Dwarfs (Warhammer Armies S.)

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Experts in binding the Winds of Magic to stone or metal, Dwarfs can use Oathgold in conjuction with trade resources to make magical weapons, armour, talismans, and enchanted items to improve their characters' strength. Additionally, they can use Oathgold to craft powerful runes which can be equipped to characters or regular units. The Underway is a series of ancient tunnels and caverns underground. On the campaign map, Dwarfs armies can enter Use Underway stance to travel underneath impassable terrain and avoid enemies. However, there is a risk that other races will intercept them, forcing a battle in the underground realm. Some of the assembled kings realised that the only path was to unite into one great host, placing the overall command of the army under Sigmar. Others, however, would not bring themselves to relinquish command over their own warriors to another king, and remained obstinate. Soon, dissension and argument arose between the assembled warlords. Sigmar saw this and was filled with contempt, silencing the dissent with a word. He denounced the shamefulness of their squabbles while a lesser race stood united and poised to destroy humanity. [1d] The following is a list of Army Books and Supplements for the various armies released for the Games Workshop Warhammer Fantasy Battle game. Even as High King Alriksson quieted the crowd to begin the pronouncement, a latecomer marched into the vast hall. It was none other than the High King’s sister’s son, Thorgrim, who had earlier been presumed slain. He was well known in Karaz-a-Karak and had long been mentored by the aged High King. Now he returned, flanked by a sight not seen in Karaz-a-Karak for thousands of years — a contingent of Dwarfs from Norsca. For during the campaign in Kislev, after High King Alriksson had been injured, it had been Thorgrim who had re-established the old ties with those long distant clans. In turn, each of the Norscan kings spoke of Thorgrim, and of the deeds of valour he had performed in the icy north; of great monsters slain and battles won. Such acts were not the extent of Thorgrim’s journeys. [1d]

A dwarf king’s edicts are rarely challenged, but he is never a tyrannical ruler. To temper his ambitions and guide his rule, a Council of Elders meets with him when important decisions must be made. The council comprises the wisest, oldest, and richest longbeards of the hold, as well as the high priests of the Ancestor Gods, the masters of the great guilds, and other respected personages such as chief victualler and the king’s treasurer.Unbeknownst to the Dwarfs, by -2700 IC, the Elves within their homeland of Ulthuan were consumed in a destructive Civil War following the assassination of Phoenix King Bel Shanaar by none other than Prince Malekith himself. This event, coined by the Elves as the Sundering split the Elven people into two factions, with the High Elves still controlling Ulthuan and her colonies under the new Phoenix King, Caledor the Conqueror, whilst the Dark Elves preceded to reign over their new-found kingdom of Naggaroth with Malekith as their new Witch King. [1d] From their fortress strongholds in and below the snow-capped mountains, the Dwarfs look out upon a world they once ruled. Many millennia of war and invasion have embittered the Dwarfs, forging them into a race of hardened warriors. Now they seek to reclaim what was once their own. They miss no opportunity to record a grudge and will go to any lengths to settle old scores with the edge of an axe. No Warhammer Fantasy Army books are considered current as in 2015 Games Workshop discontinued Warhammer: Fantasy Battle and replaced it with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

The most important principles of Dwarf society are often summarised by three things: age, wealth, and skill. [2b] The more of these a Dwarf has, the higher you are in Dwarf society. Dwarfs do not boast of their family achievements, they merely set the record straight and proclaim their ancestors' greatness by their own personal wealth and skills. Unlike humans, Dwarfs live naturally long lives, with some growing as old as several centuries to even a thousand years of age. [4b] Games Workshop and Warhammer Forge (the fantasy division of Forge World, a subsidiary of Games Workshop) have released expansions to the 8th edition game. Dwarfs are master craftspeople; their magical rune items and advanced war machines are renowned across the world. They see the work of other races as inferior and even have a special word for human-made devices which they call umgak, meaning "shoddy." Perhaps the greatest Dwarf creations are their underground strongholds which are indisputable wonders of the world. Each is a massive underground city, and in the lower levels great forges and mine-works. The Underway once connected all of these, although much of it has fallen into disrepair. With the Resurgent Update for Total War: Warhammer II, Ungrim Ironfist was moved to his own faction, Karak Kadrin. Oathgold and The Forge mechanic was also added in this patch.

