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All Trolls Are Different: Difference between revisions
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Err? Well, they're ''always'' big, ugly, brutal, and stupid, right? Except when they're small, [[Ugly Cute]] and friendly.
Should they be [[Dungeons
All right, let's admit it. Trolls are ''diverse''. It's not even a matter of [[Our Monsters Are Different|everyone wanting them to be different]]; there are so many clashing ideas of trolls in mythology ''itself'' that it's hard to decide what they are. So, really, you can't blame modern creators for putting their own spin on trolls. If there is any consistency, it is that [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|the less cute the troll, the meaner the troll]], but even that tends to be subverted.
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* Would you believe that "Totoro", in ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]'', is actually a mispronunciation of troll? (Japanized, it would be "tororo", and Mei doubled up the wrong sound) Totoro is the leader of a family of friendly forest monsters, and he looks like a big, furry cat-owl-rabbit thing.
* The trolls from the ''[[Berserk]]'' manga series are nasty, nasty predatory monsters straight out of the Qliphoth, a nightmare realm connected to the astral world, that have taken to [[Mars Needs Women|carrying women off]] from villages for [[Face Full of Alien Wingwong|breeding purposes]]. Like many of Kentaro Miura's monsters, ''Berserk'''s trolls are [[Mix-and-Match Critters]], and in their case look like a hairy cross between a rat, a monkey and a pig.
* Trolls in ''[[Slayers]]'' (likely based on the ones in ''[[Dungeons
** A minor character is [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|part troll and part werewolf]] - he has human-level intelligence and apparently ''stronger'' regenerative abilities than a normal troll. Obviously a [[Munchkin]]...
* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'' one of Hades' Specters is Troll Ivan. His armor represent the troll as a humanoid being with pointy ears, claws and a tail.
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* [[Neil Gaiman]]'s short story "Troll Bridge" features a troll with a nose keen enough to "smell the dreams you dreamed before you were born". And it eats a person's life and takes their place, {{spoiler|and leaving them, in exchange, to take the place of the troll.}}
* In Edith Pattou's "[[North Child]]", based on a Scandinavian fairy tale, trolls are tall, beautiful humanoids with ridged white skin and the ability to use magic, who live in the North Pole.
* The troll in [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Three Hearts and Three Lions]]'' is subterranean, larger and stronger than a human, and is [[Healing Factor|almost unkillable]], regenerating from any injury and being able to move its severed limbs. Only [[Kill It with Fire|burning it in a fire]] killed it. (This is where [[Dungeons
* In Robert Lynn Aspirin's "[[Myth Adventures]]" series, the male inhabitants of the dimension Trollia are [[Genius Bruiser|trolls]]. The females are [[Ms. Fanservice|trollops]]. While the male trolls fit the big and ugly (but ''not'' the stupid) stereotype, trollops are [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|gorgeous]].
* Trolls in Holly Black's ''[[Modern Faerie Tales]]'' are slightly larger and much uglier than most [[The Fair Folk|faeries]], with greenish skin, protruding teeth, and black-and-gold eyes. They turn to stone in sunlight, but will recover when no longer exposed. Troll blood breeds true even when mixed with human. Ravus, the one major character who's a troll, is a little intimidating but a genuinely good guy, although it's indicated in other books that this isn't true of all trolls.
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** They have the ability to change their form because they are caught between two worlds and two races; it appears all hybrids have this ability, as the half-kelpy in the sequel displays it as well.
* In ''One King's Way,'' second volume of ''The Hammer and the Cross'' trilogy by [[Harry Harrison]], a troll or "marbendill" is a large intelligent humanoid that sometimes feeds on human flesh, lurks in the water to pull unwary boaters under, but otherwise is rather likeable, actually. No, really. Distinguished from humans by, among other things, a much lower sex drive; human behavior in that regard rather amuses them.
* In William King's ''[[Warhammer
* The trolls in Rienne Poortvliet's ''Gnome'' books are nasty, ugly, foul, cruel—every feature every bad troll ever had lumped into one bloated hairy little monster. And there is a subspecies, the Snotgurdle, who is ''worse''.
** By contrast, in the animated series, the trolls are all of this but more like bullies than outright villains. David the Gnome actually rescued one of their children once. (Of course, the baby troll in question was abandoned by his mother and there were other... ''complexities'', we'll say. But it's enough to note that the Gnomes were all for saving him anyway.)
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== Tabletop Games ==
* The trolls of ''[[Dungeons
** There's various subspecies who may omit the vulnerability to acid and/or fire, or gain new one. Such species include swamp trolls, mountain trolls, crystal trolls and [[Super Soldier|war trolls]].
*** And with the right templates, can have ''no'' vulnerabilities. Laying a template which grants immunity to acid on a war troll leads to a monster that cannot be killed by hitpoint damage, although it can still be (temporarily) knocked out, and killed by drowning, Constitution Damage/Drain and Energy Drain. See [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101587 Emerald Legion] for an example of extreme templating that tries to cover these weaknesses as well.
