Warhammer

Fantasy Roleplay

A PLAYERS

INTRODUCTION
 Players’ Introduction
OVERVIEW
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) is a tabletop roleplaying game. A special one.
The Players and the Game Master. Like all tabletop RPGs, WFRP relies on a group of
players to drive a story forward. Their role is to repeatedly answer the question “so, what do
we do now?” – and to answer it in a way that is satisfying and fun for everyone.
The Game Master’s job is also to help the story to move forward by working out and then
describing what is triggered by the players’ actions and what happens around them – and to
do this in a way that is satisfying and fun.
It’s up to you and your group to decide what “satisfying and fun” means to you – but
whatever you decide, you are all in it together to make something brilliant happen.
What makes WFRP special? The tone.
First, the tone of the characters that the players play, and, second, the tone of their world.
The Characters. In some RPGs, players play mighty heroes vanquishing foes and gaining
awesome powers and skills. They are shining knights, powerful mages, etc., working their
way through a world of dungeons and dragons that are ready to be bested.
By contrast, in WFRP, the players tend (at least initially) to play regular folk: soldiers,
sailors, tinkers, tailors, rich men, poor men, beggar men, and thieves. Regular folk, richly
drawn and with strange days ahead of them. In fact, often the only thing that marks the
players’ characters as out-of-the-ordinary is the fact that they are destined for some interesting
and dangerous encounters -- and that they are not fated to die the very first time that they
run into trouble (but maybe the second or third...).
The players’ characters are reluctant heroes thrust into exceptional circumstances by a
combination of events and a refusal to just go quietly into an obscure grave.
The World. WFRP is more than a set of rules – it is an amazingly detailed world. A grim
world of perilous adventure. Of low fantasy, mud, guts, and moral decay. There is magic,
but it is dangerous and feared. There is technology, but it is dangerous and feared. There is
faith, but it is precarious and compromised. There is society, but it is corrupted by the
horror of Chaos lurking beneath the tissue-thin surface, dangerous and feared, but also
desired and worshipped.
Making your way in this world is what makes WFRP a great game.
 Players’ Introduction
SUMMARY
The Old World. The Old World is a fantasy realm comparable to Europe in the early
Renaissance. The bulk of its population is human, but other civilized races such as elves,
dwarfs and halflings also inhabit its lands. Barbaric creatures such as beastmen and
goblinoids lurk on its borders and in its more remote regions. Technology has advanced
to the point where alchemists are making scientific progress, including the manufacture of
gunpowder, and technical innovations such as sewers and the printing press are starting to
arise in the more substantial towns and cities. Magic is also present in the Old World, but
it is uncommon and untrusted. Indeed, it is often also viewed with fear and suspicion.
The Empire. The Old World’s largest nation is the Empire, a federation of ten individual
provinces ruled by aristocratic autarchs who elect one among them to serve as Emperor.
The Empire’s capital is the teeming city of Altdorf, sited at the confluence of the Rivers
Reik and Talabec. These major waterways link Altdorf to cosmopolitan Nuln, crater-bound
Talabheim and the free port of Marienburg, while one of the Empire’s few roads connects
Altdorf to the Empire’s second city, Middenheim, the fortress-like City of the White Wolf.
Society. The bulk of the Old World’s populace are peasant folk. Skilled artisans, merchants
and academics constitute an emerging middle class governed by local guilds. The highest
echelons of society are occupied by a hereditary, land-owning aristocracy.
Religion. Religion in the Empire is polytheistic with many citizens worshipping several deities,
according to their needs, the seasons, or local traditions. The Empire’s patron god is
Sigmar, the first Emperor, who was deified after his reign. Other, older cults worship Ulric,
god of war, wolves and winter, Manann, god of the sea, Rhya, earth mother, her husband
Taal, god of nature and wild places, Shallya, goddess of healing and mercy, and Morr, god
of death and dreams. Elves, dwarfs, and halflings worship their own pantheons, and humans
beyond the Empire bring with them the veneration of yet further deities.
Law and Chaos. The Old World is caught between twin cosmic forces: Law, embodying
order and predictability, but also stagnation, close-mindedness and despotism, and Chaos
which foments anarchy, destruction and physical mutation, but also creation and freedom.
While balance is desirable, the reckless and corruptible nature of man makes the Old World
ever vulnerable to being overwhelmed by Chaos – whether in the form of warlike incursions
from the northern Chaos wastes or, more insidiously, corruption lurking within society itself.
While worship of the Chaos gods is proscribed throughout the Old World, this doesn’t
stop some from seeking an easy route to power and success through glorification of the
Ruinous Powers: Nurgle, Khorne, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh. In fact, the Old World’s many
