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[Caneghem]

Most dwarf master engineers are a bit odd. But there are some who make gyrocopter pilots look like the calm center of the universe. Not content with merely standing behind the lines and firing into the fray, these unstable Master Engineers have modified a steam powered tunneling drill into a powerful, if unpredictable, war machine. By rerouting most of the power from the spinning drill into the wheels of the machine, they are able to attain levels of speed on the drill that would cause most to question the sanity of someone riding in such a vehicle. While most dwarves steer clear of this situation, dishonored slayers sometimes are drawn to this machine as it offers them the possibility of achieving a glorious death. Up to 3 slayers may ride on top of the modified tunneler (though not Daemon or Dragon slayers), and their fate is tied to the fate of the tunneler while they ride upon it.

Special Rules:
Underground Advance: For simplicity, this functions exactly like the miners' underground advance rule. It also has the benefit of rerolling its arrival like miners equipped with a steam drill.
Unbreakable: It's not so much that the Master Engineer is fearless... it's just that he's strapped into his machine and has no way of "running" except by the normal move of the tunneler. He is quite mad, however.
"Mobile Artillery": This war machine is "fired" at the end of the dwarf shooting phase. It doesn't move normally, and thus cannot benefit from the Anvil of Doom's Oath and Honour rune nor any other movement spell, nor can it's movement be impeded in any way. The first exception is water, which will automatically sink the drill and drown the Master Engineer inside, though any slayers riding on top remain in the same location. The same applies to any spell or effect that would sink the tunneler. If the tunneler's charge takes it into a sheer cliff face or other impassable terrain, it is destroyed though the slayers jump off just in time.

"Firing" the tunneler:
The Master Engineer builds up steam energy and releases it all in one massive burst. How effective this is depends upon how well he can control the energy he has built up.
1. Declare the direction you want the machine to move. The only limitation is you may not intentionally point the tunneler at friendly troops within 20", as this is the maximum distance it could move if all goes perfectly.
2. Roll the artillery dice. This will represent how much of the energy the Master Engineer is able to put into the tunneler's forward movement. Whatever number is shown on the artillery dice becomes the movement rating for this shot, and the tunneler barrels forward at twice this number. See below for misfires.
3. Move the tunneler the appropriate distance, taking note of which enemy models it passes through and how many ranks and files it passes through completely (i.e. the front of the tunneler would pierce to the other side of that model or rank).
4. Any model, rank, or file it passes through completely receives impact hits as below.
5. If the tunneler ends its movement in base contact with or on top of an enemy unit, place it on the closest side of that enemy unit available, and in base contact for the close combat phase.
6. Slayer missiles: Any unit completely passed through by the tunneler (i.e. it doesn't end in base to base contact with it) is a viable target for the slayer riders, who leap off their mount and engage the unit as though they charged in the same direction as the tunneler's movement. This can be anywhere from none to all the slayer riders, it is the player's choice.

Impact Hits:
The tunneler has a strength of 4-7, depending on the artillery dice roll. Take the number on the dice and subtract 3 (minimum of 4), and this is the strength of the impact hits the tunneler inflicts. The tunneler inflicts d2 hits at the strength calculated per rank or file it penetrates (or per single model). These hits are also magical, as the tunneler is inscribed with a single rune of immolation. They are distributed as shooting and can trigger panic tests.

Shooting:
The tunneler itself is a war machine with toughness 7 and 3 wounds. Hits against the tunneler are randomised with 1's hitting the Master Engineer and the rest hitting the machine. The slayers on top may be targetted as though it were a skirmishing unit. While in his machine the Master Engineer has a 2+ armor save, but other than this he is identical to a naked Master Engineer.

Hand-to-hand:
Any slayers and the Master Engineer line up as any other war machine crew. They do not count as having charged, and attacks proceed in initiative order. Note the Master Engineer gets out of his vehicle to partake in hand-to-hand, so his armor save is now the normal 4+. The Slayers can accept challenges against the Master Engineer. The tunneler takes no part in the hand-to-hand combat, except that it carries a Rune of Immolation. This functions in exactly the same way as described in the Dwarf Army book. The Master Engineer may re-enter his machine only if there are no longer enemy units in base-to-base contact with the tunneler. If they manage to win the combat and the enemy flees, the ME and slayers will return to the machine rather than pursue.

Misfire!
Roll a scatter dice and move the tunneler in that direction 2d6 inches, regardless of whether friendly units would be hit. If the scatter shows a "hit", then the machine simply spins on the spot and does not move. However if the tunneler approaches a friendly unit, the ME has the bright idea to use his Immolation Rune to "avert disaster". The following chart tells whether he is successful or not.
5-6 Failure!
The Master Engineer fails to hit his Immolation Rune in time and slams into the unit and any others the move would bring him into contact with. Otherwise everything is OK (except you have an unpredictable dangerous piece of machinery behind your lines!)
2-4 Success!
The Rune is successfully struck and the machine and any slayers riding it are destroyed in the explosion.
1 Failure, then Success!
Something went wrong with the Rune and its effect is delayed overly long... move the unit the full distance and distribute any impact hits. Then, if the machine is in contact with any unit, friend or foe, that unit suffers the effects of the Rune of Immolation (and obviously the machine is destroyed as well). If not in contact with a unit the rune just destroys the machine and slayers.

[xpo50]

this is amazing! i hope we get a steam tunneler soon