Building Wyrd Beasts - Trolls in the Wyrd Lands

Having talked about my main source for information on trolls, I got to the point that I want to try and design them as they will appear in the game. 

The main idea that stood out to me is that trolls are not (necessarily) big humanoid monsters, but they are the shape of things that you see in the half-light, or an imagined voice at night. They have the ability to 'entroll' you - that is, when you become captivated by them, you run the risk of being changed and in doing so become the troll itself. 

What I present below is how this might be done as a monster in The Wyrd Lands RPG, following my current design principles. 

Pesta i Trappen

Trolls

From retainers have I heard

That they saw two such

boundary-walkers, mark-steppers, 

holding the moors.

One, they thought,

like a woman, the other, 

shaped in the form of man; 

 both treading the ruin road. 

Also known as: boundary-walkers; mearcstappa; wealth-sucker; guardian of the corpse-lake; swallower of the heaven wheel; witch's companion.

Sayings: They were made by trolls [they're a bit odd]; give it to the trolls [throw it away]; may the trolls take me [may I die]; trolls are like humans and love [fated to fade].

Trolls are the half-seen and uncertainly heard; when you ask yourself if that really is a figure in the shade, a face in the wind, a whisper from the doorway, it may be a troll is there. Though, if the light is shone too clearly, or ears pricked too sharply, the troll will likely be already fled. 

Habitat

The troll typically lives on the road - where the realms of men and the wild connect. They may be found in the forest, just beyond the path; or in the back of the cave where you shelter from the storm; or on the lonely moorland as you search for the missing sheep. They may even come into the village and settlement, especially if called upon, or at times where the veil of the world is thinned. 

Twilight, dawn and the depth of night when the day rolls over - these are the times where the trolls roam most broadly. They will appear beneath a clear sky or at the side of the hearth in only the most unusual circumstances. 

Life Cycle

Trolls are not born, they are made. When a human finds themselves caught in the gaze of a troll and they do not escape, when they hold it, fixate upon it, when they even seek it out, speak to it, want it, need it - when these things happen, they become entrolled.  

They begin to change: perhaps their humour leaves them, their enthusiasms wane; they seek solitude and isolation and what should bring joy brings nought. Their skin becomes more sallow, their eyes deepen, their hair more lank, their limbs weaken. 

At some point they may be gone, become a shadow and carried away by a bluster of dark clouds. The wood or ravine or marsh will hold them, till perhaps they risk to make eye contact again and seek out others who will never see them clearly. 

Motivations

The newly made troll will remember the aches of its living heart: the desire for wealth, love and stability. It may seek to grasp the sword and raise its voice in counsel. 

The older troll, feels all these things still but as the final bounces of an echo, a memory that twitches a dying hand and brings them again to look upon those once loved, or those who still can.  

Knowledge and Power

The trolls are creatures that straddle the march our world and the realm of death and the spirit. Their tongues taste the salt, and minds intuit the will of both. While they retain some form they may interact across the divide, bringing gifts and curses from the already-never of the spirit world; they may breathe its airs and eat of its food, dance to its song and speak with its mouth. But as they become frailer in our world, they become frailer too in the other and will interact at some point only as an old stain interacts on the cloth.

Husmand

This then is my write-up. It would need some kind of a picture and I think there is more to go from this starting point - what of the troll that is shunned or treated badly, or that which is used by a witch in their magic? What of the trolls that are healed, that have children before they fade? 

These are thoughts for a future day. Before that though, I want to review what I have created against the design principles I am using. 

• Monsters are complications over challenges
• Yes. If a troll is haunting a place it will be almost impossible to deal with with a sword and spear, it will require significant changes in behaviours or systems within a settlement. If a character becomes entrolled, it cannot be simply cured or "killed" - for that is to kill a member of the settlement. 
• Monsters should be meaningful
• Yes. It was not intentional but there are obvious parallels between the lifecycle of trolls and the real life experience of ill mental health or societal exclusion. 
• Should be magical, powerful or mysterious
• Yes. I think there is space to do more, perhaps with examples of specific trolls or further refinement of "types", but trolls are undoubtedly a key conduit to the magic of the spirit world that people may actually be able to interact with. 
• Should have complex motivations, reactions and connections to their world
• This would definitely depend on the individual situation in a game, but with a starting point of the same motivations as humans this could definitely guide their use in the game. 
• Should be useful 
• Undoubtedly very useful, even if the usage involves the exploitation of someone who is sick. 

Thanks for reading. If you have any comments about the usability of the above in your games, I would love to hear them. 

Might take a detour from Building Wyrd Beasts in my next post to write a little about hex-maps after being inspired by soemthing created by the creative James Chip.