Admiral:
When I have finished a few units of Chaos Dwarfs I will convert a whole unit of outcast Chaos Dwarfs worshipping the wider Chaos pantheon, including the four great dark gods, Chaos Undivided and some minor demigods such as Malal. For the most part they will simply be a unit of close combat Infernal Guards, but it might be worth cooking up some house rules for campaigns or special scenarios.
Could you please help me out with this? Since I have no experience with rules-tinkering any assistance and proposals of your own would be appreciated. As you can see, the aim is to create a medium-strength unit which can be tailored with different weapons to reflect their ragtag background, whilst the unit champion is a mini-hero in himself. I do not have the FW armybook available at the time, so any help with the names of the CD special rules would be appreciated. I’ll post a prototype of their profile to get the ball rolling:
The Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs are a barely-tolerated sect of outcasts whose souls were lost to Hashut as, for the most part, stronger deities of Chaos displaced the Father of Darkness’ grip on their souls. For some exiles this occured because of long-time and hazardous exposure to the major powers of Chaos and its myriad minor daemongods during daemonsmithing and handling of Warpstone for the ensorcelled coal fuelling many machines of the Dawi Zharr. For others the wider pantheon of Chaos invaded them as they acted as acolytes aiding Sorcerer Prophets in heinous magic rituals which suffered miscasts or simply required a body shield for the Sorcerer to survive the perilous bargain with, or capture of, Daemons. The lives of Chaos Dwarfs are fraught with the danger of Daemonic corruption, and a few eventually falls foul as the massive industry of the Dawi Zharr grinds on, forever demanding Daemons as raw material.
Whatever the cause, the Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs invariably suffer atrocities such as public humiliation, brandings with hot iron, mulitation and beatings from other Chaos Dwarfs as they flee Zharr-Naggrund or other strongholds to reach the relative calm of the desolate Dark Lands. Their Hashut-worshipping society might strike bargains and alliances with worshippers of other Chaos Gods, but the blacksmiths of Chaos are loathe to allow any deviates and crippled souls to live amongst themselves. That Pantheonists are not even interred into the ranks of the Infernal Guard is testament to the utter disgust reserved for them amongst the unforgiving Chaos Dwarfs.
Thus the outcasts stumble out into the wastelands with ripped clothes and cut beards, and here amongst the Greenskin-infested landscape of ash they try to survive. Eventually they will either perish or be found by the small bands of roaming Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs that wander the wilds. The marks and mutations of their gods will eventually change these wretches, and generally the Pantheonists will follow those worst mutated or those possessed by Daemons as if they were holy men. It is common for outcasts to drift from their original flock to warbands in the thrall of their specific Chas god.
Amongst such unstable groups of scavengers and looters the shunned slaves to darkness worship their new masters and eke out a miserable living of thirst and hunger which is freuqently punctuated by vicious battles with Orcs, Goblins and monsters, and sometimes even other groups of Pantheonists. The gangs of Khorne-worshipping Chaos Dwarfs are especially feared due to their lust for unprovoked violence and bloodhsed, even though their constant infighting invariably keeps their numbers low.
Although the Dawi Zharr look upon their outcast, former brethren with the same contempt with which they eye their many slaves, the ancient aversion to kinslaying amongst Dwarfs linger still in the hateful hearts of the Chaos Dwarfs. For this reason the nomads are rarely hunted down and slain, although the mechanized caravans which cross the vast Dark Lands occasionally give chase to discovered expatriates in order to maintain the rightful fear of Zharr-Naggrund which should exist in each and every exile. Sometimes pogroms are enacted to drive away bands of Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs who strays too close to the main strongholds of the Chaos Dwarfs, usually with the objective of harrying the deportees all the way into the northern Chaos wastes, where they are left to fend for themselves amongst the human tribes which dominate the region. At other times expeditions are sent out to capture Pantheonists for the experiments of Sorcerer Prophets. These unfortunate captives are locked inside cells and suffer frequent harvests of the mutations and disfigurements with which their dark god has marked them. To some Sorcerers, boils of Nurgle and eyed tentacles of Tzeentch are prime ingredients in their rituals aimed at Daemons of a specific Chaos god.
Due to the cynical plotting and cruel struggle for power which dominates the top of society amongst the Dawi Zharr, a few Sorcerer Prophets throughout history have been known to make use of Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs as mercenaries or slave soldiers to bolster their ranks. Although mighty, the armies of Zharr-Naggrund and its scattered strongholds have limited numbers at their disposal, and often it is only through terror tactics, divide-and-conquer support of weaker Warbosses and Sneaky Git assassinations of leaders that the Chaos Dwarfs are able to prevent Waaaghs! from forming amongst the Greenskin tribes. As such ambitious or cornered Sorcerer Prophets might sometimes swallow their detestation for Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs and recruit them into their army. Naturally, the act of sending the outcasts into battle is also a way to get rid of them without turning to outright kinslaying.
Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs (Core unit) Points per model: 10 pts
Profile
Pantheonist: M3 WS4 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I2 A1 LD9
Possessed: M3 WS5 BS3 S4 T4 W1 I3 A2 LD9
Unit size: 10+
Troop Type: Infantry
Equipment: Hand weapons, light armour
Options
* Upgrade one Pantheonist to Possessed (+15 pts)
* Upgrade one Pantheonist to musician (+10 pts)
* Upgrade one Pantheonist to standard bearer (+10 pts)
* The entire unit may take additional hand weapons (+1 pt per model)
* The entire unit may take shields (+1 pt per model)
* The entire unit may take heavy armour (+1 pt per model)
* The entire unit may take great weapons (+3 pts per model)
* The entire unit may take flails (+2 pts per model)
Marks of Chaos are identical to those in the Warriors of Chaos army book and cost as much as the Marks for Chaos Marauders.
* The entire unit may be upgraded with Mark of Khorne
* The entire unit may be upgraded with Mark Nurlge
* The entire unit may be upgraded with Mark of Slaanesh
* The entire unit may be upgraded with Mark of Tzeentch
Special rules
Resolute: Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs suffer -1" to their flee and pursuit rolls.
Relentless: Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs do not have to test their Ld for marching if enemies are within 8".
Contempt: Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs do not suffer panic caused by Hobgoblin units.
Outcasts: Chaos Dwarf units do not take panic tests caused by Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs, although Hobgoblins and other Pantheonist units still suffers from panic.
Survivors of the Dark Lands: All Chaos Pantheonist Dwarfs Hate Greenskins (eg. Orcs, Goblins and Snotlings of any type from the Orcs & Goblins army book, Hobgoblins from the Legion of Azgorh army list and Gnoblars from the Ogre Kingdoms army book).
Wild mutations: Extended periods of hardship and exhaustion coupled with the capricious nature of the mutations of Chaos make Pantheonists unsteady fighters. At the start of each turn, roll a D6 for each Chaos Pantheonist Dwarf unit. On the roll of a 1, deduct -1S until the start of the player’s next turn. On the roll of a 2, nothing happens. On a roll of 3+, the unit receives +1S until the start of the player’s next turn.
Possessed: The leaders of the Pantheonists are lethal fighters enhanced by their mutations and Daemonic possession. Possessed have 5+ Ward save and may re-roll any failed to wound rolls.
