“They have a cave Troll” -Boromir And now you can too!!!!
Overview:
Despite human propaganda to the contrary, Orcs and Trolls are not friends or allies. They are not part of some grand evil alliance plotting the end of civilization and indeed Orcs tend be more fond of humans than of Trolls. A legend states that eons ago Orcs and Troll were indeed allies. But this came apart when the Orcish guests got rowdy at a Trollish Bris, and that races have been embroiled in a blood feud for centuries. Yet despite this animosity Trolls are commonly at the vanguard of Orcish armies. These Trolls are not there willingly and they only charge into battle because the Orcs keep them on a tight leash.
Appearance and Availability:
A Troll leash has no tether, but rather relies on simple rune magic to help the Orc control the troll. The leash consists of a heavy hinged lead collar and a lead bracelet. Neither has a clasp and must be soldered together once on the troll's neck or the orc's wrist. The only markings are a pair of similar runes on the collar and on the bracelet. Many human and elven mages have tried to reproduce the troll leash so that they may also lead ferocious and wild trolls into battle. But thus far the attempts have been unable to protect to the controller from the Troll or have significantly dampened the ferocity of the Troll. The enigma of the troll leash has been a thorn in the pride of the civilized mages everywhere, and thus far it has only been constructed by Orcish Shamans.
Capabilities:
The answer to the Orc's success in Troll steering is two fold. First Troll steering (as they call it) is not an untrained art. The troll wranglers are trained from an early age on how to guide and direct a troll with a long spear and pine switch while all the time keeping the troll angry and aggressive. Second the Orcs understand the nature of Trolls in a way that humans and elven wizards do not and the troll leash was designed accordingly. The Troll Leash performs two functions, when commanded it will contract to strangle the troll and it renders the person wearing the bracelet unsmellable to the Troll. Strangling the Troll till it passes out or dies has obvious uses, and the odor block renders the wrangler almost invisible to the Troll. Trolls use their noses like we use our eyes and they depend on their sense of smell and taste to find their targets. This is not to suggest that Troll steering doesn’t require skill even with the leash, because it does. And in the heat of battle a leashed Troll has devoured many an Orc warrior. But using the leash a trained Troll wrangler can put an angry Troll right down the gullet of a dwarven phalanx without letting the troll hit a single warg rider.
Game Use:
The real treasure on a Troll leash are the Runes of Nosedeafness. Many a brothel and wife for that matter would be glad to obtain such a rune to mark their clients or husbands.
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A useful item, Orcs are much more then walking hit points, they have brains too.
TROLLISH BRIS??!!! lmao. Circumcized trolls!! That could be its own sub
Oh how frustrating it must be for the human and elven mages to swallow the fact that they cannot reproduce or mimic 'orcish magic'
Troll Steering. Well done!
One nagging thought though.... What would stop a human/elf from capturing an orc, and simply forcing/torturing/magically probing him into spilling the secrets of the Troll Leash?
Human Mage: Tell me how it works
Orc: No!
Human Mage: Tell me or we'll kill you..slowly
Orc: Mm, k. Well, we start at an early age, and then there is the bracelet of odor-killing and.....
Though I guess the fact that you mention orcs understand trolls in a way humans/elves cannot, which makes perfect sense, may be the answer to my question.
I like the orcish flavor here! Tolkien would have incorporated these leashes into his middle-earth saga me'thinks, if he knew these bad-boys existed.
'What would stop a human/elf from capturing an orc, and simply forcing/torturing/magically probing him into spilling the secrets of the Troll Leash?'
Got to leave the PCs something to do, but this would make a great RP scene.
Murometz's aspiring mage stands along the wall at the council of mages as they discuss methods for preparing the Regent's Army for battle with the Duke. The job of the pages is three fold learn from example, keep the goblets full and block the drafts. Murometz's young page shivers, rattling the metal tray and metal pitcher in his hands. The noise was louder than he thought and all the mages turn to look at him.
'DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD, CAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE YOUR KINGDOM, SO PLEASE IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE NOISE TACK A USEFUL IDEA ON THE END OF IT' snaps Lord Hokum Rokum-demon bound mage of east.
'Why....why....don't you just ask the Orcs how the leash works.......'
Hokum stands and draws his arms as if to cast, but stops and a quizzical look crosses his face. The Elven delegation looks at each other sideways and the Arch Mage opens his mouth as if to speak, but instead just nods his head and says nothing. Hokum sits down and says 'Very good, thank you'
I now know whats been missing in my life this whole time. A page, to keep my goblet full and block the drafts. :)
I've also been pondering a Trollish Bris ceremony, and I have realized something. No matter what they chop off or how much, would not regeneration quickly do its work, defeating the Bris' purpose?
One to grow on...
That assumes a D&D centered troll, not a Tolkienesque one :)
I like the teaser! A solid idea with a good execution. Good work!
Teaser rocks. 'They have a cave-troll' is right up there with 'We're gonna need a bigger boat'
Very well done axlerowes! A nice item.
Yaaaa! That was most excellent, Dude. I agree with what everyone else has said, and have not much more to add. Good work.
Bump. I just love the idea of troll leashes. It has a 'classic item' feel.