"Warhammer Fantasy Battle" - The Empire Quiz

Answer: Germany

The Empire is a loosely united area of city states and semi-autonomous regions ruled by the 'Elector Counts' in much the same way as the medieval Holy Roman Empire was ruled by an emperor elected by seven 'electors', the Bishops and Lords of the areas under the emperor's control.

The position of the Empire in the Old World also roughly equates to the position of Germany on a map of medieval Europe, with the positions of France, Spain and Italy taken by the countries of Brettonia, Estalia and Tilea respectively.

Answer: Sigmar Heldenhammer

Sigmar was the legendary first emperor who united the tribes. His arrival was heralded by a twin-tailed comet and he wielded the magical hammer 'Ghal Maraz', the 'Skull-Splitter', a gift from the dwarfs. Sigmar disappeared on his final journey into the World's Edge Mountains and was deified shortly after. Boris Todbringer is the Elector Count of the city of Middenheim, cult centre of the worship of Ulric, God of battle and winter. 'Mad' Marius Leitdorf is the half-crazed Elector Count of Averland, and Luthor Huss is a warrior priest known as the 'Prophet of Sigmar'.

Answer: Reaver Knights

The Knights of the White Wolf are unique in the army of the Empire in that they take to the field without shields, wielding ferocious double-handed warhammers. The White Wolves come from the city of Middenheim in the north and are devoted to the god Ulric (one of his symbols being a white wolf).
The Knights Panther adorn their armour in exotic animal skins and regalia. They are a crusading order who achieved their fame in the Araby wars far to the south of the Empire.
The Reiksguard Knights are the personal bodyguard of the Emperor. Occasionally deploying on foot, it is more common to see them charging across the battlefield on horseback led by the Reiksmarshall Kurt Hellborg.
Reaver Knights are a lightly armoured class of cavalry in the armies of the High Elves from the land of Ulthuan across the sea.

Answer: Volley Gun

The Hellblaster Volley Gun is one of the more interesting selections available in an army of the Empire. It is essentially nine small cannons mounted on a rotating crank and can (if you're lucky) fire an almost battle-winning salvo in a single turn. Of course firing the machine is a gamble in itself as it has a tendency to jam, fall apart or even explode. The Great Cannon is a standard accompaniment to most Empire armies due to its dependable yet hard-hitting nature.

The Steam Tank is a frightening prospect to face on a battlefield as the best tactic is to just get out of its way and hope that the Empire player is too greedy with it and it ends up overheating (or blowing itself up).

The Flame Cannon is a dwarven artillery piece that does pretty much what the title suggests: sprays a huge gout of flame across the battlefield aiming to cook anything in its path.

Answer: Flagellants

The religious fanaticism of the Empire can make a very interesting theme to the army, especially if it as a specialist 'Witch Hunter' variant army.
The Redemptionists are a type of gang available in the Games Workshop Game 'Necromunda' and the 'Zealots' are variety of troop available to them. Penal Battalions used to be a part of Imperial armies in Warhammer 40,000 many years ago when I started playing. They were squads of criminals with explosive collars who charged the enemy and were detonated. Pleasant!

Answer: Magnus the Pious

Magnus the Pious' defeat of the chaos army ended a period of instability in the Empire as he was proclaimed the one true emperor. Karl Franz is the current Emperor, Manfred Skavenslayer (as his name suggests) became famous through his battles against the Skaven ratmen, and Ludwig Schwartzhelm is the current Emperor's personal champion.

Answer: Russian

Although some troops (such as the aforementioned 'Horse Archers') are very similar in appearance to the historical horse archers of the Mongolian steppe, the land of Kislev is firmly rooted in Russian culture and imagery. Kislev is ruled by a 'Tsarina' and the standing army includes troops such as 'Boyars'. In a supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (originally released some years ago) by the name of 'Something Rotten in Kislev' there were a series of illustrations of the minor divinities of the home, the field, the water and the forest worshipped in Kislev.

These illustrations were almost identical to those of the spirits from Slavonic mythology found in the real world's 'Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology'!

Answer: Sylvania

The province of Sylvania is now the land of the Vampires, roughly equating to the romantic Victorian vision of the real world's Transylvania. It is a heavily wooded land and is the seat of the powerful Von Carstein family of vampires, who lead infrequent invasions of undead into the lands of the Empire.

Answer: Sapphire

The Eight Colleges of magic are: Amber, Amethyst, Bright, Celestial, Gold, Grey, Jade and Light with each of these colleges specialising in a different focus of magic. The Bright College, for example, utilises destructive, fiery magic, whereas the Jade College uses more protective and healing magic.

Answer: The World's Edge Mountains

The World's Edge Mountains are a mountain range roughly equivalent to the real world's Urals, though larger in size. They are home to, among others, dwarfs, orcs, goblins and the evil skaven ratmen.

The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the extreme west of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Also known as 'Ered Luin', they once formed the eastern border of the land of Beleriand before it was sunk beneath the sea at the end of the first age (for more information see Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion')

The Grey Towers are a mountain range from the world of Midkemia, the main setting for the books of Raymond E. Feist. In the Riftwar Saga they are the home of dwarfs and also were once the realm of the mighty Valheru Dragon Lord 'Ashen-Shugar'.

The Teeth of the World is the mountain range in the far north of the Forgotten Realms - the setting for many Dungeons and Dragons novels and games. The Teeth of the World are most famous in literature as the setting of many novels about the renegade Drow Elf Drizzt do'Urden.

I hope you enjoyed the quiz. If you want to find out more about the land of the Empire, then the Games Workshop website provides info and pictures for all the armies of the Old World:
http://www.games-workshop.com