The burden of leadership weighs heavy on your shoulders. To the west, your supply lines have been cut, reducing your once steady stream of resources to a slow trickle. To the east, your greatest heroes ventured out on quests for glory and treasure, but they haven’t sent word home in months. To make matters worse, vile enemy forces continue their inexorable march toward your capitol, drawing closer with each passing day. As the hand of war tightens its grip on the throat of your kingdom, you begin to realize that the greatest weapon is neither iron nor spell. It is information.

Arm yourself accordingly, then join the fight! FFG has prepared a thorough tutorial video designed to teach the fundamentals of Warhammer: Invasion the Card Game. Click the image below, or head over to the support page for a Quicktime version, and arm yourself with the knowledge you need to control the Old World! 

Click on the image below to open the Flash player and view the Warhammer: Invasion LCG tutorial.

Warhammer Invasion LCG is a card game by Eric M. Lang in which 2 players develop their kingdoms and lay waste to their foes. Each side is comprised of either the forces of Order -Dwarfs, High Elves, Empire- or the forces of Destruction -Orcs, Chaos, Dark Elves- as they seek to extend their empire to include the entire Old World.

+++Incoming Astropathic Transmission+++

Greetings Dark Heresy fans!

This week I’m bringing you another glimpse at the contents of The Radical’s Handbook...specifically, in the realm of daemonhosts. These vile creations involve coercing a creature of the warp into possessing a mortal host, and then binding the possessed body (and the daemon within) with specially-forged chains of psy-active materials, ancient words of power scribed into the host’s flesh, and other mysterious methods.

Once bound, a daemonhost is a vessel of great power, and they have been used as tools for both good and ill by the Inquisition. However, their use is condemned by the Puritan factions, and those Inquisitors who resort to creating a daemonhost are branded amongst the most shunned of Radicals. Even some Radicals consider them too dangerous to tamper with!

Chapter V: The Dark Arts explores (amongst other things) the creation of daemonhosts, a fact that I took advantage of when creating a daemonhost for my Dark Heresy campaign. Imagine, if you will, the evil laughter even now echoing within my office! However, let’s get down to business. The first thing one must decide when creating a daemonhost is, naturally, what kind of daemon one wishes to bind. There are many daemons to choose from, including several in the Dark Heresy Rulebook and many more within the pages of Disciples of the Dark Gods and Creatures Anathema.

In this instance, the daemon at hand is one “Spayr,” an unspeakable creature summoned by a cult magus in a bid to stave off his enemies. This daemon is commonly known as a “Dispayre” (found on page 352 of the Dark Heresy Rulebook), and performs well as a malefic hunter that the cult can use to stalk the Acolytes of the Inquisition.

The next requirement for a daemonhost is the host itself, a willing (or more often, unwilling!) victim. In this case, the cult magus captured an Assassin serving Inquisitor Antonia Mesmeron. With both daemon and host at hand, the cult magus could perform his ritual and thus create the daemonhost. Although the Acolytes of Antonia Mesmeron attempted to disrupt the ritual, they were too late, and were confronted by the form of their former comrade. Her eyes glowing, her body floating several feet in the air, tendrils of raw warp-stuff crackled from her fingertips, and a bloody battle was joined.

Generating the Daemonhost
A GM can approach creating the statistics for a daemonhost in two different ways. The first, and probably the simplest, is to use the rules for daemonhosts found in the Dark Heresy Rulebook on page 355. Simply generate the appropriate statistics following the rules on those page (skipping the part that determines what level of binding the daemonhost possesses, since that has already been determined).

However, since the binding process applies to a specific daemon, the GM can follow these steps instead.

First, the daemon keeps its Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Intelligence, Perception, Willpower, and Fellowship at the levels before it was bound. Then, take the daemon’s Strength and Agility. Reduce each stat by 1d5 per level of binding (so a twice-bound daemonhost’s Strength and Agility would reduce by 2d5). Then, take the daemon’s Toughness and Wounds. Increase each stat by 1d5 per level of binding (so that same twice-bound daemonhost’s Toughness and Wounds would both increase by 2d5).

The Spayr daemonhost was twice-bound, meaning that it lost 2d5 Strength and Agility, but it gained 2d5 Toughness and Wounds. After making the rolls, Spayr’s profile looks like this:

The GM can roll randomly for the daemonhost’s Unholy Changes and Daemonic Presence. Alternatively, he can select ones he feels suits his particular daemon. For Spayr, I chose the second option, and selected Inner Fire. Its daemonic presence creates the smell of burnt paper and hot metal.

