Difference between revisions of "Troll"

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(it's really more bad magic in general; and people definitely can allrune trolls, even if it's difficult)
(Major rewrite, and changed difficulty to Easy. The old article really overstated the threat of starvation. Feel free to adjust if you see anything I got entirely wrong though :P)
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==Innate Abilities==
 
==Innate Abilities==
−
*[[Good mutations#Shaggy Fur|Shaggy Fur 1]] and [[Good_mutations#Tough_Skin|Tough Skin 2]]: Trolls have AC +3.
+
*[[Good mutations#Shaggy Fur|Shaggy Fur]] 1 and [[Good_mutations#Tough_Skin|Tough Skin]] 2: Trolls have AC +3.
−
*[[Good_mutations#Claws|Claws 3]]: Trolls have claws for hands. They also get a passive (hidden) to-hit bonus when using them. These claws can remove the heads of [[hydra]]s.
+
*[[Good_mutations#Claws|Claws 3]]: Trolls have claws for hands. They also get a passive (hidden) to-hit bonus when using them. These claws inflict heavy [[bleeding]] and can decapitate [[hydra]]s.
−
*[[Gourmand]]: Trolls can eat [[chunk]]s of raw meat even when not [[hungry]].
+
*[[Gourmand]]: Trolls can eat [[chunk]]s even when not [[hungry]].
 
*[[Good_mutations#Regeneration|Regeneration 2]]: Trolls heal very quickly.
 
*[[Good_mutations#Regeneration|Regeneration 2]]: Trolls heal very quickly.
 
*[[Bad_mutations#Fast_Metabolism|Fast Metabolism 3+]]: On top of the +3 hunger penalty from this mutation, trolls receive an additional +3 racial penalty directly, for an unmatched base metabolism of 9 food/turn.
 
*[[Bad_mutations#Fast_Metabolism|Fast Metabolism 3+]]: On top of the +3 hunger penalty from this mutation, trolls receive an additional +3 racial penalty directly, for an unmatched base metabolism of 9 food/turn.
−
*[[Saprovore|Saprovore 2]]: Trolls can tolerate rotten meat, and have a reduced chance of getting [[sick]] from contaminated meat.
+
*[[Saprovore]] 2: Trolls can tolerate rotten meat, and have a reduced chance of getting [[sick]] from contaminated meat.
−
*Trolls are [[Size#Player Sizes|large]] and can use [[giant club]]s and [[giant spiked club]]s (unlike smaller species), but their bodies do not fit into any armour but [[robe]]s, [[cloak]]s, [[animal skin]]s, [[troll hide]]s, [[troll leather armour]]s, [[dragon armour|dragon hide]]s, or [[dragon armour]]s. [[Buckler]]s are also too small for them to use (though larger shields work fine).
+
*Trolls are [[Size#Player Sizes|large]] and can use [[giant club]]s and [[giant spiked club]]s (unlike smaller species), but their bodies do not fit into any armour but [[robe]]s, [[cloak]]s, [[animal skin]]s, [[troll hide]]s, [[troll leather armour]], [[dragon armour|dragon hide]]s, or [[dragon armour]]. [[Buckler]]s are also too small for them to use, but they can handle [[shield]]s and [[large shield]]s easily.
 
*Trolls are large enough to attack normally while standing in [[shallow water]] (though they cannot move normally through it).
 
*Trolls are large enough to attack normally while standing in [[shallow water]] (though they cannot move normally through it).
  
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*Any [[Armour]] skill is replaced with [[Dodging]].
 
*Any [[Armour]] skill is replaced with [[Dodging]].
 
*If their class does not start with [[Unarmed Combat]] skill ''and'' offers a choice of weapon, trolls have the extra option of "claws" (and Unarmed Combat skill).
 
*If their class does not start with [[Unarmed Combat]] skill ''and'' offers a choice of weapon, trolls have the extra option of "claws" (and Unarmed Combat skill).
−
*Troll [[Hunter]]s are offered a choice of [[large rock]]s instead of [[javelin]]s.
+
*Troll [[hunter]]s are offered a choice of [[large rock]]s instead of [[javelin]]s.
  
 
==Difficulty of Play==
 
==Difficulty of Play==
−
{{Moderate}}
+
{{Easy}}
−
Trolls are an extremely easy race in the early game, despite first appearances. They have the worst aptitudes in almost every skill, and hunger three times faster than average. However, trolls are actually highly effective as all-out [[Unarmed Combat]] attackers; they have a decent aptitude, the highest STR in the game, +6 bonus damage (from the Claws 3 mutation), a passive +4 [[to hit]] bonus, and they occasionally inflict the [[bleeding]] condition for 9% of a living monster's health per turn. They have few problems with food in the early game because they can eat chunks anytime with a trivial chance of becoming sick. Trolls have the highest survivability in the early game with high HP, passive AC bonus, and extremely fast healing - a Berserker is almost guaranteed to make it to the [[Lair]].
 
