Monstrous Pages for

Shadow of the Demon Lord ~Credits~

WRITING, Design, and Art Direction:
In the western lands of the Northern Reach stands a set Robert J. Schwalb
of seven enormous statues that depict frightful creatures, editing: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes
arms upflung as if to ward off the light from their faces. Proofreading: Jay Spight
Ugly, ill-formed, and monstrous, the weathered carvings Graphic Design: Kara Hamilton and Hal Mangold
show great age; their features pitted and nearly worn away LAYOUT: kara hamilton
by wind and rain, lichen and bird droppings. Few people ILLUSTRATIONs: Mirco Paganessi and Kevin Adkins
realize what these statues represent, but each reminds the Curse the Light is ©2018 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
trolls what fate awaits them if they ever step forth into the All rights reserved.
accursed light—for they bear a curse laid upon them by Shadow of the Demon Lord, Monstrous Pages, Curse the Light,
the Faerie Queen at the dawn of this world. Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated logos
are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
Curse the Light joins the other installments of the Schwalb Entertainment, LLC
Monstrous Pages series by adding detail to one of the
creatures presented in Shadow of the Demon Lord. Here
you will find the history of trolls, the reasons for their
curse, and the long-term effects of their dread actions
that led to their near extinction, along with variant trolls PO Box #12548, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
and new customization options. With Curse the Light, [email protected]
you can make trolls a central and terrible threat for your www.schwalbentertainment.com
adventures and campaigns. Read on, if you dare.
 Born into The Dimming
Hatred of the Light
The trolls explored the new world and bent their
History stretches backward into myth and legend. In minds toward understanding what the genies had
those fabled times the trolls first walked the lands of done. Before long they had divined those words of
Urth. Much lore about this earliest age of the world power used by the genies to give form to substance,
is speculation, piecing together fragments wheedled though the trolls’ knowledge of such things was
from faeries who prefer to live from moment to incomplete and their efforts to master them became
moment and let the past fade. From what scholars compromised by their greed and ambition. Armed
can deduce, trolls and faeries both awakened at the with that tainted magic, the trolls began to enslave
dawn of the world and were among the first to witness
the giants and warp them into different forms, such as
the labors of the elementals as directed by their genie
ogres, jotun, and like beings. They also turned their
masters. But since then, the stories about the faeries
attention on their faerie kin, transforming the lowliest
and trolls, and the mortals who followed them, have
of their kind into terrifying monsters. Then with their
become confused, sometimes even contradicting each
new servants, they marched against the elementals,
other. Here is one tale of how the trolls came to be and
fighting the salamander legions, plundering the
the origins of their hatred for faerie-kind.
gnomes’ citadels, and putting undine and sylph to the
sword. Such violence was unlike anything the world
The Immortals had ever known, and forced the genies to act against
their new enemies.
Awaken
The trolls’ story begins with the sundering of the
Divine, which occurred when the Demiurge sprang
The Mortal Peoples
The faeries claim that mortal beings first came into
from the Divine’s imagination. Driven by a need to the Autumn Lands centuries after their own conflict
create, the Demiurge created the genies, who in turn with the trolls, but in truth the genies fashioned
plundered the Divine of Its substance. They used that mortals—the elementals—in a desperate bid to
material to spin out entire realities, thus reducing blunt the trolls’ aggression. The genies reached out
the Divine to a shrieking, mad entity trapped in the beyond the edges of reality to pluck demons from
absence of its former self.
the Void and bind them into bodies of flesh and
In one universe, the genies created many worlds, of
blood. To guard against creating yet another enemy,
which one was Urth. As they gave form to substance,
the genies used terrible magic to purge those beings
they created helpers to oversee the many tasks
of the Divine essence, rendering them unsullied by
required to create the world: the elementals. What
memories of their own crimes. The genies gambled
the genies did not expect was that the substance
everything on their new creations, expecting them
taken from the Divine retained something of the
to rise up against the trolls and the faeries and drive
outrage and anger of that eternal being. These strong
emotions caused it to take on a form of its own, them from the world. However, the fickleness of those
becoming the first peoples of the world. demons and the expenditure of profound power
These new beings, the immortals, varied wildly afflicted the genies with madness. Ultimately, their
in appearance and nature. They broke into various influence over mortals faded, and the genies became
tribes made up of those who shared similarity in wild, disembodied beings haunting the remote places
form, intellect, and disposition. Among the different or incarnations who sacrificed themselves to protect
strains were those who would become known as their work from the Demon Lord.
faeries, trolls, giants, and others. The trolls were the
greatest and wisest of them all. However, where their
kin embraced light, life, and wonder at the world The Hateful Wars
the genies had created, the trolls saw Urth through The genies’ defeat and dissolution allowed the trolls
a jaundiced eye and thought it incomplete, simple, to scatter the elemental peoples across the lands,
and flawed. The trolls regarded the genies as their driving them into hiding. The gnomes burrowed
greatest enemies and set out to wrest control of under the mountains while the salamanders settled
creation from them. among the volcanoes. The sylphs fled to the highest

