“And at the appointed time we shall rise from our secret places and throw down the towns and cities of the Empire. Our brethren shall pour forth from the forests to slay and burn. Chaos will cover the land and we, the chosen servants, shall be exalted in His eyes. Hail to Tzeench, Changer of the Ways – Njawrr’thakh ‘Lzimbarr Tzeentch!”
Excerpt from The Book of Transmutation
(Note: The following list is not necessarily a 100% complete accounting of changes made for this campaign. If any question arises about a particular rule during play, please reference the Rules section made available to players inside the site.)
In combat, you may do two things each round: Move and Action.
Charge: If not engaged with someone, you may charge your move distance, gaining +1 advantage.
Disengage: To leave combat safely, you have two options:
Flee: Your opponent gains +1 advantage and may attempt a free attack unopposed at +20. If you are hit, opponent gets +1 advantage. You must take a Challenging Cool Test or gain a Broken condition and a further Broken per SL below 0.
Attack: (refer to Basic Attack Steps)
Critical Hits and Fumbles: When attacking, a double on a success is a critical, a double on a failure is a fumble.
Ranged attacks cannot be opposed by melee skills without a shield or outside point blank range. You cannot make ranged attacks whilst engaged unless it has the pistol quality. Your target must be visible. Your attack may be modified by difficulty. -20 to hit into melee unless you don’t care about who you hit.
Two weapons: Attacks using your off hand weapon have a –20 penalty (two weapon wielder talent lets you a&ack with both in the same action).
Called Shots: Allow you to attack a specific body part at a Hard (-20) Test.
Death Blow: If you kill an opponent in a single hit, you may move into their space and attack again if possible. You may do this a number of times = WSB.
Dodge: You may spend an action to do an Opposed Dodge/Melee Test. If you succeed, you get +1 advantage and can use your move to leave. If you fail, your opponent gets +1 advantage and prevents you moving safely.
Grapple: Opposed Strength Test. If you win you may:
Infighting: Your action can be spent with an Opposed Melee Test to step inside your opponents weapon reach. Any weapons with range longer than short now counts as an improvised weapon.
Parry: Any one handed weapon with the defensive quality can be used with Melee (Parry). It opposes an attack without the –20 off hand penalty.
Run: You may spend your action to double your movement.
When you reach 0 Wounds, you gain the Prone condition. You cannot lose this until you are healed at least 1 Wound. If you are not healed within a number of rounds equal to your TB, you gain the Unconscious Condition.
If you suffer enough damage that would take you to negative Wounds, you receive a Critical Wound.
Critical Wounds do not count as healed un l all condi ons inflicted are resolved
and all non permanent nega ve modifiers
are removed.
Death: If you have the Unconscious Condition and have 0 Wounds, compare the number of Critical wounds you have with your TB.
If Critical Wounds > TB, you will die at the end of the round!
If you receive a critical wound, you may substitute an armour point in that location to avoid it.
Effects: Spells from the Lore of Witchcraft draw on whichever winds of magic are available, without care or concern for mingling the winds and the potentially horrific results. Each time practitioners of Witchcraft roll on a Miscast table, they also gain 1 Corruption point. Further, you may inflict one Bleeding Condition on anyone targeted by spells from the Lore of Witchcraft. Lastly, channelling or casting spells from this Lore automatically require a roll on the Minor Miscast table unless cast with an ingredient , where the ingredient provides no further protection should you roll a Miscast. Fortunately, ingredients for the Lore of Witchcraft are cheap and readily available: body parts of small animals for the most part. Ingredients cost a spell’s CN in brass pennies, instead of silver shillings, to purchase. Alternatively, a Witch may forage for parts, using the Outdoor Survival skill: a successful foraging roll receives 1 + SL ingredients, as described under Gathering Food and Herbs on (see GM).
Ingredients: Witches use a horrific mixture of animal body parts, often harvested when a creature is still alive. It is not uncommon to find them clutching lizard eyes, dog toes, donkey gizzard, or much, much worse in their bloody hands as they cast their foul magics.
Spells
Blight
CN: 14
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: Special
Duration: Special
You may target either a well, a field, or a domestic animal. If you
successfully cast the spell, the target suffers from a blight:
• A blighted well becomes instantly brackish and stagnant
• Any crops currently planted in a Blighted field rot overnight
• A blighted animal sickens. The afflicted beast no longer
produces anything (cows produce no milk, hens produce no
eggs, coats and hides grow mangy and unusable) and will
die in 10–SL daysCreeping Menace
CN: 6
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You summon a swarm of creeping, slithering creatures to harass
your foes. Each target affected is immediately engaged by a swarm
of Giant Rats, Giant Spiders, or Snakes. Use the standard profiles
for the relevant creature type, adding the Swarm Trait. For your
Action you may make a Challenging (+0) Charm Animal Test
to direct 1 or more swarms to attack a different target.
When the spell ends, any remaining swarms disappear into the
shadows.Curse of Crippling Pain
CN: 10
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Stabbing a crude representation of your target — a doll or puppet
— you inflict crippling pain. When successfully cast, choose
which hit location to stab:
• Leg – Leg becomes useless, as if it was Amputated (see
page 180). If running, the target also gains the Prone
Condition and takes falling Damage.
• Arm – Arm becomes useless, as if it was Amputated (see
page 180). If target was holding anything in that hand, it is
automatically dropped.
• Body – Target doubles up in agony, gaining +1 Fatigued
Condition, and must pass a Hard (–20) Endurance Test or
gain the Prone Condition.
• Head – Target gains the Stunned Condition, and must
pass an Average (+20) Endurance Test or gain the
Unconscious Condition for the Duration.While the spell is in effect, for your Action you may make a
Channelling Test, stabbing the doll again, to affect a different
location.Curse of Ill-Fortune
CN: 8
Range: Willpower Bonus miles
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus days
The ingredient for this spell is something belonging to the target,
either a personal possession or a strand of hair. For the duration,
your target suffers bad luck. Laces snap, chairs break, and other
minor narrative effects inconvenience them. The target suffers a
penalty of –10 to all Tests, in addition to any other modifiers, and
may not spend Fortune points.Haunting Horror
CN: 8
Range: Touch
Target: AoE (a single location)
Duration: Willpower days
You target a single location, such as a house or clearing, and inflict
haunting dreams and waking nightmares on any who enter there.
Those entering while the spell is in effect are unnerved by eerie
sensations, flitting shadows, and whispered voices lurking on
the threshold of hearing. Unless they possess the Arcane Magic
(Witchcraft) Talent, they gain +1 Fatigued Condition. Then,
unless they pass an Average (+0) Cool Test, they gain another +1
Fatigued Condition and the Broken Condition, both of which
are only removed upon leaving the location.The Evil Eye
CN: 6
Range: Willpower yards
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
You lock eyes with a single target, who must be looking at you.
Perform an Opposed Intimidate/Cool Test, adding any SL from
your casting roll to your result. Your opponent gains 1 Fatigued
Condition per +2 SL by which you win. If you win by 6+ SL, your
opponent gains the Broken Condition.
The Hedgefolk believe their Lore is a gift from the Gods, referring to their spellcasters as the Blessed Few. Due to their ancient traditions and ingrained belief, their spells cannot be cast without ingredients, which are an integral part of their spellcasting process.
Effects: Fortunately, the ingredients they use are easily found on the fringes of settlements and are usually herbs or plants. You receive 1 + SL ingredients on a successful foraging roll, using Lore (Herbalism), as described under Gathering Food and Herbs on (see GM), or you can buy them for 5 brass pennies each.
Ingredients: Hedgefolk use easily sourced local materials prepared to exacting standards using special tools. So, ingredients may include things such as the wings of a dragonfly killed with a silver pin, rods of poplar polished with beeswax on Sonnstill, or bones buried beneath a hedgerow for a winter’s month.
Spells
Goodwill
CN: 0
Range: You
Target: AoE (Fellowship Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You create an atmosphere conducive to friendliness and good
spirits. All Fellowship Tests within the Area of Effect receive a
bonus of +10, and Animosity and Hatred Psychologies have no
effect.Mirkride
CN: 0
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus minutes
Speaking ancient words of magic, your spirit leaves your body,
stepping into the Hedge, the dark space between the material
world and the spirit realm. For the duration, your stand apart
from the world, able to witness it invisibly, but not affect it in any
way. Physical barriers are no impediment to you, and you may
walk through non-magical obstacles at will. Your body remains
in place, immobile and insensate.At the end of the spell you will be pulled suddenly back to your
body. If your body is killed while you are walking the Hedge, your
spirit will wander aimlessly for eternity.Nepenthe
CN: 0
Range: Touch
Target: Special
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You mutter words of power over a premade potion of herbs,
magically transforming it into a potent philtre. If drunk while the
spell is in effect, the target may choose to completely forget one
individual, permanently.Nostrum
CN: 0
Range: Touch
Target: Special
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You incant a spell over an already prepared draught, imbuing it
with magical power. If drunk while the spell is in effect, the target
immediately heals your Willpower Bonus in Wounds and is cured
of one disease. For every +2 SL you may cure an extra disease.Part the Branches
CN: 0
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower minutes
Your pupils dilate as you complete your incantation, and you
are able to see into the Spirit world. This allows you to perceive
invisible creatures, spirits, and Daemons, even those marked as
impossible to see.Protective Charm
CN: 0
Range: Touch
Target: Special
Duration: Willpower Bonus days
You imbue a protective charm with a spell of protection. Those
bearing the charm gain the Magic Resistance Talent. If they
already have that Talent, the charm does nothing more.
Effects: Spells cast from the Lore of Shadows are surreptitious and sly, and so the lingua praestantia may be muttered stealthily. Any protective spells you may cast wreath you in shadows and billow smoke, making your body insubstantial, possibly even allowing blades to pass through you seemingly without harm. Further, all spells cast from the Lore of Shadows inflicting Damage ignore all non-magical Armour Points.
Ingredients: Anything used to hide, shroud, or conceal is repurposed as Grey ingredients, including cosmetics, scents, scarfs, spectacles, mirrors, and wigs. Items drawn from professions steeped in intrigue and wisdom are also common, with diplomatic artefacts, symbols of rank, and the ultimate expression of power — a blade — prevalent.
Spells
Choking Shadows
CN: 6
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You wrap shadowy tendrils of Ulgu around your foes’ necks.
Assuming they need to breathe, they gain +1 Fatigued Condition,
cannot talk, and are subject to rules for Suffocation (see page 181).Doppelganger
CN: 10
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Intelligence Bonus minutes
You weave a mask and cloak of Ulgu around your form, assuming
the likeness of another humanoid creature with whom you
are familiar (as determined by the GM). Your appearance will
automatically fool anyone without the Second Sight Talent,
though some may note if any of your mannerisms are incorrect.
Those with that Talent must pass a Difficult (–10) Perception
Test to notice you are disguising your form. This does not let
them see through the spell. They must dispel it to do so.Illusion
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Initiative Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower minutes
You spin a web of intricate strands of Ulgu , obfuscating the
Area of Effect with an illusory image of your choosing. You will
automatically fool anyone without the Second Sight Talent.
Those with that Talent must pass a Difficult (–10) Perception
Test to notice the illusion. This does not let them see through the
spell. They must dispel it to do so.The illusion is, by default, static. For your Action, you may make
a Hard (–20) Channelling Test to make the illusion move for
that Round.Mindslip
CN: 6
Range: 1 yard
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower minutes
You conjure delicate threads of Ulgu in your Target’s mind,
causing all prior memory of you to disappear for the spell’s
duration. Once the spell is over, the Target must pass an Average
(+20) Intelligence Test, or the memory loss becomes permanent
until dispelled.Mystifying Miasma
CN: 6
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You conjure forth a swirling mass of mist shot through with
roiling shadow that flits and confounds the senses. Anyone within
the mist who does not possess the Arcane Magic (Shadows)
Talent is affected by the Miasma, gaining +1 Blinded, Deafened ,
and Fatigued Condition, which remain for the spell’s duration.
Anyone affected attempting to move must pass a Challenging
(+0) Perception Test, or gain the Prone Condition. If the spell
is dispelled once in play, anyone affected by the spell must make
a Routine (+40) Initiative Test, or gain the Stunned Condition.Shadowsteed
CN: 6
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Until the next sunrise
You summon forth a shadowy steed. The creature’s unnatural
flesh is black as midnight, and at times it appears to be both
solid and insubstantial. Use the rules for a riding horse. When the Shadowsteed is out of sunlight, it also gains the following
Creature Traits: Dark Vision, Ethereal, Magical, Painless,
Stealthy, Stride, Fear (1) and Ward (+9) .
Even when insubstantial, Shadowsteeds may be ridden. Riders
with the Arcane Magic (Shadow) Talent do so with a bonus of
+20 to Ride Tests. Those without suffer a penalty of –20 to Ride
Tests. Shadowsteeds are tireless, so need no rest (though their
unsettled riders might!). As the first rays of dawn break over
the horizon the steeds melt into insubstantial mist. If still being
ridden when the spell ends, or when dispelled, the rider will suffer
Falling Damage.Shadowstep
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: You
Duration: Instant
You create a shadowy portal of Ulgu through the aethyr. You
disappear from your current location and immediately appear
up to your Willpower yards away. Any enemies Engaged by
you on your disappearance or reappearance gain the Surprised
Condition.Shroud of Invisibility
CN: 8
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You wrap the target in a shroud of Ulgu . The Target becomes
invisible and cannot be perceived by mundane senses. The spell
will automatically fool anyone without the Second Sight Talent.
Those with the Talent must pass a Challenging (+0) Perception
Test to notice that someone is nearby, though they will not be able
to pin down the precise location. They must dispel the Shroud of
Invisibility to do so . You are still perceptible to the other senses,
and the spell will come to an end if you bring attention to yourself
by making large noises or attacking someone.
Effects: Arcane Spells sung from the Lore of Light tend to emit dazzling rays of blinding white light, or shroud the caster in shimmering waves of radiant purity. You may inflict one Blinded Condition on those targeted by Lore of Light spells, unless they possess the Arcane Magic (Light) Talent.
If a target has the Daemonic or Undead Creature Traits, spells also inflict an additional hit with Damage equal to your Intelligence Bonus that ignores Toughness Bonus and Armour Points.
Ingredients: Hierophants of the Lore of Light use many artefacts associated with holiness and holy places, supplemented by crystals, glass, pyramidions, and small statues, all carved with sacred symbols, twisting snakes, and moral tales. White candles, silver carvings, and bleached paper are also common.
Spells
Banishment
CN: 12
Range: You
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Instant
You send a cleansing halo of Hysh out from hands, affecting all
creatures within the Area of Effect whose Toughness is lower
than your Willpower. Targets with the Undead and Daemonic
Creature Traits gain the Unstable Creature Trait (see page 343).
If they already have the Unstable Trait, they are reduced to 0
Wounds.Blinding Light
CN: 5
Range: Willpower yards
Target: You
Duration: Instant
You emit a bright, blinding flash of light from your hand or staff.
Everyone looking at you, unless they possess the Arcane Magic
(Light) Talent, receives +SL Blinded Conditions.Clarity of Thought
CN: 6
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Intelligence minutes
You calm your target’s mind, allowing them to think clearly.
All negative modifiers on their thinking processes — from
Conditions, Mental Mutations, Psychologies, or any other source
— are ignored while the spell is in effect.Daemonbane
CN: 10
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
You summon a blast of Hysh that passes through the border
between the Realm of Chaos and the material world. The Casting
Test is Opposed by the target making a Willpower Test. If you
win, you obliterate a target with the Daemonic Creature Trait
with a blinding white light, sending it back whence it came. If
the spell successfully banishes a Daemon, everyone looking at
your target, unless they possess the Arcane Magic (Light) Talent,
receives +SL Blinded Conditions.Healing Light
CN: 9
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
Your target glows with a bright, cleansing light (equivalent light
to a campfire), healing Intelligence Bonus + Willpower Bonus
Wounds. If the Target passes a Very Hard (–20) Endurance Test,
1 Corruption point gained in the last hour is also lost.Net of Amyntok
CN: 8
Range: Intelligence Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Target’s Intelligence Bonus Rounds
You cast a delicate net woven from strands of Hysh over your
targets, whose minds are overcome with conundrums and
puzzles, leaving them paralysed with indecision. Targets gain +1
Stunned Condition, which they cannot lose while the spell is in
effect. When recovering from the Condition, targets test their
Intelligence instead of the Endurance Skill. Targets with the
Bestial Creature Trait are immune to this spell.Phâ’s Protection
CN: 10
Range: You
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You summon a protective aura of pure, holy light. Profane
creatures — those with the Undead or Daemonic Creature Trait,
those with mutations, and those with more Corruption than their
Willpower Bonus and Toughness Bonus combined — cannot
enter the Area of Effect. Any already within the Area gain the
Broken Condition until they leave. Creatures within the Area
cannot gain any Corruption points while the spell is active.Speed of Thought
CN: 8
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
A lattice of Hysh overlays your mind, allowing you to think
rapidly. Gain a bonus of +20 to Intelligence and Initiative.
Effects: Spells cast with Ghyran , the Jade Wind, are suffuse with life, tending to manifest with a vibrant green light, and are often accompanied by natural phenomena given supernatural qualities. Vines, undergrowth, trees, and rivers all bend to the Druids’ wills. Receive a +10 bonus to Casting and Channelling rolls when in a rural or wilderness environment. Living creatures — e.g. those without the Daemonic or Undead Creature Traits — targeted by Arcane Spells from the Lore of Life have all Fatigued and Bleeding Conditions removed after any other effects have been applied as life magic floods through them. Creatures with the Undead Creature Trait, on the other hand, suffer additional Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus, ignoring Toughness Bonus and Armor Points, if affected by any spell cast with the Lore of Life.
Ingredients: Druids use a wide variety of naturally occurring ingredients, ranging from rare seeds and nuts, humours gathered from sentient creatures in the flush of life, uncommon tree saps, fertile loam, spring waters, and a variety of living ingredients, including plants and smaller animals.
Spells
Barkskin
CN: 3
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You cause the target’s skin to become hard and rough like the
bark of a tree. While affected by the spell, add +2 to the target’s
Toughness Bonus, but suffer a penalty of –10 to Agility and
Dexterity.Earthblood
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
To cast this spell, you must be in direct contact with the earth.
Standing barefoot counts. For the duration of the spell, any
creatures in direct contact with the earth within AoE heal
Wounds equal to your Willpower Bonus at the start of every
Round.Earthpool
CN: 8
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Instant
On casting the spell, you immediately disappear into the ground
in a wild torrent of Ghyran . You appear at the start of the next
Round at any point within your Willpower in yards, erupting from
the earth violently. For every +2 SL you may increase the distance
travelled by your Willpower in yards. Any enemies engaged by you
on your appearance gain the Surprised Condition. This spell will
not allow you to move through stone but will allow you to move
through water.Fat of the Land
CN: 4
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus days
You flood the target’s body with nourishing Ghyran . The target
need not eat or drink, but will still excrete as normal, though any
leavings will be verdant green.Forest of Thorns
CN: 6
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
This spell may only target a patch of earth (though the patch
can be very small). You cause a dense knot of wickedly spiked
brambles and tangled vines to burst upwards, covering the Area
of Effect.While the spell is active, anyone attempting to traverse the area
on foot without the Arcane Magic (Life) Talent must make a
Hard (–20) Agility Test. Failure means they gain 1 Bleeding
Condition, and 1 Entangled Condition, with your Willpower
used for its Strength. After the spell concludes, the growth
remains, but loses its preternatural properties.Lie of the Land
CN: 5
Range: Initiative Bonus miles
Target: You
Duration: Special
Touching the earth, your senses flow through the Ghyran tracing
the nearby area. After communing for 1 minute, you receive a
detailed mental map of all-natural features — land, forests, rivers,
but not settlements — within range. Settlements may be alluded
to — areas of clear terrain, or dug trenches, for example. Each
time you increase the range with SL increases the time taken
communing with the land by +1 minute.Lifebloom
CN: 8
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: Special
Duration: Special
You cause Ghyran to flood an area that is blighted or desolate.
You may target either a dry riverbed, well, field, or a domestic
animal. If you successfully cast the spell, the target bursts to life:
• A dry river begins to flow once again
• A dry or polluted well becomes clean and fresh
• A planted field, vineyard or orchard bursts into life, with all
crops immediately reaching full ripeness
• A sick or unproductive animal becomes healthy. The
affected beast is now healthily productive (cows produce
milk, hens lay eggs, coats and hides of sheep and cows are
healthy and lustrous) and any diseases are cured.Regenerate
CN: 6
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Your target gains the Regenerate Creature Trait.
Effects: The wind of Chamon is very dense, and quickly attaches itself to metallic substances. Spells from this lore are accompanied with golden light and heat, and are especially effective against foes foolish enough to encase themselves in metal. Spells inflicting Damage ignore Armour Points from metal armour, and inflict bonus Damage equal to the number of Armour Points of metal armour being worn on any Hit Location struck. So, if your spell hit an Arm location protected by 2 Armour Points of metal armour, it would cause an additional +2 Damage and ignore the Armour Points.
Ingredients: Heavy metals of all types, esoterically inlaid or carved, comprise the majority of Gold ingredients, though many spells also use trappings associated with a forge, including sections of a bellows marked with mathematical formula, inscribed chunks of an anvil, or fragments of a furnace.
Spells
Crucible of Chamon
CN: 7
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
You channel Chamon into a single non-magical, metallic object,
such as a weapon or piece of armour. The item melts, dripping to
the floor as molten metal, cooling almost immediately. If held,
the item is dropped. If worn, the wearer takes a hit like a magic
missile with Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus that ignores
Toughness Bonus. While the object is destroyed, the metal retains
its base value, and may be used by a smith as raw material.Enchant Weapon
CN: 6
Range: Touch
Target: special
Duration: Willpower Bonus rounds
You encase a single non-magical weapon with heavy bands of
Chamon , enhancing its potency. For the duration of the spell
it counts as magical, gains a bonus to Damage equal to your
Willpower Bonus, and gains the Unbreakable Quality (see page
298). For every +3 SL you may also add 1 Quality or remove 1
Flaw from the weapon, while the spell is in effect.Feather of Lead
CN: 5
Range: Willpower yards
Target: Area of Effect (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Calling on the golden wind, you alter the density of your target’s
belongings, raising or lowering their weight. For the duration of
the spell, choose one effect for everyone within the area of effect:
• Count as two steps more Overburdened
• Do not count as Overburdened
See the Rules>Economy & Consumer guide tab for more information on Encumbrance.Fool’s Gold
CN: 4
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower minutes
You weave Chamon into a non-magical object made of metal,
fundamentally altering its alchemical nature. For the duration
of the spell, all metal in the object becomes gold. This is not an
illusion: it has actually transformed into gold. When the spell
ends, the item reverts to its original metal. This spell can ruin
good weapons, make armour too heavy to wear, and turn lead
coins into something much more appealing. Spot effects arising
from this spell are left in the hands of the GM.Forge of Chamon
CN: 9
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: Special
Duration: Willpower minutes
You alter the quality of a single item made of metal. You may
add 1 Quality or remove 1 Flaw. For every +2 SL, you may add
another Quality or remove another Flaw.Glittering Robe
CN: 5
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Toughness Bonus Rounds
Wild flurries of Chamon whirl around you, deflecting blows
and intercepting missiles and magical attacks. Gain the Ward
(9+) Creature Trait (see page 343) against all attacks and spells
targeting you. Each hit successfully saved increases the Ward’s
effectiveness by 1, to a maximum of Ward (3+).Mutable Metal
CN: 5
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You touch a non-magical object made of metal, which instantly
becomes warm to the touch as you squeeze Chamon into it. You
may bend and mangle the object with an Average (+20) Strength
Test. If you wish to make a more complex alteration, you may
attempt an Average (+20) Trade (Smith, or similar) Test instead.Transmutation of Chamon
CN: 12
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You wrench Chamon from the metals worn by your foes, and
the earth itself, briefly transforming the flesh of your enemies
into metal. This is a magic missile affecting all in the Area of
Effect, with a Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus; the spell
ignores Toughness Bonus and inflicts +1 Blinded, Deafened, and
Stunned Condition, all of which last for the duration of the spell.
