T is for Tekumel and Two-Headed Troll

Ah, Tekumel. One of the earliest campaign worlds. And one of the most detailed. And also, one of the few that's not Tolkien- or European-derived. I must confess, I've only, in 30 years of gaming, only played in Tekumel once, using the old EPT rules. But I have devoured everything I can about this world.

Imagine a world where metal is a scarce item. So, all weapons, armor, etc., are made from chlen-hide. Imagine a beast like a giant buffalo that can be "sheared" periodically of its hide. There are no horses or other beasts of burden, and chlen are too slow to be used as such. Porters travel on a triple-tiered highway system.

The land is ruled by a strict caste system that is also part of a clan system. There are 12 gods each with a "cohort," a minor deity or demigod in its service. So, 24 immortals essentially. Half are gods of order, half are gods of chaos. They are not good or evil per se. There is merely correct and incorrect behavior.

This is an alien world, settled in the far future by humans after recovery from a nuclear war. The world, however, eventually feel through a wormhole into a pocket dimension, cut off from the rest of reality. Aliens allies and enemies were also trapped on the planet as well. And the native life is high inimical to human life. The climate is a very hot tropical, and further changed human society..

There have been 4 different "official" rulesets for Tekumel, none currently in print, plus a host of fan-created ones for GURPS, Hero, etc.

The best primer on Tekumel is at the offical site: http://www.tekumel.com I could ramble on forever, but check it out. It's worth your time.

Troll, Giant Two-Headed

AC: 4 [15]                                   Special: Regeneration

HD: 10                                        Move: 12

Attacks: Claws, bites                   HDE/XP: 12/2000

Some deranged wizard caused an unholy union between an ettin and a troll, resulted in these two-headed monstrosity that combines elements of the two. The two-Headed troll can attack up to four targets in a round: 2 separate claw attacks (1d6+1 each) and two bite attacks (2d6 each). They are only surprised on 1-in-6 chance and regenerate as trolls (q.v.) but only at a rate of 1 h.p. per round.