History Main / AllTrollsAreDifferent

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Trolls are strong, large, and not too possessed of smarts. They also tend to wield large clubs. The first troll we meet is depicted like a wild animal let loose, but we later meet trolls who are somewhat smarter (at least in that they can be hired as thugs). Apparently, a rather optimistic wizard once tried to teach trolls ballet. It didn't end well for him. The trolls seen later were mentioned as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "comparing the size of their clubs"]]. The [[{{Defictionalization}} defictionalized]] Hogwarts text book ''Literature/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' also reveals how there are three types of trolls; mountain trolls (gray skinned brutes that live in mountainous regions, with one such troll being the very first one depicted in the series), forest trolls (green skinned monsters that dwell in forests), and river trolls (purple skinned beasts that tend to be found swimming in rivers and serve the basis for stories of trolls under bridges).

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Trolls are strong, large, and not too possessed of smarts. There's nothing really unique about them. The first troll we meet is depicted like a wild animal let loose, but we later meet trolls who are somewhat smarter (at least in that they can be hired as thugs). Apparently, a rather optimistic wizard once tried to teach trolls ballet. It didn't end well for him. The trolls seen later were mentioned as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "comparing the size of their clubs"]].

* ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': Trolls in this series are a species of demihumans that stand several times the height of a man. Wild trolls can be agricultural pests to mages (as Guy attests), but domesticated trolls, like Marco, a purebred Gasney, can be [[GentleAndProtectiveCreatures quite gentle and protective creatures]]. They also normally can't speak human languages, but Katie recalls being serenaded to sleep by her family's troll Patro as a child.

* ''ComicBook/BodieTroll'': The titular character is small, furry and absolutely cute. Something he hates because he ''wants'' to be scary. Oh and he has a taste for dried roots and moldy bread.
* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' trolls are short, stocky, warty, grey-green, ugly and materialistic. They are also more technologically advanced than most of the rest of the world, live underground, and have beards, making them [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame stand-ins for Dwarves]]. Naturally, [[ElvesVersusDwarves the elves and trolls don't get along well]]. And when you cross an elf with a troll you apparently get a dwarf who's a [[TheTrickster Trickster]] with a major FreudianExcuse.

* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' Trolls are green-skinned tall and strong humanoids who heal fast and grow larger and stronger with age. Young ones of both sexes are [[CuteMonsterGirl often quite attractive]]. They've got something of a reputation as being less civilized, but that's largely because of prolonged wars with the elves that wrecked a lot of their old civilization; there are plenty of smart trolls including martial artists and archmages and as a species they come off no worse than the other humanoids. They have a grudge against elves, but that goes both ways and isn't universal. There's some evidence trolls and elves are even distant relatives.

* In the ''Literature/AgeOfFire'' series, trolls are large, bulbous creatures that walk more on their hands than their feet, have sensory nodes instead of heads, and both eat and excrete from the same orifice. Oh, and it's implied that they're aliens brought along by an {{Ancient Astronaut|s}}. And then there's the hybrid creatures created in the last book by [[spoiler: [[BigBadDuumvirate Infamnia and Rayg]]]] breeding regular trolls for decades on meals of dragon blood and flesh, giving them dragon attributes, like wings and horns.
* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': Trolls are animalistic subterranean predators with retractable talons, venomous tusks, dreadlocks, and horns. And they are ''big''. They're extraordinarily dangerous, both due to their strength and natural weapons and the fact that they find elven and especially human flesh ''delicious''.
* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Trolls are artificial creatures made by the Masters of Padmasa as heavy infantry, fighting the Argonathi dragon soldiers. Most of them are fairly unintelligent, though a few breeds are bright enough for using swords instead of axes. All stand around eight to nine feet tall, with an extreme resistance to magic, and have a mutual hatred with dragons. They have a vaguely humanoid frame, but with clearly inhuman features. They are also very resistant to magic, with spells cast on them not working at all or only weakly.
* ''Literature/BookOfImaginaryBeings'': Scandinavian trolls were originally the giants of Nordic myth, before being downgraded with the onset of Christianity. They are stupid, evil creatures who live in mountain caves and ramshackle hovels that they think are palaces, and drink a foul concoction that they think is a delicious brew. Particularly noteworthy trolls may have two or three heads.