All affected targets gain +1 Armour Point from the gold wrapped
about their bodies, but also suffer from Suffocation (see page 181).
If targets die while the spell is in effect, they are permanently
encased in a shell of base metals, a macabre reminder of the risks
of sorcery.
Effects: Arcane spells cast from the Lore of Heavens are accompanied by the crackling of lightning and the smell of ozone. Spells causing Damage ignore Armour Points from metal armour, and will arc to all other targets within 2 yards, except those with the Arcane Magic (Heavens) Talent, inflicting hits with a Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus, handled like a magical missile.
Ingredients: Astronomical instruments, charts, lenses, and symbols dominate Celestial magic, as do ingredients associated with augury, such as animal innards, mirrors, glass balls, and bird tongues. Some wind-based spells use wings and feathers, where those involving electricity prefer slivers of carved metal.
The Seer Career can gain access to the Arcane Magic (Heavens) Talent. Seers who take this Talent can only take these spells (and none other, even Arcane Spells): Fate’s Fickle Fingers, Starcrossed, The First Portent of Amul, The Second Portent of Amul, The Third Portent of Amul. To gain access to the rest of the Arcane Magic (Heavens) spells, they would need to enter the Wizard career.
Spells
Cerulean Shield
CN: 7
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You encase yourself in a crackling cage of sparking electricity
and Azyr . For the spell’s duration, gain +SL Armour Points to
all locations against melee attacks. If attacked by metal weapons
— such as daggers, swords, and spears with metal tips — your
attacker takes +Willpower Bonus Damage.Comet of Casandora
CN: 10
Range: Initiative yards
Target: AoE (Initiative Bonus yards)
Duration: Special
You channel all the Azyr you can muster and reach out to the skies,
calling down a comet to wreak havoc amongst your foes. Select a
target point within range. At the end of the next round, make an
Average (+20) Perception Test. For every +SL you achieve, you
may move your point of impact by Initiative Bonus yards.
For every –SL, the GM will move the point of impact by Initiative
Bonus yards in a random direction. Comet of Casandora then
acts as a magical missile with Damage +12 that hits all targets
in the Area of Effect, who also gain +1 Ablaze and the Prone
Condition.Fate’s Fickle Fingers
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: AoE (Initiative Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
All allies within the Area of Effect, excluding those with the
Arcane Magic (Heavens) Talent, create a single pool for their
Fortune Points. All may draw on the pool, first come, first served.
When the spell ends, you reallocate any remaining Fortune
Points as fairly as possible.Starcrossed
CN: 7
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Initiative Bonus Rounds
While this spell is active, you can spend Fortune Points to force
an opponent to reroll Tests.T’Essla’s Arc
CN: 7
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
A crackling bolt of lightning shoots from your fingertips, striking
your target. This is a magic missile with Damage +10 that inflicts
+1 Blinded condition.The First Portent of Amul
CN: 3
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Initiative Bonus Rounds
Gain +1 Fortune Point. For every +2 SL, gain +1 more. Any of
these points unused at the end of the Duration are lost.The Second Portent of Amul
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Initiative Bonus Rounds
Gain +SL Fortune Points. For every +2 SL, gain +1 additional
Fortune point. Any unused points at the end of the Duration
are lost.The Third Portent of Amul
CN: 12
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Initiative Bonus Rounds
Gain +1 Fate Point. If the Fate point is not used by the end of the
Duration, it is lost.
Effects: The Amber wind, Ghur, carries with it a chill, primal ferocity, that is unnerving to beasts and sentient creatures alike. Whenever you successfully cast a spell from the Lore of Beasts, you may also gain the Fear (1) Creature Trait for the next 1d10 Rounds.
Ingredients: Shamans use animal fur, skin, bone, and pelt, wrapped in sinews and daubed with blood runes to focus the Amber wind. Often claws are scrimshawed, organs dried, and feathers dipped in rare humours, and it’s not uncommon to find excrement, urine, and other excretions also used
Spells
Amber Talons
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Your nails grow into wickedly sharp talons of crystal amber.
Unarmed attacks made using Melee (Brawling) count as magical,
have a Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus, and inflict +1
Bleeding Condition whenever they cause a loss of Wounds.Beast Form
CN: 5
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower minutes
You infuse your very bones and flesh with Ghur , warping your
body into that of a creature. When cast, select a new form from
any of the Beasts of the Reikland section of the Bestiary For every
+ 2 SL, you may include 1 of the included Optional Creature
Trait. While in Beast Form, you look like a normal version of
the creature, with amber and brown colouring. You may not
speak, which means you cannot cast spells, or attempt to dispel.
If you have lost any Wounds when the spell ends, you lose the
same number of Wounds when you revert to your true form, to a
minimum of 0 Wounds.Beast Master
CN: 10
Range: Willpower Bonus yards
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus days
Your breath steams and your eyes take on a shining amber sheen
as Ghur suffuses you. Your gaze and words convince 1 creature
possessing the Bestial trait that you are its pack master, and it will
fight to the death to protect you. While subject to your mastery it
will follow your instructions, instinctively understanding simple
instructions. If the creature is released from the spell — through
the duration running out, or the spell being dispelled — it will
retain enough residual respect and fear not to attack you, unless
compelled to. Your allies may not be so fortunate.Beast Tongue
CN: 3
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower minutes
You can commune with all creatures possessing the Bestial Trait.
Ghur clogs your throat, and your language comes out as snarls,
hisses, and roars as befits the beasts to whom you talk. While the
creatures are not compelled to answer you, or do as you bid, most
will be curious enough to hear you out.You gain +20 on all Charm Animal and Animal Training Tests
While this spell is active, you may only speak with beasts — you
may not speak any civilised tongues, and can only communicate
with your party using gestures or Language (Battle). Note, this
also means you cannot cast any spells, or dispel, while Beast
Tongue is active.Flock of Doom
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus rounds
You call down a murder of crows or similar local bird to assail
your foes.The flock attacks everyone in the Area of Effect who does not
possess the Arcane Magic (Beasts) Talent ferociously, inflicting a
+7 Damage hit at the end of the Round. The flock remains in play
for the duration of the spell. For your Action you may make an
Average (+20) Charm Animal Test to move the flock to another
target within range. While within the Area of Effect, all creatures
gain +1 Blinded Condition.Hunter’s Hide
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You cloak yourself in a shimmering mantle of Ghur . While the
spell lasts, gain a bonus of +20 Toughness and the Dark Vision
and Fear (1) Creature Traits, as well as the Acute
Sense (Smell) Talent.The Amber Spear
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
You hurl a great spear of pure Ghur in a straight line. This is a
magic missile with a Damage of +12. It strikes the first creature
in its path, ignoring APs from armour made of leather and furs. If
the target suffers any Wounds, also inflict +1 Bleeding Condition,
after which the spear continues on its path, striking each target in
the same manner, but at –1 Damage each time. If the spear fails
to inflict any Wounds, its progress is stopped and the spell comes
to an end. The Amber Spear only inflicts the minimum 1 Wound
on the first target it strikes.Wyssan’s Wildform
CN: 8
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You call on the wild power of Ghur to infuse you, surrendering
to its savage delights. Gain the following Creature Traits (see
page 338): Arboreal, Armour (2), Belligerent, Big, Bite (Strength
Bonus +1), Fear (1), Fury, Magical, Weapon (Strength Bonus +2).
While the spell is in place you are incapable of using any
Language or Lore skills.
Effects: The purple wind of Shyish carries with it dry, dusty winds and the insistent rustling of sand passing through Time’s hourglass. Targets afflicted by spells from the Lore of Death are drained of life, enervated, and listless. You may assign +1 Fatigued Condition to any living target affected by a spell from this lore. A target may only ever have a single Fatigued Condition gained in this manner at any one time.
Ingredients: The bones of sentient creatures feature heavily in Amethyst magic, as do the trappings of death, including wood or nails from coffins, embalming fluids, hourglasses, silver coins, and grave dirt, all carefully presented or engraved. Purple gemstones, materials, and flowers (particularly roses) are also common.
Spells
Caress of Laniph
CN: 7
Range: Touch
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
As you reach out your hand, it appears withered, even skeletal,
drawing Shyish from your target’s corpus. This counts as a magic
missile with a Damage of +6 that ignores Toughness Bonus and
Armour Points. For every 2 Wounds inflicted, you may recover
1 Wound.Dying Words
CN: 6
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Touching the body of a recently departed soul (one that passed
away within the last day), you call its soul back briefly. For the
spell’s duration, you can communicate with the dead soul, though
it cannot take any action other than talking. It is not compelled
to answer you, but the dead do not lie.Purple Pall of Shyish
CN: 9
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You pull about you a pall fashioned from fine strands of purple
magic. Gain +Willpower Bonus Armour Points on all locations,
and the Fear (1) Creature Trait (see page 339). For every +2 SL
you may increase your Fear rating by 1.Sanctify
CN: 10
Range: Touch
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower minutes
Inscribing a magical circle, you ward it with Shyish , forming an
impenetrable barrier to the Undead. Creatures with the Undead
Creature Trait cannot enter or leave the circle.Scythe of Shyish
CN: 6
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You conjure a magical scythe, which can be wielded in combat,
using the Melee (Polearm) Skill. It acts like a normal scythe with
a Damage equal to your Willpower Bonus+3. Enemies with the
Undead Creature Trait do not receive Advantage when Engaged
in combat with you.Soul Vortex
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Instant
You hurl a shimmering ball of Shyish which erupts into purple
flames, swirling with ghostly faces, mouths agape in silent terror.
Targets within the Area of Effect receive +1 Broken Condition.
Against targets with the Undead Creature Trait, Soul Vortex is
a magic missile with a Damage of +10 that ignores Toughness
Bonus and Armour Points.Steal Life
CN: 7
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
Thin strands of purple mist connect you briefly to your target,
who wastes away before your very eyes. This counts as a magic
missile with a Damage of +6 that ignores Armour Points and
inflicts +1 Fatigued Condition. Further, you remove all Fatigued
Conditions you currently suffer, and may heal yourself up to half
the Wounds the target suffers, rounding up.Swift Passing
CN: 6
Range: Touch
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Your touch brings the release of death to a single mortally
wounded target. If you successfully touch a target with 0 wounds
remaining and at least 2 Critical Wounds, death swiftly follows.
Further, the target cannot be raised as Undead.
Effects: The Lore of Fire, and the Bright wind of Aqshy, is anything but subtle. Its spells are bellowed with fervour and manifest themselves in bombastic fashion, with bright flame and searing heat. You may inflict +1 Ablaze Condition on anyone targeted by spells from the Lore of Fire, unless they also possess the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent. Every Ablaze condition within Willpower Bonus yards adds +10 to attempts to Channel or Cast with Aqshy.
Ingredients: Pyromancers use a wide selection of flammable materials as ingredients, which are often immolated as the spell is cast, including coal, oils, fats, and ruddy woods. Trappings immune to fire are also common, such as iron keys, carved sections of fire-grate, and small oven stones.
Spells
Aqshy’s Aegis
CN: 5
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus rounds
You wrap yourself in a fiery cloak of Aqshy , which channels flame
into the Aegis. You are completely immune to damage from
non-magical fire, including the breath attacks of monsters, and
ignore any Ablaze Conditions you receive. You receive the Ward
(9+) Creature Trait against magical fire attacks
including spells from the Lore of Fire.Cauterise
CN: 4
Range: Touch
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
Channelling Aqshy through your hands you lay them on an ally’s
wounds. Immediately heal 1d10 Wounds and remove all Bleeding
Conditions. Further, the wounds will not become infected.
Targets without the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent, must pass a
Challenging (+0) Cool Test or scream in agony.. If Failed by –6
or more SL, the target gains the Unconscious Condition and is
permanently scarred, waking up 1d10 hours laterCrown of Flame
CN: 8
Range: You
Target: You
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You channel Aqshy into a majestic crown of inspiring fire about
your brow. Gain the Fear (1) Trait and +1 War Leader Talent
while the spell is active.
For every +2 SL, you may increase your Fear value by +1, or take
War Leader Talent again. Furthermore, gain a bonus of +10 on
all attempts to Channel and Cast with Aqshy while the spell is
in effect.Flaming Hearts
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
Your voice takes on a rich resonance, echoing with Aqshy’s fiery
passion. Affected allies lose all Broken and Fatigued Conditions,
and gain +1 Drilled, Fearless and Stout-hearted Talent while the
spell is in effect.Firewall
CN: 6
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Special)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You channel a fiery streak of Aqshy , creating a wall of flame.
The Firewall is Willpower Bonus yards wide, and 1 yard deep.
For every +2 SL you may extend the length of the Firewall by
+Willpower Bonus yards. Anyone crossing the firewall gains 1
Ablaze condition and suffers a hit with a Damage equal to your
Willpower Bonus, handled like a magical missile .Great Fires of U’Zhul
CN: 10
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You hurl a great, explosive blast of Aqshy into an enemy, which
erupts into a furious blaze, burning with the heat of a forge. This
is a magical missile with Damage +10 that ignores Armour Points
and inflicts +2 Ablaze Conditions and the Prone Condition on a
target. Everyone within the Area of Effect of that target suffers a
Damage +5 hit ignoring Armour Points, and must pass a Dodge
Test or also gain +1 Ablaze Condition. The spell stops behaving
like a magic missile as the fire continues to burn in the Area of
Effect for the duration. Anyone within the Area of Effect at the
start of a round suffers 1d10+6 Damage, ignoring APs, and gains
+1 Ablaze Condition.Flaming Sword of Rhuin
CN: 8
Range: Willpower yards
Target: 1
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You wreathe a sword in magical flames. The weapon has Damage
+6 and the Impact Quality, and anyone struck by
the blade gains +1 Ablaze Condition. If wielders do not possess
the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent, and they fumble an attack with
the Flaming Sword, they gain +1 Ablaze Condition.Purge
CN: 10
Range: Willpower yards
Target: AoE (Willpower Bonus yards)
Duration: Willpower Bonus Rounds
You funnel intense flame to burn away the taint and corruption
in an area. Anything flammable is set alight, and any creatures
in the area takes +SL Ablaze conditions. If the location contains
a Corrupting Influence, such as Dhar , warpstone, or a Chaostainted
object, it too will smoulder and blacken, beginning to
burn. This spell may be maintained in subsequent rounds by
passing a Challenging (+0) Channelling Test. The precise time
needed to eliminate the Corrupting Influence will be determined
by your GM. As a rough guideline, a small quantity (smaller than
an acorn) of warpstone, or a minor Chaos-tainted object may
require 10–Willpower Bonus Rounds (minimum of 1 Round).
A larger quantity of warpstone — fist-sized — or a more potent
Chaos-tainted object may require double this. A powerful Chaos
Artefact may take hours, or even longer… See page 182 for detail
on Corrupting Influences.
Seat of Power: None
Head of the Cult: None
Primary Orders: The Order of Scalebearers, the Order of Lorekeepers, the Order of Mysteries, the Order of Everlasting Light
Major Festivals: Year Blessing
Popular Holy Books: Canticum Verena, Eulogium Verena, The Book of Swords
Common Holy Symbols: Scales of justice, owls, downwardpointing swords
Wise Verena, the Goddess of Learning and Justice, is the wife of dark Morr and the mother of Myrmidia and Shallya. She is generally depicted as a tall, classically beautiful woman, and usually carries a sword and a set of scales. As the patron of justice she is concerned with fairness rather than the letter of the law: she opposes tyranny and oppression as much as crime.
Worshipers
Verena is worshiped throughout the Old World, especially in the south. Her devout followers include scholars, lawyers, and magistrates, as well as some wizards of the Colleges of Magic, particularly of the Grey and Light orders.
The cult of Verena has no rigid hierarchy: it is said that Verena alone heads the cult, and no mortal intermediary is needed because truth is self-evident and requires no interpretation. Temple priests from the Order of Lorekeepers are tasked to preserve knowledge and communicate it to the community. They keep up a voluminous correspondence with each other, exchanging information and news.
Priests from the equally influential Order of Scalebearers are much sought after to act as judges, arbitrators, and go-betweens, because of their famed impartiality and mastery of the law. The Order of Mysteries is much smaller and less well-known, and contains warrior-priests who seek lost and forgotten lore, wherever it may lie. The last major order is the Knights of the Everlasting Light, templars famed for their sword skills, sense of fairness, and legendary bad luck. Verena’s cultists usually wear plain white robes, symbolic of pure truth and impartiality.
Holy Sites
Temples to Verena can be found in most cities and larger towns, generally situated in the administrative or university quarters. Most libraries and court-houses include a shrine to the goddess, and smaller shrines can be found in the homes of many scholars and lawyers. Temples usually have colonnaded facades, with symbols of the goddess and allegorical figures of learning presented in low relief. Inside is a large statue of Verena, normally seated with a book in her lap, a pair of scales in her left hand, and her right hand resting on the hilt of a sword. Smaller rooms lead off from the main temple, including a library and chambers for the attendant priests. Each temple has at least one meeting room where negotiations can take place under the eyes of the goddess.
Penances
Penances set by Verena normally involve the recovery or preservation of knowledge, the righting of an injustice, or the resolution of a dispute. Cultists may also be sent to recover a long forgotten book of lore, or to mediate in a difficult quarrel. This could be anything from a farmers’ boundary dispute to unpicking the complicated politics of two realms on the brink of war.
Strictures
• Never refuse to arbitrate a dispute when asked.
• Always tell the truth without fear or favor.
• Protect knowledge at all costs.
• Combat must be a last resort when all alternative routes are fruitless.
• Never become a tool of injustice or heresy.
Seat of Power: Middenheim, Middenland
Head of the Cult: Ar-Ulric
Primary Orders: Order of the Howling Wolf, Order of the Knights of the White Wolf
Major Festivals: Campaign Start, Hochwinter, Campaign End
Popular Holy Books: Liber Lupus, Teutognengeschichte, The Ulric Creed
Common Holy Symbols: White Wolves, stylised ‘U’s, claws
Ulric is the ferocious God of Wolves, Winter, and Warfare. He is the brother of Taal and, according to Ulrican lore, the king of the gods, although other cults dispute this. He is normally portrayed as a massive, heavily bearded barbarian wearing a white wolfpelt cloak, and bearing a mighty war-axe named Blitzbeil. He’s a distant, harsh, and unforgiving god who expects his cultists to rely on individual strength and prowess. He despises weakness, cowardice, and trickery, and favours the direct approach in all matters.
Worshipers
Ulric’s cult is strongest in the north of the Empire. The city-state of Middenheim, with its enormous high temple to Ulric, is the heart of his cult, and the god is regarded as the city’s patron. Elsewhere, he is worshipped mainly by warriors and soldiers. Devout Ulricans can usually be spotted by their long hair and beards, for most choose not to cut it, imitating their wild deity. Ulric’s cult is split into just two orders: the priestly Howling Wolves, and the templar White Wolves. The Howling Wolves are not very popular outside Middenland and Nordland, viewed by most folk to be too coarse for this enlightened era. By comparison, the Knights of the White Wolf are enormously popular, easily the largest knightly order in the Empire, and the oldest templar order in the Old World. Ulric’s priests wear black robes with a howling white wolf emblem on the chest. A wolf pelt across the shoulders is also common, as is fur trimmings.
Holy Sites
Ulric’s high temple is in Middenheim, and the cult’s leader, Ar- Ulric (which means the son of Ulric), has enormous temporal and spiritual sway. At the back of the high temple lies the Flame of Ulric, a huge, ever-burning, argent fire granted by the winter god to guide his people. This miracle is the focus of several pilgrimage routes, and all Ulricans of Middenland are expected to bathe in its cold light at least once in their lives. Smaller temples are found in every city and town of any size, but are grander and more numerous in the north than in the south. Chapels and shrines can be found in barracks and forts throughout the Old World.
Temples resemble fortified keeps and are normally square. The interior of the main hall is lit by small windows high in the walls, and by an ever-stocked fire in a circular hearth tended by the priesthood. Behind the fire, usually against a rear wall, stands a statue of Ulric enthroned, often flanked by a pair of enormous wolves. Shrines are similar but smaller, with a lamp in place of a fire and small statues just a foot or two tall.
Penances
Penances set by Ulric are almost always tests of strength, courage, and martial skill. Slaying a powerful monster, or clearing out a nest of Beastmen or outlaws, are typical tasks.
Strictures
• Obey your betters.
• Defend your honour in all matters, and never refuse a challenge.
• Stand honest and true; outside an ambush, trickery and deception are forbidden.
• Only wear pelts from wolves killed by weapons crafted of your own hands.
• Blackpowder, helmets, crossbows, and technology are not Ulric’s way.
Seat of Power: Talabheim, Talabecland
Head of the Cult: The Hierarch
Primary Orders: Order of the Antler, The Longshanks
Major Festivals: Spring Equinox, with other equinoxes also celebrated
Popular Holy Books: The Book of Green, Rites of the Ancient Grove, Tome of Summer’s Path
Common Holy Symbols: Antlers, oaks, stone axes
Taal is the God of Wild Places and Animals, and the King of Nature. He is the husband to Rhya, and father to Manaan, and is perceived by Taalites to be the king of the gods, though other cults dispute this. All nature is under his purview, from the snaking rivers to the tallest mountains, from the smallest insect to the greatest beast. He is normally portrayed as a powerfully built, virile man with long, wild hair and great spreading antlers, and is known for his volatile moods and his need to hunt.
Worshipers
Rural folk across the Old World venerate Taal, and any who make their living in wild places take care not to offend him. Taal is the patron deity of Talabecland in the Empire, where his cult holds significant sway, influencing all levels of society.
Taal’s cult has a variety of smaller orders dedicated to holy sites and groves throughout the Old World, but two orders drive the cult forwards. The Order of the Antler are the priests of the cult, who are tasked to teach Taal’s ways and protect the wild places from intrusion.
These Taalites are particularly widespread in Talabecland, and their forest temples are hubs of activity for rural folk. The Longshanks are a mix of warrior-priest and templar who typically wander as individuals, cleansing Taal’s wild places of corruption and ensuring rural communities do nothing to upset Father Taal.
Holy Sites
Normally, temples to Taal are small, rustic affairs, built of wood and rough stone in a manner unchanged for countless centuries. They are usually sited close to natural features of wonder such as waterfalls, swirling pools, and mountains, and often have small sweat lodges attached. The high temple of Taal in Talabheim is something of an anomaly when compared to this. It appears more a well-maintained, albeit wild, noble garden than a temple, and huge services are held there under the spreading rowan trees weekly.
Officially, the Hierarch leads the cult from there, though he spends most of his time in the wild groves of the nearby Taalgrunhaar Forest. Shrines to Taal are barely structures at all. Some old trees are regarded as sacred, and offerings pile up at their bases. Caves, forest groves, and other natural places are also used as shrines, and usually only a local or a devout follower of Taal can find them.
