Welcome to one of the premier WFRP blogs active today! Here you will find snippets from my own WFRP campaign, as well as iAltdorf, the stunning PDF map of the Imperial Capital. Occasionally I will also comment on the state of the game at the hands of Fantasy Flight, highlight stunning fan creations and talk about other games.
"Are you discrete? A writer or an artist? Have books, need someone capable of copying. No knowledge of languages required, but previous experience with ink and feather critical. Interested parties should ask for Herr Schmitt at the the Black Velvet tavern. Generous compensation."
- Something for those of the academic persuasion. Posted at the University Library.
Yeah, well, this one should make even the most trusting character feel unease. But the compensation is supposed to be generous, and a student of the humanities need to eat. Or drink, as it may well be. The text could be heretical, an insidious Slaanesh tome forbidden to read, or it could be a description of how to find the long lost tomb of a fallen hero, or tracts that are copied and passed out to incite riots.
Taking a cue for sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the job could also be a cover for something else, such as a way to guarantee the character's absence from home while chaos cultists use his abode for nefarious plotting. And also, "Herr Schmitt"? Any character taking a job from a mysterious "Herr Schmitt" needs to keep eyes and ears open for ill doings!
A new table to roll for whenever you need a random city watch encounter! I will go from rolling a d10 to a d6, partly to make it easier for me to write the tables, but also to make the odds of running into the same Watchman in different situations higher. Therefore, some Watchmen in the Universität Bezirk have been transferred from the Niederhafen Bezirk, which means I will be updating that random table later.
Yeah, it's also because I'm lazy. So sue me!
City Watch in Universität Bezirk
If the characters call for the City Watch in the Universität Bezirk, roll a d6 and consult the following table.
1. Altdorf's shortest Watchman, Kleine Hermann, saunters up to the characters, nonchalantly chewing tobacco and gobbing at their feet. Half competent, but needs convincing to engage.
2. Gerke and Otto come running. Curt and effective Watchmen, they are loathe to take any action without first calling in reinforcements (roll another d6, reroll any result of 2).
3. First nothing happens. Then after some time, Uto, Urban and Viktor show up. They are three enthusiastic young Watchmen without any experience or useful skills. They are eager to help, but are more likely to make any situation worse with their efforts.
4. Gottwin, Horst and Holger marches up to the characters. They are dressed in perfect uniforms, their helmets are polished to a shine and they carry out their duties with military precision. If they have any fault it's the fact that they don't really listen to what people are telling them, unless the person in question is a higher ranked individual (professional or social rank).
5. Joshua and Maria turns up, filled with energy and anxiety. They are students at the University and work as Watchmen in their spare time to raise money for the education. Inexperienced but very, very smart. Probably too smart, since they tend to overthink even the smallest crime. Their wild theories are often entertaining, but seldom correct.
A few weeks go I sat down and figured that chatter about WFRP was at its lowest ever! Then, I really started looking at what was happening on the net and realised that I had to stop only going to the usual places looking for WFRP talk, I had to cast my net wider!
So I found Reckless Dice, which is chatter about the current edition of WFRP in podcast format. And there's a lot of chatter going on! The guys behind the podcast are up to the tenth installment (released two days ago) as well as having a play-by-play podcast of them playing Eye for an Eye, the introductory adventure found in the WFRP box and Game Master Guide.
I've now listened to the episodes I found (missing number one and two in iTunes for some reason). It is a lot of talk about rules and how to play, and interlaced with that are comments on the Old World and its denizens.
This spring the A to Z blogging challenge was brought to my attention. I could never ever in my imagination seeing myself contributing to posting one post every day, for a month. So I wrote it off.
Then Tim at Another Caffienated Day showed me how it's done! He stepped up to the plate, and delivered 26 blog posts, from A to Z, about WFRP.
A mighty deed, indeed. Impressive and invigorating. And absolutely worthy of a Best of the Fans mention!
But I have to beat an old drum of mine. Hearing from readers is one of the most fun parts of writing a blog, and if you drop by and read Tim's posts, drop him a "hello" and "well played, good chap" or what passses as a cheer in your part of the world.
For I would very much like him to continue blogging, even if it's not one post a day. So remember Another Caffienated Day when you think about what's the best among WFRP fans.
In my mind, Altdorf is a mad place, a cacaphony of bizarre antics of depraved individuals with warped motivations set against the backdrop of a world insane. And on top of that people are stupid and greedy. And there is no one better to capture that than Tom Waits. An acquired taste, I guarantee you, but to me nothing says WFRP in Altdorf in music more than the Cemetary Polka.
And now the lyrics, adapted to the Old World
Cemetary Polka, by Thomas Warten
Uncle Werner, uncle Werner, independent as a hog on ice
He's a big shot down there at the slaughterhouse
Plays accordion for old Herr Weiss
Uncle Berthold, uncle Wilhelm
Made a fortune selling halfling pies
But they're tightwads and they're cheapskates
And they'll never give a klank to us
Auntie Mame has gone insane
She lives in the doorway of an old hostel
And the guests are singing opera
All she ever says is "Go to hell!"
Uncle Violet sailed as a pilot
Never gave the pretty girls a glance
Now he runs a tiny little book shop
They say he never keeps it in his pants
Uncle Schill will never leave a will
And the tumor is as big as an egg
He has a mistress, she is Kislevitan
And I heard she has a wooden leg
Uncle Willi can't live without his pills
He is hard of hearing and he's almost blind
And we must find out where the money is
Get it now before he loses his mind
Uncle Werner, uncle Werner, independent as a hog on ice
