Dwarfs

Dwarfs
Overview
Type	Major Race
Playable Factions	Karaz-a-Karak Clan Angrund Karak Kadrin Ironbrow's Expedition
Legendary lords	Thorgrim Grudgebearer Grombrindal - The White Dwarf Belegar Ironhammer Ungrim Ironfist Thorek Ironbrow
Territory
Climates	Suitable: Unpleasant: Uninhabitable:
Distinct features
;The Forge: Experts in binding the Winds of Magic to stone or metal, Dwarfs can forge magical items to improve their strength in battle. ;Grudges: Scores against the Dwarfs must be settled by any and all means necessary to keep order. ;The Underway: Dwarfs can use the underground tunnels to avoid impassable terrain and enemy forces. ;Unit Roster: Roster of heavily-armoured units with strong leadership and a variety of deadly war machines.

The Dwarfs are a race introduced in Total War: Warhammer. They have four playable factions and five Legendary Lords to choose from.

The Dwarfs are an ancient, proud race of warriors and craftsmen who dwell in great halls deep under the mountains. Easy to offend, they record every grudge in a great tome, written in the blood of kings. Dwarf armies can move through the underway to avoid danger. Most of their units are heavily-armoured infantry, powerful artillery and advanced war machines. Dwarfs have no spellcasters, cavalry or monster units.

Playstyle

• The Forge: Dwarfs use Oathgold and trade resources to forge powerful magical items as well as runes for their characters and units.
• Grudges: Wrongs against the Dwarfs must be avenged by any and all means necessary to keep order.
• The Underway: Dwarfs can use underground tunnels to cross impassable terrain and avoid enemy forces.
• Roster of heavily-armoured infantry with strong leadership and a variety of deadly war machines.

Background

“

By Grungni’s beard, that’s an insult that can only be repaid in kind. Die, you wazzock!

„

Dwarfs are a proud, bearded folk who are quick to temper and easy to offend, with a love of gems, gold and other precious metals. They are short, generally no taller than five-and-a-half foot in height but are broad with powerful arms and stout legs. Dwarfs are master craftsmen; they see the work of other races as inferior and even have a special word in their lexicon for man-made devices which they call "umgak", to mean shoddy. Much of this learning has come from eons of carving out their homes in the mountains; the strongholds under the World's Edge Mountains were undisputable wonders of the world - massive underground cities known as ‘Holds’, and in the lower levels great industrial centres in the form of smelteries, forges and mine works digging ever deeper into the roots of the mountains.

With their Dwarfholds established across the World's Edge Mountains and far beyond, the Dwarfs prospered for many generations. But then came the War of the Beard, a devastating continent-spanning conflict with the High Elves. This decimated the Dwarf Empire, leaving the network of Holds weak. Then their realm was riven by a chain of devastating earthquakes; that’s when the Goblins and other things struck. The Dwarfs' true enemies were revealed to be the devious Goblins, who had for so long coveted their grand halls. Thus the golden age of Karaz Ankor - ‘The Everlasting Realm’ in the Dwarfish tongue of Khazalid - ended.

In recent times, the Dwarfs are a race barely holding onto glories past, with only a few strongholds remaining in their hands and the rest lost to enemies or abandoned to the elements.

To this day the Dawi – as they call themselves - still fight; their ultimate goal is to restore their empire. With their belligerence, such a thing is possible. A Dwarf army or ‘throng’, is a powerful force, consisting of stoic Warriors and using wonders of technological accomplishment that put all other races to shame. Gyrocopters and Gyrobombers fly above the battlefield while cannons fuelled by flame and steam spew death. Dwarfs do not call upon the Winds of Magic in the same way as Elves or men. To them, magic is a tangible thing, something that can be worked into axes, stone or even cannonballs. This is rune magic and Runesmiths, the masters of the art, are adept at creating arcane devices and weapons of great power.

It is with all these elements - stalwart Dwarfish hearts, exceptional armour and weaponry, and their unmatched machines of war - that High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer plans to retake his realm, slaying every last stinking Greenskin in his way! Few doubt his resolve, and for the first time in many generations, the Dwarfs are truly roused to battle - the Great Reckoning begins!