Penances
Taal’s penances usually involve clearing diseased or mutated monsters from wild areas, replanting sacred trees, and maintaining groves important to the cult. A cultist might also be ordered to climb a high mountain and leave a stone on a cairn at the top, or clear an obstruction at the top of a waterfall. Whatever the specific task that must be undertaken, Taal’s penances almost always challenge the cultist to survive in the wild.
Strictures
• Offer a prayer of thanks for every animal taken.
• Spend a week alone communing with the wilderness every year.
• Eschew metal armour; clad yourself in the hides of Taal.
• Rely on your own skill, not the advances of gunpowder or cold technology.
• Never harm an animal except in self-defence or for food or sacrifice.
Seat of Power: Altdorf, Reikland
Head of the Cult: The Grand Theogonist
Primary Orders: Order of the Anvil, Order of the Cleansing Flame, Order of the Silver Hammer, Order of the Torch
Major Festivals: Sigmarday (28th Sigmarzeit)
Popular Holy Books: The Book of Sigmar, Deus Sigmar, The Geistbuch
Common Holy Symbols: Ghal-maraz (Sigmar’s Warhammer), twin-tailed comets, griffons
Sigmar is the Empire’s patron, and his cult dominates the realm. Because Sigmar was once the emperor, his worship is inextricably interwoven with politics, and three of the cult’s highest-ranking members are directly involved with electing new emperors. According to legend, 2,500 years ago Sigmar’s birth was heralded by a twin-tailed comet, and he was born the first son of the chief of the Unberogen tribe. When older, he received the magical warhammer Ghal-maraz (‘Skull-splitter’) as a gift from the Dwarf king Kurgan Ironbeard for saving his life from Greenskins. Sigmar later allied with the Dwarfs and their combined forces defeated the Greenskins. He was then crowned as the first emperor of the Human tribes he’d united. After fifty years of extraordinary rule, Sigmar mysteriously vanished, only to later ascend to divinity, crowned as a god by Ulric, Sigmar’s patron in life.
Worshipers
Most folk of the Empire pay at least lip-service to their patron deity. In the most devout provinces, like Reikland, Sigmar worship is an unquestioned part of daily life. Folk attend weekly ‘throngs’ where the lessons of Sigmar are preached. Many also attend temple to train as local militia, confess sins and purify the soul, or receive advice on how to be more like the God-King of old. Sigmar’s cult is comprised of an uncounted number of different orders. The largest is the Order of the Torch: Sigmar’s priests who lead their local communities. Other orders of importance include: the Order of the Cleansing Flame, comprised of inquisitors and witch hunters; the Order of the Silver Hammer, which includes warrior priests and yet more witch hunters; and the Order of the Anvil, a monastic order concerned with preserving Sigmar’s deeds and laws. The cult also has many templar orders. The most famous are the proud Knights of Sigmar’s Blood, the fanatical Knights of the Fiery Heart, and the militaristic Knights Griffon. Given the cult is so large, there are many different uniforms, vestments, and robes worn, all of which have different colors, cuts, and accessories according to local tradition and requirement.
Holy Sites
Every city, town, and village in the Empire has at least one temple to Sigmar. The Grand Cathedral in Altdorf is staffed by hundreds of priests and lay workers, and guarded by at least two orders of templars; at the other end of the scale, a village chapel may be visited just once every week by a travelling priest, who serves the needs of several small settlements. Shrines can be found in most homes, and wayshrines dot every major highway, mostly marked with hammers or comets.
Penances
Sigmarite cultists may be ordered to destroy a cell of Chaos worshipers, or expose a corrupt official who is secretly in league with the Ruinous Powers or a foreign power. It is also common to be tasked with building, or rebuilding, local communities to better promote unity and strength in the Empire.
Strictures
• Obey your orders.
• Aid Dwarf-folk, never do them harm.
• Promote the unity of the Empire.
• Bear true allegiance to the imperial throne.
• Root out Greenskins, Chaos worshipers, and foul witches without mercy.
Seat of Power: Couronne, Bretonnia
Head of the Cult: Grande Matriarch
Primary Orders: Order of the Bleeding Heart, Order of the Chalice
Major Festivals: None
Popular Holy Books: The Book of Suffering, Livre des Larmes, The Testament of Pergunda
Common Holy Symbols: White doves, keys, heart with a drop of blood
Shallya is the Goddess of Healing, Mercy, and Compassion. She is the daughter of Verena and Morr, and the sister of Myrmidia. Shallya is normally portrayed as a young, beautiful maiden whose eyes are perpetually welling with tears as she weeps for the world’s pain. It is said Shallya’s compassion knows no bounds, and in some myths — such as the stories of Ranald tricking her into granting him immortality, or Manaan trapping her at the bottom of the sea — she seems trusting to the point of foolishness. However, her cultists maintain her mercy is available to all, without judgment. True foolishness consists of presuming to judge who is worthy of Shallya’s grace and who is not.
Worshipers
Most Old Worlders think of Shallya’s cult as composed of healers and physicians, but her worshippers also include many who work to help alleviate suffering of other kinds: charitable souls who help the poor; workers in orphanages, asylums, and refuges; and even brave folk who go in search of lost and missing people on behalf of their loved ones. The cult is ruled by the far-reaching Order of the Bleeding Heart, which maintains all the temples, hospices, mercyhouses, and other holy sites. The significantly smaller Order of the Chalice tasks its mendicants to cleanse the Fly Lord’s influence, tackling the worst diseases and plagues wherever they may fester.
Shallya’s cultists all wear white robes, often hooded, with a bleeding heart symbol embroidered on the left breast.
Holy Sites
The high temple of all Shallya’s cult is in Couronne, Bretonnia, built over a famous healing spring. Locals claim the magical waters were once poured there from the same chalice Shallya used to grant Ranald immortality, which they claim is the holy grail of the Lady, the patron Goddess of Bretonnia. Whatever the truth, it is a popular destination for pilgrims, many of whom travel there to be healed from intractable disease. Elsewhere, every town or city of any size has a temple to Shallya, and most smaller settlements have at least a shrine dedicated to her. Temples of Shallya normally consist of a courtyard with a temple on one side and an infirmary on the other, all constructed in southern styles. Larger temples have smaller subsidiary chapels, commonly endowed by local families, and are often connected to hospitals. Shrines are usually simple, often with the dove or heart of Shallya carved into stone, or with small fountains gushing eternal tears from simple statues.
Penances
Penances set by Shallya always involve helping the sick, poor, or downtrodden. A cultist might be sent to a village struck by a plague to tend the sick until the disease has passed. Shallya often tasks her servants to help the wounded at war, or patrol popular pilgrimage routes for those unable to complete their journeys due to ill health.
Strictures
• Always render assistance without judgement, based only on a person’s need.
• Never kill except in self-defense or when facing followers of the Fly Lord.
• Hunt down servants of the Fly Lord wherever they may fester.
• Shallya’s work is never done, so turn not to self-indulgence.
• Never take up arms; a walking stick and courage will suffice.
Seat of Power: Magritta, Estalia
Head of the Cult: La Aguila Ultima
Primary Orders: Order of the Eagle, Order of the Righteous Spear, Order of the Blazing Sun
Major Festivals: None in the Empire
Popular Holy Books: Bellona Myrmidia, Bellum Strategia, The Book of War
Common Holy Symbols: Spear behind a shield, eagles, suns
In the Empire, bronzed Myrmidia, daughter of Verena and Morr, sister of Shallya, is the Goddess of Strategy and Scientific Warfare. However, in the sun-drenched south, Myrmidia is much more than this: she acts as the patron deity of both the Estalian Kingdoms and the Tilean City States, and is fanatically worshiped in both realms. Because of this, her cult is the largest in the Old World, for all it has a limited presence in the Empire. She is commonly portrayed as a tall, muscular, young woman armed and equipped in archaic, southern stylings. She is known for her calm, honorable approach to all matters, and her clerics do what they can to emulate this.
Worshipers
Myrmidia grants generals the insight to win battles with minimal losses, and soldiers the skill-at-arms to defeat enemies quickly and without significant losses. Because of this, her cult is steadily growing among the armies and garrisons of the Empire, especially in the Reikland, Averland, and Wissenland.
In the Empire, the cult has three orders of significance. The Order of the Eagle tends to the temples and their surrounding communities, and is led from Nuln by the ‘Eagle of the North’, the most powerful Myrmidian north of the Vaults. The templar Order of the Righteous Spear has a chapterhouse attached to each of these temples, each commanded by the local high priest. A second templar order, the Order of the Blazing Sun, is the oldest Myrmidian order in the Empire, and works independently of the Order of the Eagle.
Myrmidia’s clerics in the Empire normally wear blue cowls over white robes with red edging, with her symbol either sewn onto the left breast or worn as a cloak-clasp.
Holy Sites
Most of Myrmidia’s holy sites are found in Estalia and Tilea, and are associated with the goddess’s campaigns across those realms when she manifested as a mortal over two-thousand years ago. In the Empire, the goddess has much less of a presence, with temples only in major towns and cities, and only a single monastic order cloistered in the Monastery of the Black Maiden in Wissenland. Temples to Myrmidia tend to follow the architectural styles of Tilea and Estalia, with domed roofs covering square or rectangular halls. Their exteriors are often carved with low reliefs showing battle scenes or tableaux of weapons and shields. Shrines may take the form of miniature temples, statues of the goddess, or free-standing sculptures of stacked weapons, shields, and armour. Myrmidia’s holy sites are also known for their scandalous depictions of the goddess and her saints, who are often presented wearing little more than scarves about their waists, which many Sigmarites find completely unacceptable.
Penances
Penances from Myrmidia are usually military in nature. A cultist may be ordered to defeat an enemy champion in single combat, or to train a group of peasants and lead them in the defence of their village. Protecting pilgrimage routes to sites of importance to Myrmidia are also not uncommon.
Strictures
• Act with honour and dignity in all matters.
• Respect prisoners of war, and never kill an enemy who surrenders.
• Show no mercy to the unrepentant enemies of Humanity.
• Obey all honourable orders.
• Preserve the weak from the horrors of war.
Seat of Power: None officially
Head of the Cult: None officially, though rumors persist of a cult leader marked with ten crosses
Primary Orders: The Crosses, the Brotherhood, the Crooked Fingers
Major Festivals: The Day of Folly
Popular Holy Books: The Riddles Ten, Midnight and the Black Cat, The Great Joke
Common Holy Symbols: Crossed fingers, Cats, Magpies
According to myth, Ranald was once mortal, a gentle bandit who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. This so charmed Shallya that the goddess fell in love. One fateful day, she found Ranald dying, fatally touched by the plagues of the Fly Lord. Unable to accept this, she let Ranald drink from her holy chalice, granting the rogue eternal life. But it was all a trick — Ranald had faked it all — and, laughing, the new god gleefully danced into the heavens. While generally portrayed as a dapper Human wearing a perpetual smile, there is little consistency to the height, weight, skin colour, or even gender of Ranald, though the god is more commonly portrayed as male in the Empire. More a cheerful trickster than outright criminal, Ranald is said to have a love of deflating pride with clever tricks and ruses.
Worshipers
Ranald most commonly stands as a patron to thieves and rogues, but the cult also attracts gamblers, liars, merchants, tricksters, and the poor and downtrodden.
The cult of Ranald is, by general perception, a disorganised rabble of charlatans, thieves, and ne’er-do-wells. However, it is more coordinated than it appears, and split into three primary orders. The Crosses are the most accepted — a priesthood overseeing the cult’s gambling-dens, typically using the proceeds to administer to the poor. The Brotherhood is less open, and is somewhat akin to a secret society of merchants — they use business to bring the pompous and greedy to their knees. Lastly, and most widespread, is the publicly disavowed Crooked Fingers, the thieves, rogues, and liars of Ranald, a group that is roundly distrusted.
Cultists of Ranald have no conventional garb to identify them, but always work cross symbols into their clothing somewhere, perhaps as a repeating pattern.
Holy Sites
Ranald has no formal temple organisation, although the cult maintains seemingly unconnected gambling dens in most towns and cities. Small shrines are found in the headquarters of many criminal gangs and merchant houses, and the poorer quarters of many cities have street-corner shrines dedicated to the God of Luck. The latter are often maintained by local ‘shrine clubs’ which operate as both social and religious bodies, and are usually led by one of the Crooked Fingers. Shrines are almost never elaborate, often just a simple, smiling statue with crossed fingers behind the back, or a crudely depicted cat or magpie, often fashioned as if smiling.
Penances
Ranald’s penances usually involve stealing into locked and guarded locations to recover precious items or leave a token of their presence. Humiliating oppressors of the poor is also common — perhaps by framing a brutal Watch captain for a ludicrous crime, for example, or locking him in his own cells. Ranald often sends favored and disfavored cultists alike on a ‘Pilgrimage of Fingers’, a set of tasks proving capability and loyalty.
Strictures
• One coin in ten belongs to Ranald.
• Never betray another to the authorities; there is no greater sin than informing.
• Violence is prohibited except in self-defense.
• It is better to live free and die than live under oppression.
• There is no honor among thieves, but there is amongst Ranaldans.
Seat of Power: None officially
Head of the Cult: None
Primary Orders: None
Major Festivals: Summer Solstice, with equinoxes also celebrated
Popular Holy Books: None, though many oral traditions exist
Common Holy Symbols: Sheaf of wheat, fruit, spirals
Bountiful Rhya is the Goddess of Fertility and Summer, widely known as the Earth Mother and She Who Sustains Life. Though typically depicted as the wife of Taal, myths connect her to many gods, and she has children from many of those relationships. Most commonly portrayed as a tall, beautiful women wreathed in leaves and bedecked in fruit, Rhya’s statues are normally nude, pregnant, and surrounded by her children. Many theologians tie Rhya to the Old Faith, a prehistoric cult comprised of ancient farmers and hunters who wrested a living from the land before the Empire was born, and one still found in secluded communities to this day.
Worshipers
Rural folk across the Old World venerate Rhya, relying on her to provide the crops upon which their lives depends. Womanfolk comprise the main body of the cult, and most midwives pay at least lip-service to Rhya’s Wisdom, a set of oral traditions surrounding childbirth. Although she is not openly worshiped in the towns and cities — townsfolk often turning to Shallya in her stead — her name is frequently tied with Taal’s, so she is still well known amongst such people.
Because the cult has no great temples and protects no holy books or relics of significance, many scholars believe her worship to be declining, and possibly already dead. Her many cultists do nothing to contradict such talk.
Rhya’s cultists have no fixed vestment or preferred garb, though greens are very common, as is using plants, flowers, or herbs to accessorize any clothing. They often dress in a fashion considered far too revealing by Sigmarite doctrine, which can cause friction as the Rhyans believe giving in to such prudishness is tantamount to encouraging the Prince of Excess into your lives, as it builds forbidden desires. Devotees of Sigmar invariably disagree, believing abstinence and restricting temptation is a better response to such dangers than indulgence.
Holy Sites
Rhya has no large temples, though many ancient sites constructed from oghams (standing stones) are centers of worship for her cult, and some still echo each equinox with the cries of fevered celebrants.
Shrines to Rhya are usually simple statues of the goddess, often piled high with offerings of food and drink. Older shrines are often made of small standing stones marked with worn, spiralled patterns.
Penances
Rhyan penances may involve replanting devastated areas, helping broken households, and maintaining sacred groves. It is also common to find Rhyans tasked to protect helpless families, which can often put them at odds with local bailiffs and law enforcement.
Strictures
• Defend families, children, and crops from all harm.
• Never feel shame for the flesh Rhya gave you.
• Life is sacred, do no harm lest another life is in danger.
• Never judge whom another loves.
• Interrupt the work of the Prince of Excess wherever it may thirst.
Seat of Power: Luccini, Tilea
Head of the Cult: Custode del Portale
Primary Orders: Order of the Shroud, Order of the Black Guard, Order of the Augurs
Major Festivals: Hexensnacht, Geheimisnacht
Popular Holy Books: The Book of Doorways, Libro Dei Morti, Thernodies of the Raven
Common Holy Symbols: Portals, Ravens, Black Roses
Urbane Morr, God of Death and King of the Underworld, is husband to Verena, brother to murderous Khaine, and father of Myrmidia and Shallya. He sends divine ravens to guide dead souls to the Portal, the pillared gateway between the mortal realms and the realm of the gods. He then leads each soul from there to its final resting place: either Morr’s Underworld, or the afterlife of another god. He is commonly portrayed as a tall, darkhaired man of aristocratic bearing, with a brooding, intense air.
Worshipers
Outside Ostermark, where Morr has special importance, few wish to attract the God of Death’s attention, so normally only the bereaved pray to him. However, those desperate or brave enough may pray for dreams of what the future may bring, though it is said he rarely divulges anything not associated with dying.
The Order of the Shroud dominates the cult, directly controlling all other orders and the Mourners’ Guild, those responsible for overseeing burials and burial grounds. Supporting them, the Black Guard are the cult’s largest templar order, tasked to guard temples and hunt down the Undead. The Order of Augurs may be small, but it guides the leadership with its foretellings, and organises the Order of Doomsayers: these wandering priests of Morr tour the land performing Doomings for all Human children on their tenth year. Bringing them all together, every decade a grand convocation of the priesthood of Morr is held at Luccini in Tilea, where the future for the cult is discussed around city-wide festivities.
All Morr’s clerics wear plain, black, hooded robes without adornment or trimming.
Holy Sites
Temples of Morr are within Gardens of Morr: great graveyards wrapped with black roses that bloom all year, and are rarely used for anything other than funeral services. Most are plain structures of dark stone, distinguished by a broad doorway with a heavy lintel-stone — representing Morr’s Portal. The doors are always open, like the doors to the Kingdom of Death. Inside, the temples are bare. Any necessary furniture and other equipment is kept in storage until it is needed for a funeral service. Shrines to Morr also take the form of a gateway, usually consisting of two plain pillars and a lintel. In some cases, one pillar is white marble and the other black basalt.
Penances
Morr’s penances typically involve hunting Necromancers and destroying Undead, or finding and restoring burial places and holy sites fallen to disuse and disrepair. He also occasionally requires servants of Khaine be stopped from fulfilling their dark deeds.
Strictures
• Respect and protect the dead.
• Hunt down Necromancers and the Undead wherever they may gather.
• Pay heed to your dreams.
• Never refuse to conduct a funeral service.
• At no time be a party to raising the dead, unless allowed by Morr.
Seat of Power: Marienburg, the Wasteland
Head of the Cult: Matriarch of the Sea
Primary Orders: Order of the Albatross, Order of the Mariner
Major Festivals: Spring Equinox, Autumn Equinox
Popular Holy Books: The 1000 Shanties, Tales of the Albatross, Liber Manaan
Common Holy Symbols: Five-tined Crown, Waves, Anchors
Volatile Manann, the son of Taal and Rhya, is the capricious King of the Sea, Master of the Maelstroms, and Summoner of Storms. Known for his black moods and erratic temper, folk claim his cult is needed more than any other, for if ever there is a god that must be appeased, it’s Manaan. He’s depicted as an enormous, blackbearded man with seaweed in his hair and a great, five-pointed crown of black iron upon his troubled brow. He’s said to dwell at the bottom of the ocean, the rise and fall of his massive chest forming the waves and tides as the greatest monsters of the deep gather in his court.
Worshipers
Manann is worshipped along coasts throughout the Old World, wherever people make their living from the sea or live close enough for storms and floods to threaten their homes. Even those who know little of Manann will throw a coin or other small treasure into the water before beginning a sea voyage in the hope of a smooth crossing.
The cult has a significant number of orders, mostly monastic, tasked to guard isolated, sacred islands. The Order of the Albatross is largest, comprised of priests who maintain temples across the Old World and bless merchant or naval vessels with their presence. Often accompanying them, the Order of the Mariner is the military arm of Manann, the cult’s templar-marines, sworn protectors of Marienburg.
Manann’s clerics usually wear robes of dark greenish-blue or blue-grey, trimmed with a white wave-pattern.
Holy Sites
Manann’s temples are found in all coastal towns and cities, and in most river ports where seagoing vessels berth. The high temple is in the great port-city of Marienburg: a huge, lavishly decorated complex open to the tides. The Matriarch of the Sea, head of the Order of the Albatross, is based there, a woman who ostensibly leads the entire cult of Manann, although in practice the sea-god’s clerics are as mercurial as their god, and as likely to be stubborn as to serve. The cult also maintains many monasteries and abbeys on small isolated islands, most dedicated to one of Manann’s many saints.
Penances
Penances from Manann often involve hazardous, maritime pilgrimages, tests of sailing skills, or expeditions against the sea-god’s enemies, especially followers of the heretical cult of Stromfels, God of Pirates, Wreckers, and Sharks.
Strictures
• No whistling or swearing when at sea or on holy ground.
• Never harm an albatross.
• First catch to Manann.
• A silver and fish to every Manannite temple and shrine approached.
• Hunt down the servants of Stromfels wherever they may hide.
The following summarises WFRP’s 10 Characteristics. Each has a number typically ranging from 20–90. These numbers are used by Tests (see the Tests Reference Sheet).
Weapon Skill (WS): Your skill at fighting hand-to-hand, your ability to land a measured blow, and effectiveness in the free-for-all of a massed melee. It is also used for unarmed combat, where your body is the weapon!
Ballistic Skill (BS): Your effectiveness at hitting with ranged weapons like bows and throwing knives, and for throwing things generally. It is also used as the basis for other ranged attacks like Trolls vomiting.
Strength (S): How strong you are, impacting how much damage you inflict in combat, how much you can lift, and how good you are at activities like swimming and climbing.
Toughness (T): Your endurance. It helps you survive damage in combat but will also help with things like surviving harsh conditions and standing up to poison.
Initiative (I): Speed of thought and reaction, especially in the heat of battle and when under pressure. It determines combat order, and helps you be the first to react to danger. It also determines your powers of intuition and perception.
Agility (Ag): Physical coordination and the basis for things like running, riding, and hiding. Agility is also used for dodging blows in combat.
Dexterity (Dex): Your affinity for performing fine and delicate manual tasks like playing a musical instrument or skilled manufacturing. It will also help you with things like sleight of hand and picking pockets.
Intelligence (Int): Your powers of thought, analysis, and understanding. Useful for healing, evaluating, and general knowledge, and vital for the understanding and casting of magical spells.
Willpower (WP): General strength of mind, and your ability to shrug off difficulty and plough on with the job in hand. It helps with resisting all sorts of influence and coercion, and guards against fear and terror.
Fellowship (Fel): Your ability to get on with people and come across as generally pleasant and acceptable. It will help you when chatting to locals or commanding people in battle, charming the guards or attempting to bribe them, and, for pious characters, communicating with your deity.
The first or ‘tens’ digit of each Characteristic is its bonus value. So Strength 35 has a Strength Bonus of 3, and a Toughness of 47 has a Toughness Bonus of 4. Characteristic Bonuses are used in a variety of different ways throughout the rules, especially in combat.
Wounds (W): Your Wounds show how much Damage you can endure based on your physical power and your force of will to shrug off injury.
Movement (M): Movement is used to determine your Walk and Run speed. Standard Human Movement is 4. If using a grid for movement this indicates how many squares you can move in a Round, or inches across the table top. Over the longer term it indicates how many miles per hour you can comfortably travel on foot.
