Dwarf (Warhammer)
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This WFB or WH40K-related article or section describes an aspect of the series in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
- This article is about dwarfs in Warhammer Fantasy. For other uses of the term, see dwarf (disambiguation).
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, The Dwarfs are a race of short, stout humanoids very much akin to the portrayal of dwarves in many other fantasy worlds, such as The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons. Dwarfs in the Warhammer setting are proud warriors highly driven by honor that never forget a slight.
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[edit] Homeland
Dwarfs reside mainly in the hills and mountains of the "Old World" where they have their strongholds. Their empire once ran as a series of holds throughout the mountain ranges joined by tunnels. Since the peak some strongholds have fallen and the tunnel ways lost so the strongholds are more isolated. The loss of the holds has been to orcs and other goblins or to the Skaven. There is a reputed "lost" hold in the Southlands and to the north the Dwarfs there in Norsca have become a little less civilized and more separate from the main - the largest hold there is Kraka Drak. Substantial numbers of Dwarfs have settled in the human nations of the Old World; particularly the Empire where their technical skills are appreciated and some serve in the Imperial armies. These expatriate dwarfs were once available as regiments within the Imperial Army but were removed in the 4th edition of the Empire list.
There are a number of important and named holds in the Dwarf Kingdoms. Only one dwarf hold - Barak Varr - is situated on the sea - where the Dwarf sea fleet is based.
Dwarfs have also settled in the New World of Lustria.
[edit] History
Little is known about early dwarf history but dawi as they were known were probably assisted in their development by the mysterious and enigmatic Old Ones. It is said that the dwarfs were foretold of the great catastrophe that befell the Warhammer world by their patron god, Grungni.
After the catastrophe of the Coming of Chaos, the dwarfs emerged to find their world changed and warped. Mutated Beastmen roamed freely throughout the land, slaying everyone in their path. Warriors of the Chaos Gods murdered and pillaged at will, and Daemons created nightmare realms, enslaving entire tribes and peoples.
It was Grungni himself that forged the first weapons and armour, while teaching the dwarfs to do the same. Then after he forged the first magical runes, capturing the wild winds of magic and harnessing their power into them, creating even more potent weapons, axes and hammers, as well as runes that gave runic protection into armor and talismans. He armed the Ancestor God Grimnir with two axes and armor harder than the bones of mountains, and he and his first runesmiths armed the rest of the dwarfs to do battle.
Soon after their re-emergence the dwarfs first encountered the High Elves from Ulthuan. The two races had a period of prosperous development but a disastrous war known to the elves as the 'War of the Beard' and to the dwarfs as the 'War of Vengeance' almost completely destroyed the two races. The dwarfs now live in isolated strongholds of decreasing population and their once proud empire lays in tatters.
[edit] The War of Vengeance
The War of Vengeance was the cataclysmic war that took place between the dwarfs of the Old World and the elves of Ulthuan shortly after the great catastrophe. The war was started by Dark Elves, pretending to be High Elves, attacking dwarf colonies and trading parties. The war received its nickname after High King Gotrek Starbreaker of the dwarfs sent an emissary to Ulthuan, demanding recompenses, doubled, for the losses incurred by the dwarfs. Phoenix King Caledor II returned the dwarf minus his beard several days later. To lose one's beard is the ultimate insult to a dwarf and thus the war was known as War of the Beard to the elves while the dwarfs, not to take such things lightly, call it the War of Vengeance. The war culminated in the siege of the elf city of Tor Alessi, with High King Starbreaker killing the elvish Phoenix King Caledor and taking the Phoenix Crown as recompense, shattering the elven empire in the Old World and resulting in the elves eventual retreat to Ulthuan, save for those who would become Wood Elves.
[edit] Physical Characteristics
Dwarfs are on average a good deal shorter than either men or elves of the Warhammer world making them ideally suited to the tunnels in which they live and work (the average dwarf being estimated to be at approximately 4'5"-5'0"). Their bodies seem purpose built for manual labor, solidly muscled, broad shouldered and large thick fingered hands that belie considerable manual dexterity. Dwarfs are a very long lived race with lifespans that can run into centuries. As a dwarf becomes older so his beard becomes longer and thicker. Since dwarfs have a deep inbuilt respect for age it would be unthinkable for a dwarf to cut off or even trim their beards. Like the Orcs, dwarfs appear to become stronger and stronger the older they get, but unlike the Orcs, there appears to be a "Breaking Point" where the dwarf's health declines rapidly, always happening just a few years before the dwarf dies of old age.
