Listening to the darn wonderful WFRP 4th edition season 3 podcast by Mud and Blood I was struck by how similar the reading of the Open Lock spell was in their interpretation of the rules. Damn strict. In the last season in episode 27 the Gold Wizard botches a spell and finds himself floating 9 or so yards up in the air trying to get in a latched window while an enemy is about to use him for target practice. In a prior IRL game the Open Lock spell struck me as borderline pointless given how restrictive it is, how expensive spells are; and I think there is a better way to handle spells so they are both slightly more useful and dangerous.
Open Lock is a Petty spell which says “one non-magical lock you touch opens”. The strict pedantic reading of the spell does not allow for latches, switches, bits of wood or any other mechanism which might be used to keep a door, chest, or window closed, and also doesn’t allow for locking of a targeted item, or doing so at arms reach. What if there was a way to keep the very strict reading of the spells as a base, and add flexibility should the Wizard choose to take additional risks?
Appreciate the view that the “magic” which the Empire of Man has access to was designed as restricted and highly prescribed – because paraphrasing the Elf lore – humans are such weak creatures as to be too risky to learn high magicks. Thus a Petty spell like this is reasonably limited, and all magic is closely defined.
But then also consider that magick within the setting is a language which contorts the world to the casters will, and as such is endlessly varied and deep. In my view magic as taught to humans is a starting point and as the Wizards skill in Language Magic increases the wizards learns new words, new subtleties, contexts, abbreviations, and alternatives which make their spell casting better. Like the cliche of there being 13x different words for snow, I like the view that “magick” has such tonal and linguistic depth that it is plausible for a Wizard to try to substitute a tone or phrase to get a slightly different result.
My suggestion is that a Wizard may opt to use Quavering in their spell casting, which is a way to slightly change a spell to perform somewhat differently, although must still be sympathetic the remit of the spells intended purpose.
Quavering – The caster may alter slightly the way a spell is used, thereby gaining some flexibility or benefit; at a cost of removing any typical protections they often may gain from Talents which limit miscasts, and must test for a miscast.
When doing so the Wizard chooses to accept any and all wild surges of magic for the benefit of tweaking their spells effects. If the alteration is relatively small the CN to cast increases by 1 and a minor miscast is applied. If the spell is changed in a more major way the CN is increased by 2 and a major miscast is applied. This is in addition to any miscast result which might apply from the spell casting itself, and Quavering must be declared before the spell casting roll is made.
Introducing flexibility adds more complexity into magic which sometimes slows games. Some changes might be ruled as too much of a change and it’s important to refer back to the purpose of the spell and the thematic examples and styles of spells to adjudicate on what is reasonable to allow.
Eg. This option might allow a wizard to close a lock (using magic on the same type of thing, using it in a manner sympathetic to the devices purpose, but in the reverse manner – meaning a small change). Or flipping open a latch rather than a lock; or casting the spell on the lock within a pace or away rather than touch – also small changes. Perhaps doing a few of those – like targeting a window latch from outside the window from the episode of Mud and Blood – that’s a moderate (2CN) change.
There should be a line for adjudicating what is possible, and what is just beyond moderate change which can’t be varied within the spell as structured.
Examples of Quavering:
Making a circular area of affect spell into a rectangle or square (minor)
Making an area of effect an odd but still contiguous shape, such as a right angle or sliding some of the AoE around a corner (moderate)
Excluding a person from being affected by the AoE within its normal share (major = not allowed).
Changing a spell from touch to within 1-2 paces (minor)
Warhammer Fantasy has a complex, logical, and deep set of combat mechanics which is easy to understand when used at the early stages of a character’s career and gets wonderfully deep and powerful if explored properly. Some folk hate that, but in my view it’s great as it better reflects the flavour of the fighting styles of the time without getting into simulationist arguments.
Recently thinking about options for a Duellist and reading the changes and options presented when Up In Arms is used along side the WFRP core rules – I went into a delve for rule clarifications – and came across this blog post by FaithFictionFatherhood.com which is an excellent exploration of many options.
A particularly good area is the suggestion to rename the Bastard Sword in the weapon table to Longsword, and add a new weapon which is truly what we might call a bastard sword – a mid range sized blade with a long handle. My limited experience with Longswords in HEMA supports this change; and I can understand what type of weapon is being described when Bastard sword is written, a look which might have started as a mutt of an Arming sword which is very light, with a longer pommel, and probably has defensive rings on the cross.
