Cave Troll
Cave Troll (CR 9)
Cave Trolls are bigger, meaner, and much, much faster than regular trolls, but have weak eyes so that they actively avoid being out in daylight. As a consequence, Cave Trolls are almost always found in cave systems, dungeons, dark ruins, and the like. But that said, Cave Trolls pride themselves on their intelligence and sense of adventure, and the murderous fiends can be found roaming the surface at night, even up to a few hours walk from their lairs.
Given how fast Cave Trolls walk, that's a really long way, too.
Cave Trolls look exactly like their smaller Troll cousins, except that while Trolls are almost skinny, Cave Trolls are quite meaty. They are the same height and have the same reach, but a Cave Troll will weight triple what a regular Troll weighs.
Despite their bulk, Cave Trolls are ridiculously fast and quick, and their agility has to be seen to be believed. They can shamble on their long bulky legs as fast as a horse can run, and when they put on a burst of speed, it's sobering and educational, to put it mildly.
GENERAL
CR 9 Hit Dice 14
XP 6,400
CE, Large, Monstrous Humanoid(Giant)
Init +4; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-light vision 120 ft., Scent, Perception +18
DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+7 dex, +11 armor)
hp 160
Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +8
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: Burst of Speed, Regeneration 20 (fire and acid)
Immunities: -
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft, Climb 20ft
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Single Melee Bite +15 (2d8+1/x2)
Full Melee Bite +15 (2d8+1/x2), 2x Claws +15 (2d6/x2)
Ranged Rock +15 (2d8+3/x2)
Special Attacks Burst of Speed
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 26, Dex 20, Con 24, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +9; CMB +17; CMD 30
Feats Combat Reflexes(EFFECT: Up to six attacks of opportunity per round), Maneuvers (EFFECT: AC32 vs attacks of opportunity caused by its own movement)
Skills Stealth +18, Perception +18
Languages Common, Giant
SPECIAL ABILITIES
<special abilities should have a save DC 19>
<special attack damage (standard action): 5d6>
<special attack damage (aoe’s, swift actions or inflicting status effects): 2d6+1>
- Regeneration
Cave Trolls regenerate 20 points of damage at the start of their turns. However, if the troll takes any fire or acid damage, he cannot regenerate on the following turn(but see burst of Speed, below). Regeneration will allow a troll to reattach severed limbs or regrow them if they aren't available for reattachment. Regeneration continues to operate even past death, and a troll can only be killed by burning the body or immersing it in acid until it is completely destroyed.
- Burst of Speed
Once per encounter, as a swift action, a Cave Troll may generate a tremendous burst of speed. This grants it several benefits.
- Its Regeneration ticks, healing it for 20 points of damage. If its regeneration was disabled this round because of fire or acid damage, that disability is cleared.
- It gains one additional bite attack in its next attack action.
- It immediately gains a move action.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 4,000 gp
COMBAT TACTICS
Cave Trolls are surprisingly capable combatants. They love to drop onto unsuspecting victims from the ceiling, counting on their large size and heavyset looks to make it unlikely that people will look up for something so large. It's eerie watching a Cave Troll climbing with such fluid agility, their massive hands and toes clinging to rock and wood like a gecko's toes.
They will charge into melee combat otherwise, using their high land speed to get into melee. Note that they cannot use Burst of Speed after a charge! They need a swift action to trigger it.
In general, some Cave Trolls use Burst of Speed as soon as possible, so they can move and take a full attack with the extra attack. Other Cave Trolls will save it, and use it to flee a battle that's going poorly.
In combat, Cave Trolls are just horrible to deal with. They use five foot steps to open the range, and they just beat the melee sorts to death with attacks of opportunity due to their reach and Combat Reflexes. They are smart enough to bypass a strong melee combatant and go attack the back of the party, too. They know what healers are, and don't like them. If they can't reach the back line, they carry some handy rocks, too.
If things are going poorly, Cave Trolls will abandon a battle to go regenerate, think things over, and come back again for another try. Doing this gives players a hard choice: Pursue the fleeing cave trolls, or neutralize the very quickly regenerating one's they've defeated already.