Faction Friday: The Frost Trolls

RPG Faction

troll clipartThe Frost Trolls can be used either as a friendly faction that sends the PCs out on a mission, or as a foe that the PCs must overcome. It is led by Dolom, an unusually intelligent male troll. The group bases itself in a small, magical cave complex.

As a friendly faction, the Frost Trolls are magical, neutral beings of nature that hibernate most of the year in their caves and appear every autumn as a harbinger of winter. All the local farming communities place small portions of the harvest in small shrines nearby, and the trolls visit each one. The trolls take these sacrifices and leave behind carefully-arranged stones that the villages interpret as signal of the upcoming winters’ fortunes. The Frost Trolls spend about one month doing this, then return to their caves where they perform secret auguries through the winter, then sleep until the next autumn.

Plot hook: The Frost Trolls cross the PCs’ paths and explain that a local village did not leave out their sacrifice. Further investigation showed the village abandoned. If the PCs learn the truth and return to the Frost Trolls’ cave with proof, the Frost Trolls will perform the commune spell on any deity the PCs desire.

Caves Background 5As a foe faction, the Frost Trolls appear every autumn to raid nearby villages through the winter. Though trolls are notoriously difficult to control, Dolom has managed to convince this group (so far) that working together is in their best interests. They hate warm weather, so during spring and summer they normally stay in their caves and eat through their food stores, performing only occasional raids.

Plot hook: The Frost Trolls have appeared and begun raiding nearby villages. The PCs enter a village that hasn’t been raided yet, and are hired by the town’s elders to attack and kill the trolls. The village can’t pay much, but insists that the Frost Trolls would have a good amount of loot.

Frostbite Caves Room 1: Entrance Room 2: The Pool of Radiance Room 3: The Inner Sanctum A roughly circular opening about ten feet wide opens onto a forty-foot-wide chamber. Friendly: One troll sits here meditating, and will engage anyone who enters in a friendly manner. Half a dozen runes on the walls glow blue, bathing the chamber in a ghostly blue light.

Foe: Two trolls guard this entrance and attack anyone who enters. If the first is killed, the second disengages and runs to the inner sanctum.

This circular room contains a deep blue pool of freezing water, within which rests a water elemental (undetectable except with a DC 17 Intelligence (Arcana) check). The room contains no illumination. If a non-troll passes by the pool, the water elemental rises out of it and attacks. As soon as the intruders retreat from this position, the elemental stops attacking and returns to the pool.

 

Most of the frost trolls live in this large chamber. Friendly: Dozens of runes cover the wall, giving the chamber dim illumination at all times. A circle of runes at the center of the room serves as a meditation spot.

Foe: Crates and barrels sit in haphazard piles all around; the trolls break into them and eat at their leisure. The place has no organization. A clear space in the center of the chamber is used for impromptu contests of strength and simple games.

 

 

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