Hey all, I have a question that requires some experience with the game and its products to answer.

I was a fan of the last iteration of the game, but haven't really got into this new version at all. I grabbed the big core boxed set pretty close to its launch at the suggestion of a friend, and the Adventurer's Toolkit as well after noticing the distinct lack of careers in the core (I was a huge fan of the multitude of careers in the previous edition). Still unimpressed with the number of options, I basically put the game on the shelf and played 4e D&D for the last couple of years instead.

So, I am a little annoyed with the current direction D&D is heading, and have a few people who I may be able to get to play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, especially now that there has been the needed expansion of magic and religion, and a few published adventures to get started with. That being said, looking over the product list I am somewhat confused as to what I need for the 'complete experience', with the recent Guides and Vaults and so on.

I have:

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay core box

WFR: The Adventurer's Toolkit

I should get:

?

Creature Guide and Creature Vault look key (I'm a big fan of Monster Manual style monster options books), but do I get both or is that unneccessary? If it is, which should I get?

WFR: Winds of Magic and WFR: Signs of Faith seem pretty key (one of my main characters previously was a priest of Morr, so the Signs of Faith in particular has caught my attention)

One of the adventures to start...I guess the choices would be The Gathering Storm, The Edge of Night and the upcoming Witch's Song....would it be best to do those in order? Start with The Gathering Storm? Or do they provide enough extra goodies that I need all of them to have maximum options for a new set of characters?

Is there then any reason to get the Game Master's Toolkit?

And after that point, what about the Player's Guide and Game Master's Guide? Maybe the Game Master's Guide instead of the Toolkit?

Any direction would be great, as the current state of affairs is VERY confusing for someone who hasn't been following any of the releases since the initial launch.

I would get the core set, players guide and then buy the rest slowly... because it's all great stuff.

Short answer...buy in the following order (based on you already having core set and player toolkit):

1) Creature Vault (necessary for GMs to run a smooth game)

2) Creature Guide (excellent GM source material)

3) Player Guide (all the game rules updated and in one place)

4) Winds of Magic (needed for a character to run a wizard)

5) Signs of Faith (needed for a character to run a priest)

6) GMs Guide (good source material for GM)

7) Gathering Storm (if you need a campaign and setting)

8) GM Toolkit (I think you don't have this yet)

9) Player Vault (duplicate basic cards...good if you have more than 3 players)

10) GM Vault (more duplicate cards if you need 'em)

Core Set, Creature Vault, Winds of Magic, Signs of Faith are more than sufficient - if you have that you don't really need anything else, the guides fill things out and provide a good reference but they sure aren't mandatory. I'd probably add the GM vault for the extra bits(and dice), but that's my preference.

Stay away from the Gamemasters toolkit and Guide. For an adventure buy the witch song first, with all you have named, you will have the max carrers. Buy an Players Guide for your heroes.

Thank you all for the advice and input. It's very helpful.

I think I will give the GM Toolkit, Guide and Vault a skip for now, and the Player Vault. Focus on the creature stuff and the magic/faith sets, along with an adventure to get started. Maybe the Player Guide if I feel overwhelmed at first.

Many thanks

Here is my list, i possess all the curently released products so i think i'm a good judge at how useful they are!

To be honest, i think you should skip any adventure until you get these stuff:

1) Winds of Magic (wizard book + Tzeentch chaos god and Mutation rules)

2) Signs of Faith (priest book + Nurgle god and Disease rules, may go first if you prefer than the mage one)

3 and 4) Creature Vault (necessary for GMs to run a smooth game) and Creature Guide (excellent GM source material)... will add more monsters to your arsenal and is really useful once your start creating your own adventure. Personnaly i would start with the guide before adding monster components.

5) Player Guide (all the game rules updated and in one place is awesome, complete listing of careers, talents and powers is really helpful)

6) GMs Guide (good source material for GM to replace your booklet and have all the extra rules in one place, + listing of all condition, mutation n disease)

OPTIONNAL NEXT: An Adventure (i think you should wait for The Witch Song which add 2 new careers, some spells, include creature cards and looks awesome), GM Toolkit (only useful for the GM screen and a few more hints are being a good GM)

SKIP those: - Player Vault & GM Vault and let your players buy them if they want more cards or their own stuff.

