Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Jürgen Hubert" data-source="post: 2492393" data-attributes="member: 7177"><p>This I can agree with - I appreciate that a lot of serious thought went into designing D&D 3E, and it is indeed good to see to see other game designers give more thought to the actual process of (re)designing an RPG.</p><p></p><p>Emulating the <em>process</em> of designing something does not mean that the final <em>product</em> is derivative, however.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Let me see if I can list all the changes from WFRP 1E to 2E, and see how much they resemble D&D 3E:</p><p></p><p>- All primary characteristics are now percentage values - Strength and Toughness used to be values from 1 to 10.</p><p></p><p>It could be argued that this follows a similar trend of "cleaning up" attribute values like that from AD&D2E to D&D3E (Str 18/98, anyone). Still, many gaming systems have used the same scale for all attributes (like Call of Cthulhu), and this is only a minor point.</p><p></p><p>- The distinction between Skills & Talents, as well as Skill Mastery.</p><p></p><p>Yes, this has similarities with the distinction of Skills and Feats with D&D. Still, there always was such a distinction between them mechanically in WFRP1E - it was just that this difference was not spelled out explicitly. Skill Mastery is new, but it is rather different from the way D&D 3E handles things.</p><p></p><p>- Changing the damage dice from 1d6 to 1d10</p><p></p><p>If this is derived from any other system, I'd say the Storyteller system, since the goal here was to use one single dice type for all mechanics - something which D&D has not implemented (though several d20 variants have).</p><p></p><p>- Distinctions between "full actions" and "half actions"</p><p></p><p>Here the influence of D&D is readily observable, and I will concede this point. Still, it is only one of many.</p><p></p><p>- Cleaned up "Basic Careers" and "Advanced Careers" for better game balance</p><p></p><p>This is more of an "internal housecleaning". And the "prestige classes" of D&D3E are a rather obvious derivative of the Advanced Classes of WFRP1E, so here it is actually the other way around than you suggest!</p><p></p><p>- An advance will give you a 5% bonus, rather than a 10% bonus.</p><p></p><p>While this is similar to the basic 5% chance that you get on a d20 when you improve or lower the odds by one step, I wouldn't make too much of it. Players have complained for a long time that mundane characters will rapidly gain all advances from interesting Advanced Careers while spellcasters take forever to get anywhere. This, combined with the cleaned up careers and the new Skill Mastery, merely means that characters take a longer time until they "max out" their abilities, and thus enhances long-time play.</p><p></p><p>- The new magic system</p><p></p><p>This is actually a huge step <em>away</em> from D&D3E - the old magic system was a rather conventional "resource management" system, while now we have a "risk management" system - the spellcaster always has to ask himself: "Am I willing to risk casting another spell, even though it might have negative consequences for me?" This is more similar to Call of Cthulhu, where casting spells almost always comes with a price.</p><p></p><p>- Reduced number of magic items</p><p></p><p>Another conscious design decision that represents a huge step away from D&D3E. It used to be that magic items were relatively common that PCs might eventually own several of them. Now they are as rare as in Call of Cthulhu - each one is a unique artifact.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This is all that I can think of at the moment.. And only in <em>one</em> instance is the derivation from D&D3E obvious - so I maintain that claiming that WFRP is "a clever derivative of D&D 3rd Edition" is wrong.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I haven't played it myself, but from what I heard, Inquisitor isn't a "true" RPG but a miniature wargame with RPG elements. But I will leave others who actually know the game to comment on it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Hardly longer at all. The two editions are very similar to each other, apart from the changes I have outlined above.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, it could be easily done with WFRP1E as well. In fact, it might even be easier, since the old magic system is closer to D&D than the new one...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jürgen Hubert, post: 2492393, member: 7177"] This I can agree with - I appreciate that a lot of serious thought went into designing D&D 3E, and it is indeed good to see to see other game designers give more thought to the actual process of (re)designing an RPG. Emulating the [i]process[/i] of designing something does not mean that the final [i]product[/i] is derivative, however. Let me see if I can list all the changes from WFRP 1E to 2E, and see how much they resemble D&D 3E: - All primary characteristics are now percentage values - Strength and Toughness used to be values from 1 to 10. It could be argued that this follows a similar trend of "cleaning up" attribute values like that from AD&D2E to D&D3E (Str 18/98, anyone). Still, many gaming systems have used the same scale for all attributes (like Call of Cthulhu), and this is only a minor point. - The distinction between Skills & Talents, as well as Skill Mastery. Yes, this has similarities with the distinction of Skills and Feats with D&D. Still, there always was such a distinction between them mechanically in WFRP1E - it was just that this difference was not spelled out explicitly. Skill Mastery is new, but it is rather different from the way D&D 3E handles things. - Changing the damage dice from 1d6 to 1d10 If this is derived from any other system, I'd say the Storyteller system, since the goal here was to use one single dice type for all mechanics - something which D&D has not implemented (though several d20 variants have). - Distinctions between "full actions" and "half actions" Here the influence of D&D is readily observable, and I will concede this point. Still, it is only one of many. - Cleaned up "Basic Careers" and "Advanced Careers" for better game balance This is more of an "internal housecleaning". And the "prestige classes" of D&D3E are a rather obvious derivative of the Advanced Classes of WFRP1E, so here it is actually the other way around than you suggest! - An advance will give you a 5% bonus, rather than a 10% bonus. While this is similar to the basic 5% chance that you get on a d20 when you improve or lower the odds by one step, I wouldn't make too much of it. Players have complained for a long time that mundane characters will rapidly gain all advances from interesting Advanced Careers while spellcasters take forever to get anywhere. This, combined with the cleaned up careers and the new Skill Mastery, merely means that characters take a longer time until they "max out" their abilities, and thus enhances long-time play. - The new magic system This is actually a huge step [i]away[/i] from D&D3E - the old magic system was a rather conventional "resource management" system, while now we have a "risk management" system - the spellcaster always has to ask himself: "Am I willing to risk casting another spell, even though it might have negative consequences for me?" This is more similar to Call of Cthulhu, where casting spells almost always comes with a price. - Reduced number of magic items Another conscious design decision that represents a huge step away from D&D3E. It used to be that magic items were relatively common that PCs might eventually own several of them. Now they are as rare as in Call of Cthulhu - each one is a unique artifact. This is all that I can think of at the moment.. And only in [i]one[/i] instance is the derivation from D&D3E obvious - so I maintain that claiming that WFRP is "a clever derivative of D&D 3rd Edition" is wrong. I haven't played it myself, but from what I heard, Inquisitor isn't a "true" RPG but a miniature wargame with RPG elements. But I will leave others who actually know the game to comment on it. Hardly longer at all. The two editions are very similar to each other, apart from the changes I have outlined above. Actually, it could be easily done with WFRP1E as well. In fact, it might even be easier, since the old magic system is closer to D&D than the new one... [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Top