Cities of Sigmar

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Grand Alliance Order Cities of Sigmar

For the Empire God-King!

Lore Tactics General Tactics

The Cities of Sigmar, also known as the Free Cities, are essentially the normal people of the Mortal Realms. Humans who haven't become immortal due to having lightning jammed up their ass. Duardin who don't go into battle half naked and on fire or live in steampunk sky cities. Aelves who don't live underwater and eat souls or overtly worship a murdercult.

Subfactions

The Cities of Sigmar are by their nature cosmopolitan places, as many different cultures across the realms fled to Azyr only to recolonize the lands when the Age of Sigmar arrived. As such, when war comes they have a vast diversity of military forces.

• Stormcast Eternals: Yes, they're here too. Most Free Cities are built around a Stormkeep, and many are named after their founding Stormhost (Hammers of Sigmar in Hammerhal, Anvils of the Heldenhammer in Anvilgard, etc.).
• Freeguild: The core of the old Empire's forces, chiefly soldiers and Demigryphs.
• Dispossessed: Duardin who have lost their old Karaks in the Age of Chaos and have to live with the umgi and elgi now.
• Collegiate Arcane: All the Empire's Wizards, including their giant engines. Sadly, no High Elf wizards made the cut, nor did their dragons.
• Ironweld Arsenal: All the Dwarf and Empire war machines and vehicles. This includes letting people ride those tanks.
• Darkling Covens: Cults of Sorceresses and their brainwashed Aelven minions. Rumored to have brainwashed more than just aelves so they can secretly manipulate cities from the shadows.
• Phoenix Temple: Yes, these dead 'ard bastards are still around. They now worship the Ur-Phoenix instead of Asuryan.
• Order Serpentis: An ancient order of dragon-riding tyrants who lost most of their dragons in the Age of Chaos. Undaunted by this, they started hiring Sorceresses of the Darkling Covens to genetically engineer hideous part-dragon monsters to act as replacements.
• Wanderers: Nomadic wood aelves from Ghyran who fled to Azyr. Upon returning they seek to restore balance to the nature they abandoned, even if many of their Sylvaneth allies despise them as traitors.
• Shadowblades: The assassins who don't go all insane and obsess Khaine. They still revere him but choose remain outside of the DoK and usually function as a secret police force within the cities.
• Scourge Privateers: Descendants of a cruel slaver empire that once terrorized the seas. Now that they have to coexist with the civillians they once preyed upon, they cooled down a bit and became beast takers who regularly hunt monsters and then sell them (whole or in pieces) to their allies. Still enjoy doing shady pirate stuff under the books, though (not that anyone is complaining when its fucking Chaos scum who are on the receving end of it for once).

Notable Cities

With rules

• Hammerhal: Hammerhal is technically two cities, Hammerhal Ghyra and Hammerhal Aqsha, linked as one by the Stormrift Realmgate. The Ghyran side exports crops and lumber to Aqshy, and lava is channeled from the Aqshy side to form a protective moat. As it is home to the Hammers of Sigmar, GREATEST OF THEM ALL among stormhosts, so too the people of Hammerhal seek to prove themselves as the most eminent of the Free Cities.
• Greywater Fastness: Despite hailing from the Realm of Life, this realm's pretty choked with smoke and industry, as they focus heavily on war machines. This makes them rather friendly towards the Kharadron Overlords but not so much with the Sylvaneth. Were nearly starved out by the Sylvaneth until Alarielle herself arranged a compromise, and she only tolerates them because they hate Chaos and are great at bombarding them back to hell.
• Anvilgard: a nutshell, basically. Port city by a constantly erupting volcano and a constantly burning-down-but-rapidly-regrowing jungle. To hold off the jungle from reclaiming the city's territory, they spray mass amounts of basically weedkiller everywhere (which doesn't seem - thus far - to have any long-term consequences on people), which covers the city in a gloomy grey atmosphere. Y'know, the kind of shadows where criminal syndicates thrive - and thrive they do. As in, anyone who's anyone has underworld connections, though it's kept just enough on the down-low so Lord-Veritants and other inquisitorial types don't raise a stink.
• Hallowheart: The wizard's city. Being founded by the Hallowed Knights at the bottom of a gigantic crystal cave (where lived a mutated gigantic dragon of Tzeentch, who get hammered) this city is an arcane focus and the central core of Collegiate Arcane. Don't mind the continuous demons invasion perpetrated by Tzeentch and company or the strange whispers that promises you great power and wealthy over measures, but report those facts to the Devoted of Sigmar for get the right price. (someone can put the BLAM thing here? Thanks)
• The Living City: A city shaped from trees and rock by Alarielle herself that symbolizes the alliance between her and Sigmar. As such, this city allies itself with Sylvaneth capable of putting aside their grudges towards everything that isn't a tree. Also where Alarielle pardoned the Wanderers for their cowardice during the Age of Chaos, so this is their home base.
• The Phoenicium: The main city of the Phoenix Temple, it's at the foot of a big tree-mountain with a goofy name that avalanched sap over the area, trapping warriors in amber. In the Age of Sigmar, a host of phoenix birds thawed the sap into a golden mist that persists ever since - and if enemies that get too close enter the mist, they get trapped in amber, which then becomes another block on the ramparts. So, yeah, picture an amber wall filled with "oh crap"-faced Chaos warriors, greenskins, and spooks - that's how The Phoenicium do. (why nobody already tricked archaon to attack this city, turning him into a statue and win the war is everyone guess.)
• Tempest's Eye: A city on top of a mountain that has close trade and military ties to the Kharadron Overlords. Since the Tempest Lords stationed there were all recruited from former nobility, they're the only city that is directly ruled by its Stormcast Eternals.

Without rules

• Azyrheim: The largest city in Azyr and de-facto capital of the entire Grand Alliance Order. Sigmar's obsession with keeping Azyr free of the taint of Chaos has lead to this place being pretty authoritarian, as in if they catch you performing crimes they implant you with runes that burn out all thoughts of disloyalty out of your mind.
• Excelsis: The city where if you aren't a worshipper of Sigmar so convinced to make the flagellants looks negligent, you can't live. Base of the Knights Excelsior, lore talks about the FIRST (yeah, probably others followed) purge of Excelsis, where a QUARTER OF THE POPULATION WERE MASSACRED, AFTER SOME SIGNS OF IMPURITIES AMONG THE CITIZENS! Typical Knights Excelsior mentality: that if you have some sick cows, you kill them and everyone around them, be it out of overkill caution or because "How DARE you sympathize with the HERETICS I just killed in front of you; clearly you're also HERETICS that must die!"
• Vindicarum: no lore about this one but if is the base of celestial vindicators, probably everyone in the city is high of cocaine and go around crazily stabbing each other just like khornate stormcast.
• Lethis: Technically has rules in the form of the Lethisian Defenders list from Forbidden Power, but not actually part of the Cities of Sigmar allegiance. This city is based in Shyish next to Lake Lethis, a lake whose waters are cursed to take away memories. This water is actually one of their most valuable exports, as a lot of people in the Mortal Realms have traumatic memories they'd rather forget. Also home to a Stormvault which held Katakros, who was released when the city was invaded by Lady Olynder's Legion of Grief.
• Edassa: Mentioned during Gotrek's adventures in Realmslayer and Ghoulslayer, and the home city of the character Jordainn. An African themed kingdom located in Aqshy, it sits at crossroads with two other kingdoms and city states, all of them part of a mutual pact funding the garrisons of forts and towns that run the length of the region's roads. Have a Lion motif in their armor as well as in their battlecry.