Dev Blog - Warpfire Thrower, Poison Wind Globadier & Ratling Gunner
Warpfire Thrower
The Warpfire Thrower is whispered of in many quarters – chiefly for the horrors it has wrought in the cramped confines of dwarfen holds. Though little more than a vat of unstable warp-fuel and an ignition source, it is a weapon to be feared, as many charred skeletons would perhaps attest, could they speak of it. With the smouldering projector aimed, the simple flip of a switch births roiling clouds of warpfire that scours all from the gunner’s path.
Though the Warpfire Thrower is frequently seen wielded by weapon teams of two skaven, particularly deranged gunners have been known to take the field without the aid of a fuel-bearer. Eager to earn favour with their masters, such ratmen readily trade the additional burden for the chance to deny another skaven a share of the glory.
Poison Wind Globadier
Tattered robes and ramshackle gas masks grant Poison Wind Globadiers a sinister silhouette. This is a harbinger well-deserved, as are the rasp of rotting lungs and the acrid stench of warp-gas that sours the air about them. Each of a globadier’s gas spheres swirls with tendrils of a lurid, poisonous gas. Upon impact, the globe shatters, releasing a cloud of toxic fumes that eats away at flesh and armour alike. Those caught within the cloud approach their last, panicked moments. Eyes weeping and lungs burning, they must fight their way clear before the poison takes hold.
Globadiers care nothing for the lives of their fellow skaven, and will happily slaughter dozens of their own kind to fell a single foe. Life is cheap in the Under-Empire, and victory forgives all.
Ratling Gunner
The Ratling Gun is a six-barreled monstrosity of unparalleled fire-rate, powered by warp steam and operated with a hand crank. This fearsome weapon is normally operated by a Clan Skryre weapons team, but lighter, experimental versions have been sighted in the Reikland. These variants require only a single ratman to act as crew, with little apparent trade-off.
Encumbered by the unwieldiness of his weapon, the Ratling Gunner is far from quick on his feet, but once he cranks up his weapon a torrent of warpstone hail is unleashed. Such gunners are known for their single-mindedness. Having chosen a target, they track it continually, firing relentlessly until either the weapon jams, needs to reload, or the victim lies shredded beyond recognition. It is therefore not unknown for many skaven to perish in a Ratling Gun’s volley, torn apart as their comrade’s fire tracks towards its target.