WFRP: Second edition offered as POD

This morning I woke up to a news post at RPGnews.com that declared that WFRPv2 is offered as a POD option at Drivethrurpg.com.

Crazy news. Pretty crazy prices as well, but I'm sorely tempted to buy a core rulebook just to check the quality.

 /Magnus

WFRP: The Enemy Within returns

Today FFG dropped a bomb of epic proportion! This was unexpected.

Mr. Davis did drop a hint about this a long while ago, but I didn't think he was working on something of this magnitude!

More as it develops!

/Magnus

WFRP: Signs of Faith is in the shelf

Yesterday I picked up Signs of Faith. It looks great, as do all FFG:s WFRP boxes, and I've started browsing it. The first thing that jumped at me was the mention of several places and people in Altdorf, so I'd better get cracking on updating the map.

The piecemeal approach of WFRPv3 have drawn its share of criticism, and initially I also found it frustrating that the information published was so scant. But after looking through Signs of Faith, I realise that this is actually something I could have the time to digest, as opposed to thick books with dense text. So there might be an advantage to this format that I have previously overlooked: it fits better with the time I have to read RPG material these days.

The lack of nice and cool maps is still a problem with all official WFRP stuff, though.

/Magnus

WFRP: Graeme Davis is back with WFRP

Just a short note to ... erm ... note that the author for the upcoming WFRP adventure The Edge of Night is none other than Graeme Davis! 

Read more about it here!

It will be very interesting to see what he will make out of the current WFRP rules and setting, and I have high hopes that it will harken back to the early WFRP pieces penned by the esteemed mr Davis.

/Magnus

WFRP: A Small But Vicious App - iPhone app for WFRPv3 released

In a surprise announcement a couple of days ago Fantasy Flight Games released an iPhone app for WFRPv3. More info can be found here.

It's only a couple of dollars, and I'm downloading it as I write this. I'll be back with a review shortly.

/Magnus

WFRP: The Gathering Storm review at RPG.net

Recently I laid my hands on The Gathering Storm for WFRPv3. It looks fabulous, but I haven't had the time to look at it thoroughly yet. Some chap at RPG.net has written an interesting review, though.

Read the review here!

/Magnus

WFRP: The Winds of Magic

As I'm getting up to speed with what's happening in the WFRP sphere, I noticed that FFG has announced the supplement on magic for WFRPv3.

Read a little bit more about it here.

Sounds cool and all, but the info is still a bit sparse. I'm a bit curious as to how they're going to cram everything hinted at into one of those slim books they use for the rules. The other components will be top notch of course, and it will all look fabulous.

A certainly seems as if FFG has adopted an agressive release schedule, now that they've gotten WFRPv3 on track. We have the core rules, the game master toolkit, the adventurer's tookit, a campaign and extra dice. Quite an achievement, I say.

/Magnus

WFRP: A counterpoint review of WFRPv3 at RPG.net

Idle trawling of the web for information and reactions to the latest offering of WFRP from FFG turned up a few reviews. This one is a counterpoint to the largely positive review I posted yesterday.

Dan DeFazio's capsule review of WFRPv3.

I feel that this review is not as well thought out as the previous one, and when it comes to looking at the setting the reviewer compares WFRPv3 to WFRPv1 as if WFRPv2 didn't exist, instead of noting that v3 actually is a step back from the heavier WFB influences that informed the design of v2.

Still, it is an honest review, and the reviewer clearly states that he prefers WFRPv1, and for that no one can fault him.

/Magnus

WFRP: A comprehensive review of WFRPv3 at RPG.net

Yesterday I stumbled upon a very comprehensive review of WFRPv3. The review is particularly interesting since the reviewer preferred WRFPv1 over WRFPv2, due to the sparsity of setting info in the latter. I highly recommend reading it.

E. Long's review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3.

Here is the same reviewer with his comparison of WFRPv1 and WFRPv2.

/Magnus

FAL News: Deathwatch RPG announced

In a surprise move FFG yesterday announced the Deathwatch RPG, the third installment of the WH40kRP line.

Read more about it here!

