Roughs Nights and Hard Days Impressions/Review

The enemy lurks in shadows
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Braddoc
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Yup, I finally got my hand on it. I bought Plundered Vaults early during 2nd ed, it was my 4th book after the core, magic and monsters books. I'
I only broswed it and read the Night at the Three Feathers, during my lunch break so it'll be in parts.

First Impressions after browsing


-First page is some crest with some Shalliyan moto...If it's the Gravin's family crest then it is lacking some Sigmar, sorta odd for a cousin of an Elector-Countess.
-Unsure about having to roll the career skill to add money to NPCs without money in thier trappings, 'seems like alot of trouble, I don't recall if the career skill is in italics in RNHD..yet again some newer GMs might want to have something 'legal' rather than coming out with numbers that might be too much or not enough.
-Grand Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz of Nuln: Jesus she looks like something straight out of Vampire the Masquerade, like the Toreadors, or whoever are the high and fancy ones. I know she's supposed to be all that, but that's even too much....
-The map all seems to be well done and well described.
-Gnomes seems like Halflings with magic, which means that aside from the small norhtern parts where they are common, they are a Witchhunter's next job in the making.
''Tee-hee! I cast shadows at you!''
''Tee-hee! I cast you into the Pyre, Tiny Witch!''
A Halfling with shoes is a sure fire way to know he's a Mutant.
-Sadly are gone the House of Horror (Haunting Horror in English) scenario, but it'll be back I'm certain. Now we got basically a mini-campaign book with 5 linked scenarios, that can be seperated as 5 different scenarios. -
It does invovle alot of travelling, especially for part 4+5, which means riding all of the Reik to Altdorf, then the Wiessburg channel and then some more sailing and coaching to reach Ubersreik.
-Book over all is nicely done, good quality.

Rough Night at the Three Feathers

Same as before, oddly enough the Champion is doing arm-wrestling for 2/- a bet rather than a Crown...'Must be to allow players to actually participate if they are just starting up.
-The Halfling is now some card player who cut a deal with the Gravin for some future scenario I'll read later, but still odd that the Gravin herself is dealing with some card-shark in the open in some inn they happen to have to stop along the way...'course it could be answered later, but for now I am in total darkness.
-The Gnome is the random thief, which I don't recall having it do much.
-There are now Guards and Bodyguards that are protecting the Gravin, seems a bit redundant, but yet again the career system is a bit more rigid than before.
-The Guards in the hallway do get down for a sneaky drink, which would allow for PCs and others to get into the barred hallway (It was never implided in Plundered Vaults, just that they were there and blocked anyone from passing- which make for odd moments when run 'as-is')
-There's a few free career switch at the end, but since 4th ed is a bit taxing when you do that, unsure how it'll work (one PC may go Judicial champion (Duellist lvl4), while the others might go Guard (Guard Lvl2), both as a one-time-only deal for 0XP)
-The NPCs' images were sometimes a bit too humourous looking to fit the setting to me, but at least each NPC had a drawing of them.

The one is the trial, so I'm curious to see what's going to happen with that.
Braddoc
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Part 2

A Day at the Trials

-Intresting thing to have a Trial-by-combat....unsure about the side-line with some off-hand comment on how they do things in Ostland 'seems random since Ostland is literraly at the other side of the Empire..
-Blowpipe, Blowpipes everywhere! The Agent puts a blowpipe in a PC's stuff to frame him, the Cultists uses a blowpipe to attack the Lawyer
-And everyone is using Black Lotus too; So are those two groups working together now? Or is there a single seller of poison and exotic weapons in Kemperbad laughing while counting his new coins?
-The Escape attempt is intresting, but never developped, so one can skip it witout much consequences.
-The Cultists are there, 2-3 days after the Night at the Three Feathers..sorry OTHER cultists who wants to avenge their companions..how could they get there so fast, and knew about the deaths and plan some elaborate scheme to kill thier mark? they follow slaneesh, not Tzeentch.
-The Gnome thief is back!..and does nothing.
-The Bounty Hunter/Magistrate storyline is another intresting trail, but it is another dead end.
-The Trial combat itself gets interrupted a few times with the escape, kidnapping, the ghost, second attack on the laywer...no wonder some peolpe will be booing loudly!
-The Witchunter and the ghost story..meh? Another dead end/'random encounter' ''Suddenly a ghost appear and attack the Witchhunter, who's armed and trained and ready to fight a ghost!''
-The Khornate Watchmen...meh? 'Seems too much to me
-The PC Champion wins or looses, nothing of consequences really happens, so meh.

-Half the NPCs are 'go check the previous NPCs for thier stats' saving space of course, just meh...even the other Champion is of no importance, we got a name, an image and that's it.

