Sigmar
Sigmar is the deified, legendary founder of The Empire. As befits the epic stature of this great warrior-statesman, Sigmar is worshipped both for his martial prowess and for his role as the Father of The Empire – a symbol of national destiny and unity of purpose among the various conflicting power groups of The Empire. Most statues and paintings depict him as a muscular, bearded giant of a man with long blond hair bearing a massive two-handed Dwarven warhammer and seated on a simple throne with piles of Goblins heads at his feet. He is, however, more than simply a military god.
Sigmar represents both the heroic exemplar and the common man. Admired for personal courage and strength in arms as well as military generalship; Sigmar is also a unifying leader and founder of a
nation out of disparate, hostile tribes. Though divine in stature, he still remains recognisably simple and human enough as a mortal man. Cult doctrine emphasises Sigmar’s mortal origins as the source of his understanding and compassion for man, and his desire to protect man both as a divine patron and as the symbolic inspiration for man’s protector on earth – the Imperial state.
The Cult of Sigmar is the official religion of The Empire, and all recognised cults have tolerable relationships with the cult with the possible exception of the cult of Ulric. The Church is on good terms with The Fraternal Brotherhood of Witch-Hunters, and also maintains their own forces of the religious inquisition – the Ordo Inquisita Sancti. The cult exhibits a traditional conservatism towards magic, balancing distaste with the fact that The Empire’s wizards form an important role in the defence of the nation, and the maintenance of social cohesion. The Church’s intense hatred is reserved for non-Imperialist wizards, who are all assumed to be servants of The Empire’s enemies.
Sigmar is the state cult of The Empire by Imperial decree; only in the City State of Middenheim, the seat of the chief temple of Ulric, are his temples outnumbered by those of other cults.
Worship elsewhere is confined to Imperialist emigrants and exiles. As the official patron of The Empire, Sigmar embodies the spirit of the country. It is deemed an important part of the mission of the church to ensure that those practise this spirit on a daily basis and that clerics are entrusted to manage Sigmar’s land and people.
Ulric
Ulric is the brother of Taal and son of the Earth Mother. He is the god of individual valour and ferocity, the Lord of Winter and Wolves. In the cold northern lands, he challenges each man to survive on his own, and as the Lord of Wolves, is a symbol of the relentless hunter who separates the weak from the strong (and the Ravening Wolf of Winter’s Hunger). Particularly admired by those who place individual valour above all else and seek berserk frenzy in battle. Ulric is portrayed as a
massive warrior, armoured in the style of the barbarians who inhabited The Empire several centuries ago, and wearing a silver grey wolf-skin cloak. He can also take the form of a huge silver-grey wolf.
Ulric is a distant, harsh and unforgiving god, who expects his followers to stand on their own two feet, putting their faith in martial prowess. He despises weakness, cowardice, and trickery, and expects his followers to always take the direct approach to solving a problem.
He is worshipped throughout the Old World as ancient god of war and winter, most commonly in The Empire, Kislev, and Norsca (there known as Olric). He is the patron of Middenheim. As the former state cult of The Empire, he rivals the Cult of Sigmar for popularity and is coolly correct and competitive towards that cult. In fact, the two almost despise each other, and you have heard them speak that Sigmar is not a god, but a great hero whose reign was blessed by Ulric.
Taal
Taal is husband and brother of Rhya, brother of Ulric, father of Manann, Verena, and Mórr, and was the first son of the Earth Mother. Taal is the god of the wilderness and the storm. His power controls the wind and the rain and drives waterfalls and rapids, avalanches and landslides. Also, Taal is the Master of the Wild Hunt, as well as the lord of beasts, the forests, and the mountains. All of the wild places of the Old World are under his control and all that venture into his realm are expected to show him proper respect. To do otherwise, may incur his displeasure at the least, wrath at the extreme. Taal is normally depicted as a powerfully built man with long, wild hair, dressed in animal skins and wearing the skull of a great stag as a helmet. Taal may even take the form of a giant stag, great bison, or bear. Taal is worshipped throughout the wilds of the Old World.
Morr
Brother of Kháine, husband of Verena, father of Myrmidia and Shallya, Mórr is the god of death, protector of the deceased and the ruler of the underworld. He is normally depicted as a tall person of aristocratic bearing, with a detached, slightly brooding aspect. He protects all dead souls, and he makes sure that they are guided safely to a small area of his Shadowrealm where Mórr judges the deceased. If the deceased was a faithful cultist to another cult, then the spirit is escorted
to the respective Shadowrealm of their cult. If the spirit did not faithfully follow his cult, then the spirit enters the larger portion of Mórr’s Shadowrealm. He is also the god of dreams, since the Land of Dreams is close to the Shadowrealm, and is capable of weaving great and terrible dreams and illusions.
