Cave Troll

Cave trolls have a humanoid form similar in many respects to that of mountain trolls: massive, heavily muscled, and hairless, with broad, flat features and elongated ears. There are several startling differences, however. First, the cave troll is much larger than any other form of troll, ranging from ten to twelve feet in height when fully grown. The cave troll is also covered with a greenish, scaly hide. The fangs are smaller and less numerous, for cave trolls usually feed on smaller prey than do other trolls. Most interesting of all is the fact that the cave troll lacks pupils in its eyes and is quite blind.

Adapted to an underground existence where perpetual darkness reigns, the cave troll species has developed other senses to compensate for its lack of sight. They can detect even the slightest vibrations in rock for up to a 1000-foot range and have some sort of "sonar" like a bat's for the detection of obstructions in their immediate vicinity. They also have an amazingly accurate sense of smell which leads them unerringly to prey. Subterranean disturbances of any kind, including mining, combat, or even the passage of a large party making no particular precautions to move in a stealthy fashion, may draw curious cave trolls rapidly to the scene. The scent of other creatures may encourage them to attack, the smell of blood driving them into a killing frenzy of unimaginable ferocity.

Cave trolls are superb tunnelers, using their immense strength to claw through stone and rock. In a single minute, a cave troll can clear a five-foot cubic volume of such material. In this fashion, they can rapidly burrow new tunnels as needed. This ability has led rock trolls and some goblin tribes to attempt to capture and train cave trolls to aid them in mining and tunneling work. Cave trolls are incredibly stupid, however, and it requires constant supervision to keep them working in the desired manner. As such, cave trolls are generally of little value in this type of work. Attempts to cross-breed cave trolls with rock trolls in the hope of obtaining a species with similar abilities but a higher intelligence have never met with any degree of success.

Cave trolls are strictly creatures of the darkness. Exposed to daylight, they turn to stone. This has prompted the other major theory of cave troll origins which claims that cave trolls were in fact animated from stone in imitation of ordinary trolls by some powerful black magic. Ludicrous as this theory may seem, it is not without its own adherents.

Height/Length: 10+ feet

Weight: 1400+ lbs.

Attributes: STR: 22, INT: 4

Level: 6-10

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Damage: Bite: 1-6, Claw/Fist: 2-16 each

Special Attributes:

Sense vibrations (range: 1000 feet)

Acute sense of smell

Tunneling (5 feet per minute)

Immunity to illusions (see Comments)

Armor: As chain mail

Hit Points: 30-70

Comments: Cave Trolls are turned to stone by exposure to daylight. As they are blind, Cave Trolls are unaffected by spells of Illusion .