Hammer and Anvil

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Overview

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Role: The Hammer and Anvil is the sacred Summoning Totem of the Dwarven Forge and a symbol of the Dwarves' determination to hold what they have claimed. Forged in the fires of the First Forge, the ancient relic channels the strength and resolve of the mountain itself. On the battlefield, the Hammer and Anvil allows the Dwarven Forge to reinforce a captured Pillar of Fate and transform it into a Stronghold, allowing the faction to bunker down and force the enemy to physically remove them if they hope to take the position.

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Core Information

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Unit Type: Summoning Totem
Affiliation: Dwarven Forge

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Keywords

• Summoning Totem

• Dwarven Forge

• Hammer and Anvil

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Universal Rules

This Totem follows all normal rules for:

• Summoning Totems

• Summoning Units

(See Universal Rules and Summoning Rules.)

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Special Rules

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Stronghold

The Hammer and Anvil channels the unyielding spirit of the Dwarven people, allowing them to fortify a Pillar of Fate they have successfully captured and establish a permanent defensive position.

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Once the Dwarven Forge gains control of a Pillar of Fate, the controlling player may designate that Pillar as their Stronghold.

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Special Rules

• The Dwarven Forge may have only one Stronghold at a time.

• Once established, the Stronghold remains under the Dwarven Forge player's control from round to round without requiring another control roll for that Pillar.

• When determining Pillar control during subsequent rounds, the Dwarven Forge player may choose to automatically maintain control of the Stronghold and roll only for the other Pillar of Fate.

• The Stronghold continues to score normally while controlled by the Dwarven Forge.

• The Stronghold remains active until the Dwarven Forge is removed from the Pillar and loses control of it.

• Once the Dwarven Forge loses control of the Pillar, it immediately ceases to be a Stronghold.

• If the Stronghold is lost, the Dwarven Forge may establish a new Stronghold later by successfully gaining control of a Pillar of Fate.

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Bunker Down

Dwarven warriors defending a Stronghold reinforce their position with shields, stone, barricades, and sheer stubbornness, making the position increasingly difficult for the enemy to break.

While the Stronghold remains active, friendly Dwarven Forge units defending the Stronghold gain +1 Armor.

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Special Rules

• At the start of each turn, each eligible Dwarven Forge unit gains +1 Armor from Bunker Down.

• A unit may have a maximum of +1 Armor from Bunker Down at any time.

• Bunker Down does not stack. A unit that already has its +1 Armor from Bunker Down does not gain another +1 Armor when a new turn begins.

• If the additional Armor granted by Bunker Down is lost through damage, the unit regains the +1 Armor at the start of the next turn, provided the Stronghold remains active.

• Armor granted by Bunker Down cannot be repaired.

• Bunker Down may increase a unit's Armor above its natural maximum.

• When the Stronghold ends, all Armor currently granted by Bunker Down is immediately lost.

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Tactics and Strategies

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The Hammer and Anvil embodies one of the central battlefield philosophies of the Dwarven Forge: take ground, fortify it, and make the enemy remove you from it.

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Once the Dwarven Forge successfully captures a Pillar of Fate, establishing a Stronghold allows the faction to maintain control of that Pillar without repeatedly rolling for it each round. This allows the Dwarven player to concentrate their efforts on contesting the remaining Pillar while continuing to score from their fortified position.

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A Stronghold is not permanently secured. The enemy can still attack the position, remove the Dwarven units defending it, and take control of the Pillar. Once that occurs, the Stronghold is lost.

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Bunker Down makes accomplishing this considerably more difficult. Every turn, Dwarven Forge units defending the Stronghold receive an additional point of Armor. If that Armor is destroyed, it returns at the start of the next turn as long as the Stronghold remains active.

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The Armor bonus never stacks. Regardless of how long the Dwarven Forge controls its Stronghold, each eligible unit can receive a maximum of +1 Armor from Bunker Down.

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The Hammer and Anvil becomes particularly effective when combined with the naturally durable warriors and support Characters of the Dwarven Forge. Establishing a Stronghold gives the faction exactly what it wants: a location where its slow-moving warriors no longer need to pursue the enemy.

Instead, the enemy must come to them.

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Once the Hammer and Anvil has helped the Dwarves claim their ground, there is only one way to take it away:

Kick them off.