Quote from: baragei;1030497Regardless of whether you're waiting for 4e, get Zweihänder, splurge on 2e or hack Rifts, you go pick up a copy of 1e, in print or pdf, right now.

If the Old World as represented in the Total War game is appealing to him, he shouldn't get 1E.

Tenbones, take it from a fellow D.O.N.G. Black Belt:

Pick up the WFRP 1st Edition Book and read it.  DTRPG has a great pdf, not just a cheap scan of an old book.
While you're doing that, I'll dig up the name of the next book to read.  You'll want to check that out before you get into Bogenhafen.

Leave 2nd Edition for later.  It's a great game, but doesn't have the Garage Days Mad Alchemy of the 1st.

Quote from: CRKrueger;1030538Tenbones, take it from a fellow D.O.N.G. Black Belt:

Pick up the WFRP 1st Edition Book and read it.  DTRPG has a great pdf, not just a cheap scan of an old book.
While you're doing that, I'll dig up the name of the next book to read.  You'll want to check that out before you get into Bogenhafen.

Leave 2nd Edition for later.  It's a great game, but doesn't have the Garage Days Mad Alchemy of the 1st.

Taken under advisement. I've purchased 1e and 2e and I'm just going to do what you've said. I figure I can absorb the setting to my hearts content, and pick up all the other books as I go and absorb them and wait for 4e before I start tossing dice!

Thus far - it's been very revealing to me. I have this odd sense that there is DNA from 1e/2e that found some mechanical elements into D&D 3.x (which WotC fubarred. Specifically the Action mechanics. It looks like they tried to implement the WHFRP 2e action-mechanics in this odd half-ass way.  Double irony - it appears to be the same general mechanics in Fantasycraft which appears much closer to WHFRP, which work much better.)

Loving the setting. System looks fun too, and setting appropriate.

I'm not a super expert on WFRP, but I played a bunch of 2E, own a lot of that line, and looked at 1E and 3E. I think 2E is the obvious purchase here: the core book seems to be functionally a tidied up 1E that managed to keep the original vibe, and the support of the setting is spectacularly greater than the other editions. I most own a dozen or more really good supplements. Most people who post about this game seem to love the big campaign modules. I actually don't - I find them wordy and overly 'rail roady'. So, personally I just skip those completely and focus on the excellent books on nations and regions, spells, monsters, etc.

One thing about WFRP that has always chapped my ass is the way the game handles large, physically powerful creatures. Because it committed to a closed Strength scale, set with humans covering most of the range, a very large, physically powerful creature doesn't have a strength score much higher than a powerful human. And, because of the relationship between damage and strength score, they therefore don't do much more damage per successful blow. So, the game's 'solution' to this puzzle is to give large, physically powerful beings large numbers of attacks, such that their damage is effectively multiplied (sort of; each requires a to-hit roll, so it isn't really a damage multiplier). I find this to be one of the goofier, solution-looking-for-a-problem design elements I've run across in a second edition of a major game. If I were in charge of the 4th edition, I'd keep most of the structure of the game as 2E, but get rid of this nonsense.

Quote from: Larsdangly;1030572One thing about WFRP that has always chapped my ass is the way the game handles large, physically powerful creatures. Because it committed to a closed Strength scale, set with humans covering most of the range, a very large, physically powerful creature doesn't have a strength score much higher than a powerful human. And, because of the relationship between damage and strength score, they therefore don't do much more damage per successful blow. So, the game's 'solution' to this puzzle is to give large, physically powerful beings large numbers of attacks, such that their damage is effectively multiplied (sort of; each requires a to-hit roll, so it isn't really a damage multiplier). I find this to be one of the goofier, solution-looking-for-a-problem design elements I've run across in a second edition of a major game. If I were in charge of the 4th edition, I'd keep most of the structure of the game as 2E, but get rid of this nonsense.

Indeed. I think that they should have doubled the Warhammer Battle scale for monsters, at least for bigger creatures. A range of 1-20 would have given a lot more granularity. S5 T4 troll is scary in WFB, but humans can easily exceed those stats in WFRP. S10 T8 troll, however, would give you a run for your money.

WFRP is one of the best rpg's ever made! Buy the 1st or 2nd edition rulebook, both contain a very good introductory scenario. Personally i suggest 2nd for the better rules system and the excellent sourcebooks.

I run Zweihander and the best part is that it is Warhammer with the serial numbers filed off. That is not a bad thing. I can make my own timelines and calendars and there is no canon to consider, that is definitely not a minus.

I'm running The Enemy Within in a pub with Zweihander and it is a blast. Conversion is no problem and it is easy to bring in other concepts.

I understand WFRP has a major case of 'canon', but I never payed any attention to it. I always felt like it was more or less equivalent to the canon Traveller story line: someone else's story and not really relevant to much of anything that is going to happen at my table.

Quote from: bat;1030628I run Zweihander and the best part is that it is Warhammer with the serial numbers filed off. That is not a bad thing. I can make my own timelines and calendars and there is no canon to consider, that is definitely not a minus.

I'm running The Enemy Within in a pub with Zweihander and it is a blast. Conversion is no problem and it is easy to bring in other concepts.

How do you like it so far? I'm a hardcore WFRPG 1e fan, and thought about running it before the director’s cut announcement of the enemy within.

I am currently using it for a Witcher Campaign, and plan to blog it on Obsidian Portal. It is very easy to use it for non-Warhammer stuff. The entire game is practically begging  to be played beyond its source material.

Zweihander's greatest strength is that it's WFRP with the serial numbers covered with tape (not even filed off).
That is also Zweihander's greatest weakness.

Without being able to actually name names and use the WH setting, everything is close to WFRP, but not quite there flavorwise, which defeats one of the main purposes - using it for WFRP.

Because it is close to WFRP, but not quite, that leaves the specifics feeling somewhat vanilla and generic, which defeats the other main purpose - using it for Not WFRP.

I can't help but think the game would have been better with an actual setting that was Warhammeresque or "inspired by" rather than a nameless Warhammer-clone setting.  More like Shadows of the Demon Lord.

I try my best not to step on anyone's favorite edition or way to play, if it works for you and your group then that is the best game for you.

To me the advantage of Zweihander and the release from canon is that I'm avoiding the Star Wars/Lord of the Rings rpg effect, the players aren't stomping around in someone else's boots. The story is theirs. I also like Lord Dunsany and Glen Cook's Black Company series. I can port in themes from these authors seamlessly in Zweihander, I'm not changing anything, I'm bolting things on. And make no mistake, I have my WFRP1 books on hand too.

I appreciate the Zweihander rpg and its lack of canon works for me while still producing the Warhammer vibe, if you and your group prefer the official game and rules there is nothing wrong with that either. Just get people to play.

So what about 40k's RPG'S - Dark Heresy etc.

System similar to WHFRP?

Quote from: tenbones;1030784So what about 40k's RPG'S - Dark Heresy etc.

System similar to WHFRP?

They are built on a 2nd ed core but with classes added. Personally I am not a fan but they sold by the boat load.

The monster manuals type books tended to be reasonably comparable and I did end up using some in stuff from them in my WFRP games.

This rabbit-hole is starting to get deep.

Wait a minute... those rabbits look like rats....