RPG Spotlight: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
The World-That-Was is enoying a resurgence right now, so let’s take a look back at one of the first RPGs to set foot in the world of Warhammer Fantasy.
First hitting shelves in 1986, Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system was originally created as supplemental to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop game. Additional materials included conversion systems to use between the games, but after disappointing sales and some restructuring production of the roleplay system changed publishers and refocused a number of times before the Black Industries published the second edition of the game nineteen years later in 2005.
Unlike other tabletop RPG systems, WFRP is lower fantasy and higher stakes. While magic is an aspect of the game, it’s meant more for individual use in first edition and is manifested chaos in second. The combat that does exist within the game is brutal, creating a world where many characters would only be able to take a few hits before being rendered critically injured or even killed. These can be avoided by using some of your very limited “fate points,” using destiny as a way to avoid taking a key blow. A game that forces you to be strategic and smart in to avoid your character dying quickly and horribly.
But, you probably won’t. And your favorite character will probably die–at which point you’ll roll up another, discover you’re a ratcatcher, and fall in love all over again. That’s one of the things that WFRP does incredibly well; it captures the low-fantasy, grim gallows humor that suffuses the world of Warhammer Fantasy. You really do get swept up in the lowness of it all and can’t help but enjoy the ride, even if it does mean the innkeeper you thought was your friend robs you and leaves you tied up an an altar to Khorne.
Editions one, two, and four implement percentage dice and traits rated on a 1-100 system. In 2009 third edition briefly uses Fantasy Flight Games with completely different rules and the FFG standard of proprietary and unique dice, but in 2018 they switched back.
The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system has been met by and large with positive reception and a 2005 ENnie Award, giving Warhammer fans another way to immerse themselves into the world and being rewarded for the effort. It pinpoints the precision and macabre that players are looking for and presents it to them in another format, effectively creating a game that’s tailor-made to the Warhammer universe. Would this scare off somebody who isn’t familiar with the source material? Perhaps. But that’s probably also just fine. A little complex, a little dark, and very unsparing, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system isn’t for the casual tabletop player looking for a way to relax for a few hours, and it doesn’t want to be.
Have you played the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system? Which edition? What kind of character did / do you play? Let us know in the comments.
Happy Adventuring!
