I am an ancient GM with an experienced lot of players who have nevertheless never played this edition of the game. After getting the basic set (more out of curiosity than anything else) on the cheap, I found I really am a fanboy of the system and have purchased all the "core" books, sets, and toolkits.

My question to you august GMs is this:

Which adventure is the best introduction to the game? Not for gaming novices, but an introduction to gamers who are simply unfamiliar with the system. It would be a one-shot adventure (with the hopes that they will fall for it as I have) and preferably one I could easily spin off to a (published) campaign.

Thanks

anthrorob

The free Day Late, Shilling Short is a good short adventure, also easily expanded if you're comfortable creating stuff (it plays like the first session in a campaign really - is it a pure accideent the 'something' being delivered has had a mishap...)

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/wfrp/WFRP-download-promo/wfrp_day_late_shilling_short.pdf

Once folks are "down with the system" it would not fill an evening but if demo-ing the system then it will.

Traditional "dungeon crawlers" need to be reminded that Klaus the Merchant is an upstanding (and likely well-connected) member of your society even if he's a pain (I likened him to the spoiled ritch guy in disaster movies who insists on delaying to get his fnancial documents while the ship is sinking and emphasized that "he's so fat that knocking him out and carrying him won't work"). You can even make Klaus himself the package (maybe he has a perfect memory and is a courier).

I enjoyed Eye for an Eye, the one in GM section of core rules, but didn't run it first as I was a bit daunted by "new system" + "fun plot with stuff going on".

For a fuller adventure, of the 3rd edition stuff, the Gathering Storm boxed set gives the most play value and "tours around various foes".

Other tips:

- if you have them, use coloured game counters of the "stones" type etc to track Fatigue, Stress as the chits get confused etc. (the brains/blood chits from any of the Arkham Horror line boardgames of FFG are good for this purpose as well) - you can see what I mean in my last post on my blog (which has pretty much turned into a warhammer blog since I started playing the game and got happy with RPGing again).

- Count Dimon's reference guide is a great short-hand reference sheet, it's one of the resources at

http://www.gitzmansgallery.com/WFRP3_Resources/index.html

Warnging though, not all fan resource are accurate (I don't know if one of those character sheets still lists the wrong ability for Athletics).

I recently discovered that the tzeench/magic box has a pretty decent adventure that jeust presents an area and lets the players do what they want in whatever order they want. It's set up as a one-off and has notes at the end for how to make followup adventures. The adventure does demand that one player makes an apprentice wizard and the rest makes characters that are friends with the apprentice wizard.

The adventure is an investigation with abit of fighting. it contains a lot of notes for how to tweak the adventure in different directions though.

The Gathering Storm is an adequate adventure (mini campaign) that kind of hits all areas of play.

To teach the game, I'd just have them make 10 skill checks and 10 combat rolls. Once they have that down, get playing.

The crucial thing is KEEP THE ACTION MOVING WHEN THE DICE ARE ROLLING. Players that are used to taking all day will take even longer in this game, so it's crucial that with initiative that you have people roll at the same time (if same initiative). Don't wait for players.

Another thing: Don't use the party sheet as a party punishment meter! Let the players do the work on that. We had one GM at our latest convention raise and lower the tension meter depending on how we were doing in combat.

Best of luck,

jh

Emirikol said:

I think the Party Sheet is probably the bit of this game that varies the most for gaming group to gaming group in how it is handled.

Personally, I use it as an indicator to the players how the general mood of the party might be.
For example:
Trying to traverse a forest, the scout rolls poorly and they loose a day of travel. Party Tension Up.
A party member makes snow shoes from branches and leather to traverse the deep snow faster: Party Tension Down

I seldom use it for details, it's for big blunders or successes that has an effect on the whole party.