Rulebook Ruminations: Warhammer 8th Edition

Howdy folks!

This time on the Wargate I'm going to add a new feature, called Rulebook Ruminations (if you couldn't guess already). In this strain of articles (many more to come) I will ruminate on the various aspects of rulebooks related to the gaming systems we will be using. Many of these books will be supplementary material used to drive each of our campaigns, others will be the core books from the series. Either way, the discussion will be about the impact of rules, flavor and design of the book in question. It's not really a review, more of a discussion about how the Wargate will use the rulebook.

This installment: the Warhammer Fantasy Battles 8th Edition Rulebook!

First of all, I'm a little appalled by the size of the damn thing. I've said that before, but it's a serious issue. The Isle of Blood is out next month, and it's almost mandatory that we have one of the small rulebooks from that set just to carry around the table. Other than it's size, that's about the only con this volume has.

It's beautiful. The entire thing is on glossy paper, which accounts for a good portion of the weight in the thing. Full page artwork is on more than a few plates, and it's full color in all cases. Usually these rulebooks have been black and white, with only a few glossy color pages showing off miniatures, but they really pulled out the stops on this one. There's couple of caveats I have with this, but it pertains to function rather than form.

Being too big and heavy to use around the table, this volume is probably destined for study only. I really disdain this, it's almost as if Games Workshop gave us too big a pill to swallow, just so we'd have to get a smaller pill. The book is too huge, with a massive amount of pages devoted only to models. While I like looking at models as much as the next guy, I have the internet and I read White Dwarf. I understand that a few pics of different models are necessary, but models are literally on every single page of the rules, in full color. A different one each page, and they are labeled!

So that's a major issue. There's a lot of superfluous information, especially for veterans. I really don't need to read another version of the history of the Empire or the Coming of Chaos, but those new to the setting have a true treat here. However, with a price tag of $75 US, there are few newcomers to the game that will pick this up on a whim.

Also, is this going to be the trend going forward? The size of the Warhammer 40,000 4th and 5th Edition hardcover rulebooks were the perfect size, and the last Warhammer Fantasy Battles edition was the exact same format (more or less). They were still big, but were usable on the table. If this is going to be the new standard...well, I only have so much room on my shelf. Too many of these books is going to be too much. I truly hope this is not the case and we return to a smaller footprint. If Games Workshop would work with a book the same size as those rulebooks but made the pages the glossy high grade we see in the new book like they did with the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game's main rulebook.

The game itself has a few tweaks. Of course what you need to be most aware of is the changes to the army selection system. A few other things, such as Stomp Attacks, Horde Units and changes to the Magic Phase.

Stomp attacks basically state that monstrous infantry get an extra attack to represent them crushing you with feet and the like. Since we see quite a few trolls and ogres this side of the Grey Mountains, I thought I would warn you. Kroxigors and Ushtabi fall into this category as well I believe, and some creatures are able to do a Thunderstomp, which is like a Stomp but with thunder.

Horde units are units that have at least 10 files, that is, has at least 10 soldiers in the front rank. Hordes have a few inherent bonuses for being such a large unit, but the horde bonus comes from the extra supporting attacks you can garner. A unit that has more ranks than all it's opponents counts as being Steadfast, which means if the unit loses it takes no modifiers to it's Leadership. Also, this edition allows us to get supporting attacks from the second rank in all cases - just like spears used to do. Horde units can basically attack in three ranks, as it can get supporting attacks from the second and third rank by virtue of swarming all over your tiny unit. As an aside, Spears still allow you to fight in an extra rank!

Magic has a few important changes. Wizards can channel another power die, but the total number of Power and Dispel dice can never exceed 12. Wizards can now use up to six dice to cast spells, no matter their rank! If the total of the natural dice score is less than three, the spell cannot be cast. Further, the wizard's concentration is broken and will be unable to cast spells for the rest of the Magic Phase! Undead wizards will find that repeated one dice castings are greater chance for broken concentration, which puts an end to Invocation of Nehek spam. That should put a nice threat-cap on the zombie hordes we're likely to see spring up!

All in all, the new rules are great. The main problems I have with the book are the book itself, even though I truly think it's beautiful and I'm proud to have it on my shelf...it's more about the strain on my bookshelf!

I'm going to be sad if the next Warhammer 40,000 rulebook isn't so fat and jolly. Not that I won't buy it...just that I'll have to install a podium at the Wargate for the damn rulebooks!!

Into the Delve!!

After 15 solid weeks of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay our summer campaign has come to an end! If I can say so, I'm going to say we had a blast - so much, in fact - that I believe this has to be the best game I have had the pleasure of running - ever!!