Bastard Sword: this complex weapon is weighted specifically so it may be used as either a one handed or two handed manner, allowing for a degree of flexibility and also often has further details such as defensive rings to enhance its utility.
Suggestions for cost and availability rating should be in line with other two handed weapons: when in double use the cost etc of the original Bastard Sword.
A character in our regular WFRP 4e game has been steadily becoming comfortable with killing, and at the same time considering which Gods match to his ethos. Many of the gods which value aspects of battle, combat, skill at arms, don’t have the flexible morality which this character has developed. This isn’t a character who wants a fair stand up fight, more a knife in the back kind of fellow, and to his perceptive a fair fight is about the worst kind of conflict.
It’s unavoidable when talking about murder, assassins, and death to not consider the darker gods, so I’ve been reading about the Cult of Khaine in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and considering alternatives to how and where worshipers of Khaine might pop up in games for Human characters.
Principally, due to the fact that there is deliberately no true right or wrong in the way our games have good and evil, WFRP offers a setting which is morally flexible and potentially richer. I like that moral ambiguity which the NPCs and character can work within, and in a setting where everyday life is brutal the god of murder and death would be subtle but present each day.
This post is proposing followers and dedicated worshipers of Khaine have more fluff and a greater role to play in both the metaphysical religions and also more breadth of approach in the setting.
Note: Some of this material is thematically dark and morally reprehensible if it wasn’t part of a grim dark roleplaying game.
As a power up to how Blessings work I’m suggesting there is another way in-game to gain a blessing as a house rule:
Optional – When the Blessing is performed as part of a Cult service (i.e. a formal Church or a cult ceremony) the duration of the Blessing is extended to Hours instead of Rounds. In this way Blessings applied by senior Cult leadership to their flock gain a boost, and it is unlikely to be “gamed” too often.
I heard recently that black powder weapons sometimes were deliberately loaded with extra powder for their first shot, allowing greater range. The idea was that pre-loading before battle allowed more shot and more accurate loading which meant the first bullets traveled further and probably hit harder.
Overloaded Powder: Increase range by 25%, change damage to +2, and add the Dangerous trait. Weapons which already have the dangerous trait now also critically fail on 96-00, and any critical hit.
The in-game realms of power (the blessed, the ruinous powers, the normal world) in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay interact in numerous ways, often with some contradiction and churn in the game materials. A quick and easy way to characterise the realms is to say that the divine is ineffable, that chaos is ever churning, and the mundane realm is where they mix. There is a strength in storytelling to keep a simple approach, and lean into the story they find around them.
That said, there is more the realms might do in service to the characters in a story, meaning there is more to be said by the characters themselves as they are communicating about their understanding of the world; and also a little more material to draw examples from might help.
This discussion is by npcs who might have observed “the realms” over many years, and some implied knowledge elders could have accumulated which allows the characters to behave with more depth than “my god gives me these powers”, or “chaos is crazy right!”.
Blessed Brother Arnulf Schussler, Suppressed Abbott of Genshill Sigmarite Monastery, abridged letter of correspondence.
I will not enter a long debate on the existential realms as mentioned in your letter prior. I cannot.
Amongst the Blessed there is little debate as such metaphysical matters of faith are both fundamentally obvious to those touched by Sigmar, and insistently silent of commentary except by the most holy prescribed publications. Simply stated, the iron will of Sigmar guides the hand of all His practitioners including the Blessed, and from Him all holy power is derived. There is no relationship or connection to the ruinous powers used by the servants of chaos, or those sorceries long suffered by the Imperial Colleges of the Empire. Indeed the maladies of corruption from the dark Gods are indistinguishable from the rotten powers of those chaos winds.
The Blessings are proof of Sigmar’s overt hand in our lives, and are equally profound as the guidance we feel in all matters.
The questions which remain outside the spheres of His will yet still present due to followers of other faiths is challenging. I can no more answer that academic perplexity of which other followers of other holy Gods gain their powers through Sigmar, as has been written, and thus confused as gifts from Him; or if they are acted upon by separate divine influences. Their Blessed powers seem as true and forthright as my own, and I now choose to leave those questions for wiser and more senior priests to ponder.
By Sigmar’s Hand,
Brother Arnulf.
Magister Woodrow of Carnolm, hastily written annotations of instruction from Wizard Lord Leopold Jaeger, Pyromancer, at the “Crimson College”school.
That you ask is a problem Herr Carhold. We will cover this once more and you will learn.
