Empire

The Empire is by far the largest and most powerful of the human nations of the Old World. It stretches from the Grey Mountains in the west to the Worlds Edge Mountains and the borders of Kislev in the east. This vast nation is divided into many separate principalities or states each of which is something akin to an entire and independent land in its own right. Throughout much of the history of The Empire these states have fought amongst themselves. Rival dynasties have vied for power, alliances have been made and broken, and only rarely has a single claimant risen to control the entire land. The Empire of today is almost wholly united under the Prince of Altdorf the Elector of the Reikland - hereditary ruler of the western principality of the Reikland. Only the great sea-port of Marienburg in the Wasteland retains independence under the leadership of its powerful and wealthy mercantile community.

The armies of The Empire are raised and controlled by its separate states. The Emperor‘s army is nothing more than the army of the Reikland - although as the Reikland is the richest and most populous part of the Empire it also has by far the largest and best equipped army.

The Emperor‘s position is that of first amongst equals rather than absolute monarch. Although in practice rule of the Empire often passes from father to son, in principle the leaders of the various states choose the Emperor from amongst their own number. The Emperor can, in theory, call upon the other Electors to supply troops for the Emperor‘s campaigns. By the same token, individual Electors can call upon the Emperor or neighbouring states to send reinforcements in times of war. Jealousy, rivalry and politicking mean that some states inevitably support or oppose others. Minor territorial disputes or claims over tolls and access rights often lead to direct confrontation even with the Empire.

The armies of the Empire are committed to defending its borders and rarely mount lengthy campaigns beyond them. A long standing alliance between the Emperor and the Tzars of Kislev has occasionally taken armies far to the north to fight against intrusions of Chaos. Such armies do not always return. The chief enemies of the Empire lay within its own borders - for the land is sparsely settled and much of the forest and mountain is little more than wilderness infested with greenskins and beastmen. The mountains to the south and east are also home to subterranean living goblins as well as to skaven. Those states that adjoin these borderlands maintain large mobile armies to see off the inevitable raiding parties that issue from the mountain passes every spring.

Empire army selector

Troop	Type	Attacks	Hits	Armour	Command	Unit size	Points per unit	Min/max	Special
Halberdiers	Infantry	3	3	6+	-	3	45	2/-	-
Handgunners	Infantry	3/1	3	-	-	3	65	-/3	*1
Crossbowmen	Infantry	3/1	3	-	-	3	55	2/-	-
Flagellants	Infantry	5	3	-	-	3	70	-/1	*2
Skirmishers	Infantry	4	3	-/6+	-	1	25	-/-	*3
Knights	Cavalry	3	3	4+	-	3	110	-/-	-
Pistoliers	Cavalry	3/1	3	5+	-	3	95	-/4	*4
Helblaster	Artillery	1/8-4-2	2	-	-	1	50	-/1	*5
Cannon	Artillery	1/2+bounce	2	-	-	2	85	-/1	*9
Steam Tank	Machine	3/3	4	3+	-	1	130	-/1	*6

General	General	+2	-	-	9	1	125	1	-
Hero	Hero	+1	-	-	8	1	80	-/2	-
Wizard	Wizard	+0	-	-	7	1	45	-/1	-
Griffon	Monstrous Mount	+2	-	-	-	-	+80	-/1	*7
War Altar	Chariot Mount	+1	-	-	-	-	+15	0–1	*8

Special rules

1. Handgunners

Count enemy Armour values as one worse than normal when shot by a handgun. So an Armour value of 3+ counts as 4+, 4+ as 5+, and 5+ as 6+, whilst an Armour value of 6+ can‘t save against a handgun. One unit of Crossbowmen per full 1000 points can be replaced by Handgunners (including the 10pts extra in price) while still counting for the Crossbowmen min/max value. Note that this unit also counts for min/max value of Handgunners.

2. Flagellants

So keen are they to meet their maker that a unit of Flagellants will always use its initiative to charge an enemy if possible and can‘t be given orders instead. They‘ll never use their initiative to evade. They can‘t be driven back by shooting and do not roll for drive backs. If victorious in combat they must pursue or advance where possible. Flagellants are unaffected by enemies that cause terror in combat, so they do not suffer the usual -1 Attack modifier.

3. Skirmishers

Skirmisher stands are not deployed as independent units. Instead, any infantry unit apart from Flagellants may add one stand of Skirmishers. This brings the size of the unit to 4 stands: 3 regular stands plus the Skirmisher stand.

Skirmishers always have the same Armour value as the rest of their unit. They fight as part of their unit and can be removed as a unit casualty if the player wishes.

Skirmisher casualties never count for Command penalties. Skirmisher stands never cause the parent unit to be in Irregular Formation no matter how they are placed.

4. Pistoliers

Pistoliers have a shooting range of only 15cm however they have 360° vision - i.e. stands in this unit can draw line of sight from all edges for the purpose of evading and shooting, including shooting at charging enemies. Note that this unit still needs Line of Sight from it‘s front edge to charge an enemy.

5. Helblaster

The Helblaster is a primitive type of crankdriven and unreliable machine gun. It has maximum range of 30cm. Its attacks value varies according to range: the closer the range the more deadly it becomes.

Range	1-10cm	11-20cm	21-30cm
Attack	8	4	2

Range

1-10cm

11-20cm

21-30cm

Attack

Targets struck by a Helblaster count their Armour value as one worse than normal - so 3+ counts as 4+, 4+ as 5+, whilst 6+ is ignored. When shooting with a Helblaster roll to hit as normal but if any 1s are rolled count them up and resolve the effect before counting.

