>One more check: I understand why nearly all trolls won't use
>bows for mythological reasons. But does this also rule out
>crossbows?
No, it doesn't. I guess that a troll would even use a flintlock musket if he had a chance of firing it, but as with a musket the troll will soon run out of ammunition.
>I am unsure why there is no record of *any* maverick troll
>(or an Illuminated troll) *ever* using a bow.
There is no myth how some great troll ancestor wrestled the bow from his former solar owner, unlike fire (taken by Zorak Zoran from whichever Yelmalio there was at Hill of Gold) or spears (taken by Argan Argar from Lodril, IMO to stab Krarsht in the Footprint).
The basic technology for making crude self bows is known to the trolls - after all they can make drums from broo-hide, and they can fashion spear shafts from wood. I won't start discussing the utility of refined spider silk for bowstrings here...
>I am unsure why slings have less need of eyesight than bows.
Because with a bow you aim by the picture the target makes before your bow, whereas the sling is released "from the hip".
>While I appreciate the technogical reasons why slings are so much
>more abundant, I am unsure of the technological reasons why sometimes
>trolls (Zorak Zorani only?) *do* use swords but not bows.
Same as crossbows: these things run out of ammo too fast. And another aside: a good-sized troll can easily overdraw a human- or elf-sized bow to the breaking point (and still be out of ammunition for this draw length).
There is another good reason to use slings which cast lead (soft, but heavy, therefore doing considerable damage even when used by trollkin) rather than arrows with dubious material for the points - neither lead nor flint make recommendable arrowtips against armour.
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