Preview Journal 1

Greetings! For those who don't know me I am the head admin of the DW:  Fictional Warfare group and researcher,creator, and organizer of many of these massive army profiles you see for the group. Though an incredibly difficult task the results and rewards of doing so( expanding my fictional knowledge and creativity) I consider worth it.

Which brings me to the subject of this journal; progress. The demands for the quality of these army bios have increased to near perfectionist standards, which makes them incredibly time consuming to do and leaves some angry with wait. So in order to show those interested I am still working and to hopefully keep myself on track I have vowed to create a "progress chart" where I detail what I do daily for a given project. Sometimes it may be great progress, finishing whole sections of it in a day. Other-times it might be very little to none at all, courtesy of work, school, homework, or other real life demands.

In addition at the end of every week I hope to include a small "preview" of what I did that week, which will likely take the place of a single unit/hero bio or introductory information. However, and this is important, all information revealed in previews should be considered unedited, and thus the content may change, even radically, by the time a final project is released.

For the first week to kick it off I will probably launch the largest preview I will ever do again, detailing the terrible and malefic machines of the Chaos Dwarves and potent techno-magical of the Alliance. It should be noted that neither preview composes a completed section of a single category (with monstrous creatures,  daemons and the much-vaunted Alliance Gunship still need to be shown) however this will compose of the core of the "Shock and Awe" category. Format will obviously be improved significantly for main profile. 

Currently Working on : Scourge Profile (For either Scourge vs. Skaven or more likely Scourge vs. Undead Legion {both of WF})

Chaos Dwarf Artillery:

With their obsession of control and destruction, the Chaos Dwarves are known for some extremely exotic and potent artillery. From rockets to a giant colossus, the Chaos Dwarves are always looking to expand their unholy technology.

In order to better transport these weapons, they have developed a means in which they can be carried on steam carriages pulled by the Iron Daemon (see below) allowing for faster movement. Though bad terrain will hurt this transport’s capabilities, it allows Chaos Dwarf Artillery to keep up with the main army without the C. Dawi physically having to lug it around. Chaos Dwarves are exceedingly good and creative at repairing craft, and machinery disabled for one battle can easily be repaired by the next unless totally devastated or captured.

Hellbound: Although a touch of the dark powers of Chaos enters into all the works of the Chaos Dwarfs, some war machines have hellish, devouring entities and daemons of fury and destruction bound to their every frame and bolt, creating a truly possessed machine even more blood-thirsty than its creators and difficult to destroy. The most extreme examples of these are devices such as the infamous Hellcannon, fuelled by flesh and souls and spewing destructive blasts of arcane energy, they are unique entities whose treacherous power can prove almost as dangerous to their masters as the enemy. There are other lesser, infernal devices and examples of daemonic power augmenting more conventional war machine designs and engines.

In short this makes the Chaos Dwarf vehicles really powerful, with all their attacks being magical, but even more difficult to handle than normal. They also have some truly catastrophic scenarios that occur in the event that they misfire, which usually results in the death of its handlers and sometimes all units nearby. This can be particularly problematic, as Chaos Dwarf artillery is so costly as to be nearly impossible to practically replace, and in the novel Knight of the Realm it is described how one (larger then normal) hellcannon took 50 years  and the sacrifice of thousands of slaves to build, followed by 50 days of extremely dangerous rituals to properly bind a daemon too . All WF artillery is rare, but the Chaos Dwarf artillery especially so, and heavily priced for that reason. The majority of them cannot attack aircraft, and those that can would have difficulty attacking fast moving aircraft.  Finally they are noted as firing at a rather slow rate, as in the Tamurkhan campaign the Imperials could get off many more shots before they finished reloading.

*Note Credit for most of this Chaos Dwarf section goes to Mathias Ellesion, a writer of a fan-dex. However no aspect of the fandex was included that I could not verify in another, canon source as a unit.

Iron Daemon War Engine

Mobility: 5.5 (may briefly boost speed)

Training/Experience: 6

Max Range: 100 meters

Preferred Range: Melee

The Chaos Dwarves have long experimented with Siege Engine technology, using it to haul around supplies and aid in labor. From lugging cannons across the planes of Azhar to hauling back supplies from mines, there are a few places where it was deemed impractical to have slaves do the heavy lifting. Being Chaos Dwarf technology, they are rumored to be powered and infused with daemonic power, and fed a diet of slaves.

One of the latest designs to see widespread service within the Chaos Dwarf empire is the Iron Daemon, a compact, armored steam-driven traction engine. The steam boilers that provide these machines with motive power, to haul heavy armaments and munitions to the battlefield are cunningly designed so that they can also be used to work pressure-fed weapons such as cannonades and wall-breakers. This means that every Iron Daemon is also a powerful war machine in its own right – a fully mobile artillery piece or murderous killing engine able to smash through fortifications and hack down ranks of living soldiers with equal ease.

It’s a powerful hauler, and most obstacles in the way are simply run-over without stopping. It can carry many carriages of supplies and other artillery placements at once, such is its power. The Carriage can be made to go much faster over brief bursts of speed.  However as the Tamurkhan campaign proved just as with the Germans in Russia terrible, muddy terrain can greatly slow this train.

