Category:Wildhammer Clan

Background


Like all dwarves, the Wildhammer Clan are descendants of the Earthen.

Just prior to the War of the Three Hammers, the Wildhammer Clan, ruled by Thane Khardros Wildhammer, inhabited the foothills and crags around the base of Ironforge. The Wildhammer Clan was unsuccessful in wresting control of Ironforge from the Bronzebeard and Dark Iron clans. Khardros and his Wildhammer warriors traveled north through the barrier gates of Dun Algaz, and founded their own kingdom within the distant peak of Grim Batol. There, the Wildhammers thrived and rebuilt their stores of treasure.

Thaurissan and his Dark Irons vowed revenge against Ironforge. Thaurissan and his sorceress wife, Modgud, launched a two-pronged assault against both Ironforge and Grim Batol. As Modgud confronted the enemy warriors, she used her powers to strike fear into their hearts. Shadows moved at her command, and dark things crawled up from the depths of the earth to stalk the Wildhammers in their own halls. Eventually Modgud broke through the gates and laid siege to the fortress itself. The Wildhammers fought desperately, Khardros himself wading through the roiling masses to slay the sorceress queen. With their queen lost, the Dark Irons fled before the fury of the Wildhammers.

Once the immediate Dark Iron threat was eliminated, the Wildhammers returned home to Grim Batol. However, the death of the Modgud had left an evil stain on the mountain fortress, and the Wildhammers found it uninhabitable. Khardros took his people north towards the lands of Lordaeron. Settling within the mountainous region of the Aerie Peaks and The Hinterlands, and lush forests of Northeron, the Wildhammers crafted the city of Aerie Peak, where the Wildhammers grew closer to nature and even bonded with the mighty gryphons of the area. Over time they started calling their land the Hinterlands.

Typical Wildhammer Dwarf
Wildhammer dwarves are feral and untamed, prone to revelry, shamanism and daring acts of bravery (and stupidity). They eschew technological gadgets in favor of nature magic and straightforward weapons, including their famous stormhammers. Wildhammer dwarves are famous across Azeroth for their unique relationship with gryphons. They treat these noble creatures as equals rather than mounts or pets. The gryphons respond to their handlers’ respect, and are steadfast and resolute in return. This close relationship produces the most famous Wildhammer dwarves: the gryphon riders, heroes of the Second and Third Wars.

Wildhammer dwarves are fearless warriors and unswerving opponents of evil. They take to the skies astride gryphons to combat vile creatures such as harpies and black drakes, and unnatural contraptions like goblin zeppelins. Slightly xenophobic, Wildhammers are content to deal almost exclusively with gryphons and nature spirits. They are distant, even distrustful, toward members of other races. Despite their insular nature, Wildhammer dwarves do not hesitate to come to the aid of their allies when the need arises.

The fanatical archaeological fervor that has seized the Ironforge dwarves does not fall upon the Wildhammers. Perhaps they are descended from these mysterious titans — but what does that matter? Wildhammer dwarves live in the present and do not dwell in the past. Their ambivalence about their titan ancestry denies them the power that their Ironforge brethren have discovered, but the Wildhammers make up for it with bravery, determination and wild spirits.