Troll

Trolls
TW3 Concept Art, probably for a forest troll
General Information
Sub-races	Forest trolls, mountain or rock trolls, ice trolls
Locations	Wilderness, bridges
Languages	Able to learn basics of Common Speech or other languages of more intelligent races
Traits	Fair carpentry and stonemasonry skills Fond of riddles, rhymes and all sorts of wordplay^[1]
Physical Description
Height	Enormous huge
Hair	Mostly bald^[1]
Skin	Shades of grey with green, stony or icy tints^[1]

Trolls are giant, humanoid creatures. Trolls possess a certain level of intelligence, and are able to use simple sentences to communicate with humans and amongst themselves. They usually reside in the wild, but often are found living under bridges (which they often build themselves) and demand toll from travelers. While witchers used to kill trolls in the past (as some trolls eat or ate human flesh), nowadays often people are used to having a troll around, especially that paying the toll is cheaper than maintenance of the bridge.

Yennefer had a giant mountain troll penis in her collection. There is a common belief that trolls are petrified by sunlight, but it's not true.

“

One day, I ride up and what do I see? A bridge. And under that bridge sits a troll and demands every passerby pays him. Those who refuse have a leg injured, sometimes both. So I go to the alderman: "How much will you give me for that troll?" He's amazed. "What are you talking about?" he asks, "Who will repair the bridge if the troll's not there? He repairs it regularly with the sweat of his brow, solid work, first rate. It's cheaper to pay his toll."

”

— pg(s). 160, "The Voice of Reason 5", in the collection The Last Wish (UK edition)

No pureblood troll has appeared in any of Andrzej Sapkowski's books, though two ogre-troll hybrids called Bue and Bang do appear in Season of Storms.

In The World of the Witcher[]

TWotW trolls — concept arts for bridge and forest trolls in The World of the Witcher

“

Trolls are huge and strong, but not particularly sharp. Surprisingly for such large and seemingly clumsy creatures, they are quite skilled at carpentry and stonemasonry. The structures they build astonishingly resilient, though maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing. Trolls make their dwellings near bridges, whether built by themselves or by other races, and live off collecting tolls from travelers. They usually demand provisions, livestock, or horses. If the traveler has nothing to offer, he has to find another route, though if times are lean, he might end up as a hungry troll's main course.
Presently, it is unreasonable to still classify trolls as monsters. That is because over years of coexistence with more intelligent races they have at least partly adjusted their customs, and now should properly be considered an intelligent, though primitive, race. Incidents in which trolls attack villages and hamlets are now rare, for they have largely abandoned their man-eating habits and usually limit themselves to stealing cattle and livestock from time to time. They even began using primitive clothing, though in their case these are usually scrounged together from fragments of rags, old bags, and various junk worn as ornaments. The most intelligent of trolls even understand the concept of exchanging goods and services. These more intelligent specimens make deals with surrounding villages, usually building and maintaining local bridges, and even protecting the peasants from predators or bandits.
That does not mean, however, that these creatures are completely harmless or subsist on veggies. Attacks on humans still happen occasionally, particularly in early spring when hungry trolls begin to run out of winter stores. Some specimens, especially of the wilder mountain subspecies,
don't see a real difference between a human and a cow. These trolls still attack travelers and harass local hamlets, becoming a real terror for the area and a legitimate source of witcher work.

”

