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Welcome to Chaos Dwarfs Online, your online Chaos Dwarf community!

Mission Statement: So long as the popularity of Warhammer continues, a source is needed for the Chaos Dwarf army to keep pace. Chaos Dwarfs Online provides a community with a forum for members to learn about, inform others about, contribute to, and evolve the Chaos Dwarf army in a welcoming and open minded environment. Chaos Dwarf generals, old and new, can unite under a common banner that Chaos Dwarfs Online is happy to provide.
Disclaimer: Chaos Dwarfs Online is a non-profit website that seeks to serve members of the Warhammer community. All content found within Chaos Dwarfs Online is completely unofficial and is in no way endorsed by Games Workshop. Chaos Dwarfs Online is run by Warhammer fans who love the game of Warhammer. All discussions of Games Workshop's intellectual property are intended to constitute fair use practises.

Enjoy your stay, signed The Staff

Community Awards 2014 - Results

Posted by: Bloodbeard - 02-25-2015 08:15 AM - Replies (24)

Community Awards 2014

The voting period is over and the final results of the 2014 awards are here. Thanks to all the members who have taken their time to nominate fellow members, write reason behind their nominations and taking time to vote. See the results and all the nomination quotes here: Voting Sub-Forum.

We have had between 5 and 7 people nominated in every category this year - a sure sign of a living community full of contributing members.

Best Hobbyist
A nominee for this award has contributed an amazing model, or models that exemplifies what a Chaos Dwarf army should look like: flawless execution of conversion and painting while adhering to the Chaos Dwarf mythos.
Awarded to: Fuggit Khan

Best Attitude
A member should be nominated on their forum presence and behavior toward other members, displaying exemplary attitudes of kindness and encouragement.
Awarded to: Admiral

Best Contributor
This award will go the member that has contributed most to the cause of the Chaos Dwarfs. He or she has done or made something that has profoundly benefited the presence of Chaos Dwarfs as a whole!
Awarded to: Admiral

Best General
This member is always ready to give advice on army lists, has very good lists of his own, and perhaps has won a tournament or two using his Chaos Dwarf army.
Awarded to: MadHatter and Bloodbeard

Best Overall Member
This member may not be the best hobbyist, might not ever win a tournament, but he or she has a great presence on the site, the forum, the wiki, the chat and whatever else! They are dedicated to the cause of the Chaos Dwarfs!
Awarded to: Bloodbeard

Congratulations to all the receivers - medals are inbound.

And a big thanks from me personally to all the people who nominated and voted for me. Thank you very much.

Golden Hat XXII
Remember that GHXXII has been launched. The theme is Chaos Dwarfs in The End Times. Make sure to check it out, deadline for entries is on 27th of march.

On behalf of all the CDO Staff

// Bloodbeard

Golden Hat XXII

Posted by: Admiral - 02-17-2015 04:37 PM - Replies (42)

Titan Wargames Presents: The 22nd Golden Hat competition!

We are pleased to announce that this round of Golden Hat has been sponsored by Titan Wargames and Baggronor! The gold winner of the contest will receive one unpainted Dwarf House, courtesy of Titan Wargames!

"... and the heavens shall be swathed in darkness and lit by lightning and balefire; and the ground shall crack and quake and roar to let forth the flaming bowels of the earth; and those mighty turned to stone shall wake to walk again; and the slave shall turn upon the master, and the dead shall turn upon the living; and everywhere order shall turn into Chaos; and crops shall fail and plague shall reign; and works shall be shattered and lands shall die; and the lords of the world shall clash, and gods and mortals alike shall slay each other, and horrible wars shall rage and even titans shall fall. These shall be the signs of final doom, and by them, all shall know that the End Times are come..."
- Excerpt from a forbidden stele locked away in secret chambers beneath Mingol Zharr-Naggrund

Subject Matter: Chaos Dwarf of the End Times
For this Golden Hat contest we want you to make a single Chaos Dwarf End Times-styled miniature! A character on a titanic mount (in true End Times fashion) will count as a single model. The rule here is one model on one base. Extra miniatures on that single base, such as fleeing or trampled enemies, swirling fire Daemons or Daemonforged familiars, are allowed, though they shall not overwhelm your entry and steal too much attention.

Let your imagination run wild within the above limits! The End Times supplements have introduced new units, new or updated monsters, and new or updated special characters, most mounted on big monsters. The scope is big and the aim is epic. To help inspire ideas, here's a list of but a few of the possible creations that could be entered into the competition:

Examples Wrote:

A revived petrified Sorcerer-Prophet. A monstrous infantry or monster-sized stone, obsidian or mechanical idol Colossus. A Chaos Dwarf Loremaster of Undeath on a mechanically bound Zombie Dragon. Astrogoth or a Chaos Dwarf monstrous infantry model in a steam-driven megasuit of armour. A Daemon Prince of Hashut. An Undead Lamassu with rider. A character shooting Warpstone metorites.

