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"if you see four Trolls together, one of them is dinner..."

Ungol proverb[2a]
TrollCountry03

The bleak landscape of the Troll Country

The Troll Country is a region of the northern Old World within the realm of Kislev that consists of steppeland slowly turning into tundra as one travels north before meeting the great mountains and the edge of the Chaos Wastes. It is some of the least-forgiving land in the Old World, and no farming is possible. There are some forests and two main ranges of hills, but for the most part, the Troll Country is largely flat. It is easy to travel for days without seeing any settlements here.[1a]

The weather is harsher than in most parts of Kislev, with frosts extending through spring and autumn. Winter can blanket several feet of snowfall over most of the area, making movement impossible. On the upside, movement is impossible for raiders as well. The Kislevites who live here spend the winter in one place, preparing for the troubles that come with the thaw. By the time the weather does break, they are generally even looking forward to them.[1a][1b]

The land of the Troll Country is very harsh. The climate is chilly all year round as is common in Kislev but the farther north one goes the colder it gets. The land has very little vegetation, though the southern region of the Troll Country has more vegetation than the northern areas, including a few scrawny trees and some underbushes. The land, as one might expect, is most renowned for the large number of Trolls that live in the region. Stone Trolls and River Trolls dominate the region but the northern region of Troll Country is home to Chaos Trolls, creatures mutated by the taint of Chaos. The touch of the Ruinous Powers makes Chaos Trolls stronger and tougher than normal Trolls but also more deformed and mutated.

Geography[]

Kislev Map 2nd Edition by Hapimeses

A detailed map of Kislev, the Troll Country and their surroundings.[1c]

At first sight, Troll Country is one of the bleakest landscapes imaginable. Grassy steppe to the south, scrubby tundra to the north, with only a few hill ranges and forests to break the monotony. Overshadowing the far north are the brutal mountain ranges of Norsca, the only blessing of which is to provide an imperfect impediment to the Chaos Wastes. However, the steppe grasses are long, and many different birds nest there, attracting rats and foxes. Reindeer graze lichens in the cruelly bitter winters and grasses in the short summers. Wolves prey on all that moves. When the snow melts for a few warm months, rare plants and valuable herbs put forth colourful blossoms, and insects buzz. Despite the inhospitable climate, a few Men live here permanently.[2a]

Most of these people are ethnic Ungols, but there are also Gospodar, Sarl Norscans, and even Kurgan. They are predominantly nomadic and tribal peoples, setting camp only when the snow is too deep for travel. Otherwise, they keep on the move, in part following game herds, but mostly to avoid the other wildlife -- the monsters.[2a]

Troll Country certainly lives up to its name, but there are other beasts present as well. Shaggy-haired Beastmen fight and hunt here. Winds blowing through the northern peaks give rise to abominable wolves and bears; more bizarrely, cunning two-headed foxes and fortune-telling, talking fish. Beyond these oddities are nature spirits, grim entities of snow and biting wind, tenacious Wood Sprites, and the elusive flower spirits of summer.[2a]

Despite this diversity, Trolls still dominate here, especially in the far north where Throgg, the Troll King, keeps his court. Fortunately, it's unusual to meet more than three of them living together -- as the Ungol proverb has it, "if you see four Trolls together, one of them is dinner." Unsurprisingly, Troll Slayers are common visitors, often accompanying foolhardy traders and other travellers on risky errands. Such adventurous fools are many and varied; few venture far beyond the coast, but this is often far enough for them to experience the country's bleakness and monstrous horrors.[2a]

The seaboard is as much Troll Country as anywhere else, and the rocky coastline and salt marshes are consequently known as the "Bile Lands."[2a]

Hell Pit Hunting Grounds[]

Warhammer Troll Country Tundra

The tundra lands of the Northern Troll Country

The lands of Troll Country are a favored hunting ground for the Skaven of Clan Moulder. Here the clans gather all types of creatures to be used in their experiments. The strange home of Moulder is known as the "Hell Pit." It consists of nine levels of laboratories, a barracks, a giant colosseum hanging from chains, and a level where the ratmen's most powerful creatures are kept in pitch darkness. Here, Master Moulder use warpstone, extracted from the huge mines of the substance found in the area, in a mad combination of alchemy and genetic engineering to breed all sorts of monstrous beasts for war. To replenish their stock of mutable flesh, the Skaven of Clan Moulder will strike out into the Chaos Wastes and into Troll Country, to kidnap Northmen and Chaos Spawn already mutated by the Ruinous Powers.

The Moulder are a very wealthy clan, and rent out their beasts for other Skaven to use in battle. Their most common war-beasts are the wolf-sized Giant Rats and the enormous Rat Ogres, anthropoid vermin four times the size of a man whose massive, filthy claws can take down even a heavily armoured knight.

Inhabitants[]

The Human population of Troll Country is overwhelmingly comprised of Ungols and is mostly nomadic. Fixed settlements are targeted repeatedly by raiders while nomads can just move on. Out here, nationality is largely a matter of choice. Most Ungols and virtually all Gospodars regard themselves as Kislevites, but some do not, and the local boyars can do nothing about it. There are Norscans who live in this area year round rather than simply raiding, particularly the Sarls in the north, and they are a far more serious problem. Clans of the Aesling and Baersonling tribes can also be found respectively in the north and centre of the Troll Country.[1c][1b]

The Ungols and Gospodars out here take hospitality even more seriously than Ungols elsewhere. Anyone is welcomed, but hardly anyone is trusted. Those who prove to be friendly over time may find that, after a year or so, they are no longer attended by heavily armed hosts at all times.[1b]

Notable Locations[]

As there are very few Human settlements in Troll Country, most of the notable locations in the region take different forms.[1b]

  • Sturen Ridges - A high, elevated rocky relief located in the centre of the Troll Coutry.[1c]

Notable Rivers[]

  • River Bolensk - A river located in the middle of Troll Country.[1c]
  • River Kalti - A river of Troll Country in the west.[1c]

Notable Settlements[]

  • Hell Pit - The Hell Pit, of the most horrific of all Skaven strongholds within the northern reaches of their subterranean Under-Empire, lies in the Troll Country.[1c]
  • Leblya - One of the largest Kislevite settlements in the Troll Country and probably the most significant as it is often designated as a mustering or fall-back point for Kislevite military forces operating in the region.[1c]
  • Rose Ruins - Located between the border of Kislev proper and the Troll Country near the River Tobol,[1c] the squat stone structures of this ruined settlement seem to have been built for people a little shorter than Humans and a little taller than Dwarfs. The inhabitants dug into the ground for cellars, many of which are now collapsed, and few of the buildings seem to have had more than one storey. There are a significant number of smashed statues lying around, but it is hard to see how to put the fragments together to make any reasonable replica of what they once were. The ruins get their name from the deep red roses that grow over the stone as creepers, blooming even in the depths of winter. The thorns on these creepers are unusually long and sharp, adding an additional hazard to exploration.[1d]
  • Zamak Spayenya - A great white rock, a league or more across, rising from the steppes of the Troll Country.[1c]

Notable Inhabitants[]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen (RPG)
    • 1a: pg. 59
    • 1b: pg. 60
    • 1c: pg. 45 (Map of Kislev)
    • 1d: pg. 53
  • 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Sea of Claws (RPG)
    • 2a: pg. 34
    • 2b: pg. 35
    • 2c: pg. 36
    • 2d: pg. 37
  • 3: White Dwarf 289
    • 3a: pp. 42-45
  • 4: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
    • 4a: pg. 54
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