I came into a litttle christmas windfall, and almost on a whim I got V3 and the Adventurer's Toolkit (which is back in stock at Amazon and already shipped). It looks awesome, and even though I've read some of the concerns, I'm looking forward to trying it out.

A friend, who no longer role-plays, has given me a large 1st and 2nd edition Warhammer collection on indefinite loan.. so I'm sort of sorting through old stuff as I look at the new game. I'm not familiar at all with the Warhammer setting or continuity.. but I'm learning!

I'm a little confused by the setting timelines; or rather I'm confused by some of the messageboard posts that mention them. What I've gathered is that 1st Edition took place before 2nd Edition? Is that correct? That V2 takes places after an event called the Storm of Chaos, while V1 takes place before it. Again, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not writing this as fact, but rather to get the story straight. This 'Paths of the Damned' Campaign seems set after the Storm of Chaos.. I think

And V3 might be taking place just as this "Storm of Chaos" is just about to happen? Based upon the clues about the topic of the upcoming boxed campaign?

But there is also references to an "Age of Reckoning" timeline, which is not the "Storm of Chaos" timeline? That confuses the heck out of me.

Then you guys talk about this uber-cool iconic classic campaign 'The Enemy Within', but there seems to be a timeline glitch gettinng it to V3 or V2's timeline?

If you're generous of spirit, could you sort of straighten me out? Pretend I'm not very smart and spell it out if you could.

This message appears corrupted and I cannot read it properly.

Going to try to respond to see what happens.

V1 - I don't remember the exact year but it's at a time where there is no strong Emperor. The Empire is rife with problems. V1 was a time of much more corruption. Where the Ruinous powers were less 'giant monsters' and more about their ephemeral corruption that they could cause. Cultists were big, daemons in your face were not.

V2 - The year is 2522. There is a shift in the Fantasy Battles game to make the Empire a stronger place and to give them a leader who is worth fielding, therefore Karl Franz is a very strong Emperor who rose into power in a great time of need. There was a massive war known as the Storm of Chaos, which Karl Franz helped save the Empire from. Because of that, he's heralded as a massive hero. The Empire is damaged and parts of it are devastated by war but in general, it's a strong place to be.

V3 - I don't remember seeing any date, but the map at the back of the book is circa 2521. Karl Franz is Emperor. There is virtual no mention of the Storm of Chaos.

The general difference, as explained to me, is that in V1, the Emperor is picked for his weaknesses, not his strengths. A weak Emperor means that the Counts can effectively manipulate the Emperor can rule their own provinces. A strong Emperor (which is featured in V2 and V3) means that the Empire functions as a whole. The Emperor can attempt to bully the Counts into his line of thinking.

My apologies about the corrupted message! I am a new user, and thus I am suffering from the messageboard bug (described on the front news page). Your explanation does help me!

So if one was ging to draw upon the the acclaimed campaign 'The Enemy Within', you would have to set it before Karl Franz became Emperor, and then transition him into becoming the Emperor afterwards?

There are some discrepencies due to changes in the official Warhammer world between 1st and 2nd edition. Warning, spoilers to follow...

In 1E, Karl-Franz I ascends to the throne in 2502. He is generally considered a weak emperor, as evidenced by his tolerance of mutants (His son is rumoured to be a mutant, and is kept in permanent seclusion). Power is primarily held by the Electoral Counts, who generally work behind the scenes against each other. There is also rising tension between the Churches of Sigmar and Ulric. Chaos cultists work insideously to corrupt the Empire. Also, Sylvania is still a province of the Empire, not the realm of the Vampire Counts. For more details, see _The Enemy Within_ Campaign, usually bound with Shadows over Bogenhafen. The 1E timeline in the Enemy Within campaign (TEW) will gradually lead to civil war between factions of the Empire and the death of Karl-Franz. Thanks to the efforts of the PCs, the heroic Boris Todbringer (BT) of Middenheim will triumph as the new Emperor.

In 2E (starting in 2522), KF is still the emperor. He is a heroic leader who leads his men into battle on the back of a griffon. This revised version of KF matches the description found in Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WFB), but is jarring to those of us who grew up with 1E. BT is still around, but only in charge of Middenheim. The events of TEW are not considered to have happened (i.e., no civil war), but a major chaos incursion, aka, the Storm of Chaos (SoC), has devestated much of the northern portions of the Empire. Also, Sylvania has been retconned to be under the control of vampires, and has been for many years (also matching the fluff text of WFB). The nation of Bretonnia has also been retconned from pre-revolution France to an Arthurian pastiche. All the 2E adventures follow this timeline.

