"Is the new FFG Warhammer RPG the same as the previous one?" Topic

I just saw that Fantasy Flight Games now has the Warhammer RPG products. They are selling (Not yet available) the game for $99, which is more than I would ever pay for an RPG game!

Is this going to be the same as the 2nd edition of the game, or is it a whole new rewrite?

Whole new thing. I'm not digging the funny dice.

And much more gimmicky with pieces and such. I'm getting "boardgame" more than "roleplaying game" from their press.

Waaaaaaay different, a fact not much appreciated by many fans of the old 1st and 2nd edition. The "boardgame" accusation surfaces quickly in discussions of the 3rd edition. If you are interested, there is a long discussion over a warseer.

link

For me, a $100 USD entry price-tag is prohibitive.

& because each player needs their own set of funny dice, cards, other bitz, that $100 USD only gets you enough sets of stuff for 3-4 players. (I've heard the set has enough for 4 players, but I don't know if that includes the GM.)

If you want more than that 3-4 players, you'll have to buy more sets of stuff for each additional player.

I'm really stumped as to why they when this way, especially since they didn't do this boardgame/rpg hybrid for their just released Rogue Trader 40K rpg. That was totally developed by FFG, no left over from Black Industries & Green Ronin. So it's confusing why the fantasy & 40k rpgs are going to be so drastically different.

At $99 USD just to get started, we'll be sticking with 2nd Edition. We have seven players too, so the 'starter set' wouldn't do anyway – we'd need an expansion or two. And I doubt the table we play at would be big enough for all the gubbins you need.

From what I've heard, the dice mechanic is quite interesting, and adds some "timing" effects rather well.

As for Rogue Trader, it needs to be compatible with Dark Heresy, which hasn't been out that long. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 40K RPG using this new engine in the fullness of time.

As to the cost, it depends what's in the box – $100 USD between 5 people isn't too bad really. Assuming the UK price is £65-£70, well, Rogue Trader costs £40.00 GBP for just the book.

Having read the warseer article it sounds very interesting. I think it might be a shock to the system for anyone already playing the old version but to someone like me who doesn't already have WFRP I'm tempted to try it.

And the $100 USD for Space Hulk was ok?
Nope.
Both are cost prohibitive.
And the FFG webpage says its a limited release ( Just like Space Hulk…) I see this as a bad trend…

Space Hulk came with a healthy number of nicely-sculpted miniatures. This version of the WH roleplaying game is essentially the core rulebook ($30 to $50 USD for most RPGs), plus lots of special dice and counters and stuff. To me, the special dice and counters and stuff are not necessary for a good role-playing game and drive up the cost needlessly. This approach may be attractive to some people who are unlikely to be attracted to a traditional role-playing game, but it is also driving off some potential buyers, like me.

I'll give it a look. I would like to see the contents before buying. I hadn't realized that the Black Library had stopped the fantasy RPG. Wish I had bought the Border Princes sourcebook before they quit.

The Border Princes sourcebooks (Renegade Crowns and Lure of the Liche Lord) are still fairly readily available.

The so called WFRP3 is a vile amalgamation of MTG, WoW, D&D 4th edition and FFG's boardgames like Descent and Arkham Horror. The game is placed in the same WFRP world as were the original WFRP games, but that's where the similarity ends.

Apparently the purpose of the 'abominable 3rd' is to attract a whole new crowd of gamers who have grown up playing the above mentioned games. Apparently FFG hopes to join in the boom that is WoW etc., and they feel the old RPG crowd is a cranky bunch of whiners who don't matter anymore in their business vision. 'Old school' games are too complex anyways, and require that you can actually read more than what's printed on a card. Hence the cool cards and templates. And you you don't even have know numbers anymore, because the dice have these cool symbols instead of numbers.

So the old and loyal fanbase of the old WFRP is abandoned. I bet FFG is counting that out of brand loyalty some of the old gamers will buy the new game, and the rest can just go fu*k themselves. Besides, they're gonna die soon anyways, so they don't matter.

