Skardyn Skardyn are the descendants of Dark Iron dwarves who had survived the end of the War of the Three Hammers ( 230 years before the First War ) , and then fled into Grim Batol . They were transformed by the evil inside Grim Batol , ironically caused by the curse of their ancestors ' sorceress Dark Iron queen , Modgud . More animal than sentient being but not without cunning , they are described as being close in shape to a dwarf , but with clawed , paw - like hands , covered in black , coarse , scales on their bodies ( even where there should be a beard ) , and a double - forked tongue . Their bodies are slightly shorter than the average dwarf , but have slightly extra width made up of muscle , from digging through earth with their bare hands . Their hands allow them to run as quadrupeds , and even scale cave walls and ceilings like spiders . Despite their stocky shape , they can move with far more swiftness than one would assume . Even when disarmed , they can fight with tooth and claw . A mouth full of sharp , reptilian teeth is used to devour any kind of meat they come across , no matter what state it ' s in ; this causes them to have foul breath and a bite that can make a victim ill . Their eyes are red , much like modern Dark Irons , described as molten earth , blood red , and crimson . They tend to hiss , will howl when hunting , and their laughter sounds like someone choking . The skardyn will use their sense of smell to examine their surroundings , such as the earth , air , and what life there is around them when hunting ( and presumably tracking ) . While there are male and female skardyn , even dwarves cannot tell the difference between the two genders . The skardyn tend to wear ragged , brown hooded garments with armor , and use belts . They still use the markings of the Dark Iron clan on their garments , which decisively identified their origins . In terms of weapons , they have dagger s on their belts , use axe s with the same style from the War of the Three Hammers , and palm - sized , spiked balls made of metal , which are either tossed by hand or thrown using slings . They also favor pike s and whips along with the axes . As the War occurred a few decades before the dwarven discovery of gunpowder , the skardyn also use the " dwyar ' hun " ( literally " star bow " from the older dwarven dialect ) , a long - range weapon akin to a tiny crossbow . It fires a tiny spiked ball carved from stone , with the spikes being at least two inches long ( the " star " of the bow ) . So long ago that the weapon has been abandoned , modern dwarves would not recognize it unless having seen or read about it in the historical records . Skardyn have carried down the love of the pipe from their ancestors . Instead of the carved wooden pipes of the dwarves , they use curled pipes crafted from clay . What they fill them with is a mystery , as the only known substance that dead skardyn have been found with for smoking smells like old grass and mulched earth worms , something even the hardiest of dwarves would rather not experiment with . They also at least know of the ritual of " Gwyarbrawden " and the legends tied to it ; whether they practice it is unknown . The skardyn speak an unknown language or dialect , but will sometimes speak Dwarven ( even if it is spoken in a manner more like Low Common ) . They consider dwarves from the Bronzebeard clan good eating . Cataclysm . The Skardyn makes an appearance in Cataclysm , In the beta they currently reuse the model of the trogg s .