Warpfire Thrower

"Even more terrifying than Warpstone bullets are the weapons that throw warpfire — a kind of burning, flaming ooze that sticks to the skin, with all the same properties of the stone from which it is made. Like the Warpstone bullets of their rifles and pistols, this ooze melts the skin and mutates flesh, leaving its victims deformed or crippled in moments. I have heard legends of huge cannons which shoot the same stuff only in massive volumes, enough to drench an entire squadron with this lethal chemical. I do not know if this is true. I pray it is still a myth."

—Ammelie Meyer, Priestess of Verena.^[2a]

Warpfire Throwers are one of the deadliest weapons within the arsenal of Clan Skryre, a weapon so powerful and dangerous that it is considered the hallmark of Clan Skryre ingenuity.

Overview

The Warpfire Thrower is a crude yet highly volatile flamethrower that hurls a blast of concentrated Warpfire upon an enemy or a small area of ground. Warpfire Throwers are almost always grouped into Weapon Teams of two Skaven; one would carry a bulky and highly unstable fuel-tank filled with chemicals mixed with powdered warpstone, while another would aim the weapon at the enemy. With a single flick of a switch, the weapon would unleash a torrent of fuel that ignites into a greenish flame.^[1a]

Once the blast hits any solid object, the warpstone imbued flame that the weapon spews forth would literally stick to almost any surface. Nearly nothing can douse the flames of a warpfire thrower once it has engulfed its intended victim. However, just like any other piece of machinery that the Skaven have invented, Warpfire Throwers are known throughout the Under-Empire for its volatility. Being of a crude design, the weapon is legendary for misfiring or malfunctioning at an extraordinary rate, causing teams of Warpfire Throwers to explode in a magnificent display of destruction that would kill the team and those Skaven foolish enough to stand near them. Nevertheless, the potency of the weapon often outweighs the risk it often harbors, at least in the mind of a Skaven.^[3a]

When Warpfire Throwers are hired out to aid the Warlord Clans in battle, each team is typically attached to a block of Clanrat infantry. The purpose of these pyromaniacs are to provide the frontline soldiers with the firepower they need to punch through heavily fortified enemy positions. Should the Clanrats fail to break the enemy lines, it is up to the Warpfire Throwers to break it open.^[1a]

Fire Rat Warpfire Thrower

Enemy warpfire thrower — A lone Warpfire Thrower.^[4]

The Warpfire Thrower is whispered of in many quarters – chiefly for the horrors it has wrought in the cramped confines of Dwarf Holds. Though little more than a vat of unstable warp-fuel and an ignition source, it is a weapon to be feared, as many charred skeletons would perhaps attest, could they speak of it. With the smouldering projector aimed, the simple flip of a switch births roiling clouds of warpfire that scours all from the gunner’s path.^[4]

Though the Warpfire Thrower is frequently seen wielded by Weapon Teams of two Skaven, particularly deranged gunners, nicknamed Fire Rats, have been known to take the field without the aid of a fuel-bearer. Often members of the black-furred elite, these ratmen readily trade the additional burden for the chance to deny another Skaven a share of the glory...^[4]