Message inbox:18 - Read From: (The WFRP mailing list) Authorizing-Users: Stephen Rubin To: Reply-To: (The WFRP mailing list) Importance: normal Subject: Vortext ¦9 (finally) RFC-822-HEADERS: Errors-To: WFRP-owner@cool.khis.com X-Bmwmail: 4.1 X-List: The WFRP mailing list ================== Sorry this is late, I've been really busy lately! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >From Vortext #9: entered by Stephen Rubin (rubin@wpi.wpi.edu) as it appears in the magazine, no corrections, no comments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warhammer Plumbing (Fixing a Few Leaks) by Anthony Ragan For a first edition game, Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is remarkably free of errors. It plays cleanly and simply, and the basic rules/concepts are clear and easy to understand. As with anything as complex as a role-playing game, however, there are always dumb rules, poorly explained rules, rules that just don't work, and even rules that don't exist, but should. In other words, there are leaks in the system. This article proposes to fix a few of those leaks, such as the ill-designed parrying rules or the pitiful weakness of firearms. When needed, I suggest new rules to fill gaps in the system, such as a method for handling multiple attacks and a way to encourage players to take a broad range of skills. Most of these changes represent simple quick fixes that have been tried and tested in my home campaign. Character Development and Skills The system given in the rulebook for changing careers (WFRP, p. 92) specifies that the player spends 100 experience points (EPs) when taking a listed career exit, 100 points when taking a basic career in the same general class as the current career, and 200 points for choosing a basic career in another class. This method is simple, but leaves several questions unanswered. First, the point costs themselves are not well designed. As written, it costs as much to take any basic career that is in one's general career class as it does to take a listed exit. Yet it should be easier to take a listed exit, which can be considered a natural relative of the current career. Moving to a career not specified as an exit, yet in the same general class, ought to be more difficult; we can reflect this difficulty in a moderate increase in the EPs required to switch. With this in mind, I suggest the following revised point schedule: Take a listed career exit 100 points Take a basic career not listed as an exit but in the same general class 150 points Take a basic career not listed as an exit and not in the same general class 200 points There is also no mention of the general character classes into which the advanced careers fall. When a player wishes to move from Forger to Grave Robber, for example, is the Forger considered to be a Rogue (because of his shady duties), or is he an Academic (because of the rather intellectual nature of his work and the many advances granted to intelligence)? The following lists assign each of the advanced careers to a general character class. In some cases, one career has been assigned to more than one class because of its multifaceted nature. Academic: Alchemist; Artisan; Cleric - Cults of Morr, Shallya, Sigmar, and Verena; Counterfeiter; Druidic Priest; Explorer; Forger; Lawyer; Merchant; Navigator; Physician; Scholar; Sea Captain; Wizard Ranger: Cleric - Cult of Taal/Rhya; Druidic Priest; Explorer; Outlaw Chief; Scout Rogue: Assassin; Charlatan; Cleric - Cult of Ranald; Counterfeiter; Demagogue; Fence; Forger; Highwayman; Spy Warrior: Artillerist; Assassin; Cleric - Cults of Khaine, Myrmidia, Sigmar, and Ulric; Duelist; Free Lance; Giant Slayer; Gunner; Highwayman; Judicial Champion; Mercenary Captain; Outlaw Chief; Racketeer; Sapper; Sea Captain; Slaver; Targeteer; Templar; Torturer; Witch Hunter Using these lists, a GM can now assess the proper number of EPs when a player wishes to switch from an advanced career to a basic one that is not on his exit list. To enter an advanced career requires that the character has the advanced career as a listed exit. Using the rules above, a PC wishing to move from Artillerist to Seaman would have to spend 150 EPs, not 100, because Seaman is a Warrior career not listed as an exit for the Artillerist. Finally, if a character wishes to re-enter a career previously followed, whether it is a listed exit or not, he need merely spend 100 EPs. Skills are a nother problematic area for the player and the GM. One of WFRP's strengths is the wealth of skills available. The idea is to make it worthwhile for players to acquire a broad range of skills so that they have the tools necessary to deal handily with any situation. The rulebook, though, gives few guidelines for handling characters who attempt tasks without having the