Hello all, i am just getting ready to starta campaign, and i plan to do it in Middenheim, mostly because my girlfriend plans to make an Ulric priest character

The problem is, as i saw in the Tome of Blessings, Ulric is a war god, and it kinds of embodies a savage spirit of battle and honour. But later, investigating about Middenheim (mostly in the supplements Middenheim: City of Chaos and Ashes of Middenheim) , the city of the White Wolf seems just a boring bureaocratic city, with nothing of savagism and honour, not even battle, just that old Tordbinger Graf and a lot of politics.

So i want to ask, does the city and its people is Really like that? After seen the Tome of Blessing, i imagined a powerful city in a snowy mountain, full of barbaric warriors , similar to Cimmeria or Vanaheim in Conan the Barbarian lore, but now i am a little dissapointed, also my girfriend, since she thought that Ulric will have at least some real and tangible meaning in the city.

i am wrong? Middenheim is like that? Any source or idea for reconciling the city with Ulric? Also the people and Ulricans: are they like that?

If you have read Signs of Faith, Tome of Salvation, Sigmar's Heirs, City of Chaos, and Ashes of Middenheim and still find Middenheim boring then I'm not sure what else I could point you toward for info . Myself and my regular Warhammer cohorts have never found Middenheim boring, poncy or lame, but if something about it falls flat for you I can't very well change your fictional tastes. All I can do is give my view of it...

If you were hoping for something more like Orgrimmar from World of Warcraft I could see how Middenheim wouldn't match the mental picture. The Cimmerians, at least Robert Howard's version of them, had no great cities so I don't have a good frame of reference there.

In terms of fictional analogues I view George RR Martin's portrayal of the northern lands of his world as similar to how I have always pictured Middenland and Middenheim. Basically a people that have to deal with harsh climates and austere conditions for their whole lives, and who pray to "outdated" gods, and are grim and resolute in their every dealing.

The kind of politics that goes on in Middenheim would probably be seen as a game of chess (with real soldiers), a tavern brawl, or an assassination in the sunny south of the Empire. Basically these people don't have time to muck about, and the winter snows are going to kill off a lot of good people while the Reiklanders complain about the style of their mittens. In Middenheim they throw their dead off the Cliff of Sighs rather than bury them...how is that not hardcore? Trial by combat is very common in Middenland and Middenheim. Most nobles in the south of the empire only bleed from a duel full of pomp and circumstance or threats of military might/religious influence. A Middenlander noble fued probably envolves a bare knuckle brawl in the forest or the sacking of a holdfast...see the difference? In the Reikland people talk softly and carry a big stick. In Middenland people talk loudly and use any stick available to make sure the message comes accross good and clear.

In terms of Ulricans, these guys are preaching a message that is about three millennia old and expect that their followers adhere to every.stinking.syllable of Ulric's mandates. You don't miss church in Middenheim if a priest of Ulric "suggests" you attend. You don't pay money to become the Ar-Ulric. You most certainly don't compare that upstart Sigmar with mighty Ulric (unless the witch hunters or a lector are around).

Additionally the city itself is so old that the mountain itself is like a rotten wolf's tooth full of monsters, mutants, skaven and a maze of lightless caverns that lead hopeful sappers and military forces to their doom.

hahahaha , Ogrimmar! Really fun analogy!

No, i dont expect Middenheim to be like Ogrimmar, and you are right Cimmeria, Asgard and Vanaheim are not big cities in Conan lore, they are savages.

Sorry if my comment sounded a little crude and harsh, just really , i thought Middenheim was a kind of Fortress-city, with a heavy militaristic tone, probably more

like Sparta or similar, (not the spartan of 300). I thought it was kind of barbaric and always on the grip of revolution, if not for their militar leaders and , of course , the cult of Ulric.

As you explained it, it seems more like an long.ago warrior city, that now is too deep in the bureocracy than others. I am no expert in medieval or reinassance politics, but really , for me i dont see too much the difference between a Reiklander noble, than a Middenheimer one.

If you can ilustrate better the differences, please, be most welcome. It is just that as i see it, it seems like the Ulric cult is in the wrong place. Maybe i see Ulric as a savage god, and i cant find that their people is so civilized, especially in a world where the gods manifest themselves so powerfully.

I would expect that Ulric wipe them all from earth instead Even the Graf pisses me the most, since in City of Chaos , they show him as weak, and also his heir, how can Ulric stand that? He is suppose to be the opposite!!

I am planning still the campaign, just wanted to know if my grasp of the city and people was right. Hell, even the priests there seems more softy (at least taking in account the picture in the City of Chaos book, in the chapter regarding FAith and celibacy, the priest there seems a franciscan!!)

I know many people love Middenheim as it is, dont intend to bother them, just wanted to find is the city is really as it seems, if i am missing a book , or maybe it changed in other editions. As it seems now, i think i will modify it heavily, so it will be more according to my campaign, but any info is most welcome, maybe some data i forgot.

Ah, i forgot. I didnt read Signs of Faith still, but i will, maybe there i find more info also.

Thanks again!

There is a 1st edition supplement called Warhammer City that is a guide to Middenheim. It's a fantastic book and can be found on Ebay for $20 - $30. Used copies can also be found through Amazon starting at ~ $15.

The Ulric cult is mostly a barbaric cult that has been semi-civilized. While they mostly cherish the old barbaric virtues of self reliance, honesty and strength they aren't wondering warrior killer-sociopaths like they used to be before Sigmar. They are still the most brutal of the cult in the empire, and contrasting them with the more “Civilized” southern gods like Verena. Marmydia or Schilya on the one hand and the really barbaric customs of the Norscan on the other should be fun.