Seriously considering Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2nd edition)

[Elsenrail]

Saving the life of the next Emperor is always easier than killing a dragon or a Greater Daemon.

Who wanted to kill the Sigmar's heir? It seems that Your campign is really advanced. How much XP do You award for a session (on average)?

[Rel]

Originally Posted by Elsenrail

Saving the life of the next Emperor is always easier than killing a dragon or a Greater Daemon.

Who wanted to kill the Sigmar's heir? It seems that Your campign is really advanced. How much XP do You award for a session (on average)?

Well that was the prior campaign, which lasted most of a year playing weekly. And it was near the end of the campaign. As for who wanted to kill Sigmar's heir, at the time it was a crapload of beastmen.

As for XP we usually award 100-150 per session with the rare session getting 200.

[Plane Sailing]

Originally Posted by Rel

I found that knowing I wouldn't die (by virtue of having one or more Fate Points in the bank) reduced my enjoyment of the game somewhat. When I started my current campaign I divorced the Fate Point mechanic from Fortune Points and kept the number of Fate Points for each character secret.

That reminds me of the old TSR 'Top Secret' - each spy (PC) had 1 point of reputation per level and 1d6 luck (which was held secretly by the DM). You could avoid death by spending a point of reputation, or risk spending a point of luck - but nobody knew exactly when their luck was going to run out!

BTW, I love the idea of using WHFRP for a 'Pirates of the Carribbean' styled game - it seems like a really cool idea.

[Rel]

Originally Posted by Plane Sailing

BTW, I love the idea of using WHFRP for a 'Pirates of the Carribbean' styled game - it seems like a really cool idea.

Thanks. I'm really enjoying running it and it really hasn't required much in the way of house ruling either to get the right feel. The only other thing that I did by way of house rule is to let anybody take the Specialist Weapon Group - Gunpowder for 200 XP. I like my pirates to be able to tote a brace of pistols without having to hare off into some other profession.

[shilsen]

I just got my book and started reading it. It's already looking pretty good within the first few pages. I loved the "An Important Note About Reality" bit (pg.11) where points out explicitly that the game isn't realistic and has a level of abstraction to keep things simple and the game flowing.

Or, to quote from it, "Should someone start querying the rules, citing martial arts training, historical precedent, or even, Gods forbid, logic, the GM is fully within their rights to throw dice, food or even this book at the offender. WFRP is a game, not real life." And, as it then goes on to mention, the Ruinous Powers aren't watching you on the privy.

I'm sold!

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally Posted by shilsen

I just got my book and started reading it. It's already looking pretty good within the first few pages. I loved the "An Important Note About Reality" bit (pg.11)

That's one of my favourite parts as well. One of many, I should add.

[boredgremlin]

Originally Posted by Rel

Despite being advertised as super deadly, our group has found that the lethality of Warhammer is not any worse than D&D and is perhaps a bit lower. The "extra lives" afforded by Fate Points seem to make the PC's a bit more durable.

I found that knowing I wouldn't die (by virtue of having one or more Fate Points in the bank) reduced my enjoyment of the game somewhat. When I started my current campaign I divorced the Fate Point mechanic from Fortune Points and kept the number of Fate Points for each character secret.

Since I couldn't tie Fortune Points to Fate Points anymore, I give each character the average Fortune Points for their race each day. I also award "Fortune Coins" (fake plastic pirate coins) when the party accomplishes something impressive. These are identical to Fortune Points except they can be saved up and used when the PC's are in a really desperate situation. They can also be spent to save the lives of valued NPC's (usually officers among the crew of their ship) but that's on a 3:1 ratio.

Also, since I'm running a more "swashbuckling" campaign, I let them spend Fortune Points to do "dramatic edits" where suddenly there is a rope for them to swing from or the enemy they are fighting trips on a coil of rope or steps in a bucket to facilitate things like Maneuvering and Disarming, etc.

The greater availability of Fortune Points no doubt makes the game a bit less deadly but we felt that way even before the house ruling for this campaign. However, since I'm a RBDM, it means I don't feel so bad when I throw extremely tough challenges at them and they burn a Fate Point or two.

I like that idea of keeping the fate points secret, i would have my players randomly still still and just have that be thier fortune points though, i would roll thier fate points myself. Still i think i might steal that idea for my game.

[Jody Macgregor]

I like letting the players keep track of how many Fate Points they've got as it stops them from being boringly cautious. People still play it a bit safe because they don't want to lose those shiny, precious Fate Points, but having that slight safety net frees them to take risks and indulge in that there Perilous Adventure.

