Sell me on Warhammer Fantasy RPG

[Webhead]

Okay, I hear people with good things to say about WFRP. As an alternative fantasy RPG to D&D, make me believe! What makes WFRP so much fun and what distinguishes it from D&D? Why would it be a good (or bad) choice for someone who wants an RPG with a little less prep time, a little more free-form character customization and quicker-running combats than D&D? What does WFRP do well and what does it not do well?

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Got a couple of hours?

Seriously, i'll let someone else respond for my response may turn into a novella. My only suggestion is to pick up or borrow a core book and check it out.

I've been playing DnD for over 30 years and have great memories of said game. This being said, WFRP will always be my #1 choice for fantasy rpg.

Yes, i still play DnD regularly, but truth be told, DnD players i've talked into playing WFRP, have always wanted to stick with WFRP from then on.

[Webhead]

How do the majority of the rules systems work? Is it more or less complicated than D&D 3.5? How is magic handled differently? I ask because, honestly, I won't really have an opportunity to browse a copy of the book itself.

Let's start there.

[MuslixtheMighty]

WFRP is a percentile dice game. About 95% of all the dice rolling for both players and GM will be D100 with the every once in a while D10 roll. In the Warhammer universe, magic and spells are a double edged sword. To be able to wield such great power, you run the risk of having a spell blow up in your face or attract the attention of a darker being.

One of my favorite points of WFRP is the high level of mortality. Lets say a Human outlaw is fighting a orc. The fight might be going on the Outlaw's favor but then the orc rolls a crit and instantly, the Outlaw just lost his leg and the fight.

[MortonStromgal]

I'll bite on the magic system explanation...

Think of it as ORE

your skill is the max # of d10s you roll getting pairs, triples, etc is bad. The more dice you put in the bigger, badder, spell you can sling but the outcome can come back to nuke you with enough matches on a roll. There are a bunch of spells similar to D&D spell lists otherwise.

[Webhead]

What is the process of creating a character and how long does it generally take (if you know what you're doing)?

[gdmcbride]

What is the process of creating a character and how long does it generally take (if you know what you're doing)?

I one made up five characters for five complete novices at a one-shot that turned into a campaign. We had one copy of the rulebook. I am extremely familiar with the rules.

It took about twenty minutes. Character creation is incredibly simple in WFRP.

Gary

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

The game is very addicting. You play it, you *will* become addicted to it. There are two editions, with similarities, but with differences also. I love both editions and you can choose between one or the other or just mix the two. There is no difficulty in this at all. Like i said earlier, if ever you get a chance to peruse the core rules ina bookstore or of a friends, please do so. Game is great, dark, & gritty. Enjoy!

Did i mention that the amount of fan-based material on the internet is incredible?

[Webhead]

Next time I spot a copy at Half Price Books, I will have to browse. I am intrigued but am also both cheap and leery of investing in more game systems. I would be much happier shelling out $20 at Half Price than stomaching the $40 at full retail for the core book.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Well, you can get the book for cheap and find plenty of modules online. If you were to ever invest in another system, this is the one i'd recommend. But hey, i like 'em dark and gritty, not bubblegummy and superhero-ie.

[gdmcbride]

Warhammer is an extremely simple FRP that does one thing very well -- run a grim and gritty RPG set in Renaissance Germany (i.e. The Empire).

The dice mechanic is simple. Stats and skills are simple. Combat is both simple and very lethal. Warhammer very cleanly supports miniatures and battle maps without requiring them.

If what I am saying sounds appealing -- WFRP is your game.

Common complaints about the game:

1. Hey, my character just died! But it's just a bandit?!
Warhammer is unapologetically lethal. 2nd Edition adds fate points so you can avoid the worst mangling, but those are a very rare resource.

2. You have to randomly roll up stats? Where are the rules for point buy?!
Warhammer even in its most modern edition still uses random dice to determine characters. That is part of what makes character generation so quick.

3. I want to create my own career not just use these in the book!
You can, but the game gives you no advice or support. It does give you LOTS of careers to choose from (more than fifty basic careers in the main rulebook alone).

4. Magic is dangerous! Can't I just play a reliable mage?!
Magic is downright Faustian. It will make you crazy if you use it too much and you can also find yourself starting down the dark path to Chaos if you aren't careful.

So, that's Warhammer. Love it or hate it, I really recommend picking up at least the main rulebook if you consider yourself a serious student of fantasy RPGs. If nothing else it will show you a very different and very mature take on fantasy roleplaying.

Gary

[Webhead]

Well, you can get the book for cheap and find plenty of modules online. If you were to ever invest in another system, this is the one i'd recommend. But hey, i like 'em dark and gritty, not bubblegummy and superhero-ie.

I like both approaches for different games and different reasons...except for the bubblegum...no, you can keep that. It's about making the style fit the theme. I like everything from Lovecraftian Call of Cthulhu to Justice League-esque superheroics. Cthulhu should be dark and gritty, but not superheroes IMHO.

I could play fantasy campaigns both ways as well, depending on exactly the kind of stories I'm wanting to tell. If I'm in the mood to play a "darker" kind of fantasy, Warhammer sounds good for the "grim and perilous" end of the scale. Then there's the other, more epic, over-the-top end that also has its own appeal to me but for which I could pursue other systems (I have been trying to run Battle Chasers since 1998, haven't found the right system for it yet).

So yeah, WFRP sounds like it could be of value to me as a substitute for D&D. I will check it out at the next opportunity.

[Webhead]

Thank you for your input, gdmcbride. It is helpful.

...Warhammer very cleanly supports miniatures and battle maps without requiring them...

So, if one were to run a combat in WFRP and not use precise, tactical combat movement, would that hamper a significant part of the game or greatly hamstring certain character abilities the way it does in D&D 3e?

In 3e, removing the 5' grid affects a slew of feats, AoOs and other abilities, effectively rendering them moot and thus being unfair to characters who take them. Is such the case in WFRP as well?

[MortonStromgal]

I love WFRP (one of my top 5 rpgs of all time)

The one downside I find is "multi-classing" (i don't know what to call it) is very strange. When you max out your class its time to take a new one but you have to acquire the equipment of the new class before you can take it.

Also the XP rules are silly because you give outs 100s of XP but to raise skills and such cost 100s so you could have just made it 1 xp in a session with regular type costs. The extra 0s are silly.


The bonuses are...
The world rocks! The magic system is awesome (in that great power comes at great cost). The game is just the right amount of deadly IMHO, you get 10 or so hit points and as long as you can avoid taking damage your fine, when it hits 0 your still fine but now you must roll on the dreaded crit chart everytime someone hits you (which could be anything from a scratch to instant death). So you can still rush out and be heroic if you dive for cover once your out of HP. The game plays fast, % mean no bell curve though and character creation is reasonably fast (not nWOD mortals, but few games are that fast).

[edit] IMHO WFRP is the best system for new players and GMs. Everything you need is in the core book and its pretty well written and laid out with a 1/2 decent adventure in the back.

[MuslixtheMighty]

What is the process of creating a character and how long does it generally take (if you know what you're doing)?

There is three ways to make characters. You can roll everything at random (the quickest, 5 to 10 mins) to picking out everything yourself (the longest, 20 to 25 mins) or any variation inbetween.

My brother and I were messing around and we made characters completely random, leaving everything to the dice. He basiclly got a rain man elf outlaw who could swing a sword beat then anyone and I had a human squire who could talk his way out of anything.