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* Trolls in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' are pretty much the same, only adding on a ridiculously-caustic stomach acid, capable of digesting rock, that they like to vomit on their foes/victims.
** And even then, there are at least three kinds of trolls in the [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] universe.
*** Ahem. Warhammer ''World''—there are others out there in the [[Recycled in Space|sort of related]] [[Warhammer
* The trolls of ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' are big and strong and have horns... and that's mostly where the similarity to an "average' troll ends. They're not necessarily dumb or ugly, and they're some of the best warriors of Changeling society. Their major weakness is that they're bound by honor; if they break an oath, [[Kryptonite Factor|they lose their strength]], and if someone else breaks an oath they made with a troll, well... [[Unstoppable Rage|they'd better get out of the way]].
** The spiritual heirs of the trolls in ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' are the Ogres, who can ramp up their strength and be more intimidating but aren't too strong against mental whammies. Thanks to the game's Kith system, they range from all-devouring maw (Gristlegrinder) to stone-skinned tank (Stonebones) to giant (Gargantuan) to river hag (Water-Dweller). One of the books in the line contains an actual Troll Kith that relies on both brute strength and cunning.
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*** In the supplement Dunkelzahn's Secrets, there is a list of candidates the dragon Dunkelzahn defeated to become President of the UCAS (what the USA became) - the republican candidate, Anne Penchyk, is a troll.
* [[Earthdawn]]'s trolls are this, with a dash of vikingian [[Sky Pirate]]. They make good wizards, especially Elementalists.
* Trolls in ''[[
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' trolls [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=122405 are] [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=19630 all] [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?id=49828 over] [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=108806 the] [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=146021 place]. At least they can all cheat their way out of death, usually by regenerating (Eventide has one that uses persist instead)...
** ''Magic'' trolls are also often hexproof—that is, unable to be targeted by opponents' spells.
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** And since the players can have green skin, horns, and the same superpowers, there are quite a few Troll heroes and villains out there. A lot of the player-made ones are [[Cute Monster Girl|cute monster girls]] since The Trolls are an all-male street gang.
* Trolls in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]: Oblivion'' are [http://static.squidoo.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/draft_lens1503817module8717698photo_elder_scrolls_oblivion_troll_190305.jpg1205627027 big ape-like beasts with green, moss-like fur and three eyes]. They have low-level health regeneration and can be killed by normal means, but are especially vulnerable to fire.
** ''The Elder Scrolls: Arena'' borrowed ''[[Dungeons
* Trolls in the [[Gothic]] series are huge ape-like creatures with massive arms and short legs, brown fur and incredibly tough skin, but no regeneration. A young troll is a tough fight for two skilled warriors, a fully grown troll requires the main character to be up to borderline-demigod prowess or [[Good Bad Bugs|competent at circle strafing]], and the even bigger and scarier-looking black troll is stronger yet. Their punches will also send you flying. Luckily, there is a spell called "shrink monster" that will - well, you figure it out.
* In ''[[Tibia]]'', trolls are a weak race of hominids with no special powers, but with an apparent appetite for dogs. A clan of swamp trolls are seen [[Cargo Cult|worshipping a soccer ball]]. The Swamp Trolls are green, and can poison the player, regular Trolls are brown as are Island Trolls, which wield Marlins as swords. There's also a blue race called Ice Trolls.
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** They also have an extreme tendency towards "regeneration", which depending on the game might just make them slowly regain health, might fully heal in a matter of seconds if not killed fast (especially if everything in the game regains health in real time), may make them rise from the dead, and is almost always hindered in some equally inconsistent way by fire (and sometimes, though not always, by acid).
* Trolls in ''[[Nethack]]'' have a large chance of spontaneously reviving if their corpse isn't taken care of in some way, like {{spoiler|being eaten, disintegrated, or thrown underwater (fire does NOT, by the way, really help in this case)}}. However, they lose a level every time and have a chance of not coming back anyways. They tend to make decent pets for the careless.
* ''[[Majesty]]'' took the regeneration of trolls very literally, having them ooze together in the middle of the city to wreak havoc and then melt into a green puddle when defeated. Their appearance clearly points to ''[[Dungeons
* Trolls in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' are large, bulky, plate-armor wearing mercenaries. They, in the past, were allies of the player-friendly Empire of Aht Urhgan, but turned against them and are now in the employ of Moblins (Goblins with fancy armor).
* The Locust in ''[[Gears of War]]'' are arguably a [[Not Using the Zed Word]] or [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]] version of trolls, given some of the parallels to the "repulsive underground dweller hostile to man" version of trolls—including being considered legendary monsters. They vary from diminutive humanoids to enormous pseudo-arthropods, using teeth, claws, or guns—either scavenged from humans, or their own designs—and seem to actually be fairly intelligent.
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[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
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