"I'm always surprised by the commoners. They have the most vivid imaginations. Just last week, I was visiting Wissenberg, a decrepit little village, when a weeping woman came up to my carriage. Before my guards could haul her away, she went on and on about the Beastmen stealing her baby. I would have been quite put out had it not been for her amusing story. Beastmen! This far south? I think not."
- —Emmanuelle XV von Liebwitz, Countess of Nuln, Elector Countess of Wissenland[6a]
Emmanuelle XV von Liebwitz, Grand Countess of Wissenland, Countess of Nuln and Duchess of Meissen, is the Elector Countess of the Empire's Grand Province of Wissenland and the ruling countess of the city-state of Nuln as well as the duchess of the prosperous town of Meissen.[3a]
While no front-line general herself, she's nevertheless shrewd of mind and iron of will, as attested to by her long and relatively stable reign over the great city-state of Nuln, and has survived many threats and challenges to her power.[10a]
She has been known to quote an old Tilean proverb when her lack of personal martial skill is put into question. "Wars," as the proverb goes, "are waged by warriors, but won with gold." And gold is what Nuln and the grand countess possess in massive abundance, and when her city was in danger, such as during the assault by the Nurglish Chaos Lord Tamurkhan in 2511 IC, she gladly emptied her entire hoard of treasures to field more warriors to fight in the city's defence.[10a]
Quick Answers
What is Emmanuelle von Liebwitz's title in Wissenland?
What is Emmanuelle XV von Liebwitz's opinion on commoners?
Who are the guards that Emmanuelle von Liebwitz travels with?
History
Origins and Early Reign
"What limits their powers, these engineering geniuses? I am not sure that anything does, apart from the moral law given us by Sigmar and Verena. If the engineer was allowed to indulge his every speculation without constraint, then the race of man would soon descend into barbarism. There are sketches of machines in the vaults of the college that defy belief. I have been shown them. Unholy amalgamations of human flesh and iron workings. Mixtures of steam technology and the art of the wizard. These things must never be allowed to see the light of day. You have my word that I am a supporter of the new science, but perversion is perversion, wherever it is found, and a matter for the witch hunters."
- —Elector Emmanuelle von Leibwitz XVth, Report of the Imperial Commission on the College of Engineers.[7a]
The daughter of Konstantin von Liebwitz, the Count of Nuln [8a], Emmanuelle was a childhood friend of the current emperor, Karl Franz. She gained her seat around the same time that Karl Franz was crowned the Emperor of Man -- she also had a claim to the title of Elector Count, but not a good one, so she had to curry the favour of Karl Franz to gain it -- some suggest she seduced him in the process. She eventually assumed the title of Elector Countess of Wissenland in 2503 IC.[1a]
Emmanuelle faced many horrors which destroyed part of Nuln in 2504 IC known by those not too blind to see it as the work of the Skaven and she barely avoided disaster during the fog riots in Altdorf . Tamurkhan, the Maggot Lord who was the one of the greatest Chaos Champions of Nurgle in recent history, led the mighty army of Chaos that was defeated before the gates of Nuln in 2511 IC. Emmanuelle emerged as a stronger ruler from this great crisis, but with an edge of ruthlessness when it came to seeking her own protection.
During the Turmoil of 2512 IC she annexed the barony of Sudenland to Wissenland by hireing mercenaries from Tilea, such as the famed Leopard Company, while the Birdmen of Catrazza were hired to scout for the forces of Talabecland.[15a]
Emmanuelle soon proved that she had no head for governing; she was more concerned with the luxuries provided by her exalted status than with the minutiae of ruling not only a Grand Province of the Empire (though one which most Imperials consider a backwater) but also one of its largest and most important cities. She detested the burghers and commoners of Wissenland, and rarely dealt with the villages and towns under her purview, handing more and more power to the Toppenheimer family of Pfeildorf when dealing with matters outsude of Nuln. In fact, she entered into negotiations with the emperor to legally separateNuln from Wissenland completely. In exchange for granting Nuln its own electoral vote and allowing Wissenland to also retain its vote, Emmanuelle promised to make an extensive loan to the emperor's coffers.[1a]
Emmanuelle sought to separate Nuln from Wissenland because the countess adored the city. She loved its culture, the pomp, the majesty, its history, and especially its deep coffers. No matter how desperate the plight of the commoners, she could always be guaranteed comfort and pleasure whilst installed in her seat as Countess of Nuln. As far as she was concerned, the Toppenheimers could keep their brutal winters and dreary farmland in the rest of Wissenland. All she wanted was Nuln.[1a][3b]
In truth, she barely concealed her contempt for the "po-faced burghers" and the utter boredom that tortured her when she had to attend to provincial business.[3b] Hence, much of Wissenland's governance actually fell to the Assembly, a group of merchants, lesser nobles, and Imperial clergy of which she was the head, though she rarely made appearances.[1a]