  
−
Later on, however, trolls become one of the most difficult (and least won) races. Their horrible aptitudes for everything start to catch up with them: low Fighting means they have less HP than one might expect, low magic skills give them fewer escape options, low Dodging and Armour mean poor defensive abilities, even if they do find decent gear. The phrase "glass cannon" very much applies to trolls at this point - they can hit hard, but are themselves fragile. Their ultra-fast metabolism can be difficult to work with even in branches that do have corpses, and make corpseless branches such as [[Pandemonium]] or even the [[Crypt]] difficult to impossible without the assistance of something like Kiku's delivery service. Additionally, trolls level extremely slowly, as slow as [[high elf|high elves]] - this, combined with their extreme difficulty in certain branches, means they are often very badly prepared for the later parts of the game.
+
Trolls are an extremely easy race in the early game, despite first appearances. They have the worst aptitudes in almost every skill, and hunger three times faster than average. However, trolls are actually highly effective as all-out [[Unarmed Combat]] attackers; they have a decent aptitude, the highest STR in the game, +6 bonus damage (from the Claws 3 mutation), a passive +4 [[to hit]] bonus, and they occasionally inflict the [[bleeding]] condition for 9% of a living monster's health per turn. With or without [[Blade Hands]], a troll specialized in Unarmed Combat is one of the deadliest melee fighters possible, competitive with an [[ogre]] with a fully enchanted [[giant spiked club]].
 +
 
 +
On top of that, access to [[large rock]]s makes a huge difference in survival. Even with 0 [[Throwing]] skill, spamming large rocks at an oncoming foe can soften them up tremendously before you start going at them by hand.
 +
 
 +
Their hunger rate is astonishingly fast, but their Gourmand intrinsic allows them to make the most of [[corpse]]s while still giving them full access to every permafood you come across. So long as you take the time to tear apart anything edible, you can spend the majority of your game at Engorged with no actual fear of starvation. If you can find a source of [[poison]] resistance, the menu gets even broader and staying well-fed even easier. By the time you reach those [[branch]]es where corpses are a rarity, you'll likely have enough permafood to keep you very safely in the clear. To be safe, though, there's nothing wrong with carrying a bunch of rations around with you.
 +
 
 +
The largest obstacle trolls have to success lies in their peculiar approach to defense; that being to take a tremendous amount of damage and bounce back remarkably fast. Their large size prevents them from wearing any gloves or boots, and the only body armour they can wear initially are robes and animal hides, so getting a decent [[AC]] can be tricky. [[Ev]]asion is hard to come by, too; they have a lousy aptitude for it (-2), and their large size and low [[dexterity]] both reduce their EV significantly.
 +
 
 +
Instead of negating enemy attacks through AC and EV, trolls rely on their tremendous health pool and regenerative properties to keep them going. Few single opponents in the early game can kill them fast enough to survive a troll's claws. The real threat lies in overconfidence; taking on multiple opponents at once (a band of [[list of orcs|orcs]] or halberd-wielding [[list of gnolls|gnolls]], for example) is an easy way to lose an otherwise promising troll. Until you've established some sort of solid defense, cautious play and intelligent use of [[potion]]s and [[scroll]]s is vital.
 +
 
 +
Eventually, however, trolls can couple their vitality with excellent defense. Finding an early [[dragon armour]] is a godsend, but it's entirely possible to survive long enough to find a [[list of dragons|dragon]] and make your own gear from it. Trollish strength and size make it easy to operate in even heavy dragon armours, and although it does slow your unarmed attacks somewhat, the added durability is well worth it. Alternatively, [[shields]] are an excellent way to add durability early on. A troll's low Shields skill aptitude is less of an issue because they can negate shield penalties at lower skill levels than medium sized creatures, and the penalty to damage output is tolerable. So long as they make the effort to avoid fighting multiple opponents at once, a shield can make your troll significantly less of a glass cannon.
  
