INTRO - Sons of Hashut
On the eastern expanse of the Worlds Edge Mountains lies a bleak and barren land of darkness filled with marauding tribes of Orcs, Goblins and worse, known simply as the Dark Lands. Stretched throughout several leagues in a crest of magma is a horrific realm of cruel torture and wicked malice, the Plain of Zharr. It is here where the corrupted counterparts of the Dwarf Empire, known as Chaos Dwarfs, use their knowledge of science, engineering and wicked sorcery to serve their chaotic deity, Hashut, Father of Darkness, through unspeakable acts, heinous sacrificial rituals and callous evils.
The Chaos Dwarfs are a vile black-hearted race, forever waging war in their relentless search for victims to enslave. Shrouded by the smoke of a thousand forges, the foul empire of the Chaos Dwarfs lies deep inside the Dark Lands. Far below the bitter earth, the tortured slaves labor in chains, endlessly seeking out precious metals and minerals for their evil masters' plans.
LORE OF HASHUT
Attribute: Killing Fire: The flame of Hashut kindles best in living flesh, and always hungers to destroy. If a magic missile or direct damage spell from the Lore of Hashut is targeted on organic matter, it becomes even more powerful. When used against a flammable target, odds are good the target will not survive.
Breath of Hatred: The sorcerer's malice infects his chosen allies like an insidious malady, spurring them on to ever-greater depths of cruelty and savagery. An augment spell that affects a single unit at 200 meters (or multiple units for increased effort). The effected unit(s) are filled with a burning, all consuming hatred.
Burning Wrath: The sorcerer calls on the fires of the deep earth and conjures forth a torrent of burning lava to immolate their enemies. Fire a bolt of lava 100 meters. The heat of the lava can be increased to even greater heights, but this takes more effort.
Dark Subjugation: Invoking the power of Hashut, lord of tyranny, the sorcerer wields their master's darkly malignant force to crush the will of their foes. Has a range of 300 meters to 1 kilometer (depending on magic and effort) and pits the sorcerer's will against his opponent. If his opponent win, the sorcerer suffers a psychic backlash. If he fails, his will becomes that of the sorcerer until he can either break free, dies, or the sorcerer is killed/lets him go.
Curse of Hashut: Channeling the malediction that inflicts his own twisted body, the sorcerer turns the dark curse of Hashut on others, causing their bones to petrify and their flesh to grow brittle and crumble to dust. Has a range of 300 meters. Works better on fleshy weaker units then on tough heavily armored ones (though they can still be effected, it just takes more effort).
Ash Storm: The sorcerer calls down a hellish storm of choking hot ash, scalding and blinding anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. Has a range of 300 meters to 1 kilometer. Works well on grounding fliers.
Hell Hammer: The sorcerer manifests the power of Hashut as a thunderous ram of roiling energy in the shape of an immense burning black hammer or a monstrous bull's head, which they can unleash across the battlefield with crushing force. Has a range up to 18 meters (though this can be doubled with additional effort). All units in that line are struck with the force of a cannonball.
Flames of Azgorh: Fire leaps from, the sorcerer's eyes and mouth as they call upon the most terrible incantations and destruction, the ground cracking open and boiling magma exploding forth in a devastating eruption at their word. Has a range of line-of-sight. At a point of the Sorcerer's choosing, a 3 meter hole opens up, and spews hot magma into the sky to rain down on the surrounding area. A larger, 5 meter hole may be opened, but this takes more effort.
RECON
The primary scouts of the Chaos Dwarfs are the Wolf Raiders of the Hobgoblin tribes. These creatures report back to Chaos Dwarf masters, who use that information to plan accordingly. Alternatively, they can use the dark magic of Hashut to try and divine visions to aid them.
PRIMARY UNITS
Mobility: 3
Training: 4
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
There are relatively few Chaos Dwarfs. The vast numbers of slaves who toil in the Tower of Zharr- Naggrund and in the Plain of Zharrduk outnumber them many times over. All the Chaos Dwarfs belong to one of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers, they are his subjects and also his kinsmen, bonded by ties of blood-loyalty which all Chaos Dwarfs deem unbreakable. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs scour the Dark Lands searching for captives to bring back to Zharr-Naggrund to work in the mines and forges, or to sacrifice at the Temple of Hashut.
Chaos Dwarf Warriors are broad, strong and resilient as only dwarfs can be. The harsh industrial environment and the doom that hangs over their race makes all Dawi Zharr grim in appearance and attitude. Without knowing the real reasons why, outsiders often consider them extremely inhospitable and depressing company. All Chaos Dwarfs warriors will be required at various times to spend many years away from home guarding Zharr-Naggrund against the dark threat. By keeping the warriors in this levy system, it hardens them and continually hones their skills so that when they return to their homes they will be ready to answer a call to war. It also provides a standing army that is greater in size than many of their enemies would expect.
Chaos Dwarfs are implacable on the march, and wage war with ruthless ferocity as they fight to save their race or defend the empire. They are trained to fight as one, forming shield walls where possible for their enemies to break upon.
Offense: Hammers and Maces, and using shields in combat.
Defense: Shields, and a thick heavy suit of armor formed of Blackshard, something that can only be made in the blighted land of the Chaos Dwarves. It is quite durable, even by the standards of other heavy armors. It is forged with hellfire and blood, stronger than mere steel and phenomenally resistant to the effects of fire and heat.
Special: Shieldwall: Enough warriors standing together can form a shieldwall. This is a favored tactic of the Chaos Dwarfs.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: Chaos Dwarfs fight with grim malice and determination, and are reluctant to abandon their positions on the battlefield.
-Relentless: Chaos Dwarfs are implacable and relentless when on the attack, and are scornful of the ability of anyone or anything to stop them.
-Contempt: Chaos Dwarfs despise all other forms of life and hold them to nothing more than contemptible fodder to be exploited and disposed of as needed. They expect their 'lessors' to show cowardice and weakness in battle and be restrained only through fear. As a result, they will not panic even as friendly units are destroyed or flee around them.
-The acquisition of slaves is of paramount importance to the Chaos Dwarfs. Their warriors are at the forefront of any major raid to achieve this goal, and most forays they undertake beyond the borders of the Dark Lands are in furtherance of this, rather than far conquest. The more captives a raid brings back, the more successful it is judged, and the greater prestige and honor is accorded, not only on the raid's leaders, but to each Chaos Dwarf warrior in measure to their station. Only by such vile endeavors can advancement be gained and ambition satiated. All wars of conquest are fought with the aim of taking slaves; the Chaos Dwarfs are not interested in expanding their territories further, for the Mountains of Mourn and the Plain of Zharrduk contain all the wealth that they require.
Mobility: 3
Training: 4
Max Range: Blunderbuss
Preferred Range: ^^
Those Chaos Dwarf regiments armed with Blunderbusses are called Devastators. This weapon was one of the first black powder weapons designed by the Chaos Dwarfs as a means of controlling rioting slaves. Like many weapons they possess, it has the potential to suppress large numbers of enemies with relatively few Chaos Dwarfs. For this reason the basic design has changed very little over the centuries as it has more than proved its effectiveness. The Devastators will traditionally always craft their own weapon. Being highly skilled in designing and maintaining their weapons, it is a great source of rivalry to develop minor improvements and show their effects on the battlefield.
Wielded by trained marksmen who serve as guards or slavers, blunderbusses were developed due to a need to hit as many targets as possible with as few Chaos Dwarfs as possible. They also present the ability to maim rather than kill opponents, leaving them as potential slaves.
Offense: Blunderbuss: The Blunderbuss uses a gunpowder charge to fire shards of spiked iron at the enemy, although it can also fire hot coals, lead shot, pieces of scrap metal, and even stones if need be. The weapon is so robustly made that it can be loaded with far more powder and shot than a simple handgun, and its effect is quite different. When a Blunderbuss regiment fires a volley the whole zone to its front is filled with spinning razor sharp pieces of iron which spread out covering a broad front.
Devastators are also quite skilled at hand to hand combat.
Defense: See Chaos Warriors
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-The range of a Blunderbuss is not as great as other firearms.
Mobility: 4
Training: 2
Max Range: Bow
Preferred Range: Behind the Target
Arguably the vilest and most treacherous of all the Goblin and Orc kin, Hobgoblins are taller and leaner than ordinary Goblins, yet nowhere near as burly and brutal as Orcs. In fact, their whole appearance is emaciated and vicious - with narrow eyes and sneering mouths full of pointed teeth that smile moon-wide in an idiotic grin at the merest suggestion of sadistic violence in the offing. The Chaos Dwarfs long ago realized the Hobgoblins were a servile, craven, malevolent and generally despised race, and so adopted the Hobgoblins of the Dark Lands as eminently suitable lackeys and disposable minions - in particular as slave masters, overseers, tribute collectors, and even when pressed, as warriors. Hobgoblins are universally loathed by other greenskins, and only their relentless, twitchy vigilance and the protective shadow of their masters stops the other Orc and Goblin slaves from tearing them apart.
Offense: Hobgoblins working for the Chaos Dwarfs use razor sharp curved blades - excellent for stabbing foes in the back with. However, if given the choice (and they rarely are), they use crude bows and arrows.
Defense: Only what they've managed to steal from previous battles, though this is often heavily battle-damaged and of questionable effectiveness.
Additional Factors:
-Hobgoblins are viewed as cannon fodder by the Chaos Dwarfs, sent in mass to make up for their varied effectiveness, and usually expected to die more often then not.
-The Chaos Dwarfs know that the Hobgoblins are despised by other greenskins, and that they need the protection of the Chaos Dwarfs to survive.
-After a battle, those that survive will pillage the battlefield for weapons and armor.
-Of all Goblin kind Hobgoblins are rightly regarded as the most devious, cowardly, treacherous and outright murderous, and are utterly distrusted by just about anyone with half a working brain.
Mobility: 4
Training: 4
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Orcs recruited or captured from tribes in the Mountains of Mourn are used as slaves and warriors throughout the Chaos Dwarf empire. The brute strength and toughness of Orcs means they are ideally suited for work in the pits of Zharrduk or the Chaos Dwarf armies.
Orcs love nothing better than to fight, being happy to meet their end in battle so long as they get a chance for a good scrap. When not actually at war, Orcs will attempt to spend all their time fighting each other. To prevent this, once a campaign is over the Chaos Dwarfs will quickly disband the Orc units and put them back to work in the furnaces and mines of the realm.
Offense: Large swords (or 'Choppas'), clubs, or sheer brute strength
Defense: Varies depending on what the Chaos Dwarfs are willing to give them. May be chainmail, leather, or nothing. Usually a shield is given, and it doubles as both defense and a weapon to bash heads with!
Additional Factors:
-Orcs are very rowdy and a bit too eager to fight. They must be constantly observed when not in combat, lest they start a fight with each other or their owners.
Mobility: 4
Training: 3
Max Range: Bow & Arrow
Preferred Range: Melee
Most numerous of all the slaves held captive by the Chaos Dwarfs are Goblins. Vast numbers are taken from tribes surrounding the Chaos Dwarf empire every year. Once caught by the fearsome Chaos Dwarf slave masters, there can be little hope of escape. Where possible, Goblin tribes will try and barter for their freedom using captive Dwarfs and Men taken from the Old World as their currency.
The only escape offered to Goblins from their toil in the pits of Zharrduk is to be recruited into one of the many bands or armies of Chaos Dwarfs roaming the Dark Lands. Goblins are used by Chaos Dwarfs to fill out the army and are often driven in huge mobs towards the enemy battle lines where they are used to tire the foe and blunt his attack.
Offense: Swords, Axes, maybe Bow & Arrow
Defense: Leather, Chainmail, whatever they've managed to steal basically.
Additional Factors:
-Chaos Dwarfs expect most of them to die in battle, so they aren't that worried if the Goblins start panicking or dying in high numbers.
LINE-BREAKERS
Mobility: 3
Training: 6
Max Range: Shouting
Preferred Range: Melee
The Acolytes of Hashut consists of elite fighting units of religious fanatics among the Dawi Zharr, equivalent to the Knightly Orders of the Empire or the Ironbreakers of the Dwarfs. Over the ages there have been many Chaos Dwarfs who have chosen to follow the path of the warrior priest. These individuals spend their lives in study, prayer, and martial training within the temple complexes. Occasionally they are called forth to battle or summoned to undertake tests of faith so that they may truly be considered among the chosen of Hashut.
