Me love Uz

[Gevrin]

Hi there

I want to celebrate the glory that is Uz. Personally I've always seen them as magnificent antagonists; weird and complex aliens that my players should fear and respect. Certainly if I throw chaos in their direction, my players prepare for trouble, but mention Zorak Zoran and they're looking for the back door.

Funnily enough we've never discussed what they look like. My notion of Uz comes from early RQ2 and I imagine them looking like big versions of my son's mates in a mosh pit. One of my players also runs RQ3 so has his owns views. The others all respond to the name but imagine their own images (IMHO the way rpgs were supposed to work).

Who cares how Mongoose portray them - it doesn't alter my mental picture. Greg Stafford may have his own views, but then HGMV (he can't be expected to get it right all the time, you'd think he owned the place! :evil: )

Anyway, to reflect the many different ways Uz have been portrayed over the years and through different editions, I've put up some images at http://www.bellplace.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/trolls/gallery.html.

My personal favourite has to be Trollball - if I had to show one image, that would be the one (though the japanese trolls are pretty cool).

Come on, facial features aside, which do you prefer?

Cheers

Dave

 

[Loz]

I've always liked the Sazdorf trolls from Haunted Ruins. That was my first detailed intro to Gloranthan trolls, and it fixed the species in my mind.

The MRQ Core troll looks like a cross between Mr Spock, Porky the Pig and Ray Reardon...

 

[Exubae]

It was Troll pack that hooked me onto Glorantha, it brought to life the Uz like nothing I'ld ever seen in an RPG before... it was damn cool.
It gave you a snap shot of Troll life and view of playing a Uz rather than a vanilla flavoured 'adventurer' with slightly better stats and a big club.
And the book lacked the XP slaughter fodder and the usual bigger and better magic items that where prevelant in the other games of the period.

Which is probably why I find the porky images of the Trolls so annoying.
Still, I'm looking forward to the new Troll book, though I'm dreading the book pics.

 

[ninthcouncil]

I've never seen the Japanese images before. They're rather oni-ish, and inevitably, one of them seems to be menacing a pubescent girl, though at least he doesn't have any tentacles. :lol:

Lisa Free's pictures in Trollpak are the shiznit (as is the incomparable Trollpak itself). The piggy trolls sometimes to be seen in MRQ don't wind me up as much as they do some people, though they're not particularly to my taste. It's worth noting that some of the the earliest RQ troll images - William Church's cartoons - have a distinctly porcine appearance, so it isn't as if this trope is entirely absent from historical RQ sources.

 

[Halfbat]

The piggy trolls sometimes to be seen in MRQ don't wind me up as much as they do some people, though they're not particularly to my taste. It's worth noting that some of the the earliest RQ troll images - William Church's cartoons - have a distinctly porcine appearance, so it isn't as if this trope is entirely absent from historical RQ sources.

Good point. I'm quite happy with the depiction of trolls in MRQ for similar reasons - they've always been slightly porcine and it can also help to explain their senses. I was was content, but not over-keen, with the clinical shape in Trollpak (and don't get me wrong, I thought Trollpak was excellent - even wrote the GW review on it for WD) but I thought the images reflected strongly the reason's given for the troll's dark sense.

As for the supplied images - that trollball one was superb!

 

[Exubae]

Your missing some of the rather nifty Trolls that Simon Bray and co put together for their Hero Wars Uz suppliment.
A couple more rather cool Uz pics appeared in Tales of the reaching moon; 'D&D' and Summoning of the the Centipede goddess (not sure of the artists)

Weren't William Church's cartoons pre-Troll Pack?

slightly porcine and it can also help to explain their senses

When did pigs develop sonar :lol: ?

 

[ninthcouncil]

Weren't William Church's cartoons pre-Troll Pack?

Yes, indeed. I'm not sure about the exact date, I've got them in a Wyrm's Footnotes compendium which I don't have immediate access to.

 

[Dr_Snugglebunny]

My favorite Uz pic is probably of the troll warrior (Karrg's Son maybe) "D&D" (for drunk and disorderly, IIRC) in an old TOTRM publication. Very dignified and tough looking; posing while leaning on a lovely troll maul and wearing a broo-skin draped over his armor.

But I also love the "muppet" look of the Sazdorf trolls. Kinda Fraggle Rock-ish, and spooky-whimsical.

The old-old RQ troll pics such as the first one on that page are a great laugh; we've come a long way...

 

[Voriof]

Weren't William Church's cartoons pre-Troll Pack?

Yes, indeed. I'm not sure about the exact date, I've got them in a Wyrm's Footnotes compendium which I don't have immediate access to.

Yes. They were. They appeared in Wyrms Footnotes from the very begining and also appeared as the original cover on Apple Lane.

They are, I confess, how I think of trolls. Big guts, multiple breasts, and scary shoes.

Jeff

 

[soltakss]

"Dark Troll Fighting Big Giant to the Death" is probably still my favourite RPG cartoon.

 

[Gevrin]

Okay, okay,

HW Uz (tick),
William Church's cartoons (tick),

I'll check out Tales too and warm up the scanner tomorrow night.

Anyone got anymore non-english pics you might send me? I love the different styles in other translations.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Exubae]

Drastic Resolutions Darkness has a couple of cool picks, if I remember right - the Argan Argar trader.

Another cool Church Cartoon was the Dark Troll getting a piece of ass...