Dwarf Engineers are the greatest inventors in the Old World, though they are usually held back by constant appeals to tradition enforced by the Engineering Guild. Occasionally though, a prodigy manages to prove that fresh new ideas are worth a few singed beards, and few have pushed the form as far as young Burlok Damminson.
Over-eager and enthusiastic young apprentices often end up on the receiving end of embarrassing rituals designed to discourage them from their more outlandish experiments, and are forcefully nudged towards those tried and trusted methods that have produced results for generations.
Burlok was protected from these “lessons” by his father, a well respected engineer in his own right, but no amount of stern lecturing could dissuade Burlok from pursuing his love of innovation in secret. Alongside other legendary inventors, Burlok designed some of the greatest devices ever seen in the workshops of Zhufbar, prompting grudging respect and simmering anger from the guild masters in equal measure.
The only real way to test the efficacy of his many inventions, and to keep them from exploding, is to accompany his creations as they’re deployed on the battlefield. Burlok is no stranger to the dangers of war, and he’s quite happy smashing skulls with his furnace hammer or lacing enemies with searing salvos from his rivet gun while defending his devastating war machines.
Range Finding Optics
Thanks to an eccentric collection of glass lenses, Burlok is able to accurately direct Dwarfen firepower even at extreme ranges.
Unless Burlok is fleeing or engaged in combat, once per turn, during the Shooting phase, a friendly unit of Quarrellers, Thunderers or a Dwarf war machine that is within his Command range can either re-roll any rolls To Hit of a natural 1, or re-roll a single Artillery dice. In addition, Burlok and any unit he has joined do not suffer the usual -1 To Hit modifier when shooting at Long Range.
His curious collection of esoteric glass lenses is little more than junk in the hands of an inexperienced dwarf, but these Range Finding Optics help Dwarfen ranged units and war machines find their mark with unerring accuracy.
This is not the first time in Warhammer history that we’ve seen Burlok, who was a much older and more senior engineer in the era of Karl Franz – albeit missing an arm. Something to do with a misfiring rivet gun, perhaps? His first miniature was released all the way back in 1993, during the fourth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
The new incarnation of Burlok Damminson will be made from Forge World resin, and will be available to pre-order early next year. You can already find his full rules in Arcane Journal: Dwarfen Mountain Holds.