The reason I am surprised is that the timing seems odd. I was expecting it a bit later, after Rogue Trade picked up steam and got a few more supplements added to the lineup. But maybe this was needed after those pictures from GW revealed a bit more than they should last week.

Still, I think it is tremendously exciting, and I'm hoping that I can find some energy to run a Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch crossover some time next summer. Given I get some interest from my players for such a setup of course.

/Magnus

FAL News: WFRP Game Master's Toolkit announced

Well, it was only a question of how long we'd have to wait. Just recently FFG announced the future release of the Game Master's Toolkit for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Read more about it!

A GM screen and gobs of new cards are to be expected. No new careers though as far as I read it, which is boring. There's a preview coming in a week or so.

/Magnus

WFRP: Unboxing WFRPv3

I got the box home a few days ago, but haven't had the time to look more closely at it nor its contents. I did an unboxing with photos, but I guess most of you have already seen other pictures of the game. Still, this might give you some more insights into the package and the components included.

The box is big and thick and a bit intimidating:


There's an external slip cover with a "lid" that opens up to reveal more details about what's inside. The lid is help shut by two pieces of velcro:


A shot of the box from the side, the lid open. I'm not sure what I think of the logo. A bit too metallic for my taste:


First edition, second edition and third edition:


The covers of all three editions in plain view. They are all good in their own ways, but I'm a bit sad that third edition didn't do the spiky hair dwarf motive as well:


The slip cover. As you can see, the box itself is wrapped in protective plastic. Which is good, because the slip cover was scuffed and somewhat defaced:


Top lid of the box removed and placed to the side. First thing I noticed was a catalog for FFG's other games:


The four rulebooks and two plastic bags of cards and counters. You also see the cards in different stacks:


Another view of the cards and a glimpse of the extra ten-sided dice. You might notice that everything is resting on some card stock that's inside the box:


The card stock has now been removed, for your viewing pleasure:


Under the compartments of the card stock I found the character sheets, more cards, dice, plastic stands and the three player boxes:


Here are the three player boxes folded and "assembled". The dice are standard size six-sided, shown for scale:


Here you see the box placed in my bookshelf (showing roughly 10% of my gaming collection). It looks really out of place there, so I might rearrange the whole thing, especially when more boxes are aquired:


Well, that's my first unboxing!

/Magnus

WFRP: First impressions

So I went to my FLGS today. They know me there, so all I had to say was "you've got something for me". The reply was "a big box?". Sure thing, WFRPv3 comes in a big box. It feels massive, it is massive. If this had been released way back when, I would have been totally floored by it. I really like the package.

Unboxing it (pictures to come) revealed a box half packed with stuff. Some padding, but after trying to put it all back, the box was crammed. Well, that's life. The pieces and rulebooks and everything looks really neat. Really, really neat. They've avoided some typographical errors that plagued the BI releases, which is nice. They are reusing a lot of art which is ok in my book, but a bit disappointing.

Initial impression is that it looks cool, that it heaves closer to WFB imagery than earlier editions but that it tries to appease the WFRP fans of yore by introducing some familiar themes. One peculiar thing I haven't seen mentioned is that they stuck in a bag of extra ten-sided dice, since they deemed that the original dice didn't measure up quality-wise. A bit odd, and I'm not sure what to think of it. Nice that they put in the extra dice, a bummer that the original set didn't hold up ... it's one of those things that won't bother the fans, but will be forever used as fodder against WFRPv3 by the most vocal of critics.

Ok, that's the initial impressions. I'll post pictures later.

/Magnus

WFRP: WFRPv3 has arrived!

So WFRPv3 has arrived. At my FLGS at least. Got an email notice just now and I can pick it up tomorrow, if my work schedule allows it. After that I will start posting my impressions, probably in a series of posts, with plenty of pictures. It'll take some time, but I want to give it a fair shake before burning it at the stake ... erm ... extolling its virtues ... or something inbetween, most probably.

Interesting times.

/Magnus

FAL General: Whither WFRP?

As the winter is approaching, and my working hours are loosing their cloying grip of me, I begin to ponder the future of WFRP once again. The most interesting and terrifying event is of course the release of third edition WFRP. But in its shadow there are many other developments, both alarming and comforting.

