Houses and Hats: A Large Scale Ravening Hordes Supplement

flagellant04 · 3 April 2022 22:45

Find yourself itching to try the Toumas units? Torn between your love of K’Daii and your hatred of Steadfast? Hate the lack of Ravening Hordes magic items? No more! Now you can have it all* with Houses and Hats: Accessorizing Your Ravening Horde, the only** 6th edition supplement to bring in over 1000*** new magic items plus all**** of your favorite units from 3rd, 5th, and 8th edition!

v3 (Maintained document version plus revisions)

Google Document

v2 (Deprecated discourse post version)

Houses

Chaos Dwarf society is delineated by two lines: magic and blood. Bloodlines, called Houses, have been traced as far back as the summoning of Zharr-Naggrund and much of a Chaos Dwarf’s life is determined by his House. If a Chaos Dwarf is born with the ability to use magic he will immediately become a ruling member of his House while the laity strive to serve him, their family, and their race in that order. Three Great Houses enjoy special power in the current age, three Lesser Houses are known throughout the land, and numerous Minor Houses hold prominence within their regions.

Of the Great Houses, House Hargan births and trains the fiercest warriors in the Dark Lands, House Khash works the greatest forges, and while every Chaos Dwarf expedition brings back slaves, none are more feared than than the slavers of House Ashodar. Of the Lesser Houses, the disgraced House Azgorh keeps the most powerful Daemonsmiths, House Snakebeard is home to the greatest of the artificers and inventors, and House Mardukh pushes life, and what it means to be alive, to it’s furthest limits.

The General for a Chaos Dwarf army may choose one of these Houses to be descended from. If he does so he will gain access to that House’s unique units and equipment. Should you want to make your own Minor House you can do so by selecting any two of the Houses available. You will gain access to the House Equipment and the basic unique unit for each house, however you will not receive the True House Unit available to either. Additionally, you must select a single General’s Bonus from the Houses selected.

House Hargan

General’s Bonus

Family Soldiers: Immortals count as Stubborn while the General has joined the unit

House Equipment

Chaos Armour
Characters may wear Chaos Armour for +8/12 points (Hero/Lord). Sorcerers who wear Chaos Armour may still cast magic.

Immortals, 0-1 Special choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Immortals	3	5	3	4	4	1	2	1	9	16
Champion	3	5	3	4	4	1	2	2	9

Unit Size: 10+
Equipment: Chaos Armour, hand weapon, shield
Options:

May take halberds for +1 point per model
Champion, musician, standard bearer, +15 points each
May take magic standard worth up to 50 points
Champion has a height 1 hat and with which to take a bound daemon

True House Unit

Bull Centaur Renders, Rare Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Render	7	4	2	4	5	3	3	2	8	60
Champion	7	4	2	4	5	3	3	3	8

Unit Size: 3+
Equipment:

Heavy Armour
Hand Weapon

Options:

Champion, musician, standard bearer, +15 points each
May take Great Weapons for +6 points or Additional Hand Weapon for +4 points
May take Shields for +3 points per model
May take magic standard worth up to 50 points
Champion has a height 1 hat and with which to take a bound daemon

Special Rules:

Causes Fear

House Ashodar

General’s Bonus

Gain access to Savage Orcs as a 0-1 Special choice

House Equipment

Scimitar And Chains
Non-sorcerer characters may be equipped with a Scimitar And Chains for +4 points as described below

Slavers, Core choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Slavers	3	4	3	3	4	1	3	1	9	11
Champion	3	4	3	3	4	1	3	2	9

Unit Size: 10+
Equipment: Light armour, Scimitars And Chains
Options:

Champion, musician, standard bearer, +10 points each
May take magic standard worth up to 50 points
Champion has a height 1 hat and with which to take a bound daemon

Special Rules:

For each unit of Slavers taken you may take a single unit of common Orcs or Goblins who count as, and towards, Core
Scimitars And Chains: Gives +1 attack as well as giving +1 Strength in the first round of combat as their heavy chains come crashing down
Here For The Slaves: Slavers must always pursue broken enemies in combat as they try to capture as many as possible

True House Unit

Slave Giant, Rare choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Giant	6	3	3	6	5	6	3	Special	10	175
Use rules for Slave Giants found in the Ogre Kingdoms army book

House Khash

General’s Bonus

General may re-roll the artillery dice for any war machine he joins, the second result may not be re-rolled.

