Mark Plemmons
Explorer
Drew said:
Well, it's not from real-Earth culture, but the trolls in the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting are (eventually) descended from the ancient titans that refused to take sides in the titans war against the gods.
The following comes from the book "Dangerous Denizens: the Monsters of Tellene":
HISTORY OF THE TROLLS OF TELLENE
Long ago, the Gods of Tellene were formed by the Creator to bring Her creation to fruition. The Gods determined that as they themselves served the Creator, they too would have beings serve them. Thus, the Creator granted the Gods servants in the form of Spirits, beings formed from the essences of their various Planes, and thus tied to the Outer Planes rather than the Prime Material. This satisfied the Gods for an age or three, as they caused their servants to build their Planes into that which most pleased them, forming their own realities separate and distinct from that of the Prime. Then, as the amusements of their own private cosmos waned, the Gods sought to expand their influence onto the Prime Material Plane. Unfortunately, they discovered that their Spirit servants were less than satisfactory for this purpose. The Creator had built into them limitations, such that they might affect the Prime Material Plane only through the medium of a native of that Plane. Thus, the Gods sought to convert the various races of the Prime Plane to their causes.
The Creator had brought various races into being upon the Prime Material Plane that Her Plan for Creation might be realized. These races included the Animals, Dragons, Dwarves, Elves and various other primitive creatures. The Dragons were aloof, convinced of their own superiority as the chosen mortals of the Creator (for they were the most powerful beings on Tellene), and thus spurned many overtures of the Gods. The Dwarves and Elves did not entirely suffice for the purpose of the Gods, for those beings had their own ties to Earth and Forest. Thus, they turned to the Animals and various primitive creatures in their quest for servants. There, they discovered a race of primitive beings, not unlike modern Humans (perhaps the forerunners of that race), and saw in them a spark of intellect, the capacity for thought and a kernel of will. The Gods took up the finest of the specimens of these beings and infused them with a share of their Godly might. Though it was but an infinitesimal portion of their might, even so that portion forged each of these beings into an entity of formidable power and prowess. Thus were created the Titans.
The Titans were originally created of stuff both mortal and Divine, and thus were at home on both the Prime Material Plane and the Planes of their respective Gods. For an age the Titans were the dominant beings on Tellene, and their great wars, triumphs and tragedies have come down to the modern peoples as the kernel of the most ancient myth cycles (in which the early Dragons, Elves and Dwarves played no small part). But for all that they were a part Divine, the Titans were mortal, and had mortal failings. At the end of their age, a full third of the host of the Titans sought to usurp the power of the Gods (some say at the behest of the Confuser of Ways).
The War of the Titans and the Gods lasted for a thousand years. In the ends, the Titans were defeated, though at great cost to the Gods themselves.
(paraphrasing from here on, so I don't have to retype a couple pages)
The Gods meted out punishment or rewards to the various factions. The Rebels went to the great pit of Tartarus, the Neutral Titans were bereft of their Divine essence and cast off, and the Loyal Titans were granted eternal residence on the Outer Planes.
The Neutral Titans discovered kindred "spirits" in the genies of the Elemental Planes, and eventually became the progenitors of the various Fire, Frost and Storm Giants. Others sought power in the earth, and became the Elder Trolls (not nearly as ugly as their current descendents).
Both races clawed their way back to an orderly civilization, but then the Divine War of the Gods occurred. The gods sought every advantage they could get, and the Gods of Chaos and Evil saw potential in the Trolls.
He Whose Name is Not, the Dead God of Chaos and Evil, mated his demons with the Trolls, creating the Demonic Trolls. Also created were the High Trolls (Chaos, Mindreaver, Rot, Storm). The High Trolls mated with Humanoids and other Trollish races, and their descendents formed the core of the various clans of Lesser Trolls (standard, plus Arctic, Cave, Moss, Sand, Sea, Stench) still found throughout Tellene.
Hope that gave you some ideas!!!