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However, some that sought power were seduced by an easier path to greatness, the lure of Chaos. As a race, Men were far more susceptible to its siren call, and their bodies were easily corrupted. The wisest among Men listened to the warnings of the Dwarfs, for the elder race told how close the dark powers of Chaos had once come to consume the world. Even so, in their travels to the far north, the Dwarfs met the wilder peoples of Norsca and the Kurgan. To the east, they saw the Hung, and recognised them too for what they were, ready supplicants to the Dark Gods. The champions of those tribes grew powerful under the baleful influence of pure Chaos, and their influence was spreading. Even in the Empire, signs of malignancy were steadily growing. [1d] Runelords and Runesmiths bind the Winds of Magic into Runes in stone and metal. Runic Magic skills do not consume Winds of Magic, like spells do. Instead, when a Runelord or Runesmith casts a Rune, there is a cooldown which prevents that particular Runelord or Runesmith from casting any more Runes until it expires. This mechanic was added in Total War: Warhammer II, in the previous game, Rune skills are normal character abilities and do not have this cooldown effect. Their slow movement is offset by using the Underway to traverse impassable terrain and avoid enemy forces, allowing them to fight defensive battles on their own terms, which they excel at. It was during this time that their gods, Grungni, Valaya, and other lesser deities disappeared from the Dwarf realm. It is popularly believed by the majority of the Dwarf people that they delved into the mountains' hearts, and returned from whence they came. With the departure of their Gods, the rule of the Dwarfen realm fell upon High King Snorri Whitebeard, eldest son of Lord Grungni himself. Snorri presided to reign over his people after a successful campaign of extermination and eradication against the remnants of the Daemonic Legions, climaxing in the victorious Battle of Karag Vlak, where the armies of Snorri Whitebeard and Prince Malekith fought side by side for the last time. Forged in battle and tempered with blood and loss, the Dwarfs remain defiant and unbowed. They have grown as stubborn and unyielding as the mountains in which they dwell.

After thousands of years of warfare, many clans have been wiped out or driven far from their homelands, their original holds lost or destroyed. In this way, surviving strongholds now house not just their founders, but also Dwarfs from many different clans. These displaced clans pledge fealty to a new king, swearing oaths to fight for their adopted stronghold. However, no matter where a clan re-settles, or how long they remain with a new hold, they maintain a strong sense of their unique identity and harbour hopes of one day reclaiming their aDwarfs are known far and wide as the greatest miners and tunnellers [2b] -- the ageless halls of Karaz-a-Karak are but one gigantic example of how huge their works can become. [1e] The Dwarfs are also highly proficient smiths and craftsmen, capable of producing works far more beautiful than the Elven metalworkers in far Ulthuan and hundreds of times more valuable than the trinkets of Men. [2b] Priding themselves in their loyalty between one-another, only a handful of Dwarfs have ever tried to usurp the throne of a Dwarf King in its history, making a large-scale Civil War between various Karaks near non-existent. Only if a royal line is extinguished or disgraced will the throne be open for legitimacy. In such an event, there are several possibilities and outcomes. Either a high-ranking individual such as a Thane or Prince will be found worthy of succession, or a highly prestigious Dwarf Clan can take up the mantle as the new Royal Clan. [1f] With the help of the High Elves, however, a new system could be devised to allow humans to wield the winds without opening themselves to corruption. With this new status quo possible, Magnus declared an amnesty to those who could use magic, subject to the judgement of the High Elves. Teclis and his brethren subsequently used their own arts to assemble those who could be taught. The High Elven wizard Teclis and his companions had joined Magnus during the march north and assisted him with their advice and magic and also trained a few of the Imperial wizards in how to use magic to defend their brethren. [1d]

In the distant past, the Dwarf Ancestor Gods led their people to establish their strongholds under the World's Edge Mountains, teaching them the arts of smithing, runemaking and warfare. When Chaos came and Daemon armies marched across the world, the Ancestor Gods departed. The Dwarfs were able to weather the assault in their fortresses, although those Dwarfs who had ventured east of the mountains were lost...Below the King is a class of nobles with varying degrees of titles and status, usually taking the name of Thanes. These high-ranking Dwarfs are amongst the oldest, wealthiest, and most skilled individuals within their Kingdom, and each is often the leaders of a single Dwarf Clan. These Thanes owe fealty to their Dwarf King and are allowed to hold an important office within the ruling body, but such a position is not inherently hereditary but rather given to those of great skill and merit. [1i] Council of Elders [ ]