House Equipment

Naphtha Bombs
Characters and Chaos Dwarf Champions (not Bull Centaurs or Greenskins) may be equipped with Naphtha Bombs for +5/+15 points (champions/characters). Naphtha Bombs are a Thrown Weapon with 6" range and cause D3 S3 Armour Piercing hits which also count as Flaming Attacks. However, if a 1 is rolled on the to-hit roll, the bearer takes a single automatic wound instead, armour saves may be taken as normal.

Magma Cannon, Special Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Magma Cannon	-	-	-	-	7	3	-	-	-	150
Crew	3	4	3	3	4	1	2	2	9
Use rules for Flame Cannons found in the Dwarf army book.

True House Unit

Iron Daemon, 0-1 Rare Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Crew	-	4	3	3	-	-	2	1	9	300

Counts as an Empire Steam Tank with the following special rules and exceptions

Equipment: 3 crew, 34 Hull Points

Options: May be equipped with either a Steam Cannonade (+50 points, 3 hull points) or a Skullcracker (+80 points, 2 hull points)

Special Rules:

May never overrun or pursue broken enemies in combat
In addition to regular impact hits it also deals D3 impact hits in each round of combat that it didn’t charge if it is engaged in the front as it grinds forward against the foes’ bodies. (As examples, it charges and deals impact hits as determined by its movement distance, then in subsequent rounds it deals D3 hits. Or if it is charged in the front, it deals D3 impact hits in the first and all subsequent rounds of combat.)
The general may be mounted in the Iron Daemon following the rules of a chariot, in which case he may re-roll the artillery die as normal. Note that the Iron Daemon will still take a Rare slot in this case. While mounted he may fight back with the rest of the crew in close combat or cast magic when not engaged and will receive a +2 armour save for being “mounted”.
Carriage Hauler: May haul up two war machines behind it for +25 points each. Hauled war machines may only fire if the Iron Daemon did not move in it’s turn. They may be decoupled at any time (either rearmost or both, but not middle alone), but may never be reconnected. If the Iron Daemon has any carriages attached it may not move in reverse. They may be targeted and engaged separately from the Iron Daemon or other carriages if in Line of Sight of the enemy, but cannot be locked in combat. If engaged in combat, the crew of the original war machine may fight back, and benefit from a +2 armour save for being “mounted”.
Steam Cannonade: Deals an Artillery Dice number of hits. 18" Range, Strength 6, Armour Piercing, D3 Wounds. Uses the Blackpowder misfire chart.
Skullcracker: Doubles the number of impact hits caused (roll the additional dice as opposed to doubling the initial roll). Also receives a +1 on to-wound rolls on buildings.

House Snakebeard

General’s Bonus

The general grants a bonus to different units when he joins them based on their type. Units with a Swivel Gun receive an additional +1 to the additional hits rolled. Mortars receive an additional +1 on their to-hit roll. Bazooka Teams do one additional wound to Large Targets.

House Equipment

Swivel Gun

Blunderbuss unit champion may be equipped with a Swivel Gun for +25 points
Adds an additional D6 hits when the unit fires. Work out hits at the Strength of the rest of the unit
Move-or-fire
May be used in a stand-and-shoot charge reaction
If a Swivel Gun is present in the unit then only a House Khash character (the General) may join the unit without affecting the unit’s firing

Mortar

May be added to a Blunderbuss unit for +30 points
Crew of 2, always placed in the rear ranks
If it’s presence in a rank drops the number of blunderbusses below 4 than that rank will not contribute to the Blunderbuss Strength bonus
6-24" range (15" is half range)
Roll to hit as normal, requires LoS. Range and LoS are drawn from the front of the unit
D3 + 1 S4 armour piercing hits
Move-or-fire
May not be used for stand-and-shoot charge reaction