On the battlefield the Brotherhood is a force to be reckoned with. Carrying deadly halberds that have been blessed with arcane rituals, and roaring prayers as they smash into the enemy lines, they bring death and destruction in the name of Hashut.
Offense: Halberds that have been blessed by Hashut.
Defense: Blackshard Armor
Special: Dirges of Hashut: By belting one of these prayers, an Acolyte may call upon their god to affect the battlefield. These Dirges affect all friendly units that can hear them.
-Dirge of Fury: The unit is filled with a great hatred for non-Chaos Dwarf life.
-Dirge of Brutality: The unit's attacks are more well timed, each swing of an axe taking a life rather then just causing damage.
-Dirge of Defiance: The unit gains a potent magical forcefield.
Special: Fell Icon: Sometimes, as a demonstration of devotion to their transformed ancestors, Acolytes of Hashut will carry a Petrified Sorcerer into battle, carried on a dais in a manner similar to how a Sorcerer's Palanquin is carried while he lives. The Petrified Sorcerers are transfixed at the final moment of their horrifying transformation into stone, and their faces betray their terror - most Petrified Sorcerers have faces frozen into a state of pain and dread. As such, they are a grotesque symbol of Chaos Dwarf devotion to the Father of Darkness and enemies tremble when confronted with them.
A squad of Acolytes carrying a Petrified Sorcerer are more resolute, and gain a more potent magic resistance. In addition, their presence causes fear in their enemies.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-They are formed into seven different cabals, each venerating a different aspect of Hashut, as represented by his daemon children. Each of these serves the High Sorcerer-Prophet of their cabal. There is an eighth cabal, formed of the absolute veterans of each of the other seven that venerates Hashut in all his glory. This cabal acts as bodyguards to the High Prophet of the time.
Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Among the warrior castes of the Chaos Dwarfs, there are those who revel in direct brutality far more than others. These Zealot Berzerkers, as they are called, worship Hashut through the spillage of blood, and work themselves into a frenzy before going into battle with the use of potent drugs mixed with blood.
On the battlefield, Zealot Berzerkers are veritable whirlwinds of destruction, swinging their twin axes in wide arcs with no regard for their own safety. To fall in battle is the only death thinkable for a Zealot Berzerker, and their only goal is to bring as many foes with them as possible.
Offense: A double-headed battle-axe in each hand.
Defense: None
Special: Mark of Hashut: Zealot Berzerkers usually brand their skin with white hot irons in the shapes and symbols of Hashut to show their fealty to him. This is extremely painful, and screaming is a sign of weakness - anyone who does so will keep being branded until he get used to the pain, or dies from his injuries. These brands grant the Berzerker a potent magical forcefield and a minor resistance to flaming attacks.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-When not battling their foes, they fight themselves in gruesome arenas in the lower levels beneath the temple of Hashut. Apart from honing their skills and quenching their thirst for battle, this is also a way to root out those not strong enough to serve Hashut in its most glorious way - death. Those who survive these arena fights are given the privilege to die in the name of Hashut, slaughtering his foes in bloodied displays of affection - a great honor to any true believer of the God of Darkness.
-There is no rationale behind the Berzerker's rampage. There is no strategy. It's just a frenzied state of murderous fury until they either kill everything around them or die.
Mobility: 6
Training: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Warped and malign creatures, Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaurs are, as their name suggests, twisted amalgams of Chaos Dwarf and ferocious bull in aspect, the unnatural fusion creating hulking, monstrous beasts far larger than either and filled with cannibalistic appetites. Many centuries ago, during the Time of Chaos, a fraction of those that survived the onslaught became horrifically mutated, their stubborn Dwarf resistance to the warping taint was overwhelmed utterly by the awful energies to which they were subjected, and so the first Bull Centaurs were born. They came to serve their wider kin as shock troops and temple guardians, and to them was entrusted the protection of the sacred fires of Hashut, as they more than any other had been twisted into the closest semblance of the Father of Darkness' image.
Offense: A large battle-axe. They can also trample enemies to death beneath their hooves.
Defense: A Shield, Plate Armor. They also are more durable then other Chaos Dwafs, as their skin has the consistency of metal, which only grows harder as they age.
Special: Variant: Taur'ruks: Massive and ancient, they are commanders of the Chaos Dwarf legions and heralds of Hashut. In battle these strapping monstrosities lead entire battalions of Bull Centaurs in an unstoppable onslaught of trampling hooves and steel wielding sinew.
Additional Factors:
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-As they age, their flesh hardens and distorts almost to the consistency of a living metal, and rather than heal naturally from injuries, they must instead rely upon their Sorcerer-masters to repair their wounds with poultices of molten mercury, steel sutures and brazen splints.
-Although as keen-witted and intelligent as their Chaos Dwarf brethren and utterly devoted to the worship of Hashut, their Father of Darkness, they are even swifter to anger, and are often otherwise preoccupied with a great hunger for flesh. A good number of the slave-sacrifices bound for Hashut's temples will actually be rent apart, limb-from-limb at the Bull Centaurs' holy feasts, as while slave meat is a common fare for the Chaos Dwarfs, the Bull Centaurs prefer their meals both alive and screaming.
-Into each successive generation of Chaos Dwarfs a handful of new "blessed" kin has been born - usually to the death of their unfortunate dams, and such children are given over immediately to the Sorcerers to serve in turn. This number however has not proven enough, and Hashut's inventive priesthood have wielded their dark arts to make more, tampering with their offspring using horrific magics, and even fusing them into frameworks of metal and daemon-tainted flesh to swell the ranks of their temple guardians.
Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Certain arcane lore and blasphemous histories state apocryphally that many centuries ago the dark arts of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers sought to create a new breed of slave by means of blood magic and infernal power. They already of course possessed tens of thousands of Orc and Goblin slaves, but at best they were unruly, fractious and inefficient, lacking the useful intelligence of humans or the sheer stamina of Ogres. The new breed were to be powerful warriors in battle and able workers in the most hostile parts of their benighted realm, inferior to their masters and obedient to their will, but superior in every regard from the common Orc stock from which they were created.
The great experiment worked at first, but the Chaos Dwarfs soon came to realize that their very Orc breed, dark-hued and hulking, while both far tougher and stronger than their slave stock, were able to think too independently to make good slaves. Indeed their steadiness of will and brutal clarity of purpose compared to common Orcs was cause for concern, and not long after their numbers swelled and spread, these "Black Orcs" began to revolt, and even organize other Greenskins into obeying their will rather than that of their Chaos Dwarf masters. Some believe that it is - in "refining" the Black Orcs, the Chaos Dwarfs had also unwittingly concentrated the Orc's own bellicose nature and love of battle to un-tameable heights, while some suggest that something of the arrogant desire to dominate and destroy that festered in the hearts of the Chaos Dwarfs themselves had somehow transferred and taken root in their progeny. In any case, the Chaos Dwarfs were soon troubled by revolt after revolt, and were beset on all sides by a powerful and deadly enemy of their own creation. In the greatest and final revolt, near-civil war broke out, the Chaos Dwarfs besieged with their own weapons and Zharr-Naggrund itself became a battleground. The Dawi-Zharr hovered on the precipice of destruction, until aided by the perfidious treachery of the Hobgoblins against their kin, the Black Orcs were finally defeated and cast out and driven from the Chaos Dwarf empire at great cost. The experiment has never been repeated. The Chaos Dwarfs destroyed many Black Orcs, but left small tribes free to roam the mountains so that they could recruit them later as troops in their armies. A few remain in the service of the Masters of Zharr-Naggrund, though they are not permitted to enter the city itself.
Offense: Black Orcs prefer to carry two weapons rather then a shield, so they can attack the enemy more. Their strength allows them to carry what would be, for most, two handed weapons in one hand. So a Black Orc can go into battle with a great sword in each hand, or a pair of massive battle-axes, or really anything they want because who's going to tell them no? You? They'd like to see you try…
Defense: Metal plates hammered into their skin, typically stolen from the Chaos Dwarfs but occasionally given over in exchange for fighting.
Additional Factors:
-Black Orcs have skin which is black or extremely dark green. Black Orcs are bigger than normal Orcs and pride themselves on being the best fighters of the Orc and Goblin races. They take war much more seriously than other Orcs.
-Black Orcs don't feel fear, and once they set their mind to something, they are unlikely to change it.
Mobility: 4
Training: NA (No will of its own, see Daemonsmith)
Max Range: Several Meters
Preferred Range: Melee
Chaos Dwarfs are arrogant, malign and paranoid beings who will bend their knee to none but their Father of Darkness, Hashut. The desires of their Sorcerers and Daemonsmiths are for power and domination, and for weapons and soldiers that will make them invincible - and it is from this desire that the K'daai Zharr - the scions of fire, were born. Rather than summon Daemons all but uncontrolled as a human sorcerer might or parley bargains with the greater fiends of Chaos, priests of Hashut have long sought to enslave the Daemon they summon by binding it into weapons and armor, war machines and constructs, thus harnessing and controlling them to the Sorcerer's will and giving them form. With the K'daai they have sought to do something more, to create a race of beings, half-daemon stuff and half-raging fire drawn from the magma of the deep earth and birthed in the boiling blood of Hashut's burning sacrifices, given form and contained within an armored framework of articulated iron and rune-stamped bronze.
The High Priests of Hashut have succeeded almost too well in the K'daai, for they are almost mindless, elemental forces of destruction, and need to be laid to rest as cold and silent metal until they are required in battle, where they burn bright and terrible, but briefly. The K'daai are devastating shock troops, but fractious and difficult to control, and as the destructive energies contained within them slowly exhaust themselves, they burn through the binding rituals placed upon the entity within, slowly bringing about their destruction. As such their use is confined, and between battles they slumber as cold frameworks of barbed iron, awaiting the rituals of blood and fire that awaken them to slaughter.
Offense: Any unit that gets close to a K'daai (friend or foe) except another K'daai will begin to burn from the sheer heat given off by the monster. A K'daai can hold no weapon, as it doesn't take long before they melt in their touch. As such, their bodies are forged as weapons. Long claws, serrated blades or hammers as part of their arms, each super-heated and cursed by unholy magics.
Defense: Their bodies give off such heat that just getting near them is a trial. Their actual bodies are the toughest irons given life by a bound fire daemon and moved by the will of a Demonsmith. They can take a staggering amount of damage to put down.
Additional Factors:
-Burning Bright: Once unleashed the power of the K'daai's sorcerous fire is so great that it consumes even itself eventually and destroys the bindings holding them in shape. There's no way to tell how long a K'daai will last, but at some point, they will simply burn themselves out, and collapse as empty suits of iron, and will need to go through the ritual again to re-summon them.
-Legendarily Rare: Only the greatest of the Sorcerer-Prophets are able to forge these monsters of metal and flame, and the process is both costly and arduous in the extreme. This limits their number, making them almost the stuff of legend. But with the dark imaginings and limits of deadly craftsmanship the only end to the terrible forms a K'daai can be fashioned and shaped into, there have been those of Hash priesthood who have met their cursed doom early, as the power required to make their glorious vision real has slipped from their grasp.
Mobility: 3
Training: 4
Max Range: Several Meters
Preferred Range: ^^
The Whirlwind is a two-wheeled push-cart with spikes fixed to the front and scythes protruding from the wheels. Three rotating flails and three rotating scythes are mounted on the front, and are driven by means of cogs and gears linked to the axle. The flails and scythes therefore only rotate while the cart is being pushed. The Whirlwind is principally a device for breaking up and smashing through solid formations of troops. Should the device succeed, it may proceed to engage other targets beyond. Several of these devices may form up in a unit to create a combined attack.
The Tenderizer is a variant of the Whirlwind. Its axle is linked by gears to three enormous concussive implements. As the device is pushed forward these implements batter and crush foes in its path. It operates in a similar way to the Whirlwind except that the nature of the damage inflicted is different.
