Culture:  Mixed

Cults:  Zorac Zoran, Kyger Litor, Zong

Found: Bear Woods, Bear Hills

The Guttuz tribe is on permanent war footing at the moment, they are fighting the  Aldyami of Bear Woods, and pushing deeper into the woodlands. This fight is also bringing them into conflict with Balazaring hunters of the area, and some of the chaos emanating from festering isle. Also there is also some internal conflict with some clans unhappy with the new tribal leadership.

As a result of this most encounters with  the Guttuz will be predominantly violent.  Encounters can take a number of different forms.

Undead Raiders

The Guttuz are sending parties of animated undead into enemy territory with orders to destroy all non troll sentiment life they can find. They tend to comprise of a  small number of troll zombies and a larger number of skeletons which could be trollkin or human.

They will not negotiate, talk, use tactics, or ambush in anyway. They will just walk towards the party or other targets and try to kill them .

It is very possible that any corpses found in the troll side of the bear woods will be  reanimated at some point.

Trollkin Raiders

Trollkin raiding parties are also being sent out, primarily to skirmish and kill, but also to set fires in the woods and engage in other acts of guerrilla warfare.

The skirmishing groups main targets are lone elves, runners, Balazaring women and children. They are trying to avoid conflict with groups warriors and inflict damage on more vulnerable targets.

The raiding parties will always be encountered at night, they will send scouts out before them and will usually know of the players first. Groups that seem weak or unprepared will be viable targets, stronger well guarded groups will be avoided, thought is possible night guards will spot the trollkin scouts as they leave the area.

If there were to attack the trollkin would skirmish concentrating most of their fire on one target till it goes down. Then they move onto the next target.

Full War party

A full war party is a full gang of trollkin skirmishes with a group of trolls attached to it. They have been drilled in certain styles of fighting, and will use the same tactic in most situations. This group is mainly local hunters organised into a raiding party with one or two more civilised Zorak Zoran followers leader the party.

The Tribe will send a full war party out against a known target usually identified by trollkin raiders. Their targets will almost always groups of warriors of full communities of either humans or elves.

However they will be very happy to fight any random players they happen to stumble upon. The only exception this may be a troll party, but that may still turn into a fight.

The party travels with 3 trollkin scouts out front, and one to the rear. When combat is initiated the trollkin skirmish line will engage for 2 or 3 rounds with the trolls and zombies hidden out of site. They will then break and run back towards the group of trolls hoping the enemy will give chase.

At that point the trolls and zombies will charge( or stumble) into a hopefully disorganised enemy. If the opposition does not give chase the trolls will charge anyway. Finally the remaining trollkin return in flanking positions from which they attack with missiles or close for the kill.

This will be a very dangerous combat encounter for most parties and should be used scarcely because of such. Allowing the players to retreat early is always an option, or it the players are going down a counter attack by elves or hunters who have been tracking the war party may make for a longer game.

Culture: Barbarian

Cults: Argan Argar

Found: Troll lands, Troll Hunting lands, Open Hunting Lands, Giant Land

Local traders can sometime be found travelling out from the central areas of the troll hills or trade with wild and hunters clans, or set up trade between Gork Hills and Troll hills.

This is not a large trade caravan which will pass through between Dragori Inkarth and troll hills or but  a lone trader and a handful of trollkin guards trying to turn a profit by taking goods from the central troll lands to the outer reaches of the Elder Wilds.

Wares will usually be metal items, pottery items, textiles and more exotic troll foodstuffs, these would be usually traded for furs, ivories, charms and interesting items clans may have picked up.

The trader will seek to avoid all contact with none trolls unless he can be sure they are friendly, as risks will far outweigh any potential profit opportunities.

If encountered at night players will usually encounter a lone scout first who will spot the players, and report back and lead the caravan away from the party. Unless one of the extreme scenarios below is in play.

If the players encounter the trader in the day he will be sleeping in cover with one of the trollkin on watch. If the players are spotted depends very much on the trollkins diligence and skill.

If the players get close to the trader he will never initiate combat, but try to negotiate and talk his way out of any situation. If attacked the trollkin guards will engage and he will attempt to escape to the best of his abilities.

