The Empire (Warhammer)
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- For the Empire from Star Wars, see Galactic Empire (Star Wars).
- For the Empire from The Inheritance Trilogy, see The Empire (Inheritance).
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The Empire is one of the human political factions and armies of the Warhammer Fantasy world and features in most of the games and novels derived from it.
It is roughly equivalent to the Imperium in the Warhammer 40,000 science fiction setting.
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[edit] Characteristics
Like much of the Warhammer setting the Empire resembles a period of European history but with the addition of fantasy elements such as the presence of magic and non-human races. Both visually and in geography is it based upon the Holy Roman Empire during the Renaissance period. There are wealthy city-states which bear similarity to Hanseatic league cities such as Hamburg, and place and character names are Germanic in tone; for example, the capital of the Empire is the city of Altdorf, which translates as "old village" and is the name of several real-world places.
The Empire is the largest and most powerful of all the nations of the Old World. The Empire is bordered by the nation of Kislev to the north and the Sea of Claws, the World's Edge Mountains to the east, and the Great Ocean, Black Mountains, Grey Mountains and the land of Bretonnia to the south and west. To the east the Empire is threatened by the Orcs and goblins. A large amount of the Empire is heavily forested and large numbers of beastmen can be found in the deepest forests.
[edit] Political structure
The Empire consists of ten large provinces: Nordland, Reikland, Middenland, Talabecland, Ostland, Hochland, Ostermark, Averland, Wissenland and Stirland, each of which is ruled by an Elector Count. There were originally two more provinces Drakwald (lands now under the jurisdiction of the Elector Counts of Middenland) and Solland (under the Elector Counts of Wissenland). Another, Westerland, originally incorporated the areas now divided between Nordland and the Marienburg/Wasteland area. The provinces and their counts are derived from the twelve chieftains that followed Sigmar who became the first Emperor.
The Empire is nominally ruled by the Emperor who is chosen by majority voting of the various electors. The electors are the ten Elector Counts, the Grand Theogonist of the Sigmarite Church, the two "Arch Lectors" who are also clerics of the Sigmar church, the High Priest of Ulric and the Elder of the Moot (representing the halflings). Karl Franz, of the Holswig-Schliestein family, is the current Emperor. The Emperor is usually also one of the Elector Counts; Karl-Franz is the Elector Count of Reikland.
There are a number of large cities in the Empire;
- Altdorf, in Reikland
- Nuln,
- Talabheim,
- Middenheim, in Middenland
- Averheim, in Averland
[edit] Belief
The religion of the Empire is polytheistic, with the god Sigmar being the most important. Sigmar is exalted, having been a powerful warlord who unified various tribes to form the Empire. The Grand Theogonist is the leader of the Imperial Orthodox Church, which devotes itself entirely to Sigmar, and is analogous to the Pope. Sigmar's worship is strongest in Altdorf but runs throughout the Empire. However, some regions have a stronger link to other gods, such as the Middenheimers, who revere Ulric before all others and Talabecland who revere the god Taal.
[edit] Military
The armies of the Empire are amongst the most diverse in the Old World. Older forms of troops like spearmen, swordsmen especially the personal bodygaurd of the Elector counts the Greatswords, archers and crossbowmen fight alongside more 'modern' troops like cannon, Handgunners and Pistoliers (pistol armed warriors on horseback). The inventiveness of the Empire has produced warmachines such as a steam-powered tank, rocket batteries and volleyguns, and in the last edition such steam-punk elements as mechanical horses are also present. However, these new steam-punk elements have been recieved poorly by players.
The Empire is also noted for having excellent cavalry in the form of its Orders of Knights. The Empire also often fields state-trained Battle Wizards and religious fanatics know as Flagellants. The armies can be led by Imperial Generals, Grand Masters of the various Knightly Orders, Captains chosen by the Counts, Warrior Priests and Arch Lectors of Sigmar, or even the Emperor Karl-Franz himself.
