WFRP on the forums

[Balgin Stondraeg]

For the last month or so I've really been itching to play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay again. I'm not sure how it would work on the forums 'though. It's not that it's more dice heavy than other roleplaying systems but that the results of the rolls are slightly more important. I'm also not sure how we'd represent character sheets on the boards either so people could easily tell base stats, advance scheme and current/final stats apart without confusion. It might be a good idea to look for a WFRP character sheet pdf (or something) that lets you write on it (because everyone knows you can't edit pdf's). You know, one of those spreadsheet things.

[Hawkins]

sounds cool, im in if you want me.

[Custom_Hobby]

You can edit PDF's. I uploaded an example of a D&D character sheet PDF that you can edit and save below.

If dice rolls are important and you want to maintain the integrity of them you can always use invisiblecastle.com. They save the rolls in the database so you can verify them and they even provide you with the link to post it directly into forum threads.

[Balgin Stondraeg]

I can't edit pdf's. I've tried. You select text and can't copy it or anything and there's no "start putting writing in here" button in the adobe thing :(. It's evil. Anyway, as far as dice rolls are concerned I'm not too bothered about integrity if it's cutting into the fun. It's just that WFRP's all d100's and d6's (or d10's) and on those d100 rolls every number means something. The only time I'd need to know exact numbers would be attack rolls (because the attack roll and hit location are cunningly combined in the same dice roll to save time :)). As long as your weaponskill/ballistic skill is higher than 09 you can hit every body location (since you reverse the digits of the attack roll to find the hit location).

The great thing about WFRP is that it's almost the original d20 system (it's not level based but it's got the same "use the same rule for everything" simplicity to it so it's really easy to pick up). I could practicaly run it for guys who don't know the rules (but might need a quick reminder reading session beforehand). If the players know the rules then that's a major bonus.

[Keeper]

I could be interested in joining in, Balgin.  I've only ever played the first edition, though, not the Black Library one - would that be a problem?

You're already stiring fond memories of sinking river barges and building what we called a Dwarven Land Punt :D

[Balgin Stondraeg]

I could be interested in joining in, Balgin.  I've only ever played the first edition, though, not the Black Library one - would that be a problem?

The only difference is this: they separated the skills into skills & traits (so all the +10 to do a skill check skills are still skills, all the others (like darkvision, very tough, very strong etc) are now traits). Profiles advance in 5's instead of 10's but you get about twice as much xp (so basicaly stat advances are the same price, skills are cheaper to come by).

They also use the ghastly Warhammer "power dice" spellcasting system instead of the lovely power points system they used to have.

Oh and they use a d10 for damage instead of a d6! People really get hurt a lot faster but they put in a "combat actions" system that's blatantly lifted from d20 but improved and simplified a bit. It does mean that exeption damage happens less often (1 in 10 instead of 1 in 6).

They also "re balanced" the classes since beggars didn't get as many stat advances as nobles. They also got rid of all the fun classes (beggars, gamekeepers, rustlers etc) but sort of put some of them back in in secondary books you could buy (if you could find and afford them).

They fixed the problem of elves starting with human BS and they've done something interesting with fate points. Every day you get a number of fortune points equal to your fate points. Fortune points can be spent to buy rerolls (and some other little things like that). If you ever use fate points then your daily fortune point allowance diminishes equaly.

I can't think of any other major changes right now.

It would definitely have to wait 'till Deathtrap Dungeon finishes 'though (and possibly 'till Dark Awakenings finishes too, you're easily over halfway through Guardian so there's Shadowland to follow after that :)).

[Keeper]

OK.  Sounds fine.  I might try and source myself a copy, then :) If I can find one anywhere :D

[Balgin Stondraeg]

Oh the core rules are a doddle to get hold of. It's just all the supplementary stuff (like regional sourcebooks and character sheets) that are hard to find right now. See my wishlist thread for details of the ones I haven't got yet (and yes, I did go on a big buying binge when the Black Library announcement went out and bought up a veritable mountain of books).

I'm not entirely sure I like the way the american guys writing the 2nd ed stuyff kept putting characters into WFRp (like Jacobb Bauer the witch hunter who's just experienced the worst twenty four hours of his life or Bela Dusterman the rather vampiric looking noble). I mean who is Bela Lugosi anyway? He's nothing, nobody. Everyone knows all the Dracula films star Christopher Lee (unless you're american in which case you might've never heard of him before he got to play Saruman, just like we never heard of Bela Lugosi and only saw his name mentioned a lot in the "reference section of books and films" in the back of a load of old Ravenloft books). Admitedly 1st edition had Frank Bruno in it (Bruno Franke, the judicial champion who got murdered in Rough Night at the Three Feathers) but that was about it as far as blatant modern popular culture went. Most of the other references were more subtle. Oh yeah, they made the hobbits sell Rumsters Pies in 2nd ed too (blatantly Ginsters).

