Winds of Chaos

Headquartered in the heart of the Empire, Patrick Fungerlings has done some fine work converting NPCs from the 1st Edition Enemy Within campaign to 2nd Edition statlines and backgrounds, and he’s granted me permission to host the files. So if you have Enemy Within and want your v2 players to enjoy the best campaign ever written, save yourself hours of effort and download the v2-compatible TEW NPCs here.

Also, the Downloads section was getting cluttered, so I’ve given the maps a place of their own.

UPDATE: The TEW NPC Conversions have been reformatted and all the names and locations now match their English-version equivalents. If there’s any demand for the Reikspiel versions, let me know and I’ll put those up too.

I just received permission to host the WFRP v2 maps created by Andreas Blicher based upon the scholarly work of Alfred Nuñez, Jr (Alfred was kind enough to grant his permission as well). They are absolutely gorgeous — you really have to print them out on a large surface to fully appreciate the quality.

Dave Graffam, mastermind behind one of my favorite WFRPv2 resources sites, has also granted permission to host his full-color renditions of a select number of Andreas Blicher’s maps.

Not too long ago, WFRP fans were clamoring for maps of this quality, myself included. These maps have neatly solved a shortage that existed long before v2 hit the scene. All three of these guys deserve major kudos from the community.

The maps can be found in the Downloads Maps section.

The first draft of the Blunt critical hit effect tables are finally finished and can be found here, along with the main critical hit chart and the bladed criticals. I took a slightly different approach to these tables by adding some new results and making the effects a little harder to avoid, especially at the higher levels. As always, I’m open to suggestions and would love to hear what people think. One thing in particular that bothers me is that the “Blunt” category includes both staffs and warhammers, but I have a hard time seeing a staff, for instance, crush someone’s pelvis. It bothers me, but I’m not sure what, if anything, to do about it.

Next up (after a short rest): Arrows & Bolts.

The critical hit system for WFRP v1 was a major part of what initially drew me to the game. Instead of dry, mechanical descriptions of combat wounds and kills we are presented with graphic depictions of blood and gore, heads lopping off and rolling 2d6 feet away, ruined limbs hanging limply from their sockets, and instantaneous death from shock and blood loss. This is exactly what makes for grim and gritty combat, and goes a long way to explain why fights in Warhammer simply “feel” different from other RPGs. Hogshead expanded on the original tables with new ones, containing effects specifically tailored to the type of weapon used. No longer did arrows or bolts yield crush-type criticals. And finally, we were given critical effects arising from energy damage.

Imaginative criticals also offer a new avenue for the expenditure of precious Fate Points: a player is just as likely to spend a Fate Point to avoid the loss of a limb (especially if such a loss translates into permanent reductions in his character’s statistics) as to avoid death. Indeed, it is only when the well of Fate runs dry that combat becomes truly interesting.

To this end, I have embarked upon a project of creating new Critical Hit tables for v2 in the Hogshead vein. These new tables (the first set of which are for bladed weapons), though informed by the old ones, are my own creation, and may be distributed freely. The text and mechanics have been designed specifically for WFRP v2 and so follow the guidelines established in the rulebook. I hope that the WFRP community will assist in their creation; I consider these tables a work-in-progress and encourage comments, criticisms, and suggestions.

I make no apologies for the blood and gore; combat is a dangerous and messy endeavor, especially in WFRP. It is my hope that these new tables will provide further justification for PCs to avoid combat and solve their problems through different avenues. After all, WFRP is foremost a role-playing game, and combat should never be a first resort.

Click here to find out why.

The magic system introduced in WFRPv2 is undoubtedly one of the strengths of the game, especially as developed in Realms of Sorcery. It is atmospheric, evocative, and addresses the main failing of the first edition, which is the lack of a coherent magic system consistent with the larger Warhammer world. But one of the quirks of being able to cast spells limited only by a desire to avoid Chaos manifestations is having access to essentially unlimited healing; this is especially true with inexperienced characters, when such manifestations are more likely to be minor annoyances than truly dangerous.

The potential of quick, limitless healing clashes with one of my favorites aspects of WFRP — the seriousness and lethality of combat. Combat in WFRP should be dangerous, fraught with peril, and seen as a serious undertaking for any PC. One of the differences between WFRP and other fantasy RPGs is that in WFRP, combat is rarely a first resort. PCs are much more likely to seek alternative solutions to a particular dilemma than rely first and foremost on strength of arm. Wound healing should also be a slow process; a quick route to restoring lost wounds mitigates the seriousness of combat and so should only be made available to PCs when it is offset by some sort of cost. Magical healing is quick, and therefore should never be free or easy.

So, with my biases revealed, onto one possible solution …

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to “Winds of Chaos,” a WFRP fansite featuring my thoughts and meanderings on the Warhammer world. The first article is comprised of my thoughts on a “patch” to fix the problem of unlimited Heals. You’ll also find a scenario called Noblesse Oblige, winner of the 2005 Black Industries Scenario Competition. Other projects I’m working on include a v2 campaign for this site entitled, appropriately enough, “Winds of Chaos,” as well as new v2 Critical Hit Tables. These will be listed by weapon used and body part damaged, similar in method to the old v1 Hogshead tables but completely my own creation, and therefore freely distributable without worries of copyright infringement.