Just as I thought that I had all articles ready for issue no. 4 I found a parcel in my mailbox. I opened it up and wow, I held the preview-issue of the Dwarf book in my hands. Okay, it was clear to me that a review of the forthcoming Dwarfs-sourcebook for WFRP has to be in this issue of Strike to Stun. So I sat down and read through it…

My version of the Dwarf-sourcebook is just a preview version, this means there might be slight chances until it is finally released. The first thing you see is the amazing cover artwork by Ralph Horsley: it is very martial, showing a couple of Dwarfs defending a gate against a horde of Night Goblins. With 112 pages the book is about the size of Apocrypha now. It is divided into 9 chapters which describe every thing you ever wanted to know about the dwarfen race.

The book starts with a short introduction in dwarf history. on a few pages all major events in the more than 7000 year old history of the mountain-folk are mentioned. From the War of the Beard, the alliance with Sigmar Heldenhammer to modern history: everything can be found. Alfred Nunez has done a great job here (he proves that he is a worthy member of the Collegium of Historians…) .

The second chapter takes a closer look at the dwarfen society. Be it the social values of the dwarfs, their social structure, their guilds, clans, laws, grudges, calendar, everything can found here. Worth of mention are the sections about Dwarfen Women and the ideology of Slayercult.

In the next chapter the Dwarfholds get their description. Be it Karaz-a-karak, Karag-Eight-peaks or the lost dwarf hold of Karak Azgal, every dwarfhold gets its description. In addition to that there is a small section about Dwarfs outside the Worlds Edge Mountains. There are two large, clearly arranged maps of the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Black Mountains. It's a pity that they are just in greyscale. I hope that they will be more colourful in the official release.

Chapter four describes Dwarf Technology. It starts with a short introduction about Gromril, the hardest metal known (in the original WFB3/WFRP it was still called Mithril, but GW had to change this name because of license problems. So they created two new metals instead of Mithril: Ilthmar and Gromril). On the following pages most of the weapons which can be found in the typical Fantasy Battle armies are described. Although I see no reason why my players should ever get a Flame cannon or an organ gun, it is interesting to read the WFRP-stats of those weapons. I tell you, a cannon with an ES of 10 can be really devastating and it always makes this ugly holes into the bodies of silly PCs… Also there is a description of Gyrocopters, War Balloons and steam-powered ships.

Following the armoury is the magic section. Those who own Realms of Sorcery will recognize most parts of this chapter. Although both versions are structured differently , the information you can find is nearly the same. The only difference I noticed is a short section about the releations of Runesmiths and Alchemists.

Religion is the topic of the next chapter. Here you can find the description of all dwarfen deities, complete with new spells. One thing I find interesting is the fact that dwarfen clerics may inscribe runes in addition to their power to cast spells. This makes them in my opinion a little bit overpowered…

Chapter 7 is the typical Players Section. It consists of a lot of tables (male and female forenames, new basic career tables, an origins and a settlement table). Then comes one of the highlights of the Dwarfen sourcebook: new Careers! From the Farmer (finally!) to the various kinds of slayer, for everybodys taste there is a new career…

Next chapter describes "Dwarfs of Renown". I really missed the profile of Snorri Nosebitter.

The last chapter introduces the reader to the dwarfen runic script. As far as I can tell this section is more detailed than the rune-section in the WFB6 armybook. Now everybody knows the rune for beer…

The book finishes with three Appendixes: a timeline, a description of words and phrases and the compulsory Gazeteer of the Dwarfen Realms.

I have to admit, that the Dwarfs: Stone and Steel is a masterpiece. I enjoyed it reading. The author has managed to combine the fragile WFRP-background with the actual WFB6 background without destroying the fluff of the Dark Fantasy game. The artwork is good, parts of it are GW-stuff, other parts HH-art. Alfred Nunez has done a real great job. Congratulations. I hope that forthcoming WFRP-supplements are of the same quality like the Dwarf-sourcebook. All in all the Dwarf-sourcebook is a must-have for each hobby-dwarf. Besides of that it is a very usefull addition to each GMs library.