clandestine cults may pose as great a threat as the mutant beastmen lurking in its forests.
Players’ Introduction
MAP OF THE EMPIRE
Players’ Introduction
MAP OF THE OLD WORLD
 Players’ Introduction
GHEI O
S TGOR RAYP H
O FY T&H ES O
EMC PI IERTEY
Foundation.
Forests. The TheEmpireEmpire is awas
huge founded
nation,2,500 years ago
dominated by invastwhat is now
forests thatReikland
are wellbyknown
Sigmaras
dark, dangerous places. City folk find the prospect of entering a forest terrifying, andtribes
Heldenhammer, leader of the Unberogen tribe. Sigmar united the warring human even
of the northern Old World and led them against the invading
those Imperial citizens who live and work in forested areas are rightly wary of their dangers. goblin hordes. Wielding a
powerful, dwarf-forged war hammer Ghal-maraz, Sigmar drove the goblins to the World’s
Edge Mountains,
Roads. Travel is aand, riskyfighting
business alongside
even forthethose dwarfs,whosecured
stick toa decisive
the Empire’svictorysparse
at thenetwork
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ofof roads.
Black Fire Pass, which
It would be more ended the centuries-old
dangerous were it not warsforwith the goblins.roadwarden patrols.
over-stretched
The challenge inherent in protecting travellers from bandits and the like means that justice
isSigmar was crowned
often dispensed first Emperor
summarily, on thebyspot, the High
or at Priest of Ulric
the nearest and the foundations
well-defended coaching inn. of the
Empire were laid. Forests were cleared, and towns were built. Yet just fifty years after his
coronation
Rivers. Sigmar
Through theabdicated
heart of theand Empire
declaredwinds he must thereturn Ghal-maraz
vast River to its dwarven
Reik, longest river in makers.
the Old
He set running
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return will be foretold
by the passing of a twin-tailed comet, which is used as a Sigmarite religious symbol.
Cities. The Empire’s cities are built in a variety of architectural styles, but half-timber
Growth. Sigmar
construction is most left common.
no successor, and may
Roofs so the be provincial
thatch, slate rulersor oftiles.
the Empire
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the Cathedral Sigmar.of
The
Sigmar
Empire’s
surrounded
other largest
by the gods.
cities are Middenheim, the centre of the cult of Ulric; Nuln, a
renowned university city; and Talabheim, in the heart of the Great Forest.
Decline. After almost 1,000 years, the Empire began to decline. It was weakened by
corrupt and incompetent
Neighbours. Immediately rulers to the and westbyofthe theoutbreak
Empire is of the
the windswept
Black Plague in 1111. home
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it descendedthe
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1547 the
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claiming
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Bretonnia, famedended for altogether
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and martial Empress
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of its Knights.
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appointed by the Electoral
Black Mountains lie theCouncil.
unruly Border Princes, a jigsaw of
contested, independent territories, and to their west, the city states of Tilea and the six
Rebirth. By
kingdoms 2302 the
of Estalia, Empire
famous had disintegrated,
for wine, philosophy, civil andwar,
its piracy,
fracturedduellists
remnantsand came under
mercenaries.
attack from the forces of Chaos during its most recent Incursion. Yet faced with the
prospect of destruction,
Non-humans. Dwarfs are the the provinces
most numerous united non-humans
under the leadership
in the Empire,of Magnus the Pious.
and are, for the
Magnus
most part,formed an allianceinto
well-integrated withhuman
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drove
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in turn, value theirnorth.
bond with In 2304,
“the Magnus was crowned
heirs of Sigmar, Emperor
greatest friend
ofandthesetDwarfs”.
about restoring
Elves aretherarer,
Empire’s
tending former
to liveglories.
in secretive communities hidden deep within
fiercely protected forests, such as Laurelorn or Athel-Loren. They are generally mistrusted
inToday, in 2512,
rural or the Empire
less civilised areas,is but
ruledarebymorethe Emperor
accepted Karl-Franz.
by the professionalHe is a andyoung man,classes.
upper who
took the throne just ten years ago. There are great hopes that
Halflings, too, are spread across the Empire, often working as cooks, clerks, or gardeners. his leadership will usher in
a newwere
They Golden Agetheir
granted for the
ownEmpire.
province, the Moot, over 1,500 years ago along with a prized
vote on the Council of Succession (something neither dwarfs nor elves can claim).
 Players’ Introduction
COMMUNICATION
Communication in the Empire is slow and unreliable. Letters are mostly delivered by hand or
sometimes by pigeon. Coaches, such as those operated by Altdorf’s famous Four Seasons company,
will carry messages, as will specially hired messengers. Dwarven runebearers run dispatches between
their mountain holds. On rare occasion, magical forms of communication might even be employed
by the rich and powerful, and a new network of semaphore machines on hilltops radiating from
Altdorf send official communiqués by rasiing or lowering huge wooden flags using gears and pulleys.

