Full Item Description
The Dwarven war chariot is rather large as far as chariots go. It is supported four iron-rimmed wheels, each with an associated leaf spring to absorb the shock of the vehicle as it travels rapidly across the battlefield. The carrying area of the chariot has high sides, often covered with sheets of armor, or being made exclusively of metal plates. Dwarves riding in the chariot generally cannot see outside of the box like back. The back of the chariot drops away to become a ramp that the dwarves inside, generally anywhere from two spike-covered berzerkers to half a dozen normal axemen use to exit.
The driver whips a team of four dwarven ponies, stout creatures with mule-like dispositions, to pull the chariot. Four abreast, these animals wear chain barding to keep them safe from arrow-shot. Should an animal fall, the driver can cut it's part of the harness loose and drop the injured or dead animal from the team. Next to the driver, there is an elevated position for a crossbowman to stand, ostenably to defend the driver while he keeps the chariot moving.
History
It is well known that dwarves are not celebrated runners. It is also well known that position is of great importance on the field of battle. While most dwarves have faced this problem with normal resolve, and staggeringly heavy armor and locked formations, the War Chariot is a new line of thought. Adopted from human chariots, the war chariot allows the dwarves to move from one place to another rapidly. Since the reach of the dwarf arm is short, this limits the value of the chariot as an actual fighting vehicle.
The true value of the war chariot and it's high sides as it is a method to counter the dwarves most pressing difficulty, their slow movement. Instead of trudging across the field of battle, squads of dwarven warriors could be ferried quickly too and from battle. Fresh warriors would be disgorged by the chariot, and the wounded could be loaded and carried away from the line of battle. In areas where the chariot could be deployed, dwarven casualties decreased since the injured were able to be relocated and healed rather than fight on until death took them. This strengthened the dwarves when not fighting on their own mountainous soil.
Modern Applications
The Dwarven War Chariot is a primitive Armored Personel Carrier. While the modern APC developed after the advent of large scale deployment of armored vehicles and the inability of infantry to keep pace with said vehicles. Though the APC itself is a new innovation, the idea of using vehicles to move soldiers to and from battle is far from new. Britons used chariots in their wars against the Romans in the 1st Century AD, deploying fighters 1 at a time, with the exhausted or injured being removed from the battlefield.
The hosts have gathered, legions eye barbarians across a barren field, the generals stab daggers into their maps, the WAR QUEST has arrived.
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The only important word in this Quest is War. Any category is OK.
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? Responses (10)
Well, with the dwarven ingenuity, I'd expect something more than a horse-pulled cart! 'Tis true that dwarves require some movement aid, besides a bootkick to the butt, on an open battlefield, and this is a viable low-tech low-magic low-budget solution.
Still, I do not sense anything definitely dwarven in it.
As not to be only destructively criticizing, a few ideas:
*On an APC chassis, weapons can be mounted: chariots converted to carry, say, a light cannon/ballista.
*Why not much of a combat vehicle? Dwarves may be short, but they can make long weapons! Missile weapons, long-handled flails, man-catchers and spears all make viable armaments.
*As for fluff, as you describe it, it's a plain cart. What about war-horns, runes of speed and shielding, and other dwarfey stuff?
Still, like I said, I'd expect the dwarves to field something plated, with thundering wheels, a grinding spiked roller at the front, and lots of mean dwarves in it.
Hm. I won't rate yet... you might wish to make it into more than a cart manned by dwarves.
*On an APC chassis, weapons can be mounted: chariots converted to carry, say, a light cannon/ballista.
That would be an AFV, armored fighting vehicle, and if I went that far I might as well have made a bloody Dwarven tank. There is a raised position for a crossbowman to fire, but the war chariot is not intended to enter into heavy combat, that is what heavy infantry are for.
*Why not much of a combat vehicle? Dwarves may be short, but they can make long weapons! Missile weapons, long-handled flails, man-catchers and spears all make viable armaments.
The chariot is high sided, not so much for the protection of the warriors being sent into battle, but for the injured being taken away from battle. Another reason is that dwarves don't have any precedent for having cavalry or other mounted forces to support the chariot in the field.
*As for fluff, as you describe it, it's a plain cart. What about war-horns, runes of speed and shielding, and other dwarfey stuff? ... I'd expect the dwarves to field something plated, with thundering wheels, a grinding spiked roller at the front ...
It is a utilitarian cart with heavy wheels and slab like sides. I tend to imagine dwarves as being pragmatic in design, while the things you describe make me think of the stuff from Warhammer and other uber-fantasy settings. When the dwarves aren't using the chariot for war, they would likely pull down the sides and use it for moving goods and such. And as you said...This is a cart manned by dwarves, plain and simple.
I hope I don't come off sounding like an ass, but that is all it is, nothing more.
Hm, point taken, though: is the thought of dwarves riding a cart so novel that it needs a post? O.o I'd have to rate this a 3 - okay idea, nothing wrong, and nothing special.
Well, I'll shaddap, I don't want to sound like an ass either :)
I like this. Dwarves actually moving, anbd with good reason too! I'd like to hear a little bit more about typical crews, though, and I'm with Echo on it needing a little more something unique.
This and a few other posts have me wondering what the speed and endurance of armoured horses are. I like the image this post presents, and the effect of having chariot-loads of dwarves dropped en mass though I can't help but think of this for short-range, shock engagements.
It's exactly what it should be: a 'dwarfed' version of a war chariot.
Useful for dwarven armies, that's for sure.
Well, it would be useful to help the dwarves get to places faster. What I would see its major use would be is to take strategic ground (perhaps a hill or something similar?) and hold it until the other dwarves could get there. I don't think it would be that useful in actual combat situations, as in in the middle of a battle, because the horses wouldn't be able to move that fast with all that metal and dwarves and dwarven weapons, so they'd get killed quickly, and the dwarves killed when they fight their way out. Unless the horses themselves have metal covering them, making them even slower and less useful.
Still, very dwarven. Fairly decent, with some changes with the standard war-chariot to make more dwarven. Still, not too many changes. 3.5/5
Well, it would be useful to help the dwarves get to places faster. What I would see its major use would be is to take strategic ground (perhaps a hill or something similar?) and hold it until the other dwarves could get there. I don't think it would be that useful in actual combat situations, as in in the middle of a battle, because the horses wouldn't be able to move that fast with all that metal and dwarves and dwarven weapons, so they'd get killed quickly, and the dwarves killed when they fight their way out. Unless the horses themselves have metal covering them, making them even slower and less useful.
Still, very dwarven. Fairly decent, with some changes with the standard war-chariot to make more dwarven. Still, not too many changes. 3.5/5
Update: Added Dwarven Guild freetext for Forgemaster's Quest