I'm thinking of starting wfrp, so I need to know where to start. Do I need the box set? or are there other ways to get the rules?

Hey John.

Welcome to the community. You really should get one box set and a tool kit. You can get the PDF of the rules but it won't do you much good without the cards that come in the set.

Try this thread for starting up your game: www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

You need the box set, the rules alone are pointless. Like being handed you an owners manual to a car - without the car.

There is no easy way to get into the game without knowing someone that already has the boxed set. If they have it, I'd recommend getting the .pdf version of the books and some dice. If you don't know anyone currently playing the game, I recommend getting the boxed set online (about $60 on Amazon, at least). If you like the game and want to play, pick up the Adventurer's toolkit and possibly some extra dice.

Personally, I own:

1 boxed game (accommodates 1 GM and 3 players)

1 Adventurer's Toolkit (Adds 1 extra player into the mix and adds some new basic careers.)

2 Sets of Extra Dice (Needed as sharing just the boxed set dice can become an issue once you have 5 people playing)

The online .pdf files of the rulebooks are available, but they won't make much sense to you until you've seen the components of the game. The book does show some examples of cards and dice from the boxed set, but having them in front of you when you're reading the rules makes it easier to understand some of the concepts.

For me, I read through the rules over a period of a few days (292 pages of reading, after all), looked over the components and studied them for a bit, then read the rules a second time. Since this game uses different mechanics than what most RPGers are used to, a second read through will really help to get your mind wrapped around the concepts of WFRP3.

Once you understand the core concepts and how to use the components that come with the boxed set, everything will start making sense.

.....then down the road, you can be like the rest of us and start debating the positives and negatives associated with all of these things.

Enjoy, and welcome to the club.

awsome, thanks now I just have to wait on my tax return lol. are there any online resources for setting info? i just know the bare bones basics of the setting...

John24 said:

Most setting info is in books (see the link in my sig for more details), but Wiki sites can be good. Though it's oriented toward Warhammer Online, HammerWiki has a decent amount. Games Workshop's website has pretty extensive pictures, both artwork and toy soldiers, that can give a good sense of the visual aspects of the world.

I bought the PDFs before I had the boxed set in hand. I was able to glean most of how the game worked from the card samples in the rules, the ones that are scattered around the designer's notes on the main FFG page, and the downloadable adventure that does have four pregen PCs you can look at when reading the rules (they don't have the action cards listed, but you can see what they start with).

Worked pretty well. So many questions were answered once I had everything in hand, but the leap from reading the PDFs to getting the box and running our first 3e adventure (the demo one on the site) was only about 48 hours with a scant few of them available to digest the action cards/wound cards/etc. But the players stepped up and we realized we didn't need to know everything each action card they could use before we jumped in to get a handle on the way the game plays.

Buy the boxed set. Download my quick-players summaries and sequences (if you don't get the excellent ones on the Hammerzeit site instead). You also will want to download the DEMO. That will give you the best, quick-start for how to play.

My summaries: gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/emirikol7/

Hammerzeit: 74.53.20.230/hammerzeit/

The DEMO adventure (more of just a short side-trek encounter): www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp

good gaming,

Jay H

Thank you everybody for the replies, they've been a huge help. Wow this community is far friendlier than most of the others I've seen, cool. I only have one more question, does the FFG site have a store locater? I'm interested in some of the other games, but I don't know if there are any stores in my area that sell them (other than borders....). Thanks once again, you've all been a big help.

I could be mistaken, but FFG should be distributed through Alliance (one of the bigger game distributors). Check your local shop, if tehy order from Alliance they should be able to get anything from FFG.

I have found you can get most of FFG's stuff slightly cheaper from Amazon as well - its where i have got all my stuff from if that helps.

if you wana get more FFG games, either find a local game store that carries them, if they dont ask if they can get them in, or amazon is your best friend : )

Shops that carry lots of FFG materials:

funagain.com

boardsandbits.com

bouldergames.com

nobleknight.com

John where are you located? Someone from your area might be reading this thread RIGHT NOW!

(I play in the Twin Cities, MN area if that helps...)