Far from the ash-choked Plain of Zharr and the obsidian ziggurats of Mingol Zharr-Naggrund, small expeditions of Chaos Dwarfs move through the lands of lesser races. These are not raiding armies — not yet. Each is a Prospect: a survey party sent ahead of the slave-caravans to chart roads, assay plunder, and mark the settlements of men for harvests still to come. They travel light and work deliberately, sowing terror and discord in their wake — branded survivors, burned shrines, the name of Hashut whispered in the dark — so that when the caravans finally roll, fear will have done half the work for them.
Trailing behind every Prospect comes its pack-train of Wretches: goblins, hobgoblins, broken men and stranger things, enslaved along the road and lashed into hauling ore, digging assay-pits and dying first. Their masters spare them nothing — not armour, not mercy, not names — for there are always more to be taken where the Prospect passes. The Wretches are aware of this. They are not happy about it. Their opinions, however, are not being solicited.
At the head of each expedition stands a Sorcerer, a Priest of Hashut whose ambition burns hotter than any furnace. Such postings are no exile: a Prospect is a proving ground, and every misdeed worked, every soul seared and every offering given to the flames is tallied by the Father of Darkness. The Sorcerer who returns with rich claims and a ledger of cruelties may rise high in the Temple — if the Curse of Stone does not claim his legs before ambition claims its prize.
Special Rules
The following apply to all warriors in the warband excluding Wretches and the Brazen Bull:
Hard to Kill: Chaos Dwarfs are taken out of action only on a roll of 6 on the Injury chart. Treat 1–2 as knocked down, 3–5 as stunned, 6 as out of action.
Hard Head: Chaos Dwarfs ignore the special rules for clubs, maces, etc.
Armour: Chaos Dwarfs never suffer movement penalties for wearing armour.
Servants of the Dark Father: This warband counts as a Chaos warband (such as the Possessed) for the purposes of Exploration chart and random-encounter results that allow stragglers, prisoners and the like to be sacrificed for Experience.
Hired Swords: As published — Ogre Bodyguard, Pit Fighter, Warlock, Imperial Assassin, Hobgoblin Scout; anything described as all may hire or allowed to Orc or Chaos warbands. Never Elves.
The Offering
Once per post-battle sequence, before selling wyrdstone, the warband may sacrifice one shard upon its brazier-altar. A shard fed to the Brazen Bull’s Iron Hunger counts as this sacrifice — the daemon’s feeding is itself an offering to Hashut, and the warband need not burn a second shard.
Roll a D6 and apply the modifiers below, then consult the table. Modifiers apply only to the Offering made in the same post-battle sequence in which the deeds were performed — they do not carry over. Maximum +2.
- +1 if an enemy Hero was Branded this battle (see Brand-iron; regardless of how many were Branded).
- +1 if the Bull Centaur made a Trampling Offering this battle (see Bull Centaur).
| D6 | Hashut’s Answer |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Silence from Hashut. Nothing happens. The Father of Darkness is unmoved. |
| 3 | Guided Bargains. +1 on one roll to find a rare item this post-battle sequence. |
| 4 | Helforged Blessing. Choose one Hero’s close-combat weapon. It may re-roll one failed to-wound roll during the next battle. Once used, the blessing is spent. |
| 5 | Whispered Secrets. The Sorcerer may re-roll one failed casting attempt during the next battle. The new result stands. |
| 6+ | Hashut’s Reward. +D3 Experience, distributed as evenly as possible among the warband’s Heroes. |
Choice of Warriors
Minimum 3 models, maximum 15. You have 500 gold crowns to recruit and equip the warband.
Sorcerer: each warband must include one Sorcerer — no more, no less.
Bull Centaur: may include one Bull Centaur.
Taskmasters: may include up to two Taskmasters.
Daemonsmith: may include one Daemonsmith.
Chaos Dwarfs: may include up to five Chaos Dwarfs.
Wretches: may include any number of Wretches.
Brazen Bull: may include one Brazen Bull.
Starting Experience
A Sorcerer starts with 20 experience.
A Bull Centaur starts with 10 experience.
Taskmasters start with 8 experience.
A Daemonsmith starts with 0 experience.
Henchmen start with 0 experience.
Skill Table
| Combat | Shooting | Academic | Strength | Speed | Special | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorcerer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Bull Centaur | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Taskmasters | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Daemonsmith | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Chaos Dwarf Equipment List
Starting warbands pay the discounted prices shown for pistols and handguns — such weapons are common in Zharr-Naggrund. After warband creation, they are purchased at standard Trading Post prices and rarity.