==LOADOUT==

Offensive: At long range the Iron Daemon carries a pair of short-ranged, attatched cannonades with a range of a 100 meters. This cannonade fires red-hot l shrapnel   and curse-laden bullets, though given its fixed position it cannot be turned without turning the entire vehicle. While rarely it misfires, this is probably one of the more reliable C. Dawi weapons.

The Iron Daemon is also an extremely impressive vehicle for close combat, able to barge through all but the most heavily fortified locations with its skullcracker. Skullcracker is a hissing and grinding arcane-mechanical conglomeration of iron hammers, hacking blades and brutal picks designed to literally pulverise and shred anything unfortunate to be caught in front of the machine.

Finally the Chaos Dwarf crew  themselves carry some weapons that are seen in the Chaos Dwarf unit section.

Defense: It’s a massive target clad in plate-equivalent armor. Very durable to harm, and normally artillery weapons would be required to kill it.  

==Additional Factors==

As mentioned the Iron Daemon is not only going to have an important role in battle but carting around other artillery pieces. With Iron Daemons their mobility improves greatly- save possibly in the most difficult of terrain or weather conditions- but without the Chaos Dwarf artillery advance slows to a crawl.

Magma Cannon

Mobility: Immovable, requires Iron Daemon

Training/Experience: 6

Max Range: 300 meters

Preferred Range: ^^

Magma cannons are a powerful and evil weapon designed solely to deal with packed masses of troops charging their lines. When these trolls, orcs or what have you get close the canon lets loose a barrage of molten metal and fire, horrifically burning those caught in its blast (which is akin to grapeshot) to death. The Magma Cannon has seen long use and been the subject of considerable modification and experimentation by Chaos Dwarf Daemonsmith engineers and no two are quite the same, but rather the product of an individual‘s malign creativity. Some use pressurised steam-boilers to jet gouts of burning sulphur, caustic tar or pyretic acids, while others incorporate sorcerously bound volcanic glass shells in which molten lava drawn from the deep earth slumbers until its shell is shattered.

Regarded as one of the tree works of a Daemonsmith's craft, neophyte Sorcerer-engineers vie with each other to produce the most deadly Magma Cannons of their own design. Many have perished as a result of such experimentation — either overcome by choking fumes, dissolved by acrid vapours, or blown to shreds when their volatile mixtures have exploded unexpectedly. To their overlords in the priesthood of Hashut, this is only right and proper; as such failure is not tolerated in the service of the Father of Darkness

==LOADOUT==

Offensive: The Magma cannon has a max range of 300 meters though it will likely be used at closer ranges then that.  The crew has the weapons found in the Chaos Dwarf profile. Its molten metal is hot enough to melt stone.

Defense: The cannon itself is durable, though killing the crew can stop it. The crew wear blackstone armor.

==Additional Factors==

Deathshrieker Rockets

Mobility: Immovable, requires Iron Daemon

Training/Experience: 6

Max Range: 1 kilometer

Preferred Range: ^^

"The dwarfs on the towers removed heavy tubular devices from racks and stuffed them down the yawning mouths of their artillery. Shielding their eyes by lowering the visors of their helms, the dwarfs touched flame to their weapons. A burst of blazing light, a snarl like the belly-growl of a bear, and the weird cylinders flew from the artillery. They streaked towards the courtyard, sparks streaming from their hollow ends. One of the rockets smashed into the outer wall of the stronghold, punching almost clean through before becoming stuck. It sizzled there for a moment, then exploded in a burst of fire and poisonous gas.

The second rocket smashed down into the courtyard itself, glancing off the basalt flagstones and spinning crazily about. Northmen fled before the runaway missile, leaping up stairs and clinging to walls to avoid its crazed movement. At last, the sparks leaping from the rocket’s end sputtered out and it became still.”

The Chaos Dwarfs utilise a number of different types of gunpowder-driven rocket weapons and the Deathshrieker is one of the more diabolic examples of these weapons, as bound up within its munitions are howling, malevolent fire-sprits harvested from the cinders of Hashut‘s sacrificial altars, and it is the hellish shrieking of these sprits when loosed that gives the weapon its name. The packed multiple warheads of the Deathshrieker detonate in the air above the battlefield in a storm of fire – fire which has its own terrible hunger for life upon which to visit its touch.

Screaming, fanged tendrils of flame plunge downwards from the blast and expend their strength actively seeking out victims. The tormented sprits are far from discerning though as to whose flesh they burn, and the Chaos Dwarfs must be cautious lest their own suffer from the wrathful weapon.

In addition to the hellish Deathshrieker rockets, the launchers they use are also able to fire more conventional demolition rockets if needs be. These use densely packed explosive rocket heads with delayed fuses in a strengthened iron tube to channel the blast against a single point. The rocket mounts a crown of spikes that drive the rocket into a vertical wall and hold it there whilst it explodes. In this fashion the rocket can punch through even very dense stone and can make a terrible mess of any large creature that gets in its way too.

==LOADOUT==

Offensive: Deathrockets are hellish, semi-sentient rockets that can cause giant fireballs where they hit, if being a bit weak in total explosive power. Demolition Rockets are those used for medium grade fortifications or monsters but overall lack large blast radiuses needed for killing many at once.

Rarely these rockets might veer off course, strike friendly forces, be duds  or even blow-up on launch!  Chaos Dwarf operators use weapons found in the basic Chaos Dwarf profile.

Defense: The artillery itself has some armor as a vehicle, however its Chaos Dwarf handlers wear blackshard armor.  