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 peaks, and the undines vanished into the deepest The World Burns
waters. The trolls had overcome their ancient enemies
and stood ready to remake the world into their own The Hateful Wars ravaged the lands for decades, with
image. They had sacrificed everything to wrest the appalling carnage on both sides of the struggle. At
world from the genies, but so far had they fallen into first, advantage shifted back and forth between the
darkness, they only then began to understand the two armies, but as the casualties grew, each sought
price they had paid. a way to eradicate the other, escalating the conflict
At the heads of their armies, the trolls returned to through the unwise use of magic, the summoning
the faerie lands and found these realms peaceful, of demons, and the wholesale destruction of great
filled with life and laughter, unspoiled by the ruin swaths of territory. This titanic struggle transformed
wrought against the elemental peoples. Rather than the once-verdant north into the ruinous waste now
welcoming them back as heroes, the faeries looked known as the Desolation, its landscape still afflicted
upon the trolls in horror, seeing only monstrous by the weird and destructive energies let loose there
brutes twisted beyond all recognition. Indeed, many so long ago.
trolls had begun to succumb to savagery, becoming Throughout the conflict, neither side held
violent and willful, quick to vent their rage against dominance for long. Each time the trolls sacked a
each other and their wretched subjects. faerie city, the faeries struck from behind to throw
The trolls in turn saw the faeries as weak and their enemies into disarray. Whenever the faeries
decadent, foolish, and above all, cowardly. They slew a giant and sent its corpse smashing into a
forgot the many faeries who had fought alongside company of soldiers, a troll warlock would savage an
them and regarded their kind as something lesser. entire forest with black flames called forth from the
Spurred by his council of advisors, Moog, the depths of the Void. Neither the trolls nor the faeries
ancient king of all trolls, came to believe the world were willing to call a halt to the violence, such was
was not big enough for both peoples. So long as the the list of grievances each held against the other, but
faeries were permitted to live, the trolls would never the struggle could not continue without eventually
be able to complete their great work. But Moog was cracking the world.
unwilling to sacrifice troll blood if he didn’t have to,
so he devised a plan to eliminate the faeries in one The Battle of Bitter Fields
vicious attack. The opportunity to bring the Hateful Wars to a
swift conclusion came when the Troll King, Moog,
The Gathering of Elders discovered his last heir had fallen in battle. Grieving,
In hopes of securing a lasting peace with the he bore the young troll’s remains to the western
frightening trolls, Queen Titania and King Oberon mountains for burial, offering a brief respite from
had invited King Moog and his champions to a great the fighting. He finally understood the suffering the
gathering in which they would search for a way past fighting had created and the losses that not only he,
their differences. Moog suspected a trick, so rather but all trolls, had endured. There, in the Hall of the
than meet the faeries, he mustered his forces in secret, Ancients, he vowed that he would end this pointless
hiding the giants and jotun and all the other monsters violence and lead his people away from the realms of
behind a veil of trees. In the gathering darkness, his faerie forever, provided the Faerie Queen would allow
armies descended on the faerie gathering to slay the him and his people safe passage.
arrogant lords and ladies and scatter the filth to the Since King Oberon’s death, the Robin Prince had
four winds. gained greater and greater prominence in the Faerie
The trolls might have altered the course of history Queen’s eyes. He was not only her lover but also
with their treachery, but the Robin Prince, secret her closest confidant, and she valued his counsel
lover of the Faerie Queen, disguised himself as a higher than that of all her other advisors. So when a
bird and spied on the trolls. When he learned what messenger brought the words of the Troll King suing
they intended, the Robin Prince flew to the Queen’s for an armistice, she turned to her faithful companion
shoulder and whispered the truth of things in her for his advice.
perfect ear. Titania ordered the weak and feeble to The Robin Prince, full of vanity and confidence,
flee while she gathered her warriors and magicians to suggested to the Faerie Queen that now was the time
make ready for the imminent assault. to strike at the trolls and wipe them from the world.
Rather than a great revel, the trolls faced a bright So long as even one troll lived, he claimed, the faeries
host of faerie knights. Each shouting their outrage would never truly know peace. He proposed to meet
at the apparent betrayal, the two forces clashed, thus with the Troll King instead of her, at the head of an
plunging the whole realm into the Hateful Wars. army, so he could take their enemies by surprise and