Alarming, although no longer news, is of course the closure of Warpstone magazine. John Foody has done a remarkable job at the helm of a publication that I rank as one of the best efforts in the history of roleplaying games. If there were a WFRP Hall of Fame, John Foody should be inducted, only shortly after Graeme Davis, Jim Bambra, Phil Gallagher and James Wallis.

Although John has denied it, I will play the unusual role of conspiracy herald; Warpstone closes at issue 30. The last issue will be published after Fantasy Flight Games published edition 3 of WFRP. Coincidence? John says so, and who am I to contradict a future WFRP Hall of Fame inductee?

After Warpstone, the shining star of fan publications have been Liber Fanatica. I'm not sure what that gang is up to, but I've got some e-mails to send out to find out. Stay tuned! I'm sure they have some splendid news, or maybe apocalyptic tidings, to dole out. All in all it should be interesting.

And the latest news regarding the frolics of the Games Workshop legal department don't bode well for fan sites and said fans' relations with and attitude towards GW and by extension FFG. Grim news of the potential closure of the Dark Reign web site reached me last week, but those fans are rallying and complying with the "Cease and Desist" letter sent from GW legal. I can't be alone in thinking that GW have picked up too much inspiration from their admittedly splendid Judge Dredd RPG from 1985. Maybe a new motto would be pertinent:

"Games Workshop. We are the law!"

Truth be told, I'm not too worried about that. Apparently GW are going after sites that use their own texts and images, and if for example I myself do refrain from cribbing from GW I should be ok. We'll see ... until a C&D explodes in my mailbox, The Altdorf Correspondent is here to stay ... albeit intermittently, I must admit.

Well, you might be thinking about what on Earth I find comforting with the current situation for WFRP.

Well, one comforting thing that has happened is that fans of WFRPv1 and WFRPv2 have now found more common ground than ever before. What seemed like gargantuan issues of rules incompatibilities only a year ago, now seems like trifles that a smattering of house rules will set right, at least when compared to the new enemy: WFRPv3.

And even WFRPv3 makes concessions to the demands of the fan base: apparently the campaign date is set before the Storm of Chaos. Which would have pleased a lot of WFRP players if that had been the case for WFRPv2 as well. I'm happy about it, although to be frank I mostly ignored the SoC in my own writings and my own campaign. I even figured that it could be used creatively and in the spirit of WFRP, something a few fans were adamant in telling me I was wrong about. Well, it seems GW and FFG thought the same thing (that I was wrong) and now WFRP is pre-SoC. Whether SoC ever happened ... or "happens", actually ... is still up for discussion.

"Games Workshop. Retconning For The Greater Good!"

Yeah, well it does pose a little dilemma for me, since my writings so far have factored in SoC ... ah, what the hell. I'll just roll back the whole thing and go with the current timeline. It's not like angry fans of SoC in WFRP are going to storm my front door demanding I stay with the WFRPv2 timeline.

And finally, one comforting thing is the fact that WFRPv3 finally comes out. And it's in a box, which I've been clamouring for for ages and ages. RPG's came in boxes when I was a lad, so that's clearly the best way to publish an RPG! If WFRPv1 had been packaged in a box, I would have loved it even more ... if such a thing is possible.

/Magnus

FAL: New WFRP revealed

Getting home from the pub I saw that RebelDave posted that the new WFRP has been announced. This is the link:

WFRPv3 press release

I am drunk, so I can't make a coherent statement as of yet, so I'll get back to this piece of news tomorrow!

Although I must say that this piece of marketing speak is awful:

Stances provide characters a unique venue to reference their approach

Seriously, what the fuck? But it seems cool, so I'll keep an open mind.

/Magnus

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: 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

WFRP General: Is there a place for dungeon crawls in WFRP?

One thing that many of the most outspoken hardcore WFRP fans have in common is a disdain for the classic dungeon crawl, as popularised by the world's most played role-playing game; Dungeons & Dragons. I came to think about this the other day when I was preparing for Tuesday game night, where I'm going to run something called Dungeon Delve for the current edition of D&D. I was also reading some old posts from the FFG forums, and one of them concerned the dungeon crawl as a viable adventure experience for WFRP. Or rather, the non viability of the dungeon crawl in the game.