Dreadquake Mortar

Mobility: Immovable, requires Iron Daemon

Training/Experience: 6

Max Range: 3 kilometers

Preferred Range: ^^

The Dreadquake Mortar is a massive weapon of destruction and one of the most deadly weapons in the arsenal of the Chaos Dwarfs. It fires a heavy shell full of powerful explosive. When the shell lands it smashes into the ground, burying itself deeply before it explodes, creating devastating shock waves. As well as blowing its target apart, the shockwaves of the explosion are so strong that nearby soldiers are knocked to the ground. Troops close to the blast will be far too shocked by the impact to fight, or even to move. All they can do is lie on the ground, dazed and confused, until they recover their senses.

Dreadquake Mortars are amongst the largest and most effective of all the mighty siege weapons deployed by the Chaos Dwarfs. They rank alongside other such mighty bombards and cannon able to rend the earth and smash through layered stone fortifications as if they were kindling. The Dreadquake‘s deadly projectiles are fired by steam pressure that is generated by a boiler and contained within a pressure vessel – conventional gunpowder being far too dangerous given the volatility of the Dreadquake‘s unique and powerful shells. As a consequence it takes quite a while for the machine to generate enough steam to fire a single shot – limiting its potential in battle. But even on the open field it is a supremely dangerous weapon against large and static targets and if successfully fired against enemy infantry, it can wreak carnage as more than one Orc tribe of the Worlds Edge Mountains has found to their cost.

The Dreadquake's shells are of a secret construction whose arcana is the sole preserve of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer Lords and prophets of Hashut. When fired from the Dreadquake they burst into a roaring; bloodred light, and when they strike they explode, shattering buildings apart and smashing into the ground like a hammer-blow from the gods, bleeding crimson energy from the wounded earth. These shells take the form of metal spheres and are so heavy and unwieldy that an Ogre commonly forms part of the machine's crew in order to speed up the loading.

==LOADOUT==

“Gotrek's scowl spoke volumes. But before he could reply, the air was split by a whistling shriek that had everyone groping to cover their ears. A moment later, a thunderous boom cracked the sky and then, farther down the parapet, a huge chunk of stone was blasted free, carrying dwarfs with it to their doom. The whole wall shuddered from the impact and Felix nearly lost his balance. 'What in Sigmar's name was that?' he shouted.

'Mortar,' Gotrek roared. 'There's a Grimnir-be-damned mortar out there somewhere!' – Gotrek and Felix: Road of Skulls

Offensive: Dreadquake rounds are truly massive shells capable of destroying dozens of men with each massive blast and stunning more with miniature Earthquakes. However as a downside the shells are exceptionally dangerous to handle (and heavy, requiring a slave-ogre) and this weapon fires far slower than other C. Dawi vehicles.

The Chaos Dwarf handlers have weapons shown in that section, while the Ogre slave, if convinced to fight, would have a giant club or something.

Defense: The artillery itself has some armor as a vehicle, however its Chaos Dwarf handlers wear blackshard armor.  

Hellcannon

Mobility: 5

Training/Experience: 6

Max Range: 2.5 Kilometers

Preferred Range: If given the daemon-machine’s choice, melee

Part daemon, part warmachine, the Hellcannon of Chaos is a massive construct of iron and brass that growls and shakes with diabolic sentience. In battle, these arcane engines heave great blasts of daemonic energy arcing through the air toward their targets, incandescent explosions liquefying anything they touch and sending the survivors screaming in all directions. These hell-forged beasts are guided rather than crewed by their teams of corrupt and twisted Chaos Dwarfs, in whose volcanic furnaces the Hellcannons are created. It is their duty to restrain the Hellcannon in the fires of battle, for the daemons bound within each warconstruct hunger constantly for a banquet of warm flesh and hot blood laced with the taste of fear.

The Dawi Zharr load their charge brutally by shovelling the bodies of their foes into the dire-furnace at the Hellcannon's rear. Flesh runs like wax, dribbling onto the earth under the crew's feet in thick, hissing gobs as the daemonic fires strip away and feed upon the captives' souls. These are perverted into wailing bolts of pure chaos, and vomited toward the Hellcannon's target in powerful spasms of hate and malice.

A Hellcannon, towering above the Chaos Dwarfs and their greenskin allies, is virtually indestructible. Such is the strength and bloodlust of the Daemonic machine that it must be chained to the ground to prevent it from rampaging toward the enemy lines, intent on gorging itself on raw flesh. Even these precautions prove inadequate should the enemy draw too close; it is whispered that there is nothing that can truly stay a Hellcannon's insatiable lust for destruction. A single Hellcannon is quite capable of blasting apart the walls of even the most stalwart fortress.

Though larger then normal, Knights of the Realm does provide exacting dimensions for the main Hellcannon shown in the book. It was twenty feet long, with a cannon barrel with the same diameter, fifteen feet high and weighed more then a “Norse longship fully laden with treasure”. Even scaling down from that slightly the average Hellcannon is a truly massive device. Fortunately for their enemies, these devices are exceptionally rare and difficult to build.

“The sky was filled with a hideous roaring sound, and Calard shielded his eyes against the inferno as another fireball came screaming down towards the island. Even from this distance, Calard could feel the intense heat it radiated as it fell inexorably towards one of the immense towers looming above the eastern curtain wall. Calard looked on in horror.