necessary skills, except for those who use specialist weapons while unskilled. To simply say that the character can't do it is too arbitrary: If the logic of the situation calls for the player to attempt the task, he should be allowed to try. He shouldn't have a good chance of success, though, lest the value of the skills themselves be cheapened. To make it worthwhile to have lots of skills, and yet allow characters to attempt whatever they think necessary, let me recommend a new rule. Whenever a character attempts a task for which he does not have the relevant skill, roll a d100 against 20% of the appropriate statistic, rounding all percentages down. (Stats that are rated on a 1-10 scale are first multiplied by 10 to arrive at a percentile number.) For example, Curinir the Wood Elf Necromancer is desperately attempting to pick a lock. As an Elf, he has a relatively high dexterity of 50. Since he lacks the pick locks skill, though, he has only a 10% chance of opening the lock. He has a small chance of success, but an even greater chance of failure. If he wishes to open locks in the future, he has a strong incentive to learn the necessary skill. The only exception to this is spellcasting. Only a character that has been trained at some point may cast a spell. A character without the skill has no chance to succeed, unless he ahs a magical item that itself casts the spell. New Skills While WFRP contains a wealth of skills, there are some lacking that one would think belong in an RPG filled with action and intrigue. This section proposes a few needed additions. Lightning Draw: The rules on "Actions" (WFRP, p. 116) allow the GM the choice of either allowing "instant take-up", thus having weapons or other items ready at a moment's notice, or assessing each character a round's worth of action for drawing a weapon or getting an item. I prefer the latter, since it increases the tension in dangerous situations and forces the adventurers to think about their preparations. Still, routinely charging an action for drawing a weapon makes combat too mechanical. A bit of the excitement is taken away from the start of the combat. To allow for some variety at the start of a combat and to let the hero stand out more from the rabble, I suggest a compromise between the instant take-up and the charged-action-for-all options: the Lightning Draw skill. Upon learning this skill, the character may attempt to draw his weapon and strike in one fell swoop, while others must suffer through a take-up action. The test is made against the character's Initiative score. If the character is successful, he may draw and strike without being assessed a take-up. This attack (or the first attack, if the character has an A score greater than one) occurs before any other attacks, outside of initiative order. If the character has been surprised, he may attempt a lightning draw to draw his weapon and parry, but not to attack. Failing his Initiative roll means that the character has drawn his weapon, but strikes in normal Initiative order, and he is assessed a take-up. Should the character roll a fumble, or if he fails by 30 points or more, then he has completely botched it and tossed his weapon d4 yards away in a direction determined by rolling a d12. GMs should bear in mind that a character making a lightning draw may well catch his opponent by surprise, particularly if the opponent thinks he has the character at a disadvantage. Shield-bashing: This is a new specialist weapon skill, designed to allow the character to tuse his shield offensively, usually to plow his way past the opposition. To be effective, the attacking character must run at least his M score in yards. The attacker then tests against his Weapon Skill. If he fails, he is face to face with his opponent and is locked in melee. If he succeeds, however, a test is then made of the attacker's Strength against the defender's Toughness (convert both stats to percentages, as above). If both succeed, the winner is he who succeeded by the greater percentage. Should the attacker win he has knocked his opponent aside and may continue his movement. Lastly, if the defender failed his Toughness test by 30 or more, he has been knocked flat on his back and is stunned and prone for the next round. If the defender wins, he has withstood the charge and the two are locked in melee. If the attacker fails his Strength roll by 30 or more, then he has himself been knocked to the ground and is stunned and prone for the next round. Only one shield bash is allowed each round; a character may not knock one opponent aside and immediately bash the next one in his path. Finally, shield-bashing uses up all the character's attacks for that round. He may not bash on opponent and then attack another. Character Judge: A character with this skill is