"I am a Dwarf! My honour is my life and without it I am nothing. I shall become a Slayer. I shall seek redemption in the eyes of my ancestors. I shall become as death to my enemies, until I face he that takes my life and my shame."
- —Gotrek Gurnisson, swearing the Oath of the Slayer.[2a]
A fearsome Dwarf Dragonslayer standing upon the bones of his slain foe.
Slayers are the ultimate Dwarf warriors, the perfect personifications of death and destruction, and bringers of doom to the enemies of their people.
Role
Slayers are the strangest and most deadly of all Dwarf warriors. They are outlandish doom-seekers, individuals who have wholly dedicated every fibre of their being to the most difficult and destructive life of battle that they can possibly find. Dwarfs are a proud people, and none of them cope well with failure or personal tragedy no matter how small. The loss of a single family member or a hoard of treasures is a fate so intolerable for a Dwarf that they can become inconsolably distressed. Such an event can seriously unhinge their obsessive minds. Eventually these burdens become far too heavy to bear and a Dwarf will eventually snap, forswearing the fellowship and comforts of family, clan, and hold, and opting instead for a life of self-imposed exile. These Dwarfs break all ties with everything they once held dear and leave behind all possessions save for their own axes.[1a]
Concept art of a Dwarf Slayer created for Total War: Warhammer II.
To become a Slayer is to become an engine of mass destruction, a warrior that seeks nothing more in life than an honourable and glorious death that shall expunge the shame that has pushed him upon this path, and to be remembered in the sagas of his people for all time. To become a Slayer, the Dwarf must first make a pilgrimage towards the holy Shrine of Grimnir located within the treacherous peaks of Karak Kadrin, also known as Slayers Keep. There, the Dwarf must ritually shave his head save for a solitary crest -- a fearsome plume died bright orange and stiffened with pig grease. The larger the crest, the deadlier the Dwarf, for the longer he has lived and fought as the crest grows. After the ritual, the Dwarf then cuts a name upon a pillar, where the names of many other Slayers have been carved over the millennia. With his pilgrimage complete, the Dwarf then sets out into the treacherous wilderness to deliberately seek out great battles against fearsome foes and overwhelming odds.[1a]
A Dwarf Slayer as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
Most Slayers die in their first or second fight, but those that survive these initial encounters are considered the unlucky ones. Whether by their sheer martial skills, toughness, or determination, these Dwarfs, though ironically unsuccessful in their higher quest, inadvertently become self-molded into magnificent warriors. This process of natural selection weeds out all but the most exceptional of their kind, meaning that any Slayer met is most likely psychopathically dangerous.
As a Slayer continues to carve his way through an increasingly impressive tally of beasts, he often takes the name of the greatest one he has slain as a title. Such titles include becoming a Trollslayer, or a Giantslayer. The greatest of these already formidable warriors are the infamous Daemonslayers or Dragonslayers, warriors who have managed to prevail in battle against one of the most ferocious creatures in the known world, slaying it and surviving to tell the tale.[1a] Probably the greatest Slayer to have ever lived is Gotrek Gurnisson, bearer of the legendary Axe of Grimnir and the Slayer who has killed the greatest number of enemies known in Dwarf history.[1a]
The life of a Slayer is a solitary existence of battle after battle. Because of their shame and their death oath, many Slayers suffer bouts of depression. This often leads to periods of glutting themselves on alcohol or food. Particularly deadly Slayers sometimes have no choice but to work odd jobs to finance their travels in search of increasingly dangerous monsters.[4a]
In times of war, Slayers often arrive from the wilderness to join a Dwarf throng into battle, lending their considerable combat skills in an effort to further the Dwarf cause. Many desperate wars have been won by the ferocity and sheer determination of these Slayers. Even when bloodied and battered after a battle's end, they will pause only long enough to slake their thirst before beginning their deathquest anew.
A Slayer will often find an unusually kindred spirit in, of all warriors, the Questing Knight of Bretonnia. They both follow a quest, seek out the deadliest of foes, and neither of them will ever retreat or surrender. Of course, a Questing Knight will often abstain from drinking vast quantities of ale, but they may nonetheless prove an ideal ally for a Slayer.[3]
Dragonslayers and Daemonslayers
"‘Hold back your fire and let us pass. We have taken the Slayer’s Oath and would pit our axes against those beasts. If we come back, have all your ale ready. If, instead, it is our time to take the Path of Grimnir, then may our doom be a mighty one. If we do not return, remember us to our clans and kings."