[edit] Alliances
Dwarfs are the Empire's closet ally and have been from its very founding. A large contingent of Dwarfs have settled in the Empire and owe their allegiance to the Empire rather than their ancestral homelands.
Bretonnia, the kingdom of Knights, is an oft rival of the Empire in both trade and war, but has supported the Empire on occassion from common foes, notably in the recent Storm of Chaos. The wintery kingdom of Kislev to the north and east has been on good terms with the Empire, and their forces have fought together many times. Ties with the High Elves are strong and growing.
The Empire maintains a cool relationship with its former province of Marienburg, the city of merchants, self-made men, and trade with other lands. Trade and travel are maintained with the fractured states of Tilea and Estalia. Great trade caravans transverse the continents to bring goods and treasures from Ind and Grand Cathay in the east. Although Imperials know little of the East, it appears that they are unwitting allies against Chaos.
In the desert lands of Araby, the Imperial colony of Sudenburg has been established. Arabian trade is also heavy, and tales are told of the wonderous Sultans and their realms. Many Knightly orders fought in Araby during the Crusades.
[edit] History
[edit] Battle of Black Fire Pass
The First Battle of Black Fire Pass was the culmination of Sigmar's campaigns to cleanse the lands of the Empire of orcs and goblins, this battle saw the power of the greenskin races broken in the lands of Men, and drove them into the Bad Lands, their current domain. Taking place in the year IC -1, a year before Sigmar's coronation as the first Emperor, this battle is looked upon as Sigmar's greatest victory and the site is now a site of pilgrimage for members of the Sigmarite faith.
Black Fire Pass lies in the south of Averland, where the Black Mountains part and the Old Dwarf Road moves out into the Border Princes' Realm and toward Karaz-a-Karak, the greatest of the Dwarf holds and the seat of their High Kings. Along with Axe Bite Pass in the west, which leads into Bretonnia, Black Fire Pass is the only other land route through the mountains that fence the Empire, and as such is of vital strategic importance.
[edit] Magnus the Pious
Perhaps the greatest Emperor after Sigmar, Magnus the Pious saved the Old World in the Great War Against Chaos.
Magnus was a noble of the Empire born over 2,300 years after the passing of Sigmar. Since the first Emperor's disappearance, the Empire had been marred by corruption, civil war, strife, religious persecution, political idiocy and an overall lack of unity. In the Imperial year 2302, the largest Chaos incursion since ancient times erupted - threatening to wipe out the Old World and perhaps beyond. The Empire, fractured by internal strife and lacking a leader, was unable provide any support for the other nations now locked in combat. Throughout the cities of the Empire, Magnus made great speeches praising the glory of Sigmar and the duty that his countrymen had to oppose the evil that was surging over the lands to the north.
Magnus recruited the largest army in Imperial History and was also its most diverse. Flagellants marched next to the mercenaries and state troops of all the Elector Counts, hedge wizards trained by the Elven High Mage Teclis advanced along ordinary citizens who hated Chaos. This force marched north to Kislev to meet the Chaos legions which were opposed only by the remnants of the Kislev armies and a small Dwarfen force. Their arrival was aided by the High King Alriksson of the Dwarfs, and a force of High Elves from the seas. Assaulted on three sides, the Chaos army was ground down and destroyed, saving the Old World.
After the Great War, "Magnus The Pious", as he became known, was elected Emperor. His most important act was to order the foundation of the Colleges Of Magic. Before, practitioners of magic were persecuted by witch hunters and the Church Of Sigmar but the Colleges established under the guidance of the High Elf wizard lord Teclis harnessed magic for the Empires benefit producing "battle wizards".
[edit] History of the Provinces
As of 2522 in the Imperial Calendar, the latest date given in game materials.