able to accurately gauge nother's mood as fearful, trusting, deceitful, hidden anger, etc. The GM makes a secret check against the Fellowship of the character using the skill. Success means that the character has read the subject's mood. The degree of success indicates the amount of information gleaned. (This is not telepathy, however!) Barely failing means the character gains no special insights, while failing by 30 or more means that the testing character has gotten it all wrong. Magic or skills that mask emotions will apply negative modifiers to the testing character's roll. For example, successful use of the Acting skill by someone trying to lie convincingly will subtract 10% from the character's Fellowship test. Combat Quirks For all our love of memorable plots and vivid characters, great stories and intense role-play, it is combat that provides that rush of adrenaline and cathartic release that we all seek in an RPG. WFRP combat provides that. It is simple yet dramatic, fillled with thrusts and parries, furious attacks and desperate defenses, gory critical hits and the ever-present threat of sudden doom on the roll of a natural six. There are still gaps to fill, however. There is no prescribed method for handling multiple attacks, the parrying rules are badly written, and firearms are too weak for their low rate of fire and the danger they pose to the user. This section addresses these problems, and suggests some new rules. Gunpowder Weapons: These are too weak to be of real use in the game. A pistol or a blunderbuss takes several rounds to reload and the user runs the risk of injuring himself on a misfire. With a natural strength of three, firearms are distinctly inferior to bows and crossbows, which fire more often and pose no risk to the user. There is no reason in the game mechanics for a player to use a firearm or learn the "specialist weapon-firearms" skill. This is sad, since the crude firearms are part of the charm of the game. To fix this, I have increased the strength of firearms in mt campaign to four. The user gains the benefit of additional strength to compensate for the lower rate of fire and the risk he faces. I recommend adding one to the strength of the new guns in the Warhammer Companion also, to keep them in line with the pistol and the blunderbuss. Multiple Attacks: Multiple attacks have been a problem in combat, as witnessed by Games Workshop's attempt to regulate them by the "effective initiative" system in the Restless Dead. This is a poor solution, since it involves multiple clumsy calculations that slow combat far too much. Yet to use the rules as they are written oin the book literally is unacceptable, too. If one character with four attacks has an Initiative just one point higher than his opponent, then he will make all his attacks before his opponent has a chance to retaliate. This is potentially devastating and definitely not satisfying to the player whose character is cut down in such a fashion. There is an easier way to fix this. All PCs and NPCs take their first attacks in Initiative order. Then all take their second attacks in Intiative order. Third attacks are dealt with in the same fashion. This process continues until all attacks have been made. Spells cast in melee take effect during the first attacks, at the point determined by the casting wizard's Initiative. Combat can then proceed in an orderly manner, and all participants will usually get at least one strike. Parrying: The modifiers given for parrying in the table on p. 120 contain an oddity. The left-handed dagger, which is listed as a parrying weapon, is actually less effective against an opponent's attempt to parry it than a normal dagger or knife (-10% to the opponent's chance to parry as opposed to -20% for the dagger/knife). These should be reversed to reflect the parrying weapon's supposed advantage. More importantly, the attempt in The Restless Dead supplement to give specialist parring weapons some sort of desirable advantage by allowing such weapons a free parry in addition to the normal attacks is poorly designed. To offset the fact that a sword-breaker gains a free parry under the new rule, I resort to the ugly gimmick of ruling that the sword-breaker's special ability won't work on the free parry. This ill-conceived rule should be dropped altogether. The equivalent of a free attack, though it may only be used to parry, is too powerful. Rather, simply allow the user of a specialist parrying weapon a +10% bonus to his weapon skill test when he attempts to to parry, assuming he has the necessary specialist weapon skill. Withdrawal: Surprisingly, the melee rules do not allow a combatant the option to withdraw without exposing his back and being subject to a free attack (WFRP, p. 119). It seems that this should be possible, though. As