Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: A Grim World of Perilous Adventure
by Green Ronin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Green RoninEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-29
ISBN: 1844162206
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Black Industries
Book Reviews of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: A Grim World of Perilous Adventure
Book Review: Just a quick overview:
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen a lot of fantasy games, and a whole heck of a lot of RPGs in general. Probably over a hundred. And this is the best fantasy game I've ever seen (and easily the best I've ever played).
It supports political intrigue, mystery, horror, adventure, even black comedy, all with a strictly defined setting. It does not do "epic" fantasy, a la Lord of the Rings, but all it's tropes still apply. People used to more epic fantasy should definately not try to take metagame logic from that system to WFRP (if, say, a band of goblins that outnumbers the party approaches, it's alright to outright attack them in most fantasy games. Better to negotiate or hide in WFRP, as combat is quite debilitating).
The combat system is detailed enough to give the tactics one wishes for, but also light enough that one doesn't fall asleep waiting for his/her turn. Even better, the incentive to dodge combat all together, as it tends to be quite deadly. WFRP doesn't have the reputation of "Call of Cthulu: The Dark Ages" for nothing, though this title is a bit misleading.
In Warhammer, it's good to keep in mind that even the weakest peasant with a rusty dagger can still kill the mightiest hero in the land in one stab (it's possible, just highly improbable)
The magic system is corruptive and elegant. There is a price to pay for the powers one wields in the game. The magic system is not of the "Fire and Forget" variety (see D&D).
All the standard fantasy monsters are present, from Orcs to Dragons, some with very similar intentions, some with a twist. I highly recommend getting the Old World Bestiary with this product, should you buy it, as the bestiary in the core is serviceable but not very wide in scope (Mostly orcs, mutants, and undead)
There are a few flaws with the game, mostly due to this reviewer's pickiness. I have an all-or-nothing policy when it comes to randomness in character creation. This game has the vast majority of character creation as random roll (stats, careers, etc), but still allows the player to pick a very important aspect: Race.
Looking at the races, it is obvious that there is a succession of power, where Halflings/Humans are at the low end, and Elves/Dwarves are at the high end. For this reason, the first game of WFRP I ever played involved only Elves as characters. It wasn't even fully intentional, I'm sure, but everyone's powergaming roots were showing. So I decided to make Race random roll, placing the odds heavily in favor of everyone playing Human (around 60% chance), and my next, more mixed party made more sense.
That's another quick perception one must make, while balance (game balance that is) really doesn't have a place in Warhammer (where one character can be a Noble and another a Peasant), nor does powergaming.
After this, and utilizing all the random roll options in the book, WFRP chargen (character generation) was fun to my players. Chargen usually isn't fun, most veteren RPGers can tell you, but WFRP is. I still catch myself rolling up a character now and again in my spare time, just to see what I'll get.
It also seems much easier to GM/write up NPCs than other fantasy RPGs. I find ideas flow to me pretty quickly once I "got" the setting.
Overall, if you're unhappy with other fantasy games and want to try something grittier, or just want to try something new, I'd recommend WFRP. Until I played WFRP, I was completely burned out on fantasy roleplaying.
If you don't like WFRP after playing it, you are more likely an epic fantasy lover, at which time I'd recommend either DnD, Everquest, or World of Warcraft (either the RPGs or the MMOGs). If you find you like the character's roles to be "larger than life" heroes, I wouldn't recommend WFRP. In WFRP, a character starts as Joe Average with a tattered cloak (perhaps even Joe Belowaverage). He or she builds the role of "Hero" from scratch. It's a hard journey, one that most character's won't finish. If this concept doesn't appeal to you, I wouldn't recommend getting WFRP.
Summary of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: A Grim World of Perilous Adventure
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP or WHFRP) is a roleplaying system created by Games Workshop. It is set in the Old World, which bears some resemblance to late medieval / renaissance Europe. The world is threatened by the forces of Chaos. The major power in the Old World is the Empire, in which most of the adventures are located. The Empire itself is a country full of intrigue, conspiracies, and dark plots. This is the core set of rules that everyone needs in order to play the RPG.BL Publishing is the publishing wing of the world famous Games Workshop group of companies. As well as its new Black Industries imprint, the division is also home to the Black Library, which has been producing best-selling and award-winning novels, comics and artbooks set in the worlds of Warhammer since 1997. It also includes the Black Flame fiction imprint for non-Warhammer titles, and Warhammer Historical Wargames.
Warhammer Fantasy Battle was originally published in 1986 and subsequently licensed to Hogshead Publishing. This is the second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.
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