Troll

Highly Adaptable and Very Hungry

Trolls are creatures that were first seen on Miranda during the Dark Ages. Many scholars believe that trolls used to be a multitude of legendary creatures that were permanently changed when the Black Gates were closed.

Almost all trolls are humanoid in appearance, with many of them adapting their bodies to their surroundings. This has caused people to think of them as different, but in fact it is just their physical form that changes. A troll in a arctic clime may have heavy white fur, smaller nostrils, and a thick layer of blubber - while those in the arid steeps might have specialized scales that trap moisture and extendable fins to keep them cool.

What outward features trolls do have in common is that they are all humanoid in appears with two legs, two arms, and a single head. There have been no documented sightings of trolls with a serpentine body, fish-like tail, or functional wings.

All trolls are carnivores that eat vegetable matter only ill and never carrion. They are opportunistic eaters, but can live for several weeks after they have fully eaten. Trolls in harsher climes have adapted to eating only once a month or even just a few times a year. Still, unheard of is the troll that would pass up any living meal that crosses its path.

All trolls are able to recover from non-fatal wounds very quickly. There are many stories of people that have seen nearly fatal wounds on a troll heal even while it was fighting. some legends say that fire can be used to stop a troll's wounds from healing - but this is probably more legend than fact.

Trolls are exceptionally long-lived with most of them dying from violence rather than old age. Even so most trolls are able into their third century. Every 20-40 years a female troll will enter her fertility cycle. This cycle will last for several years, during which time she will give off a very strong scent to attract males. She will mate with any male troll that tracks her and is able to physically overcome her. When her fertility cycle ends, if she successfully mated then she will carry the young for 18 months before giving birth to multiple trolls.

Troll young are born live, fully capable of caring and feeding themselves. They need to be because trolls are cannibals, even their mother will try to eat them once she recovers from birthing them. This is the only stage of their life where trolls are not solitary. Those troll young that survive their mother and any males that gather will spend the first year of their life together. A pack of young trolls can ravage an area of nearly all large animals and any other living thing they can overcome. As they age the pack of trolls will slowly dwindle as individual trolls are driven off.

Trolls are considered physically mature when they reach 40 years old. A female troll will enter her first fertility cycle in her first century. If she lives long enough her last fertility cycle near the time she turns 300. While a female troll is carrying young she will consume not only nearly triple her normal amount of meat, but will also eat nearly that much in vegetable matter. She will kill and eat nearly any living animal that comes near her.

There are no known troll communities as trolls live solitary lives. Even mating occurs only after a male detects the scent of a fertile female. Once mating happens the female will chase away the male as trolls are cannibals.

There is only a single species of troll on Miranda. The large variance between trolls has led scholars to believe there are dozens of different types of trolls, but this is nothing more than the ability of trolls to completely adapt to their current environment.