If your only beginning, i suggest you skip both Gathering Storm or Edge of Night for now. They are really good adventure with some minor additionnal material for any game, but there is plenty of adventures released so far in core set + sign of faith + winds of magic to support your first 12 sessions easily and they are really good.

Hopes it helps you!

Thanks D4M0CLES, it does help. The 'order of most useful' format is super helpful, as is the reasoning why.

D4M0CLES said:

Where would you put the Adventurers Vault in terms of importance?

D4M0CLES said:

I agree with this list almost completely. I think the Winds of Magic and Signs of Faith are must have items. Plus, you get a ton of great monsters in the core and the Winds of Magic and Signs of Faith give you tons of additional chaos monsters. From there it is a crap shoot...the player's guide really does clarify the system. The Creature vault adds new monsters and is great, so it's a toss up.

If you buy the Winds of Magic and Signs of Faith, you can skip the GM Guide all together. It is more or less a compilation of those supplements. The GM Toolkit is a much better buy. You get the screen, plus a ton of additional cards, adventure splats, how to better manage chits, and I like the Nemisis Organization cards. People will complain about the screen, the biggest one is the maneuver cost for changing ranges, but it is on there. Sure, it could have been better, but it still is a pretty great screen none the less.

Also, the player's vault and GM vault. If you really consider going that route of wanting extra cards, just buy another core from Amazon. It's roughly the same price, but you get dice in it. Those two vaults really offer nothing to someone who owns a set and plans on getting more. In ways, buying another core from Amazon is better than buying additional die sets. Just my two cents on that point.

Yeah, those are my thoughts. The GM Toolkit gets a bad wrap and it is weaker than signs of faith and Winds of Magic, but its no worse than the Adventurer's toolkit at all.

What if one is starting from scratch (no Core Set even) and plans on having only 3 PCs? It si so confusing with the guides and such. Recommendations?...

As a GM, I like the GM Vault. It has a lot of useful components: More tokens, more dice, another set of Basic Action cards, more location cards, more condition cards, etc. All of which are things that I found I could use just a few more of, and the GM Vault fills perfectly.

I'm not saying that it is at the top of the list, but I don't think a GM should skip it entirely unless they've got 2 core sets.

As an 'experienced' GM, I think the ones to skip are the GM Guide and the Player's vault. The GMG, as far as I know, merely has additional examples and suggestions for 'inexperienced' GMs, or GMs wanting to run component-lite. The Player's Vault is mostly for players who want their own set of cards.

I would also agree that until you get the majority of stuff listed, you probably can wait on TGS and EoN. The adventures in WoM and SoF and the other supplements you've picked up for the extra careers/rules should keep your group busy enough that you won't really need additional adventures until later.

Titeman said:

The Core Set is perfect to start with, so I would recommend that as the first thing. If a player wants to be a wizard, you'll want to prioritize buying Winds of Magic, and if a player wants to be a priest you'll want to prioritize picking up Signs of Faith. Both are excellent for other reasons as well, but the supplements contain additional fluff/information as well as more spells/blessings and rank 3 careers for those paths, plus the 'missing' colleges/faiths that aren't in the core set.

Honestly, I'd probably say to grab both regardless, as early as you can. Core Set + WoM + SoF to start at the beginning if you can afford it. If you don't have a wizard or priest, and must choose between WoM or SoF for a purchase ... then I would suggest SoF by a slight margin. Cults and religion are everywhere in the Empire, while the presence of the various magical colleges are a bit hit and miss, so the additional god/cult information is a bit more useful than the college information. Besides, I like disease better than corruption.

D4MOCLES/commoner's list of purchases and order I will basically agree with for all the reasons they gave, except for not discounting the GM vault if you're a GM (although I wouldn't make it a priority), and I would drop the GM Guide to last, even behind the GM Vault.