Warriors rely on their physical prowess; these people are all trained fighters, although they are not necessarily from the military. Warriors come from many backgrounds, both high and low Status, and all can carve out a position of influence if they live long enough.
Career options:
Eligible Races: Human
You bring divinity to the thick of battle, slaying the enemies of the Empire with righteous fury.
Career Path: Novitiate > Warrior Priest > Priest Sergeant > Priest Captain
Some cults of the Empire have clerics trained for war. In the Reikland, the Warrior Priests of Sigmar are the most common example of this, and most armies of the Empire are accompanied by hammerbearing priests encouraging the soldiers in the name of Sigmar. But other cults, especially those of Myrmidia, Ulric, Taal, and Morr, have Warrior Priests of their own, each with their unique views as to how war should be conducted. Away from the battlefield, Warrior Priests are also expected to administer to soldiers’ spiritual wellbeing, as well as making sure morale stays high and discipline is ordered. Some orders of Warrior Priests swear oaths to roam the Empire, seeking heresy wherever it lies, helping where they can. Others prefer not to join armies, but lead them…
Holger Kass, 1st Bögenhafen Halberdiers:
Surrounded, we were, Greenskins on all sides. They knew we were
done. Then the priest raises his hammer towards the sky and bellows
his prayer. And as the words echoed to silence, the lightning struck.
And we were all unharmed, I swear to Sigmar. But the Goblins? All
dead.
While many Warrior Priests stay with the army, some serve their cult in missionary work, and others wander the Empire as they will. As such, Warrior Priests can be natural adventurers. Of course, to pursue leads to the ends of the Empire they might require the permission of their cult, and perhaps their commanders.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You are paid to train, be disciplined, and, when the need comes, go to war.
Career Path: Recruit > Soldier > Sergeant > Officer
By the command of Emperor Magnus the Pious after the Great War Against Chaos, all provinces of the Empire had to maintain a standing State Army. Soldiers are the mainstay of these armies, trained to fight as part of a larger group with individual skill supplemented by strength in numbers. Rarely encouraged to think for themselves, Soldiers are famous for their stoic fatalism as they are ordered from pillar to post in the service of their betters. Soldiers could be archers, crossbowmen, halberdiers, handgunners, swordsmen, or spearmen, and that’s just in a typical State regiment. Dwarfs employ soldiers like Hammerers and Thunderers, while Elven rank and file are usually archers and spearmen. There are many other Soldiers, such as Mercenaries, local Militias (which are rarely better than Recruits), private armies, cult forces, and more.
Holger Kass, 1st Bögenhafen Halberdiers:
Go down to the bottom of the hill, the captain told us. So we did, and
the general told us to go up to the top of the hill and await further
orders. Then the captain told us we were wanted at the bottom.
Marching Song, Reikland 118th Regiment of Foot, ‘The Greenbacks’:
Though Lords and Ladies come and go,
A soldier’s life is all I know,
Karl-Franz commands, and we obey,
O’er the hills and far away.
Soldiers have little free time, but they still have adventuring opportunities. Outside campaigning season, many receive extended periods of leave. Officers of the State Armies can also command small bands of Soldiers to investigate unusual happenings in their regiment’s ‘territory’ and some officers view this kind of adventuring as excellent training to keep their Soldiers sharp. Non-human Soldiers will often be on missions in the Empire that are adventures by their very nature.
Eligible Races: Dwarf
You are rage and shame incarnate, seeking a worthy death to reclaim your lost honour.
Career Path: Troll Slayer > Giant Slayer > Dragon Slayer > Daemon Slayer
When Dwarfs suffer an unacceptable shame and lose their honour, they take the Slayer’s Oath and walk the path of Grimnir, their ancestral god of warriors. Covering their bodies in tattoos, shaving the sides of their head, dying their remaining hair a brilliant orange, and spiking it with animal grease, they set off into the world, axe in hand, seeking a glorious death.
Slayers wander the Old World hunting deadly beasts, such as Trolls, Giants, or Dragons. Because of the shame they carry, many suffer from bouts of depression, glutting themselves on food, alcohol, or stronger stimulants. The more foes Slayers face and survive, the more dangerous and crazed they become, hunting progressively deadlier creatures in the hopes of finding something that can kill them.
Dimrond Zindrisson, Miner:
We avoid them, if given the choice. They are outcasts and have no
honour, only the hope of reclaiming such. Still, we’ll feed them, and
give them a place to rest. They are Grimnir’s Chosen, now…
Regimius, Stevedore:
Herwig didn’t mean nothing by it, honest. He just asked why the
Dwarf had them strange tattoos. It happened so fast, I didn’t even see
the Dwarf move, just Herwig hitting the floor.
Gotrek Gurnisson, Slayer:
We’re all going to die, manling. It’s the manner of our going that
counts.
Till they fall in battle, a Slayer’s life is one of adventure — they seek out opportunities to face powerful foes in battle. Slayers will occasionally take other odd jobs, for drinking money or to finance their travels, but will seek death along the way. All Slayers previously had a life and a career, so there is more to them than simply being a warrior with a deathwish.
Playing a Slayer is a unique experience because your character wants to die. Embrace this. Seek a mighty doom. Reclaim your honour. Die well.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, High Elf, Human
A strong-arm for hire, you bully, fight, and maybe even kill for coin.
Career Path: Braggart > Protagonist > Hitman > Assassin
Protagonists live by their wits and their muscles and are not generally fussy about the sort of work they take on. A merchant might want to frighten their business rival. An employer might decide his workers need a bit of encouragement to get a job done quicker. A noble might want his daughter’s no-good suitor to be frightened off. Protagonists are the ones they turn to, and those with the worst reputation get the best jobs. A Protagonist could be the brute in the local bar everyone knows will bully for coin, or with the reputation for unflinching violence. Some Protagonists have their own code of what they will or won’t do; others care for nothing but the coin. Some are simple bullies who resort to picking arguments and fights with likely looking targets to see if they can score any money from the situation.
Gilly Three Knives, Protagonist:
Remember Thommy Two Knives? I’m not saying he crossed me. I’m
just saying you don’t see him walking round town no more, do you?
Toni Miragliano, Lotus Dealer:
Yeah, Big Yuri came round and destroyed all my merchandise. Said
this town was only big enough for one lotus dealer, and that was that.
I completely agreed, so I doubled his pay and sent him back to White
Tiger’s den. And that was the end of that.
On the face of it, Protagonists are always up for an adventure because they’re always up for a fight. But they will usually expect to get paid for services rendered. Whether they will join others without a guarantee of payment is a question they will need to ask themselves. Could a hardened protagonist find a cause they will voluntarily pursue? Perhaps they could even turn over a new leaf?
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You fight for money, for glory, and for the entertainment of the masses.
Career Path: Pugilist > Pit Fighter > Pit Champion > Pit Lord
Watching fights is a popular pastime. In the cities, organised fights take place every night. There is money to be made charging spectators, and even more in gambling on the result. Winners earn coin and are celebrated as local heroes. Losers are hurt or killed. Because pit fighting is officially frowned upon, the fights are often controlled by criminal gangs, but the rich love to slum it on occasion, especially if it involves a little bloodshed. The gladiators of Tilea are the most renowned pit fighters, though the chain-fighters of Marienburg and bear wrestlers of Kislev draw a crowd. Pugilists and wrestlers might work a travelling fair, challenging the public to survive three minutes in the ring with them, or they might fight a celebrated opponent in front of cheering crowds. Knives, clubs, chains, boxing, wrestling, there is an almost endless variation of styles and codes a Pit Fighter might adopt.
Sigurda the Bull, Arm Wrestler:
It was my big chance. The biggest fight of my life. Then the Hooks
came and told me to go down in the fourth or they’d chop off my
hand. Well, you know me, of course I went and won anyway. And I’ve
no regrets. After all, there are lots of things you can do with one hand.
Raimund Heenan, Ring Announcer:
Roll up! Roll up! Dare you face the might of Gosser Papa? Could you
last three minutes with Resige Heuhaufer?
Many Pit Fighters fall into their sport because they have the talent and they simply need the money. Some would jump at the chance to leave their seedy world behind and put their talents to a slightly better use. Fortunately, Pit fighters are generally free to use their time as they will, provided they turn up on time for the next big fight, and even if they don’t, there is always another pit…
Eligible Races: High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Thundering into battle on a heavy charger, you dominate the field, spreading fear in your wake.
Career Path: Squire > Knight > First Knight > Knight of the Inner Circle
Many believe heavy cavalry are the pre-eminent warriors of the Old World. A massed charge is an awesome sight, but even alone a Knight can stand as a one-person army. There are many Knightly Orders in the Empire, the most famous including the Reiksguard, the White Wolves, the Knights Panther, and the Knights Griffon, each of which have their own gloried history and mighty heroes. Most Empire Knights belong to secular knightly orders, partly because training heavy lancers is too prohibitively expensive for most nobles. The templar orders, those dedicated to the service of a single deity are just as common but are somewhat more independent. Alongside these are an uncounted number of free-lances, mercenary knights, and disgraced knights, most of whom sell their lance to the highest bidder.
Holger Kass, 1st Bögenhafen Halberdiers:
I stood outside the shrine for thirty days and thirty nights, without
fail. No-one got in and no-one got out. Of course, it turned out I was
stood outside the wrong door.
Birgitte van der Hoogenband, Abbess-General of the Monastery of the Black Maiden, former Knight of the Blazing Sun:
Lady Myrmaelia Jaeke is the finest knight in the Order of the
Blazing Sun. How can I be so sure? Well, I used to hold that title,
and she bested me.
Knights might be asked to venture out to fulfil a duty on behalf of their Order or be sought out by nobles and employed to accompany a restless heir around the Empire. Similarly, templars will have responsibility to do their god’s will. All of these provide perfect opportunities for Knights looking to adventure. By comparison, a free-lance is just that, and a life of adventure is what they follow by default.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Your job is simple: keep undesirables out.
Career Path: Sentry > Guard > Honour Guard > Guard Officer
The best way to keep something safe is to post a guard. Guarding looks easy enough, it’s usually standing around doing very little. Guards live and die, quite literally, by how they behave during that one moment when they are required to spring into action. The best can command high wages and are entrusted with the lives of the Empire’s finest personages and most valuable items. Guards are everywhere, from the Imperial palace down to bouncers who stand outside taverns all night, ready to throw drunkards into the street. They also include grave wardens — those who defend Morr’s Gardens in the dead of night, watchful for grave robbers — and temple guards who defend holy sites and important priests. Merchants often employ many Guards to defend their valuable stock. Some claim bodyguards have it best because they stay close to their esteemed employers, and often partake of a life far beyond that which their station would normally allow.
Ernst Bluchard, Ex-Temple Guard of Manann:
I stood outside the shrine for thirty days and thirty nights, without
fail. No-one got in and no-one got out. Of course, it turned out I was
stood outside the wrong door.
Anonymous Altdorf guard to the Grand Theogonist at the coronation of Karl-Franz I, apocryphal:
If you’re not on the list, you’re not coming in!
Guards can find adventure when their guardianship is compromised. Any guard worth his salt would wish to follow up and investigate those who have thwarted them, and get whatever they were guarding back to its true owner. This could easily turn into an exciting adventure. Many of those going on expeditions will require guards to accompany them, to adventure, profit or an untimely demise.
Eligible Races: High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
A dashing and fearless rider, you bring speed, versatility, and skill-atarms to the battlefield.
Career Path: Horseman > Cavalryman > Cavalry Sergeant > Cavalry Officer
Whether it’s units of Pistoliers, Outriders, Demilancers, Horse Archers, or similar, Cavalrymen are deployed for maximum strategic advantage. On campaign, that means scouting, raiding, harassing the enemy lines, or defending foragers. On the battlefield, they are also particularly versatile, able to strike quickly and melt away. For speed of movement, scouting, versatility, and sheer élan, Cavalrymen cannot be rivalled. Swift, lightly-armoured cavalry is employed by most armies, including forces of the cults and less formal armed bands including mercenaries or private armies. Bretonnian armies make use of mounted men at arms, while Wood Elf Gladeriders are some of the most feared light cavalry in the Old World.
General Lasaal, Reikland’s 5th Regiment of Cavalry:
Any pistolier not dead by thirty is a scoundrel.
Lena Fluffe, Walfenburg baker:
An outrider came by yesterday, checking to see if we were safe. Gosh,
he was so handsome and dashing, who wouldn’t want to go outriding
with him? He grabbed my buns and was off like the wind. Never paid
for them, mind.
A cavalryman currently in the State Army is not just going to drop everything on a whim. Should they have something they wish to personally pursue, they will require permission from senior officers, perhaps buy out their commission if they have one, or go absent without leave. As an alternative, they could be ordered to investigate matters of importance by their superiors? Mercenary cavalrymen have more flexibility to strike out adventuring, being little more than hired swords.
Rogues are mostly town and city folk, these people make a living by acts considered illegal, or at least unsavoury, by most law-abiding citizens. Rogues are usually lower class, but some can make a lot of money, though they may not secure a high Status when doing so.
Career options:
Eligible Races: Human
Wilful and ambitious, you strive to master magic without an officially sanctioned licence to operate.
Career Path: Hexer > Witch > Wyrd > Warlock
Any with the rare talent to wield magic must, by law, be trained by wizards of the College of Magic. Not everyone accepts such a fate; some hide their powers or go on the run. Such folk are called Witches. They risk insanity and damnation as magic burns through them without correct tutelage, and rarely understand the nature of the forces in which they dabble. Others embrace their burgeoning powers wholeheartedly, accepting the risks. Witches come in all varieties, with the talent to wield magic playing no favourites. Some are benign figures simply seeking freedom. Others are nobles refusing to accept they are Witches, for to do so is to be disinherited. Yet others are terrified of what they may become, so run away. Whatever the case, few will admit what they are, as all risk burning by over-zealous Sigmarites.
Apprentice Franz Zimmel of the Gold Order, 3 months before being captured by a Witch Hunter:
Do you think only wizards can wield magic? Think again! I, too, have
such understanding, and I refuse to become a slave to the so-called
Colleges.
Witches lead dangerous lives. Though some pose as wizards, such deceptions are easily discerned by anyone with any knowledge of magic. Nevertheless, bands of adventurers — especially those without unwavering faith or moral qualms — rarely care for the specifics of a Witch’s education so long as the methods used are effective and have no truck with the Dark Gods. Although unsanctioned witchery is illegal — carrying the death penalty — most wizards have a brief experience as a Witch before entering the Colleges of Magic. This is acknowledged by both the Colleges and the cults, so a Witch, if discovered, should submit to the authorities. Training in the Colleges could be covered as time between adventures, meaning the Witch can return at a later date in the Wizard career, or it could become the focus of a new adventure.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You steal from others in order to line your own pockets, and you’re rather good at it.
Career Path: Prowler > Thief > Master Thief > Cat Burglar
Thieves steal all manner of wealth and goods from their fellow man. From the lowliest footpad to the wiliest burglar, the thought of an honest day’s work in return for a respectable wage is little more than a bad joke. Thieves often organize themselves into gangs alongside charlatans, racketeers, and fences to further their mutual wealth. Bitter feuds between such illicit organisations have been known to last for years or even decades. The lowliest Thieves target individuals, picking pockets or waylaying victims in rat-infested alleyways. Burglars avoid confrontation by breaking into businesses and residences, carrying off portable valuables. More ambitious thieves scope out their targets for days or weeks, even going so far as to infiltrate their target locations to get a more precise lay of the land. Working with other professional burglars, such experts can organise heists of which their lesser peers can only dream.
Alette Zimmermann, Thief, Jailed:
One creaky floorboard in the whole place and I’m the one to find it…
Marx the Mauled, Unlucky Thief:
What the…? Those aren’t dogs… they’re bears
Leonora Nithardt, Magistrate:
No, the list of charges does not include, “Stealing the magistrate’s
heart away.” You must have me confused with a magistrate who has
a heart.
Thieves who run afoul of the law are obliged to hide or flee from justice, putting many would-be inmates on the run. Sometimes the very items stolen by Thieves are of such exorbitant value or supernatural quality they seem to attract trouble like a mouldering corpse draws flies, which can lead them into all sorts of unexpected adventures. Of course, a Burglar’s talents are always valuable to adventurers, and reliable examples can expect to be wellcompensated for their skills.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You are part of an organised criminal gang, collecting debts and extorting money from the weak.
Career Path: Thug > Racketeer > Gang Boss > Crime Lord
Racketeers extort money from law-abiding citizens and merchants, providing ‘protection’ or some similar fraudulent ‘service’. If the ‘fees’ are not paid on time, the victims, their families, and their livelihoods are at considerable risk. Large gangs bribe or intimidate local authorities to ignore their activities; their Thugs are always willing to kill — or worse — to keep business running smoothly. Thugs are employed to collect debts of all kind, especially those incurred through gambling losses or high-interest-rate loans. In a world brimming with poverty, the promise of easy wealth is an allure countless fools are unable to ignore. The more organised the graft, the larger and more complex the organisations running them become. While the smallest rackets are run by small gangs with limited territory beyond a building or two, the largest can span cities or even entire provinces, and the Crime Lords who run them can wield extraordinary power.
Claus Betelhof, Well-Mannered Racketeer:
I hope you have Hazelmann’s money because I really hate the sound
of breaking fingers.
Sign in Bosco’s Bones (Altdorf gambling house):
IF YOU CAN’T PAE THE DEBT, DON’T MAKE THE BET
Bosco’s Bones Sign Addendum scrawled in chalk:
or bosco wil brake ya legs
Thugs and Racketeers are always willing to resort to threats and violence, making them valuable members of any party that expects to face aggressive opposition. Gang Bosses might even take their business on the road, looking to expand their territory or explore new opportunities for intrigue and profit. Given the competitive nature of such rackets, even the most powerful Crime Lords might find themselves deposed by opponents or treachery. Forced to hide or flee, such experienced crooks can seek to use a group of experienced adventurers to their advantage.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You prey upon travellers, extracting a toll from the vulnerable and the unsuspecting.
Career Path: Brigand > Outlaw > Outlaw Chief > Bandit King
Outlaws ply the roads of the Old World in search of vulnerable travellers and merchant caravans. They lead dangerous and often hardscrabble lives. Many do not see themselves as criminals, but as oppressed groups trying to live their lives free from outside constraints. Many Wood Elf outlaws fit this description, pushing back against the Humans proliferating at the edge of the forests, willing to take more drastic action than others of their kind. Particularly savvy and brutal Outlaws may form bands of their own, sometimes even uniting several bands under a single banner. Such Bandit Kings are feared and reviled by noble and peasant alike. Though few Outlaws discriminate in choosing their prey, some claim to protect the common man. These do-gooders focus their larceny on greedy nobles and, in return, locals may provide them with food, information, and safe harbour.
Valentin Behr, Road Warden:
They were children, not brigands. Starving, filthy, sickly. They held us
under the sight of their arrows and we stood fast… my son’s age, they
were. Children. Killed six of us…
Titus Widmann, Outlaw:
…and he says, “Titus, why d’you carry them shears?” And I says,
“These?” And he says, “Aye, those’re the only shears I see.” So I laughed
and answered: “Sometimes they don’t want to take off their rings like
I ask ’em to. When I show ’em the shears, most of ’ em change their
tune right quick. And if they don’t…’’. Hehehe.
Outlaw bands are not all wild mobs, so many can be reasoned with if approached correctly. An Outlaw might be asked to accompany a group of adventurers as a guide or to protect them, especially if the group are trying to stop unholy activity in a Bandit King’s domain. Individual Outlaws may find it simple to join an adventuring band, although they may need to disguise themselves if they go anywhere the Outlaw is wanted.
Eligible Races: Halfling, Human
You brave the threat of necromancy, stealing from the dead to line your own pockets.
Career Path: Body Snatcher > Grave Robber > Tomb Robber > Treasure Hunter
Trafficking in bodies and body parts is lucrative, with high demand from universities and physicians for fresh cadavers. As well as the scholarly market, corpses sometimes interred with all manner of valuables can be found beneath the ravenstones in the tombs of Morr’s Gardens. Because their labours are obvious, illegal, and sacrilegious, Grave Robbers usually work under cover of darkness. Body Snatchers have been known to cut out the middle man and take beggars or other unfortunates straight off the streets. Tomb Robbers avoid the legal dangers of looting the recently dead, and instead journey to ancient ruins and barrows, risking the restless dead and brigands alike. Peculiarly, some successful Treasure Hunters find themselves celebrated as heroes, their treasures sold to, and displayed by, the aristocracy. It’s even rumoured that the great wealth of one of the Knightly Orders came from a group of their members plundering a foreign tomb.
Symon Schreiber, Grave Robber:
You can’t take it with you… but I can certainly take it with me.
Tyle ‘the Ghoul’ Grubsch, Body Snatcher:
It’s not just the jewels, Herbert. Look at all the bones! There’s
professors in Altdorf who’d pay good money for these!
Lady Estelle Hauptleiter, Treasure Hunter (deceased):
The nightmares of Khemri still haunt me. The curses cast by those
long-dead tyrants have sealed my fate. I only hope Morr can put a
stop to the necromancy that rots my bones and blackens my heart.
Grave Robbers easily take to the adventuring life, especially if their nocturnal sojourns are discovered by unsympathetic authorities. They may also be sought out by antiquarians who wish to engage their expert services in the excavation of a tomb, or perhaps they will feel compelled to track down a suspected necromancer who is using corpses for nefarious purposes.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
A shrewd assessor of valuables, you’ll buy anything, legal or not, and turn it around for a tidy profit.
Career Path: Broker > Fence > Master Fence > Black Marketeer
A Fence buys thieves’ spoils and sells it on for profit, often to those unaware the goods are stolen. Successful Fences sometimes operate as pawn brokers, importers, or other merchants. Others prefer to remain mobile, trafficking only in portable items. Though the average Fence deals in goods and valuables, there are also well-informed specialists who focus on information and forbidden knowledge. Some Fences move stolen items across the Empire. A painting stolen in Altdorf is easier to sell in Talabheim to an audience unaware of the theft. When high profile items vanish, Fences are also the first individuals to be consulted by those looking to acquire them. Some Fences even take commissions from clients, connecting them with those who can steal to order.
Elene Weslach, Mover:
I know it’s stolen. You know it’s stolen. Even old Sigmar knows it’s
stolen. So when I ask you if it’s stolen, don’t insult me by telling me it
isn’t stolen. Lucky for you, I deal in stolen, so stop panicking.
‘Boil’ Vakram, Fence:
Why am I called a Fence? Well, it’s because I provide you with some
de-fence from being caught, innit. So, you go thief, and I’ll make sure
you don’t have to worry about how to shift the merchandise. Think of
me like your partner-in-crime.
The search for buyers and sellers, or the need to escape a terrible situation, can take a Fence anywhere. They can be found across the Empire and in many regions beyond its borders. Up-and-coming Brokers transport illicit goods between Old World cities in search of buyers. Others, looking to make a name for themselves elsewhere, attempt to make their own niches in existing city underworlds. Given that their interests often collide, Fences and merchants make occasional bedfellows, as well. With all of this criminal activity and movement, trouble often follows.
Eligible Races: Halfling, High Elf, Human
Unscrupulous and charming, you separate fools from their money; thankfully, there is no shortage of fools…
Career Path: Swindler > Charlatan > Con Artist > Scoundrel
A Charlatan traffics in trust, yet profits from treachery. By preying on emotions and psychological weaknesses, Charlatans offer their ‘mark’ a prize that is too good to be true. Social privilege provides no protection, and even the loftiest citizens can fall victim to a skilled Charlatan. In addition to a knack for lying, a lack of conscience is also of benefit to Charlatans.