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 put an end to them once and for all. When the Faerie
Queen questioned this apparent treachery, the Robin
Prince countered that he was certain the bid for peace
was a ruse of some kind, reminding her of all the
tricks and ploys the trolls had used over the years to
get the better of the faeries. With grave reluctance,
the Faerie Queen eventually agreed with her lover’s
position and sent him off at the head of a small force
to destroy their hated enemy.
The meeting was supposed to occur at a wide-open
field covered in wildflowers, one of the places the
Faerie Queen loved more than any in the world. Moog
and his entourage reached the field at the appointed
hour, but there was no sign of the Queen or her
counselors, for the Robin Prince had used his magic
to transform himself and his soldiers into birds. As the
Troll King moved across the field, calling out Titania’s
name, the faerie forces quietly surrounded the trolls,
then struck.
The Robin Prince led the charge, shedding his avian
form to clash with the Troll King, who appeared old
and sick. Thinking to make short work of his frail
opponent and take all the glory, he attacked with
wild recklessness. But, old though Moog was, this
treachery rekindled the fires of his anger. He brought
himself up to full height and struck back. The sound
of their clash carried far and wide until it reached the
Faerie Queen’s ear, stirring her from her reflection and
bringing her to the field to see what had gone wrong.
Just as Titania reached the conflict, she saw the two
adversaries each land fatal blows, the Robin Prince’s
sword piercing his foe’s heart, the Troll King crushing
Life in Exile
Thousands of years have passed since the trolls
the life from the faerie with his bare hands. In shock, walked in the light of the sun. They dwell in darkness,
confronted by the death of a second lover and seeing surviving as best they can in caverns and in places
firsthand the endless violence of the Hateful Wars, drenched in shadows. Many trolls live a solitary
she vowed she would never love again and laid a existence, seeking out the best places to escape the
terrible curse upon all the trolls across the world. hated light while also having access to the resources
Henceforth, no troll could ever again look upon the they need to survive. Thus, one might find a troll
light of the sun, for in it they would see the ugliness in in the deep forest, in a cave piercing the side of
their hearts and be turned to stone. an old, weathered hill, or far underground near a
The curse spread quickly and afflicted all trolls, subterranean lake stocked with eyeless, white fish.
young and old. Many perished instantly, turned into When trolls gather, they form small, tribal groups
stone statues, but a few sought refuge in the hills and far from the faeries and mortals they despise. These
mountains, huddling in caverns deep to avoid the tribes dwell high in the mountains, occupying
terrifying light. Others fled to the south, to places crude fortresses they have built over the centuries
where Mother Sun’s face never shines, and vanished or holdfasts taken from the dwarfs, or in the
into the gloomy, fog-shrouded landscapes. The ogres, darkest swamps, where thick mists occlude the sun.
giants, jotun, and others dispersed without the heavy Sometimes they bargain with powerful monsters,
hand of their creators to guide them. Peace had come such as giants or dragons, for mutual benefit.
to Urth, if but for a time.

