IRON TROLL

This seven-foot troll has dark gray skin, a long, hooked nose and large ears. Its mouth is filled with dozens of sharp teeth and a biliously yellow tongue. Long fingers are wrapped around the hilt of a sharp greatsword, and it wears a suit of battered chainmail. Its beady eyes watch your every move, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

While the strength and regenerative ability of the common troll make them a formidable guardian, their brutish nature makes them dangerous and difficult to control as part of an organized military force. Sages theorize that the iron trolls were created by an ancient priest or wizard in an attempt to rectify this situation, creating an army that possessed the strengths of the common troll without their savage demeanor.

Iron trolls lack the full regenerative prowess of other troll races, but they possess greater intelligence and the ability to operate as a coordinated unit in battle. Their affinity for metal-work and electricity suggest that some form of elemental energy had a part in their creation, although some sages suggest that this may simply be the result of a powerful blessing by an unknown deity that has adopted the iron trolls as his own.

Iron trolls are disciplined and militaristic race. They have a strict hierarchy of command and obedience, with orders given and carried out from commander to officer to soldier to non-combatant. Only the magisters, iron trolls gifted in the use of magic, have some freedom to act according to their own desires and even they must pay heed to the words of their commander. Discipline is maintained with harsh punishments for failure and insubordination, and iron troll society is considered brutal and unforgiving by most other races.

Communities of iron trolls can often be hired by powerful rulers for service as soldiers or guards. Their discipline and skill makes them highly effective hirelings, but their pride and strict loyalty to their own commanders prevents them from working effectively with other forces. Prior attempts to field a unit of iron trolls with less disciplined troops such as orcs and ogres have repetitively resulted in failure.

A typical adult iron troll stands 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. An iron troll’s hide is generally some shade of gray, often with a metallic sheen. Their hair is usually black or iron gray.

Iron trolls speak Giant and Common.

Organization: Squad (2-8), platoon (11–20 plus 1 officer (1st-3rd fighter)), or regiment (30–100 plus 100% noncombatants plus 5-10 officers, 1-2 magisters (2nd-5th wizard) and 1 commander (4th-7th fighter)

Alignment: Usually lawful evil

Combat: Iron trolls fight as a coordinated military unit, using terrain to their advantage and adapting their tactics to counter their enemy’s strengths and exploit their weaknesses. They generally target any visible divine casters in the early stages of any conflict in an attempt to deprive their opponents of magical healing. Iron trolls retreat or call for reinforcements if they find themselves overmatched.

Electrical Affinity (Ex): Iron trolls are immune to electrical damage. A magical attack that deals electricity damage kick-starts the iron troll’s latent regenerative capacity, healing them of 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal.

Regenerative Healing (Ex): An iron troll’s natural healing rate is 3 hit points per day per level or hit die (double that if taking complete bed rest). If an iron troll loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 3d6 days. An iron troll cannot reattach severed limbs.

Troll-blood (Ex): For all effects related to race, an iron troll is considered a troll.

Skills: Iron Trolls gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft skill checks related to metal.