Battle gameplay

In battle, the low mobility of Dwarfs combined with their tough, armoured troops and excellent ranged and artillery units makes them an exceptional defensive race. As most of their troops are quite elite and expensive, they will often be outnumbered by the enemy, however, their high leadership stats mean they will rarely rout — often fighting to the last Dwarf. When fighting against Dwarfs, it is key to outmaneuver them, and bring lots of armour-piercing damage. Dwarfs lack special battle mechanics, but their tough, reliable units ensure they can withstand any foe.

Unit roster

Dwarfs marching to war with High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer sitting high above in the distance. Main article: Dwarfs unit roster Dwarfs armies are mostly made up of stalwart, heavily-armoured infantry. This is backed up by powerful artillery, war machines and tough characters. Most Dwarf units have high leadership, and Longbeards even have a leadership aura similar to characters. In fact, Dwarf units tend to have high stats in general. Like factions such as the High Elves, Dwarf units tend to be expensive and they rely on quality over quantity. Most Dwarfs units are quite slow moving, however the flying Gyrocopters and Gyrobombers are an exception. These war machines are invaluable for their speed, but weak to flying monsters. Template:Navbox dwarfs units

Rune magic

Main article: Rune magic Runelords and Runesmiths bind the Winds of Magic into Runes in stone and metal. Rune magic skills do not consume Winds of Magic, like spells do. Instead, casting one rune causes all Runes to go on cooldown for that Runelord or Runesmith. This mechanic was added in Total War: Warhammer II, in the previous game, Rune skills are normal character abilities do not have this global cooldown effect.

Campaign gameplay

Dwarfs are a regular faction that occupies settlements as normal, and are at home in mountain climates. They have a strong economy, especially in the production of trade resources which they can use to craft powerful items and runes in The Forge. However, their low population growth and requirement to avenge grudges slows their expansion. Their slow movement is offset by their ability to travel underground to traverse impassable terrain and avoid enemy armies.

Unique game mechanics

The Forge
Main article: The Forge 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.

Grudges
Main article: The Great Book of Grudges (mechanic) Dwarfs maintain a record of all grievances committed against them in the Dammaz Kron, The Great Book of Grudges. Losses suffered by Dwarf factions are recorded so that they may be avenged later. Failing to get revenge for these wrongs will cause penalties to public order and diplomacy with other Dwarfs factions.

The Underway
Main article: Underway 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.

General information

Buildings
Main article: Dwarfs buildings Dwarfs have a straight forward building tree. Notably their trade resource buildings can be upgraded to level IV, unlike most races at level III.

Technology
Main article: Dwarfs tech tree Dwarfs are a technologically advanced race, with a long and powerful tech tree which can provide many buffs to their units.

Stances
Stance	Description	Effects
None	Traverses the world as normal	None
March	Increases this army's campaign map marching range.	Campaign movement range: +50% Recruitment: Disabled Vigour in battle: Tired Should the army be attacked, retreat will be impossible, if it loses the battle it will be wiped out Battle initiation: Disabled
Ambush	Conceals this army, allowing surprise attacks against passing enemies.	Campaign movement range required to adopt: 25% Hidden until discovered or battle initiated Campaign movement: Disabled
Raiding	Raids wealth from the local region.	Campaign movement range required to adopt: 50% Income generated from raiding: Campaign movement range: -25% Public order: -3 in the raided province Growth: -5 in the raided province Immune to attrition Vigour in battle: Winded Diplomacy: Penalties with raided factions Income from all buildings: -100% (when raiding own region)
Encamp	Sets up a defensive camp, allowing for recruitment and replenishment, regardless of territory.	Campaign movement range required to adopt: 50% Enables replenishment and access to the global recruitment pool Immune to attrition Melee defence: +5 Leadership: +5 Campaign movement: Disabled
Use Underway	Uses the Underway to traverse the world.	Minimum requirement to assume: Not moved this turn Traverse underground terrain that would normally be impassable Immune to attrition Nearby hostile armies may intercept this force in the Underway Should the army be intercepted, retreat will be impossible; if it loses the battle it will be wiped out Battle initiation: Disabled