Most nobles and officials of Nuln and Wissenland considered her to be barely competent in her position. The saying went, "the Countess' head is as empty as her manifesto." Still, the people of Nuln and Wissenland loved her. In her middle years, she still retained her youthful beauty and many lords clamoured for her hand, hoping to gain something of her considerable power.[1a]
However, the countess has been known to suffer from some chronic health problems as she aged. For instance, for two years, the physician Doktor Hartlieb Schneider has been hiding from the countess' wrath. The tincture he prescribed her failed to settle her unruly bowels. Instead it gave her chronic flatulence, which almost caused a diplomatic incident during talks with a Tilean ambassador. The good doktor now has a price of 2,000 silver coins on his head![13a]
End Times
During the End Times, after the fall of the magical barrier protecting the Empire from the assault of the forces of Chaos known as the Auric Bastion, Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz sought refuge in Altdorf where, after Karl Franz's disappearance at the northern border, she demanded an audience with Reikmarshal Kurt Helborg and bickered every day with the Elector Counts Alberich Haupt-Anderssen of Talabecland and Theoderic Gausser of Nordland as each sought to claim the position of steward of the Empire in the emperor's absence.[4a]
Afterwards, she returned to Nuln, where her troops fought against the Skaven invasion led by Grey Seer Thanquol between late 2524 and early 2525 IC.[5a] Eventually, her beloved city fell before the ratmen, and she led the main trail of refugees as they fled through the city's north gates. They sought refuge in the province of Averland until the world of Mallus itself was unmade by the raw energies of Chaos unleashed at Middenheim by Archaon the Everchosen.[5b]
Appearance
Emmanuelle von Liebwitz is a slender woman with naturally black, wavy hair. However, recently she has chosen a new look marked by a sleek, blonde hairstyle.[11a]
Family
Emmanuelle von Liebwitz had a younger brother named Leos von Liebwitz, who was born a female but raised as a male,[9a] and a cousin, Marshall Wolfhart von Liebwitz.[1b]
Her father was Konstantin von Liebwitz, once the Elector Count of Nuln, as well as chancellor of the University of Nuln.[16a]
When Emmanuelle and her mother attempted to convince her father to raise his secondborn daughter as a boy, so that Emmanuelle's beauty would have no challenger, her father at first protested, knowing that doing so was wrong. In the end, he caved in to their demands, having always wanted a son. Konstantin left the education of his children to his wife while he focused on his scholarly work.[17a]
Emmanuelle's great-grandfather was the first to recruit the Blue Herons of Miragliano, a mercenary band of condottieri, as the Royal Horse Guard of Nuln over a century ago.[15a]
Wargear
While not one to typically lead from the front lines or engage in warfare of any kind, Grand Countess Emmanuelle is nonetheless trained in the arts of military science, fencing, and horseback riding (including Pegasi).[11a]
- Dammaz Vengryn - As the Elector Countess of Wissenland, Emmanuelle has the right to wield the province's Runefang Dammaz Vengryn, also known as Blood Bringer.[2a] She'll often carry it on her person for official occasions, otherwise keeping it safely locked away in her royal armoury in Nuln and equipping an exquisite-quality dagger for personal defence instead.[11a][12a]
Canon Conflict
In an alternate timeline explored in the original Enemy Within campaign of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition, Countess Emmanuelle was married to the newly-elected Emperor Heinrich Todbringer, son of Boris Todbringer, and her court sought out someone to act as her chancellor and regent in Nuln.[18a]
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Forges of Nuln (RPG)
- 2: White Dwarf 325 (UK)
- 2a: pg. 73
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)
- 4: The End Times Vol. II: Glottkin (8th Edition)
- 4a: pg. 39
- 5: The End Times Vol. IV: Thanquol (8th Edition)
- 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 6a: Ch. 4
- 7: The Empire: Iron Company (Novel) by Chris Wraight
- 7a: Ch. 1
- 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: The WFRP Companion (RPG)
- 8a: pg. 103
- 9: White Dwarf 140
- 9a: pg. 42
- 10: Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 10a: pp. 76-81
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Rough Nights & Hard Days (RPG)
- 11a: pp. 47-48
- 12: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Empire in Ruins (RPG)
- 12a: pg. 26
- 13: The Gathering Storm - A Campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
- 13a: pg. 20
- 14: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Empire in Ruins - Part 5 of the Enemy Within Campaign (RPG)
- 15: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 15a: pg. 55
- 16: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: The WFRP Companion (RPG)
- 16a: pg. 103
- 17: Beasts in Velvet (Novel) by Jack Yeovil
- 17a: Part Five, Ch. 7
- 18: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Enemy Within Campaign Volume 5 - Empire In Flames (RPG)
- 18a: pg. 106