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Description
Trolls are large, mountain-dwelling creatures that are known for their great strength, strange diet and their terrible representation in tales and stories. Trolls vary in size, with the young being about four to six feet tall, and the adults standing about 12 to 15 feet high. Males and female trolls look about the same, with the only difference being the presence of sac-like flaps hanging from the male troll's head. All trolls feed on rocks and ores, and their biology is specially adapted to fit that diet. Their large, muscular arms have hard, bony plates on them, protruding from their flesh sporadically. These plates aid in the shattering of boulders and rocks, as a troll smashes them with their fore arms. Holes and pores that line their mouths secrete a digestive enzyme that helps break down the hard rocks and "softens" their surface. Their strange mouth consists of four separate bones and structures that allow all parts of the mouth to move up and down, and side to side independently. This allows them to fit irregular shaped rocks in their mouth and grind away at them with their chisel-like teeth. Their respiratory orifices are located on their chest, as openings in their throats would clog with stone dust and debris. This also allows them to breathe while they slowly grind away at their meal. Though they have four eyes, they do not have good long-range vision. Their eyes are instead meant for intensive close-range vision, which are capable of seeing the tiniest of details on rocks and stones. This helps them determine and analyze their meals for nutrition, consistency and composition. Though many believe they just eat any rocks they find, Trolls can be picky with their meals, selecting certain rocks over others, seeing differences that the human eye cannot perceive.

For reproduction, family groups gather on flat mountain surfaces and plateaus, with males coming together to compete for females. The eligible bachelor males will inflate their sacs, flushing them with deep colors, and will also lift boulders above their head. They will howl out deep, tuba-like calls as they bob the heavy rocks above their heads and try to show-off to the females. The viable females will pick their mates based on this display, and the two will be together for life. Those who do not find a mate will wait until the next year. After the two of them mate, the female troll's body will drastically alter and change, creating a rock-like cocoon around her entire body. On the outside, the birthing cocoon looks like any old large rock, with it designed to blend into the environment and ward off predators. On the inside, the female will be creating the baby, with both of them living in an external womb. The male will guard this cocoon until the process is complete. Once the child is fully formed, the female will begin to break open the cocoon, cueing the male to help her break out.

Unfortunately, trolls are not favored in the public eye, with too many stories of them eating children and destroying villages, though many of these are false. The creation of mining has severely impacted their populations and have made these powerful giants vulnerable. The building of mining towns interfere with their habitat and movements, with villages usually springing up where they mate. The process of mining and smelting removes possible food sources, and turns them into pests when they try to eat the products. Their reproduction stage is hard hit as well. The mining and destruction of rocks and boulders may sadly involve the cocoon of a birthing female, with the shock killing her and her child when the cocoon is destroyed too soon. Guarding males can be seen as threats and pests, causing miners and villagers to try and run them off or even kill them. The absence of the male will harm the female, as she needs help cracking open the cocoon. If the female is too weak, she will not be able to break free and the two of them will die inside. Even if she is able to escape, the exertion may make her too weak to defend herself and child from predators and harm. Even outside of reproduction, the death of mates and offspring will throw the survivors into a frenzy, resulting in mayhem and destruction to the offenders. This sadly further hurts the trolls, as this adds to their bad image and "proves" the tales true.

The Knights of the Wrong Table have many times helped the troll species. They have defended cocoons from angry miners, aided in the cracking of a birthing cocoon after the male was killed and even brought food to help feed starving family groups. Once, the order tried to persuade miners to cease their mining and move their town, as the location was both hurting and starving the local troll population. The resulting fiasco, due to the combination of miscommunication, a badly thrown Trash Knight secretion and a rock slide, destroyed the town and left the miners to head to the hills. Though this helped the troll population, the popularity of the order definitely fell in the public eye (even though it is pretty low), and even the aiding of trolls angers villagers and kings.

Description
Trolls are large, mountain-dwelling creatures that are known for their great strength, strange diet and their terrible representation in tales and stories. Trolls vary in size, with the young being about four to six feet tall, and the adults standing about 12 to 15 feet high. Males and female trolls look about the same, with the only difference being the presence of sac-like flaps hanging from the male troll's head. All trolls feed on rocks and ores, and their biology is specially adapted to fit that diet. Their large, muscular arms have hard, bony plates on them, protruding from their flesh sporadically. These plates aid in the shattering of boulders and rocks, as a troll smashes them with their fore arms. Holes and pores that line their mouths secrete a digestive enzyme that helps break down the hard rocks and "softens" their surface. Their strange mouth consists of four separate bones and structures that allow all parts of the mouth to move up and down, and side to side independently. This allows them to fit irregular shaped rocks in their mouth and grind away at them with their chisel-like teeth. Their respiratory orifices are located on their chest, as openings in their throats would clog with stone dust and debris. This also allows them to breathe while they slowly grind away at their meal. Though they have four eyes, they do not have good long-range vision. Their eyes are instead meant for intensive close-range vision, which are capable of seeing the tiniest of details on rocks and stones. This helps them determine and analyze their meals for nutrition, consistency and composition. Though many believe they just eat any rocks they find, Trolls can be picky with their meals, selecting certain rocks over others, seeing differences that the human eye cannot perceive.

For reproduction, family groups gather on flat mountain surfaces and plateaus, with males coming together to compete for females. The eligible bachelor males will inflate their sacs, flushing them with deep colors, and will also lift boulders above their head. They will howl out deep, tuba-like calls as they bob the heavy rocks above their heads and try to show-off to the females. The viable females will pick their mates based on this display, and the two will be together for life. Those who do not find a mate will wait until the next year. After the two of them mate, the female troll's body will drastically alter and change, creating a rock-like cocoon around her entire body. On the outside, the birthing cocoon looks like any old large rock, with it designed to blend into the environment and ward off predators. On the inside, the female will be creating the baby, with both of them living in an external womb. The male will guard this cocoon until the process is complete. Once the child is fully formed, the female will begin to break open the cocoon, cueing the male to help her break out.

Unfortunately, trolls are not favored in the public eye, with too many stories of them eating children and destroying villages, though many of these are false. The creation of mining has severely impacted their populations and have made these powerful giants vulnerable. The building of mining towns interfere with their habitat and movements, with villages usually springing up where they mate. The process of mining and smelting removes possible food sources, and turns them into pests when they try to eat the products. Their reproduction stage is hard hit as well. The mining and destruction of rocks and boulders may sadly involve the cocoon of a birthing female, with the shock killing her and her child when the cocoon is destroyed too soon. Guarding males can be seen as threats and pests, causing miners and villagers to try and run them off or even kill them. The absence of the male will harm the female, as she needs help cracking open the cocoon. If the female is too weak, she will not be able to break free and the two of them will die inside. Even if she is able to escape, the exertion may make her too weak to defend herself and child from predators and harm. Even outside of reproduction, the death of mates and offspring will throw the survivors into a frenzy, resulting in mayhem and destruction to the offenders. This sadly further hurts the trolls, as this adds to their bad image and "proves" the tales true.

The Knights of the Wrong Table have many times helped the troll species. They have defended cocoons from angry miners, aided in the cracking of a birthing cocoon after the male was killed and even brought food to help feed starving family groups. Once, the order tried to persuade miners to cease their mining and move their town, as the location was both hurting and starving the local troll population. The resulting fiasco, due to the combination of miscommunication, a badly thrown Trash Knight secretion and a rock slide, destroyed the town and left the miners to head to the hills. Though this helped the troll population, the popularity of the order definitely fell in the public eye (even though it is pretty low), and even the aiding of trolls angers villagers and kings.