Does anyone know what the current year is assumed to be with the new edition of the game? Is it following along with the current timeline presented in the Fantasy Battles products or has it pulled back some years? Im working up some character bios and am trying to get my timeframe accurate. Thank you!

While no date is actually specified, there is a story about a Chaos Cult in the ToB (pg. 25 to be exact) that notes that the the cult met for the last time on Hexentag, 2522, thereby putting this date in the "past" of whatever the current day setting is. Since the Storm of Chaos erupted in 2521, I take this as evidence to support my theory that the SoC has been retconned out of the setting and that the clock hasn't simply been rolled back to pre-SoC as many others have suggested.

Yeah the Storm of Chaos bit is where the whole thing gets quite a bit fuzzy, personally I am with you that the whole Storm of Chaos plot line that made the 2nd edition storyline hard for me to work with, it kind of forced something that worked well enough for a Fantasy Battles Summer Campaign into the WHFRP line that just didnt work for me at all. Big war stories are apart of the setting for sure, but I felt it was pretty restricting.

So my guess is that the End Times that are currently at hand with Surtha Lenk in the middle of it, is a lead in to a more WHFRP appropriate version of chaos rising in the north. What I think I will do is use the timelines I have available (Sigmar's Heirs, Army Books, Warpstone Mags, etc. and use the stuff that fits with the modern iteration of the setting while completely ignoring all references to the Storm of Chaos and assume that Archaon and his lot never were.

One of the maps in the Core Rules is dated "2521," so I think it's safe to say that the game is set in that year.

While I enjoy the story behind the Storm of Chaos, I think that leaving it out clears things up a lot in terms of placing a character group in the old world. An event like the SoC affects every aspect of Imperial life, so a campaign would have to touch upon some of its ramifications at one time or other. In other words, it's the pink elephant in the room.

I think it kind of gave the setting a bit of a post-apocalyptic vibe that was unique. But at the same time, I kind of enjoy not having to address it in a campaign. I rather concentrate on the characters and their personal stories in the "here and now," as opposed to their response to a war that concluded a year before the events of the game.

Yup, it's 2521 and there are foreshadowings (e.g., hints of attacks on Kisleve, warlord) similar to Storm of Chaos.

It may not be accidental that the Ubersreik area and Marienberg are locations they are developing so far - the northern half of empire can be ripped up pretty bad and your nice map of Ubersreik won't be invalidated.

I would like to think we have least a few years before any horrible transforming events - while the "threat of end times" is a great mechanism to help bond together disparate characters such as the wood elves coming out of Athel Loren, and also events in adventures - explain why there's a cult around every corner and beastmen bubbling up all over, there is also so much fun to enjoy just "in the grim, gritty world" without having hordes running through it.

And really, things should last at least until 2525. In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if elves can survive, they may find...., and really by that token the Empire should last 10,000 years, enough for men to cry a billion tears, for what they never knew, before man's reign is through...

(in case you can't shake wanting to know the real lyrics,

lol

the Zack and evan song "In the Year 2525" was darn good. I have emailed it to all my wfrp buddies.

thanks for sharing...you made my day (there should be a dancing smiley)

valvorik said:

Awesome reference! Subtle and funny.

Archaon is explicitly mentioned in the Winds of Magic supplement, as a rumored threat from the North. This would indicate to me that the Storm of Chaos hasn't happened yet.