History Characters / WarhammerDwarfs

* DropTheHammer: Second only to the axe as the Dwarfs' most favorite weapon. The Hammer is the weapon of the Hammerers, the guards of the Thanes and Lords.

* FantasticRaceWeaponAffinity: The Dwarfs strongly favor the use of ornate axes, and most of their infantry wields either one- or two-handed variants, but great two-handed hammers are also widespread. This stems from a cultural belief that all good weapons should be able to double as tools, and vice versa; Dwarfs don't use swords for this reason and are confused by the human obsession with them.

* DropTheHammer: The ''Hammer of Angrund'', also known as the Ironhammer. As the name implies, it's the AncestralWeapon and namesake of the Angrund Clan royal line. It grants Belegar ''Always Strikes First'', but also a +1 bonus to wound enemies.

* DropTheHammer: ''Klad Brakak'', his anvil-headed rune hammer that pulses with magical energy. No armour saves are allowed against ''Klad Brakak'', and it can [[AntiMagic destroy all the magic items]] on his enemy.

* DropTheHammer: Although he's pictured with an axe, he mostly fought with a hammer, and it was his hammer that killed Caledor II.

%%* DropTheHammer

* CoolGun: Dwarf firearms are the greatest ones in the world, with a guarantee in quality that makes the musket of the humblest Dwarf smith better than a Empire engineer's craft. The rule ''Dwarf-crafted'' applying to all shooting weapons cancels the penalty to hit when performing a Stand and Shoot reaction to charge.

* FantasticRacism: Dwarfs think that humans are soft and hilariously incompetent at making anything, be it a castle, a firearm or a keg of ale, as they are too short-lived to accomplish much or become as proficient as Dwarfs - but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the nicer Dwarfs]] will pause to note that umgi are still not as bad as the elves, they show proper respect for superior Dawi craftsmanship, and their Sigmar helped out old King Kurgan Ironbeard long ago so the Dawi should help Sigmar's empire in turn. Elgi are even softer than humans, and also arrogant and untrustworthy bastards besides. The Khazalid word for "untrustworthy" in fact literally means "like an elf", and let's not forget the time Caledor II ''[[NeverLiveItDown shaved our envoy's beards]]''. Dwarfs hate Beastmen as they hate anything tainted by Chaos, seeing them as dumb creatures that exist only to wreck and steal good things. Chaos-worshipping humans are living proof that umgi are still not entirely trustworthy, and they find the Bretonnians' obsession with horses and {{LARP}}ing as elgi very weird. [[BerserkButton Don't even mention the Chaos Dwarfs within earshot of a Dwarf]]. Grobi are thieving wretches, the absolute worst of the worst - if you asked the Dawi if they would either kill all four Chaos gods and all of their followers, or a quarter of all the Goblins in the world, most of them would answer the latter. Much violence and beard-shaving has occurred between the two races over the millennia and thus, only genocide will ever be enough to strike the groki's myriad crimes from the Dammaz Kron. Urks are also big stupid wazzocks and like Beastmen they ruin everything they get their grubby fingers on, and gronti are grobi pawns that like to steal and drink Dawi ale. Thaggoraki are not quite as bad as Greenskins, but only by the very slimmest of margins; they are cowardly vermin that infest Dwarfen tunnels, backstab miners and make offensively shoddy copies of Dawi technology. Dwarfs have little contact with Lizardmen and Tomb Kings, but consider both to be gold-hoarding bastards (and Lizardmen also caused the Time of Woe, the Dwarfs don't know it but they would probably drop everything to pour every resource into exterminating the Lizardmen if they ever found out).

** And then we come to what makes ''Warhammer'' Dwarfs truly Dwarfurgent - their tireless pursuit of RevengeBeforeReason (and often RevengeWithoutReason!). Dwarfs hold Grudges like family heirlooms, passed down through generations, and kept in a massive book called the Book of Grudges - if you ever wrong a Dwarf in that hold then it is written down in blood in the book and remembered ''forever''. Forgiveness is utterly incomprehensible to the Dwarf psyche. Grudges have set terms for settlement (usually DisproportionateRetribution) and the Dwarfs will not stop until it is paid. [[{{Determinator}} Ever]]. The common consensus of Dwarf society, usually voiced by humans and elves when they are safely outside earshot, is their near-constant state of war with practically everyone is [[DyingRace driving them into extinction]].

* KeystoneArmy: {{Inverted}}. Thorgrim has a special rule that if he falls in battle, his entire army gets ''Hatred''[[note]]Reroll any missed attack[[/note]], making them more powerful.

