Stefano Buonocore
Today we are pleased to offer you the review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the fourth edition of the role-playing game set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. First of all, we would like to thank Cubicle 7 for sending us a digital copy of the game’s core manual.
The volume, in its physical version, is available on the Cubicle 7 digital shop for 49.99 euros; the digital copy is included in the price. If you would rather have only the latter you can find it at a cost of 26.99 euros. The site is also full of additional material that can be purchased: adventures, expansions, starter sets and in general a rich series of modules. The game has great success and full support from the developer.
Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: a Bit of History
Before going into the merits of the review, it is useful to give a brief overview of the events of this game. The Warhammer Fantasy brand arose from Games Workshop in 1983; it is a fantasy wargame, the first to have proprietary and non-generic miniatures. This allowed the game to have a very strong aesthetic imprint, creating the grimdark subgenre. A sort of particularly grotesque and oppressive dark fantasy.
From Warhammer Fantasy was born Warhammer 40.000, the equivalent of battles set in a distant dystopian future, which over the years has surpassed its older brother in terms of popularity and diffusion. If you’re interested in delving into the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, Cubicle 7 has two active RPG lines inspired by it. You can read our review of Warhammer 40.000 Wrath & Glory, its more action version, or that of Warhammer 40,000 Empire of the Cursed, with darker and more theatrical tones.
The Game
To help the fantasy version of the game catch up, Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued in 2015, and “replaced” by Warhammer Age of Sigmar. The latter is a sort of reboot of the game, with much more heroic tones. Again, Cubicle 7 has a rich dedicated game line: you can explore it in our review Age of Sigmar: Soulbound.
The setting of Warhammer Fantasy However, it retains many fans, so much so that it pushed the publishing house to produce the fourth edition of the game, which is the one that will be addressed in this review. Since 2018 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay continues to receive appreciation and find new enrichments to the setting. Such support from the fanbase that at the beginning of 2024 Games Workshop relaunched the line Warhammer The Old World; it is a revival edition that allows you to play the so-called “old world” again even at the miniatures tables. Perfectly compatible with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, although dated back by about two centuries.
Volume Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is therefore aimed at all lovers of the “old world”. A bloody and lethal setting, where politics is dominated by the desires of the most powerful individuals. An almost Renaissance technological development, rather than properly medieval, maximizes the grimdark atmospheres that have made the game famous. Or that the game was made famous, given that the Grimdark subgenre was created specifically for Games Workshop’s work.
The volume is presented sumptuously, suitable for a product that inherits such a tradition and such fandom. This edition is very accurate in every detail. The look is less modern than other themed Cubicle 7 works Warhammer, to take up the most classic cut of the game. Yet the greater care in the layout and the structure of the columns and text boxes are an important update.
The illustrations are at a decidedly above-average level. The artwork in this manual is not only as beautiful as it is inspired and effective, but it perfectly communicates the atmosphere of the game. In particular, there is a series of initial passages in which the narration of the dual soul of the Empire is entrusted to images and small boxes of text. His grandiloquent hypocrisy and impact with harsh reality are captions of images on splash pages which in themselves sequentially tell the journey of a company of adventurers. Simply magnificent.
The Setting
Speaking of Empire, some mention of the game’s setting is necessary. Which isn’t easy, given that it went through forty years of production (and many retcon phases). Intelligently the manual focuses on the Reikland region, the one in which it is possible to best savour the nature of the Empire itself; thus avoids dispersing the text too much, reserving the right to delve deeper into the rest of the setting in subsequent supplements.
Reikland is one human nation founded approximately 2500 years ago by Sigmar, a tribal leader who had the intelligence and ability to bring together all his people to form a united front in a war against the greenskins (the orcs). All this before disappearing into thin air for fifty years, until the day he was declared to have ascended to divine status. This aspect is fundamental for the entire game setting, since Sigmar’s church has enormous political power, to the point of being able to refuse to crown a new emperor; to the point of having supplanted the ancient gods, previously venerated in the region and now subjected to the cult of the god-emperor.
Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: the Opponents
The manual also offers a chronicle of the empire starting before its foundation. Although it is very complete, it is quite compact, without giving away superfluous information. An excellent overview that gives an idea of what crises it has had to go through over the centuries.
The empire is gutted in every aspect. Geography, culture, politics, religion. What makes this manual excellent, however, is not the meticulousness with which it was created, but the intelligence. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay does not simply offer a compendium of information; each paragraph is designed to offer gameplay ideas, as well as to characterize each campaign.
