"It is your selfish desire to shun the power that makes you the best candidate."
- —Kurt Helborg to the soon-to-be-elected Emperor Karl Franz
Emperor (fem. Empress), more formally known as the Emperor of Man during the time of Sigmar[5a], is the title of the elected monarch of the Empire of Man, the most powerful Human realm of the Old World. The emperor is elected from among and by the majority vote of the fifteen Elector Counts and crowned by the Grand Theogonist of the Cult of Sigmar.
The first emperor was Sigmar Heldenhammer and his coronation marked the starting point of the Imperial Calendar. The current emperor, Karl Franz, was crowned in 2502 IC.
Despite being technically both the Empire's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Imperial military forces, the emperor is not by any means an absolute ruler. He has to share much of his power, influence and responsibilities with the powerful Elector Counts of the Electoral Provinces and the other Imperial nobility.
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Government[]
Upon the death of an emperor the throne does not automatically pass to his heir. An election is held with 15 Electors, 10 of which are Elector Counts. The heir of the deceased emperor is an obvious candidate; under normal circumstances he will be supported by the friends and allies of his predecessor. Therefore a dynastic succession is a strong possibility. However, the heir may lose the election due to personal enmities, political manoeuvring or his or her own personal failings.
Nearly all of the emperors were chosen from among the Elector Counts and in many ways being emperor means being but the "first among equals." The emperor is the recognised leader of the Elector Counts, who are themselves powerful and independent nobles. Many matters are debated between the emperor and the Counts on an equal standing and then agreed upon, and the outcome is not always as the emperor wants.
The emperor's power is severely limited by his inability to enforce his edicts within the semi-independent provinces that comprise the Empire. Far from the capital and within their own provinces, the Elector Counts rule as they see fit and they can choose to largely ignore Imperial edicts and decrees.
Furthermore, the Empire is not a centralised state, but a feudal confederacy. The emperor does not control the entire military of the Empire and he does not receive all, or even the majority, of its taxes. His revenues and other resources are collected from his own province and his own personal treasury will pay the military units under his direct control.
Each of the Elector Counts collects taxes from his respective province and will spend his wealth as he sees fit. He will recruit and pay his own provincial army, which is far more loyal to its local ruler than to the distant emperor. Depending upon the wealth of the province, a wealthy Elector Count may even be able to afford to recruit a larger army than the emperor.
A wise emperor will realise that trying to subdue the Elector Counts through threats and/or force is a very dangerous task, all too likely to result in open rebellion against Imperial authority and a civil war that may cost the emperor his crown. Gaining the respect and loyalty of the Elector Counts of the Empire through example and fair leadership tends to be the best policy.
Notable Elected Emperors (1 to 1152 IC)[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sigmar | 1-50 IC | Reikland | Founder of the Empire. |
Siegrich | 50-51 IC | Stirland | Died shortly after his inauguration in a hunting accident. |
Hedrich I | 51-100 IC | Reikland | Received the Runefangs and distributed them amongst the Elector Counts. |
Fulk[11a] | 100-? IC[11a] | Wissenland[11a] | Moved the capital to Nuln as a symbol of support of the Cult of Sigmar.[11a] |
Wilhelm I | 263 IC | Reikland | Wilhelm I was an early emperor who was considered a tyrant. He was buried in Altdorf and his ghost was rumored to haunt the city. He was reanimated by Vlad von Carstein during the End Times. |
Hündrod the Furious | ca. 322 IC | Unknown | Killed Mascar, the Great Dragon, in the Drakwald. |
Sigismund II | 501-510 IC | Averland | Ruled from Altdorf. Absorbed the city of Marienburg into the Empire. |
Siegfried the Lawgiver | 510-557 IC | Siegfried moved the Imperial capital back to the city of Nuln. | |
Hasso | 632 IC | Unknown | Instituted the office of the "Keeper of the Coast" to ward off Norscan raiders |
Siegfried I | 667-732 IC | Unknown | Siegfried I was a corrupt emperor who rode a Dragon. He died at the Battle of Fates and was burned by his own mount. |