* TooImportantToWalk: In battle he sits on the Throne of Power while carried by four Thronebearers.

* {{Hypocrite}}: When arguing with or about the Elves, the Dwarfs are fond of bringing up the Druchii, and will claim that, since they were once a single people, the actions of Malekith's followers reflect on all Elves. The exact same argument can be, and is, brought up regarding the Dwarfs who turned to Chaos and became the Dawi-zharr, but the Dwarfs simply refuse to acknolwedge the point in any way.

-> ''"I came here hoping to take it all back. I came hoping to look upon the far deeps, on the ancestor statues of the Abyss of Iron’s Dream. I dreamed of opening up the Ungdrin again, so that armies might freely march between my, [[BoisterousBruiser Kazador’s]] and [[TheHighKing Thorgrim’s]] realms. I dreamed of reopening the mines, of filling the coffers of our clan with gold and jewels."''

* DefiantToTheEnd: Queek forced him into a duel after he and his hammerers were ground down and exhausted from Clan Mors' sheer numbers arrayed against them and was clearly doomed. Belegar nonetheless fought Queek without fear, taunted him as being lesser and having no hope to beat him at full strength, broke Dwarf Gouger, and even managed to stab Queek in the armpit with his own sword as Queek struck the killing blow onto Belegar.

* TunnelKing: While Dwarfs are, [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame of course]], much inclined toward the underground and the combat that inevitably occurs there as this Warhammer Fantasy, even Belegar is especially proven at subterranean warfare above most of them out of exorbitant practice from fighting the goblins and skaven holed up in Karak Eight Peaks and its mines that were said to be the largest network of them in all of Karak Ankor.

** And then we come to what makes ''Warhammer'' Dwarfs truly Dwarfurgent - their tireless pursuit of RevengeBeforeReason (and often [[ Revenge Without Reason]]!). Dwarfs hold Grudges like family heirlooms, passed down through generations, and kept in a massive book called the Book of Grudges - if you ever wrong a Dwarf in that hold then it is written down in blood in the book and remembered ''forever''. Forgiveness is utterly incomprehensible to the Dwarf psyche. Grudges have set terms for settlement (usually DisproportionateRetribution) and the Dwarfs will not stop until it is paid. [[{{Determinator}} Ever]]. The common consensus of Dwarf society, usually voiced by humans and elves when they are safely outside earshot, is their near-constant state of war with practically everyone is [[DyingRace driving them into extinction]].

* ICannotSelfTerminate: Dwarfs are essentially hardwired to be incapable of committing suicide. A dwarf that is overcome with enough shame or sorrow to want to end his life instead takes the Slayer oaths, hoping to ''earn'' his death on the battlefield.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Subverted in the lore when High King Alriksson, finding himself dying and without direct heir, decided to test potential candidates and tell them to do something worthy of a High King of the Dwarfs. All but one presented themselves with glorious kills, for instance Ungrim Ironfist having slain a Giant. The last contestant, Thorgrim, instead of killing some big monster, had successfully made contact with lost Dwarf clans in the North and retrieved priceless artefacts from the Lost Holds. This and Thorgrim's charisma signaled to everyone present that he would be a greater High King than any of the others because he had a vision of returning their kind to their former glory; thus Thorgrim was crowned.

* BigBeautifulWoman: The secretive courtship practices of Dwarf society are known to involve weighing the bride on "nuptial scales" so that the groom's father can calculate an appropriate dowry to pay her clan based on her size. Another practice is the the "gartering of the girth", where the groom proves his worth to the clan he wants to marry into by showing that his beard is long enough to wrap around his would-be wife's waist at least once. Because of this, Dwarfs' idea of feminine beauty are women who are round of hip, wide of girth and [[BuxomIsBetter heavy of bosom]].

* AnAxeToGrind: Due to their preference for weapons that double as tools, the axe is one of the two traditional weapons of the Dwarf race and most Dwarf models carry an axe as a hand weapon.

* AnAxeToGrind: The axe is the trademark weapon of the Slayers, who carry it in honour of the Ancestor-God Grimnir. Some editions of the game include special rules for Slayers that allow them to switch between multiple single-handed axes and single two-handed axe when fighting in combat to represent the plethora of such weapons that they typically carry.

* AnAxeToGrind: The ''Axe of Grimnir'', which has been passed down to each High King starting with Morgrim, Grimnir's oldest son. It is extremely powerful, as befitting the weapon of a god, and in game has a range of special effects. It grants its bearer the ''Always Strikes First'' rule, always wounds on a +2 or +3 if the target has magic armour, and it has a ''Multiple Wounds'' bonus against Giants.