Charlatans include Swindlers, Con Artists, Gamblers, and other Scoundrels seeking to prey on the gullible. Halflings often operate distraction cons in small family groups. Young High Elves, slumming it with Humans, treat their cons as one big game, not motivated by profit, but to prove their superiority. Some experienced Charlatans work with artists, who forge documentation for a cut of any profits.
Wolmar Rotte, Con Man:
I’ve carried this across countless leagues from the highest towers
of the Elves. See how it sparkles in the moonlight? Only magic can
cause this inner light! Unbelievable as it may be, I must grudgingly
part with it. For such power, any price is but a trifle!
Gerold Behn, Irritated Butler:
The last living heir of Lord Schwalb, you say? Hogwash! You’re the
fifth ‘heir’ to call this afternoon! How much did you pay for that scrap
of paper? Better yet, who’s the swindler what sold it to you?
To avoid rousing suspicion, Charlatans rarely stay in one area for long. Few Swindlers openly admit to their calling, preferring instead to masquerade as anyone other than themselves. Because of this, there is little stopping Charlatans from pursuing side-matters of interests; equally, afterwards, they can return to grafting anywhere with rich fools willing to part with coin on naught but a promise.
Eligible Races: Halfling, High Elf, Human
Street-wise and mercenary, you make a living selling illicit goods in the seedier side of town.
Career Path: Hustler > Bawd > Procurer > Ringleader
Bawds guide folk to establishments offering a variety of illegal and immoral services. Though many Humans and Dwarfs have objections to such activities, most Halflings and High Elves are quite matter-offact about drug-dens, brothels, or other houses of vice.
Bawds include drug-dealers, dancers, hustlers and artists’ models. Many famous masterpieces of the modern era have been posed for by Bawds plucked from the street. Traveling armies are followed by camp followers, with Bawds among them looking to make coin in any way they can. Ringleaders, proprietors of establishments where Bawds gather, can accrue significant empires providing services to all types of rogues, from fences who need discreet access to rich clients, to providing safe bolt-holes for gang bosses and crime lords.
Raynald Schmid, Bawd:
Come to the Hammer and Bucket, home of the best music and
entertainment in old Altdorf town! You will not be disappointed!
Hertel Netzhoch, Innkeep:
Scoff all you like, but those clothes cost money. For a lad born ’neath
the dung heap, he lives a life of luxury.
Bawds living in urban areas sometimes travel to flee plagues and religious persecutions, the latter of which crop up all-to-frequently in areas dominated by Sigmar worship. Others, such as those who rove with entertainers, consider travel as part and parcel of their occupation. Those who secure a patron might have significant lengths of time left to their own devices.
Riverfolk are people who live and work on the rivers and waterways that wind through the Reikland and beyond. Riverfolk all begin with low Status, but some have opportunities that can lead to a very comfortable life.
Career options:
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Human, Wood Elf
You lure vessels to a watery doom and make off with their cargo.
Career Path: Cargo Scavenger > Wrecker > River Pirate > Wrecker Captain
Sometimes the gods send riverfolk an unexpected windfall as goods wash up from an ill-fated vessel. Sometimes the gods need a helping hand: that’s where Wreckers come in. Laying devious traps and sending disorienting signals, Wreckers lure unwary river traffic onto sand banks and rocks, then loot the wreck, no matter how any surviving crew may protest.
Some Wreckers pride themselves on their clever traps, making any wreck seem like an accident, and keeping a plausible distance from the actual looters. Some board ships by force and throw its crew overboard, expert at spotting under-armed boats with valuable cargo. These River Pirates are hunted by road and riverwardens, constantly moving to evade the authorities.
Greta Lachsmann, shortly before her hanging:
We spied this juicy ripe sloop on its way to Carroburg just as night
was falling, and lit some fires on the left bank to make them think
the village was a few hundred yards closer. They tacked to starboard
just like we planned and hit the sand bank dead on. Sweet as. How
were we to know the boat was transporting a company of pistoliers?
Mandel Stein, Pragmatic River Pirate:
Look, if we let the crew live, they’ll tell the wardens where we operate,
so the only sensible thing is to kill ’em all.
A well-planned and executed wrecking is an adventure in itself: avoiding the authorities, disposing of the goods, keeping people’s mouths shut, and spending the ill-gotten gains all present their own opportunities and dangers. And who knows what cargo they will find, and who may come pursuing those who stole it. Wreckers who come across such adventure will have no trouble leaving their old lives behind or returning to them again when times are lean.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You may officially load cargo for coin, but everyone knows the Stevedores rule the docklands.
Career Path: Dockhand > Stevedore > Foreman > Dock Master
With their sole right to load and unload vessels, Stevedore Guilds can slow or even stop trade. This grants power, with many docksides effectively ruled by the guilds. In larger towns, several gangs might violently compete for supremacy. Scowling Foremen deal with guild matters and blow their whistles to summon their gangs from riverside inns, either for fresh work or to defend their territory.
A Stevedore might work alone in a riverside village, or in a large gang on a busy, chaotic city dockside. Sometimes they might be part of a criminal gang that just moves a bit of cargo on the side to cover their tracks. Some Stevedores are enforcers, making sure everyone else is working hard.
Albert Pförtner, Coal Porter:
Look, I know we specialise in coal, but don’t fence us in, we’ll port
anything if the coin’s good. So, let’s do it afore the deal porters arrive;
anything goes here, mate.
Aleida Fuchs, Merchant:
Listen, boy. Don’t think them dockers have it easy. It’s dangerous,
claustrophobic work, with heavy goods and high stacks, and if it’s
done wrong, the cargo may overbalance, perhaps even capsizing the
boat. What I’m saying is, pay the Stevedores right — and if you want
a boat to sink, pay them extra.
Amid the humdrum and repetition of the dockside there are good opportunities for adventure as a Stevedore. Stevedore gangs are virtually a law unto themselves, and they fight for every foot of riverside that they command. Stevedores are useful characters to have around, able to handle themselves, and deal with lowlifes.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
You smuggle cargo, avoiding taxes and risking riverwarden inspections to secure maximum profit.
Career Path: River Runner > Smuggler > Master Smuggler > Smuggler King
Most trade is legally taxed by local lords, as well as illegally taxed by bandits and protection rackets. Smugglers see themselves as charitable helpers: merchants make more profit, customers pay less coin, morally flexible Riverwardens take a cut, outlaws are avoided, and more besides. It takes experience and ingenuity to circumvent all the bailiffs, custom officials, excisemen, and busy bodies keen to stop them, but Smugglers dare the risks to support themselves and their families.
Smugglers come in many forms, perhaps transporting tiny, high-value goods for nobles, or large cargoes for shady merchants. Some Smugglers also deal in illicit goods, a crime that will incur significantly more repercussions than a burned finger or smugglers’ brand.
Hansel Solomon, Smuggler:
See, this is where the bottle of best Bordeleaux goes. The river wardens
will search behind here, and find it, and confiscate it. That’s what we
want because it means they don’t find the twelve bottles we have
hidden under here. And if they find those, all is not lost, because they
will be so pleased with themselves they won’t even bother searching
over there where there’s twenty-four bottles.
Smugglers find adventure, even though they usually want things to stay quiet and uneventful. Any number of things can go wrong on a smuggling mission, and even if things go right, there will always be the lure of the next job, likely bigger and better than the last. Whole adventures can be played out solely on smuggling missions. Similarly, it will be easy for a smuggler to find gainful employment away from their usual work. Someone with a trick up their sleeve, an eye for detail, and a cool head when things get hot is always going to be a desirable companion on dangerous expeditions and adventures.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
A life on the ocean waves calls to you, though many Reiklander Seamen never see the sea…
Career Path: Landsman > Seaman > Boatswain > Ship’s Master
Seamen sail the high seas in the Imperial Navy or for one of the Merchant houses. The Reikland may have no coast, but the River Reik from the Wasteland to Altdorf is miles wide and full of ocean-going vessels. The Imperial First Fleet that patrols these waters rarely sees the open sea, because the taxes to pass warships through Marienburg are exorbitantly high.
Seamen can always find work, whether as cabin staff on an Imperial battleship or on the crew of a small trading sloop. Some Seamen travel the world by working to pay their passage. The Reik also houses many ‘Missions’, buildings provided by the Imperial Navy for their staff, many of which employ Seamen.
Marian Zelman, Optimistic Reiklander Sailor:
I can see the Sea!
Thom Wesserbrug, Boatswain:
Yeah, I’ve sailed through Marienburg. Bloody Wastelanders made it
as difficult as possible for us to get out to sea. I swear the huffer took
us three times round the islands just for fun before we even smelled
salt water. And they taxed us twice for everything. Even the ship’s cat
got taxed. Glad to be home, to be honest.
Beyond Marienburg, the whole world awaits a Seaman: the perilous Sea of Claws, the unfathomable Great Ocean, the exotic Thousand Islands, the Southern Sea, the Black Gulf. And at home, a Seaman can spend a whole life plying the Reik’s waters and never have the same day twice.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
Rivers carry most of the Old World’s traffic, and you stand in the heart of that excitement.
Career Path: Greenfish > Riverwoman > Riverwise > River Elder
The fertile banks of the great rivers of the Empire are densely populated, and the folk working day-in, day-out in the nearby waters and marshes provide much of the fresh fish, eels, and crustaceans feeding the towns and cities. Unlike the inland villages, those on the great rivers frequently receive outsiders who trade and restock, meaning Riverwomen are somewhat more open and diverse, and often the first with news from distant lands. There are any number of diverse jobs supported by the river. Many harvest the Reik’s bounty: fisherfolk (using rod, spear, or net), eelers (using traps or pots), or diggers for shellfish. Many live in riverside villages labouring, dredging, or lugging, and maintaining the Reik’s many thousands of vessels.
Jemima the Greenfish:
If I drop this branch in the water now, it will eventually get to
Marienburg. Unless it sticks in the mud, of course.
Thys Lange, the Reikland’s worst Fisherman:
They say the whole Empire will eventually float by if you sit by the
Reik long enough. Well, I’ve sat here, rod in hand, for twenty years,
watching the flow downriver. The things I could tell you. I’ve seen war
and I’ve seen peace. I’ve seen good times and bad. I’ve seen happiness
and sorrow. And in all that time, I can honestly say, I’ve not caught a
single bloody fish.
A Riverwoman will feel at home on any stretch of water, and their skills ensure they can drop everything, confident that they will be able to find work elsewhere should they need to. A Riverwoman is wellplaced to get the lowdown on the more iniquitous side of river life and may have contacts among the river’s lowlifes. With their knowledge and experience they can make all the difference to a water-based expedition or investigation.
Eligible Races: Halfling, Human
Strong-backed and sure, you patrol the riverways in pursuit of lawbreakers and troublemakers.
Career Path: River Recruit > Riverwarden > Shipsword > Shipsword Master
A clarion call across the waterways heralds the arrival of the Imperial River Patrol, a river-borne police force known as much for its harassing thugs as for its good work. Most riverside villages and inns set aside moorings for them as, without them, worse criminals would rule the waters. The overworked patrols concentrate on egregious crimes, resolving petty misdemeanours with spot fines. On major trade routes, the patrols have larger vessels manned by ‘Shipswords’ trained to tackle larger threats like Greenskins or Trolls.
Some Riverwardens rarely see the water, instead manning remote outposts overlooking strategically important waters. Others crew fast riverboats charged to intercept smugglers in the night. The largest Riverwarden vessels are effectively sea-worthy warships, bristling with cannon and mortars, ready for almost any eventuality.
Nikki Schnelling, ex-riverwarden:
So back in the day, when I was a riverwarden, Big Willi came round
to tell me I had to leave a certain shipment alone. He said I should just
let it through and everything would be alright. Of course, I was young,
wasn’t I? I told the ship’s Master all about it. And was I rewarded for
my honesty? Nah, Big Willi came round and beat me up, and the next
day I was drummed out of the river patrol. They were all in it together,
weren’t they?
A diligent Riverwarden, searching vessels and following up leads, might stumble across any sort of nefarious plot or sinister cargo. Riverwardens typically work month-long shifts, but this means they also have months off. This structure is ideal for adventuring: as a Riverwarden need not desert their post to pursue private matters, or even have to persuade their Sergeant that it is their duty to follow up crimes. They can head off, investigate, and be back long before their next cycle begins.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You pilot ships and boats through the most treacherous waters of the Old World.
Career Path: Riverguide > Huffer > Pilot > Master Pilot
Huffers are specialist river guides with expert knowledge of local river systems. They are a common sight near the most dangerous stretches of the Empire’s rivers and can command significant wages for what many view as easy work. Others view it as cheap compared to the potential cost of lost cargo.
Many Huffers specialise in a single, notorious stretch of water, while others make their money at certain times of the year when the waters are at their worst. Other Huffers have broader knowledge and will guide vessels for their entire journey, effectively acting as navigators. This is especially true of merchant ships with particularly valuable cargo at difficult times of the year.
Ilsa Dasche, Huffer:
A great big ship came in from Marienburg, low in the water and
packed to the gunwales. I said that it would cost them a crown to
take them through the Furdienst. Steep, yes, but it was a big ship.
The arrogant Wastelander scoffed, said he’d do it himself. But sure
enough, they drifted right into the shallows and were holed. They
lost a good part of their cargo and it took them a week to repair the
damage. Reckon it cost them a bit more than a crown.
As an expert for hire, Huffers are often hired by wealthy patrons, frequently brought in as specialists on journeys of discovery. Even when travelling into the unknown, Huffers are useful for their broad range of knowledge concerning river conditions and piloting. Because of the regional and seasonal nature of the work, many Huffers are ready to drop everything and travel to where they’re needed. This freedom transfers well to the adventuring lifestyle, and also suits those seeking to return to Huffing should adventuring not supply their needs.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
You ply the dangerous waters of the Old World, transporting people, goods, and the latest news.
Career Path: Boathand > Boatman > Bargeswain > Barge Master
Boats and barges travel the Empire’s waterways, bringing goods from the remotest corners of the provinces to the greatest cities. These shallow-drafted vessels can travel much further upriver than larger ships, and a comprehensive network of canals adds to their reach. Barge Masters are expert river sailors and have an exhaustive knowledge of their rivers. A Boat-hand is the dogsbody, but will learn the ropes swiftly. Boatmen crew merchant barges carrying cargo to and from markets, either working for themselves or for a larger Merchant House. Many Boatmen are also ferrymen, taking passengers across rivers, or to and from towns. In large towns, some also crew rivertaxis, sail pleasure vessels, or otherwise pilot boats on the behalf of others.
Travis Binckel, Rivertaxi:
Someday a real rain will come. So, don’t forget your hat, madam.
Jacob Walles, Bargeswain who sank his forking barge:
Beware of forking. I say this as an experienced bargeswain. If you
approach a dangerous rock or other river hazard be sure to go
astarboard and stay astarboard while laying astarboard, or go alarboard
and stay alarboard while laying alarboard. Or you will fork, and you
might sink. And no-one wants to sink their forking barge.
A boatman will not need to seek out adventure, for more than likely adventure will come to them. Boats are useful to nearly everyone, and therefore useful to almost any adventure plot; they also make an excellent base of operations. Boatmen will not need to worry about following investigation and adventure if the plot stays on or close to the river. Even if the plot leaves the river, they could still easily allow a talented Boathand to look after their business while they take a break from river life.
Rangers are roving folk who make a living on the open roads, travelling far beyond their home towns and villages. Most Rangers are lower class, but some can secure positions of high Status if they persevere.
Career options:
Eligible Races: Human
You hunt the illegal witches plaguing the Empire by any and all means necessary.
Career Path: Interrogator > Witch Hunter > Inquisitor > Witchfinder General
There are few so feared and respected as the Witch Hunter, and they are given extraordinary leeway in performing their duties. Typically armed with silvered blades and a brace of pistols — for lead is not so easily dispelled — they stalk all corners of the Old World ready to dispense judgement on any witch they find, or any who would harbour them. Most Witch Hunters in the Empire are attached to the Cult of Sigmar. Secular Witch Hunters are sometimes employed by provincial government, though these are little more than specialist bounty hunters.
The Colleges of Magic also have Witch Hunters called Magisters Vigilant who pursue rogue wizards, necromancers, and daemonologists — they believe it is wisest to set a witch to catch a witch.
Father Linken Donatus, Priest of Sigmar, murdered by a rogue pyromancer:
I ain’t met a witch yet that won’t catch fire.
Walter Keller, Witch Hunter Captain, said the night before the burning of Almshof:
If you’re not a witch, you have nothing to fear.
A Witch Hunter’s existence is one of constant adventure, often ranging the length and breadth of the grand provinces. They are called upon whenever the foul influence of unsanctioned magic emerges, and are expected to hunt it down. The bigger the reputation a Witch Hunter earns, the more dangerous the foes assigned, and the greater the adventures that follow. If you play a Witch Hunter, it is worth while making sure others aren’t playing a Hedge Witch or Witch as this may immediately bring the party into conflict.
Eligible Races: Halfling, Human
With a wary eye and ready weapon, you tour the highways of the Empire enforcing the law.
Career Path: Toll Keeper > Road Warden > Road Seargent > Road Captain
Road Wardens protect travellers from the bandits, Greenskins, Beastmen and other dangers that threaten the Empire’s highways. The Wardens are supported by a system of tolls, taxes they often collect personally. Successful Road Wardens are well-received and respected, and often have bunks in each inn along their route. Most mainroad Road Wardens are part of the State Army, patrolling primary thoroughfares during peace time, so are well-trained and resplendent in neat uniforms. Less-travelled roads make do with local equivalents, some of whom take advantage of their position and lack of supervision for their own gain. Some Wardens prefer sitting in their safe, fortified toll stations to clearing the roads, but travellers often balk at handing over coin when the roads are dangerous and in disrepair.
Andreas Muller, jobsworth Toll Keeper:
What can I say, it’s a pfennig a leg. Them’s the rules. Nothing I can do
about it. Perhaps you should try to find a different route to get your
bees to Grünburg.
Ullrich the Pedlar:
So, I was stopped by a road warden t’other day. She said I should
beware an unscrupulous character out patrolling the roads and
charging hapless travellers a thruppence to let them pass. I thanked
the warden for the valuable advice. “Taal guide you,” she said, “that
will be thruppence.”
Road Wardens frequently find adventure. Anything untoward happening in the countryside is often close to a well-patrolled roadside. When trouble occurs, Road Wardens are summoned to resolve any problems. If they follow up and become involved in an investigation, they are simply doing their job, and might even secure extra pay for their time, even if the resulting adventure takes them far from their regular beat.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
Worldly-wise and free of interference, you wander the Empire selling your wares where you will.
Career Path: Vagabond > Pedlar > Master Pedlar > Wandering Trader
Pedlars traipse from village to hamlet, selling goods and services such as knife sharpening, mending, and tinkering. Most carry cheap stock readily available in larger towns, including small luxuries such as ribbons and hair pins. Pedlars are always welcome as even suspicious folk like to treat themselves to baubles and knickknacks.
Some Pedlars also take on messenger work; others act as de facto town criers, bringing news and gossip to the quietest corners of the Empire in exchange for bed-and-board. Given the dangers on the road, some Pedlars prefer to keep a stall at a regular town marketplace. It is also common to find them on pilgrim routes making a living selling relics to the devout.
Delberz Trötte, Trader:
This here is an absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind, only-one-in-existence,
work of art. If you want more, don’t worry, I’ve got another
couple of dozen on the back of the cart.
Hearing of profits to be made in far-off lands and listening to the stories of well-travelled merchants is always going to whet the appetite of an ambitious Pedlar. Being self-reliant, they can follow up on any adventure, making a decent profit along the way. They can also gain access to strongholds and settlements without awkward questions.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Swift and sure-footed, nothing stops you delivering your messages on time.
Career Path: Runner > Messenger > Courier > Courier Captain
When the postal service is unsecure or too slow, people send a Messenger. Several courier companies provide express services, competing to show they are the fastest and safest. Most Messengers take their duties very seriously, guarding their packages with their lives. Some courier companies have arrangements with coaching houses allowing their Messengers to swap tired horses for fresh ones, for topspeed delivery.
Runners are employed to carry urgent messages in cities. Many larger settlements host competitions to celebrate the fastest, with the winners taking prizes and lucrative job contracts. Messengers can also be found working for the military, noble houses, large merchant houses, and for criminal gangs seeking to maintain their privacy.
Willi Winkle, Messenger on his first day:
Are you Herr Schmidt of Hochplatz, Kemperbad? Erm, do you
know a Herr Schmidt of Hochplatz, Kemperbad? Erm, do you know
a Hochplatz? Kemperbad?
Rufus Drucht, Messenger who single-handedly busted the Bloody Bretonnian spy ring, then lost his job:
It looked like an interesting package, if you know what I mean. I
thought I’d just have a quick peek. Thought it was to his girlfriend.
Thought it might be a bit, you know, juicy. How was I to know it was
all that boring spying stuff. Where’s Bretonnia, anyway?
Messages can contain all sorts of information, and some lead to adventure should they be intercepted. The easiest way for any villain (or innocent party) to get hold of such information will be to waylay a Messenger. If this happens, it will be the Messenger’s duty to follow things through until the message is recovered. As Messengers are usually freelance, paid per package delivered, it is simple enough to drop everything then pick-up work when they return.
Eligible Races: Human
Just when you abandoned all hope, your suffering and the righteousness of Sigmar saved you!
Career Path: Zealot > Flagellant > Penitent > Prophet of Doom
Forgiveness does not come easily, only through struggle, pain, and doing Sigmar’s will. Flagellants travel the Empire, flogging themselves in penance for their sins, and the sins of others. They are determined to serve Sigmar until the end of the world, something they believe is imminent. All good folk are expected to welcome, help, and feed them, and to pray with them.
Most Flagellants wander in large groups, guided by a Prophet of Doom who interprets Sigmar’s will. Some follow armies, whipping themselves into a frenzy as battle is joined and fighting without any thought for their own safety. Others wander by themselves, believing they best serve Sigmar by righting the wrongs he guides them towards.
Viktorina Schwefel, Flagellant:
We strike this flesh and spill this blood, for his Empire, in the name
of Sigmar!
Wulfrum Barth, villager:
We had some flagellants going through the village a couple of months
back. Terrible they were: the agony, the pain, the suffering, and that
was just watching them. We knew what to do. We knew we had to
open our doors and feed them and pray with them. But in the end, we
just hid in the cellar until they’d gone. Scary folk.
Common placard carried by Flagellants:
The Ende is Nigh!
It’s not hard for Flagellants to stumble upon an adventure, especially involving recognised foes of Sigmar. Flagellants can continue their lifestyle as they adventure, relying on the honest folk of the Empire to offer them food, drink and shelter as they trudge ever onwards to the end of all things.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Whether high-born or low-brow, you distract people from the harsh realities of life.
Career Path: Busker > Entertainer > Troubador > Troupe Leader
Entertainers crop up all over the Old World, and many wander the Reikland’s roads, earning their crust. Some stay put at a single theatre, some work as individuals, some as part of a troupe. The worst are little more than itinerant beggars, the best lauded in the company of counts and princes. It is not an easy life and the people will not tolerate poor acts, running them out of town pelted with rotten vegetables.