Instead of rolling for Psychic Powers, the daemonhost possesses any Psychic Powers it had while a daemon. A once-bound daemon has a Psy Rating of 5, twice-bound have a Psy Rating of 4, and thrice-bound have a Psy Rating of 3. Being twice-bound, Spayr possesses a Psy Rating of 4 and the special Gaze of Oblivion Psychic Power, meaning that Spayr inflicts Intelligence Damage and Insanity Points upon its enemies.

Finally, the daemon keeps any and all Skills and Talents it possessed. It replaces its Traits with Daemonic, Dark Sight, Fear 4, Flyer (AB), From Beyond, and Natural Weapons (Fangs, Claws, or Fists). A daemonhost’s Natural Weapons do not count as Primitive. If the GM desires, he can have the daemonhost retain certain Traits that are thematically appropriate. For this particular daemonhost, the circumstances of its creation revolved around the cult magus’ desire for an unstoppable slayer-of-men. Therefore, I decided that Spayr gained the Regeneration Trait to represent that element of enduring hate that had been part of its creation.

Fortunately, the Acolytes did manage to destroy both the cult magus and his dark designs—including the eventual exorcism of their former comrade. Many daemonhosts mean that the victim used in its creation loses his or her soul utterly in the process. However, the strength of the Assassin’s faith was strong, and she retained her identity throughout the ordeal. Now, cleansed of the daemon’s taint, the exorcised assassin known only as “Seraph” serves at the right hand of Inquisitor Antonia Mesmeron—for Inquisitor Mesmeron is a Radical of the Oblationist faction, and has little difficulty using such a tool against the enemies of Chaos that she opposes.

The Next Step

Next week, prepare yourselves for the opening of the 2009 Dark Heresy Adventure contest! This year’s contest has a Radical theme, and the grand prize is a signed copy of The Radical’s Handbook. Until next time, may the light of the Golden Throne show you the way...and hopefully guide your steps away from the dark path of the Radical.

Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the grim darkness of the far future. Players take on the roles of Acolytes serving the Inquisition, rooting out heresy and corruption from within the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man.

Over the course of their adventures, characters are likely to face a variety of enemies. From brutish orcs to cunning cultists, numerous adversaries will rise to oppose the heroes. In the Tome of Adventures included in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay core set, the GM will learn how to manage enemies during encounters. A number of potential enemies are also presented, with background information and game statistics, providing GMs with everything they need to use these adversaries during the game.

Creatures and adversaries are more than just a set of numbers, and they can provide a wide range of potential plot twists and complications. To make the most out of encounters with enemies, the GM has a variety of tools at his disposal.

The Tome of Adventures provides GMs with lots of information on creating memorable adversaries and interesting encounters. Suggestions are provided for creating distinct personality traits, developing connections between key adversaries and the characters, and how different bad guys may use tactics to their advantage.

Managing Enemies

In addition to creating interesting and engaging bad guys from a flavour or setting standpoint, the GM is also responsible for managing adversaries from the mechanical standpoint. The Tome of Adventures provides numerous tips on managing enemies and NPCs, whether it’s a battle of wits with a nefarious nemesis or a battle with dozens of greenskins. From tracking the use of any special abilities, to managing the health and morale of a group of combatants, the GM has a variety of tools at his disposal.

Henchmen, Lackeys & Underlings

One of the tools GMs have access to are the use of henchmen NPCs. In addition to stout, hearty members of an individual NPC or monster entry, there are also weaker, less powerful members that fill out the ranks. These lower tier NPCs are collectively referred to as henchmen. Henchmen are a great option that allow GMs to introduce larger numbers of enemies or create more complex encounters without necessarily overwhelming the party.

Henchmen have a few special qualities to allow the GM to easily manage larger groups of enemies in the thick of the action.

Henchmen Work Together
Henchmen act in concert. Rather than each individual henchman acting on its own, they act together in groups. Henchmen of the same type are broken up into smaller groups based on the number of characters in the player’s party.

When activated during initiative, a single group of henchmen generally performs the same action, working together. For example, a group of snotling henchmen would usually attack the same target. In this case, only a single henchman from the group attempts the related check. Each additional henchman adds a fortune die to the action’s dice pool.

Henchmen Withstand Fewer Wounds
Rather than use the wounds threshold listed for a standard member of that creature entry, each henchman can only withstand a number of wounds equal to its Toughness rating. For example, a standard gor beastman has 12 wounds, while a henchman gor beastman would only be able to withstand 5 wounds (its Toughness) before being defeated.

