TheSword
Legend
Converting Warhammer to D&D
After few discussions about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) and the revitalized Enemy Within Campaign with folks like @Retreater , I’ve been giving some though to converting WFRP adventures (which are many and excellent) to 5e. Getting players for a new system like WFRP 4e (or indeed any edition) could be a challenge. So I thought I would make suggestions for how someone would recreate the Warhammer feel in 5e. I’m going to go through the change I would make.
For those who don’t know the Warhammer Old World, key themes are Class struggle with a powerful venal nobility. Corruption of body and soul (both obvious and hidden). Fighting against the odds typically in spite of open disbelief or the enmity of influential foes. Prejudice be it tradition vs technology, rich v poor, elves v dwarves, or rural v urban. Deadly combat with critical hits, long term injuries and nasty diseases. There is also a strong comedic element running through the setting with many Pratchett-esq popular references and Easter eggs. I’ll go through the elements I think will make this awesome world come alive and make it possible to convert what are some truly top-drawer adventures.
Character Creation and Fate
I’ve thought long about character creation in a WFRP campaign and all the restrictions that could be put in place. The more I consider it, the more it seems a list of what should be in or out is a fools errand. Instead of giving a lot of restrictions for things that don’t fit, better to reward players for creating a Warhammer-like character.
Fate is the perfect mechanic to reward this. A meta currency that can be temporarily spent to reroll a saving throw, ability check, or attack roll (like inspiration) or permanently spent to save a character from death. My suggestion is to award Fate based on how thematically appropriate the character is.
Players get a number of Fate Points at the start of each sessions to do one of the following.
I would heavily encourage character creation to include plenty of multi-classing, and options to allow players to create a character that fits. Even if it doesn’t fit, then who cares. As long as players are having fun and there is some internal consistency, move on.
Careers & Classes
Careers in WFRP carry all the weight of character development but don’t easily translate to 5e classes. They do fit backgrounds very well though. Every career in WFRP can be translated to a background: wizard, noble, rat catcher, boatman. Just give the PC the trappings of that career and two skills or one skill and two tool or weapon proficiencies that fits (the player chooses). Give the player proficiency on any check that makes sense to their background.
Players can change careers/backgrounds if they acquire the trappings of that career and there is a good in game reason why it should be possible. If it makes sense add a skill that would be needed for that career. Though they lose the benefits of being in the previous career.
Every career has a status level in WFRP - brass, silver or Gold. Keep these status tiers. If a character in WFRP attempts a charisma check to influence a character with a lower status it gains advantage on the check. If it attempts to influence a higher tier it has disadvantage. Checks to try and beg money or a favour out of pity are reversed (advantage for lower tiers and disadvantage for higher tiers). To maintain their status players have to spend their Status in Gold, Silver or Brass each week. Otherwise they drop a point of status each week. A rat catcher might get away with sleeping in a barn because they’re short on cash, a noble is going to suffer the derision of their friends.
Combat, Healing and Lingering Injuries
Combat in WFRP can be deadly in a surprising way. 5e isn’t really designed to have that unpredictable risk of death or dismemberment. However it can be simulated in two easy stages. The first is Farland World lingering injuries table which give options for more lasting injury. My suggestion is for these to be tested when a PC is dropped to 0 hp and thereby falls unconscious. They’re nasty but so is life. Don’t forget a PC can spend a Fate point to avoid an injury that would kill them. Lingering Injuries by Damage Type
Critical Hits have been a staple of WFRP since day one and are one of their most evocative elements. Nord Games do a set of critical hit cards for both Players and Dungeon Masters - recognizing that these two entities are affected very differently by crits. We know they have a greater impact on players than foes but that’s all part of making Warhammer more dangerous and encouraging out of combat solutions. I would definitely use the rule from Level up which lets you sacrifice a shield to negate a critical hit.
GM Critical Hit Deck
Critical Hit Deck for Players (5E) - Nord Games
Finally @BookTenTiger has come up with some interesting mechanics for escalating combat. I won’t go into all the detail instead posting a link, however it definitely incentivizes out of combat solutions and escalates combat quickly to an appropriate level of difficulty. D&D 5E - Escalating Conflict: a House Rule to curb the amount of death in D&D
The combination of escalating conflict, critical hits and lingering injuries should make combat suitably deadly and even a simple conflict with the town watch could go nastily.
Races
These are pretty standard - humans, dwarves, elves and halflings. Not too complicated. Level Up‘s flexibility around Heritage and Culture create a lot more flexibility around these limited races.
