Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

[coyote6]

From my hazy memories, the only things in the core rules that seems a bit setting-specific are some of the magic mechanics. But if your setting allows for magic to be dangerous, insanity-inducing, and so forth, then even that should be easy to adapt.

As long as the setting fits the tone of the game (which is fairly well supported by the mechanics, I think), then you ought to be okay. The more the setting diverges, the more things you'll have to trip you up -- but that's true for every game, really.

 

[C_M2008]

Well I think I'm sold on it, is it easy to teach to new players? If not might have some holdouts despite running other games.

 

[Iron Sky]

It's pretty simple.

Say what you want to do. Roll a d100. If it's under your stat +/- modifiers, you succeed. If not, you fail.

If you do damage, roll a d10 +/- modifiers. You do that much damage.

There's a bit more work on the other side of the screen, but not much.

And, as a plus, if you go strictly random character creation, you can whip up a brand new character in 10 minutes...

 

[TheNovaLord]

not quite that simple

chances to hit are quite low (and i think you can start with 2 attacks per round), plus the defender gets various defence rolls (dodge or parry or both) so combat can drag.


and damage is compared to toughness

Plus it has a fate point system as well

 

[Hand of Evil]

In WFRP is not your chance to hit but how you hit, like from behind, with a bar stool, etc that will be the deciding factor in a game.

Also, foes are more linear in life expectancy, meaning a goblin has an equal chance of killing you for a longer period of time, you have to have 5 to 10 advances to abilities / skills before you take one out without too much trouble, that's one! Things like trolls, you better have numbers and a plan.

 

[C_M2008]

Any suggestions as to good adventures for first-timers? Something that shows off the breadth of the system and setting would be great.

 

[Rel]

The basics of WFRP combat are quite simple as stated. But it is a mistake to assume that there are no tactics involved.

Things like ganging up on a foe, when to All Out Attack or not, what you spend Fortune Points on, whether you carry a shield or use a two-handed weapon, these sorts of things have a HUGE impact on the outcome of a battle. I'd urge any GM or player to study the implications of these rules.

 

[Emirikol]

Any suggestions as to good adventures for first-timers? Something that shows off the breadth of the system and setting would be great.

Towards the bottom of this section are FOUR free download adventures for introducing new players and getting back into the swing of things:
Black Industries

Play More Scenarios
On the Black Industries website there are a whole host of scenarios available for groups to play through. Many of these are suitable for new groups wanting to play a few more games, but we would recommend you check out the following as being easy to read and run:

* The Bigger they Are…
* Worse than the Disease
* With a Little Help From My Friends
* The Affair of the Hidden Jewel

Here are all the old FREE DOWNLOAD ADVENTURES from the Black Industries site (from when they put out WFRP2 a couple years ago):
Black Industries



..



jh

 

[Hand of Evil]

Did I post this link? Strike to Stun see the download area.

 

[Obryn]

The basics of WFRP combat are quite simple as stated. But it is a mistake to assume that there are no tactics involved.

Things like ganging up on a foe, when to All Out Attack or not, what you spend Fortune Points on, whether you carry a shield or use a two-handed weapon, these sorts of things have a HUGE impact on the outcome of a battle. I'd urge any GM or player to study the implications of these rules.

YES. Absolutely.

Of particular note (IMO) are the Aim actions and the All-Out Attack action. If you're running by the book, there are few reasons not to use Aim if you have a shield or a second weapon. (You get a free Parry and only get 1/round this way, so you don't need to save an action for a Parry.) So, in a sense, using a second weapon or a shield can translate to a +10% to attack in most - but not all - circumstances.

All-Out Attack is particularly awesome for a DM. Combat - especially at early stages - can drag if your players' dice aren't on fire. Not only is there a low chance of hitting, but there's a sizable chance of doing insignificant damage even if you do hit. All-Out Attack helps your monsters hit more often, and means you don't need to hold back a pesky parry you might forget about anyway. What's more, it's ideal for PCs who are ganging up on a single foe, because a single enemy can't attack all of them, right?

Speaking of - ganging up on a target is huge. When running WFRP, instead of using a battle map, I more or less keep track of it the same way I do in AD&D. I assume that melee combatants are in one or more scrums, and everyone else is somewhere else. If you can divide up the scrum so that you outnumber your foes, you get huge bonuses to-hit, +10%, +20%, or more. So you could try and peel off a single mutant, gang up on them to dispatch them, and then work your way onto the rest of them. It's really all about numbers.

Finally, missile weapons in WFRP are completely insane. You can't parry them, so there's often no defense against them. About the only issue is that you're dead meat if you end up in melee combat - you can't do the 5' step and attack like you can in 3e. Still, if you can hang back, you can demolish enemies with a high Ballistics Skill and a decent weapon.

-O