[edit] Averland
Grand Countess Ludmilla von Alptraum was 77 years old at the start of The Enemy Within campaign. She lived long enough to send Feldmarschall Marius Leitdorf to assist the beleaguered Ostlander forces at the Battle of Wolfenburg in 2514. The old Countess died shortly after and was succeeded by her eldest daughter, Baroness Marlene. Unfortunately, Marlene passed away from the plague that ravaged the land after the war. Marlene's only surviving child and heir, Helena, abdicated in favour of her husband, Marius Leitdorf. Marius was famous in the Empire for two reasons; first, he was one of the best swordsmen in the Empire, and second, being completely mad. This prompted some unsubtle 'guidance' from Karl Franz, via Ludwiz Schwartzhelm, to curb the worst of Leitdorf's excesses. Leitdorf was eventually slain by an Orc Warlord at the Third Battle of Black Fire Pass in 2520, though it was his holding action (accompanied by his Greatsword bodyguards) that gave time for the Reiksguard to rally and rout the invaders. According to the newest edition of Warhammer Armies: Empire, the position of Averland Elector Count is in dispute.
[edit] Hochland
With trouble brewing between Talabecland and Ostland in 2514, Baroness Hildegarde Tussen-Hochen was compelled to name Count Aldebrand Ludenhof, betrothed to her daughter Sophia, as Grossmarschall of Hochland. Later that year, troubles in Bergsburg and her failing health forces the Baroness to abdicate in favour of the Count. The 2515 Volkshalle Edict elevated Hochland to Electoral status.
[edit] Stirland
Stirland is regarded as a rustic backwater by many in the Empire. They remain on relatively good terms with their neighbours, the Halflings of the Moot. They border the feared land of Sylvania, and as such, the priests of Morr maintain a watchful presence along the province's borders. The current Elector Count is Graf Alberich Haupt-Anderssen.
[edit] Middenland
Grand Duke Leopold von Bildhofen was one of the prime instigators of the outbreak of war in 2514. The 2515 Volkshalle Edict stripped von Bildhofen of his status as Elector and the province was once again united with Middenheim, under the rule of Graf Boris Todbringer. The actual city is built on a pleatau called Ulric's Bluff
[edit] Nordland
While Nordland regained its northeastern provinces (lost to Ostland during the Dark Ages), Baron Werner Nikse was forced by the 2515 Volkshalle Edict to relinquish his holdings in Salzenmund and nearby towns in order to compensate Ostland for instigating the war of 2514. The Electors elevate Nordland to Electoral status and named Count Theoderic Gausser as its new ruler. Nordland is noted for incorporating the Laurelorn Forest, home to one of the few communities of Elves in Elthin Arvan (the Eltharin term for the Old World). The Elector Count is wise enough not to press any claims on this well-defended realm, however!
[edit] Ostermark
Chancellor Maximillian Dachs was killed during the war of 2514. Hauptmarschall Wolfram Hertwig, who led the Ostermark contingent with distinction at the Battle of Wolfenburg, succeeded him. The 2515 Volkshalle Edict elevated Ostermark to Electoral status and named Chancellor Wolfram Hertwig as its Elector.
[edit] Ostland
Grand Prince Hals von Tasseninck died in battle along the Nordland front during 2514. Kriegmarschall Valmir von Raukov was elevated to Grand Prince and Elector Count of Ostland by the 2515 Volkshalle Edict.
[edit] Reikland
The richest and most powerful province in the Empire, whose Elector, Karl Franz, is also Emperor. Reikland extends from the frontier with the Wasteland along the course of the river Reik and the Grey Mountains, across from the Kingdom of Bretonnia. It contains Altdorf, the Imperial capital and largest city in the Empire, home of the Colleges of Magic. Helmgart and Ubersreik are heavily fortified towns at the eastern edge of the Grey Mountains, guarding the Axe Bite Pass and Grey Lady Pass respectively from human and Greenskin intruders. Reiklanders are the most forward-looking and confident people of the Empire, proud of their Unberogen heritage and convinced the brightest days are yet to come - and that as the people of Sigmar, should naturally take the lead in Imperial endeavours. Unsurprisingly, such an attitude wins Reiklanders few favours in the war-torn north...
