Which 2e WFRP books have you read, and which do you recommend?

I've got the main book, ashes of middenheim, the bestiary, the equipment guide, realms of sorcery, karak azgal, and knights of the grail.   I wasn't too impressed with the last one; and I didn't care for Plundered Vaults, which I got a chance to look at.

So I want to know which other books for WFRP2e you've read/looked at, and whether you'd recommend them or not.

RPGPundit

Sigmar's Heirs has been helpful in my attempts to build a Middenheim campaign.  What I like most is how it shows the tensions and differences between the populations of different provinces.

Would you recommend Realms of Sorcery?  The chances of rolling up a wizard are pretty damn low, but I'd be interested to know if it impacts larger things than just potential spell-slingers.

And DAMN Tome of Corruption looks good.  I loved the presentation Chaos had in Sixth Edition of WFB and this is just icing on the cake.

Well I must cop to having the complete set of WFRP2 books, and I'm satisfied with them all myself. As for recommendations?

I agree with fonkaygarry that Sigmar's Heirs is a worthwhile buy for a GM intending to do an Empire campaign. My fuller opinions can be read here, but this is a solid background book that is well put together.

From among the rest one that stands out for me is Children of the Horned Rat, the guide to all things Skaven. This is good if you're interested in running a game with Skaven PC's. It's also pretty much indispensible if you want the Skaven to have a serious place as villains in your own campaign, for example by fleshing out their place in Ashes of Middenheim.

If you've successfully run AoM (as I know pundit has), then I would also recommend Spires of Altdorf. I'm in the process of preparing to run this myself, and I think that it will prove to be a worthwhile development of the PotD into a genuinely epic WFRP campaign.

Children of the Horned Rat was one in particular that I have serious doubts about, given that to me the whole skaven obsession strikes me as somewhat fetishistic, and it kind of bugged me that they'd devote an entire sourcebook to a monster before doing, say, a sourcebook on elves or dwarves.

Is there really enough in there to make the book worthwhile if you assume that a GM isn't going to have Skaven show up more often as villains than any other monster type?

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditChildren of the Horned Rat was one in particular that I have serious doubts about, given that to me the whole skaven obsession strikes me as somewhat fetishistic, and it kind of bugged me that they'd devote an entire sourcebook to a monster before doing, say, a sourcebook on elves or dwarves.

Well the Skaven are the Old World's trademark monsters, more unique to Warhammer even than the whole chaos thing. If you don't like it yourself, fair enough, but I guess I can see that there is a logic to fleshing out a trademark monster that epitomises the background before doing other racial sourcebooks.

QuoteIs there really enough in there to make the book worthwhile if you assume that a GM isn't going to have Skaven show up more often as villains than any other monster type?

The content of CotHR offers 2 things to a WFRP game:

• the chance to run a game with Skaven PC's- Paranoia Old World-style if you will
  
• all the material you need if you want to make the Skaven threat a significant feature of your game.

If neither of these are to your interest, then I'd have to say that CotHR is not for you. It certainly shouldn't be a priority purchase for sure. You'd be much better off investing in parts 2 and 3 of PotD.

I think the Skaven deserve a supplement far more than Dwarves or Elves.  Dwarves and Elves are so familiar that short of radically inventing them for the setting any supplements dealing with are likely to be entirely optional.

The Skaven are a race unique to WHFRP and as such it's nice to see them get a supplement with some detailing, doubly so as it was written by someone who is massively enthusiastic about the setting and games in general and has some creative skill too.

Quote from: JMcL63The content of CotHR offers 2 things to a WFRP game:

• the chance to run a game with Skaven PC's- Paranoia Old World-style if you will
  
• all the material you need if you want to make the Skaven threat a significant feature of your game.

If neither of these are to your interest, then I'd have to say that CotHR is not for you. It certainly shouldn't be a priority purchase for sure. You'd be much better off investing in parts 2 and 3 of PotD.

This last part is why I'm getting the book and besides those damn rats deserve a book of their own.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: RPGPunditkarak azgal,

Is this any good?

Quote from: RPGPunditI didn't care for Plundered Vaults, which I got a chance to look at.

It's a mixed bag.  Two of the adventures are weak, while two are very good.  Probably not worth it overall.

Personally, aside from the core book, I think that the Old World Bestiary and Sigmar's Heirs are the two essential books for an Empire-based campaign.  (Realms of Sorcerery may be useful if you have mage PCs -- I haven't picked it up yet myself, as I'm not running WFRP these days.)

Quote from: AkrasiaIs this (Karak Azgal) any good?

