Product Review
Addition: Since
writing this review the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Game has moved home again, now resting comfortably
with Fantasy Flight Games.
What’s
It About:
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. Sigmar be praised!
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
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