Post-battle options
Release Captives	Execute Captives	Take on Captives (against Dwarfs only)
A grudge has been settled, the honourable thing is to allow the captives to leave.	Leave no grudges unavenged, kill all captives!	Press these Dawi into binding oaths and bring them into your throng.
Treasury: Your army will gain the following effect: Released Captives (Turns: 1) "The throng looks to hearth and home, with feasts and stories by a roaring fire. It will be a while before this army seeks fresh recruits." Casualty replenishment rate: -5%	Your army will gain the following effect: Executed Captives (Turns: 5) "These brave Dawi are celebrating after another wrong has been put right." Leadership: +4	Unit replenishment: %

Settlement options
Occupy	Loot & Occupy	Sack	Raze
You occupy the settlement and all captives are killed.	You gain wealth from looting, but buildings in the settlement are damaged. All captives are enslaved, public order is greatly reduced, and your diplomatic relations with the previous owner also suffer greatly.	You do not occupy the settlement but instead steal wealth and damage buildings. All captives are enslaved, public order is reduced, and the previous owner will like you a lot less.	All buildings are destroyed and the settlement is torched.
Conquest penalty: -10 Province instability: -3	Conquest penalty: -30 Province instability: -10 Treasury:	Province instability: -10 Treasury:	Treasury:

Commandments
Commandment	Effects
Venerate the Ancestors	Untainted: +1 Public order: +2
High King's Tribute	Tax rate: +5%
Empower the Guilds	Growth: +15 File:Trade Agreement.pngAdditional tradable resources produced: +5% (factionwide)
Masters of Steel and Stone	Construction cost: -10% for all buildings Recruitment cost: -5% (local armies) Local recruitment capacity: +1

Climate preferences
Main article: Climate Dwarfs climate preferences differ depending on the playable faction, although they generally prefer mountain climates.

Inventory
Please see the following pages: Dwarfs items Dwarfs followers Dwarfs banners Character runes Banner runes

Chaos Invasion
During a Chaos Invasion, the AI Dwarf factions gain the Shield of Civilization trait along with certain other races.

Dwarfs names
See Dwarfs names.