I can even tell you why!

We have a lot more stuff these days, folks...way more than we did back in school (grades 6-12)!! A lot more toys, a large group of good people to play with - hell yeah! The metagame is totally set up! People are familiar with the setting, which has it's schticks and it schticks to them. It was great!

Oh, you're interested in the characters and about the campaign itself? Lets see...

Lets start with Khazid Grimaz itself!!

The dwarf citadel has been beleaguered lately by all manner of foes, the foremost of which have been the Bloo Moonz clan of orcs which are massing for a WAAAGH!!! nearby. There were foes more insidious than this, of course...but the fact that they were vanquished (or that they were present in the Khazid at all) is a fact that has been kept secret by those who know the truth...so far. We'll just assume you are privy to the secrets, including the presence of Warpstone and Daemons.

Now, the mines that have been opened (on purpose or not) during the reclamation of the Alderhalls yield more precious metals, including the ultra-rare gromril ore. This was previously unknown to exist here, and the so-called "Black Vein" has had most of the warpstone siphoned away. However, the gromril from the Black Vein cannot be smelted normally - that requires the process the ancients described for the Doomforge.

The taint of the warpstone beneath the halls is being contained, for now...for only residual dust remains. The huge chunk of warpstone in the diabolic machine must have somehow siphoned it away from the Black Vein (the gromril) and distilled it into a summoning. However, for the unknown Daemonologist attending the machine, it did not go according to plan.

There are still strange things in the deep below Khazid Grimaz, but now at least the halls are quiet and the dead can rest. However, they are huge beyond reason...and the tunnels go on quite some ways. Some may even connect to other holds, though it is unlikely.

Of interest in the city now is the Deeping Well Mercenary Company, founded during the reclamation of the Alderhalls and named for the waterworks beneath the city that served as the principal entrance for the expeditions exploring the halls. Interested parties can inquire at their Guild Hall in the Upper Valley for securing sellswords for miscellaneous adventuring.

What's next in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?

Well, for the next few seasons we'll be running / playing in other worlds. The time has come to make our dimensional slip, but don't despair. You'll see these characters again. What are they doing in the meantime? Let's see...

1. Crumpwit Tumblewine is the Paymaster for the Deeping Well Mercenary Company, and seeks to expand the options the new guild has going forward. He has his work cut out for him, but is surrounded at all times by the able hands of the Deeping Well's sellswords. He has traveled a bit around Wissenland, especially to Nuln to visit Doctor Lecroix.
2. Jean-Marc Lecroix has traveled to Nuln to study with the Physician's Guild. A few short tests, and he is in the University...learning more about the fascinating and mystical world of Old World medicine. He hasn't forgotten his friends at the Deeping Well, and keeps in regular contact, planning to one day return as Commander of Surgeons.
3. Damgrunt Heaganinson is a high ranking member of the Deeping Well Mercenary Company...one might say he is as close to Captain as they have. With connections throughout the Khazid on both sides of the law, he has made quite the inroads for the Company. During the following months, Damgrunt is at the head of operations for the few skirmishes the Company takes part in.
4. Martin Mueller has decided to stay in the Khazid with his new friends. He had quite the resources and connections to the Exalted Imperial Guild of Armorsmiths, where his family has made their fortune for six generations. As such, he tends to add gravitas to meetings the Company takes part in. He has taken residence with the others at the Guild House, and the Deeping Well has installed a forge for him to ply his trade. He only makes a modest sum in the Khazid (he's only a man), his major function is Quartermaster of the Company.
5. Grodal Skorgrimsson has known the members of the Company only a short while, but as he lives in the Khazid he stays in touch and becomes friends with many of the members of the Company. During the next few months, he is present during many of the proceedings and knows more about the history of the Khazid and the truth about the Black Vein than any of the other characters. He studies hard over the next few months, and learns the secrets of the Rune Smiths as a journeyman in that guild.
6. Ilsa Gustav has become the de-facto bodyguard for the Company, staying close to Crumpwit, Damgrunt and Martin. Without anywhere else to go, she has come to adopt the Company as her family. She is present for many of the meetings Crumpwit has, even traveling to Nuln with him on occasion. Even though she's a hard woman, during the weeks after the destruction of the daemon...Ilsa still has nightmares about the goblin's giant spiders!
7. Maneaus of the Hold asked to take his cousin's spot in the Company after the destruction of the daemon. He was deeply affected both by Ceaphous' death and by the magic he unleashed to combat the monster, and rested in the Guild House for quite some time before emerging from his room with new purpose. The path of fire calls to him, and he finds solace in war. The Deeping Well Mercenary Company makes great benefit of his skill with Aqshy...most of the time.
8. Fiach Fiachnasson got really drunk. The slayer fought against a daemon of terrible power, and survived to tell the tale. Now, tales are told in hushed whispers...folk may yet come to know of the horrible tale of the daemon and the slayer who was involved. As he slides toward the undignified brand of Daemonslayer...Fiach got so drunk he wandered away from the Khazid one night. No one has heard from him since...but it's unlikely he's gotten himself killed. Yet, anyways.
9. Pazho returned to service with the Throng of the Khazid. His unit went forward with the Imperial Army that arrived in the Khazid a few days before the destruction of the daemon, and has been deployed near Athel Loren ever since. Pazho is a grizzled old soldier however...it would be unwise to write him off just yet.