Henchmen Share Health
Henchmen of the same type share a common pool of health. Individual henchmen do not have their own unique wound thresholds. Instead, all henchmen of a same type share a pool of health. Wounds inflicted to a henchman are dealt to the common pool of health shared by all henchmen of that type. Individual henchmen are defeated when enough wounds are inflicted to defeat one member of the group.

Henchmen Do Not Suffer Critical Wounds
Henchmen do not suffer from critical wounds the way characters or standard creatures do. When an attack or an effect would inflict a critical wound to a henchman, a critical wound card is drawn as normal. However, rather than being afflicted by the effect listed on the critical wound, the henchmen suffer a number of additional wounds equal to the critical wound’s severity rating.

Enemy Statistics
Enemies in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay have a diverse range of abilities. Many of the same elements apply to enemies as to player characters – for example, enemies and PCs both have characteristics, wound thresholds, and an assortment of actions they can perform. There are some important differences, however, to help the GM track information and manage large numbers or varied foes more easily.

Download a sample adversary spread from the Tome of Adventure’s Bestiary. (PDF 1.8 MB)

Aggression, Cunning, and Expertise
In addition to their characteristic ratings, monsters and NPCs are rated in three attributes – Aggression, Cunning, and Expertise. These ratings are abbreviated A/C/E in the statistic entries. These attributes make it easier to read and evaluate monster entries by broadly defining the physical and mental abilities beyond their characteristics, without listing skills or talents that may not come into play during an encounter.

The attribute ratings indicate how many bonus dice the GM can use for the NPCs during encounters for certain actions. The type of dice and actions relating to each attribute is explained below. These ratings give the GM a “budget” of dice to add to checks, allowing NPCs and monsters to have a lot of variety and some tricks up their sleeves. Generally, once all the dice for a particular attribute have been used, no more dice are available for that purpose for the remainder of the current encounter.

• Aggression: The Aggression rating indicates the number of fortune dice the GM can use when the NPC is performing physical tasks, such as climbing and swimming, as well as a many combat-focused actions. Any number of these fortune dice can be used for a single check. Aggression is a general indicator of an enemy’s physical prowess, boldness, and vigour. An Orc and a Flesh Hound of Khorne are examples of adversaries with a high Aggression rating.
• Cunning: The Cunning rating indicates the number of fortune dice the GM can use when the NPC is performing social actions or other mental tasks. Any number of these fortune dice can be used for a single check. Cunning is a general indicator of an enemy’s mental acuity, instincts, and creativity. A Cult Leader and a Skaven Gutter Runner are examples of adversaries with a high Cunning rating.
• Expertise: The Expertise rating indicates the number of expertise dice the GM can apply to any checks he wishes for that NPC. No more than a one expertise die can be added to any one check. Expertise is a general indicator of an enemy’s training, potency, resourcefulness, and aptitude. A Chaos Warrior and a Giant Spider are examples of two very different types of adversaries that have fairly high Expertise ratings.

Damage, Soak, and Defence
In parentheses after each entry’s three physical characteristics are Damage, Soak, and Defence values for that type of NPC or monster. The number after the Strength rating is the Damage Rating. The number after the Toughness rating is its Soak value. The number after the Agility rating is the Defence value.

These values serve the same function as they do for standard weapons and armour the characters may wield. They represent the default values assuming that the NPC or creature listed is outfitted with typical gear or trappings. If the GM wishes to customise the encounter and provide specific equipment or other gear, replace the numbers in parentheses with the replacement equipment’s actual values.

Wound Thresholds
Each creature entry has a wound threshold listed, indicating the maximum number of wounds a standard creature of that type can withstand before being defeated. Most enemies do not suffer stress or fatigue the way player characters do. An effect that would force an enemy to suffer stress or fatigue inflicts an equal number of wounds instead.

Stance
Like player characters, many NPCs take advantage of stances. Unlike the PCs, an NPC’s stance position is often fixed. The stance rating listed with the NPC’s statistics indicate what stance that NPC always uses. Conservative is abbreviated with a green coloured C and Reckless is abbreviated with a red coloured R. The number next to the letter indicates how many dice are converted into stance dice. So a Stance rating of C2 indicates the NPC uses two conservative dice when performing actions.