In my opinion, very good. Its WFRP's take on the dungeon crawl. I found it really brilliant.

QuoteIt's a mixed bag.  Two of the adventures are weak, while two are very good.  Probably not worth it overall.

Yes. So my next question is whether parts 2 and 3 of Paths of the Damned are, in the opinion of those who have read them, as good as part 1 (going from the basis that I've run part 1 and was thoroughly impressed by it).

RPGPundit

I agree with pundit about Karak Azgal: it is a WFRP dungeon-crawl; and it does look very nice.

The logic of the setting is nicely done, what with it being an old dwarfhold that has been essentially overrun, but with access thereto still jealously guarded by the dwarfs. There is a neat above-ground settlement that is a good adventure location in its own right. Underground there are several areas which are fully detailed, each of which is a complete adventures by itself. And there are huge areas left uncharted for inventive GM's, complete with all the tables necessary to help flesh them out.

All of this makes Karak Azgal an ideal location for all sorts of plots, an epic involving a lost dwarfen artefact being only the most obvious. And the way the place is put together, simply getting hold of the artefact would only be half the fun. Smuggling it past the dwarfen authorities, avoiding the attentions of other 'interested parties' and getting it home could prove even more entertaining. And that's just one of the different adventures that you could run using Karak Azgal. So it's definitely worth the price of admission if you like that kind of thing.

Oh, and I'm sure you've read my previous remarks re. Spires of Altdorf and Forges of Nuln pundit, and are just waiting for someone else to comment. But I say again- they're worth it. They both follow the format of AoM, although the adventures are different in structure- everything you might've read about them being less railroady and combat-driven is true, to name but 2 key differences. And the basic plot is easy to adapt according to your tastes and to loose ends you might have hanging from AoM.

If your players have a taste for intrigue and paranoia, and for a lengthy plot arc of epic scope, then I'd say you can't go wrong if you lead them the rest of the way down the Paths of the Damned. I know that my players are looking forward to this.

I found Ashes of Middenheim to be slightly railroady, but "just right" in the combat section. I don't see any reason, as I mentioned in a previous thread, why WFRP can't have a serious dose of combat.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditI found Ashes of Middenheim to be slightly railroady, but "just right" in the combat section. I don't see any reason, as I mentioned in a previous thread, why WFRP can't have a serious dose of combat.

RPGPundit

Yep, I agree. In a 'grim world of perilous adventure' with a brutal combat system the threat of terminal ultraviolence should hover permanently in the wings when it's not centre stage. Also, AoM was written for new players first and foremost and not 1st edtion grognards. In this light, a first published campaign should be fairly combat heavy. How else are new players to learn the painful and bloody lessons that are the only way to make the hardest veteran PC fear even a lowly peasant with a pointy stick? :confused:

Funny thing btw: the only complaint I had about railroading was that I sometimes didn't do enough of it!

The next 2 books in the path of the damned series escape the Railroad feel of the first one and also give some good extraneous background info on the cities they take place on.  The second book in particular is very open in how you can tackle it and offers lots of opportunity to get into a political game and really can reward those who favor 'role' playing over hack n' slash.

I'll also add that Karak Azgal is a must have for any GM.  It really is two settings in one.  You have a very cool 'Waterdeep' like setting above and a huge dungeon with random area generators for below.  It's usefull in and of itself or whenever you need a dungeon.

Children of the Horned Rat is also a great source book on all things Skaven.  Also for those who want to it has rules for generating PC skaven - which would be an all skaven party.  But a game like that would be more akin to playing Paranoia in a fantasy setting.

One last thing if you want adventure books both Barony of the Damned and Terror in Talabheim are better then the path of the damned series.

Sigmar's Heirs has some good surface information and some good plot seeds.  The editing is bad and for those who want a lot of detail they may feel cheated.

But of all the books currently out the only true true most haves are the Bestiary and Realms of Sorcery.  Both are just amazing books that no GM should be without.

Also keep a look out because the Tome of Corruption is on it's way.

Quote from: RPGPunditWhich 2e WFRP books have you read, and which do you recommend?

I've got the main book, ashes of middenheim, the bestiary, the equipment guide, realms of sorcery, karak azgal, and knights of the grail.   I wasn't too impressed with the last one; and I didn't care for Plundered Vaults, which I got a chance to look at.

So I want to know which other books for WFRP2e you've read/looked at, and whether you'd recommend them or not.

RPGPundit

Pundit, when I first saw the title of this thread I thought you were looking for hand-outs! Glad to see otherwise. I'd hate to see you pull a Kevin Siembeida on us.