Red Goblins!

(just so I can really find out who are the other old men)

Dwarfs.

In my opinion, the Warhammer Dwarf is the best dwarf design in fantasy today. I don't just mean backgroundwise, but physically as well. They aren't just shor potbellied humans, their shoulders are wider than a Middenheimers, their hands are huge and their backs full of muscle. They look COOL and HARD. They are like a short human orc in physiology and musculature.

Their psychology is extremely well defined and very interesting. The slayers are cool, but I find the inherent dwarf psychology that leads to being a slayer more interesting.

I also like the Warhammer Elf, because they've done a great job of making them alien in mind and body. Their bodies are inhumanly narrow yet possess a power equivalent to the strongest men. Their background is great and punctuated with sorrow and despair.

If, in order to make a live action movie you would have to CGI elves and dwarfs because it would be impossible for humans to play them, then I think you've got a great fantasy setting. They aren't merely humanoids, they are whole different species. That aspect is what I like about them so much.

But as I like dwarfs more than elves, I would go with dwarfs. A dwarf is accorded great respect by Empire humans. They are seen as an asset and amazing friends to have.

But mainly because warhammer dwarfs are just so well put together. Their strengths and stand out features so heavily overshadow a lot of the comedic qualities of dwarfs that you don't really notice them.

In Soviet Warhammer Dwarf tosses YOU. And that is all that needs to be said about why Warhammer Dwarfs are so much better than everyone else's.

Hellebore

Humans and Dwarfs......but a Lustrian campaign could be fun and then tribesmen and either pygmies or Amazons

Skaven?

Who doesn't love a race with 42 different words for "freindly fire".

Crazy Aido said:

Correction, I will change my response from "Evil Bread-man" to Skaven instead. Gotta love those rats!

I'd play Human and Dwarves

I think that dwarfs are the right choice.

E

Ratsesess!!! of course

Thematically, in the same group, Dwarfs are the only group that really makes sense given that they both live in the Empire.

But Skaven if we're just picking playable races. ALWAYS the Skaven.

Chaos Dwarves - love the pointy hatted Babylonian thing going on there.

I'd like to play as a Snotling.

Imagine the cool adventures you could have as one... surviving a Blood Bowl match as the ball would be just one possibility.

Dwarves are my favorite race.

We've never had any players as skaven in our group, but that would be my third choice, I suppose. Could be fun.

Using the Chicago method of voting, I say Dwarfs again.

Skaven never caught my fancy. Smelly big rats.

E

ejacobs said:

Yes, smelly big rats that eats warpstone, are total cowards the lot of them, uses alchemical technology that is just as likely to damage themselves than their enemies, have a rather peculiar way of speaking, oh! And the have NINJAS as well!

What's not to like?

Halflings. Definitely halflings.

Speaking of Skaven, warpstone, and all that, Varnias - there is a book out by C.L. Werner called Grey Seer. It looks to follow the exploits of Thanquol, from the Felix and Gotrek books. Have you read that, by chance? I am curious as to what fans of the skaven think of the book. I have seen it but haven't purchased it yet (trying to get through a daunting stack of Steven Erikson novels first).

Steerpike said:

Nope, haven't read it. the only Black Library books i've read have been focused on the WH40K setting. But if there's a Skaven book for the fantasy setting then I might actually give that one a go. Still, im not that big of a fan of the Warhammer fantasy setting in general, but Skaven are certainly one of the parts I like about it.

Varnias Tybalt said:

I have read a number of the fantasy books. Had never read the WH40K fiction until I picked up Double Eagle, by Dan Abnett. I really liked that one so I'm thinking of reading the Gaunt's Ghosts books.

Steerpike said:

Oh you're in for a treat mate. Read EVERYTHING by Dan Abnett and you won't be disappointed. Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Ravenor are highly recommended. (Although im still working through ravenor and Gaunt's Ghosts, but so far I have never been disappointed by Abnett)

However don't forget the Ciaphas Cain novels by Sandy Mitchell either, while maybe not so dead serious all the time like Abnett's books are, they're still a lot of fun to read.

Varnias Tybalt said:

Sounds good Varnias. I will check out the Ciaphas Cain novels as well (I've seen them on the shelves). I'm looking forward into reading the WH40K fiction.

High Elves, because I'm a wizard junky. Sadly, I'm not likely to get a chance to play. My lot is to be shackled to the GM's throne and rain down unspeakable on my players.

Cynical Cat said:

How about forcing your players to do some GM:ing as well? If you've been kind enough to be the GM several times already then it's only fair that they step up and show you the same courtesy, right?

I play with a big group and I GM about 75% of the time. The group is over ten years old and I'm usually the GM. There's one guy who GMs about 20% of the time, one other that will ocassionally take a stab at it, and two others that could GM well but get gun shy and backed away from GMing after a few sessions. That means when I play I play when someone else has an idea for a campaign and is ready to do it and that's been D&D, Earthdawn, Star Wars Saga Edition, Dark Heresy, and Vampire: The Masquerade and the campaigns often don't last long. That's just how it is.

I want to say vampires but skaven just are the setting for me.

Cynical Cat said:

Hmm. But don't you think that the state of affairs as they are now might stem from the fact that you've let them become like this? I mean, if you've never objected to your group that you want to be playing a littler more than you're GM:ing, then it's not really that strange that no one else takes the initiative of changing. Right?

I think you could even get the gun shy guys to GM a bit more than they do now. I mean if you have a solid group that has been playing for TEN years (that's a long time), what do they have to be gun shy about? I mean if they take a stab at it and notice that thy have problems, it's not like the rest of you are going to belittle them and insult them for their poor GM:ing right? Friends (or people you've known for ten years) don't do that to eachother, now do they?

So if you really want to GM a bit less, put some preassure on your group. Not the harsh kind of preassure of course, but tell them that you'd really like to play a bit more than you do now, and tell them that you'd really like to see the gun shy players do a bit more GM:ing. Tell them that if they have problems with the administrative parts (like understanding the rules etc.) you can help them with that, even during gaming (In my group where we have a rotating schedule of who's Gm:ing we frequently ask other players to look stuff up in the rulebook when the administration get a bit hectic).

Just encourage them to invent a cool story (or perhaps adapt one from a film/book/comicbook etc.) and im sure they'll follow suit. I remember when I first joined up with this group I am in now (although our group look very different since then), when they suddenly sprung the idea on me that I had to GM. I really didn't feel comfortable to the idea, but when they simply told me that they expected me to GM next sunday, I just got a deadline and that was that. Since then I've really been "blooming" as a GM, and evolved quite a lot.

So the trick is that you're gonna have to help/push the others into GM:ing. If you don't they'll just get too comfortable with being players.