A troll thread

General questions, debates, and rants about RPGs

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
TavishArtair
Knight-Baron
Posts: 593
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

A troll thread

Post by TavishArtair »

What's your favorite version of the eponymous "troll" in gaming (or just fantasy in general). Myself, I will always have a soft spot for the crazy, horned, blue-skinned trolls of Changeling: the Dreaming, especially because that basically gave you the ability to play a Nordic jotnar. I don't really favor CtD itself as a whole, though, for hopefully pretty obvious reasons, but the temptation to find a CtL game to play a CtD troll remains.

I don't really like the D&D troll much, since while it's a classic, it never really felt particularly "mythic." Scary, to be sure.
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

I've played D&D long enough that I tend to think of D&D trolls by default when I hear the word. The other two versions I like are:

1) the smaller green trolls from Warcraft 2, which I think became neutral NPCs in Warcraft 3 (not the skinny blue ones the orcs could use).
Image
2) the fat, stupid trolls in the Gnomes book by Wil Nuygen.
Image
User avatar
shadzar
Prince
Posts: 4922
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:08 pm

Post by shadzar »

Giant, not smart humanoids.

Something like the DDM mountain troll in size.
Image
Play the game, not the rules.
Swordslinger wrote:Or fuck it... I'm just going to get weapon specialization in my cock and whip people to death with it. Given all the enemies are total pussies, it seems like the appropriate thing to do.
Lewis Black wrote:If the people of New Zealand want to be part of our world, I believe they should hop off their islands, and push 'em closer.
good read (Note to self Maxus sucks a barrel of cocks.)
User avatar
tzor
Prince
Posts: 4266
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by tzor »

My favorite comes from the "Book of Gnomes" which always seemed to be the perfect example of the internet variety.

Image
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Tzor, I'm pretty sure that picture is of a Snotgurgle.
User avatar
Judging__Eagle
Prince
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Location: Lake Ontario is in my backyard; Canada

Post by Judging__Eagle »

I tend to think of the D&D version when talking about or on this board. But when it comes to other people, most of them play either D&D or WoW, and both types of trolls are pretty different.

I alternate between the two.

Other versions that I think about are the ones from The Hobbit.

I know of the trolls from book of Gnomes; but I also think of when I first read about them, in The Troll Book.

Image

I tend to think of the larger trolls and isolated trolls, as being much more uncommon; while most trolls are more like the "Medium Giant" Jungle Trolls from MM3, that are mostly medium sized, and work in groups.
The Gaming Den; where Mathematics are rigorously applied to Mythology.

While everyone's Philosophy is not in accord, that doesn't mean we're not on board.
User avatar
tzor
Prince
Posts: 4266
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by tzor »

I was under the impression that the snotgurgle was a type of troll. Urban dictionary calls it a "realtive." I definitely remember the troll association in the book itself. (Actually I thought that was a specific troll's name, but my memory is exceptionally faulty here.)
Username17
Serious Badass
Posts: 29894
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Username17 »

Image

-Username17
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

tzor wrote:I was under the impression that the snotgurgle was a type of troll. Urban dictionary calls it a "realtive." I definitely remember the troll association in the book itself. (Actually I thought that was a specific troll's name, but my memory is exceptionally faulty here.)
It's been forever since I've read the book, but I remember him having six fingers and six toes as one distinction, and they're much more malicious. They're also rare as hell (two or three in the world), but I think you're right in that they're a type of troll.

I almost included that picture, but I wanted one of the "regular" trolls.
User avatar
God_of_Awesome
Knight-Baron
Posts: 686
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:19 am

Post by God_of_Awesome »

I tend to more less think of some odd combo of the Wow and DnD troll. I prefer the WoW visual cept green skinned and the DnD abilities.
User avatar
Josh_Kablack
King
Posts: 5318
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Location: Online. duh

Post by Josh_Kablack »

I'm not a fan of Poul's Trolls - they show up in all of one novel before D&D.