[PaulH]

Hi

I'm up for any games going.  Have played 2nd Ed short time ago.  Still got my char sheet. (The GM even listed in core book as playtester).

Cheers
Paul H

[Custom_Hobby]

Are there rules in question posted online anywhere?

[Hawkins]

 :yeahthat:, like keeper i havent played since the original. Balgin, what character types will you be allowing?


*starts to giggle thinking about playing a troll slayer.....*

[Balgin Stondraeg]

Are there rules in question posted online anywhere?

I'm afraid I really don't know :(. Here's a link to a 2nd ed character sheet (with lots of the missing bits like character background that used to be on the 1st ed one reincorporated).

Don't be scared, it's a lot simpler than it looks.

Yeah, I'm annoyed that the authors of the new edition couldn't work out the difference between Leadership (bossy) and Fellowship (friendly) and decided to merge them into one :(.

Balgin, what character types will you be allowing?

No demons, no chaos warriors, no monsters. That's pretty much it really :p. When players take carreer changes I tend to try to work it into the game (so a thief who becomes an outlaw either gets arrested and outlawed, arrested and escapes on the way to trial, hence becoming an outlaw, is dobbed in to the authorities and outlawed without even being arrested and so on).

So when I notice people looking at new carreers I'll open up story opportunities for carreers in their carreer exits box (to keep everything flowing naturaly).

Since I have the old Realms of Chaos books (that is, I've got the Khorne & Slanesh one and then I've got all the rules parts of the Nurgle & Tzeentch one that appeared in White Dwarf, so I've probably got all the non duplicate stuff). So in other words, I could really do chaos mutants if I wanted to with the d1000 mutations table! (Yes, that's a d one thousand table).

I won't let players start as mutants. They'll get enough mutataions if they hang around tainted places adventuring anyway without starting with any extra trouble.

No Dark Elves. Elves are a playable race but dark elves need extra gming attention since they don't easily fit into the old world social model. Then again, it's not as if they all have black skin, white hair and red eyes and sneak around shooting people with little darts covered in sleeping poison or something like that. One of the old WFRP adventures from White Dwarf features a dark elf spy (who's disguised as a wood elf). This was before wood elves became angry punks.

So basicaly any normal playable stuff. I've got the sourcebooks on the Empire, Kislev, Brettonia and even The Border Princes. Please don't make me read that last one, it's so disorganised compared to the others (that was a joke about the politicaly fractious state the border provinces are in :p).

Trollslayer's still a dead end carreer although in 2nd edition all the slayer carreers have an extra carreer exit: Glorious Death.

[Custom_Hobby]

What classes are there Balgin?

[Balgin Stondraeg]

What classes are there Balgin?

Well..... There used to be 128 skills in 1st ed and there's about teh same number in 2nd. WFRP doesn't have classes. Instead it has Carreers (jobs). A character begins play with a random carreer (what their parents brought them up to do, or what they have a natural affinity for, etc). From then on characters can change carreers. So a tomb robber might become a grave robber (and vice versa). Most criminal types can become outlaws.

Each carreer has carreer exits, it's like a huge spiderweb of deceit based on a renaissance cultural model. So there are gamekeepers, road wardens, coach drivers, servants, students, peddlars, craftsmen, actors, musicians, footpads, jugglers, acrobats, wizard's apprentice's, Norse berserkers, Estalian Diestro's, assassins, judicial champions, siege engineers, why, there's a vast panoply, a cornucopia of ways of living if you will (such as agitators, raconteurs, the list goes on).

There are no levels. Characters gain experience points with which to learn new skills or increase their ability scores. Which abilities can be increased (and by how much) is dictated by the character's current carreer. A warrior is more likely to be capable of increasing weaponskill than a librarian. All skill checks are just stat rolls (using the stat the skill's based on with a modifier for actualy having the skill). Similarly each carreer makes certain skills available for learning (starting characters know all the skills of their first carreer already). Characters can learn skills not currently on their carreer list for double cost.

Each carreer has a list of reasonable carreer exits, they may change to another carreer but, again, that costs double since it's not a logical/readily available progression.

WFRP characters can easily become a bit of a Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, so to speak, living wildly varied lives :). It's a very open and fluid system that works a lot better than you'd think without a rigid class and level structure.

There used to be a little "how to play WFRP" booklet that they gave out at Games Day one year or two. I might still have it somewhere. Meanwhile here's a quick FAQ (only usefuly if you know the rules really). There's also an errata file there I might want to look at 'though so the link's useful.

Here's a wikiwikiwikiwiki thing you might find helpful.

[PaulH]

Hi

Bagsy the Mercenary or Kislevite Kossar (assuming my stat rolls are good enough).

Cheers
Paul H