I just got Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3 edition on the mail today and everything on the line up to date(Core, GM kit, Adv Kit, Dice Pack and Gathering Storm). My brother is gonna be the GM for us playing and it will be his first time and our first time playing RPGs in years. So I want to know in what order he should read all of the books/cards that are in all of the things I just mentioned.

Stick with the Core Box and run the Demo Adventure from this site first (rather than Eye for an Eye). The extras of the Adventurers Toolkit just fit straight into the Core Rules, and the GM Kit and Gathering Storm can be left until later.

The reason I suggest the Demo adventure (A Day Late, A Shilling Short) is that it is short, straight forward, covers all the main facets and offers tips. If you don't like the Pre-gen characters it's easy enough to substitute others - or you could run the demo as practice, and then come up with characters after you've got the rules down.

The GM doesn't really need to read the cards. He can trust his players to do that.

I agree with monkeylite, the GM shouldn't have to read all the cards. But I would suggest the GM read through the cards (actions, talents) that the players choose during character creation. If only to get an idea for what the party is capable of, what their strengths are and how to counter/enhance them.

Start with the Core Rules, Tome of Adventure (including Eye for an Eye) and the Demo adventure and the FAQ/Errata (very important to read this). Then read up on Tome of Mysteries (includes special cases for the creation of wizard characters) and Tome of Blessings. The Adventurer's toolkit doesn't have much text but it's important to be familiar with the special careers in it, like Rat Catcher, IronBreaker and Wardancer. I would encourage to either house rule the IronBreaker and Wardancer as advanced careers, because the power level (Iron Breaker) and complexity (Wardancer) in playing them can be an issue. The Rat Catcher's pet requires the GM be familiar with the use of the Pet and its dynamics.

The GM Toolkit is pretty unessential, maybe grasp some of the Optional Rules and keep them handy just in case. It's something the GM can get to after playing through the included adventure and the demo.

As above, but would add that anyone can read the core rules, and it may be useful for some of the players to do so to get an idea of the rules.

But the Adventure tome is mainly for the GM. Especially the sample adventure at the end - that really is GM's eyes only. (until you have done it. at least)

Other books such as magic and priests can be read and used if any players pick those professions. Otherwise they can be read when you get around to them.

The rules are not that massive, and the books are full of interesting background, so it won't be a chore reading through them. In fact you will probably end up reading them very quickly as they are such nice books.

Oh, one other thing, don't skip reading parts of the rule books, trying to focus on just the "interesting" bits. Read all of it like you would a book, rules are spread throughout the whole text and are not just contained in bullet points. So you might miss out on important information if you skip what appears to be "fluff" text. I'm firmly convinced one of the major reasons why people find 3e harder to read is because they just skip to whatever section seems relevant and don't read through all the rulebook.

Don't forget to download the FAQ from this site...it really helps clarify the sloppy writing in parts of the core...trust me on this. Though I typically agree with Lexicanum, I disagree with him about the GM Toolkit. There are tons of useful suggestions in the set (especially if you haven't played in a long time). It also gives out a series of really nice templates for encounters and situations the GM can quickly refer to for his own game. Just cut there narrative example in each template, graft it over the existing game and it works out great. It also has some neat rules about Nemesis groups and Nemesis characters and how to better use the GM components such as trackers and location cards. I would tell him, after he finishes reading the Tome of Adventure - but before the module - he should at least browse and read over the GM Toolkit book. It's short and I consumed the thing in the afternoon.

Someone should be familiar with the cards at the table though...the GM or one of the players. This will help the other players generate as they go through the cards the first time, it is much easier for one person at the table to simply ask, what are you interested in doing...okay here are three or four cards to pick from. Leveling is fast enough, the other players should be able to adjust easily once they become familiar with the system. Otherwise, first generation can take a long time as each player waits for the deck to go through the cards.

By the way, welcome to the game and these boards. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Cheers,

Commoner