Sigismund IV[Note 5] | ca. 850 IC[9a] | Unknown | Sigismund IV led the Imperial colonisation efforts in the lands beyond the Grey Mountains.[9a] |
Joachim II | ca. 852 IC | Unknown | Joachim II was known as the "Witch Hunter Emperor". |
Jürgen the Opulant | ca. 900 IC | Possibly Drakwald | N/A |
Ludwig II (Ludwig the Fat) | ca. 1000 IC | Drakwald | Ludwig the Fat established The Moot as a homeland for Halflings. |
Boris I (Boris Goldgather) | 1053-1115 IC | Boris Goldgather was a corrupt emperor who died of the Black Death. | |
1124-1152 IC | Middenland | Before his election as emperor, Mandred Skavenslayer united the Empire to defeat the Skaven during the Black Death and the Skaven Wars that followed. | |
Otto |
1152-? IC | Solland | Otto was the first in a series of weak emperors that had no real power over the Elector Counts. |
During the Age of Wars (1152-1359 IC) | Unknown | Saw many folk in Reikland become outlaws in order to escape rapacious religious persecution. |
Age of Three Emperors (1359-2304 IC)[]
Notable Elected Emperors (1359 to 1979 IC)[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Wilhelm of Stirland | 1359-1375 IC | Stirland | His election sparked the start of the Time of Two Emperors. |
Hjalmar the Tyrannical | 1414-1420 IC | Nordland | Hjalmar was the first and only emperor from Nordland. He was deeply unpopular during his reign, and after his death Nordland was stripped of its status as an Electoral Province. |
Frederik III | ca. 1448 IC | Stirland | Frederik III sent Imperial knights on the Great Crusades. |
Dieter III | ca. 1602 and ca. 1650 IC | Unknown | Dieter III formed an alliance with Tzar Alexandr Njevski of Kislev. |
Sigismund IV | ca. 1695[7b]-1712 IC[8a] (at least) | Reikland | Sigismund IV was the emperor during the siege of Altdorf by Waaagh! Gorbad. He was slain in combat with the Greenskins in 1712 IC.[8a][Note 4] |
Maximillian III | ca. 1876 IC | Unknown (claimed legitimacy through descent from Stirland) | Maximilian III proclaimed himself Sigmar's true heir. During his reign, rumours arose that Ghal Maraz was a forgery, ostensibly created by Bretonnian minstrels on behalf of the Ottilian emperors. |
Carolus II | 1937 IC | Unknown | Carolus II was poisoned by Constant Drachenfels during a banquet. |
Magritta | 1979 IC | Marienburg | Magritta was the last woman to be elected as empress. She was refused the crown by the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar, which begat the Dark Ages and a long period of Imperial disunity. |
Ottilian Emperors (1359-2304 IC)[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ottilia I | 1360-??? IC | Talabecland | First self-proclaimed Ottilian emperor at the dawn of the Time of Two Emperors. |
Frederik V | ca. 1550 IC | Frederik V was the emperor at the same time that Middenheim had a self-proclaimed emperor. | |
Horst the Cautious | ca. 1750 IC | Horst refused to make war on the Nuln emperors. Talabheim rebelled and proclaimed its own ruler Helmut as emperor, resulting in two Ottilian emperors. | |
Helmut II | 1750-??? IC | Helmut II launched a coup against Horst the Cautious. He became the Ottilian emperor of Talabheim. | |
Ottilia IV | ca. 2100 IC | Otilia IV was emperor during the Battle of Four Armies. | |
Ludwig XI[15b] | ca. 2248 IC | Ludwig XI was assassinated under suspicious circumstances. | |
Ludwig XII[13] | 2248 IC-Unknown | Ludwig XII was the Grand Duke of Talabecland who had an outstanding claim to the Imperial throne in the later years of the Age of Three Emperors (ca. 2276 IC) along with several other of the Elector Counts. |
Wolf Emperors (1547-2304 IC)[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Siegfried the Significant | 1547-??? IC | Siegfried was the first self-proclaimed "Wolf Emperor." | |
Gerhardt Meister | ca. 1707 IC | Gerhardt was the rival of the elected Emperor Sigismund IV. | |
Mannfred Todbringer[4a] | ca. 2000 IC | Mannfred Todbringer was the ancestor of the current Elector Count of Middenheim, Boris Todbringer. | |
Odo III (Odo Todmeyer)[15a] | 2251 IC | Odo III perished in the Forest of Shadows while hunting Beastmen | |
Sigismund Ulric[13] | ca. 2276 IC | Sigismund Ulric was the ruler of the Grand County of Osterlund during the final years of the Age of Three Emperors and a claimant to the Imperial throne. Osterlund was one of the four great provinces to have arisen following the collapse of the Empire's unity in this period. It encompassed large portions of Ostland, Hochland and Middenland, and enjoyed close ties with Ostermark in the east. |
Marienburg Claimants[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Magritta | 1979-??? IC | Magritta was the self-proclaimed empress of Marienburg. | |