Offense: See Description
Defense: Wood and Metal
Additional Factors:
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
RAPID RELIEF
Mobility: 5
Training: 4
Max Range: Bow & Arrow
Preferred Range: Melee
Some Chaos Dwarf armies also employ bodies of giant wolf mounted Hobgoblin Raiders as scouts and light cavalry in battle. These are commonly drawn from the more nomadic Hobgoblin tribes from the east of the Mountains of Mourn and isolated bands which roam the fringes-of the southern Dark Lands. They are lured into service with the Chaos Dwarfs as mercenaries, but their new lords treat them as no bitter than slaves regardless. These raiders, all bandits and robbers by disposition, are if anything, even less reliable than their footslogging kin - their mounts allowing them to flee with much greater speed when the need arises. This tendency is however outweighed somewhat by their usefulness as skirmishers and foragers, particularly to Chaos Dwarf slave-raiding expeditions who must travel far and wide often into unfamiliar and hostile lands.
When the legions of the Chaos Dwarfs go to war, small bands of Hobgoblin Wolf Riders accompany them. Using the swiftness of their wolf mounts, the Hobgoblins target weak or isolated enemies to prey upon and surround their enemies while firing volleys of barbed arrows. After a victory, the Hobgoblin Wolf Riders give chase to their defeated adversaries, harrying them while shouting insults and flailing their weapons as their foes retreat.
Offense: Bows & Arrows for ranged, curved blades and long spears for melee.
Defense: Leather is most common, but Hobgoblins may have stolen other armor to use as well.
Special: Mount: Giant Wolf: Giant Wolves are the most common predator found in the steppes. They come in a myriad of colors and shapes, particularly those that have been domesticated by Hobgoblins for many generations. Giant Wolves serve as the mounts for Hobgoblins much as horses do for humans and you can be certain that in any Hobgoblin army worth its salt one will find hundreds of Giant Wolves being ridden to battle.
The malign demeanor of these great wolves means that they share a kindred spirit with the sinister disposition of Hobgoblins and Goblins. They are natural companions for those that plunder and pillage, slaughter and slay, and so over the centuries Hobgoblins and Giant Wolves have created an alliance of convenience. The Hobgoblins ride atop the feral wolves scouting out settlements to raze and encircling confined foes with their vast speed. In return, the Hobgoblins provide their lupine steeds with fresh meats and sufficient shelter.
Additional Factors:
-Can act as scouts
-Cowardly Despoilers: Hobgoblins care nothing for fighting fairly, always seeking to take advantage of their foes in any given situation. Why risk one's life by meeting the enemy head on, when it's much safer to plunge a knife in their backs instead?
-Ded Shooty: The hobgoblin armies of the great Hobgobla Khan primarily consist of a vast horde of Hobgoblins riding giant wolves. The constant wars of the hobgoblins and the experience gained in fighting in the lands of the east have allowed them to excel at mounted archery, able to maintain a great deal of accuracy (for a Hobgoblin that is!) even while on the move.
SHOCK & AWE
Spear Chukkas
Mobility: 2
Training: 3
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Artillery
The most common war machine Hobgoblins construct is the potent spear chukka - a giant, lever-operated bow that fires huge bolts capable of penetrating deep into ranked formations of troops, skewering masses of soldiers at once or even dispatching a large beast in a single deadly shot. Artillery is not well suited to the Hobgoblin style of warfare, but some of the larger tribes do make use of large bolt throwers, hammered together from wood and metal, and mounting a specially modified spear or harpoon.
Offense: See Description
Defense: See Description
Additional Factors:
-The nomadic lifestyle of Hobgoblins means that they don't invest much in war machines. Even Goblins seem to be more clever than their larger cousins when it comes to creating and operating the complicated mechanics of machinery and only those that have spent a great deal of time with the Chaos Dwarfs seem to be able to operate most war machines. However, every Khan finds himself in need of the devastating hit that such machines can deliver. Hobgoblin Khans find that Speak Chukkas are easy enough for his boyz to operate, and perhaps more important, they can be deconstructed, transported in pieces light enough to be pulled by a wolf and cart, and quickly reassembled when they are needed. Thus though Speak Chukkas may be the only war machine that one commonly sees among Hobgoblin armies, it has become quite common place for almost all Hobgoblin Khans to have a couple at their disposal simply out of practical necessity. They are often crudely constructed and often don't last too many battles, however, as Hobgoblins are quite proficient at hitting targets with them and they usually turn out to be more than worth the effort it takes to construct new ones.
Mobility: 3
Training: NA (No will of its own, see Daemonsmith)
Max Range: Several Hundred Meters
Preferred Range: Melee
K'daai Destroyers are massive constructs created in the form of mighty warriors or iron beasts, such as gargantuan bulls and other nightmarish creatures, awakened by mass blood sacrifice and let loose upon the enemy.
K'daai Destroyers are singular constructs, fashioned to the desires and diabolical whims of the Daemonsmiths and Sorcerer-Prophets that forge them in Hashut's deadly fires. Accordingly although all are large and bestial, some may be created in the image of a great bull, another a Rhinox or even a dragon or some twisted creature conjured from the dark imagination of its creator. All however are beasts of blackened and jagged metal suffused with glowing runes of binding and alive with hellish flame.
Offense: The heat given off by a Destroyer is even greater then that of a normal K'daai. Their bodies are usually forged with weapons (or rather, their body IS the weapon), with claws, or teeth or whatever strange appendages their creator thinks to give them.
Defense: Super-Heat, enough to melt enemy weapons and armor just by being near it. It is also made to be thicker and more durable then normal K'daai.
Special: Upgrades: K'daai Destroyers can be made with any of the following upgrades, if their creators are willing to put in the extra work and sacrifices.
-Razor Horns: Fashioned in the shape of a bull or Minotaur, the charge of the K'daai Destroyer can shatter a hillside.
-Gore Blades: The Destroyer's body is covered in barbs and blades, making it almost impossible to attack in close combat without an enemy being cut to shreds in the attempt.
-Brazen Wings: The K'daai Destroyer has been outfitted with brazen wings infused with sorcery and the blood of a Great Taurus slain in ritual supplication to Hashut, Father of Darkness. This allows the Destroyer to fly, and give it a Fire-Breath Weapon.
Additional Factors:
-The Destroyer is a large target
-As a mindless creature, the Destroyer does not know pain or fear.
-Burning Bright: See K'daai
-Ultra Rare: The Stuff of legends!
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Inferno Guns
Mobility: 3 (For Crew)
Training: 4 (For Crew)
Max Range: Slightly Less then artillery
Preferred Range: Protecting Artillery
The Chaos Dwarf Inferno Gun is a light, portable cannon which only requires a crew of two Chaos Dwarfs to operate. Unlike heavier cannons which fire a solid ball, the Inferno Gun fires blasts of shrapnel. The Inferno Gun's effect is devastating. The shrapnel inflicts hits on enemy troops within a broad arc of fire. This wide arc of fire, and the weapon's mobility in the hands of experienced operators, make the Inferno Gun an excellent weapon for providing close artillery support.
Offense: See Description. Should be noted that it can pierce armor.
Defense: See Chaos Dwarf for handler. The Gun itself is made from iron, though it lighter and less durable then a regular cannon.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Mobility: 3 (For crew)
Training: 4 (For crew)
Max Range: Hundreds of Meters
Preferred Range: ^^
This simple-seeming tube like weapon fires a rocket with a powerful explosive warhead. Its main advantage, apart from the ease of manufacture, is that it is light and relatively simple to use. It dispenses with the need for a cumbersome chassis and can be carried about with a crew of two - one to carry the rockets, one to carry the gun.
Offense: See description
Defense: See Chaos Dwarf for crew. The Bazuka is a tube of metal.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Mobility: 2 (3 if it can really get going)
Training: 4 (Crew)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Artillery
The Dwarfs of Zharr prefer to place their trust in iron and brass and in fire and steam rather than muscle and bone. So it was not long before these engines were also deployed due to their obvious merits for hauling cannon, rockets, mortars and other destructive weapons to the battlefield rather than ore or iron ingots. The driving power behind these engines comes from coal, which the Chaos Dwarfs mine in great quantities from beneath the Plain of Zharr and then infuse in arcane rites so that it burns hotter and far more constantly than naturally possible. Their furnaces will however willingly devour wood or other base materials if they happen to be the only available source of fuel with a temporarily acceptable loss in performance.
Among the slaves of Zharr-Naggrund though, rumors abound of engines that run on blood, ground bones and screaming spirits, and such ingenuity is certainly not beyond the devious and inventive servants of Hashut.
One of the latest designs to see widespread service within the Chaos Dwarf empire is the Iron Daemon, a compact, armored steam-driven traction engine. The steam boilers that provide these machines with motive power, to haul heavy armaments and munitions to the battlefield are cunningly designed so that they can also be used to work pressure-fed weapons such as cannonades and wall-breakers. This means that every Iron Daemon is also a powerful war machine in its own right - a fully mobile artillery piece or murderous killing engine able to smash through fortifications and hack down ranks of living soldiers with equal ease.
Offense: Aside from simply running enemies over, the Iron Daemon has the Steam Cannonade: Powered by the channeled pressure of the Iron Daemon's furnace, a steam cannonade is a twin cannon used to blast a lethal storm of red-hot shrapnel and curse-laden shot into the ranks of the enemy.
Skullcracker: Designed for crushing fortifications and walls, the Skullcracker is a hissing and grinding arcane-mechanical conglomeration of iron hammers, hacking blades and brutal picks designed to literally pulverize and shred anything unfortunate to be caught in front of the machine.
Defense: Made up of heavy iron and brass
Additional Factors:
-Lumbering and Unstoppable: The Iron Daemon is a mighty, smoke-belching powerhouse; slow but incredibly hard to stop. Once it builds up a charge, it would take something incredibly durable to stop it. More likely, the Iron Daemon will plow through everything in its path.
-Carriage Hauler: The Iron Daemon may haul one or more carriages behind it. These can be extra steam carriages, or they can be other Chaos Dwarf war machines being pulled into a more advantageous position.
Mobility: 1-2
Training: 4 (Crew)
Max Range: Several Hundred Feet
Preferred Range: ^^
A fiendish weapon first conceived of for use against the ravening Trolls and other unwholesome and hungry monsters that spawn and multiply in the Dark Lands and is designed to spew molten metal and fire upon its victims, horrifically burning them to death. The Magma Cannon has seen long use and been the subject of considerable modification and experimentation by Chaos Dwarf Daemonsmith engineers and no two are quite the same, but rather the product of an individual's malign creativity. Some use pressurized steam-boilers to jet gouts of burning sulfur, caustic tar or pyretic acids, while others incorporate sorcerously bound volcanic glass shells in which molten lava drawn from the deep earth slumbers until its shell is shattered.
Regarded as one of the great works of a Daemonsmith's craft, neophyte Sorcerer-engineers vie with each other to produce the most deadly Magma Cannons of their own design. Many have perished as a result of such experimentation - either overcome by choking fumes, dissolved by acrid vapors, or blown to shreds when their volatile mixtures have exploded unexpectedly. To their overlords in the priesthood of Hashut, this is only right and proper; as such failure is not tolerated in the service of the Father of Darkness.
The Magma Cannon is a relatively short-ranged but potentially devastating weapon, able to incinerate packed bodies of enemy troops or burn clear through defended positions in close assaults.
Offense: See Description
Defense: Heavy Iron Plates
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
===============
Deathshriker Rocket Launcher
Mobility: 1
Training: 6 (Crew Operating It)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: ^^
The Chaos Dwarfs utilize a number of different types of gunpowder-driven rocket weapons and the Deathshrieker is one of the more diabolic examples of these weapons, as bound up within its munitions are howling, malevolent fire-spirits harvested from the cinders of Hashut's sacrificial alters, and it is the hellish shrieking of these sprites when loosed that gives the weapon its name.
Offense: The packed multiple warheads of the Deathshrieker detonate in the air above the battlefield in a storm of fire - fire which has its own terrible hunger for life upon which to visit its touch. Screaming, fanged tendrils of flame plunge downwards from the blast and expend their strength actively seeking out victims. The tormented spirits are far from discerning though as to whose flesh they burn, and the Chaos Dwarfs must be cautious lest their own suffer from the wrathful weapon.
