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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is back. Bolder & brighter than ever (in a perilous gothic way, of course) the great dark RPG of Games Workshops Warhammer World is finally with us in its second edition.

Developed by Green Ronin & published by Black Industries, the new RPG imprint of BL Publishing, who are GW’s publishing division (you got that?) the book is an all new version of the classic 80’s game originally published by GW, and later under license by Hogshead in the 90’s.

What I offer here is a quick run through of what the rule book contains & an assessment of how good I think it is. There is no direct comparison with the first edition – this review is about the Black Industries book, and how it stands on its own merits in the current RPG climate.

Introduction

After the credits & contents there is a short story by Dan Abnett (of Gaunt’s Ghosts fame) which successfully sets up the feel of the setting – that of a war torn Empire trying to recover after a successful but costly conflict against the enemy at the core of the settings bleak feel –the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. The armies have retreated & the militia is disbanded, but evil still stirs in the shadows of victory & its here players will find their own smaller but equally deadly conflicts.

There is a ‘Welcome’ section which serves as both an introduction to RPG’s & to the world of WFRP (a favourite being in the form of a Sermon from a Priest of Sigmar, Patron God of the Empire) Then it’s onto the meat of the game.

Characters & Careers

There are just four players races – Humans, Elves, Dwarfs & Halflings – which the players select before they begin to generate their statistics. Each has a brief racial background, roleplaying hints & a selection of skills & talents.

The Character Profile contains the main stats of the PC (a % score) which are generated randomly using 2D10 added to a base number determined by race. For example, a Dwarfs basic agility is determined by rolling 2D10 +10, where an elf is 2D10 +30. A secondary profile then gives stats that are determined from the either main stat line (such as a Strength Bonus determined from Strength) a fixed number (all characters start with 1 attack) or generated on a chart (again race matters here). Each race is fairly balanced with none having any advantage that makes the others less attractive to play.

There are no traditional classes, such as Fighter or Ranger in WFRP, but you will find many types of fighters and rangers (and rogues, academics & spell casters) in the Career system that’s one of the distinctive features of this game. There are 60 basic careers available to starting characters, each one superbly illustrated. The careers are all well balanced & given equal space in the book. My favourites include Bailiff, Barber-Surgeon, Envoy, Ferryman, Hedge Wizard, Kislevite Kossar, Outrider, Peasant, Runebearer, Thug, Vagabond & Zealot. Each career provides new characters with starting skills & talents, equipment & a free advance on their profile to improve one of their stats (each career has a unique combination of these attributes). Once you have your career, you round your creation off with a few details – some can be generated randomly (such physical features, star sign, name & birth place) and others you answer yourself (such as “Who are you loyal to?”)

There are also 53 advanced careers. These are not available to starting characters, but once you complete your basic career it contains a number of exits that allows you to progress to a new calling – ideally with new advances & different skills (although you can boost existing skills by purchasing them again). The advanced careers are more powerful than starting careers. The Cat Burglar, Courtier, Friar, Ghost Strider, Innkeeper, Journeyman Wizard, Pistolier, Steward & Witch Hunter are some examples of what your character might aspire to.

The Cogs

Following the Careers chapter is a section on Skills & Talents. Skills represent something a character can or cannot do. Each has an associated Stat. Basic skills can be attempted by any one (at ½ chance if they do not have the skill) while advanced skills cannot be done by those without the skill.

Talents are aptitudes that effect skills, the stat line or provide an ability that does not require a skill test. For example Night Vision does what it says on the tin, Cool Headed gives +5% to Will Power & Tunnel Rat provides a bonus to concealment & Hide skill tests underground.

There are also many combat related Talents that give characters an edge in a fight, such as Disarm, Lightning Parry, Marksman, Rapid Reload & Swashbuckler. Finally, some talents are necessary to cast spells & others enhance spells. More of this later.

The Equipment chapter then details the stuff players might use & services they might require. This is all standard RPG stuff, although there is a nice section on replacement limbs for parts you might lose as a result of a nasty critical.

Then there’s Combat, Damage & Movement. As well as detailing the usual standards (combat rounds, initiative & surprise, criticals & movement) there is a detailed combat system revolving around defined Actions a player can take. Each round you may perform a single full action, two half actions & (in theory) unlimited free actions (GM Rulings necessary here, although some are limited in their description)

Actions cover options such as Aiming ( ½ action) moving ( ½ ) Reload (varies) Standard Attack ( ½ ) Feint ( ½ ) Manoeuvre ( ½ ) All Out Attack (full) etc.. which add up to 20 different actions available to try in combat, either in combinations or as full round actions. The choices seem comprehensive, giving all characters pause for thought before taking a course of action (do I go into a Parrying Stance & make a Standard Attack or Defensive Stance to better protect myself & make a Feint to set up my next attack?)

This chapter also introduces Fortune Points which characters can spend to gain an advantage, usually in combat.

Winds of Magic & Gods

This was the surprise of the book for me. A comprehensive, thorough & pretty unique magic system that manages to give players a reasonable selection of spells (and therefore power) but balances this with the risks of spell casting in the Warhammer World – spells are powered by the Winds of Magic, which is the stuff of raw Chaos.