Helmut | ca. 2100 IC | Helmut was the father of Helmar. He was killed and turned into a Zombie by Konrad von Carstein. | |
Helmar | 2100-??? IC | Helmar was the emperor who released his father Helmut's spirit from its torment as a Zombie and killed the Vampire Konrad von Carstein. | |
Elspeth Magritta VI[13] | ca. 2276 IC | In the final years of the Age of Three Emperors, Elspeth Magritta VI was the Elector Countess of Westerland and a contender for the Imperial throne. Westerland at that time was one of the four great provinces of the Empire seeking to reunify it, also including Reikland, Talabecland and Osterlund. Westerland under Magritta VI was a wealthy and cosmopolitan state, able to field vast armies in the name of its ruler's claim to the throne of the Empire. |
Reiklander Claimants[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Emperor Siegfried | ca. 2000 IC | N/A | |
Ludwig | ca. 2051 IC | Ludwig was the father of the Emperor Lutwik. He endured the siege of Altdorf by Vlad von Carstein. | |
Lutwik | ???-2100 IC | Lutwik, son of Ludwig, was killed by assassins after the Battle of Four Armies by agents of the future Emperor Ottilia IV. | |
Lothar Holzkrug | 2185-??? IC | Lothar was the first of the Holzkrug dynasty of emperors. He was supported by Wissenland, Stirland and Averland. | |
Eberhardt the Just | 2232-2260 IC | Eberhardt was the last of the Holzkrug emperors. He ruled from Altdorf and founded the Great Hospice. His ghost continues to haunt the offices of state, knocking down papers whenever a decision he opposes is made by the current emperor. | |
Annette | 2260-??? IC | Annette was a member of House von Telland, which claimed the Imperial throne after Emperor Eberhardt's great generosity bankrupted his house and his heir chose to reject his father's claim to the crown. | |
Wilhelm I[13] | ca. 2276 IC | The Principality of Reikland had long occupied the ancient heartland of the Empire. Within its borders the Cult of Sigmar held sway, yet despite its political support for them, the princes of Altdorf like Wilhelm I, who would claim the title of emperor during the Age of Three Emperors, were never recognised by their fellow Elector Counts and were known derisively by their rivals as the "Reikland Pretenders." |
Nuln Claimants[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Adelbert IV | ca. 2107 IC | Nuln | Master of both Averland and Wissenland during his reign. Secured the Imperial trade route to Kreutzhofen.[1a] |
Notable Elected Emperors (2304 IC to Present)[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Magnus the Pious (Magnus I) | 2304-2369 IC | Nuln | As a general, Magnus was the victor at the battle of Kislev during the Great War Against Chaos. He reunited the Empire and founded the Colleges of Magic. He is considered the greatest emperor after Sigmar himself. |
Paulus[14a] | ca. 2367 IC[14a] | Unknown[14a] | Paulus' life was saved by the Kislevite Captain Rossokovski of the Gryphon Legion during an Imperial campaign waged against Bretonnia.[14a] |
Leopold Unfähiger | 2369-? IC | Stirland | Leopold was the grandfather of the Emperor Dieter IV. |
Eckhardt III | ?[Note 3] | Eckhardt III was elected because of his complacency and lack of enemies among the Elector Counts. | |
Dieter IV | 2402-2429 IC | Dieter IV was an incompetent emperor who sold Marienburg and the Westerland their independence from the Empire in return for a significant bribe. | |
Wilhelm III | 2429-2434 IC | Reikland | Wilhelm III, known as "Wilhelm the Wise," established the current ruling Imperial dynasty. |
Matthias IV | 2434-2438 IC | Matthias IV was the father of Mattheus II. He disappeared without a trace after mingling with the people in disguise to learn their true feelings about their emperor. Imposters that claim to be him still turn up. | |
Mattheus II | 2438-? IC | Mattheus II was the father of Luitpold I. | |
Luitpold I | 2470-2502 IC | Emperor Luitpold I was the father of the current emperor, Karl Franz. | |
Karl Franz | 2502 IC-Present | Karl Franz is the current emperor of the Empire. |
Emperors Without Clear Dates of Reign[]
Name | Reign | State | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sigismund I[7a] | Unknown (before 501-510 IC if the reign information about Sigismund II is correct.) | Unknown | Emperor Sigismund I had four Reiksguard posted outside his sacral room in the Imperial Palace of Altdorf.[7a] |
Didrick the Unjust | Unknown | Unknown | Unpopular emperor who imprisoned many in Mundsen Keep in Altdorf. |
