Does anyone know about the combat movement system for WHFRP3? Does it use grids, range bands, or is it more abstract? Will I need "dungeon tiles"?

Are there plans for miniatures (of course one can buy the Games-Workshop 28mm miniatures that Warhammer Fantasy Battle has available)?

In 2nd edition you could use miniatures if you wanted, but it is not really necessary. I guess the same thing will happen with 3rd edition, but it's my guess.

I tend to like using miniatures when playing out combats, as it makes it easier to the players and GM to know what is going on without losing much time, but that's a personal preference as I like a lot tactical games. On the other hand, there are people that prefer more "narrative" combats, but then they usually prefer other type of rules, so that's why I think that the 3rd edition will leave miniatures as optional, but will also probably have as main rules using them.

Also, I love maps, specially the beautiful ones you usually get in RPG products. I actually think the main reason D&D is business leader is because of their adventures and maps (which I have used once and again in my WFRP campaigns) because the rules of D&D are, in my opinion, mediocre.

And, sorry now for disgressing, at the moment, a friend of mine is GMing a D&D 4th edition campaign (with a lot of house rules) in our club and we are using an LCD screen. He creates the maps using Photoshop and then he uses Maptool in a laptop to send the maps to the LCD screen. We place miniatures on top of the screen. The results are amazing and, thanks to fog of war, we can automatically take into account things like light, hidden enemies and other stuff that are difficult to keep track of. He once ran an scenario through the warrens of Kruthik (an Alien-like monster) and it really felt like the movie... we never knew where the Kruthiks would hit us next... it was a great experience.

Anyway, the system adds a lot of extra tactical component and even storytelling components to our games. The main problem I see is that my friend needs a lot of time to prepare the maps, but with time we'll have a big collection of maps that we'll be able to use for our adventures (he already has a big one). Also, sometimes the maps get too much attention over the story, but usually that's not the case.

I just sold all of my 4th Edition D&D books in order to make room for this game upon release, however, I kept all of my 1 inch square grid cardboard maps that Wizards sells for 4E in case WHFRP3 used grid maps. I have never played WHFPRP - so does it use grid maps?

I can always buy Games-Workshop miniatures at my gaming store down the road and from the GW online store in order to have that extra Warhammer feel to the game. Just wondering what will be the "norm" for WHFRP3.

Thanks.

I like to use tiles when in dungeons and the like. I've used the fine tiles from Warhammer Quest for a dungeon episode in one of my campaigns, it was very popular. I always sketch the surroundings when it comes to combat or puzzle solving in the terrain. But it is not always necessary; parts of a plot in a campaign are sometimes better left to the players imaginations. We will see how it is done in 3rd Ed..

Come on! Jay or any of the VP play tester give us that demo session video... :-)

My understanding would, you could but didn't have to.

Our group has a 4x8 wargames table, with a 4x8 megamat on it (1" grid). We have about 10k minis and a room full of houses, dungeons, and sundry. I build a table for my players every week. I would cry if it didn't support minis.

Tang86 said:

WFRP 2nd edition rules gave combat speeds in yards and its combat examples used grid maps (each square being 1 yard). Also, the maps in published adventures had a grid, so you could indeed use miniatures in WFRP without any conversion work.

Also, one of the best selling games of FFG, Descent, is mainly a grid map + miniatures game, so I would be surprised if 3rd edition did not give at least as much support to playing with miniatures as 2nd edition.

I like to use maps during combat to help everyone visualize the relative position of all involved. As for miniatures, I don't really have the time or patience to paint a bunch of minis so instead I use tokens. The tokens I use are just 5/16 inch galvanized metal washers that I get in packs of 25 for ~$1 at Lowes. Then I get some round 1" labels with the sticky backs from the office supply store and stick them to the washers and then cut off the excess to fit the washers. Using a felt-tip marker I write the names of the PCs in Green and NPCs/Creatures in red with an arrow above the name to designate which direction they are facing. The Green and Red is just a further way to tell friend from foe at a glance. For NPCs/Creatures I also number the tokens at the bottom to help keep track of individuals. I also have a small plastic storage box with dividers in it that I use to store them in.

For a fraction of the cost of minis and much less time than it takes to paint them, you can create hordes of NPCs/Creatures. They may not be as aesthetically pleasing as real minis, but they work just as well.

The mock ups of the base game on the FFG web sites show what look like a slayer and beastman mini in the front with the stance markers and other stuff. I assume the set will include a few pc stand ups of various types along with some basic monsters

This reminds me a lot of the old DnD statrer kits, that included some cardboard cutout figures etc and I think WFRP 3rd edition is trying to solve the same problem that those sets attempted; getting new people into the hobby, who find it easier when there's something to visualise and helps them make the shift from board game to rpg, which is on no way a bad thing. Those of us that are already familiar with RPGing can just use the bits we want and ignore the stuff we don't need.

I would assume that there will be rules/guidelnes for figures (as in 2nd ed) but these won't be compulsory (as in 2nd ed).

I also wouldn't be surprised if the introductory adventure also made direct reference to the included minis, and used them in some capacity (again just like the old DnD sets)

In fact the contents of the game include:

2 large standups, 47 medium standups, 12 plastic bases,

We've always used a battlemat. When I was in highschool in the 80's, I used to use tagboard and a marker to make grids.

Nowadays, the main things you would need to track would be:

* "Flanking"/outnumbered

* Range for missile weapons

* "Attacks of Opportunity"/disengagement

* Who's on which orc

Maybe this system will be so abstract we won't need any of that and combats will take just one roll of 36 dice

jh

I use a big whiteboard and draw features with markers. Monsters and characters are represented by minis. There is no grid and the minis are moved about using the old ruler sticks from 40k and WFB. It allows much more freedom than sticking to a grid.

Mordenthral said:

Brilliant! That's what its all about; having freedom and allowing the players to be creative. I do the same, it encourages players to move 'Outside the plot' which again forces me to improvise, which makes the game more fun in the end...

I really got tired of having to buy random miniatures for D&D4E or buy metal minis from companies like Reaper (though both were pretty good quality). With WHFRP3 I can buy a directly-themed Games Workshop box of Orc warriors, Skaven, Chaos Warriors, etc. and have way more than enough figures to use for a WHFRP combat scenario. Looking forward to this game!