 
{{species_aptitudes|Troll}}
 
{{species_aptitudes|Troll}}
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
−
Trolls have a few divine options for dealing with their shortcomings. [[Okawaru]]'s Heroism ability gives a boost to your Unarmed Combat skill, which greatly increases your already impressive melee capabilities. You can also use Heroism to give yourself a modicum of competence with an actual weapon, if you need to use one (like for fighting a [[hydra]] with a [[flaming]] weapon). Just be sure to save some corpses to sacrifice to maintain piety; whenever you have a choice, sacrifice the stronger monsters while eating the weaker ones.
+
Trollish [[intelligence]] and magic aptitudes are some of the worst in the game. While this doesn't rule out magic entirely, it takes intense effort to get higher level spells available for them, and is generally not an efficient use of experience. Some 1st and 2nd level spells, however, are perfectly viable for trolls: [[Confusing Touch]] and [[Beastly Appendage]] are decent 1st level combat enhancers, [[Sting]] is excellent for softening up approaching opponents, and [[Swiftness]], [[Shroud of Golubria]], and [[Repel Missiles]] are all useful buffs well within the reach of trolls. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but you should definitely try to have your physical offense and defense in order before more than dabbling in magic.
  
−
[[Trog]], being a god who despises magic, works wonderfully for Trolls, who are almost entirely useless with spells in the first place. [[Berserk]]ing, while it doesn't add much in terms of versatility, will increase your attack power to the point where you can just shred everything regardless. Brothers in Arms can give you helpful allies for the situations where just tearing into things yourself isn't quite enough, and Trog's Hand gives you a little more survivability for tough fights. Keep in mind, though that going berserk burns through lots of [[satiation]], which is compounded by your need to sacrifice corpses to Trog.
+
[[Evocations]] is one of a troll's better aptitudes (at least compared to their magic skills), and it offers a much less uphill battle for magical support. Finding a useful [[rod]] can immediately give a troll access to high-level spells they'd normally have to devote massive amounts of training for, and a troll's capacity for eating makes it much easier to deal with the hunger costs involved (just be careful when exploring corpse-free branches). Rods, unfortunately, are by no means guaranteed to generate, so consider this a tactic to take up if the opportunity presents itself, and not something to rely on.
  
−
[[Kikubaaqudgha]] can be called upon to give you food at any time, which allows you to explore places you normally wouldn't, such as [[The Crypt]]. Also, Trolls aren't entirely useless with [[Necromancy]], meaning you'll still be able to make some use out of Kiku's other abilities and the various Necromantic spells he'll give you.
+
A vital resource that ''is'' guaranteed to present itself are gods. Trollish [[Invocations]] has an astounding aptitude of -1, and there are a number of excellent gods to complement their limited skill set:
 +
*[[Okawaru]]'s Heroism buffs Unarmed Combat performance tremendously, as does Finesse, and his armour gifts occasionally include early dragon armour.
 +
*[[Trog]]'s abilities require no skill training to activate, and provide free [[berserk]]ing, [[magic resistance]], even greater health regeneration, and very abusable summons. Just mind your hunger.
 +
*[[Elyvilon]]'s normal hunger restraints are less of a concern for the voracious troll, who benefits immensely from excellent panic buttons and the ability to pacify most opponents with smite targeting.
 +
*Likewise, [[Makhleb]]'s HP costs for spells are of little concern when you regenerate them back almost immediately, and having powerful ranged attacks and high-level summons let you handle anything you're afraid to get into clawing range for. The healing-on-kills helps trolls recover from fights even faster than normal.
 +
*[[Kikubaaqudgha]]'s corpse deliveries can provide you with dragon hides after enough uses in the later portions of the dungeon, and provides snacks at the same time. Also, trolls aren't ''entirely'' useless with [[Necromancy]] if you should choose to dabble in that, and the ability to invoke torment (which you'll partially resist) on powerful foes goes well with the fact that you regenerate faster than them.
 +
*[[Nemelex Xobeh]]'s [[deck]] gifts are a more reliable way to make use of Evocations than hoping for a rod, and if you ''really'' want to turn your troll into a spell caster, drawing a [[Shuffle card]] is a means of acquiring a phenomenal boost to intelligence.
 +
*[[Jiyva]]'s random mutations don't get in the way of your equipment slots, as most of them are already off-limits, and the various resistances it grants you can fill slots you otherwise have difficulty with. Slimify is a very effective method for disabling dangerous opponents, and his [[list of jellies|jellies]] will help keep you well-fed as they devour every item in sight. Just be prepared to occasionally lose a lot of your strength when Jiyva decides to shuffle you.
 +
*[[Cheibriados]]' stat boosts are extremely useful for unarmed combat fighters, especially if they intend to use [[Blade Hands]], and Step From Time can get you directly into melee range rather than getting peppered with ranged attacks as you crawl toward your foes. Unfortunately, the loss of movement speed makes it difficult to choose your battles; don't be afraid to Step From Time when things look bad.
  