In addition to the hellish Deathshrieker rockets, the launchers they use are also able to fire more conventional demolition rockets if needs be. These use densely packed explosive rocket heads with delayed fuses in a strengthened iron tube to channel the blast against a single point. The rocket mounts a crown of spikes that drive the rocket into a vertical wall and hold it there whilst it explodes. In this fashion the rocket can punch through even very dense stone and can make a terrible mess of any large creature that gets in its way too.
Defense: Heavy Plate Armor, Crew wears Blackshard Armor
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Dreadquake Mortar
Mobility: 1
Training: 4 (Crew)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: ^^
The Dreadquake Mortar is a massive weapon of destruction and one of the most deadly weapons in the arsenal of the Chaos Dwarfs. It fires a heavy shell full of powerful explosives. When the shell lands it smashes into the ground, burying itself deeply before it explodes, creating devastating shock waves. As well as blowing its target apart, the shockwaves of the explosion are so strong that nearby units are knocked to the ground. Troops close to the blast will be far too shocked by the impact to fight, or even to move. All they can do is lie on the ground, dazed and confused, until they recover their senses.
Dreadquake Mortars are among the largest and most effective of all the mighty siege weapons deployed by the Chaos Dwarfs. They rank alongside other such mighty bombards and cannon able to rend the earth and smash through layered stone fortifications as if they were kindling. The Dreadquake's deadly projectiles are fired by steam pressure that is generated by a boiler and contained within a pressure vessel - conventional gunpowder being far too dangerous given the volatility of the Dreadquake's unique and powerful shells. As a consequence it takes quite a while for the machine to generate enough steam to fire a single shot - limiting its potential in battle. But even on the open field it is a supremely dangerous weapon against large and static targets and if successfully fired against enemy infantry, it can wreak carnage as more than one Orc tribe of the Worlds Edge Mountains has found to their cost.
The Dreadquake's shells are of a secret construction whose arcana is the sole preserve of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer Lords and prophets of Hashut. When fired from the Dreadquake they burst into a roaring; blood-red light, and when they strike they explode, shattering buildings apart and smashing into the ground like a hammer-blow from the gods, bleeding crimson energy from the wounded earth. These shells take the form of metal spheres and are so heavy and unwieldy that an Ogre commonly forms part of the machine's crew in order to speed up the loading.
Offensive: See Description
Defense: Heavy Iron Plating
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Slow to fire
-In addition to the massive explosion from the shells going off, they also produce a massive quake that knocks all surrounding units off their feet.
Mobility: 2 (Chained), 3 (Unleashed)
Training: 6 (Crew)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Artillery (Crew), Melee (Cannon)
Part daemon, part warmachine, the Hellcannon of Chaos is a massive construct of iron and brass that growls and shakes with diabolic sentience. In battle, these arcane engines heave great blasts of daemonic energy arcing through the air toward their targets, incandescent explosions liquefying anything they touch and sending the survivors screaming in all directions. These hell-forged beasts are guided rather than crewed by their teams of corrupt and twisted Chaos Dwarfs, in whose volcanic furnaces the Hellcannons are created. It is their duty to restrain the Hellcannon in the fires of battle, for the daemons bound within each war-construct hunger constantly for a banquet of warm flesh and hot blood laced with the taste of fear. The Dawi Zharr load their charge brutally by shoveling the bodies of their foes into the dire-furnace at the Hellcannon's rear. Flesh runs like wax, dribbling onto the earth under the crew's feet in thick, hissing gobs as the daemonic fires strip away and feed upon the captives' souls. These are perverted into wailing bolts of pure chaos, and vomited toward the Hellcannon's target in powerful spasms of hate and malice.
A Hellcannon, towering above the Chaos Dwarfs and their greenskin allies, is virtually indestructible. Such is the strength and bloodlust of the Daemonic machine that it must be chained to the ground to prevent it from rampaging toward the enemy lines, intent on gorging itself on raw flesh. Even these precautions prove inadequate should the enemy draw too close; it is whispered that there is nothing that can truly stay a Hellcannon's insatiable lust for destruction. A single Hellcannon is quite capable of blasting apart the walls of even the most stalwart fortress.
Offense: See Description. It's also possible, that instead of the destructive bolt the intended, the Hellcannon will release a pules of raw magic, disrupting all wizard's attempts to cast magic in a wide radius. It is also possible to overcharge the cannon, resulting in a shot that's twice as strong, but utterly devastates the cannon's workings, leaving it unable to fire until repairs are made.
Defense: As a daemonic construct, the Hellcannon is super-durable, able to withstand physical and magical attacks. It takes serious sustained firepower to even hurt this thing, let alone destroy it.
Additional Factors:
-This weapon must be handled very VERY carefully. It is constantly trying to break free of its bonds. If it does so, it will charge into the fray, ignoring its handlers, eager to feast on the flesh and blood of the living.
-This weapon is slow to fire, as it must be fed a fresh batch of slaves after each shot. When pushing the slaves in, the crew of Chaos Dwarfs must be careful that the Hellcannon doesn't suck them in too.
Mobility: 2-3
Training: 4 (Chaos Dwarf Crew), 5 (Bull Centaur)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Getting closer and closer...
One of the largest and most frightening daemon engines in the entire Chaos Dwarf arsenal is the dreaded Juggernaut. The Juggernaut is a massive siege tower internally powered by a horde of Chaos Daemons that have been bound and trapped inside the gigantic machine. It is armed with two cannons, crewed by Chaos Dwarfs and pushed by a mighty Bull Centaur. It has several Towers manned by Chaos Dwarfs and the sides are carved with creepy grinning faces. The Juggernaut is a terrifying sight in battle, spikes sticking out all over the place and a carved face of a demon at the front, twin cannons sticking out of its eyes, and with a manic grin.
The Juggernaut is a most unpleasant, abominable sight. Leering, Daemonic faces appear about its exterior taunting the enemies of the Chaos Dwarfs with unnatural shrieks and wails while spewing highly corrosive phlegm that sticks to armor and flesh as the syrupy, Daemon mucus burns and dissolves everything it touches. The mere sight of such a blasphemous construct causes the weak-willed to flee as the Juggernaut slowly lurches forward powered by the shear will of the evil entities bound within. Those that stand before the monstrous engine are ground and torn apart, as they are caught underneath huge, bone- crunching wheels and ultimately swallowed within a central gaping Daemonic maw of the Juggernaut itself.
Atop the various levels of the Juggernaut, a garrison of Chaos Dwarfs crew the tower bearing their shrapnel spitting fireglaives against enemies that threaten the Juggernaut. Smoking gloom surrounds the Siege Tower as the Chaos Dwarfs discharge vast volleys of iron shards against their foes, mowing them down in hails of concentrated salvos. The Juggernaut is very effective in battle, being crewed by highly skilled gunners. It is more maneuverable than an average siege tower, being smaller and pushed by a Bull Centaur which is a fast and strong creature. The Juggernauts are a rarity on the battlefield as wood is scarce in the Dark Lands. They are usually saved for important battles so as not to waste them and risk damaging them or the Bull Centaur.
Offense: See Description, the Bull Centaur can engage if the Juggernaut if attacked from the flank or rear.
Defense: Demonically enhanced steel plating, protected by Chaos Dwarf Gunners
Additional Factors:
-Rare
-Can Cause Terror
-Is a massive target
Mobility: 4
Training: NA (No will, driven by their master's desires)
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Doesn't matter, it can kill you from any range
Over a thousand years ago it was the will of Lord Khaddash of House Khash that his Sorcerers would create life from unliving materials. They would create ultimate soldiers to serve the Chaos Dwarfs in their conquests. And so it was that the great Alchemagi Mardukh created life from unlife, a horrific construction made from ruddy bronze and brass, a great mechanical fighting machine made of Bronze. These constructs were named Kollossi, and they were the jewels of the black genius of Mardukh.
Vaguely humanoid in shape, the Kollossi are frightening machines. Tubes pump corpse-fluids and brass wiring crackles with electrical charges. Powered by arcane machinery, the Kollosus lurches forward in a hideous parody of nature, hissing steam pouring from the joints and exhaust pipes, causing cacophonic and terrifying noise. The heads of Kollossi are ornately decorated, shaped to resemble either Chaos Dwarf, Great Taurus or the visage of Hashut, the Father of Darkness. Kollossi are solidly built from molten bronze and iron, and even a direct hit from a cannon is not likely to destroy it. Kollossi have no mind, save the will of their Chaos Dwarf masters. Thus they can be sent to perform missions that any living creature would dread to undertake.
They are ideal for breaking the enemy battle line, taking on large monsters, War Machines, Chariots and dislodging stubborn fighters from defended positions. The Kollossi are used extensively in sieges, where they can crush the gates of the fortresses in mere moments and the enemy arrows can do little to damage the Kollosus. Kollossi were built to break the backs of armies and thus far have never failed.
Offense: It can crush platoons beneath its feet, or smash through walls with massive hands.
Defense: The Kollossus is covered in bronze and iron plating.
Special: Upgrades: Several of the Kollossi feature upgrades to the original design of Mardukh. Any two of the following may be equipped to the Kollossi:
-Lavathrower: The Kollosus is fitted with a naphtha and sulfur lava thrower, often placed in the cavernous mouth of the Kollosus.
-Great Hammer: A massive hammer sized for this beast. An interesting variant of this is to replace the Kollosus' hands with two hammers.
-Daemon Crystal: Inside the Kollosus is a crystal which contains a bound daemon. The machinery draws off the Daemon's power to create a strong anti-magic field around the Kollosus.
-High Powered Engine: The Kollosus has an unusually powerful spell cast over it and it is of exceedingly good construction, allowing it to move faster and hit harder then other Kollossi. However, this engine is delicate, and any damage suffered to it does twice as much damage.
-Furnace of Hashut: The Kollosus is fitted with a Furnace of Hashut blessed by the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers. It may draw upon corrupt flames of the Father of Darkness raging inside it, but only at a great cost. It doubles the creature's movement speed, allowing it attack even faster and move faster then a beast its size should. However, while it does so it takes internal damage as the fires corrode even the metal of which the Kollosus is made.
-Additional Armor Plating: Exactly what it sounds like
Additional Factors:
-For two long centuries Mardukh labored in the pits of Zharr, creating variants of Kollossi and improving original design. But then the dreaded sorcerers' curse settled in. His body started to turn into stone. Desperately the great Alchemagi tried to find a cure. But it was all in vain. First his feet and then his hands started to turn to stone. Desperate, Mardukh started experimenting with magic to escape the curse. He summoned daemons, sacrificed innumerable slaves and read forbidden spells. But all his efforts failed. He banished all his apprentices and locked himself inside his chambers. For three years Mardukh remained in his laboratory until all believed he had perished. The door of his laboratory was broke down to remove his body and place it in the Temple of Hashut as is the custom of Chaos Dwarfs. Inside they found a Kollosus, a massive mountain of bronze and iron, which became animated the moment the magically sealed doors were broken. It crushed and horrified Chaos Dwarfs under its massive feet and lumbered out of the fortress, slaying any it came across. The gigantic Kollossi shambled to the East and was never seen again. Only a pile of rubble was found in the workshop of Mardukh. The Chaos Dwarfs believed that Mardukh had perished in some horrifying accident in his research. The great Alchemagi was never seen again. What happened to him, no-one knows. Many Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers speculate that he somehow transferred his essence to the Kollosus, but equally many were certain that the Great Alchemagi was dead.
-Kollossi are very rare, for the secret of their making was lost with Mardukh, and thus no new Kollossi have been built for seven decades. Many Sorcerers have tried to examine and copy Mardukh's work, but always without success. Their attempts to dismantle and study Kollossi have failed: and many have gone berserk, slaying the knowledge-hungry Sorcerers and his servants before being hunted down and destroyed. The remaining Kollossi are owned and maintained by House Khash, and sent to aid Chaos Dwarf armies only for an exceedingly high price.
Mobility: 4
Training: 2
Max Range: Artillery
Preferred Range: Melee
The Chaos Dwarfs have not been slow to take note of the power and military potential of Giants, as they have often encountered them as foes within the ranks of the Orc and Goblin hordes that infest the Dark Lands, and the southern Mountains of Mourn that border their empire have long been inhabited by a unusually high number of the creatures. It is said this is because it once was the home of a great kingdom of giant-kind in elder days, now shattered into ruin and desolation. As a result Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers have long had the idea of bringing Giants that they are able to capture or enslave through trickery or trade with the Ogres under their will, and in doing so have been unable to resist 'improving' upon them in order to make them living weapons.
