A few things I really like about WFRP

[MNblockhead]

I don’t know to what extent this is true, but I always felt that Warhammer had a more European feel, both in the themes and geography of its setting, and in the way it was meant to be played.

My experience with European players is almost exclusively from France, but it was clear that their play style included a lot more of these mundane aspects of life, roleplaying each interaction in depth, taking pleasure in fleshing out the life of their characters as people more than adventurers. Our games in comparison were incredibly fast-paced and action-oriented, « like a Hollywood movie » they would say. They were astonished to see that we had combat in almost every game session, and sometimes even two fights in a single night! For them, painstakingly acquiring trappings and roleplaying their progression in their profession(s) was the crux of their Warhammer experience.

Perhaps this is different with the newer generation of French roleplayers and I don’t know the last two editions of WFRP, but I do think that Warhammer was(is?) at its best in a slower pace game or longer campaigns.

The world map for Warhammer Fantasy is basically a squashed real-world map with highly generalized and heavy on stereotyping cultures and kingdoms inspired by real-world cultures, though very anachronistically. Then mix in an 80s punk on the brink of destruction vibe, a grim world view, a bit of lovecraftian horror, and a large dollop of dated, campy pulp culture references and low punny humor and you get the old world. The areas that get the most detail are the Reikland, mostly based on medieval/renaissance Germany and east Europe. Brettonia is French Arthurian romance. Araby is Arabic Knights and mash up of Arab cultures through a Western lens. Tilea and Estonia are Spanish / Italian inspired, but more city states than empires.

Whenever I try to explain the Warhammer world, it is hard not to roll my eyes, but somehow this eclectic and often lazy world‑building has stewed into a tasty setting.

I find I enjoy the setting more zoomed in and am not all that invested in the overall cosmology, which has changed quite a bit over the years. The lore still has echos of when it originally was part of the same universe of Warhammer 40,000. But for decades now, Games Workshop has kept the lore of WH Fantasy and 40,000 strictly separate, despite using many of the same races and gods (at least the Chaos gods) the same.

I've played with people from France, Germany and other countries online and haven't notice much of a difference in play styles, but these were in games run by GMs from the UK or America and the GM sets the focus of the adventures. Also, they have been games played in English, so those joining such games may not be the best representatives of "typical" French or German players.