Black Dwarfs

Grade: 1c
Source: Border Town Burning (PDF)
Setting: Border Town Burning

Lore

Few scholars know how exactly these Dwarfs came to be the evil and twisted creatures of Chaos they are now. A long and slow warping process has changed them forever. Sundered from others of their kind, trapped in underground holds on the ash-choked Plain of Zharr, darkness swept over them. From a worship born out of desperation, the bull-shaped god Hashut became their saviour and the Dwarfs of Karak Vlag became a perverted mockery of their former selves. Through infernal pacts with their mysterious daemon deity this bitter race has endured and gained an unnatural mastery of foul magic. They practice bloodthirsty rites which involve throwing captives into burning cauldrons of molten metal.

The Black Dwarfs constantly trade armour, weapons and machines forged out of precious metals with their hammers and vile sorcery, for fresh supplies and victims. Those condemned souls are brought back to the Dark Lands. Deep beneath the the ziggurat shaped obsidian tower they are sentenced to toil in the labour pits of Mingol Zharr-Naggrund, the City of Fire and Desolation.

Fell Sorcerer Priests mastermind tactical raids harvesting prisoners on the Silver Road to expand their labour force. Scouting for rich mineral veins and metal ores while scouring the land for wyrdstone deposits, has led detachments of the Children of Darkness to Mordheim.

Special Rules

The following special rules apply to all warriors in the warband excluding Informers:^✏️

Hard to Kill: Like their uncorrupted brethren, Chaos 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: Chaos Dwarfs ignore the special rules for clubs, maces, etc. They too are not easy to knock out!

Armour: Chaos Dwarfs never suffer movement penalties for wearing armour.

Hired Swords: A Chaos Dwarf warband may hire the following Hired Swords: Ogre Bodyguard, Pit Fighter, Warlock, Imperial Assassin, and Hobgoblin Scout. They may hire any Hired Sword described as all may hire, or allowed by Orc warbands and Chaos warbands. They may never hire Elves of any sort!

Choice of warriors

A Chaos Dwarf warband must include a minimum of three 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 15.

Sorcerer: Each Chaos Dwarf warband must have one Sorcerer – no more, no less!
Bull Centaur: Your warband may include one Bull Centaur.
Gaolers: Your warband may include up to two Gaolers.
Chaos Dwarfs: Your warband may include up to five Chaos Dwarfs.
Informers: Your warband may include any number of Informers.

Starting experience

A Sorcerer starts with 20 Experience.
A Bull Centaur starts with 10 Experience.
Gaolers start with 8 Experience.
Henchmen start with 0 Experience.

Characteristic increase

Characteristics for warriors may not be increased beyond the maximum limits shown here for Dwarfs and Bull Centaur (Black Dwarfs). Informers are a mixture of races, half-breeds, and mutants. They use the maximum characteristics for humans from the Mordheim rulebook.

Chaos Dwarf Skill Table

	Combat	Shooting	Academic	Strength	Speed	Special
Sorcerer	✓		✓	✓		✓
Bull Centaur	✓			✓
Gaolers	✓	✓		✓		✓

Chaos Dwarf special skills

Chaos Dwarfs may choose to use the following skill list instead of the standard skill lists.

extra tough

A Chaos Dwarf with this skill is notorious for walking away from wounds that would kill a lesser warrior. 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.

chaos engineer

The Hero has great technical skill and can use this to craft wicked armours and weapons. Whenever a Hero with this skill searches for Chaos armour (including Mechanical Suits) or Obsidian Weapons, he gets +3 on the roll.^✏️ This represents the Engineer’s ability to craft these items himself. The Hero ignores the Rarity and Gift of Chaos special rules and may never wear the Chaos Armours.

thick skull

The Hero has a thick skull, even for a Chaos 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 Chaos Dwarf also wears a helmet, this save is 2+ instead of 3+ (this takes the place of the normal Helmet special rule).

resource hunter

This Chaos 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.

tyrant

This skill is for the Chaos Dwarf leader only. This Priest of Hashut is renowned for his tyranny. His word is absolute so his own warband fears his cruelty more then the enemy. When making a Rout test, and if led by a leader with this skill, the leader may inspire his warband to stick around. This skill allows the leader to re-roll any failed Rout test, as long as the leader is not knocked down or stunned. If re-rolled, the new result will apply even if the new result is worse. If the leader is taken out of action the warband must make an immediate Rout test.

true grit

Chaos Dwarfs are hardy individuals and this Hero is resolute, even for a Chaos 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.