- —Rekthor Redaxe, Giant Slayer, who led a band of Slayers against the Troll horde of Og the Mighty. None returned.
Dragonslayers and Daemonslayers are the most potent and respected of the Dwarf Slayers. Some Slayers, despite their best efforts to find and fight the most formidable of foes, still fail at their task of dying in battle. By dint of constant fighting, these rare Slayers become ever more scar-riddled and dangerous.[1a]
In order to survive for so long against such terrible odds requires either luck or martial skills that have been honed to a razor's edge, and perhaps both. Now known as Dragonslayers or Daemonslayers, these angst-ridden fighters are honour-bound by their oaths to continue their death quest, but now they must seek out and battle ever more ferocious enemies.[1a]
A Dragonslayer or Daemonslayer is often joined on their journeys by a swarm of younger brethren from the Slayer cult. They flock towards such renowned killers, as they can be assured that, as he seeks his ultimate destiny, he will lead them straight towards foes against whom a worthy end might be made. This attraction is not altogether appreciated by the irascible and laconic Dragon or Daemon Slayer, for while they realise word of their deeds or great death might now be brought back to the Dwarf holds, they are loners by nature and resent any distraction. They are committed to die gloriously fighting monsters, not to leading others or looking after newcomers. Also, although none would ever admit to it, these veteran Slayers do not want to dare chance one of their following of new mavericks getting in a lucky stroke and robbing them of the glorious final blow upon some epic beast whose death would be worthy of a song.[1a]
Slayer Types
- Troll Slayer - Slayers that have killed Trolls.
- Giant Slayer - Veteran Slayers that have felled Giants.
- Dragon Slayer - Heroic Slayers that have hewed Dragons.
- Daemon Slayer - Legendary Slayers that have massacred Daemons.
- Doomseekers - Unique Slayer formation equipped with chain-swinging axes.
- Sea Slayer - Sea Slayers are a unique Dwarf Slayer formation equipped with pistols and sabres who are known to roam the seas of the Known World seeking their ends as rare Dwarf pirates.[5a]
- Norse Dwarf Berserker - Unique Slayer formation of Norse Dwarfs.
Notable Slayers
- Grimgar Alebelly - Slayer of Karaz-a-Karak who intends to slay Baudros.
- Borri Bonehammer - Former engineer and slayer of Zhufbar.
- Long Drong - Leader of Long Drong's Slayer Pirates, the infamous band of mercenaries.[5a]
- Giblit - Failed Slayer and member of The Comradeship.
- Gotrek Gurnisson - One half of the renowned duo, Gotrek and Felix.
- Balkrag Grimgorson - Slayer Wight who now attempts to destroy the Liche that returned him to unlife.
- Gringri Heldenbrand - Former merchant and slayer of Karak Hirn.
- Ungrim Ironfist - The Slayer King of Karak Kadrin.
- Garagrim Ironfist - Son of King Ungrim.
- Malakai Makaisson - The Slayer Engineer, companion of Gotrek and Felix.
- Snorri Nosebiter - Crazed companion of Gotrek Gurnisson.
- Dreng Oakheart - Wandering slayer of the Grey Mountains.
- Falki Ringulsson - Mighty Daemonslayer of Karak Hirn.
Notable Regiments
- Axes of Grimnir - The Axes of Grimnir is the largest formation of Slayers within Karak Kadrin.
- Brotherhood of Grimnir - Those Slayers who earn a place in the Brotherhood of Grimnir are counted among the most elite of all their kind.
- Dragonback Slayers - This unit of Slayers are seeking the ultimate beasts to combat in their search for death.
- Long Drong's Slayer Pirates - A band of mercenary Slayers.[5a]
- Lost Brotherhood - The Lost Brotherhood is comprised of Slayers from minor clans who took the Slayer Oath during the End Times.
- Sons of Kazakrendum - This unit of Slayers rallied around Ungrim Ironfist during the defence of Averheim in the End Times.
Miniatures
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Sources
- 1:Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (8th Edition)
- 1a: pp. 44-46
- 2:Gotrek and Felix: Slayer (Novel), by David Guymer
- 2a: Chapter: "Kazad Drengazi"
- 3: Warhammer Quest - Bretonnian Knight
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 113
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 5a: pp. 34-35