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Far to the North where the winter storms whip the weather-beaten coasts, you will find a long and narrow country. Here you see dark forests with moonlit lakes, deep fjords surrounded by mighty snowcapped mountains, and long rivers and cold streams cascading down the mountainsides.
Nowadays this country is covered by snow and ice only six months a year. A long, long time ago, however, there existed a massive glacier that brooded over the entire country for thousands of years.
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As the climate gradually warmed and the glacier slowly retreated to the North, Man to the South of the glacier followed in its wake. Looking at this country and finding it to
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be magnificent, they considered themselves to be its first inhabitants. People settled there and named it Norway. They were themselves called "nordmenn" - Men of the North.
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The trolls would come out of their hiding places only after sunset, and they would disappear before the morning sun arose in the East. Direct exposure to the sun could cause them to crack, turn into stone and possibly burst. On occasion the trolls would evidently forget to hide from the sun, and rock formations can today be found in various places with troll-like features.
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The trolls were mostly seen on bright moonlit nights, or during stormy nights that could frighten about anyone who
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happened to be outdoors at that time.
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The trolls had very distinct features. They had long crooked noses, only four fingers and toes on each limb, and most of them had long bushy tails.
Some trolls were giants, and others were small. There were stories of two-headed as well as three-headed trolls, and even a few had only one eye in the middle of their wrinkled foreheads. Others had trees and rough moss-like growth all over their heads and noses.
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Although they were shaggy and rough haired, and most looked frightening, they were also known to be good- natured and naive. So naive in fact that even shy peasant boys could, on occasion, easily trick them. Stories about such encounters are common in the fairy tales.
The ability to transform themselves counted among the trolls many supernatural skills. The fairy maidens - called "Hulder" - could transform into incredible attractive young ladies. Hunters and farmers sons, were often lured to the mountains by these fairies
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The Huldra is a mysterious and tricky creature, and is considered to be a part of the troll family. She is fair-haired and beautiful, and had it not been for her cow's tail, she would look like an ordinary girl if not exceptionally beautiful. Occasionally she tries to hide her tail in order to lure young human men into marrying her. Once the man agrees to the marriage, and they are married in a church, the hulder's tail falls off, but the true nature of the troll remains in the huldra. If the man doesn't treat her well, she will turn incredibly ugly, and the man will suffer and regret being tricked by a hulder throughout his marriage. So men, watch out! You never know when the next beautiful woman you see is actually a hulder in disguise.
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The wrath of the trolls was boundless. It was therefore considered very important not to make them your enemy. If a farmer did provoke a troll, his livestock might be subject to disease or harmful sickness, or worse things could happen. On the other hand, a good relationship with the trolls could be very rewarding.
Now, even in modern times it is well advised to keep a good standing with the trolls, since you never know when you will meet one yourself. The next time you go to the dark forest and the mighty mountains with their deep lakes and roaring waterfalls, just remember, they probably mean no harm.
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But be aware. In the twilight hours you are no longer alone. Then it is only you... ...and all the trolls.
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Types of Trolls
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The Troll race seems to have undergone a period of great diversification shortly after Christianity became widespread in their homelands. This may be the effect of Christianity driving them to the edge of extinction, or a depleted gene pool causing wild-card mutations, or it may be that the word "Troll" was erroneously applied to other creatures. Be that as it may, here are a few possible sub-races:
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Cliff Trolls
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Cliff Trolls vary in size, but are little seen; possibly they have some kind of natural or magical camouflage, or have developed great stealth and hiding skills. They are also highly skilled climbers, as might be expected. They specialize in throwing people off cliffs; their favorite tactic is to cut the ropes of egg-collectors, although they will also seize people who wander too close to a cliff-edge, and throw them to their doom on the rocks below.
No one has ever had a close look at a Cliff Troll; the most that anyone ever sees is a hairy arm reaching out from behind a rock. They will avoid cliffs which have been blessed by a Christian priest, but it is wise to leave them one area of cliffs which they can call their own;
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if they are entirely robbed of their home, they become vicious and the situation can end up in outright war. With their stealth and concealment skills, Cliff Trolls make deadly terrorists.
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Sea Trolls
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Sea Trolls generally live in sea-caves, and lay claim to a stretch of water surrounding their homes. They are fully amphibious, and can grow to immense size; some tales tell of a pair of arms reaching out of the water and crushing the hull of an eight-oared faering, or dragging it under with a single pull. Like the Cliff Trolls, Sea Trolls avoid being seen, and most people will only see a pair of huge, hairy arms reaching up out of the water.
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Lesser Trolls
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Much like Goblins, they are small, individually weak and cowardly, and prefer to attack in large numbers (and, if possible, from ambush), overwhelming a
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single victim. Their precise size and shape varies widely: some have tails and/or animal legs, some look like ugly little humans, and some can have multiple forms, often masquerading as a child or farm animal to cause chaos.
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Greater Trolls
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Some of the Trolls of folklore grow to enormous size - at least as big as the true Giants of Norse mythology. These Greater Trolls tend to be rather slow and stupid, but their strength is immense. They can pick up buildings (especially churches) and throw them several miles, and they can do the same with building-size boulders. They can drink a whole lake at a single drought, or create a new one by leaving a footprint across the course of a river. They are mainly used in folklore to explain geographical features.
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Troll Magic
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There are several types of Norse troll magic - here are a few types:
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Lure
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This spell can be used to draw a victim to the Troll's lair from a distance of several miles. The caster must have some idea of the victim's identity - e.g. name, or trade/ occupation, or home address. If the victim is a devout Christian, or if prayers are said for the victim by a devout Christian (and note that devoutness has only a slight connection with Clerical Investment!) the victim has a bonus to resist the spell. This bonus should be in proportion to the Troll's magical ability and the GM's estimation of the devoutness of the Christians involved. If the spell is not resisted successfully, the victim enters a kind of trance, and makes his way to the Troll's lair unless forcibly restrained until dawn.
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Curse
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A Troll with magical ability can curse a place or person to barrenness. A cursed field will bear no crops (in extreme cases, nothing at all will grow there - not even weeds), a cursed lake or stream will become empty of fish, and a cursed person or animal will become completely sterile. This spell is also available to hedge-wizards,
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wise women and mystics.
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Fog
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Trolls can call down a fog so thick that visibility is literally zero. It covers a comparatively small area - no larger than a single field, usually - but the fog is so dense that they can approach a cart under its cover and abduct someone from a cart without anyone in the cart noticing until the fog clears.
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Stocks
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Trolls are very fond of kidnapping humans - especially children (for eating) and young women (for a worse fate). Some species of Trolls, like the Kunal-Trow of Norse Orkney, must actually take a human wife, because the troll-wives are infertile. A favorite trick to delay discovery and pursuit is to
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leave a stock behind in place of the victim. This is a cunningly carved wooden replica of the victim, which is good enough to fool most humans - although priests can sometimes recognize them for what they are.
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It is said that Trolls have a great sense of humor about themselves and their world. This humor is reflected in the creation of many words and phrases that sound a lot like the words we use but that have special meaning to Trolls.
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