−
[[Nemelex Xobeh]], while seemingly an odd choice, can work rather well for Trolls. While their [[Evocations]] aptitude is poor, that's par for the course for a Troll, and the various decks you'll be getting your claws on can give you a great deal of much-needed versatility; you'll also be able to make better use of the various [[wand]]s and [[rod]]s you find lying around the dungeon. If you want to be a Troll that can use anything more than the most basic of magic, drawing the Shuffle card is one of the best ways to go about doing that.
+
The only god that really doesn't mesh well with trolls is [[Zin]]. While his abilities are just as useful to trolls, his dietary restrictions cut your corpse access quite harshly. Worshiping Zin as a troll is one of the easiest ways to find yourself actually starving to death.
  
−
Letting slimes eat stuff for [[Jiyva]] will feed you, making him one of the best ways to offset your trollish metabolism. Jiyva's mutation gifts can also provide valuable resistances and [[auxiliary attack]]s, and the various mutations that intefere with your armour have fewer downsides when you're too big to fit into most kinds of armour in the first place. Plus, your extremely high strength means you can carry more stuff with you, somewhat limiting the number of things you have to leave in a stash where they can be eaten by slimes.
+
Finally, don't use trollish unarmed combat against hydras. It's a very bad idea. Large rocks, powerful attack wands, and god abilities are your best bet here.
  
 
==Guides==
 
==Guides==

Revision as of 17:48, 20 September 2013

Version 0.12: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

This page is about the player species. For the monster, see Troll (monster). If you were looking for monstrous trolls in general, see List of trolls.

Trolls are like Ogres, but even nastier. They have thick, knobbly skins of any colour from putrid green to mucky brown, which are covered in patches of thick fur, and their mouths are full of ichor-dripping fangs.

They can rip creatures apart with their claws, and regenerate very quickly from even the most terrible wounds. They learn slowly indeed - as slowly as High Elves - and need a great amount of food to survive.

Innate Abilities

Preferred Backgrounds

Level Bonuses

Starting Skills and Equipment

Trolls start with the skills and equipment listed for their background, with these exceptions:

Difficulty of Play

Simple • Intermediate • Advanced

Trolls are an extremely easy race in the early game, despite first appearances. They have the worst aptitudes in almost every skill, and hunger three times faster than average. However, trolls are actually highly effective as all-out Unarmed Combat attackers; they have a decent aptitude, the highest STR in the game, +6 bonus damage (from the Claws 3 mutation), a passive +4 to hit bonus, and they occasionally inflict the bleeding condition for 9% of a living monster's health per turn. With or without Blade Hands, a troll specialized in Unarmed Combat is one of the deadliest melee fighters possible, competitive with an ogre with a fully enchanted giant spiked club.

On top of that, access to large rocks makes a huge difference in survival. Even with 0 Throwing skill, spamming large rocks at an oncoming foe can soften them up tremendously before you start going at them by hand.

Their hunger rate is astonishingly fast, but their Gourmand intrinsic allows them to make the most of corpses while still giving them full access to every permafood you come across. So long as you take the time to tear apart anything edible, you can spend the majority of your game at Engorged with no actual fear of starvation. If you can find a source of poison resistance, the menu gets even broader and staying well-fed even easier. By the time you reach those branches where corpses are a rarity, you'll likely have enough permafood to keep you very safely in the clear. To be safe, though, there's nothing wrong with carrying a bunch of rations around with you.

The largest obstacle trolls have to success lies in their peculiar approach to defense; that being to take a tremendous amount of damage and bounce back remarkably fast. Their large size prevents them from wearing any gloves or boots, and the only body armour they can wear initially are robes and animal hides, so getting a decent AC can be tricky. Evasion is hard to come by, too; they have a lousy aptitude for it (-2), and their large size and low dexterity both reduce their EV significantly.

Instead of negating enemy attacks through AC and EV, trolls rely on their tremendous health pool and regenerative properties to keep them going. Few single opponents in the early game can kill them fast enough to survive a troll's claws. The real threat lies in overconfidence; taking on multiple opponents at once (a band of orcs or halberd-wielding gnolls, for example) is an easy way to lose an otherwise promising troll. Until you've established some sort of solid defense, cautious play and intelligent use of potions and scrolls is vital.

