The Shattered Bone Clan

    
        The trolls of the Shattered Bone Clan, are the epitome of the nomadic, rugged spirit, and the way of the warrior.  Theirs is a harsh existence, fraught with hardship, pain, and suffering.  And they welcome every moment of it.  To battle with ones' enemy, and perhaps die on the bloody field of battle is the dream of a troll warrior--if not to take as many of their foes screaming along with them.  They live by the justification that might makes right, and steel speaks better than any words.  They respect power, and power is what drives and focuses this legion of hardy, stalwart, and proud peoples.

        As for a system of government, they function under the idealism of the clan system: many groups of trolls banded together under one great clan chief, whom dictates policy to all the lesser chiefs, usually through the influence of might, and occasionally bloodshed to set the undisciplined in their proper place.

Description and Personality of the Troll

        The average troll male averages heights of anywhere between 6'0" to 7"0' tall, (although they tend to grow smaller in age) and are very lean, but muscular in bulk.  Needless to say, they are much larger and can take a blow much better than the average elf, whom they 'affectionately' refer to as such names as 'long-eared dogs,' 'pale-faces,' and other such colorful terms.  Their skin ranges from colors of pale, olive green, to dark marine.  Their eyes are a deep, loamy color of red, and are oft fiercely squinted.  Though their teeth resemble those of humans, they have characteristic tusks which jut out from the corners of their lips and protrude outward, curving their mouths forcefully upward in what some would describe as 'a maddening smile.'  Their noses are pickle-shaped, and are very long indeed.  Their hands boast two large fingers, and one huge opposable thumb.  Their feet are but two large toes.  They often dress in animal skins, and only the barest and most modest of coverings, such as loin-cloths and the like.  Among their favorite delicacies, are bloodmead, and roasted hog, or any meat they can get their hands on.  They fear and shun the use of magic, denouncing it as deviltry and trickery.
Like most other fabled races of trolls, they fear fire, and are subjected to great pain when exposed to it.  However, unlike most trolls, only their special sect of particularly bloodthirsty warriors, the Berserkers, possess the uncanny trait of regeneration.  It is not as fast as one might seem.  It would take perhaps five minutes for a slash across the chest to heal, and perhaps hours for an arm to grow back.  This strange ability was endowed upon these few warriors by imbibing toxic brews made by their alchemists.  But being highly volatile in nature, there have been known to be side-effects, such as permanent madness, a constant bloodlust for battle, and perhaps the most deadly of all...the absence of fear.  All these combined make for perhaps the most frightening sight anyone should ever face on the battlefield.  A fearless, unstoppable whirling cyclone of death and destruction that epitomizes the spirit of the sacred honor trolls bestow upon war: the Berserker.
Also, the troll voice tend to be gravelly sounding, and their native tongue more like gutteral grunts and mutterings than coherent speech.  However, when they speak common, it is usually a rapid babble of seamless speech that is very hard to understand, especially if in an excited state.  When speaking in common, they tend to mash two or more words together to make one, causing some confusion upon the listener.  Examples would be:  "Gitoutta theway, or I cleaveskull!"  (translation: "Get out of my way, or I will cleave your skull.")  Or, "whatchoowant, huuuman?"  (translation: "What do you want, human?")

Military Structure

        The staple weapon of the trolls are their feared throwing axes.  Pain-stakingly carved from the tough roanwood trees, their warriors are often seen with bandoleers lined with these small tomahawk weapons, which they can heft with deadly accuracy.  For close range work, however, they prefer large battle-axes, which they seem to weild with surprising ease and accuracy for a weapon of such size and potential destruction.
        The basic unit, or party, is called a warparty, and the honored troll who leads such a division is aptly named, a warparty commander. And next to the regular troll warrior, there are the berserkers, the trolls answer to the elves rangers.