I'm running Warhammer 2E Ashes of Middenheim tomorrow

[Charlie D]

We are about halfway through. The PCs are deputized watchmen, have crawled through the sewers, and now are tracking down cultists.

I've mostly run 1E but 2E is a nice modern version of the rules. Careers are better balanced too. The combat works really smoothly. Fortune points really help the PCs keep going while still being in real danger. We've already had one Fate point spent to save a life.

 

[Charlie D]

We're starting Chapter 5: Panic in the Streets. The PCs just wiped out a cult that was poisoning the wells with Warpstone. As the PCs return in truimph to the Temple of Ulric through the dirty streets of Middenheim they notice a large number of Watch patrols and a palpable sense of tension fills the air. If asked, the Watch will tell them that Mutants have been found in parts of the city and are being hunted down. They will soon learn a witchhunter that saved their lives has been wrongly imprisoned and is likely facing a death sentence.

 

[Charlie D]

Last night's game was well played. The PCs had several firsts including getting arrested and making a jailbreak and taking on roles in a courtoom drama. Warhammer is an amazing and versatile system. I can't wait for the Cubicle 7 edition.

Also, my review of Warhammer just went up on EN World. It has been a great Warhammer couple of days.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/conten...Of-Warhammer-Fantasy-Role-Play-Second-Edition

 

[Charlie D]

We finished Ashes of Middenheim last night. The players were really impressed with the adventures for WFRP 2E. They liked the combo of detective work, combat, crowd control, and cult takedown.

I've read some posts on my review that armor is so tough in Warhammer and an armored character cannot be hurt. Not true. The human soldier in full plate was hit with an Ulric's Fury and nearly lost his left leg from the knee down. So much blood.

 

[Charlie D]

We played Warhammer last night. We wrapped up in Middenheim and headed for Altdorf.

The game was a weird and interesting mix of heavy combat with beastman followed by the most in depth intrique and investigating my group has done. It really showed off the power of the system and setting.

The PCs are heading into second careers now, including a cat burgler, fence, and veteran. The other PC is trying to become a kithband warrior before going into scout.

We have had no problems with no magic so far, but I did get to run an NPC wizard last night. The magic actually came across as dazzling since no one had seen spells get slung around before.

I really hope 4E holds up to this high standard. I've played a lot of RPGs but Warhammer always blows me away.

 

[Erstwhile]

Sounds like you guys had a blast. I'm happy to hear it went so well. WFRP is one of those games that I've owned for years (1st and 2nd Ed) but have never had the right group to run a campaign for. I do have Ashes of Middenheim, maybe I can convince my current group sometime. Mind you running The Enemy Within (probably with 2ndEd rules mind) remains a long-term entry on my gaming bucket list.

 

[Charlie D]

Thanks! If you get the chance, I highly recommend you play Warhammer.

Warhammer 4E is coming out this year and will have an Enemy Within update. So if you don't get around to running the original with 2E maybe you'll be able to run the updated version.

 

[Charlie D]

We are deep into Spires of Altdorf and played last night. While the adventure is not nearly as good as Ashes the NPCs are amazing. They really took on a life of their own last night and did some crazy things.

We all laughed a lot and the puns are still great. Going to the Cock Pit (from the book) to see cocks fight and paying extra to get closer to the nobles up front in the Cock Ring (extrapolated from the book) was rude and raunchy on one hand and completely logical on the other. Jokes about the Cocktogon were appreciated as well.

I will say that despite the dark and dangerous world they live in, the people of the Empire know how to throw a good party and have fun.

 

[CRKrueger]

I mentioned the WFRP Companion in the other thread, one of the chapters are expanded rules for criminal trials if the PCs really want to get into courtroom drama.

 

[Charlie D]

Played Altdorf tonight. The module is terrible, hard to parse and follow, and a pain to run. But oh what a glorious time we had.

Basically, the PCs need to destroy a chaos artifact with the spirit of a daemon and they found three wizard who claimed to be able to do it. They picked one, but one PC wanted another of the wizards.