Korakagrakk, mounted atop a lava beast. A lone Sorcerer-Prophet riding a platform for sorceries and sacrifice, built upon a giant Iron Daemon. A Chaos Dwarf character mounted on a titanic K'daai Destroyer, full of flames. A giant bull of molten metal. A Sorcerer-Prophet busy casting spells, standing atop a giant pillar carved with fresques and runes. A sorcerer surfing on a possessed lava wave. A Bull Centaur temple guard leader with ensorcelled equipment.

Feel free to make something which will work as a unit from Legion of Azgorh in your army, example given: Astrogoth on a mechanical Bale Taurus, counting as a K'daai Destroyer.

If you are unsure if your entry will fit the subject matter, please contact Admiral or Bloodbeard and they'll sort it out with the rest of the Staff.

Basing is up to your discretion with the following exception: Display bases and plinths are not allowed, though diorama style bases are. Also, models must be based on a square base of appropriate size already used in Warhammer Fantasy Battles.

Specifics
Subject: Single Chaos Dwarf End Times miniature, mounted or not.
Bases: One base only, otherwise up to your discretion. Must be based on an appropriate sized square base already used in Warhammer. Diorama style bases are allowed! Large models mounted on e.g. 100mm by 150mm bases have a lot of base to work with and ought to be an army's centerpiece. No display bases or plinths, though, please.
The Due Date: 11:59 PM Mars 27th, 2015 EST (Eastern Standard Timezone)

Please read the full rules that apply to the Golden Hat competition before submitting your entry.

Submission
All entries must be sent to the Golden Hat account no later than the due date. Entries will not be accepted after this. (Entrants have approximately 6 weeks to complete entries). If for some reason you are having trouble with your submission, contact one of the Staff. In order to avoid problems, entrants should not wait until the last minute to submit their entries.

How to Enter
Upload up to 4 photos of your entries to the Internet. Photos may not have additional text or items/models unrelated to your entry. Please crop your pictures, cut away empty space. Please make sure your 4 pictures are roughly equal in size. Next, send a PM to Golden Hat (a special user that all Staff have access to) containing the links where the pictures can be found. (Note: This is the same as previous Golden Hats).

If you win:
- Walk across the backs of the cowed masses you have scorned and pushed aside, in order to take your place in the vaunted Golden Hat Hall of Fame.
- Receive the Golden Hat medal for your online persona. Silver and bronze Golden Hat medals will be awarded as well.
- Everyone who enters gets a number of slaves equal to the number of entries. If 20 people enter we award 20 slaves to each person who entered. Entries will count towards a veteran medal.
- Win a house! See above for details.

Once all entries are received a thread will be created for voting and determining the winners!

If there are any questions it is best post them here so that everyone can benefit from any details or clarifications that may arise.

Prize
Gold winner will win a Dwarf House (see above for details).

Should you wish to donate a prize to the contest, please PM Admiral or Bloodbeard and they will sort it out with you and the Staff.

Good luck everyone!

Other News on CDO:
Community Award Voting - voting deadline 24th of February!

Scribe's Contest II - Winners!

Posted by: Admiral - 02-16-2015 04:36 AM - Replies (16)

Scribe's Contest II - Hobgoblins, the Middleman Slave Caste Theme

Just like the last round, we had an amazing turn out of entries, with submissions spanning a large spectrum of Hobgoblin life and death. The second Scribe's Contest had it all, from humour and cruelty to ambition and glimpses of Hobgoblin domestic life. It was great to see such excellent work written upon Dawi Zharr parchment! No doubt they were all written in slave blood upon Hobgoblin parchment or carved into desecrated Elven Waystones. Takes Hat off

The voting was quite even, with votes distributed to each and every entry, which is not surprising given the quality of them all.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the winners!

Entry #1: Bloodbeard (1st)

Friendship

Normally he was sneaky, always walking silently. Today there was no time for that, he was running quickly through the narrow streets of lower Zharr-Naggrund. Despite being in a hurry, he had remembered to clean his dagger. Otherwise the blood would quickly soak his sash, and the curved blade would not be secret then. Always keep some secret daggers – and dice!

The large tower city of the Dawi Zharr was always loud, filled with sounds of slaves in pain, hammers at work, a symphony of infernal industry. But this evening the noise was different, the sound of battle – screams of agony, pain and death. He had done his job well, as had all his fellow gits on this treacherous night. It was now just at matter of time before the last of the big dark skinned orcs would be slaughtered. The rewards in sight made the betrayal well worth it – they had all agreed.

Three gits had they been, three gits tasked with murdering a particularly large black orc slave boss. One git had never made it, he had chosen to run and hide in shadows, more likely he was a bloody red pulp on a black obsidian wall. That's the fate of the coward – not running fast and far enough.

Two gits remained. They had murdered together before, they knew the dance. Many a dice game had been settled with many a hidden dagger and they would split the winnings – almost equally. From the shadows they fell on the back of the big dark greenskin leader. Stabbing, slashing, slicing. Knees, armpit, groin, ribs. Soon the angry brute was spilling his black blood and stinking guts – getting weaker, getting taken by death.

