WFRP3 in playtest..are they going the way of the MMO?

[Jack Colby]

While I'm far from a Warhammer expert, the previous editions of WFRP have seemed extremely odd to me. A good "licensed" game tries hard to emulate the source material. The characters you play in the game should be pretty similar to the characters you see in the source material. In a game where you should be playing Bright Wizards, you typically wind up playing Tavern Wenches. It just doesn't make sense to me. It's like playing a Star Wars rpg where you have to roll your class, and the chart contains "Moisture Farmer" and "Nerf Herder", but no "Bounty Hunter" or "Jedi".

Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is minis not being a big part of the game previously. That one is pretty mindboggling. Again, emulate the source material. The source material uses something that many players find to be a good roleplaying aid, and they are making good money off of it, yet you choose to avoid it in the rpg? That doesn't make any sense.

Maybe WFRP is a good game. Alot of people seem to think so. It just doesn't seem like a good Warhammer game to me. If I was designing a Warhammer rpg, I'd throw out pretty much everything from the earlier editions, and it sounds like that's what FFG is doing.

I like WFRP and think the miniatures wargame doesn't seem much like Warhammer to me. *shrug* Depends on where you're coming from. And why must "source material" be emulated? Why can't the two different games have a different focus and cater to different players?

That said, the new edition rumors sound... very strange. It seems too soon for a new edition, and the design sounds like a radical change.

 

[Nebulous]

That said, the new edition rumors sound... very strange. It seems too soon for a new edition, and the design sounds like a radical change.

How old is 2nd edition? 3 or 4 years? Maybe sales are really poor and they think this is a good time to revitalize. It's too good of a setting to waste.

 

[frankthedm]

How old is 2nd edition? 3 or 4 years? Maybe sales are really poor and they think this is a good time to revitalize. It's too good of a setting to waste.

The game was licensed to a new company after the bulk of material was released. As such they didn't ever see "New system launch profits" off of WFRP2E.

Making a new system and tying it into the FFG business model makes a lot of sense for them.

 

[Emirikol]

I have a hard time believing it's a joke. Why would they want to be stuck with all of their current G.R. product? People tend to stop purchasing and wait for new games don't they? I mean, that's what happens everytime D&D goes that way (for example).

Thoughts?


On another matter about the D&D vs. WFRP wars:
WFRP assigns x.p. for meeting goals, not for killing stuff. If your job is to recover a princess from the goblins lair, you get the same xp whether you kill the goblins and get the princess or if you sneak in and rescue the princess. I've had a hard time getting that through my 30 year-D&D-trained skull.


jh
Running WFRP one-shots on MAPTOOL

 

[Obryn]

Not only has the main rulebook been in print, but IMO the supplements - apart from the incredible (and very much needed) Tome of Salvation - were getting progressively less useful and more specific. They were all excellent, mind you, but I would find it hard to believe there was a huge market for a book on Kislev.

Pretty much, WFRP2 required two books - the core book and the bestiary. Most generic supplements had already been released, with the books on magic, religion, and chaos. The need for supplements frankly isn't there... I think they could make decent money on books for dwarves and elves, but I can't think of much else.

Economically, the only thing that makes sense financially IMO is releasing a new edition.

It won't change my love for WFRP2e. As I mentioned, I already have plenty of books which will last me a good long while.

-O

 

[Primal]

Not only has the main rulebook been in print, but IMO the supplements - apart from the incredible (and very much needed) Tome of Salvation - were getting progressively less useful and more specific. They were all excellent, mind you, but I would find it hard to believe there was a huge market for a book on Kislev.

Pretty much, WFRP2 required two books - the core book and the bestiary. Most generic supplements had already been released, with the books on magic, religion, and chaos. The need for supplements frankly isn't there... I think they could make decent money on books for dwarves and elves, but I can't think of much else.

Economically, the only thing that makes sense financially IMO is releasing a new edition.

It won't change my love for WFRP2e. As I mentioned, I already have plenty of books which will last me a good long while.

-O

I agree, but they did release 'Career Compendium' only recently, which would be a weird product if they wanted to reboot the system.

 

[wolff96]

I agree, but they did release 'Career Compendium' only recently, which would be a weird product if they wanted to reboot the system.

Just had to jump in here and say -- the Career Compendium is a great book. I like the fluff on each of the careers and it's a handy compilation of a lot of maps and bits of information scattered around the other source books.

Also, the Beginning Career set table -- so that you don't have a Rag Picker, a Rat Catcher, a Camp Follower, and a NOBLE at the outset -- is a wonderful idea. You can have everyone start in the same general area of power and then diversify from there, which I really like.

 

[CaptainChaos]

It sounds like FFG has no understanding of the WFRP fanbase. I hope they don't ruin a classic game.

 

[CapnZapp]

They can't ruin or otherwise undo the games already made.

The worst they can do is make the new edition irrelevant - to you.

 

[outsider]

And why must "source material" be emulated?

Because when you put "Warhammer" on the front of your book, you should be making a "Warhammer" game. When a Warhammer minis fan sees the Warhammer rpg, it is perfectly reasonable for him to assume he will be playing something like a Bright Wizard or a dwarven Slayer. The minis game was there first, and is FAR bigger and more popular than the rpg ever will be. When you start talking to somebody about Warhammer, most people will immediately think of the minis, and rightfully so.

WFRP is false advertising in the extreme. The characters you play are nothing like the characters from the source material. They arent' even like the characters on the front cover of the book. The only hints you get on what the game is really like are vague enough that you'd never guess what you are really getting(ie. the phrase 'unlikely heroes' on the back cover). You might get to become that cool if you somehow manage to keep your Camp Follower alive for dozens upon dozens of sessions, but how likely is that and even if you pull it off is it worth all of the suck to finally get to the cool?

Frankly, what they should do is fork the game. Take the Warhammer setting and make an actual Warhammer rpg for it. Then take the existing WFRP, file off the Warhammer serial numbers, and publish it as a new game. I recommend naming it "Peasant: The Crapening".