Hello!


I've got a hypothetical D&D scenario. I am a necromancer, and in my lab I have two trolls, each strapped to a different table. We'll call them troll A and troll B. I cut both of their limbs off. I incinerate B's limbs, and keep A's. I sew A's limbs to B, what do you think will happen?

- B will use the limbs as if they were his, with no or minimal complications.

- B's body will reject A's limbs; they become necrotic and useless.

- The tissue from A's limbs assimilate the flesh, muscle, and bones from B's body. Eventually there will be two versions of troll A

- Some other outcome I haven't thought of. Please let me know what that is.

Some context for anyone who doesn't know about trolls (at least less than I do): they have incredible regenerative abilities. Damage that is a mortal wound to a human is nothing but an inconvenience to a troll. I've heard that some trolls regenerate so quickly that if you plunge a sword into its body, the tissue around it will heal almost instantly; making the sword impossible to pull out. You need fire or acid to finish the monster off.

Are the trolls dead, since you specified you're a necromancer?

If troll B is alive, it will probably grow its arms back before you'll have the chance to sew the others.

If it's dead, will it regain its ability after reanimation? Probably not.
If it can, maybe its own growing arms will rip the borrowed ones away?
Not sure if it could just "assimilate" them.

(I'd esclude the option of tissue from A assimilating B, instead.)

I apologize for not mentioning this before. They are both alive. Inactive or impaired neuro-activity would likely hinder this experiment.

No problem.
Btw, would a troll with a successfully removed limb regrow it entirely (think about Piccolo from Dragon ball lol) or just close the wound? In the second case, you still wouldn't be able to attach anything, as the skin would immediately heal and cover the underlying tissue.

A troll's regeneration is similar to an octopus. When it loses a limb, it will grow back. So if it loses an arm, it's just needs to wait to grow a new arm.

Due to the high regeneration rate, B will very quickly (within minutes) have usable arms and legs. They will likely be fully functional and other than size/mass differences be perfectly normal. (I don't see why they would be rejected)

A on the other hand has to grow new limbs.

A will probably be the better off of the two, because unless they are the same size, A will have his own limbs and B will have limbs that work but he might have to relearn to use them (thus take a -2 or -3 on all skills and strength checks for the duration).

Eventually the limbs will match B more perfectly and any such issues goes away. Though it's possible the troll might simply rip the unwanted limbs off one at a time, let the new bodypart regrow and then rip off the next one until they are normal. Would be far faster and efficient.

I would play it out the same, like they where his or her own arms. Since the Monster Manual states, that they can reuse their own immediatly, if reattached to the stump. Why would it take ages to use some other limb, if of same (=troll) origin?

Otherwise it will regrow any limb within 3D6 minutes (3-18 minutes, avg. 10,5 minutes).

Maybe use other creatures limbs to experiment with the high regenaration rate? And see how an mutation-like overgrowth adapts (or refuses) those limbs?

One of the Forgotten Realm books had mentioned severed limbs would grow into new trolls. So I would go with the troll's new arm would grow, pushing off the attached arm. At the same time, the attached arm would push back against the body, and regrow into a new troll.

And somewhere in the background is that troll who had originally lost his arm, mad at a Dr. Frankenmancer.

I believe that the idea of severed limbs regrowing new trolls is a bit of in-universe folklore that's not actually true (or at least, it's not supported by the game rules)

On the other hand, I think Drizzt was one of the people who said it, and you'd think he'd know better, so...

I heard of trolls quickly regenerating, not quickly multiplying O_o

Yes, it was from Streams of Silver. Back when I use to enjoy reading Salvatore. I haven't looked at an edition of DnD since 3.5, so I don't know what's different, or what has been forgotten by my many years of not playing.