Standard Disclaimers
I received this game as a gift, but not as a review product. I have never played any edition of WFRP and, in fact, still haven’t played this game. I’ve read through all the rules at least once, but I’m sure I still have a few misconceptions. I am very familiar with the setting, having played Warhammer (40k and Fantasy) avidly for about five years (1996-2001).
Good
For a game with a hefty price tag, WFRP is still a game that values economy. Its books are brief, covering the general rules without getting down to the nitty gritty of every character’s special powers. Players have a card or physical object representing every action they take, every adjustment to be made, and every passive ability they possess. There’s no excruciating references to a book needed, it’s all right there.
That sort of philosophy permeates the game. All actions are resolved based on totaling up various good dice (skill, ability, aggressiveness, conditions) and bad dice (conditions, defense) for one simple roll. As a GM gets more comfortable with it, it could become a powerful and versatile system. Tracking is done visually: there’s virtually no math (other than counting up results in dice pool) and completely and intuitively incorporates a number of aspects in the game.
Spell casting is a cool twist on the basic system that reflects the fluff of the Warhammer universe. Experience is simple and characters have something to advance after every adventure. In my estimation WFRP is a powerful, deep system that if used properly gives players and DMs a satisfying immersive and flexible system.
Bad
Monsters have their own subsystem, which is fine, and a different method of tracking, which is also fine. Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure I have a full grasp of how they work.
Moreover, some races seem barely supported. With only four races I want to be able to play them fully. Yet, we have no advanced classes for Wood or High Elves. No Dwarven runesmiths (their mage equivalent) and no Elven spellcasters.
Furthermore, there are basic and intermediate classes included in the box set. This leads me to believe some “high level” classes are planned, but not mentioned or included. Fantasy Flight Games’ bread & butter is making expansions, but I think it’s a tad insulting to basically not include a full game. You have at least eight races/armies from Warhammer to expand into, countless types of evil magic, and decades of fluff for expansion fodder, but please give a complete game to play.
Ugly
Typos. I’m mystified that such a slick product could have homonym mistakes, spacing errors and generally a few sloppy places. Including “Light Crossbow” as an equipment option for a few classes of wealth, and then NOT having such an item is just mind boggling (the online FAQ clears up that the meant just normal crossbow). For such a slick product, its really sad to see such basic lapses crop up. I shouldn’t have to read an online FAQ to play a $100 game!
Comparisons
Now, the inevitable comparison to the other fantasy juggernaut: 4e. First, in 4e paragon play, I just loathe the conditions I have to track, the turns I lose, and the countless fiddly bits from feats and whatnot that I need to consider to begin to play my character effectively. From what I can tell, WFRP is a lot more streamlined alleviates a lot of the things I’m growing tired of in 4e.
The skills and tracking system in WFRP is a much cleaner and interesting way than the skill challenge mechanics such as they are in 4E. Skill challenges always feel like an obligatory subgame in 4E (to me) whereas noncombat in WFRP seems fresh and incorporated. 4e books are sorta a bore for me, both because the system isn’t new, but also because reading pages and pages of powers is frankly, god awful. WFRP “powers” (such as they are) are all already on cards with clear labels. Read the ones you want based on characters you’re thinking about.
4e offers complete tactical play (quite well), whereas WFRP goes through contortions to be more abstract (although it remains to be seen how successful this is) That being said, 4e is a complete game. It’s honest in its content. Epic tier may have been skimpy at first, but it existed. WFRP seems to have it planned, but didn’t include for whatever reason. In some ways its apples and oranges, but I think that WFRP’s innovative system rewards encourages creative play more organically than D&D. This is sure to sway some gamers, and it has me excited to try it out myself.
Overall
A-, in concept and initial impression. Play is the obvious litmus test, but I have very high hopes.
I had a great time playing it but I’m not sure it could sustain my interest in the same way a D&D campaign could. I agree though. It is a nice break from 4E. I really dug the mechanics of the game. Very casual. I find the setting completely uninspiring though. Sort of wish it was just a general fantasy rpg and not branded to Warhammer.
We got to play last week, with The Main Event running a special “Festivus” introductory adventure. I enjoyed it, and my big concern was alleviated almost right away: I was afraid reading the dice would be a chore, but it worked out pretty well. It still wasn’t always clear what happens with things that aren’t successes (and we rolled a Chaos Star CONSTANTLY) but it wasn’t nearly as much of a chore to figure out what to roll than I expected. Core mechanic passes muster, always a plus!
Some things did bug me: the stance system does almost nothing for me, especially as such an important system, when it should be a more interesting decision to make. Some powers and actions weren’t very well defined. I also didn’t really get to cast spells as my wizard got cut down by a Beastman almost right away, but that was a combination of factors and not really a rules problem.
It was definitely a roleplaying game. There are a few mildly disconnected elements that I’m sure would bug previous fans of the game (and people bugged by D&D 4e) but it’s definitely an RPG and not anything close to a boardgame. Like Juan, it’s not going to take the place of D&D for me, but I still enjoyed it and would love to play in some mini-campaigns of it. And one review I read was spot on about one thing: any modern RPG designer NEEDS to play this game to experience what it brings to the table.
After having run the game once, here are some additional thoughts:
I hold to most of my initial impressions. The dice pool is simply amazing. As a GM, it really helps deal with the FLAVOR of sucess and failure and encourages ‘saying yes’ to players as its extremely easy to improvise.
Now, the warts. I still found myself sorta slow in combat. Monsters work unintuitive. Stress and fatigue is a good system, but I haven’t mastered it yet. Wounds,healing, insanities, are all small systems that requires learning on their own and I didn’t master after one session. Healing is a pain in the ass (but reflects the system’s fluff and flavor).
Party cards are great, it encourages synergestic PCs in a meta way that still feels organic. Despite what the rule book says, the party tension meter feels like a GM beat stick rather than something I’d use often. The stance system SHOULD be awesome, but instead its “I max out a stance as quickly as possible.” This could be because PCs don’t really know the benefit of the aggro/conservative powers in a given situation, but I think its a systemic problem.
Managing and creating characters is pretty simple. The bigger gamers in the group could easily do it on their own after a 5 minute explanation.
The dice are great, I would love to see a generic version of the game with just the dice pool and usable in multiple settings…
Oh yeah, I really liked the party card too, and let me say “We’re a group of Brash Young Fools with nothing to lose.”
I agree with Juan, it is fun for a while but I lost interest after a couple of games. And you’re right, the typos bugged me, too. For $100 they could have done a lot better. At least my friend bought it and not me. 😛
.-= Guy´s last blog ..Jenny From Frank the Entertainer =-.
Excellent review. I couldn’t have said it better. Our first session is this Tuesday. We’re all quite tired with 4E after nearly a year of playing. If we ever get back to d20, it will probably be to Pathfinder, as 4E is too rigid. I’m also planning some Savage Worlds campaigns. In any case, I have a feeling that Warhammer will be a hit with my group. I’ll be wiser on Tuesday, though 🙂