Corruption
These kinds of mechanics can be controversial. My gut feeling is that it’s definitely an optional extra. There are lots of options if you did want it, AIME’s Shadow Points mechanic being my preferred. Alternatively you could keep things simple and use Level Up’s Strife mechanic. It would be easy enough to add mutations as some of the consequences if that’s how you wanted the game to progress. Alternatively, mutation could be a result of a specific creature or items abilities and don’t worry about a generic mechanic at all.
These kinds of mechanics can be controversial. My gut feeling is that it’s definitely an optional extra. There are lots of options if you did want it, AIME’s Shadow Points mechanic being my preferred. Alternatively you could keep things simple and use Level Up’s Strife mechanic. It would be easy enough to add mutations as some of the consequences if that’s how you wanted the game to progress. Alternatively, mutation could be a result of a specific creature or items abilities and don’t worry about a generic mechanic at all.
Equipment
I think this can be ran pretty much as written with the optional rules for firearms included. If you wanted to keep the old world feel you could convert all GP prices into a silver standard of Shillings. Then have one Gold Crown be 20 silver shillings and one silver shilling be 12 brass pennies.
Magic
Similarly to character creation, I could spend weeks arranging spells into the Warhammer Colour colleges and still not make them balanced or fair. Instead I would just say a wizard (or priest) can learn magic if it fits within their area of influence. A lot of spells - fly, Magic missile, shield etc can be part of multiple schools if they are flavored that way. All wizards and priests have an effect similar to the spell Thematics feat from 3e reproduced below) also their casting focus becomes the trapping of their college or temple that call to the winds of Magic. The main colleges and temples are detailed below with some suggested spells and themes.
Amber Beasts, the wild. Rage, Polymorph, Summon Swarm.
Amethyst Death, silence, force. Resilient sphere, Silence, Ray of Enfeeblement.
Bright Fire, destruction. Fireball, Wall of Flame, Fire Shield.
Celestial. The heavens, fate, lightning, weather. Lightning bolt, True Strike, Gust of Wind.
Gold Metal, transmutation. Fabricate, Mending, Magic weapon.
Grey Shadows, illusion, befuddlement, obscurement. Obscuring Mist, Mirror Image, Charm Person
Jade Life, plants, growth, protection. Plant Growth, Tree Stride, Regenerate.
Light Light, Excorcism, Entrapment. Daylight, Banishment, Hold Person
Ulric War, Winter and Wolves. Mages Hound, Ice Storm, Rage.
Sigmar Protection, Glory and the Empire. Heroism, Magic Weapon, Divine Favour.
Shallya Healing and Mercy. Calm Emotions, Restoration, Cure Wounds.
Morr The Dead and Dreams. False Life, Dream, Sleep.
Myrmydia War and Tactics. Warding Bond, Spiritual Weapon, blade barrier.
Ranald Trickery. Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, Modify Memory.
Verana Truth and Knowledge. Legend Lore, Identify, Zone of Truth.
Taal Beasts and the Wild. Polymorph, Speak with animals, conjure woodland beasts.
Rhya The Earth, growing things. Plant Growth, Erupting Earth, Conjure Elemental (Earth)
Maanan The Sea and Storms. Control Weather, Water Breathing. Conjure Elemental (Water)
Tzeentch Fate, Trickery, Magic and Mutation. Fire Ball, Divination, Polymorph.
Slaanesh Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll. Dominate Person, Slow, Otto’s Irresistible Dance.
Nurgle Disease and Fortitude. Contagion, Insect Plague, Poison Spray.
Spell Thematics: Choose a theme for your spellcasting, such as "ice" or "fire" or "screaming skulls." All spells you cast have this theme in the manifestation of their effects, although this does not actually change the spell in any way. You cannot use this feat to make your spell manifestations invisible, and it never causes your spells to deal more damage because of the visual change. (You may still cast spells without this thematic manifestation if you so choose.) For example, if your theme is "fire," then your magic missile spell might appear to produce bolts of fire, although the bolts still are a force effect and cause normal damage, not fire damage. If your theme is "screaming skulls," your fireball might manifest as a small screaming skull that impacts the target and explodes into a fiery ball that momentarily resembles a 20-foot-radius burning skull, although it causes damage exactly like a standard fireball (and doesn't cause any sonic damage, despite the screaming of the skull).
Conclusion
So that’s it. Plenty of info to think about there. With Level Up’s release, there has never been a better time to give it a go. Let me know any feedback or alternative ideas. My plan is to go through some conversion ideas of existing adventures over time for anyone who wants pointers.
After few discussions about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) and the revitalized Enemy Within Campaign with folks like @Retreater , I’ve been giving some though to converting WFRP adventures (which are many and excellent) to 5e. Getting players for a new system like WFRP 4e (or indeed any edition) could be a challenge. So I thought I would make suggestions for how someone would recreate the Warhammer feel in 5e. I’m going to go through the change I would make.