The events rely on the PCs no paying attention to anything, yet they are told right off the bat by the Gravin to pay attention to everything and trust no one. The only challenge would be the Bloodletters and the PC being the Champion, short of rolling very badly, the PCs ought to come on top with everyone alive, maybe even got the cultists and the Baron's Agents arrested, with only the Bounty hunter storyline left open (only because she got a horse and a head starts)

Tomorrow, a Night of the Opera!...and the horribly dressed Countess von Liebwitz...relooking at the image, turns out she's wearing even less than first saw..ha!
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Totsuzenheni Yukimi
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Braddoc wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:30 am -There are now Guards and Bodyguards that are protecting the Gravin, seems a bit redundant, but yet again the career system is a bit more rigid than before.
I expect this is due to the way in which careers and career names in fourth edition are more of a generic (though not totally generic; in relative terms) profession level rather than a specific profession as they were in first edition (and second and third edition as far as i know). I wondered how much some of the more gamified rules in fourth edition would effect these revisions and now that i'm finding out how i'm not liking it much, though it's not a disaster, especially as i have the first edition material. It would have been good to know i was getting the definitive first edition, or first edition compatible 'directors cut' version of these adventures.
Braddoc
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totsuzenheni wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 8:27 am
Braddoc wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:30 am -There are now Guards and Bodyguards that are protecting the Gravin, seems a bit redundant, but yet again the career system is a bit more rigid than before.
I expect this is due to the way in which careers and career names in fourth edition are more of a generic (though not totally generic; in relative terms) profession level rather than a specific profession as they were in first edition (and second and third edition as far as i know). I wondered how much some of the more gamified rules in fourth edition would effect these revisions and now that i'm finding out how i'm not liking it much, though it's not a disaster, especially as i have the first edition material. It would have been good to know i was getting the definitive first edition, or first edition compatible 'directors cut' version of these adventures.
Agreed on the career part; they artificially quadrupled the careers by adding levels to them, as a lvl 1 Guard and a lvl 4 guard is much different; used to be 2-3 very different careers, now same crap really...sure they added the social system, but who really uses it? Noble so-and-so is still just another crummy adventurer really, barely a notch over the rat-catcher that's with him in the grand schemes on things...

From the foreword of the book, only the Three Feathers is an old scenario, I beleive the others are new and added as a continuation of the Three Feathers.
Theo
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Braddoc wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 11:56 amFrom the foreword of the book, only the Three Feathers is an old scenario, I beleive the others are new and added as a continuation of the Three Feathers.
In fact only "A Day at the Trials" and "A Night at the Opera" are brand new. "Nastassia's Wedding" is a slight reworking of a 1E adventure (originally published in the Pyramid magazine IIRC, a bit of a rarity for a long time) and "Lord of Ubersreik" is the finale of the 3E adventure "The Edge of Night", presumably also slightly reworked.
Braddoc
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Theo wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:41 pm
Braddoc wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 11:56 amFrom the foreword of the book, only the Three Feathers is an old scenario, I beleive the others are new and added as a continuation of the Three Feathers.
In fact only "A Day at the Trials" and "A Night at the Opera" are brand new. "Nastassia's Wedding" is a slight reworking of a 1E adventure (originally published in the Pyramid magazine IIRC, a bit of a rarity for a long time) and "Lord of Ubersreik" is the finale of the 3E adventure "The Edge of Night", presumably also slightly reworked.
Aaaahhhh...well that changes things a bit.
I went and re-read the Foreword, so it's really 3 scenarios, joined together, just that the first three are one self-contained storyline, with adding the other two makes it a campaign.

So with that cleared out, let us move on..

Part 3

A Night at the Opera


-Once again, Grand Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz of Nuln..looking at the image with more attention, she's wearing less than first thought. Also, forget Vampire, this is straight out of 40k. Add a servo-skull and some eye-cybernetic and/or Aquilla-cane and you're done. Still thinks it doesn't fit well in Fantasy, but she is known to be crazy when it comes to fashion, so meh.
-The faux-pas, THE FAUX-PAS! I love me some faux-pas. Oddly enough I was thinking about a scene concerning the 11:00PM one earlier in the week ; faux-pas, which by the way has juuust the right ammount of convulation to make it perfect in my book. The first one is just magic. boo!
-The Gnome now has motivation and a reason to be there..a silly motivation that's far from realisable, but he's got something to do. Reminding all that he is there to be a known NPC..'Must be the fact he's a Gnome. If he was a Halfling that would fly easy and could be somewhat doable (Sail up the River Stir and you're home)
-The Lawyer and the Cultist: so is he in a state of midcasting since he completes his spell during the evening? So a Second sight glance and he'll be spotted with ease? After the first faux-pas, Wizard PCs might be on the prowl- Granted Slannesh might help cover his abilities, but he's seemingly mid-casting so...
-The potted plant gumpowder plot I liked.
-The Witchhunter returns and actually does something more than observe and fight a ghost at random.
-Oldenhaller's back! Also: Nurgle makes a cameo. (Will Tzeentch be next?) I liked the gangs retaliation bit, not too sure about the bodies...
-Whole bunch of Nobles fighting each other is always intresting.
-The Old Actor getting his revenge is also great and very theatrical, which I am also fond of.

