Troglodyte (/ˈtrɒɡlədʌɪt/)
The Cave-Dwelling Killers
The humanoid creature has a lizard-like head, with black beady eyes and rough, leathery scales covering its grayish brown skin. It has spindly but muscular arms, squat legs, and a long slender tail. It has long sharp claws and fangs, and pointy bone-like ridges running down its back.
The savage, degenerate troglodytes squat in the shallow depths of the Underdark in a constant state of war against their neighbors and one another. They mark the borders of their territories with cracked bones and skulls, or with pictographs painted in blood or dung.
Perhaps the most loathsome of all humanoids, troglodytes eat anything they can stomach. They dwell in filth. The walls of their cavern homes are smeared with grime, oily secretions, and the debris of their foul feasting.
Simpleminded Brutes. Troglodytes have a simple, communal culture devoted almost entirely to procuring food. Too simple to plan more than a few days into the future, troglodytes rely on constant raids and hunting to survive. They take sadistic pleasure in hunting intelligent creatures weaker than themselves and show no mercy toward those they capture and drag back to their lairs to be devoured. The largest and toughest troglodytes lead the hunt and become the leaders of their tribes. However, if a leader shows any weakness or hesitation, other troglodytes attack and eat it in a frenzy.
Troglodytes make little and build less, scavenging their possessions from their prey. They understand the value of metal weapons and armor, and fight among one another for the right to have such items. A troglodyte tribe might be torn apart by battles over a single longsword.
Devotees of Laogzed. Some troglodytes venerate Laogzed, a demonic, monstrously fat toad-lizard that slumbers in the Abyss. Laogzed offers the troglodytes nothing in return except aspiration, for it is the dream of his troglodyte worshipers to become as fat, well-fed, and wearily content as he seems to be.
“Smells liek an orc's loincloth in here!”
The Menagerie fought some of these in the Ziggurat of Tharizdun, below Skola Vale, they were part of a mercenary group hired by Bargle. Later there was some under River's Keep.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Troglodytes, often referred to as stinkmeat by the duergar, were cave-dwelling reptilian humanoids, with a barbaric culture centered around food and scent. The stench of an angry or frightened troglodyte was so foul that it sickened all living creatures nearby, even after the troglodyte had died.
Description
Troglodytes were shorter than humans on average, standing 5‒6 ft (1.5‒1.8 m) tall with spindly but muscular arms, squat legs and long, slender tails. Their bodies were coated with rough leathery scales, and normally possessed a grayish-brown skin tone, although they also had the chameleon-like ability to change their coloration. They had lizard-like heads, which on males were crowned with frills that extended from their foreheads to their necks. Their black beady eyes struggled to see in the light, and their claws and fangs were obvious to those who saw them.Ecology and Habitats
Ecology
Troglodytes were carnivorous, subsisting purely on meat they obtained via raiding. While they would eat any meat, they had a strong preference for human meat, causing ferocious reactions when smelt. Their sense of smell was so incredibly powerful that they could tell minute differences in scents undetectable to most races, to the point of having a language based on them. Troglodytes stayed with their mates so long as they were alive, but would find new ones if one member died. After being laid by the female, troglodyte eggs were incubated in a nearby waterway and kept safe with leather nets. Troglodyte eggs were lighter hued and speckled with darker color. Clutches were removed from the waterway a day or so before hatching in order to render the shells brittle enough to be broken.Behaviour
Personality
Troglodytes took sadistic pleasure in mercilessly hunting weaker sentient beings before dragging them back to their caves to be eaten. They were a constantly warring race, convinced the world was full of creatures seeking to kill them, a self-fulfilling prophecy caused by their constant raiding. Their failure to plan for the future led them to conduct regular raids on nearby settlements. They were rejected by most races for their savagery, stench, and relative stupidity, and so took comfort in their isolation from other races and in destroying other sentient beings. There was always warring amongst troglodytes, whether between tribes or within. Despite this, they treated members of their own tribe like their family members, although individual friendships were somewhat rare.Combat
An unarmed troglodyte was more than capable of fighting with tooth and claw, ferociously tearing away at their enemies with primal savagery. They would craft stone tools and were especially good at throwing javelins, hurling them at their targets before closing in with stone axes and claws. Because of their sensitivity to light, they would avoid fire and tried to attack when the sun wasn't present, however this did not mean that they were defenseless in these circumstances. Troglodytes navigated primarily through smell and so being blinded was akin to becoming deafened to them.Additional Information
Social Structure
Society