I tend to think more of things like:

Image
Image
Image
and this girl that I used to work with way back in the Kiltie dishroom, whose temperment (and nonconventional appearance) earned her the nickname of "troll"
Last edited by Josh_Kablack on Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

I suppose there's always obvious troll too. It's not the first thing that comes to mind, but I am oft reminded...
Image
Last edited by RobbyPants on Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Avoraciopoctules
Overlord
Posts: 8624
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
Location: Oakland, CA

Post by Avoraciopoctules »

My favorite version of the troll is the magical bridgekeeper in the Races as Nations thread.

http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=71150
sake
Knight
Posts: 400
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by sake »

I know it's stupid, but I'm actually partial to the Warcraft style cannibalistic-Aztec-by-way-of-Jamaica-green-skinned-elves-with-tusks-and-big-noses Trolls
User avatar
hogarth
Prince
Posts: 4582
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 1:00 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by hogarth »

TROLLS!

Image[/img]
User avatar
Maxus
Overlord
Posts: 7645
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Maxus »

I like both Pratchett's and Eddings's takes on trolls.

Discworld trolls are living rock and have to mind their body temperature or their silicon brains become less and less efficient.

Trolls in the Elenium and Tamuli are, well, cave-men. Big ones. And creepy sometimes, except in the Tamuli where they become
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.

--The horror of Mario

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
User avatar
Torko
1st Level
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:03 pm

Post by Torko »

Danny Devito gobbling up a can of cat food and immediately falling asleep.
Silent Wayfarer
Knight-Baron
Posts: 898
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:35 am

Post by Silent Wayfarer »

Berserk's trolls amuse me.
If your religion is worth killing for, please start with yourself.
User avatar
Ganbare Gincun
Duke
Posts: 1022
Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:42 am

Post by Ganbare Gincun »

angelfromanotherpin wrote:Tzor, I'm pretty sure that picture is of a Snotgurgle.
Wow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm not the only one on here that caught that. :lol:
User avatar
erik
King
Posts: 5868
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by erik »

Visually I really like the LotR movie trolls. But they are barely sentient which is ultimately uninteresting. A bit smarter and individualistic (say like LotR book trolls) and I'm sold.
User avatar
Tshern
Journeyman
Posts: 171
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2008 3:35 pm

Post by Tshern »

Josh_Kablack wrote:
Image
and this girl that I used to work with way back in the Kiltie dishroom, whose temperment (and nonconventional appearance) earned her the nickname of "troll"
Every Finn here would agree with the last one. There's no real troll in the series, but I'd still give my vote to my favorite childhood animation.
Joe, who plans to own Newall's Plumbing Company, asked the presidential hopeful about his plan to increase taxes for some Americans. He felt that Obama's increase plan may redistribute wealth.

"Robin Hood stole from greedy rich people and redistributed it to the peasants, so to speak, so if he's [Obama] calling us peasants, I kind of resent that," -Joe the Plumber, a Republican.
User avatar
A Hammer
Apprentice
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:53 am

Post by A Hammer »

Image
'Of all the things that shouldn’t be written on any concept drawing ever, “wall of crates” and “crates should all be the same” ranks right up there.'
Thymos
Knight
Posts: 418
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:02 am

Post by Thymos »

I'm really liking the Hordes trolls by privateer press.

http://privateerpress.com/hordes/galler ... /warbeasts
User avatar
Psychic Robot
Prince
Posts: 4607
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 10:47 pm

Post by Psychic Robot »

I like trolls like Grendel. Their cruelty amuses me. I also appreciate their cunning and sneakiness.
Count Arioch wrote:I'm not sure how discussions on whether PR is a terrible person or not is on-topic.
Ant wrote:
Chamomile wrote:Ant, what do we do about Psychic Robot?
You do not seem to do anything.
Data Vampire
Master
Posts: 212
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:09 am

tag fix

Post by Data Vampire »

Last edited by Data Vampire on Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply