The Inside Scoop on Gaming

APOCRYPHA NOW is a collection of articles mostly lifted from the pages of WHITE DWARF and WARHAMMER COMPANION, with two new pieces. The new pieces (both by the esteemed Mr Wallis) are a short story that sets the scene perfectly, and notes on converting between the miniatures rules and the roleplaying game. It is a credit to the author that something I would have considered a complete waste of time now seems like an interesting addition to a campaign.

Artwork: yes. The cover's by Josh Kirby, he of Discworld novel infamy. His artwork here doesn't bother me as much as it does on Pratchett's books, but I'm still not a fan. Internal artwork is mostly nice and almost all stuff I haven't seen before, a pleasant surprise. GW like to recycle their artwork.

The reprinted material is presented in three sections: Rules Revisited, Non-Humans and People & Places.

RULES REVISITED

WFRP's rules could certainly do with some revision, and this section sort of provides. The guidelines for using fate points and the expanded firearms rules are both useful, but the revised combat system seems intent on fixing the parts of the rules I didn't think were broken and ignoring the elements I thought were. More tables are the last thing most combat systems need.

Two chapters add additional magic items, but WFRP isn't the kind of game that benefits from them, and the magic armour section is especially bland.

The other articles, on social standing, training and the nobility are more useful, and also provide a wealth of background detail on the Empire, making them of interest even if you don't use the rules themselves.

NON-HUMANS

This is the shortest of the three chapters, a fact of which I am glad. An article on roleplaying Elves, Dwarfs and Halflings starts things off badly. The Elf section explains that Elves use a brainwashing technique, sorry "Bran Wa Shin," to remove those memories that would otherwise clog up their minds by the time they turned 200. Strangely, this makes them more prone to phobias, and it is suggested that Elves start the game with a couple of insanities. Agoraphobia has apparently "sent many a High Elf into a coma" upon viewing the sea. For those unaware of the setting, High Elves live on ISLANDS in the middle of the OCEAN. They must spend half their lives in comas.

Other articles give rules for Gnomish PCs and some new race-specific careers. The first few are all decent, if uninspired, but the last of these is the Elven Wardancer. This is one of the most ridiculously overpowered careers I've seen, even including unofficial ones on the Web. The scenario and fiction about these super-character punk elves is also shite. The only mitigating bonus are the rules for a new Elven god "The Lord of the Dance." Non-human gods got short shrift in the rulebook, so if your players can avoid making Michael Flatley jokes it will be useful, but don't let anybody play a Wardancer whatever you do.

PEOPLE & PLACES

Here is the gold. Two complete scenarios, two encounters and three adventure locations with a ton of ideas in each. I ran both of the scenarios, Night of Blood and A Rough Night at the Three Feathers.

Night of Blood has the PCs staying at a coaching/riverside inn which, unbeknownst to them, has been taken over by Chaos-worshipping mutants. It builds up tension nicely, evoking a grim atmosphere and leading up to a gruesome revelation. It relies on one hoary cliche, drugging the PC's food, which most players (or at least those as paranoid as mine) will be on the lookout for, but the rest of the scenario works well and keeps it simple.

A Rough Night at the Three Feathers also takes place at an inn, but a very different one. Rough Night relies on the sheer amount of NPCs running around and pre-planned events going on to give the PCs something to do, somewhat like a freeform LARP. Murders, fights, arguments and mysterious messages abound. It's a fair bit of work for the GM for a short game, and if the PCs find out everything that's happening at once their suspension of disbelief might get stretched, but the odds are they won't (well, mine didn't -- they had a ball).

Other articles describe a luxury river liner, a loony asylum, travelling encounters and a cheap clinic, all with interesting adventure seeds, amusing NPCs and enough maps to keep me very happy.

