Ice Troll

“At least they’re not smart.”  That is always the mantra adventurers cling to when dealing with trolls.  But the Northmen know better—they know ice trolls are as smart as they, and if they ever truly organized, humanity near the Poles would be doomed.

Despite occupying a single blot on the map, the nation of Viriden is actually two coastal states separated by a broad plain.  Because this plain is a migration route for aurochs, bison, giant elk, and other creatures, it is also the breadbasket for four hordes of ice trolls.  The axes and appetites of these foul humanoids prevent trade from crossing the width of Viriden, and messengers there are accorded a level of respect most other nations reserve for their elite cavaliers.

Jutland is a remarkably diverse but desolate nation, where ice trolls and the occasional frost giant lord over human and kobold thralls.  Their witches are renowned for piloting animated wicker storks through the city streets with sobbing future meals in the storks’ woven bellies.  The hope for Jutland lies underground—in dwarven city-states that train all freedom fighters who would learn as scouts (rogues and rangers), quarrels (ninjas), and firestarters (fire elementalists and evokers).

After ice troll mercenaries saved the city of Karlstadt, the jarl opened his gates to them.  Two bars in particular seem to cater to the brutes: The Belch & Bodkin, which serves a gritty trollish brew that resembles badly aged malt whiskey and rocks, and the Pit, where ice trolls duel with torches in a makeshift arena.  The fights are always exciting—the fact that the lit torches are tied to the trolls’ right hands encourages them to finish their opponents quickly.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 2 271

Looking for the ice mephit?  We sorted him out back in February.