Would WFRP be an interesting game system to use in Forgotten Realms?

[Emirikol]

Would WFRP be an interesting game system to use in Forgotten Realms?

In the olden days (1E, 2E) people talked about zero level characters. Makes me wonder what it would be like to play WFRP in the Forgotten Realms. Start as a Rat Catcher, Troll Slayer or Zealot in a D&D world!

Obviously a tougher, darker D&D world like Greyhawk would be a more logical choice, but what about the Realms?

Your thoughts?

 

[Lars Porsenna]

Not so sure about that. While most of the other character classes are "generic" enough, anything that uses magic is going to be a problem IMHO. Magic is VERY different, with a VERY different flavor. As well as lots of negative consequences. Really WHFRP is very much keyed into the Warhammer World, and is a very fun game dripping with character. I just doubt it would fit in IMHO with the character of FR (which has always been to me high magic).

Damon.

 

[Rel]

I don't think that WFRP as a system need be completely locked into the Old World setting it is written for. In fact I found that it fit absolutely perfectly with the feel I wanted to capture for my Pirates of the Caribbean game (inspired by the recent movies).

However it is a pretty far cry from the Forgotten Realms setting in terms of feel and tone. I'm not saying it is impossible but it seems so different on so many levels that I wouldn't know where to begin in adapting the one to the other.

 

[thedungeondelver]

Echoing what others have already said...WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLE-PLAY is wound pretty tightly into its setting and there are certain conceits you have to take with you into whatever campaign world you are going to use the rules for.

 

[Aus_Snow]

No reason it can't work perfectly well. I've run FR as - nearly, anyway - survival horror, and it worked just fine. OK, it was D&D homebrew, but still fairly brutal. And fun!

I'd say go for it. Certainly plenty of stuff in the Realms, to twist to whatever ends you fancy. That's its strongest suit, really.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

It could be made work but you would need to redo the magic or forbid pc magic users. It would not be standard Realms though. WHFRP is very gritty and If you want high magic and WHFRP combat then you would have quite a bit of house ruling to do.

 

[tylerthehobo]

I think FR is a little too "high magic" to take the best advantage of the WFRP system. WFRP does lend itself nicely to Thieves World, Robin Hobb, Lankhmar, and other "gritty fantasy" settings.

 

[DeadlyUematsu]

WFRP would work for Ravenloft.

 

[Malanath]

Yes, it can work in the Forgotten Realms. 4th Edition FR is the best suited to it, but you'll need to make a few changes to canon. This shouldn't be a problem as the 4E FR was built to allow for a great deal of DM customization and influence.

As others pointed out, the most obvious problem you're going to face is how magic works. In 4E FR you can use the Spellplague to replace a lot of 'chaos' themed things. The setting overall has taken on a darker tone (though it still isn't as dark as Warhammer). You may need to change some regions to better suit the mood, but overall it is very easy to accomplish.

It is harder to use for previous editions due to the way magic works. With Mystra dead, the Weave gone, the Spellplague, and a 100 year time jump... a DM has a very free hand.

 

[Ydars]

Do you mean WFRP 1e or 2e? 2e is a much more balanced system and includes rules for rituals etc. The magic system is also much better, albeit lower power than D&D, but I expect it would play well for keeping things like a typical "low level D&D game".