My stance on topic in relation to WFRP is this:

People should not apply a straight jacket to their creativity. I enjoy playing D&D, and have seen a lot of top notch dungeon crawl products, both from WotC and from third parties using the d20 system. A dungeon crawl is merely a format for an adventure. What an author puts into the crawl determines the quality of the product. The format itself is no guarantee for lack of quality, or the opposite. So it is possible to do a good dungeon crawl, even in WFRP, and for it to have the right tone and content.

But then again, we run dungeon crawls using D&D, not WFRP. Why's that? I hear you ask. If a dungeon crawl is a viable adventure format for WFRP, why not play dungeon crawls in WFRP? I guess it's down to playing to each game's strengths. D&D is best at dungeons crawls, WFRP is best at ... whatever it is I'm doing with it. Right now it seems to be some sort of social intrigue and backstabbing spy novel kinda thing going on.

But I maintain the notion that there is a place for a dungeon crawl in WFRP, even in a city like Altdorf. Or rather, particularly in a city like Altdorf. If the tone is right, if the proper design takes into account the good parts of WFRP, if the NPCs are good, and if the motivation for the expedition and the dungeon itself are good and proper, there is no reason why a dungeon crawl couldn't work.

Sure, write a standard dungeon crawl and it will be horrid for WFRP. But then again, a boring crawl is a boring crawl, be it D&D or WFRP. My benchmark for crawls that I can't work with at all is Tomb of Horrors, an adventure deemed to be one of the best ever by lots of people. I hate it.

And if we look at the adventures available for any edition of WFRP, we find quite a lot of dungeon crawls, good and bad. These are conveniently overlooked and forgotten when talking about the marvelous The Enemy Within campaign (sans Something Rotten in Kislev and Empire in Flames, usually). We also find a strong D&D influences in many adventures, mostly in the Doomstones series (it being an AD&D compatible adventure with the serial numbers filed off from the start), but also the maligned Castle Drachenfels. Not the proudest moments in the history of WFRP, in my opinion.

But the two adventures that have taken the most flack online are of course two WFRPv2 entries; Karak Azgal and Lure of the Lich Lord. Not because they are any worse than the Doomstones series or Castle Drachenfels, but mostly because they defy the common conception of WFRP as a game focused heavily on social interaction, a conception which conveniently leaves out earlier v1 forays into the dungeon.

So WFRP2 is just following in the footsteps of WFRPv1 in the quest of finding out what is good for WFRP; both as a commercial venture and as a game with a distinct personality and compelling adventures. I believe the game is better served with a mix of adventures, or rather a mix of different formats in the adventures, like in the seminal Shadows over Bogenhafen, one of the best adventures for any role-playing game and genre. And there was a dungeon crawl in there.

As Shadows over Bogenhafen shows us, good design is good design, and I think that it would be very possible to create a Ravenloft for WFRP; a dungeon crawl so good it transcends the format, and becomes something even greater. Come to think of it, WFRP is ideally suited to create the most challenging dungeon crawl the world has ever seen. But the question is, who would want to create it, when even the thought of dungeons in WFRP send shivers down quite a few of the fans?

Who would be brave enough to go all out and deliver the ultimate WFRP dungeon crawl? And more importantly, what should such an adventure look like?

/Magnus

FAL General: Shades of Empire aquired

Just a short note to say that I have aquired Shades of Empire, the latest official WFRP book, released by Fantasy Flight Games. I've had a quick look through it, read a few chapters and looked for Altdorf locations. And there's a lot of new places mentioned in the book that will need to go onto my iAltdorf map.

I love the format, to me this actually feels more like a second WFRP Companion for WFRPv2 than anything else. And as you know I love the companion format.

It's great to finally have a new official WFRP book in my hands, after a long wait. It was a little bit over a year ago that Black Industries was closed down, and I hope that FFG picks up the pace of publishing after this first entry. I'll get back with a review in due time!

/Magnus