Storm troll

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Storm trolls are a breed of troll that originated in the punishing Stormlands, a freakish region unlike any other in Immoren. They eke out their existence in a blasted wasteland of biting winds, earthquakes, and constant electrical storms. Unlike the many varieties of trolls that prefer to blend in their environments, a storm troll primed with galvanic energy is a blazing beacon of power, intimidating well beyond its size.

Physical Characteristics

Where other trolls have quills or rocky protrusions on their thick skin, a storm troll has a series of natural conductors consisting of spires made of multiple layers of metal and mineral. These growths, which constantly crackle with electrical threads, stretch down the length of the troll’s spine. Lightning strikes are drawn to these protuberances and will arc directly into a storm troll even if other conductors are closer.[1]

Storm trolls are living electrical conductors. Tendrils of blue lightning arc constantly between the protrusions on their backs and crawl along their skin. Contact with a storm troll causes some of this energy to discharge, numbing a limb or frazzling a cortex.[1]

Behaviour

Due to the scarcity of food in their homeland, storm trolls have adapted to gain limited sustenance from lightning strikes absorbed by their spines. Lightning cannot replace a storm troll’s need for meat, but they allow it to subsist on a noticeably smaller quantity of food than other trolls, at least when regularly exposed to storms. Although they prefer to seek out storms to maintain their bodily equilibrium, storm trolls are capable of sustaining themselves entirely on meat. When storms are rare, a storm troll’s hunger can rival that of a dire troll. They also demonstrate a craving for unusual substances, perhaps to encourage the growth and health of their conductive spines. It is not uncommon to see storm trolls seeking out conductive metals and sometimes mechanikal devices to eat.[1]

An agitated storm troll can produce a powerful bolt of lightning capable of electrocuting a target. The condensers along its back build up a charge that ripples through the troll’s body and crawls along its sides, culminating in a blast of pure electricity from its mouth. The storm troll can accurately direct this blast to strike targets nearly fifty feet away, and this eruption carries enough charge to arc across a wide area. Anything that survives is charged by the storm troll and beaten down with its oversized fists, each strike flashing with a powerful blast of lightning.[1]

Despite their special fit with the Stormlands, storm trolls have long felt compelled to settle in other regions. These creatures eventually reached such remote locales as the mountains of northern Khador and Cygnar. There they persist, making use of their unique abilities to drive away competitors.[1]

The previously infrequent exodus of these trolls has recently escalated due to the movements of the skorne. As skorne military columns have moved west, a number of storm trolls have been driven before them. They have moved into certain hills along the Bloodstone Marches or ventured deeper into the Iron Kingdoms, preferring areas with intense weather. The storms in these areas are not nearly as intense as those of their native land, but this has simply forced the trolls to hunt more often. One side effect is that these storm trolls grow larger than those found amid the Stormlands, an adaptation that has helped them compete with rivals.[1]

Employment

Storm trolls have been welcomed by many trollkin kriels since being displaced from the Stormlands by the skorne. The value of the storm troll has increased as the trollkin have faced more armies with warjacks in their ranks. The increased need for these beasts has encouraged some warlocks to venture into the Stormlands to gather them in greater numbers.[1]

Storm trolls that are kept too long without their preferred food rapidly lose control, greedily stuffing themselves with anything they can fit in their mouths, including any trollkin or pygs who happen to wander too close. Because this dietary need can be taxing for smaller kriels, storm trolls are rare outside regions where electrical storms are common. Even so, some warlocks feel the storm troll’s capabilities far outweigh the potential risks of keeping them.[1]

References

Creatures
Sapient Bog trogBogrinCephalyxCroakDragonDreggDwarfEfaaritElf (IosanNyssStrider) • FarrowGatormanGiantGobberGrymkinHumanInfernalLetheanOgrun (Black ogrun) • Pygmy trollSatyxisSkorneTharnTotem hunterTrollkin
Non-sapient AnimantaraxAradusArchidonArgus (Argus moonhoundWinter argus) • BasiliskBisonBlackhideBlack tatzylwurmBletcherBrute boarBurrow-mawgCataphract beetleCeropsCrypt spiderCyclopsDeep drakeDesert hydraDevil ratDracodileDragon fishDragonspawn (Nephilim) • DrudgeDune prowlerDuskwolfFeroxFog drakeFrost drakeGallows groveGiant hogGnarlhorn satyrGoraxGorgandurGrotesqueHornbeak traskHorseHull grinderIncubusIronback spitterKaelramLemaxMammothMonstrosityPainted tatzylwurmPale tatzylwurmRaevhan buffaloRazorbatRazor boarRazor wormReptile houndRhinodonRip horn satyrRotterhorn griffonSaquScarabScarsfell griffonSea drakeShadowhorn satyrSkiggSkirovik mountain goatSludge bruteSnapperSpine ripperStorm raptorSwamp horrorThornwood maulerThroatfishThrone of EverblightThrullgTitanTroll (Dire trollEarthborn dire trollGlacier kingMountain kingNight trollPitch trollPyre trollSlag trollStorm trollSwamp trollTroll whelpWinter troll) • UlkUrthekVektissViper tatzylwurmWarpwolf (Pureblood) • Widow bear
Undead BoneswarmDeathlessDuelist wraithDreadDreadboundEldritch (Riven) • EntombedExcruciatorFeralgeistGenzoulHollowedIron lichIron maidenKovaasMachine wraithPistol wraithRevenantSand dervishScyllaSepulchral lurkerShadeShaft wightSpectreSwamp shamblerThrall (Bane thrallBile thrallBloat thrallBrute thrallMechanithrallScrap thrallSkarlock thrallSoulhunterStitch thrall) • Void spirit