Female dwarfs are very rarely seen outside dwarf realms which has led many people to believe that dwarf males can have babies or that dwarf women have beards. However Games Workshop has released several models in the past depicting female dwarfs, such and Blood Bowl cheerleaders and Queen Helgar, which is still available from Mail Order. These models, like their male counterparts, are heavily built, armed and armored; are muscular and grim, but instead of long beards have long hair wound into similar braids, worn beneath the helmet which they treasure as greatly as males do their beard.
[edit] Magic
Magic in its usual forms is distrusted, and even loathed, by a great many of the Dwarven population. The general consensus is that magic is too erratic and volatile to fool around with, let alone rely on in battle.
However, Dwarfs do place considerable emphasis on embedding magic within certain items e.g. axes, hammers, shields, and armor suits through Runesmithing. Aspiring Runesmiths will spend years and years as an apprentice to a Runelord who will gradually teach them to inscribe items with symbols that have great magical power.
The Anvil of Doom is used by only the most skilled Runelords to wreak devastating destruction upon any foe foolish enough to meet the Dwarfs in battle. Magical stones are placed upon the anvil and runic symbols are hammered into them which results in astonishing elemental power that can be directed against the Dwarfs’ foe.
[edit] Society
Dwarf society is mainly Monarchistic and organized into strongholds each governed by a king. The kings of each stronghold are largely independent but during times of trouble or war it is The High King who takes ultimate charge. The High King can often be seen at the forefront of the battle, fighting on the front line and leading by valiant example. Outside of strongholds dwarfs are organized into clans. Clans are like an extensive family group, all sharing common ancestry although mostly not directly related.
[edit] Language
The Khazalid is a deeply conservative language that has not changed noticeably in many thousands of years either in its spoken or written runic form. The Dwarfs are extremely proud of their tongue which they rarely speak in the company of other races, although the priesthood of Sigmar was taught the Khazalid language 2,500 years ago, as a gift from the dwarven king saved by Sigmar.
The Dwarf language includes very few words of obvious Elven or Human origin. By contrast there are many loan words from Khazalid in the tongues of Men, which suggests that Dwarfs must have taught some fundamental words to their taller allies. This is most obviously the case of words to do with traditional Dwarvish craftskills of smithying and masonry, skills which Dwarfs taught Men many centuries ago.
The sound of Khazalid is entirely separate from human speech and even further from the melodious sounds of Elvish. It is guttural tongue; comparisons have been drawn to the rumbling of thunder. All dwarfs have deep, resonant voices and a tendency to speak more loudly than is strictly necessary. Khazalid vowel sounds in particular are uncompromisingly precise and heavily accented. Consonants are often spat aggressively or gargelled at the back of the throat. Contrary to Men, whose dialect differs widely depending on Geographic location, the Dwarfs remain fairly consistent in dialect across the Dwarven Empire, although there are notable exceptions (notably Malakai Makaisson from the novel Daemonslayer whose "northern" dialect is represented as a Scottish burr).
[edit] Dwarf Military
What follows are descriptions of the many Dwarf military forces, their background, and effects in the game.
[edit] Longbeards
Longbeards are old and wise Dwarfs and are very experienced warriors, such is evidenced by his beard. A longbeard's long beard grants them total respect from other Dwarfs. Longbeards are verterans of many wars and have endured far more hardships than most beardlings (young Dwarfs) can imagine and as such they grumble about how everything is less scary or well made as it was in their day. Longbeards on the field of battle are very powerful and do not suffer distress about minor shifts in the battle situation which might panic a younger dwarf.
Within the game Longbeards are equipped in much the same way as dwarf warriors but due to their experience (and long beards!!) they are better at hitting enemies and wounding them and are immune to panic.
[edit] Ironbreakers
Dwarf Ironbreakers are the guardians of the lower deeps of dwarf holds, they are experienced tunnel fighters and often fight against skaven and goblins attempting to tunnel into a Dwarf hold, without their efforts most dwarf holds would have almost certainly fallen to enemy attacks. Dwarf Ironbreakers are professional Dwarf soldiers in that they are perpetually under arms, due to their status as professional tunnel fighters they are armoured with the best dwarf armour available, gromril, which can protect a Dwarf from many a rock fall and enemy blade. Dwarf Ironbreakers also find themselves fighting battles on the surface and they form an armoured shield, a bulwark agains enemy attacks, but for every battle they fight on the surface, they've faced dozens below the ground.
In game terms, Dwarf Ironbreakers have high weapon skill, good strength and great armour and leadership characteristics, as a result of this hardiness, many opponents would avoid fighting them and would attempt to tackle less hardy soldiers.