* Creator/CMWaggoner
** In "Unnatural Magic" and "The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry", trolls are big, blue-skinned, sharp-toothed monsters who are also highly civilized philosophers, logicians, and artisans. Both sexes have sufficiently masculine appearance that most humans can't tell males from females by sight unless they're not wearing pants.
* In Creator/SarahMonette and Creator/ElizabethBear's ''A Companion To Wolves'', trolls fit into the "big ogrish" type physically. They can also move through rock and earth as easily as humans do through water and have a hivelike setup with a queen as the only fertile female, sterile female worker/soldiers and males whose only function is to impregnate the queen.

** The book ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' introduces Mr. Shine. Other trolls say of him, "Mr Shine, him ''diamond''," which is true; Mr. Shine is a rare troll composed entirely of diamond. Since diamond trolls can regulate their body temperature by reflecting heat, Mr. Shine's brain works far better than regular trolls', even in high temperatures. As a diamond troll, Mr. Shine is the rightful king of the trolls, but isn't interested in ruling; rather he invests his energies into his efforts to bring about peace between trolls and dwarfs.

* In ''Literature/{{East}}'' by Edith Pattou (''Literature/NorthChild'' in the UK), trolls are TheFairFolk. They live at the poles, have magical powers and extremely long lives, and abduct humans for slave labor. They are humanoid in their proportions, but have hard, ridged white skin and extremely rough voices. Only the human characters call them trolls; the trolls call themselves the Huldre, a Scandinavian term that usually refers to human-like women with animal tails.
* Trolls in Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheElenium'' and ''Tamuli'' series are semi-intelligent, simian creatures who can't die of natural causes. They (and their gods) become ''very'' important in the ''Tamuli''. It's also interesting to note that it's later revealed that trolls and humans are related species, both evolving from creatures called Dawn Men. Oddly enough, we never find out what trolls look like in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', even though he describes quite a few other monsters in detail, including some that he invented for the series. All we know about them is you do ''not'' want to come face-to-face with them.
* In ''Literature/{{Everworld}}'', trolls are the {{Mooks}} of [[GodOfEvil Loki]], part of the series' BigBadEnsemble. They're described as looking like humanoid, hornless rhinos, are unintelligent and are apparently made of "living stone"--any wounds that they receive [[TakenForGranite quickly begin to petrify]].

* Creator/TeresaEdgerton: Trolls in ''Goblin Moon'' and ''The Gnome's Engine'' are a crossbred or cursed offshoot of humanity, who resemble humans but sport bizarre, often bestial deformities. Their disfigurements are unique to each individual, which means that some can pass for human if they wear the right concealing clothes; it also means they hate their own looks. Trolls are carnivores, sometimes [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals]] and are fond of human flesh, yet they're superficially very cultured and educated (particularly in black magic). Male trolls believe it's good for their health if they [[spoiler: trick a human maiden into marriage, then drink some of her blood each night]]; this belief, which may just be a troll superstition, becomes a major plot point in the novels.

* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'': Trolls are strong, large, and not too possessed of smarts. There's nothing really unique about them. The first troll we meet is depicted like a wild animal let loose, but we later meet trolls who are somewhat smarter (at least in that they can be hired as thugs). Apparently, a rather optimistic wizard once tried to teach trolls ballet. It didn't end well for him. The trolls seen later were mentioned as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "comparing the size of their clubs"]].
* In the Norwegian fairy tale ''Literature/ThreeBillyGoatsGruff'', the troll of the story is a great ugly monster trying to eat the titular goats who [[TrollBridge lives under a bridge]] and has "eyes as big as saucers and a nose as long as a poker". The folkloric portrayal of trolls solidified the perception of such beings outside of Norway when the book the story was published in, "Norwegian Folktales", got popular in nineteenth century Britain after being translated to English; thus, the image of trolls as gullible large long-nosed monsters dwelling under bridges, instead of the more diverse takes in Scandinavian folklore, was popular in Victorian depictions of trolls and has influenced many later portrayals around the world.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'': Trolls -- ''torog'' in Sindarin, and ''olog'' in the BlackSpeech -- are dumb, hulking brutes created by the Dark Lord Morgoth as a debased version of the [[{{Treants}} Ents]]. While the three trolls seen in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' are just big bullies who threaten to eat our heroes, the species as a whole are used as elite shock troops by Morgoth and his successor Sauron, with their main weakness being that they turn into stone when exposed to sunlight, and often associate with orcs and goblins. It should be noted that trolls come in a few varieties, including cave trolls, mountain trolls, snow trolls and stone trolls (like the aforementioned Bert, Tom and Bill from ''The Hobbit''). There are also the Olog-hai of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', stronger and smarter trolls created by Sauron that don't turn to stone in the sun. There are also references to two-headed trolls, as well as "troll-men" from Far Harad at the Battle of Pelennor Fields (though those might just be normal humans who ''look'' troll-like).

