The Cult of Sigmar

The Cult of Sigmar is the state church of the Empire and the spiritual keystone of the realm of men, a faith devoted to the memory of Sigmar Heldenhammer, the warrior-king who forged the Empire from warring tribes and was raised to godhood for his deeds. Its temples stand at the heart of every city, and its priests hold sway over the souls of prince and peasant alike. To be of the Empire is, more often than not, to be of Sigmar.

The Cult's hierarchy is a formidable institution in its own right, led by the Grand Theogonist and his Arch-Lectors, who from the great cathedrals of Altdorf command wealth, land, and influence rivalling that of the Emperor himself. Beneath them serve countless priests, lectors, and initiates who tend to the faithful across the Empire of Man, conducting the rites of birth, marriage, and death, and preaching the virtues of courage, duty, and vigilance against the dark.

Yet the Cult of Sigmar is no mere order of peaceful clergy. Its warrior-priests are famed across the realm, armour-clad zealots who march to battle bearing great warhammers in imitation of their god, their booming prayers steadying the ranks and their fury an inspiration to every soldier at their side. In an age of endless war, a faith that fights is a faith that endures, and the sight of a warrior-priest raising his hammer amid the carnage has rallied broken armies more than once.

The Cult's power makes it a pillar of the Empire and, at times, a rival to its throne. It preaches unity and loyalty, framing the defence of the realm as a holy charge laid upon every subject, yet its ambitions and its politics can cut across those of the Emperor and the elector counts. Still, in the darkest hours, when Chaos or the dead press hard upon the borders, it is to Sigmar that the Empire prays, and to his Cult that it turns for the courage to endure.