Idea! Iron Kingdoms and Warhammer RPG

[ArghMark]

I'm having an idea.

I really like the Iron Kingdoms, BUT I don't like their crazily complex mechanica rules.

I also really like Warhammer RPG. I think its got a nice, brutal system. I think the magic is done so it is weird and to be honest, the two systems are a nice match for each other BAR the mechanica.

The other thing I like is True 20. True 20 is my game of choice for anything not already specialised - i.e. if I want to play gritty superheroes in WW2, I use Godlike, not True20 (or M+M). I think True20 could do IK well.

Specifically I'm thinking of a game set in Five Fingers part of the Iron Kingdoms.

Does anyone have any nice suggestions for how to adapt the steampunky-ness of IK into either of those rule sets? I could just make it up and go from there, but theres a chance my players might clue in .

Things to think of -

Not just monsters, but how to use alchemical items, how to MAKE alchemical items, mechanica, or other things.

 

[kitsune9]

I'm having an idea.

I really like the Iron Kingdoms, BUT I don't like their crazily complex mechanica rules.

I also really like Warhammer RPG. I think its got a nice, brutal system. I think the magic is done so it is weird and to be honest, the two systems are a nice match for each other BAR the mechanica.

The other thing I like is True 20. True 20 is my game of choice for anything not already specialised - i.e. if I want to play gritty superheroes in WW2, I use Godlike, not True20 (or M+M). I think True20 could do IK well.

Specifically I'm thinking of a game set in Five Fingers part of the Iron Kingdoms.

Does anyone have any nice suggestions for how to adapt the steampunky-ness of IK into either of those rule sets? I could just make it up and go from there, but theres a chance my players might clue in .

Things to think of -

Not just monsters, but how to use alchemical items, how to MAKE alchemical items, mechanica, or other things.

No clue, but good luck with that. I have IK and WFRP and I think it would be an awesome combo.

 

[Khairn]

WHRPG certainly has grim 'n gritty flavor of IK. I haven't tried that combination myself but I think it would be a really complimentary fit.

 

[Sen Udo-Mal]

I wrote up a very basic 'racial' and 'professional career' chart a while ago but never tried it out. The one thing I was really iffy on was Magic, as I wanted Clerics, Wizards and Sorcerers (sort of Witches in WHFRPG) but I did not want the curses and mutations to be so bad (except for Necromancy). I was thinking about doubles would cause Fatigue or something instead of curses. Another idea was maybe going with some different types of Petty Magic and then all otehr magic would have each spell purchased seperately.

OVERALL I think that IK would be a really good fit for the WHFRPG rules setting if someone would sit down and hammer out everything

 

[ArghMark]

I'm wondering.. the clerical magic might change things a little. Maybe think up ascendant magical paths and vice versa for Thamarites? It'd take a lot of work. Its not too much of a stretch to imagine the 'power of healing' problems wouldn't apply to other things as well.

Magic... that ones the hard one. The different colors of magic makes things quite different, though the necromancy/chaos magic isn't bad for bad guy cultists.

How to do magic with a more scholarly bent;i.e. if you want to learn spells from other paths maybe.

That'd be a big problem.

Though the amount of wizards I've seen use magical spells in WH games is zero; we just haven't had anyone who wants to play one, so it may be a non issue.

 

[wolff96]

How to do magic with a more scholarly bent;i.e. if you want to learn spells from other paths maybe.

That'd be a big problem.

Though the amount of wizards I've seen use magical spells in WH games is zero; we just haven't had anyone who wants to play one, so it may be a non issue.

I'm not all that familiar with Iron Kingdoms, but I have played a lot of WHFRPG. I've had a pair of mages in the party in all that time. One is in the current campaign -- she's a Journeyman these days, but has never cast anything but Petty and Lesser Magics. She's never yet had a Chaos manifestation and is roleplaying her character as very frightened of the potential consequences. Ironically, her wind is Shyish, the Wind of Death.

The other one was a pyromaniacal Bright Wizard who cast fire whenever and wherever he felt like it. Believe it or not, he made it all the way to Wizard Lord and nearly survived the whole campaign! Granted, he was missing an eye, a couple of fingers on one hand, had two or three insanities... but he was a survivor. Granted, that Bloodthirster of Khorne was not impressed at the very end, but it *was* the climactic encounter, after all.

The way I've handled new spells in Warhammer is a special trait: Extra spell. It's allowed up to twice for each level of Wizard beyond Apprentice and the cost varies significantly. If it's a Lesser Magic, it will only cost you a 100xp advance. If it's a new spell from your Wind (I allow Realms of Sorcery), you need a demonstration of the spell or a scroll and it costs you 200xp. And if it's from another Wind entirely, then it requires tracking down a teacher, undergoing a ritual (usually a moderate-length quest itself to research and gather materials), and 400xp.

It works for our group. Just be careful about making it too easy -- adding spells that cover weaknesses in a particular Wind can really alter the balance of wizardly power.

 

[ArghMark]

Thats not a bad idea at all, Wolf96! Thanks!

The only thing I'm thinking about now is Mechanical weapons, with fire bursts and what not. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Herobizkit]

Someone by the name of Luke Walker has done some of the work for you, ArghMark:
True 20 conversion for Iron Kingdoms

I'm also a fan of IK and True 20.

 

[wolff96]

The only thing I'm thinking about now is Mechanical weapons, with fire bursts and what not. Anyone have any ideas?

"Children of the Horned Rat" would be your friend here, if you want to stick to Warhammer rules. The skaven make *lots* of experimental and very unstable weapons, usually involving Warpstone.

The thing all of these weapons have in common is in their weapon rolls. Depending on just how experimental the weapon in question is, there is an ever-increasing chance of it blowing up in your face.

So some sort of fire-caster might have a clause in it -- yeah, it does amazing damage over a good area... but if you roll 90+ on your percentile dice it fails to trigger and if you roll 95+ it explodes, dealing the damage to you and those around you.

Depending on how unstable you want those weapons to be, you can alter those percentages. Note that Good and Best quality weapons usuallly severely limit just how explosive a weapon actually turns out to be -- they might have the usual chance.

And when a weapon is common enough and reliable enough, it might lose that "experimental" tag all together. (For IK, anyway. In Warhammer, it can ALWAYS blow up. Because nothing is funnier than the look on an orc's face when a gun blows up and takes his nose off...)

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For damage, you have to ask just how deadly you want the game to be. A damage 3 or 4 hit is pretty nasty. Damaging hits that ignore armor (or armor and toughness!) don't even need a bonus to be downright lethal.

If you have access to the Warhammer Fantasy core book, a quick look at spell damage in the back is a pretty good place to start -- a fire-caster might replicate a fire-ball spell, for example, but it takes several rounds to load, is expensive, and has a chance to blow up in your face.

And of course, this is all off the top of my head.

Final thought: I would *definitely* recommend that whoever wants to use one of these crazy weapons needs to have the Weapon Proficiency: Engineering trait to use them well. You're dealing with some unusual weapons, to say the least...