Their job had been done, and very well indeed. Their little part in a much larger treason – their part in becoming the highest ranking greenskins of the Darklands. The Masters would be content, a position as overseer would be achievable. But there could be only one. A friendship ended by pointy daggers, a single git remained.

Running quickly through polluted lower Zharr-Naggrund, running towards the prize and safety of his Master. The git had always been sneaking, skulking, stalking – no git should ever change...

The cut came quickly and the blade was sharp and hard, his achilles tendons soft and naked. The git fell hard – face first on the soot coated pavement.

A git had hid, avoided both battle and avoided becoming a bloody red pulp. A git had hid and made a plan. The dagger hit like a red hot punch between his shoulder blades, his breath was forced from his lungs as they collapsed. There could be only one indeed, and it wasn't him, he realized, as his warm blood washed over the dirty ground.

For such is the nature of the hobgoblins – there will always be a sneaker git and most daggers fit perfectly into the back of a traitor.

Entry #6: MadHatter (2nd Tie)

Ghazag was a lousy git. He served the Masters of Zharr-Naggrund as turnkey of the wretched slave-pens, this position had made him grow fat and lazy. He flayed slaves and kin alike, sometimes out of pure malice but more often to cover-up his own mistakes and neglects. This time was different, however, and there was no one else to put the blame on. The sound of the Chaos Dwarf Overseer's steel-clad boots echoed through the torch-lit corridors, firm and fast approaching.

Ghazag barely had time to stutter his attempt of an apology until a steel-clad fist sent him crashing into a tunnel-wall, teeth flying. The Hobgoblin tried to roll away from what he knew was coming but the narrow corridor didn't allow such maneuvers and he felt a sharp pain as his ribs cracked from the weight behind the Overseer's kick. Before he had time to open his eyes again, he felt a hard pressure around his throat as he was hoisted into the air, choking against the Chaos Dwarf's steel-gauntlet. With fire in his eyes and a frothing mouth framed by sharp tusks and a braided beard the Overseer bellowed:

"YOU ATE THE HOSTAGE?!"

Ghazag, his characteristic cloth-cap displaced by the thrashing so that its left ear-flap now covered half his face, tried to speak, but only a cough, followed by a mouthful of blood that trickled along his pointed tongue down the Overseer's gauntlet, came out of him. Again he was sent flying towards the granite wall but this time he was heads first and as the back of his skull smashed forcefully into the solid rock the greenskin blacked out.

He regained consciousness feeling terribly ill. Vomiting, he regained clarity and found he was dragged face-down deeper into the tunnel at a relentless pace, his right foot in the Chaos Dwarf's steel-tight grip. The Overseer's grand adorned hat cast a long shadow and in this dampened torchlight the broken Hobgoblin reached with his still functional right hand into his tattered cloak and grasped a small dagger.

At the end of the tunnel was a thick and terrible smell which Ghazag recognized as the stench of sweat, feces and rot emerging from the deep, unlit darkness of the hand-dug ravine that was the wretched slave-pens. Without a word, the Overseer changed his grip, and with one armored gauntlet under each of the greenskin's arms he was about to drag Ghazag over the edge. A fitting punishment for the fat git to be eaten by the wretched slaves, as it was his appetite for slave flesh that made him overstep his boundaries, the Chaos Dwarf thought to himself.

Suddenly, in a last ditch effort to save himself, Ghazag spun around, dagger flashing. The cut was aimed at the Overseer's throat but the Chaos Dwarf quickly lowered his chin and parried the blade with a yellowed tusk then threw the screaming greenskin into the darkness below. Ghazag was a lousy git, he thought to himself.

Entry #7: Fuggit Khan (2nd tie)

Slowly, the Elf opened his eyes. The air was heavy with sulfur and ash. He tried to wipe his eyes, but then realized his hands were bound… what had happened? His ship from Eataine had run across a violent storm for three relentless days and nights… was it all a dream? Glancing about, he saw that he and one of his crew were in a wagon pulled by an Ogre… which had a copper dagger stuck cruelly in its neck. Alongside were Hobgoblin wolf riders…

"Scum!" the Elf muttered in his native Asur tongue.

Immediately there was yelling in the dialect of Ringkul, and the wagon stopped. The biggest of the Hobgoblins dismounted from his wolf and glared at the Elf, almost studying him. Then the Boss spoke in the dark tongue: "Lagg, go’s fetch my dagger."

The Hobgoblin named Lagg grinned wickedly while slowly twisting the dagger out of the Ogre's neck, and then handed it to his Boss. Lagg gave an evil glance, watching as the Hobgoblin Boss sheathed the dagger and then smiled.

Cautiously, the Elf asked, "Who are you?"

Squinting his eyes, as if in deep thought… and speaking fluent Asur, the Boss replied, "Khan of the Harghazhakh."

A Khan? The Elf had heard stories of them, but never thought he’d see one.

"You speak Asur?" the Elf asked.

"A depraved dialect, but one that my Master finds useful that I can speak," replied the Khan.