True House Unit

Bazooka Team, Rare Choice

2 teams may be taken for a single Rare choice

The bazooka team is a specialized hunter unit designed to kill the most powerful creatures in the Old World. It is an independent unit consisting of two Chaos Dwarfs and one bazooka. The general may join the unit but may never fire the weapon himself. If both regular crew are killed the unit counts as destroyed.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Crew	3	4	3	3	4	1	2	1	9	35
Equipment: Heavy armour, hand weapon, bazooka
Special Rules:

Skirmishers
Bazooka:
– Strength 7, 18" range, move-and-fire
– Deals D6 wounds and ignores armour only if it strikes a Large Target
– Is not considered a war machine and may continue to fire normally if one member is killed

House Azgorh

General’s Bonus

The daemonsmiths of House Azgorh are legendary even among the Chaos Dwarfs. The general may take his Hat Height upgrades for 5 points per level instead of the normal 10.

House Equipment

Fireglaives
Chaos Dwarf Warriors may replace their shield with a Fireglaive for +3 points per model.

18" range
Strength 4, armour piercing
Move or fire
+1 strength in close combat
Requires 2 hands

K’Daii Fireborn, Special Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Fireborn	6	4	2	5	4	2	4	2	7	55
Champion	6	4	2	5	4	2	4	3	7

Unit Size: 3+
Options:

Champion for +15 points

Special Rules:

Daemonic
Flaming attacks
Blazing Body: All models in base contact with a K’Daii, aside from other K’Daii, take an automatic Strength 4 hit. This counts as a flaming attack.
Burning Bright: Starting on the second turn, and every turn thereafter, each unit of K’Daii must make a toughness test. If this test is failed they immediately take D3 wounds with no saves of any kind allowed, distributed as shooting attacks.

True House Unit

K’Daii Destroyer, Rare + Special Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Destroyer	8	5	3	6	5	6	5	6	8	295
Special Rules:

Daemonic
Flaming attacks
Frenzy (even though it would normally be Immune To Psychology)
Terror
Large Target
Blazing Body: All models in base contact with a K’Daii, aside from other K’Daii, take an automatic Strength 4 hit. This counts as a flaming attack.
Burning Bright: Starting on the second turn, and every turn thereafter, each unit of K’Daii must make a toughness test. If this test is failed they immediately take D3 wounds with no saves of any kind allowed, distributed as shooting attacks.

House Mardukh

General’s Bonus

Bull Centaur Characters may be equipped with a Pushed War Machine as described below for +70 points, displacing the original Boar Centaur.

House Equipment

Crossbows
Chaos Dwarf Warriors may replace their shield with a Crossbow for +4 points per model.

Boar Centaur War Machine, Special Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Pushed War Machine	-	-	-	5	4	4	-	-	-	70
Boar Centaur	7	4	3	3	-	-	1	2	8
Armour Save: 5+/3+
Equipment: The Boar Centaur carries a hand weapon

Special Rules:
Counts as a Chariot with the following changes:

Pavise: +2 armour save against shooting attacks
Deals D6 impact hits
On the turn they charge the pusher adds their unmodified number of attacks to the number of impact hits rolled instead of making their own attacks as they put all their weight into grinding the machine forward rather than lashing out. They may fight normally in the following rounds.
In addition, if the unmodified number rolled is equal to or greater than the number or ranks (or columns) in the opposing unit and it wins combat the war machine pops out the opposite side and may continue it’s movement! If it strikes another enemy with it’s remaining movement, treat it as a Pursuit Into Fresh Enemy. If the enemy flees as a result of combat resolution, pursue as normal instead.

True House Unit

Golem, 0-1 Rare Choice

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	Points
Golem	5	4	0	6	6	5	2	5	6	250

Equipment: Hammerfist (counts as Hand Weapon), Metal Body (counts as Heavy Armour)

Options:
A Golem may be given up to two upgrades from below. Upgrades may not be taken more than once.

