Absolutely ! This seems like a logical spot to me
If yo go with this idea, Kharak Dum is in some smaller mountains, a little range to th south east of the main northern spur. The main spur would be taller and provide more protection. Possibly natural cave systems that ran very deep. Therefore even if chaos reigned supreme on the surface, warping life and changing surface topography, the deep caves would be relatively safe. When chaos retreated to its more stable boundaries after the vortex etc., the helms could once again return to the much changed surface. Interestingly âChaos Dwarfsâ turn up relatively late in the old world history after the formation of the empire. I envisage immediately after the first retreat of chaos the helms returning to a âpost apocalypticâ world. Surrounded on all sides by chaos, cut off from the cousins who abandoned them, realising Kharak Dum was no more. They may well have believed themselves the only survivors of their race! There would then follow collapse of the old order and rise of individual clans competing for the scarce resources and defending themselves against the creatures and developing human societies. The water, air and food around them would be infused with chaos magic. This would twist and exacerbate their natural traits (possessiveness becomes excessive greed, pride becomes arrogance, racial pride becomes disdain for all others, a prickly easily offended nature becomes a tendency to violence to settle disputes, grudges become feuds etc⌠Eventually the mutations would start. Initially they would be shunned or killed at birth. However eventually some would be born with no outward mutation but inner power, sorcery, regenerative abilities, strength etc. You have an X man scenario. Eventually one would arise to dominate their clan and maybe others, even if only for a short period. Suddenly mutations are not shunned but valued, gifts from the new gods, not their pallid ancestors who abandoned them. Slowly these clans would grow and strengthen beginning to trade with the lesser races, armour for gold/food/slaves. Imagine their fury after long years of suffering in isolation to realise that their southern kin have enjoyed a halcyon period of empire and expansion yet never sought them out. Why would they not join a chaos incursion to the south?
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I was thinking it would be fun to think of 8 major initially, each ruled by one of the original chaos dwarf renegades e.g.
one ruled by the master of madness
Another by pulper spike head etc. Each could be one of the clans that joined that first chaos incursion that cds are mentioned in
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Yeah this idea is perfect. Making the holds the defendants of that venerable box set
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Utterly awesome!
These can be the main clans with multiple sub clans for hobbyists to explore
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Exactly, your clan may be many times removed but could trace its Lineage back to one of the main ones
Yeah
You cold see armies led by the winged helm sorceror models being scions of the Doom lord
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Of course none of this would stop fallen southern dwarfs (like snake beard) from making the trek north to join their like minded kin
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And I think Snakebeard will have been a wanderer who travelled to each of the 8 lost holds and imparted hisâŚwell not exactly wisdomâŚbut specific brand of madness haha
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For a price
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Looking at the map. Everywhere outside the ring of eternal battle must be capable of supporting life. So there would be wild creatures to eat and tribes must have some kind of bare bones farming going on to support the large populations. There must be drinking water, forests and grass around. The marauders and chaos dwarfs canât survive on magic alone. I guess the forests and rivers/lakes have demon like creatures in.
There is probably a way to fill in the map a little like extending the mountains as you said.
Great job you two 
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We thinking about here?
Extends the mountains a bit. ( we can blame imperial map making being near impossible in this region) and we can explain their absence from these main maps as the fact that they spend most of their life underground as well.
Itâs far enough into the wastes to have been utterly corrupted and itâs close enough to the darklands for some kind of cultural exchange between them and the hashutim if needed
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I thought the Norse dwarfs were Kraka Drak. Iirc there is already lore out there for them. I could be wrong/conflating things tho
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Perfect. Imperial map makers would have no knowledge. Look at the map are you telling me there are NO major rivers in the wastes???
Also if the dwarfs went from the Worlds edge mountains inland to Zorn Uzukul and northeast to Kharak Dum 1st then the expansion to the Northern spur would have come from Kharak Dum itself Not from the other holds. It is quite possible the southern hold never even knew of the northern spur let alone the colonisation of it. All that knowledge was lost with Kharak Dum
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This lack of knowledge would explain the shock when the Renegades first appeared. No one thought there were Dawi up there let alone fallen to chaos!
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As far as these tribes or lost holds having some kind of racial traits (based on the original minis and their names.) Iâd go like this ::
The Droning Drums: the most mutated/ accepting of mutation. Lots of tentacles and extra heads etc.
The Doomlords: master sorcerers. Users of daemons.
The foaming mad: Beserkers, less armour, more running around with massive axes and swords.
The Doomaxes: proud martial well organised types. Think the martial side of Khorne.
The trollbiters: savage cannibal/eat anything that moves types. Maybe Hunter gatherer vibes too. Maybe these guys are more overground than under?
Edit: monster hunters? As in they prove themselves by killing the biggest things they can find in the wastes and then consume its chaos tainted flesh?
The masters of madness: mad schemers and plotters. Think tzeeentch style labyrinthine schemes.
The Gundrin: Uber defensive deep tunnellers. Nurgle like resilience.
The spike heads: haters of other dwarfs. Go out crusading the find and kill them. Edit: enslavers and torturers in the extreme. Some serious slaaneshi vibes!
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Damn if this was 40k we would have 8 codexes or whatever. I love the idea of racial cultural traits maybe driving/driven by whatever ruinous power they serve
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Can see Khorne, Tzeetch and Nurgle vibes but who would be Slaanesh? Maybe the spikers???! Trophyâs only taken after much torture?? Hey maybe spikes on the inside??? Maybe the cruellest slavers???
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