Trolls

**Trolls** are a group of sentient species living in the world of Giantstep. They are fairly widespread throughout the world, and all share many qualities like a big size or powerful healing capabilities. Trolls rarely form complex societies, though the Kingdemocracy of the Civilized Trolls is a notable exception to that rule, instead preferring to live in small groups or individually, roaming the land and hunting, with very little in the way of technology.

## General Troll Characteristics

Trolls are some of the tallest creatures not considered pseudo-giants or giant-spawned, measuring over 3 meters of height. While not as bulky as ogres, their sheer size makes them authentic powerhouses, capable of cracking stone with their fists. They have an ape-like physiognomy, with very long arms six fingers on each hand. Their hands are also elongated, and all of this gives them a considerably long grabbing range, being able to reach things very far from them (and considering their size, that’s quite a distance). That makes physically approaching a troll a very dangerous proposition, being much better to attack using ranged weapons, like bows, slings or gunpowder guns. The shape of their hands is also interesting, as their thumb, while there, is much shorter than the rest of their fingers, making a pincer movement very difficult. This causes severe problems when manipulating their environment, which explains why they barely use technology, when even ogres are capable of some rudimentary crafting.

Trolls are known throughout the world for their extraordinary healing abilities. Trolls are able to recuperate from wounds that would kill other creatures multiple times over, giving them extraordinary endurance during fights. However, there is a big misconception regarding troll healing. While many believe that their wounds can heal in a matter of seconds after occurring, the reality is more complex. It turns out their wounds do not immediately heal, but they are hidden by their blood, which can clot at an astonishing rate. This makes many wounds not immediately threatening, keeping trolls from bleeding to death, which gives them the appearance of invulnerability. However, the wound is still there, and trolls can still feel the negative effects of the damages. It is very frequent for trolls who have survived life-threatening fights to collapse into comas hours after the encounter, as the damages finally take a toll on their bodies. However, even then the trolls will enter in a healing slumber, in which their body will focus all their efforts on repairing whatever damages have been caused. The only wounds that their bodies cannot immediately stop are magic wounds or burns.

The trolls’ level of intelligence is a complicated topic. Many see trolls as having a child-like intelligence, with none of the curiosity that allows a mind to develop further. Thus, most trolls end up having a very primitive way of life, while being overly emotional and not being able to follow most normal logic. From time to time, a singular troll is born with an intelligence roughly the level of an ogre or even beyond, making them geniuses in the eyes of other trolls. These figures can often become tribe chiefs, but if they live near other societies, they can even try to imitate them and force other trolls to adopt their way of life, though the results of that are often terrible failures.

## Main Troll Species

### Rock Trolls

**Rock trolls**, also known as **common trolls**, are one of the many troll species living in the world of Giantstep. Rock trolls are tall creatures, easily reaching the 3 meters of height, and are able to survive in most environments, easily being the most widespread troll species, though they are most common in Western Giantstep. Rock trolls develop a mix of scales and bone plaques over most of their body, making them much tougher and hard to wound. These defenses are concentrated on their back, with their front much less defended. Seeing as the best way to confront a troll is attacking them from behind, this makes rock trolls a much tougher opponent than others of their kind. They are also slightly smarter than other trolls, but their intellect is still lower than those of orks. This level of intelligence allows them to mimic others’ ways of life more successfully, though those who have seen troll agriculture have labeled it as “a crime upon the land”.

Rock trolls often live from the land, being very effective hunter-gatherers. While their physiognomy makes grabbing anything a difficult task, they often live in the mountains, and go down to the plains to search for food. They are not particularly good climbers, however, and they try to avoid carrying their prizes up the mountain, as it is very difficult for them. After a rock troll has had their fill, they will go back to their hiding place and sleep. Rock trolls can spend weeks without eating, spending the rest of the time sleeping or loafing around to preserve energy. Rock ogres can sleep 18 hours per day if they are well fed. They also try to obtain as many crafted items as possible, seeing as they are unable to make their own, but since they are not that bright, they will often take things that are utterly useless to them. This makes rock troll hideouts look like garbage dumps, where items frequently broken and in disrepair are piled in mountains of trash.

