IMPERIAL CITIES, PRINCIPALITIES AND RHINE ROADS · EUROPE AROUND 1330
Holy Roman Empire
Rule among princes, cities and the contested authority of the Empire.
The Imperial faction reflects a realm of princes, church lands, free cities and travelling authority rather than a single uniform kingdom. Its Pfalz, guild workshops, cathedral scriptorium and Rhine customs wharf give players a city shaped by negotiation, commerce and layered power.
Imperial Spearmen and Crossbowmen support Swabian Swordsmen and Ministerial Cavalry. The roster is intentionally adaptable: an Imperial ruler can pursue fortified trade, alliance leadership, provincial influence or major field campaigns without abandoning the faction’s political identity.
Faction strengths
- A flexible roster suited to changing political conditions
- Imperial-city, guild and princely architectural character
- Natural thematic depth for diplomacy, trade and contested province rule
Signature buildings
Distinctive troops
About playing The Empire
What does HRE mean in the faction selector?
HRE is the Holy Roman Empire. The public faction page and game use the full historical name, while the short code is used internally.
Can I play as a specific Imperial prince?
You create your own ruler, settlement and heraldry within the Imperial faction, leaving room for a personal princely identity inside the shared world.
Write your own chapter
Found a realm, design its heraldry and represent The Empire in the living European campaign.