Men were streaming away from the doomed tower, racing along the walls to either side of it and hurling themselves down the stairs leading from its lower levels to the inside courtyard. There was only one exit from the top of the tower, a steep spiralling staircase, and no doubt scores of men would be fighting to hurl themselves down it. Calard knew that none of them would survive.

The roaring inferno struck the top of the tower with colossal force, engulfing it in red fire. The entire castle trembled beneath the impact, and the top two levels of the tower were utterly demolished in an instant. Stone turned molten beneath the unnatural heat, running like syrup down the sheer sides of the walls, and tons of red-hot rock were sent flying in all directions.

Hundreds of men were consumed in the raging holocaust. Those standing exposed on top of the tower were killed instantly, flesh and bones burnt away to cinders even as the trebuchets were rendered into ash. The skin of those inside burst into flame, their lungs filled with scalding heat and fire as they breathed in. The top of the tower exploded like earthenware left too long in a kiln, stonework thrown out in all directions. The lucky ones were ripped apart in the detonation, heads and bodies crushed by hunks of superheated stone, but those that were not killed instantly were hurled into the air, their flesh burning as they plummeted hundreds of feet to their deaths.

Molten, burning chunks of rock crashed down into the buildings within the castle walls, smashing through shingled and thatched roofs, and a dozen of them were instantly ablaze.

The walls of Castle Lyonesse had stood resolute in the face of the restless dead of cursed Mousillon, and had repelled more than one large-scale assault by the dark elven kin from across the seas. They had withstood stones hurled by catapults, had defied battering rams, and even held firm against the cannons of the Empire navy. Yet even after just minutes of this barrage, it was clear that Castle Lyonesse was doomed unless the enemy artillery was neutralised.

A red-hot piece of stonework the size of a man's head spun end over end down towards Calard. He shouted a warning and dived to the side as it arced towards him. It took a peasant warden standing nearby squarely in the face, taking his head clean off.

There was an almighty crash, and Calard looked up to see the upper half of the tower, or at least the half which had not already been destroyed, collapse and fall, its structural integrity shattered. Once again the earth shook as hundreds of tons of stonework smashed to the ground, causing a great cloud of dust to rise.

'By the blood of the Breton,' swore Calard, seeing the terrible destruction that had been wrought.

'Not even the cannons of Nuln are so potent,' said Dieter, his face red from the exertion of racing down the stairs.

'If this continues, Lyonesse will be a molten ruin in hours,' said Reolus, his eyes blazing with rage.

…

A section of the eastern wall was struck by a fiery inferno as Calard jogged along behind Reolus, and screams of pain and fear echoed through the night as a fifty foot section exploded inwards, as if it were made of sodden timber, not thirty feet of solid rock. The war machine had struck high, taking off the top twenty feet of the high wall. A full breach had not been smashed through the immense barrier, but Calard had no doubt that the next shot would be recalculated to be more damaging still.” – Knight of the Realm (Note: All examples of Knight of the Realm do detail a exceptionally large/powerful cannon, however its not radically bigger).

==LOADOUT==

“Even as the engineers wheeled their cannons and bolt shooters towards this new threat, the first hellcannon opened fire. Its great bronze jaw opened, revealing a sulphurous gullet that squirmed with bound magic. From the depths of its gullet, dark fire churned as it digested the souls trapped within the skulls that had been shovelled into its burning furnace. With a belching roar, the cannon vomited forth a ball of fire that arced high over the marauders, descending towards the army of Karak Kadrin.

The Chaos fire exploded on impact with the ground, consuming dozens of dwarfs within its fiery blast, their ashes scattered to the spring wind within an instant. A gaping hole had been opened in the Karak Kadrin line, as those that had survived the attack retreated from the smouldering crater it had left.”-Grudgebearer

Offensive: The Hellcannon fires a massive bolt of energy known as doomfire at great range. Depending on how croweded the opposition is this can kill dozens at once for most variants of this cannon, with the extrordinarly large variant in Knight of the Realm (named “Ereshkigal-Namtar”) capable of incinerating hundreds of closely packed knights at once.  This blast can ignore armor and turn enemies to ash. The handlers of the weapon utilize axes and typical Chaos Dwarf weaponry.

However the daemon-engine is extremely unreliable, and might just charge enemy lines on its own accord if its owners cannot control it. Even if they get it to fire it might still seize the instance to rebel, consuming its handlers , consuming some of the Winds of Magic on the battlefield (hurting their own side) , breaking its chains to rush forward or, in the worst case scenario, breaking its chains, killing its handlers, and then going on a warpath within Chaos forces until put down. Sometimes also it might fire a massively powerful blast that completely drains it of use afterwards.

“As he gathered his hammerers around him again, converging on the standard still proudly borne aloft by Hengrid who stood shouting defiantly at the twisted cousins of the dwarf, a cannonball bounced off the earth and sheared through the chains holding down one side of a hellcannon. With its bonds weakened, the daemonic engine reared backward, its wheels grinding of their own accord, crushing the crew beneath the steel spikes of its treads. As it turned, the remaining chains snapped and tore from the ground and it vomited forth a stream of fire and filth that burned and corroded through the cannon next to it. Attacked by its neighbour, the earthshaker screamed in pain and anger and threw itself at its own chains, ignoring the shouts and prods of its crew. The freed hellcannon rumbled forward, carving through the Chaos dwarfs and marauders, belching flame and trampling them under its armoured wheels. Malignant energy flared from pores and gashes in its structure and the marauders turned to battle against the creature that attacked them from the rear.”

