Troll Diet

[Martin]

Is there anything trolls will not eat or hate to eat?

[PhilHibbs]

1 hour ago, Martin said:

Is there anything trolls will not eat or hate to eat?

Gold would give them severe heartburn, I'd think.

[Darius West]

They can't eat truestone or adamant.  IDK about magical crystals.  I suspect they can eat chaos critters but won't.

[PhilHibbs]

9 minutes ago, Darius West said:

They can't eat truestone or adamant.  IDK about magical crystals.  I suspect they can eat chaos critters but won't.

I reckon a blank truestone would absorb the magic from a troll's digestive system. A human could then swallow the truestone and gain trollish digestive powers.

[Darius West]

1 minute ago, PhilHibbs said:

I reckon a blank truestone would absorb the magic from a troll's digestive system. A human could then swallow the truestone and gain trollish digestive powers.

Or it will perpetually drain all your Rune Magic and MP leaving you unconscious until you pass it, assuming you survive.

[PhilHibbs]

1 minute ago, Darius West said:

Or it will perpetually drain all your Rune Magic and MP leaving you unconscious until you pass it, assuming you survive.

I don't see any reason why it would do that. Doesn't sound like MGF to me either.

[Darius West]

11 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

I don't see any reason why it would do that. Doesn't sound like MGF to me either.

Truestone absorbs magic.  If it is un-attuned, it will take the lot.  As to MGF, we had a trickster in our party one time, and he wanted to know what would happen if he ate our truestone.  He passed out and all his magic went into the stone of course.  We thought that was just great, so we stripped him and tied him onto a bundle of reeds and sent him down the Zola Fel  with a sign on his little sail saying "I'm a giant baby! Rob me!", once he had shat out the truestone.  LOL poor healer had to "fish the stool" after drawing the short straw.  Anyhow the Trickster whose name was Phlem Pig-bitten was eventually rescued by the Aldyami after barely making it past Ogre Island and the Trolls without getting caught.  He got away with only losing his 500L ransom.  That was hilarious.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Darius West

[PhilHibbs]

On 11/21/2018 at 1:27 PM, Darius West said:

Truestone absorbs magic.  If it is un-attuned, it will take the lot.  Besides, what isn't MGF about a dumbass eating a truestone and being knocked unconscious for a day, only to  wake up and find themselves naked, tied to a road sign, covered in "kick me" graffiti, and down one truestone like a bridegroom nobody likes before his wedding?  That's hilarious!

Oh, I thought you were talking about the human that swallows the truestone that the troll had swallowed. My suggestion is even worse than that for the troll - they lose their trollish digestive ability, permanently, as well as all their rune magic! I don't think truestone takes MP, though, so I don't see why they wouldn't fall unconscious.

Anyway, there are various options, which is best for you depends on your sense of fun. I may be being unfair to you, but you were reminding me of GMs who enjoy nothing more than humiliating players by abusing their characters. Tricksters are fair game of course! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Edited November 23, 2018 by PhilHibbs

[EricW]

I thought I read somewhere trolls eat Walktapi to get rid of them...

[Sir_Godspeed]

Isn't there something about how they can eat air, but only absolutely in the direst circumstance, since it doesn't feel filling in any degree? I might've dreamt that up after looking through some excerpts from Trollpak.

I also seem to remember that they're not too fond of eating excrement.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Sir_Godspeed

[jeffjerwin]

Iron. Trolls won't eat iron, which is why you need a can opener to eat a dwarf.

[Joerg]

Serving Iron Mostali probably is the troll equivalent to fugu preparation.

[soltakss]

On 11/21/2018 at 12:45 PM, PhilHibbs said:

Gold would give them severe heartburn, I'd think

They can eat it, though, but probably can't digest it.

On 11/21/2018 at 1:02 PM, Darius West said:

They can't eat truestone or adamant.  IDK about magical crystals.  I suspect they can eat chaos critters but won't.

Again, they can eat it, but it would pass through their digestive tract unharmed and undigested. 

They absolutely do eat chaos critters. I can't remember the source, but I am sure they eat broos for some ritual.

On 11/21/2018 at 4:32 PM, jeffjerwin said:

Iron. Trolls won't eat iron, which is why you need a can opener to eat a dwarf.

Good point, but, as Derak the Dark Troll was fond of saying "Twice nothing is nothing", when holding an iron sword.

[Darius West]

11 hours ago, soltakss said:

Again, they can eat it, but it would pass through their digestive tract unharmed and undigested. 

I have an Argan Argar NPC mining for truestone in Ex who uses trollkin as a "filter system".  They eat the rock, then fish the "remains" for the truestone.  Ex is (of course) the spot where the Block hit Prax before squashing Wakboth back in the day.

[womble]

Adamant, though... I can see them swallowing it if it's in small enough chunks, but (absent Swallow) how big is that? And even with their "Miffic Gnawing", surely Adamant is the one thing they can't bite into smaller chunks...?

[PhilHibbs]

42 minutes ago, womble said:

Adamant, though... I can see them swallowing it if it's in small enough chunks, but (absent Swallow) how big is that? And even with their "Miffic Gnawing", surely Adamant is the one thing they can't bite into smaller chunks...?

Absolutely. Adamant cancels magic though so it might mess up their digestion.

Edited November 23, 2018 by PhilHibbs

[Darius West]

51 minutes ago, womble said:

Adamant, though... I can see them swallowing it if it's in small enough chunks, but (absent Swallow) how big is that? And even with their "Miffic Gnawing", surely Adamant is the one thing they can't bite into smaller chunks...?