Before you can cast magic, you must meet four criteria made up of the correct skills, talents & advances. One of these Talents is knowledge of one of the Lores, which is basically a list of spells the caster can try and cast. Each spell has a target number which the player must roll on a number of D10’s determined by their Magic characteristic. Other skills, spell ingredients & the magical power of the environment the caster is in can all influence this number. There are no power points, memorizing spells or casting limits – but the Wizard should always weigh up if casting a spell is worth the risks…

The dangers of spell casting are two fold. Each time a spell is cast there is a chance of gaining Insanity points which can lead to permanent disorders. And if that’s not bad enough, the caster might draw the unwanted attention of something nasty lurking in the aethyr. This might cause the caster to glow, or be possessed by a Daemon, or even be sucked into a void & lost for ever. All of this is handled well with a simple mechanic that doesn’t impact the flow of the game.

I wont go into the details of the spells, but there are three petty lores, a selection of ‘single’ spells not attached to a lore, a lore for the eight colours of magic, two dark lores & eight divine lores reserved for priests. A spellcaster can only learn one of the main lores.

The next chapter covers the beliefs of the folk on the Empire. Formal veneration is covered well & the Gods are covered in sufficient detail to get a sound feel of their distinct personalities & how they are worshipped. Some non human Gods are given a brief mention, as are Gods & powers which are forbidden. There is also a wonderful section on Folk Worship & Festivals which really bring the Old World to life.

And Finally

The Games Masters section comes next, and it does a good job of laying down the basic principles of running a good game. Adventure seeds of various detail are discussed, as is running campaigns. Advice on dealing with the games mechanics, fate points, magic, experience points & insanity is presented clearly & concisely, although the descriptions of the insanities that might befall adventurers gets just over six pages of fascinating detail.

The Empire is given a chapter, with a brief nod at its history before looking at the current politics & geography of the Greatest civilisation of the Old World. Threats within the Empire are examined, as are other nearby nations & allies. There is also an excellent map of the Old World. Whilst short, this chapter gets across all the basics of the Warhammer world which is relevant to those adventuring in its nooks & crannies, rather than commanding great armies across its borders.

The Bestiary is short and sweet, detailing the most common foes players will face. Creatures, animals & common human NPC’s are given a brief description with their game stats, and there are three ‘monster’ careers (Brute, Sneak & Chief) used to tweak the creatures & make some individuals from the rank & file. It fails to illustrate each creature though, which is a shame.

Finally there is an adventure, “Through the Drakwald”. This takes place straight after the Storm of Chaos, with the players picking up work in Forests around Middenheim. It seems a good enough intro adventure, which is presented clearly & has a suitable WFRPish twist in the plot. I have not ran it though, so wont say any more!

The book wraps with designers notes from Chris Pramas, and an Index, spell templates & character sheet.

So is it any good?

Yes! The artwork & layout of the book is stunning. It’s easily the best looking book on my shelf (although I took a while to warm to the cover). It’s scattered with short snippets of fiction which add to the feel of the work as a whole. Optional rules & some clarifications are presented in clear boxes, tables & charts blend with in with the rules relevant to them.

Character generation is easy & is a good balance of fate & sound decisions – even two characters with the same career could be very different characters thanks to the choices presented within the careers and racial differences the characters might have. The careers section is also an inspiration to any decent GM, packed with interesting characters & illustrations that just beg to be used in a game. Skills and Talents work well, although sometimes the logic of why some Talents are not Skills seems a bit odd, but this doesn’t effect game play. Some Talents are more then a nod to D20’s Feats, but they still manage to work well in the context of WFRP.

The Combat rules are quite bold, and I doubt will suit every GM’s taste – but optional rules are there to help you decide how to use them, and the heart of the system is very simple which allows individual GM’s to modify it easily. An example here is a single line that reads “A character can only make one parry per round”. This makes some actions & equipment a little redundant in my opinion, but if I ignore this line the system works fine for me. No doubt each GM will find the right feel for their group through playing the game and seeing what works. There are a lot of good ideas here, giving the players lots of options no matter what character type they chose to play, but maybe a Combat FAQ should be one of Black Industries priorities.

The magic system is great. I love the fact that there are no devices used in the rules to limit the number of times a spell may be cast – that limit lies firmly with the player & how much they want to risk being inflicted with insanity & curses. The Lores are varied & each spell is described well. There is some cross over between the lores (for example each lore has at least one offensive spell) but this is no bad thing. Players may get frustrated at the lack of spells (6 – 8 per list) but hopefully Realms Of Sorcery (due in November?) will solve this. Priests & Wizards do not share spell lores so this is a great step forward in making the two types of casters different. I like it allot. The GM’s tips on handling magic in their campaign is also a great touch.

The reason I've only given a substance of "4" is some of the chapters feel a little short, almost like a summary of much more information that couldn’t be crammed in. This may well be the case as an Arms & Equipment Guide, Old World Bestiary & Guide to the Empire are all on their way in 2005. In fact, if BI stick to their publishing schedule, the game looks to be very well supported (I think at least ten source books & adventures are to be published this year). Couple this with the Fiction & Background books published by Black Library (such as Blood on the Reik & the Liber Chaotica) Warhammer Fantasy Battle publications (though sometimes they will need to be squeezed hard for information useful for WFRP) – not to mention the host of fan material that’s bound to infest the Web soon (the Liber Fanatica is already here, a tome that seems to try and tie this new edition closer to the original) – and we have a massive arsenal of publications and sources that can be plundered to make the world of WFRP one the most detailed & comprehensive fantasy settings ever put to print. After all, it’s the setting that really makes WFRP standout, not the amount of times you can parry in a round.

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