[shilsen]

Originally Posted by Jody Macgregor

I like letting the players keep track of how many Fate Points they've got as it stops them from being boringly cautious. People still play it a bit safe because they don't want to lose those shiny, precious Fate Points, but having that slight safety net frees them to take risks and indulge in that there Perilous Adventure.

If and when I get a chance to run the game, that's definitely the route I'm going. Worrying the players is easy enough in my D&D Eberron game, and that's one where I effectively took death out of the equation. From what I've seen of WFRP, it'll really be a piece of cake there, Fate Points or no Fate Points

I rolled up two starting PCs yesterday in the space of 15 minutes for both combined, without picking equipment, and the equipment took all of 5 minutes more, mainly because I'm totally new to the system and had to leaf back and forth a bit. Statting PCs and NPCs in D&D quickly even at high levels is easy for me, but this is a whole other ball game.

[Elsenrail]

Creating an NPC is a matter of seconds... actually, since all the stats are percentage... except "hit points".

[Maggan]

Originally Posted by Jody Macgregor

I like letting the players keep track of how many Fate Points they've got as it stops them from being boringly cautious. People still play it a bit safe because they don't want to lose those shiny, precious Fate Points, but having that slight safety net frees them to take risks and indulge in that there Perilous Adventure.

One idea that hit me was to to double the Fate Points, but also let the Player roll 1D4 to see how many FP he loses when called for.

Adds a randomness to it that prevents the players from being too sure about how they will fare.

EDIT: or just add the d4 roll. It is WFRP, after all.

/M

[Lord Belgar]

Warhammer, IMO, is the best Fantasy /Horror Role Playing Game that I have ever played. I started playing the original in 1993 when I started college. A fellow student had a longstanding game and I joined in. Between the “Central Casting” from Task Force Games and the original rules, Warhammer had the best character creation. The characters were fleshed out and you immediately fell in love with them. He had his own homebrew and it gave me the idea to start my own. I have been using my own world since the summer of 1993. My world was created with Ars Magica and Pendragon with the World of Darkness and Ravenloft in for flavor. Something that is stressed is that there are bigger fish in the sea and you’re just a guppy and you will never be a shark unless you are smart and lucky.

The Rules are flexible enough to take the game out of the Old World and into yours. Simple name changes on a career can make all the difference. The division of magic doesn’t exist in my world. You only need to buy the skill in that magic field in order to start learning the spells. You also have to buy the spell with experience anyway. I have yet to encounter an unbalanced Wizard. Being a wizard in Warhammer sucks enough without having to deal with spell limitations.

Combat is quick and effective and downright scary. My players know enough now not to go out after dark if they don’t have to. I can’t hold that feeling with Dungeons and Dragons. We tried it and it was a dismal failure. D&D itself gives players instant courage. It’s not a scary game. You gain a few levels and you think you are on your way to godhood. Just the rules for WFRP are enough to keep people talking rather then fighting. I’ve had a player die from messing with the wrong barmaid. Halfling with to many hands if you catch my drift and wammo with a frying skillet….

Probably the biggest pain in the butt was dealing with the gods and priests. That took a lot of work and is an ongoing project but I have put it on hold until the Tome of Salvation comes out in July. That gives us a month to hammer out the issues. (We are taking a WFRP break right now. We are playing a New World of Darkness chronicle right now to break it up.)

I buy a lot of the Warhammer Products and many other games just to steal and barrow what I need and dump the rest. I have careers scanned and pasted into an ongoing word document so we aren’t constantly pulling the books out. I have created new playable races and careers that I have put into play. For me the game is a work in progress.

Warhammer 2nd Edition can be used in any Homebrew... I am not gonna lie, there are challenges to overcome to make it workable for a homebrew, but it is worth it just on game’s reputation alone.

[shilsen]

Originally Posted by Lord Belgar

Something that is stressed is that there are bigger fish in the sea and you’re just a guppy and you will never be a shark unless you are smart and lucky.

That's one reason I'm looking forward to playing WHFR, as a change from the norm in my regular game. One thing I love about Eberron is the emphasis on the fact that the PCs are special, and I emphasize that in my game, so WHFR should provide an interesting variation.

The Rules are flexible enough to take the game out of the Old World and into yours. Simple name changes on a career can make all the difference.

So I've noticed. Mallus and I have been discussing how to use the system for his setting and so far I'm thinking it should be quite easy to do.