Rock trolls tend to live long lives thanks to their healing abilities, around 100 years. The social structure of rock trolls is very varied, either forming small groups or living alone. In the cases when they form groups, there is little familiar bonding between the individuals, but this can develop if they see this in nearby societies. Rock trolls are the only troll species that has proven to be capable of forming a complex society in the form of the Kingdemocracy of Civilized Trolls, but many believe this is just a fluke and not something inherent within rock trolls.

### Cave Trolls

**Cave Trolls** are one of the many species of trolls living in Giantstep. Cave trolls are a slightly smaller than most trolls, measuring 2.75 meters of height with upright, but they often are hunched in such a way they apparent half of that height. They have a much thinner skin than most trolls, and are often ivory white as the result of their nocturnal lifestyle. This thinner skin is coated in a slight sweat that alleviate the damages from cuts and help them fit into tunnels and crevices they wouldn’t otherwise be unable to go through. Their level of intelligence is much lower than other trolls, to the point they are barely considered sentient.

Cave trolls are on the brink of extinction. This is because they have been hunted down for millennia, and their numbers have eventually dwindled to dangerous levels. Cave trolls used to attack in frenzied waves, and the local populations near cave trolls have, over time, dedicated so many efforts into keeping them contained that they actually drove them into near extinction. Farmers and hunters will go to their caves during mating season and fill them with flammable tars, and once they know cave trolls are near, they will set fire to the place, killing the younglings and potentially wounding the parents. This makes cave trolls very fearful of any other sentient beings. Unlike other trolls, who have no issue getting into a fight, cave trolls will not engage unless they have an overwhelming advantage, and prefer to hide or run. This also makes them nocturnal creatures, living in the darkness to avoid any encounter with danger. When they have the numbers, or when they find a lone wanderer, they revert to their frenzied behavior, scratching and ripping apart anything they find, only to flee when they sense danger. Also, this doesn’t mean that cave trolls do not attack cattle or towns, so the villagers continue their work of hunting the cave trolls.

Some cave trolls have moved into swamps, though their soft skin means that they are ripe for parasitic infestation. Mosquitoes, leeches, fleas... They will harass the cave trolls constantly, their bodies showing inflammation and bite scars of thousands of swamp creatures, weakening them over time. This makes cave trolls particularly irritable and ill-tempered, causing them to be even more frenzied, attacking and eating anything that might get near their cave.

### Desert Trolls

**Desert trolls** are one of the many troll species living in Giantstep. Desert trolls are lone hunters, since their habitats cannot maintain many of them together, in neither food nor water. Desert trolls have their bodies covered in small scales, much smaller than those of the rock trolls. Most of these take the form of spikes or hairs, which offer less protection but are lighter and allow to regulate their temperature better, something important when dealing with the desert. Their skin is rough, protecting them from the occasional sandstorms, and they can even walk through scorching sand during the hottest hours of the day barefoot. While they are as big as most trolls, they are thinner, as there is not enough food to maintain a bulky physique.

Desert trolls are one of the less intelligent of the trolls. They have very few capabilities, both in a technical, logical or social sense. They will rarely try to communicate with other sentient creatures, mostly seeing them as rivals or as prey. However, their instincts to survive in the desert are highly developed, being able to detect water sources, shade, food and other things needed to survive in that habitat. This makes many keep an eye on desert trolls from a distance, in case they need to find any of these elements to survive the harsh desert. Desert trolls also tend to create hideouts in areas far from populated centers, where they could store whatever item could serve them survive, as well as to cook their prey. Desert trolls tend to decorate their lairs with layer after layer of bones, skeletons resulting from their hunting, decorated with primitive animistic symbols.