The most common result of these modifications is the Chaos Siege Giant, a mutilated, half-insane creature whose body has been armored against attack by layer upon layer of heavy iron and bronze plates. These are firmly secured to the unwilling Giant by heat-fusing, riveting and nailing them deep into the Giant's flesh, and in some cases in bolting them directly into its massive skeleton.
The end result is a towering, iron-clad monster, even more clumsy and unwieldy than before, but now all but impervious to arrows and shot thanks to its armored shroud. Likewise suitable weapons such as immense hooked blades, steel pick-axes the size of carts and even massive weighted chain-flails are lashed or implanted directly to the Giant's arms to enable it to scale or tear down fortifications and slaughter the largest monsters. Some even are further fitted with scaling hooks and chains, enabling the creature's dead carcass to be used as a scaling platform should it fall, while the most unfortunate have the burning runes of Hashut branded into their armor and flesh, driving them to ever greater heights of savagery at their master's command.
Offense: Siege Giants do not attack in the same manner as other creatures, being too large, fractious and in the case of the Chaos-tainted and mutilated Siege Giants, too insane to carry out a coherent plan of attack. When fighting larger enemies, Giants may headbutt (made more deadly due to their heads being covered in metal and spikes), use their ripping blades and pick to target a monster's legs, tearing open hamstring muscles, severing limbs and slamming their foe into the ground; or bring their pick down on the head of an unfortunate victim. Against smaller enemies, they may smash with their pick, stomp on them, or crush them with flailing limbs and chains.
Defense: Siege Armor: Chaos Siege Giants are encased in massive plates of iron and bronze armor inches thick, alternately strapped, nailed and fused into their flesh. This, coupled with the Giant's bulk, makes them all but impervious to arrow fire, although it proves less effective against a foe brave (or foolish) enough to get in close enough to attack the Giant's less protected thews and vitals.
Special: Upgrades:
-Runes of Hate: Some Chaos Dwarf Daemonsmiths go further when encasing Giants in their siege armor, binding the metal with the hellish and twisted runes of Hashut which serve to push the weak and primitive mind of the Giant further into malignant insanity.
-Scaling Spikes: A Chaos Siege Giant's armor can be fitted with scaling spikes, hooks and chains to aid the Chaos army's assault against fortifications and these may prove useful even if the Giant perishes in the attack.
Additional Factors:
-Not all such 'improvements' prove survivable for the creature forced to undergo them and so Chaos Siege Giants are scarce and highly prized commodities, both within the Chaos Dwarf empire and as weapons bartered in trade with the Chaos-worshiping tribes of the north, who often lack the means or patience to build conventional siege weapons. A living siege engine that merely requires a steady diet of carcasses and spirits is therefore for them ideal.
-Chaos Siege Giants, thanks to the fact they are covered in iron plates hammered and bolted over their bodies, are even more unstable on their feet than 'unmodified' Giants. This can prove dangerous to friend and foe alike when several tons of angry flesh and spiked metal trips over its own feet and comes toppling down!
-Equipped with massive hooked blades or over-sized flails mounted on bundles of chains, Chaos Siege Giants are equally at home smashing apart buildings and fortifications as they are sweeping mere mortals into a jumbled heap of torn flesh and broken bones. Even the most fortified walls mean little as the insane giant unleashes their pain on them and sends them tumbling down.
-Siege Giants are so heavy they cannot jump.
Mobility: 6
Training: 7 (Rider), 3 (Great Taurus)
Max Range: Hundreds of Meters
Preferred Range: ^^
The Dark Lands are a dread realm, a haven and birthing ground for all manner of monsters and unnatural creatures, but none are more sought after by the Chaos Dwarfs than the Great Taurus of the Volcanic Heights. The supreme terrors of the crags and craters of ash and tire, some claim the Great Taurus is less a beast than a manifestation of the rage and deathly savagery of the Dark Lands themselves. To the Chaos Dwarfs, their resemblance, both in form and molten fury to the icons of their terrible god, Hashut, Father of Darkness, is no mere coincidence.
None but the highest servants of Hashut and the most powerful of fire-wizards can hope to master these hellish monsters, and the infernal stables of the crimson and bronze Taurus beneath the great temple of Zharr- Naggrund are heated by sacrificial fires kept burning night and day to appease the sacred beasts kept there. Indeed, it is only by means of the most complex and dangerous spells that a Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer can even mount such a dangerous creature without themselves succumbing to their incinerating heat and voracious appetites.
Powerful Chaos Dwarfs ride Great Tauruses into battle, the creature burning with a terrific intensity, so that its whole body is wreathed in fire and smoke. When it moves across the ground sparks fly from its hooves and lightning plays about its feet. It breathes fire in great snorting bursts and black smoke curls from its gaping maw. The Chaos Dwarfs believe that the Great Tauruses were once Chaos Dwarfs, and that they were mutated by the warping power of Chaos into living bull-furnaces like the statue of the god Hashut himself. The Chaos Dwarfs sometimes call the Great Tauruses the Red Bulls of Hashut.
Offense: They breath fire, and they are so hot that just being near them can cause flesh to burn. They are also very large, allowing them to smash apart things in their way with horn or hoof. It can also eat you.
Defense: They are wreathed in smoke, making targeting difficult, and their flesh is so hot that just getting near enough to strike them is difficult. They are also immune to any fire-based attack. In fact, if struck by magical fire, it actually regains health!
Special: Variant: Bale Taurus: An even larger creature, who's body is so hot that swords melt upon contact with it (and the owner of said sword doesn't last much longer either).
Additional Factors:
-Can serve as mounts to the highest ranking members of the Chaos Dwarfs, but care must be taken first, to avoid being burned by the creature, or consumed by it.
-Requires a lot of slaves and fire to keep calm and well fed.
-Very rare.
Mobility: 7
Training: 5
Max Range: Several Hundred Meters
Preferred Range: Varies
The Lammasu has the body of a gigantic bull, a powerful mace-tipped tail, borne on vast leathery wings, with lion-like claws instead of hooves, and the face of a huge Chaos Dwarf, cloaked in smoke and shadow. The Chaos Dwarfs believe that the Lammasu is a rare mutation of the Great Taurus, a creature whose forebears were once Chaos Dwarfs, but which has become twisted by the powers of Chaos into a huge bull-shaped monster. The Lammasu's ancestry is evident in its tusked head, its thickly curled beard, and its considerable intelligence. It is a creature with magical properties. It breathes not ordinary air but the power of magic itself, drawing into itself the power of the winds of magic. As it exhales the creature breathes out whirling clouds of black sorcery which wreathe themselves around the Lammasu, enwrapping it with protective power.
Offense: Massive talons, horns, teeth. The Lammasu is can use minor spells from ONE of the following Lores: The Lore of Fire, Death, or Shadow
Defense: Thick skin and flight. Sorcerous Miasma: The sorcerous black cloud that hangs about the Lammasu every time it breaths out negates enemy spells used against it. Also, magical weapons that come into contact with the cloud loose their magical properties, becoming normal weapons until they exit the cloud.
Additional Factors:
-The Lammasu is used as a mount for High Priests of Hashut.
-The Chaos Dwarfs worship the Lammasu as though they were Hashut himself. For it is said that centuries ago, the most favored of the Dwarf elders were transformed into Lammasu, providing the Chaos Dwarfs with omnipotent demi-gods to guide and protect the children of Hashut.
SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Mobility: 2-3
Training: 7
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: ^^
Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers rule over the desolate empire of Zharr-Naggrund with iron-fisted malice, both as lords and masters of all they survey and as priests of their dark god Hashut. Their lore is terrible and ancient, and involves the study of machines, and the mastery of forge-craft, weapon making and the terrible Chaos magics gifted to them by Hashut. Combined these create terrifying weapons and arcane devices of power and destruction.
It was the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers who led their people from the brink of destruction during The Time of Woe and first built the great and blasphemous city of Zharr-Naggrund in ages past, and it is they that still command it today. Their works of sorcery and engineering are legendary, from the great obsidian and basalt towers and ziggurats drawn forth from the earth, and the dark iron towers raised up throughout the Dark Lands, to the steam-hissing engines that crush rock in slave mines and the baroque armor which adorns the Chaos warriors of the north.
Offense: Unlike the Dwarfs of the Worlds Edge Mountains, the High Priests of the Chaos Dwarfs have embraced the art of sorcery through their foul devotion to the worship of Chaos and pacts made with ancient, despicable Daemons. With but a word or mere gesture, the High Priests smite their enemies and cause great, fiery ruin around them. They use spells from the Lores of Fire, Metal, Death, and Hashut.
Defense: Magical Barriers, and Dark Armor, either ceramic or blackshard. As a side effect of the Sorcerer's Curse, parts of their body will be as hard and as durable as stone.
Special: Palanquin: As the Sorcerer-Prophets become more and more afflicted by the Sorcerer's Curse, they eventually lose their ability to walk on their own. When this happens, they are instead carried into battles borne aloft on ornamented Palanquins by their servants, who will fight to their death protecting them.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-The Sorcerer's Curse: Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers pay a terrible price for their powers, be they Daemonsmiths or mighty prophet of their dark god Hashut. Their bones and flesh slowly petrify over time into unfeeling, blackened stone. Each time the magic they command slips from their grasp for but an instant, this curse punishes them further until one day the Sorcerer is trapped screaming silently within a prison of their own immobile body.
-In the Temple of Hashut the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers meet in a great conclave of evil to make their plans of domination. There is no leader nor formal hierarchy among them, but the strongest voice belongs to the oldest and most powerful, for Chaos Dwarfs respect age and knowledge just as much as other Dwarfs. Each Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer controls part of the city, with its workshops and forges, slaves and warriors, as part of his personal dominion.
Mobility: 2-3
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Varies
The Chaos Dwarf Daemonsmiths are master craftsmen and engineers able to forge weapons and machines of war that are second to none. Only the Dwarfs of the Worlds of Edge Mountains rival their feats in precision engineering and weapon making. Though where the Dwarfs rely on natural resources and their own skill within their foundries and armories, the sinister Daemonsmiths of the Chaos Dwarfs forge their instruments through arcane rituals, pacts with Daemons and evil sorcery, binding the very essence of Chaos into their armaments.
In battle the Daemonsmiths of Hashut are terrifying and unpredictable opponents, their dark magics able to draw upon the fires of the earth and transmute the air to Ash and choking smoke as well as fan the flames of hatred in the hearts of their followers. They are each also master artisans of war and may lend their skills to war machine crews or themselves bear savage and potent examples of their craft such as black powder weapons, mighty armor, flasks of burning alchemical oil, daemon-bound blades and ensorcelled weapons. Each however must display great caution when they wield their occult power, for each spell they wield could also be their last.
Offense: A Daemonsmith is a magic user who can use spells from the Lores of Fire, Metal, or Death
Daemon Weapons: In times of war, Daemonsmiths bear potent Daemon Weapons to battle. Bound with malevolent daemons and devils, such blades are icons of intangible horrors, nightmares brought forth to reality. Such is the malignant power of these weapons that few can wield them without being completely consumed by the evil entities trapped within. Only the Daemonsmiths of the Chaos Dwarf Empire are capable of such vigorous feats, for their unnatural strength, willpower and mastery of the blades make them unparalleled carriers of the infernal weapons. Those unfortunate enough to meet their demise by the daemonic blades suffer a fate far worse than mere death as their souls are consumed by the weapons and forever enthralled by the vile poltergeist bound within.
Defense: Magical Barriers, Dark Armor such as Ceramic of Blackshard. The effect of the Sorcerer's Curse makes parts of their body as hard and durable as stone.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Sorcerer's Curse
-Rare: Daemonsmiths are few in number, with perhaps no more than several hundred among the whole Chaos Dwarf race capable of wielding their savagely powerful combination of science and sorcery.