* In ''Literature/TheIronTeeth'' web serial, trolls are creatures that hunt within the northern forests. They are huge man-eating green-skinned monsters with two huge saber-tooth fangs that protrude from their mouth. They are capable of insanely fast movements and unexpected stealth. They smell the blood of their prey, and are capable of indefinitely stalking them if not put down first. They are also apparently distant relatives of goblins.
* Jan Brett: The trolls who appear in Brett's picture books are little furry people with onion-shaped heads and long, lion-like tails. They're mischievous but nice guys.

* In ''Literature/TheLongEarth'', by Creator/TerryPratchett and Creator/StephenBaxter, "troll" is the name given to a race of large, hairy, dimension-traveling humanoids by Lobsang. Their level of intelligence is uncertain but they seem to have a language consisting of trills and whistles and are talented mimics and quite friendly. A human adopted by them when he crossed over into their world during WWI mistakes them for Russians and never realizes his mistake.
* In ''Literature/MaledictionTrilogy'' trolls live under the mountain but only because of the curse. They don't mind the sun and they are beautiful, although due to excessive inbreeding often also badly disfigured. And while they don't ''usually'' eat humans, they are very powerful, [[HealingFactor cure all injuries easily]] and they lust for gold.

* In A. Lee Martinez's ''Monster'' this trope even applies in story. All trolls look different although there are a few common characteristics. They're all small, between about one and three feet tall, all ugly, all smell horrible and they're all {{Extreme Omnivore}}s with however [[SweetTooth a particular fondness for candy]].
* In ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'' trolls bear a strong physical resemblance to D&D trolls including the HealingFactor and vulnerability to fire but are also [[{{Troll}} Internet trolls and spammers]]. One of them winds up joining MHI as their IT technician.

* In Robert Lynn Aspirin's ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series, the male inhabitants of the dimension Trollia are [[GeniusBruiser trolls]]. The females are [[MsFanservice trollops]]. While the male trolls fit the big and ugly (but ''not'' the stupid) stereotype, trollops are [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe gorgeous]].
* In Johanna Sinisalo's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_Before_Sundown Not Before Sundown]]'' trolls are a scientifically acknowledged class of mammal that live in the northern forests and tundras. They're so reclusive that they were thought to be legend until somebody found a real corpse. They're about human-sized, bipedal, combine feline and primate traits, and have sleek, black fur and whip-like tails. As it turns out during the story, their pheromones are strong enough to cause obsessive love, or even sexual attraction in humans in some circumstances. [[spoiler:They're also sentient, and have just recently learned to use human firearms, and have started poaching for hunters.]]
* In the works of Creator/PoulAnderson:
** The troll in ''Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions'' is subterranean, larger and stronger than a human, and is [[HealingFactor almost unkillable]], regenerating from any injury and being able to move its severed limbs. Only [[KillItWithFire burning it in a fire]] kills it. This appears to be where ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' got its regenerating trolls from. Also, when a carbon-based troll turns to stone, it's dangerously radioactive.
** The trolls in ''Literature/TheBrokenSword'', however, are somewhat different: they are the arch-enemies of the faeries, can also be powerful warriors and sorcerers, but still cannot handle iron or tolerate sunlight.
* Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/ElementalMasters'' series:
** In ''Literature/ReservedForTheCat'', the troll is an evil earth elemental with the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift]] into many different forms, including humans.
** The fairy tale type of troll (turns to stone when exposed to sunlight, guards bridges, and eats goats) appears in ''Literature/FromAHighTower''. Most are evil, but the one that appears, named Pieter, was apparently taught to be good and helps out the good guys.

* In Nancy Farmer's ''Literature/TheSeaOfTrolls'', the eponymous creatures are intelligent, massive, hairy, matriarchal people. They are often at war with their viking neighbors to the south, but somehow seem to be on good terms with them regardless. Also, due to being caught between two worlds and two races, [[HalfHumanHybrid human/troll hybrids]] are {{Voluntary Shapeshift|ing}}ers.