an addition to the combat rules, I suggest that a combatant be allowed to withdraw from melee by backpedalling up to his M score in yards directly backwards. he would still face his opponent and would not be subject to a free attack. His opponent, though, would have the option to follow up and continuethe fight. The character who follows up is assumed to be winning the fight, and thus gains +10% to this Weapon Skill in the next round. Surprise: Players have mixed feelings about surprise: They love to catch the bad guys unawares, but will argue incessantly that they themselves are always prepared, ready, armed, and armored, even when they're asleep! Surprise grants a great, almost overwhelming, advantage to the side that achieves it. That side has almost complete freedom of action, while the foe can do very little. Surprise is sharp, sudden, and dangerous. It is one of the most dramatic moments in the game. With that in mind, it's surprising (pun intended) that WFRP handles the subject in such a loose fashion. Aside from some general guidelines on pp. 116-117, the only specific reference to surprse is found under the Hide test (p. 69), which says that a successful test makes surprise automatic. Here are revised guideline to cover other situations in which surprise occurs, mention of the skills relevant in each case, and suggested changes to surprise results to make them more believable in context of a ten second combat round. Surprise can occur anytime one side, or both, does not expect the other. Whether rounding a corner in the Duke's dungeons or wandering through the Forest of Shadows, when one group blithely stumbles into the other, surprise can result. In this case, each side tests against Initiative. Success indicates that the character is not surprised. Rolls should be made for each figure involved. If there are too many characters involved for this to be convenient, test against the highest "I" in each group. In any event, be sure to apply the same method to each party. The GM should bear in mind relevant skills that will influence the die roll for each side. These include Luck, Acute Hearing, and the silent move skills. As stated in the rulebook, a successful Hide test guarantees automatic surprise. Remember that the various concealment and silent move skills should be factored in. The GM, in addition, should keep in mind Luck for both sides, while Sixth Sense, Acute Hearing, and, posiibly, Excellent Vision weign in the intended victim's favor. There is a special case of ambush in which a Hide test is not appropriate. When a scout tries to sneak up on an orc sentry, when an assassin tries to close with his target, or in any such circumstance, use Listen instead. Failure on the part of the victim means automatic surprise. In this case alone the attacker has one free round and his target is considered prone. The rulebook states that surprised characters may "do absolutely nothing for one round, whilst their enemies have a 'free round' to act in" (WFRP, p. 116). It is unbelievable that surprised characters would stand around for ten seconds without reacting at all. If, in addition, the attacker has multiple attacks, the victim has almost no chance whatsoever. I suggest instead that, if the victim fails the "I" test by less than 30% or the ambusher passes his Hide test by less than 30%, the victim be allowed to only dodge or parry. Characters with the Lightning Draw skill may attempt to draw a weapon to parry. Should a victim fail or an ambusher succeed by 30% or more the victim may still dodge, parry. or attempt a Lightning Draw, but only at 50% of his normal skill. In no case may the victim attack, fire missiles, or cast spells. Continuing Attacks: Finally, there is the question of the options available to a charcter who has multiple attacks but finishes off his opponent early: the Judicial Champion with four attacks who slays the goblin with his first blow, for example. It's frustrating for a player to stand there and do nothing because he has eleiminated his enemy quickly. As an option, allow the character with leftover attacks to move up to his M score in yards to attack another opponent. His attack is then made at a -10% penalty to his Weapon Skill. If he has attacks remaining after slaying this new enemy, he may move up to his M score to fight another foe, this time at a -20% penalty. He may move no further in this round, though, even if he has attcks remaining after slaying thethird vivtim. this allows a mighty warrior to chop his way through his enemies, rather than just stand around pouting that he has no one to fight. No game has ever been perfect in its first edition. While WFRP is no exception, it is one of the cleanest first editions to come along in along time. I hope that you find these suggestions useful.