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Sons of Grimnir - Rune Golems

The work of the most devoted disciples of Grungni, runic golems are the pinnacle of a Rune Smith's craft. A chance to create a soldier that will last for generations after he is gone. An artificial ancestor. Though some frown upon such a practice as too close to chaos (giving magic legs...are ye daft?) there is no denying the effectiveness of these living seige weapons upon the battlefield.

Forged of Gromril and stone, and smote about with potent runes of battle, these animated simulacra are able to smash through infanty and cavalry alike. It is said their smoldering gaze can burn the flesh of an orc from a dozen paces. Though hardened for battle, these works of runic art are also vulnerable to those weapons which might rend their runes of control asunder. As with any tool, they can be broken with the right force.

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These are quasi lore-friendly units. Golems do exist in the Warhammer universe, though their craft is largely arcane and they are widely considered to be too close to chaos for comfort. It would make perfect sense that dwarven runesmiths, who hold centuries of knowledge dedicated to the control and channeling of the winds of magic, would have some knowledge of this craft.

These units are a major departure from typical dwarven strategy, as they are fairly mobile, and thus far Dwarves have had no large land units to speak of outside of heroes and artillery. This was likely done with good reason to ensure Dwarves have a certain feel to how they play, but hell. This is a video game. If you want to play a more mobile dwarven game, I say go for it. Also, a non-engine siege attacker! Black Crag here we come!

These units are a mid-range troop modeled roughly off of Minotaurs from the Beastmen DLC for balance, though nothing will be able to reproduce the epic infantry-mulching charge they bring to the table. As a result, they are slightly more expensive, armored (obviously), but have about 10-15% less hitpoints. This makes them a brittle unit, and are therefore highly vulnerable to armor-peircing damage. So keep them away from Black Orcs and gunners. They are unbreakable, but that is not always a good thing since it means they will happily stay and be slaughtered by troops matched to destroy them.

In addition, I've included my Rune Golem hurler variant in this package. They're less armored and less deadly in melee combat than their classic counterparts, but they can huck a big-ole rock at the enemy every 20-30 seconds which makes for a fine Dawi hello. Mostly I'm including them since they have more of the cool glowing cracked-stone texture work I spent time on, which adds a nice touch to an otherwise gun-metal grey Dwarven battlefield.

If you like these units, check out my larger mod which includes these Rune Golems!

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2853685632

Balance
- Armored and tough, but fewer hitpoints than most monstrous creatures in its class. Vulnerable to armor peircing damage, and lacks the bone crushing charge animations of other monstrous units. Still very satisfying to watch charge into a line of goblins or orc boyz. Great for mushing up infantry, dangerous to leave alone against some of the large troops since they usually all pack armor peircing damage.

Compatibility
- No known issues so far.

Patch Notes

• New Look! - I've updated the textures on the Runegolem Base Variant to show off the new glowing stone assembly I've crafted, and altered their base animations to remove idle standing animations to reflect their more stoic-construct nature.
  
• Recruitment limits - I've always disliked the idea of making Runegolems as common as minotaurs, so I've changed their stock system to increase commensurately with the construction of Smith buildings and some of the unique landmarks around the map. There's no true "Limit" on how many you can make provided you keep expanding!
  
• Love for Thorek - I've been getting a lot of requests for this, now I've added some particular love for Thorek Ironbrow when it comes to using these units. He gets an upkeep reduction, stock bonuses, and the unique landmark in his capital allows him to recruit rune golems EARLY. Enjoy!

Art
- Thumbnaill artwork was generated in game. Unit tile artwork is a composite I made (and modified, badly) using some CA/GW properties and a model image I found online, which I do not own. I did some texturing work for the face and armor (which I am quite proud of!). These fellas got a nice glow-up for TW:WH3! I'll update the mod photo once the Custom Battles option is fixed.

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Do these units scale off technology and Lord/Hero skills?
Yes. These units all synergize with techs and skills targeting hammerers.

Is there a unit cap?
I've removed this feature, which used to be part of my original deployments in WH1 and WH2, due to high demand. They're expensive units, so field doomstacks at your own risk.

Does this mod conflict with XXXXXXX mod and/or XXXXXXX creator?
Unless XXXXXXX mod used any of the assets in this mod as a base, or got really, really unlucky, it is unlikely.

Do you have an SFO/Radious/OtherMajorOverhaul Compatibility patch?
SFO is currently updating, and I will not be keeping up with the beta branch as doing so requires waaaay more time and effort than simply updating for formal releases. My existing SFO unit pack with these units included will still *likely* work with the beta branch, but I won't make any guarantees and I won't be updating my version till the SFO guys are done. They do phenomenal work, but quality takes time and QA.

Have you considered making a Rune Golem hero?
These are mostly mindless automata, so it doesn't really make a lot of sense for them to be running around making independent decisions from a Rune Smith. I'm considering some other ideas though.

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Don't forget to rate and comment! I like to be pretty responsive, so let me know if these units work, or if they need further tweaks.