Skywardens, Endrinriggers, and Other Important Kharadron Questions
We had one of those extremely normal hobby conversations that starts with a simple unit question and somehow ends with us debating whether Kharadron technology could reasonably include a cannon hidden in someone’s backside.
So yes: classic army-building evening.
This time the topic was Kharadron Overlords Spearhead in Age of Sigmar, and more specifically: what exactly is in the box, how the units are actually armed, and what on earth the names on the warscrolls are supposed to mean when you are still learning the army.
First things first: Skywardens are not Endrinriggers
The question that kicked everything off was whether “Enderniggaz” were actually Skywardens. The short answer was: no.
As End3r explained, the basic visual and equipment difference is pretty straightforward once you know what to look for:
- Skywardens have spears
- Endrinriggers carry pistols and a handheld saw
- visually, Skywardens also have those floating mines around their balloons
At the same time, we also ran into the very relatable problem that people sometimes casually call all the balloon lads “Skywardens”. That is not really correct. The broader name is Skyriggers, while Skywardens and Endrinriggers are the two distinct unit types.
That kind of thing is obvious only after someone explains it to you. Before that, it is just classic Kharadron naming chaos.
What is actually in the Spearhead?
Michał was digging through the Spearhead setup and summarised the contents like this:
- 10 Arkanaut Company models, split into two groups of 5
- 3 Skywardens
- 1 Frigate
- 1 Admiral as the general
On paper that already sounds very cool, because it is basically the full Kharadron fantasy in compact form: dwarfs, guns, balloons, and a flying boat.
Then we got to the part every army-builder knows well: the moment where the clean list on paper collides with what is actually on the sprue.
The loadout rabbit hole
The key clarification here was that the Arkanauts are not simply “five with pikes and five with skyhooks” in the usual build-everyone-how-you-like sense.
As End3r pointed out, the options are more limited:
- only one pike
- only one Skyhook
- only one Volley Gun
- the rest are armed with standard pistols
Which is exactly the sort of detail that can be easy to miss when you are looking at list summaries instead of actual model options.
And honestly, this is where we fully sympathise with Michał’s reaction:
Normally I’d ignore it. BUT IMMERSION.
That is such a real hobby mood. Sometimes the exact loadout does not matter much at first glance, but once you notice it, your brain refuses to let it go. If the unit card says one thing and the little sky-duardin on the table clearly carry something else, suddenly it matters a lot more than it probably should.
The most important rules question: what is “gun butt”?
Naturally, after discussing spears, hooks, and volley guns, we moved on to the truly critical issue.
What is “gun butt”?
Michał briefly entertained the possibility that this might literally mean some kind of rear-mounted cannon, which, to be fair, does not sound completely impossible in Kharadron design philosophy.
The answer, thankfully less dramatic, was simply that it means hitting someone with the butt of the gun in melee — after a quick correction from “handle” to the more accurate “stock”.
Still, the mental image of Kharadron engineers hiding weapon systems in increasingly absurd places was strong enough that the conversation immediately drifted into beard cannons and whether the dwarf carrying a beer barrel might plausibly also have one “back there”.
This is exactly the kind of nonsense that makes learning a faction more fun.
Reading the faction pack at last
The conversation ended on a note we suspect many players will recognise: owning an army, vaguely knowing there are rules somewhere, and not yet being fully sure what your own Spearhead actually does.
Michał asked End3r whether he even had the Kharadron Overlords faction pack. The answer was wonderfully honest: yes, probably somewhere — but after one attempt at reading it, absolutely nothing made sense.
A PDF was located, and the key advice followed immediately:
Spearhead is right at the end.
Which, honestly, is the kind of practical guidance that saves lives. Or at least saves an evening of scrolling through rules you are not ready to process yet.
For anyone else in the same place: sometimes the first step in army-building is not optimising a list, but simply figuring out which balloon dwarf is which and where the relevant pages are.
Final thoughts
We love these early-army conversations, because they are always a mix of genuine rules learning, model inspection, half-remembered internet terminology, and at least one completely ridiculous misunderstanding.
This time’s takeaway is simple:
- Skywardens and Endrinriggers are different units
- Skyriggers is the broader term
- Spearhead loadouts are worth checking carefully
- and yes, reading the faction pack is probably a good idea after all
Even if we mostly started with: “wait, which balloon guys are these?”
And honestly, that is a pretty good place to start.