General Rules: Monsters - Troll, Shambling

Troll, Shambling (from Giant Lore)
Large Giant

Hit Dice: 10d8+70 (115 hit points)
Initiative: -2
Speed: 40 feet
Armor Class: 16 (-1 size, -2 Dexterity, +9 natural); touch AC 7, flat-footed AC 16
BAB/Grapple: +7/+18

Attack: Claw +13 melee (1d8+7, piercing and slashing, 20 x2)

Full Attack: 2 claws +13 melee (1d8+7, piercing and slashing, 20 x2) and bite +8 melee (1d8+3, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 10 feet by 10 feet/10 feet
Special Attacks: Dismembered limbs, rend 2d8+10

Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, crumbling body, mindless, regeneration 8, scent, spawn trolls

Saves: Fortitude +14, Reflex +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 25, Int 3, Wis 8, Dex 6, Con 25, Cha 6

Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4

Feats: Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack
Environment: Mountains and swamps

Organization: Always solitary

Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Half standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 11 - 14 Hit Dice (Large); 15 - 18 Hit Dice (Huge)

Shambling trolls are nigh-unstoppable, almost plantlike monsters. They have a vigorous regenerative ability, and are probably the source of what others assumed were tall tales; decapitated troll heads attacking after being lopped off and entirely new trolls forming from the body parts of another.

Shambling trolls, named for their shuffling gait, are larger than their more common cousins, standing around 10 feet tall and weighing around 00 pounds. Their skin tends to be a bit darker and seems almost rotted, with tumors bubbling beneath their skin and flesh occasionally sloughing off. They are even less intelligent than common trolls, having something of a plantlike feel about them. Scholars believe that this is the price they pay for their regenerative abilities: Their existence is more like that of a mobile fungus than that of an animal.

Combat
Shambling trolls are not at all savvy in battle. They always begin flailing at opponents with their maximum Power Attack and then work their way slowly up if they continuously fail to hit.

Crumbling Body (Ex): Shambling trolls, for all of their strength and vigor, are very easily hacked to pieces. Their limbs and flesh come off "as easy as the wings on a roast chicken" a troll hunter once said. Any slashing or bludgeoning attack against a shambling troll has its threat range doubled; this is both a blessing and a curse. If a critical hit is confirmed, full damage is applied. However, one of the troll's body parts also comes off as a result. Roll randomly to determine which: 1 = head, 2-3 = arm, 4-5 = leg, = cut in half. Severed body parts have a movement rate of 5 feet, Armor Class 20, 23 hit points, and use the troll's bite statistics for attack and damage. The original troll quickly regrows lost parts as described below.

Mindless (Ex): While they have minds, shambling trolls' thoughts operate more on a level akin to plants and vermin than thinking animals. They are therefore immune to all mind-affecting spells and effects.

Regeneration (Ex): Shambling trolls have terrifyingly rapid regenerative abilities. Fire and acid deal normal damage to a shambling troll. If a shambling troll loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 rounds. Shambling trolls never attempt to reattach severed limbs or heads.

Rend (Ex): In combat, a shambling troll lashes out with both claws and its sharp-toothed maw. if it hits with both claw attacks, it latches onto the opponent's body and attempts to rip him in two, dealing an additional 2d8+10 points of damage.

Spawn Trolls (Ex): Dismembered body parts, no matter how small, spawn new shambling trolls. If not for the trolls' penchant for eating their own spawn, the creatures would quickly take over any ecosystem they inhabited. An entire body takes two days to grow from a piece of flesh as small as a finger. Half of a body would take one day, while regrowing from a limb or head would require a day and a half.

It is possible to collect shambling troll parts and impede their growth for up to one week by immersing them in an alchemical concoction made with a low-grade acid. Creating this concoction requires a DC 25 Craft; Alchemy check; however, there is a 5% cumulative chance per day that the part will spontaneously begin to grow and bursts the seal on its container. Smaller parts, like fingers, are highly feared sabotage weapons. They can be easily thrown over enemy walls, dumped down sewer grates, or hidden in storage areas. Within a matter of days, a new shambling troll emerges, hungry and malevolent.

Shambling Troll Society
There is little doubt that if shambling trolls could be organized into any sort of group, they would be a terrifying force. However, each shambling troll views any others as dim mirrors of itself. Faced with such a vision, a slow plantlike rage begins brewing. If no other obvious foes present themselves, it does not take long before the trolls turn on each other; the victor devours the loser, ensuring that no new shambling trolls spawn. Strong leaders, like more intelligent giants, may be able to organize the beasts into attack forces, but only by keeping them separate and controlling them with fire. Shambling trolls are too stupid to speak or understand any languages.

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