I should point out that 1E material can be used in a 2E (or 3E) game, and many of these differences can be subtly glossed over for all but the most obsessive fans. I ran a 2E game in the 1E world for over a year with little problems, but I did avoid buying many of the 2E supplements that most dramatically contradicted the 1E setting.

3E is set in 2521 (ie, before the SoC). The setting info in 3E matches WFB (see Sylvannia, KF on a griffon), but is written in a subjective style that makes it easy for us grognards to keep what we like from 1E ("Sure, the official line is KF fights with his men, but we know the real score.."). 3E Bretonnia blends the 1E and 2E conceptions together.

Thank you!

Even more helpful!

I would also point out that though Sylvania is pretty much under control of the Vampire Counts in practical terms, it's technically still part of the Empire, and it's not considered common knowledge outside of Sylvania and the immediate area.

I would say that 1st edition is an alternative Warhammer, that doesnt match exactly with WFB background, ther area lot discrepancies between both settings KF weak and sylvanis its still an Empire province, Karl Franz dies, Bretonia isnt a land of Chivalry Where the lady of the Lake has no poder, et, etc, etc.

2nd edition fits better with WFB Background, and is sett a litle before tha Chaos Stormt/after too.

And i would say that 3rd edition is set after Chaos Strom with anew threat arising, ther´s the alliances seted on Council of light between empire, High Elves, Wood Elves nad Dwarfs, there arent much setting info, but its mentioned that Nordland was alved by reiklander army on the last chaos invasion, presumubyli Chaos strom

Also I think that "Age of Reckoning" is Warhammer Online's timeline that is separate from WFB and WFRP timelines although it takes place in the "now" of both. Confusing? Yes.

orangefruitbat said:

What exactly makes you sure that 3E is set in 2521?

Even though it might be a printing error, in the tome of blessing, p.25 it says "On Hexentag, 2522, the cult convened for the last time."
This wording sounds to me like the Hexentag 2522 is already a part of the past, therefore setting 3E to a later date than Hexentag of 2522. Or am I missing something here?

phobiandarkmoon said:

I'm not too sure. Considering the War the von Carsteins waged against the Empire, I'd wager that most Empire commoners would be wary of Sylvania or Sylvanians on principle and the belief of predominance of Undead association.

Again, many thanks for this bit of education. It definitely helps put it in perspective.

It kinda makes putting The Enemy Wihin difficult in a context that is true to the most established stories (2nd and 3rd edition).

I like ongoing campaigns. I'm a big fan of Paizo's Adventure Path concept, regardless what folks might think of the system in comparison to Warhammer FRP. That's what draws me to TEW. It also makes me wish we had a firmer date on the Gather Storm besides 'Spring'.. Because I wonder if it's worth waiting, or if I can wait...

Text on the map on p. 95 of the Rulebook ("Political Borders of the Empire, circa 2521"). To me this implied that that is the official "start" date of 3E.

I haven't actually finished reading Tome of Blessing yet, and there may be other dates scattered throughout the book. In general, exact chronologies seem to be de-emphasized compared to previous editions. Which is probably a good thing for most campaigns.

Vitus_Prem said:

Check out the Empire at War, which is Mad Alfred's alternative end to The Enemy Within Campaign. Although it is written in 1st ed rules (as is the rest of TEW), it tries to bridge the gap between 1st ed TEW (weak KF, name changes for a few of the major NPCs) and 2nd ed post storm of chaos.

I happily ran (am still running) TEW using 2nd ed rules, using the first edition time line, which then leads nicely into 2nd ed time line, i.e. paths of damned.

As V3 now sits just before storm of chaos, you could easily run TEW into V3 timeline, using Empire at War, instead.

orangefruitbat said:

As far as i know thw storm of chaos hasnt changed the political boundaries, so, that map works for before or after the SoC.

NeoSamurai said:

OK, yes, I misphrased that. What I meant was that the Vampire Counts are commonly believed to have been defeated and are no longer a danger, but I agree that people will generally be suspicious of Sylvania and those who live there.

phobiandarkmoon said:

I thought that von Carstein led the war against the Empire from Sylvania. Then Stirland invaded and 'disolved' Sylvania so that it technically doesn't exist anymore. But that the vampires now control the Elector Count over Stirland and thus rule the province.