I'm a long time gamer who has played a variety of different RPGs but never delved into WHFRP. On a whim I read a few Warhammer based novels, i.e. Gotrek & Felix and found that I really enjoyed the dark and grim undertones of the Old World setting. My question is this, what WHFRP product (any edition) do you feels gives the best snap shot of what playing the game in that setting would be like. For example, the new Core Set because it contains a large quantity of basic material from one source or maybe just the Player's Guide since it appears to compile all the character careers in one book. To be clear, the product/book etc. does not have to give the ability to actually play the game or contain all it's mechanics. Hope that makes sense.

To get a true feeling then the Core set is still the best bang for the buck. It's the only place where you can see what all the components are and how they can interact. Buying just the Players Vault for example gives you a bunch of cards with no context. The players Guide may do what you need as it gives you the needed rules from the players perspective. But if that's all you really want just buy the original Core Rulebook PDF which I think is still $10.

Good input. Thanks Kryyst.

The world of Warhammer hasn't been illuminated in the new edition nearly as much as in previous editions. That's not an insult. It's a really interesting, if pricey, system, but there's just not as much "fluff" in WFRP 3 (yet).

If you want Old World flavor, the best all-in-one book is going to be the core WFRP 2 book. There's also a bunch of other books in that series that have a ton of information on specific settings/critters (there were books for the Skaven, Vampires, Bretonnia, Chaos, Faiths, etc), but I think there's enough in the base book to give you a very good feel of the world.

On the other hand... if Gotrek an Felix are your thing, and you want to play a game in that style, then WFRP 3 core may be your best bet. The reason being that the new game allows for characters that are a little bit more powerful (IMO).

Why do I feel like I'm going to get flamed now?

flames blam, blam, flames flames.

sorry I haven't had the time with all the others grognards arround here to flame first.

kidding aside, no i think you're right in your evaluation of the game. 2nd edition have so much more, and it will take FFG years to get the same production line as wfrp 2nd edition did. But when they do, oh man, what I game we will have

good gaming
ps: anybody psycked about the Mansions of Madness? it's my priority one at the moment. they used the renowned Henning Ludvigsen to do much of the art. And man that is some fine piece of boardgaming waiting for us. Now I must take my medicine. over!

Mal Reynolds said:

Yup/ I can't wait. Sounds GREAT. Shame it's not out before the end of February, as I would have asked for it for my birthday, but I'm not overly bothered.

Wonder if the Gears of War boardgame will ever come out....

LordPasty said:

I agree that there isn't as much fluff in the core set as there was in previous 2e set. But 3rd edition oozes old world very well. I think it captures the feelings much better then past additions. The previous editions always hinted that the characters are the people that stand up against the darkness and rise to the occasion. Which they generally did. Then they got killed off, driven insane and seldom achieved much. This edition at least makes characters that can be heroic and can live up to much of the flavor presented in novels and various other sources. The adventures in WFRP 3 so far have been generally awesome and have consistantly really gotten the traditional aspects of WFRP perfect. They have intrique, adventure, monsters, horror and shining player moments. They are set in very rich places.

So I'll agree that the core set doesn't give as much fluff. But in terms of capturing the feel of Warhammer literature WFRP 3 does it way better and if you want more fluff in your rules pick up any one of the adventure box sets.

Mal Reynolds said:

I just figured an edition warrior of any of the above would kill me over not giving their favorite enough "love".

I agree with the assessment of the new edition though, as more comes out the better! Seems like they're more willing to tackle parts of the world other editions didn't (though we did have Skaven and Vampires in 2!)