Particularly the emphasis is placed on the various locations in which it may be interesting to set the sessions. Practically divided into categories, whether cities or towns, these descriptions pay particular attention to the local distribution of power. A central theme for the world of Warhammer Fantasy, as well as the one that most easily allows you to find new ideas.
Character Options
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay allows you to create strongly characterized characters. The first criterion to select in this regard is obviously the species to which they belong. The manual provides five different choices, starting with Humans. This, in the Reiklander ethnic group, is the dominant species of the game setting due to diffusion and power; and as per tradition, it is the most balanced and versatile choice for a player. They follow Dwarves, Dawi in how they define themselves when talking about themselves; bearded, stocky, grumpy and greedy, they perfectly embody the stereotype of the fantasy dwarf.
However, an important clarification must be made: the setting of Warhammer, particularly in this Old World incarnation, is a great classic and dates back to the 1980s. While the game’s design has been significantly updated, there won’t be any particularly out-of-standard options. The characters will move between the most widespread archetypes of the fantasy genre, in its grimdark incarnation. So even the playable species follow this choice.
The Halflings are small but plump creatures, with a particular appetite, an invasive sociality and an almost absent concept of private property. Excellent for bringing comic interludes into the game but also as a plot engine to introduce unexpected events. Finally, there are the Elves, divided into two species High Elves and Wood Elves. The two subspecies have been divided for centuries due to different political choices, and have developed very different cultures. The former are haughty, elegant, and contemptuous in their knowledge of magic, so profound that humans can and should never learn it. Wood Elves, on the other hand, are shy and furtive, much more brutal and particularly reluctant to leave their woods unless they have really important reasons.
Progression and Careers Review in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
The next step in character development is choosing the Class. Academics, Burghers, Courtiers, Peasants, Rangers, Riverfolks, Rogues, Warriors. The choice is extremely vast, because each Class corresponds to eight different Careers. Just to give an example, an Academic can undertake a career as an Apothecary or an Engineer, a Lawyer or a Nun, or even a Physician, Priest, Scholar or Wizard. Each career is divided into four different stages, the benefits of which must be purchased by spending Experience Points to move on to the next. The possibility of spending them session by session removes the classic levels of the characters and allows their development in a manner strictly linked to the events that they will experience.
To return to the previous example, the Apothecary’s last Apprentice is a real pharmacist, therefore a Master Apothecary and finally a General Apothecary. Transitions from one Career to another, or even from one Class to another, are also permitted, but obviously in this case the Character will have to incur greater expenses for the versatility acquired.
The choice is quite vast, and the elements that define the character sheet are many. Fortunately, the manual offers everything in very clear tables that are carefully analyzed in the text, in good order. The construction of the character certainly requires a bit of study, but it is also possible to rely completely on fate through the random choices allowed by the tables. It’s also important to remember that not all Careers are available to all characters; some have genus or species restrictions. But a paragraph also explains how to work on any adaptations to put fun at the table first.
The Mechanics
This Character sheet, as anticipated, is quite complex. The initial set of characteristics is determined by the species, where the average value is 30. There are ten of them, and in particular, the Combat Skill and the Ballistic Skill, fundamental for melee and ranged combat, regain the flavor of the miniatures game. They follow Strength, Toughness, Initiative, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Willpower and Fellowship. There are also four other scores that characterize a character: Fate, Fortune, Resilience, Resolve, Extra Points and Movement.
The game is based on a roll-under system with a d100. Success in the action is obtained by rolling a 100 die and obtaining a result lower than the characteristic used, added to the score in the relevant Skill and any other applicable bonus (or penalty). There are 26 Basic Skills, plus some Advanced. Customization is then completed by Talents, which allow you to obtain advantages in particular situations or perform otherwise impossible manoeuvres.
Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Combat
As with many traditional fantasy games, a very important part of the rules is dedicated to combat. After all, we are talking about an RPG based on a wargame: war is a fundamental element of the gaming experience. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay offers a very mechanized combat system. However, it will not be necessary to use the squared map, a historical design choice of the line precisely so as not to follow the miniatures game too closely.
However, the game provides mechanics to establish which part of the body is hit, calculating the overall damage suffered by the character and that of the specific location. The latter will obviously have its dedicated armour score depending on which protections are worn. Then there is a whole varied series of options for combat. Conditions, two-weapon attacks, and very accurate movement management. And also rules for mounted combat, very detailed management of critical successes and failures, healing, amputations, corruption by Chaos and so on.
A Modern Touch
Basically, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay does not present itself as a game with light rules; anything but. It has various mechanics to take into account, offering a very complex gaming experience. Traditional, by many definitions. However, this new edition has not closed the door on modernity, on the contrary.
