Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning

The skinny on Thunder Mountain

Posted by Staff
Thunder Mountain, or 'Karag Dron' as it is known in the Dwarf tongue, is one of the largest and most powerful of the numerous volcanoes found in the southern reaches of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Here, the vast armies of the Dwarfs and greenskins clash in an epic battle for mastery of the region, for Thunder Mountain is equidistant from the Dwarf capital city of Karaz-a-Karak, and the greenskin-held fortress of Eight Peaks. Control of Thunder Mountain is vital to the battle plans of both sides, and the army which holds this important region will have a great advantage in the struggle for domination of the Worlds Edge Mountains.

The main warcamps of the Dwarf and greenskin armies in Thunder Mountain are in close proximity, separated from each other by Dragonsmite Ravine. The bridge connecting the two sides of the canyon was sundered long ago by the creature for which the ravine was named. Here, the Dwarf and greenskin forces remain in a constant stalemate, each side awaiting reinforcements that will enable it to vanquish the other..

On the northern side of the ravine, Hargan Hammerstriker's Dwarf encampment is under intense pressure, not just from Orcs, but also from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer. The Dwarfs have come to Thunder Mountain for two reasons: to secure the region against the coming greenskin Waaagh!, and also, following a direct order from the High King himself, to mine gromril. This valuable metal is needed for the forging of the Doomstrikers, mighty weapons that that Dwarfs hope will turn the tide of the battle against their ancestral foes.

Obeying the dictates of the mighty Warlord Grumlok, the Orcs and Goblins of the Bloody Sun Boyz draw up their plans to crush the Dwarfs and clear a path through Thunder Mountain for the great Waaagh! Gazbag, powerful Shaman and advisor to Grumlok, whispers in the Warlord’s ear that the fewer distractions the horde encounters on its march to the Dwarf capital at Karaz-a-Karak, the swifter the greenskins’ conquest of the Dwarfs will be.

West of the volcano, the ruins of Karak Palik beckon both sides. The Dwarfs are interested in securing the Runed Anvil at the center of the ruins, and the greenskins are keen on keeping swarms of stunties out of the ancient towers. Both sides are committed to securing this ancient objective no matter the cost, for the ruins represent an easily defensible position that could allow one side or the other to fortify its position and strengthen its hold on the territory.

Elsewhere, in a location long kept secret, the Dwarf Guild of Engineers maintains a workshop for the development and testing of radical new war machines. At a glance, some might say that the strange devices arrayed in this hidden ravine are little more than the mad inventions of crazed tinkerers, but if the Master Engineers who labor day and night on these peculiar engines of war can get even one of them to work properly, it might be enough to tip the balance of power in the region.

While the greenskins and Dwarfs wage their war for domination of the lands around Thunder Mountain, other foes wait and watch for an opportunity to take advantage of the conflict. Reichert’s Raiders, a nefarious group of outlaws from the Empire, have been lured to the slopes of Thunder Mountain by tales of the fabulous riches stored within two ancient Dwarf vaults abandoned long ago during the Time of Woes. Now these outlaws prey upon the Dwarfs’ supply wagons and raid their mining camps, threatening to undermine the war effort and tip the scales in the greenskins’ favor.

Enemy to both the Dwarfs and greenskins are the Drakk cultists. These humans, who have lived for generations in the barren wastes that surround the great volcano, worship the ancient Dragon that once dwelt there. When the armies of the Orcs and Dwarfs clash perilously near to their homes, the cultists hire a great Ogre Chieftain named Tuff Gutbash for protection. With the Gutbash clan at their side, the cultists present a real threat to both sides in the conflict.

With its rivers of molten lava, pits filled with choking sulfurous gas and broken landscape of jagged black rock, Thunder Mountain is a fitting backdrop for the conflict that now rages on its slopes. The landscape is harsh, unforgiving and lethal, much like the warriors of the Dwarf and greenskin armies who wage a bloody battle here. The stakes are high – the victor in Thunder Mountain will open the route of invasion to the enemy capital, and perhaps strike the decisive blow that will decide the outcome of the war between the forces of Order and Destruction.