Confused, the Elf turned to his crewmate, and then realized that his companion was nearly dead, sitting in a pool of blood, with both ears cut off.

"He didn’t listen so well," said the Khan with a cruel grin.

Lagg smiled again… his red eyes looking intently at the ears of the Elf.

Looking back to the Khan, the Elf asked, "Who is your Master?"

Lagg stopped smiling as the Khan angrily snarled, "You are not worthy to speak HIS name!"

Scared, the Elf sat quietly, not daring to look the Khan in the eye.

After a few moments of silence, the Khan spoke again, calmly.

"This land bleeds lava, breathes ash, a heart that throbs to infernal machinery… it is His land.

His breath blackens the sky… we go to see Him… would you like to know how you’ll die?"

Nervously the Elf glanced up.

"My Master is here now, His Eye is upon us."

There was a sound from the sky above, looking up the Elf saw a fiery, brazen red bull flying overhead, wicked wings beating upon the ashen air and breathing flames.

Calmly, the Khan pulled out his copper dagger and spoke again:

"You are not worthy to speak His name… what makes you think you are worthy to look at Him?"

As the Khan gouged out the eyes of the screaming Elf, Lagg and the other Hobgoblins smiled… all the while keeping their eyes looking to the ground.

Entry #10: Admiral (3rd)

Twelve Little Hobgoblins

Twelve little Hobgoblins saw a comet in heaven,
one of them got flattened and then there were eleven.

Eleven little Hobgoblins shared on a hen,
one swallowed his knife and then there were ten.

Ten little Hobgoblins started to whine,
master dropped one in furnace and then there were nine.

Nine little Hobgoblins formed their own state,
there was a coup in the palace and then there were eight.

Eight little Hobgoblins diced at eleven,
one choked on the dice and then there were seven.

Seven little Hobgoblins found a pile of bricks,
they stoned one to death and then there were six.

Six little Hobgoblins started to connive,
one didn't watch his back and then there were five.

Five little Hobgoblins walked at the shore,
one pulled a dagger and then there were four.

Four little Hobgoblins splashed in the sea,
up came a Merwyrm and then there were three.

Three little Hobgoblins went to a loo,
one drowned another and then there were two.

Two little Hobgoblins sat in the sun,
down came an eagle and then there were one.

One little Hobgoblin juggled knife all alone,
it cut his own throat and then there were none.

- Chaos Dwarf children rhyme song

1st Place - Gold Scribe Winner: Entry #1 - Bloodbeard
2nd Place - Silver Scribe Winner: Entry #6 - MadHatter
2nd Place - Siver Scribe Winner: Entry #7 - Fuggit Khan
3rd Place - Bronze Scribe Winner: Entry #10 - Admiral

And an honourable mention to each of Entries #3 - DAGabriel - and #8 - TheHoodedMan! (Who both trailed Bronze by one vote.)

The Entry Key!
You can share your love for each entry (found here) by donating slaves to the owners of the entries!

01 - Bloodbeard
02 - Herby
03 - DAGabriel
04 - torn
05 - Abecedar
06 - MadHatter
07 - Fuggit Khan
08 - TheHoodedMan
09 - lustig1977
10 - Admiral

Slaves and medals are incoming! If you wonder how many votes your entry received, PM me.

And now for the Gold prize, sponsored by Zanko:

The winner will be contacted shortly via PM or E-mail.

A big "thanks" to everyone who participated and voted, as well as a big thanks to Zanko for providing the prize!

Can't wait to see the entries in the blogs of everyone who entered. Also, please post them as new threads in the Stories and Background section of the CDO Forums. Wink

That concludes the second instalment of Scribe's Contest. It is a valuable addition to the growing mass of Chaos Dwarf and Hobgoblin culture texts accumulated on CDO. Well done, everyone!

Be sure to vote for the 2014 Community Awards! Also, stay tuned for a big Golden Hat contest around the corner.

The Staff

Community Awards 2014 - Voting

Posted by: Bloodbeard - 02-11-2015 12:09 PM - Replies (6)

Community Awards 2014 - Voting

The nomination period is over. Let me say a big thank you to all the members who have sent in nominations for the community awards.

This year we've had a lot more nominees than last year an in most categories. Some categories has seen as many as 7 different people nominated for awards. This is a clear and sure sign of a living community with lots of contributing people.

The three members with most nominations have now been posted in a voting poll along side any reasons / quotes send in with their nominations.

Voting
Go to this subsection of the forum to cast your votes: Voting threads.

The voting will end after 14 days on feb. 24th at 23.59 EST, after this the winners of every category will recieve their medals.

When you have voted in a category, you can see the current results. Please refrain from posting these anywhere on the forum to keep the suspens. Personally I'll not look at the threads again before the voting deadlin - you should do the same.

Any comments posted in the voting threads for Community Awards will be deleted. Discussion about the subject should be taken elsewhere.