Enemy Threat Level
Each monster entry has a threat level rating listed with its description. This rating is represented by a number of skulls – the more skulls listed, the greater the threat posed by one standard creature of that type. It is important to note that this threat level rating compares monsters to other monsters, not to player characters. This rating helps establish a rough “pecking order” among the creatures of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

The GM can use this information to adjust encounters by evaluating how a particular group of characters fares against creatures of a certain threat level. If the group struggles, the GM may consider using creatures with a lower threat level. If the group finds little challenge with a particular type of creature, the GM can consider using creatures of a higher threat level.

In addition to adjusting encounters based on creatures’ threat levels, the GM has a number of other options to help tailor encounters to his group’s preferences and power level, which are outlined in the Tome of Adventure.

Download a sample adversary spread from the Tome of Adventure’s Bestiary. (PDF 1.8 MB)

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Set in the grim world of Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy universe, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a roleplaying game that sets unlikely heroes on the road to perilous adventure. Players will venture into the dark corners of the Empire, guided by luck and Fate, and challenge the threats that others cannot or will not face.
 

I see the forces of Chaos rampage about our lands. I see Orcs descend from the hills to rob my people of their food and holds. I see filthy Elves steal away our children and torture them. I have swung my hammer every day at our enemies.

- Gurni Thorgrimson

The first battle pack, The Skavenblight Threat, saw the emergence of the diseased and squabbling Skaven. The second battle pack, The Path of the Zealot, brought new forces for the Skaven and the witch hunters. Now, new heroes are rising to do battle with the growing rat menace.

The might of Gurni Thorgrimson and Ugrok Beardburna explode on the scene. Gurni gets more deadly with each attachment he is given. Ugrok takes the berserk ability to a new level, gaining a point of power for each damage on him. Empire Reiksguard Swordsmen are a powerful ally with their Counterstrike capabilities, and Dark Elf Cold One Chariots get bigger with each development put into play. Chaos and High Elves each gain new units to lay waste to their foes.

The Skaven will not give up the gains they have acquired and are bringing to bear the power and ferocity of the Rat Ogres and Gutter Runners. Rat Ogres can allow you to get more out of your Skaven units, and the terrifying Clan Moulder Elite Rat Ogres are solid walls of muscle that can overwhelm many a foe.

Empires rise and fall, and they require development and support if they are to last. The Scout Camp can provide you new options, and the Anvil of Doom assists the forces of Order by improving the quality of their weapons and armour. Each side will be forced to employ new tactics in an ever-shifting tide of battle and kingdom-building. Mob Up lets the Orcs see the fruits of their fighting, without that annoying Order ability to cancel damage getting in the way. Grasping Darkness gives the Dark Elves control of a unit with low power, if but for an instant. Lastly, Reap What’s Sown gives vast power to those who build up their lands.

War has arrived. Blood has been shed. Many lives on both sides have been lost. New power is coming. Are you strong enough to finish the fight?

Warhammer Invasion LCG is a card game, by Eric M. Lang, in which 2 players develop their kingdoms and lay waste to their foes. Each side is comprised of either the forces of Order -Dwarfs, High Elves, Empire- or the forces of Destruction -Orcs, Chaos, Dark Elves- as they seek to extend their empire to include the entire Old World.
 

To Forge a Realm, the exciting expansion to the fan-favorite Kingsburg, has been available at retailers and at our webstore since July. Offering a host of new features that can be added or ignored as you see fit, To Forge a Realm can be used to customize and enhance your current Kingsburg experience to fit your tastes perfectly.

New province sheets with additional buildings offer more choices, but you can also opt to randomly pass out two building row overlays to each player, ensuring that every player’s building choices are slightly different. And “Governor” cards offer exciting and variable player powers; each player receives a role at the beginning of the game, and should adapt his or her strategy accordingly. Additionally, the Destiny Deck is comprised of effects, both positive and negative, that are drawn at the beginning of each year and left in play for that year. And finally, players can have more control over the amount of extra defense they receive each year with the addition of Soldier Tokens, which are carefully rationed out over the course of the game to meet the various threats of the realm.

As an avid fan of Kingsburg, I was anxious to experience my first game using the expansion. After reviewing the different options outlined above, my three opponents and I decided to add them all. Why not go whole-hog?

We began by drawing one Governor Card each. This would determine what game-spanning advantages each of us would have, and would give each of our games a bit of individual flavor. The cards were passed out, and I flipped mine to discover my new role: The Damsel. I was initially put off by the prospect of playing the role of this particular fairy tale staple: a helpless girl needing to be rescued. But a few seconds later I thought better of it; I’m secure in my masculinity, after all... and maybe I can prove the exception to the rule! Besides, the Damsel’s ability allows her to gain an extra “+2” Token at the start of each year, and she can use as many of these as she wants in a single season (but never on the same advisor)!