4
 Here and there, though, some remember the litany
Troll Mountains of grave offenses done to them, and they sing their
The largest gathering of trolls makes its home in a grudges to the memories of their fallen ancestors.
stretch of gloomy mountains that branch off from the Such trolls might show restraint when they come
Shield Mountains in the Northern Reach. It’s believed upon an outsider, even demonstrating a willingness
many of the trolls who fled from the Queen of to converse, so long as it serves their interest to do so.
Summer’s curse sought refuge here, and generations Corruption stains their souls, though, and even the
of them have managed to survive in the dense most cultured and refined trolls are prone to wicked
forests blanketing these slopes. People living near acts when given any provocation.
the Mistwood must contend with savage trolls that
emerge under cover of darkness to raid settlements
and plunder the woods of its treasures. Many Troll Nature
adventurers have made their careers fighting these Trolls tower over most other peoples. Standing
monsters, though many more have found an abrupt upwards of 12 feet tall, with thick, heavy bodies
end to their lives here. covered in slabs of muscle, they present an imposing
form. They have stooped postures from having spent
generations underground, and their facial features
Blasted Lands are exaggerated, with large bulbous noses and wide
The Blasted Lands cover the neck of land that mouths filled with chisel-like teeth. Trolls’ hide tends
connects Rûl to Blötland in the far south. Here, trolls to be hairy with gray or green flesh underneath.
pick their way over the icy rocks, hunting winter Chance exposure to sunlight sometimes leaves their
worms, cold ones, drakes, and other blighted beasts. flesh afflicted with stony patches.
The trolls of the Blasted Lands are wilder and more Only the most backward of trolls forgo clothing.
ferocious than their northern counterparts, given Most wear attire stitched together from animal hides
the brutality of the landscape and the hostility of the or salvaged materials such as cloth and wool. Trolls
jotun warriors. have no need for weapons, their hands and teeth
sufficient for rending their opponents into bloody
gobbets, but some troll champions might take up
Tagamoor arms in the form of clubs, axes, and swords. Few trolls
wear armor.
Far below the peaks of the Shield Mountains, a vast
chasm descends to the heart of the world. Here, built
along its sides, is the last city of the trolls. Hundreds, Trollish Tongue
if not thousands, of trolls gather in the cloying dark, Trolls speak an ugly language named for them. Used
preserving their customs and lore from a time nearly almost exclusively by trolls, giants, and ogres, the
everyone else has forgotten. The trolls excavated caves spoken form sounds of grunts, rumbles, and barks.
in the rocky walls, connecting them with switchback The written form uses a runic alphabet, reminiscent
staircases that descend for miles and slender stone of that used by the dwarfs and jotun.
bridges that reach across the bottomless pit. It is here
that the current Troll King, Gunder, rules and plots
the return of his people to greatness. The trolls of Troll Magic
Tagamoor have caused great trouble for the other Despite claims to the contrary by dwarfs and other
subterranean dwellers, leading to the collapse of peoples, Rune magic traces its origins back to the
many dwarf and molekin mines, and the destruction trolls, when they recorded fragments of the words
of untold gnome enclaves. of creation they had learned from the genies and
elementals. One can also find elements of troll
Savage Brutes magic in the Forbidden tradition. In their eagerness
to punish the faeries, the trolls long ago devised an
entire strain of magic to make their enemies suffer
Not much has survived of the wisdom and cunning
the trolls showed at the dawn of creation. Thousands terribly, from hateful defecation to horrid joining. Few
of years spent in near isolation, huddling in the trolls have the means to cast spells, though, having
darkness, and nursing old grudges have left the trolls lost much of their learning and culture. The ability
embittered and hateful, as violent and destructive as to wield magic has left all but the oldest and wisest of
their horrid creations. Most trolls found in the world their kind.
have fallen so far from their lofty perch that they live
little better than feral animals, driven to attack by
hunger and thirst and little else.
5
 Regeneration
All trolls enjoy rapid healing. Within moments of
being cut, the wound clots and the scab flakes off,
leaving a fading scar. No matter the nature of the
injury, so long as the troll has not been chopped to
pieces, it can come back in more or less the same
form. Trolls’ regeneration also lets them eat just about
anything, from rocks to spoiled meat, without having
to fear any consequences. While poison and disease
can affect them, their hardy constitutions let them
recover from these ailments with great rapidity.
Numerous legends describe ways to overcome troll
healing. Some claim that trolls cannot recover from
burns, either from fire or acid, but such tales are
nothing more than fanciful hopes. Trolls shake off fire
as easily as they do attacks from weapons.