A task for the members and nominees
We have no clue as to how many members actually check the news section of the forum. And since no posts are made in the voting threads, they won't pop up in "View Today's Posts". So every member (especially those with medals on the line) are encouraged to link/promote their voting threads in signiatures, blogs and showcases. Spread the word.

Scribes Contest II - Voting
Make sure to read the great entries for Scribes Contest II - Hobgoblins. The voting has started and will conclude on feb. 15th.

Check the entries and how to vote here: Scribes Contest II - Voting

Lastly a big thanks to all the people who have nominated me. I'm real happy and humbled being nominated for 4 categories. Thank you all.

//Bloodbeard

Scribe's Contest II - Voting!

Posted by: Admiral - 02-09-2015 03:55 AM - Replies (15)

Welcome to the voting thread for the 2nd Scribe's Contest writing competition, sponsored by Zanko!

How to vote:
Please submit 3 numbers as votes by sending a PM to Scribe account (a special account all Staff members can access). We had 10 entries this time, which means each entrant will receive 10 slaves once the winners have been announced. There will be Gold, Silver, and Bronze Scribe's Contest medals to be awarded, though this time around there will be only one Gold winner and prize receiver (decided by vote-off in case of a tie).

Each (more or less) anonymous entry is numbered ranging from 1 to 10. There is no need to specify which one you think is 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Simply list the three that you like we will do the rest.

Voting will close at 11:59 PM Feb 15th, 2015 EST (Eastern Standard Timezone). Once the votes are tallied we will post the results.

Entry #1

Friendship

Normally he was sneaky, always walking silently. Today there was no time for that, he was running quickly through the narrow streets of lower Zharr-Naggrund. Despite being in a hurry, he had remembered to clean his dagger. Otherwise the blood would quickly soak his sash, and the curved blade would not be secret then. Always keep some secret daggers – and dice!

The large tower city of the Dawi Zharr was always loud, filled with sounds of slaves in pain, hammers at work, a symphony of infernal industry. But this evening the noise was different, the sound of battle – screams of agony, pain and death. He had done his job well, as had all his fellow gits on this treacherous night. It was now just at matter of time before the last of the big dark skinned orcs would be slaughtered. The rewards in sight made the betrayal well worth it – they had all agreed.

Three gits had they been, three gits tasked with murdering a particularly large black orc slave boss. One git had never made it, he had chosen to run and hide in shadows, more likely he was a bloody red pulp on a black obsidian wall. That's the fate of the coward – not running fast and far enough.

Two gits remained. They had murdered together before, they knew the dance. Many a dice game had been settled with many a hidden dagger and they would split the winnings – almost equally. From the shadows they fell on the back of the big dark greenskin leader. Stabbing, slashing, slicing. Knees, armpit, groin, ribs. Soon the angry brute was spilling his black blood and stinking guts – getting weaker, getting taken by death.

Their job had been done, and very well indeed. Their little part in a much larger treason – their part in becoming the highest ranking greenskins of the Darklands. The Masters would be content, a position as overseer would be achievable. But there could be only one. A friendship ended by pointy daggers, a single git remained.

Running quickly through polluted lower Zharr-Naggrund, running towards the prize and safety of his Master. The git had always been sneaking, skulking, stalking – no git should ever change...

The cut came quickly and the blade was sharp and hard, his achilles tendons soft and naked. The git fell hard – face first on the soot coated pavement.

A git had hid, avoided both battle and avoided becoming a bloody red pulp. A git had hid and made a plan. The dagger hit like a red hot punch between his shoulder blades, his breath was forced from his lungs as they collapsed. There could be only one indeed, and it wasn't him, he realized, as his warm blood washed over the dirty ground.

For such is the nature of the hobgoblins – there will always be a sneaker git and most daggers fit perfectly into the back of a traitor.

Entry #2

Once upon a time in the Chaos Dwarf realm.

Off to one side of the tar pits where the slaves worked, there stood two Hobgoblins. Two dirty, scraggy, enslaved Hobgoblins, and instead of working, they were leaning on their tools and were chatting.

"And then Uhr-Kulmbizharr said that there was a wheel and a stone and they talked to each other."

"Whaaaat! They talked to each other you say?!"

"Yeah yeah! They did!"

"Nah! That's bollocks!"

"Shut up! Not just that. There was also a cloud and a volcano."

"Yeah and what?"

"They also talked with each other."

"Nah! What a hoot!"

"Yes, yes and…"

But the Hobgoblin did not go any further because a Dawi-Zharr slave driver rushed in and shouted: "What’s going on here!"

The two Hobgoblins turned their heads in awe and started to shiver due to his unexpected appearance. "N-n-nothing master. We’re just taking some breath."

"Just taking some breath?! What have you nattered about before I came here?"

"Just about some fables."

"Fables?"

"Ya ya fables."

"Well how cute – but it’s wrooong! But don’t fear any longer, thou shall be forgiven."

The slave driver smashed the nearest Hobgoblin onto the ground and trampled him into the dirt with his steel-capped boots. After that he grinned at the other, shocked Hobgoblin, and said with a mad voice: "Still wanna talk about fables?"