Lavathrower: The Golem is fitted with naphtha and sulfur lavathrower, often placed in the cavernous mouth of the Golem. This attack counts as a Breath Weapon. Each model hit suffers a Strength 4 armour piercing hit, +30 points
Another Hammer: +1 Attack, +25 points
Daemon Crystal: Gains Magic Resistance (2), +20 points
Furnace of Hashut: +1 Movement, +35 points
Even More Bronze: +1 Armour Save, +10 points

Special Rules:

Causes Fear
Daemonic Construct: Golems are constructs of bronze and steam, but bound daemons dictate its movements and interpret it’s surroundings. As a result it is both Immune To Psychology and Unbreakable. However, if it is ever further than 6" from the general or a Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer it suffers from Stupidity. Additionally, for each point a Golem loses Close Combat by roll one die. For each 1 rolled a daemon escapes and inflicts a single Strength 6 hit on the golem.
Crush: Against immobile targets, such as buildings, castle walls, or war machines, the Golem may trade all of his attacks for a single Strength 10 attack that hits automatically and deals D6 wounds

Hats

Daemons are often bound to the work of a Chaos Dwarf, and their substantial hats are no exception. Indeed, the larger the hat, the more daemons can be bound to it! For the regular dwarf simple daemons are often bound - daemons of luck, wealth, skill, and the like. However for the warriors and rulers far more powerful daemons may be sought - daemons of destruction, of power, of cruelty.

These bound daemons are vengeful and dangerous, always looking for an escape but held by both the binding rituals and the will of the dwarf who wears it. If a daemon senses a moment of weakness it will make every effort to escape and inflict it’s wrath upon its jailer.

Every Chaos Dwarf and Bull Centaur character (not hobgoblins) begins with a height 1 hat. Additional height levels may be purchased for 10 points per level, up to the character’s maximum. Heroes may have up to a height 2 hat and Lords up to height 3. The armies general may purchase one more height level than is normally allowed. The hat is considered an Enchanted Item but does not count towards the limit of Enchanted Items a character may take (normally 1).

Each level of height allows one daemon to be bound to the hat. Daemons may be bound from only one Chaos realm with the exception of Undivided daemons which may be included at any time. The only limitation on bound daemons is the height of the hat, not points. The same type of daemon may be bound more than once, usually with increasing effects. For example, if Daemons of Corruption are bound, the first grants Fear, while taking it a second time increases it to Terror. Taking it a third time would not increase the effect further, however it would retain it’s Terror if a single daemon escaped. Similarly, if one of the two escapes the character would be downgraded to only causing Fear.

Each time the Chaos Dwarf character fails a Leadership Test of any kind, roll a D6. On a result of 1 a random daemon escapes and it’s benefits are lost for the remainder of the battle. In addition, the daemon inflicts a single hit upon the model at a Strength equal to the total height level of the hat +1. A resulting wound may not be saved in any way, though it may be regenerated. The daemon’s benefits are lost prior to the hit being inflicted. For example, a Daemon of Leprosy is bound to a height 3 hat granting +1 Toughness. The daemon escapes when the character breaks from combat. It would strike the character with a single Strength 4 hit, even if it was the last daemon in the hat, and the character would defend with his base Toughness.

Bound Daemons

Realm	Points	Effect
Hashut
Oppression	Free	Allows Daemons from different realms to be combined
Industry	20	Re-roll the Artillery die of any war machine that the character is currently crewing, second result may not be re-rolled
Fear	25	Enemy units in base contact reduce their Leadership by 1
Slavery	25	Increase Ld radius by 2". Only slave units count as being within this extended range. Note that this may be taken by a character who is not the general
Domination	35	One opponent in base contact chosen by the bearer must pass Ld test. If they fail they may not attack this turn and all attacks directed towards them hit automatically. When taken a second time, all enemy models in base contact are affected

Nurgle
Pestilence	5	All attacks from the user count as Poisoned
Corruption	20	Grants Fear the first time taken, Terror the second
Rot	35	+1 Wound
Leprosy	70	+1 Toughness, cannot increase character’s Toughness beyond 6

Tzeentch
Magic	10	One additional power dice available to bearer only
Knowledge	15	The user knows one more spell than normally allowed
Luck	25	One use only, player may re-roll a single die during the game. May not re-roll a re-roll, may not use multiple re-rolls at once
Change	45	The character gains Regeneration, however if the daemon escapes and causes a wound, the bearer is immediately replaced with a Chaos Spawn with as many wounds as the character had prior to the daemon escaping