CONCLUSION

APOCRYPHA NOW has such a glut of information in it that any WFRP GM should be able to make use of it. The entire third section of the book is useful, and the highly entertaining Introduction and Appendix justify the cost all by themselves. Be on the lookout for the sequel, APOCRYPHA TOO, which contains even more new material.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Apocrypha Now
Author: James Wallis and Diverse Hands Category: game Company/Publisher: Hogshead Publishing Line: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Cost: $AUS 38.45 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1 899749 039 SKU: HP202 Playtest Review by Jody Macgregor on 09/28/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Horror	APOCRYPHA NOW is a collection of articles mostly lifted from the pages of WHITE DWARF and WARHAMMER COMPANION, with two new pieces. The new pieces (both by the esteemed Mr Wallis) are a short story that sets the scene perfectly, and notes on converting between the miniatures rules and the roleplaying game. It is a credit to the author that something I would have considered a complete waste of time now seems like an interesting addition to a campaign. Artwork: yes. The cover's by Josh Kirby, he of Discworld novel infamy. His artwork here doesn't bother me as much as it does on Pratchett's books, but I'm still not a fan. Internal artwork is mostly nice and almost all stuff I haven't seen before, a pleasant surprise. GW like to recycle their artwork. The reprinted material is presented in three sections: Rules Revisited, Non-Humans and People & Places. RULES REVISITED WFRP's rules could certainly do with some revision, and this section sort of provides. The guidelines for using fate points and the expanded firearms rules are both useful, but the revised combat system seems intent on fixing the parts of the rules I didn't think were broken and ignoring the elements I thought were. More tables are the last thing most combat systems need. Two chapters add additional magic items, but WFRP isn't the kind of game that benefits from them, and the magic armour section is especially bland. The other articles, on social standing, training and the nobility are more useful, and also provide a wealth of background detail on the Empire, making them of interest even if you don't use the rules themselves. NON-HUMANS This is the shortest of the three chapters, a fact of which I am glad. An article on roleplaying Elves, Dwarfs and Halflings starts things off badly. The Elf section explains that Elves use a brainwashing technique, sorry "Bran Wa Shin," to remove those memories that would otherwise clog up their minds by the time they turned 200. Strangely, this makes them more prone to phobias, and it is suggested that Elves start the game with a couple of insanities. Agoraphobia has apparently "sent many a High Elf into a coma" upon viewing the sea. For those unaware of the setting, High Elves live on ISLANDS in the middle of the OCEAN. They must spend half their lives in comas. Other articles give rules for Gnomish PCs and some new race-specific careers. The first few are all decent, if uninspired, but the last of these is the Elven Wardancer. This is one of the most ridiculously overpowered careers I've seen, even including unofficial ones on the Web. The scenario and fiction about these super-character punk elves is also shite. The only mitigating bonus are the rules for a new Elven god "The Lord of the Dance." Non-human gods got short shrift in the rulebook, so if your players can avoid making Michael Flatley jokes it will be useful, but don't let anybody play a Wardancer whatever you do. PEOPLE & PLACES Here is the gold. Two complete scenarios, two encounters and three adventure locations with a ton of ideas in each. I ran both of the scenarios, Night of Blood and A Rough Night at the Three Feathers. Night of Blood has the PCs staying at a coaching/riverside inn which, unbeknownst to them, has been taken over by Chaos-worshipping mutants. It builds up tension nicely, evoking a grim atmosphere and leading up to a gruesome revelation. It relies on one hoary cliche, drugging the PC's food, which most players (or at least those as paranoid as mine) will be on the lookout for, but the rest of the scenario works well and keeps it simple. A Rough Night at the Three Feathers also takes place at an inn, but a very different one. Rough Night relies on the sheer amount of NPCs running around and pre-planned events going on to give the PCs something to do, somewhat like a freeform LARP. Murders, fights, arguments and mysterious messages abound. It's a fair bit of work for the GM for a short game, and if the PCs find out everything that's happening at once their suspension of disbelief might get stretched, but the odds are they won't (well, mine didn't -- they had a ball). Other articles describe a luxury river liner, a loony asylum, travelling encounters and a cheap clinic, all with interesting adventure seeds, amusing NPCs and enough maps to keep me very happy. CONCLUSION APOCRYPHA NOW has such a glut of information in it that any WFRP GM should be able to make use of it. The entire third section of the book is useful, and the highly entertaining Introduction and Appendix justify the cost all by themselves. Be on the lookout for the sequel, APOCRYPHA TOO, which contains even more new material. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Apocrypha Now