Daemonsmiths

Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers rule over the desolate empire of Zharr-Naggrund with iron-fisted malice, both as lords and masters of all they survey and as priests of their Dark God Hashut. Their lore is terrible and ancient, and involves the study of machines, and the mastery of forge-craft, weapon making and the terrible Chaos magics gifted to them by Hashut. Combined, these create terrifying weapons and arcane devices of power and destruction.

It was the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers, also known as Sorcerer-Prophets, Daemonsmiths and Hell-Workers, who led their people from the brink of destruction during the Great Catastrophe and first built the great and blasphemous city of Zharr-Naggrund in ages past, and it is they that still command it today. Their works of sorcery and engineering are legendary, from the great obsidian and basalt towers and ziggurats drawn forth from the earth, and the dark iron towers raised up throughout the Dark Lands, to the steam-hissing engines that crush rock in slave mines and the baroque armour which adorns the Chaos Warriors of the north. All are their dark knowledge made manifest.

Daemonsmiths are few in number, with perhaps no more than several hundread amongst the whole Chaos Dwarf race capable of wielding their savagely powerful combination of science and sorcery. They possess no absolute hierarchy or single leader, although form and tradition dictates many layers and ranks of fealty and loyalty amid the great conclave of evil that is Hashut's Daemonsmith priesthood. Each is a power in their own right, controlling sections of the great city of Zharr-Naggrund itself or one of the outer citadels, and each has their own workshops, forges, strongholds, slaves and soldiers who owe fealty directly to them. The strongest voice, however, belongs to the oldest and most powerful, as well as to those on whom Hashut's blessings are bestowed. Age and knowledge are respected by them just as much as by the Dwarfs of the West, but tied up with this is a merciless intolerance of weakness, and favour and respect with them is only maintained through strength, wealth and sorcerous might which makes the politics of the priesthood deadly at all turns.

The price the Sorcerer-Prophets and Daemonsmiths pay for their position and power is a dark one indeed, for should they show weakness they will fall and Hashut's demand for blood upon the altar-fires is unquenchable. Worse is the great curse that lays heavy upon them, as the magic they work seeps into their bodies, evoking changes in them that are both unique and horrific. Even the most cautious and adept of them are not immune, although for the desperate or foolhardy, the curse comes on all the swifter, as inexorably their bodies are petrified into immobile stone, starting with his feet. At first his legs turn grey and solid so that he is unable to move, and his followers are obliged to carry him around or else he has them construct a mechanical engine to move him about. Then his lower body and torso turn to stone, making him extraordinarily tough. Once his arms become stone he is entirely dependent upon his followers to perform his magic, as all he can do is speak and watch their progress. After a while his entire body turns to stone and he becomes a statue. The statues of Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers are lined up along the roadways around the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund, forming rank upon rank of grey stones watching over the approach to the city.

In battle the Daemonsmiths of Hashut are terrifying and unpredictable opponents, their dark magics able to draw upon the fires of the earth and transmute the air to ash and choking smoke as well as fan the flames of hatred in the hearts of their followers. They are each also master artisans of war and may lend their skills to war machine crews or themselves bear savage and potent examples of their craft such as black powder weapons, mighty armour, flasks of burning alchemical oil, Daemon-bound blades and ensorcelled weapons. Each however must display great caution when they wield their occult power, for each spell they wield could also be their last.

Notable Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers

 * Astragoth Ironhand - Oldest living Sorcerer, current High Priest of Hashut.


 * Ghorth the Cruel - Strongest living Sorcerer.


 * Drazhoath the Ashen - Lord of the Black Fortress and commander of the Legion of Azgorh.