-An example, from Grudgebearer, of what happens when the C. Dawi lose control of their vehicles.

Defense: The artillery itself has some powerful  brass armor and innate durability.  Said armor is thick enough that normal melee weapons and arrows stand no chance of getting through, and something that needs to pack a massive punch or magical is required.  Chaos Dwarf crew have blackshard armor.

“Abruptly, there came a sound like a mountain falling, and a comet trailing hellish red flames shot up into the air from the top of the steep-sided hillock. It soared up high and Calard followed its trajectory skyward, mouth gaping wide in shock and wonder. Then the roaring comet reached the top of its arc and began to descend towards the ground; towards the charging Bretonnians.

'Lady protect us,' Calard breathed as the roiling inferno came screaming down towards the valley floor, and he heard shouts of panic and fear spread through the ranks.

Calard was thrown from the saddle as the missile smashed down amongst the knights fifty feet to his left, making the ground shudder beneath the impact, and the sounds of horses and men roaring in agony rose to the heavens, louder even than the screaming winds. The heatwave of the blast burnt Calard's lungs, and he gasped as, even at this distance, his plate armour heated up to an uncomfortable level.

Those knights closer in to the blast were cooked alive inside their armour, their flesh bursting into flames along with tabards, banners and horseflesh. A circle over fifty yards in diameter was scorched into the ground, ice and snow instantly turning to steam. Hundreds died in that first barrage, their flesh igniting beneath the intense heat, their blood boiling within their veins.

Those directly under the impact of the fireball were unrecognisable, nothing more than charred, twisted corpses that still burned fiercely. So intense were the unnaturally burning, vivid red flames that plate armour ran like quicksilver, dripping onto the ground in flaming, hissing blobs.

Ultra Rare Contraptions

Below are those Chaos Dwarf contraptions that, while existing, are either only seen once, incredibly difficult to build, or somewhat antiquated. In fact of those below, only one has had any mention in recent additions.

Bazuka and Swivel Gun

Mobility: 3

Training/Experience: 5-6

Max Range: 500 meters (Bazuka) -50 meters (Swivel Gun)

Preferred Range: ^^

The Bazuka is a simple-seeming tube like weapon fires a rocket with a powerful explosive warhead. Its main advantage, apart from the ease of manufacture, is that it is light and relatively simple to use. It dispenses with the need for a cumbersome chassis and can be carried about with a crew of two - one to carry the rockets, one to carry the gun. Its blasts, always requiring a clear line of sight, are powerful but slow to reload. As this technology is also unperfected there is a chance of this gun misfiring or even blowing up in the gunner’s face!

“From behind Felix came a weird spluttering hissing noise. Something flashed past overhead, trailing fire. It exploded in the dragon’s wounded side, sending great chunks of flesh hurtling outwards, and exposing bone and inner organs. The dragon let out a fearsome roar that was somewhere between a bellow and a scream. As he closed with the creature, Felix could hear the air hissing out of the dragon’s lungs through the hole in its chest.

…

Felix saw that Malakai was stuffing something into the metal tube he carried once more. As the dragon started to rise, he finished the operation and swung the cylinder into position on his shoulder. The dragon stretched its neck towards him, and as it did so, Malakai pulled some sort of trigger on the front of the tube. Sparks flew from the back of the tube and another projectile flashed forth and sped straight towards the dragon’s mouth. It reminded Felix of the fireworks he had seen unleashed at Altdorf to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. No firework had ever exploded with quite such violence though. The force of the explosion loosened several of the dragon’s man-sized fangs, and tore a hole in the top of the creature’s mouth .”  Gotrek and Felix: Dragonslayer. – Note this dragon was exceptionally large and powerful, being over 100 feet tall and heavily mutated by Chaos. However as a later quote shows the bazooka does not have a exceptionally large blast radius, being able to kill only 6 orcs in formation at once (and likely wound several others).

The Chaos Dwarf Swivel Gun is a light, portable cannon which only requires a crew of two Chaos Dwarfs to operate. Unlike heavier cannons which fire a solid ball, the Inferno Gun fires blasts of shrapnel. The Swivel Gun‘s effect is devastating. The shrapnel inflicts hits on enemy troops within a broad arc of fire. This wide arc of fire, and the weapon's mobility in the hands of experienced operators, make the Swivel Gun an excellent weapon for providing close artillery support.

Other benefits include the fact that the Swivel gun is almost always with a source of ammo, as the Dwarves can just pick junk off the ground, stuff it inside the canon, then fire. It can reload really easily, with at least one enemy force dying due to surprise of the fact.

Whirlwind and Tenderizers

Mobility: 6

Training/Experience: 5-6

Max Range: Melee

Preferred Range: ^^

The Whirlwind is a two-wheeled push-cart with spikes fixed to the front and scythes protruding from the wheels. Three rotating flails and three rotating scythes are mounted on the front, and are driven by means of cogs and gears linked to the axle. The flails and scythes therefore only rotate while the cart is being pushed. The Whirlwind is principally a device for breaking up and smashing through solid formations of troops. Should the device succeed, it may proceed to engage other targets beyond. Several of these devices may form up in a unit to create a combined attack.