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free / 2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Steel whip* | 10 gc |
| Halberd | 10 gc |
| Double-handed weapon | 15 gc |
| Brand-iron* | 25 gc |
Missile Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pistol | 10 gc (20 gc for a brace) — thereafter 15 / 30 gc |
| Blunderbuss | 30 gc |
| Handgun | 30 gc — thereafter 35 gc |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light armour | 20 gc |
| Heavy armour | 50 gc |
| Shield | 5 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Brazen Greaves** | 75 gc |
*Taskmasters only · **Sorcerer only
Wretch Equipment List
Slaves are spared nothing better. They have given this a great deal of thought.
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 |
Heroes
1 Sorcerer
85 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
The Sorcerer is a Priest of Hashut leading this Prospect, his ambitions tallied in cruelty and fire. Every misdeed worked on this survey is an entry in the Father of Darkness’s ledger — and a rung on the ladder back to Zharr-Naggrund.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list. As a spellcaster, the Sorcerer may never wear armour of any kind. He may carry Brazen Greaves.
Special Rules
Leader: Any warrior within 6” of the Sorcerer may use his Leadership when taking Ld tests.
Wizard: The Sorcerer follows the rules for wizards and casts Rituals of Hashut. He always knows Helforged Wrath, and additionally rolls once on the Rituals of Hashut table for a second spell at the start of the campaign.
0–1 Bull Centaur
100 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
Sacred beast of the Temple, the Bull Centaur is Hashut’s likeness made flesh — a creature of the god’s own form given to the Prospect as both guardian and instrument of divine favour.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list; may never use missile weapons.
Special Rules
Large Target: +1 to hit when shot at; may be targeted even if not the closest model; adds +20 to the warband’s rating.
Hashut’s Anointed: The Bull Centaur is a sacred beast of the temple, the Bull God’s likeness made flesh. If it takes any enemy model out of action in a turn in which it charged, it has made a Trampling Offering — the warband gains +1 to its Offering roll this post-battle sequence.
0–2 Taskmasters
50 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Broad-shouldered enforcers whose authority is measured in welts and branded flesh, Taskmasters keep the Wretches moving and the Prospect on schedule. They have elevated cruelty to something approaching a professional discipline.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list. Steel whips and Brand-irons may be carried only by Taskmasters.
Special Rules
Dreaded Overseers: Taskmasters cause fear in Humans, Orcs and Goblins.
Crack the Whip: A Taskmaster is the only model that can drive the Wretches to fight (see the Wretches’ Under the Lash rule). In addition, while the Taskmaster is not knocked down or stunned, friendly Wretches within 6” of him may use his Leadership for any Leadership test they are required to take.
0–1 Daemonsmith
30 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Every Prospect carries a Daemonsmith: part artificer, part gaoler, part prayer. He keeps the Brazen Bull from tearing the warband apart and the blackpowder weapons from doing the same. His craft is binding — of daemons, of powder, of things that should not be contained but are.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list.
Special Rules
Keeper of the Bull: The Brazen Bull only tests for Stupidity when no standing Daemonsmith is within 6” (see Bound Daemon).
Master Gunsmith: If your group uses the optional blackpowder misfire rules — once per turn, while the Daemonsmith is on the table and not knocked down, stunned or out of action, the warband may re-roll one result on the misfire chart. A re-roll may never be re-rolled, and the new result stands, even if it is worse.
Tinker: +2 on rolls to acquire Obsidian armour, Obsidian weapons or Brazen Greaves.
Henchmen
(Bought in groups of 1–5)
0–5 Chaos Dwarfs
40 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
The backbone of the Prospect: hard-bitten veterans of the Plain of Zharr, each one a soldier, slaver and assayer in equal measure. They do not complain. Complaining is for the Wretches.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Chaos Dwarf Equipment list.
Wretches
15 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
Goblins, hobgoblins, broken men and stranger things — the Wretches are whatever the Prospect has picked up along the road and not yet seen fit to discard. They haul ore, dig assay-pits and die first. They are aware of their situation. They are not happy about it.
Weapons/Armour: chosen from the Wretch Equipment list only.
Special Rules
Drudgery: Wretches may never become Heroes. Re-roll any ‘The lad’s got talent’ results. The warband special rules (Hard to Kill, Hard Head, Armour, Servants of the Dark Father) do not apply to them.