-They possess no absolute hierarchy or single leader, although form and tradition dictates many layers and ranks of fealty and loyalty amid the great conclave of evil that is Hashut's priesthood. Each is a power in their own right, controlling sections of the great city of Zharr-Naggrund itself or one of the outer citadels, and each has their own workshops, forges, strongholds, slaves and soldiers who owe fealty directly to them. The strongest voice however, belongs to the oldest and most powerful, as well as to those on whom Hashut's blessings are bestowed. Age and knowledge are respected by them just as much as by did Dwarfs of the West, but tied up with this is a merciless intolerance of weakness, and favor and respect with them is only maintained through strength, wealth and sorcerous might which makes the politics of the priesthood deadly at all turns.
Mobility: 3
Training: 6-7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
The nobles - if such foul creatures may be called so - of the Chaos Dwarfs are known as Overlords and Despots. It is said that inside the veins of such aristocratic Chaos Dwarfs flows the very blood of the dark god Hashut himself, making them the epitome of the Chaos Dwarf race. Overlords are by far the most ruthless and cruel of the Chaos Dwarf hierarchy, ordering entire populations sacrificed into cauldrons of molten iron or burning furnaces all for the glory of Hashut. Along with the Council of Hashut, Overlords control the Chaos Dwarf Empire with an iron fist. These wanton tyrants are the face of Chaos Dwarf leadership; their depraved notoriety is such that Orcs and other, fouler things quiver in their presence. They are the generals of dark legions of Chaos Dwarfs and where they tread, death and destruction follows.
Overlords are the generals of many Chaos Dwarf armies. They have proven themselves to be brutally effective in battle and have fought in many campaigns, giving many hundreds of years' worth of tactical experience. Under their command are Despots; trusted lieutenants who have much battlefield experience but have yet to be given full command. For small skirmishes, or part of a much larger offensive they may have control of an army. Both are part of a military hierarchy that requires them to keep a rotating levy of troops under their command trained for battle. Living outside the sphere of normal day-to-day activities, they are nobles in their own right and immensely wealthy individuals.
Offense: The finest weapons and equipment their kin can forge, or their priests can acquire from their dark master. High likelihood of having magical weapons.
Defense: The best armor possible, with a high likelihood of having magical armor.
Special: Variant: Despots: Captains among the Dawi'Zharr are known as Despots, for they are often the right hands of their masters, enacting their will among the common Chaos Dwarfs. Despots are the subordinates and lieutenants of the Overlords. They are directly responsible for overseeing the heinous labor camps known as Hell Pits, where Goblinoid thralls toil and die for the glory of the Chaos Dwarf Empire, and to whom the Hobgoblin Chieftains report directly. They are rightly feared and respected by both other Chaos Dwarfs and their treacherous Hobgoblin underlings. To refuse an order of a Despot would be to welcome a fate far worse than the most violent of deaths.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Mobility: 3
Training: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Among the Chaos Dwarfs of the Black Fortress a warrior-cult has long flourished. The Infernal Guard as it is known has the sworn task of defending the citadel to the death from any that would assail it, and to carry out the will of the Lord of the Black Fortress without question. The Infernal Guard's ranks are made up from Chaos Dwarfs to whom some stain of dishonor or failure has been attached, an occurrence which in their unforgiving society can result from merely being close kin to a failed battle commander, knowing defeat under the eyes of a Sorcerer, presiding over slaves who have revolted or a furnace that has exploded through overuse.
The humiliation of such dishonor is more than the prideful Chaos Dwarfs can bear, and to them the Infernal Guard are the solace of death in Hashut's grace and also anonymity, as upon taking its oath their names and past kinships are shorn away and their faces are seared and shut underneath red-hot iron and bronze masks. Only if they achieve great glory are the masks torn off exposing the scarred and ravaged flesh of the redeemed warrior once again to the world.
The Infernal Guard are drilled ceaselessly by their cruel Castellans, and barracked in the burning deeps beneath the Black Fortress. Their lot is to fight an unceasing battle against the horrors that abound in the desolate wastes nearby - a regimen that only the strongest survive.
Offense: Axes and Hammers
Defense: Armor that is hot to the touch, it is practically welded to the Infernal's skin. Sometimes they carry heavy iron shields, sometimes they don't.
Special: Variant: Infernal Ironsworn: The greatest among these warrior elite will be selected to join the Infernal Ironsworn - the personal bodyguard of the covenant of Sorcerer-prophets that make up the ruling echelon of the Legion of Azgorh. The Infernal Ironsworn go into battle with the fire of their dark realm forged into the very fabric of their blades and hammers, graven in smouldering runes of torment and death.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Mobility: 3
Training: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Within the dark corridors of the Tower of Zharr- Naggrund, the most sinister warriors of the Chaos Dwarfs keep vigilance over the ruling priest council and all of the prominent leaders of the Chaos Dwarf Empire. Clad in black chaos armor and wielding huge silver-plated axes, the Immortals fearlessly protect the masters of the Dark Lands.
The Immortals have a fearsome reputation that stretches far beyond the empire of the Chaos Dwarfs. Formed from veterans who have shown immense courage through many battles, and absolute loyalty to their lord, they are equipped with large axes and suits of stone armor that can deflect many blows. If it were only that they are deadly foes on the battlefield alone would their reputations be well earned, but it is their duties protecting the Chaos Dwarfs from the daemons of the tear that gives them such respect. Immortal meaning literally 'Living Ancestor' due to the warping effects on time that travels through the tear can have.
In times of war, it is the Immortals who accompany the High Priests and Overlords to battle. Their condemning gaze and ominous silence causes an awareness of dread even among the other Chaos Dwarf soldiery. Their lethal tenacity means they shall defend their masters to the death, but will turn their blades upon their lord if mere conjecture arises.
Offense: Massive Silver Axes
Defense: Granite Armor
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Protect the Empire at All Costs: Immortals are judge, jury and executioner. They investigate all political intrigue, all suspicion of deception and misconduct, nothing escapes their notice within their vile domain and no Chaos Dwarf is beyond their scrutiny. No matter how powerful or influential a particular Overlord or High Priest might be, they cannot escape the swift justice of the Immortals if they are deemed treasonous or merely believed to be a danger to the Chaos Dwarf Empire.
Mobility:4
Training: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Behind you!
Most notorious among the treacherous Hobgoblin tribes of the Dark Lands is a breed of Hobgoblin that excels at backstabbing and double-dealing in such a way that it makes other Hobgoblins look trivial in comparison. This tribe, known as the Sneaky Gits, is made of the most wickedly fickle and traitorous Goblinoids around, resulting in the Sneaky Gits becoming the most powerful greenskin tribe of the entire Dark Lands.
The Sneaky Gits are distillers and purveyors of poisons and, more profitably, assassins for hire. For Hobgoblins, assassination is a noble trade and the Sneaky Gits are thus highly honored, in the fashion of Hobgoblins.
Offense: They fight using two long, curved daggers which are ideally suited for stabbing their enemy in the back. These are coated with several of the deadliest poisons known to man.
Defense: Robes, and not attacking their enemy from the front if they can help it.
Additional Factors:
-In battle the Sneaky Gits rely upon an envelopment tactic to catch their enemy off guard. The front rank of the Sneaky Gits' formation keeps the enemy busy while the rear ranks dash round the sides to attack the enemy from the side or rear.
-From their many lairs and strongholds along the mountain clefts of the Gash Kadrak and the Vale of Woe, the Sneaky Gits secretly plot the downfall of the Chaos Dwarf Empire, not because of any other benefit than simply to quench their desire of betrayal. Not to mention, they have a reputation to uphold! Until the time is right, however, the Sneaky Gits enjoy their favor as overseers of the thousands of slaves that toil under the cruel lash of their depraved ambition.
Mobility: 2 (Carried by slaves)
Training: NA (Worked by Daemonsmith)
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Back of the battlefield
Slaves are the lifeblood of the Chaos Dwarfs, for without them, their infrastructure would collapse. Yet there are more uses for slaves than work, for the Father of Darkness requires constant sacrifice from his worshipers.
From large altars consisting of a platform with an iron statue of Hashut wrought in the form of a gigantic bull which glows red hot with the heat of the burning furnace within its metal belly, the Chaos Dwarfs sacrifice captives to their god by throwing them into cauldrons of molten iron or tossing them into roaring furnaces.
If pleased, Hashut may reward the Daemonsmith working the altar with great power to summon powers of death and destruction to bring doom upon their foes. Though this is not without its own risk, for failure to satisfy the Father of Darkness can result in the Daemonsmith perishing by the very same power he is attempting to harvest.
Offense: Depending on how pleased Hashut is with the sacrifice made to him, he can grant the Daemonsmith the power to achieve a variety of effects:
-Shadows of Hashut: The air around the Daemonsmith grows cold and a shadowy form begins to coalesce next to him. It forms into a visage of Hashut, the mighty God of the Chaos Dwarfs. With a deafening roar, the shadow bull charges forward smashing everything out of its way.
-Flaming Hide: The Daemonsmith causes the skin of his allies to begin to glow red hot and flickers with sparks.
-Fists of Fire: The Daemonsmith causes the hands of his allies to become wrapped with glowing bands of magical fire that snake out and envelope hand-to-hand combat opponents.
-Lava Storm: With a sweep of the Daemonsmith's arm the air fills with balls of molten lava.
-Eruption: The Sorcerer chants words of power and smashes his staff on the ground. There is a low rumbling then the ground erupt spewing forth molten lava and clouds of hot ash.
Defense: Enchanted iron filled with the spirit of Hashut. It will be protected by the Chaos Dwarfs.
Additional Factors:
-If the sacrifice given to the Alter displeases Hashut, he will cause the Daemonsmith harm. If he gets really mad, he'll downright vaporize them.
HEROES & LEADERSHIP
Mobility: 3
Training: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Under the dark tower of Zharr Naggrund a million evil souls labor to the glory of Hashut, Father of Darkness. From a thousand burning forges come weapons of burnished iron and corslets of ruddy bronze. It is the greatest city in the world and it is ruled by the most black-hearted lords of all, the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers. Acts of the most cruel and heartless nature are everyday occurrences in the lands of Zharduk. Thousands of slaves endure unimaginable agonies in the pits of Zharr, mining out the poisonous wealth amid choking fumes and impenetrable darkness. In the workshops of Zharr-Naggrund untold slaves are worked to death in their chains so that their masters can enjoy a lifetime of ease. The Hobgoblin overseers in the Vale of Woe beat their pitiful charges so that their flesh hangs from their backs like bloodied rags. Even among such wanton cruelty there is one whose deeds of brutality are remarkable.
Zhatan serves the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer Ghorth the Cruel, most potent of all living Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers. It is said that when Ghorth presides over the sacrifices of Hashut the only sound louder than the screams of his victims is the gloating laughter of Zhatan, his general. Zhatan is kept busy by his master's insatiable demand for fresh slaves. The Chaos Dwarf has led many successful slaving expeditions to the west, crushing every Orc army that has dared to stand up to him. All the Goblin tribes between the Plains of Zharduk and Mount Grimfang have bowed before his armies, sending thousands of their kind in tribute to the Lords of Zharr Naggrund. The workshops and mines of Ghorth can scarce keep pace with Zhatan's demand for weaponry. Every expedition he undertakes brings further slaves whose labors fuel fresh conquests.
Offense: Black Hammer of Hashut: This black hammer bears the horned rune of Hashut, Father of Darkness, and has been carried into battle for centuries by the champions of Zharr-Naggrund. Its burning wrath is terrible and can sunder the strongest armor and pulverize the bones of Ogres as easily as the brittle limbs of Goblins.
Defense: Obsidian Armor: A suit of blackshard armor fused with flesh of the long dead sorcerer Zharbhark Hellion, increasing the wearer's resilience to that of solid stone.
Special: Onyx Amulet: Another of the many obsidian artifacts that the Dawi-Zharr make, this amulet is the bane of all magic. Not even the slightest trickle of magic escapes it's void, allowing the bearer to stride into battle, safe against all magical trickery aimed at them. As long as he wears it, Zhatan cannot be affected by any magic (even friendly magic).
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Slave Tyrant: No greenskin would dare run amok in the presence of the Commander of the Tower of Zharr, else suffer a heinous fate far worse than any death.