* In Creator/TerryBrooks' ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' books there are several different sub-species of trolls. Rock Trolls live in the deep northland mountains and are shown to be about 8 feet tall with thick black bark-like skin. While they work for the villain in the first book they are not depicted as evil and help the humans, dwarfs, and especially the elves in the latter books. They are a {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, shown as incredibly loyal and brave, of normal intelligence, and have a good mind for battle strategy. In the 3rd book there is a race of creatures related to trolls, Mwellrets, who live in the northeast swamps. They are normally large bipedal reptilians but can change their shape rather easily. They are sinister, greedy, and crafty and are seen as godlike overlords by the feral gnomes that serve them. The remaining two that exist (the Forest and River Trolls) have little information given about them. Of couurse, this terrific variety is {{justified|Trope}} given their backstory of being horrifically mutated humans.
* The two trolls encountered in Creator/JasperFforde's ''Song of the Quarkbeast'' are twenty-five feet tall, have no nose or chin, although they do have tusks, dress primitively in loincloths and sandals, are heavily tattooed but are quite articulate. They also are unaware that humans are intelligent creatures, regarding the periodic invasions akin to pest infestations.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': In William King's ''Literature/SpaceWolf'', the trolls are Chaos-warped humanoids, which, in the Creator/PoulAnderson[=/=]''D&D'' tradition, are [[KillItWithFire harmed mostly by fire]].

* Creator/NeilGaiman's short story ''ComicBook/TrollBridge'' features a troll with a nose keen enough to "smell the dreams you dreamed before you were born". And it eats a person's life and takes their place, [[spoiler: leaving them, in exchange, to take the place of the troll]].
* Creator/UrsulaVernon: Trolls, as seen for instance in ''Literature/NineGoblins'', are knobbly, semi-intelligent, generally benevolent as long as nobody panics at the sight of them, and related to goats.
* ''Literature/VainqueurTheDragon'': As said in the first chapter, they're considered monsters.

* ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' includes a short, scrappy member with [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]]-inspired hair named Bartholomew J. Troll, or simply Troll. Creator/AlanMoore later established via RetCon that Troll literally is an ancient magical troll.

* ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' includes a short, scrappy member with Characters/{{Wolverine|JamesLoganHowlett}}-inspired hair named Bartholomew J. Troll, or simply Troll. Creator/AlanMoore later established via RetCon that Troll literally is an ancient magical troll.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'' has trolls that turn into stone in sunlight (but return to life once in darkness), and are assumed to be AlwaysChaoticEvil by humans, although every one seen in the series had a good reason for its actions. They're smart enough to exchange items for favours, and to recognise a statue of someone they don't like. Appearance-wise, they have stony, rounded bodies, tiny glowing eyes, and [[GagNose massive noses]].

* Trolls in ''VideoGame/{{Roki}}'' are a DyingRace, depicted as large hulking humanoids made of stone and with {{Gag Nose}}s and {{Pointy Ear}}s. They're heavily implied enjoy the taste of human flesh, but can actually be quite friendly and helpful under the right circumstances. Two troll sisters are encountered by Tove in her adventure, but one can also find the petrified remains of their brothers elsewhere in the world.