The Tenderizer is a variant of the Whirlwind. Its axle is linked by gears to three enormous concussive implements. As the device is pushed forward these implements batter and crush foes in its path. It operates in a similar way to the Whirlwind except that the nature of the damage inflicted is different. Both devices are pushed by bull centaurs.

The Kollossus

Mobility: 5

Training/Experience: 7

Max Range: Cannon

Preferred Range: ^^

“Barundin had no time to spare to see how his veterans fared, for something else was moving up the valley. It strode forward, a great mechanical giant, belching smoke and fire, the air around it shimmering not just with heat but also diabolical energy. Plated with riveted iron and fashioned in the shape of a great bull-headed man, the infernal machine was rocked back as a cannonball struck it in the midriff, leaving a tearing gate.

Oil spilled from the wound like blood, and smashed gears and broken chains could be seen through the rent in its armour.

“A kollossus,” whispered Hengrid, and for the first time ever, Barundin could detect fear in the fierce warrior’s voice. Not when they had faced the disgusting rat ogres, the whirling fanatics of the night goblins, the noisome trolls, the crackling energy of the shamans had Hengrid ever shown a moment’s hesitation; now his voice quavered, if only slightly.”

--Grudgebeaer

Seen only in grudgebearer, the colossus is a many meter sized giant of metal and daemon. By virtue of size alone this iron monstrosity can crush and smash through lesser lines, even knock over towering creatures. However in addition to that it also has in-built flamethrowers in its shoulders and repeating cannon in its bull-mouth. This thing was durable enough that it took a gyrocopter and several rounds of direct canon impacts to send it down.

Hobgfoblin Bolt-Thrower

Mobility: 2

Training/Experience: 3

Max Range: 200-300 meters

Preferred Range: ^^

Hobgoblins build clumsy devises and weapons, from wolf-pulled wagons to cruel devices designed only for the purpose of inflicting pain and torture upon their enemies. The Hobgoblins carelessly lash wood and iron together resulting in crudely constructed contraptions, often lethal to both Hobgoblin and foe alike!

The most common war machine Hobgoblins construct is the potent spear chukka - a giant, lever-operated bow that fires huge bolts capable of penetrating deep into ranked formations of troops, skewering masses of soldiers at once or even dispatching a large beast in a single deadly shot.

Although crude and primitive compared to the arsenals of the Chaos Dwarfs, Hobgoblin spear chukkas can provide effective ranged support…that is, if they ever actually hit…

ALLIANCE: 
Artillery Notes

The Alliance (and Warcraft in general) have three main traits going for it that make them different from most other Fantasy verses.

The First is a bit of a weakness, and that is power. As it most Warcraft cannons are either equal to or only slightly more powerful then real world cannons, and are not able to level the battlefield by themselves as some other fictions can. Though exceptions apply for certain units and special types of cannons, for the most part their cannons can be assumed as powerful as Enlightnment or Civil War era cannons.

That said Warcraft makes a clear distinction in terms of firing rate, both in game and via text, with the standard method of loading cannonballs in one at a time, locking them into place, and firing deemed, according to the quest “Old Blasty” of Strangethron Vale’ “ancient”. This suggests that the gameplay videos posted, with multiple shots in a barrel, fast reload, and ease of aim, do in fact have a basis of truth, at least for certain variants. As always one must be wary for certain gameplay elements like infinite ammo.

Lastly just as WOW has fairly common magic users at the cost of more diluted power among said users, so to do artillery representations seem relavitely common. To use a example in Warhammer Fantasy for example a Empire force would be lucky for more then a dozen cannons in a massive battlefield- the Alliance gunship alone exceeds that. Even representations in game, which evidence suggests are much less then lore, place the numbers of artillery way above many other fictions. Even powerful Steam Tanks are shown to be relatively common, and in fact appear in just about every zone the Alliance is involved in by the dozens.

= CANNONS =

Role: Artillery/Siege Craft
Max Range: Varies, most Real world equivalents
Preferred Range: In general more then 1000 meters
Training: 4

The Alliance has cannons of all shapes and sizes, ranging from Enlightenment era bombards, demi-cannons and all the way up to equivalents seen on modern battleships! As one can expect there is thus a huge variety of different damage effects from these various types. To detail them all would be impossible, for there are that many types, but in general cannons can expect above 1000 meters in range, and in one point in Northrend the Alliance cannons could actually hit the enemy base readily at  even greater range.A few cannons, called “retractable cannons” can apparently be used to maintain a high rate of fire! Blast radius again varies from a 5-10 yard range to a possibly massively bigger for the largest variant shown below. The Cannons used by the Alliance seem to be based at least somewhat on Enlightnement-Civil War era cannons.

Said largest variant is attached to tracks to allow some movement, albeit slow. For the most part cannons utilized by the Alliance are of Dwarven or Human make, though there are a few Gnomish types too.

Ranged: Various types of cannon blast radiuses, ranging from 5-10 yards to taking out several small squads at once. Also different types of rounds like canister shots, freezing shots, rockets, fire shots etc. Cannons can be blessed to do greater damage still. Cannons are precise enough to be used against quick moving monstorous foes.

