KOTCL Dev Diaries - Let's do a little trolling today

Knock, knock!

First off, thank you for your kind words in the comments. That’s quite a rare sight. The way human psyches work, when we like content, we simply press “Like” and leave; but when we’re dissatisfied with something, we’ll write a negative comment about that (by the way, we’re always open to constructive criticism). So seeing friendly commentaries is always unexpected and pleasant.

Now, moving on.

Not Much News

We pushed the update to the main branch; I posted the patch notes on Wednesday. There were many complaints about event notes showing up incorrectly or not at all. Ah, those pesky notes, they take so long to adjust, not to mention simply checking them. But still we took up the task.

A hefty load of bug reports concerning localization was sent in by a single caring player, for which I say thank you (I try to avoid emojis, but there should be an emoji here). As soon as I finish with the diary, I’ll start on the localisation bugs because it’s my job.

Alright, what’s next for lore? Oh! Want to learn more about the Thundering Mountain and cave trolls? Here you go.

The Bowels of the Thundering Mountain

It’s hard to say anything new about this classic setting: a city cut out from rock, forges that need neither wood nor coal because there’s plenty of lava (surely, you’ve guessed this on your own, but just in case—the Thundering Mountain is a volcano), blacksmiths of the umpteenth generation who craft the finest armor and weapons in the world. Simply put, it’s like Moria, but it has its differences too.

The dwarves of the Thundering Mountain have no interest in precious metals; they don’t try to hoard piles of gold. They’re miners and craftsmen who simply want to trade their goods for food. As the saying goes, mithril is transient, hunger is eternal. Without trade, the dwarves wouldn’t survive, so they remain tolerant toward their neighbors—as long as no one trespasses on their lands.

As you know from the game, the dwarves from the Thundering Mountain consider the surrounding area to be their property. They never use it, though, and nature abhors a vacuum.

The elves were the first to settle in the Frontier, and the dwarves put up with it—after all, there were very few elves (at first). Later, humans made their home in the Heathlands, and once again the dwarves put up with it, because there were few humans too (at first).

But time passed, the elves and humans grew in number, and the dwarves’ patience slowly inched toward its boiling point.

You already know how it all ended—the game says enough about that. What’s far more interesting is to tell you more about the trolls.

Strong, Kind, and Stupid

Long ago, the trolls were a reasonably intelligent species who lived peacefully in the caves of the Thundering Mountain, but a carefree life inevitably dulled their minds. By the time the dwarves chose the Thundering Mountain as their new home, they found the trolls in the same state you encounter them now. A stupid state.

Darwinian Troll Devolution

Trolls are omnivores in the broadest possible sense. A hungry troll can eat even a tree stump. Such omnivorousness has made them rather harmless. At the same time, no one in their right mind would ever think of hunting trolls, and that has made them rather dim. The theory of evolution in practice: if you’re strong and undemanding, you have no need for wit or aggression.

The dwarves quickly domesticated the trolls and started using them much the same way we once used horses—with a few caveats, of course, since dwarves don’t ride trolls (it would look pretty funny, ha-ha). And as we all know, horses can be used for both peaceful and military purposes.

Human Flesh Tasty

When the trouble in the Frontier began, the smart dwarves quickly figured out how to make use of trolls in the war. And the not-so-clever trolls quickly figured out that elf meat tastes better than tree stumps. Besides, there’s no need to hunt elves—they come themselves, practically begging to be served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Trolls say that human meat tastes a bit worse than elf meat. No, I’m joking—they don’t care. If it tastes better than a stump, it’s good enough.

Well, I think that’s that, so what’s next?

The Monastery of the Firebrothers Or the Empire Without an Emperor?

There’s way too much to say about the Empire, and it would take forever, so it’s better to start with the monastery.