Troll

This page is about the player species. For the monster, see Troll (monster).

Trolls are like ogres, but even nastier. They have thick, knobbly skins of any colour from putrid green to mucky brown and their mouths are full of ichor-dripping fangs. They also have fearsome claws, enormous strength, and the ability to regenerate from injuries. Their hunger for raw meat is just as fierce, much to the terror of anyone who crosses their path.

While trolls have poor aptitudes for everything but clawing and smashing and hurling things, they don't actually need them. Trolls are horrific monsters with monstrous stats, and they make just as formidable adventurers, especially if they are wise enough not to stray from their traditional way of life - rending their next meal (and anything else that annoys them) limb from limb!

Innate Abilities

• Trolls have fur and very tough skin (AC +3).
• Claws 3: Trolls have claws for hands. They also get a passive (hidden) to-hit bonus when using them.
• Gourmand: Trolls can eat chunks of raw meat even when not hungry.
• Regeneration 2: Trolls heal very quickly. (Note that this appears to be the same as the mutation Fast Healing 2.)
• Fast Metabolism 3+: On top of the +3 hunger penalty from this mutation, trolls receive an additional +3 racial penalty directly. Trolls burn through satiation levels with lightning speed.
• Saprovore 2: Trolls can tolerate rotten meat, and have a reduced chance of getting sick from contaminated meat.
• Trolls can use giant clubs and giant spiked clubs (unlike smaller species), but their large bodies do not fit into any armour but robes, cloaks, animal skins, troll hides, troll leather armours, dragon hides, or dragon armours.

Preferred Backgrounds

Trolls are among the least versatile races in the game, preferring to become Fighters, Gladiators, Monks, Hunters, Berserkers, Death Knights, Healers, and Wizards.

Level Bonuses

• Trolls gain a Strength increase every 3 levels starting at level 3.
• Trolls have 30% more HP than average.
• Trolls have 20% less MP than average.
• Trolls gain 3 magic resistance per level.

Starting Skills and Equipment

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

• Incompatible body armour is replaced by animal skin or robes.
• Any helmet is removed.
• Meat rations replace bread rations, and trolls receive an extra ration.
• 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).

Difficulty of Play

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 no problem with food 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.

However, later on 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 Spellcasting gives 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, at the same rate as demigods - this, combined with their inability to even think of entering certain branches, means they are often very badly prepared for the later parts of the game.

Skill aptitudes

The higher the value, the better the aptitude.

Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude
Attack		Miscellaneous		Magic
Fighting	-2	Armour	-2	Spellcasting	-4
Short Blades	-2	Dodging	-2	Conjurations	-3
Long Blades	-2	Stealth	-5	Hexes	-4
Axes	-2	Stabbing	-2	Charms	-4
Maces & Flails	-1	Shields	-2	Summonings	-3
Polearms	-2	Traps	-4	Necromancy	-2
Staves	-2			Translocations	-3
Unarmed Combat	0			Transmutation	-3
		Fire Magic	-3
Throwing	-1	Ice Magic	-3	Invocations	-2
Slings	-4	Air Magic	-4	Evocations	-3
Bows	-4	Earth Magic	-1
Crossbows	-4	Poison Magic	-3	Experience	150

Strategy

See troll strategy.