Mobility: 4
Training: 7
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: ^^
For over two and a half millennia Astrogoth has led the Coven of Sorcerers that governs the Chaos Dwarf Empire. During that time he has had to guide his race through countless dangers that threaten them with extermination. Little would he have guessed all those lifetimes ago, when he rose to lead the Coven as an ambitious High Priest, the direction Hashut had planned for him. In the weeks approaching the twentieth bicentennial Great Feast of Hashut Astrogoth recalled the Coven members from across the Dark Lands and summoned them to the Temple of Zharr.
For days the Coven prayed to their dark god, and on the evening of the Feast they emerged into the halls of reveling Dawi-Zharr, shaken and horror-struck. Each had received a different vision of the future of their race, all of them ending the same; in darkness and death if their race were not strong enough to survive. Amid wails of anguish from the distraught crowd Astrogoth explained the dark path Hashut had laid before them. Their golden age was over, never to return. Perhaps it was that Hashut recognized in him the spirit of a dark avenging angel, for the vision he received was to exact vengeance for all the wrongs done to the Dawi Zharr as a race.
Astragoth is the oldest living Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer. When he was at the height of his powers he was the most potent sorcerer to walk the Plain of Zharr in a thousand years. Now his powers have begun to wane. His body is slowly succumbing to petrifaction. A decade ago he constructed a mechanical device by which he is transported from place to place. His legs have long ceased to work and even his hands have now turned to stone. To an extent these have been replaced by the machinery grafted to his body. This engine was constructed by his slaves to plans created by Astragoth himself, and combines the undoubted skills of the Chaos Dwarf race with twisted dark science.
Offense: Astragoth is a powerful wizard who uses the Lores of Fire, Metal, Death, and Hashut.
The steam-driven pistons that have replaced Astragoth's muscles and sinews allow him to strike his enemy with mechanical force. This means those struck by his warhammer take much more damage.
Defense: His mechanical suit is made of some of the most durable metal in the realm. He can also use magical barriers.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Astragoth is encased within a machine that enables him to walk and which powers his petrified limbs. Astragoth can move faster than an ordinary Chaos Dwarf because of his remarkable semi- mechanical body. However, if his suit takes to much damage, he will become immobile.
-Sorcerer's Curse
Mobility: 3
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: ^^
Ghorth the Cruel is a Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer, the most potent of all and hence one of the strongest voices in the conclave of Sorcerers that gather in the Temple of Hashut. The commander of his armies is legendary Chaos Dwarf Lord Zhatan the Black. As a result of Zhatan's success in battle, Ghorth's workshops and forges can barely keep up with his demand for weapons and munitions. His sponsorship of the savage Zhatan the Black has bought him the loyalty of the Immortals, and through his politicking he has come to claim ownership over much of Zharr-Naggrund.
Ghorth has risen to a position of dominance within the Temple through complex machinations and at times blatant backstabbing, and none have the strength to oppose him. It is Ghorth who guides the decisions of the Conclave of Sorcerer Lords, sometimes with subtlety and sometimes with brute force. Ghorth wields the considerable might of the sorcerers, as well as control of the magnificent elite known as the Acolytes of Hashut and the Bull Centaurs. That Ghorth holds substantial religious sway over the general populace also dwells strongly on the minds of those considering his power base.
His most bitter foe is Astragoth, whose position as High Priest of Hashut prevents Ghorth from achieving the absolute power he so craves. His rival's time is running out though, for Astragoth has nearly transformed entirely to inert stone and Ghorth is much younger, with long years of undisputed rule ahead of him. Waiting for the approaching day when he becomes the new High Priest, Ghorth the Cruel has assumed a number of Astragoth's ceremonial duties.
Ghorth rules from the Great Temple of Hashut, the top of the Black Tower. He rarely leads his troops into battle himself, preferring to let Zhatan do the fighting for him if possible. However, when he does take personal command of the forces of Zharr Naggrund, he does so for the greater service of Hashut. Gorth is a terrible devotee, making his forces berserk, leading them into a fanatical rage.
Offense: Ghorth is a powerful wizard who can use spells from the Lores of Fire, Metal, Death, and Hashut.
Axe of Ghorth: The axe flickers and screeches as it senses hated foes approaching. This axe easily passes through armor as well as flesh.
Defense: Thick Chaos Dwarf made iron and magical barriers.
Special: Amulet of Hashut: This amulet is made of pure obsidian glass that holds a mere fraction of Hashut's anger bound within. This amulet grants him a potent magical forcefield. It can also be used to send himself and those near him into a frenzy.
Special: Chalice of Fire: The most potent Priests of Hashut consume raw, hot magma from massive bronze chalices, fueling their bodies with infernal energy. When Ghorth drinks from this his magical power increases.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-The Sorcerer's Curse
Mobility: 3 (6 on Cinderbreath)
Training: 8
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Battlefield
For more than a thousand years, the dark, burning spire of the Black Fortress has stood sentinel over the crossing place of the River Ruin at the southern edge of the Mountains of Mourn and guarded the border of the Chaos Dwarf Empire of ash and suffering. It is a nightmarish place of soot, blackened iron and jagged rock, and burning magma runs through it like lifeblood. For centuries the master of this dark demesne and the warriors and slaves that inhabit it has been Drazhoath the Ashen, a twisted, power-hungry-creature and potent sorcerer. Drazhoath was first sent to the Black Fortress in effective exile after losing favor in the brutal politics of Zharr-Naggrund as a minor hell smith but has since risen to become its lord through his innate cunning and bitter, ruthless ambition.
In battle Drazhoath is both a mighty sorcerer and an able warrior who leads his war hosts from the fore mounted upon the Great Taurus, Cinderbreath, bringing fire and ruin down upon the enemy. Drazhoath's power has grown over the decades, and there are few sorcerers now in the service of Hashut who can match him in arcane might or knowledge in the creation of war machines and daemon-binding. He also has undisputed mastery of the Legion of Azgorh - a potent army of Chaos Dwarfs and Hobgoblin slave soldiers based at the Black Fortress whose duty it is to raid across the river and patrol the savage wastes of the southern Dark Lands to maintain the Chaos Dwarfs' tentative dominion over the deadly, monster-plagued expanse. But for all his power and the forces at his command, Drazhoath is all too keenly aware that he has reached an impasse and his black-hearted ambition can take-him no further, for the Black Fortress its many leagues away from the center of the Chaos Dwarf empire at Zharr-Naggrund and is ill-regarded. The voice of this lord of exiles carries little weight with the great conclave of Hashut's priesthood, and in particular none with Astragoth Ironhand, the oldest and most powerful living Sorcerer of Zharr-Naggrund, and the master who sent Drazhoath into exile long ago. Astragoth is ancient beyond measure though, and at last his powers have begun to wane. He is kept mobile only by sorcerous mechanisms of his own dark design, and so Drazhoath's schemes of a triumphant return to Zhair-Naggrund are slowly kindled in his spiteful breast. Drazhoath needs above all a great victory to seal his prominence for when Astragoth finally falls, and a great flow of fresh captives and plunder into the coffers of the Chaos Dwarf empire would go far to expand his influence beyond his own blighted domain. This however is not proving to be such an easy ambition for Drazhoath to achieve, thanks to the enemies which continually beset the Black Fortress (which are after all its reason for existing) and he has been left wanting.
When dark rumors began to reach the Lord of the Black-Fortress of a monstrous horde rising in the east and era before it, Drazhoath consulted the flames and embers of sacrificial altars for what they portended. He saw in the dire peril and opportunity in the coming of Tamurkhan with the malefic intent that so characterizes his cold-heart, and he drew his plans accordingly.
Offense: Drazhoath is a powerful wizard who uses spells from the Lore of Hashut.
Cinderbreath is a Great Taurus
The Graven Scepter: A badge of rank carried by the lords of the Black Fortress, this iron mace carries the runic names of the masters of the Black Fortress since its founding, bound up with the baleful prayers of Hashut.
Defense: Magical Barriers and Enchanted Iron Plate
Special: Mount: Cinderbreath
Special: Hellshard Amulet: The dark product of Drazhoath's own labors in diabolic crafts and the icy hate of his malice is caught and amplified a thousand fold within its black crystal depths and unleashed on any who would dare spill his blood. It confers a potent magical forcefield, and any time he IS wounded, a minor wound is inflicted back on the opponent.
Special: Daemonspite Crucible: Forged from meteoric iron and blighted gold quenched in innocent blood and bound with layer upon layer of hellbound souls, the Daemonspite Crucible is said to have been the handiwork of the Chaos Dwarf sorcerer Azgorh himself. This device increases Drazhoath's casting power, and any time he or Cinderbreath kills an enemy wizard, their soul is sucked into the device to lend them even greater power.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Sorcerer's Curse
-Dark Renown: All Chaos Dwarfs near Drazhoath fight all the harder in his presence.
-Drazhoath does not get along with Astragoth
Mobility: 3
Training: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Rykarth is exceptionally malevolent creature with a wicked righteousness and patriotism for the security of the Hashut Empire. As captain of the Immortals, he oversees all internal investigations and when misconduct is found he is swift at dealing heinous punishment, unscrupulous torture and ultimately violent death. When the Slave Lord Krazhark returned to the Plain of Zharr with only a few hundred prisoners in tow, it was Rykarth that accused him of incompetence and had the Slave Lord thrown into the roaring fires of the Furnace of Hashut. When the atrocious Daemonsmith Bharrzok accidentally summoned the Daemon Horde of Skulltaker into the weapons foundry of Razark, it was Rykarth that had Bharrzok stripped naked, painted red and trampled to death by the Great Taurus, Turax. And when High Priest Gharzoth plotted to eliminate his rivals on the Council of Hashut, it was Rykarth that exposed the priest's treachery and had him eaten alive by a mob of famished Orc thralls.
Known for his Toughness, Rykarth is said to be among the most courageous of his kind. In a race of stout-hearted and disciplined warriors, Rykarth is viewed as a paragon of Chaos Dwarfen toughness, resolve, and cunning. He has faced many a canny and powerful foe and always triumphed. Rykarth himself was present in the forges of Zharr Naggrund when Archaon brokered his deal for the dreaded Hellcannons. It is said that Rykarth was able to meet the withering gaze of the Lord of the End Times without looking away. A few moments later, Archaon agreed to the exorbitant price demanded by the forge lords.
Offense: Cursed Rune Axe: The Cursed Rune Axe is a larger version of the weapons carried by the Immortals. It cuts through armor with ease, and cause unfathomable pain to those touched by its blade.
Defense: Granite Armor
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
Mobility: 3
Training: 6
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Behind the scenes
When the forces of Chaos launch a major invasion they often build crude siege towers or entreat daemonic aid for more potent engines of war. The smoke-spewing machineries built by Hothgar, the renegade Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer of the Forge, however, are prized beyond all others. These vast war towers are self- propelled, powered by steam and, some say, daemonic pacts. With nigh-impenetrable iron plating, these Doom Engines grind over armies, bastions, and castles alike. They will reach their destination and there disgorge a legion of troops. Luckily such ironclad monstrosities are rarely seen, although none know Hothgar's whereabouts or who might be hiring his services.
Through the aid of his Daemonic allies, Lord Mortkin was able to persuade Hothgar, the rogue Chaos Dwarf forge-sorcerer, to build engines of war to assist in his Chaos invasion. Two of the enormous ironclad siege towers accompanied the armies deployed against the south walls of Volganof in 2015.
The destruction of the walled town of Kurskinstadt and the utter collapse of the Skaven lair-nest of Gribblehook are attributed to the clanking, grinding, and pulverizing war towers built by Hothgar. It is rumored that the renegade Chaos Dwarf has once again been embraced by the powers within Zharr Naggrund.
Offense: Hothgar is a minor wizard who uses spells from the Lores of Fire and Metal
Hellfire Pistol: The Hellfire Pistol is a magically enchanted gun that fires shrapnel blazing with magical flame.
Defense: Magical Barriers & Inferno Armor: Forged in the Hell Pits of Gorgoth and enchanted by Hothgar, the armor illuminates with an aura of fire as blows are turned aside. In addition to a minor magical barrier it also gives all of Hothgar's attacks the Flaming Attribute.
Additional Factors:
-Resolute: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Relentless: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Contempt: See Chaos Dwarf Warriors
-Sorcerer's Curse
-Master Engineer: Hothgar makes war machines run more efficiently and much more deadly.
