Lake Troll

Lake Trolls of Grizburg

 

Appearance

Lake trolls are grotesque giants of waterlogged sinew and scale, their skin mottled green-black and encrusted with river stones. Their arms are too long, ending in webbed claws sharp enough to tear iron apart. Slimy hair drapes across their faces like rotting kelp, and their nostrils flare with the stench of carrion. When they rise from the waters of the Sko, they look like drowned corpses reborn into something far worse. ---  

Origins

No one knows whether the lake trolls of Grizburg were drawn here by accident or bred deliberately by cults in the Depths. Some whisper that Zothra-Khaar’s blood, seeping into the waterways, warped common trolls into these amphibious horrors. Others say they were once guardians of the drowned god’s shrines, now unbound and ravenous.   ---  

Habitat

Lake trolls haunt the Sko and the deeper canals, lurking in silted vaults, submerged cathedrals, and the drowned cisterns beneath Greendocks. They claim expanses of water as their lairs, attacking barges, ferries, and even sewer patrols that drift too close. At night, they climb onto wharves, dripping with muck, to scavenge refuse or prey.   ---  

Ecology

Though solitary, lake trolls are violently territorial. Their regenerative hides shrug off most weapons, and their claws are famed for shearing blades and splintering oars. They prefer to drag prey beneath the surface, where the black waters mask the slaughter. Even in death, they are treacherous—burned or frozen carcasses have been known to stir and leap again.   ---  

Behavior

Lake trolls delight in breaking what their enemies wield. They crush weapons, bend anchors, and shred sails with gleeful cruelty. They prowl canals silently, surfacing without a ripple until the strike. When enraged, they emit deep croaking bellows that echo like collapsing masonry through the canal walls.   ---  

The Whispering Depths Connection

Many Depth cults believe lake trolls are vessels of Zothra-Khaar’s spite. Troll bones pulled from shrines are carved with runes of warding, said to grant protection against drowning. Some cultists lure trolls with offerings of blood and relics, turning them into guardians of flooded sanctuaries.   ---  

Use by Factions

Rust Barons secretly herd trolls into rivals’ waterways, ensuring docks collapse under sudden attacks. Smugglers sometimes leave offerings of meat or enchanted trinkets along canal walls to appease them. Other factions hunt trolls, believing their regenerative blood can be distilled into alchemical tonics.   ---  

Cultural Role

Canal-folk call them “The Drowned Long-Arms.” Parents warn children never to play near still waters, for a troll may be waiting below. Fishermen scratch iron sigils onto boat hulls in hope of warding them away. In taverns, scarred sailors boast of “hearing the croak” and living to tell it.   ---  

Legends

The story of the Sinking of Redlocke tells of a troll that rose in the midst of a festival barge, tearing fifty celebrants into the water. Another tale, the Green Warden, speaks of a troll that patrolled the cisterns beneath Grizburg’s citadel until the day it vanished, dragging a company of guards with it into silence.   ---  

Threats to the City

Lake trolls imperil trade, collapsing docks and sinking barges. Their presence weakens the city’s foundations, their bulk breaking stonework and sluice gates. A single troll can paralyze an entire district; a pair could drown a ward in chaos.   ---  

Behavioral Oddities

Some trolls adorn their hides with chains torn from docks, letting the rust drip like jewelry. Others hoard shattered weapons, embedding them into their scales like trophies. The strangest sit motionless in shallow water, croaking softly as though remembering some drowned hymn.   ---  

Adventuring Hooks

• A troll has claimed the cisterns beneath Greendocks, its croaks reverberating through the pipes.
• A Baron hires mercenaries to slay a troll that destroyed his ironclad barge.
• Cultists feed a troll relics, believing it a herald of Zothra-Khaar’s return.
• A troll corpse fished from the canal awakens days later in the heart of a market square.
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Closing Words

Lake trolls embody Grizburg’s rot and hunger: unstoppable, cruel, and patient. To face one is to face the city’s own reflection in dark water. See full stats on D&D Beyond   ---  

Voices of the Waterways

“The croak shook the stones beneath my feet—and then it rose, all claws and slime.”

— Fisher of Rustwater

“Your sword won’t last three strokes against it. Better you bring fire and frost, or better yet, don’t go at all.”

— Dockside Veteran

“The Sko has its kings, and they wear scales of green.”

— Canal Mystic

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