Early reviews for ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG – the world’s first Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay retroclone – are in. Here’s a snippet from Gabriel Lauzon-Payette:
Zweihänder is heavily inspired by Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay’s second edition. Designer Daniel Fox’s game remains true to its dark, bloody roots and the core themes from Games Workshop’s roleplaying system are very present. If you want to play unlikely “heroes” who are down on their luck in an unfair medieval world, look no further. Zweihänder is setting-agnostic, usable for any dark medieval-renaissance universe. The book’s writing may not be top notch and there are lots of repetitions and needless enumerations, but it quickly sets you in the game’s mood: your characters are going to bleed, suffer, go mad or die from gangrene and somehow, you know you’re going to love it.
Zweihänder manages to perfect some of Warhammer’s most clunky systems. Character creation has all the fun randomness you’d expect from a game that prides itself on its unfairness. Races are all balanced, no longer giving stat bonuses. Players also get to choose which skills and upgrades they want to buy for their starting profession, making your character’s “class” customizable from the start. Beginner characters are also a little more competent than in Warhammer, which feels like a welcome change to me…