The Emperor Karl Franz is said to be the greatest statesman in the Old World. He is acclaimed as a patron of arts and science, as a military innovator, and as a valiant warrior. Thanks to his efforts, the Empire has flourished during his reign. The Imperial Engineers School has grown, the Colleges of Magic have thrived, and the army has marched from victory to victory. The Emperor takes personal command of his army whenever possible, and has earned himself an impressive record of victories and conquest. It was Karl Franz who led the charge of the Reiksguard against the Bretonnians at the battle of Norduin. There was the Emperor's personal valour that finally broke the resistance of the Bretonnian flank guard and drove them from the narrow defile which they had defiantly held throughout the battle. The Emperor was then able to quickly take advantage of the Bretonnians' vulnerability, leading the Reiksguard behind the main Bretonnian army and charging into its exposed rear.

Valten was born in a Reikland Village called Lachenbad, where he had an uneventful childhood, growing up as the son of a blacksmith. The only truly unusual thing about the young Valten was a strange birthmark on his chest, shaped like the twin-tailed comet of Sigmar. The birthmark caused a great stir at his birth, for the comet was a powerful omen - but whether for good or ill depends on the whim of the gods.

It was on the eve of his 18th birthday that Valten's destiny became apparent. From the depths of the Reikwald, the Beastmen came led by a powerful Beastlord named Rargarth. Bent on pillage and plunder, the Beastmen seemed unstoppable, and the few men of Lachenbad that could wield weapons had no hope of standing against the warband, but Valten refused to run. He made his way to his father's smithy and, taking up two hammers from the forge, he set about the horde like a huricane with cries of anger and vengeance. Beast after beast was crushed by Valten's hammers, and all who came near him died. The panicking villagers saw his heroism and were heartened by his incredible display of bravery. They took up their swords, pitchforks, and scythes and ran to join the blacksmith's son. They cut through the warband until Valten stood before Rargarth himself.

Valten launched himself at the Beastlord. He swung a hammer in a massive arc but Rargarth raised his giant scimitar and parried the strike. Such was the force of the blow that the blade was broken in two, and the hammer was torn from Valten's grasp. Unfazed, Rargarth snarled and struck out with the remnants of the weapon. Valten ducked back, but the rusted metal slashed across his chest, opened a horrible wound, and sent him reeling. Rargarth gave a triumphant grin, exposing yellow and rotted fangs, and brought down the half-blade for the killing blow. But Valten raised his remaining hammer at the last second. There was a mighty clash as blade met hammer, and the titanic strength of the Beastlord forced Valten to one knee. Incredibly, his guard held. Impossibly, he began to rise, shaking with effort as he pushed upwards against Rargarth's blade, until finally the boy was on his feet. Valten kicked out, sending the Beastlord stumbling backwards. Before the creature could recover, the boy hurled his remaining hammer with awesome force straight at the monster's head. It struck Rargarth between the eyes like a meteor, shattered his skull, and killed him instantly.

With their leader dead, the Beastmen turned to panicked flight, and the exultant villagers chanted Valten's name. Though Lachenbad had been all but razed, it was saved from total destruction by the amazing prowess and courage of a single boy. The stories of Valten's deed spread like wildfire arond the surrounding villages and towns, and before long, all manner of parties were showing an interest in the boy who had become a hero.

In the early years of Karl Franz’s reign, a boy appeared at the gate of a Sigmarite monastery near Wissenburg and pleaded to be allowed to join the ranks of the warrior monks. Many years of hard training, intense study and inflexible discipline followed. The lean boy grew up to become a tall, muscular young man, whose fighting skills were soon a match for his instructors. He also proved an eager student of the Way of Sigmar and, at the completion of his studies, he could engage his old teachers in subtle dialectic duels. One thing remained for Luthor Huss to earn a place amongst his brothers, he needed to face Darkness in battle and defeat it.

Luthor left the monastery and walked across the Empire, preaching faith in Sigmar and looking for a chance to prove his worth. He found it in Weismund, a small town at the edge of the Drakwald Forest. There Luthor found the town's militia in full alarm, peasants and woodmen flooding to the relative safety of the town's palisade with their livestock. It looked as though they were preparing for a siege. Luthor soon found out that a large band of Beastmen had attacked the area and many communities had already been destroyed.

Luthor strode into the town, inspiring the defenders with fiery speeches and helping them get ready for the imminent attack. Help had been sent for, but the nearest garrison of regular troops was in Helmgart, and reinforcements would take days. Suddenly the foul Children of Chaos were upon the town. Great were the feats of valour that Luthor accomplished, the power of Sigmar was strong with him that day. His mighty warhammer struck down many abominations and a supernatural aura protected him during the fight. The blows of the enemies were unable to pierce his armour and the evil sorcery of the shaman who was leading the Beastmen was totally powerless against Luthor. Even a huge bull-headed horror succumbed to the implacable priest.

After two days of uninterrupted fighting, an imperial relief force reached the town and the Beastmen fled back into the forest. Luthor joined the troops in their pursuit, but when the soldiers reached the edge of the wood, they stopped, judging it folly to continue under the dark canopy of trees. Luthor was undeterred and followed the fleeing creatures of Chaos, determined to wipe them all out. The soldiers set up camp close by, in case the Beastmen decided to return. Soon everybody was convinced that the ferocious novice had surely been killed, but after three days Luthor emerged once more from the forest. His armour in tatters, his exhausted body covered in the blood of his enemies, Luthor reached the camp dragging behind him the massive horned head of the shaman.

After this victory against Chaos, Luthor returned to the monastery, where he was ordained. From that day on he has joined his brothers on the battlefield, where he has distinguished himself fighting the minions of Darkness.

Balthasar made his first appearance in the busy port of Marienburg, having bought passage on a merchant ship coming from his native Black Gulf. As he had paid for the journey with gold which he had transmuted himself, Balthasar left for Altdorf quickly before the effects wore off. The Colleges of Magic were his destination.

Since his early years, Balthasar had always been fascinated by alchemy, especially by the mystic search for the Philosopher's Stone. To turn vile metals into the noblest of all, pure gold, had always been an obsession for Balthasar. Driven by this powerful force, and sustained by a natural talent for manipulating the winds of magic, Balthasar rose through the ranks of the Gold Order. In Altdorf he spent many years studying and experimenting on how to combine Alchemy with the magic of Metals. His inquisitive intelligence and open-minded approach made Balthasar quite popular with the Alchemists' Guild, and even among the Engineers, who benefited from his research into new types of black powder.

One day a freak accident in his laboratory almost killed him and from that day he always appears in public completely covered in robes and wearing a golden mask. Some say that his entire skin turned to gold and others swear that he is horribly disfigured, but nobody knows exactly what happened to him. One thing is sure, the accident did not reduce his will to succeed in his research nor did it hamper his powers. On the contrary, he has risen to the position of Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic, defeating Thyrus Gormann in the ritual duel and replacing the prominence of the Bright Order with his beloved Gold.

From that day on, the winds of power have blown strong for the magic of the Metals and a new Supreme Patriarch, riding a pegasus and surrounded by a golden halo, has appeared on many a battlefield where the Emperor's troops are fighting.

Or "Mad Stamper" as his called in his unit is a crazed lunatic who is even too loopy for the Flagellants, the unit that did let him join saw the creation of this team a good way to get rid of him so sighned him up.