There is only chaos and law. There is no room for error when prescribing the source of energies of the aether among the various incantations of the winds; it is all chaos. Even the high words of the elves which are too dangerous for us. Chaos is to be eliminated. Expunged from the realm of man. A practitioner such as yourself must be sure that the need to draw the aether into form is sufficiently dire, and that you will take responsibility for the form of such magicks.
Except the divine truth, all supernatural powers in our realm are sourced from chaos. Natural and unblemished animals and men are to be preserved and protected, and it is our role to protect the Empire from chaos, and also to perfect our purpose as destructive weapons of war. A skirmish, some bandits, or even the disagreements of noblemen are not our concern. We, meaning you directly will give a life of service to destroying the enemies of the Empire. Anything less is a betrayal which will be punished, and my oath guarantees that I will force you to answer for any failure of character. And your oath will do the same to those who eventually must come after you.
I make no secret of the treatment of those who use magick as a parlour trick, or a source of miscreant power – those who cannot be re-educated are introduced to the inquisition. Misuse of magick is one of the most terrible crimes a Wizard may perform, as each whisper of aether carries the peril of corruption. Our purpose is as weapons of the Empire, and as such we must be forthright, deadly, and pure. By my hand many unnatural creatures, chaos worshipers, witches, and dark servants have been destroyed; that I exist to expel the corruption with the greater power of aether is the great contradiction of the Colleges.
Man, and specifically the continuation of the Empire is our goal. Individuals may die or fall out of grace, or even fall to chaos. Be conservative in speaking the winds, and they will answer you more directly when the need is dire, because you will have purpose. A vanity I used to entertain was that my own purpose was assisted by some divine hand. That pride was a mistake – the winds serve no master, move with no plan, and any pattern in the winds you may see is a coincidence of folly. If you need a divine plan to maintain a purpose then you have chosen a poor tool to execute your purpose.
I say too that the influences of the divine are truly the works of the gods themselves. While a priest may fall from grace or perform some task askew, the ability of those priests to invoke powers beyond the reach of any magicks is staggering. Leave them aside, and respect those holy men and their Gods. Just as they are marked by their blessed powers, we are marked by the energies of chaos; we are their dark imitation. We are terrible and necessary.
Anonymously written in a sharp angular handwriting, decrypted from cipher.
My friend in change,
What was once whispered has grown to a shout, and once taught as a pathway has spread into a maze, and it delights me. I cannot wait to show you the proof of the conjunction. You will leave transformed by the elementary truth I have discovered by using the remaining texts of our associates.
The Colleges keep quiet the truth which the elves have always known – that the Dhar draws from all winds, and is also drawn from the font of the Hand! Even to say we have a set of formed winds is false, and I have the proof. There is no Aqushy to be feared, but a rite which changes the paradigm of aesthetic essence. That which should expunge enhances, that which should conflict grows, and we have access to such power which breaks the common laws of low magick.
The midsummer festival three years past was a bounty of broken spirits when the master’s plan erupted. In his death we have a convergence of principals. I know you feel as I the disappointment of the meddlers actions, but I offer hope. Travel here and we will push aside the conventions of aether, and show the power of this conjunction.
To be clear, I’ve never overly cared who uses my materials for whatever deep, or dark, or unhallowed purposes – however with the new Definitive Ars Magica edition being created I thought to share, announce, and proclaim that I am more than happy for any of my Ars Magica material to be shared under the same license that the definitive edition is using called the Ars Magica Open License.
My ego loves the idea of getting my name referenced in materials when any of the content is used. So yeah, I suppose I do care a little. Happy gaming folks.
One bugbear in WFRP is the clarity of explanations in the core book. Superficially the Rules As Written (RAW) seems fine until you start combining the text from many Talents and Skills, and also some of the situational modifiers. This post is all about who acts first, and how that might change with different circumstances. And then goes a little into changing the Fast Shot talent.
(aside – this is not a criticism of WFRP, as most games have issues with who acts first. I’ve written about the initiative and fast casting rules in Ars Magica on a number of occasions. Please take this post as a way to discuss unintended issues.)
