Since we're also discussing weaknesses, I thought this might be a good new topic: What do you consider to be the top 5 strengths of the new system over other game systems?

jh

1. visually stimulating : even the character sheets are really well presented from the art on the cards down to the stiching that you line up your career card with, this game is a real work of art in a hobby were the character sheet is often left as almost a blank A4 form at the back of the book. Heck how many d20 boring sheets came out in the last ten years if one thing put me off that system it was the lack or originality to, what is for me a player, the most important thing in the game.

2. The dice system - elegant and simple way of combining results and story into an action, I really like the way each role and then selection of dice will affect not only how the character succeeds or fails but also why.

3. Tactile : the bits, yes I know these are the gimmick but hey when your sitting at the table and someone else is doing there thing or your out for a couple of rounds etc you have all the rules to read in front of you on your cards the career backgound to look up, and its easier for a newbie to work out what their character can do by reading all the cards ratehr than a list of things on a sheet that require a book to look up. I have used WFR to introduce my son aged 9 to role playing and he is loving it so I am very grateful to the Bits as that keeps him interested during other peoples actions.

4. Simplicity: the game rules are actually quite simple, you need more successes than challenges thats basically it, just enough rules to play not too many so you will need a 4 page gm screen listing all the modifiers and actions etc

5. Its WARHAMMER - okay that not really the system but hey I have grown up with this baby and the character of the game is still fully reflected in the rules, okay this one maybe is a little less gritty than the last but its all about the heroes and villains and telling an ADVENTURE than fantasy Call of Cthulhu and whilst insanity, Chaos cults and mutants are still all there in abundance. Now, we get to play heroes taking on hoards of henchmen in a more cinematic approach which perhaps reflects the four virtues listed above.

Here are my top 5:

1. The dice rule system. As a Gm, I like the "throw in an extra fortune/misfortune" die bit.

2. Abstract movement. This feels a lot more like the old RPG's I fell in love with: namely Basic D&D and Call of Cthulhu

3. I like how it pulls together the meat of Warhammer material and branches from there.

4. The rulebooks are out on PDF

5. There is web support

jh

Here's my top five, in no particular order:

1. The dice mechanics. Multi-axis on top of degrees of success and being able to tell what contributed to your success/failure/boons/banes gives a wealth of possibilities to enhance roleplaying.

2. Virtually pencil free gaming session due to tokens and cards.

3. Virtually no need to reference books during play. Basic rules are easy to learn and remember. Cards add depth without complexity.

4. More options for advances than one can take while in a career virtually guaranteeing that no two characters that pass through a career are the same. Between Characteristic advances, Skill training, Specialization, Talents, Actions, Fortune dice on Characteristics, Wound Threshold increases, and stance pieces players are free to customize their character in whatever manner they see fit.

5. GM placed in control and given the tools to exercise his role. The GM is not just a rules arbiter with everything defined to the nth degree in the rules. Determining challenge level, adding Fortune/Misfortune dice to pools, adjudicating results, using the party tension meter and rewarding fortune points are just some examples.

Mac, your #5 is a big one in my book. "Other" systems out there are nothing but the overload of miniscule technicalities and endless pages of rules. As a DM, I quit 4e because it was just endless crap that I had to be some kind of idiot savant without family or life to memorize, collate and process during/before/after games.

jh

Emirikol said:

I find that I go on auto pilot in 4e. It's like the gm is just there to say "you are slowed, save ends", "you take 12 damage and are weakened until your next turn" etc...

This game is more creative improv in that regard, quickly deciding factors and having the tools to be flexible.

Here's a great example. I had several players get mad with me recently because in a DnD game a player character climbed a 10 foot high ledge, rolled over and stood up next to a goblin. I gave the goblin an oppertunity attack because clearly he wasn't going to just let an enemy climb 10 feet, roll over, and get up without a scratch. You all should have heard the protests because "none of what he does provokes an attack, according to the rules". This prompted a couple mintues of very arguementative protests until I finally said "I'm the GM, he's taking the attack"

In this game, however, the acceptance of something like that with either the player buring fatigue or the goblin getting some fortune on his attack roll, not only makes the story better, but it makes the players want to think outside the box as well, only inspiring creativity as to what their characters might do, and not want is in the confines of the rules for the player to do.