Chaos Dwarf equipment lists

The following lists are used by Chaos Dwarf warbands to choose their equipment.

Starting warbands receive special prices on the Mechanical suit and the Engine of Chaos. These special prices represent the lower rarity of these items in the Dark Lands. When attempting to manufacture these items in Mordheim or anywhere else outside Zharr-Naggrund, Chaos Dwarfs pay the full prices, and must roll to acquire them as normal.

Chaos Dwarf 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
Steel Whip*	10 gc
Double-handed weapon	15 gc
Man-catcher*	25 gc

* Gaolers only

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Pistol	15 gc (30 gc for a brace)
Blunderbuss	30 gc
Handgun	35 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Shield	5 gc
Helmet	10 gc
Light armour	20 gc
Heavy armour	50 gc
Mechanical Suit**	175 gc

** Sorcerer only

Miscellaneous Equipment

Item	Cost
Engine of Chaos	125 gc

Informer Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Dagger	1st free/2 gc
Mace	3 gc
Axe	5 gc
Spear	10 gc

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Sling	2 gc
Bow	10 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Shield	5 gc
Helmet	10 gc
Light armour	20 gc

Special Equipment

This warband has access to the following special equipment when purchasing items from the Trading Post, outside their starting list:

Man-catcher

Cost: 25 gc
Availability: Rare 10

Semi-circular prongs mounted on pole-arms are popular among the Gaolers of Zharr-Naggrund. This non-lethal spring loaded device can ensnare the most violent of prisoners.

Range: Close Combat
Strength: As user

Special Rules

Capture: A model taken out of action by a Mancatcher becomes captured. Do not roll for Serious Injuries. The catch is locked up in the Engine of Chaos instead. If the warband does not include an Engine of Chaos, roll for Serious Injuries as normal. Large models, such as Ogres, Trolls and Minotaurs, cannot be captured this way, and neither can animals.

Two-handed: Requires two hands to wield

Obsidian Weapon

Cost: 4 x Price
Availability: Rare 12

Obsidian is mined in the Dark Lands by the minions of Chaos. When expertly derived from its ore, the curious volcanic rock becomes ensorcelled by engineers manufacturing artefacts in the furnaces of Zharr-Naggrund. Forging weapons using these vile techniques requires acute diabolic expertise making them extremely rare.

Range: Close Combat
Strength: As User +1

Special Rules

Blemished: Although not strictly tainted by Chaos, all artefacts of Obsidian are considered tinged with evil, by the same darkness associated with their artisans. Obsidian weapons may never be used by Dwarfs, Elves, Sisters of Sigmar, Witch Hunters or Priests.

Heavy: Obsidian weapons are so heavy that the warrior using them always strikes last, even when charging.

Conflicting Names

Both the Sons of Hashut warband and Border Town Burning contain the Obsidian Weapon. The Sons of Hashut editor recommends your campaign use EITHER the obsidian rules contained, or from Border Town Burning; do not use both, unless you rename one of them for clarity

Steel Whip

Cost: 10 gc
Availability: Common

Another weapon unique to the Sisterhood is the steel whip, made from barbed steel chains.

Range: Close Combat
Strength: As user

Special Rules

Cannot be parried: The steel whip is a flexible weapon and the Priestesses use it with great expertise. Attempts to parry its strikes are futile. A model attacked by a steel whip may not make parries with swords or bucklers.

Whipcrack: When the wielder charges they gain +1A for that turn. This bonus attack is added after any other modifications. When the wielder is charged they gain +1A that they may only use against the charger. This additional attack will 'strike first'. If the wielder is simultaneously charged by two or more opponents they will still only receive a total of +1A. If the wielder is using two whips at the same time then they get +1A for the additional hand weapon, but only the first whip gets the whipcrack +1A.^✏️

Chaos Armour

Cost: 185 gc
Availability: Rare 13

Chaos Armour is a suit of strangely-worked and unnatural metal. It is the mark of a Dark God's favour. While most suits of Chaos Armour are received as Gifts from an Infernal Patron, they can be acquired, though only from Chaos Dwarfs in an exclusive exchange for many captives or perhaps some impossible deed to further their interests.

