Reviewed by Perfect Depth
Sigmar's Heirs is a source book for The Empire for use with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Since it is primarily a background book, it is also of considerable interest to background-hungry Warhammer players. However, as a nicely-made full-colour hardback, it is very pricey for such a short work (127 pages, retails for £18 ). So the question is, is it a worthwhile purchase?
Let's look at each section separately:
The land and its people
The geography of The Empire, a subject covered well enough by the army book. There is a nice, clear map (which also appears in a coloured, more pictorial version later in the book), but The Moot seems to have slipped sideways rather a long way. I'm starting to wonder if the total lack of agreement between the various maps of The Empire is intentional (to introduce a period flavour), since the only other explanation is carelessness.
The section also considers how non-humans fit in to Imperial society, which is commendable if somewhat shallow.
The history of The Empire
The inevitable history section is comprehensive, though thoroughly recycled.
Government and foreign relations
A nice overview of Imperial politics, including the names of the Electors and other notables. This is definitely useful information for Warhammer players.
Law, justice and criminals
Mainly one for the roleplayers, though it does add a little flavour.
Cults of The Empire
Mostly recycled. The 'Religion in The Empire' article from White Dwarf (available as a pdf on the Games Workshop website) covers this well enough.
The grand provinces
This is the real draw for Warhammer players - the provinces of The Empire are covered individually over the course of fifty six pages.
In each case, we learn first about the geography of the province, then a little about the people (including a handful of local sayings). Finally, some of the major towns are described in general terms. Each province also has an npc and some 'adventure hooks' for the roleplayers.
There are no individual maps of the provinces, which feels like a wasted opportunity. Instead, a large amount of space in each province section is devoted to a gazetteer - a list of towns with figures given for populations, trade goods and suchlike. The only really useful information in the gazetteers - the town names - could just as well been presented in map form.
The four city-states of The Empire (Altdorf, Nuln, Middenland and Talabheim) are barely mentioned at all, which is odd considering their supreme importance. I suspect this is to allow for the publication of separate city-books at a later date.
Perhaps inevitably, this section is repetitive, and relies on heavy stereotyping of the inhabitants of each province. Ultimately, and despite being deeply passionate about The Empire, I just didn't find it much fun to read.
Forbidden cults
A brief study of two cults - neither of them directly related to the chaos gods, and neither likely to appear on the battlefield.
Ill met in Bogenhafen
A roleplay adventure, and rather a good one. It is unlikely to interest Warhammer players much, although there is some background on Bogenhafen (and readers of the roleplay book 'Shadows over Bogenhafen' will be interested in how the town has changed since that adventure).
In conclusion:
The book is clearly and attractively laid out (and there is an index), but the art is generally lifeless and unappealing. The information is often recycled from other sources, but still the book makes a good 'one-stop guide' to The Empire. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone else, though I don't regret buying it myself.
One to read thoroughly in the book shop before purchase!