Under the Lash: Wretches fight only from terror of the lash, never courage. A Wretch may not declare a charge, nor voluntarily move toward the nearest enemy, unless it either begins its movement within 6” of a friendly Taskmaster, or first passes a Leadership test.
0–1 Brazen Bull
200 gold crowns to hire
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
A daemon bound into a bull-shaped furnace-idol of black iron, carried at the rear of the column and fed on wyrdstone and something worse. The Daemonsmith holds its leash. The leash is the only thing standing between the Prospect and an extremely bad afternoon.
Weapons/Armour: none. The Brazen Bull may never be given weapons, armour or equipment of any kind.
Special Rules
Daemonic Engine: Gains no Experience; immune to poison; immune to fear; causes fear; Large Target (+1 to hit when shot at, may be targeted even if not the closest model, +20 to warband rating). Counts as one model toward the warband maximum.
Brazen-iron Hide: 5+ armour save, modifiable as normal.
Daemonfire: The Bull’s close-combat attacks count as magical, flaming attacks.
Fell Maw: An innate missile attack fired in the Shooting phase, following all normal shooting rules — requires line of sight; may not target Hidden models. Range 8”, Strength 4, counts as a magical, flaming attack. It always hits on a fixed 5+: Ballistic Skill and all to-hit modifiers (cover, long range, large target, moving) are ignored, for better and worse. Not a move-or-fire weapon.
Daemonic Fury: When the Bull loses its first wound, the daemon within rages against its bindings. The Bull immediately gains +1 Attack and +1 Initiative for the rest of the battle.
Bound Daemon: At the start of the Black Dwarf player’s turn, if there is no friendly Daemonsmith within 6” who is standing (not knocked down, stunned or out of action), the Bull is subject to Stupidity that turn, testing on its own Leadership.
Iron Hunger: After every battle in which the Brazen Bull took part, the warband must feed it one wyrdstone shard before selling the rest. This shard also counts as the warband’s Offering sacrifice for the same post-battle sequence — the daemon’s feeding is the offering. If the warband cannot feed it, the daemon lies dormant and the Bull must miss the next battle.
Chaos Dwarf Special Equipment
Available only to Chaos Dwarf warbands.
Steel Whip
10 gold crowns · Availability: Common, Taskmasters only
A length of barbed steel chain, kept hot from proximity to the Brazen Bull’s exhaust-vents. Or just naturally unpleasant. Hard to say.
Range: Close Combat · Strength: As user · Special Rules: Cannot be Parried, Whipcrack
Cannot be Parried: Attempts to parry strikes from a steel whip 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. When the wielder is charged they gain +1A that may only be used against the charger, and this attack strikes first. If charged simultaneously by two or more opponents, only +1A is gained in total.
Brand-iron
25 gold crowns · Availability: Rare 8, Taskmasters only
A bull-headed iron kept furnace-hot by smouldering runes. It has never been used for branding cattle.
Range: Close Combat · Strength: As user +2 · Special Rules: Two-handed, Strikes Last, Flaming attacks, Sear the Soul
Sear the Soul: An enemy Hero taken out of action by an attack made with the Brand-iron is Branded with the sign of Hashut. The warband gains +1 to its Offering roll this post-battle sequence (regardless of how many Heroes were Branded that battle). The victim rolls Serious Injuries as normal, but the searing mark fills him with loathing — he permanently gains hatred of all members of this Chaos Dwarf warband except its Wretches. Note Branded Heroes on both rosters.
Obsidian Weapons
Four times the price of the standard weapon · Availability: Rare 9, Chaos Dwarf Heroes only
Edges of volcanic glass quenched in daemon-fire hold a keenness no mortal steel can match — but the heavy, brittle blades must be swung with murderous deliberation.
Only swords, maces, hammers and axes may be forged in obsidian, at four times the listed price (an obsidian sword costs 40 gc, an obsidian mace or hammer 12 gc, an obsidian axe 20 gc).
Hell-glassed Edge: An obsidian weapon grants +1 Strength in addition to the weapon’s normal rules.
Strikes Last: A model using an obsidian weapon always strikes last in combat, as for a double-handed weapon.
Obsidian Armour
85 gold crowns · Availability: Rare 13, Chaos Dwarf Heroes only
Plates of volcanic glass quenched in daemon-fire — lighter and more resilient than mortal steel, and utterly impervious to the fires of lesser smiths. Note that the Sorcerer, as a spellcaster, may never wear armour — this panoply is the province of the warband’s other Heroes.
