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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6480729" data-attributes="member: 4937">In my game, Trolls are (largely) evil fairy creatures rather than leathery giants and so have a bit more 'personality'.&nbsp; Recasting the troll lair as denizens of a different sort would also for greater diversity in the inhabitants, their motivations, and their desires.&nbsp; As early as 1e, I had troll bards and sages.&nbsp; This makes for some interesting surprises for players expecting straight forward encounters, as trolls with fey motives may act really in any way that a fairy tale creature might.a) The Trolls didn't build the lair, but merely adapted it to their own purpose.&nbsp; Parts of the lair remain undisturbed by the Trolls out of fear, superstition, design, laziness, or some combination.&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, a secret door might be unknown to the trolls.&nbsp; An iron vault might not be penetrated, and the fire trap that guards a corridor may have deterred the trolls from investigating it.&nbsp;&nbsp; Thus, the full lair can be both a warren and something else (trap filled tomb, lost temple, etc.)b) The Trolls have captured slaves and prisoners, which they use as food and labor.&nbsp;&nbsp; These slaves and prisoners can be quite diverse in character, though they would largely share the desire to be free of the trolls so as to not end up as food, they wouldn't necessarily all make good companions or allies.&nbsp; c) There are scavengers living off the leavings of the trolls - anything from oozes eating trash and dung, to feral sprites (or kobolds, or whatever) living like rats in the walls.d) The Trolls themselves might not be what they seem to be.&nbsp; The most deformed and base appearing of them might be a polymorphed prince, cursed by some hag to the form of a terrible ogre, or the whole tribe might be a cursed band of knights that scarcely remember their form life.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6480729, member: 4937"] In my game, Trolls are (largely) evil fairy creatures rather than leathery giants and so have a bit more 'personality'. Recasting the troll lair as denizens of a different sort would also for greater diversity in the inhabitants, their motivations, and their desires. As early as 1e, I had troll bards and sages. This makes for some interesting surprises for players expecting straight forward encounters, as trolls with fey motives may act really in any way that a fairy tale creature might. a) The Trolls didn't build the lair, but merely adapted it to their own purpose. Parts of the lair remain undisturbed by the Trolls out of fear, superstition, design, laziness, or some combination. For example, a secret door might be unknown to the trolls. An iron vault might not be penetrated, and the fire trap that guards a corridor may have deterred the trolls from investigating it. Thus, the full lair can be both a warren and something else (trap filled tomb, lost temple, etc.) b) The Trolls have captured slaves and prisoners, which they use as food and labor. These slaves and prisoners can be quite diverse in character, though they would largely share the desire to be free of the trolls so as to not end up as food, they wouldn't necessarily all make good companions or allies. c) There are scavengers living off the leavings of the trolls - anything from oozes eating trash and dung, to feral sprites (or kobolds, or whatever) living like rats in the walls. d) The Trolls themselves might not be what they seem to be. The most deformed and base appearing of them might be a polymorphed prince, cursed by some hag to the form of a terrible ogre, or the whole tribe might be a cursed band of knights that scarcely remember their form life. [/QUOTE]

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