Trolls

Long the common scourge of our world, their threat is on the mind of anyone who dares wander into unknown territory. Even known territory can be fraught with peril to the unwary adventurer.

This piece will outline a basic understanding of the common Troll, and hopefully prepare us all to better withstand their attacks and tolerate their inevitable presence in our lives.

The physical characteristics are well known; large, ape-like beasts with three eyes and ferocious claws.

The three eyes is a very interesting quality to have, and it has been oft-speculated as to why a troll would need such a unique trait.

A third eye could potentially enhance the visual field, and perhaps it is this visual acuity that makes them such fearsome predators, even in places of restricted visibility and noise pollution, such as in the high wind-torn mountains of Skyrim.

Perhaps it is a gift bestowed by some spirit, to give the troll some kind of extra-sensory perception or insight, to better arm them against the innocents of the world.

The irony of this fact being that the soft tissue mass required to support a third eyeball would directly interfere with the development of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, diminishing executive function, impulse control and decision-making. This intellectual deficiency could potentially reduce or even negate the benefits of the additional sensory input of the third eye.

This perhaps explains some of the relentless and cruel behaviours they exhibit.

In terms of their behaviour, trolls tend to be territorial and solitary, although they are known to occasionally attack in groups or on the open road. When such an event happens, pity the traveller who should cross their path. They attack quickly and viciously, and have a most frustrating ability to regenerate their health and then return for the kill.

When caught in the frenzy of fight, a troll is relentless in their violence and cruelty. The writer has personally witnessed a troll take down a horse, and continue to flay the dead thing well beyond the point of the attack being useful.

Troll lairs are rudimentary shelters, usually caves. They seem to keep kills near their shelters, but not necessarily to eat them. They hoard treasures and belongings, but do not appreciate what they have the way sentient creatures do.

Is this a sign of sentience lost? Or intelligence yet to come? Perhaps it is a trick of the Divines, or a lesson we must learn in our quest to better ourselves.

When a troll chooses to engage, there are only two choices, flee it or kill it. And if one chooses to flee, they must make themselves extremely scarce, because the monsters will give chase.

If the choice is to engage, the fight is best made as short as possible. It is well known that fire, the blessed light of creation and passion, is anathema to the trolls. Use it liberally. There are even some troll-hunters that will soul-trap the beasts, and hurl the soul gems into the ocean, in the hopes that they will forever be banned from our plane.

When a group of people is confronted by one or more trolls, it is important to work as a team and to communicate clearly to ensure that each person can watch each other’s back. Be careful that when slinging fire we do not burn each other, and attack only the intended targets.

And most importantly, never give up or turn on one another, because that is when the troll truly wins the battle.