I'm having a weirdly autistic moment, /tg/ So in my last

>>51355753
The trolls could always be asleep. You can give your party enough time to rest/realize what's up before they get floored.
Your idea of capture could also work, but you better have some idea on how they can escape without dying. Something like "give us our stuff and we'll go get a thing for you, big fellas!"

>>51355753
>clearly designated encounter zone

this isn't a video game

Either way there are many options.

1) The trolls aren't ready to fight. It's a feast or something, they're eating and drinking and are not watchful and thus easily hidden from
2) Copy the Hobbit, the PCs have to trick the trolls or evade them
3) Do your idea - the trolls capture the silly small people and make them work

>>51355802
>clearly designated encounter zone
Well, what I mean by that is that I've been dropping hints that there's something unusual about the area. For some reason animals and people go nowhere near the place, in spite of it being a beautiful area of bustling nature with ripe fruits and whatnot. Kind of a fae/troll thing, where the two trickster races have decided to tolerate each other for mutual benefits

Don't do the 'take bard for their wife' thing

The rest of it seems fine, if a bit humiliating

>>51355802
4). Turns out the trolls just want shoes.

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>>51355878

>>51355852
You wouldn't need to tie the dragonborn down either, not like he can keep the breath going. Just have him light it once.

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>>51355753
>den of trolls
You know what you have to do.

>>51355802
>this isn't a video game
I don't think he was being literal when he mentioned it was a "clearly designated encounter zone." In most wilderness games there is an understanding that caves are often bad news. Most intelligent creatures would see a cave as decent shelter

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The Trolls have found something, something important, perhaps mystical in some fashion.
But they have a problem, they don't know how to use it- but they're pretty sure someone in the Party might know how.
Unfortunately for the party they're very suspicious of their every action, and paranoid they'll get away knowing they have this -thing-, or worse that you'll use it against them.
Work up the splendor, then have it turn out to be something simple like a charcoal stove or a tea-kettle.

or

The Party goes to sleep in the cave only to find that several other adventuring parties are camping out this location for some reason.
They're all there to accomplish different goals and are incredibly skeptical of each others intentions.
One of the parties turns out to be the resident Trolls who are afraid they're about to be killed by a bunch of violent murder-hobos and do their best to fit in.

or

The Trolls do their best to try and troll the Player Characters. They have set up their cave to be misleading, full of traps and illusions and only plan to ambush the PC's once they've gone through their fun house labyrinth.
Perhaps they dress up like the characters and mock them safely out of reach, or maybe you end the session with them finding the exit only to say "As you walk out, you fall through a trapdoor and end up in a familiar room".