Stone Troll

Stone trolls tower over most of their kind, with deep-set eyes, massive claws, a mouth of fangs and a foul temper. They are utterly hairless. Their hard, rocky skin takes on the colors of local stone because they swallow rocks and absorb the minerals, giving them a 75% chance to go unseen by casual glance against stony backdrops and a -3 penalty to victims' surprise. They see 30 feet with infravision. Rock-hard claws let them climb any earth or stone surface, but wood splinters and metal dulls them, so such surfaces offer only a 35% chance.

Their claws and bite are brutal, but stiffer bodies let them divide the three attacks between just two opponents. They scorn handheld weapons yet love pelting foes with rocks, throwing two per round up to 35 yards for 2d8 each.

Being so mineral, they heal slowly, 1 hit point per round from the second round after injury, but they are hard to hurt. Edged weapons deal half damage, and a limb comes off only to a sword of sharpness or vorpal blade, which dies at once. The body fights on, even headless, while it has any attack left, and flees once head and both arms are gone. Rock-affecting spells do nothing to them. Fire, heat, cold and electricity deal half damage, all of which regenerates, but acid wounds never heal. Struck by both heat and cold in one round, a stone troll suffers double damage, with no save allowed, from whichever attack lands second, then saves vs. paralyzation at -3 or burst apart, dead forever; even on a success, neither attack's damage regenerates. Dropped food distracts them 60% of the time.

They live in mountain caves or on rocky plateaus. Sunlight does not bother them, so lairs are often in the open, and a tired stone troll simply curls into a boulder-like lump wherever it is. Tribes follow the mightiest male; males are bigger, but only females become shamans, reaching 7th level in the Weather, Sun, Elemental (earth only), Divination, Combat and Charm spheres. The most powerful shaman normally becomes the chief's mate and advisor. A female bears one whelp each decade, which needs roughly two decades to reach adulthood, and adults can pass 500.

They treat all others as prey and never ally with anyone. Rock trolls they attack from pure loathing; each race sees the other as a corrupt, uglier copy of itself, and they would never unite even against a shared enemy.

Stones, gems and minerals sustain them and deepen their camouflage, though they prefer live meat. Eventually they hunt their territory bare and must raid civilized lands for a few months, though thankfully such raids are as uncommon as stone trolls.