"No! Boss please not! I will never open my mouth again till you want me to do so."

"So go back to work you filthy scumbag!"

So that’s what happens to lazy slaves in the Chaos Dwarfs' realm. It could be worse and it could be less bad, but you don’t want to find out.

Entry #3

The Old Wolfrider

He was old and tired, his hands and arms twitched from an old head injury and years of strong drink.

Once he had been a fine warrior riding on a wolf and harassing foes with his bow, but soon he would be useless and probably offered to Hashut.

It was a sunny if chilly morning when the Master eyed him with a malicious glint in his eyes and spoke, "Can't you stop waving your arms around like that?"

"Sorry Master, I… I can't", he stammered.

"We will sow the fields soon, but this year there seems to be an abundance of crows. They will steal the seeds if we can't do a thing about it."

"Mm…Master?" the old hobgoblin said.

"Let`s put those offensive twitches to some good use", the Master said.

From that day the old hobgoblin stood on the field with his arms twitching about – and he did so until he fell dead between the green wheat shoots greeting the sun.

Entry #4

Gorsh the Half-Man clung lightly to his malformed, six-legged mount as he rode through the greenskin camp. Though loyal to his master, this was a duty he did not relish. The camp was one of disorder, dirt and disease. Wicked, hook nosed gits guarding over pens of slaves, or pens of wolves. Malicious to the core, the hobgoblins were not to be trusted.

And for that reason alone Skrogg the Betrayer had sent Gorsh to find some.

Gorsh dismounted outside the khan’s tent. His mount would wait for him untied. He stepped through the flaps made of the skins of unknown creatures into a smoky darkness. Hobgoblin warriors in scale armour ringed the walls, and before him, sat at a desk of dwarfen manufacture, was a particularly ugly and scar-faced hobgoblin.

"Ah, the emissary of the betrayer arrivez. Pleaze sit. Would you care for a drink?"

Gorsh sat. The chair was remarkably comfortable despite its sturdy design. He lifted the visor on his helmet to show beneath not a face but chromed steel in the shape of a face, with six eyes of different colours and nothing else. He closed the visor again. The hobgoblin winced at the visage.

"As you can see, distractions shall not be required. As I understand things, your name is Garkash Vile-Everything, a name that I really don’t need you to prove, and you are currently head slave keeper for the warlord Varkon Goldenaxe of Zharr-Naggrund. Am I correct?"

The hobgoblin broke out in a grin displaying a mouthful of rotting, needle-like teeth, spitting as it spoke. "It seemz youz know a lot more aboutz uz then weez do aboutz you, emissary. Yezss you are right, the dwarf currently keeping my chests full of gold is Varkon Goldenaxe. I hear your master would like to aquire my services instead. You know, faceless man, that my services do not come cheap."

Gorsh stood and pulled a leather bag from his belt. "I was counting on it," he said as he released the cords on the bag. A metal ring flew out, straight towards Garkash. It opened and closed around his neck in a split second. Garkash stood, clutching at his throat as the ring contracted, causing him to choke. The hobgoblin warriors lining the tent made to close on Gorsh.

"I suggest you wave those fighters away from me. As you can see, If you want reward for your services to Skrogg the Betrayer, you had best do as he wants and come with me."

Entry #5

The Tale of Kracka-Khan

Kracka-Khan looked down at the barely moving body near his feet. It still breathed but at present could no longer be considered an immediate threat. In return the beaten one looked back up at the victor. With deliberate intent, Kracka-Khan slowly placed a booted foot upon the chest of his defeated foe.

"Serve me and you will live"

"Why would I?" came the laboured reply from the downed Khan, “What would you be?”

"I would be a Khan of Khans!"

The signs were easy to read. The mouth said yes, but everything else said no.   The shape of the mouth, the eyes, the tenseness in the jaw and neck muscles.   All said betrayal as soon as his back was turned. That was not what he required.

"You lie poorly," was his reply as he pushed his blade fully through the ex-Khan's neck.

"Who leads this tribe now?" he demanded.

"You do... Kracka-Khan... You do!" came a few shouted replies.  His next question was one they’d never heard asked before.

"Who would have led next if this this one had died in battle instead of against me?"

"Me," came one grunted response. A few others shuffled a bit and looked like they might have wanted the job but were habitually hiding their intentions.

"Then come here, what is your name?"

"Digga," said the mean-looking hobgobbo.

"Would you be Digga-Khan? Would you lead your tribe? Swear loyalty to me and they are yours."

"Yes I would."

"Then on your battered soul swear your loyalty to me and then go prove your right to lead this tribe upon those of them that would deny you."

That made two whole tribes that were sworn to him, not counting his own small one. So three of the master’s tribes were his, that was if he could maintain and ensure his control over them in the coming days. So far two other Khans had denied him with their last breaths, but their tribes had descended into utter chaos as they squabbled over who among them would lead. Only a few remained to test and take control of. He turned and made his way back through his loyal disciples. Those last dozen survivors of his tribe that guarded his back as if it was their very own. Something else that he had failed to notice as being unusual for his kind.