LAW & ORDER

The Empire does not have a single unified legal code. Its law is a combination of Imperial edicts,
provincial decrees, guild law, religious law, military law and centuries of customs and precedents.
Law enforcement is also variable, with town and city watches, roadwardens, riverwardens, military
officers, religious leaders and witch-hunters often dispensing justice directly, especially for the most
heinous crimes such as horse stealing or murder. Social status can be a significant factor, with
wealthy merchants and nobles often dealt with without trial. The very poor tend not to reach court
either, often languishing in prison for years. When trials do take place, they can be lengthy and
costly proceedings. Individuals should be very careful when dealing with, or crossing, the law.

MILITARY
There are many different kinds of soldier within the Empire. The major cities all maintain standing
armies, often supplemented with levies, militia and mercenaries. Religious orders also maintain their
own orders of knights, known as Templars. Examples include the Order of the Fiery Heart and
Order of the White Wolf, which serve the cults of Sigmar and Ulric, respectively.

MONEY
1 gold crown = 20 silver shillings
1 silver shilling = 12 brass pennies
Amounts of money are typically written as follows:
1gc = one crown | 2s = two shillings | 6p = six pence
2/6 = two shillings and six pence (or “two and six”)
1gc 2/6 = one crown, two shillings and six pence

Many colourful slang terms for money are used throughout the Empire: crowns are known as Marks
(everywhere), Karls (mostly Reikland), Guilders (Marienburg), and Gelt (northern provinces), while
shillings are called “silver”, “shimmy” or “bob” and pennies are referred to as “shrapnel” or “brass”.
 Players’ Introduction
MAGIC
Winds of Magic. Initially under the tutelage of the elves, human magisters have come to understand
and harness the power of the Aethyr via eight “winds” of magic, each associated with its own
characteristic colour and Lore, described below. Compared to the sophistication and freedom of
Elven magical power, the partitioned and constrained nature of human magic use is crude and clumsy.
However, the risks associated with unfettered magic use are so great that the Empire has decreed
that all magic must be practiced within the strict edicts of the Imperial Colleges of Magic.
Imperial Colleges of Magic. With the help of Teclis, a great Elven sorcerer, Emperor Magnus the
Pious established the Imperial Colleges of Magic at Altdorf in the wake of the Great War Against
Chaos, after seeing magic’s power as a weapon against the Empire’s enemies. Prior to this, use of
magic in the Empire was outlawed, and its unregulated use is still deemed witchcraft punishable by
being burned to death. Each College trains apprentices to become magisters of a single Lore.
Hysh (Light Mages). The Lore of Light is related to healing, illumination, protection and the
banishment of evil. Its magisters, or Hierophants, are the most disciplined foes of Chaos.
Azyr (Celestial Mages). The Lore of the Heavens is associated with the sky, divination and fate. Its
practitioners, Astromancers, tend to become dreamy, ethereal and calm, despite their foreknowledge.
Chamon (Gold Mages). The Lore of Metal concerns the art and science of transmutation. Its
Alchemists seek to harness this power, tending to become rational, dry, rigid and even metallic.
Ghyran (Jade Mages). The Lore of Life concerns healing, curatives, and the magic of plants. Its
magisters, considered Druids by some, are deeply connected to nature and its rhythms.
Ghur (Amber Mages). The Lore of Beasts is associated with shamanic rites and shapeshifting. Its
magisters, often misanthropic, tend to shun civilisation, preferring wilderness, mountains and moors.
Aqshy (Bright Mages). The Lore of Fire relates to the aggressive, destructive, and vigorous qualities
of fire, warmth, passion and emotion. Its practitioners, Pyromancers, wield fire as a deadly weapon.
Ulgu (Grey Mages). The Lore of Shadow concerns illusion, darkness, confusion and mystery. Its
Shadowmancers are inscrutable and impenetrable, able to warp reality and deceive the senses at will.
Shyish (Amethyst Mages). The Lore of Death concerns the afterlife and the spirit world. Unfairly
associated with its dark cousin, Necromancy, Death’s magisters are able to reach beyond the veil.
Hedge Magic. Self-taught magic, weaker and more erratic than that of tutored magisters.
Divine Magic. Magical power drawn on by priests, channelled from their divine patrons.