Glassed in Fire: Obsidian Armour grants a 4+ armour save and imposes no movement penalty. It may be combined with a shield and helmet as normal, but never with other body armour. The wearer suffers no wounds from flaming attacks.
Brazen Greaves
75 gold crowns · Availability: Rare 11, Sorcerer only
The Curse of Stone takes every Priest of Hashut from the feet up. Daemonsmiths forge brass leg-frames, quickened by minor sprites of flame, that carry the calcifying Sorcerer faster than he ever walked.
Quickened Brass: The Sorcerer receives +3 Movement. The Greaves may not be combined with any other item or effect that modifies Movement.
Chaos Dwarf Special Skills
Chaos Dwarfs may use the following list instead of the standard skill lists.
Extra Tough: When rolling on the Heroes Serious Injury chart after a game in which this Hero was taken out of action, the dice may be re-rolled once. The second result stands, even if worse.
Thick Skull: 3+ save on a D6 to avoid being stunned (treat as knocked down instead). 2+ if also wearing a helmet (replaces the normal helmet rule).
Resource Hunter: When rolling on the Exploration chart at the end of a game, this Hero may modify one dice roll by +1 or −1.
Tyrant: Leader only. The leader may re-roll any failed Rout test while he is not knocked down or stunned. The new result stands. If the leader is taken out of action, the warband tests immediately.
True Grit: When rolling on the Injury table for this Hero, treat 1–3 as knocked down, 4–5 as stunned, 6 as out of action.
Stone Body: Sorcerer only. The Curse of Stone has spread through the Priest’s flesh, and he has learned to embrace it. The Sorcerer has a natural save of 5+, or 4+ against magical attacks, modifiable by Strength as normal. This is not armour and does not prevent spellcasting. It is never combined with a worn armour save — use the better of the two.
Hellpowder: Daemonsmith only. The Daemonsmith mills his own powder, cut with ground wyrdstone and quenched daemon-ash. While he is part of the warband, all blackpowder weapons — pistols, blunderbusses and handguns — used by its members count as flaming attacks.
Rituals of Hashut
Dark sorcery of fire and ash. The Sorcerer always knows Helforged Wrath and rolls once on the D6 table below for a second spell.
Helforged Wrath
Casting difficulty: 8+
The Sorcerer breathes furnace-heat into a comrade’s blade. Choose one friendly model within 6”, or the Sorcerer himself. Until the start of the Sorcerer’s next turn, one close-combat weapon carried by that model gains +1 Strength. May not be cast on ranged weapons.
1. Spirit of Hashut
Casting difficulty: 9+
The air thickens into a billowing avatar of the Bull-God, rolling forward and trampling all before it. Draw a line 12” from the Sorcerer. All models crossed by the line suffer one Strength 3 hit.
2. Bellow of Doom
Casting difficulty: 8+
Smoke and flame spills from the Sorcerer’s maw as he lets loose a deafening roar that none may endure. All models in base contact with the Sorcerer must make an immediate Leadership test. Any that fail break from combat and flee 2D6” directly away from the Sorcerer, exactly as if they had lost their nerve when fighting against more than one opponent.
3. Fumes of Azgorh
Casting difficulty: 7+
Clouds of black gas erupt from the Sorcerer’s gaping jaws in a corrosive wave. Choose one model within 8”. It is automatically hit and suffers a Strength 4 hit with no armour save allowed.
4. Flickering Hide
Casting difficulty: 8+
With eldritch power the target begins to burn from within, his skin spitting sparks wherever a blow lands. The Sorcerer may cast this spell upon himself or any one model within 6”. Until the start of the Sorcerer’s next turn, any model that strikes the target in close combat suffers one Strength 3 hit — once per combat phase, regardless of the number of attacks made.
5. Lava Flow
Casting difficulty: 7+
The Sorcerer melts into molten magma, burning into the earth and reappearing elsewhere. The Sorcerer may move 12” in any direction, even into combat, counting as a charge. He may only reappear on or below ground level.
6. Earthquake
Casting difficulty: 10+
Arms raised, the Sorcerer brings his staff crashing down. The earth splits asunder. All models within 3” of the Sorcerer, friend or foe alike, must roll equal to or under their Initiative or suffer a Strength 5 hit.