First of all, in the creation of the character, the Motivations that push him to act are fundamental. This is an element that is not limited to being left to the player’s free interpretation, but which directly influences the mechanics and the character. Then there is an advantage and disadvantage management system which makes it easier to use the external factors that influence the tests without having to establish an infinite number of cases. This system also applies to combat, in this case making a fight in which one of the characters is in difficulty overwhelming.
Chaos in the Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Another prominent element of the game is its magic system. In fact, we do not have a generic mechanic, but a management strictly linked to the game setting. To discuss it, however, it is necessary to talk about what Chaos is. In all games of the line Warhammer, Chaos is one of the main adversaries of the human faction, if not the main one overall. From time to time it takes on connotations tailored to the setting, but in general it is the reflection of the lust of mortals on the immaterial world. This, made of pure energy, is shaped until it takes on its own will and identity.
And Cravings gave birth to four major Chaos deities. Khorne, thirsty for blood and massacres. Nurgle, the god of decay. Tzeench, the patron of deception and the closest to magic. And finally Slaanesh, the god of excess and hedonism. These powerful entities and their subordinates, real demons, constantly try to break out of the limits of their realm and invade the game setting. Where they do not succeed directly, they do so by trying to corrupt mortals, transforming them in the psyche as well as in the body.
The Winds of Magic…
There are many ways to encounter corruption, and it is very easy to fall victim to it. There are far fewer ways to get rid of it, and none of them are cheap. One of the riskiest activities, however, is the use of the Winds of Magic.
These are emissions of supernatural energy, the same from which Chaos takes shape, which are released into the world. Magic is nothing more than the art of channeling them to obtain various effects, namely spells. Spellcasters can perceive the winds as something tangible, and each has a specific function and a color by which it is perceived and classified.
The Amber wind gives rise to Lore of Beasts, with which it allows you to interact with natural creatures and get closer to them. The Purple wind is instead linked to the Lore of Death; However, it is important to underline that this deals with vital energies but does not deal with reviving the dead, a prerogative of the forbidden art of Necromancy.
The Red wind generates the Lore of Fire, with its flaming battle magic. Lore of Heaven is generated by the Blue wind, linked to astronomical phenomena and protection. The Yellow Wind instead generates the Lore of Metal, the way of transmutation and the alchemists.
… They Blow Inexorably
Tied to the Jade wind is the Lore of Life, which allows you to create an overabundance of vital energy in the environment. The Lore of Light draws its energy from the white wind, generating effects linked not only to light in the strict sense but also in a broader sense, as opposed to darkness. Finally, the Gray wind generates the Lore of Shadows, with its effects of deception, illusion and concealment.
In addition to the spheres, which represent the forms of magic that are legal to study in the Empire (this does not mean that it is frowned upon, of course), there are other ways to exploit the winds. In addition to the already mentioned Necromancy, there are Witchcraft, or the exercise of magic not bound by rules and formulas, and the High Elven Magic.
Even the latter is not subject to the constraints normally imposed on the spheres, but it differs strongly from Witchcraft because it goes directly to the source of the winds, it does not simply ignore the rules. It is a type of magic that the elves jealously guard. In the distant past, they agreed to teach magic to humans only with the stipulation that Elven High Magic would never be passed on. This is because magic can easily have catastrophic outcomes, both from lore and more strictly from game mechanics; a critical failure can result in a wasted action as well as a tragedy for the caster and those around him. Or for an entire area. The spheres allow for more rational and controlled management of the winds. Human inexperience and greed could not handle greater power.
Conclusions of this Review of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay it’s a game full of nuances and details, and there would still be many aspects to explore before exhausting the discussion. However, it becomes necessary to draw conclusions based on what the gaming experience is. The assumption is that this is a volume of incredible value. The quality of the materials, illustrations and the creation of every single detail is very high. This game has been studied with great care, and has maintained the very strong identity of the previous editions without giving up a nod to modernity.
It is always good to keep in mind that it is a traditional game, which has a legacy of several decades. The mechanics are cumbersome, the combat is central, the turns are marked out very precisely. Those who prefer freer gaming experiences or with a more cinematic narrative may find themselves in a bit of difficulty. But for those who love more mechanical games and mathematical card management, it’s manna from heaven. Above all, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay it has the ability to perfectly convey the sensations that moving in a grimdark fantasy world should give. Your heroes will have short and probably unhappy lives, but the adventures they experience will be sung forever across the realms.
