon

Dungeon (magazine)

Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...

#43 (September 1993), and was later reprinted in the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One (1994).

Several new types of trolls were introduced in Dragon #199's " Dragon's Bestiary" column (November 1993), including the fire troll the gray troll, the phaze troll, the stone troll, and the trollhound. The fire troll was later reintroduced in Paizo's Dragon Compendium, Volume 1 (2005).

Monstrous Compendium Annual Four (1998) included the Far Realm

Far Realm

The Far Realm is a plane found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The Far Realm is a mix of horror, madness, and Lovecraftian geometries....

 creature, the troll mutate.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The troll appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

The troll is further detailed in Dragon #301 (November 2002), in The Ecology of the Troll, which also introduced the deep sea troll, the fiendish troll, the ice troll, the rock troll, and the scrag.

Savage Species (2003) presented the troll as both a race and a playable class. The Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

 product Unapproachable East

Unapproachable East (supplement)

Unapproachable East is a hardcover accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Unapproachable East describes locations such as Aglarond, Rashemen, and Thay for the Forgotten Realms setting....

(2003) introduced the fell troll, the ice troll, the mur-zhagul (or demon troll), and the slime troll.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The troll appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003), which also included information on the scrag. Several new trolls were introduced in Monster Manual III (2004), including the cave troll, the crystalline troll, the forest troll, the mountain troll, and the war troll. The wasteland troll was introduced in Sandstorm

Sandstorm (Dungeons & Dragons)

Sandstorm is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Contents:Sandstorm describes how DMs can create adventures and even campaigns set in a desert or wasteland environment. The book details many hazards that are associated with real-life...

: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand (2005), the filth-eater troll and the tunnel thug troll were introduced in Drow of the Underdark

Drow of the Underdark

Drow of the Underdark is the name of two supplemental rules books for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, providing supplementary game rules focusing on drow culture, equipment and folklore for both players and Dungeon Masters....

(2007), and the bladerager troll was introduced in Monster Manual V (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The troll appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), along with the war troll and fell troll.

Environment

Trolls are most often found in cold, mountainous regions, but can be encountered nearly anywhere.

Typical physical characteristics

The average troll stands nine feet high and weighs roughly 500 pounds, though females tend to be a bit larger than males. The hide of trolls is rubbery, and usually either moss green, putrid grey, or mottled gray and green. Their coarse hair is typically iron grey, or greenish-black.

Trolls initially seem to be somewhat shorter, due to their sagging shoulders and tendency to hunch forward. They walk with an uneven gait, and their arms dangle and drag the ground when running. Despite this apparent awkwardness, trolls are quite agile.

Trolls are infamous for their regenerative abilities, able to recover from the most grievous of wounds or regenerate entire limbs given time. Severing a troll's head results merely in temporary incapacitation, rather than death. After cutting off a troll's head or other limbs, one must seal the wounds with fire or acid to prevent regeneration. Because of this, most adventurers will typically carry some sort of implement capable of creating fire.

Troll Variants

• Black troll - Also known as demon trolls, these horned trolls reside in the Abyss and possess powerful magical abilities.
• Blood troll - Lawful evil red-skinned trolls who often serve devils.
• Cave troll - Powerful, feral trolls that often live underground.
• Crystalline troll - Charismatic troll with crystalline skin.
• Deep Sea troll - These trolls have a primal connection to water. They terrorize the oceans and coastlines.
• Desert troll - Chameleon-like, intelligent ambush hunters.
• Fell troll - Huge, two-headed troll.
• Fire troll - Immune to fire and acid.
• Forest troll - Includes variant "muskwart".
• Giant troll - Giant trolls are the result of trolls breeding with hill giants
  Giant (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature, or "creature type." Giants are humanoid-shaped creatures of great strength and size.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
  
  .
• Gray troll - Having been nearly energy drained to death by undead
  Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
  
   creatures, these emaciated trolls forge strong ties to negative energy and have venomous spittle.
• Ice troll - Cold-dwelling trolls.
• Mountain troll - Massive trolls that prowl mountains. Includes variant Halruuan mountain troll.
• Mur-Zhagul - Planetouched
  Planetouched
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the planetouched are mortal creatures whose ancestors were extraplanar creatures such as celestials, fiends, or elementals.Planetouched are considered native outsiders.-Publication history:...
  