[edit] Talabecland
As with the Elector of Middenland, Grand Duke Gustav von Krieglitz was found guilty of instigating the 2514 war. The 2515 Volkshalle Edict stripped von Krieglitz of his status as Elector and Count Helmut Feuerbach, a Talabeclander noble who stayed out of the war, was elevated to succeed him. Though no direct evidence was found to prove her complicity, there were strong suspicions that Grand Duchess Elise Krieglitz-Untermensch provided loans to her cousin, von Krieglitz. Rather than submit to an inquisition, Grand Duchess Elise abdicated her Electoral status, but was able to secure the continuance of the city's Freistadt status under her rule.
The current Elector is Helmut Feuerbach, who went missing shortly after the most recent Chaos invasion.
[edit] Wissenland
Wissenland is contrasted between the dour and hardy people of the countryside and the expressive city-dwellers of the great city of Nuln, former Imperial capital and persistent centre of learning in the arts and sciences. The wealth and power of Nuln paid for the much of the reconstruction of the war-torn Empire. Grand Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz of Nuln exercised her own form of justice and took over the rule of Wissenland from her errant vassal, Count Bruno Pfeifraucher in 2514. Today she remains Elector Countess of Wissenland, yet has also retained her rule over Nuln.
[edit] Electors
In addition to the ten Elector Counts, other powerful men in the Empire hold the status of Imperial Elector. At the present, these are as follows: The Grand Theogonist of Sigmar, Volkmar the Grim (newly reinstated); Arch Lector Kaslain and Arch Lector Aglim, also of the Cult of Sigmar; The Elder of the Moot, Hisme Stoutheart; and the Ar-Ulric, Emil Valgeir.
[edit] Former Provinces
As of 2522 IC, these provinces are no longer politically individual parts of the Empire.
[edit] Drakwald
One of the founding provinces in the time of Sigmar Heldenhammer, located in the centre of the eponymous Drakwald forest, this province was stripped of its assets, its territory divided between Middenland and Nordland.
[edit] Solland
Once a province on the southern frontier of the Empire, Solland was lost in the face of a massive Orc invasion, led by Gorbad Ironclaw, its Runefang seized by the invaders after the Battle of Sollands Crown and only retrieved at length. Solland's territory has been subsumed by Wissenland, where there is a profound sense of tragedy at the fall of their once-neighbours. Kurt Helborg however now carries the Solland Runefang
[edit] Sudenland
In former editions of Warhammer, Sudenland was a province in its own right, with the background noted here. However, in 4th edition background, Sudenland became Solland, and was destroyed by Gorbad Ironclaw and subsumed into Wissenland. Former background appears to state that Sudenland had only been separated from Wissenland and ruled by the von Mecklenberg family since the time of Magnus the Pious in recognition for their outstanding services in the Great War against Chaos in 2303. Johann von Mecklenburg abdicated the rule of the province in 2505 to his cousin, Grand Baroness Etelka Toppenheimer. For undisclosed reasons, the Grand Baroness surrendered her Electoral status in 2515 and the province was reunited with Wissenland. Rumours have it that Toppenheimer's heir and adopted son of a distant relative, Baron Olaf Sektliebe, was somehow involved with this strange turn of events.
[edit] Westerland
When the great port city of Marienburg lay within the Empire's borders, it was part of the province of Westerland, at the mouth of the river Reik. Upon declaring independence, the region is now referred to as the Wasteland, yet those within the Empire who would seek 'reunification' retain the use of the previous term.
[edit] Sylvania
Sylvania (an obvious homage to Transylvania) is an area now in the Province of Stirland that has been the source of an Undead threat on many occasions.
It was long considered to be a cursed and backward area. It first came to fame after the necromancer Vanhel ruled it with an undead horde and fought off a massive Skaven incursion that ravaged the Empire. After Vanhel's death the province came under the rule of the mad Von Drak family until the heiress, Isabella, of that family was married to a stranger from outside the area - a move by the ruling Count to deny his brother the throne. The man was Vlad Von Carstein, an ancient and powerful vampire. Vlad built a huge army partly made of forces of the undead. With this he attacked the Empire, starting the Vampire Wars. After nearly destroying the Empire, Vlad was killed in battle by the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar at the siege of Altdorf. His heirs continued the war for over 100 years before Mannfred Von Carstein, last of the great Vampires of the Von Carstien bloodline was defeated by the Count of Stirland and Sylvania was absorbed into his territories, but only in name as the land was in truth more or less abandoned. Current rumour suggests that Mannfred Von Carstein has returned and is inhabiting Drakenhoff castle.
