Hello, my group is considering WFRP3ed as the next system, we used to play previous editions, then switched to other games, but now we'd like to come back to the Old World.

What products would you recommend? Core rules - naturally, but what else? There are usually about 5 players (plus one GM ) and I've heard that in the core rules there are enough cards etc. for only four? So do I have to buy two core rules sets?

What other sets?

And I've noticed there are quite a few scenarios - which are the best? We prefer not-combat heavy games, I mean here - we do enjoy some skull bashing, sometimes whole sessions are devoted to that, but not all the time (like in Deathwatch).

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

You should consider the Adventurer's Toolkit first. It's inexpensive (for this line at least) and has some great careers and actions.

For your first big supplement I always recommend is Lure of Power. Once you have that, follow it up with Omens of War.

Lure of Power has something for every kind of character, social or otherwise. It's a great, broad supplement that you can get a lot of use from early on. Omens of War is almost as universally useful, with a lot of great combat actions, plus mounted rules and severe wounds.

Others here will say that you first will need to flesh out wizards and priests with Winds of Magic and Signs of Faith respectively. In my experience, it's a big investment early on to service a single player (assuming you even have a wizard or priest in the party). They are both great sets, and I would very much recommend them – after you have LoP and OoW.

Scenario-wise, the Gathering Storm is a pretty good opener. The Witch's Call also has some good material. Edge of Night can't decide whether it want's to be a city supplement or an adventure, and ends up being a less than satisfying combination of each (though I used it as a springboard for a lot of scenarios). If you don't mind waiting a few months, they are doing a new version of The Enemy Within which should keep you occupied for a long while.

Welcome to a system I find supports creative play and lets you "put narrative over mapping".

The core set supports 3 players (e.g., has 3 sets of basic action cards). Now a photocopier can expand you to 4 or 5 if you like.

I second Adventurer's Toolkit (how can you say no to Ratcatcher and an additional set of basic action cards to support another player).

I endorse Gathering Storm as a good "tour of old favourites in the new system" and also good value for money in playing time (GM may want to rework some things) - it also "brings the grim" in that it sets a pace which doesn't allow endless "we'll rest another night to try to get over more critical wounds" choices. It may be a bit more combat than you want - though a GM can emphasize the roleplaying. I agree that Edge of Night is a bit of a botch adventure wise (a wonderful set piece which it feels was surrounded with a hacked up lead in and maybe-to-taste/maybe not followup) and though it has lots of background material lower on the to buy list. Witch's Song is fun and a good adventure in very atmospheric setting - its a more layered plot than Gathering Storm though less range of foes and probably less re-useable material.

HOWEVER, if you really want a non-combat game then Witch's Song is probably the best. Gathering Storm has a couple of mysteries and other roleplay scenes etc but is mostly combat. Edge of Night is a big social event and ideal for what you describe BUT takes lots of work to make useable. Witch's Song has quite a bit of roleplay/investigation potential.

Each of the 4 ruinous power boxes also has a smaller adventure in it, the adventure in the Winds of Magic box has the most non-combat/social stuff though Lure of Power also has an adventure that doesn't put combat first.

You can see what you get component wise in different sets here:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/wfrp/support/FAQ-9-2011/WFRP_Component_List_9-8-11.pdf

A nice thing about the adventure boxes so far is that they don't really "presuppose" you have bought specific other products (e.g., none expect you to own the Creature Guide, the hardback of which has some major flaws, the big box of creatures and cards of which does add more GM choices).

For the 4 supplement boxes, it really depends on what sort of group you have. If you have people aching to play priests or wizards beyond the 3 types of each in core set, those two supplements are good. They also each bring new nasty toys for GM (disease and corruption) - though you can get those from the GM hardback. Lure of Power does offer more social stuff but doesn't do as nice a job adding new nasty GM toys. Omens of War is between the two and again better if you have combat focused group. Of course, if you have a favourite ruinous power that may influence you among the 4.

Black Fire Pass really only makes sense if you have a very strong dwarf interest (e.g., multple players want to be dwarf characters).

I would only get hardbacks if you're a completionist.

Start cheap:

Core set ($62) + Players Guide (PDF-$25)

All of the main abilities from all sets up to Witch's Song are in the Players Guide and most of the monsters you'll need can go from there.

jh

If I had to start all over again, I ll buy the Core Set + Creature Cards and Tokens to please you and your player with very nice stuff

With the lot of aid from website you can print a full page paper made Character Sheet with all the starting basic action cards no need them really it s a little sacrifice to your game that would easy the hand of new players with Only the Real Cards actions

Then you go !

Core + Adventurer's toolkit would be my automatic first two buys.

Adventurer's toolkit adds pretty essential careers and basic action cards for a 4th player.

ummaner said:

Forget what I said. I would do this first. Then Adventurers Toolkit and the rest.

I would agree that Core Set + Creature Vault would be the best starting point. Most players I know replace the basic action cards with a version printed on a single sheet of paper (unlike most of the 'proper' action cards the basic action are the same on reckless and conservative side so there is no benefit to them being on cards as such) so there is really no need for the cards themselves.

After that I would recommend a PDF of Sigma's Heirs as that is probably the book I refer to most often. It is all fluff so the fact that it is for second edition is irrelevant.

As suggested above if you are on a budget it is probably worth holding off on Winds of Magic and Signs of Faith until you have someone wanted to play a priest or a wizard. I have been running this game since it came out and, whilst I have brought every release, no one has ever wanted to play one of these careers (I am starting a new campaign soon and seriously considering making it all wizard just to make use if this stuff!).

Most of the adventures released are usable with a little work. The Witches Song and Edge of Night both have lots of potential. The Gathering Storm is a bit combat heavy. However with a little work you can turn it into three separate adventures set in the same town. The adventure as written has a forced timeline which limits the opportunities for your characters to interact with what is otherwise a very nicely developed little town. Remove that timeline element, add in a few of your own ideas, and I could see it turning into a bass of a good long campaign.

Captain Fluffy said:

Yeah, for pure fluff, I'd say Sigmars Heirs, Tome Of Corruption and Tome Of Blessings is the three major sourcebooks. All three are WFRP 2nd edition though, so the rules are pretty much useless. But there is a LOT of good fluff in them.

Captain Fluffy said:

Captain Fluffy said:

I'm going to agree with this almost exactly.

1. Core Set (Best bang for your buck for dice plus you get all the cards and tokens)

2. Creature Vault (Sure makes things easier from GM perspective)

3. Sigmar's Heirs (You can get this off of Amazon in physical form for about $5. Well worth it and the best overall introduction to warhammer fantasy available. Almost entirely fluff.)

4. At this point you fall into one of two categories. A. Someone who likes premade adventures, or B. someone that likes to write their own stuff. If you like the prewritten stuff, pick up one of the following: Gathering Storm, Edge of Night, Witches Song. If you prefer to create your own stuff, I would recommend you pick up the Gamemasters Guide (which includes the mutation rules, disease rules, and miscast rules).

5. Omens of War and/or Lure of Power (LoP has something for everyone and OoW has severe wounds and mounts)

6. If you get to this point, you are well on your way to owning everything and will likely be answering this question for others. I've actually started picking up more and more of the 2nd edition stuff simply for the extensive detail to different aspects of the setting.

I'd just like to add a thanks to all the people who have posted their suggestions here. I too am new to WFRP 3rd edition and I bought the core set the other day and wasn't sure where to go from there