   creatures descended from the mingling of trolls and demons.
• Phaze troll - Mutated by great concentrations of magic or Underdark
  Underdark
  The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
  
   radiations, these trolls possess some magical powers and are more intelligent than their brethren.
• Pseudo-troll - Troll from the Far Realm
  Far Realm
  The Far Realm is a plane found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The Far Realm is a mix of horror, madness, and Lovecraftian geometries....
  
   with the pseudonatural creature template.
• Rock troll - Trolls with an affinity for earth, they possess natural camouflage in areas of stone. Rock trolls sometimes are found on the Elemental Plane of Earth.
• Scrag - These are aquatic cousins of the troll.
• Slime troll - The bodies of these underground-dwelling trolls constantly secrete acid.
• Spirit troll - Spirit trolls are a crossbreed of troll and invisible stalker
  Invisible stalker
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the invisible stalker is an elemental creature from the Elemental Plane of Air.-Publication history:...
  
  .
• Stone troll - Stone Trolls have rough, somewhat rocky skin and are generally native to mountain ranges
• Tree troll - Small arboreal trolls created by magic gone awry.
• Troll hunter - An ordinary, though more cunning than usual troll who is not satisfied with merely eating civilized beings but trains to hunt them relentlessly.
• Two-headed troll - These creatures are a horrendous crossbreed of troll and ettin
  Ettin (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Ettin is a giant-like creature. The creatures' name comes from the Anglicization of the Jötunn giants of Norse mythology.-Description:...
  
  .
• War troll - Trolls bred for war that form mercenary companies.
• Wasteland troll - Found in mountains and badlands of the deserts.

Related creatures

• Llort - (Llort is "Troll" spelled backwards) A creature visually indistinguishable from a troll, with similar methods of attacking. Llorts, however, have at some point been affected by a temporal magic effect which means that damage done to them heals them. To kill a llort, once damage has been done to it, it is necessary to use healing magic in order to reduce its hit points. It is also the case that, once its hit points fall below its original level, trollish regeneration kicks in and will also heal the llort.

• Thoul - A combination of a troll, hobgoblin
  Hobgoblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, hobgoblins are a larger, stronger, smarter and more menacing form of goblins. They are smaller and weaker than bugbears, but better organized. Hobgoblins are humanoids that stand nearly 6'6" tall on average, a little taller than orcs...
  
  , and ghoul
  Ghoul (Dungeons & Dragons)
  For the generic mythological creature, see Ghoul.In the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, ghouls are monstrous, undead humans who reek of carrion.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
  
  .

• Trollhound - Wolflike creatures that share many of the same traits as trolls, including the powerful regenerative capabilities. They often associate with trolls.

• Gnoll - back when the Gnoll creature was still in development, it was meant to be a hybrid between a Gnome and a Troll (hence the name Gnoll) but the designers abandoned the hybrid idea, and gave it a Hyena-like appearance for unknown reasons.

Critical reception

The troll was ranked second among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. The authors described the troll as "a great mid-level monster that can challenge heroes for a number of levels" noting that "the troll is the players' first introduction to a regenerating monster - a creature that's almost impossible to kill unless you've got fire handy".

Additional reading

• Cook, Monte
  Monte Cook
  Monte Cook is a professional table-top role-playing game designer and writer. He is married to Sue Weinlein Cook.-Roleplaying:Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, working primarily on role-playing games. Much of his early work was for Iron Crown Enterprises as an editor and writer...
  
  . D&D Adventures: Black Rain (Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
  
  , 2002).

External links

• System Reference Document
  System Reference Document
  The System Reference Document, or SRD, is a set of reference role playing game mechanics licensed under the Open Game License by Wizards of the Coast and based upon their Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. The SRD forms the basis of WotC's various d20 System role-playing games, including the...
  
  listing for trolls http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/troll.htm
• Previous edition statistics