Troglodyte leaders were decided by sheer strength, with the strongest and toughest troglodyte becoming the chieftain, and the next strongest warriors becoming sub-chieftains. This was regardless of gender. However, weakness of any kind from their leaders was grounds for mutiny. Troglodyte society was clan-based, and the rank system was loose and in a constant state of flux. Because they were once a servitor race, troglodytes would submit to the most powerful entity wishing to rule them, although this was usually other troglodytes. Incapable both physically and mentally of crafting anything beyond stone tools and lacking in trade goods, troglodytes placed heavy value on metal items, seeing them as a sign of combat prowess. Having one was a serious status symbol and tribes could be torn apart, either socially or physically, on who may possess them. If two tribes went to war, the result would either be the annihilation of one, or the merging of the broken halves, with the strongest living troglodyte taking over. Some troglodytes were so feral that they could not be controlled and would need to be kept locked away to prevent them from attacking others. Young troglodytes were raised by the whole tribe rather than by their specific parents and were actively encouraged to fight each other at a young age. They could wield weapons by the time they were two years old and they were given steel weapons in order to go with hunters when they became older. Half of the population of a clan was female, and half of the males were hatchlings. Old troglodytes were presumed to have gathered wisdom over the years because they'd survived so long, with elders working as chief advisers. Very few members of a tribe were not warriors, besides dedicated hunter-gatherers and clerics. Troglodyte lairs were either huge caverns or smaller caverns naturally connected by tunnels. Most troglodytes did not consider specific parts of the lair their living quarters and would fall asleep in random places. Half-eaten food and greasy secretions could be found lying everywhere in the lair, alongside whatever treasures the troglodytes stole during raiding. Lairs were chosen partially based on their proximity to nearby settlements, and also by their drafts. Lairs with a draft towards the inside of the cave allowed the scent of humans to be more easily detected and for the alarmed scents of other troglodytes to be picked up at farther distances. Some troglodytes would tame drakes while others employed monitor lizards in order to guard their warrens. They would mark the borders of their territory with pictographs made with blood and dung or the remains of various creatures to indicate their presence to beings without a proper sense of smell.Uses, Products & Exploitation
Harvesting
Instructions
Instructions: Because this creature is an Humanoid, the player should roll a Medicine Check using the DCs in the table below. On a success, the player is able to harvest the item. On a failure, the item cannot be harvested (either because the character is not skilled enough, or because the item is ruined). The DM should note that many of the items have an expiration, and can not be sold or used after the expiration has passed.
| DC | Item | Description | Value | Weight | Expiration | Crafting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Troglodyte Claws (pouch) | A troglodyte has long, sharp claws on their enormous hands, each several inches long. The claws can be used to make small weapons and tools. | 8 sp | 3 lb. | ∞ | - |
| 15 | Troglodyte Hide | Troglodyte hides are capable of changing colours to match their surroundings, allowing them to create ambushes on those less wary. While the camouflage ability is impressive, it loses much of this capability once removed from the troglodyte, and the hide itself makes for a poor armor. As such, it is often used only as a camouflage blanket used to disguise things from only very far away. Alternatively, the hides have been ground down and made into an ink that matches the colour of the parchment it is written on, allowing for the creation of secret messages revealed only under certain lights. | 8 sp | 25 lb. | ∞ | - |
This kind of creature may carry a few coins. This kind of creature may have a small hoard. This character usually carries: 1 Morningstar, 1 Hide, 1 Shield Random loot, generally very little. they can be carrying weapons and armor which could range in quality and abilities.
Possible Trinkets
Possible trinkets
1d20 Item Weight Value 1 1 jar of eyeballs 5 lb. 1 gp 2 1 waterskin of fermented animal blood 5 lb. 7 sp 3 1 pouch of reptilian scales 3 lb. 8 cp 4 1 necklace of various teeth 1 lb. 3 sp 5 1 crude bone carving of a troglodyte 3 lb. 6 cp 6 1 necklace with small animal skulls 1 lb. 2 sp 7 1 bracelet of ivory beads -- 5 cp 8 1 bent, clogged blowgun (unusable) 1 lb. 8 sp 9 1 worn whetstone (unusable) 1 lb. 1 cp 10 1 torn net (unusable) 3 lb. 1 sp 11 1 stone pendant of a lizard's egg (symbol of Semuanya) 1 lb. 5 sp 12 1 pouch of mushrooms (poisonous?) 1 lb. 1 sp 13 1 3-foot long stick with a hooked black claw tied to the end 3 lb. 2 sp 14 1 jar full of a viscous slime that smells foul, like a troglodyte 5 lb. 2 sp 15 1 long yellow tooth, tipped in blood 1 lb. 5 cp 16 1 jagged stone axe head, with no handle 4 lb. 1 sp 17 1 stone bowl covered in dry blood 10 lb. 5 cp 18 1d4 dried meat ration(s), unknown meat 2 lb. 3 sp 19 1d4 small animal carcass(es) 1 lb. 1 sp 20 1d6 turtle shells 3 lb. 5 cp
This creature produces 2-12 pieces of Harvested Meat, weight total of 8-48 lb. DC: 5, Expire: 1 day, Value: 4-24 sp There is a stigma to eating meat belonging to sentient creatures that have a humanoid form and features. Harvesting the meat may be frowned upon and even considered cannibalism. Some communities may refuse to buy the meat (and some evil communities may pay a premium). The meat may even be difficult to eat, or unedible. Of course, these are all up to the Dungeon Master to decide. The meat of many monsters is considered vile and distasteful. Monstrosities and aberrations, in particular, may have tainted blood or rancid tasting meat. Dungeon Master's discretion.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Abilities
Like chameleons, troglodytes could blend into their surroundings, allowing them to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. Most notable of their abilities was their overwhelming stench. A buildup of olfactory screams, battle cries, and various other messages would combine to forge an overpowering scent. So keen was a troglodyte's sense of smell that they were capable of smelling fear, or rather, the hormones given off by creatures experiencing fear, and would target those who they could smell were most afraid.Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Language