Pretty good scenario and a good ending to the Gravin's story....of course it can also be the beginning of something completely different depending on how the evening goes.

Next part: The Wedding!
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Totsuzenheni Yukimi
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Theo wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:41 pm In fact only "A Day at the Trials" and "A Night at the Opera" are brand new. "Nastassia's Wedding" is a slight reworking of a 1E adventure (originally published in the Pyramid magazine IIRC, a bit of a rarity for a long time) and "Lord of Ubersreik" is the finale of the 3E adventure "The Edge of Night", presumably also slightly reworked.
Unless it's a new adventure using the same name then 'A Night at the Opera' is not new. It was first published in 'Adventures Unlimited' magazine no.3 in 1995 and as i recall had stats for various RPG systems, including first edition WFRP. It was then republished for second edition WFRP. I'm not convinced 'A Day At The Trials' is completely new either, though i can't remember where i first came across it.

The original first edition Nastassia's Wedding (along with the rest of the Pyramid issue in which it appeared) can be downloaded on Pyramid magazine's own website for a small fee.
Theo
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totsuzenheni wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:16 amUnless it's a new adventure using the same name then 'A Night at the Opera' is not new. It was first published in 'Adventures Unlimited' magazine no.3 in 1995 and as i recall had stats for various RPG systems, including first edition WFRP. It was then republished for second edition WFRP.
Interesting - I didn't know that! Are you sure about it being republished for 2E? When/where was that?

totsuzenheni wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:16 amThe original first edition Nastassia's Wedding (along with the rest of the Pyramid issue in which it appeared) can be downloaded on Pyramid magazine's own website for a small fee.
Yep, that's where I got it. :) But there's got to have been quite a while when it was harder to get hold of.
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Gideon
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It sounds like the original 'Night at the Opera' was a different adventure that just happens to share a title with the new one:

https://rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/148278/night-opera
Braddoc
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Part 4
Nastassia's Wedding.

-A Stand-alone with possible connection to the other 3 previous scenarios, no Tzeentch cameo sadly..
-Thugs are there for reason of exotism? well, Tagees, which is really the same thing, but since they no longer exists in the real world, meh.
-Still, I love the Wraith being a sort of Arsène Lupin, having just him would add some mystery and intrigue, but I suppose a roof-top chase with Thugs with thier deadly yo-yos could be fun.
-The cursed Sword; intresting story, and itself being a campaign intro for the (far) travelling sort of party.
-Slaneesh is back with Deamonettes too- there's always deamons popping out everywhere in the Empire it seems..
-The Lovers: intresting story as well if a little cliché.
-The money collectors story is one and done- but again alot to work with (I mean it is a mob murder after all)
-Speaking of, the crazed heir, meh...granted I just read the 1st Power behind the Throne right before reading this book, so a debilitating heir was not new to me- not that he does much and it appears that it is quite easy for him to escape, almost too easy.
-The Gravin bit are ok as well, sadly the Witchunter is not around this time, but there's enough to work with.
-Nobles getting drunk are always a good source of fun.


Pretty good scenario to me, the Thugs seems a bit too far fetched to me, but everything else is pretty solid.

Next part: The Lords of Ubersreik (Masquarade!)
Hteph
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-Slaneesh is back with Deamonettes too- there's always deamons popping out everywhere in the Empire it seems..
Noooo, it is just around the PCs, a circumstance that should attract the attention of the Inquisitor-general pretty soonish.
"Ahhh, we have a cluster of chaos nexi running around again. Lets send out the troops again to gather them up like the last ones. Rememeber to check the wood shed so we got enough wood for the pyre, the last time was a bit embarrassing!
Damnd' Adventurers, always poking hole the fabric of the reality."