Despite this, some of these ogres have become used to social interaction with other groups, generally being somewhat “domesticated” from a very early age. Doing this is dangerous, however, as their big size and lack of intelligence means they are unruly and could attack without provocation for no discernible reason. Generally this is only done for species that can match the desert trolls in strength pound for pound, like ogres or giant-spawned.

### Yeti/Furred Trolls

**Yeti**, also known as **furred trolls**, are one of the many species of trolls living in Giantstep. These trolls are accustomed to live in high altitudes, capable of breathing without issue no matter the height. This means they have developed a tremendous stamina in comparison to other creatures, and they use this ability to pursue their prey further up and down the mountain until it becomes exhausted and easy to eat. Their bodies are covered by a dense coat of fur, evenly distributed throughout their bodies. This coat of fur also covers their face completely, and yet they somehow can see through the hair. It also makes it so that you cannot know whether a yeti is looking at you or not until they strike or move along. Their fur coat has a wide range of colors, often depending of geographical location, feeding habits and other factors. There’s a discussion about whether all these groups could be considered different species, but by in large, they are capable of reproducing with each other and their offspring is fertile as well.

Yeti are considerably smart for trolls. They have developed many techniques for hunting in the mountains, as game big enough to feed a creature like a troll is rare. Thus, they cannot afford leaving any sizeable animal or passerby to leave. They often find ways to scare their prey into falling into cliffs or become lost in the mountains and die frozen. Then they just have to get their prize by climbing, as they are surprisingly good climbers, capable of scaling with their bare hands. Yeti are also one of the few trolls that can form complex groups, making villages of a couple dozen yeti in remote areas of the mountains. However, this is fairly rare, since there’s seldom food for many trolls together. In general, these appear near populations of shepherds, where the trolls can reliably find food by attacking the herds.

A particularly interesting fact about yeti is that the females’ maternity instinct is much stronger than in the rest of the troll species. They will defend their spawn fiercely, even jumping through flames to their deaths if that means saving them. It also means that, if their offspring dies, they will try by all means to replace it with something else. It has been reported that female yeti have gone down the mountains to kidnap human babies to rear as their own. And since the babies cannot survive in the high altitudes, this generates a destructive spiral that usually ends with the death of the yeti. Some human babies have survived, however, and these are called the “wild people”, who will act like savage trolls and are unable to bring back to society.

A particular type of yeti is the **Sylvan**. The sylvan live in the Great End Peaks, and are believed to be affected by the spewing of the Mountain of O’oze. While its effects have not been as severe as in other creatures, it has mutated them somewhat, giving them demonic features. Their teeth are so long they don’t fit in their mouth, they have claws instead of fingers, their eyes have become a bright red and they have grown a spiked tail. They are one of the most dangerous creatures in the region, hunting anything in the mountains that could be edible. Tenzinese and Otamlarese herders keep tabs on the sightings of these creatures, as they are stealthy and difficult to kill if they decide to attack their cattle.

### Northern Trolls

**Northern Trolls** are one of the many species of trolls living in Giantstep. Northern trolls are accustomed to survive in the frozen plans of Zemyland, having developed many ways to combat the frost. Northern trolls have a blue skin, with chemical properties that protect the troll from the cold and the frost, not dissimilar to the snow gnomes. Northern troll skin is much denser than gnome skill, and thus it does not go into hues of blue as intense as snow gnomes. However, their thicker skin and bigger size makes them generate much more heat, which can led to overheating when the temperature is high enough. They solve this through their nose. They are able to regulate their body temperature by breathing, and since their lungs are also massive, they are able to liberate a great deal of hot air from within, equilibrating their inner temperature with the outside. If they don’t need to do so, their breathing rate slows down a lot, helping them preserve their temperature. They can hold their breath for many hours, and once they exhale, they liberate a column of hot steam, giving an impression of walking geysers. Northern trolls have enormous heads, proportionally much bigger than those of humans or ogres. This makes them look like they lack a neck, and it also makes them have problems to turn around to look, needing to move their body completely if they want to look to the side.