As they left the dwelling area, a shape blocked his way. He instinctively began to draw his sabre. In the same half breath he felt his disciples fade back and their stances become ones of submission; realising it was one of the masters, he bowed and re-sheathed his weapon.

The Dawi-Zharr looked at the Khan. "You have been busy," rolled out the gravelly statement. "But this is not to be your destiny, oh Khan-of-Khans. For you have been chosen to be a part of something else than the endless battles amongst your kind here..."

Entry #6

Ghazag was a lousy git. He served the Masters of Zharr-Naggrund as turnkey of the wretched slave-pens, this position had made him grow fat and lazy. He flayed slaves and kin alike, sometimes out of pure malice but more often to cover-up his own mistakes and neglects. This time was different, however, and there was no one else to put the blame on. The sound of the Chaos Dwarf Overseer's steel-clad boots echoed through the torch-lit corridors, firm and fast approaching.

Ghazag barely had time to stutter his attempt of an apology until a steel-clad fist sent him crashing into a tunnel-wall, teeth flying. The Hobgoblin tried to roll away from what he knew was coming but the narrow corridor didn't allow such maneuvers and he felt a sharp pain as his ribs cracked from the weight behind the Overseer's kick. Before he had time to open his eyes again, he felt a hard pressure around his throat as he was hoisted into the air, choking against the Chaos Dwarf's steel-gauntlet. With fire in his eyes and a frothing mouth framed by sharp tusks and a braided beard the Overseer bellowed:

"YOU ATE THE HOSTAGE?!"

Ghazag, his characteristic cloth-cap displaced by the thrashing so that its left ear-flap now covered half his face, tried to speak, but only a cough, followed by a mouthful of blood that trickled along his pointed tongue down the Overseer's gauntlet, came out of him. Again he was sent flying towards the granite wall but this time he was heads first and as the back of his skull smashed forcefully into the solid rock the greenskin blacked out.

He regained consciousness feeling terribly ill. Vomiting, he regained clarity and found he was dragged face-down deeper into the tunnel at a relentless pace, his right foot in the Chaos Dwarf's steel-tight grip. The Overseer's grand adorned hat cast a long shadow and in this dampened torchlight the broken Hobgoblin reached with his still functional right hand into his tattered cloak and grasped a small dagger.

At the end of the tunnel was a thick and terrible smell which Ghazag recognized as the stench of sweat, feces and rot emerging from the deep, unlit darkness of the hand-dug ravine that was the wretched slave-pens. Without a word, the Overseer changed his grip, and with one armored gauntlet under each of the greenskin's arms he was about to drag Ghazag over the edge. A fitting punishment for the fat git to be eaten by the wretched slaves, as it was his appetite for slave flesh that made him overstep his boundaries, the Chaos Dwarf thought to himself.

Suddenly, in a last ditch effort to save himself, Ghazag spun around, dagger flashing. The cut was aimed at the Overseer's throat but the Chaos Dwarf quickly lowered his chin and parried the blade with a yellowed tusk then threw the screaming greenskin into the darkness below. Ghazag was a lousy git, he thought to himself.

Entry #7

Slowly, the Elf opened his eyes. The air was heavy with sulfur and ash. He tried to wipe his eyes, but then realized his hands were bound… what had happened? His ship from Eataine had run across a violent storm for three relentless days and nights… was it all a dream? Glancing about, he saw that he and one of his crew were in a wagon pulled by an Ogre… which had a copper dagger stuck cruelly in its neck. Alongside were Hobgoblin wolf riders…

"Scum!" the Elf muttered in his native Asur tongue.

Immediately there was yelling in the dialect of Ringkul, and the wagon stopped. The biggest of the Hobgoblins dismounted from his wolf and glared at the Elf, almost studying him. Then the Boss spoke in the dark tongue: "Lagg, go’s fetch my dagger."

The Hobgoblin named Lagg grinned wickedly while slowly twisting the dagger out of the Ogre's neck, and then handed it to his Boss. Lagg gave an evil glance, watching as the Hobgoblin Boss sheathed the dagger and then smiled.

Cautiously, the Elf asked, "Who are you?"

Squinting his eyes, as if in deep thought… and speaking fluent Asur, the Boss replied, "Khan of the Harghazhakh."

A Khan? The Elf had heard stories of them, but never thought he’d see one.

"You speak Asur?" the Elf asked.

"A depraved dialect, but one that my Master finds useful that I can speak," replied the Khan.

Confused, the Elf turned to his crewmate, and then realized that his companion was nearly dead, sitting in a pool of blood, with both ears cut off.

"He didn’t listen so well," said the Khan with a cruel grin.

Lagg smiled again… his red eyes looking intently at the ears of the Elf.

Looking back to the Khan, the Elf asked, "Who is your Master?"

Lagg stopped smiling as the Khan angrily snarled, "You are not worthy to speak HIS name!"

Scared, the Elf sat quietly, not daring to look the Khan in the eye.

