Total War: Warhammer Debuts Its Dwarfs
Small but powerful
The last time I had anything to do with dwarfs I was playing a card-based drinking game called Iron & Ale for Shut Up & Sit Down. This happened. As a result, the dwarf unit video for Total War: Warhammer [official site] is one I watched with one hand cupped protectively over my arm.
"This video focuses on Longbeards, Ironbreakers and Hammerers – three melee units who exemplify the Dwarfen combat style with their ornate axes and hammers. One of the four playable races in the initial launch of Total War: Warhammer, Dwarfs are expert miners and craftsmen who toil in ancient forges where centuries of hereditary knowledge are smithed into unrivalled arms and armour."
So I have a question about dwarfs. Why would they be so dismissive of stabby weapons? Surely a few little knives would be really useful weapons if you spend a lot of time underground in enclosed spaces? Swinging a hammer would be the height of luxury. What you really want is a shiv. Dwarfs should be all about the shivs.
Maybe it's an engineering thing - pride in the balancing as well as the decoration - and I guess it gives them something to do with all that metal ore. You could make one hammer instead of cluttering up the place with a million grapefruit spoons.
Anyhow. I like how sturdy-but-deadly these guys look. The voiceover describes it rather nicely as "bundled strength".
Total Warhammer is due to launch in 2016.