Quite a short post and I couldn't think of a better title but I saw a post about troll regeneration a few minutes ago, did some quick research and typed up a response only to find the post was nolonger there so, rather than let that 10 minutes go to waste I'll pop my response here in case anyone comes looking for info about Trolls.
The original post I was responding too was about whether a piece of a troll, when eaten by another creature such as a wolf, could regenerate and burst out of said creature as the poster thought earlier editions said it could happen (abridge version of the question).
The AD&D monster manual says the following:
Trolls regenerate at an amazing rate. Starting 3 rounds after first blood they regenerate 3hp per round until fully healed. Incapacitated Trolls stand up and fight as soon as they have recovered a positive number of HP. If using an edged weapon it is possible to sever a trolls limbs however severed limbs continue to fight after they have been severed; hands try to grab, heads try to bite etc. Seperated limbs continue to fight for the remained of a battle then scuttle back to, and rebind with, the main body. Limbs unable ot rejoin the main body die after 24 hours but this does not matter to a troll as they can regrow severed limbs, which includes it head, in a week. If a troll is dismembered and scattered the largest surviving piece starts to regenerate into a new troll and the other parts die if they cannot rejoin the largest piece within 24 hours. Only Fire or Acid can stop a trolls regeneration and a troll reduced to zero HP dies.
You could argue that stomach acid would stop a trolls regeneration but there again if a troll did do an alien/xenomorph chester burster style entrance it could make for a memorable encounter. You could also use the severed limbs as a random encounter, the party happen across an arm pulling itself across the ground in search of its body....or maybe you have aparticularly intelligent Troll guarding a bridge in the manner of a certain knight from a certain film shouting "Ain't Nuffin butt a flesh wooound!" as its limbs are cut off.
Slight side note: There were also several varieties of trolls back in AD&D: The Normal troll Tthe Giant Troll (Troll/Hill Giant crossbreed. EDIT:They can hurl boulders like a Giant but they don't use a bite attack as they are much larger than normal) The Ice Troll (lives in cold/artic environments. EDIT; They take double damage from Fire, have Immunity to Cold and non-magical weapons! Their blood is said to be a key ingredient in the manufacture of magic items such as Frostbrand Swords and Rings of Cold resistance.) Freshwater Troll (lives in streams/rivers etc. EDIT: they often lair near bridges and demand a toll usually a cow per troll per week for safe passage but they are also fond of eating Dwarves. One of their favourite traps is to place small baubles near the edge of water and then lay in wait under the water, ready to sieze anyone trying to retrieve the baubles.) Saltwater Troll (lives in seas/oceans) Desert Trolls (lives in deserts, EDIT: these trolls rather interestingly take damage from water: d4 for a vial/healing potion size, 2d4 for a flask, 4d4 for a waterskin and 25 damage per turn if targeted by a Decanter of Endless Water and purified/holy water deals double damage) Two headed Troll (a troll/ettin crossbreed)
and if they were not enough the last two are particularly scary:
The Spectral Troll (think of a Troll/Specter and if it kills someone they come back as a Spectral Troll unless buried with a ceremony performed by a priest/cleric. EDIT: When exposed to direct sunlight a Spectral Troll vanishes, it doesn't die it just vanishes and reappears in the same place when the sunlight goes away and this enables them to escape from traps of various forms,). And finally the Spirit troll (Take a Troll, give it natural invisibility, make it undead and have the ability to drain strength with each hit, then have its bite attack that heals nd you have a very very scary troll! EDIT: it is also Immune to Cold and Non-Magical Weapons and the entry say "Fire inflicts full damage" so interpret that as you wish for your game and they have the equivalent of 120ft Darkvision).
EDIT: Troll Blood! Troll blood can be used to make potions. The blood from a Troll is worth approx 400gp and can be used to make upto 3 healing potions.
That is cool and interesting. If an animal like a wolf happened to eat a piece of troll meat, I would probably have the creature mutate into a sort of fearsome troll beast.
IIRC, two-headed trolls were the result of either a mutation or of a troll being partially decapitated and growing a second head during the regeneration process, not from crossbreeding with ettins.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
IIRC, two-headed trolls were the result of either a mutation or of a troll being partially decapitated and growing a second head during the regeneration process, not from crossbreeding with ettins.
That could explain it but I can't find anything to support it in monster manuals from previous editions, even Pathfinder says they are descended from Ettins. But as explainations go, having the head regenerate from a partial decapitation is a more palatable mental image than a troll and an ettin getting frisky.
IIRC, two-headed trolls were the result of either a mutation or of a troll being partially decapitated and growing a second head during the regeneration process, not from crossbreeding with ettins.
That could explain it but I can't find anything to support it in monster manuals from previous editions, even Pathfinder says they are descended from Ettins.
I think that might be something exclusive to Pathfinder.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Apparently this debate goes back to the earliest days of D&D. Back in 2010 I posted a similar question on an old school D&D forum asking if trolls can drown (which had come up in my game). There was some great back and forth, and then Frank Mentzer himself chimed in to give Gary's ruling on whether or not you could create a troll farm by planting severed limbs (TRdl: only the main part of the troll will regenerate). It's a fun read: https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=846639&hilit=troll#p846639
Apparently this debate goes back to the earliest days of D&D. Back in 2010 I posted a similar question on an old school D&D forum asking if trolls can drown (which had come up in my game). There was some great back and forth, and then Frank Mentzer himself chimed in to give Gary's ruling on whether or not you could create a troll farm by planting severed limbs (TRdl: only the main part of the troll will regenerate). It's a fun read: https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=846639&hilit=troll#p846639
Thank you for that link, it was rather interesting.