If you want to force a more meaningful encounter between the trader and the players these extreme scenarios will make the Trader interact with the players;

• Trader is fleeing from foe and needs help (trolls, baboons, elves, humans, chaos )
• Trader is badly injured and trollkin approach party to heal him however they don’t speak any human tongues
• Trader is lost and needs directions, will send trollkin to approach the players before he does.
• Trader is currently being attacked and trapped in a defensive position by Wild animals, chaos, trolls, elves, or baboons, the players may help or ignore.
• The Trader has an item worthless for trolls which he thinks is highly valuable to the players and needs to approach them to sell.
• The Traders pack beetles have died and he needs help moving his goods.

Stats

• Troll Trader Party

Culture: Wild

Cults: Zong the Hunter, Kygor Lytor

Found: Troll Lands, Troll Hunting Grounds

Most troll wild clans are nomadic the same as the Balazarings Hunters. It is not rare to find primitive troll clans travelling outside traditional troll hunting grounds but in times of scarcity it can happen all too often.  They will not choose to enter into elf, dwarf or humans strongholds, but may often be found in neutral areas such as the North Plain, or the Dangerground.

They will usually have set up temporary camp in caves, gullies or in thick forest with little direct sunlight. Lookouts are usually posted, but in daylight hours it would be possible for the careful party to discover the trolls before the troll are alerted to them.

A clan will include dark troll hunters, some warriors, trollkin, mothers and troll children, and will always be led by rune level leaders usually of Zong or Kyger Lytor. The clan may be stationary and settled somewhere or on the move to new hunting grounds.

This will not  be entirety of the clan, but the core of the clan when there are numbers of hunting and gathering groups separate from the main group.

The priority for the clan will be to keep the characters away from the mothers and children, and they will become desperate and immediately violent if they think either is under threat. However if the party is not posing a threat, a weak clan will not seek a pointless fight, a weak and hungry clan may.

This can create some interesting opportunities for dialogue and trade, troll hunting clans are interested to news regarding prey and dangers( elves, dwarves, chaos and rival trolls tribes ), they will be interested in metal tools and weapons. They may also be interested in threatening the party into providing them a service such as dealing with a chaos threat, raiding local rivals or seeking directions to safe hunting grounds.

In combat there first response will be to form a perimeter between the party and mothers and children and fight a retreat. Once the mothers and children are a safe distance away they will then send a war party after the characters, either to chase them away or to finish them off.

RQ Encounter Generator

• Small Clan
• Medium Clan
• Large Clan

Culture:  Civilized

Cults:  Kigor Litor, Xiola Umbar, Argan Argar, Gorakiki

Found: Troll Lands

In the Elder wilds a troll priest is almost always a  member of one of the civilized clans, wild and hunter clans tend to have their spiritual needs met by shamans.

A troll priest found outside of the major troll centres will usually be on cult business. This could be a simple as visiting a clan to resolve an issue, declare a judgement on a inter clan matter or be on a spiritual, pastoral or practical quest for their cult.

A priest will be interested in outsiders, she will want to know who they are, why they are here, what they want and what that means for her God. Responses will depend very much on the nature of the priests God, the nature of the players and the responses of the players.  Troll priest tend to be subtle for trolls so combat then dinner is not always the first option to a chance encounter.

If the priest decides that dialogue is the best course of action, one her acolytes or attendants will be sent to be her mouthpiece and as she will not  want to communicate directly with outsiders. Anyone who approaches to speak with her directly will be warned and then moved away by her guards. The exception to this is when she thinks the players are very dangerous, and then she will communicate herself.

If non troll players bore her she will send them away or tell her troll guards to kill them, however if she find them interesting or intriguing she will want to learn what she can from them, or just be entertained by their strange ways.

If the players manage to convince her that their business is both in her interest and interesting, she will invite them to join her if she is visiting a local clan, and she will use them both to confuse the clan and as a status symbol.

If her businesses is elsewhere she will involve the players in a way that suits her if she can, acting as guides, messengers, go betweens or foot soldiers.  She will be careful not risk a cult quest, but if her God has provided the players as her resource she will be very happy to use it.

There are limited numbers of Troll priests in Balazar, and these are Gods they worship;

• Kyger Litor – Common
• Xiola Umbar – Uncommon
• Argan Agar – Very Rare
• Gorakiki – Very Rare

Stats

• Kyger Litor Priest Small Party
• Kyger Litor Priest Large Party
• Xiola Umbar Priest Small Party
• Xiola Umbar Priest Large Party

Culture:  Barbarian and some Hunter Clans

Cults: Zorak Zoran, Kygor Lytor, Zong

Found: Troll Lands

Many trolls clans patrol their lands, these tend to be the larger more civilized clans. Patrols are more usual when a threat is anticipated, but some clans patrol more regularly out of habit.