Strategy

• Good for beginners: Dwarfs (at least Karaz-a-Karak, the basic Dwarfs faction) have a fairly easy start in the campaign - a good economy, high public order (though they suffer low growth). Their units are powerful, reliable and easy to use.
• Where the Vampire Counts epitomize war of maneuver, the Dwarfs are all about attrition warfare. Emphasizing stable defensive lines, overwhelming firepower, and steady advances over brilliant maneuvers, Dwarfs require a patient hand and a defensive mind. A stable gunline defense, small mobile units to counter thrusts, and precise application of fire support are the name of the day - but require careful tactics, as they can easily be undone by flanking or baiting maneuvers. The biggest flaw is the lack of any cavalry units or chariots, making them tactically inflexible. Only the Gyros are fast and they don't make for good melee combatants... The upside is, Dwarfs can put out absolutely ludicrous amounts of dakka including machine guns, flamethrowers, and artillery support. Furthermore, the Dwarfs have no spellcasters, but all Dwarf units have magic resistance. Additionally, Dwarfs have Runesmiths and Runelords to help fill this role.
• The Dwarfs have a number of special features in campaign gameplay. The foremost is the ability to use the Underway. The Underway provides a risky transportation route through impassable and inhospitable territories. When combating an army that has a significant amount of cavalry or units designed for flanking, Underway battles make it nearly impossible to be flanked and renders that segment of your enemy's army ineffective. Though they run the risk of being intercepted, which drops them down in the dungeon in a very bad position, the ability to flank the enemy cannot be overstated: Their tactical inflexibility is thus compensated for by their strategic range.
• The second element is the Book of Grudges, which, in a nutshell, is a list of insults/injuries suffered at the hands of other factions (assassinations, trespassing, conquest or razing, running afoul of a script trigger...). Settling them is mandatory if a Dwarf is to remain in control of his kingdom: As they accumulate, public order, leadership, and diplomatic relations with other Dwarf factions start dropping.
• Dwarfs benefit from having a very strong economic base, their unique advantage being Tier IV resource buildings providing even more resources and income. This is especially true for Karaz-a-Karak since they start with the Diamond resource in their capital. They also enjoy a robust technology tree containing both military and civic branches (the downside is, it takes time to unlock its full potential), and plenty of trade options with their neighbors.
• In competitive play, Dwarfs are a problematic army. Their small, but powerful and expensive units are predominantly infantry, allowing enemies to easily shatter their battlelines with cavalry, monstrous infantry, or just bypass them with flying or fast units, exploiting the dwarfs' lack of maneuverability. Regiments of Renown, Rangers, and alternative artillery options help compensate for that, but the Dwarfs' low mass still allows enemy chariots and beasts to plow right through them.
• One battle army : In campain, dwarves have low reconstitution, VERY low reconsitution. So if you face several armies, your front line won't make it more than twice time, so you could lose even against lesser armies. One way to prevent that is to take battle ,especially in underway tunnels, against all oppoent armies. If this can seems counter intuitive, the corridor will force the opponent to face your full health front line and being fired during a long time. against low moral armies, units will often go out of the battle very very quickly on the sides of the corridor, especially if you adopt a diamon edge front line shape. The more you will inflicted damage, the more the opponent army will lower his moral , and then the entire army will give up and flee, allowing to do even more damages. this strategy is a all in way of killing an entire opponent, cause any wounded armies can stop a good dwarve army on open space after this kind of deafeat. This could allow you to win "heroic battle " very easily.
• Against chaos : The best way to win against chaos is organ canons. If you build a brain news army with 4; 5 or even 6 organ canon , and a solid frontline of gunman and two hand weapon dwarves , you gonna break everything which represent a danger (Chaos knight, giant , chosens..), and inflict so much damage that chaos army gonna be useless very quicklyeven in case of win. The best way is to use this strategy underground, as the enemy line gonna be forced to face yours, you could defeat several chaos army at one time. Your main army can easily defeat 2 or three chaos army underground in on time, and then flee away. Be careful if you're facing abadon or kolek, as their armies needs something different to be killed. Gyrocopters are very good to take down apocalypse canon and weaked frontline
  
  

Downloadable Content

The Dwarfs can be expanded upon with the following downloadable content:

• The King and the Warlord
• Thorek Ironbrow DLC

Minor Factions

On the campaign map, many factions are grouped together as Dwarfs and use units from the Dwarfs unit roster.

Introduced in The Old World campaign:

Barak Varr

Karak Azul

Karak Hirn

Karak Norn

Karak Ziflin

Kraka Drak

Zhufbar

This faction was replaced by Clan Angrund when The King and the Warlord was released:

Karak Izor

Introduced in the Eye of the Vortex campaign:

Greybeard's Prospectors

Karak Zorn

Spine of Sotek Dwarfs

Introduced in the Mortal Empires campaign:

Clan Helhein

Trivia

• Prior to the release of Total War: Warhammer, Dwarfs were not planned to have the Runesmith. However this unit was added due to popular demand from fans.
• 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.
• Dwarfs was originally the name for the Karaz-a-Karak faction, sharing the generic name with its race. This was changed with the Potion of Speed Update in Total War: Warhammer II.
• In June 2021, Dwarfs received another overhaul, with runes being added to The Forge and many other large changes. Thorek Ironbrow and his faction was added for free at this time.

Factions in The Season of Revelation Playable Factions Wood Elves Argwylon Other Wood Elves Anmyr Arranoc Atylwyth Cavaroc Cythral Fyr Darric Modryn Tirsyth Torgovann Wydrioth Bretonnia Aquitaine Bastonne Bordeleaux Brionne Carcassonne Gisoreux Montfort Parravon Quenelles Dwarfs Karak Ziflin Greenskins Deff Grindaz Tribe Skullsmasherz Tribe Vampire Counts Mousillon Beastmen Warherd of the Shadowgave

Videos

High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer/Dwarfs introduction trailer

How to play the Dwarfs in Campaign

How to play the Dwarfs in Battle & Unit Roster

How to play the Dwarfs Lords and Heroes