Click any of the images above to enlarge

My opponents drew the Schemer, an unsavory type of man who can quickly gain victory points, the Duke, who can call in favors from his wife the Duchess, and the Politician, who has two more dice placement options than everyone else. These three would prove formidable adversaries, so given the inherent powers of the Damsel, I decided on my strategy early. I wanted to quickly establish buildings that would allow me to have the most dynamic dice pool possible. In other words, I wanted to roll as many dice as possible, and have extra options in placing them. I immediately decided that I would concentrate on structures like the Market and Farms, and then adapt my plans accordingly.

Next, we randomly drew Alternative Buildings. These row overlays are optional, and are designed to fit over the existing province sheet, so each player can have different building options. I drew replacements for rows E and F, and chose to put them both in play.

We drew the first year’s event card: a game-changing effect that would stick with us all throughout the first year (for good or ill), and off we went!

My strategy was admittedly a risky one; it relied on very little in the way of established defenses. Instead, I would build up the religious zones for a high Victory Point payout, and buy my soldiers on a year-to-year basis.

I started with the statue. This would give me some small degree of control over what I roll (if I ever rolled three of the same number). Besides, it was cheap, and it was necessary to my overall plan.

Next, I built the Inn, which gives a bonus +2 token at the end of every summer. As you’ll recall, as the Damsel I received another of these tokens at the start of each year, and I could use more than one of them in a single season. Bring those +2 tokens on!

By the end of the third year, I had established a fairly strong control over my rolls. After the Inn, I built the Chapel (in order to reroll any sum under a seven), the Market (to influence any advisor just above or below my roll), and the Farms (to add a white die every roll). All this, along with the Damsel’s special ability and the high number of +2 tokens I was acquiring every year, gave me amazing control over each and every production season.

Unfortunately, my defenses suffered and my opponents were thriving. The Schemer was making strong use of his highly profitable special ability, and the Duke and Politician were fighting hard to maintain second place. In anticipation of an impending enemy invasion, I would later go on to scramble to put up the Small Palisade and the Hidden Refuge (both of which options on my alternative building overlays)... but I consistently failed to acquire any additional soldiers via advisors.

By the fourth year, I was struggling to both defend my borders and acquire resources. I built the Woodshop in order to alleviate some of that stress, and it would later help me to put up the Church and the Cathedral... but it would prove too little and too late. My Cathedral saw less than a year of life before being destroyed by barbarians, and meanwhile, the Schemer had built the powerful Basilica, a structure on his alternative building overlay that cannot be destroyed! This, along with the Victory Points he gained every time an opponent influenced a high-level advisor, won him the game.

Ultimately, I concluded that a more balanced strategy would have served me better. In the end, having all that adaptability in my rolls was helpful, but it had taken too long to establish, and took resources that would have been better spent on defense. Still, To Forge a Realm certainly delivered on its promise, bringing a new level of strategy to an already deep and compelling game. Pick it up at your local game store, or head over to our webstore today!

Kingsburg is a board game where players take on the roles of provincial governors tasked with protecting the furthest frontiers of the kingdom from marauding monsters. At the same time, players must use their influence to enlist the help of the king's courtiers in to civilize the wilderness, build prosperous towns, and earn the most favor from the king. The player who does the best at all of these things will achieve victory!

One of the cool things about working at Fantasy Flight Games are all the great people I get to work with. Over the course of the design and development cycle of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, a lot of my fellow FFGers participated in a number of playtests, helping fine-tune the system – as well as having a lot of fun exploring the Old World.

Recently, a group of us started getting together over lunch, playing a series of one-hour sessions as part of early playtesting for our upcoming campaign set (code named Project Thunderbolt... did I just drop a spoiler?). The players decided to create new characters from scratch to tackle the campaign. This presented the perfect opportunity to walk folks through the character creation process in detail.

JR Godwin, FFG Marketing Coordinator, is one of the staffers participating in the campaign playtest. He’s a big Warhammer fan, and has participated in a number of playtests and game sessions for pretty much everything an FFGer has done that’s based on Warhammer fantasy, including one of my long-running WFRP campaigns. This designer diary walks through the character creation process for JR’s player character, Gurni Thorgrimson.

Step 1. Select Race

JR loves dwarfs in Warhammer. In fact, I have yet to see him choose to play something other than a dwarf if dwarfs are an option -- be it Warhammer: Invasion, WFRP, or the Warhammer table top game. So this was a no brainer. Before all the options had even been mentioned and explained to the players, JR selected a Karak Azgaraz Dwarf, and jotted that down on his character sheet, along with the Azgaraz Dwarf special abilities.

