Troll

A Troll

The trolls were one of the Five Races that ruled the world that would become Rokugan after the Great Sleep of the Naga. They maintained a close kinship with the Fire Element.

Physiology

Trolls were green and flabby, measuring six to seven feet in height. They resembled Ogres, but only superficially, as Ogres were more muscular, bulkier, and taller. Trolls appeared fat and misshapen, and their arms were often abnormally long, distorting their frame further. They possessed oversized jaws with protruding fangs, and their eyes shone and could sometimes be seen from afar. Common Trolls were remarkably timid, preferring to avoid conflict unless their forces were clearly superior, or unless their territory was invaded.

Unlike Ogres, there were Trolls of both genders, but they rarely mated and almost never for pleasure.

History

A Troll

Origin

Long ago, Ningen-do, the Realm of Mortals, did not exist as mankind now knows it. Everything in Creation under the Celestial Heavens was a tumultuous maelstrom of elemental energy, seething between the boundaries of the Spirit Realms. The Five Races, Kenku, Zokujin, Trolls, Kitsu and Ningyo, came into being within the turmoil. Each of these intelligent races was marked by the power of a particular element, and all of them possessed powerful magic which they used to survive in their harsh primordial world. The Kami, who were maddened, destructive spirits, had been tamed, and peace was brought to the Mortal Realm.

Alliance

When the intelligent races found one another and joined their strengths cooperatively, their powers complemented one another and led to the foundation of the Alliance of the Five Races. The Five Races decided to combine their will to make a world that would last forever. In the center of chaos they created a vast city, the City of Night, and in the heart of this city they combined their most powerful magic in the form of a great crystal focus, balancing the five elements that marked each of them in harmony.

Troll Civilization

The trolls were once civilized beings with an advanced talent for magic use whose society was organized into a kingdom. They constructed powerful edifices such as Oblivion's Gate. They used the Gate to explore the Spirit Realms beyond Ningen-do, as they were explorers as well as scholars. Trolls were stout and heavily-built, with keen intellects forged in the heat of their volcanic homes, and struggled for dominance with the Naga race. Trolls were expert architects and master craftsmen, creating buildings and weapons of great beauty and skill. They were also clever diplomats and managed to maintain peaceful relations between their many allies.

Arrival of the Ogres

Following the arrival of the Ogre race to Rokugan, their leader Muhonarak was confronted by the Five Races. The Ogre claimed he came to defeat the Champion of Evil. The five Races did not know of any such thing, so they challenged the Ogre to two challenges. After Muhonarak successfully completed the challenges, the Ogres were accepted and given rule over the Nezumi lands.

Enmity with the Naga

The Naga considered the Trolls their ancestral enemies, and on numerous occasions attacked the Pillar of the Sky, the range of mountains where the Trolls lived.

Fall of the Alliance

Eventually the hordes of Jigoku reached the lands of the Alliance, and they could not overcome the demons. The troll race was decimated by the Champion of Jigoku, the Rakshasa . Tsuno Kishenku, leader of the Tsuno Soultwisters, attacked the City of Night to get control of a powerful nemuranai, a crystal focus. He did this in defiance against his own race's leaders, who believed the crystal was too dangerous to use even against Jigoku's forces. Kishenku proved right, and using the crystal incinerated most of the twisted invaders, but he lost control of it and a wave of energy ripped through the City of Night, killing its inhabitants and turning the city itself into a strange purple crystal. The shockwaves rippled across the world, bringing death and ruin to all the cities of the Five Races.

Stagnation and Downfall

The trolls retreated to their final city, Volturnum, leaving behind one of their greatest warriors to guard the ruins of the crystal city: Sichi, who would be known as the King of the Trolls. Alone their culture began to stagnate and decay, falling into moral corruption and self-indulgence. Eventually, they were conquered by wandering tribes of Ogres, who in turn were conquered by the Nezumi.

Oath to Fu Leng

Trolls

When Fu Leng began creating the Shadowlands to force his Kami siblings into submission and conquer their newborn Emerald Empire of Rokugan, the King of Trolls Morge joined him, promising strength and obeisance. For his loyalty, the Trolls were given the power of the Sea.

Fall into Savagery

The Trolls retained their magical abilities, but the war unleashed by Osano-Wo destroyed the Troll kingdom's capital city of Volturnum. Faced with the truth that more casualties would destroy his people, the Crab Champion relented, permitting the Trolls to survive in the ruins of their empire, and allowing the Crab to retreat and rebuild. In the aftermath of this destruction the Trolls devolved into savage, brutish creatures. Those who sought escape by opening a hole into Jigoku were driven out by the spirits of human ancestors. Remnants of the glorious heights of their ancient civilization still existed in the ruins of Volturnum and amidst the City of Night. In the year 547, during the Ki-Rin's Exodus, the Unicorn battled a distant remnant of the ancient Troll empire.

Habitat

Sea Troll Predator

The wrath of Osano-Wo drove the Troll refugees under the sea, so they became amphibious, or at the very least they were able to stay underwater for several hours. One of their favorite combat tactics was to lurk unseen under the surface of a body of water and then jump out to ambush their startled victim. They usually lived in burrows which could only be accessed through underwater tunnels. Trolls were territorial and did not travel except when looking for a mate. The subgroup of trolls known as Marsh Trolls were mostly found in the swampy areas of the Shadowlands, and were rarely be found within the borders of Rokugan itself. Sea Trolls were considered the traditional enemies of the Ningyo.

Tactics

Troll ambush at sea

Trolls preferred ambushes to direct confrontations. If faced with superior numbers, they would usually flee and remain out of sight until the threat was gone. Once they engaged in combat, they would generally fight with all the strength and cunning they could muster, until one of them was slain. If Trolls were encountered while traveling through the Shadowlands, most travelers were advised by experienced Shadowlands wanderers to avoid them rather than confront them head-on.

See Also

Troll Raiders

• King of Trolls, who died in a challenge against Muhonarak, the first Ogre.
• Sichi, the King of Trolls who fought the Tsuno and became stone.
• Morge, the King of Trolls who swore fealty to the Shadowlands.
• Troll/Meta

References

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