A patrol will be usually be led by a mid-level dark troll warrior, who will usually be supported by a number of warrior caste trollkin, dependent on clan strength and threat level they may also be supported by more dark or great troll warriors, or dark troll militia. Most patrol leaders will be worshippers of Zorak Zoran or Kygor Litor.

A Patrol will usually try to drive a party away from the clan village or stronghold. If the party looks too strong for the patrol the will shadow the party and send for reinforcements from the Clan. Only if a party appears weak will try and all-out assault.

Dialogue with Patrols will be limited to continued demands that the party leaves the clan lands, the patrol will in no circumstances give permission for the players to cross clan lands until a more senior leader comes from the Clan village.

If the trolls encounter the players resting at night they will launch a night raid unless they are obviously out matched. Upon receiving serious casualties they will flee, If all the dark trolls are put down, all the trollkin will flee.

Tactics will usually be the trollkin using missiles out of the darkness , and after some damage has been done the dark trolls charge from hidden positions to close with the enemy from the front with the trollkin then coming in to flank what opponents are left standing.

Culture:  Civilized

Cults: Kygor Lytor, Zorak Zoran, Zong

Found: Troll Lands

Stats

• Weak Patrol
• Strong patrol

A troll raiding party armed for war and out for a purpose such as, Raiding Elves, Raiding another troll tribe, hunting down Chaos or targeting other groups it knows are in the area.

The cult mix of the trolls will depend on tribe and clan. Followers of Zorak Zoran will be over represented in most war parties.

They may see the adventurers as a threat to be avoided, victim’s to be taken advantage of, a resource to use or as possible source of intelligence. It will be a rare situation where the players are the planned target of the raid.

Humans with large amount of metal weapons and armour will be treated with caution, and are unlikely to be the source of a full frontal assault without good reason. The presence of Elves, Dwarves, people who look like chaos or other traditional troll enemies within the party will greatly increase the chance of the encounter turning violent quickly.

Most raiding parties will constitute a rune leader or two, over 6 experienced dark or great troll warriors, with an equal number of Trollkin scouts and skirmishes. Larger war parties heading towards Elf or Dwarf territory may be 4 or 5 times the size.

Most Elder Wilds trolls will be using stone and flint weapons, and using hides and leather armour. Some more advanced clans from the central Troll Hills area can send raiding parties out with some metal armour and weapons.

Most daytime encounters will be encountering a resting troll group, there scouts becoming aware of  the players  group and then talking, defending, scouting or negotiating as need. Even if the trolls are hostile, they will prefer to talk in the light and fight in the darkness.

Darkness encounters will be nastier with raided campsites, hostage taking before any negotiations, or abductions with grim and grisly warnings left to be found in the morning.

A fully committed surprise night raid from these guys would probably mark the end of all but the most powerful parties.  So unless the party have brought that kind of attack on themselves I suggest using this encounter for threat, skirmish, hostage taking, bribes and tense negotiation, even when it may not be the most obvious and direct course of action.

Small Parties – These will be raiding locally with a specific foe which is close to the geographic location they are encountered in likely to be trollkin mobs, other trolls, baboon troop, minor chaos, humans Votanki or Balazarings dependent on location or elves if near elf forests.

These are likely to be most passive with players unless they have good reason not to be, as even a  successful fight could very much weaken them for their planned raid

Medium Raiding Parties – These groups can travel long distances sometimes for a specific goal sometimes juts to raid and pillage an area. This means they could very troublesome for the players as they could very well be seen as fair game.

Due to the size of the group I would suggest it makes a better game if the players see them before they see the players. Then the players can decide if they want to attack, retreat, negotiate, mislead or distract the war party.

Large Raiding Parties – This is a large group which is only usually brought together for a specific raid at a specific target. They will be disciplined are unlikely to attack then players out of hand.

Usual targets for a group of this size would be a reasonable sized community be they troll, human, baboon, elf or mostali. Also significant chaos threats could merit this response.

Trolls could interact with the players and try to use them as dupes, information sources, bait, allies or lunch.

Culture: Wild, Hunter or Barbarian

Cults: Zorak Zoran, Kygor Lytor, Zong,  Ancestor worship

Found: Anywhere

Stats:

• small raiding party
• medium raiding party
• large raiding party

A Troll hunting party out hunting for food, usually with specific prey in mind. They will not usually be looking for combat with a well-armed and organised group. However if the hunting expedition has not gone well a weak or vulnerable pc group may be seen as viable prey.