Dhar (Dark Magic). Reckless use of raw or barely controlled magical power, often for foul purposes.
Corruption. Engaging the Aethyr is a dangerous activity, exposing users to risks of injury, insanity
and corruption. Even without mishaps, continued practice tends to alter a magic user, mind, body
and soul; gradually making them come to resemble the character of the Lore that they employ.
 Players’ Introduction
RELIGION
Sigmar Heldenhammer is the patron deity of the Empire, popular in most parts of the country,
especially the south, including the Reikland region in which he was born and from whence he ruled.
The leader of his cult is the Grand Theogonist in Altdorf. The cult of Sigmar is the most powerful
in the Empire and casts three votes in any Council of Succession. His symbols are his warhammer,
a twin-tailed comet and an octagon formed by two superimposed squares.
Ulric is god of war, wolves and winter. His is the second most powerful cult in the Empire, with
one Electoral vote cast by his High Priest, Ar-Ulric. Ulric is most popular in the Empire’s north
and particularly in Middenheim, where his High Priest resides. His symbol is the wolf. There
exists longstanding and significant rivalry between the cults of Uric and Sigmar, with the former
resenting the prominence of the newcomer. This rivalry has, in the past, extended to open hostility.
Manann is god of the sea, its creatures and tides. His worship is pre-eminent in Marienburg, but
he is feared and venerated along all the Empire’s coastlines. His symbols are waves or a five-pointed
crown. Some claim that Mathlann, the Elven storm god is but another name for Manann.
Morr is god of death, dreams and illusions. His orders oversee funerary rites in the Empire and
engage in dream divination and augury. His most popular symbols are the raven and the portal.
Shallya is goddess of healing and mercy. Her symbols are the dove and the bleeding heart.
Rhya & Taal are the Earth Mother and her husband, Lord of Nature. Rhya is depicted as a mother
or doe, Taal as a man in furs with a stag’s skull helmet. Particularly worshipped across the wild,
forested lands of the Empire, Taal and Rhya steward beasts and wild places, crops and the weather.
Myrmidia is the goddess of war, represented by a spear and a shield. Her worship is strongest in
Tilea and Estalia, beyond the Empire’s southern border, but her focus on the art and science of war,
rather than the fury of battle, is winning her an increasing number of followers in the Empire.
Ranald is the god of thieves and tricksters, but his crossed fingers also symbolise luck and freedom.
Verena, goddess of learning and justice, is symbolised by owl, scales and downward-pointing sword.
Her priests have a reputation for neutrality and may act as arbitrators, diplomats, or legal counsel.
The Old Faith is an ancient and almost lost religion practised by druidic priests. Concerned with
the energies that flow in the natural world, its holy sites are sacred groves and stone circles.
Proscribed Cults. The four most prominent of the Ruinous Powers are: Nurgle, The Great Corrupter,
The Lord of Decay, god of pestilence and disease; Khorne, The Blood God, god of anger, violence
and carnage; Tzeentch, The Great Conspirator, The Changer of Ways, chaos god of sorcery, change
and manipulation; and Slaanesh, The Prince of Excess, god of pleasure, passion, and decadence.
Alongside these, the worship of more minor gods such as Khaine, god of murder, and Stromfels,
god of reefs, currents, wreckers and pirates is also proscribed throughout the Empire.
Players’ Introduction
TYPICAL DRESS
Players’ Introduction
TYPICAL DRESS
 Players’ Introduction
CALENDAR

The Imperial week is eight days long and there are four hundred days in the year. Twelve months
of 32 or 33 days are separated by six special intercalary days: New Year’s Day, the Spring and
Autumn Equinoxes, the Summer and Winter Solstices, and Geheimnisnacht (“Night of Mystery”).
There are two lunar cycles. The larger moon, Mannslieb, waxes and wanes according to a predictable
25-day cycle. By contrast, its smaller, ill-fated, green sister, Morrslieb, the Chaos moon, is erratic,
growing and diminishing without pattern. Exceptions to this unpredictability occur on Hexensnacht
(“Witching Night”) and Geheimnisnacht when both moons are always full. On these much-feared
nights, even the most hardened cynics stay out of the moons’ eerie light.

[This document’s content and format is adapted from an excellent primer for The Enemy Within
by Gideon of awesomeliesblog.wordpress.com. Thanks, and no infringement of copyright intended.]