Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
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| Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay | |
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 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd edition cover |
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| Designer(s) | Richard Halliwell, Rick Priestley, Graeme Davis, Jim Bambra, Phil Gallagher |
| Publisher(s) | Games Workshop |
| Publication date | 1986 (1st edition) 2005 (2nd edition) |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System | Custom |
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP or WHFRP) is a role-playing game set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting.
The first edition of WFRP was noteworthy for having a dark and gruesome sense of humour in a period when fantasy RPGs were almost universally serious, and for having much better production design than most of its competition at the time.
Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play is more widely played outside the United States than in the U.S. Over the years, it has been through a number of phases. After its initial launch it was well supported by Games Workshop. With increased focus on their main business it was licensed out to other companies but has since come back under GW through its subsidiary.
The first edition of WFRP spawned a well-known and highly praised campaign known as The Enemy Within. These five episodes were variously bound and collected. The first three episodes generally received the most praise; a rewritten version of the last episode, Empire in Flames, was to be issued by Hogshead Publishing under the title Empire in Chaos, but never saw the light of day.
For the second edition, Black Industries elected to create a new campaign, entitled Paths of the Damned rather than reprint The Enemy Within. This has been followed by standalone adventures, such as Barony of the Damned and Terror in Talabheim, as well as shorter adventures in each country sourcebook, such as that for Bretonnia or for the Empire.
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[edit] Setting
- For more details on this topic, see Warhammer Fantasy.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay shares the same Germanic, doom-laden background as the Warhammer Fantasy Battle wargame that spawned it. Being a game devoted to individual characters rather than entire armies, WFRP depicts the setting in much closer detail than does its wargame counterpart.
The primary setting for WFRP is the Empire, a region of the Old World based loosely on the Holy Roman Empire. Other prominent regions include Bretonnia, based on medieval France, Kislev, based on medieval Poland and Imperial Russia, and the Wasteland, based on a combination of the Netherlands and Venice.
The setting of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is 'low fantasy', in contrast with the 'high fantasy' setting of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Earthdawn and other popular fantasy settings. Chronologically, the Warhammer setting is slightly later than that of most fantasy games, being closer to the early Renaissance era in terms of technology and society. Firearms are readily available, though expensive, and a growing mercantile middle class challenges the supremacy of the nobility. Magic is widely feared and reviled, and not without good reason. Miscastings can result in terrible fates for the caster and his companions, and even minor blunders can result in madness.
One of the most identifiable features of the Warhammer setting is Chaos. While the forces of Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy Battle are depicted primarily in the form of maurading dark knights and beastmen, Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is an insidious force gnawing at the fabric of society. Secret cults abound among all strata of society, seeking to overthrow the social order or to further their own power. Mutants lurk in the forests outside the great cities, while the Skaven tunnel beneath them.
[edit] System
The first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was very closely based on early versions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The same basic array of characteristics was employed for both games, with some traits rated 1-10 in WFB being rated 1-100 in WFRP. In version 2, all primary attributes are ranked 1-100. Attributes are tested using percentile dice, with penalties or bonuses applied to the roll or the target in response to various favorable and unfavorable circumstances.
One of the most notable features of every version of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is the career system. Characters advance by entering a series of 'Careers' that provide access to a series of new or improved skills, and bonuses to attributes (called 'advances'). The menu of careers available to characters reflects the late medieval/early Renaissance setting of the Old World. Basic careers are those that might be filled by any individual in Old World society with a modest amount of training or instruction. Advanced careers require greater preparation and training, and, in version two particularly, are often more appropriate for the lifestyle of an active adventurer. The career system gives both an idea of what a character might have been doing before embarking on a career as an adventurer (working as a baker, night watchman, rat catcher, or farmer), and how they changed and developed through their career (becoming a mercenary, explorer, ship's captain, etc.).
Combat in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay also descends from the system used for large-scale miniature combat, making it substantially more deadly than the combat featured in many other systems (Dungeons & Dragons being the most common comparison). Most human-level creatures and characters can absorb only one or two hits without receiving a serious injury in the form of a 'Critical Hit' that may instantly kill, cripple, or permanently maim a character. 'Fate Points', representing a character's fate or destiny, provide a limited number of opportunities to avoid crippling or killing results.
[edit] History
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) was first published in 1986 by Games Workshop. The product was intended as an adjunct to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop game. A number of early publications- such as the popular Realm of Chaos titles- included material for both WFRP and WFB, and a conversion system was published with the WFRP rules. Following the publication of The Enemy Within and a small number of additional supplements (including a character pack and GM screen, and the aforementioned Realm of Chaos books), Games Workshop made the decision to refocus their business. They had found that the miniatures business was much more profitable than pure publishing; WFRP sold very few miniatures, and adding WFRP material to WFB and WH40K supplements had done little to boost the sales of those products.