Notable Subtypes: Gnomish Sniper Cannon: 

**All the below should be considered "rare"*In the Battle for Stonetalon Peak, the Gnomish Sniper cannon was developed with an exceedingly long barrel in order to snipe down Orc-ridden aerial wyverns from afar. Highly accurate and still powerful, the weakness of this machine would be the difficulty in carrying it and setting it up, as well as presumably taking it to an advantageous natural position. –

Cannon Tower:  In Outland the Alliance but more particularly the Sons of Lothar, fielded a massive variant and cross between cannon, tower, and tank. Though very rare, probably only in the single digits total, these massive tanks would, judging by the cannon size, fire a round so large and powerful that it’s going to create massive craters . Like traditional Alliance towers archers or magi can be loaded on the top of the tower. However for its power come weaknesses. It’s a massive, slow  target, and with enough wooden parts it is vulnerable to fire. Horde Glaives (which were themselves massive) were able to disable one by destroying  its treads.

Chain Guns:

A new invention shown to be used by the illustrious 7th Legion, these massive machine guns were deployed to hold a tide of unending scourge at bay. Like the real life version these guns operate by flooding the enemy downrange with enough bullets to mow down mobs and even monstrous creatures, not stopping until the enemy is dead or the gun is out of ammunition. While normally the 7th Legion requires gun emplacements first (which don’t take long at all to set up) at least one 7th Legion commander has been shown to carry a portable, personal chaingun on him. It should be noted that machine guns are far from unknown among aircraft suggesting some potential commonality.

Harpoon Guns:

-Against giant flying foes and lacking proper means of air superiority Harpoon guns have been shown to be deployed. These are essentially giant harpoon cannons with an extremely durable chain attached that, once hooked into a flying unit, forcibly drags them to the ground. In Northrend this technique was used  by the 7th legion to pull Frost Wyrms (dragons) from the air. Also some are seen on top of gunships. Interestingly enough this war originally stolen and adopted from Vyrkul technology by engineers.

There also exist larger, more stationary versions of these that can function as a fiery ballista, taking out buildings and creatures from afar.

-Shoulder Mounted Harpoon Cannon: 

 In The Twilight Highlands the Alliance ran into a conundrum; they were facing thicker dragon armor then they were used to in Northrend, and their foes required more mobility to face.  The Gnomes were left to figure this one out, which they quickly fixed. The result was a portable, shoulder mounted speargun with a “lock-on” mechanism that can fire a tempered spear of extremely potent elementium that is also burning with pure elemental fire at 4x the normal speed of a speargun at far greater ranges. The result? The Black Dragons of the Dragonmaw were pretty much killed as soon as the device managed to open fire.

Pandaren Weaponry

-The  Pandaren have invented their own “dragon cannon” which works in a very similar fashion to the mortar, shooting rockets at great distances to land amongst the enemy. .. Another example, shown in “hostile skies”, is a form of repeater-flak cannon  that the Pandaren developed against air units. Grounded large Pandaren Dragon guns were used on the battle of Chi-Chi temple to immolate the  horde, and a portable version does exist too. The Alliance has incorporated some of this Pandaren artillery into their ranks

(Note smaller, less potent version of dragon gun)

-In the Battle for Lion’s Landing Rocket Launchers were used, likely from stolen Goblin technology for use against their creators. Though a rare weapon, the Gnomes did capture a fair bit of stash of goblin material post-Ogrimmar.

MORTARS 

Role: Shock and Awe
Max Range: 2000 yards (see below)
Preferred Range: far away
Training: 4
Role: Artillery/Seigecraft
Mortars that have been utilized by the dwarves since at least the Third War. They proved instrumental in assaultinglarge undead formations, destroying encampments, and generally being a nuisance from a long range. It appears that they utilize a 8inch mortar which has a historical range of up to 2000 yards and can apparently have a immediate, devastating blast radius of 15 feet, with probably a larger radius for fragmentation rounds the Dwarves are known to have utilized. 8 inch mortars suit the mortar team well, for it allows them be much more mobile than a cannon force, which would need some accompanying transport. However larger mortars, such as 10 inch variants, have been shown

Dwarven Mortar teams consist of a carrier/gunner and a spotter/loader. They are well known for their battlecry, “MORTAR COMBAT!”), and their advice to targets within earshot: “Hey, you! Catch!” From the time the dwarves first learned to use mortars to the present day, there have been only 3 reported cases of the enemy being stupid enough to actually try catching the shell, with a successful catch being made only once. The name of the individual who performed this impressive feat has been lost, along with most of his anatomy and all insect and plant life in a 15-foot radius of the place where he was standing.

Ranged: Mortar Round, sometimes fragmentation:
In general expect everything in 15 feet to be in danger, with possibly greater for fragmentation rounds.They can also deploy flares to reveal an enemy’s position, even hidden enemies, or blind them.

Defense: Two hardy Dwarves, presumably with axes.

(Though a Horde quest, they use the exact same type of Mortar)

= BALLISTAE/GLAIVE THROWER =

The Alliance is in a state of rapid flux. Within a 30 year period everything they know and tread has radically changed. 3 new continents, even entire new worlds have been discovered, new enemies have been engaged with and allies treated. Throughout it all, though much more technically advanced weaponry exist, the Alliance have continued to field numbers of more antiquated siege weaponry.

Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Hundreds of Meters, Real world version can fire just over a 1000
Preferred Range: See Above
Role: Siege Weapon

Based on the same mechanical principles as the crossbow but on a larger scale, ballistae are the siege weapons that hurl stones or metal projectiles toward their targets. They were first built by the Night Elves, but the forces of both Alliance and the Horde have developed ballistae of their own design. After cranking back lever arms held tight in skeins of leather or sinew, the crew loads a projectile into the ballista’s central track. When the trigger is released, the stored tension in the skeins of the ballista propels the projectile downrange at incredible speed.

