I think what would make the most sense would be a 2-player expansion pack, with nothing more than the necessary extra sets of basic action cards (and common Improved cards), about a dozen puzzle-fits, hourglass/stance pieces, 2 character-keeper boxes, a couple of new stand-ups and bases, and maybe a set of dice. Together with the Adventurer's Toolkit, that would accommodate just about every group of players, without giving them a lot of duplicates of stuff they don't need (such as the careers from the AT).

Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how the Insanity 'talent' slot is supposed to work. Does my Zealot character have the option to start off with an insanity? I think... yes, because it's a Special ability, and because of the text at the top of page 31 of the rulebook. It seems odd to start off with an insanity, but it makes sense because of the kind of career it is, and because the career's ability doesn't do any good unless you have an insanity. What do you think?

Reynald de Chatillon said: But if the group can choose in their absolute discretion that a slow, lumbering dwarf tank can deliver copious amounts of potentially unanswerable damage (depending on how many of the opposition said tank can kill) just because another group member has no armour and dances like a butterfly and stings like a...well, butterfly, then I don't get it, regardless of any "Heads Up!"s and "Behind You"s. As much as anything my problem is with the fact that the selection is totally up to the group in its discretion, which doesn't in fact reflect any physical "position to be effective" or "best opportunity to act" - it reflects a group's ability to pre-plan approaches to take advantage of what I see as a logical inconsistency. I think it's part of the "say yes" and "teamwork FTW" philosophy in the game's design. If you disagree with that philosophy in this instance, you can very easily track each character's initiative in the order that they rolled. It probably won't have any big effect on the way the game plays. But there are no guarantees that the PCs' plans will work out. What happens if they put all their faith in the dwarf's ability to deal damage, and he flubs his roll? Doesn't that create some drama with the rest of the party, which now has to salvage their plan, and might now be sitting ducks? Isn't that just as interesting, if not more so, than knowing that the elf is going to attack first every round, and the dwarf is going to act last, for every single combat? I think it's much more satisfying for players when their plans do work out according to their situation-specific plan, than if their success relies on playing their designated part at the point during which they normally get to act every time they enter combat.

Corpse looting is expected, and if your PC party is tearing across the countryside slaying monsters all the time, it's perfectly appropriate for them to start piling up their treasures. Weapons and armor can be scavenged, but I'd remind PCs these are probably streaked with fresh blood and innards, and will attract flies unless they clean them off. Either way, this gives you some storytelling hooks to work with. Cleaning the weapons will take time, and that might be enough time for enemy reinforcements. Flies will be noisy and annoying, and they should be worth a misfortune die when trying to being sneaky, or in the middle of combat as they buzz around your face, or when trying to sell them. The weapons used by nasty monsters are probably going to be crude and distasteful, and not of much value to anyone, except maybe as a novelty. The average Imperial citizen probably won't want to have anything to do with a beastman's "accursed" weapon. Most monsters aren't going to carry any money at all. Just assume they don't. The only characters that have use for money are those that are part of a society that recognizes the value of those coins. A beastman doesn't trade in coin; he earns his place in society by being strong and fearless, and takes his weapons from lesser beastmen. If your players are thinking about each battle as an opportunity to farm supplies and you're not happy with that, you might want to give them tougher enemies and make the battles more important. Introduce some running battles. Create situations where the PCs have the race the clock. Maybe they need to cross a river ford to get out of the forest, but it's been raining all morning and the river's starting to flood. If they don't get to the river ford in the next few minutes, the water will be too deep and they might be trapped in a beastman-infested forest for hours, or until the storm passes. That's when you put beastmen in their path. Have the PCs fight for their lives, instead of fighting for loot. This might sound like a mean thing to do, but I guarantee that a really challenging battle is going to be a memorable one. And maybe they don't win! Maybe they get captured and dragged back to the beastmen's camp, and have to figure out a way to rescue themselves before they're sacrificed to Khorne. (Now you're playing some Warhammer.) Antonious said: Also, one last thing. How much should I charge if my player wants to buy a horse? Do they need to pay to stable it (including food and supplies for it) or is that too detailed? They wanted to ask about buying griffons, but I told them that was too far out of their influence in the realm of the Empire for now... I'd guess that a pack horse or mule would cost about 1g. A riding horse might be 3g to 6g. Warhorses might cost 10g or 20g. I'd handle the ownership of a horse with some level of detail, insisting that the owner pays attention to the proper care, feeding and housing, and that's not going to come cheap. Every week, the expense of owning a horse might be about 1s or 2s. That would cover food, grooming supplies, stabling fees, new horseshoes, replacements or repairs of saddles and other riding gear, and so on. If you didn't want to spend that much, your horse might get split hooves or become feisty for lack of proper feeding, and start adding misfortune dice for anything you want the horse to do.