These groups are usually from more primitive troll clans, and will have basic stone and wooden equipment.

Most troll hunters worship Zong the Hunter which is to all intents and purposes works as a troll incarnation of Foundchild.

These groups will usually comprise of between 3 and 6 dark trolls, with anywhere between 4 and 12 hunter Trollkin. Great trolls tend to be used only in hunting parties where Thunder Lizards and larger animals are the prey. When there added strength and bulk is useful, and there belligerent directness can be mitigated. Hunting parties may be accompanied by pack beetles to carry the prey home.

A good proportion of long range parties will be led by an experienced hunter who is often a master hunter and of rune level.

Small parties will be short range parties hunting close to the central clan base after a variety of small game.

Medium parties will be longer range parties hunting outside the immediate  area of the clan.

Large parties are after specific large game such as woolly rhinos or thunder lizards, or are planning to hunt in known dangerous grounds.

If encountered at night they will be hunting, alert and will probably be aware of the characters first. If encountered in the daytime they will be sleeping and resting with a guard or two as lookout.

When engaging with intelligent foes, hunters will also try to flank and hit the weakest members of the group first, striking with missiles from multiple angles.  They will then strike from unexpected directions at pace, keeping the party off guard and disorientated. If needs be they will skirmish and follow a party for a long distance only fighting when they have the advantage,  only when they feel the party is weak and they have an overwhelming advantage will they close in for the kill.

If obviously outclassed or losing a fight these hunters have no compunction in cutting their losses and running, or negotiating an end to the fight. They will not want to leave injured dark troll members of the party to die, and will be willing to sacrifice trollkin to save themselves if at all possible.

Culture: Wild or Hunter

Cults: Zong, Kygor Litor, Ancestor Worship

Found: Troll lands, Troll Hunting Lands, Open Hunting Lands

Stats At:

• Troll Hunting Party Small
• Troll Hunting Party Medium
• Troll Hunting Party Large

Culture: Primitive

Cults: Kygor Litor, Ancestor Worship, Local Darkness Spirits

Found: Troll lands, Troll hunting lands

Stats: http://ouropa.planeetta.com/rq_tools/enemygen/enemy_template/4306/

If there are no obvious trolls enemies present. A dark troll shaman will step out of the darkness and start making declarations to the party.  The spirits have given her insights into what the players are doing and why.

If the party are on business which darkness spirits would be troubled by she will warn of doom and threaten curses on them if they don’t turn back. If she feels the party is experienced enough not to be influenced by such direct tactics she will seek to distract the party from its business with random portents, false prophecies, misleading quests, tales of tempting treasures and other urgent distractions.

She is prepared and has summoned spirits which can come to her aid immediately if combat ensues, however they will usually be out of sight in the darkness unless she feels he needs the visual effects of spirits moving round her, in whatever circumstances he will never show more than half of the spirits he has summoned.

If the party are on business which the spirit’s of darkness will approve of such as Hunting chaos, she will speak blessings, positive omens, pass information and may gift the  party with tokens that will help get them through troll lands with minimal of trouble.

If the party are not doing anything darkness spirits would be concerned with one way or the other. The shaman is will be trying to involve the party in her business which could be any of the following favours or quests which trolls may find hard to do,

• Deliver a message to Blueface the shaman
• Deliver a challenge to Blueface the shaman
• Deliver a message to Gon Orta
• Deal with a chaos threat immediately, or go fetch a Zorak Zoran war party to do so
• Deliver an item (cursed ) to the elves
• Deliver an item (cursed ) to the dwarves
• Give the shaman safe passage to a spiritual site in Human Populated Balazar
• Deliver a message(insult) to the Yelmalio temple in Dykene

She is not used to having to pay people to tasks and will declare that the spirits demand it, and there will be undefined dire consequences for all if it is not done immediately. This may or may not be true. If needs be she has magic trinkets, spells and future favours to offer in payment if she decides her needs require using them, but only if threats have not worked.

If the party contain obvious or known troll foes, they will be attacked in the night by a coordinated raid of ghosts, shades and other darkness spirits, but the shaman will never show herself.

This encounter should be most fun played through as a contest of wits and cunning as opposed to a combat, players need to be smart and astute or the shaman could waste an awful lot of their time and resources.

*note unsure about the stats on the Generator but its a good place to start