[edit] Dwarf Thunderers and Quarrellers
Dwarf Quarrellers and Thunderers form the bulk of the missile contingent in a Dwarf Army. There was once a time when Dwarf powder weapns had not been invented and Dwarf Quarrellers reigned supreme with their crossbows but over time as the Dwarf Handgun came into common usage the Crossbow lost its dominance, nowadays most Dwarf armies see a pretty even split of Quarrellers and Thunderers. Dwarfs are naturally methodical and slow to panic so are suited to reloading and firing both weapons calmly even when the enemy is right on top of them. The competition between various engineers is such that in the efforts to make increasingly better and more reliable weapons Dwarf Handguns have become the most effective weapons of their type in the world, most Thunderers have crafted their own weapons and over the years add many augmentations and improvementd and are as a result very proud of their weapons, despite this however many Dwarfs stick to the good old and reliable crossbow as they begrudge the cost of powder and a bit of brute force will propel a bolt as far as a bullet, there have even been known instances of dwarfs improving their crossbows, though of course this is strictly without the engineers' guild's knowledge...
On the tabletop both units are highly effective at shooting with the choice between the two often being kept more as personal preference rather than any real advantage offerred by either one, a Dwarf Thunderer is more effective at shooting but is more expensive points wise, so the debate rages on.
[edit] Slayers
A notable aspect to Dwarf culture is the Slayer Oath. A Dwarf who has suffered a great shame, loss, or humiliation will dye his hair and beard orange, and cut it into a Mohawk using pig grease to stick it in place. Before taking up his axe, they will get a blue tattoo on his face and over certain parts of his body. He will then go out into the world, seeking out an honorable death in combat, and in doing so undo his dishonor. Those who continue to survive their repeated attempts to get themselves killed (a Dwarf is psychologically incapable of either suicide or fighting to lose) become fearsome warriors. One of the most (or least, depending on your point of view) successful Slayers of all time is Gotrek Gurnisson, a Slayer made famous by the books written about him by his longtime companion Felix Jaeger. Due to constantly searching for their doom, natural selection ensures that most Slayers are far above the average warrior.
Within the game, Slayers' level of ability is noted by what they are trying to die in battle against - moving up through the progression of Troll Slayer, Giant Slayer, Dragon Slayer, and Daemon Slayer. It is worth noting that there are an extremely small amount of Daemon Slayers, as most Slayers seeking their doom from Dragons and Daemons soon find it. In certain editions of the WFB game all Slayers of different levels formed a single unit, although the fighting capabilities of the various elements varied. A Slayer may only join a unit of other slayers.
[edit] Influence of Chaos
In ancient times, some Dwarfs moved far to the east over the mountains, and were caught by the onslaughts of Chaos. Dwarfs are very resistant to the forces of Chaos, but these changed over time, becoming the evil natured Chaos Dwarfs. In many ways they are the antithesis of the Dwarfs that remained. Where Dwarfs shun most magic except for Runic magic (which is unique to them) Chaos Dwarfs have embraced it; where Dwarfs worship their Ancestor Gods, Chaos Dwarfs worship "Hashut, Father of Darkness". Dwarfs abhor slavery and hate the "greenskin" races (Goblins, Orcs and the like) but the Chaos Dwarfs rely on slaves and are allied with or are overlords of many greenskin tribes, most of them Hobgoblins. The Chaos dwarfs are even responsible for the creation of the Black Orcs.
[edit] Beliefs and mythology
Dwarfs venerate their ancestors and their deities are the "Ancestor Gods" which are said to have been formed from the very stone of the world itself. There are three main ones: Valaya, Grungni, and Grimnir.
- Grungni is the patron of the forge and miners, and is depicted as the wisest of the Ancestor Gods, typically taking place as the "head" of the gods.
- Valaya is the patron of Runesmiths. It is said she is sleeping deep within the mountains until a time when she is needed again.
- Grimnir was a great warrior with two rune axes. He helped the High Elves defeat Chaos at the northern Chaos Gates and it is assumed he died there. Of his weapons, one axe is now held by Thorgrim Grudgebearer and the other axe was taken with him to battle the chaos forces of the northern gate in the first chaos invasion. Some believe the second axe is the weapon wielded by the Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson.
[edit] Notable Dwarf characters
- Gotrek Gurnisson is the most (or perhaps the least) successful Slayer and travels the world seeking his doom with his human companion and rememberer Felix Jaeger, in a series of novels by William King. Gotrek Gurnisson is also thought to possess the second of the axes of Grimnir.