I think the new system allows the party to decide the initiative order because it encourages teamwork, adds variety to the flow of combat, gives players something they can control in combat, and requires less book-keeping on the GM's part. I don't think it's any more or less realistic than a rigid system where fastest equals first to act. Real combat is chaotic. No matter how 'realistic' an RPG claims to be, its combat system is going to be highly abstracted, to the point where it isn't modeling anything like real combat. It might be modeling TV or movie combat, but it's nothing like the real thing. Realistically, the quickest aren't always the first to act, and being fast doesn't mean that you're in the perfect position to be effective. So you could look at WFRP initiative as a model for when you get your best opportunity to take an action in this 6-second segment of time, regardless of your general reaction speed. As a group, you all benefit from having sharp-eyed and quick-acting characters. If you like, you could assume that the faster characters sometimes yell, "Heads up!" or "Behind you!" and thereby give a slower-moving character a chance to act "out of turn".

It caught my attention the first time I read it. "Roll an additional die of the same type". Of course, the only die that generates a righteous success is old Yellow, the Expertise die. I suspect the wording is intentional, and that we'll see other types of dice in the future that can generate a righteous success. Maybe we'll see new dice for highly experienced characters? Maybe there's an orange D12 coming?

valvorik said: Great, does this include the work from 2nd edition that was published in Warpstone and updated by Peter Rutkowski (last I checked still available as a download on Warpstone site)? I didn't refer to any issues of Warpstone when I put this thing together. Can you point me to the article you're talking about?

UniversalHead said: And it also made me wonder - what the hell do you do when multiple characters have the same skill or talent? Since we only have one of everything, what happens if 3 of the 4 characters decide they want the same action card? Just share the card. Give each player with that skill or talent a post-it note. Write the ability's name and recharge rate on the post-it. During play, if any player needs to refer to the information on the card, just hand it to the player who needs it. Keep track of its recharge status on the post-it note. If that's too much of a problem, photocopy the card. But really, I think V3 expects that players won't overlap on many abilities. I think this is intentional, and I think it's a good idea. I understand the frustration about not being able to easily convert characters, or the fact that WFRP3 doesn't cover the entire range of character abilities from beginner to master. But I don't think it's a complaint one can take seriously, because nothing about the new edition implies that it's designed to accommodate characters from earlier editions. I don't believe V2 ever provided a method for updating characters from V1. What's worse is that there were some significant changes that simply can't be completely remedied. The Attacks characteristic in V1 is far more important than it is in V2, for instance. Some of the skills and talents in V2 have no equivalent in V1. A V2 talent that reduces reload time by a Half-Action doesn't have an equivalent mechanic in V1. There are entire magical traditions that can't be converted from V1 to V2. Where are the gnomes? Where are the hobgoblins? Where are the fimir? It's relatively simple to convert from V1 to V2 because there isn't that big of a change between editions. Looking at it now, V2 really is more like V1.5. It's an upgrade, rather than a full re-think. V3 really is a new game, not just a new edition. It's still an RPG, but it's not like V1 or V2. It still has some of the same features, but it does a lot of things that the earlier editions don't. In time, I'm sure V3 will cover just about everything that was covered in V2, but let's not forget all of those threads from players new to V2 who asked "which books should I get?" Oh, just the core rulebook, the Old World Bestiary, the Tome of Salvation, the Tome of Corruption and Sigmar's Heirs. But conversion is a two-way street. If you're going to complain about the fact that you can't easily convert V2 characters to V3, then you should think about how V3 players would cope with moving their characters to V1 or V2. "How come there are no rules for getting tired or stressed out? What's to stop me from just doing the same action over and over? Without a party card, what's the reason for adventuring together, and why can't we share abilities any more? If I had access to the Swift Attack option, why would I choose anything else? When I roll 3 degrees of success, why isn't the GM being consistent about the results?" I think V3's characters and play style have greater depth, and the realities of production costs means that FFG could only include so much material in the core set. It's a starter set, to be sure, but it's really good at handling those first couple of ranks of characters. I feel like I have a lot more to sink my teeth into as a V3 player. The "fiddly" bits that raise some players' hackles are exactly the sort of character-management tools that make me feel like I'm in control of that character. Ultimately, if you're happy with a certain edition of WFRP and you want to continue playing your campaign with the least amount of disruption from the system, stick with what's working for you. It's not V3's fault that it doesn't accommodate your old campaign, because it never claimed that it would.