Prodigious
Appetites
Being large creatures, trolls have to eat a lot to sustain
themselves. In ancient times, they adhered to a strict
vegetarian diet, but the hardships of the curse and the
darkness coiled about their hearts has turned them
into ravenous omnivores. Many trolls prefer to eat
sentient creatures and consider halflings to be a great
delicacy. There’s nothing more a troll wants to eat,
Accursed Existence though, than faeries. Trolls snack on living pixies and
The Faerie Queen’s curse forced the trolls to shun the have horrifying recipes for cooking elves.
sunlight lest its purifying rays turn them into stone
statues. Such was the power of her magic that the TROLL DIFFICULTY 250
curse spread from troll to troll, seeking out even those Size 2 troll
in hiding, to ensure they would never again trouble Perception 15 (+5); darksight
the faeries in their radiant realms. Many trolls found Defense 16; Health 110; Insanity 1d6 + 1; Corruption 1d3 + 1
Strength 18 (+8), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 10 (+0)
the curse so burdensome that they just accepted their Speed 8
fate and stepped out into the sunlight, putting an end Hatred During the first round of combat, a troll makes
to their fear and misery. Some of the menhirs and attack rolls with 1 boon.

monoliths littering the landscape are believed to once ATTACK OPTIONS

have been trolls who succumbed in this way. Fist (melee) +8 with 3 boons (4d6 plus Grab and Bite on
Many more trolls, though, saw their curse as just attack roll 20+)
Grab and Bite If the target is a creature and smaller than the
one more reason to hate the faeries and have since troll, the troll picks it up, bites it, dealing 4d6 damage, and
redoubled their efforts to get vengeance against them, drops the creature to land prone in its space.
though certainly not in the manner of their past. SPECIAL ATTACKS
Instead, they lumber out of hiding under the cover of Double Attack The troll attacks twice with its fist.
darkness, murdering and looting as they go, dragging
off victims to cook up in their soup pots. Some trolls, END OF THE ROUND
not content with working at night or in fog and mist, Petrified by Sunlight If the troll is in an area of sunlight,
have bargained with hags for special ointments to its Defense increases by 1 and its Speed decreases by 2.
These changes are permanent. If its Speed drops to 0,
protect their skin from the sun, though the success the troll turns into a statue and dies.
Regeneration The troll heals 1d6 + 2 damage if it is not
rate has been spotty at best. incapacitated.

6
 ATTACK OPTIONS
Stony Fist (melee) +8 with 2 boons (5d6 plus Knock
The Merits of Troll Fat Down); this attack replaces the troll’s fist attack.
Hedge wizards, apothecaries, and witches alike Knock Down If the target is a creature, it must succeed
ascribe many beneficial qualities to troll fat. It’s on an Agility challenge roll with 1 bane or fall prone.
said rubbing the foul, greasy substance on a
wound promotes healing. A vigorous application SPECIAL ATTACKS
of the fat to one’s groin can increase sexual Double Attack The stone-scarred troll attacks twice with
pleasure and endurance. Some alchemists brew its stony fist.
healing potions from the substance, while the best
healing poultices are made from the fat of trolls.
Rendering fat from a troll requires much
boiling of the various body parts and skimming
Two-Headed
the grease off the top. A typical troll provides a
couple of gallons of grease that, when cooled, Truly awful figures, two-headed trolls bear the same
hardens into gray lard. Interested buyers will pay mutation that sometimes afflicts ogres. These brutes
up to 1 gc for a gallon of rendered troll fat.
are smarter and tougher than other trolls, but every
bit as eager to feast on their victims after pulling them
apart.
INCREASE DIFFICULTY BY ONE STEP
Customizing Trolls Perception +1
Trolls display considerable variation in form and Immune dazed, stunned
Two Heads A two-headed troll can take both a fast turn
appearance, largely owed to the harshness of their and a slow turn each round, and it can use two triggered
existence, inbreeding, and mishaps resulting from actions each round.
their regenerative ability. Here are some ways you can
modify and enhance trolls to make them even more Warped
distinctive threats. The regenerative quality that spares trolls from the
worst of injuries sometimes also causes them to
Feral undergo bizarre mutations, usually an overreaction to
Trolls have lost almost everything of their wisdom, a minor injury. Most warped trolls sport extra limbs,
culture, and lore, leaving most to wander the lands as vestigial faces peering out from their heavy torsos, or
simple brutes, armed with ferocity and low cunning. bizarre flesh ridges and horns.
Feral trolls have fallen even further than their kin and Gains the frightening trait
act little differently from ogres and giants. Fierce and Vicious Madness When a warped troll would gain Insanity,
aggressive, they throw themselves at their enemies it does not become frightened. Instead, for a number of
rounds equal to its new Insanity total, the troll makes
with reckless abandon. However, they lack their attack rolls with 1 boon and its attacks deal 1d6 extra
kindred’s low cunning and can be tricked easily. damage.