After a few moments of silence, the Khan spoke again, calmly.

"This land bleeds lava, breathes ash, a heart that throbs to infernal machinery… it is His land.

His breath blackens the sky… we go to see Him… would you like to know how you’ll die?"

Nervously the Elf glanced up.

"My Master is here now, His Eye is upon us."

There was a sound from the sky above, looking up the Elf saw a fiery, brazen red bull flying overhead, wicked wings beating upon the ashen air and breathing flames.

Calmly, the Khan pulled out his copper dagger and spoke again:

"You are not worthy to speak His name… what makes you think you are worthy to look at Him?"

As the Khan gouged out the eyes of the screaming Elf, Lagg and the other Hobgoblins smiled… all the while keeping their eyes looking to the ground.

Entry #8

Mama Khan

Slowly, she went up the stairs on the side of the rocky hill, above the cave where she slept and held council. The morning mists were chilly and she wrapped her rough-spun cloak tighter around her bony shoulders. Her back was aching and her muscles were even weaker than just a few years ago, so that she needed her gnarled staff more than ever.

But she knew that she could not yet travel to the spirits of the ancestors and that her folk needed her at least until her two sons got a little wiser or one of them died of steel. Otherwise the two of them would at once pit their followers against each other for sure.

She took the last step and let her small black eyes run across the valley. Hundreds of small wooden huts, the smoke of campfires, lots of green skinned children playing and fighting, the scent of cooked elf meat and garlic in the air... so peaceful was her kin now; it reminded her of her never forgotten husband and the good times they had brawling and drinking.

Oh it was so long ago, she didn`t count the winters since then. She even felt sorry that she had to draw this really sharp knife through his throat but he didn`t want to hear her advice then and would have tried to stand up against the masters! That would have been the ruin of all their people, so she had no choice, had she?

Quickly she wiped away a single tear with her ragged sleeve.

The howl of a giant wolf rushing towards the cave caught her attention. She looked down and Mura, the elder of her sons, was there on his mount, fully equipped.

"Mama Khan, da lord of da tower wanna see ya!" he shouted.

"Let him know I`ll come in the eve," she replied with a dignity which was uncommon even for a hobgoblin leader. The wolf rider turned and sped away.

Entry #9

The hobgoblin Nevmin crept into a cave, he wanted to help his master, Karrahk Goldaxe. Karrahk had a very importent document for the sorcerers. He fled into the cave because he was being pursued by a group of sneaky gits. The cave had several exits and he tried to lose his pursuers in there.

Unfortunately, Karrakh had lost his own orientation and took the wrong way out. He realized his mistake and was struck by fear, he had no lamp and the way he took was much longer then expected. Going back was no option, and he could already hear his pursuers on his heels. So he kept going slowly forward until he saw a faint light. Finally he reached the exit and the fresh air helped him to catch his breath.

His servant Nevmin had once told him about a dream he had, had once. Strangely, now he felt to be part of this dream, though it was years ago when Nevmin told him the story.

Nevmin hurried, he must reach his master before the sneaky gits did. Karrakh was still standing at the exit when he saw a figure rushing at him. Tired and exhausted he had to run, they must not get the documents.

He hastily stumbled down the steep path and when he looked back he fell off the cliff. With one hand he grasped a rock, and he was hanging down the cliff.

Karrakh looked up and on the edge he saw the silhouette of a hobgoblin. "You wont get me nor the documents!" he shouted and pushed himself off the rocks.

When he fell into the darkness, the last he could hear was "Master, it's me!"

Entry #10

Twelve Little Hobgoblins

Twelve little Hobgoblins saw a comet in heaven,
one of them got flattened and then there were eleven.

Eleven little Hobgoblins shared on a hen,
one swallowed his knife and then there were ten.

Ten little Hobgoblins started to whine,
master dropped one in furnace and then there were nine.

Nine little Hobgoblins formed their own state,
there was a coup in the palace and then there were eight.

Eight little Hobgoblins diced at eleven,
one choked on the dice and then there were seven.

Seven little Hobgoblins found a pile of bricks,
they stoned one to death and then there were six.

Six little Hobgoblins started to connive,
one didn't watch his back and then there were five.

Five little Hobgoblins walked at the shore,
one pulled a dagger and then there were four.

Four little Hobgoblins splashed in the sea,
up came a Merwyrm and then there were three.

Three little Hobgoblins went to a loo,
one drowned another and then there were two.

Two little Hobgoblins sat in the sun,
down came an eagle and then there were one.

One little Hobgoblin juggled knife all alone,
it cut his own throat and then there were none.

- Chaos Dwarf children rhyme song

Special thanks to Mivrash Faz for proofreading the entries!

Note: Since we had 10 entries this time around, timed open poll voting would have come into effect. It will not be used, however. It was long ago it was used last time in a competition, but more importantly it weakens the voting.

Remember, the Gold winner's prize will be one unpainted set of miniature of Titan Wargames Dwarf Heavy Infantry Command, courtesy of Zanko:

Great job folks and good luck!

The Staff

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