Warhammer RPG campaign starting--what to buy?

[Cevalic]

Sounds like an intresting game world. Just to play once or twice though, it wouldn't be worth the cost of all of those books.

 

[Swack-Iron]

I have a deep and abiding love for Warhammer 2nd ed.

PC, if you love WFRP2, did you happen to notice who edited most of the books? Here's a hint: he played in the game you ran the last time you visited California.

 

[Numion]

The Warhammer world can bring you down. There are Lovecraftian undertones (magic is inherently bad and there can be serious repurcussions), there are gods and monsters of madness (but generally more intelligent and with purpose, at least higher up) that want to destroy everything and make the world a realm of Chaos.

I wonder why the "magic is inherently bad" crept into the game. In the 1st edition it was merely "evil or chaotic magic is bad", otherwise magic was all well and good.

And one more thing, at least the previous edition included and encouraged a special, grim kind of humor, which was for me an important part of WFRP. Too often people describe only the grim, Lovecraftian and tentacled aspects of the game, which does it disservice, IMO. Warhammer is a fun game, it's just that it's not ha-ha funny. Grim funny. Or something. The game will wear you down if you only concentrate on the negative aspects of adventuring.

This was apparent in the Enemy Within campaign, at least, which is for what defines the game and the world. The crazy taxidermist, mistaken identity, torturer who repeatedly asks his victims "where did you bury the treasure", etc ..

 

[hellbender]

I wonder why the "magic is inherently bad" crept into the game. In the 1st edition it was merely "evil or chaotic magic is bad", otherwise magic was all well and good.

And one more thing, at least the previous edition included and encouraged a special, grim kind of humor, which was for me an important part of WFRP. Too often people describe only the grim, Lovecraftian and tentacled aspects of the game, which does it disservice, IMO. Warhammer is a fun game, it's just that it's not ha-ha funny. Grim funny. Or something. The game will wear you down if you only concentrate on the negative aspects of adventuring.

This was apparent in the Enemy Within campaign, at least, which is for what defines the game and the world. The crazy taxidermist, mistaken identity, torturer who repeatedly asks his victims "where did you bury the treasure", etc ..

On the magic: I tone down the negative myself in 2e and I agree that it shouldn't be all bad, I ease up on the Tzeentch aspect of spellcasting quite a bit.


And you are absolutely correct, the game can be funny. The humour has gotten much darker in the new version and some of the races much more serious (like greenskins and chaos dwarfs). There was a zany streak in 1e, maybe a sign of the times. Now everything as set in the game is much more grim and dire, with a few exceptions (check out the Swiss Toni horse salesman on the BI site). I enjoy the impending darkness with motes of light atmosphere of the Old World though. There is still laughter and there are still triumphs, they just mean more with all of the madness and misery around. To me, DnD is a sanitized game, everything is shiny and new at first and plays out like high fantasy, even if it isn't meant to (with a few exceptions here and there). The Warhammer world is in your face and intense, life is precious and easy to lose, walking away bloody from a battle puts that defiant smile on your face, you cheated Morr (the god of Death) one more time. You have so much to lose that everything you have is precious to your character.

 

[Piratecat]

PC, if you love WFRP2, did you happen to notice who edited most of the books? Here's a hint: he played in the game you ran the last time you visited California.

*blink* Clearly, I ran the wrong game! That's really cool.

It's interesting how rules play into the feel of a game. The first time I ran a Warhammer game the PCs found someone in the sewers, sitting in the effluvient up to his chest and babbling. I suspect that in a D&D game, they might have charged and lopped his head off. In Warhammer, the PCs were really weirded out. . . and with good reason.

I was really amused that at the end of the game, the PCs had "won". . . but they ended up delivering the helpless young girl that they had rescued to her original tormentors without ever quite realizing that they were bad guys. Very fitting, considering the dark nature of the game world.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I wonder why the "magic is inherently bad" crept into the game. In the 1st edition it was merely "evil or chaotic magic is bad", otherwise magic was all well and good.

That is my favorite change to the new system. I love the idea that magic is inherently dangerous and channelling too much of it can hurt you. Such a refereshing change from the various system where magic works just fine with no ill effects.

 

[Gothmog]

That is my favorite change to the new system. I love the idea that magic is inherently dangerous and channelling too much of it can hurt you. Such a refereshing change from the various system where magic works just fine with no ill effects.

I agree, the new changes to the magic system are the best pat of WHFRP2. Because magic originates in Chaos, it should be dangerous, especially to humans who tap into it without really realizing what they are doing. Even the elves, who can access several winds of magic are still subject to the effects of the Curse of Tzeentch. We've been playing WHFRP2 for about 5 months now, and in that time we've had probably a dozen occurrances of Tzeentch's Curse occur, and never anything major. Its really helped RP a lot too- sometimes the Gold Magister will propose casting something and the rest of the party screams "NO!" Magic isn't meant to be used in WHFRP as a way of solving every problem- its more a measure to be taken when you can't accomplish your goal by mundane means. The spells are also less powerful than D&D spells, but to compensate, wizards have a wider variety of skills, and are often decent combatants.

I much prefer the way WHFRP2 handles magic over the way most other fantasy games (esp D&D does). Magic is mysterious and dagnerous in WHFRP2, while in D&D its just another technology that is absolutley reliable and flavorless. Even the old risks of spellcasting from 1e/2e are gone (aging, teleport errors, etc). The more D&D emulates a video game, the more bland it becomes.

As for the humor aspect of WHFRP2, its still there, but it is dark humor. Some of the careers are humorous in and of themselves (rat catcher, charcoal burner, bone picker), certain holidays (the halfling Pie Week), dicussions of Imperial beurocracy (esp the parts about the obscure taxes sometimes levied on the people), the Tzeentch's Curse results are often darkly humorous, the names and types of madness and insanity, and the list goes on. The world is intense and the rules make it dangerous, but I've found this actually adds a lot to the humor of the game rather than detracting from it. The moments of humor help throw into stark contrast the moments of horror and depravity of the setting, making it much more effective and fun.

 

[hellbender]

It's interesting how rules play into the feel of a game. The first time I ran a Warhammer game the PCs found someone in the sewers, sitting in the effluvient up to his chest and babbling. I suspect that in a D&D game, they might have charged and lopped his head off. In Warhammer, the PCs were really weirded out. . . and with good reason.

This is maybe one of the best aspects of the game, players generally do not charge headlong into everything, killing and getting xp for it. The role playing aspect is accentuated in the WHFRPG, moreso than in DnD. The careers are unique and add a great deal of flavor as well. I think that part of the charm is that players fall into a subliminal caste system with their characters; a noble will speak out where a page or a sewerjack will generally know their place. While not the case everytime with everyone, it usually does work wonders in city adventures.

 

[hellbender]

I was going to edit my post, but then I am closing in on 900...


If anyone is curious about this setting, I suggest reading some of the Warhammer novels and short stories, especially the older works, many of which have been reprinted. I always look for work by Brian Craig, William King and Jack Yeovil and collections of short stories. The official novels that compliment the new version of the game are not bad, but, in my opinion, you cannot go wrong with collections and the original writers for the game. These books will give you a good feel of the setting, the humor and the horror that are present in the Warhammer world.

 

[Hand of Evil]

The Core book and the Beastary are all you really need. Realm of Sorcery is out (I think) which adds to the magic but that is only if you have the need for it.

Some sites that are a must:
Fan Stuff: http://www.blackindustries.com/default.asp?range=wfrp&template=fanmaterial

Web Character Generator: http://www.snotling.org/modules.php?name=warhammer2-npc-gen