Dwarf Treasure Hunters
Grade: 1a
Source: Town Cryer #4 (PDF), revised in Mordheim Annual 2002
Setting: Mordheim
Author: Mark Havener
Dwarfs are a grim and exceptionally proud people. They respect three things above all else: age, wealth and skill. It is no surprise then that these grim warriors can be found in Mordheim searching for fame and fortune.
Occasionally, a Dwarf noble will find himself in desperate times. His family hold may have been overrun by Goblins or Skaven, or he may have somehow disgraced himself and been banished. Other Dwarfs know these warriors as the Dispossessed. Dwarfs are a proud race and it is against a Dwarf’s nature to lose himself in despair. Instead, a noble who finds himself in such dire straits will gather together a group of his closest friends and kin and go treasure hunting, hoping to accumulate a large enough hoard to establish his own holding. At this time, the largest source of wealth in the Known World is rumoured to be a city in the Empire. The city is known as Mordheim…
Special Rules
All Dwarfs are subject to the following special rules:
Hard to Kill. Dwarfs are tough, resilient individuals who can only be taken out of action on a roll of 6 instead of 5-6 when rolling on the Injury chart. Treat a roll of 1-2 as knocked down, 3-5 as stunned, and 6 as out of action.
Hard Head. Dwarfs ignore the special rules for maces, clubs, etc. They are not easy to knock out!
Armour. Dwarfs never suffer movement penalties for wearing armour.
Hate Orcs and Goblins. All Dwarfs hate Orcs and Goblins. See the psychology section of the Mordheim rules for details on the effects of hatred.
Grudgebearers. Dwarfs hold an ancient grudge against Elves from the days when the two races fought for supremacy in the Old World. A Dwarf warband may never include any kind of Elven Hired Sword or Dramatis Personae.
Incomparable Miners. Dwarfs spend much of their lives underground searching for precious minerals, and they are the best in the world at this kind of work. In the city of Mordheim they apply similar skills to the search for wyrdstone. When checking for wyrdstone at the end of a game, add +1 to the number of pieces found for a Dwarf warband.
Choice of warriors
A Dwarf warband must include a minimum of 3 models. You have 500 gold crowns which you can use to recruit and equip your warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband is 12.
- Noble: Each Dwarf warband must have one Noble – no more, no less!
- Engineer: Your warband may include up to 1 Engineer.
- Troll Slayers: Your warband may include up to 2 Troll Slayers.
- Dwarf Clansmen: Your warband may include any number of Dwarf Clansmen.
- Dwarf Thunderers: Your warband may include up to 5 Dwarf Thunderers.
- Beardlings: Your warband may include any number of Beardlings.
Starting experience
- A Noble starts with 20 experience.
- An Engineer starts with 10 experience.
- Troll Slayers start with 8 experience.
- Dwarf Clansmen start with 0 experience.
- Dwarf Thunderers start with 0 experience.
- Beardlings start with 0 experience.
Dwarf Skill Table
| Combat | Shooting | Academic | Strength | Speed | Special | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Engineer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Troll Slayer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Dwarf Special Skills
Dwarf Heroes may use the following Skill table instead of any of the standard Skill tables available to them.
Master of Blades
This Dwarf’s martial skills surpass those of a normal warrior; he has fought unscathed against hordes of Orcs and Goblins. When using a weapon that has a Parry special rule, this hero parries successfully if he beats or matches his opponents highest ‘to hit’ roll, not just if he beats the roll. In addition, if this warrior is using two weapons that have the Parry special rule, he is allowed to parry two attacks (if his two dice match or beat the two highest Attack dice against him) instead of the normal maximum of one. Note that if this Dwarf has two Dwarf axes (as detailed above) he can reroll any failed parries.
Extra Tough
This Dwarf is notorious for walking away from wounds that would kill a lesser being. When rolling on the Heroes Serious Injury chart for this Hero after a game in which he has been taken out of action, the dice may be re-rolled once. The result of this second dice roll must be accepted, even if it is a worse result.
Resource Hunter.
This Dwarf is especially good at locating valuable resources. When rolling on the Exploration chart at the end of a game, the Hero may modify one dice roll by +1/-1.
True Grit
Dwarfs are hardy individuals and this Hero is hardy even for a Dwarf! When rolling on the Injury table for this Hero, a roll of 1-3 is treated as knocked down, 4-5 as stunned, and 6 as out of action.
Thick Skull
The Hero has a thick skull, even for a Dwarf. He has a 3+ save on a D6 to avoid being stunned. If the save is made, treat a stunned result as knocked down instead. If the Dwarf also wears a helmet, this save is 2+ instead of 3+ (this takes the place of the normal Helmet special rule).
