I've been checking out the various warhammer fantasy battles sourcebooks and I've come to realize that they are full of GOLD in regards to good background material for WFRP!

Empire, Dwarves, Elves (wood, high, dark), Greenskins all of them are chock full of useful stuff

I just picked up Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire today. TONS of cool ideas for characters..plus it also makes me ready to re-install regional benefits for HUMANS. I think I'll just keep the human racial card the same but give a couple regional descriptors (Ostlander stubbornness, Nordlander directness, etc.).

Any of you have favorites or thoughts on the issue?

jh

I especially like the map on p.4-5 of the Orc & Goblin lands..gives me an idea for a campaign

jh

+1.

I've been a WHFB player since 3rd edition, so most of the foundation for the Warhammer world I have comes from what I learned from the miniatures game.

They all have great stuff, the new Skaven book is particularly revealing about some of their 'newer' developments. The books are also chock full of good suggestions for magic items as well.

And, not to mention they are good guidelines for building up your own bestiary. Using existing stats for comparison, it's probably not too hard to convert most of them to WFRP stats.

Yes, they are fantastic source.

Provide so much needed informations about chosen race and its culture. Maps, backgrounds, ideas.

I don't play WFB, but I buy every supplement I can, just to expand my knowledge.

My favored for now are Skaven, and Chaos Warriors

Since I picked up WFRP 3E, I've been purchasing the Codices as they've been released for just this purpose.

The Skaven and Beastmen ones have been particularly fruitful for ideas.

I've recently found the newest Dark Elf book to be chock full of Elven religion - especially the Cytharai, the gods of the Underworld.

In fact, Emirikol, I'm using the magical Druchii doorway idea from your False Pretenses scenario as a major plotline, with them being created with a ritual to Nethu, the god that protects the doorway to the Underworld.

So you can all benefit too, here's what I pulled out of the Dark Elf book for the gods:

Khaine - the best known of the Cytharai, the god of murder and war.

Ereth Khial - the goddess-queen of the Underworld. Second in power to Asuryan. She attempted to seduce Asuryan, but her resisted. In her rage, she stole the souls of the Elves and trapped them in the dark pit, Mirai. It is said if she's ever so angered again, she will raise the dead, who will outnumber the living and eat them! Her most feared servants are called Rephallim, invisible wraith-like creatures who lead souls to the Underworld. Supposedly they can be summoned and then set upon a foe using a doll made to look like the victim.

Nethu - Ereth Khial's son. He guards the door to the Underworld. He carries a silver harp that he uses to lure Elven souls from their bodies and a heavy iron key for the gates to the Underworld. Rites of Nethu allow Elves to commune with the dead. Empowered runes of Nethu are often used to drive other mad, and Dark Elves are known to put such runes in doors or bedchambers of their enemies.

Atharti - a goddess of pleasure and indulgence.

Hekarti - a goddess of conjurations dark magic. She has no shrine, as it is said that she is everywhere. She is many-headed, like a Hydra, and has six arms to carry her sacred tools. A serpent-headed staff, a still beating heart, a scorpion, a broken arrow, a serrated dagger and a phial of orphan's tears. Her powers are very destructive, but her blessings always demand a price of blood.

Anath Raema - the sister of Khaine, Anath is the goddess of the savage hunt. She wears a belt of heads and hands of hunters that benefited from her blessings but did not praise her in return. Her advances were spurned by Kurnous, so she is also worshiped by some Elves as a patron of jealous lovers.

The older army books, particularly the 5th edition ones are great sources of information.

I often pick up obsolete army source books that gaming shops are trying to get rid of once a newer edition comes out.

Got the Skaven and Dwarfs books for about 5 bux each.

COWWWWWWAAAAAAABUNNNNNGGGAAAAAAAAAA!

Necrozius said:

I wanted to do it... and finally I bought the last edition's books because there is always more and more fluff through editions... I bought High Elves, Dwarves, and orcs & gobelins so far for my WFRP3 game... Soon I'll buy Beastmen I think...

I would SO MUCH find the bestiary from V2 (in french language)... I read it by a friend and it is EXCELLENT... with 3 levels of knowledge on each beast : commoner, educated and what the creature says. Stats are in the other half of the book. Excellent.

willmanx said:

I never imagined there would be so much useful text in the army books, but so far I've bought Empire, High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, Orcs & Goblins, Skaven, and Warriors of Chaos. The Warhammer setting has so much fluff!

Really is an amazing setting. The Fluff gives detailed history on each army and it's general populace, but it's definitely focused on the details of wars as opposed to what happens in the life of a day to day commoner or adventuring type. Very enjoyable reads though.

I have the lizardman book and I used it to create a few interesting npcs

like the grand explorer a sacred spawning that allows a skink to stay in constant contact with the slann at all times, he can acess the memories of the slann and thus can remember everything of previous grand explorers. The spawning is so taxing that a slann can only have have one grand explorer and many slann would rather not as they fear it would interupt there spell casting.

the grand explorer is friendly to the pcs and incredibly powerful (strength 3, agility 7, toughness 2, intelligence 4, will 4, fellowship 3) and has fully trained most skills to represent the fact that he has several lives of experience. hes the kind of guy that says "you go fight the chaos lord, I'll handle his army of a thousand guys"

Why there traditionally hasn't been very much support for the WHFRPGs from Games Workshop is beyond me. The army books are a fantastic resource and for many of us was our first introduction to the Old World. I'd love to see more custom miniature sets such as those released last year for Imperial generals and High Elf heroes and mages geared towards making adventurers. Of course, I'm also eager to see FF release more Adventurer's Toolkit-style sets geared towards different factions and areas of the Warhammer World - especially a Bretonnia set (hint, hint).