The most common Entertainers are the perennial crowd-pleasers like jesters, singers, actors, musicians, acrobats, dancers, and jugglers, but the Old World is also home to more obscure and bizarre acts.
Well known Altdorf joke:
How do you get to the Luitpold Theatre? Practise!
‘A Defence Against Necromancy’, Patriarch Felip Iyrtu, 2415IC, from the 1st year required reading list, Amethyst College:
Musician and prodigy, Vladimira Tchaikofiev, toured the courts of
the Empire performing her compositions for the great and good.
On her triumphant return to her native Kislev, during the reign of
Bloody Katerin, she premiered her first opera, “The Vampire Counts
of Stirland” based on her travels in Sylvania. Unconventionally, she
always chose to conduct with a silver baton.
The open road, a new village every night, the smell of greasepaint and the roar of the crowd — life itself can be an adventure for the Entertainer as they bring excitement to the humdrum, everyday reality of those they captivate. Given their existence on the edge of respectable society, curious Entertainers all-too-often find real adventures of their own.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
Determined and rugged, you deliver passengers safely by coach despite the daily dangers you face.
Career Path: Postilion > Coachman > Coach Master > Route Master
For many, the coach is the only way to get from one town to the next. The wild places between teem with Beastmen, Bandits, and worse, but with just a team of fresh horses and a blunderbuss, brave and hardworking Coachmen make travel possible. To help evade danger, most coaching companies relentlessly pursue speed, and their employees have a reputation for ruthlessness towards other travellers on the roads, never trusting anyone. Coachmen often start as Postilions, riding the lead horse of the team through wind and rain. Instead of transporting passengers, some Coachmen deliver mail, work as chauffeurs for nobles, drive cabs or goods wagons, or the big omnibuses of the great cities, or even become a getaway driver.
Bettina Hoch, Innkeeper:
Get ‘em fed in a quarter bell. No second portions. We ain’t paid for
that. Coach Mistress eats last but save ‘er the best. One minute longer
than the quarter and I take a pfennig off you, the Mistress takes a
shilling off me, and Castle Rock Coaches will be in here as quick as
silver.
Stelle Grabbe, Merchant:
Three days I was stuck in Weissbruck during the storms. Not a
single thing came in and out. Then just when I thought I’d miss my
appointment in Bogenhafen there appeared three coaches coming
up the frozen track, all together. Bloody typical! You wait days for a
coach, and then three come along at once.
Good Coachmen are always in demand for unusual, dangerous or illegal jobs. A Coachman looking for a change may find winter is a good time to take a break, as cross-country services are greatly reduced. Coaching companies are always ready to snap up experienced coachmen, so returning to work is usually simple.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Ruthless and determined, you pursue your quarry to the bitter end: for justice, or for money.
Career Path: Thief-Taker > Bounty Hunter > Master Bounty Hunter > Bounty Hunter General
Bounty Hunters track down fugitives and outlaws for coin. Most are legally appointed by provincial courts and receive warrant papers granting licence to seize or sometimes kill the target. While some are motivated by Verena’s justice, most are more concerned by the rewards, often finding the ‘dead’ in ‘dead or alive’ to be the most convenient route to their fortune. Many Bounty Hunters start as Thief Takers, those hired by crime victims to retrieve stolen goods. Over time, those with an established reputation may find permanent work from a merchant or noble house, guild, or cult, or may build a company of Bounty Hunters, working as a group to collect the largest rewards.
Anke Dorflinger, Bounty Hunter:
It’s amazing just how many boys will wrap themselves in manacles
if you smile sweetly enough. And if that doesn’t work, it’s out with
the knives
In their pursuit of wanted criminals, Bounty Hunters often stumble into unplanned adventures. As independent operatives, Bounty Hunters are perfectly suited to dropping their day job to pursue whatever business is afoot. Further, given their broad base of skills are always in demand, it is not uncommon to see Bounty Hunters turning their hand to adventuring full-time, hiring their skills out in return for payments. Bounty Hunters are a perfect starting career as they present a solid mixture of social and combat skills allowing you to contribute no matter the circumstances.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Intrepid and resourceful, you guide others through the dangerous wilds of the Old World.
Career Path: Guide > Scout > Pathfiner > Explorer
Among an illiterate populace where maps are rare, local knowledge can mean the difference between life and death for travellers. Scouts are experts at finding safe paths through the backwoods and muddy roads of the Empire. Local guides will accompany their clients, warning of upcoming dangers, sharing village gossip or showing the best places to forage. Experienced Scouts will barely be seen by their employers as they explore the trails ahead and keep a watchful eye out for hidden dangers. While most Scouts keep to familiar territory, some specialise in safely navigating unmapped terrain. Explorers might venture even further into treacherous and hostile territory, filling in the blank spaces on their maps. Most Scouts do not tackle dangers themselves, preferring to slip away quietly to warn their companions and enable their employers to avoid potential hazards completely.
Gwyn, Scout:
You don’t want to be going off the road down by the bluff without a
guide. There’s man-traps in them woods what the reeve put down to
catch poachers. Almost ’ad old Billi’s leg off last week it did.
Scouts can be invaluable to a group of adventurers, especially those venturing out from a city for the first time to find their fortune. Reliable and knowledgeable Guides may find themselves asked to stay on and act as Scouts, although many still act the loner, slipping in and out of the woods to protect the group from ambush or warn of enemies ahead.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You are the beating heart of rural life, working the countryside to feed civilisation.
Career Path: Peasant > Villager > Councillor > Village Elder
Sigmar’s bountiful Empire provides an abundant harvest of crops, livestock, and other marketable goods, so there is always plenty of work to be found in the countryside. Villagers make up most of the Empire’s population and perform a variety of valuable roles, including Farmers, Charcoal Burners, Woodsmen, Millers, Herders, and many more. Most villages fall under the domain of a noble family, where day-to-day administration of the estate is overseen by a bailiff. Village affairs are usually managed by a village council of local tradesmen and farmers led by an Elder. A village Councillor or Elder can hold significant local influence overseeing many decisions concerning the surrounding land.
Gunni Ackermann, Shepherdess:
It’s a hard life, for sure, but it’s a good one. Every year the lady from
the manor sends out her guard to clear out the forest and drive off the
beastmen and the like. The family keep us safe, we keep their flocks.
It’s a fair trade most of the time.
Erika Bauer, Farmer:
Look, you can sneer at me all you want, but Konrad the Hero hisbloomin’-
self was from a village just like mine, so don’t you be talking
us down, you hear! Us villagers are good folk!
The pastoral safety of a sheltered village is an unspeakable bore for some young Villagers who listen avidly to the tales of faraway lands. Of course, the stories they hear from wandering Pedlars and Strigany, all fuelling schemes to escape, bear little relation to the harsh reality of Empire life. During winter, when food is short, and the fields do not need tending, young folk venturing to nearby towns and cities for work often never return, soon caught in the net of civilisation’s excitement and adventure.
Eligible Races: Human, Wood Elf
You have a talent for divining the future, or for convincing others you can…
Career Path: Fortune Teller > Mystic > Sage > Seer
Searching for meaning in a dangerous world, people turn to Mystics for a glimpse of their future. Wandering caravans of Strigany are a common sight in Reikland, and locals scrape together coin to hear their fortune, and buy charms and love potions. Most Mystics are perceptive and intuitive, able to divine their customers’ hopes and fears and give readings just specific enough to be believable. Mystics must be careful, and walk a fine line between accusations of trickery and heretical witchery. Mystics demonstrate their talent in a wide variety of ways: palmists and card readers are common amongst the Strigany, while a Wood Elf is more likely to interpret the signs and symbols to be found around them in nature, or to be inspired by dreams and visions. Many cults also have their own Seers and Sages, each prophesising the future through the paradigm of their beliefs.
Honest Chupra, Strigany Pedlar:
I’ll tell you for why we have wheels on our houses: it’s because no-one
likes to hear the cold truth of Morr a-coming, and if there’s one thing
for sure, Morr is always a-coming. So, it ain’t because we’re cheaters,
but because we are honest folk!
Sylvestr Jutzenbach, Ostermarker Noble:
I never met a Priest who could tell me what the future holds. Well,
unless you count the Priest of Morr who Doomed me for thruppence,
but don’t they say that death and taxes are the only things we can be
certain of?
Mystics might seek a life of adventure if their insights draw the attention of priests and witch hunters. Dreams and visions also provide an incentive to join a band of adventurers: perhaps the Mystic foresees a terrible future ahead if action is not taken? No matter their motivation, once on the road, Mystics can easily ply their trade wherever they should travel.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
A hewer of stone, you pursue back-breaking work in the darkest depths of the world.
Career Path: Prospector > Miner > Master Miner > Mine Foreman
Many prospectors are tempted by stories of gold in the Skaag Hills, but real mining is hard work down dark, dangerous tunnels. Adept at constructing supports and assessing mineral ores for their value, Miners are alert to unexpected dangers from explosive gas to tunnelling Greenskins, and are notoriously tough, both physically and mentally. Prospectors usually work on commission, with a license to prospect in return for sharing finds with the local lord. Some noble houses’ fortunes are built on the rich mines in their lands, and often Miners in these pits will be criminals or debtors pressed into service. Quarrymen hewing open-face stone ostensibly have a safer job than those underground, but accidents are common and Beastman attack from the forest is an ever-present danger.
Frederika, Victualler of the Delfgruber Minehead:
After your supplies from the store are deducted, and your load of
sixteen tons added, you made…let me see… no, you actually owe us
two for today. Another day older and deeper in debt, boy.
Many independent Miners find themselves thrust into peril when set upon by Goblins or other subterranean horrors. Some find the rewards of this life more lucrative, if not less dangerous, than slaving away for a mine owner for a pittance. Prospectors have many opportunities for adventure and can easily pull together a band of like-minded folk eager for riches and glory.
To Dwarfs, mining is not an occupation limited to commoners. Rather, they are considered artisans of great skill and are wellrespected amongst the Dawi. Possessed of a keen sense for stone, Dwarfs are drawn to valuable seams and seemingly have a sixth-sense for when to shore up passages. Some Dwarf clans hold such pride in their mining ability that they march to war armed with picks rather than axes.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Tough, independent killers who make a living off the fur and flesh of wild creatures.
Career Path: Trapper > Hunter > Tracker > Huntsmaster
‘Taal’s Bounty’ is a common greeting in Hochland, where locals proclaim a proud hunting heritage that goes back to the time of Sigmar. Most in the Empire hunt, either as a hobby, a profession, or a necessity, and many Hunters turn to poaching when times are lean.
Particularly skilled Hunters might be engaged as a noble’s Huntsmaster, granting access to fine weapons, horses, and falcons. Elves and Dwarfs have little care for the boundaries of men and will occasionally venture deep into Human territory tracking a challenging prize. Stories of the Wood Elves’ Wild Hunt petrify children of the Grey Mountains, and not without cause, for if any intruder strays too close to Elven lands, then the hunters quickly become the hunted.
Gundred Maynir, Huntsmaster:
My lord, those tracks… we’re not following a stag. There are Turnskins
in these woods.
Graf Bernard Leutze von Holthausen:
Are you trying to tell me hunting’s not a sport because both sides
don’t know they’re playing? Might I suggest you’d been hunting the
wrong game.
A common punishment for hunter caught poaching is to lose two fingers. Faced with being unable to draw a bow, many will cut and run before the punishment can be administered, preferring to take a chance in the forests. Around the fertile villages of the Suden Vorbergland, Hunters are losing ground to farmers as the trees are cut back and nobles reserve what hunting is left for sport. The Imperial Army is always on the lookout for reliable, local hunters to support their army as they march, acting as support archers or scouts. A life of adventure awaits any Hunter willing to take the Emperor’s Shilling.
Eligible Races: Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Skilled botanists who use Rhya’s bounty to create cures for many ailments.
Career Path: Herb Gather > Herbalist > Herb Master > Herbwise
Medicines from apothecaries are expensive and rarely available in the Reikland’s hinterlands, so peasants rely on the healing power of plants gathered, doctored, and administered by Herbalists. Most Herbalists’ lore is verbally passed down from master to apprentice, so names for illnesses and treatments often vary from village to village. The most experienced Herbwises are sent for in cases of mysterious or stubborn sicknesses. Herbalists dedicate time to visiting the sick, diagnosing their ailments and searching for herbs to treat them with. Some Herbalists ply a darker trade, sought out by those who can pay a high price for the illicit substances they offer. Although an untrue stereotype, it’s a standing joke in the trade that Halfling Herbalists are only interested in pipeweed and wyrdroot.
Kurtis Schwarz, Herbalist:
This is beyond my skill to heal. The wound’s been infected and it’s
tainting his blood; he needs a doctor, or Shallya’s aid. I can give you
something to make sure he’s comfortable on the journey to town. And
something for you, too, to calm your nerves.
With knowledge of poultices and potions, Herbalists can easily find a place with a band of travellers or mercenaries. When particularly virulent diseases take hold, Herbwises often send their apprentices to far off places in search of rarer herbs, and some find themselves in all manner of unexpected trouble. The Wood Elves’ knowledge of plants and herbs is legendary. In the Grey Mountains it is said that The Goddess Shallya wandered Athel Loren to learn their lore when Ranald was dying of an affliction she could not cure. High Elves who study the art of herbalism follow Lileath the Maiden’s teachings, and it’s rumoured there is an ancient elven library in Marienburg which records the medicinal use of every plant in the Old World, although no Human has yet been granted access.
Eligible Races: Human
Wise and secretive, you guide your community using ancient magic handed down for generations.
Career Path: Hedge Apprentice > Hedge Witch > Hedge Master > Hedgewise
Witch Hunters use the term ‘Hedge Witch’ for any illegal spellcaster, but this was not always so. Once Hedge Witches were respected members of rural communities, practising magics older than the forests. But decades of persecution since the founding of the Colleges of Magic have left the few surviving Hedge Witches disparate and broken. They hide in the quietest corners of the Old World, their smoky huts and creaking hovels standing astride the boundary between civilisation and the trackless wilds. Most Hedge Witches are solitary to protect themselves from prying strangers, but their talents are often known to locals. Their knowledge of warding evil is usually secret, but their herbalism, midwifery, and healing arts are quickly sought in times of need.
Alt Zaunreiter, Hedgewise:
We tell the folk that the offering o’ fish is for Grandfather Reik, ‘cause
it makes them feel safer than having to explain the river is home to an
‘ungry spirit. It keeps the spirit safe, too.
A Hedge Witch is often the first to notice supernatural foul play. The subsequent investigations often lead to all sorts of dangers and adventure. When Witch Hunters come to town, Hedge Witches often take a leave of absence, lying low or travelling elsewhere until danger is passed.
The Hedgefolk are known by many names across the Empire, but have one thing in common: the goal of preserving their ancient traditions from destruction. Hedge Witches have little love for the Colleges of Magic, knowing any child taken by them will likely never return to serve their community, instead pressed into service in some far-off war. Whenever possible they hide children they consider ‘blessed’ from passing magisters, although occasionally one will be sent to the Colleges — as a sacrifice or a spy, who can say?
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You are an official trusted by local rulers to administer their lands efficiently and firmly.
Career Path: Tax Collector > Bailiff > Reeve > Magistrate
Nobles entrust Bailiffs to gather dues from their lands. Some Bailiffsvare respected and upstanding, attending throng at the temple of Sigmar every week. Others are bullies, happy to enforce their lord’s rights over property and possessions with threats and violence. Longserving bailiffs often become trusted servants of the local noble family and enjoy considerable perks. Reeves have a broader reach and greater responsibility. They keep order and maintain the borders of the lord’s lands, resolving disputes with neighbouring estates.
Some magistrates are lay-members of the cult of Verena, seeking guidance and wisdom from blind Justice on any difficult cases they judge. However, most provincial magistrates simply find themselves arbitrating a series of petty disputes over livestock and farmland borders.
Lena Sauer, Bailiff:
Aye, it’s been a poor harvest, but dues are dues. I’ll take half now and
half on Marktag. How’s that? It’s the best I can offer, can’t say fairer
than that.
Lorenz Schulte, Reeve of Elster Vale:
I’ll go up and have a look at the grazing land in question myself.
Until then, I want no trouble from any of your boisterous offspring,
do I make myself clear, Bauer, Meier? And you will pay equal shares
for the damage to the inn, or you will forfeit any claim you might, or
might not have, on the land.
Most Bailiffs have a degree of autonomy, granting them ample opportunity to turn their attention to private matters, or to hire others to do so on their behalf. As many also have broad authority in the areas they influence, they are frequently sent by their employers to resolve problems, which can often lead to unexpected places.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
As the scion of a noble bloodline, you stand proudly from the common rabble.
Career Path: Scion > Noble > Magnate > Noble Lord
The blood of highborn ancestors courses through the veins of the nobility, granting Nobles the power to rule, make laws, and dispense justice. Nobles often inherit vast wealth and holdings, although only those with a direct line of succession can expect to wield any genuine power. Many spend their lives consolidating this wealth and power through business, politics, and conquest. Those without substantial inheritance must make their own way in the world, joining the State Army or navy as a commissioned officer, or commit to service of one of the gods. It is common to find Nobles working for more powerful noble houses, such as sending their daughters to serve as hand maidens to royalty.
‘Lugner’ Rodziner, Tenth of his Line:
Everyone thinks that Nobles have it easy, but it’s a treacherous life
and you’re always standing in someone’s way. I’d rather take my
chances out here with you lot than risk assassins back home. Give me
a herd of Beastmen any day.
Many Nobles serve their families abroad in the hopes they can advance their station and earn acclaim amongst their peers. Others, bored by pampered living, search for excitement as adventurers and would-be heroes. Scions with few prospects sometimes seek their fortunes far from courtly intrigue and betrayal, taking up other occupations to expand their options.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You are the eyes and ears of another, exposing secrets and spreading lies.
Career Path: Informant > Spy > Agent > Spymaster
Spies are brave (or foolhardy) individuals who secretly gather information for their clients. A well-placed Spy is an asset to anyone desiring knowledge of an opponent’s activities. Many take months, even years, cultivating an unremarkable identity with ties to one or more groups or individuals. Their actions are risky. If caught, Spies are rarely executed quickly and often tortured at length. Many Informers are forced into spying via blackmail or other threats. A skilled Spy will earn well, but extrication from such activities can be more perilous than the activities themselves. Given Spies avoid undue attention, they aren’t typically known by their reputations unless those reputations are as anonymous as they are.
Sieben Dietmund, Accused of Treason and Contempt:
Treason? That’s it? For the love of… why didn’t I qualify for high
treason? I’ve done plenty of other terrible things. Should I list them
off for you? What’s that? It’s not personal? Well, it is now, you prigpowdered
gaff.
Spies are found throughout the Old World and in service to many prominent organisations. During their investigations, Spies are easily embroiled in plots both sinister and benign. They are often forced to flee when their identities or allegiances are exposed. These individuals use their abilities to disguise their true nature and avoid capture. Joining a group of unwitting heroes under false pretences as part of an escape attempt has led more than one Spy to an adventuring career.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
You oversee another’s territory, ensuring it is properly maintained and, if necessary, protected.
Career Path: Custodian > Warden > Seneschal > Governor
Wardens see to the care and stewardship of their employer’s holdings. Failure to improve — or, at the very least, maintain — an employer’s lands or provisions is often met with disfavour. In some instances, multiple wardens work together to keep their employer’s estate in correct order.
A Warden’s oversight can cover a variety of duties: ensuring the upkeep of a grand estate, overseeing a lord’s hunting grounds, or caring for a rarely-visited holidaying home. Wardens might keep watch over forested or agricultural lands, or see to the maintenance of lakes, rivers, or ponds. Those in the employ of the richest and most powerful can rise to immensely powerful positions themselves.
W. Edvart Kurtz, Governor of Penzkirchen:
Yes, m’lord, the duke has been a-bed this last decade. And, yes, m’lord,
I am running his estate. No, m’lord, I don’t see that changing any time
soon. After all, in Penzkirchen, my word is now law… Arrest him!
Wardens rarely travel unless their duties call for it. That said, even those assigned to oversee an estate’s lands or hunting grounds must make regular patrols to assess the property’s condition and to discourage poachers. When between jobs, Wardens often find work as guides or hunters, and such activities can lead to much excitement or terror. Wardens with a grudge against former masters might even be inclined to provide enemies with confidential information regarding their old estates.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You serve the great and the good, performing tasks in support of your employer.
Career Path: Menial > Servant > Attendant > Steward
Most who serve the nobility come from peasant stock, grateful to escape the beleaguered masses tending the fields. Servants are taught comportment along with the skills necessary to cook, clean, buttle, and groom on behalf of their betters. They are provided with room, board, and a wage, but the quality of a Servant’s life depends on how well treated they are. Some Servants dress their employer, cook or serve meals, manage stores of wine and other consumables, or tend to the grounds.
Experienced Servants can aspire to the role of personal Attendant, or even Steward, managing the domestic affairs of their employer and overseeing other Servants. Those directly serving royalty are often drawn from noble stock rather than the peasantry.
Baron Gerber Jochutzmann:
Watch that one. She’s got a tongue like a snake and nary a scruple. Still,
she’s got a weakness for Elven wine and handsome young footmen. I’m
sure you can arrange something… scandalous.
Reynald, Lady Kirstin Gottlieb’s Porter:
Why she insists on takin’ that blasted cat with her is beyond me.
Between her wardrobes, her travelling library, and her damned butterfly
collection, I’m at my wit’s end! And when it gets lost — oh, it will,
believe me — she’ll expect me to find her a new one. Sigmar! Where
does one find a leopard kitten in Ubersreik?
A Servant may be required to accompany their employer, travelling from winter to summer domains, or visiting the great cities. This can provide opportunities for adventures around the Empire. Bored heirs, closeted by over-protective parents, might treat their young Servants more like friends, providing them with encouragement and funds to seek out adventures, living vicariously through them when they report back with tales of derring-do. Favoured Servants are, on occasion, entrusted with duties that take them beyond their familiar surroundings, or even loaned to other family members or peers.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
An articulate emissary, you travel far and wide, negotiating favourable pacts and treaties.
Career Path: Herald > Envoy > Diplomat > Ambassador
Experts in negotiation and social interaction, Envoys act as agents serving the interests of the Empire, a regional estate, a foreign entity, or a merchant house. Intrigue abounds in courtly circles, and such a career choice is a risky proposition that only grows more perilous at the highest levels of government. Even when granted some manner of immunity against foreign laws or customs, Ambassadors must tread carefully.
Envoys must first prove their abilities in a lesser capacity as a Herald, assisting Diplomats in hammering out the tedious minutiae of deals, or representing merchants, guilds, or cults, building their reputations with each pact they establish. Some Envoys find employ with Mercenary Companies; the best of these can secure a profit for their employers without shedding a drop of blood.
Odmar Horst, Guild Envoy:
Watch that one. She’s got a tongue like a snake and nary a scruple. Still,
she’s got a weakness for Elven wine and handsome young footmen. I’m
sure you can arrange something… scandalous.
Letter to the High Lord of the Chair, from Ambassador Willemijna von Kotzdam:
My advice to his Imperial Majesty to ensure we maintain our vital
trade link with Karak Ziflin: grow a beard and keep your promises.
Envoys travel a great deal, meeting countless individuals from all walks of life, cultivating contacts across the Old World. They are sometimes expected to get their hands dirty to ensure their master’s wishes are fulfilled. If failure doesn’t lead to their immediate death, they might find themselves on the run from their own employers.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, High Elf, Human
Your blade is an instrument of justice, bound by long tradition and employed with deadly precision.