№ of 1s	Result
1, 2	Fizzle. Despite scary noises the weapon is still functional. Work out the attacks as usual.
3	Misfire. The gun fails to go off - no shots at all hit this turn. Disregard all hits this turn.
4	Ka-boom! The weapon explodes destroying itself and mortally surprising its crew. The Helblaster stand is removed as a casualty. No hits are struck against the enemy unless the exploding Helblaster is shooting at a charging foe, in which case 6 hits are automatically inflicted. Make Armour saves as for ordinary Helblaster hits.

6. Steam Tank

The Steam Tank forms a unit on its own, it moves up to 20cm, and must be given its own orders. The Steam Tank cannot be given a brigade order with other units, not even with other Steams Tanks. A character cannot join with a Steam Tank. A Steam Tank has 360° vision - i.e. it can draw line of sight from all edges of its stand for the purpose of evading and shooting, including shooting at charging enemies. Note that this unit still needs Line of Sight from it‘s front edge to charge an enemy. Steam Tank shooting attacks have a range of 30cm. A Steam Tank therefore shoots to its front, side or rear against the closest enemy target.

Count enemy armour values as one worse than normal when shot by a Steam Tank. So, for example, an armour value of 3+ counts as 4+, 5+ counts as 6+, and 6+ can‘t save against a Steam Tank. A Steam Tank can shoot at charging enemy.

Because of its exceptionally heavy armour plating, a Steam Tank always counts as defended - so a 5 or 6 is normally required to inflict a hit from shooting or in combat. The Steam Tank fights combat like any other unit. Steam Tanks cannot be driven back or routed by shooting.

If the player attempts to issue an order to a Steam Tank and rolls double six then the order is failed as usual and the machine does not move. Ignore the usual Blunder chart for heroes and wizards. Roll on the following Malfunction chart. Note that although a General cannot blunder he must still roll for malfunctions.

1	Destroyed. The Steam Tank grinds to a halt rupturing steam and noxious gasses. Remove the Steam Tank as a casualty.
2	Broken Down. The Steam Tank‘s drive has broken. It does not move further this turn and cannot move in future turns. Should it be obliged to move for any reason it is destroyed. Otherwise, the Steam Tank can continue to shoot and fight as normal.
3	Stuck. The Steam tank does not move further this turn. It cannot shoot this turn. Otherwise it is unaffected and can move in future turns as normal.
4	Commander Slain. The Steam Tank does not move further this turn. It can move in future turns but suffers a command penalty of -1 for the remainder of the game. The Steam Tank can shoot as normal. Momentary Halt. The Steam Tank cannot move further this turn but is otherwise unaffected. Steam Overload. The Steam Tank cannot move further this turn but can shoot with double the usual number of Attacks (6) to represent steam being uncontrollably diverted into weaponry.

7. Griffons

Generals, Wizards and Heroes can ride Griffons. The Griffon can fly increasing its rider‘s Movement from 60cm to 100cm. It adds +2 Attacks to those of its rider. A unit that includes a Griffon rider causes terror in its enemies (and one might imagine a great deal of nervousness amongst its own ranks).

8. War Altar

There is only one War Altar of Sigmar. Consequently an army, no matter how large, can only ever include one. A War Altar can only be included as a mount for a Wizard, in which case he is assumed to be the Grand Theogonist. The presence of the War Altar adds +1 Attack and enables the Grand Theogonist to add +1 to the dice result when casting a spell once during the battle. The player must announce that he is using the power of the War Altar before rolling the dice for the spell.

Empire spells

Ball of Flame

5+ to cast Range 30cm

A ball of flame shoots form the Wizard‘s outstretched arm burning all in its path.

Draw an imaginary line 30cm long from the Wizard‘s stand in any direction you wish. The line will pass through any intervening units but not beyond terrain that would normally stop a missile shot, e.g. over the crest of a hill, more than 2cm of woodland, and so forth.

Each unit under the line takes three shooting attacks worked out in the usual way. Note that this spell can easily affect several units and will affect all units that fall beneath the line (including your own). Unengaged units can be driven back by a Ball of Flame as with ordinary shooting (even including friends). Engaged units cannot be driven back by the Ball of Flame but carry over any hits scored into the first round of combat; any hits scored count as having been struck in the combat itself.

Voice of Command

5+ to cast Range 30cm

The Wizard‘s voice booms out across the battlefield directing troops above the tumult of combat with the magical Voice of Command.

The spell can be cast on any unengaged friendly unit within range regardless of whether the Wizard can see it or not. The spell affects only a single unit, never a brigade and there is no supporting charge possible.

The unit can be moved just as if it had received an order in the Command phase. Character stands that have joined the unit will not move with it: they remain where they are.

Weird Enchantment

4+ to cast Range 30cm

A weird enchantment forms around the target unit and engulfs it in strange lights, scary nightmares and disorientating special effects.

This spell can be cast on any enemy unit within range regardless of whether the Wizard can see it or not. The spell lasts until the end of the opposing player‘s following turn.

The unit moves at half pace in all situations: even when charging for example. The unit counts all enemies as terrifying (-1 Attack penalty) even when it is otherwise immune to terror. If the unit would normally cause terror then it ceases to do so and counts all enemies as terrifying just like everyone else. However, if the target is Undead or Daemon it will not count enemies as terrifying although all other penalties apply as described (Undead and Daemons are hard to spook).

Teleport

2+ to cast Range N/A

With a swirl of his cloak, a crack of thunder and just a hint of maniacal laughter the Wizard vanishes to reappear anywhere on the battlefield.

The Wizard is moved to a new position anywhere on the table. He can leave or join a unit if he wishes, enabling a Wizard to move into or out of combat for example. Once the Wizard has moved he can cast a second spell, but note this must be a different spell and not a further Teleport! Roll to cast the second spell as normal. A Wizard that Teleports successfully can therefore potentially cast two spells that turn.