Absolutely.  They can't necessarily bite it into smaller chunks, but they might swallow it whole, and pass it.  Any yes, it may well mess with their digestion, but they're trollkin, so really, who cares?  Plenty more where they came from, especially if you've just sold a piece of truestone.  The Argan Argar miner simply watches the trollkin for the ones that are passed out or with stomach aches and corrals them so as not to miss the value they will likely produce. 

Edited November 23, 2018 by Darius West

[Unferth]

On 11/21/2018 at 10:18 AM, Sir_Godspeed said:

Guide to Glorantha vol. 1 p. 94 says, under the “Culture” header:

”Trolls thrive best on organic matter, and dirt and stones are usually only eaten as snacks or as a last resort. Their favorite foods are dwarf and elf. Their least favorite foods are feces and air.” The same text is reprinted in the Bestiary.

No discussion there of reasons, though.

I also remembered reading something about consumption by trolls as a method of stopping chaotic regeneration, but the only clear statement I can find so far is from 13th Age Glorantha: “Those with long memories know that when
Yelm was truly dead, trapped in the Underworld during
the Gods War, Darkness powers like the trolls helped
save the world from Chaos. Of course, that’s partly because the powers of Darkness can devour Chaos without harm as easily as Darkness can devour everyone else!” (P. 33)

”Powers of Darkness” is a broader category than just the Uz, so I personally wouldn’t extrapolate too broadly from that, but it’s definitely an idea in operation.

[g33k]

1 hour ago, Unferth said:

I also remembered reading something about consumption by trolls as a method of stopping chaotic regeneration, but the only clear statement I can find so far is from 13th Age Glorantha: “Those with long memories know that when Yelm was truly dead, trapped in the Underworld during the Gods War, Darkness powers like the trolls helped save the world from Chaos. Of course, that’s partly because the powers of Darkness can devour Chaos without harm as easily as Darkness can devour everyone else!” (P. 33)

I don't have 13G, but to me that snippet reads as an in-character/Gloranthan perspective, possibly Uz, and as such... well... suspect as possibly partisan.  We know that a Chaos-curse damaged the fertility of Kyger Litor, so I'm a bit dubious of claims the Uz can devour Chaos "without harm."

[Roko Joko]

"Uz: Kyger Litor eats chaos, thrives in darkness, and enjoys the coldest winters. She proved her people could survive by being themselves." http://www.glorantha.com/docs/devil/  I think all trolls eat chaos creatures.  (In fact Brushi is a thing IMG.)

[Unferth]

2 hours ago, g33k said:

I don't have 13G, but to me that snippet reads as an in-character/Gloranthan perspective, possibly Uz, and as such... well... suspect as possibly partisan.  We know that a Chaos-curse damaged the fertility of Kyger Litor, so I'm a bit dubious of claims the Uz can devour Chaos "without harm."

13G is written mostly in a conversational tone that doesn't always make a clear IC or OOC description - although I'm suspect of reading any of the source material as entirely lacking in cultural bias, even the bits that aren't clearly an in-universe document. I read that particular bit as intended to be a description of what (some) characters believe, possibly incorrectly.

For what it's worth, 13G includes some specific trollish powers that tie in with this - EG the Zorak Zorani class has "Eat Chaos" as a power, and Chaos creatures they use it on "can't regenerate or otherwise return to life, at least not during this battle or any time soon." So there's wiggle room in that for how permanent a GM wants that to be, but it's definitely a thing they do sometimes. In that game's take on things, anyway.

Moving a long way up the power scale, Guide vol. 1  says on page 121, under the "The Final Battle of Mortality" header:

"Kyger Litor left her Castle of Lead to devour Chaos at the Grey Hills of Dread."

And then the Glorantha Sourcebook adds some details under the header "I Fought We Won", P. 129:

"Kyger Litor withstood a siege of her Castle of Lead against the victorious armies of Krarsht, and then her trolls sallied forth to devour them."

Not that everything Kyger Litor did during the God Time is an option for mortals! But personally I'd only rarely have trolls suffer negative consequences for eating Chaotic creatures.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Unferth

[Darius West]

10 hours ago, Unferth said:

Not that everything Kyger Litor did during the God Time is an option for mortals! But personally I'd only rarely have trolls suffer negative consequences for eating Chaotic creatures.

Provided the don't try to eat gorp, or swallow chaos ooze, they shouldn't run into many problems.  There is the old issue of eating walktapus though, that if you eat it too quickly, your stomach might not be able to destroy it faster than it regenerates.  Less of a problem for trolls to be sure, but still a problem imo.  Raw walktapus is not a food a troll wants to eat quickly.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Darius West

[soltakss]

16 hours ago, Unferth said:

No discussion there of reasons, though.

Because dwarf and Elf are tasty and faeces/air aren't?

[soltakss]

13 hours ago, g33k said:

We know that a Chaos-curse damaged the fertility of Kyger Litor, so I'm a bit dubious of claims the Uz can devour Chaos "without harm."

That's because Gbaji cheated and chewed his way out after he was eaten. 

The answer is clearly not to eat them whole, but to bash them on the head, dismember them and then eat them.

[womble]

Doesn't flame (cooking) usually inhibit regeneration? I know trolls don't normally care to take the time to cook their dinners, but perhaps they'd make an exception for things like Walktapi, to avoid indigestion while their alimentary corrosives did their work?