Grading the Warhammer (40K, etc) System

[overgeeked]

When I started this thread about Warhammer 40k, I had intended for it to be focused more on the roleplaying game system that it uses, and less on the individual Warhammer games. It's...not going well for me.

That's mostly down to you assuming they were all one and the same when they're not.

 

[The Soloist]

That's mostly down to you assuming they were all one and the same when they're not.

Yes, I think this thread should be scrapped and new ones should be created. Or change and add voting categories

 

[CleverNickName]

That's mostly down to you assuming they were all one and the same when they're not.

I've never played Warhammer, so I developed this thread purely from the Wikipedia article. To predictable results...

Yes, I think this thread should be scrapped and new ones should be created. Or change and add voting categories

The thing is: this is a discussion tool, not a scientific data collection. The goal is to get people talking and sharing their experiences... not to prove or compare anything. So even with my flawed assumptions, this survey is still functioning as intended: folks are sharing what they like and do not like about a non-D20 RPG system. So I'm going to leave it as-is, warts and all.

But don't let me stop you from starting your own threads and surveys about the different Warhammer games. My word is hardly final.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Was just reading about Soulbound today - great premise. But has anyone played it? Any good? I'm getting leery of big tomes and a new system

 

[jdrakeh]

Was just reading about Soulbound today - great premise. But has anyone played it? Any good? I'm getting leery of big tomes and a new system

My friend and I are very interested in it but, for some reason, the local shops only carry the deluxe limited edition which is a bit too much of an ask for people not wanting to lay out a ton of money to satisfy curiosity. We could order it online, I suppose, but we try to support local stores.

 

[MGibster]

I ran a brief Rogue Trader campaign many, many years ago. My players and I loved the setting but we absolutely hated the rules. After a few sessions I asked, "Do any of you like this game?" And they all said no. They felt like the rules were preventing them from having fun. So we quit and never looked back.

 

[mamba]

I voted “loved it” because WHFRP 2e is one of my favorite systems. 4e sucks though, I was really disappointed with it.

what makes 2e so much better?

 

[humble minion]

I stll have the book to this day and pulled it out recently since the new Flesh-Eater Courts models/battletome is coming out soon. Because I heard the most delicious rumor that the Bretonnia's of the old world are supposedly/reincarnated into the Flesh-Eater Courts.

The whole concept behind the flesh-eater courts is brilliant and evocative, and I intend to steal it completely for a ghoul society in D&D. I’m not an Age of Sigmar fan in general, but their ghouls are great.

I’ll probably end up using the ‘goblins spring up from mushrooms’ thing at some point too. It’s actually weirdly in keeping with D&Ds new reinvention of goblins as fae-adjacent, fairy rings and all that.

 

[TheSword]

I’ll stick to the topic - which is 40k roleplaying.

I ran Dark Heresy for 2 groups and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a darkness to the system and a bleakness. It’s very good for running Cthulhu style horror mystery set in the future.

The multiple Dan Abnett inquisitor books added a brilliant context which most of my players had read and the setting heavily drew on these for inspiration and themes. I thought the published adventures had a lot of promise. I recall a savior cult that was using captured psyker brains as a mind expanding drug, capture in a beast cults fighting pit, daemons bound in clockwork, and an auction for evil power groups. There was a lot to creativity in Dark Heresy that I don’t think the spin-offs ever quite matched.

I found the rules fun and interesting but breakable by a player that wanted to. I think the social contract is absolutely central and you need to play with folks mature enough to get into the spirit and not to try and eff it up. Melee combat can quite quickly become much better than shooting which feels slightly off to me. Psyker suffer from the old edition problem of being very poweful and in constant danger of blowing up.

Shout out for Disciples of the Dark Gods. It is my favourite Enemy-Sourcebook of all time. Thick and dripping with amazing adventure and campaign ideas.

Shout out for Wrath and Glory’s published adventure - Duty Beyond Death - which features a corrupted Servitor manufactorum that’s has gone silent. It’s an absolutely stunning module that absolutely captures the feel of the setting better than any other I’ve seen. Very cleverly written. It part of the Litanies of the Lost adventure compendium. This adventure will be adapted to the next futuristic campaign I run -
whatever the system.

Interestingly there is a third system for 40k that has just been released called Imperial Maledictum. It uses the full WFRP chassis with the additions needed for a futuristic game. The career system is changed but otherwise there are a lot of similarities. I’ve only just bought it and my impression is that it is a very robust system. Improving on the 4e WFRP which I already like. I think Imperial Maledictum using the product ranges released for FF’s products would be pretty darn awesome.

 

[overgeeked]

what makes 2e so much better?

It’s dramatically lighter, for one. Much less fiddly. The rules are more coherent and better written. 4E has maybe two innovations. Updated career paths and degrees of success as default for everything. They could have updated 2E with those and made minor adjustments here-and-there. That said, the art and layout of 4E is amazing. I absolutely love the updated Enemy With campaign. But I vastly prefer 2E over 4E mechanics.