I wonder if Shatranj players b!tched and moaned as much as role-players when they found out the Eupopeans had changed their game into Chess.

Despite the nerd rage, its pointedly not a boardgame, which actually makes me less inclined to buy it.

I think this trend in "rpg that need funny stuff to work" (specialty dice, figures etc) lies on the fear of piracy. If to play the game you just need the rules, like in the good old days, lots of players will just download the scans that will surely appear on the internet. But stil, without the specialty dice they can't use the game. Companies are trying to defend themselves from piracy providing extra material content in the box, a bit like CDs with attractive booklets, discounts for concert tickets etc.

Just the 2c from an old gamer. My own RPG will be sold as a printed book and cheap PDF and require traditional six siders :-)

ganeshagames.blogspot.com

I've never played any version of WHFRP, but always wanted to. I like the Warhammer universe. I was tempted to get all the various books and expansions this last go around, but again, didn't have an RPG group or the several hundreds it would have taken to get everything.

As an aside, I did hear that this box has "everything" you need to play. So you don't need a GM guide, and a Players guide, and a monster guide just to get started (those three would break the $100 USD mark easy).

But it was pointed out, this is $50 USD for the rulebook, and the rest is for doodads. I'm not thinking doodads are worth it.

A short time ago, all the 2nd edition stuff was available as downloadable PDFs from RPGNow. They are still there:
link

The Core Rulebook is now $25 USD (down from $40). But there's no way you can print cheaply something this large with as much artwork as these volumes have. Still, they are still out there at least in this form.

And GaneshaGames said …

But stil, without the specialty dice they can't use the game.

Mr GG … that is mostly not true. You can obtain blank dice in various forms. You can obtain printing labels. And you can with a little effort convert whatever the "special symbols" are into a graphic image, print them on labels, and cut and affix them to dice (either blanks ones, or regular ones, just cover up what's there).

Now, if their dice are odd shapes … that could be an issue. But if they are standard shapes, easy enough to skip the specials and make your own.

Just a thought.

SG, the basic set does NOT have 'all you need' to play. For example, it doesn't have all the professions available. These will be introdocued in later supplements. It has only 3 priest careers and cards for them, and likewise only 3 magic colleges & cards (of the total of 8), just a few advanced careers, and so on. In addition, the set contains cards & dice (and whatever else a player needs) enough for only for 3 players (GM not included). So if you have 4 players or more, you need to buy adventurer's pack, or whatever it's called.

So no, it's not complete by a mile. If you're foolish enough to buy this game, be prepared to pay much, much more to get a 'complete' game.

Thanks Verderer. I have not been following this product launch much. Having no RPG group about, it doesn't make much sense for me to put my limited hobby dollars into a game system I won't be able to use.

Still, I do love the WFB universe, and when this was announced, my first glance at a bundle for $100 USD that gave you "all you needed to play" seemed like a great thing.

But yeah, I would think that a party of only 3 players plus a GM is not the norm. So you are left needing to get a second set to cover additional players right from the start.

And I didn't know they only gave you limited options, with the full lineup of professions and magic colleges and stuff in later books. This is much more of a show stopper if you ask me. If those books included ALL the magic & cards, and ALL the professions, the bundle would be much more satisfying. The triple-play D&D books are the full deal. FFG should have done the same with this set.

So you are left needing to (ultimately) purchase the full blown versions of the three stripped-down ones included. Bummer.

Yes, I agree. It's really lame way to load the game full of these 'cool' doo-hickeys (meaning the dice, cards etc), only to cripple the game itself by the very same things.

No doubt they can fill in the empty spots very quickly by offering them in upcoming supplements. After all, it seems pretty easy for FFG to make a bunch of special cards as they specialise in these sort of games.

However, for your value conscious gamer all this seems just another way of forcing you to buy more and more expensive expansion sets. And if you were not that enthusiastic (make it absolutely horrofied in my case) about the card/dice/non-boardgame-boardgame prospect of the game to begin with, it's really easy to skip this game altogether.