Insanity +1; Corruption +1 SPECIAL ATTACKS

Intellect –2
Speed +2 Triple Attack The warped troll can attack three times with
Brutal Once per round, whenever the feral troll rolls a 1 on its fist, but it must divide the attacks between no fewer
a damage die, it can reroll the die. It must use the second than two targets.
number rolled, even if it is another 1.
Stupidity A feral troll makes Intellect attack rolls and
challenge rolls with 1 bane. Creatures make attack rolls
against the feral troll’s Intellect with 1 boon. Trolls
Stone-Scarred
Most trolls bear stony patches on their skin from brief
And Their
encounters with the sun, but those with extensive
exposure become almost like living statues. Stone-
Loathsome Kin
scarred trolls have lost so much of their flesh to Aside from individual variations, certain trolls might
stone that they move with a ponderous gait and the have more significant differences. Some have clung
sound of grinding rocks. They have adapted to their to the shreds of their civilization, while others have
sluggishness and are tireless in their pursuit of their become huge and bloated, terrifying giants that roam
prey. the twilit lands of the far south. These and other
trolls can present significant challenges to even the
Defense +2; Health –20
Speed –4 most prepared groups who venture into the shadowy
Sluggish A stone-scarred troll cannot take fast turns unless realms of these remorseless killers.
it is compelled.

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 Cave Troll Giant Troll
The most debased of all their kind, cave trolls are Trolls tower over most other peoples, but certain
the inbred and degenerate descendants of those tribes were said to overshadow even their large kin.
who fled underground. Generations spent in the Giant trolls have all but died out, with only a few rare
gloomy caverns reduced them to simple brutes, cruel sightings in Blötland and in the Frozen Wastes. They
for certain, but easily led and cowed by stronger terrorize the lands they inhabit, lurching through the
creatures. Troglodytes sometimes enslave them for thick forests at night, scooping up whatever they can
use as guardians and laborers. reach and swallowing it whole. Just before dawn, giant
Cave trolls resemble other trolls, though they have trolls bury themselves under the snow and earth to
chalk-white skin and deformed features. They stand wait for night to fall once more.
about 8 feet tall and weigh around 750 pounds. Most Giant trolls do not understand languages.
lack body hair or grow it in thin patches.
Cave trolls speak Trollish. GIANT TROLL DIFFICULTY 1,000

