Help me help my group like WFRP

[EvilDwarf]

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be playing DND with mostly the same group of friends that I began playing with in the 70's when the game first appeared. Lately, though, the 30 some years of DND has gotten tiresome--"same old thing every adventure" one of the players opined, just before he mostly does not show up anymore.

I've seen some good things about WFRP on the boards here, so I picked up a copy yesterday. On my first read through, it looks really good and may be just different enough to rekindle some spark of adventure and sense of the unknown.

I plan to run it soon, but would like to ask for some advice first. My group, though tired of DND, is not the kind to switch systems lightly, even for a while. And, let's be real, no matter how good or enjoyably different WFRP might be, if the adventure I run isn't good, the group is not going to like it.

So, if anyone could, might I have some advice? Is there an adventure/module/campaign you would recommend? Is the included adventure, "Through the Drakwald," a good intro? Is there anything you would recommend we house rule?

Also, is there anything that you would recommend I avoid doing (other than trying this out!)??

 

[Dagger75]

I would just tell them, I want to try a one shot of this game, if we like I can run more.

My group got tired of D&D, one player even said he wasn't interested in playing anything else so we parted ways. Well we played WHRPG and loved it.

The player that left, got bored cause he nothing to do during our normal game time and grudlingly played warhammer. He loved it.

Now we actually all look forward to playing on Fridays when before the D&D game was a chore.

 

[Treebore]

Whenever I got tired of D&D before I just switched games. Its how I discovered Traveller, Shadowrun, Paranoia, GURPS, Harn, Castles and Crusades, Big Eyes Small Mouth, Legend of the 5 Rings, RIFTS, Synnibar, Pendragon, Chivalry and Sorcery, and many other game systems.

So yes, get them to try something else. I'm amazed its taken you guys decades to get to this point. I got to this point every couple of years, while occassionally playing other systems during those years.

Yeah, do it. Get them to try out something new and fresh. It will recharge their batteries if they want them to be.

 

[Treebore]

Plus, you will probably get better feedback over on RPGnet or in the forum here on ENWorld for systems other than 3E. I'm not into WHFRP, but several of my "on line buddies" have said it is great fun, and I am sure they are right. I'll probably check out it, Ars Magica, and a couple of others when I go through my next cycle of alternative gaming.

 

[Parlan]

I loved the previous edition, and played a ton of it.

I haven't played the new edition as much (stupid RL!) but have liked what I've read and the one-shot we did went smoothly.

I don't have any great suggestions for you, except to try the Black Industries website. They have a bunch of adventures for download.

Actually, one that got great reviews was Noblesse Oblige. It focuses on a murder investigation, and really highlights the systems strengths and shows how dark and twisted the world is. I haven't played it yet, but it got great reviews on the BI forums, and a read through made me really excited to try it sometime.

If your group is up for a LONG campaign at some point, the Enemy Within campaign is fantastic. And has gotten great reviews.

Good luck! And I really hope you like the system.

 

[Gundark]

I get amazed that threads like this pop up here on a d20 board. You'd think you'd see this kind of thing at RPG.Net

At least it's not a hate d20 rant that sometimes pops up here.

BTW welcome to the forum

 

[greywulf]

I get amazed that threads like this pop up here on a d20 board. You'd think you'd see this kind of thing at RPG.Net

At least it's not a hate d20 rant that sometimes pops up here.

BTW welcome to the forum

Why not? This is the General RPG Discussion forum, not the General RPG-so-long-as-it's-d20 Discussion forum

I played a lot of Warhamster RPG once upon a time, and loved the game. The only reason we I don't play it now is because we're too stuck in D&D, d20 Modern and Microlite20 to find room for another system. I'd rate it among the Big Three great non-D&D systems out there (the other two being Rolemaster and Classic Traveller).

In feel, it's much lower and grittier than D&D. Magic is something to be feared and mistrusted, and the players are more likely to be heroic of heart rather than because of their abilities. My favouritest PCs from our games was a rat-catcher who used his skills to flush out two-legged vermin as well as the four legged kind - including using poison and traps to bring down evil cultists.

One of my players described it as "Time Bandits meets Gladiator and Name of the Rose", and it's a fair assessment, methinks.

When it comes to adventures, don't make the mistake of trying to convert d20 adventures over as you'll a lot of the feel of the game. It's a very different game to play (and an excellent change of pace) to d20 that might not suit all gamer groups - combat is deadly and a shock to your usual invincible d20 gamers. Tactics, dirty tricks and good role-playing skills are the order of the day.

There's no shortage of adventure ideas in the book itself, but the best adventure ever made for WFRPG is Shadows over Bogenhafen, part of The Enemy Within campaign:

On the surface, Bogenhafen is just another bustling market town: the annual fair and the market of the Schaffenfest is in full swing, and the adventurers are among many others flocking to the town. But all is not as it seems. From the happy bustle of the fair, the adventurers find themselves drawn into a deadly web of intrigue, uncovering evidence of a sinister secret organization whose tentacles run through the highest levels of the town's society. They must treat carefully, sorting the guilty from the innocent, the misguided and the deceived, able to trust no-one in a deadly game of hide-and-seek were nothing and no-one is quite as it seems.

Hope that helps!

 

[Desdichado]

Some people just aren't going to like it, no matter what, because it doesn't cater to what they prefer to get out of the game. One guy in my group would hate the setting because dwarves (and Imperial soldiers to a lesser extent) can have black powder firearms. Another wouldn't like it, because he'd feel that his ability to coast through the game doing cool things without being smacked down would be limited.

I've often heard the game described as one where you start off thinking that you're playing D&D, but you quickly find out that you're actually playing Call of Cthulhu. If your players can dig that, then the game is great. Lots of people really don't like playing Call of Cthulhu, though. Too bleak.

Sadly, I'm not very familiar with any of the published modules, though. I rarely use them. You might want to pop over to rpg.net and do a search through the reviews of the various modules though--you can probably get a pretty good sampling there.

 

[Thanee]

Enemy Within is a great campaign for the old Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Henry]

Nothing wrong with other RPG's -- I play 'em all the time, especially as one-shots and as Convention games.

WFRP2 will be a tough sell to a player who prefers that his character have lots of cool or "WOW!" abilities. I find that if a group has a place for Call of Cthulhu, they'll have a place for Warhammer. We've played warhammer for one demo session, and most of the group liked it enough to where they'd play it again if offered. While D&D remains the first love, they laughed at the circumstances their characters started in, they enjoyed the "skin of their teeth" flavor, and got howls and cheers from working the random information generated into an actual character story and background.

One player quoted said he never though he'd say it, but he'd definitely play his human snaggle-toothed Rat-catcher again. Another player happily picked up the whole "halflings make meat pies" thing once he learned that he'd rolled up a grave-robber.

It's all in your packaging the game for the desires of the players you have. Power-gamers (in the Robin Laws definition of the term) may not like it as much, but the storytellers, method actors, butt-kickers, casual gamers, etc. will probably have a fun time spinning through it a time or two, and may even wind up wanting it as a regular offering.