Why does the empire suddenly have so mutch skull symbols on their armour/shields/horses/...? Is there a reason?

I think it looks fake.

Its all to do with sigmar who is a warrior god so therefore teh skulls are like relics of somesort. And the empire being extremely suspicious take a lot of skulls

It's true that there's an abuse of skulls...

GW will always argue that the Warhammer world is a dark and unforgiving world, but I don't think it's a reason to make everyone look like a worshipper of Khorne. People of the Empire are supposed to be the good guys... Even in a dark universe, there must be good guys.

And it's kinda difficult to look like one when you have skulls on your banners.

*hissing intake of breath*

I wouldn't say that. They're not actively evil (or at least, most of them aren't), but one of the signature features of the WH world is that for the most part it eschews the black-and-white fantasy moral tradition. Even with the High Elves and all, it's more 'black vs. grubby sort of grey' than black vs. white.

For the most part, the skulls are either trophies (which most veterans in that time period would collect, although if you ask me a skull's not a very practical trophy... large and fragile with no real use, but a weapon you took from a dead enemy doesn't look any different from a 'standard issue' weapon on a 28mm model) or heraldry. There have been skulls in Empire heraldry for a long time, it's nothing new.

actually empire arent really the good guys. No more than the spanish inquisition were the good guys, the corrupt churchmen the good guys, they simply want thier piece out of the warhammer pie. And are a young and impudent race too, and you know if i was in the heat of battle adn i wanted to scare my enimes i would not wear roses as a heraldric symbol! :)

The Bret's are far closer to the classical vision of "The Good Guys", and even there, they've got the corruption of Mousillion and the fact that their serf classes are incredibly oppressed. (Help! Help! I'm being repressed!)

Now now, stop your bickering. Everyone knows the one true "good" army is the dwarves. WE aint oppressing anyone, and sure we may be a bit ignorant, but they can arguably be the "goodest" guys of the whole lot.

Burro Boskov

Actually, when you think about it, it's the greenskins that are the most oppressed. EVERYBODY hates them. Black Orcs were an experiment by the Chaos Dwarfs that got out of control and are now trying to show that they are people, too, with their own society and moral values and whatnot - does this remind anyone of any Sci-Fi movie and/or book that they've ever read?

The greenskins are just trying to adhere to their own tribal system, and are sadly being wiped out by the new, "civilised" way of less "primitive" civilisations. Kinda like the way a lot of indigenous groups got wiped out by the new ways of life of settlers.

DON'T YOU HAVE ANY SYMPATHY FOR THEM? WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE YOU?

I didn't know.

Nope, but you brought destruction and death to the High Elven empire just because some Dark Elf brigands killed a few of your people. Oh, and also because an insolent Dwarf 'ambassador' had his scraggly beard shaved for his arrogance.

I'm so sorry for those poor innocent little creatures.


.

*holds up scaly hand*

The Lizardmen can lay claim to being the only truly non-imperialist nation out there.

Yes, we value your lives as a human would value a rat's. Yes, we treat you as a buffer zone against the hordes of Chaos. Yes, we topple your empires and shatter mountain ranges because we think the feng shui of the continents needs adjusting.

But we don't invade people.

:P

Getting away from this highly entertaining debate about who is bigger which army is 'good,' (a highly suspect and relativist concept at the best of times) I'd like to venture forth an opinion on why the Empire has lots of skulls.

Skulls are a key feature of Renaissance artwork. They feature heavily in paintings and sculpture of the period as well as quite a few references in plays and suchlike (see also: Shakespeare, W. Marlowe, P.). You can go look up what they mean in terms of artistic interpretation, but a succinct summary would be the Christian obsession with death and living a good life. Skulls and the like are representations of mortality, something to keep in mind at all times- what if you die with sins on your conscience? Etc, etc.

The new artists for the Empire, it seems, have seen this prevalence of the morbid in Renaissance artwork. As with everything GW does, they have taken it and exaggerated it above and beyond the original purpose. Symbols of mortality are common, but usually subtle. In the Empire, they have become the norm and relatively unsubtle. Honking great skulls on shields, soldiers carrying small skulls, etc, etc.

Either the artists have misinterpreted Renaissance art, or they simply feel having skulls looks 'cool' and helps represent the fact that the Empire recently went through a terrible war.

It doesn't terribly affect me, mind. I can't think of a single skull amongst my Averlanders, preferring animal iconography. That is not going to change in Seventh Edition...if only because I'm not paying money for the new Soldiers of the Empire boxed sets. Hideous, one and all.

Hear hear. Night goblins got smaller and more sneaky-looking, which is good, as the 6th edition goblins looked kind of like short but extremely wide green freaks. But the new Empire troops are the opposite - so "in-your-face", if you will. Or at least that's the way they appear - I've only seen pictures of the models without anything else from which to take a reference.

Not that I actually play Empire - but you never know, I might have a need for human miniatures some day.

so i was the only one who liked the look of the new empire..... i thought it fitted in with my ravening fanatics of the must holy sigmar and if you dont swear fealty we will gut you faster then you can say waagh! Idea of an army. And whoo cares I like the gw skulls makes me feel the empire are more baddass if you will. And i agree that its a Bit OTT but still in my morbid sense of things i like the minis.
And spare me
There is no tr00 good race in warhammer its a game that has got more steadilly evil every edition. If anyone Pity the skaven. The rats didnt ask to be turned to men by the pied piper of hamlin Cough i mean that misterious stranger who helped build the tower.
SO STOP SAYING MY ARMY IS DA BEST AND I AM DA BIGGEST BOSS and such in a totally non-orcy way of course. Geez its like if you stick grimgor ironhide and azhag in a small 7 foot by 7 foot room and saying who is the best. Much headbutting afterward there still wouldnt be a clear winner.

I like the new empire minis aswell, a vast improvment from the last edition IMO. :)

Thank YOU!
I have one vote for my side anyone else think the spearmen from the 6th edition starter set looked like they were just asking to get creamed by the orcs?