Combat is quick and effective and downright scary. My players know enough now not to go out after dark if they don’t have to. I can’t hold that feeling with Dungeons and Dragons. We tried it and it was a dismal failure. D&D itself gives players instant courage. It’s not a scary game. You gain a few levels and you think you are on your way to godhood.

Really? Someone forgot to tell my players/PCs that. The 13th lvl PCs in my aforementioned Eberron game are the most powerful characters in Sharn, the largest metropolis on the continent. The wizard is the most powerful arcanist. The two druids are the most powerful druids in the entire nation. And a standing joke among them is that they won't go buy a newspaper without being fully buffed and accompanied by the other PCs. Because painful experience has taught them that a bunch of smart, weak opponents can make them very miserable.

Honestly, I believe that whether D&D is a scary game or gives players instant courage or not depends very highly on the capabilities of the DM.

Just the rules for WFRP are enough to keep people talking rather then fighting. I’ve had a player die from messing with the wrong barmaid. Halfling with to many hands if you catch my drift and wammo with a frying skillet….

Even without having played the game, it seems fairly obvious that a few lucky rolls can swing a fight in WHFR between opponents of vastly differing ability. And going up against multiple enemies is esp. scary, much more so than in D&D.

But here's a question for you and anyone else who's played WHFR - have you changed anything about healing in the game, esp. with magic? A single priest with access to the Lore of Shallya can heal an entire group to full health in a minute or two with the Cure Wounds spell, with no risk at all.

That doesn't seem to fit the flavor the game puts out, so I'm thinking I'll add the caveat that one person can be healed only once with magic during or after an encounter. That restriction does exist in some places, but not with Cure Wounds.

Do you think that'll cause any problems that I'm missing?

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally Posted by shilsen

But here's a question for you and anyone else who's played WHFR - have you changed anything about healing in the game, esp. with magic? A single priest with access to the Lore of Shallya can heal an entire group to full health in a minute or two with the Cure Wounds spell, with no risk at all.

I haven't felt the need; I wouldn't call the chances of Insanity Points and The Wrath of the Gods no risk at all. Limiting the spell in the same way that the Heal Skill is limited, however, would certainly work.

[shilsen]

Originally Posted by Jody Macgregor

I haven't felt the need; I wouldn't call the chances of Insanity Points and The Wrath of the Gods no risk at all. Limiting the spell in the same way that the Heal Skill is limited, however, would certainly work.

Unless I'm missing something, somebody rolling only one die to cast Cure Wounds (which only has a casting number of 6, so you succeed 50% of the time even with just one d10 roll) can't ever roll doubles. So there is no risk of Insanity Points or The Wrath of the Gods.

[Rel]

Originally Posted by shilsen

Unless I'm missing something, somebody rolling only one die to cast Cure Wounds (which only has a casting number of 6, so you succeed 50% of the time even with just one d10 roll) can't ever roll doubles. So there is no risk of Insanity Points or The Wrath of the Gods.

Except that if you roll a 1 on the casting die then you have to make a Willpower Test or gain an Insanity Point. So usually you only heal people up if it's REALLY necessary.

[Henry]

You can get an insanity point just from casting a Light spell, much less any healing magics - it's even an example in the book (the poor hedge wizard...)

Think of it this way... someone with a 50% Willpower will have a chance to get an insanity point 1 time out of every 10 castings, and WILL get an insanity point 1 time in 20 (or 1 time in 40 with fortune rerolls...)

[shilsen]

Originally Posted by Rel

Except that if you roll a 1 on the casting die then you have to make a Willpower Test or gain an Insanity Point. So usually you only heal people up if it's REALLY necessary.

Originally Posted by Henry

You can get an insanity point just from casting a Light spell, much less any healing magics - it's even an example in the book (the poor hedge wizard...)

Think of it this way... someone with a 50% Willpower will have a chance to get an insanity point 1 time out of every 10 castings, and WILL get an insanity point 1 time in 20 (or 1 time in 40 with fortune rerolls...)

Thanks, guys. That's what I was missing.

[Rel]

Originally Posted by shilsen

Thanks, guys. That's what I was missing.

But then there's the peer pressure. "Who cares if you get one lousy Insanity Point!? I could DIE if a Goblin sneezes on me!!"

[boredgremlin]

I made it even harsher in my game. Spellcasters cant use fortune points to re-roll caster checks... So if you blow it you blow it.

And that peer pressure only works until the first few IP points add up. After that you'll find your spell casters putting thier foot down alot more often.