Slaanesh
Pleasure	Free	+1 Initiative
Pride	15	Character is Immune to Psychology
Greed	20	Character always strikes first in close combat
Lust	30	+1 Movement, Chaos Dwarfs on foot only

Khorne
Skill	5	+1 WS
Glory	15	+1 MR
Wrath	20	+1 Attack
Blood	30	Character gains Frenzy

Undivided
Paranoia	10	+1 ward save
Hatred	10	Character gains Hatred for the opposing race (unless it is also Chaos Dwarfs!)
Pain	15	Contains the Rule of Burning Iron as a Bound Spell at power level 3
Death	25	Attacks made by the character gain the Killing Blow ability

v1

Lost to the sands of time… It was basically just the Immortals, Slavers, and Engineers that you can find in the current list and you could pick your House and take that one unit. You can dig into the edit history if you’re really curious!

Any and all input is appreciated, and let me know me if you give it a try!

* But not all at once
** I have no idea if this is true
*** I mean technically it’s only one magic item though
**** Most

Ihsan997 · 4 April 2022 08:12

Awesome work bro! This is quite helpful given the other discussions on 6th ed. RH recently. It’s a solid rule set, but the lack of unit options has vexed a number of us; this is a great solution.

I have a few ideas floating around in my head, though I need to let them settle for a bit to articulate them better. For now, I really like these rules for units based on generals and magic items you’ve devised.

The most general thing I can say is my obsession with the fluff of tiered chaos dwarf infantry, i.e. units like your Immortals being the proper curly-bearded haberdashers with a core rank and file of lower castes, i.e. disgraced citizens, castaways from the northern dwarves, slave soldiers from the western cousins spared for some reason or another, though the thing about fluff is that it tends to be highly individualized. Your actionable, definable rule set seems like the jewel on the RH crown for now.

flagellant04 · 4 April 2022 09:29

Many thanks for the kind words!

Yeah fluff is personal for everyone. Even my own headcanon is different from this in some ways but I liked the House concept from Toumas and it’s possibilities for force customization. It’s also easily expanded. Missing a troop option? Just add a house!

Looking forward to what you come up with!

Ihsan997 · 4 April 2022 20:00

Alright, the first thing I’d like to contribute is a statistical breakdown of the army lists in Ravening Hordes. My purpose is to examine areas in which the current (har har) chaos dwarf list is lacking for 6th edition. Obviously, not all army lists are equal nor do they need to be: the Empire is heavy on rare choices, our wicked western cousins focus on special choices, and so forth. However, in so examining all these areas, we can see room for improvement for Hashut’s chosen.

I’ll post the table below followed by conclusions about the state of the army list. I will refrain from any and all suggestions, leaving that for another time and to be made by other community members. Right now, I just want to focus on the facts.

The averages have been rounded up starting from six points to the decimal. Chariots were counted as character mounts if that was an option, as was the Slann palanquin. Also of note is the moderate average of character mount choices despite the fact that a few armies had none at all. And, in case anyone asks: yes, the green skins really do have that many character choices.

Army	Characters	Character Mounts	Core	Special	Rare
Orcs and Goblins	22	4	7	8	7
Empire	4	3	8	6	10
Demon Host	6	0	4	6	3
Chaos Warriors	6	3	3	5	3
Beastmen	4	1	4	3	3
Skaven	7	1	6	5	2
Tomb Kings	4	2	2	3	2
Vampire Counts	6	4	4	4	3
Dwarves	4	0	3	7	3
Lizardmen	5	2	5	4	2
High Elves	4	6	4	6	4
Dark Elves	6	4	4	6	2
Wood Elves	4	4	2	5	3
Bretonnia	4	4	4	1	2
Chaos Dwarves	7	2	2	6	2
Average	6 (5 w/o orcs)	3	4	5	3

So as we can see, the chaos dwarves are uneven as is the case with other armies. We have the widest variety of options for characters, wherein we actually have higher than the average even when including orcs and goblins in said average. We also have a high number of special unit choices, due possibly to the availability of orc and goblin slave units.

We’re lacking in rare choices and character mounts, wherein we have slightly less than the average, and in core unit choices where our options are only half (!) of the average. Now, whether or not that’s truly an “issue” to be addressed via homebrew is another discussion for another post, but I did find these numbers interesting.

flagellant04 · 30 April 2022 02:13

Big update!

