Young Writers Society

Hello! What do people think trolls are like?
Relative to fairies, humans, gnomes, dwarves, gremlins, ogres, goblins etc.?
Intelligence? Stature? Texture? Moral compass (chaotic, neutral, lawful etc., utilitarian versus Kantian, or any other which way you would like to describe them)? Skills? Colour?
The five senses - how do they smell, feel, look, sound, (taste?)?
What type of creature are they, if they are a type (amphibian, bird, etc., or something else)?

Thank you!

Trolls are pictured badly most of the time. It could be interesting if you portrayed them as nice characters.

Try checking this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll

Trolls are generally stupid creatures, but I think the most interesting kind is the cunning river trolls from The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Oh man. Trolls are really interesting because on the one hand, you've got the popular conception of the ugly trolls, but then on the other hand, there's some folkloric descriptions of trolls that describe them as being seductively beautiful, depending on the traditions you're pulling from.

The beautiful ones love music and pageantry, live underground, and lure wanderers into their homes to devour or enslave them. ;P

Ooh, and don't forget about changelings! Some mythologies have trolls doing this whole twisted switched-at-birth thing where they'll replace a human child with their own, who will be raised by the humans, and enslave the human child.

Trolls differ between different cultures. Even if you look at just Scandinavian folklore, where they originated, you'll find differences -- this picture at Humon Comics is a good reference. The word "troll" can be found as root of other supernatural words in some Scandinavian languages, too (in Swedish, trolla can mean "conjure", "charm" or "bewitch", and there were other troll-rooted words in Old Norse and such that meant things like "witchcraft"): at first, arguably, the word wasn't meant to describe just a single creature, but rather a whole set of them, but that changed over time. And then you have huldras and huldrekarls, elves, and a bunch of others that can be found in Scandinavian folklore (they're the ones that sing and dance to seduce travellers and lead them to their deaths, although some are very nice and helpful and others treat you depending on how you treat them).

MysticFiles has some facts on how trolls changed from original Scandinavian folklore through to popular culture, which you might find interesting.

Most of my lore is based around werewolves and humans. However, I do have trolls in my world. Keeping in mind this is general, and every individual is different, here's what they are like:

Appearance: Large humanoid with grayish-blue skin and orc-like tusks, usually with dark hair and eyes. About seven feet tall and very bulky and strong.

Intelligence/Alignment: Any alignment- they're people too. However, they tend towards more chaotic alignments than lawful ones. They aren't the brightest of races in general, but there are a few troll mages, and they usually aren't complete idiots. Just a bit slow most of the time.

Behavior: They tend to have more instinctual or violent tendencies, but can be talked to. However, they are quick to fight and anger. The main thing that makes them appear stupid is the fact that their native tongue is not Common- thus, they only speak broken Common and humans (and their kin) think they are brawny idiots.

So those are the basics. Enjoy.

This is all really interesting! I wanted to ask the question because I realised that I have a conception of "troll" (although I'm currently having a really hard time figuring out whether or not they have fur XD ) which I am using in my novel, but this differs wildly from other trolls I've read about. It's interesting that even in the original Scandinavian versions they differed wildly! I enjoyed reading about your trolls featherstone - mine are small and a sort of green, but also quite stupid! Rather more placid than violent.

If you ever want to discuss fantasy worlds/creatures/cultures/etc, definitely PM or tag me! I love to talk about this kind of thing, especially with werewolves- they are the most fleshed out in my world.

Well, it depends on what kind of troll you want. There are dozens of them. Classical, norwegian trolls that come from local mythology, wherein there are (usually) either neutral or a bad guy. Internet trolls. The strange ones, with their hair standing up in a ...tornado, I guess ? You know, the small toy ones.
Various trolls from fantasy fiction (Featherstone has brought an example of those) ranging from smart to dumb, from good to evil. Realistic trolls as seen in the movie Troll Hunter. If I were you would use that as reference point. Great movie, goes into detail about what kind of trolls there are, how they could live and exist in the modern world. Talks in detail about the myths and folklore surrounding them.