[SFO] Swords of the Emperor (Not a submod)
"There is much wrong in the way that the Empire runs itself, Bloch. Many who rule do not deserve to. Many who are ruled could make a better fist of it. You’re a fighting man. You’ve seen armies commanded by fools and good men led into ruin by them. But there’s opportunity in battle. Mettle will always show itself. There are men in the Empire who know how to reward talent and how to ignore low birth. The Emperor, Sigmar keeps him, is one. It is to him I owe my station, not to my breeding. And so it is with me. I need good men around me. I’d like you to be one of them."
—Ludwig Schwarzhelm, Emperor’s Sword of Justice
This mod is the SFO version of my vanilla mod introducing 2,5 known characters of the Empire :
Ludwig Schwarzhelm, known as the Emperor’s Champion or the Emperor’s Sword of Justice is the personal bodyguard of Karl Franz and bearer of his personal battle standard. Ludwig is a towering figure of a man, renowned throughout the Empire for his mighty physique, stern expression and deadly martial skills. The Emperor’s champion is said to have never smiled in his life and his reputation as an uncompromising, incorruptible warrior is one Ludwig has consciously cultivated over the years.
Ludwig Schwarzhelm is presented as a rough character, wearing the ancient armour of the Emperor’s Champions, the Emperor battle standard and the Sword of Justice :
- His model and horse barding are custom models thanks to Willemsen and Shawmuscle !
- Custom moustache, skills and items
- I updated Karl Franz first Quest “Battle of Bloodpine Woods” to have him as a reward
- The free wizard agent has been replaced by a dilemma you’ll get at turn 5
Kurt Helborg is the 8th and current Grand Master of the Reiksguard Knights, Reiksmarshal of the Empire’s military forces and one of Emperor Karl Franz’s most trusted military commanders.Tall and strong, Kurt Helborg is the very image of a heroic warrior, his armour polished to a mirror sheen and his sword arm as strong as his courage is unbending. As the Grand Master of the Reiksguard, Helborg commands the loyalty of one of the Empire’s mightiest military corps. As the Reiksmarshal, Kurt Helborg is also commander of all the Empire’s armed forces, second only to the Emperor himself.
Kurt Helborg is presented as the mightiest hero and commander of the Empire, equipped with the Solland runefang and the Laurels of Victory :
- His model and horse barding are custom models thanks to Willemsen and Shawmuscle !
- Custom moustache, skill tree and items
- With a similar mechanic that Volkmar has, Helborg is available in your Lord pool at start but needs the Castle Reiksguard to be recruited
A fourth figure cleared his throat then – Hans Zintler, the Reikscaptain. In Helborg’s absence he was the highest ranking military officer, and carried himself suitably formally, with a brass-buttoned jerkin and short riding cloak. His black moustache was neatly trimmed across a broad-jawed face.
Hans Zintler is not a major figure of the Empire but a major one in the Reiksguard as the Reikscaptain :
- Unlocked via Helborg Skill Tree, he will spawn when you get his Grand Master skill
- Custom moustache, skills and items
- Abilities enabled only when embedded within Helborg’s army
To go along those magnificent heroes, especially the Reiksmarshal and the Reikscaptain, I’ve released a small mod that adds the full roster of the Reiksguard
As a standalone, this mod already adds a few things :
- As one of the best trained order of the Empire, all cav now have the lance formation
- Zintler’s Reiksguard is now a melee cavalry, it seemed more fitting as they are meant to ambush
- Altdorf starts at Tier 2
Credits & thanks :
- Willemsen and Shawmuscle for making those fine models
- ScribeUnited and PaulH (Sil) for all the lore background
- Vandy and Shakyriver for the script support <3
- ColdWinter, Hazard and Matthew for the pics
- Our small community on Discord that does not stop feeding crazy ideas to make and improve mods
If you want to share your ideas, lore discussions or just see what we are up to, join us on Discord[discord.gg].