I’ve expanded H&H extensively, adding 3 new Houses with units from all editions and allowing mixed Houses in the same list. Also made some QOL updates to the formatting. Now you can finally roll with Fireglaives and K’Daii or bring an Iron Daemon to a 6th edition game! With your opponents permission of course

I did my best to preserve the spirit of the units brought in from other editions, though there have been some changes to balance them with 6th. It was actually really interesting digging into the points and powers of other editions and seeing how they’ve changed over time. Also quite interesting to see how ideas were reused and refined.

Also, while the selection limitation seems arbitrary, I really didn’t want to make Chaos Dwarfs this massive list with 8 Rare choices and as many new Specials and instead shot for more of a back-of-the-book alternative army organization or White Dwarf style list update. Opportunity costs with with your options is more interesting than just with your points.

Ihsan997 · 1 May 2022 20:17

Quick Q: does the upgrade refer to the general’s bonus or the item upgrades (i.e. naphtha bombs, fireglaives, etc.)?

Jolly good show, by the way. I do quite enjoy how the houses preserve a specific theme.

I thought of another question: where did the names for the houses come from?

flagellant04 · 2 May 2022 02:07

Sorry, that’s in reference to the equipment/items, I’ll change the verbiage and add a heading! So you get both items and only one General’s Bonus.

As for the names, Hargan, Ashodar, Khash, and Mardukh come from the Toumas playtest, Azgorh comes from Tamurkhan/8th ed, and Snakebeard comes from 3rd ed. Mardukh is actually the Alchemagi who invented the Golem and Snakebeard bred the Boar Centaurs. Wasn’t a huge fan of putting both the Boar Centaurs and Golem under the Mardukh name, but Snakebeard was the only 3rd edition name I found so I decided to give the rest of the 3rd ed units to him instead.

flagellant04 · 2 August 2022 21:30

Now available as a formatted document!

Revisions thanks in large part to 3EyedCowboy on the Discord! Broadly speaking, consolidated two houses together, added points limit to bound daemons, and Hats count towards Enchanted Item limit. Feel free to leave any other comments on the Google doc or here, all comments and criticisms welcome!

Also included the full unit list from RH so only one document needs to be referenced. Only changes to the original RH formula are:

Renaming characters
Wolf Riders are a separate unit with a unit size of 5+ and loss of Fast Cav when light armor taken
Command models are costed according to 6th ed standards
Updates to profiles to include H&H compatibility (eg Hat listed on equipment, magic item points allowance updated)

cornixt · 3 August 2022 18:02

I like it overall. I’m not sure about unit availability being tied to the houses, but I can see how you wanted to keep the LoA and 3rd ed units available but as separate from each other as much as possible. I think that you could have made some of the units as restricted upgrades to common units. I would have baulked at it as being too different during 6th edition, but as a retro list that doesn’t really matter. The only issue I really see is that you essentially have 5 slightly different armies that need to be balanced, some of which have brand new units, plus the many combinations of houses. Reminds me a bit of the 3rd edition style of doing things, where there were so many different ways of doing things, and also the 6th ed Storm of Chaos alternate army lists.

flagellant04 · 4 August 2022 02:25

Hey thanks for your input!

So one of the reasons for the House restrictions is actually an attempt to make balancing easier! I don’t think any army should be able to field both a Golem and a Destroyer in a 2k pt game, for example, but finicky one-off rules like that make list building a chore. As a result the Houses aren’t so much down edition lines as thematic and balance ones, and the mostly 2-units-per-house helps balance them against each other. Similarly, adding only 2-3 new options to an army is unlikely to cause serious issues. Are there any combinations that you think look particularly problematic?

As for units that could be restricted upgrades, are you referring to Mardukh Engineers? I waffled a lot on that but having them as a separate unit entry was ultimately a technical writing decision. It seemed easier to keep things straight in your head if you never had to think about your House choice when working within the standard RH options.

flagellant04 · 24 April 2023 04:00

Another update!

