Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mustafar 01-16-08, 12:20 PM	Hi, My players are about to attack an orc camp. These orcs have a nasty surprise for the players. I'm thinking that they have two or three trolls, which they have previously hacked into pieces. Now, the body parts lie in a heap in a ditch outside camp (in the direction that the orcs expect an attack might come from). The heads are kept in chests inside the camp. So, as the heroes rush into the village, they see a small catapult fire something passing well over their heads - unknowing to them, the ammunition are trolls' heads which start the fast healing regeneration process. Some 15 rounds later, they are then attacked by 3 insanely mad trolls in their rear... :D Now, does this work? Anything I have overlooked? Or do you have plans on how this can be used even more deviously? :)
Talisman 01-16-08, 12:38 PM	Realize that the orcs would have to hack on the trolls pretty much all the time, else the trolls would just get up in a few rounds and tear up some orcs. I like the "troll head" ammunition, but I don't think it works by RAW. When a troll is dismembered, the largest piece regenerates normally while the rest die (unless the troll sticks the limb back in place quickly). In the setup you describe, either the pile o' trolly bits would regenerate, or the head would. Either way, at 5 hp a round, the orcs would have to be doing some serious damage to keep those puppies down. If you want to house rule that decapitation keeps a troll down, and reuiniting the head with the body kick-starts the regeneration, that'd be fine...just be aware that it's a house rule, and your PCs will have no way to know about it.
Echoes of Deception 01-16-08, 05:51 PM	What's wrong with keeping the trolls in buried cage, which can be opened with a pull of a dirt-covered rope? It's a simple trick, really. And caged trolls are not likely to be happy.
mustafar 01-17-08, 12:54 PM	Ah, how disappointing, I thought the troll heads would be a great visualization, as well as confusing the tactical situation. But buried cages, that's another great idea! (But what if the trolls heads are the biggest bodyparts, and if the orcs keep them in tight metal containers with nasty studs in it? Then regeneration is impossible (as the troll head starts to regrow a body, it takes damage - and you could still catapult the heads behind the players! Whooohooo, Air Cav Trolls! :D
CryoSilver 01-17-08, 03:12 PM	You're the DM; do it anyways, because it's a really cool idea.
1 ton ghost 01-19-08, 03:29 PM	fast heal will not fix the "dismemberment clause" if you will. only regen. only plain vanilla trolls get that i noticed, all the newer ones get fast heal. why?
mustafar 01-21-08, 05:35 PM	Whohoo, I did it! As the adventurers attacked the orc camp, they saw the catapult fire things way over their heads. Regrettably, they sent a rider to check it out - and saw they were troll parts. As I played it RAW, the trolls needed much time to regenerate body parts (se the MM - takes minutes, not rounds) so they managed to get the party together and slaughter the trolls with fire before they got into the fight. I can recommend this, it got really creepy (troll bodyparts crawling around all over the place). BUT now they have also alerted the Orc camp, and are facing about 50 warriors - reinforced with a wooly mammoth archery platform. Hope they figure out how to fight these guys, as I fear a tpk otherwise...
turalisj 01-21-08, 05:41 PM	No Deus Ex Machina?
Knute 01-21-08, 06:42 PM	The least you can do is give them immediate exp rewards for the three trolls plus a roleplaying bonus.... Right? If it gets really hairy they'll appreciate that you weren't all evil before it goes down. -K
mustafar 01-22-08, 03:12 AM	No Deus Ex Machina? Well, they have a party of a 4th level warblade, a rogue 3/ftr1, a druid 4, and then some more or less allied types on their side: a lv 5 halfling necromancer, a 7th level paladin (yes he hates most people in this party), a CL7 eye of Gruumsh, a Ftr 4 duergar and three zombies. :D But against 50 orcs, of which 25 have bows, and no surprise element, along with the mammoth, they are in for a very tough fight. (It is not an evil campaign - it is just that they have followed a strange destiny when it comes to sharing goals with unexpected types. Loads of fun roleplaying there btw.)
turalisj 01-22-08, 07:41 AM	Have the cleric try some diplomacy checks. Follow that up with intimidate checks involving a few well placed/cast spells.
mustafar 01-22-08, 11:24 AM	Have the cleric try some diplomacy checks. Follow that up with intimidate checks involving a few well placed/cast spells. There is no cleric...
zacnn 01-22-08, 08:10 PM	they are probly SCREWEDDDDD!
turalisj 01-22-08, 09:15 PM	There is no cleric... Then who is the eye of Grummsh? Remember, Grummsh= god of orcs.
mustafar 01-23-08, 01:51 AM	Then who is the eye of Grummsh? Remember, Grummsh= god of orcs. He is a rival orc chieftain. It's a barbarian-type prestige class.
KruniacZio 02-02-08, 01:58 PM	Meat grinders. A gear operated meat grinder will keep a troll down.
ninja1 02-06-08, 09:13 AM	Uh, couldn't the trolls just be allies of the orcs... living side-by-side with them? Trolls can still suffocate, starve, and die of dehydration. IMHO, hacking off it's head would certainly suffocate it's brain... or the blood down the windpipe would drown the body.