Trolls

For a creature that has a lot of variations in myth and modern interpretations, I find it odd that trolls are not in D*M. (Or dragons, but that is another thread).

What kinds of trolls would you include? Bridge dwellers, tiny soul suckers, giants, regenerators and/or something else? Would they be natives, aliens or Strangers?

I'd actually prefer the faerie bridge-lurkers. I'm in favour of creatures that display a definite, but out of the ordinary, motivation. Spaces under bridges are dark, unfamiliar and scary to many, as well as magically-significant boundary places, so a GM can play on those associations.

An apparently-human opponent who regenerates and can only be killed by burning could generate horror, particularly if he can do the limb-reattachment trick after suffering some serious trauma (say, running into a lashing cable, boat propeller or car wreck). Powerful undead also sometimes have this quality.

I generally figured that Sandmen were the sources of trollish legends. They crumble to dust, after all, even if it isn't caused by a sunbath.

Good idea. That could tie in with some of the historical suggestions in Machine Dreams.

For these trolls, would they be natives, aliens or Strangers?

Stranger for sure.

They have some kind of magical confluence about them, and that very nature makes them Strangers. I think they may belong to the same family as the Reiko and Sidhe (Xenoforms), as both of these creatures are magical, and the trolls listed there are magical as well.

Funny thing is, Trolls don't exist in classical Norse lore. Trolls are creatures that were added later by Christians - what they are is they're shrunken giants. I also note that Giants - Jotun, more specifically - weren't mention by Dark*Matter either.

How about giants? Is there anything that could explain them? I'm thinking a shapeshifter of some kind, because their size varied so much from myth to myth. Alternatively, they could be several different species, with Trolls being one type, and very tall Jotun being another. Unless, of course, you want to have something to do with Cthulhu and his ilk ;)

I'd never thought about the space beneath a bridge being unusual. The poitn about it being a boundary is actually very interesting. Always night underneath. Where earth and running water join. Very interesting points.