Trondhammen

Trondhammen was once a major human kingdom during the Age of Wonders. By the era of Under the Bus, the city had become the capital of the orc empire, one of the most significant centers of orc power in the region. The surviving human settlements were scattered across the broken lands, while Toreon had become the only major human city remaining from the old human kingdoms.

The surviving sources do not provide much detail about Trondhammen during the Age of Wonders itself. What is clear is that it was important enough to be described as a major human kingdom in its own right. The later history of the city is dominated by the orc occupation and the war to reclaim it.

The Orc Empire

By the time of Under the Bus, Trondhammen was the capital of the orc empire. Orcs had established a significant enough presence there that the city became the primary target of a major military campaign by the Knights of Demmazon.

The orc presence extended beyond the city itself. Orc forces operated throughout the surrounding lands, including raids against supply lines serving the advancing human armies. At one point, the party encountered an orc force attacking a supply caravan belonging to the Knights. The surviving Knights explained that the orcs had a hidden base somewhere in the northern region from which they were conducting these raids.

The Crusade

The Knights of Demmazon spearheaded a crusade against the orcs of Trondhammen. The Knights actively recruited people to join the campaign, including attempting to conscript the party. Their stated goal was to strike against the orcs and potentially eliminate their presence in Trondhammen entirely.

The campaign became large enough that The Chosen committed substantial forces to it as well. Effron explained that many of the Chosen's military and exploration personnel had gone west to join the crusade, leaving the organization shorthanded at the Tower of Plinth.

The crusade was ultimately successful. The orcs were defeated, their strength was broken, and the surviving forces fled into the surrounding mountains. The Knights left a token force behind to hold the mountain pass. The victory came at a considerable cost to the city itself, however: Trondhammen was totally destroyed during the fighting.

The Ruins

By the end of the crusade, Trondhammen no longer existed as an intact city. The surviving sources describe it simply as totally destroyed, with the remaining orc forces driven into the mountains. The Knights maintained a small force to hold the pass and prevent the defeated orcs from returning.

The destruction of Trondhammen marks the end of the city's role as the capital of the orc empire. The sources do not establish what, if anything, remained of its original human architecture after the crusade, nor do they provide a detailed description of the city's layout before its destruction.

The Road to Trondhammen

An old road once connected Trondhammen and Toreon. During the Under the Bus campaign, the road was still in use despite having fallen into poor repair.

The party encountered the road while traveling toward Toreon after helping defend a Knights of Demmazon supply caravan. The road's age and condition made clear that it was a remnant of the older connection between the two major cities. By this point, however, Trondhammen was occupied by the orcs and the road primarily served the scattered farms and smaller communities that remained along the route to Toreon.

Historical Significance

Trondhammen represents one of the major transformations of the world following the Fall of the Age of Wonders.

It began as a major human kingdom, became the capital of an expanding orc empire, and ultimately became the objective of a major crusade that destroyed the city itself. Its destruction occurred during the lifetime of the Under the Bus generation, making it one of the significant political and military events of that campaign.

Unlike Toreon, which survived the Fall and grew into the dominant human power of the region, Trondhammen did not survive as a functioning city. Its destruction effectively removed the principal center of organized orc power in the region, although surviving orc forces remained in the mountains after the crusade.

What Is Not Established

The available campaign material does not establish:

• The precise borders or political structure of the original human kingdom of Trondhammen.
• The city's population during the Age of Wonders.
• Its architecture or major landmarks before the Fall.
• The exact circumstances by which the city passed from human to orc control.
• The precise date or circumstances of the orc conquest.
• The detailed course of the crusade beyond the information recorded above.
• What ultimately happened to the surviving orcs who fled into the mountains.