:lol:
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Totsuzenheni Yukimi
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Theo wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:26 pm
totsuzenheni wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:16 amUnless it's a new adventure using the same name then 'A Night at the Opera' is not new. It was first published in 'Adventures Unlimited' magazine no.3 in 1995 and as i recall had stats for various RPG systems, including first edition WFRP. It was then republished for second edition WFRP.
Interesting - I didn't know that! Are you sure about it being republished for 2E? When/where was that?
I'm sure that the second edition version, which is unofficial, is to some extent based on the original Adventures Unlimited first edition version because i have a PDF of the second edition version and there is a note at the end of it thus: "First Published in Adventures Unlimited." (I don't know why 'published' is capitalised.) I seem to recall that the original Adventures Unlimited first edition version had a map of the opera house that isn't in the PDF of the second edition version, but i could be misremembering. I don't have Rough Nights And Hard Days so i can't compare it directly to the fourth edition version or namesake, whichever it may be.
Gideon wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2019 2:47 pm It sounds like the original 'Night at the Opera' was a different adventure that just happens to share a title with the new one:

https://rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/148278/night-opera
Are you sure it's not partially based on its first/second edition namesake? I did a word search for various terms from @Braddoc's review posts for the PDF of the second edition version and Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz (not 'Grand' in the PDF of the second edition version) and a cultist are in there, though there is no mention of Slaanesh (at least not by name) and the Gnome doesn't make an appearance.
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Karanthir
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They are definitely different adventures that share the same name and happen to be set in Nuln (hence Emmanuelle von Liebewitz appearing in both). Maybe Graeme Davis was inspired by the earlier adventure for RNaHD, but he was adamant that 'A Night at the Opera' was a new adventure.

Sounds like it's just a massive coincidence to me!
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Gideon
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totsuzenheni wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2019 5:12 am Are you sure it's not partially based on its first/second edition namesake? I did a word search for various terms from @Braddoc's review posts for the PDF of the second edition version and Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz (not 'Grand' in the PDF of the second edition version) and a cultist are in there, though there is no mention of Slaanesh (at least not by name) and the Gnome doesn't make an appearance.
Karanthir's right. Now that I've read the WFRP2 version, I can confirm they are different adventures. They are both set in the Opera House in Nuln and both mention Countess Emmanuelle von Lieb(e)witz, but the plots and characters are otherwise completely different. The WFRP4 adventure might have been loosely inspired by the earlier one, but I suspect it's just a coincidence.

An interesting find, though.
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Totsuzenheni Yukimi
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I suppose that's what happens after 30 years or so of the same setting. Perhaps the Grand Countess has some flashbacks to when she was at the Opera House once before, long ago, when she was younger and merely a Countess.
FasterThanJesus
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Also an album by Queen and an old Movie. Wouldn't surprise me if there are more references to the name, too.
Braddoc
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Part 5
The Lords of Ubersreik

-Hey a masquarade! Last time I ran one, it costed the Church of Sigmar a couple of thousands of Crowns as the Pcs had to look good at the Countess' party in Nuln, good times.
-Lots of schemes and intrugue in this one as well
-The Grey Wizard mingling magic during the evening is a nice touch and opens up possibilities.
-Vomit-inducing toxin is always fun at parties. The faux-pas, THE FAUX-PAS!
-Lots of sub-plots to work as well that can end in any sort of way, dpeending on how the PCs will act (or not) on them
-The Skaven angle is also intresting.
-Baron of Grenouille? Really those Limeys ought to work on having better French names for Bretonnians or at least some that makes it appear like they worked for it than farted on the side of a table....still, he's got the best costume of them all and he does fight and win during the evening, so that's a plus.
-Politically heavy of consequences, but for most PCs it won't affect them really short of having a Patron in those involved.
-An End to the Gravin storyline as well, rather there-and-done, but still something to work with...
-Also possibilites to get more work from the Power that rules Ubersreik if the Pcs play it well enough.

Overall a good adventure, not really angled on combat, but there are some possible violent encounters...and well if they ignore the Skaven or the toxin being spreaded around, well that's just more fun isn't it?

The rest is the Gnome race, which doesn't impress me at all, and the Pub games, which are just usual card games and other known games with another name to them. It's all right, but my current PCs are not the gambling types, so it background filler in most cases (Middenball might be intresting, but since we got light ruels compared to the ones coming in the Middenheim book...)

Final Thoughts


A good book overall, I'd agree that it is a near-infinite ressources book, whatwith the maps, NPCs, Plots, location...short of a few minor things (like The Countess's choice of garnments urgh..) It is a good 40$ investment that I'd recommend. It does lean more on the social side than just bashing skulls in, but there's enough opportunity to get physical in every scenario.
Jadrax
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totsuzenheni wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2019 5:12 am (I don't know why 'published' is capitalised.)
The guy who converted it is notoriously bad at correct Capitalization.
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