Trolls

Trolls are a magical race probably closely related to giants: either degenerate giants who lost their affinity to large objects like mountains, or a race that broke away from the giants before the latter gained their huge size. This matter is seldom investigated or even mentioned, mostly because the giants find the very idea repulsive.

Trolls are big, strong and tough, with an affinity for stone. They seldom stray far from their homes, being instinctively territorial. Combined with their love of large stone objects, this used to cause problems at isolated bridges, where trolls would take up residence and drive travellers off. After a time, however, the other races have realised they can turn this to advantage: they employ them as guards for bridges (and often toll collectors); the trolls keep their homes/bridges in good repair into the bargain.

There are a few small troll realms in the Twilit Worlds, but maybe half the troll population lives outside these, scattered in other lands: they are instinctively solitary (outside the mating season), and civilisation does not come easily to them. Troll rulers are invariably larger, stronger and tougher than other trolls: this is necessary to maintain dominance.

Typical abilities
STR 40 and high DEF and PRE, and typically frightening Striking Appearance. They might not be the brightest or the quickest, but they should be able to stop normal from crossing their bridges just from being too tough for most weapons. They shouldn’t typically be a problem for metas, though. Troll rulers are generally older (trolls keep growing with age), larger and stronger, on the level of meta bricks. Very few trolls have Second Sight, though their excellent sense of smell verges on the supernatural, giving them a Danger Sense that can penetrate glamour. Sighted trolls are capable of magic, but they do not have a magical tradition of their own, likely due to their territoriality, so magicians are rare and generally trained by other races.