Mobility: 5
Training: 5
Max Range: Bow & Arrow
Preferred Range: Behind his opponent
Hobgoblins are backstabbing, double-dealing and ruthlessly treasonous creatures. Only the Hobgoblins most efficient in the arts of treachery rise up through the mobs of such despicable Goblinoids and then only the most sneaky or lucky can remain in charge for any significant length of time. Fortunately for Gorduz Backstabber, he shares all of the above talents along with an exceptional streak of extremely good luck. Hence, Gorduz is the longest living and greatest Hobgoblin Chieftain of all time, or so he claims!
All fame is fleeting and all glory ultimately fades away. The renown of Hobgoblin chieftains tends to fade more quickly than most, usually with the help of a dagger, poison or 'nasty accident'. Gorduz Backstabber has outlived most of the other tribal leaders thanks to a naturally distrustful disposition and lashings of low cunning. He has also been lucky as the hardened scar tissue that criss-crosses his massive bony shoulder hump testifies.
Gorduz is a traitorous as all his kin, and thinks nothing of betraying his fellow Hobgoblins to his masters in exchange for their favoritism - hence his epitaph. Unlike in almost any other species, this does not lead to him being despised, but in fact admired and respected by other Hobgoblins. In a race that has evolved a bony hump on their shoulders due to their predilection for clandestine assassinations, Gorduz stands as a paragon of those dubious Hobgoblin values.
Gorduz holds sway over all the Hobgoblins of the Dark Lands. Gorduz is notoriously hated by the greenskins of the World Edge Mountains and rightly feared as well. As a result many Goblinoid tribes will make common cause with Gorduz if they cross paths with the vicious Hobgoblin Chieftain, while others, even other Hobgoblins, mean to kill him! As of yet, none have been successful…
Offense: Bow & Arrows, Eye-Gouger: Rumored to have been enchanted by a Hobgoblin shaman, Eye-Gouger is the trusty axe of Gorduz Backstabber, the longest living, and self proclaimed greatest Hobgoblin Chieftain of all time. With this mighty axe, Gorduz has quelled many challengers and attempts at his life from jealous underlings. It is able to pierce any armor and is poisoned.
Defense: Leather Armor
Special: Mount: Giant Wolf
Additional Factors:
-Fated… Lucky... Sneaky! Call it what you will, but Gorduz has an unnatural instinct for survival that has allowed him to emerge unscathed from multiple assassination attempts by his rivals.
-Cowardly Despoilers: Hobgoblins care nothing for fighting fairly, always seeking to take advantage of their foes in any given situation. Why risk one's life by meeting the enemy head on, when it's much safer to plunge a knife in their backs instead?
-Treacherous Gits: Disreputable and fractious, Hobgoblins can turn on each other at any moment, and are highly unreliable unsupervised. This is a problem, which given a Hobgoblin's propensity for murderous spite and self- serving cowardice it is only their deep seated fear of their Khan or Chaos Dwarf overlord that can enforce them back into some semblance of order.
ARMY X-FACTORS:
Morale: 80: The Chaos Dwarfs are extremely sure of themselves, while the Orcs under their command don't care for losses, they're just happy to be fighting. And the CDs don't care if the slave races die, so long as their goals are achieved. It would take major death of the actual Dwarfs themselves to make them back off.
Logistics: 30: They require a steady stream of slaves (both to feed their empire's thirst for blood and souls and to act as soldiers) and war machines require specialized rituals that are best done in the Dark Lands.
Espionage: 10: Token scouting and maybe some magical spying, but for the most part the Chaos Dwarfs don't seem to care. They march in with their slave armies and war machines, kill everything they want, capture the rest, and leave. They don't seem to really care about espionage.
Discipline: 75 (Chaos Dwarfs), 30 (Slave Races). The CDs are extremely disciplined fighters, fighting with ruthless, implacable precision. The Orcs and Goblins under their command, however, are not nearly so controlled.
Army Intimidation: 90: An army of smoke belching war machines, war-hungry Orc slaves, demons bound to metal… the Chaos Dwarfs seek only to enslave other races to torture them and ultimately sacrifice them to their dark god.
Reinforcement Rate: Low (Chaos Dwarfs), High (Orc, Goblin, and Hobgoblin slaves). Chaos Dwarfs themselves are fairly low in number, so their reinforcement numbers will be low. Their slave races though are very high, especially the Orcs and Goblins.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
-The Dwai Zharr: Altered by the very essence of Chaos, Chaos Dwarfs are easily distinguished from other Dwarfs by the curse Chaos has laid upon them. Their long Dwarfen beards are black as void, and their entire demeanor emanates with cruelty and dread. Chaos Dwarfs often possess protruding tusks that lend them a brutal, savage expression, and they are commonly grey-fleshed and red of eye. Apart from this they display a few of the mutations that Chaos brings - some develop bull-like features, even cloven hooves and occasionally horns - although such extreme mutations are rare among ordinary Chaos Dwarfs and common only amongst sorcerers and those that have the most direct contact with the stuff of Chaos.
If the influence of Chaos has worked terrifying changes upon the bodies of the Chaos Dwarfs this is nothing compared to the transmutation of their hardy Dwarf minds. Chaos Dwarfs are mocking parodies of their kin in the Worlds Edge Mountains. Where Dwarfs resent the vile hordes of Goblinoids that plague the lands; Chaos Dwarfs subjugate and enslave them. Where Dwarfs resist and shun sorcery; Chaos Dwarfs embrace it. Where Dwarfs are proud and stubborn; Chaos Dwarfs are twisted and evil. The traditional Dwarf values of stubborn determination, craftsmanship and industry have been twisted into a perverted mockery in the hearts of the Chaos Dwarfs. They became pitiless, macabre and cold-hearted creatures, devoid of mercy and consumed by a need to enslave and dominate everyone and everything they came into contact with, and from this need grew their empire.
Year upon year, decade upon decade and then century upon century, with malevolent intent and monstrous patience the dominion of the Chaos Dwarfs has slowly grown. Down the centuries, their culture became as corrupted as their minds at every level, from their language and rune-craft, to the structure of their clans and their worship all tainted by Chaos and poisoned by malice, but they are still uniquely dwarfen in many respects: oath and loyalty, grudge and kinship stand as solid as iron, but mercy and weakness are intolerable flaws to be contemptuously destroyed. Not for them the howling anarchy, slaughter and ravening madness of Chaos' human followers, the unthinking savagery of the Beastmen or even the desperate, labyrinthine intrigues and vicious aggression of the Skaven. Instead they are consumed with grim, cold cruelty, greed and calculated brutality.
-Clan Structure: The Chaos Dwarf clan is defined by its ranking Sorcerer-Prophet and the level of political power that this individual achieves. Clan members are bound to one another by blood and common ancestry. Each Chaos Dwarf clan is the extended family of its reigning Sorcerer-Prophet, who rules undisputed. He also has absolute rule over his part of the Dark Lands Empire, with all the forges, workshops, mines, and slaves therein. Each clan's council is filled with the most fervent and vicious supporters of the ruling Sorcerer- Prophet. Its primary role is to ensure that his dictates are carried out to the letter.
The blood-bond makes Chaos Dwarf clans especially loyal. Family obligations are taken very seriously, even if such obligations are generations old. Any wrong done to a Chaos Dwarf is considered a wrong done to the entire clan. Thus any Chaos Dwarf may be selected by the Sorcerer-Prophet to redeem the clan's honor - by whatever means appropriate. Chaos Dwarf clans are not aligned by craft-guild. In Chaos Dwarf society, each clan functions as a separate entity unto itself. In addition to the ruling Sorcerer-Prophet, their subordinate Sorcerer-Prophets and the subservient Council, there are a number of other layers in the hierarchy of Chaos Dwarf society. The next tier of the cult hierarchy includes artisans, weapon-smiths, and military leaders. Lesser status clan members are the warriors, slave masters, and various apprentices. At the bottom are the slaves.
-The Father of Darkness: The god of the Chaos Dwarfs is Hashut, the father of Darkness. A grim and malignant being, often represented as a great blazing bull wreathed in smoke and shadow, Hashut is a Chaos god (although some scholars of the arcane would label him as an arch-daemon rather than a dark god, while others insist it is some other form of entity let loose upon the world during the Time of Chaos). Hashut is closely associated with tyranny, greed, fire, and hatred, and it is a being whose gift of power comes at a terrible price. As with much of their origins, just how the Dwarfs of the East came to seal their pact with Hashut remains shrouded in the dark times of the great sundering of the world by Chaos, and in truth the Chaos Dwarfs themselves may have only a dim and warped understanding of how they became bound up with their nightmarish god. The twisted runic cartouches that adorn their fire temples do however speak of the abandonment of the Dwarfs of Zorn Uzkul by their Ancestor Gods during the Great Cataclysm, their finding of salvation and succor with their new god and the thirst of Hashut for sacrifice and subjugation in return for his patronage. Over the centuries, in return for flesh and blood, homage and devotion, Hashut has gifted the Chaos Dwarfs with malign secrets and powerful sorcery that combined with their mastery of industry and forge-craft to create many daemon-fused machineries and monstrous engines of wan dominion over the fires of the earth and arcane and malevolent lore that has brutalized their sanity and soul. The pact between the Chaos Dwarfs and their dark god has only deepened over time and grown to the point where the tendrils of Hashut's malevolence and the Chaos Dwarf's own bitter souls have become as one.
-Slavery and Slaughter: The Chaos Dwarfs consider all life other than that of their own kind to have value only as raw resource and fitting sacrifice, and to them the muscle and sinew, and even the souls of those that bow and scrape at gestures of their iron-shod hands and cringe before the stroke of their steel-barbed whips are no more than a commodity to be amassed, exploited and spent. Without slaves Zharr-Naggrund would not have been built and its vast industries could not be maintained, and even now the need for fresh blood and labor only increases with each passing year and the desolate empire always hungers for more.
Hundreds of thousands of labor workers are needed to upkeep the massive armories and weapon foundries of the Chaos Dwarf and hundreds of thousands more are needed for the excavations of mines. As a result, where other nations look to conquer simply to expand their territory, the Chaos Dwarfs wage wars of conquests solely for the acquisition of slaves, for without the expendable thralls to labor their industries the Chaos Dwarf Empire would indeed expire.
-The Right Tool for the Right Job: Unfortunate wretches of many races toil amid the poisoned air and burning ash of Zharrduk, and like the craftsmen they are, the Chaos Dwarfs prefer, when possible, to select the 'right tool' for the right job - from mutilated Elves flayed and bled to provide alchemical unguents to fettered and broken Chaos beasts from the Northern Wastes harnessed for their immense strength and tolerance for injury. By far the most common slaves in the Chaos Dwarf realm are Orcs and Goblins, and this is not simply because they are native to the Dark Lands and its bordering mountains, but also because they are hardy creatures who will often last the longest in the noxious fumes and murderous conditions under which they are made to work.
Humans too have their place among the slaves of the Chaos Dwarfs, as they are adaptable and quick-witted if though less durable than greenskins and considerably more unpredictable. As do Ogres, who are valued for their raw power but always present a danger as their primitive, violent spirits can never be fully broken. Skaven are never taken alive unless to be worked almost immediately to death or used as paltry mass sacrifices, as they are simply too devious and the Chaos Dwarfs have learned from bitter experience that any group taken might well conceal untold spies, saboteurs and even deliberately infected plague carriers placed in their midst. But of all the races to fall into the hands of the masters of Zharr-Naggrund, the darkest fate awaits their kin, the Dwarfs of the West. The fruits of the bitter malice of long, brooding millennia are reserved for the Dwarfs, and of all sacrifices to Hashut, none are more favored than, those loyal to the treacherous Ancestor Gods.
VICTORY GAINS
The main thing the Chaos Dwarfs will want, no matter the land or the enemy, is slaves. Enemy technology does not really interest them (they view their own as innately superior), and unless the mercenaries of that land are as easy to bully and manipulate as the Hobgoblins they aren't likely to be interested in that avenue either. But slaves they always have need of. They will capture all that they don't kill, dragging them back to their dark land to toil away beneath the earth, or be sacrificed to their dark and burning god.
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