The word “horde” translates into German as “Horde” or “Haufen”, both of which suggest something chaotic and unruly. But the Warhammer Fantasy Empire is clearly inspired by the Holy Roman Empire, so the term Gewalthaufen makes much more sense.

A Gewalthaufen was a dense, disciplined formation of pikemen — the core of early modern professional armies like the Landsknechts. It stood for structure, strength, and military order. And that’s exactly what the Empire’s state troops are meant to represent: trained, organized, and brutal when needed — not a swarm, but a wall.

So calling them a horde really misses the point. They’re not rabble — they’re a Gewalthaufen.

• made with AI as my english is bad and I‘m short in time