Troglodyte

Greyhawk Creature

Troglodyte
A troglodyte, as depicted in the Monster Manual (2003).
General information
Alignment:	Chaotic evil
Type:	Humanoid
First appearance:	Monster Manual (1977)

Troglodytes are a race of humanoid reptiles.

Ecology

Typical physical characteristics

Troglodytes are described as being shorter than a human, with spindly but muscular arms and squat legs. It also has some lizardman-like traits with a reptilian head and forearms, a spinal crest, and a long, slender tail.

Troglodytes carry a repulsive odor which causes harm to those around them.

Alignment

A troglodyte is usually chaotic evil in alignment; they are considered mostly hostile towards humans and other races.

Society

Religion

Troglodytes primarily worship their patron, a disgusting toad-lizard called Laogzed. Some worship Ogrémoch, prince of evil earth creatures. In ancient times, many worshiped Demogorgon and other demon princes.

Language

The spoken troglodyte language is apparently derived from a simplified version of the lizardfolk tongue, but this is accompanied by a vast, fully vocabulary comprised of smells generated by troglodyte scent glands. This olfactory language was apparently their original means of communication, and they adopted words from the lizardfolk dialect of Draconic purely to make themselves comprehensible to outsiders. Their olfactory language takes precedence over all others.

History

Thousands of years in the past, the ancestors of the troglodytes dominated much of the Oerth before they were struck mad by the demon gods they worshiped. Some few secluded groups managed to hold on to some vestige of their civilization. More than three thousand years ago they dominated the Amedio Jungle, developing sophisticated mummification techniques that they may have hoped would allow them to persist after their deaths. This empire fell in approximately -1700 CY. There is some indication that a race of proto-bullywugs inhabited the Amedio at the time of the troglodytes' fall, though the causality of this is unknown. [The Scarlet Brotherhood, page 62]

Near modern Irongate, a group of sophisticated troglodytes dominated the local Flan tribes until the rise of the Flan kingdom of Ahlissa, when the Hradikar warriors of that land threatened the reptiles' rule. Rather than confronting the humans directly, the troglodytes put themselves into a magical sleep. [Dungeon #120, page 66]

Publication history

The troglodyte appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a reptilian humanoid that dwells in subterranean places, loathes humans and slaughters all it encounters. Troglodytes play an important role in the adventure Against the Cult of the Reptile God (1982).

The troglodyte appears in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The troglodyte was detailed in Dragon #235 (November 1996), in the "Ecology of the Troglodyte". The troglodyte was one of the humanoid races presented as player character races in Dragon #265 (November 1999).

The troglodyte was presented as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in Serpent Kingdoms (2004). Dungeon #122 (May 2005) introduced a number of troglodyte variants, including the antennae troglodyte, the clawed troglodyte, the climbing troglodyte, the flailing troglodyte, the horned troglodyte, the jumping troglodyte, the tentacled troglodyte, and the vicious troglodyte.

In fourth edition, troglodytes appeared in the Monster Manual (2008). The troglodyte also appeared in the Monster Manual 2 (2009) and the Monster Vault (2010).

Bibliography

• Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1991.
• Brown, Lloyd III. "Primitive PC's." Dragon #265. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1999.
• Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.
• Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
• Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1977.
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson, edited by J. Eric Holmes. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. (TSR, 1977)
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson, edited by Tom Moldvay. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1981.
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson, edited by Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
• Jones, Spike Y. "The Ecology of the Troglodyte." Dragon Magazine #235. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.
• Marmell, Ari, Anthony Pryor, Robert J. Schwalb, and Greg A. Vaughan. Drow of the Underdark. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
• Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
• Niles, Douglas. Against the Cult of the Reptile God. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1982.
• Reynolds, Sean K. "Lost Temple of Demogorgon." Dungeon #120. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.
• Reynolds, Sean K. The Scarlet Brotherhood. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999.
• Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
• Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1993.
• Ward, James, and Robert Kuntz. Deities and Demigods. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Rischak (Troglodyte)	Non-player character		Caves of Ancient Secrets: RttToEE Web Enhancement, D&D 3.0e	7
Skalidar the Troglodyte	Non-player character		Living Greyhawk Journal #4	2
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Against The Giants: The Liberation of Geoff	14, 96
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Caves of Ancient Secrets: RttToEE Web Enhancement, D&D 3.0e	7
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth	3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth	3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 27
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dragon magazine #354	68
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dragon magazine #359	97
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Into The Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, D&D 4e	3, 94, 95, 96, 128, 150, 158, 159
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Different Worlds Magazine #43	Insert (M4)
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	From the Ashes: References Card	#12
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief	7
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	G123 Against the Giants	7
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders	25, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 61, 65, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 82, 84, 97, 125
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders: Map/Monster Booklet	24
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Ghosts of Saltmarsh, D&D 5e	14
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	AD&D Monster Cards, Set 2	Not Numbered
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	MC2 - Monstrous Compendium Volume 2	Insert (Troglodyte)
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix	Encounter Tables
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, AD&D 1e	97
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monstrous Manual, AD&D 2e	348
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monstrous Manual, AD&D 2e (Premium Edition)	348
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 3.5e (Premium Edition)	246, 247
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 4e (Deluxe Edition)	252, 253
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 5e	290
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Oerth Journal #04	15
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Oerth Journal #07	28
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Oerth Journal #11	67,68,69,72,73
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Oerth Journal #14	12
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Oerth Journal #24	35
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet	74
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Book One	20, 21
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Book Two	8, 10, 31
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	X1 The Isle of Dread (1st-3rd printing), D&D Basic	11
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	The Isle of Dread: Original Adventures Reincarnated #02, D&D 5e	29, 77, 139, 141
Troglodyte	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	X1 The Isle of Dread (4th printing), D&D Basic	21