A question for those that know the lore of Chaos Dwarfs, both outside real life mentions of them in books and their in-universe information. I came across this picture referencing their harems and I’m wondering if this is true but I have no clue where this source comes from. Could anyone help me find this? I was thinking it could be one of the old roleplay books because of the adventure hook.
4 Likes
I did a search for Nikolai Chekov and Chaos Dwarf, and found that it is from the document that purports to be unpublished material written for WFRP. You should be able to find it.
2 Likes
I remember hearing about this too…if I’m remembering correctly this was fan created for WFRP, not official GW canon 
2 Likes
You can find this here! I’ve just submitted a post to the #library for quick reference later. The whole document is definitely worth the read! While it’s not technically canon it was written by a GW author but released later on his own.
4 Likes
It builds on the gender ratio principles for the dwarf race established elsewhere in WHFRP.
I personally think this document is loaded with wonderful ideas, I love the section about Chaos Dwarven clans and how much control/relation the ruling Sorcerer Prophet has to his domain.
Chaos Dwarven politics has to be my favourite part- and it makes so many suggestions about sorcerer feuds that it just feels like this document was meant to get your brain cogs turning.
I want to know more about Chaos Dwarf clans, and how their society is broken up.
We know that the city of Zharr Naggrund is split into districts, and each clan occupies a district, and a sorcerer prophet operates his entire clan (slaves and all).
In this document it suggests a Chaos Dwarf clan just takes the name of its patriarch- but then contradicts itself by then saying Astragoth is the sorcerer priest of Clan Zharrdrak.
What or who is Zharrdrak? Where did this come from?
So, considering this document reads like fanfic anyway, I wanna hear what other fans think.
How do you guys think a Chaos Dwarf Clan gets its name? do they change names when their sorcerer dies? what are some Dawi’Zharr clan names you’ve thought of?
Should we even still call them clans? or is that too normal dwarf flavoured?
1 Like
Some of this might be answered in the new Total War expansion that just came out (or is about to).
1 Like
I love this tidbit:
“For the Sorcerer-Priests who do not die in battle, the price of their sorcerous power eventually
takes its toll. The Sorcerer-Priest knows that the decline of his power manifests itself when his
feet begin to turn to stone. The growing transmutation will then move up his legs to the torso. At
this stage, the Sorcerer-Priest depends upon his clansmen to move him about. The next stage of
mineralisation appears in the Sorcerer-Priest’s hands, and then his arms. The change is complete
when his head and shoulders become immobile, leaving only his eyes and brain untouched. The
transformation may last for a hundred years or so. The living statue of the Sorcerer-Priest is
placed alongside others of his kind from the past, guarding the highways radiating from ZharrNaggrund with their malevolent, resentful gaze. The few Dwarf Loremasters who have learned of this process refer to the transformation as the “Curse of Grungni.””
So they don’t die, they just stand there until the end of time, and it is Grungni who punishes dwarfs who use magic.
I want this to be cannon. For how bleak it is, and because it adds a layer in the resentment between cd’s and the ancestor gods.
8 Likes
Totally agree that there’s a ton of interesting stuff here. To go through some of my favorites:
- The Tainted: Great homebrew unit. It seems that they generally fight alongside greater Chaos armies so you could write them in as a unit for their lists or just ignore that bit slot them into CDs. Also the fact that Snakebeard hangs with them is a fun detail!
- Rogue greenskin slaves within deep and forgotten portions of the mines
- Vanilla dwarfs are often enslaved and are even valuable saves
- Sorcerer Conclaves. This sounds like one of the coolest mechanics in TWW however I’m not aware of it being mentioned anywhere else. Was this a bit of lore I missed from Tamurkhan somewhere else? Or did the devs simply come to the same conclusion?
- Hatred of Khorne
- Lore of Hashut: Another great homebrew opportunity. I think the default for my edition of choice (6th) would be to try and port the 8th ed lore but this offers a lot more room for creativity. In fact, I think this will be the next major update for ol’ H&H…
We see Chaos Dwarfs divided into Houses elsewhere, which personally I prefer to clan. For Houses/Clans it’s been my take that the ruling sorcerer of a clan takes the last name of the House rather than the other way around.
3 Likes
@ashur unless I am quite mistaken, I believe the turning to stone part is (or was with WFB) official fluff. It has been a part of the lore for many years, and in my opinion is one of the most fascinating piece of lore about Chaos Dwarfs. I’ll check the old 4th Ed army book, but I think it is in there. It captured my imagination many years ago, and I have come up with CDO Artisans contest and Scribes contest stories and ideas around that concept multiple times over the years. Cheers!
2 Likes
The turning to stone is cannon.
As for the fact they remain alive, or the fact it is known as Grungni’ curse, I do not think so.
3 Likes
Technically it doesn’t say that Grungni is responsible for the Curse; it just says that vanilla dwarfs that know that the Curse exists call it the Curse of Grungni. While it is possible that he’s the one cursing them, it’s just as likely that that is just projection on the part of vanilla dwarfs; using magic is undawi, so of course the Curse must be the work of the Ancestor Gods.
3 Likes
Hmmm… My take on it has always been that they are alive. It doesn’t say that they die, just that they petrify. Perhaps that was just an assumption on my part due to the fact that when half the body is stone and they are still alive and can even move and live when half their organs are stone. It sort of made sense that the curse was keeping them alive somehow, so why would that end.
My stories have played off of this. Now I have to go dig back though the lore and figure out if that ‘understanding’ came from somewhere, or was all just an assumed take on it.
Whenever an in-game person says something, there is always a chance of it being a lie, them being misinformed, or just their opinion. Same for if the fluff says what they believe. It’s only a fact if the game says that is what it actually is.
2 Likes
In Norse mythology Dwarves turned to stone if they went in the sun.