Fire Troll

Tall and thick-limbed, a fire troll has smooth blood-red skin, a wild mane of bright orange and yellow, and fierce yellow eyes deep in their sockets. Claws and fangs are long, razor sharp and dark as scorched steel. It runs stooped but keeps up with most bipeds.

Its lightning claw, claw and bite can target three different foes, and it can squeeze its bulk through a 2-foot gap in one round if it does nothing else. It disdains weapons, but near magma it throws two globs a round up to 20 yards for 1d2 impact plus 2d10 fire damage each, and everything worn by a creature it hits must save vs. normal fire or ignite. A favorite ambush is lurking under the magma and erupting as prey nears: victims suffer -4 on surprise and anyone within 20 feet saves vs. paralyzation at +2 or takes 1d3 globs.

Normally it regains 3 hit points per round from the third round after injury. In intense heat that is not flame or a hot substance, it regains 5 per round from the second round. Immersed in magma or similar heat, or engulfed over half its body by fire such as red dragon breath or fireball, it regains 10 that round and each round the condition lasts. Only one rate applies per round. Fire and acid do not hurt it at all, but electrical damage cannot be regenerated. Cold deals double damage that does regenerate; if cold drops it to 0 or below it falls stiff and seemingly dead, thaws in 3d4 rounds and begins healing, unless 20 points of physical or 10 of electrical damage shatter it first.

Only vorpal or sharpness weapons sever its thick limbs, which fight on and try to rejoin after battle, and a piece cut off from the main body for two hours perishes. Its mauve blood ignores wood, stone and flesh but corrodes metal: any metal weapon that draws blood saves vs. acid at -1 or melts. Dropped food never distracts it.

Fire trolls keep to volcanic country, including fiery reaches of the deep underworld. Small family tribes fight often but almost never fatally. Males, crueler though no bigger or smarter, rule by combat; the chieftain plans hunts and ambushes and takes the pick of meals, plunder and partners. Magic belongs to the females alone, so a shaman, usually the chief's mate and advisor and seldom more than one per group, ranks just beneath him. Shamans reach 12th level with access to the Sun, Necromantic, Elemental (earth, fire), Divination, Combat, Chaos and All spheres. One in twenty is a witch doctor of up to 8th/4th level mage/priest. A female bears one young roughly every eight years; newborns start at half Hit Dice and need eight to ten years to grow up. They live up to 600 years.

They climb any surface 90% of the time and swim well in magma. The heat leaves them without infravision, but in any light at all their sharp eyes see 300 feet.

Apex predators of barren hot lands, they can fast for months and eat giant striders, firenewts, the odd fire giant, and, below ground, deep gnomes and drow, worth chasing into colder tunnels. Their blood serves fire and acid magic and thieves' guilds covet it for dissolving metal.