Step 2. Draw 3 Careers, Keep 1

When it came time to draw careers, I added the extra careers from the Adventurer’s Toolkit to the careers included in the WFRP core set, giving my players a few more options. JR ended up drawing the Agent, Dockhand, and Smuggler. A very diverse selection of careers.

After seeing what the other players drew and talking a bit about the party composition, JR opted for the Dockhand (one of the careers featured in the Toolkit), and wrote that in on his sheet. He took the Dockhand career sheet and the Dockhand career ability card and placed them next to his character sheet.

Step 3. Invest Creation Points

After taking a quick look at the character creation tables, JR sees that Azgaraz Dwarfs start out with a slightly higher Strength and Toughness, and 20 creation points to spend on customising his character. Before he spends any of his points, his character receives an automatic upgrade to the two primary characteristics listed on his career – both of these characteristics start out 1 point higher than the default value listed for that race.

Looking at the Dockhand career sheet, Strength and Toughness are that career’s primary characteristics – which help improve upon his innate dwarf bonuses. So before he spends any of his creation points, JR’s dwarf Dockhand has the following starting characteristic ratings - Strength 4, Toughness 4, Agility 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2, and Fellowship 2.

JR now has 20 points to spend on improving his characteristics, as well as starting wealth, skills, talents, and special actions.

Improving Characteristics: Increasing a characteristic rating by one requires a number of creation points equal to the new rating. For example, increasing Strength 3 to Strength 4 requires four creation points. Increasing Strength 3 to Strength 5 would require nine creation points – four points to increase Strength 3 to Strength 4, and another five points to increase Strength 4 to Strength 5. During character creation, no single characteristic can begin higher than five.

Wealth, Skills, Talents, and Actions: Investing in wealth, skills, talents, and actions is slightly different than investing in characteristics. A player can choose to invest 0, 1, 2, or 3 creation points in each of these four categories. Using the table shown below, a player finds the appropriate value for his character by cross-referencing the category’s column with the creation point investment’s row.

JR has a slightly older, more experienced dwarf in mind, and already has a name – Gurni Thorgrimson (the older brother of a dwarf he played in one of my previous WFRP campaigns). Sadly, Gurni has recently fallen on hard times (reflecting the fact that he is now currently a lowly dockhand). He decides to increase his Strength to reflect a life of rigourous activity, and that the hard labour as a dockhand has kept him fit (raising Strength 4 to Strength 5 costs 5 creation points). A dockhand needs to keep his balance on slippery docks and ship decks, so he increases his Agility slightly (Agility 2 to Agility 3 for 3 creation points). JR also wants his character to be mentally tough – he’s been around a while and seen things – so he increases Gurni’s Willpower (Willpower 2 to Willpower 3 for 3 creation points).

JR has spent 11 of his 20 creation points. Before deciding if he wants to tinker with his characteristics further, JR takes a look at the different options available for wealth, skills, talents, and actions to see how he wants to spend his remaining points... though he is tempted to go back and possibly improve his Intelligence for 3 creation points.

Looking over the other investment options, JR decides that it doesn’t make much sense for Gurni to start out rich, but he at least wants a few things to call his own, so he invests 1 creation point in Wealth, indicating that Gurni is poor. A poor character begins play with a set of durable, comfortable clothes and a cloth rucksack. He may choose to start with a dagger, quarterstaff, light crossbow, or hand weapon, and has 50 silver coins. He opts for a hand weapon - a sturdy handaxe. That’s good enough for Gurni.

To reflect a more seasoned and experienced dwarf, JR decides to invest 3 creation points in both Skills and Actions – he wants Gurni to be well-rounded and be able to contribute to a variety of game situations. JR feels the benefits of these investments are well worth giving up the opportunity to raise his Intelligence from 2 to 3 (which would also cost 3 creation points).

His 3 point investment in Skills allows him to train 4 skills and start with 2 specialisations. His dwarf racial ability Children of Grungni also allows him to train a skill relied on in dwarf culture. JR decides to use the Children of Grungni ability to train Resilience (he’s a tough ol’ dwarf), then selects four skills from the Dockhand career to train, choosing Athletics, Coordination, Intimidate, and Guile. For specialisations, JR decides that Gurni has worked hard to make the most out of being a Dockhand, and selects Swimming and Excellent Balance as specialisations – choices that have a natural connection to his career (and definitely making Gurni a distinct dwarf).

