Role-playing Rants: My honest thoughts on the 4th edition of WFRP

A few weeks ago Cubicle 7 have released the covers for the 4th edition of WFRP, along with some news, regarding the first campaign, that they'll be releasing. Let's take a closer look at what we've been told.

Right at the start I want to make one thing abundantly clear - I'm very happy for the release of next edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I think that the 3rd one was a mediocre effort and a new edition will have a chance to wash that stain away. If it will be done right, of course.

So first of all we have the covers. One for the starter set, one for the rulebook itself. They compliment each other nicely and I definitely like the shout-out to the first edition of the game. From the covers alone a lot can be told and I think that Cubicle 7 gives us subtle hints about the tone of the game. On one hand we have a bunch of classic Warhammer heroes, doing ordinary Warhammer stuff, which is always nice and gives this setting a feel of normality, of everyday social struggles. Then again we have an action packed cover, where the heroes are fighting off a bunch of vile ratmen! This certainly shows that the 4th edition won't stray from everyone's favorite combat-heavy aspect of the game.

When nostalgia kicks in hard!

The color palette is interesting as well. Cubicle 7 clearly intends this game to be more "child friendly" than "grim-dark" and it shows. Yeah, we have the usual Old World squalor and gloom, presented on both covers, but on the other hand the whole thing is pretty colorful and heroic. I get a strong comic book vibes, just from looking at these covers. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. As long as they won't take it too far, I'm all cool with that style.

4th edition's mechanics will be a mix of rules from the 1st and 2nd editions, with a bit of the 3rd, thrown for good measure, apparently. It clearly shows one thing - Cubicle 7 aims this game not to new players, but to the "Old Guard". They know how nostalgic their target fanbase really is and, in a very well thought-out move, decide not to make a complete makeover, like FFG did with the 3rd edition. I honestly think that this is a... very risky move. Sure, on one hand they will get massive interest from the older players, the veterans of Warhammer Fantasy. On the other, however, not focusing on gaining the attention of new players is a dangerous thing to do. After all, focusing your product on a sake of nostalgia alone, does not equal success, or at least doesn't have to. I hope that the guys and gals at Cubicle 7 know what they're doing.

Another thing that I'm not 100% ok with, is the choice of the first campaign for the 4th edition. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to "The Enemy Within"! For the third, fucking time. My god, how much can you milk a single module? Why Cubicle 7, for the love of Sigmar, why? You had a clean start, a clean slate and you had to choose the most obvious and boring way imaginable. Don't get me wrong, I love "The Enemy Within", I really do. I GM'ed it this year and it was a blast. But this campaign is more than 30 years old, it's been known to every player out there, including those, playing other systems. FFG did their own version of it, it's been fan-remade (well, at least some parts of it were), there is nothing new or original about "TEW". Ok, so Cubicle 7 got Graeme Davis on board and that's a great thing, as he's the perfect man for this job, but that's still not enough for me, to justify resurrecting a fossil of that magnitude. I'm sorry, but a "director's cut" of "TEW" is a wasted opportunity, in my opinion. You could've given Mr. Davis a task to write something new and original, and MAYBE give us a refreshed version of some old campaigns later in the run. But no, you had to try and score a couple more "nostalgia" points from the old school players. I'm disappointed. Not pissed, or anything, just... disappointed.

Hopefully their next modules will give us something new and fresh. I understand that Cubicle 7 wants to reach mainly to us, old timers, but even so, they will need to present some fresh and unique content. Something never seen before. They've promised elven and Lustria supplements and that makes me very happy, but then again, I still remember the page from the 2nd editions rulebook, on which it was written that the elves will get their own book, one day. This never happened, as I'm sure many people know. Sure, there are a few great fan-made supplements about the High and Wood Elves, like the "Defenders of the Forest" and "The Book of the Asur", but nothing official. I hope that Cubicle 7 will change that. I also hope that we'll see sourcebooks for lands beyond the Old World. Lustria is a start, but I want to see more details about Albion, Cathay, Ind and Nippon. I want a whole, huge book about the fascinating Southlands and the myriad wonders and dangers, that can be found on this mysterious continent.

Hey, Cubicle 7, please make it happen!

I want something else than the usual Old World stew with Beastmen hiding in the woods, grim Witch Hunters and tired, moustached innkeepers. I want to see a lot of originality, even if "real" WFRP players and gamemasters will grimace with distaste, at the sight of a Cathay supplement. The thing that drove me away from Warhammer Fantasy, a few years back, was the lack of originality and the endless, boring cycle of "same old same old" attitude from the fanbase. Cubicle 7 has a chance to change that, nay they need to change that. Even if the 4th edition will be marketed mainly to the "old guard", it needs to show something new, something that has never been seen before. If it won't then... Well, then it will suffer the fate of the previous edition, as a interesting, but ultimately pointless game. At least that's my opinion on this subject.

I have a lot of hopes when it comes to the 4th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but also a lot of doubts. I seriously hope that the developers won't fuck this up and they will treat us, their consumers, with dignity and respect and not like a bunch of tools, who will buy anything with a Warhammer logo printed on the cover. You know, like FFG did. I will have to wait a couple months more to see if I'm right, or that my initial enthusiasm was a mistake. Only time will tell.

Oh, one more thing. I've updated both my WFRP and 40K RPG collections. You can download a bunch of new, free and 100% legal stuff from here and here. As usual, all the credit goes to the fantastic community members, who spent their time, working on these supplements. Thank you.

You're awesome!

Until next time!

Xathrodox86