For those who don’t know the Warhammer Old World, key themes are Class struggle with a powerful venal nobility. Corruption of body and soul (both obvious and hidden). Fighting against the odds typically in spite of open disbelief or the enmity of influential foes. Prejudice be it tradition vs technology, rich v poor, elves v dwarves, or rural v urban. Deadly combat with critical hits, long term injuries and nasty diseases. There is also a strong comedic element running through the setting with many Pratchett-esq popular references and Easter eggs. I’ll go through the elements I think will make this awesome world come alive and make it possible to convert what are some truly top-drawer adventures.
Character Creation and Fate
I’ve thought long about character creation in a WFRP campaign and all the restrictions that could be put in place. The more I consider it, the more it seems a list of what should be in or out is a fools errand. Instead of giving a lot of restrictions for things that don’t fit, better to reward players for creating a Warhammer-like character.
Fate is the perfect mechanic to reward this. A meta currency that can be temporarily spent to reroll a saving throw, ability check, or attack roll (like inspiration) or permanently spent to save a character from death. My suggestion is to award Fate based on how thematically appropriate the character is.
- A character who exemplifies the themes, style and lore of the Old World gets 3 fate points each session.
- A character who creates a character who could exist in the warhammer but doesn’t really embody its themes gets 2 points
- A character who would be out of place in the Warhammer world would get 1 or in worst case 0 points.
Players get a number of Fate Points at the start of each sessions to do one of the following.
- Re-roll a saving throw, attack roll or ability check.
- Ignore the effect of any conditions for one round.
- Players can permanently reduce their Fate Point total by one to save a character from death. The NPC is miraculously saved from death by some twist of fate. The encounter is not over for them, but they will awake on 1 hp at some point after the encounter ends.
I would heavily encourage character creation to include plenty of multi-classing, and options to allow players to create a character that fits. Even if it doesn’t fit, then who cares. As long as players are having fun and there is some internal consistency, move on.
Careers & Classes
Careers in WFRP carry all the weight of character development but don’t easily translate to 5e classes. They do fit backgrounds very well though. Every career in WFRP can be translated to a background: wizard, noble, rat catcher, boatman. Just give the PC the trappings of that career and two skills or one skill and two tool or weapon proficiencies that fits (the player chooses). Give the player proficiency on any check that makes sense to their background.
Players can change careers/backgrounds if they acquire the trappings of that career and there is a good in game reason why it should be possible. If it makes sense add a skill that would be needed for that career. Though they lose the benefits of being in the previous career.
Every career has a status level in WFRP - brass, silver or Gold. Keep these status tiers. If a character in WFRP attempts a charisma check to influence a character with a lower status it gains advantage on the check. If it attempts to influence a higher tier it has disadvantage. Checks to try and beg money or a favour out of pity are reversed (advantage for lower tiers and disadvantage for higher tiers). To maintain their status players have to spend their Status in Gold, Silver or Brass each week. Otherwise they drop a point of status each week. A rat catcher might get away with sleeping in a barn because they’re short on cash, a noble is going to suffer the derision of their friends.
Combat, Healing and Lingering Injuries
Combat in WFRP can be deadly in a surprising way. 5e isn’t really designed to have that unpredictable risk of death or dismemberment. However it can be simulated in two easy stages. The first is Farland World lingering injuries table which give options for more lasting injury. My suggestion is for these to be tested when a PC is dropped to 0 hp and thereby falls unconscious. They’re nasty but so is life. Don’t forget a PC can spend a Fate point to avoid an injury that would kill them. Lingering Injuries by Damage Type
Critical Hits have been a staple of WFRP since day one and are one of their most evocative elements. Nord Games do a set of critical hit cards for both Players and Dungeon Masters - recognizing that these two entities are affected very differently by crits. We know they have a greater impact on players than foes but that’s all part of making Warhammer more dangerous and encouraging out of combat solutions. I would definitely use the rule from Level up which lets you sacrifice a shield to negate a critical hit.
GM Critical Hit Deck
Critical Hit Deck for Players (5E) - Nord Games
Finally @BookTenTiger has come up with some interesting mechanics for escalating combat. I won’t go into all the detail instead posting a link, however it definitely incentivizes out of combat solutions and escalates combat quickly to an appropriate level of difficulty. D&D 5E - Escalating Conflict: a House Rule to curb the amount of death in D&D
The combination of escalating conflict, critical hits and lingering injuries should make combat suitably deadly and even a simple conflict with the town watch could go nastily.