So, as we leave it...the Deeping Well Mercenary Company has become quite the figure and talk about the town. When we return at last to the Warhammer World, tell your friends if they have a problem, and no one else will help - if they can find them, then they can hire: The Deeping Well Mercenary Company.

Hunting Humans: NWoD is coming!!

Our new game is about to start here at the Wargate, and we'll be death-trippin' with a new Games Master for a bit. Josh is here to tell us a bit about his reflections in the new World of Darkness, with perspective born from the old.

Hunting Humans by Josh Swearingen

Well, it's August. Fall is right around the corner, and we've spent the hot, sweltering summer deep within the cool, dark caves of Khazid Grimaz. Now, it's time to crawl back out into the world...the World of Darkness.

I first encountered the World of Darkness in the early '90's (with everyone else who was alive at the time). I had played other RPG's before, mostly GURPS. We had a highly creative Gamemaster back then who had practically invented a brand new trope every other week.

Soon, however...I fell in with a group of bad kids. Bad kids who played Vampire. I instantly fell in love with the gothic-punk world. It was perfect for my brooding, angry sensibilities. However, eventually the group I gamed with burned out, grew up, grew apart, and quit playing. I sold my books, and hadn't thought about the game for years.

About two years ago, a friend was spring cleaning and found his "fairly" complete World of Darkness collection. He knew the best place to sell a set of gaming books was the Wargate. I snatched them up, and was instantly brought back. The layout and the artwork in those books was always great. I found out that the World of Darkness had been ended with a series of books labelled The Time of Judgement.

As I looked these books over, I realized - out of perverse desire - that I had to destroy my old playground, the object of so much wonderful game time. I would end the world. I decided I wouldn't run the White Wolf metaplot verbatim. I would pick and choose elements that I and my group would enjoy. For more details on this campaign, read Dave Bone's great article Magick in Montreal. As the game began to reach it's climax, I took another look at the old World of Darkness, and a few things began to occur to me.

1. The game is a bit dated. If you look at Mage: The Ascension, you'll notice the technology creep if fairly apparent. Dante (the cover mage) doing magick on a huge desktop computer is only one example of this.
2. My characters had a lot of out-of-game knowledge. Though they were fairly good at not abusing it, there were more than a few out-of-game discussions about what powers high level antagonists would possess and other metagame information.
3. They ended the damn game. There would be no more books. Of course, White Wolf would point out that you could keep playing indefinitely. The game designers simply wanted to work of something different. Perhaps I needed to find another modern horror game...Call of Cthulhu, maybe? Some mish-mashed D20 garbage? My short trip through game land soon took me to a new World...of Darkness.

Over the last few months, I've collected a great core set - and there are so many improvements.

1. It's a new game, the mechanics for all the main games are all redesigned, streamlined and unified. The default race is human - something that was all but ignored in the old World of Darkness.
2. Mystery is back! Metaplot is lighter, everything is much more subject to Storyteller interpretation. The supplements are more general. Asylum, for example, is about how mental hospitals and other institutions operate and how that can relate in the game. Similarly, Tales from the 13th Precinct is all about law enforcement and police procedure. To my knowledge, this is a fairly unique supplement - a gaming book spelling out basic police procedures is just so great.
3. Anyone who has looked at the new books can tell you - they are beautiful. The art direction is more unified, consistently using one artist in each book. The layouts are slick, the fiction is almost always top-notch. In fact the new books are so great, card carrying non-emo guy Dave Bone can pick up a few.

So in a couple of weeks, dust off your D10's, put on some dark clothing, pick up a pack of clove cigarettes (LoL).

Because the elder things of the night aren't gone. They've just been sleeping.

Soon, they awake...