— pg(s). 136, The World of the Witcher

“

"When ya think about it fer a while, 'tis easy to see trolls is not really monsters. Yeah, they ain't pretty, but cooper Sulibor's wife ain't either, and nobody's hired a witcher to get her, right?
They's also smart. Not really smart like our innkeeper, for he's a worldly man who learned at the temple school and can count w'out using fingers, and even goes to fairs at the town. Boy, he's really seen the world. But a troll sure is smarter than Dreslav the shepherd boy – ya know, the one that was kicked in the 'ead by a horse when he was still a kid, and now he's all weak minded, always talking to 'imself and 'is pigs.
Trolls is also hard working, more so than most humans. The ones in the mountains beyond the village built a bridge in five days – how many carpenters could do that?! Truth be told, they'd gripe until they got an advance payment, and then be off to get wasted, the bloody drunks. Prob'ly botch the construction in the end too! I knows their kind! Yeah, trolls now wants a toll for crossing the bridge, and if someone don't pay, they break 'is leg, sometimes both legs, but that's still a sight cheaper and safer than going through the Old Clearing and the Frog Mire. And ya can make a deal with a troll,bargain a'out payment, since trolls speaks Common and ya can understand 'em, unlike, say, yer royal tax collector. One used to come 'ere and fleece us for everything we had: poll tax, chimney tax, plow tax, tail tax, and gods know what else. And 'e didn't bloody care that winter was harsh and harvest poor, 'is 'qu-otoa' had to be met, and if someone asked why should we pay so much, 'e started babbling about dutifactual service, obligations, royal prerogativations, and other such bullcrap. Luckily, when 'e was leaving last year, 'e used the Troll Bridge. And since trolls was mighty hungry a'er winter... Well, a new one ain't come yetl so we's got peace for a while..."

– Miwocht, village blacksmith

”

— pg(s). 136, The World of the Witcher

In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings[]

Troll

Details
Occurrence	near bridges and ravines
Immunity	knockdown bleeding
Susceptibility	poison
Tactics	throwing rocks
Crafting/Alchemy	troll tongue troll skin cloth leather twine
Other loot	troll trophy orens

In The Witcher 2, four trolls appears in Chapter I and II.

One troll appears in the downloadable quest Troll Trouble. You can meet two other trolls in Chapter II, the Troll of Vergen and his wife. Another troll appears near the camp followers' encampment, if Geralt chooses Roche's path, in Chapter II, but that one is hostile. As of the Enhanced Edition, this troll may also be encountered on Iorveth's path.

Known Trolls[]

The Troll of Flotsam
The Troll of Vergen
The She-troll of Vergen
Battlefield troll near the south of Roche's camp

Associated Quests[]

Journal entry[]

According to legend, trolls are creatures born of earth and their body is made of rock. They hate sunlight, which kills them by turning them into inanimate stone, so they subsist only at night. That's much for legends. And the reality? Well, as always, truth is much more prosaic. Trolls are living creatures like me and you, and they prefer day to night, for they are so clumsy that they stumble on stones in the dark, spilling vodka. Their skin is indeed hard like stone, but beneath there are muscles and a heart that pumps blood. And since they bleed, they can be killed.

Trolls are primitive, true, but they are counted among sapient creatures. They can speak our tongue, though not very colorfully. They mate in pairs for life and, despite what the spiteful would have, they have feelings (even if they express them unceremoniously). All trolls share fondness of building and alcohol. They combine these passions by erecting bridges and drinking away the money gained from collecting tolls. Thus originated the sayings: "straight like a troll bridge", when something is twisted, and "trolling it a day", when construction workers make a break for "lunch".

If a troll spots his opponent from a distance, he will try to crush him by throwing huge rocks. Trolls are surprisingly accurate when throwing missiles, and their thick skin provides them ample protection from arrows, so exchanging fire with them always end in the trolls' victory. The beast must be reached as fast as possible, and slaughtered with strong blows. They are sluggish, so a swordsman that evades first a thrown rock, then a rock-heavy fist, has a chance of survival. One should not take risks, however, and if possible reach an understanding with the monster.

Trolls are huge beings, so knocking them down or unbalancing them in combat is highly unlikely. Their ability to regenerate is legendary, and means they need not fear wounds or oils increasing bleeding. However their fast metabolism has a darker side, since these monsters are very susceptible to venoms – these swiftly reach all recesses of the trollish body.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[]

Geralt can encounter several friendly rock trolls including one named Boris while travelling through Velen, and another named Bart in the employ of Sigi Reuven. He can also encounter some less friendly ice trolls.
There are furthermore the three farting trolls living in a cave in Skellige: Jesse, Joe and Dodger. Their voices are spoken by known Youtubers, as part of an Easter egg in The Witcher 3.