I'm starting WFRP Karak Azgal--any advice?

[scourger]

After much online research into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, trading for books, buying Karak Azgal, & getting myself and my group into it; I am poised to start running it in about a week and a half. My prior exposure is limited. I played a couple of sessions of WFRP about 15 years ago. I have some minis--some are 40K. I even have a guide to paint citadel minis. And, I've read a few 40K novels.

I was drawn to WFRP because I love the idea of Karak Azgal, a dwarven city atop a dungeon that still needs exploring & clearing. That book is great. The main rules seem okay. They're a bit lighter than d20 and definitely have a grim (almost dirty) feel. I really like the random career system. The bestiary is just necessary. I am very intrigued by doing everything with d10s, too.

Any advice from anyone who has run a game? I am contemplating getting a GM Pack, mainly to have collected tables on a screen. I want the game to feel familiar to D&D in good ways but unfamiliar in good ways, too. I want to avoid the high-magic, kill-loot-repeat cycle. Visually, I want the players to feel as if their characters are exploring a Moria-like setting rather than moving thorugh it. I also want them to experience the story of discovering what chaos is at work and to (attempt to) foil it.

 

[Gothmog]

A couple things I can think of:

#1 Remind characters to use Fortune Points to improve or reroll skill and ability tests, for extra parries and dodges, to improve initiative, and to get extra half actions. These can literally save your butt in WHFRP.

#2 Remember this isn't D&D- if you do 3 or 4 combats in a row, you're going to have a lot of dead characters. Characters should pick their fights, retreat often, and ambush as often as possible to improve chances of survival.

#3 I have Karak Azgal, but haven't run it yet. You'll need to do some fleshing out of the citadel on your own- only the major points of interest are detailed. Remember to describe the WH world differently than a D&D one. Shadows are darker and may conceal swift death, and play up all the odd noises and claustrophobia someone underground would experience.

#4 The Old World Bestiary is invaluable, and Realms of Sorcery is great to get an idea of how magic works. Shadow of the Horned Rat is great if you plan to use lots of skaven too. Karak Azgal is outside the Empire, but if you ever plan playing in the Empire, Sigmar's Heirs is an incredible resource. The GM pack is pretty good, and has a decent screen, although the screeen is missing one important table (determining critical hit severity).

#5 You have a hard time doing this with D&D, but KEEP THE PLAYERS OUT OF THE PARTS OF THE BOOK REGARDING MONSTERS AND MAGIC. The unknown is a big part of the thrill of the WH world, and not ever knowing what you're up against. Hell, the skaven are widely believed to be mythical boogeymen and stories of their involvment are often dismissed- so letting the players read up on skaven is REALLY counterproductive.

 

[scourger]

#1--I already touched a little on fate & fortune points. I'll be interested to see them in play.

#2--I hope to have about 1 combat per evening--about 3.5 hours weekly. My plan is that the party will foray into the dungeon & return each session so that players can come & go (a fact of life at our age of 30-something).

#3--Good advice on setting the dark mood.

#4-- I've got the bestiary. I'm lukewarm on it, but I think it will help with generating encounters. I'll probably get the GM pack, but maybe not in time for the first session. Otherwise, I'll probably stick to the main book, the bestiary and KA. If this game goes really well, maybe I'll look at Ashes of Middenheim again.

#5--I'm the only one with the core book, except for one guy who may or may not play; so there's not much danger of the players reading up on it. One player knows a fair bit about the setting, but it's cool since he's really excited.

 

[Theron]

1. If the PCs ever come into possession of a barge, sink it. This is James Wallis' immutable rule of GMing WFRP, and should always be observed at all costs.

2. Dark humor. WFRP is the epitome of the old maxim, "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall in an open sewer and die."

3. The world outside the safe bounds of a village or city is SCARY DANGEROUS. Early on, no one you know has ever seen an Ork up close. Someone's dad saw something green in the woods once, and when he went back to check it out, he never came back.

 

[scourger]

1. If the PCs ever come into possession of a barge, sink it. This is James Wallis' immutable rule of GMing WFRP, and should always be observed at all costs.

I read about this, but I don't know why it is.

 

[Gothmog]

#4-- I've got the bestiary. I'm lukewarm on it, but I think it will help with generating encounters. I'll probably get the GM pack, but maybe not in time for the first session. Otherwise, I'll probably stick to the main book, the bestiary and KA. If this game goes really well, maybe I'll look at Ashes of Middenheim again.

Ashes of Middenheim is great as a sourcebook for Middenheim, but the adventure is just ok. Its a little bit railroady at points, so when I ran it I stuck in some other side events and non-related adventures. The later installments of Path of the Damned are better, and not so linear. If you're looking for pre-packaged adventures, its not bad, but the original Enemy Within Campaign is much better.

However, if you do make it a long-term playing thing, I can't recommend Sigmar's Heirs enough. The world of WHFRP is MUCH different than normal D&D worlds, and Sigmar's Heirs helps to illustrate that point.

And Theron is absolutely right about the dark humor in WHFRP- use it to lighten the mood and draw the players off guard, then get serious again. Its helps to build tension, and make the world feel not so all-consuming deadly and grim.

 

[Thraim]

Playing Karak Azgal

I was drawn to WFRP because I love the idea of Karak Azgal, a dwarven city atop a dungeon that still needs exploring & clearing. That book is great.

My name is Bill and I am the author of the book. I am glad to hear that you like it and thought I would offer a few suggestions of my own.

The dungeons of Karak Azgal are a very dangerous place. Even characters in their second careers will find it challenging. Much of the advice in earlier posts about Fortune Points and fighting tactics are right on the mark. This is not D&D where players will be able to march into the dungeon and hack through each room in quick succession. Just one of the areas in the dungeon can almost be an entire campaign for a group requiring multiple sessions to play through.

To make sure that your players are ready, I would suggest starting the game in the Border Princes or the edges of the Empire and have them travel to the city. They can gain experience on the way and maybe be nearing the end of their first career when they reach Karak Azgal. When they arrive, have them get into some trouble on the surface to further season them for the challenges ahead.

One of the things I regret about the book is that it wasn't big enough to include an overarching campaign. I had to keep it a sourcebook which requires you the GM to link elements of your choice together to fashion a campaign. I do not know the composition of your group, but I would suggest selecting one of the areas of the dungeon that best suits them and fashion an adventure path around that. For example, you might have a group of unsavory types who may get involved with the Thieves Guild who sends them into the ruins to recover treasure leading them eventually to the Undead levels. A group of dwarves might want to crush the Skaven and/or Orcs. You could also play many of the sessions above ground dealing with the many factions there.

I would love to hear how it is going for your group and look forward to future posts.

Bill

 

[Piratecat]

I have advice -- invite me over so that I can play...

And Thraim, welcome!

 

[mhensley]

To make sure that your players are ready, I would suggest starting the game in the Border Princes or the edges of the Empire and have them travel to the city.

I liked this book, but I thought it really needed a section for suggestions of how to get pc's to the place. It is out in the middle of nowhere far from the empire.

 

[Thraim]

How to get to Karak Azgal

I liked this book, but I thought it really needed a section for suggestions of how to get pc's to the place. It is out in the middle of nowhere far from the empire.

Again another regret. There is a section at the beginning with brief suggestions on why your players might be traveling to Karak Azgal: I.E. Caravan guards, on the lam, treasure seekers etc. Admittedly, there is nothing very specific. If I only had 100 more pages I could have done much more with it.