** "Hulder" (hidden) or "Skogsrå” (forest lady): Beautiful women with cow-tails (and in some stories, a hole in their back. Somehow). Giving in to their seduction is [[TheVamp usually not a good idea]]. Note however that "hulderfolk" is also used to refer to TheFairFolk in general.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'', Trolls appear as large brutish giants with a small healing factor which can be counteracted by fire, but can still be killed with other elements. they also come in various UndergroundMonkey varieties, each with increasing levels of strength and speed. Their intelligence is debatable, as some varieties seem little more than animals, others use weapons advanced as {{BFG}}s, and the impressive ruins explored in the second to last chapter (which includes doors with magick based locks, some electronic equipment, and copius amounts of lava) was created by the trolls, leaving them as potential {{genius bruiser}}s.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Trolls are almost as varied as the other examples on this page due to being split into several subraces. They live in tribal societies, are tall with short fur of various colors based on their subrace, have three fingers and toes, often speak with an Afro-Caribbean or Cuban accent, practice HollywoodVoodoo, and have [[HealingFactor varied regenerative powers]]. [[BizarreSexualDimorphism Males]] have long ears, big noses, large tusks, and walk with a hunch. [[CuteMonsterGirl Females]] have slightly pointed ears, high-bridged but quite humanlike noses, small tusks, and walk upright. They live in all climes, usually adapting to the environment and forming distinct clans of Frost Trolls, Jungle Trolls, Desert Trolls, etc. Trolls were once the great superpower of Azeroth, with ancient civilizations spanning the major continents, but they're generally in decline these days, displaced by being on the losing end of many, many wars with other races.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Trolls are almost as varied as the other examples on this page due to being split into several subraces. They live in tribal societies, are tall with short fur of various colors based on their subrace, have three fingers and toes, often speak with an Afro-Caribbean or Cuban accent, practice HollywoodVoodoo, and have [[HealingFactor varied regenerative powers]]. [[BizarreSexualDimorphism Males]] have long ears, big noses, large tusks, and walk with a hunch. [[CuteMonsterGirl Females]] have slightly pointed ears, normal noses, small tusks, and walk upright. They live in all climes, usually adapting to the environment and forming distinct clans of Frost Trolls, Jungle Trolls, Desert Trolls, etc. Trolls were once the great superpower of Azeroth, with ancient civilizations spanning the major continents, but they're generally in decline these days, displaced by being on the losing end of many, many wars with other races.

* ''WebOriginal/CodexInversus'': Trolls are barbaric humanoids found in the wild, snowy northlands of the Angelic Unison. They're about as tall as three humans standing on each other's shoulders, and their faces take up the entirety of their torsos, with a thatch of hair between their shoulders and thick beards covering their hips and groins. They are savage barbarians, speak an unintelligible grunting language, and are highly resistant to magic -- mind control flatly doesn't work on them, and they can see through most illusions.
* A variation on this shows up in the {{Metafiction}}al wiki based on [[Webcomic/PennyArcade Tycho's]] ''Literature/EpicLegendsOfTheHierarchs''. In the entry on [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] it is mentioned that no-one can agree what on what an orc actually looks like.

* ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheGuardiansLight'': Hogwarts is subjected to a mountain troll attack on Halloween, as per canon. This time, however, there's more than one troll. A subsequent search party by the BPRD uncovers the trolls' leaders, Orikal and Ulik, both from Franchise/MarvelComics. Orikal is an ugly clawed grey creature who mainly appears masked, and can magically [[FusionDance combine living entities]], while Ulik is a yellow-skinned, brown-haired thug, but more intelligent than he appears, and speaks with the FunetikAksent of an Ork from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': A snow troll is encountered lurking in an abandoned evil fortress in Forodwaith in the first episode. Much like most of the other trolls seen in the franchise, it is a giant, brutish humanoid with pale skin that seems to have animal intellect, but appearance-wise it is set apart by huge tusks and a hairy body. Hills=trolls and cave-trolls are also said to exists by the Harfoots.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': A snow troll is encountered lurking in an abandoned evil fortress in Forodwaith in the first episode. Much like most of the other trolls seen in the franchise, it is a giant, brutish humanoid with pale skin that seems to have animal intellect, but appearance-wise it is set apart by huge tusks and a hairy body.

[[caption-width-right:326: Do not feed.[[note]] The one with the frizzy hair is an actual troll from Scandinavia. The rest are from (L-R) ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'', ''Film/TheHobbit'', ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls''.[[/note]]]]

* The trolls in ''Literature/ArcanaMagi'' work for a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Evil Corporation]]. One troll is on the Board of Directors while another troll works as their technology tester.

* In [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel Jr.]] comics, trolls were a race of cute, tiny magical people. The guys were just funny-looking, but the girl, Ny-O, was very pretty, albeit having a head the size of a bobble-head doll relative to her body.

* In "A Beautiful Tale", a story in the adult comic ''ComicBook/XXXenophile'', trolls are a species possessed of [[SuperStrength superhuman strength]] and [[BizarreSexualDimorphism glaring sexual dimorphism]]. We only ever see the females (called "huldra") who are [[CuteLittleFangs sharp-toothed]] {{Cute Monster Girl}}s with long tufted tails.