With 2 points invested in Talents, JR chooses to select one Reputation talent and one Focus talent – that way he can either take advantage of both of the Dockhand’s talent slots, or contribute different talents to the group’s party sheet they acquire later. After looking through the Reputation and Focus talents, JR chooses two that sound like a good match to Gurni’s backstory: Strong Willed and I’ve Seen Worse…

Finally, a 3 point investment in Actions allows JR to select four special action cards for Gurni.

Step 4. Acquire Action Cards

Each character starts out with access to each of the following actions he meets the requirements for: Assess the Situation, Block (for characters with Toughness 3+), Dodge (for characters with Agility 3+), Guarded Position, Melee Attack, Parry (For characters with Strength 3+), Perform a Stunt, and Ranged Attack. Since JR invested 3 points in actions, he gets to select four additional actions for Gurni to begin play with.

To reflect a veteran dwarf background, JR decides to select a few combat actions – Grapple, Setup Strike, and Reckless Cleave. But Gurni’s also a stern dwarf, quick to cast a baleful glare around when the young whippersnappers act up, so JR selects the social action Steely Gaze.

Step 5. Determine Stances

Looking at the Dockhand career sheet, JR sees that the Dockhand starts out balanced between Conservative and Reckless approaches. He builds a stance track with two green and two red pieces, with a neutral piece in the middle.

While the other players work on their characters, JR takes a moment to purchase some equipment. He decides to purchase a net, deciding it’s going to be a sturdy, reliable old fishing net he’s owned for a long time, and keeps mending rather than throw away whenever it tears. He’s also got a hand axe, a simple but effective set of leather armour, and a tankard.

As he adds a few final touches, the other players wrap up their character creation – then they start talking about how this eclectic group of characters (an impetuous wood elf wardancer, a Reikland mercenary with an extremely high Fellowship but little in the way of combat skills, and an old dwarf dockhand) ended up together. And why they decided to travel together and follow the clues that lead them to a backwater town shrouded by rain and thunderstorms…

Downloadable Character Sheets

The official WFRP character sheet is available for download as a PDF. Also available is a filled out version showing Gurni’s character sheet after the character creation process.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Character Sheet (web ready, 750 k)
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Character Sheet (hi rez, 5.3 MB)
Gurni Thorgrimson’s character sheet (web ready, 550 k)

You can also download the double-sided Dockhand Career Sheet (web ready, 500 k)

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Set in the grim world of Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy universe, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a roleplaying game that sets unlikely heroes on the road to perilous adventure. Players will venture into the dark corners of the Empire, guided by luck and Fate, and challenge the threats that others cannot or will not face.
 

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present at your friendly local game store and the FFG webstore an essential reference for the Anima: Beyond Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the Anima Game Master's Toolkit. In this reference guide you will find not only an assortment of optional rules for character creation, combat maneuvres, and insanity, but also 20 pre-generated characters and the introductory multi-session adventure "Shadows Within Dreams."

In "Shadows WIthin Dreams", an action-filled drama in three parts, players are thrown into a confrontation with rebel soldiers, only to be further drawn down a path of dark secrets.

Also included with the Anima Game Master's Toolkit is a large, four-panel screen, containing commonly used charts and tables, all together for easy reference.

With the release of the Anima Game Master's Toolkit, we have also made available print-quality downloadable PDFs of the NPC Record Sheet and Book of Magic Sheet on our Anima RPG Support Page.

The world of Gaïa spreads before you. Get ready to go beyond fantasy...


Set in the fantasy world of Gaïa, a setting that combines elements of Eastern and Western narrative and artistic traditions, Anima: Beyond Fantasy the Roleplaying Game features a dynamic and flexible system for high adventure and immersive storytelling.

A battered trading vessel has just docked at the FFG warehouse, having braved the perils of the galaxy to deliver its precious cargo. The freighter’s crew faced untold dangers to spread the word of the Emperor to our offices, and very soon, the same sacred responsibility will fall to you.

Sam Stewart and Ross Watson celebrate the recent arrival of a shipment of Rogue Trader Collector's Edition

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that copies of Rogue Trader will soon be on their way to distributors!

Regular editions of the much-anticipated core rulebook will begin shipping to distributors next week, and Collector’s Edition copies are already being hand assembled and shipped out by FFG employees. But if you ordered a copy of Rogue Trader Collector’s Edition, please be patient. Due to the meticulous preparation process involved in personalizing these rare artefacts, we can only send out roughly fifty copies per day.