Shallya
Shallya is the daughter of Verena and Mórr, the goddess of healing and mercy. She is represented as a young and beautiful maiden, whose eyes are perpetually welling tears. Her symbols are a dove, and a heart and drop of blood. The church of Shallya seeks primarily to help the poor, and has very limited political and economic power, for the poor are largely ignored and their needs are under-funded. Money in medicine resides in the powerful guilds and the streets of doctors catering to the ailments of the wealthy. Public hospitals are rare, overworked, run-down and short of everything. However, the church is a useful salve to the consciences of the elite, and whilst relegated, Shallya is not a cause they would publicly criticise. Indeed, certain rich women are known to spend their time performing charity work in hospitals, and a number of senior Physician Guildsmen offer their services annually on their birthday.
Manann
Manann is the son of Taal and Rhya. Manann is the god of the seas, oceans, and the great rivers (such as the Reik) that empty into them. Manann controls the tides and currents, and is as unpredictable and changeable as the sea itself. He is usually portrayed as a huge powerfully built man, wearing a spiked
crown of black iron and dressed in barbarian clothes in the same way as his father Taal. Manann can also take the form of a whirlpool or waterspout, or of a huge sea monster (usually that of a Triton). He is worshipped in coastal areas throughout the Old World, as well as in the large river ports in which seagoing ships can put in. He is a primary god for the city of Marienburg.
Rhya
Rhya is the wife of Taal, mother of Manann and Verena. Those who worship her view Rhya as the goddess of nature, fertility, childbirth and the family. She is also known as Haleth, goddess of hunting, in the north. Others, outside the cult, view Rhya as either a lesser aspect of the Mother-Goddess or a deity who is much diminished so that her worship is incorporated with and overshadowed by Taal. Depicted as a loving mother (and, at times, a pregnant one), Rhya represents the fertility and bounty of the earth and mothers everywhere. In urban areas, Shallya is worshipped for these aspects.
The Old Faith
Mother Goddess or Old Faith is an ancient religion now only worshipped by druids and backward peasants. The faith is still popular in Kislev – which probably says it all.
Myrmidia
Myrmidia is daughter of Verena and Mórr, and sister to Shallya. She is the patron goddess of soldiers and strategists, but is less popular in The Empire than either Ulric or Sigmar, who reflect better the Imperial ideals of strength of combat and the frenzy of battle. Myrmidia represents the art and science of war, and is better worshipped in Tilea and Estalia.
She is commonly portrayed as a tall, well-proportioned, young woman equipped in the style of soldiers from the southern parts of the Old World. Myrmidia can also take the form of an eagle.
Verena
Verena is the wife of Mórr and is the patroness of scholarship, reason, and justice. The search for Truth is the highest aspiration of man; Truth is sought through painstaking collection of facts and opinions, careful analysis of these facts and opinions, and weighing the facts, opinions, and analysis in light of ethics and moral law. Justice is for Verenans more than a concern for the letter of the law – true justice is the law considered in the context of compassion and an understanding of human nature.
The cult is worshipped by an educated, upper-class, primarily urban minority – scholars, artists, nobles, enlightened merchants, lesser and greater state officials, and sorcerers in particular. Verena is associated with the symbols of the owl (represented entire or as a stylised head), the scale of justice
weighed in the balance, the sword point downwards, and the Verrah Rubicon – the most respected ethical, religious, and scholarly text in the Old World.
Handrich
Handrich is the god of merchants, and patron of Marienburg. Enough said!
Solkan is the brother of Alluminas (god of heavenly illumination) and is the angry god of vengeance and retribution. He is most often depicted as a tall, intense man on the edge of fury. Solkan is usually attired either in shiny armour or in black clothing with a wide brim black hat. His worshippers follow
Esmeralda is the patron of the hearth and home and the mother to most of the Halfling deities. In Halfling lore, it is Esmeralda who gave the gift of cookery to Halflings. Normally, Esmeralda is depicted as a plump and matronly Halfling with a perpetual smile and wearing a flour-covered apron.
Ranald is the Trickster god, a patron of rogues and gamblers. He is generally portrayed as a Human male, a charming rogue who is an incomparable thief and con man. As a god of thieves, his worship is officially proscribed, but he is popular with the poor who see him as striking back against the rich. Some see little difference between him and Handrich!
