WFRP: What are the most difficult modules printed (regardless of edition)? Looking for something to run after Empire in Ruins

Urriak Uruk · Mar 1, 2022

The title does say it all, but essentially I'm thinking of continuing my Enemy Within Campaign... well, beyond Empire in Ruins. As someone relatively new to WFRP, I was hoping some of you veterans could provide some suggestions knowing which modules are meant for higher levels, or just have some very difficult encounters/challenges.

So far, some modules I've seen that might work are the Doomstones Campaign, Something Rotten in Kislev (I'm planning on using the Horned Rat as part 4, but can still use this after Empire in Ruins), and Castle Drachenfels. But I've never run any of these, and have only flipped through Rotten in Kislev and part 1 of Doomstones.

I'll add, any edition is ok, I'm perfectly happy with converting things. And it's ok if the module is very different from Enemy Within, I may do a time-skip between Empire in Ruins and this new module.

Thank you for any assistance!

aramis erak · Mar 2, 2022

My experience is 1st ed only for the adventures... My 2E campaign lasted about 4 weeks before TPK. 3rd I've only run as one-shots, and played a one shot.

Never having gotten a party through to SRIK, they always retire after City of Chaos... in one case, buying out Bugman... (yes, they did have the cash... cash enough to warrant inquisitor attentions... Blackmail worked for one party, rewards from the inqisition from another, and a river trade lucky streak for a third.)
The one that's hardest tho', was Lichemaster. Never had a truly successful run, tho one of 5 parties managed to survive it...

Ixal · Mar 2, 2022

Are there even multiple modules for WFRP? I have the impression they always reprint the same set of adventures and once they are finished make a new edition.

aramis erak · Mar 2, 2022

Ixal said:
Are there even multiple modules for WFRP? I have the impression they always reprint the same set of adventures and once they are finished make a new edition.

There were a number for 1E...

Lichemaster (a single volume mini-campaign adventure)
The Enemy Within Campaign. This is the one that got reprinted in every edition. It's LONG. I've never had a party complete it, dropping after Death on the Reik and before Something's Rotten in Kislev.
THe Doomstones Campaign - which was poorly balanced for WFRP 1E. Interesting, but a dungeon crawl campaign in 6 volumes.
An adventure book with 4 D&D/AD&D sized adventures. (It doesn't appear to have been scanned yet by C7)
Castle Drachenfels
Restless Dead
A handful in White Dwarf, at least two of which got reprinted in supplements.

2e had a number of new ones... and most of the old ones didn't get reprints.

I don't know about 3E all that I have is the core. If they ever put the 3rd ed in a bundle deal, I'll snap it up. I like the system, and have plenty of the dice.

Tantavalist · Mar 2, 2022

What stage are you at in The Enemy Within? It's hard to top Empire in Ruins/Flames as the climax of a campaign so my method is to keep that as the ending and use other adventures to "pad out" the events. For instance, rather than Doomstones be the sequel to TEW I'd expand the quest for Sigmar's Hammer by having that be what the PCs are looking for in Doomstones; the Doomstones themselves are required to unlock where the hammer is kept. And to learn this in the first place the PCs need to consult a vast repository of lore that loyal servants of the Empire haven't ever had access to- the library at Castle Drachenfels.

This is just an example, but you get the idea. The final chapter of TEW has the fate of the Empire hanging in the balance. Anything less feels anticlimactic and doing it again gets into the whole "Oh, it's the End of the World again?" cliche.

Third edition was divisive among fans for the system change and I'm now firmly in the Against 3e camp despite owning most of the line due to an attack of Sunk Cost Fallacy. But while the system can be an issue the 3e line included some amazing adventures. The short ones are added to rule/background supplements so anyone running another edition probably won't find the adventure alone to be value for money. But the supplements that are just adventures would definitely be worth having.

These are- The Gathering Storm, The Witch's Song and The Enemy Within. The first two I added to The Enemy Within during the "Messing About on the River" phase of Death on the Reik and they fit perfectly. The last one was meant as a replacement for the classic TEW which I ran as a Something Rotten in Kislev replacement. Given that Emperor Karl-Franz is gravely wounded and lies near death for a large chunk of it the scenario makes for a near-perfect prologue for Empire in Ruins/Flames.

Again- system issues aside, WFRP 3e had some of the best published adventures the line has seen.

Urriak Uruk · Mar 2, 2022

Tantavalist said:
What stage are you at in The Enemy Within? It's hard to top Empire in Ruins/Flames as the climax of a campaign so my method is to keep that as the ending and use other adventures to "pad out" the events. For instance, rather than Doomstones be the sequel to TEW I'd expand the quest for Sigmar's Hammer by having that be what the PCs are looking for in Doomstones; the Doomstones themselves are required to unlock where the hammer is kept. And to learn this in the first place the PCs need to consult a vast repository of lore that loyal servants of the Empire haven't ever had access to- the library at Castle Drachenfels.

This is just an example, but you get the idea. The final chapter of TEW has the fate of the Empire hanging in the balance. Anything less feels anticlimactic and doing it again gets into the whole "Oh, it's the End of the World again?" cliche.

Third edition was divisive among fans for the system change and I'm now firmly in the Against 3e camp despite owning most of the line due to an attack of Sunk Cost Fallacy. But while the system can be an issue the 3e line included some amazing adventures. The short ones are added to rule/background supplements so anyone running another edition probably won't find the adventure alone to be value for money. But the supplements that are just adventures would definitely be worth having.

These are- The Gathering Storm, The Witch's Song and The Enemy Within. The first two I added to The Enemy Within during the "Messing About on the River" phase of Death on the Reik and they fit perfectly. The last one was meant as a replacement for the classic TEW which I ran as a Something Rotten in Kislev replacement. Given that Emperor Karl-Franz is gravely wounded and lies near death for a large chunk of it the scenario makes for a near-perfect prologue for Empire in Ruins/Flames.

Again- system issues aside, WFRP 3e had some of the best published adventures the line has seen.

Right now I'm still on part 1, I just enjoy planning way way earlier than I need to lol.

I do agree that the Empire in Ruins is a really good place to end a campaign... but little secret here, is I'm actually running a WFRP campaign converted to 5E, and by the time we complete EiR the PCs may be about level 12. Some folks have expressed interest in getting to level 17, so I was looking to see if there are modules I can scale up for that.

Btw, I'm a pretty good whiz at converting, and so far it's been pretty easy to do. My list so far of suggestions, also collected from a Reddit thread I made;

The Thousand Thrones
Doomstones Campaign
Something Rotten in Kislev
Lichemaster
Castle Drachenfels
The Art of Waaagh!

I think I'm most interested in the Art of Waaagh, but no idea how to get a copy of that. It's from a 3e box set.

pogre · Mar 2, 2022

Drachenfels is the toughest one I have run from that list. I have run all of them except The Art of Waaagh!

Retreater · Mar 2, 2022

Urriak Uruk said:
Right now I'm still on part 1, I just enjoy planning way way earlier than I need to lol.

That's where we are too, about to finish the first book. The difference is that I have my doubts if my group will even finish the campaign as written. It's quite the epic and will be the biggest, most involved game I've ever run since starting GMing in 1989.

aramis erak · Mar 3, 2022

Retreater said:
That's where we are too, about to finish the first book. The difference is that I have my doubts if my group will even finish the campaign as written. It's quite the epic and will be the biggest, most involved game I've ever run since starting GMing in 1989.

It's worth noting that most of the modules in TEW can be run standalone. It loses a lot, but each is doable.