Dwarf equipment lists
The following lists are used by Dwarf warbands to pick their equipment.
Dwarf Warrior Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Dwarf axe | 15 gc |
| Double-handed weapon | 15 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Halberd | 10 gc |
| Gromril weapon* | 3 times the cost |
Missile Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pistol | 15 gc (30 for a brace) |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light armour | 20 gc |
| Heavy armour | 50 gc |
| Gromril armour** | 75 gc |
| Shield | 5 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
*Any weapon a Dwarf may normally purchase may be bought as a Gromril weapon instead. This multiplies the cost of the weapon by 3. For rules on Gromril weapons see the Mordheim rulebook. Note that this price is only for a starting warband, as it represents the Dwarfs outfitting themselves at their own stronghold. Later purchases of Gromril weapons are done using the price chart in the Mordheim rules.
**The price of a suit of Gromril armour is cheaper for a starting warband to represent the relative ease with which Dwarfs can find such items in their own stronghold. Later purchases of Gromril armour must be done using the normal price chart in the Mordheim rules.
Thunderer Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light armour | 20 gc |
| Heavy armour | 50 gc |
| Shield | 5 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
heroes
1 Dwarf Noble
85 gold crowns to hire
Dwarf Nobles are fortune seekers who have recruited a band of like-minded Dwarfs and set off from their stronghold in search of riches. A Dwarf Noble is well respected by the members of his warband. Often he is a member of one of the noble families of the lost Dwarf strongholds, dreaming of collecting enough treasure to restore the former glory of the Dwarf Kingdoms.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: A Dwarf Noble may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
Special Rules
Leader: Any models in the warband within 6" of the Dwarf Noble may use his Leadership instead of their own.
0 – 1 Dwarf Engineer
50 gold crowns to hire
Dwarf Engineers are respected members of Dwarf society. It is they who design and build the complex war machines and devices which have made the Dwarfs famous.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: A Dwarf Engineer may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from Dwarf Thunderer equipment list.
SPECIAL RULES
Expert Weaponsmith: A Dwarf Engineer is a master of mechanical devices. By using stronger construction materials and time-tested secrets of Dwarf engineering, a Dwarf Engineer can increase the distance the warband's missile weapons can shoot. Missile weapons bought from the warband's basic equipment lists have their range increased by 3" for pistols and 6" for crossbows and handguns. Range increases only apply in battles in which the Engineer takes part (though they do apply even if he is yet to enter the battlefield or has already been taken out of action in this battle). He has no effect on the equipment of Hired Swords.
0 – 2 Dwarf Troll Slayers
50 gold crowns to hire
Troll Slayers are members of the morbid Dwarf cult obsessed with seeking an honourable death in combat. Having committed some unforgivable crime or been dishonoured in some way, a Dwarf will forsake his home and wander off to die fighting the enemies of Dwarfkind. Troll Slayers are insanely dangerous individuals, psychopathic and violent. There are however few better fighters in the Known World, so they are much sought after by Dwarf treasure hunters.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Troll Slayers may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list. Slayers may never carry or use missile weapons or any form of armour.
SPECIAL RULES
Deathwish: Troll Slayers seek an honourable death in combat. They are completely immune to all psychology and never need to test if fighting alone.
Slayer Skills: Troll Slayers may choose a skill from the Troll Slayer Skill table instead of the normal Skill tables when they gain a new skill.
TROLL SLAYER SKILLS
Dwarf Slayers may use the following Skill table as well as any of the standard Skill tables available to them.
Ferocious Charge: The Slayer may double his attacks on the turn in which he charges. He will suffer a -1 ‘to hit’ penalty on that turn.
Monster Slayer: The Slayer always wounds any opponent on a roll of 4+, regardless of Toughness, unless his own Strength (after all modifiers due to weapon bonuses, etc) would mean that a lower roll than this is needed.
Berserker: The Slayer may add +1 to his close combat ‘to hit’ rolls during the turn in which he charges.
henchmen
(Bought in groups of 1-5)
Dwarf Clansmen
40 gold crowns to hire
These are Dwarf warriors in their prime: tough, stubborn and brave warriors who can be relied on to hold their own against any foe.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Dwarf Clansmen may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
0 – 5 Dwarf Thunderers
40 gold crowns to hire
Dwarf Thunderers are experts at using missile weapons. Many an Orc or Goblin has died by the sting of a crossbow bolt or a roaring handgun bullet shot by a Dwarf Thunderer.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Thunderers may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Thunderer equipment list.
Beardlings
25 gold crowns to hire
These are young Dwarfs who have joined the retinue of an experienced Dwarf treasure hunter hoping to make their fortune.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Weapons/Armour: Beardlings may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.