A cave-troll in the Misty Mountains by Rui Gonçalves
Cave-trolls were a race of Trolls found within the caves of the Misty Mountains. One of their number was encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring in Moria, during the Battle of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.
Description[]
Only the shoulder, arm, and foot of the cave troll are described, as the troll forces the door of the Chamber of Mazarbul open before being stabbed in the foot and driven off. The arm has "a dark skin of greenish scales". The foot is "flat and toeless". The creature's blood is black and smokes upon touching the ground.[1]
A cave-troll in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film
In adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring[]
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a cave-troll joins in the battle between the Fellowship and Orcs in Balin's tomb in the Dwarf kingdom of Moria, engaging in fighting with different members of the Fellowship, and even piercing Frodo with a spear, but not injuring him, due to the protection of his Mithril shirt. Legolas dispatches it with an arrow shot through the roof of its mouth and straight into it's skull and through its brain, emerging from the back of its head, normally an arrow, even Elven, wouldn't deal that much damage. In the movie, the cave troll is computer animated. Its movements were done by Randall William Cook, wearing a motion-capture suit. It also has a set of nostrils located higher than the space between its eyes, giving its nose the appearance of a "hird eye"
A cave-troll in Moria
Ralph Bakshi's film[]
In Ralph Bakshi's animated movie, the cave troll has quite an inconsequential part. Gandalf says "Orcs and something else! A great Cave-troll I think!" when he sees the orcs through the east gate. Boromir then closes the gates but they are barged open by a large creature covered all in fur apart from its hands and feet (Presumably the cave-troll). After this, Frodo leaps towards the creature, stabbing it through the foot, shouting "For the Shire!" as he does so, causing it to flee.
A cave troll with its chain & hammer
Games Workshop Character[]
Games Workshop produced three cave trolls with different weapon options: one with a hammer and chain, one with a spear, and another with its hammer rising up. A cave troll was also included in their "The Mines of Moria" starter set.
The cave troll in BFME II
A cave troll as seen in The Battle for Middle-earth II
Video games[]
- In the EA game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, cave trolls are spawned from a cave. They are neutral and attack any units in the area. When your soldiers destroy the cave, a pile of gold can be found, suggesting that trolls like to collect trinkets. This is supported in The Hobbit, as after the trolls are turned to stone Bilbo finds a large stash of treasure in their cave. Strangely, cave trolls in the aforementioned game are a brownish color instead of the greyish-green seen and described in the movie and book.
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, they revert to their original greyish-green color as seen in the movies and books. The goblins can train them out of a fissure as a lesser siege unit, inferior to the mountain giant. The trolls can throw rocks or fight with their fists. When using melee they can find an orc/goblin and throw it at an enemy. They can also fell a tree and use it as a giant club; this greatly improves their damage and it makes it possible to bash entire battalions.
- Cave trolls appear in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest by EA Video Game Company, but they are seen only briefly. They are based upon the Mordor troll catapult loaders in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and wear leather helmets. The cave trolls are playable in Lord Of The Rings: Conquest, but they spawn randomly by type, so it is difficult to get to play as one in the game. They are also vulnerable to headshots, and grab like other trolls, but take more damage.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Croatian | Špiljski Trol |
| Danish | Huletrold |
| Dutch | Grot trol |
| Finnish | Luolapeikot |
| French | Troll des cavernes |
| Galician | Troll da cova |
| German | Höhlentroll |
| Hebrew | מערה טרולים |
| Italian | Troll di Caverna |
| Polish | Trolle jaskiniowe |
| Russian | Пещерные тролли |
| Spanish | Troll de las cavernas |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, chapter V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"