The Troll – an archetype for Unknown Armies

Troll smallYou can’t do that in the internet Unknown Armies!

See what we did there?

Attributes: Even though many avatars like to claim their archetype as the oldest, the Trolls are amongst those who are profoundly wrong about this. Schadenfreude and provocation might be as old as mankind itself, but the Clergy only accepted someone embodying these virtues as a member with the advent of anonymous mass communication.
The deep and hidden roots of the archetype in Zen are often overlooked.

Taboo: Earnest offers of help to your fellow man or even just reluctance to make fun of his plight are a sure way to estrange yourself from the archetype.
Constructively working in a team towards another goal than the archetype’s is nearly as destructive.
It might come as a surprise to the uninitiated, that rage is also highly unconductive to channeling the Troll.

Symbols: Apart from the internet, hands raised in a gesture of innocence are perhaps the most important symbol of the Troll. Bridges, too, especially old stone bridges crossing a river or stream, are closely associated with the archetype. This leaves many an avatar with the difficult choice between an internet connection and a dwelling place aligned with their archetype.
April 1st is a constant point of contention between the Troll and the much older Fool. In general, the Troll likes to claim the symbols of other archetypes for himself, often after defacing them in some obvious manner.
Particularly helpful Trolls have offered the internet advice, that aside from sleeping under a bridge certain cannibalistic practices may also help a young enterprising avatar on his way.

Troll small b
Masks: Till Eulenspiegel (European), Max and Moritz (European), Loki (Norse), cojote (Native American), Buddha (buddhistic)

Suspected Avatars in History: According to Dan Brown Leonardo was channeling the Troll… on the other hand, it could be Dan Brown who is channeling the Troll.
Some Attaxers claim that German tv host Thomas Gottschalk is the current godwalker of the Troll (being named Gott-Schalk, German for god-troll or something to that effect… in their minds).

1%-50%: By succeeding on an Avatar: The Troll check, the avatar can force a character to react with frenzy to a stress check he just failed.

51%-70%: Each time a character fails at a roll directed against the avatar (such as an attack), he has to make an immediate stress check versus helplessness. The rank of this stress check is equivalent to the 10s digit of the failed roll.

71%-90%: All actions directed against the Troll suffer a penalty of -10 per failed notch in the acting characters helplessness meter.

91%+: With a successful roll the Troll is successful.


Unknown Armies and related names are the Intellectual Property of Greg Stolze and John Tynes and protected by Copyright. These items have been used unofficially and quoted exclusively as reference with no infringement on any associated rights intended and without implying endorsement by the copyright holder. Other contents of this articles are published under the following license:
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Unknown Armies und damit verbunde Namen sind Geistiges Eigentum von Greg Stolze und John Tynes und urheberrechtlich geschützt. Diese Elemente wurden inoffiziell und ausschließlich als Referenz zitiert ohne die Absicht damit verbundene Rechte anzufechten und ohne eine Billigung durch den Rechteinhaber zu implizieren. Andere Inhalte dieses Artikels werden unter folgender Lizenz veröffentlicht:
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