>lot of upper body hits, although they could afford to leave their head
more
>unguarded due to their tusks, thick skulls and meaty rounded shoulders f=
or
>deflecting hits.
Amazing how similar this is to my post! However, don't forget the use of=
elbows at close range, truly a nasty tactic as is the headbutt.
> Kick-wise, the Trolls use them infrequently but to deadly effect,=
at long
>range always to the thigh or knee... a direct hit to such an area to
>anything short of another troll would almost certainly be a break, due t=
o
>their weight more than anything else. I suspect almost entirely swingin=
g
>kicks with the ball of the foot, instep or shins although a short ranged=
>stamp to the knee, shin or foot would also fit.
Well Muay Thai would be push kicks to the stomach to give distance and ta=
ke
the wind away or power roundhouse kicks to the thigh which wipe the leg o=
ut
unless the opponent knows how to block them. =
>The above is basically Muay Thai, let's face it.....
>Grappling: Also big for trolls due to their weight and muscle power.
>Also, as regards biting, I suspect the intial grapple (if close rather
than
>a throw or arm lock, etc) to include a lot of goring with the tusks... n=
ot
>biting as such, but a lot of damage could be inflicted by mashing the
>opponent's face with the tusks... facial cuts hurt and bleed a great dea=
l.
>If they got a good hold, I would suspect a bite, likely finishing the
>fight, but I agree that that wouldn't be a tactic until the foe was
>more-or-less unmoving.
I would agree though it might be important to remember that troll skin
thickness - they don't cut easily and as they are simply grating the tusk=
s
agains one another they will do little but abrasion damage unless the hit=
an eye. An actual bite to finish the fight wouldd be tricky unless the f=
oe
was unconscious and a throat tear could be inflicted but if the opponent =
is
moving that really isn't an option, as you said.
>The above paints Trolls as deadly in unarmed combat and, AFAICS, there's=
no
>reason to suspect they wouldn't be. As an extra, the Trolls are natural=
>blindfighters and have an accurate sense that functions in all direction=
s
>around their body! Scary..... I can think of few reasons why a Troll
>martial art wouldn't exist, being a lot like Muay Thai with extra
grappling
>elements thrown in. Note the fact that they would "spar" a lot with eac=
h
>other (thus gaining critical fighting experience) due to their brutal,
>violent natures and you have a set of MEAN unarmed fighters. Of course,=
>not the equal of a good sword or spear, but get in close...
100% agreement - the sonar adds an intersting dimension in that when a
human fights in a hunched posture or in close they sometimes have a sever=
e
problem seeing the blows coming due to limited vision - a troll can sense=
them coming and I would imagine that trolls are utterrly deadly in-fighte=
rs
and superb at Wing Chung style Sticky Hands moves in addtion to their
already formidable armoury.
Note that grappling from trolls would be like Muay Thai grappling - which=
has an emphasis on holding the neck while ramming heavy knee strikes into=
the thighs or stomachs. If you see two pro-Thai boxers in a clinch they usually strike each other with knees or leap up onto each other to avoid such strikes. Trolls would excell at this kind of style.
>Vulnerable points: Few. Their ears and snout would probably be extreme=
ly
>vulnerable to direct hits, if you are good or lucky enough. Their layer=
s
>of fat and slabs of muscle would give good defense against most blows, b=
ut
>like all big fat people you'd be best off going for their knees, since
>they're a critical point, holding up all that weight. Unfortunately,
troll
>bone structure is dense and the knees would be stronger than in humans
>(since all trolls (uzko) are fat, but still, a good knee kick would F_at_!*=
>them up until it was healed.
I would agree but given the troll bulk, it would be damn difficult to pop=
the knee. Its hard doing it to a human who is alert, can't imagine doing=
it to a 6' 8" 320 lump of muscle, bone and blubber thats trying to eat yo=
ur
face.
IMO fighting a troll in hand to hand if you are a human is as near to
suicide as possible. Unless you were huge and superbly skilled it would =
be
a nightmare - much better to use a long sharp thing to stab them! I can'=
t
even begin to imagine fighting a great troll in such circumstances unless=
you had ironhand 12 running and shield 8!
Martin Laurie
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #483
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