Publication of WFRP material was turned over the Flame Publications in 1989, a spun-off division of Games Workshop focused exclusively on roleplaying. Flame published a new series of adventures (the Doomstones Campaign, adapted from a set of AD&D modules written by a freelancer), and published the first issue of what was intended to become a monthly or quarterly publication, Warhammer Companion. In 1992, Flame ceased operations following financial problems.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay remained in limbo for several years. A reported deal with Steve Jackson Games to buy the WFRP license fell through. Fan websites continued to publish new material and adaptations of Warhammer Fantasy Battle materials, but no new official material appeared for several years.
In 1995, British publishing house Hogshead Publications received the license to publish new and reprinted WFRP material. Hogshead published a revised edition of the main WFRP rulebook, as well as reprints of the Enemy Within campaign. New supplements also appeared, including (after having been promised for 15 years) the Realms of Sorcery magic supplement and a number of new adventures. Hogshead was subject to a number of restrictions in its rights regarding the WFRP license; Games Workshop retained extensive editorial control over the line, wanting to ensure that new WFRP material did not contradict the tone and details of the changes to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle line. In 1996 GW brought out Warhammer Quest (WQG) (a game not unrelated to Advanced Heroquest which had been co-produced with Milton Bradley). Besides it basic ruleset WQ had an advanced rule set of some 192 pages with a lot of role-play material which was also expanded upon in White Dwarf for the next two years or so.
In 2002, Hogshead owner James Wallis sold his business to a newcomer to the roleplaying industry and returned the WFRP license to Games Workshop, leaving the future of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in doubt. Several Hoghsead projects were abandoned, including a Skaven supplement and a complete rewrite of the final episode of the Enemy Within campaign.
In 2004, Games Workshop announced that the WFRP line would once again be published. Black Industries, a division of GW's Black Library publishing arm, would oversee the publishing and distribution of a new second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, designed by Green Ronin Publishing. The new edition uses the same basic system released in 1986, but revises and updates a number of features of the system (replacing the magic system, for instance). The new WFRP version 2 also brings the Old World setting of WFRP in line with the timeline and tone of the Warhammer tabletop game, by setting the events of the game after the Storm of Chaos. The new rulebook appeared in March of 2005, and was soon accompanied by an aggressively published slate of supplements and sourcebooks, including a new epic campaign (the Paths of the Damned series), monster, equipment and setting supplements, and a number of single adventures. Editions of the game have also appeared in German, French, Polish, Italian, Spanish and a Japanese edition is slated for 2007.
[edit] Awards
At the 2005 Annual Gen Con EN World RPG Awards, the 2nd edition's core rulebook, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, won Gold in the Best Production Values and Best Game categories. Old World Bestiary, the 2nd edition's primary adversary publication, also won Gold in the Best Adversary / Monster Product category.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 2005 ENnie Awards Archives. www.enworld.org. EN World. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
[edit] External links
- Black Industries - the publisher of the 2nd edition of WFRP
- Warhammer.net - a large archive of WFRP material and growing community
- Strike to Stun - an online WFRP magazine with an active and large forum
- Warpstone - an independent WFRP support magazine
- MadAlfred - website of an author and contributor to WFRP background and game material
- Roysten Crow - website of an author and contributor to WFRP background and game material
- a comparison of the first and second editions
- Warhammer RPG YahooGroup - a discussion group for WFRP
- The Encroachment of Chaos - Odds, ends, and what have yous for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
- Winds of Chaos - WFRP resource site with expanded critical hit tables, maps, artwork, and scenarios
- Malleus Maleficarum - WFRP resource site with maps, artwork, interactive tools (NPC Generator, etc.)
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| Major Games: | Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warmaster, Mordheim, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Man O' War, Warhammer Ancient Battles |
| Nations and races: | Bretonnia, Chaos, Chaos Dwarfs, Dark Elves, Dogs of War, Dwarfs, The Empire, High Elves, Kislev, Lizardmen, Ogres, Orcs & Goblins, Skaven, Undead (Tomb Kings & Vampire Counts), Wood Elves |
| Places: | The Old World, Araby, Cathay, Lustria, Ulthuan, Southlands, Naggaroth, Dark Lands, Albion, Athel Loren |
| People: | List of major characters |
| More: | List of creatures in Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer Fantasy deities, Lores of Magic |
