Post/Author/DateTime	Post
evoken_november 07-15-03, 01:54 PM	There is an upcoming 16th level one-shot game in which the DM is being pretty lenient about what races we play. The other players seem to have chosen wimpy characters who can't stand up to a frontline melee, so I decided to fill this role in an unorthodox manner. The DM has informed us to roll up two characters, just in case one of them is killed, we can bring in the other immediately without having to worry about ressurection. One of my characters, the one that I'm working on right now, is a Troll Bard. You may be asking yourself "Why a Troll bard?" Well, there's a long story behind it, but just to keep things short and sweet, I'm trying to stretch the monster stereotypes as far as I possibly can. Also, they wanted a meat shield, so they're gonna get one... perhaps not the way in which they expected, though. ;) Now, my biggest problem with conceptualizing this character is not in the kinds of stories he tells, or the music he makes, or anything else of the sort... it's how to deal with his overeating. :D Trolls are always, always hungry, and as you well know, they eat anything that's not nailed down (or even things that are nailed down, occasionally), and things that can't kill them first. This does not seem to be particlarly condusive to good inter-party relationships, but I don't want to give up on the idea just because of that one snag. Here are a few things I've talked to my DM about as far as ideas. See if you can help me come up with a few others that might work nicely. 1. The Ring of Sustanance came up early on, but I personally think that while a ring of sustanance would make a troll not starve to death, it wouldn't do anything to keep it from being hungry. The DM liked that idea as well, so the RoS is out as far as apetite control. 2. Bag of Tricks. I can see this troll carrying around several bags of tricks and just pulling out little fuzzy balls of fluff and snacking on them at all hours of the day. They're like chee-tohs, in a sense. However, since they're a conjuration with a 10 minute duration, they're not very filling... again, like chee-tohs. 3. Regenerating pet. The troll gets hungry and reaches over to take a bite out of his regenerating pet. Does the pet care? What other creatures (besides hydras, and that's just entirely too cheesy) regenerate? 4. Murylund's Spoon. I'm pretty sure he'd simply eat the gruel, then immediately eat the bowl, and finally eat the spoon after just one meal. ;) Are there any other ideas that you guys can think of that could keep a troll well fed to the point that he isn't eyeballing the fleshlings around him out of sheer hunger driven desperation?
Iry 07-15-03, 05:38 PM	You've got the strength, so carry around an Everproducing Rice Mortar curled in one arm. That thing creates enough food to feed up to 100 peole per day! You can just plop it down when you need to fight or whatnot. You can even throw candies, or rolls around along with your songs to spice up the roleplay. You might want to have the Quick Draw feat, though, just in case :)
evoken_november 07-15-03, 05:48 PM	That's not a bad idea! What is the thing shaped like? Can it be used as a drum? I forgot to mention that all his performance skills are going to be food and hunger related. It involves the sounds of food preparation (boiling cauldrons, fire pits, all simulated with ghost sound where appropriate), eating, utensils, leftover food, belching on command, reciting badly rhymed recipies involving the happless monster he's fighting, which is the most important reason I don't want him to be rid of his hunger. It would be like turning his back on his muse! ;)
Anduin_Lothar. 07-16-03, 10:24 PM	Easy, Just eat a baby troll. He regenerates agaisnt your stomach acid, and keeps your stomach full. Only problem is when he starts to grow...maybe it wasn't a good idea.
jonstryder 07-18-03, 12:50 AM	A bag of Halflings....their small, they can't move that fast. All's you'd need is a special magical bag for carrying halfings in. Then again that might be an idea for a "fun" game. THat is characters are allowed to do silly things and get away with it, like plaing games of gnome tossing.
Iry 07-18-03, 01:42 PM	Well, it's round with a stone pestle about the size of your forearm. Bowl shaped, weighing in at 200-300lbs when all is said and accounted fot. Good thing you're a troll. It would certainly be possible to strap a length of hide over the top and pound on it like a drum or tamborine, but you wouldn't get much reverb. Then again, as a troll, who cares!
King of Diamonds 07-18-03, 02:30 PM	why not just have him eat everything he kills in battle i once had a troll fighter that had a nasty habit of eating his fingers and toes... and torturing prisoners with a ring of regeneration.... put it on his left hand then eat his right
strange_person 07-18-03, 08:12 PM	As has been clearly stated already, trolls are always hungry, since their rapid-regenerating metabolism needs phenomenal amounts of energy to power it. However, there's nothing saying they have to eat meat, or even what most folks would consider food. Wood, even whole trees. Dirt. Rocks. Dungeon walls. Dungeon ceilings. Dungeon floors (somewhat inconvinient if you still need to walk across them). Doors. Windows. Locks. Treasure chests (without bothering to empty, or even open, them first). Enemy arrows. The list goes on and on.
evoken_november 07-20-03, 02:44 PM	King of Diamonds: While there's nothing inherantly wrong with this, there is the problem that he's not likely to be fighting meaty monsters every day of his life. Woe be unto this troll if the one-shot turns into an undead hunt. ;) strange_person: That's probably the best idea I've heard so far. :D It's hard to see him eating dungeon walls or floors, but anything made of wood, and perhaps stray rocks (they keep my teeth sharp!) would work too. I like the arrows and crossbow bolts of the enemies thing, especially.