Trog (Fallout 3)

Trogs are creatures in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt.

Background
Trog is a common name for humans that have become infected with the Troglodyte Degeneration Contagion (TDC), and slowly degenerated into scampering troglodytes who fear the light. Trogs reside in The Pitt (formerly Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Due to the contagion being endemic to the town, approximately 20% of the populace have transformed into these wild, chattering monstrosities, hiding in darkness and attacking anything on sight. Study shows that children born in TDC-active areas virtually have a 100% degeneration rate and become feral within weeks of birth.

All evidence indicates their degeneration overpowers all their humanity, as they will even kill friends and loved ones with savage violence. However some of their idle chatter suggests that they still have some shred of intellect. They sometimes will growl words like "hate," "kill," and "food," suggesting that they have some semblance of their former humanity left, but are unable to fight their animalistic hunger. Some can even be heard muttering "...peace" or "thank you" right before they die.

Biology
As a direct result of their disease, trogs are hairless, naked, primate-like creatures with long, gangly arms and legs. Their skin appears raw and wrinkled, and their faces are scrunched into permanent scowls, with their teeth constantly bared. They have four fingers (including opposable thumb) and four toes, and their feet appear to be in the process of turning into "hands," adding to their primate-like appearance. They crawl on all fours (somewhat similar to frogs). They have no external genitalia or any other visual clues to their sex, making mammalian sexual reproduction unlikely; Wernher implies that they are capable of sexual activity.

Gameplay attributes
Despite their savage appearance, trogs are capable of hunting in packs like wolves. While some may simply charge at targets head-on, others will attempt to sneak up on the prey from behind or above. Their speed is almost on par with a yao guai, though they are able to leap even farther.

Trog packs usually circle their prey, slowly closing in, and the target can be quickly surrounded if they are unwary. Although trogs are known to be extremely photosensitive, in-game trogs will actively pursue their prey through light and dark alike. However, they will only spawn in darkened areas, such as the steelyard, power plant, and abandoned apartments; not in lit places such as Uptown, even though they are one door away from its streets.

Trogs are weaker than standard humans; a basic trog is on par with a basic feral ghoul, and even the powerful trog brutes and savages are still only on par with standard raiders in terms of health. However, they are much faster than normal humans, have fairly powerful melee attacks, and rarely hunt alone. Additionally, trogs are usually fought while the Lone Wanderer is poorly equipped, as their equipment is taken away upon entering The Pitt, and good weapons and armor can be hard to come by in The Pitt until the Lone Wanderer finishes The Arena and enters Uptown.

Trog fledgling
These trogs are the smallest and weakest of the trog family. However, they are still quite fast and may overwhelm anyone unaware of their presence. Headshots from decent weapons are usually fatal. They are one of the weakest creatures in the game (on par with bloatflies or radroaches in terms of health and attack damage). This type of trog will be encountered primarily at level 7 and below.

Trog
Regular trogs are the most common type of trog on normal difficulty. These are larger than trog fledglings but are still vulnerable to headshots from high-powered weapons.

Trog brute
Trog brutes are the most commonly encountered trogs on very hard difficulty. They are only slightly larger than regular trogs but have almost double the health. Their attack is twice as powerful as their standard variants.

Trog savage
These trogs are the strongest and most powerful trogs in The Pitt. They are encountered rarely but are essentially trog brutes with slightly more health. Although only slightly tougher than trog brutes, trog savages have powerful melee attacks similar in damage potential to those of a giant radscorpion or mirelurk hunter.

Notable trogs

 * Billy

Appearances
Trogs appear in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt and were to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Behind the scenes

 * In Latin, the word "troglodytae" means "cave dwelling people" and is now used to describe someone who is reclusive, uneducated, or that lives underground.
 * The concept of the trog is very different in The Pitt from the original concept in Van Buren. This can be attributed to being from different developers as well as there possibly being different forms of trogs. However, since trogs from The Pitt are the only ones to appear in a published game they are the only ones that are canon.

Bugs
It seems that headshots do not work on all types of trogs, doing the same amount of damage as a shot anywhere else on its body.