* Creator/DavidEddings: Trolls in ''Literature/TheElenium'' and ''Literature/TheTamuli'' series are semi-intelligent, simian creatures who can't die of natural causes. They (and their gods) become ''very'' important in the ''Tamuli''. It's also interesting to note that it's later revealed that trolls and humans are related species, both evolving from creatures called Dawn Men. Oddly enough, we never find out what trolls look like in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', even though he describes quite a few other monsters in detail, including some that he invented for the series. All we know about them is you do NOT want to come face-to-face with them.

* In Creator/DeanKoontz's ''[[Literature/DeanKoontzsFrankenstein Frankenstein]]'', Harker, one of the doctor's New Race, gives birth to a creature in chestburster fashion that resembles an albino dwarf and is dubbed a troll by Frankenstein's wife, with whom it strikes up an OddFriendship based on their mutual hatred of their creator, her husband.

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'': Looming Gaia's trolls are a little over five feet tall and have green skin and tusks, and some also have horns.

* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'':

** ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' changes it up. Trolls are smaller and far less humanoid than their ''Assassins of Kings'' variants. Instead, they are rotund creatures with bodies made primarily of stone, with the exception of a soft, fleshy abdomen. Their man-eating tendencies are also played up quite a bit. However, just like in the previous game there are many that are reasonable (if dim), and even friendly to humans and other races. A couple of examples include a troll who served the Redanian army by guarding their boats ([[InsaneTrollLogic by ripping them apart and building a barricade around where they used to be]]. At least he tried.), and another who [[spoiler: reigns as the Champion of Champions among fist fighters]].

* In ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', trolls are surprisingly slim and nimble large {{Horned Humanoid}}s that have armour of rock-like plates and are used as counters to armoured knights as they're strong enough to smash through steel plate with ease. It's speculated that they were an artificially-created warrior race, but in the present day, they're just another species of Wild creatures.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Trolls are almost as varied as the other examples on this page due to being split into several subraces. They live in tribal societies, are tall with short blue or grey fur, have three fingers and toes, often speak with an Afro-Caribbean or Cuban accent, practice HollywoodVoodoo, and have [[HealingFactor varied regenerative powers]]. [[BizarreSexualDimorphism Males]] have long ears, big noses, large tusks, and walk with a hunch. [[CuteMonsterGirl Females]] have slightly pointed ears, normal noses, small tusks, and walk upright. They live in all climes, usually adapting to the environment and forming distinct clans of Frost Trolls, Jungle Trolls, Desert Trolls, etc. Trolls were once the great superpower of Azeroth, with ancient civilizations spanning the major continents, but they're generally in decline these days, displaced by being on the losing end of many, many wars with other races.
** Trolls are also typically [[TheBerserker savage]], [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]], and almost [[AlwaysChaoticEvil universally antagonistic]], both against other races (particularly humans and PARTICULARLY elves of all stripes) and against different tribes of trolls. The Forest Trolls had a brief alliance of convenience with the Horde during ''VideoGame/WarcraftIITidesOfDarkness'', but after the war effort faltered they quickly reverted back to a sense of general hostility toward Horde peoples. There are notable exceptions: The Darkspears are a small tribe of jungle trolls long persecuted by their own kind who allied with the new Horde when the orc leader Thrall saved their lives. Two other troll tribes ally with the Horde much later, though they don't seem to be very extensively assimilated into the larger faction. A few years back a great many troll tribes banded together in an unprecedented campaign of cooperation to reassert their authority in the world, but these efforts failed. The VestigialEmpire that attempted this would later simply join the Jungle Trolls in the Horde. And due to recent changes in the Character Creation screen for the ''Shadowlands'' Expansion, it seems that individuals of other Troll tribes have begun to join the Horde as well.
** In general, trolls seem a big genetically unstable. Indeed, ''Night Elves'', and by extension [[OurElvesAreDifferent all derivative Elven subraces]], were originally a band of Dark Trolls who changed after exposure to the [[PlaceOfPower Well of Eternity]] (the other Elf types tend to spring up every time they find a new power source), although this point is still somewhat controversial, as the elves themselves don't really like the notion. Dire trolls are a genetic anomaly that causes some trolls to grow to gargantuan proportions.

* In Creator/DeanKoontz's ''Frankenstein'', Harker, one of the doctor's New Race, gives birth to a creature in chestburster fashion that resembles an albino dwarf and is dubbed a troll by Frankenstein's wife, with whom it strikes up an OddFriendship based on their mutual hatred of their creator, her husband.