| What’s
It About: Be a good fellow and enlighten
me as to the fibre of this fabric?
It’s here. The wait
is over. The patient have been rewarded. What
we thought may be gone forever has returned.
One of the greatest RPG’s of all time
is back.
When Hogshead had a minor
hiccup and briefly closed its doors, the rights
to produce Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP)
were returned to Games Workshop. It was uncertain
if this would spell the end for the game (as
GW has had nothing to do with RPG’s
for many years now) or whether it would be
just what the game needed (with GW having
the cash, license and ability to really make
something of it).
Games Workshop, under their
new RPG wing, Black Industries, teamed up
with Green Ronin and began to redevelop the
WFRP line. From the very beginning they seemed
to be trying to refresh the game, while also
stay true to spirit of Warhammer itself.
The setting is one of grim
medieval fantasy. The background is primarily
focused on the lands of the Old World, a dangerous
realm filled with all manner of things to
keep adventurous sorts busy. Humans, Elves,
Dwarfs and Halflings make up the playable
races of good, or at least not-evil, this
is grim fantasy after all. A lot of the stereotypes
are present, Dwarfs live in the mountains
and so on, but there is a deeper history and
background to each race as well, which gives
players a lot of scope to develop interesting
characters rather than just playing the norm.
Players certainly have their
work cut out for them as well. Alongside the
common dangers of the Old World, like bandits
and wild beasts, there is the ever present
taint of darkness to contend with. Tribes
of Orcs and Goblins continue to thrive and
are a relentless danger on the frontiers of
civilisation. Packs of Beastmen and other
monstrous creatures raid villages and settlements.
Foul Skaven Ratmen scheme and plot in the
sewers and tunnels, spreading disease wherever
they tread.
Not to be forgotten, we
have the greatest threat of all… Chaos.
Dark Cults work secretly within the towns
and cities, corrupting the weak minded and
spreading dissent among the people. While
in the wastelands to the north the dark gods
are rumbling and the warriors of Chaos are
always preparing for the next opportunity
to strike.
Times are harsh and the
world is a grim place. Welcome to Warhammer
Fantasy Roleplay.
The
Look: Does this book make me look
fat?
This book scores two thumbs
way up high on the looking good front. It’s
hardback (as all rulebooks should be) and
has a great picture on the cover of five adventuring
heroes battling a Beastmen horde, a fitting
image for the games feel. These heroes aren’t
your bronzed, good looking types either, they’re
a grim looking bunch who are just trying to
get the job done, hard gritty and despite
the obvious fantasy – real.
The books interior reminded
me a little of the wargame Warhammer Rulebook
(the one with the miniatures). It has similar
border art throughout and they have done a
good job tying the whole game world together.
All 254 pages are full colour and the artwork
is all of a good standard with some truly
exceptional pieces (the Bretonnian Peasants
on page 126 are a personal favourite). The
character careers have each got their own
individual sketch, much like the first edition
and once again they help to give you a good
feel each job and the world they inhabit.
The
Content: Between the sheets is where
the real action takes place.
I loved the first edition
of this game and I didn’t really think
there was much that could’ve been done
to improve it. Well Warhammer is back and
it’s wearing an impressive new coat
(…probably made of chain mail).
The new system is really
good. It’s not a million miles from
the old one and the game is still just as
harsh and brutal as it was before, with combat
proving dangerous and very easily lethal if
you don’t watch your step. While on
the subject of combat I really like the new
actions breakdown. Each turn you have your
action as usual, but they have added a whole
range of specific combat related uses for
your action that allow you to have a greater
degree of control during the fight.
The character creation system
is very similar to the original game as well.
You pick your race, roll your stats and then
roll your career. Although I prefer to let
my group choose their own careers. Players
tend to like to do what they want and I see
no reason to force people to play something
they might not be happy with. There are a
huge variety of careers, with everything from
the familiar Bounty Hunter, Mercenary and
Apprentice Wizard to the more game specific
Troll Slayer, Kithband Warrior and Kislevite
Kossar.
They have also left the
Career progression intact as well. When you
have worked your way through your current
Career or decide you want a change you can
look at the exits for your current Career
and decide what you want to go for next (or
pay some Experience Points and move to another
Basic Career). For instance the Noble Career
has Courtier, Pistolier, Politician, Rogue,
Squire and Student as possible exits. To make
the move to any of these new professions they
would need to pay the cost in Experience Points
and amass the new professions trappings (the
equipment that allows you to do that job,
like books or a wagon or whatever).
The Advanced Careers are
what most players will be working their way
towards. This is where all the truly fitting
jobs are for any heroic souls. When you have
worked your way through a Basic Career or
two you may find you have the option to take
one of the Advanced Careers. These are things
like Witch Hunter, Sea Captain and Wizard
Lord, but the trappings for some of these
jobs will require some tough roleplaying on
your part to be a Guild Master you will need
a Guild and to be a Crime Lord you’ll
need to get your Soprano’s DVD’s
out, because you’re going to need a
Criminal Organisation.
Magic is far more user friendly
in this new edition. Basically you have a
Magic stat and Careers like Wizard allow you
to buy a point in this. Each point is worth
1D10 when it comes to casting a spell (you
can get more points in it as you progress
to more advanced magical Careers) and each
spell has a casting number. To cast the spell
you declare the number of D10’s you
are going to roll and if you get over the
number you cast the spell.
So wouldn’t I just
always roll as many as I can? The problem
you could face with rolling several dice is
– if you get a double, triple or quadruple
on your dice roll you’ve caught the
attention of Tzeentch (one of the four Chaos
gods) and bad things could potentially be
on the cards.
I think that a major criticism
levelled at the first edition by many, was
the lack of background material in the rulebook.
A lot of players ended up getting most of
their information from the wargames army books
and other sources. This issue has been addressed
with a vengeance and there is now a really
good series of stories and history to flesh
out the Old World and its denizens.
There is also a chapter
for the GM’s among you. It covers the
standard points about running a game, but
also gives some sound advice on ways to go
about making your game more ‘Warhammer’
which even veterans may find handy. The adventure
provided is set after the recent Storm of
Chaos war, with the bulk of the Chaos army
in retreat… but that’s not to
say things are all quiet on the home front.
The only very minor grievance
I have with the WFRP book is with the layout.
Some of the desktop publishing errors are
silly, with one word slipping on to a new
column or page and the text sometimes reading
awkwardly. Obviously this is not a major concern
but it’s the only thing I can find to
complain about and being a critic I have to
find something, right?
Final
Thoughts: Last words are for fools
who haven't said enough… so here goes.
Overall, this book has proved
a real winner in my eyes. I was really pleased
to hear the game had gone back to Games Workshop
as I have been collecting their stuff since
I was 11 years old and now have about a ton
of plastic and lead in my loft with numerous
armies for Warhammer and 40k. GW wargames
are what got me into roleplaying, with the
wargaming hobby leading me to WFRP.
I really like the company
(longstanding dream job would be with GW)
and I like their friendly approach to the
hobby, not dingy backrooms with hostile older
gamers who don’t want to know you, but
happy inviting sorts who are willing to teach
you how to play and game. Does this make my
review a little biased? Well kind of I suppose.
But then I have never been one to just declare
undying love for something – if it abuses
my trust I am the first to point out its flaws.
But this new edition of the game does exactly
what I wanted it to. It provides me with an
updated version of my favourite RPG of all
time and it does it with style.
So once again, don your
armour, pick up your sword and venture forth.
There may be Orcs, Beastmen, Skaven and worse
out there, but there is gold and glory for
the taking as well… May Sigmar be with
you!
Reviewed By Jon Simpson |