Size 4 frightening troll

CAVE TROLL DIFFICULTY 100
Perception 15 (+5); darksight
Size 2 troll Defense 14; Health 200; Insanity 1d6 + 1; Corruption 1d3 + 1
Strength 19 (+9), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 8 (–2), Will 10 (+0)
Perception 7 (–3); darksight Speed 10
Defense 15; Health 100; Insanity 1d3; Corruption 1d3 Hatred During the first round of combat, a giant troll makes
Strength 16 (+6), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 7 (–3), Will 9 (–1) attack rolls with 1 boon.
Speed 10 Crushing Footfalls When a giant troll moves into a space
occupied by a creature on the ground, the creature must
ATTACK OPTIONS get a success on an Agility challenge roll. On a failure, it
takes 3d6 damage and falls prone. If it’s already prone, it
Club (melee) +6 with 1 boon (3d6) takes 3d6 extra damage. A creature makes this roll once
Fist (melee) +6 with 1 boon (2d6 + 3 and Grab) per round per creature with this trait regardless of how
Grab If the target is a Size 1 or smaller creature, the cave many times the giant troll moves through its space.
troll can attempt to grab it as part of the same attack. Giantfall The giant troll deals 8d6 damage to everything in
its space when it falls prone. A creature that would take
SPECIAL ATTACKS this damage can make an Agility challenge roll with
4 banes. On a success, the creature takes half the
Double Attack The cave troll attacks with its club and fist. damage and is moved to the nearest open space outside
Thrash the Victim If the cave troll has a Size 1 or smaller the giant troll’s space. On a failure, the creature becomes
creature grabbed, it swings the creature at another trapped under the giant troll’s body
target creature it can reach. The troll makes a Strength A trapped creature is prone, blinded, immobilized, and
attack roll with 1 boon against the target’s Agility. On totally covered. It can use an action to make an Agility
a success, the creature it has grabbed collides with the challenge roll with 5 banes. On a success, the creature
target, dealing 3d6 damage to each. On a failure, the moves to the nearest open space and is no longer
creature the troll has grabbed instead takes 2d6 damage. trapped under the giant troll’s body.
END OF THE ROUND ATTACK OPTIONS
Petrified by Sunlight If the cave troll is in an area of sunlight, Fist (melee) +9 with 2 boons (4d6 plus Grab)
its Defense increases by 1 and its Speed decreases by 2. Grab If the target is Size 2 or smaller, the giant troll can
These changes are permanent. If its Speed drops to 0, the attempt to grab the target as part of the same attack.
cave troll turns into a statue and dies. Maw (melee) +9 with 2 boons (5d6 plus Swallow)
Regeneration The cave troll heals 1d6 + 2 damage if it is Swallow If the target is Size 2 or smaller and grabbed by
not incapacitated. the giant troll, it is stuffed into the giant troll’s mouth.
The target must get a success on an Agility challenge roll
with 1 bane or become swallowed.
A swallowed creature is blinded and immobilized,
moves with the giant troll when it moves, is totally covered
from everything outside the giant troll’s space, and cannot
perceive anything outside of the giant troll’s space.
If a swallowed creature deals 20 damage or more to
the giant troll from a single source, the giant troll vomits
all creatures it has swallowed into a space of its choice
within 1d6 yards of it. Such creatures land prone in those
spaces and are no longer swallowed.
If the giant troll becomes incapacitated, all creatures
it has swallowed are no longer immobilized and can use
their movement to emerge prone into an open space
within 1 yard of the giant troll.

SPECIAL ATTACKS
Double Attack The giant troll attacks with its fist and its maw.

END OF THE ROUND

Digestive Juices Each creature swallowed by the giant troll
takes 4d6 damage from the corrosive juices in its stomach.
Petrified by Sunlight If the giant troll is in an area of
sunlight, its Defense increases by 1 and its Speed
decreases by 2. These changes are permanent. If its Speed
drops to 0, the biant troll turns into a statue and dies.
Regeneration The giant troll heals 3d6 damage if it is not
incapacitated.

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 Graven Troll Swamp Troll
The trolls stole magic from the genies. Many of the Foul creatures that have largely forgotten their place
first users were destroyed by it, their bodies and in the world, swamp trolls revel in their filth. They
minds unable to control the eldritch energies those trudge through the marshlands, stuffing everything
utterances unleashed. Restraint and practice helped, that swims or slithers into their gullets. Like other
but the trolls came into their true potential by binding trolls, they turn to stone when exposed to sunlight,
their magic into symbols, creating the tradition of but they transform slower than their kin. This benefit
Rune magic. Though much of the old lore has been affords them enough protection to move around by
lost to these monstrous people, a few trolls have day for brief periods.
managed to preserve something of the ancient magic Swamp trolls stand 8 feet tall and weigh 800
by tattooing the runes on their bodies. They work an pounds. Specks of petrified skin spot their shoulders
ointment, made from rare herbs mashed into a paste, and torsos. They have webbed fingers and toes,
into the fresh tattoos to prevent their regeneration stooped bodies, flat noses, and wide mouths, looking
from purging the ink from their bodies. much like giant, bipedal frogs. They wear animal
These trolls speak Elvish, High Archaic, and Trollish. skins for clothing and carry large clubs and nets.
Swamp trolls speak Trollish.
GRAVEN TROLL DIFFICULTY 500