Career Path: Fencer > Duellist > Duelmaster > Judicial Champion
Duellists fight on behalf of others — settling matters of honour between organisations or individuals — or as surrogates for the law, representing the accused or the accuser in trials by combat. For some Duellists the act of fighting is reward enough for the considerable risks they face. Training is dangerous, leaving some apprentices crippled or scarred for life. Those who live long enough to learn from their mistakes can aspire to the fame of a Blademaster, teaching their techniques to eager students. Judicial Champions duel on behalf of governments and nobles, and their blades can determine the fates of nations. Some modern Duellists, especially hot-headed Altdorf students, favour pistols. This is regarded by the older generation as dishonourable and foolhardy.
Ortolf Ehardt, Burgher:
First blood, ye fool! First blood! And here ye’ve gone ’n run ’im
through!
Blademaster Aleksandr Amblestadt’s advice to his students:
Always make sure you have Doktor Schuller on site. Deniability?
Good question. Pay her in advance, treat her with civility, and she’ll
turn around. Then she sees nothing until the duel is over, one way or
another
Both inexperienced and esteemed Duellists alike travel the Empire in search of opponents with which to bolster their reputations. For others, the hunt for a veteran instructor drives them to explore the furthest flung of the Old World’s locales. Masters of foreign techniques are also sought by Duellists who wish to add unique styles of fighting to their repertoires. As skilled combatants, Duellists often augment their livelihood with mercenary work, even acting as guards for caravans and riverboats in a pinch. Although Dwarfs have no interest in fencing with flimsy swords and the frippery of the duelling scene, they have long traditions of using combat to resolve bitter disputes, and will travel far to enhance their skills.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You possess an artistic gift, one that transcends daily life and uplifts the souls of others.
Career Path: Apprentice Artist > Artist > Master Artist > Maestro
Artists use their talents — for painting, sculpting, writing and similar — to create works of fine art. Often their careers begin as Apprentices to experienced Master Artists, though some are simply prodigies. The best can attract a patron, and some end up teaching, forming their own schools of art and attracting the wealthiest of benefactors to their fashionable salons.
Sadly, most Artists spend their lives in a vain attempt to prove their value to a society that rarely appreciates them. Some make ends meet through different means: satirising nobles and politicians in cartoons for the Altdorf broadsheets, sketching suspects for watch captains, writing social commentary, or even forging the work of more renowned artists.
Gottlieb Toman, Painter, prior to his execution:
Please remain still, my lord. It is rather difficult to capture the majesty
of your countenance if you continue to scratch yourself so. Perfect! Now
hold that pose for just a few seconds more if you please. And there
you’ve gone and done it again. Might I suggest you pay a visit to the
apothecary? He may have several effective remedies for lice, especially if
you find your incessant squirming as bothersome as I do…
Attracting suitable patrons is not always a simple matter, so Artists of all stripes find themselves traveling abroad in search of one. Even those who have the means to support themselves take to the road in search of new sights to paint, sculpt, or inspire them. Holy frescos and reliefs dedicated to the gods are often commissioned in faraway temples, churches, and abbeys.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
Wise and well-informed, you provide advice and guidance so your employer prospers.
Career Path: Aide > Advisor > Counsellor > Chancellor
Advisors provide counsel to those they serve. Well-versed in the political and social conditions of their employer’s domain, they are privy to confidential and sensitive information. While many Advisors are born into their positions, others actively seek noble patronage as a path to wealth and power. Some young royals pick their university or childhood friends as their first Aide, trusting them to say what no-one else will.
Long years at court or in service to a lesser noble pave the way to the loftier heights of their careers. Many Advisors do not serve the nobility at all, instead lending their extensive capabilities to criminals, warlords, merchants, cults, or guilds.
Krammond, Advisor to the Elector Count of Nuln, 2475 IC:
Sigmar votes with Reikland for three. The dead Emperor, Mootland,
and Reikland will vote the same way, taking Reikland to six. As you
know, you need seven votes to become emperor. Given Ar’Ulric
always votes for Middenheim, it’s highly unlikely the Imperial seat
will return to Nuln while the House of Third Wilhelm flourishes.
Best hope for a daughter, your Grace. A marriageable one
If there is something peculiar or dangerous happening within their employer’s domain, then an Advisor is well-placed to investigate. At the higher levels of the career, a Counsellor or Chancellor will have their own trusted staff they can rely on to look after matters if they take a short leave of absence. Advisors can approach different classes of people, including the most difficult to access, and they are already in a position where they are expected to ask questions on behalf of their employer.
Burghers are generally law-abiding townsfolk who live and work in the many towns and cities of the Empire. Many Burghers are middle class and earn a decent living.
Career options:
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
You maintain the peace and keep the rabble in line so your town doesn’t descend into anarchy.
Career Path: Watch Recruit > Watchman > Watch Sergeant > Watch Commander
Watchmen are employed by local authorities to patrol streets throughout the Empire. Most are little more than well-meaning keepers of the peace, and few know the laws they’re supposed to enforce. Corruption is rampant, and many Watchmen enlist purely for the authority to hurt people or to support local criminal gangs. Some can earn triple their wages by turning a blind eye.
Only a few towns and cities have professional Watchmen paid to understand and uphold the law; instead, the Emperor’s Peace is normally maintained by the local State Army, who man walls, guard gates, and patrol the streets according to the instructions of their superiors.
Jana Tennisohn, Chief Inspektor (retired), Nuln City Watch:
So I go up to Middenheim, Ulric’s own country, and what did I find?
I swear more than half of their City Watch are women! I would have
stayed up there for the rest of my career if I could’ve.
Sergeant Harri Makkenpieser, Altdorf City Watch:
Sorry, sir, I’ve got a Halfling killer, a Weirdroot smuggling ring, a gang
war, and a noble threatening to have me arrested by my own Station.
Your missing cat will have to wait until tomorrow.
Not every Watchman is crooked, but those with morals are soon jaded by the corruption inherent in the system. By joining adventuring parties, principled Watchmen can champion justice on their own terms. Experience of the street makes Watchmen effective combatants in a small party, and their presence can help legitimise a wandering band of ne’er-do-wells.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
Ambitious and socially mobile, you are the hardworking glue that holds urban society together.
Career Path: Clerk > Townsman > Town Councillor > Burgomeister
Townsmen meet these thriving centres of trade and commerce’s demand for workers. They fill various roles for private artisans or municipal councils: Bankers, Clerks, Hawkers, Innkeepers, Newspaper Vendors, Ostlers, Shopkeepers, Toll-keepers, Washers, and many more. Pay rates vary; some can haggle for extra commission, whereas civil employees such as lamplighters and toll-keepers are paid fixed salaries. There is little opportunity for promotion, but those with determination, savvy, and luck might eventually own property or a business.
The most successful Townsmen often join local councils overseeing civic matters, with Burgomeisters — the most important municipal leaders — often enjoying the same social status as Merchant Princes and Guildmasters.
Frida, Part-time Shopkeeper:
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to remove your backpacks in this shop and
leave polearms at the door. The owner deducts broken ceramics from
me wage.
Townsmen are part of a growing class of citizen with both time and money at their disposal. Many take one or two days off a week and can easily fit in a life of adventure between shifts or after closing time. Some may wish to go even further afield, and if the Townsman has some money put aside, it should be simple to negotiate some time off with an employer. It’s very common for citizens of the Empire to go on pilgrimages for weeks or months at a time. Skilled workers are always in demand, and there will likely be a role waiting when they come home.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You spare civilisation from being overrun by vermin with help from your trusty, canine companion.
Career Path: Rat Hunter > Rat Catcher > Sewer Jack > Exterminator
Rat Catchers patrol every town and city, and for good reason. The Empire’s streets are clogged with food scraps and foulness, perfect breeding grounds for vermin. Rat Catchers earn their crusts by killing these rats, clearing their nests from cellars, and by delving the Empire’s hopelessly infested sewer systems… provided they’re brave enough to face the other things down there. When apprenticed, Rat Catchers usually adopt a stray puppy that they train for ratting. The toughest Rat Catchers are hired by towns as Sewer Jacks to hunt giant rats and other subterranean nasties. On rare occasions, entire towns are overrun and later reclaimed with the aid of Exterminators.
Annaliese Rattenfänger, Sewer Jack:
See there by the midden-heap, Otmar? There’s a big one! Make sure it’s
dead before you pick it up. It’ll bite yer hand with its poisonous teeth.
Mårten Stormdal, Ubersreik Exterminator:
Sorry, mate. The rest of the guild deal with the rats. Me and me mates
deal with the bigger ones in the sewers. Tide of them down there,
there is…
Rat Catchers move to new towns when the rats become ‘too big’ or ‘too clever’, or when competition becomes fierce. When journeying, they may befriend those who welcome help from a streetwise slinger, and Rat Catchers are willing to venture into places normal people won’t.
If you want to play a character who may be aware of the ‘too big’ and ‘too clever’ Skaven, Rat Catcher is for you. However, the Skaven frequently assassinate any who spread rumours of their existence. Because of this, wise Ratcatchers are unlikely to admit what they know, some even using their professional opinion to actively discredit ‘tall tales’ of ‘rat men’.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
Shrewd and numerate, you buy low to sell high, making more money than most will ever see.
Career Path: Trader > Merchant > Master Merchant > Merchant Prince
Most Merchants trade in simple goods such as alcohol, textiles, woodcraft, and pottery. For the ambitious, rare exotic goods such as Dwarf gromril or Eastern spices command higher profits, but risk longer transport routes and require strong foreign contacts. Merchants cannot sell in most towns without approval from (and payments to) a Merchants’ Guild, powerful institutions rivalling the noble courts in political influence. Local commerce is managed by Traders who ship goods between backwater villages and nearby towns.
Traders can join guilds by apprenticing under Master Merchants as junior business partners. Powerful Merchant Princes owning warehouses and sales offices in multiple cities enjoy the same status as minor nobles. In addition to trading, some Merchants also branch out into banking, moneylending, and investing.
Leo van Haagen, Marienburg Merchant Prince:
If Nuln wants trade wars, so be it, I’ll see their river blockaded and
raise taxes on guns. After all, the Emperor owes me a few favours…
Johanna Sainzburg, Fresh Fruit Magnate:
How did I become a millionaire? Well, when I was a girl with only a
pfennig to my name, I went to the local farmer and bought an apple.
Then I walked to the market and sold the apple for two pfennigs.
The next day I bought two apples from the farmer and walked to the
market again and sold the apples for four pfennigs. And so it went on,
every day; I walked to the farm bought some apples, and then walked
to the market to sell them at a profit. And by the time I was twenty-five
years old, my grandfather died and left me a million crowns.
Merchants share a certain kinship with adventurers, often hiring them over professional caravan guards. Adventurers are adaptable and enterprising by nature, making them ideal candidates for partnership in a trading company, bringing Merchants into contact with all manner of colourful characters.
Eligible Races: Halfling, High Elf, Human
Perceptive and suspicious, you probe deep into the heart of any crime, and find answers.
Career Path: Sleuth > Investigator > Master Investigator > Detective
Most Investigators pursue cases involving stolen property, missing persons, or murders, although some research stories for the emerging newssheets, or even blackmail crime suspects for ‘hush money’. Investigative techniques include footprint tracking, cross-examination, deductive reasoning and — if necessary — breaking and entry. Where secular investigators operate on the edge of the law or for an institution like the watch of a Merchant House, religious investigators — most commonly serving Sigmar and Verena — follow stricter ethical codes.
Some experienced Investigators cultivate matter-of-fact airs of sophistication to improve their credibility. While Master Investigators often sell themselves as ‘observation specialists’ possessing skills they claim cannot be learned. Considerable self-promotion is required to become one of the famous Detectives who receive job offers from across the Old World.
Hemlock Surelight, Elven Sleuth:
I regret to inform you that your husband is buried in Frau Kohl’s
vegetable garden, beneath the turnips. That will be 6 shillings and 4
pence, please.
Zavant Konniger, ‘Sage-Detective’:
We can deduce from this splintered door the thief exited with
assistance from a very large creature. But said creature couldn’t
have descended the narrow stairwell. This leaves only two possible
conclusions. Either it materialised from thin air, or else our thief is a
shape-changer…
Investigators are sometimes hired to solve mysteries far too dangerous to tackle alone, which can be the informal creation of an adventuring party. Of course, the very nature of mysteries can result in each solved case leading to yet another mystery. Investigators may therefore enjoy steady employment, provided they’re able to identify willing customers for every new mystery they uncover.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
Street-smart, you make a living from the charity of others using persuasion and charm.
Career Path: Pauper > Beggar > Master Beggar > Beggar King
The countryside rumour that Altdorf ’s streets are lined with gold is a cruel taunt to its Beggars. They rely upon the generosity of strangers and scraps scavenged from the mud and detritus of city life, though posturing dandies will happily dispose of a few pfennigs to make them go away. The law affords them little protection and the watch has no sympathy for loiterers.
Paupers often land on the streets as orphans and have been in and out of Mercy Houses all their lives. Once the basic skills of scrounging and panhandling are learned, Beggars can advance their techniques using disguises and sympathy ploys. Other Paupers are not destitute but simply employed in some of the worst occupations, on the lowest rung of the social ladder, like Gong Farmers, Bone Pickers, and Rag and Bone Men.
Elsie, Halfling Panhandler:
Please, frau, I beg humbly for enough coppers to buy bread tonight.
Even a pfennig would do — Gutbäcker is selling day-olds.
‘The Kaiser’, Altdorf Beggar-King:
You can have Königplatz next week — I need you loud and dirty on
Luitpoldstrasse today. For why? Best not ask, all you need to know is
the Cutters want the Watch distracted. I make it my business not to
offend the Cutters, and if you want a prosperous career you’ll follow
my example.
The only direction from rock-bottom is upward. Some Beggars will eagerly leave the gutter behind for adventuring opportunities, so long as they aren’t being exploited as battle-fodder. Those unable to afford a porter might hire a Beggar instead, and a Beggar’s savvy is useful when penniless and hungry. And, if it all goes wrong, it’s easy to return to the begging life.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
A skilled craftsperson, you take pride in your work, creating products for sale and commission.
Career Path: Apprentice Artisan > Artisan > Master Artisan > Guildmaster
Artisans produce goods, ranging from everyday necessities sold by Bakers and Chandlers, to weapons and riverboats crafted by Smiths and Shipwrights. The Empire’s larger towns and cities have guilds to protect local Artisans from fraudsters, as an Artisan’s entire livelihood can be jeopardised by unskilled competitors hawking cheap low-quality merchandise. Guild Artisans observe strict quality standards, with those failing to meet them blackballed and forbidden to trade locally.
Artisans work at all levels of society not just producing goods, but also repairing them. They are employed by navies to maintain vessels, by armies to manage war machines and siegeworks, and by merchant houses of all sizes to transform raw materials into sellable goods.
Wiebke, Cobbler’s Apprentice and Thief:
Sorry, mistress, all the shoes are gone! I forgot to put the milk out last
night. The Spite must have taken them.
Frau Glasmeister, Glassblowers’ Guildmaster:
You must understand, my boy, that Wurtbad’s wine has a reputation.
This bottle looks like it was blown through a Hochland long rifle.
Simply unacceptable.
Artisans in training can be sent to practice under other masters. The constant pressure to achieve perfection is so stifling that young Artisans sometimes take a break to pursue more liberating enterprises, sometimes supporting the army or navy.
Dwarf Guilds don’t usually admit Humans, and Dwarfs are traditionally allowed to practice their trade in Imperial cities without joining a local Guild. This can cause conflict as the Guilds are rarely pleased with skilled competition. Halflings are not so particular, and most will
happily join Human Guilds (if admitted) and allow Humans to join their Guilds. Elves do not have Artisan’s Guilds, and though they could join one it is unlikely they would lower themselves to do so.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling,Human
Charismatic and articulate, you champion your cause in the face of establishment opposition.
Career Path: Pamphleteer > Agitator > Rabble Rouser > Demagogue
Agitators lobby for political causes using print, protest, and public speaking. They muster the down-trodden populace’s sympathy and support but must be wary of drawing the attention of Sigmarites or Dwarfs interested in maintaining established traditions. The most dangerous Agitators have destabilised the rule of nobles, towns, and even entire provinces. Pamphleteers nail signs to billboards, or distribute them in market squares, though often those they seek to reach cannot read.
Religious Agitators can make a good living as street preachers, receiving donations from pious devotees and attracting flagellants and zealots as followers. Agitators who survive long enough to become Demagogues are often supported by powerful, hidden allies pursuing
change for their own motives.
Pamphlet, Street of a Hundred Taverns, Altdorf:
ALTDORF FOR ALTDORFERS! MIDDENLANDERS OUT!
Adrian Hoven, Cleric-Captain, Knights of the Fiery Heart:
Mark my words, if you’re looking to root out the agents of the
Spinner of Fate, follow the clamouring in the streets. They can’t resist
it. They’ll surface, sooner or later.
Agitators often move around, in search of larger crowds or fleeing the authorities. They may become leaders of motley groups of the restless and disaffected, exhorting — or even extorting — them to fight for a greater cause.
Altdorf has a legendary reputation for deep fogs and riots. Perhaps this happens because Altdorf is the Imperial Capital, or maybe its because the Grey College draws swathes of treacherous Ulgu , the Grey Wind of Magic, to the city. Whatever the case, it seems that whenever the fog draws in from the Altdorf Flats, mobs rise in the streets, and woe betide any watchmen who try to silence their right to be heard.
Eligible Races: High Elf,Human, Wood Elf
Feared and distrusted by the citizens of the Empire, you legally wield powerful and dangerous magic.
Career Path: Wizard’s Apprentice> Wizard > Master Wizard > Wizard Lord
Wizards channel one of the eight ‘Winds of Magic’ only spellcasters perceive, to cast potent spells. To legally cast magic in the Empire, a Human must follow the Articles of Imperial Magic and belong to one of the Eight Colleges of Magic in Altdorf — each dedicated to a specific wind, as Magisters can only safely channel one. After graduation, Apprentices become Magisters and serve the Empire. Magisters carefully study and practice their art, which, according to the Articles, they can only use outside their colleges in defence of their own life, or against the enemies of the Empire. Many Magisters are attached to the Empire State Army, and although they are treated with cautious suspicion, none can deny their effectiveness on the battlefield.
Reikhardt Mair, Witch Hunter:
I don’t care what promises they make, or what colleges they belong to,
they are dangerous abominations. I am continuing to petition for their
destruction in the name of Sigmar, for the good of us all.
Many Magisters leave the Colleges of Magic in debt for the cost of their tuition. These Wizards may be keen to find immediate employment, or seek out their fortune on land, at sea, or anywhere else they might be able to find relics, artefacts or lost tomes of magical lore. Journeying Magisters, eager to prove themselves, are actively encouraged to test their skills across the Empire by hunting down whatever dangers threaten the local populace.
Wizards are excellent characters to add some firepower to a group, but it can be intimidating for new players to have to learn a whole additional set of rules for spells. Because of this the GM should be aware that they might initially need some extra support to ensure that they are using these rules effectively and to the group’s best advantage.You’ll choose the colour of magic you study when you take the Arcane Magic Talent.
Eligible Races: Human
You carry the word of your god, tending to the spiritual needs of the masses.
Career Path: Initiate > Priest > High Priest > Lector
Priests tend to congregations of the faithful throughout the Old World. While many are assigned to a specific temple, others choose a wandering life to reach worshippers who cannot, or will not, attend temple. They are expected to exemplify the beliefs of their religion — which vary greatly depending on which deity they serve. High Priests are responsible for a temple and all its Cult and lay members. Alongside Lectors, they will often be called upon to advise the ruling classes, with many active in local politics. Priests have many duties connected to their God, such as Priests of Manann’s responsibility to consecrate new ships, or a Shallyan’s duty to tend to the sick and wounded, so they touch on most aspects of life in the Empire.
Wermer Losch, Merchant:
For sound advice, I seek a Priest of Verena. For everything else, I seek
a Priest of Ranald.
Sabine Schmidt, Fishmonger:
The Shallyan, just a girl she was, stroked my little Anton’s forehead and
whispered, and the screaming stopped. He smiled at me for the first
time in days. I will never forget it. Oh, aye, he died not long after, but
not in pain. Not in pain.
Some temple-bound Priests seek distractions to justify sojourns away. Disturbing matters heard from their congregations can send them on a quest for answers. Some High Priests find their administrative duties so far removed from the life they envisaged when they joined the Cult that they take extended pilgrimages away from their temple.
Academics are learned people who use their education to make a living. Often, Academics are the only characters who can read and write. They start with low Status but can secure important positions if they advance through the ranks.
Career options:
Eligible Races:Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human, Wood Elf
You dedicate your life to the pursuit and study of knowledge, wherever that may take you.
Career Path: Student > Scholar > Fellow > Professor
Scholars generally study at one of the Old World’s learning institutions, foremost amongst them the university in Altdorf. Most specialise in one or two subjects, and many learn just enough to provide a useful career, or give them something to talk about at dinner parties. Poorer Scholars act as scribes, reading and writing notes for others as most of the Empire’s citizens are illiterate. Others become tutors educating the wealthy.
The most gifted Masters are invited to join a university, with renowned Professors delivering popular lectures to hundreds of Students. Dwarfs and High Elves are less likely to be employed in an Imperial institution, though they may tour the Empire in search of esoteric knowledge.
Oskar Reisdorf, Mercenary:
None of us thought much of her. Scrawny thing the Captain dragged
out a library in Altdorf, name of Sosber. Kept to herself. Nose in a
book. But when we finally faced the Corpse Render, when so-called
warriors ran, she stood fast. Her quiet voice rang with steel as she
called out where to strike. Not the heads as you’d think, no, but the
body. Steel slew the beast that day, but knowledge made it possible.
Poor Scholars who cannot or will not tutor often need funds to continue their research. A few search the dark corners of the world for lost secrets and ancient tomes. Others are hired to accompany adventuring expeditions where their knowledge can be put to more practical use.
Scholar is a useful Career, with access to rare Lore skills, a good way for the GM to share information with players. Played with commonsense they can counter-balance rash and martially-inclined characters’ tendencies to solve every problem with a blade. Scholars can use their knowledge to solve puzzles or come up with unusual strategies and tactics.
Eligible Races:Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
With a strong stomach and steady hand, you practice the art of medicine, striving to save lives.
Career Path: Physician’s Apprentice > Physician > Doktor > Court Physician
Physicians study patients’ symptoms and prescribe remedies and surgeries. While the healing arts are ancient, many deriving from Elven practices, the formal science of medicine is relatively new and not-entirely-trusted. Due to the Empire’s history with necromancy and the safe-guards imposed by the Cult of Morr, studying cadavers is forbidden, making learning of anatomy hard. Medicine’s reputation suffered further from swindlers selling ‘miracle cure-alls’ that do nothing or cause actual harm. Physicians learn their profession at a university or while apprenticed to a Guild Physician. Most cheap surgery is undertaken by back-street physicians known as barber-surgeons whose training is informal. Trained doctors with strong stomachs are in demand for the State Armies. The most famed Physicians almost exclusively tend to wealthy merchants and the nobility.
Reikland Proverb warning against cheap Physicians:
Come to Neuber for all your limb removals! I’ll ’ave your arm off in
seconds! I’ll suture it a’fore you even wake up. My work’s so fine you’ll
never miss it!