As a basic premise, the Initiative Stat decides the order that characters act, the higher your stat the earlier you act. Makes good sense, and is one of the many reasons the I stat is valuable. The talent Combat Reflexes (WFRP core p.135, and is one of the best talents in the game) adds 10 each time it is taken to the characters Initiative order, but does not alter the basic stat.
e.g. five characters could be ordered as:
a Protagonist, with I: 40 = order 40
a Soldier, with I: 36 = order 36
a Duelist A, with I: 34 = order 34
a Duelist B, with I: 33 = order 33
a Hunter, with I: 32 = order 32
In the above example the order is clear from the Protagonist first through to the Hunter last. Then as the characters develop by spending xp on skills stats and talents, several factors could potentially change the order.
a Duelist A, with I: 34, using a weapon with the Fast quality = First.
a Hunter, with I: 32, using the Fast Shot talent = First, as well??
a Protagonist, with I: 40, and one rank of Combat Reflexes = order 50
a Soldier, with I: 36 = order 36
a Duelist B, with I: 33 = order 33
Now we have a dilemma – both the Fast weapon quality and the Fast Shot talent indicate the character acts outside of normal initiative; so who acts first? And consider the RAW to apply when resolving (a) two Fast weapons are used against each other, then the normal initiative takes precedence for those two combatants, and (b) the character with the higher number of Fast Shot talents goes first, and when the talent levels are equal they a simultaneous. Not great to have different ways to resolve conflicts.
Thankfully the Combat Reflexes talent is a good one, as it alters the order of initiative without introducing new special interrupts or first actions. This means the Soldier could advance their “I” stat, but is unlikely to catch-up to the Protagonist, who can buy a special talent.
YMMV but to me this indicates different approaches for resolving who attacks first, which might indicate that the Combat Reflexes talent is “stronger” than the weapon quality, and both are stronger than the base “I” stat. There is no clear rule on this in RAW though for Fast vs Fast Shot.
Rule Suggestion: To resolve this what-if scenario suggest that: the Fast weapon quality is considered equivalent to one level in a talent which grants a “act first” action, and that there should be one method for resolving all “act first” actions.
This means that Fast quality and Fast Shot (1) are “basically the same” initiative order, and then the characters “I” stat is then used to break any tie. If the I stat is equal then the actions happen simultaneously. That won’t happen often but does give a known mechanical way to say “it’s ok for these two things to happen at the same time”.
The probability of Fast Shot and the Fast quality being used in the same round is low anyway, but this makes it clear. This standardises the way to resolve any first/fast actions. It also keeps the benefit of buying the 2nd level talent to Fast Shot (2) which would exceed the Fast weapon quality, and given that investment of 300 xp, it seems reasonable.
The rationale for this is to make the use of any Fast talent or quality mechanically similar, and to also keep the value of increasing a character’s stats.
e.g.
a Duelist A, with I: 34, using a weapon with the Fast quality = First, at 34.
a Hunter, with I: 32, using the Fast Shot talent = First, at 32.
a Protagonist, with I: 40, and one rank of Combat Reflexes = order 50.
a Soldier, with I: 36 = order 36.
a Duelist B, with I: 33 = order 33.
The Hunter could take an additional level of Fast Shot and move up the order, or also invest in their I stats to likewise react first. The Duelist B likewise could use a Fast weapon and move past the Soldier and Protagonist.
Alternate Simple Suggestion: the Talents are always faster. The core principal here is that while a weapon may have a quality that makes it quick, training (through spending xp) makes a person faster. It keeps the value of character choices higher than equipment.
Therefore in the order above the Hunter and the Duellist would switch positions of 1 and 2.
Side Discussion: Fast Shot needs to be changed! It’s a mess.
As written the talent Fast Shot seems to be allowing a shot in a subsequent round with little clarity on how that action works. It raises some confusing caveats for preloaded weapons, and not being able to move. For example it is not clear if Fast Shot can be used with different types of weapons, or if the weapons need to be in hand, or just on the characters body.
Is a throwing knife in hand valid for Fast Shot? (Yes).
Is there a penalty if a character is holding a pistol in each hand and fires one, and then wishes to switch hands the next round…is switching hands too slow? (Not in raw).
Are bows excluded because they have no reload? (No, bows can use fast shot as normal).
It’s not even clear to me when a player should declare they are using fast shot – because the group need to know but does the character have a normal action in round 1, and then declare they will be shooting quickly in round 2 at the end of everyone else’s turn?
Instead suggest:
Fast Shot (Max Agi bonus), Test: any ranged attack using this talent.
You are a skilled marksman who is able to attack with lightning speed. At the start of any new turn you may choose to make an attack with a ranged weapon outside the normal initiative order. Roll to hit as normal for the ranged attack. The weapon must be ready to use, loaded (if required), and readily available. When using Fast Shot you forfeit your attack and move actions, but may defend as normal.
