"What the gods gifted to me can be gifted to another. I will not be the one mind in a race of blunt, witless animals."
- —Throgg, King of the Trolls[3a]
Throgg, the King of Trolls
Throgg, called the "King of the Trolls," and also once known as "Wintertooth," is among the most unnaturally intelligent of the vile race of Trolls as a result of the gifts offered by the Chaos Gods. He is intent on bringing the mortal world under the rule of a new ice age with himself at its head.[1b]
History
"It is the hubris of men to see their own destiny in all things. Von Carstein. The Everchosen. Dead men. Exalted men. In their skin they are all still men. This... will be the Age of the Beast."
- —Throgg, King of the Trolls[3b]
Throgg in battle with Gotrek and Felix.
Even the most lackwit child knows that Trolls are grossly stupid beasts. Nonetheless, around the campfires of the north, there persist rumours that in the depths of Troll Country there is an elder beast whose mutations were not just of the body but also the mind -- a King of Trolls possessed of a grim and malevolent cunning who seeks to grind the realms of Men under his monstrous rule.[1b]
At the heart of an icy labyrinth strewn with the gnawed corpses of once-mighty heroes, Throgg, the aforementioned King of Trolls, sits brooding upon his rocky throne. No fanfare announces his arrival, no vassals pay him tithe, and no courtiers vie for his favour. His subjects are drooling, stinking monsters and his domain is a desolate and wind-whipped wasteland. A filth encrusted crown rings one of the Troll King's tusks, a once priceless heirloom taken from a great warrior whose quest led him only into Throgg's great gullet.[1b]
There was a time when Throgg was content purely with a life of hunting, raiding and killing. He led his monstrous kin in ambushes and midnight attacks, each more successful than the last. Throgg had a knack for using the harsh climate of the north as his ally, for Trolls are quite at home in the numbing cold; to them a fierce ice-shard blizzard is no more troubling than a light summer rain. Before long, the Troll King became infamous, known amongst the warriors of the Old World as "Wintertooth." Every season, great and lauded heroes would ride northwards, brave knights and adventurers, all seeking out Throgg's lair to slay him. Every season, the Troll King dined upon noble flesh.[1b]
The icon of Throgg and his Norscan Wintertooth army in Total War: Warhammer.
One moonless night, as Throgg was picking his yellowed tusks clean with a gem-encrusted blade, he beheld the broken bodies of his prey and began to think. Throgg muttered to himself, his eyes burning with cold fire for several long days. If the race of Men was so keen to fight him and his bestial subjects, then fight he would, with all the monsters of Troll Country at his side. That night, Throgg vowed that he would see the lands of Men despoiled in the name of the Dark Gods.[1b]
He would gather every monster, mutant and madman under his rule and march at the head of a nightmarish horde deep into the so-called civilised lands of the south. On his heels would come the bitter cold of winter, for where the creatures of Chaos tread, the land itself warps and changes. Throgg would bring about an age of ice and darkness and make all of the races of the Old World his slaves. Now, as the Troll King marches determinedly south, his monstrous entourage grows with every passing day. Under Throgg's dominion, the creatures of the hinterlands have united into a vast army, and soon the race of Men shall feel the wrath of the King of Trolls.[1b]
Throgg as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
In 2435 IC, the Beasts of Telldros assaulted the lair of the Troll King. They trampled his retinue and rampaged through the villages through to Winter Pyre, killing everyone in their path. Throgg was enraged, but the damage had already been done by the time he could do much about it. He instead lured the Beasts of Telldros out of his territory with living bait, in the shape of a Bray Shaman, and aimed the path of their rampage at his enemies' camps.[2]
In 2490 IC, the necromancer Hela Half-dead led a horde of shambling corpses into Troll Country, slaughtering every living thing she found. Hela's horde was eventually intercepted and torn to pieces by Throgg and an army of Trolls.[1a]
Finally, in 2517 IC, the Troll King gathered together the monsters of the north and began his promised war against the civilised world.[1a]
End Times
Praag
Throgg, King of Trolls, as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
During the End Times, around 2524 IC, Throgg took the Kislevite city of Praag from Aekold Helbrass and resisted a siege by ten armies of the Chaos forces of Archaon the Everchosen. He then gathered many wizards from various races, including Maximilian Schreiber, who was captured in Alderfen, and tasked them with creating an intelligent Troll.[3]
Max Schreiber succeeded in this, gathering the life force of every single Troll in the city through the use of the Wind of Ghyran and catalysing it with Chamon and a spark of Azyr to create a single, newborn intelligence in a Stone Troll. This left the city exposed to the besieging armies of Chaos.[3]
In the meantime, Throgg had trapped Ulrika Magdova and starved her until she gave in and drank Troll blood, turning her into a monster. Gotrek Gurnisson, Felix Jaeger and Snorri Nosebiter, who had broken into the city with her and a small warband, fought both Throgg and Ulrika in Praag's Ice Tower. Ulrika died at Felix's hands, while Throgg fell from the top of the tower as he tried to throw Gotrek off of it.[3]
Middenheim
Throgg, King of Trolls concept art created for Total War: Warhammer.
Later on, however, Throgg was magically transported to Middenheim by the Chaos Gods to defend it from the Incarnates in autumn 2528 IC, at the head of a monstrous horde of Chaos Trolls, Forsaken, Chaos Ogres, Dragon Ogres, Minotaurs, Ghorgons, a Slaughterbrute and a Chaos Giant.[4]
Archaon ordered Throgg to deploy with the Champion of Slaanesh Sigvald the Magnificent on the Great Park's overlook and guard it against Nagash's Undead forces, but Sigvald took this as an insult and attacked the Troll King soon after leaving Archaon's presence. However, Throgg was able to regenerate after what Sigvald had thought was a killing blow, and returned to the fray intent not only on crushing the Undead, but also on slaying Sigvald for his treachery.[4]
Taking advantage of the Geld-Prince's distraught state after seeing his face permanently scarred by the Wight King Krell during their combat, and his hands marred by punching his foe's skull to pieces, Throgg hit Sigvald with his stone maul, killing him instantly. As the Geld-Prince fell lifeless across Krell's body, Throgg scowled down at the pair, and then emptied his bladder across Sigvald's golden armour. Insult and treachery repaid, the King of Trolls descended deeper into the charred trees of the Great Park and went on to claim victory for the Chaos Gods. His horde then destroyed Arkhan's forces while Nagash retreated south. Throgg's final fate in the End Times is unknown.[4]
Miniatures
Trivia
Throgg's name is a play on the word trog or troglodyte, a common term to describe cave-dwelling mythological creatures. In most generic fantasy settings, trogs are often represented as primitive, brutish creatures, characterised by their low intellect and the use of stone tools.