Gunthar II | Unknown | Unknown | During Gunther II's reign, the Empire controlled much of northern Tilea.[3b] |
Molrella III | Unknown, before 1923 IC | Unknown | The card game "Scarlet Empress" is named after Empress Molrella III. |
Joachim | Unknown; after the Vampire Wars | Unknown | Joachim attempted to destroy Castle Drakenhof, only for his engineers to become mad and feast on each other. |
Johann the Grey | Unknown; sometime after an Empress Magritta. | Unknown; ruled from Altdorf. | Known, ironically, for being mostly forgotten. |
Frederick[16a] | Unknown; long before 1114 IC[16a] | Unknown[16a] | Waged expansionist campaigns against the Ungol-infested oblast of the north.[16a] |
Gotthold | Unknown | Unknown | Emperor Gotthold constructed a dungeon wing beneath the Imperial Palace in Altdorf. |
Carolus I[7a] | Unknown | Unknown | Carolus I's miraculously preserved eyes can be found in the Sacral Rooms of the Imperial Palace in Altdorf.[7a] |
Agnetha I[7a] | Unknown | Nuln[6a] | Agnetha I's silver-encased brain was preserved in the Imperial Palace of Altdorf before its theft.[7a] |
Electors[]
The following individuals have the right to vote for the next emperor upon the death of the incumbent. Certain individuals serve as Electors without also being the secular nobles who rule the Grand Provinces of the Empire known as Elector Counts, but only one of the Elector Counts can actually become the next emperor.
Elector Counts[]
- Elector Count of Hochland
- Elector Count of Middenland
- Elector Count of Nordland
- Elector Count of Ostland
- Elector Count of Ostermark
- Elector Count of Reikland
- Elector Count of Stirland
- Elector Count of Talabecland
- Elector Count of Wissenland
Other Electors[]
- Grand Theogonist of the Cult of Sigmar
- 2 Arch Lectors of the Cult of Sigmar
- Ar-Ulric of the Cult of Ulric
Defunct Elector Counts[]
Canon Conflict[]
- Note 1: The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition sourcebook Tome of Salvation states that Emperor Siegrich was from Averland, while the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition rulebook states that he was from Stirland.
- Note 2: The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition rulebook states that Emperor Hedrich was from Reikland, while other sources state that he was from Wissenland.
- Note 3: Emperor Eckhardt III's introduction is in the novel Van Horstmann by Ben Counter, which is contradicted by the timeline of both the 8th Edition Warriors of Chaos armybook, in which van Horstmann's betrayal is discovered in 2457 IC, which would occur during the reign of the Reikland emperors, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire, in which van Horstmann's betrayal is discovered in 2507 IC, during the reign of the present emperor, Karl Franz.
- Note 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Rulebook (RPG) indicates the date of the siege of Altdorf as 1707-1712 IC,[8a] while Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire claims it occurred in 1701 IC.[7b]
- Note 5: Emperor Sigismund IV is quoted by Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Enemy Within Volume 1[9a] as having lived during the 9th century IC. Many other sources place Sigismund IV as the emperor during the 18th century IC.[7a][8a][10b]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Death's Dark Shadow (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 7
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)
- 4: Mordeheim Rulebook (specialty Game)
- 4a pp. 68-69
- 5: Warhammer: Rulebook (8th Edition)
- 5a pg. 171
- 6: Red Thirst (Novel) by Jack Yeovil
- 6a: Start
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire (RPG)
- 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Rulebook (RPG)
- 8a: pg. 274
- 9: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Enemy Within Volume 1 (RPG)
- 9a: pg. 116
- 10: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Enemy Within Volume 5 (RPG)
- 10a: pg. 157
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Forges of Nuln (RPG)
- 11a: pp. 5-8
- 12: Warhammer Community - Old World Almanack: Designer Round Table on How the New Old Lore Was Written
- 13: Warhammer: The Old World website, Interactive Map
- 14: Citadel Journal 14
- 14a: pg. 12, "Kislev: The Claws of the Great Bear"
- 15: Warhammer: The Old World (Specialist Game)
- 16: The Black Plague: Blighted Empire (Novel) by C. L. Werner
- 16a: Ch. 3
- The Prince of Altdorf (Short Story) by Andy Hall
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation (RPG), pp. 17, 19
- Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition), pg. 16
- Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (7th Edition), pg. 14