"I was out of gold and could not pay the rest of my men. Then the huge and foul smelling Troll, Gorskull, threw his heavy bag of gold at me with an angry grunt. The extra rations went to the Trolls as payment, and I used the gold to pay the rest of my men, preventing a riot."
- —Darius Cutthroat, Mercenary General[1a]
Troll are hulking, extremely powerful creatures able to crush men like plump grapes while their ability to regenerate damaged flesh makes them extremely difficult to slay. Judging from such an impressive description, one might think Trolls to be the ultimate troops; strong limbs combined with thick, tough hides. However, in the case of Trolls, their strong stature comes with a heavy price. Trolls are very stupid creatures indeed. Most can hardly speak apart from a few barely recognisable grunts. Trolls are very slow-witted animals and possess little cunning but vast appetites. Only the Orcs are reckless enough to use Trolls in battle and they take extreme care to ensure that their charges are well fed lest they eat their owners! Gorskull, Limbcrusher of the Grey Mountains, is a total anomaly and proved to be the single exception.[1a]
History[]
"Fer hire we ez Trollz wez woerk fer chow! So hire us"
- —Gorskull 's manifest.[1a]
Gorskull's past can be traced back to an Orc raid on the Bretonnian city of Parravon, which lies in the western boarder of the Grey Mountains. The Orc chieftain Bogbad Borblod and his Orcs persuaded Gorskull and his fellow Trolls to join in on the raid by promising them one hundred barrels of ale, in addition to allowing the hungry Trolls to devour over forty Goblins as down payment.
As it turned out, the town of Parravon (considered one of the more resourceful towns of Bretonnia) was prepared for the marauding Orcs and after several hours of heartened resistance the Knights drove the Orcs back into the mountains. Gorskull demanded that his Trolls still be compensated for joining the failed raid. Bogbad disagreed arguing that they would only be given the barrels of ale if the raid was successful. The Orc chieftain also pointed out if Gorskull and his Trolls fought as hard as his Orcs the raid would have been a success. Without warning Gorskull, now angry as a wild hornet, grabbed Bogbad by the neck and tored his head from his broad shoulders.[1a]
The other Orcs were quite impressed with Gorskull's retaliation and chose Gorskull to lead the next raid on Parravon. This time the raid was a success and Gorskull and his Trolls made off with plenty of ale and tasty captives.[1a]
After his experience with Bogbad's Orcs, Gorskull seemed to understand the concept of working for hire, and since, has led his band of mercenary Trolls throughout the Old World travelling as far as Tilea and the Mountains of Mourn in the far east. Mercenary Generals are eager to hire the War Trolls of the Grey Mountains as they work only for ale and any type of food they can get (though Halfling flesh is their favourite), rather then working for gold.[1a]
Gorskull and his Trolls are currently employed by the infamous Hobgoblin mercenary, Ghazak Khan. Under Ghazak's cunning leadership Gorskull's War Trolls have had many opportunities to pillage cities and towns for tender flesh and rich ale.[1a]
Appearance[]
Gorskull and the War Trolls wear huge iron-spiked pads on their shoulders and bash their enemies with a variety of chain-mailed fists, tree trunks and clubs. The skin colour of the War Trolls takes the appearance of slimy green hues. Gorskull wears a skull-mitt fastened to his right fist.[1a]
Magic Items[]
- Skull Mitt - After slaying the Ore Chieftain Bogbad Borblod, Gorskull skinned the flesh from Bogbad's skull and (after eating it) tied the Orc skull to his right fist. The skull seems to carry good luck to the one who wear it.[1a]