Peacekeeper_b said: Interesting. Is it really geared toward 3E or is it still 2E compatible? I made a few small changes to bring it up to date. I added a how-to section on rolling D100 and D1000 for folks who might not be familiar with how that's done. The Craftsmanship levels of businesses were altered to reflect the Craftsmanship levels in V3. I added and removed a small handful of names on the lists so that they fit better on the page. Also, I updated the links in the credits. That's about it. It's totally compatible with earlier editions.

This is a WFRP supplement I put together for the second edition, and now it's been updated for the new edition. Download it from the link below and you'll have hundreds of Imperial character names at your fingertips. You'll also find ideas for business types, street and location names, and other goodies. This is a 32-page PDF that's printer-friendly (black-and-white), and set up in landscape format for easy viewing on your screen. You'll also find bookmarks in the PDF so you can easily jump right to your favorite sections. Please let me know what you think! www.outworld-studio.com/pdf/book-of-imperial-names.pdf

Nah, Munchkin doesn't count as an RPG. It's really a card game that spoofs some of the classic fantasy RPGs (such as Dungeons & Dragons). Munchkin lacks the "storytelling" aspect of roleplaying games. It's important to remember that you can't win or lose at an RPG. It's just a game you play because you have fun telling stories. As long as you're having fun in the process of creating those stories, you're doing it right. Dark Heresy is a great game, and if you're a 40K junkie you may really enjoy it. You don't play big heroes or Space Marines. Instead, you play characters in the service of an Inquisitor, which means you're more likely to be hanging out with the masses on hive worlds instead of slaughtering enemies by the hundreds. I think you'd be fine starting your RPG collection with Dark Heresy or WFRP. Their rules are very different from one another. Dark Heresy is more traditional in its approach, and uses a set of rules that's very much like the earlier editions of WFRP. And we've already talked about the new edition of WFRP.

Here's a great blog about an ongoing WFRP game. You can listen to what an actual Warhammer campaign sounds like: http://warhammer-enemy-within.blogspot.com/ This group is using rules from the earlier editions of the game, but the basic approach to play is the same. You sit around the table and you talk about what your characters are doing. The GM steers the whole thing, playing the roles of NPCs, describing the world and the events that take place, and being the final judge on what happens. Sometimes players roll dice to resolve conflicts. Mostly, it's a big chat-fest. In this blog/podcast thingie, you'll hear some of the players complain about the rules or whatever. But if you listen for a while, you'll see that they get into the groove and they start laughing all the time, especially when their characters are in the worst trouble.