Needless to say when this projectile hits it does incredible damage to a hardened target like a building or other siege weapon. Against a man or other mortal it will likely kill outright. In part this was a reason that the Alliance, during the Second War, used the siege engine to target massive ogres that could break Alliance Footman lines.In the ancient battlefield in Storm Peaks between the Frost Dwarves and the Storm Giants, these massive things were used to peirce and kill said giants. Worse for their enemies the Alliance Ballista operators are actually shown to be adept marksmen. The comic Ashbringer, in an opening scene, shows that Human Ballista operators can pick out a singular human-sized target on the battlefield and drive a bolt accurately through him beyond 100 meters or drive it through the window of a orc tower in Swamp of Sorrows. The Night Elven operators, with their longtime emphasis on range, are likely even more skilled. Singular enemy commanders commanding from the rear or enemy siege engines shouldn’t consider themselves safe just because they are away from the front.

Furthermore in Warcraft 3 bolts can be upgraded to shatter on impact, inflicting area effect damage with shrapnel. The base bolt is powerful enough to go through a stone wall or multiple foes in succession.

GLAIVE THROWER

Mobility: 4
Training: 5
Max Range: Hundreds of Meters.
Preferred Range: See Above
Role: Siege Weapon, Occasional makeshift anti-aircraft

The premier weapon of the Night Elves, Glaive throwers are ballista type siege weapons that throw giant glaives (a three bladed disk) at enemy forces. Unlike singular Ballista bolts glaives (which are each about 2x the size of a man)cover a wide area and will keep going until their momentum is stopped or gravity pulls it to the ground. Launched at the same speeds as a ballista bolt, a Glaive shot by this machine, if launched directly at an enemy line, would carve through the first few ranks before crashing into the ground. They can also be used to snipe air units from the skies.

 Its bolts are fast too, and during the War for Ashenvale it was used by the Night Elves to shoot down airborne troll wind riders. Some Glaive Throwers have been upgraded to fire alternate types of ammunition, such as several many glaives over a wide though small area or fire dozens of small glaives seen in the sentinel profile at once like a machine gun.

SIEGE ENGINE

Max Range: Cannon Range
Preferred Range: far away
Training: 4
Role: Antistructure/linebreaker

Steam Tanks are cumbersome, heavily armored vehicles are mobile siege weapons piloted by brave and sometimes reckless dwarves. Their heavy weaponry is too cumbersome to target enemy units and can only be used on buildings. However in World of Warcraft, the old Steam Tank design has been refurbished to fit the modern times. Its ramming ability has been turned from just a anti-building wrecker to being used on infantry with gory results, for this creation would weigh tens of tons even if it were just made of steel. Thorium, a tougher yet heavier steel makes it weigh two times more.

The sturdy Dwarven Siege Engines are a new addition to the Alliance forces. The stalwart Dwarven pilots have even been known to ram enemy structures at high speeds and reduce whole fortifications to dust under the Siege Engines’ steel treads. Its a upgrade of the Steam Tank, given a pleuphoria of features that the earlier version did not have such as anti-air capability.. Later the Alliance engineers upgraded it even further, giving it significant armament. As the Northrend campaign and Isle of Conquest shows us these vessels now have a crew of four. - a driver and than 3 gunners (thus they can select any two of these ranged weapons, plus the cannon).

Seige Engines can, as shown by the 5.1 cutscene, travel a unknown number of meters under the ocean, probably indiciating a pressurized crew compartment. Courtesy of the skill of Alliance engines they are extremely easy to repair, though they are heavy enough to be at risk of getting stuck in the mud. Should also be noted that as Redbridge Valley questline shows us, the Alliance is (somehow) capable of paradropping these things in.

Ranged: Siege Engine/Tanks both carry cannons, though the older design is only useful against exceptionally large foes, bases, and fortifications. A Siege Engine can carry some of the following: Flamethrowers, a gun that fires a small ball of Napalm, Freezeflowers(think flamethrower but with quick freezing ice instead),  Steam explosion (where the Siege Engine blasts ultra-hot scalding steam all around it, getting those in the vehicle safe but scorching everyone in ten yards), anti-air rockets (fired upwards in volleys),flak cannons, standard cannons made more applicable against ground units and electroshock cannons. In game in Isle of Conquest the most heavily equipped Seige Engines may well have three types of weaponry at once!

Melee: Thanks to its Thorium Plating ( a material that weighs twice as much as steel) This tank weighs so much that when it accelerates all that force gets translated into an extreme momentum. If a regiment of soldiers were in front of the Steam Tank it would run them over. Only extremely powerful creatures are going to be able to stop its momentum; the rest will have to move out of the way! However even in that case it has a mighty ram  attatched to the front to hit forward with bone crushing speed, and can further boost their speed up to fourty miles per hour!

Defense: Thick Thorium (slightly superior to teel equivalent) plating all around the vessel. Usually only sabotage, artillery or massively powerful attacks can bring one down.
===ADDITIONAL FACTORS===

It should be noted that though distinction between the two does exist, newer variants seem to use the terms “Steam Tank” and “Siege Engine” interchangeably.  Some variants have transport capability for a squad of men.