Save: 4+

Special Rules

Rarity: When searching for Chaos armour a warrior gains +1 on his Rarity roll for each model he took out of action in the previous battle.

Cost: The cost for found Chaos armour is decreased by 1 gold crown for each Experience point the Hero has.

Gift of Chaos: Chaos armour is a gift from the Dark Gods to the worthy warrior. A Hero who has successfully purchased a suit of Chaos armour will never give it away to another warband member but put it on himself immediately. Chaos armour becomes fused to the body of its wearer. It can never be removed.

Spellcasters: Chaos armour does not hinder its wearer from casting spells or rituals. It can be worn by spellcasters but they cannot combine it with a shield or buckler without appropriate skills.

Movement Penalty: There is no Movement penalty for combining Chaos Armour with a Shield.

Mechanical Suit

Cost: 225 gc
Availability: Rare 14

The Curse of Stone comes to all Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers, gradually transforming them to rock from the feet up. Engineers have crafted machines which can transport their Priests as they begin to pay the price for working dark rituals.

Special Rules

Rarity: When searching for Chaos armour a warrior gains +1 on his Rarity roll for each model he took out of action in the previous battle.

Cost: The cost for found Chaos armour is decreased by 1 gold crown for each Experience point the Hero has.

Gift of Chaos: Chaos armour is a gift from the Dark Gods to the worthy warrior. A Hero who has successfully purchased a suit of Chaos armour will never give it away to another warband member but put it on himself immediately. Chaos armour becomes fused to the body of its wearer. It can never be removed.

Spellcasters: Chaos armour does not hinder its wearer from casting spells or rituals. It can be worn by spellcasters but they cannot combine it with a shield or buckler without appropriate skills.

Suited and Booted: A Sorcerer equipped with a Mechanical suit receives +3 to Movement.

Movement Penalty: There is no Movement penalty for combining Chaos Armour with a Shield.

Vehicles

Engine of Chaos

Cost: 195 gc
Availability: Rare 10

Gaolers lock up their victims in a twisted daemonic machine crafted by the industrial insanity of Chaos Engineers. The vehicle is a living prison on wheels. Armoured engines transport captives to the Dark Lands, to feed fuel to furnaces or to become sacrifices.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Engine	-	-	-	-	8	4	-	-	-
Wheel	-	-	-	-	6	1	-	-	-
Daemon	6	-	-	-	6	3	-	-	-

Special Rules

Wagon: The Engine of Chaos follows all rules for Wagons (see Empire in Flames Supplement, p. 30–33) unless specified otherwise here.

Daemon: The Engine of Chaos is powered by the binding of a daemon. All references to draft animals pulling the Wagon should be treated as referring to its daemon. Daemon movement is unaffected by cargo.

Passengers: A Chaos Dwarf must function as the driver. No other models but captives may passage the Engine of Chaos. No more than six captives may be imprisoned in the Engine at a time – large creatures (Ogres, Minotaurs, etc.) count as two models.^❓

Pedal to the Metal: The driver may apply the effects of the lash. If an Engine of Chaos goes out of control for then refer to the Out of Control table. In the event of rolling the result ‘Loss of Control', replace a result of 5 (The wagon yoke pole snaps…) with;

The Daemon has released itself from the sorcery which bound it to the Engine of Chaos. The Engine moves 6" straight ahead and then comes to a halt. The vehicle may no longer move for the remainder of this battle.

Prisoners: Models always become captives when fighting a battle against a Chaos Dwarf warband that has an Engine of Chaos by rolling the Captured result on the Serious Injuries table or by being taken out of action by a Man-catcher. Note that in both cases their equipment is lost to the Chaos Dwarf warband. Some results on the Mordheim Exploration chart let Chaos Dwarfs acquire captives: Straggler (one) and Prisoners (D3). From the Empire in Flames Exploration chart: Raving Lunatic (one), Lost Children (two), Mordheim Refugees (D3), The Hanging Tree (one), Small Farm and Large Farm (two).