Size 3 troll SWAMP TROLL DIFFICULTY 50

Perception 15 (+5); darksight Size 2 troll

Defense 16; Health 130; Insanity 1d3; Corruption 1d3 Perception 7 (–3); darksight
Strength 18 (+8), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 13 (+3), Will 11 (+1) Defense 15; Health 100; Insanity 1d3; Corruption 1d3
Speed 8 Strength 15 (+5), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 7 (–3), Will 9 (–1)
Defensive Runes When a graven troll takes damage, it Speed 8
can release a pulse of energy that spreads out from its Swamp Gas When a swamp troll becomes injured, it
body in a 3-yard radius. Each creature in the area other releases a fetid cloud of gas from its rotten bowels to
than the graven troll must make an Agility challenge fill a 5-yard-long cone originating from a point in its
roll. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failure, or half space. Each living, breathing creature in the area must
this damage on a success. Once the graven troll uses get a success on a Strength challenge roll with 1 bane
Defensive Runes, it must wait until the end of the round or become dazed. While a creature is dazed in this
before it can use them again. way, creatures attacking it make their attack rolls with
Hatred During the first round of combat, a graven troll 1 additional boon. At the end of each round, a creature
makes attack rolls with 1 boon. dazed by swamp gas can make a Strength challenge
roll with 1 bane and removes the affliction from itself on
ATTACK OPTIONS a success.
Greatsword (melee) +8 with 3 boons (4d6 plus 2d6 extra Once a swamp troll uses Swamp Gas, it must wait until
damage on attack roll 20+) it completes a rest before it can do so again.

SPECIAL ATTACKS ATTACK OPTIONS

Double Attack The graven troll attacks twice with its Big Club (melee) +5 with 1 boon (3d6)
greatsword.
Eldritch Outburst The graven troll releases a blast of SPECIAL ATTACKS
magical energy from a point in its space into a 10-yard Net The swamp troll throws a net at a Size 1 or smaller
cone, dealing 8d6 damage to everything in the area. A target creature within short range. It makes an Agility
creature in the area must make a Strength challenge roll, attack roll against the target’s Agility. On a success,
becoming dazed for 1 round on a failure, or just taking the net covers the target and the target becomes
half the damage on a success. immobilized. While immobilized in this way, a creature
Runic Edge The graven troll can use an action, or a makes Agility challenge rolls with 1 bane. A creature
triggered action on its turn, to do one of the following: can remove the net and the affliction by using an
• The graven troll flies up to 20 yards. It must land at the action to cut the net away or to make an Agility
end of this movement or fall. challenge roll and get a success.
• The graven troll imposes 1 bane on attack rolls made
against it until the end of the round.
END OF THE ROUND
END OF THE ROUND Swamp Troll Petrification If the swamp troll is in an area of
sunlight, it makes a Strength challenge roll. On a failure,
Petrified by Sunlight If the graven troll is in an area its Defense increases by 1 and its Speed decreases by 2.
of sunlight, its Defense increases by 1 and its Speed These changes are permanent. If its Speed drops to 0,
decreases by 2. These changes are permanent. If its Speed the swamp troll turns into a statue and dies.
drops to 0, the graven troll turns into a statue and dies. Regeneration The swamp troll heals 1d6 + 2 damage if it is
Regeneration The graven troll heals 1d6 + 2 damage if it is not incapacitated.
not incapacitated.

9
 If you enjoyed Curse the Light, be sure to check out
these other entries into the Monstrous Pages series...

New and strange faeries

to Beset Your groups!

Descend into the depths to

discover the horror of the
troglodytes!

Once slaves of the trolls,

the ogres present a terrifying
threat to everyone they
encounter.

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