Prepare your crew, ready your weapons, and set a course for wealth and glory. Soon, you will claim your prize...

Rogue Trader is a roleplaying game set in dark gothic far future of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players take on the roles of explorers aboard a Rogue Trader's ship, searching for profit and adventure while discovering new alien cultures and threats in the uncharted regions of space.

+++Incoming Astropathic Transmission+++

Greetings, Dark Heresy fans!

Most designer diaries are all about the game itself...but this one is slightly different. This designer diary is about the process of creating artwork for the Dark Heresy books. I have received many questions about what it is like for an artist or a writer working on a project like Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay. This designer diary is my opportunity to peek behind the curtain a little bit and provide an answer.

As an example, I’d like to show you some of the process behind the image above. Art goes through a three-step process: description, sketch, and final. At every stage, we go through an internal approval process here at FFG. After that, like everything else we do for Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, it goes to Games Workshop for a second approval before we take it any further!

For The Radical’s Handbook, we commissioned Imaginary Friends Studios to create the image for the Goleph, a terrifying creation of Dark Technology in the form of a mechanical assassin.

First, the author (in this case, Reason), provided an art description of what he had in mind when writing up the entry in the book for the Goleph.

“A humanoid mechanical figure with sleek lines and thin limbs. It should appear non-human, with non-standard proportions (long limbs, elongated head, etc.) Powerblades should project from its arms, and there should be smaller powerblades that it can fire from its forearms towards a target. The powerblades look like 40K powerswords, but they have a more alien look.”

Next, this description was sent to Imaginary Friends Studio for them to create a sketch. You can see the sketch here, below. All art sketches are reviewed by both FFG and our licensor, Games Workshop. Once approved, the sketch is then ready to be turned into a final image by the artist.

At every step of this process, the artist receives some feedback about his work (or the author in the case of the art description), and the art piece will reflect that as the process goes on. Compare the art description and the sketch to the finished product, and you will clearly see how this process turns out to create some truly impressive and memorable pieces for Dark Heresy!

A Glimpse Inside the Radical’s Handbook

I have some exciting news about The Radical’s Handbook, the next sourcebook for Dark Heresy...the book is at the printer as we speak!

I wanted to give the Dark Heresy fans a taste of what you’ll find inside, and I’ll be providing some previews over the next few weeks. The first teaser is a report from Inquisitor Vownus Kaede about an unusually fortunate Adept.

Of course, in the Inquisiton, even particularly good luck can be grounds for suspicion...

Preview #1 (Print Quality) (PDF, 8.5 MB)
Preview #1 (Web Quality) (PDF, 292 KB)

The Next Step

Coming soon, I plan on starting up the 2009 Dark Heresy Adventure Contest! This year’s theme will be focused around the Radical factions of the Inquisition, so get prepared if you plan on putting in an entry. This year’s prize: A signed copy of The Radical’s Handbook!

Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the grim darkness of the far future. Players take on the roles of Acolytes serving the Inquisition, rooting out heresy and corruption from within the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man. 

“What I am about to say is something many of you have heard before, but it bears repeating...” The sorcerer walked down the central aisle while addressing his pupils. “What you are here to learn is how to master the gift of magic. Although it is a rare and powerful gift, it has to be cultivated, refined, and tended to. Above all, you must learn how to use it properly.” He stopped at the end of the aisle and turned. His eyes swept the room and he held out his hands.

Fantasy Flight Publishing is proud to announce the upcoming release of our first novel, Jarvis: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice! Set in a world of high fantasy, Jarvis: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice tells the exciting story of a lowly goat herder’s son who, to everyone’s surprise, is selected to learn the secrets of magic from Harnigel, a powerful and enigmatic sorcerer. As Jarvis comes of age and starts to understand his own untapped potential, he also begins to unravel a dark and perilous mystery. Taken under Harnigel’s wing, Jarvis will have to learn quickly... his very life may depend on it.

This young adult novel was written by Jesper Ejsing, an accomplished illustrator and author probably best known for painting all of the covers for the popular Descent: Journeys in the Dark and Runebound line of board game releases from Fantasy Flight Games. Jesper, who lives in Copenhagen, Denmark with his wife Lea and two sons Asbjørn (God of Bears) and Bjarke (Little Bear), has written nine books in Danish. Jarvis: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is his first novel translated into English.

Head over to the description page to see more!

Set in the fantasy world of Ledu, Jarvis: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a novel that tells the story of a lowly goat herder who discovers his true potential after being selected for apprenticeship by a powerful sorcerer.