Northern trolls are nomads, moving around the continent in search for prey. They are hunter-gatherers, moving north during the summer seasons and south during the winter, chasing the giant megafauna of the continent. They are fairly intelligent for trolls, and while they are unable to craft most tools due to their low dexterity, they are able to trade with the smaller races in search for anything that they could use. Many northern trolls are hired by towns to deal with a particularly nasty predator, in exchange for giving them the weapons needed to hunt it down. This is particularly done by fey populations, where as humans are more distrustful of the trolls, since them eating their cattle is not uncommon.

### Mermaid Trolls

**Mermaid trolls** are one of the many species of trolls in Giantstep. Mermaid trolls are perhaps the strangest of all troll groups, as instead of living a terrestrial or amphibian lifestyle, they have developed a fully aquatic existence. Mermaid trolls have lost their legs and have replaced it for a paddle-shaped tail, similar to that of manatees. They have also developed something akin to gills, but they are often inefficient, and need to come to the surface to breathe. Their skin is leathery but smooth, often overgrown with algae that grow on it. Their arms have elongated into being much larger than those of other trolls, and most of the time they keep them attached to their bodies to avoid increasing friction while swimming. Their eyes are smaller and have no nose, breathing through their mouth, which can open to massive proportions, having webbed cheeks to allow the jaws to open as much as possible.

Mermaid trolls are a fully aquatic species, moving through the depths of the sea to eat whatever they can find at the bottom of the waters. They use their powerful arms to beat any fish from the deep, usually camouflaging at the bottom and them launching their attack. They have a surprising level of accuracy, and are capable of grabbing fish while swimming. Their hands are covered in scales that increase the friction. If they grab a fish, it will either be unable to escape or be cut upon the palms of their hands, weakening it so they can swim to get it. Mermaid trolls are only capable of going into depths of around 200m, as the pressure beyond that is too much for their bodies. They are not particularly fast creatures, and they have to be weary of sharks. Shark grappling is a very frequent activity in trolls, as they often hunt in the same waters. Many mermaid trolls often wear collars full of shark teeth to prove their strength.

Mermaid trolls are able to speak and communicate with others. Sailors often use them to find treasures beneath the water in exchange for whatever fish they have left. However, for the most time, fishermen have to be careful of mermaid trolls, as they tend to break the nets of fishing seas to get to the captures inside. Mermaid trolls are also capable of latching to the bottom of big vessels to hitch a ride inadvertently, making them capable of sailing great distances with little effort.

### Nebelhutzen

The **Nebelhutzen** are a type of troll specialized in living in the Glass Mountains. Their incredibly thick skin is reinforced by bony scutes, protecting them from cuts and lacerations with the environment. This is even more protected by a heavy coat of black fur all over their body, though it can turn into a lighter shade depending on the amount of sunrays they receive. While not as strong and bulky as others of their kind, they are more agile and fast, being able to balance themselves easily even in uneven terrain. Their sight is very poor, though this is mostly due to the bright shinning of the mountains burning up their vision from a very early age. Instead, they have a great sense of hearing, essential to communicate throughout the mountains. The Nebelhutzen are the premier guides to those who want to cross the Glass Mountains, though getting their services is quite expensive.

Nebelhutzen only accept gold as a payment, since they believe gold is made of pieces of the suns fallen from the sky, and it is sacred for them. Nebelhutzen hoard gold, often carrying their entire treasuries with them wherever they go, just in case their friends and families decide to take a portion of their wealth. When a Nebelhutzen dies in the mountains, the rest of the clan will search for it, not because of friendship of familiar love, but because their treasure is now free for the taking. They are extreme omnivores, they have to be, since the Glass Mountains have a very poor ecosystem, and not that many things can survive in this unnatural environment. This has caused many rumors to arise that they feed of the travelers, but they would reject that idea, saying that it would be bad for business. Travelers, however, are recommended to always pay the full sum to the Nebelhutzen at the end of their journey, just in case.