- Malakai Makaisson is thought to be the best engineer who ever lived. He was drummed out of the Guild of Engineers after the first airship fiasco (which exploded on take-off, killing 30 experienced Engineers)and became a Slayer, though he still works as an Engineer. Inside the game he can be fielded as using a goblin hewer- a large axe throwing war machine. In the background story, he appears in several of the adventures of Gotrek and Felix, as an old friend and companion of Gotrek.
- The First Edition Characters: Sigurd Strongarm, Sigrat Blackbrow, Sigrun Slenderhank, Skeggi Brokenback, Saugron Brittlebone and Thorgrim Branedimm. Thorgrim wields the magical warhammer Foebane. They are the characters in the scenario The Ziggurat of Doom (situated in Dwarfstrangle).
- Perhaps the most famous of all dwarfs is Josef Bugman. Bugman was a master dwarf brewer who was world renowned for his famous beers, known as Bugman's XXXXXX. However one night, returning from a trading trip in the Empire, he found his brewery ablaze, attacked by a raiding party of Goblins. Since then Bugman and his rangers have travelled the old world fighting with the Goblins and Orcs.
- The current High King of the Dwarfs is Thorgrim Grudgebearer who carries the Great Book of Grudges and has sworn to make sure all of them are avenged.Inside game terms he is carried into battle by four shield bearers atop the golden throne and carrying one of the axes of Grimnir.
- A well known character amongst reader of the White Dwarf magazine is one who shares its name with the magazine. The White Dwarf (often called Grombrindal) is possibly the most feared and respected of all the Dwarf heroes (by his enemies and fellows alike). He has had 4 miniature incarnations (the 4th being released for 26th May 2007 only) and has had varying background details over the years. Many rumours persist about his true persona, the most common being that he is the ancient dwarf king Snorri Whitebeard, the only king to be shown proper respect by the elves, a great warrior who swore to return to the aid of his people in their time of greatest need. Often he will appear and fight alongside Dwarf forces in dire peril, and when he joins them, the Dwarves are almost always victorious. He is currently "employed" by White Dwarf to write the Editorial for the magazine.
- Another well known character is King Alrik Ranulfsson of Karak Hirn. He was depicted as a traditionalist by even Dwarf standards, King Alrik's armies could not include more thunderers than crossbowman or quarrelers. Alrik stood on top of a shield carried by shieldbearers in a manner similar to that of Vitalstatistix from the Asterix books. Although once represented as a character inside the previous edition of the Dwarf army book, Alrik has now largely passed out of common usage. Rules for him, however, can still be found on the Games Workshop website.
- Thorek Ironbrow is a dwarf runelord and master of the weapon worshops of Karak Azul. Thorek Ironbrow is one of the few runelords that use the power of the anvil of doom. Inside game terms he is seen fielded with his anvil of doom and his assistant Kraggi, as a result of his superior experience Thorek Ironbrow strikes runes at ancient power more easily than other runelords making him very reliable and powerful.
[edit] Dwarven Technology
The dwarfs are by far Warhammer's most technologically advanced race, and are regarded as consummate engineers. Where other races use wooden ships to travel overseas, the dwarfs use ironclad dreadnoughts and nautilius, the Warhammer equivalent of early battleships and submarines. They have also pioneered the development of black powder and steam technology such as cannons, handguns and Gyrocopters (helicopters). They have shared some of this technology with Humans, but still consider the work of the 'Manlings' to be shoddy in comparison to good dwarven work.
The most innovative examples of Dwarven engineering are the Organ Gun (a cannon with multiple light-calibre barrels and a high rate of fire), the Flame Cannon (a massive flamethrower artillery piece with the capacity to destroy entire units), and the Ungrim Ankor, a vast hub of mining tunnels connected to all the Dwarf Strongholds in the Old World.
[edit] Army Tactics
Dwarfs have some of the most tough, magic resistant and high leadership troops in the game so far only equaled by Lizardmen. Players playing against a well organized Dwarf army will find them nearly impossible to break; their War machines and shooting troops are some of the best in the game. Unfortunately dwarfs move very slowly and have low initiative which means that most of the time they will never get the first strike in close combat and not very often, when compared to other races, be the ones to declare charges. This leaves them very vulnerable to skirmish armies and other fast moving armies as the dwarfs lacks fast moving units able to intercept and counter the opponent’s fast moving units.
Most players who play Dwarfs will often find that the best tactic to use is to play very defensive and rely on shooting and high leadership and toughness to take care of most of the enemy’s troops before entering in close combat.
[edit] References
Warhammer Army Book: Dwarfs; Rick Priestley Nigel Stillman; Games Workshop; 1993; ISBN 1 872372 66 X
[edit] See also
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