General Description
Trolls are large creatures, some 6ft wide at the shoulder, and humanoid in build with thick grey skin, often mottled with lighter patches and varying in tone from individual to individual, generally with thick black hair. Physically powerful and built to endure great hardship, Trolls make excellent soldiers using their innate ability to regenerate from wounds which would kill a lesser creature and their immense strength which is only behind that of Giants, Ents and Dragons amongst the sentient races.
Culture
Trolls gather in family units of four to six which all live together until they reach adulthood. On occasion, a troll will take multiple wives and this is not frowned upon where they are all treated equally. All Trolls are required to take the Bridge Toll Agency Examination, in Old Troll, once they are considered adults. The results of which indicate their future career possibilities and based on the results of this and interviews they are assigned to junior roles within the Agency. This National Service lasts for a minimum period of 3 years, but can extend to 20 years where candidates show signs of excellence.
On graduation from these roles many Trolls take up positions in the family business, or in service to the Imperial Government. They are noted for being famous for their cuisine which is largely based on the abundant variety of fish that inhabit Imperial waters. Particular Troll favourites include fish cheese and
kippers on toast.
Deceiving Appearances
For a race stereotyped as being of below-average intelligence, the Trolls have also come up with some incredibly important scientific advancements as well, including shipbuilding, the printing press, gas lighting, the concept of the now near-universal Dragon Post system and the idea of using magic to influence the weather and travel great distances in very short periods of time, though both of these are more conceptual than directly practical. Whilst Trolls were the first race to emerge and to master magic, this is not an area in which they excel without strict training and mental discipline. The race are, however, masterful as scribes, cartographers, mathematicians and astronomers.
Language
The Trolls invented the Common language, which the vast majority of Oerth's population has as a first or second language. They were the first race to master the art of writing which they used to record their complex tax system. There is also Old Troll, which has been obsolete since the First Age but is still used for names out of tradition; as such, you will often find Trolls and Troll settlements named in the Old tongue.
Naturally Organised
The Troll system of life revolves around the concept of slow and steady progress, backed by the economy of the Imperial State. So embedded into their history and actions is this one fact, that the Trolls were the first race to invent a system of taxation. It was several decades before this system was recorded when they mastered the art of writing. To this day, Troll scribes are still highly sort after and record the majority of contracts, treaties and history on behalf of Orth. The Imperial Troll Empire Government invests these vast quantities of money and other tributary resources into the improvement of its cities, libraries, churches and military. The success of this project has made all Imperial citizens literate, spread the Church of the Nameless to nearly every corner of Orth and granted opportunity for those willing to work.
Race of Savants
As mentioned earlier, the Trolls have good technical, tactical and mathematical minds but generally the vast majority of them are of below-average intelligence, though not to an non-functional level. Nearly all Trolls are literate and educated, but can be stubborn, brutish, obliviously blunt, incredibly slow on the uptake and often tend towards taking only the most brute-force route towards solving a problem.
Counters to Regeneration
The Trolls’ rapid healing ability is powerful, but can be subverted. Fire and acid slow it down dramatically to the point of stopping it completely until the burns are treated. Also it is not infallible as it is entirely possible to simply cause more damage than their regeneration can cope with at a reasonable time.
Lumbering
Due to their overall mass (height-wise they are one of Orth’s largest humanoid races, and even so they are much heavier than even Giants due to their very thick skin and much stockier build), Trolls are generally quite slow, far more so than other large races. They can’t run very fast, and tend to move in a very slow and deliberate manner.