Hi all,
Just wanted to get a few things on paper(as it were) that have been rattling around in my head for the last week or so.
Prior to the release of the latest WFRP edition I, like most others on this forum was feverishly trawling the net for any little details on the new system.
I accidentally stumbled across the impending release of the new edition about 10 or so days ago when I decided to go looking on the net to see if what I could find for 2nd ed. on fansites etc.
Until that point I was blissfully unaware that a new edition was even coming out!! You can imagine my excitement (as a fan of the Warhammer slant on Fantasy) to discover this new edition was impending.
As a dutiful fan I lapped up everything I could find about the upcoming system, finding Jays videos and this forum in the process.
I found the comments posted regarding the demo sessions really helpful and informative.
What I found interesting was the whole 'RPG or Boardgame' debate. I dont have a copy of the core set yet (Im down in Oz so I guess I have to wait for the next tornado to fling a few copies this way) so I am only speaking from what other people have said regarding the new rules.
It kind of felt like people were freaking out because there seems to be a pretty large departure from the 2nd ed. ruleset which is understandable.
New mechanics in the 3rd ed. that I am excited about are:
Dice pools. (This mechanic works really well in systems like L5R, The Riddle of Steel, Any WoD games and West End games D6 Star Wars- my first experience with a dice-pool mechanic. Aaahhh the memories...) - This mechanic does not make an RPG into a boardgame.
Stances - (The stance meter itself is just a visual aid -this has been discussed ad nauseum) The mechanic of a characters stance affecting their dice pools etc. is also something that has featured in plenty of other systems and doesnt bring an RPG into the realm of boardgames or computer game tabletop clones. Again L5R, TROS are games(among many others) that use these ideas. I see no fundamental difference between acting in a reckless stance in WFRP 3rd ed.(giving potential for more damaging strikes while at the same time opening up the characters defenses making them vulnerable to counterattacks etc.) and using a 'Full attack' option in L5R which gives the character extra dice for attack but lowers there Target number to be hit. This is just one example that comes to mind. Plenty of other RPG's use similar mechanics in some fashion or another.
Abstract Distances/Range - Praise be to FFG for releasing a game that moves away from requiring a grid map and minutures to 'roleplay' combat. I dont really have anything against grids but I find it a breath of fresh air that the new edition doesnt have a ruleset that requires you to know exactly where your character is in relation to an opponent on a grid in order to perform particular actions.
For me, grids and minutures were always more in the realm of tactical gaming like Battletech, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and 40K etc. than part of an RPG experience. (I have been playing RPGs for 25+ years -starting with homemade DnD rules prior to my older brother coming home one day with a glorious Bright red box that started a fire in my mind which still burns today)
I dont remember when the grids and minis became standard fare with RPG's but its intersting to see the discussion being generated by a new game swinging back the other way.
My only real experience with a tactical/RPG grid system is with a Pathfinder group I am currently playing with. It was a bit different for me at first but I have gotten used to it. For me I find the reliance on the grids and minis a little stifling to the flow of events and seem to take some of the dynamism from encounters.
During one of our first encounters I wanted my cleric to leap up onto a table (primarily with a view to getting a height advantage over an opponent on the other side but secondarily to swiftly engage said opponent to take focus from our mage). I no longer remember the specifics (and it may have been more that the DM was unimaginative or a rules stickler etc.) but basically what happened in the end was much more sedate and unexciting. I think I walked around the table because that way i could 'flank' my opponent and avoid an 'attack of opportunity' or something like that.
It may be because I had recently been playing a little of The Riddle of Steel (which I think is great but can be a bit overwhelming at first) with an old RPing buddy but I felt really restricted by the rules. I felt that it stifled imaginative and creative actions in combat. Again, perhaps it wasnt purely the rules but I digress.
Most of my RPG experiences have been with 'abstract' distances. Across many genres (Star wars, Top secret, L5R and other fantasy settings) my groups have always narrated the scenes and just used our imaginations. Of course we werent adverse to the odd sketch of a barroom etc to help clear up LOS issues and various other disputes:
Player: " I leap behind the bar for cover."
GM: "The bar is on the opposite side of the room from you. You wont be able to make in one round."
Player:"No. Im next to the bar......"
GM: (Reaches for a piece of Graph paper and a pencil...)
While minis and grids remove a lot of the ambiguity that can occur, (as above) I've always found it easier to think 'outside the box' when just using narratives to play out encounters.
Anyway, If you have gotten this far i thank you for your indulgence. Bottom line is I'm pretty excited about giving this new edition a good hard nudge. I've tried to be objective about both the positive and negative things that have come out of the many discussions that I have been following. I feel that I can now make an informed decision about purchasing this game and I think that it is worth a shot. I think the debate generated by this new edition has given the RPG community a fresh 'shot in the arm' and if that gets people thinking then its a good thing.
I welcome constructive discussion and debate about new and existing game mechanics and think think that it is necessary for the continuing development and evolution of what is after all is said and done, our passion for a shared hobby.
Good gaming.