Aside Discussion: Drawing and Changing weapons.
There are no mods for speed or attack for changing weapons mid fight – we know drawing a weapon is a free action (pg 158), but there might be a bit of mechanics applied for groups who want more crunchy mechanics.
Rule: Readying or changing weapons causes a -20 Initiative penalty. The character can still act, but they are less prepared than normal.
Offset by gear: a bandoleer or special sheath or holster reduces this penalty by 10.
Offset by talent: each level of Fast Hands reduces this penalty by 10.
At the start a fair duel both combatants would know not only the rules but would have time to be ready. Unfortunately many fights start with less favourable conditions and characters might be caught unprepared. A character who is caught without a weapon plausibly has a disadvantage, although they should be balanced against weapons which are typically worn to be used.
To represent this disadvantage without getting stuck too far into simulationist game mechanics – a character who is unarmed and is already within melee range at the start of a round either:
Must defend with Dodge or Melee Unarmed (as normal), and/or
If the character chooses to ready a weapon they suffer a -20 penalty to their initiative – as they forego part of their response speed to adjust for gaining the weapon. The weapon can then be used to defend.
Drawing and readying a weapon in each hand is also possible, but increases the initiative penalty to -30.
As each combat round is meant to be a fluid and changing encounter this represents that the character can be seen preparing a weapon which an opponent would react to, but not necessarily be able to mitigate. Like normal the character can continue to use whichever defence to attacks they wish, such as Dodge, but may opt to forego speed for their preference.
Changing weapons is the same as drawing a weapon.
E.g. A cunning thief is armed with a dagger in their main hand and a throwing knife in their off hand has dispatched his last melee opponent, and now chooses to switch the throwing knife to his main hand. This invoked a -20 initiative penalty as the thief stows the dagger and changes the knife to his main hand.
Likewise a character brandishing two pistols might opt to fire one each round, but the second round they are slower due to switching hands.
Gear and talent explanations: Bandoleers, Lines, and Holsters were designed to keep weapons at hand. It is arguable if quick access equipment was really a thing in the old world, but it is flavoursome. There are references to pirates using pistols on lines so they could drop them without breaking or missing them.
Option: Delay.
A character may delay their action in a round until after somebody else does something, this does not forgo their action if it doesn’t occur, but allows them to wait.
E.g. a cutpurse assists his friend by throwing a weapon to her, but must wait till that friend is ready. The cutpurse’s action for the round is delayed.
Option: Overwatch.
A character may opt to watch a space and await the opportunity to strike or attack – this is similar to aiming. It must be plausible for the area to be covered by the pending action, and if so the character gains a +10 bonus to attack anything that enters that area.
E.g. a guardsman stands aside a doorway concealed, waiting his opportunity to strike against a cutpurse he suspects is robbing a manor house. The guardsman does not strike out against fellow guards as they patrol, but does gain a +10 to attack against the cutpurse when he moves cautiously through the door.
You have trained how to make false attacks in close combat to fool your opponent. By forgoing your move action you may now make a Feint against any opponent using a weapon. This is resolved with an Opposed Melee (Any) / Intuition Test. If you win, you attack the same opponent again in current round, and add the SL of your Feint to your attack roll. Note that a successful Feint does not increase the attackers advantage, however a failed feint test will cause a loss of advantage (as normal).
…Alternatively
In low Advantage games where it is capped by IB or even limited to +1 Adv; or if it’s preferred then the opposed Feint test is used normally and applies or removes advantage as normal but does not add its SL to the actual attack.
When used this way a feint becomes a way for an attacker to gain advantage and remove the opponents, but does not heavily swing the combat with the SLs applying to the next roll.
…Why?
Feint shouldn’t be restricted to Fencing weapons. Anyone with any weapon can try to feint.
I dislike having actions which cross over into the next round.
the “cost” of movement means that an attacker needs to make a strategic choice; sometimes missing the opportunity to move will be a significant disadvantage. When two skilled Feinters fight you might see huge amounts of attempts to feint.
It should be possible for both sides to feint each other.
…But?
Wont combatants often feint when they can? Well yes. It is a valid combat tactic used regularly.
This adds an extra resolution to many attack actions, which makes combat slower! Yes, I agree that its not desirable, but it is a special kind of talent likely only used by specialist characters. Conversely some move actions also require a test, so mileage will vary. At present nobody takes the talent.
The Iron-Bound Tome 