Quarrellers

The Quarrellers are the crossbow-armed marksmen of the dwarf holds, a mainstay of every mountain army and the patient answer to any enemy foolish enough to advance across open ground. Where other races favour the bow, the dwarfs prefer the crossbow: a heavier, slower, but far more powerful weapon whose steel-headed bolts, or quarrels, punch clean through shield and mail at ranges that keep the foe at arm's length. Drilled to load and loose in disciplined ranks, a body of Quarrellers lays down a withering, methodical hail of fire, thinning the enemy with every volley and dropping charging beasts and armoured champions with equal ease. They are as stubborn and well-armoured as any dwarf warrior, and when the foe finally does close, they set aside their crossbows and meet him with axe and shield without giving a single step of ground. Reliable, unhurried, and deadly, the Quarrellers embody the dwarf way of war: let the enemy come, make him pay for every step, and never waste a shot.