Eventually, however, trolls can couple their vitality with excellent defense. Finding an early dragon armour is a godsend, but it's entirely possible to survive long enough to find a dragon and make your own gear from it. Trollish strength and size make it easy to operate in even heavy dragon armours, and although it does slow your unarmed attacks somewhat, the added durability is well worth it. Alternatively, shields are an excellent way to add durability early on. A troll's low Shields skill aptitude is less of an issue because they can negate shield penalties at lower skill levels than medium sized creatures, and the penalty to damage output is tolerable. So long as they make the effort to avoid fighting multiple opponents at once, a shield can make your troll significantly less of a glass cannon.

Skill aptitudes

The higher the value, the better the aptitude.

Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude
Attack Miscellaneous Magic
Fighting -2 Armour -2 Spellcasting -5
Dodging -2
Maces & Flails -1 Shields -1 Conjurations -3
Axes -2 Stealth -5 Hexes -4
Polearms -2 Summonings -3
Staves -2 Invocations -1 Necromancy -2
Unarmed Combat 0 Evocations -3 Translocations -3
Throwing -1 Shapeshifting -1 Alchemy -3
Fire Magic -3
Short Blades -2 Ice Magic -3
Long Blades -2 Air Magic -4
Ranged Weapons -4 Experience -1 Earth Magic -1

Strategy

Trollish intelligence and magic aptitudes are some of the worst in the game. While this doesn't rule out magic entirely, it takes intense effort to get higher level spells available for them, and is generally not an efficient use of experience. Some 1st and 2nd level spells, however, are perfectly viable for trolls: Confusing Touch and Beastly Appendage are decent 1st level combat enhancers, Sting is excellent for softening up approaching opponents, and Swiftness, Shroud of Golubria, and Repel Missiles are all useful buffs well within the reach of trolls. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but you should definitely try to have your physical offense and defense in order before more than dabbling in magic.

Evocations is one of a troll's better aptitudes (at least compared to their magic skills), and it offers a much less uphill battle for magical support. Finding a useful rod can immediately give a troll access to high-level spells they'd normally have to devote massive amounts of training for, and a troll's capacity for eating makes it much easier to deal with the hunger costs involved (just be careful when exploring corpse-free branches). Rods, unfortunately, are by no means guaranteed to generate, so consider this a tactic to take up if the opportunity presents itself, and not something to rely on.

A vital resource that is guaranteed to present itself are gods. Trollish Invocations has an astounding aptitude of -1, and there are a number of excellent gods to complement their limited skill set:

  • Okawaru's Heroism buffs Unarmed Combat performance tremendously, as does Finesse, and his armour gifts occasionally include early dragon armour.
  • Trog's abilities require no skill training to activate, and provide free berserking, magic resistance, even greater health regeneration, and very abusable summons. Just mind your hunger.
  • Elyvilon's normal hunger restraints are less of a concern for the voracious troll, who benefits immensely from excellent panic buttons and the ability to pacify most opponents with smite targeting.
  • Likewise, Makhleb's HP costs for spells are of little concern when you regenerate them back almost immediately, and having powerful ranged attacks and high-level summons let you handle anything you're afraid to get into clawing range for. The healing-on-kills helps trolls recover from fights even faster than normal.
  • Kikubaaqudgha's corpse deliveries can provide you with dragon hides after enough uses in the later portions of the dungeon, and provides snacks at the same time. Also, trolls aren't entirely useless with Necromancy if you should choose to dabble in that, and the ability to invoke torment (which you'll partially resist) on powerful foes goes well with the fact that you regenerate faster than them.
  • Nemelex Xobeh's deck gifts are a more reliable way to make use of Evocations than hoping for a rod, and if you really want to turn your troll into a spell caster, drawing a Shuffle card is a means of acquiring a phenomenal boost to intelligence.
  • Jiyva's random mutations don't get in the way of your equipment slots, as most of them are already off-limits, and the various resistances it grants you can fill slots you otherwise have difficulty with. Slimify is a very effective method for disabling dangerous opponents, and his jellies will help keep you well-fed as they devour every item in sight. Just be prepared to occasionally lose a lot of your strength when Jiyva decides to shuffle you.
  • Cheibriados' stat boosts are extremely useful for unarmed combat fighters, especially if they intend to use Blade Hands, and Step From Time can get you directly into melee range rather than getting peppered with ranged attacks as you crawl toward your foes. Unfortunately, the loss of movement speed makes it difficult to choose your battles; don't be afraid to Step From Time when things look bad.

The only god that really doesn't mesh well with trolls is Zin. While his abilities are just as useful to trolls, his dietary restrictions cut your corpse access quite harshly. Worshiping Zin as a troll is one of the easiest ways to find yourself actually starving to death.

Finally, don't use trollish unarmed combat against hydras. It's a very bad idea. Large rocks, powerful attack wands, and god abilities are your best bet here.

Guides

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