It got me thinking about Trolls maybe having evironmental conditions change how trolls behave and develope could be used to explain the different varities. In the instance about trolls drowing, over time the drowining troll might "evolve" gills and turn into an aquatic variety and become either a river troll or saltwater troll.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
Quite a short post and I couldn't think of a better title but I saw a post about troll regeneration a few minutes ago, did some quick research and typed up a response only to find the post was nolonger there so, rather than let that 10 minutes go to waste I'll pop my response here in case anyone comes looking for info about Trolls.
The original post I was responding too was about whether a piece of a troll, when eaten by another creature such as a wolf, could regenerate and burst out of said creature as the poster thought earlier editions said it could happen (abridge version of the question).
The AD&D monster manual says the following:
Trolls regenerate at an amazing rate. Starting 3 rounds after first blood they regenerate 3hp per round until fully healed. Incapacitated Trolls stand up and fight as soon as they have recovered a positive number of HP. If using an edged weapon it is possible to sever a trolls limbs however severed limbs continue to fight after they have been severed; hands try to grab, heads try to bite etc. Seperated limbs continue to fight for the remained of a battle then scuttle back to, and rebind with, the main body. Limbs unable ot rejoin the main body die after 24 hours but this does not matter to a troll as they can regrow severed limbs, which includes it head, in a week. If a troll is dismembered and scattered the largest surviving piece starts to regenerate into a new troll and the other parts die if they cannot rejoin the largest piece within 24 hours. Only Fire or Acid can stop a trolls regeneration and a troll reduced to zero HP dies.
You could argue that stomach acid would stop a trolls regeneration but there again if a troll did do an alien/xenomorph chester burster style entrance it could make for a memorable encounter. You could also use the severed limbs as a random encounter, the party happen across an arm pulling itself across the ground in search of its body....or maybe you have aparticularly intelligent Troll guarding a bridge in the manner of a certain knight from a certain film shouting "Ain't Nuffin butt a flesh wooound!" as its limbs are cut off.
Slight side note: There were also several varieties of trolls back in AD&D:
The Normal troll
Tthe Giant Troll (Troll/Hill Giant crossbreed. EDIT:They can hurl boulders like a Giant but they don't use a bite attack as they are much larger than normal)
The Ice Troll (lives in cold/artic environments. EDIT; They take double damage from Fire, have Immunity to Cold and non-magical weapons! Their blood is said to be a key ingredient in the manufacture of magic items such as Frostbrand Swords and Rings of Cold resistance.)
Freshwater Troll (lives in streams/rivers etc. EDIT: they often lair near bridges and demand a toll usually a cow per troll per week for safe passage but they are also fond of eating Dwarves. One of their favourite traps is to place small baubles near the edge of water and then lay in wait under the water, ready to sieze anyone trying to retrieve the baubles.)
Saltwater Troll (lives in seas/oceans)
Desert Trolls (lives in deserts, EDIT: these trolls rather interestingly take damage from water: d4 for a vial/healing potion size, 2d4 for a flask, 4d4 for a waterskin and 25 damage per turn if targeted by a Decanter of Endless Water and purified/holy water deals double damage)
Two headed Troll (a troll/ettin crossbreed)
and if they were not enough the last two are particularly scary:
The Spectral Troll (think of a Troll/Specter and if it kills someone they come back as a Spectral Troll unless buried with a ceremony performed by a priest/cleric. EDIT: When exposed to direct sunlight a Spectral Troll vanishes, it doesn't die it just vanishes and reappears in the same place when the sunlight goes away and this enables them to escape from traps of various forms,).
And finally the Spirit troll (Take a Troll, give it natural invisibility, make it undead and have the ability to drain strength with each hit, then have its bite attack that heals nd you have a very very scary troll! EDIT: it is also Immune to Cold and Non-Magical Weapons and the entry say "Fire inflicts full damage" so interpret that as you wish for your game and they have the equivalent of 120ft Darkvision).
EDIT: Troll Blood!
Troll blood can be used to make potions. The blood from a Troll is worth approx 400gp and can be used to make upto 3 healing potions.
That is cool and interesting. If an animal like a wolf happened to eat a piece of troll meat, I would probably have the creature mutate into a sort of fearsome troll beast.
I've added a a few "EDITS" to expand on some of their more unique variants.
IIRC, two-headed trolls were the result of either a mutation or of a troll being partially decapitated and growing a second head during the regeneration process, not from crossbreeding with ettins.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
That could explain it but I can't find anything to support it in monster manuals from previous editions, even Pathfinder says they are descended from Ettins. But as explainations go, having the head regenerate from a partial decapitation is a more palatable mental image than a troll and an ettin getting frisky.
I think that might be something exclusive to Pathfinder.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Apparently this debate goes back to the earliest days of D&D. Back in 2010 I posted a similar question on an old school D&D forum asking if trolls can drown (which had come up in my game). There was some great back and forth, and then Frank Mentzer himself chimed in to give Gary's ruling on whether or not you could create a troll farm by planting severed limbs (TRdl: only the main part of the troll will regenerate). It's a fun read: https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=846639&hilit=troll#p846639
Thank you for that link, it was rather interesting.
It got me thinking about Trolls maybe having evironmental conditions change how trolls behave and develope could be used to explain the different varities. In the instance about trolls drowing, over time the drowining troll might "evolve" gills and turn into an aquatic variety and become either a river troll or saltwater troll.
Perhaps that is kind of how trolls are in abundance in the world.