The troglodytes' spoken language was a simplified version of Draconic; it could be transcribed but never by the troglodytes themselves. However, only half of the troglodyte language was communicated verbally and it was restricted to simple phrases. The rest of the language was based on the variety of smells that they could produce, making it unintelligible to most other races. Because troglodytes had a variety of concepts that could only be conveyed via scent, translation of certain ideas was basically impossible. Similarly, they did not use maps to navigate, but rather a series of scents travelers should experience while they approached the destination.Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Religion
Originally created by the sarrukh, troglodytes first worshiped the World Serpent, but after the downfall of that empire, the god of the troglodytes became Laogzed. They would worship him by hosting great feasts to celebrate victory, feeding upon their recently slaughtered foes, although the desire to do this as often as possible led them to over-hunt the area. Clerics were well appreciated for their ability not only to cause pain with divine power, but also heal injuries. Their deity offered troglodytes nothing but aspiration to be as fat and content as they saw him,[1] with the only benefit to worshiping him being the low standards he held. After every battle, the dead of the tribe would be gathered together and blessed by the priest before being eaten in a ceremony known as "Renewal" in which their meat was "returned" to the tribe. Occasionally troglodytes of great intelligence and strength would be born, and these rare few would be known as champions. Champions of Laogzed were capable of spewing globs of acid and were typically chieftains. Troglodytes could also worship other Abyssal deities such as the brutal Demogorgon through sacrificial rituals. Non-cleric magic users included the more intelligent deep scourges, shamans who used the alchemy of their own stench to create attacks, as well as the curse chanters.History
Troglodytes were created by the sarrukh of Mhairshaulk to scout a part of the Underdark known as the Serpent Deeps. The discovery of races like the aboleths and illithids resulted in their use as sentries for a time, and attempted invasions by these forces failed because of the troglodyte's vigilance and the enemies' inability to cooperate.
They spread and settled throughout the Underdark at some point after the fall of the Mhairshaulk empire. They were eventually found by the yuan-ti (although some reports claimed the illithids were responsible) who bred those they found into the more powerful, but less intelligent, tren. After failing to defend Serpentes, the yuan-ti traded many tren to other races who almost immediately released them because of their overpowering odor. After this, many tren found their way back into the arms of the troglodyte race.
As skirmishes between their tribes were common, and troglodytes had trouble planning for the future, they rarely posed a threat in the Underdark and were more seen as a nuisance for when they staged raids to acquire food.
Sources
Source(s):
- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 290. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 246–247. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 348. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 97. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- Voronica Whitney-Robinson (September 2012). The Crimson Gold. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 1. ISBN 0-7869-3120-5.
- Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 44–48. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- Spike Y. Jones (November 1996). “The Ecology of the Troglodyte”. In Pierce Watters ed. Dragon #235 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 79, 82–83, 86.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 200–201. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Christopher Perkins, Adam Lee, Richard Whitters (September 1, 2015). Out of the Abyss. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 45, 47–48. ISBN 978-0-7869-6581-6.
- Rob Heinsoo, Stephen Schubert (May 19, 2009). Monster Manual 2 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 42–50. ISBN 0786995101.
- Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Animalia, Materia, Humanoidus, Bipedia, Scalis (Scalykind: Troglodyte)
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid (Monster Scaled | Scalykind: Troglodyte)
Lifespan
maximum of 50 years
Conservation Status
Long ago Troglodytes, Bugbears and other Goblinoids were attacked on sight as they were often the aggressors, however the past two thousand years or so have seen Troglodytes finding some rare acceptance, more so in larger cities. However, there is still discrimination and disappearances of Troglodytes all the time as well as attacks outside of city walls. Many places still don't consider the murder of a Troglodytes the same as the murder of others. Granted, it is very rare to meet a decent troglodyte, but they are often hired as security in some form.
Average Height
5‒6 ft (1.5‒1.8 m)
Average Weight
150 pounds
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
5E Statistics
Troglodyte
| Size | Medium |
| Type | Humanoid |
| Tag(s) | Troglodyte |
| Alignment | Chaotic Evil |
| Challenge Rating | 1/4 |
General Information
| Patron Deity | Laogzed |
| Vision | Darkvision |
| Language(s) | Troglodyte, Draconic |
| Favored Terrain | Underground |
Appearance
| Average Height | 5' - 6' |
| Average Weight | 150 lbs. |
History
| First Appearance | Monster Manual, 1st ed. |
Session Reports
See Also: Troglodyte on Forgotten Realms Wiki