[edit] Gaming
In Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the forces of the Empire are the most diverse of the human armies. They field a number of different troop types as well as artillery and war machines.
- The Cavalry of The Empire is among the best in the old world, at the forefront are the knightly orders, well equipped well armoured Heavy cavalry equipped primarily with lances. The Empire also maintains light cavalry in from of the Pistolier corps primarily equipped with pistol firearms some units of specialised outriders who act as scouts are equipped with much more potent firearms. References are made are made in some novels to the existence of other cavalry such as demi-lancers although no rules have been provided for these troops.
- Infantry
- The Empire has a wide variety of infantry ranging from the only standing professional army in the Old World. This army can call upon units of state troops. The state troop units include Spearmen, Halberdiers, Swordsmens and Handgunners into their armies. They can also include a variety of Militia units such as free companies, archers, hunters and crossbowmen. Notably the armies of the Empire sometimes make use of Mercenary crossbowmen in particular Tileans.
- Artillery
- The Empire has an artillery school at Nuln which supplies the gunners and engineers to operate their artillery. The majority of the artillery are Cannon and mortars. The Empire also uses experimental artillery in the form of the Hellblaster Volley Gun, a carriage mounting several barrels similar to a repeating Handgun but on a larger scale. as well as the Helstorm Rocket Battery.
[edit] Notable characters
- Sigmar Heldenhammer, the now-deified founder of the Empire.
- Magnus the Pious, revered as the saviour of the Empire and greatest Emperor after Sigmar.
- Karl Franz, the reigning Emperor, Elector Count of Reikland.
- Kurt Helborg, Captain of the Reiksguard Knights, Reiksmarshall of the Imperial armed forces.
- Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the Emperor's Champion.
- Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, Elector Countess of Wissenland.
- Boris Todbringer, Elector Count of Middenland.
- Vladimir von Raukov, Elector Count of Ostland.
- Aldebrand Ludenhof, Elector Count of Hochland.
- Marius Leitdorf, deceased former Elector Count of Averland.
- Balthasar Gelt, iuncumbent Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic.
- Thyrus Gormann, former Supreme Patriarch, prior to Gelt's succession.
- Volkmar the Grim, Grand Theogonist of Sigmar, recently reinstated.
- Luthor Huss, Prophet of Sigmar.
- Valten, the Exalted of Sigmar. MIA.
[edit] References
- Warhammer Armies: the Empire (1993), Games Workshop and Bryan Ansell, no ISBN
[edit] External links
- Warhammer-Empire Active community site.
- Sigmar's Heirs The official source book for the Empire for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, from Black Industries.
- Paths of the Damned: Spires of Altdorf the official source book for the Imperial city of Altdorf for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, from Black Industries.
- Paths of the Damned: Forges of Nuln the official source book for the Imperial city of Nuln for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, from Black Industries.
- Paths of the Damned: Ashes of Middenheim the official source book for the Imperial city of Middenheim for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, from Black Industries.
- Terror in Talabheim the official source book for the Imperial city of Talabheim for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, from Black Industries.
- BI Forum Maps page A selection of maps depicting the regions of the Empire, as well as other countries in the Old World.
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| Major Games: | Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warmaster, Mordheim, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Man O' War, Warhammer Ancient Battles |
| Nations and races: | Bretonnia, Chaos, Chaos Dwarfs, Dark Elves, Dogs of War, Dwarfs, The Empire, High Elves, Kislev, Lizardmen, Ogres, Orcs & Goblins, Skaven, Undead (Tomb Kings & Vampire Counts), Wood Elves |
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| People: | List of major characters |
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