Of all the countries in the Old World, The Empire is the largest and most prosperous with a culture and technology comparable to an early renaissance age: knights co-exist with gun and cannon. It comprises a vast conglomeration of princedoms, duchies, leagues and city-states, which live together in comparative peace and prosperity and ruled by Emperor Karl-Franz I. To the north, The Empire is bounded by the stormy waters of the Sea of Claws. To the east lie the World's Edge mountains. To the north-east lies the country of Kislev, whose heroic inhabitants hold back the hordes of Chaos encamped in the Northern Wastes. To the south and west, the Black and Grey Mountains form natural frontiers, while the Wasteland in the north-west extends across the only open country between The Empire and Bretonnia.

The seven largest states within The Empire are known as the Electoral Provinces, as they traditionally have a say in the election of the Emperor. There are also five non-electoral provinces, those with no votes to cast for the election of an emperor. As well as the provinces, there are three great City-States: Middenheim, Talabheim and Nuln whose rulers are also Electors. But the greatest of all The Empire's cities is Altdorf - Imperial Capital and location of the towering cathedral to Sigmar.