A Warhammer 3rd Edition Convert -- Hats Off!

By Wintermancer, in WFRP Gamemasters

So, I finally got my hands on WFRP, and I must say, I haven't been this excited after reading through a set of rulebooks since the very first time I cracked open an RPG rulebook (that happened to be second edition Shadowrun, as an aside). I love the presentation, and the mechanics (the custom dice system works particularly well with my narrative approach to GMing, in ways I could never find a system that did until now). I did, however, find the editing of the rulebooks to be a bit sub par--far too many misspellings and missing words or phrases, and the occasional inconsistent phrasing making a rule here or there a little too vague (but not too many).

I was so stoked about WFRP that the same day I unboxed the game, I started calling up friends to come over and play through the demo adventure before I'd even had a chance to finish reading the rules (I know, generally stupid, but that's how much the game excited me--neither I, nor my friends, could wait until we had a handle on it to play it!).

My final verdict: if not for some shoddy editing issues, this game would be **** near perfect, and is (whether or not you agree with me on its "**** near" perfection) a refreshing breath of fresh air from the future of the gaming industry as painted by Wizards of the Coast (not that I dislike 4th Ed D&D, I actually rather like it, very much so in fact, but let's face it, WFRP has a very different flavor, and alternative flavor is always a good thing; McDonald's is good, but it's nice to have Burger King too!). I am particularly glad to see a game imbracing a non-mini driven narrative approach (even if it is a game that I know many purists--and I can understand the sadness here--probably think should have stuck to its mini driven roots), but that is actually utilizing some kind of fast-and-furious visualization system that eliminates my need to reconstruct scenarios on graph paper just to help my players get a spatial handle on what the hell is going on!

I was particularly impressed with the quality of the introductory adventure in the Tome of Adventure, as well as the quality of the art and overall visual presentation. Fantastic work all around in these arenas. It makes me want to work in the gaming industry again. Certainly got my creative juices flowing, at the very least, as well as brought me back to the hobby (I was days away from packing up my dice and taking a hiatus from gaming altogether before I saw and got my hands on a copy of WFRP).

What I think is revolutionary is how FFG has reinvented the way that information is disseminated to the player, though I must also caveat that it did take a good bit of getting used to on the part of my players and myself. Cumbersome and daunting at first, to not have a book with all the cool powers and whatnot to peruse, but once everyone got the hang of it, lightning fast in ways that could not have been anticipated.

Between WFRP, Dark Heresy, and Rogue Trader, all in all I have to say: hats off. You have three **** good games, FFG. Thanks!

~Wintermancer~

Really glad to hear you're enjoying the system. I wanted to comment that I had the same experience myself, right down to the unparalleled level of excitement; I, too, have not been this excited since Shadowrun 2nd edition. Hopefully FFG has many more goodies coming out soon for this great system.

My sentiments exactly. I haven't wanted to run a game in years. Heck, I haven't even wanted to play in a few years. But the minute I saw this set, I started thinking about who might want to come over and play....