CULTS OF THE EMPIRE

Manann
Manann is Lord of the Seas and King of Storms. Chief god of the wayward province of The Wasteland, he also holds sway over the Empire’s northern coasts and her rivers as far as the tide can be felt. Never central to the Empire’s religious life.

Morr
Morr is the Lord of Death, the Dead, Dreams, and Dreamers. He holds sway over illusions and all things that are not what they seem. A contemplative god, he guards the souls of the departed from Chaos and necromancers, just as his priests guard the corpses buried in the Gardens of Morr, and protects the dreams of the sleeping from daemons that would pervert them. Morr and his devoted followers are the eternal enemies of the Undead, and guardians against grave and tomb robbers. It is not a popular cult, but is of singular importance in the religious life of the Old World, for all come to Morr’s gate eventually.

Myrmidia
Goddess of the Art and Science of War, The Perfect General, and Queen of the Battlefield, Myrmidia is a goddess honoured by officers and other students of warfare who think a good plan is more than half the battle. The cult has spread in recent centuries from its home in Estalia and Tilea north to the lands of the Empire and Bretonnia. In the Empire, Myrmidia’s main temple is in Nuln, and from there her priests have come to exert great influence over the nobles and soldiers of the southern provinces.

Ranald
Ranald is the Trickster god, the god of thieves who steal as much for the thrill as for the reward. He is the laughing champion of the downtrodden, the bane of the self-important, the night prowler. Nothing is worth doing unless it is done with panache, and anything that makes the authorities look like fools is a job well done. The cult is popular throughout the Empire and the Old World among a broad swath of people. Those who feel the system has kept them down, those who are addicted to risk, and those who want justice for the poor but abhor violence—all are drawn to Ranald’s cult.

Shallya
The Old World is a hard place in which to live. Disease, injury, or extended bad fortune can drive a man or woman to the brink of despair, bereft of any hope. These people turn to Shallya, the White Dove of Mercy, who cries tears that bring the promise of mercy and comfort. To those confined to prison or a sick bed, to people condemned to death or who are dying in a sickbed or on a battlefield, Shallya and her priestesses and priests—for a few men serve her order, too—bring peace and forgiveness, and a promise of a better life in the next world.
The cult has a presence throughout the Old World, and her temples double as hospitals for those too poor to afford a physician’s house calls. In the Empire, each of the cities and major towns has a whitewashed temple to Shallya and, even in small towns and villages, the temples and shrines to the other gods will often contain a small chapel dedicated to the Lady in White.

Sigmar Heldenhammer
God of the Empire. As might be surmised from the size of the Empire, religious practices vary enormously from place to place, with one God held more highly than others in one region, and only particularly noted on his holy days in another. There is one notable exception. In all corners of the Empire, Sigmar is worshipped with particular reverence and awe. He is the guardian of its people, their shield and their hammer. His name holds for them the hope that the eternal ravages of Chaos will never unravel the Empire.
Sigmar is the deified, legendary founder of the Empire. Befitting a great warrior king, Sigmar is worshipped both for his military might, and as the great unifier — the synthesis of all the conflicting interests of the various power groups within the Empire. Statues and paintings usually depict him as a muscular, bearded giant of a man, with long, blond hair. He invariably bears a massive, two-handed Dwarfen warhammer, and is often shown seated on a simple throne with piles of Goblin heads at his feet.

Taal and Rhya
Symbolising the nurturing and destructive aspects of nature, the rituals and teachings of the dual cult of Taal and Rhya govern life in the countryside and small villages of the Empire. The cult involves itself little in Imperial politics, for the stuff of emperors and electors — wars, treaties, and the building of monuments to their vast egos — is of little concern to them. Their realm encompasses more primal things: the birth of a lamb, grain ripening in the summer sun, the death of an old buck in the jaws of a predator, and young couples who sneak off to the woods to begin the cycle of life anew.

Ulric
The cult of Ulric is ancient and powerful. He is the Lord of Winter, Wolves, and Battle. Death in battle is an honour to an Ulrican.

Verena
Known for wisdom and a love of justice throughout the Old World, the cult of Verena is held in high regard by almost all, even if its most devoted members are limited to scholars, jurists, and seekers after the truth. Indeed wizards are welcome in her cult, particularly those of an academic bent, such as Celestial wizards.

Proscribed cults
The worship of Khaine, god of murder, Stromfels, god of reefs, currents, wreckers and pirates, and the gods of Chaos is proscribed throughout The Empire.