I find that tabletop RPGs are far more satisfying to play than any video game. With tabletop RPGs, you aren't restricted to a set storyline. There's no real end-point to an RPG. You can get much more involved with the game-world and develop your character in surprising ways. For my money, tabletop RPGs are the best way to have a good time gaming with my friends. This new edition of WFRP is pretty user-friendly, but I recommend that you read the books carefully and feel free to ask questions from other players (like you're doing now). We're happy to help. Most people who get into RPGs are introduced by someone who's already familiar with how to play RPGs, and know how to play a specific game really well. Picking up an RPG without knowing how to play it, or what it's like to play any tabletop RPG, will require some trial and error. But you'll figure it out, and you'll probably get addicted. It's just so much fun to play these sorts of games because they constantly exercise your creativity and imagination. I can't think of any other kind of game that gives you that sort of experience. Note that WFRP3 (the current edition) is very different from the earlier editions, and from most other RPGs as well. Most of the controversy about this new edition comes from the fact that it's not a "logical next step" from the earlier versions, and because it introduces so many new ideas and ways of tracking information that aren't really found in other RPGs (at least, not all at once). So if you're just starting your RPG collection with WFRP3, you're kind of jumping right into the "new hot thing" in RPGs. Consider yourself lucky.

So what kinds of locations do you want to see?

Here's a simple little java-based game aid you can use to quickly generate random items. There are more than 15,000 possible results, and you get five at a time. What I recommend is that you cut-and-paste your favorite results to create your own list of items that you'll be ready to hand out as loot. Some of these items might even give you ideas for scenarios or NPCs. Anyway, here's my Random Treasure Generator updated for WFRP3. Enjoy: http://www.outworld-studio.com/html/treasure-generator-v301.htm

Really cool idea. Thanks for posting those.

Here's the current location for that file: http://www.outworld-studio.com/pdf/Blank-Cards-V1.pdf

Thanks, dvang. So a peasant earns nearly 8 pennies per day, while a mercenary earns nearly 2 shillings per day. I'd be interested to see some a basic meal price, and maybe the cost of staying at an inn for a night.

I'm just interested in your impressions of the equipment costs, and maybe some examples.

It's a roleplaying game, so you'll need at least two players -- one to be the Game Master, and one to play a character.

It's not going to be a problem. People create house rules for board games all the time without these sorts of concerns. You can change the wording of any rule by simply writing down your house-rule and sticking a post-it note in the appropriate place. By all credible accounts, this is a roleplaying game through and through. That means it's not about the artwork on the game components or how they look on the table. You'll have to get creative when it comes to making changes, but there's absolutely nothing stopping you from changing things. If you want to make big changes, you might have to sacrifice some of the aesthetic value. If you want to make drastic changes to the wounds system, it might mean that you have to create a table and roll percentile rather than use a deck of cards, or get a stack of index cards and create your own custom decks. Everything has a solution.

Jay (Emirkol), did you get a chance to play it yet? For frequently-updated numbers, I really like the idea of using nice-looking game pieces rather than doing lots of erasing with paper and pencil. If it eliminates the need for scratch paper, I'd probably be willing to give the bits-n-bobs a try.

Cards!?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. No. Well, not yet. I'll make up my mind after I've read a few player reviews.

They can be a lot of fun. As GM, you just have to remember that the campaign is all about one character. You need to have a good sense of what that character is good at, and what they're not so good at. For best results, you should tailor your adventures so that they're specifically about that character. Don't show up with a big plan for what they should do and how they should do it, but do present that character with situations they can succeed in. Once you know the character's career, you should be able to put them in situations where they'll have memorable adventures. Don't rely on helpful NPCs to make up for the PC's difficulties. Let the one and only PC be the focus of your campaign. If the PC is a city-dweller and they need a guide through the forest, that's fine. Just avoid having NPCs that are only there to fill out a party of adventurers. Your campaign shouldn't be about a adventuring party; it should be about a lone adventurer. For inspiration, think about heroic loners. They usually have some NPC helpers for a few episodes, but they always go back to working solo. Mad Max is one of those. So is Indiana Jones, Caine from Kung Fu or the Bride from Kill Bill, Pee-Wee Herman... The one bit of plotting advice that has carried me through lots of campaigns is this: Everybody has a drunk cousin. What I mean is, everybody has a family member or someone that they would not want to be associated with but they're family, and if they need your help, you're bound to do something about it. Some other possibilites are: brother in jail, ailing mother who needs medicine, sister who's betrothed to a scoundrel, a son who keeps stealing from the neighbors, a daughter who ran away... Make sure your PC has somebody like this in their life, and you'll probably find that the adventures write themselves. Good luck!