Last year, we kicked off our regular reports on the development of the new Cities of Sigmar range with a look at some of the well-honed weaponry and stalwart shields they’ll be using to reclaim the Mortal Realms in the name of the God-King. But why do they use that epithet for Sigmar, and how do they display their devotion to him?
We spoke to Seb Perbet, a senior designer at the Warhammer Studio, to find out the latest.
“Worship of Sigmar in the Dawnbringer armies is all-encompassing, found across all the different levels of society”, Seb explains. “These crusaders labour, exhaust, and even punish themselves – to varying degrees – to live up to the ideals of their supreme god.”
Though all may agree that Sigmar is divine, the folk of the Free Cities are massively diverse in other respects. Whether roused to action by the rhetoric of Sigmarite priests, or taking the Coin Malleus for their own opportunistic reasons, these soldiers are drawn from all corners of the Mortal Realms.
“The different cities bring with them all sorts of unusual religious ideas regarding Sigmar, emphasising various aspects of their god and how to worship him”, notes Seb. “Many of these cults find religious meaning in very different symbols – not just the classic hammer, but things such as anvils, the weather, broken weapons, and even battle debris.”
“For example, the Cult of the Wheel sees the wheel as a divine symbol of Sigmar’s eternal power. To the most extreme adherents, even using a wheel to carry something is sacrilegious – so rolling wheels through the mud and filth is truly an abomination!* Their symbol is the twin-tailed wheel, rendered in different styles using a variety of materials.”
“The varied cults of Sigmar and their associated religious practices give us a place to really explore the depths and grit of the Mortal Realms”, says Seb. “It’s a chance to showcase the rich cultural background of the setting.”
And it’s not just shining hammers and bold comets that adorn these marching mortals – their gewgaws have a grim side, too.
“Decorative grotesques are sprinkled through the army”, grins Seb. “These disturbing gargoyles aren’t just symbols hammered out in iron – they’re real threats that actually exist in the Mortal Realms. Lightly sprinkled throughout the kits, they add a sense of the macabre – and a reminder that horrors are lurking under every stone and around every corner…”**
Thanks Seb! We’ll have plenty more to show you from the Cities of Sigmar throughout the year – sign up for our newsletter, so we can let you know when you’ve been called up for the next Dawnbringer Crusade.
* How are they going to get their Steam Tanks into battle, then? Make them fly?
** And in every swamp, and behind every tree, and-