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Monday, March 25, 2013

Trolls as Goblins

After reading this blog post about trolls as unique individuals, I started thinking: what if "troll" isn't a species, but an effect? Sort of how we might talk about mutants, but there is no "mutant" species, or talk about "cursed" creatures, but "cursed creature" isn't a species; it's something that has happened to a creature, not a distinct creature itself.

In this case, "turns to stone in sunlight" and "regenerate" are two supernatural effects out of possibly many that can be applied to some underlying, horrid humanoid. Maybe... the humanoids themselves? I already talk about goblinoids as being essentially unified variety of creature, an insane, murderous, distorted human, dwarf, elf, or halfling that lives in dark places and preys on decent folk. Perhaps "troll" is a more hideous, more enchanted variant of goblin, something bordering on the unholy.

Maybe trolls are goblinoid undead?

5 comments:

  1. I'm reskinning the Caves of Chaaos into a D&D + Necromunda mash.
    Goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, orcs and all the rest are basically different human gangs.
    Just different types of people, basically.
    The kobolds are cannibalistic ratlings(halflings.
    The owlbear and minotaur are just big, tough mutants.

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  2. It's an interesting effect, and it works well with the post I did today on gnolls (link here). I'm really starting to dig the idea that humanoid and other monster-types are corrupted in some way, and I want to do something comprehensive with this.

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  3. When mortals are lost to the darkness, some are never found. They are twisted by something, beneath the earth, their essence and flesh corrupted and transformed. Their minds are broken, their only goal now is to inflict pain upon others and return with live prey to corrupt, preferably children and infants.

    But sometimes, a goblin gets confused, and instead of raiding the surface, venture deeper into the bowels of the earth. There, the taint in their blood grows, stretching their bones and muscle and sinew into something even further away from the light. The result of this is a foul creature, able to survive even the most terrible blows, that the mortal call Troll.

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