FAL News: Tales of a Rat-Catcher? Is this signs of WFRPv3?

Clicking around on the FFG site checking for clues to what the hell is going on with WFRP, I stumbled upon something called A Ratcatcher's Tale.

A Ratcatcher's Tale

Color me confused as I delve deeper into this mystery product. It's evidently set in Altdorf, which could be cool, or frustrating, depending on if the designers deigned to use my map as part of their research. If they didn't, well then I'll just have to see what they've done and adjust to that.

EDIT: found the forum and a PDF flier of the Daily Altdorfer giving more background. If this is something akin to Space Hulk, I'll be pleased as punch. Although I get apprehensive to read a lot about Altdorf ...

Forums for A Ratcatcher's Tale.

/Magnus

WFRP: Xinjiapor

On the docks of Altdorf, a visitor will hear many strange songs sung by the sailors scrubbing the decks of ships and boats. Listening to these whimsical tales takes you on a journey over the world, and hints of exotic and dangerous locales. No wonder the docks are filled with young boys and girls listening with fascination to verses painting a grim picture of a world they might hope to see themselves, if nowhere else than in their dreams.

One such song is called Xinjiapor, which might or might not be the name of a real harbour close to Cathay. There are many other things mentioned in this song that are mysterious, and I hope to delve deeper into many of the things mentioned here to decipher their meaning.

We sail tonight for Xinjiapor
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny whore
Took off to the land of blood
Drank with all the Cathay men
Walked the sewers of L'Anguille
I danced along a colored wind
Dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me

We sail tonight for Xinjiapor
Don't fall asleep while you're ashore
Cross your heart and hope to die
When you hear the children cry.
Let marrow bone and cleaver choose
While making feet for children's shoes
Through the alley
Back from Hell
When you hear that steeple bell
You must say goodbye to me.

Wipe him down with kerosene
Till his arms are hard and mean,
From now on boy this iron boat's your home
So heave away boys.

We sail tonight for Xinjiapor
Take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door
The whole town is made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam
They all become Tilean dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth
Get yourself a guilder's worth
Away boys, away, boys, heave away

The captain is a one-armed dwarf
He's throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King
So take this ring

We sail tonight for Xinjiapor
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny whore
Took off to the land of blood
Drank with all the Cathay men
Walked the sewers of L'Anguille
I danced along a colored wind
Dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me

Adolphus Altdorfer
Konistag, Nachgeheim 17, 2524 IC

This song is originally called Singapore, and is sung by Tom Waits on his album Rain Dogs. Do get it, it's wonderfully atmospherical. The music of Tom Waits is very WFRP in feel to me, sometimes silly, whimsical and dark as pitch.

I regret that I didn't manage to find a WFRP equvivalent of "hell", so I left that in there. Any suggestions are welcome! It should rhyme with "bell".

/Magnus

WFRP: Speaking out of turn a.k.a. WFRP 3 confirmed?

Well, I'm not fond of rumours. In fact, I thought that the the rumours of the impending release of WFRPv3 were a load of hogwash, especially now that FFG has started releasing the WFRPv2 books in PDF format. I was planning a post where I made the case that WFRPv2 was going strong ... well, at least not dying, based on the PDF release news.

But then this little mortar bounced into my vicintity:

Blog entry revealing playtest of WFRPv3.

The important bit is the following:

A coupe (sic) of weeks ago, our regular roleplaying group was privileged enough to playtest 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Normally, that wouldn't fly with me, but Graham McNeill is a writer for the Black Library, so it makes the source more legit than what is normally the case in these situations. And mr. McNeill will probably get a rather sharply worded e-mail from FFG. Jeez man, that's one way to spill the beans, I guess.

Read the entry. I am not happy with what I'm reading, but I will reserve judgment until I hear more detail from the horse's mouth. It could be that the game described could be just what WFRP needs to break into the mainstream. My adoption will depend largely on if this hypothetical game is compatible with WFRPv2 or not ...

Nah, who am I kidding? If it's got "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay" on it, I'll play it.

/Magnus