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.
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.
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.