Kislev

Since Randy's made Kislev his surrogate home (and it'd be a fun place to adventure one day in the future), here's a little more info on this wild land to the north...

Roughly analogous to real-world medieval Russia/Poland, Kislev is the most northerly nation in the Old World to be considered civilized. Or at least somewhat civilized. A land of snow, ice, and fierce winds, it's bordered by the Empire to the south, the Sea of Claws to the west, the Troll Country to the north, and the World's Edge Mountains to the northeast and east. Its people are famously hardy and fierce, as is necessary given the troll lands they border and their position as a critical buffer between the Empire and the brutal Chaos tribes that make camp farther north. The Kislevites know the Empire owes them a debt for staving off the hordes of Chaos time and again, and enjoy reminding Imperial citizens of this fact quite often. They call their fierce way of life "living in the wind" and tend to think their Imperial neighbors to the south have gone soft.

Many Kislevites live a nomadic existence, as the land is poor for farming save in the southernmost regions, and migrate from one grazing ground to the next. Limited materials for building leave Imperial citizens looking at the Kislevite homes as backwards and uncivilized, though the southern cities show a level of civilation. The most prominent religion is the cult of the bear god, Ursun, whose cult sometimes comes into friction with the cult of Ulric. Ursun is depicted as a massive cave bear, with a crown, teeth, and claws of glistening gold. It is said he can also appear as a man - burly, bearded, heavily built, and wearing only a loincloth. Other gods include Dazh, the god of fire and the sun, Tor, the god of thunder and lightning, and Taal, the god of nature that is also familiar in the Empire. Nature and household spirits are also worshipped as servants and messengers of the gods, and many Kislevites unconsciously follow small rituals to appease them.

The capital of the nation is the city that shares its name - Kislev - and it home to the land's present ruler, the Tzarina Katerin (also called the Ice Queen). The city of Kislev is the nation's closest city to the Empire and shows some cross-cultural pollination with it. And while it's been besieged many times, it's never fallen to invaders. Other major cities include Erengrad and Praag.

While Kislevites like to think of themselves as wholly independent, they have allied with men and elves against the forces of Chaos in the past, and in particular share a kinship with the dwarves (though they can't understand how dwarves can bear to spend so much time underground). In fact, they've been known to help dwarves clear mountain passes of goblins and other creatures. Kislevites have also allied with the Imperial provinces of Ostermark, Ostland, and Talabecland.

Further reading:

*Warhammer Core Book, pp. 225-226
*Wikipedia Article
*Games Workshop PDF (lotsa good stuff here)

"Welcome to the Old World" Progress Map

"Welcome to the Old World" (Session 1)

It was late spring in the month of Sigmar-Tide when fate brought three unlikely adventurers together…

The burly miner Bargrimm, proudly bearing a dwarven name over his given Imperial name of Albert Reimund, had been traveling the Empire for years in search of his remaining family. It was in the Talabecland city of Krugenheim that he picked up his best lead yet, courtesy of a chance meeting with the halfling Kameena Kettlebright. She was a barber-surgeon plying her trade in the city, but like all Halflings had an insatiable interest in family history. She viewed Bargrimm’s search as a genealogical mystery, and within weeks had turned up a potential family member: Engelhart Reise, thought to be residing in the northern province of Middenland in the town of Untergard.

Correspondence was sent Engelhart’s way, but before any response could return, Kameena landed in a bad spot: called to perform surgery on a minor Stirlander noble visiting Krugenheim, she found herself charged with murder when he unexpectedly died. It seemed likely a thief's poisoned blade had ended his life (his actual injury was minor), but his Stirlander entourage found more satisfaction in shifting blame to a halfling scapegoat. Kameena fled the town with Bargrimm close behind, only to inadvertently involve a ferryman, Nicodemus Drakenhoff, working along the nearby river. Locals were already suspicious of the dour, taciturn Nicodemus, little suspecting that his gloomy outlook came as a result of his parents having been executed as spies in his youth. His seeming “sixth sense” only increased the locals’ suspicion, and they were quick to turn on him when he assisted the fugitives Kameena and Bargrimm.

With little to keep him in Stirland and his own reasons for wanting to visit Middenland’s capital of Middenheim, Nicodemus joined the pair (alongside Kameena’s goat, Brunhilda) heading west down the River Stir. Before long they ditched his barge to avoid attention and took to foot. After several weeks, they passed the village of Gersdorf, and some miles south of it they took shelter from a storm at the inn of The Strutting Cock. The inn was abuzz with word of a captured bandit, Heinz Gerber, locked up and being held till the Roadwardens could come to deal with him. Bargrimm, meanwhile, was abuzz with beer and ale, making up for having missed the dwarven holiday of First Quaff during his time as a fugitive. He shortly found himself living it up with the locals in a card came of Reik’s Crossing, where he won some change and managed to convince Nicodemus to play. Nicodemus walked away with a sizeable pot and the ire of one particular gambler.

Meanwhile, Kameena played darts with the only other Halfling at the inn, the supposed merchant Gaffin Tumblewine. Gaffin regaled Kameena with tales of his near-robbery at the hands of Heinz Gerber, and in the process managed to talk her into spending the night with him. Thus distracted, she missed the evening’s brawl as Burt, the drunken patron still angry at losing to Nicodemus, faced off with him. Harsh words were spoken and suddenly fists were flying. With a little help from Bargrimm, Nicodemus laid Burt out flat. The pair even walked away with a few extra shillings thanks to Bargrimm’s enterprising spirit (he’d bet on his pal Nicodemus while the other patrons put their money on good ol’ Burt).

Before last call, Kameena made a trip to the privy outside and encountered the alleged outlaw, Heinz Gerber, locked in a pit covered with a steel grate. He professed his innocence, claimed his real name was Emmerich Handler and that he was only visiting the area looking for work, and asked her to bring his wife from the nearby village of Gersdorf to prove his story. Unconvinced by his pleas, Kameena retired for the evening and joined Gaffin for a night of halfling debauchery. Bargrimm passed Gerber’s locked pit as well. He, too, was unconvinced, though he found the pit to be far more convenient than the privy to relieve his bladder; as a result, the supposed Heinz Gerber was rained on for the second time of the day.

During the night, Nicodemus slept alongside other travelers in the inn’s common room and Bargrimm found a pub wench to keep him warm in the barn outside.