* AnAxeToGrind: He is armed with a mighty two-handed axe of monstrous size and enscribed with many potent runes. This is the ''Axe of Dargo'', reforged from Baragor's own axe, and enscribed in Khazalid with the oath of a Slayer. It grants Ungrim a +2 Strength bonus and the ''Killing Blow'' rule.

* AnAxeToGrind: The ''Runic Axe of [[WarGod Grimnir]]'', no less.

* AnAxeToGrind: The ''Axe Of Retribution''. Alrik had this silver-headed weapon forged specifically for himself, to right the wrongs of Karak Hirn's grudges. Inscribed with the Rune of Breaking, which makes it easier for it to shatter weapons, and the Grudge Rune, which glows in the presence of notably heinous offenders written into the Book of Grudges.

* AnAxeToGrind: ''Ol' Trustworthy'', an ancient heirloom. It adds a +1 bonus to his Attack and Strength stats and is also ''Armour Piercing''.

* AnAxeToGrind: The ''Cog Axe'': An axe with "teeth" in the blade that hooks into foes using a steam-powered clamp. It is unremarkable as war axes go by itself but its ''Weaponsnapper'' rule can destroy magic items on a dice roll when attacking with it.

* DropTheHammer: Second only to the axe as the Dwarfs' most favorite weapon. The Hammer is the WeaponOfChoice of the Hammerers, the guards of the Thanes and Lords.

* TheBigGuy: Although unlike most Big Guys, his WeaponOfChoice is a crossbow.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: One short comic in the ''Warhammer Monthly'' series involves two dwarf thanes who have an ancient grudge, which they ultimately decide to settle through a form of ritual combat in which their beards are tied together and they start bashing each other. As they fight, they list off their respective grievances, only to ultimately realize they have no idea why the grudge was declared in the first place. They resolve to call the grudge off and unite their clans to be stronger... and then a nearby statue suddenly falls over on them, and as their beards are tied and they instinctively try to flee in different directions, they are crushed flat, with the comic's narration stating that this is divine punishment for daring to dishonor a grudge.

* CultureChopSuey: Dwarf culture and design draws heavily on a number of influences such as the kingdoms of post-Roman Britain (particularly the Anglo-Saxons[[note]]a number of helmets share designs with the treasures found at Sutton Hoo ship burial[[note]], the Celts[[note]]the blue tattoos and red hair of the Slayers echoes the traditional image of Celtic woad-covered warriors[[/note]] and medieval Scandinavia[[note]]some terms and designs used by the Dwarfs have Scandinavian origin[[/note]]). All of this is held together with the stereotypical attitude of the people of [[OopNorth Northern England]] and the [[ViolentGlaswegian Scots]].

* GargleBlaster: Bugman's XXX[[UpToEleven XXX]]. All Dwarf Ale is this, really, but Bugman's XXXXX is very possibly the strongest drink ever made.

* FantasticRaceWeaponAffinity: The Dwarfs strongly favor the use of ornate axes, and most of their infantry wields either one- or two-handed variants, but great two-handed hammers are also widespread.

--'''Hengist Stonebelly'''

* NewTechnologyIsEvil: {{Downplayed|Trope}} in that while the dwarfs are expert craftsmen, they are also extremely traditionalist. Any significant leap of innovation is therefore automatically suspect and it will generally require decades of planning before even a prototype is developed, and then literally centuries of tinkering and testing before it is considered proven enough that others will adopt it. That said, refining an existing technology or process to perfection is an entirely different matter as that is an accepted part of the pride that they take in their craftsmanship. In addition to this, the shamed or dishonour felt if a designs is not completely reliable and/or course the death of their kinsmen will cause a lot of dwarf craftsmen to take the [[DeathSeeker Slayer oath]].

[[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBretonnia Bretonnia]] | '''Dwarfs''' | [[Characters/WarhammerHighElves High Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] ([[Characters/WarhammerMalekith Malekith]]) | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] ([[Characters/WarhammerNagash Nagash]]) | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warriors of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skaven]] | [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]]]]-]]]

* DeathSeeker: A Slayer's ultimate goal is to die fighting the biggest, baddest monsters he can find with only melee weapons and no armor. The strongest Slayers ironically end up being the least successful by their standards, as they run out of local monsters able to kill them and have to start roaming the earth looking for deadlier foes.