In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, few monsters are as unpredictable as the troll. Geralt meets a handful of them who are more than willing to settle issues peacefully, though there are others who have more violent means of solving their problems. This is what makes them such interesting creatures.
Throughout The Witcher 3, Geralt can meet trolls in the main quest, during side quests, and even in undiscovered locations (most often caves). Whether they’re friendly trolls is something the player can only find out after approaching them.
Not the Smartest Monsters
Trolls in The Witcher 3 are ogroids that are either docile and talkative or outright hostile. The bestiary entry confirms this as it explains that trolls, specifically rock trolls, are capable of reason. Some have even mastered the Common Speech, but because they aren’t the sharpest creatures, they sometimes struggle to understand its more complicated aspects. Thus, they talk to humans through strangely worded sentences with basic terms. Luckily, that’s often enough to get their point across.
That said, travelers should still be wary of the trolls’ seemingly dull-witted nature. If angered, these creatures are powerful foes, even for experienced Witcher 3 players. Swords do little to damage their rocky backs and their fists are capable of denting armor. Should a troll win in a fight, they’ll most likely take the body of their latest victim and throw them into a cauldron to turn them into stew. Many of them have learned to work with simple tools and fire and, thus, delight in making stews of all kinds, even rancid ones made of nekkers.
It also seems as if there are more male trolls than there are female trolls. Geralt does not run into one anywhere in the game, though a she-troll is mentioned in a note that can be picked up in the Fort Astre Ruins (a location available in The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC). Another can be found in an older game in the series — The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.
Trolls in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The first troll that the player will likely encounter in The Witcher 3 is Trollololo in the fort west of Oxenfurt. While he was wandering the area, a group of Redanian soldiers asked him to watch over their boats with them. For whatever reason, Trollololo agreed. However, he didn’t know that the soldiers had stolen their boats from local peasants. Much later, after the soldiers had gotten drunk and started singing Redanian songs, the peasants attacked them. Trollololo tried to help but ended up slaughtering everyone present.
Not wanting the meat to go to waste, Trollololo decided to cook both the soldiers and the peasants. When Geralt comes across this troll in The Witcher 3, he can either kill the troll or spare him, which then prompts the player to help Trollololo paint the Redanian coat of arms on the fort. Overall, this is a dark yet interesting side quest as it showcases how trolls can easily be influenced. No wonder humans are always taking advantage of them. Although, in this case, it didn’t end well for the humans.
Another interesting troll in The Witcher 3 is Bart, who works for Sigi Reuven, otherwise known as Sigismund Dijkstra. Dijkstra had apparently won him from a Zerrikanian merchant in a card game. Since then, Bart guarded his treasure found underneath Dijkstra’s bathhouse — at least until Dandelion stole it. Geralt tried to ask Bart about the recent heist, but the troll struggled to explain what had happened, so Dijkstra stepped in to “translate.”
The journal in The Witcher 3 on Bart reveals some more interesting facts about trolls. Hiring trolls to guard valuable property had become “the latest craze among Novigrad’s wealthy strata.” Anyone rich enough — bankers, merchants, and high-ranking criminals — was supposedly trying to get their hands on their personal troll. The reason why was clear: Trolls were huge, powerful guards, but they didn’t have the intellect to think of double-crossing their master.
It was stated above that not all trolls are friendly, and this was the case with Wham-a-Wham. One of the monster contracts in The Witcher 3, “Missing Miners” requires Geralt to find out what happened to a band of miners who had disappeared after mining for silver in a cave system in Skellige. As it turns out, the men had disturbed the rest of a troll named Wham-a-Wham, and he made quick work of the trespassing miners.
That said, Wham-a-Wham explains that the miners knew he was there and that he had given them ample warning beforehand. Despite this, the men didn’t listen and continued on mining, disturbing the troll. By now, the player can choose between killing or sparing the troll. Sparing him will yield no reward, though regardless of what Geralt chooses, making the decision will complete this Witcher 3 contract quest.
The Not-so-Friendly Ice Trolls
Rock trolls aren’t the only variant of trolls roaming The Witcher 3 world. There are also ice trolls, though these monsters are far more dangerous than their rock brethren. Most commonly found in Skellige, ice trolls are not as intelligent or reasonable as rock trolls. Many are not familiar with Common Speech and are immediately hostile towards other creatures.
While similar in stature and combat, ice trolls are more resilient as their bodies have grown accustomed to constant, icy climate. Some say the cold is the reason why they lost their ability to speak, because “in a land of never-ending cold there is no room for mercy or understanding.” Whatever the case, the Witcher 3 players should avoid fighting them in strong ice storms, as this is when they’re in their element.
All in all, while people can still approach rock trolls in hopes of reasoning with them, they should run away immediately at the sight of an ice troll. It’s interesting to see how changes in a monster’s environment can so thoroughly change their intellect and constitution.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