Models held as captives can be set free by destroying the Engine of Chaos or by using the prison keys. If a model puts one of the Chaos Dwarf warband's Gaolers out of action they take the keys. A model that takes the keys may free the captives by moving into base contact with the engine. If the Chaos Dwarfs rout before this happens or if the model with the keys is taken out of action (losing the keys to a new keeper), the captives remain captured. Freed captives must always move towards the closest table edge. Captives not from participating warbands use the basic profile for human warriors (see Mercenary warband). Rescued captives return to their former warbands.

Hashut's Reward: The Chaos Dwarfs may choose to send captives back to the Dark Lands after a battle. If they do this, any number of captives must be sacrificed to Hashut. The Engine of Chaos plus one Hero must miss the next battle. Unless there is another engine, no models may be captured until they return. Captives must be removed from their warbands rosters permanently. After the Hero rejoins the warband consult the following table.

Captives	Hashut's Reward
1-3	+1 Experience points for the leader.
4-5	+D3 Experience points which can be distributed among the Heroes.
6	+2D3 Experience points which can be distributed among the Heroes plus D6x5 gold crowns.

heroes

1 Sorcerer

85 gold crowns to hire

It is the Priests of Hashut who administrate insidious edicts on behalf of the Chaos Dwarf race. This includes orchestrating trade agreements with the savage Northmen and Ogre tribes. From out of the Dark Lands they frequently lead warbands to plunder the Silk Road.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	3	4	3	3	4	1	2	1	9

Weapons/Armour: The Sorcerer may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list.

SPECIAL RULES

Leader: Any warrior within 6“ of the Sorcerer may use his Leadership when taking Ld tests.

Wizard: The Sorcerer is a wizard and follows the rules for wizards in the magic section. Sorcerers may cast Rituals of Hashut.

Priest: The Sorcerer starts with two rituals. One of them is the Sacrificial Ritual. The other spell is determined as usual from the Rituals of Hashut.

0 – 1 Bull Centaur

100 gold crowns to hire

Bull Centaurs are keen witted creatures with the upper torso of a Chaos Dwarf and the body of a bull. They are the most favoured disciples to the Father of Darkness. In his divine image these mutated centauroids are fewer in number than Chaos Dwarfs, more powerful and swifter in battle.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	8	4	3	4	4	1	3	2	9

Weapons/Armour: Bull Centaur may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list, but may never use any missile weapons.

Special Rules

Large target: Bull centaurs are large creatures and therefore make tempting targets for archers. Anyone shooting at the Bull Centaur gains a +1 ‘to hit’ and may shoot at it even if it is not the closest target. As large targets a Bull Centaur adds an extra +20 to the warband’s rating.

0 – 2 Gaolers

50 gold crowns to hire

Of all the Black Dwarfs it is the wicked Gaolers who are the most infamous. The minds of these merciless fiends are bent on inflicting pain and their repulsive methods strike fear into the hearts of men. Gaolers delight in the torture of their prisoners for whom death never comes quick enough.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	3	4	3	3	4	1	2	1	9

Weapons/Armour: Gaolers may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list.

Special Rules

Nasty Reputation: Gaolers are known for their brutality. The dreaded sight of them and the very thought of being captured causes fear in Humans.

henchmen

(Bought in groups of 1-5)

Informers

15 gold crowns to hire

For those imprisoned in the foundries of Zharr- Naggrund, the fires of industry burn night and day. There is little reward for a spy, only deceitful promises of freedom. Lies are enough to motivate these treacherous informants into betraying their own kind for small dispensations.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Informers may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Informer Equipment list.

Special Rules

Drudgery: Informers have had their will broken by their masters. Informers may never become Heroes. Re-roll all results of ‘The lad’s got talent’ for them.

0 – 5 Chaos Dwarfs

40 gold crowns to hire

These resentful creatures toil in the forges of their city stronghold. To boost the production of weapons and Chaos armour in the foundries they set out on expeditions armed with blunderbusses to bolster the labour force kept shackled in pits beneath the earth.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	3	4	3	3	4	1	2	1	9

Weapons/Armour: Chaos Dwarfs may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list.