A recent reread of the pseudo-canonical WFRP supplement inspired me to write up a Lore of Hashut for 6th ed and I finally got around to it. It is updated in the google doc but I’ll add it here as well. All feedback welcome as usual! I’ve spent a fair bit of time workshopping Shards of Obsidian but it’s definitely the shakiest.

Shards of Obsidian

Description

The Sorcerer-Priest summons thin obsidian spikes from the ground, impaling the unwary but deadening the winds of magic nearby.

Casting number: 4+

Nominate any unit within 24” and within line of sight. It takes 1 D6 Strength 3 hits and gains Magic Resistance (1). This remains until the unit is moved in any way and does not stack.

This spell may be cast up to three times in a row. Each successful cast will increase either the Strength or D6 count by 1 in addition to the Magic Resistance.

Do not roll for hits or apply Magic Resistance until you have finished all castings of this spell. The opponent may attempt to dispel after each cast as normal. If at any point a cast fails or is dispelled then the entire chain fails and no effects trigger. No other spells may be cast between these attempts.

Gift of Hashut

Description

Hashut’s magic comes at a great price, often not only to the one who wields it.

Casting number: 4+

Nominate any Chaos Dwarf unit. For the remainder of the turn range and line of sight may be drawn from any point within that unit for all friendly spellcasting. That unit then takes D3 wounds with no save of any kind allowed.

Flaming Hide

Description

The skin of the lucky chosen begins to glow white-hot and spew molten metal whenever it is struck.

Casting number: 7+

Cast on any model within 12”. The target receives a +2 to its armour save. In addition, any unit that makes an attack against the target suffers an automatic hit at a Strength equal to the caster’s Toughness. This counts as a Flaming Attack. Remains in play.

Ash Cloud

Description

The Sorcerer-Priest summons up a cloud of hot volcanic ash and embers, stinging the eyes of its victims and prone to being relit.

Casting number: 8+

Nominate an enemy unit within 24” and line of sight. All shooting attacks by that unit are at a -1 to hit as though the enemy were in Soft Cover. In addition, the enemy unit counts as Flammable for the duration of the spell. Remains in play.

Bonds of Ebony

Summary

The Sorcerer-Priest bends the will of his slaves to his own, holding them to their task long after others would have deserted.

Casting number: 10+

Nominate a Slave unit within 12” and line of sight. That unit gains Unbreakable until the start of your next turn but strike last in combat as though they were armed with great weapons

Doomroar

Summary

The Chaos Dwarf’s eyes blaze with power and his head transforms, taking on the aspect of Hashut. Massive twisted horns sprout from his temples and large flared nostrils belch forth smoke and fire. The transformed lifts his bull-head and bellows forth a deafening roar, filling his followers with zeal.

Casting number: 12+

Cast on self or any Chaos Dwarf character. All Chaos Dwarf and Bull Centaur units within 12”, including the target, gain +1 Attack until the start of your next turn. In addition, all friendly units within range immediately rally.

chitzkoi · 24 April 2023 05:47

LOVE gift of Hashut. Interesting to see racial casting appear a few times in here. I haven’t seen that in fantasy before, is it commonplace?

Jasko · 24 April 2023 08:10

I really like how you’ve combined bonuses and hits within the same spell, that feels very Hashut for me! Similar to the Tzeentch spells. Really nice touch!

I take it correctly that “Shards of Obsidian” could be cast both on friendly and enemy units? Really nice.

flagellant04 · 24 April 2023 16:52

Thank you!

If you’re referring to spells that specifically call out Chaos Dwarfs/Bull Centaurs/Slaves, I don’t think I’ve seen it before. Within Chaos there are lines drawn between mortals, daemons, and beastmen for various purposes (which I borrowed from in Houses) but generally speaking spells are universal for targeting purposes. The racial dynamic is a really fun layer to play with and I think meshes well with existing CD rules and magic items that call it out.

@Jasko Correct! I really strive to maintain the feel of what little RH gave us, especially how many of the magic items took as much as they gave, and that’s reflected in the dangers of Hats as well. Also, I’m not sure if it’s mentioned at all in larger WHF lore, but it’s implicated that obsidian is somehow anti-magic with items such as the Obsidian Blade and Talisman of Obsidian.