My level 6-8 Party is going up against a small troll army invading a forest. Previously, we just assumed that once the party wins, they can burn all the troll remains. Some of us, however, were interested in how the rules handle this.
Applying a torch would not do it, because a torch is treated as a "one-handed improvised weapon that deals bludgeoning damage equal to that of a gauntlet of its size, plus 1 point of fire damage" according to the SRD. Even if they dealt 1d6 fire damage, the other damage that brought the troll down is regenerating, so you need to keep hitting the pieces as you torch them for 63/3.5 rounds on average.
Alternatively, use coup de grace with a torch, forcing a Fort DC 17 save (trolls having Fort +11). Or finally, given that immersion in boiling water does 10d6 damage, assume the same for a pyre. Somebody also suggested using a coup de grace using a scorching ray but that severely limits the number of trolls the party can kill. Or a sneak attack using a torch or alchemical fire?
How is one supposed to kill a troll by the rules, and how do they handle a raiding party of ten or more trolls? How does a party keep the trolls down while they fight the remaining trolls?
Both the pyre and the hunt for the various twitching bits with sword and torch provide interesting visuals.
I know that Pathfinder has a different rule covering this, but this is a D&D 3.5 game.
Best Answer
63 damage done 3.5 at a time is on the order of two minutes' worth of rounds. Assuming that you are starting this after initiative has ended, why is this a problem? Taking two minutes to properly sear the wounds of the troll to be acceptable, especially considering how long it takes to sear a steak.
Additionally, if intelligent players sever the limbs first, even if the main troll body regenerates enough to wake up, it won't have any way to actually attack.