The Dwarfs

Lore & Background

The Dwarfs are a people defined by two opposing forces: an almost superhuman capacity for loyalty and an equally superhuman capacity for holding a grudge. A Dwarf who shares a tankard with a friend considers that bond sealed in blood and iron, and will cross a mountain range to honour it. A Dwarf who has been cheated, mocked, or wounded will pass that grievance to his son, his son to his grandson, and the family will still be sharpening its axe three generations later. This duality is not a flaw in their culture; it is the culture. The Anvil of Grudge, their great forge-god, is said to have shaped the world's first mountain as a punishment for a rival, and the Dwarfs see their own temperament as a reflection of that divine stubbornness. Their holds—vast, multi-tiered cities carved into the bones of mountains—are marvels of engineering and artistry. Forges burn day and night, producing blades, mail, and armour of a quality that human smiths can only envy. Ale-halls echo with the thunder of song and the clink of horns, and the air is thick with pipe-smoke and the smell of roasting meat. Yet beneath the revelry, the war-halls are always stocked, the watch-towers always manned, and the garrison always ready. The Dwarfs have lived in the shadow of goblin and orc incursion since the first age, and they do not trust silence. A quiet night in a hold is a night when the sentries are listening hardest. In the context of the Skaven plague that defines Vermintide, the Dwarfs represent one of the few forces in the Old World with the organisational depth, the material wealth, and the sheer bloody-mindedness to mount a sustained resistance. They do not negotiate with vermin. They do not parley with rats. They forge a weapon, they swing it, and they remember the name of the thing that dared to scratch their shield. For the heroes of Vermintide, encountering a Dwarf means finding an ally who will stand beside you in the mud and the dark, who will call you 'friend' with a voice like gravel in a drum, and who will absolutely, categorically, never forgive you if you drop his axe.

In Their Own Story

The pass was choked with the stink of Skaven war-tunnels, that wet, sulphurous reek that seeped up through the cracked flagstones of the mountain road. The Dwarf stood at the head of the column, his beard braided with iron rings, his axe resting on his shoulder like a man resting a walking stick. He had not spoken in two days. He had not needed to. Every time a Skaven scout skittered up from a drain, the axe sang, and the Dwarf's jaw worked, grinding a single syllable that the human soldiers had long since learned to translate as 'another.'

A young soldier, green and shaking, whispered to his comrade, 'Do you think he'll talk to us after this?' The comrade spat. 'He'll talk when the last rat is dead. And then he'll buy us a drink. And then he'll remember that we let a goblin scratch his shield back in Middenheim, and he'll make sure we know he remembers that too.'

The Dwarf heard. He did not turn. He simply nodded, once, and the nod was worth more than any oath. The column pressed on into the dark, and the axe went back to singing.

Reader's Guide

GRUDGE (n.) — A term you will hear frequently in Dwarf NPC dialogue. In Warhammer Fantasy lore, a Grudge is not merely a complaint; it is a hereditary, almost sacred obligation to avenge a wrong. A family Grudge can span centuries. In Vermintide, when a Dwarf NPC refers to 'the Grudge,' they are invoking a blood-debt that will outlive them. This is not idle threat; it is cultural law. THAN (n.) — The title of a Dwarf king or hold-leader. You may encounter references to Thans in item descriptions or NPC dialogue. A Than rules by a combination of martial prowess, political cunning, and the sheer weight of ancestral authority. The player does not typically interact with a Than directly in Vermintide, but their influence is felt in the quality of Dwarf-forged equipment and the discipline of Dwarf garrisons. THE ANVIL OF GRUDGE — The Dwarven deity associated with smithing, justice, and retribution. Item descriptions for Dwarf-crafted weapons sometimes reference the Anvil as a blessing or a curse. This is not mere flavour text; in the wider Warhammer cosmology, the Anvil is a real divine presence, and a weapon 'blessed by the Anvil' carries narrative weight. SKAVEN vs. GOBLIN/ORK — A distinction Vermintide players must internalise. In the broader Warhammer world, goblins and orcs are the Dwarfs' ancient, natural enemies. The Skaven are a newer, more insidious threat—subterranean, plague-borne, and treacherous. A Dwarf will fight either with equal fury, but the emotional register differs: goblins are a sport, a tradition, a familiar foe. Skaven are an insult. The dialogue in Vermintide often reflects this tonal shift, with Dwarfs using cruder, more contemptuous language toward Skaven than toward orcs. MOUNTAIN HOLDS — The Dwarven city-states. While Vermintide's playable areas are primarily in the Empire's lowland regions, several locations reference the holds as a source of trade, military aid, or cultural identity. If an NPC mentions 'the Holds' or a specific mountain name, they are referring to one of these great underground cities, each with its own Than, its own forges, and its own Grudges.

Did You Know?

• In Warhammer Fantasy lore, Dwarven grudges are considered legally binding obligations that can be passed down through generations, meaning a single insult at a tavern could produce a centuries-long armed conflict between
• Dwarven ale is a recurring cultural touchstone across Warhammer media; the Dwarfs are said to brew varieties so potent and so numerous that human drinkers are considered a novelty, not a standard.
• In Vermintide, the Skaven are presented as a subterranean, plague-driven civilization rather than the surface-dwelling goblin tribes of older Warhammer lore, shifting the Dwarfs' ancient enemy into a more insidious, tunn
• Dwarven craftsmanship in Warhammer is not merely 'good metalwork'; it is treated as a near-magical discipline, with certain legendary blades and artifacts said to be unbreakable or to carry the will of their forge-god, G