Races
These are pretty standard - humans, dwarves, elves and halflings. Not too complicated. Level Up‘s flexibility around Heritage and Culture create a lot more flexibility around these limited races.
Corruption
These kinds of mechanics can be controversial. My gut feeling is that it’s definitely an optional extra. There are lots of options if you did want it, AIME’s Shadow Points mechanic being my preferred. Alternatively you could keep things simple and use Level Up’s Strife mechanic. It would be easy enough to add mutations as some of the consequences if that’s how you wanted the game to progress. Alternatively, mutation could be a result of a specific creature or items abilities and don’t worry about a generic mechanic at all.
These kinds of mechanics can be controversial. My gut feeling is that it’s definitely an optional extra. There are lots of options if you did want it, AIME’s Shadow Points mechanic being my preferred. Alternatively you could keep things simple and use Level Up’s Strife mechanic. It would be easy enough to add mutations as some of the consequences if that’s how you wanted the game to progress. Alternatively, mutation could be a result of a specific creature or items abilities and don’t worry about a generic mechanic at all.
Equipment
I think this can be ran pretty much as written with the optional rules for firearms included. If you wanted to keep the old world feel you could convert all GP prices into a silver standard of Shillings. Then have one Gold Crown be 20 silver shillings and one silver shilling be 12 brass pennies.
Magic
Similarly to character creation, I could spend weeks arranging spells into the Warhammer Colour colleges and still not make them balanced or fair. Instead I would just say a wizard (or priest) can learn magic if it fits within their area of influence. A lot of spells - fly, Magic missile, shield etc can be part of multiple schools if they are flavored that way. All wizards and priests have an effect similar to the spell Thematics feat from 3e reproduced below) also their casting focus becomes the trapping of their college or temple that call to the winds of Magic. The main colleges and temples are detailed below with some suggested spells and themes.
Amber Beasts, the wild. Rage, Polymorph, Summon Swarm.
Amethyst Death, silence, force. Resilient sphere, Silence, Ray of Enfeeblement.
Bright Fire, destruction. Fireball, Wall of Flame, Fire Shield.
Celestial. The heavens, fate, lightning, weather. Lightning bolt, True Strike, Gust of Wind.
Gold Metal, transmutation. Fabricate, Mending, Magic weapon.
Grey Shadows, illusion, befuddlement, obscurement. Obscuring Mist, Mirror Image, Charm Person
Jade Life, plants, growth, protection. Plant Growth, Tree Stride, Regenerate.
Light Light, Excorcism, Entrapment. Daylight, Banishment, Hold Person
Ulric War, Winter and Wolves. Mages Hound, Ice Storm, Rage.
Sigmar Protection, Glory and the Empire. Heroism, Magic Weapon, Divine Favour.
Shallya Healing and Mercy. Calm Emotions, Restoration, Cure Wounds.
Morr The Dead and Dreams. False Life, Dream, Sleep.
Myrmydia War and Tactics. Warding Bond, Spiritual Weapon, blade barrier.
Ranald Trickery. Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, Modify Memory.
Verana Truth and Knowledge. Legend Lore, Identify, Zone of Truth.
Taal Beasts and the Wild. Polymorph, Speak with animals, conjure woodland beasts.
Rhya The Earth, growing things. Plant Growth, Erupting Earth, Conjure Elemental (Earth)
Maanan The Sea and Storms. Control Weather, Water Breathing. Conjure Elemental (Water)
Tzeentch Fate, Trickery, Magic and Mutation. Fire Ball, Divination, Polymorph.
Slaanesh Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll. Dominate Person, Slow, Otto’s Irresistible Dance.
Nurgle Disease and Fortitude. Contagion, Insect Plague, Poison Spray.
Spell Thematics: Choose a theme for your spellcasting, such as "ice" or "fire" or "screaming skulls." All spells you cast have this theme in the manifestation of their effects, although this does not actually change the spell in any way. You cannot use this feat to make your spell manifestations invisible, and it never causes your spells to deal more damage because of the visual change. (You may still cast spells without this thematic manifestation if you so choose.) For example, if your theme is "fire," then your magic missile spell might appear to produce bolts of fire, although the bolts still are a force effect and cause normal damage, not fire damage. If your theme is "screaming skulls," your fireball might manifest as a small screaming skull that impacts the target and explodes into a fiery ball that momentarily resembles a 20-foot-radius burning skull, although it causes damage exactly like a standard fireball (and doesn't cause any sonic damage, despite the screaming of the skull).
Conclusion
So that’s it. Plenty of info to think about there. With Level Up’s release, there has never been a better time to give it a go. Let me know any feedback or alternative ideas. My plan is to go through some conversion ideas of existing adventures over time for anyone who wants pointers.
Last edited:
