Biology and Trolls

Biology (talked about eloquently by Alexis here) is one of the most potent tools available for a world designer.  Summarizing some of what Alexis has said, as a worldbuilder, you have complete control over everything that happens in your world.  In our world, we have stories of supernaturally-endowed animals, anthropomorphized beasts, etc.  In a fantastic world, these stories can be true.  Get to work!  -C's posts on creature ecology (here) provide an excellent place to start thinking about some common fantasy monsters.  The important thing is to make a choice and to think through the ramifications of that choice.

This brings us to one of my choices, the troll.  Prodigy trolls cannot be killed unless burned in a hot bonfire or buried so far underground they cannot get out once they do regenerate.  And they do regenerate.  Given enough time, a troll will fully heal.  Any detached body parts will grow into new trolls.  Trolls have no biologic sex - reproduction happens when two or more trolls meet and the subsequent fight will result in one or more of them being ripped to shreds, each piece growing into a new troll.  Trolls can eat anything.  While they can't actually digest metal objects, that will not stop them from trying - sometimes these items will cut their way out of the troll as part of the digestion process, sometimes trolls will grow a second stomach around such items to keep them from doing any more internal damage.  They are very strong and quite belligerent - they know that if they hit something enough times, it will eventually break.

A very foolish hunter happened across a hunk of dead troll, brought it back to Yrsh and gave it to a butcher.  Those who did not have trolls breaking forth from their stomachs quit the town for an entire year, waiting until after several independent reports indicated that all the trolls were gone.

It is rumored that a drop of troll blood mixed with a glass of fresh river water can cure any illness.