Warhammer, the roleplay option. (Warhammer)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Warhammer
Date:	09/12/02 (387 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: exellent setting

Disadvantages: rules soon become limiting

Most gamers will know Warhammer primarily as a able top war game in whicha rmies of tiny modles fight it out using dice, strategy and imagination. However, there is also a role playing option for warhammer.

For those unfamilair with role playing, it is basically a game undertaken by a group of people. One person runs it, providing most of a world, setting, plots, characters etc. The rest of the players each play a character who will have certian probabilities of doing things. After that its up to your imagination. Role Playing is much easier if you have a system - a collection fo rules that enable you to devlop stats for characetrs, that give you stats for monsters and the like. it is not unusual for a group of players to play the same game for up to four hours a week and for campaigns to last for years. Thus, if you get into it, it is very good value for money.

The Warhammer world: Imagine a medieval Europe and you are close to warhammer already. The game is set in a very Germanic landcape. You also get elves, dwarves, halflings, dragons and all that - typical high fantasy really. The main departure from convention is with chaos - a seriously unpleasant force with some horrible gods and some vile mosnters. You also get primitive guns, wich is unusual in fantasy systems.

Creating a character - is very easy, there are plenty of options. Developing a character is also very easy, but the longer you play, the fewer options you have. The rules are very easy to follow and it is a very straightforward system to run. You only need the one book, "Warhamer Fantasy Roleplay" - although there are extra things you can get if you want.

Mood of game - a bit gothic, high on the violence as you go around trying to thwart evil beasties and foul gods. It can get a bit grim and depressing - characters collect insanity points and develop madness, and the risk of being subverted by chaos is huge. It's a hard campaign system and it tends t
owards the brutal - this is not suitable for those who like their fantasy high, romantic and fluffy.

This is an ideal system for thos new to gaming, because the rules are very simple and the character creation is ideal for those unused to such things. It is a bit too dark for younger chilren - generally I wouldn't recommend it for players under the age of 12. For the more mature and expereinced player, it has its flaws - the finite scope for character develoment being the main issue. The setting is superb and highly imaginative, which makes the eventual weakness of the rules a touch frustrating. However, what does work well is borrowing the rules from Dungeons and dragons 3rd Edition and using them to play in the Warhammer world - I've done this, it works.

If you fancy giving the system a go, I would recomend reading some of the fiction set in it "Red rage", Jack Yeovill's "Drachenfels" (reviewed on Dooyoo) or "Beasts in Velvet" to get something of a flavour.

I havent' seen a copy of the core rule book in a while, but if memory serves, its akin in price to AD&D - about twenty pounds.

On the whole, well worth a go.

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