Seriously considering Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2nd edition)

[Gold Roger]

Oddly enough, Shil, I was just checking Amazon for the new Star Wars Saga Edition's release date... and ended up reading all I could about WFRP ed2. I think I pretty much sold.

Now my big question is: can I use it to run CITY? Because I'll try... oh I'll try.

I'd say CITY is currently a fair bit higher in magic (which would need it's own writeup) and you also have a fair amount of creatures and careers that you'd have to design yourself.

That's actually y only gripe with the system- It's so ingrained in the setting that it's hard to homebrew with it.

I'm not really a fan of the old world. Except for skaven of course. Everyone loves skaven.

 

[Desdichado]

I keep hearing about this Caribbean campaign. Do You use the mechanics and real world or have you placed the game in WFRP setting? (I don't know if there are any islands near Lustria).

Well, it's not mine but since so far I'm the only one who's mentioned it--Rel has been bouncing ideas about the campaign off me in the Circvs chatroom for months, so I feel like I know the setting more or less.

It's kinda a hybrid of the real world and the Warhammer world. It does include the Empire and Bretonnia, although it takes place in distant colonies in the Caribbean. The New World features guys like lizardmen and skaven making important appearances.

But the geography and much of the political landscape is actually cribbed from the real world. Most of the action has taken place in and around or between Port Royale and Tortuga, for instance.

 

[Mallus]

I guess I didn't realize how high your PCs had become lately; from what I remembered of the story hour I thought they'd fit in pretty nicely with those mechanics.

The Story Hour's about a year behind. Burne's come a long way, baby. Which is kinda the problem...

The current plan is to play around w/WHFR over the summer while one of our players summers out-of-country.

 

[Biohazard]

The Story Hour's about a year behind. Burne's come a long way, baby. Which is kinda the problem...

The current plan is to play around w/WHFR over the summer while one of our players summers out-of-country.

How complex / detailed are the rules of Warhammer FRP? How would it compare with D&D 3.5 for complexity?

 

[iron-spyder]

How complex / detailed are the rules of Warhammer FRP? How would it compare with D&D 3.5 for complexity?

The rules are detailed, but not complex. With a couple of books you can get started. There is always debate about what is essential and it does depend on the characters, but at a bare minimum I would suggest:

WFRP core
Old World Bestiary
Sigmar's Heirs
Realms of Sorcery (if you have mages or a magic heavy game)
Warhammer Companion (fairly inexpensive and has a lot of useful information)

Old World Armoury is not really necessary, but handy


3.5 is like a juggernaut of destruction with all of the rules, I switched to Warhammer, C&C and Atlantis: the Second Age to escape the overabundance of rules and options.

 

[Elsenrail]

The rules are very simple. I read the book only once and almost know them all. The book often states that the GM is the boss when there are no rules for a particular situation.

What I like about the system is that one can create a full-stated advanced NPC in a matter of 5 minutes... or sometimes immediately in your mind, because there are no skill/level and feats/level etc and the stats are percentage.

Of course if one want more detailed rules, one can find them in supplements. "Tome of Corruption" has plenty for the Chaos-worshippers etc.

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

Damn. You guys have sold me; I ordered the core book from amazon the other day. I was getting pretty burned out on D&D 3.5 (you know, the whole "fifty million rules" thing). We don't all have the free time that folks such as Merric are blessed with; as a result, I've been finding it increasingly difficult to "master" D&D 3.5 to the degree that I, as a DM, want to.

Warhammer sounds like it's right up my alley. Just the titles of some of the books make me want to run it . . . plus, with the "brand recognition" factor of the "Warhammer" name, I'm hoping recruiting players will be easy.

We'll see . . .

 

[Elsenrail]

I would suggest:

WFRP core
Old World Bestiary
Sigmar's Heirs
Realms of Sorcery (if you have mages or a magic heavy game)
Warhammer Companion (fairly inexpensive and has a lot of useful information)

Old World Armoury is not really necessary, but handy
.

Companion is almost completely useless if You don't want "water-adventures".
I would suggest the corebook, Sigmar's Heir's, Realms of Sorcery (Tome of Salvation will be release for priests the following July)... and Tome of Corruption just for flavour (there are plenty of editing problems, but the book is great nevertheless... it was written by JR Schalb - the same guy who wrote Fiendish Codex II )

 

[Henry]

The rules are detailed, but not complex. With a couple of books you can get started. There is always debate about what is essential and it does depend on the characters, but at a bare minimum I would suggest:

In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that just the WFRP 2nd edition Core book is all you really need to make a test run. For such a slim book, it has all you need to run a small campaign and get the feel of the world. All the other books just serve to add options and extra setting flavor, but the core had me rivetted for weeks of reading!

I think the foremost thing to warn your players about, especially if they're used to 3E, is the "grim and gritty", and that success can be a little more struggle than in D&D. They shouldn't be afraid to play their PCs with gusto, but by the same token they shouldn't be afraid to lose one, too, especially if character creation is as easy as it is to get back in.

 

[iron-spyder]

Quite right, the core book to get you started and to ensure that your players will like the game is all you really need. Not everyone will like the horror aspects of the game or the danger of combat.

As Elsenrail elaborated upon my post: different people will suggest different books, it is an ongoing debate on the Black Industries forums. After the core book it might be handier to find a store that sells the books and thumb through to see what you need to fit your group better.

Most people will agree that you do not need the Paths of the Damned adventure series. You are much better served by getting the core book and downloading a free adventure from the Black Industries website. Warhammer v2 has some really good detail and handy rules, but for some reason the official adventures are lacking in many ways. I bought them for the additional rules and careers, the adventures themselves are very contradictory and non-linear as to be nonsensical at times.