Jana Palner, Part-time Surgeon:
They’re bastards, all. I can’t so much as give you a proper bloodletting
without their leave. “Practicing medicine without a license”
my arse. I know you can’t afford them, deary. Here, luv, take this nice
tea. What? Oh no, just tea is all. Just tea. And if you feel better, why,
thank Shallya, eh?
Physician’s Guild fees are notoriously expensive, which can cause newer Physicians without steady clientele to seek alternate sources of income. Some Physicians consistently search for more effective treatments and new medicines, which can take them far afield. Others like to expand their knowledge of anatomy by studying grievous wounds first hand, and there are few better ways to do that than by travelling with adventurers.
Eligible Races: Human
You are devoted to the service of your deity, having sworn vows for a life of service.
Career Path: Novitiate > Nun > Abbess > Prioress General
Nuns are members of religious orders, normally cloistered within an abbey, convent, or monastery. Most rise before the sun for morning prayer before toiling in fields, tending to the sick, or preserving important manuscripts. Vows of pilgrimage cause some to travel the Empire, while others take oaths to serve the community, moving amongst the people, tending to their spiritual needs. Devoted hermits and tenders to shrines are also thought of as ‘Nuns’ or ‘Monks’ by the folk of the Empire. Many Nuns learn valuable trades such as
vintners, brewers or calligraphers. Abbesses use these activities to attract donations and patronage from the local nobility. Leaders of particularly large or martial Orders can gather significant influence both within their own cult and with the ruling classes of a province.
Abbot Ernst Halfhauser:
They came thinking it a simple task to slay a few poor, hapless Brothers
and take our relics. I ask Morr not judge too harshly the seven bandits
we bury today, as Brother Hild has already inflicted punishment
enough.
Bengt, Altdorf Street Rat:
Quick! Come quick! The Sisters of Faith and Chastity are about to
parade through the streets. I want to see if I can get a few coppers
caught in their thorns. It brings luck for the whole year!
When a religious order discovers terrible secrets or fragments of prophecy, its leaders may feel they must act, sending brothers and sisters abroad. Abbeys along pilgrimage routes will often also send their members abroad to guard the many pilgrims traversing the lengthy holy roads across the Empire. And there are always itinerant Friars wandering the world, risking adventure with every new land they enter.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
You navigate treacherous legal systems, defending clients and prosecuting the guilty.
Career Path: Student Lawyer > Lawyer > Barrister > Judge
Lawyers give legal counsel, interpret the law, and argue on behalf of their clients before the courts. They are often specialists in the laws of the province in which they practice, or in ecclesiastical law. Most are university educated and therefore rich and well-connected, although gifted individuals of low birth are sometimes apprenticed. Cult lawyers learn from their venerable peers, with those trained by the Cults of Verena and Sigmar especially well-regarded. Some Lawyers are hired as mediators, settling informal disputes outside costly courts, a practice favoured by Halflings. Others work for criminal gangs, exploiting legal loopholes to free their always-guilty clients. At the top end of society, Barristers are the only lawyers allowed to address higher appeal courts in the city-states, charging exorbitant prices for their services.
Stefan Bachler, Merchant:
Sharks! No, worse! Leeches! But not the good kind that suck out bad
humours, oh no. They’re leeches that drain your coffers and leave you
nothing to show for it.
Lector Agatha von Böhrn, Supreme Law Lord of the Empire:
It is not what the lawyer says I may do that concerns me, but what
is right by reason and justice. Such matters need then be the basis of
our new law.
Lawyers excel at getting people out of trouble, while adventurers excel at getting into it. They can use their knowledge of obscure local laws to avoid problems by suggesting unusual approaches to solve thorny dilemmas. After all, tying up a local thug in court is just as valuable, and arguably much safer, than tying one up in a basement.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, Human
You create machines and constructions both useful and bizarre, and often downright deadly.
Career Path: Student Engineer > Engineer > Master Engineer > Chartered Engineer
Engineers design and build mechanical devices or structures such as bridges, canals, or fortifications. Most are educated, Dwarfs at the hide-bound Dwarf Engineers Guild, Humans at forward-thinking establishments such as the Imperial Engineers’ School at Altdorf, though self-taught prodigies are not unknown. Human Engineers value innovation and discovery, whereas Dwarfs favour traditional, triedand- tested designs passed down for generations. Mining company engineers are well-paid; less so the State Army Engineers who maintain the Imperial war machines and act as sappers and bridge-builders. Master Engineers often find themselves leading teams on ambitious construction projects. Chartered Engineers are the most trusted in the Empire, called upon to design, test, and build such prestigious Imperial Commissions like the complex Steam Wheel Locks, which have revolutionised the speed of travel in the canals of the Vorbergland.
Wolfgang Kugelschrieber, Inventor:
What will it do? Well, it’s supposed to pluck the chicken, Smallnose.
Stand well back!
Great Engineers of the Empire’, Lady Theodora Holzenauer, Engineer and Journalist:
Master Engineer Volker von Meinkopt found inspiration watching
students reloading at the Imperial Gunnery School. He had a revelation:
more barrels = more shots = more lethality. He soon produced the first
repeating handgun, ‘Von Meinkopt’s Whirling Cavalcade of Death’,
and pistol, ‘Von Meinkopt’s Micro-mainspring of Multitudinous
Precipitation of Pernicious Lead’. Not content to rest on those laurels,
he then created the enormous nine-barrelled cannon, the Helblaster
Volley Gun, which is utterly lethal to enemies and, all too often, its
crew.
Some Engineers are drawn to investigate ancient Dwarf Holds, most now abandoned, for entombed within are the secrets of the master
builders of old. Those who dare their depths may find millennia-old marvels, many of which are repurposed by Goblins and Skaven for
their own nefarious purposes. Equally enticing are the stone sky bridges soaring above the Holds, some stretching for many miles, true wonders of bygone engineering that once connected thriving Dwarf settlements, forts, and farmlands.
Eligible Races: Dwarf, Halfling, High Elf, Human
Skilled in chemistry and concoctions, you create and sell medicine of all kinds.
Career Path: Apothecary’s Apprentice > Apothecary > Master Apothecary > Apothecary-General
Apothecaries specialise in preparing pharmaceutical medication — commonly pills, draughts, and ointments — for sale to patients and doktors alike. Their workshops are filled with a dazzling array of bubbling alembics, overflowing beakers, worn mortar and pestles, and other physic-making paraphernalia. Some Apothecaries supplement their income selling illicit substances — from stimulants for desperate students, to hallucinogenic weirdroot for bored nobles or shady commissions from even shadier groups. Supplying these is lucrative, but also dangerous. Rare ingredients are expensive, so Apothecaries frequently have cash flow problems, and journey the wilds to collect their own ingredients. Many take temporary employment with expeditions, mercenaries, or the military for extra coin.
Kathe the Unseen, Assassin:
Look for this sigil: white mortar, black pestle. Don’t ask for our order
without it or you’ll be reported to the Watch. And lad, don’t ever short
our Apothecary; you’ll spend the rest of your days wondering if the
next drink will be your last.’
Thorica Norrasdotr, Dwarf Merchant:
Human chemistry? As shoddy as their architecture! And just as likely
to kill you! I asked for tonic after a hard night’s drinking. Had the flux
for a week!
Due to Physician Guild pressure, most towns ban Apothecaries from formally practicing medicine, but during play Apothecaries can easily
fill the role of a healer. Indeed, they are versatile in this role because they can also identify dangerous and unusual substances the party
may encounter, and even turn some into useful medicine.
Halflings are ubiquitous across the Reikland, found working in service industries in all towns, with an entire district of Reikland’s capital of Altdorf, known as Haffenstadt, packed tight with hundreds of extended Halfling families supporting restaurants, taverns, pipeweed stores, and an enormous number of street-food hawkers. Halflings are also a common sight in many of Reikland’s villages, where it is not uncommon to find them employed to staff an inn or run a farm. They are communal creatures, preferring to live in close-knit family groups, sharing houses, rooms,and even beds with dozens offriends and relatives; everyone contributes and everyone shares. This interdependent lifestyle leaves many Halflings struggling with the concept of private ownership and space.
Halflings are notoriously interested in recording their lineage, and many Halfling clans can trace their ancestry back many centuries to the very founding of the Mootland (their selfgoverned Grand Province in the Empire). The Elder of the Moot — currently Hisme Stoutheart — is the custodian of the Haffenlyver , an ancient embroidered scroll detailing the chief bloodlines of their primary clans, said to be the greatest treasure of the Halflings.
Another peculiar detail is the Halflings’ strange affinity for Ogres. Despite their ravenous appetites, and penchant for eating whatever is at hand, Ogres tend to respect Halflings. Indeed, gangs of Ogre labourers are often overseen by Halfling gaffers, and most Ogre mercenary bands have a Halfling cook on staff.
Halflings are short, apple-cheeked and beardless, resembling big-eyed, round-faced (and round bodied) Human children, and their sunny dispositions and curly locks only reinforce this impression. They are known for their enormous appetites in all things and their lack of concern for personal space (they’re huggers), social boundaries (‘Well me’ great aunt’s just shacked up with me best mate, and you should hear what they’ve been up to!’), and property rights (‘It’s not like he’s using it!’); this last has landed more than one Halfling in jail for thievery.
Opinions
On Reiklander Humans, ‘Tubs’ Samworth Rumster XVI, Pie-seller from Kalegan…
Stiff-necked and pious, warlike and jealous… I could go on, but
good manners halts me, and, besides, I like them, and they like
me pies. As long as you keep away from their temples and the
hard-liners, they’re an open and pretty welcoming bunch. Good
folk, and good for business.
On Dwarfs, ‘Lilly’ Joseppinalina Hayfoot, Pedlar in the Reikland…
My aunt Bessi was the greediest, as were six of her sons. But Bessi
has nothing on them Dwarfs. Eyes grow as big as Mannslieb at
even a scratch of gold. But, if you tell them that, they’ll growl
at you like you’ve taken the last honeycake, and start scribbling
notes in one of their damned books about insulting their family
honour or whatnot.
On High Elves, ‘Dainty’ Cordelineth Brandysnap IV, Thief from Altdorf…
I’ve seen them on the rivers in their white ships. How do they
keep them so clean? And their hair… oh, their hair… it’s like
sunshine, it is. Snuck on a boat once to see what they do. Same as
the rest of us, it seems, just more… earnestly.
On Wood Elves, ‘Jammy’ Mercimaus Alderflower II, Scholar from Fielbach…
Elves living in the woods? Don’t be bloody ridiculous. Elves live
in white towers and pretty boats over in Altdorf-town, you idiot.
Wood Elves are a rare sight in the Reikland, and for good reason. During the closing stages of the War of the Beard, most Elves retreated from the Old World, but a few remained and withdrew to the depths of the magical forests they now called home. Over three thousand years of isolation, hardship, and warfare then ensued, leaving ‘Wood Elves’ culturally very different to their High Elf cousins.
Wood Elf life is entwined with nature, with a society intermixed with spirits of the forest. They are separatists who work hard to hide themselves away, with arboreal outposts cunningly concealed with powerful illusions and misleading magics. On the rare occasions they travel beyond their borders, it is usually for war, as often with their neighbours as with darker forces, leaving other peoples of the Old World deeply unsure of the fae, capricious Elves.
There are two kiths of Wood Elves most commonly seen in Reikland. The ‘Asrai’ from Athel Loren across the Grey Mountains, and ‘Eonir’ of the Laurelorn Forest far to the north in Nordland.
The ruthless Asrai of Athel Loren are xenophobic and secretive, and rarely venture beyond their borders. However, a decade ago, Naith the Prophetess foresaw the possible death of Athel Loren. In response, the King and Queen of the Wood, recognising the fate of their forests may lay in the hands of outsiders, sent tattooed kinbands out from Athel Loren to take action, hunting the enemies of the forest at the source.
These ferocious bands are sometimes led by a spellsinger who calls upon the old, magical paths of the Worldroot to transport them between Athel Loren and the depths of other forests long lost to the Elves, but not yet consumed by civilisation or Chaos. Occasionally, these wild hunters perceive some common cause with other Old Worlders and an individual may step from the shadows to join with those fighting a greater evil.
By comparison, the Queen of the Laurelorn takes a very different path to the foretellings given to her and has recently sent a sizeable delegation to make camp in the deep forest of the Amber Hills just south of Altdorf. These Elves observe Human politics concerning the Laurelorn and beyond, and occasionally intervene on matters deemed important. The camp is viewed as a ‘temporary’ solution by the Elves, but the meaning of that word is very different to the long-lived species. Because of this camp, these Wood Elves are a growing presence in Reikland as they venture from the trees and wander according to their inscrutable purposes, often as hunters or entertainers.
Sylvan Cousins
The Wood Elves of Athel Loren and the Laurelorn may share a common history and origin in the Old World, but they are culturally different. Unlike the High Elves, neither of the Wood Elven kiths care much for any form of conventional civilisation, seeing it as a threat to their beloved forests and way of life. However, they differ in how they choose to express this.
The Laurelorn Wood Elves proactively engage in politics to protect themselves, mixing with others, and are not above stoking the fires of hatred between other groups to shift focus to their preferred targets. Thus, in character, they are more like the High Elves, whilst still having the Skills and Talents of the Wood Elves.
By comparison, the Athel Loren kinbands prefer to hide in the shadows, shunning contact with all others, instead striking deadly blows designed to cause fear and terror in the hearts of any who would look to the forest with greed.
Opinions
On Reiklander Humans, Algwyllmyr Twiceseen, Seer from Athel Loren…
I see hateful creatures with darkness in their hearts and a
complete disrespect for order. But they are widespread, warlike,
and, most importantly, easy to manipulate. Given winter draws
near, it is time to use them.
On Dwarfs, Meridrynda Aspengate, Glade Rider from Athel Loren…
More stubborn than the Oak of Ages, they understand one
argument only: force. So, use it swiftly and decisively, and be
aware they will return for petty vengeance at a later date.
On Halflings, Alafael Harrowlay, Entertainer from the Laurelorn…
I met one when travelling Middenland during the ninth year of
Queen Marrisith. It talked a lot. And I do mean a lot. When we
parted ways by a town it told me was named “Delberz”, I found it
had somehow managed to steal several pouches of herbs from my
belt. I was impressed. So, I suggest not trusting the things, but the
companionship and local lore they share may be worth the cost!
On High Elves, Cynwrawn Fartrack, Hunter from the Laurelorn…
Conceited beyond any sensible measure, don’t approach the Asur.
They are jaded, arrogant, and likely lost to Atharti. And if they
try to look down on you in that superior manner they so prefer,
just remind them their Queen in Avelorn lives a life no different
to ours.
High Elves are a relatively common sight on the rivers of Reikland. Both Altdorf and Nuln boast sizeable districts populated by High Elf merchants who ship goods down the Reik through Marienburg to the sea. These merchants are by far the most numerous of the High Elves found in Reikland, alongside diplomatic entourages and support staff. Aloof, alien, and long-lived, they are a passionate, emotional folk widely perceived in the Reikland to be the most beautiful of the species, and also the most arrogant.
Tall and slender with delicately pointed ears, most Elves have long, fine hair and melodious voices. Although they might look frail, their physiology is not only surprisingly strong, but also extraordinarily agile and dextrous. There are very few noticeable gender differences between Elves, which often causes confusion among Humans who interact with them.
The High Elves, who call themselves ‘Asur’, are native to Ulthuan, a magical island lying to the west of the Old World. A proud species, they boast of being amongst the oldest of the world’s civilisations. High Elves show considerable disdain for Dwarfs, with whom they have a long history of conflict. Since their abandonment of the Old World in the aftermath of the War of the Beard, the Asur have been torn apart by civil war, the ‘kinstrife’, although this isn’t something they discuss openly with outsiders. As a result of this millennia-long struggle, Elves from the war-torn north of Ulthuan tend to be hard-bitten, practical, and ruthless.
High Elven society is tightly-bound by ritual and discipline, intended to keep soaring emotions in check and provide focus for their complicated intellects. Seeming contrary to this, some Asur revel in wild adventure. The term ‘Sea Elf ’ is often used by other species to describe the dauntless High Elves who venture beyond Ulthuan’s safe shores as mariners, traders, and diplomats, and who stand in stark contrast to any grim Asur accompanying them who follow warrior lifestyles.
Opinions
On Reiklander Humans, Imryth Emberfell, Ambassador from Caledor…
They are corrupt, jealous, and rapacious in their short-lived
hungers. But, when mindful of their petty needs and their fear of
what we represent, they are easily shaped.
On Dwarfs, Alathan Crestrider, Seaman from Cothique…
I suggest avoiding them. They are lost in the past, which blinds
them to what’s coming. Nod politely, accept the abuse, and move
on. There is no point arguing, they will never change their minds.
On Halflings, Hoelistor Arceye, Wizard from Saphery…
I find these cheerful creatures genuinely interesting. I lived
amongst an extended family group for a while, and found them
so open, welcoming, and nurturing it was authentically touching.
But, eventually, I had to move on, the smell was simply overpowering,
and they have no understanding of personal space,
which soon loses its charm.
On Wood Elves, Anaw-Alina Darkstep, Scout from Nagarythe…
If the Asrai would bother to look beyond their dirty noses, they
would see what we are all up against. Isolationist idiots that
deserve everything that’s coming to them. I doubt the Eonir are
any better.
Dwarfs — or ‘Dawi’ as they call themselves — are legendarily gruff and stubborn. While the majority reside in vast mountainside fortresses known as Holds, most larger towns and the capital of the Reikland also have Dwarf populations. Given their clannish
nature, they tend to band together, forming enclaves or districts wherever they settle. Many of the Dwarfs living in Reikland are the descendants of those driven from Fallen Holds many centuries ago, but most still consider themselves as Dwarfs of the Grey Mountains, although some have never seen a hill, let alone a mountain.
Dwarf culture respects skill in crafting — chiefly stonework, smithing and engineering — and Dwarf Holds are resplendent with impressive feats of artifice. They also covet gold and jewels, mining deep beneath the mountains in the pursuit of precious metals and gemstones. However, more than these material possessions, Dwarfs venerate their elders and ancestors, and have entire religions focussing upon important progenitors. Dwarfs cannot cast spells, although their runesmiths carve artefacts with intricate runes to harness magical power.
However, their prowess as engineers is so impressive that some of their more ingenious clockwork or steam-powered devices are mistaken for magic by simpler folk.
Dwarfs are squat with thick, muscular limbs and stout, broad torsos. Their features are heavy and their hair is thick. Length of hair is a mark of pride and status amongst Dwarfs, with elaborate braids and adornments demonstrating rank: to shave a Dwarf causes terrible shame. Indeed, honour is a fundamental aspect of their character. Given their long memories and proud natures, they bear grudges against those who have slighted or dishonoured them, gripping tight to their grievances for many years, even taking on
the grudges borne by their ancestors, knowing their forebears will be watching over them, nursing their bitterness long after death. Whilst it might be hard for others to win a Dwarf’s friendship, once given it is absolute. While not as ageless as the near-immortal Elves, Dwarfs can live for many centuries. Indeed, some say that as long as a Dwarf has a purpose, they will not die unless struck down in battle, such is the strength of their conviction.
Note: Given the long memories of Dwarfs and their tendency to bear grudges, many harbour a deep resentment towards Elves for their part in the War of Vengeance. As such, many Dwarfs have the Animosity (Elves) Psychology trait.
Opinions
On Reiklander Humans, Garral Herraksson, Jeweller from Eilhart…
Like my father and my father afore me, I’ve been living in
Reikland all me life. As folk go, they know not to mess with
my business, and show the respect I deserve, as is right. Yes,
they’re unreliable, and as changeable as the wind, but they’re also
resourceful and shrewd, so I’d recommend them as risky business
partners, as they see solutions I’d not even consider.
On Halflings, Helgi Galannasniz, Burgher from Schrabwald…
They’re just not my kind of folk. Always smiling. Always
fidgeting. Always talking. Always moving in big groups that
just won’t shut up! When they come in my store, I like to shoo
them off with a broom. Really, what have they got to be so happy
about? I just don’t trust them.
On High Elves, Snorrt Leivvusson, Diplomat from Karak Ziflin…
Don’t talk to me about those bloody bastards! Alrug Skycaster,
my ultimate granduncle, was bloody betrayed in the bloody
War of bloody Vengeance by those… those… ARGH! It’s our
clan’s oldest grudge! Stood for thousands of bloody years! When
I find the descendants of bloody Galanthiel Whisperthorn, by
Grungni! I’m going to teach them all — every single last one of
them — a lesson in manners with my axe!
On Wood Elves, Merig Ranvigsdottir, Villager from Azorn-Kalaki…
My great grandfather thought logging forests on t’other side of
the Grey Mountains would be lucrative. Ignored all the warnings,
he was sure he was onto a winner. What could a bunch of skinny
Elves do to him and his lads, after all? A lot, as it turned out. Only
my grandfather survived, left alive to spread the message: “Keep
away.” So, me and my lads are preparing a party to take revenge.
Humans are the most numerous and widespread of the civilised species of the Old World. From the plains of the Estalian Kingdoms to the frozen oblasts of Imperial Kislev, Humans occupy every corner of the continent, and they thrive. The largest, most powerful Human realm is the Empire, a patchwork of powerful provinces blanketed in seemingly endless forests. Standing proud at the heart of this Empire, the Reikland is its richest, most cosmopolitan region.
Many Reiklanders see it as their divine right to rule, for the patron god of the Empire, Sigmar, was himself a Reiklander before he ascended to godhood many centuries ago. Temples and shrines to the god are found everywhere, and the majority of Reiklanders are devout believers in Sigmar’s message of Empire and unity. Because of this, they are significantly more friendly, open, and optimistic than other folk, since what could possibly go wrong for a land that birthed a god? By comparison, outsiders often see them as arrogant, over-bearing meddlers who stick their unwanted noses into any affair.
Beyond their affluent lifestyles and pushy personalities, Reiklanders are largely the same as other Humans. They may be shorter-lived than other species, but Humans possess more vigour, versatility, and ambition. They also have a seemingly inextricable relationship with the insidious horrors of the Ruinous Powers, with more Humans falling to corruption than any other species. Perhaps it’s no surprise the declining elder species grow increasingly concerned the meteoric rise of Humanity could result in cataclysm.
Opinions
On Dwarfs, Reikäger Jungling, State Soldier from Altdorf…
They’ve been our allies since Sigmar walked this very city;
fought with them meself back in ’05. Sure, they’re a bit stubborn,
seriously vindictive and pretty blunt, but I won’t hear a word said
against them.’
On Halflings, Stefan Krause, Innkeeper from Stirgau…
If I gets meself the sort wot eats and smokes all day, then I’m
happy as Ranald in catnip. It’s when I get them without proper
manners nicking me crockery or knives and forks: that I just can’t
abide! They’re all smiles and shrugs when the watch come to pick
’em up, like they don’t understand what they done wrong.
On High Elves, Dorothea Taalenstein, Merchant from Kemperbad…
Yes, I do trade with them. And, no, don’t be ridiculous, I’ve never
been turned to a pillar of salt just by looking at them. Truly, I find
them graceful and urbane. Proper civilised, I’d say. But, ’tween you
and me, if Verena were to ask, I might also say I find them just…
odd. So very intense. Like every deal we make really matters.
On Wood Elves, Siggina Gerster, Bawd from Ubersreik…
Elves of the forest you say? Ain’t none of ’em around here, mate.
You want to be goin’ south to Bretonnia. I hear they gots loads of
them, and that they’re completely horrible!