Hi all, I just finished Reading TEW 3rd and LOVE it!!!!   With that said I would like to know how it compares to the original?  I'm not looking to start a war, I just really want to know how it measures up.  I have looked at purchasing the 1st Ed version.  Super expensive!!!   However if it is Longer, and better I may be able to justify it.   

any Insight from those of you who have read or ran both would be great!   

Thanks

Original TEW (or TEWv1) is bigger campaign, and (even this is just my opinion) better. Why? Well, it is bigger, it provided much more information, additional support (like great maps)…etc. Also the ending of the campaing had maybe little more epic feeling…

First thing to remember - TEWv1 and TEWv2 are totally different campaings. New TEW is not reboot or remake. It is new campaing with same name. And new TEW is great looking campaing.

Second. Original TEW was larger campaing. It featured 4 +1 products:

1. Shadows Over Bögenhafen. Great adventure, which also provided wealthy information about the Empire…etc, and more detailed info about Bögenhafen. This is old info offcourse now, and provided in other products after WFRP1.
2. Death on the Reik. This was even larger adventure presenting the Reik to the Characters - This adventure was very interesting. Provided maps of various towns, River-map and information of the Reik area. Again, back then this was important info - Now, we have Sigmar's Heirs, Warhammer Companion…etc. It also had extensive River and Trading rules (again for the WFRP1).
3. Next part came originally in two parts. But it is Middenheim (Warhammer City & Power Behind the Throne). This is one of the best supplements ever made of single city. It has GREAT description of the Middenheim and superb map. The adventure is not that biggest episode in the campaing, but maybe the most interesting. Book(s) provide very detailed info about Middenheims important characters and its great carneval.
4. Something Rotten in Kislev. This is +1 adventure. Can be skipped, but gives opportunity to explore Kislev. Provides info about the country (again - old info. We have Realm of the Ice Queen). And then there are little adventuring there also. The weakest episode of the campaing.
5. Empire in Flames. Now the final act. This is where it goes epic. In the beginning all hell breaks in the Empire and finally country is divided to two and we have full civil-war! Heroes are given mighty mission to unite the country. Great ending - Only problem is, that it isn't part of official timeline anymore. And why not - I dont give details here, but major NPC characters are really killed in this episode (and these are very much alive currently). Fan-made "Empire at War" remake is interesting reboot of this.

Third thing to remember - Even it is up to you how Warhammer Timeline goes in your games, you should remember how these are dated. Original TEW happens around the years 2511-2513 (this is little how much travelling/adventuring your characters do). So, Civil-war dates around 2512-2513. New TEW happens 2521 (yes, it is mentioned many times that it is actually year 2522, but I think this is mistake - check my Storm of Chaos Timeline topic).

Thanks for the detailed reply.   Are u suggesting, that the information in Sigmars Heirs replaces the info in death on the reik, and Realm of the ice queen replaces Something Rotten in Kislev?

If so that would be great as these books are much easier to get than the 1st Ed books.

Thanks

gmanjkd said:

Yes and no. I mean, that back in the WFRP1-days (decades ago) there wasn't any Sigmars Heirs type of sources. When original TEW was published it actually build the base for all this information. Campaing was not only adventuring-campaing, but all the books were also sourcebooks providing ALOT of rich background information that was missing back then.

For example Death On the Reik was not just great adventure, but it provided huge River Life of the Empire -source (this including river travel, encounters, trading rules, ship/boat types/images…etc) and maps of various places in the river (where adventure takes heroes) AND finally Gazetteer of the Reik. NOT to mention the poster-map of the Reik. So, this was very valuable source back-in-the-day. That is partly why the campaign was so legendary.

Now, we have Sigmars Heirs, which provides updated information about entire Empire. For WFRP2 there is also river and trading rules in the Warhammer Companion. As for the Kislev - Realm of the Ice Queen provides much more updated info, AND MUCH MORE INFO, than Something Rotten in the Kislev. But remember - They do not replace those adventures (parts of TEW campaing), just provide more updated background info.