As they started the ritual, the other wizard showed up saying the ritual would end in doom and the PCs had to stop. The one PC sided with him, the other four with the wizard working the ritual. Violence ensued. We ended on a cliffhanger, with no PC knowing which of the three wizards was telling the truth, if any.

Best session in over a decade. Maybe the best ever. Top three for sure. Amazing players, amazing system, and amazing system. I love RPGing.

 

[Charlie D]

Playing Warhammer again tonight. Wrapping up the Altdorf campaign which has been a pain to run.

We're go to play the Haunting Horror from Plundered Vaults as a side adventure before heading to Nuln. I like the creepy haunted house dungeon crawl vibe.

 

[The Butcher]

Playing Warhammer again tonight. Wrapping up the Altdorf campaign which has been a pain to run.

Why’s that? A pain to run, I mean.

We're go to play the Haunting Horror from Plundered Vaults as a side adventure before heading to Nuln. I like the creepy haunted house dungeon crawl vibe.

Plundered Vaults is a great anthology. I kind of want to draw a map, seed it with the adventures, and run a WFRP hex (or point) crawl with it.

 

[Dumarest]

Warhammer is one of those games I never came across in my youth and never knew anyone who played it. Then when I saw it, it was apparently a new version that was roundly shat upon as inferior to earlier incarnations, and I didn't have the money to blow just out of curiosity. Well, still don't have the money for that. So it seems likely I will remain Warhammerless! Then again, I hardly ever play fantasy games anymore, so it's not like there is a need to be satisfied, but I'd be curious if I ever saw a cheapo used copy...but which version?

 

[The Butcher]

Warhammer is one of those games I never came across in my youth and never knew anyone who played it. Then when I saw it, it was apparently a new version that was roundly shat upon as inferior to earlier incarnations, and I didn't have the money to blow just out of curiosity. Well, still don't have the money for that. So it seems likely I will remain Warhammerless! Then again, I hardly ever play fantasy games anymore, so it's not like there is a need to be satisfied, but I'd be curious if I ever saw a cheapo used copy...but which version?

WFRP1 is probably the one you're more likely to dig. It's got the old school verve and grit. WFRP2 is great as a system but the setting presentation is already too tied into GW IP-building bullshit. I used WFRP2 for the ruleset and WFRP1 for the setting.

 

[Dumarest]

WFRP1 is probably the one you're more likely to dig. It's got the old school verve and grit. WFRP2 is great as a system but the setting presentation is already too tied into GW IP-building bullshit. I used WFRP2 for the ruleset and WFRP1 for the setting.

If I were only going to get one, though, 1st you say?

 

[The Butcher]

If I were only going to get one, though, 1st you say?

Without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[Charlie D]

Why’s that? A pain to run, I mean.

Everything that happens is out of order and scattered everyone in the book. There is no real timeline to tie things together and I missed some connections at first.

I have it on PDF so I printed it out, rearranged some pages, and duplicated others. I reassembled it and it run much smoother after that.

 

[Charlie D]

If I were only going to get one, though, 1st you say?

I agree. You would want 1st edition.

 

[Charlie D]

The adventure went well tonight. The noble retired and an elf light wizard joined the party. The wizard is our first caster.

They finished Altdorf and the Plundered Vault adventure. We'll be on to Nuln next, but we have to take a couple of months off until a player can get back to the game.

 

[Charlie D]

My time as a PC in Dark Sun is over. So I'm working on Forges of Nuln. I'm disappointed that betrayel by yet another NPC is a big part of the adventure. I'm really surprised Rob Schwalb wrote this; it lacks punch and power. I'm going to have to rebuild so much for this adventure which really surprises me.

 

[The Butcher]

Not a fan of Paths of the Damned, except for the setting bits. Still, I figure it shouldn’t be difficult to de-railroad it.

Form WFRP to Dark Sun and back. Charlie D you have great taste in settings.

 

[Charlie D]

Thanks!

I think I may turn the Forges of Nuln into a dungeon crawl, with the daemon at the end. Otherwise, it is just another evil wizard, deranged citizen, and daemon on the loose again. I will keep the monastery and river boat ride most likely though.

I am very likely to use the dungeon Womb of the Black Witch from the Thousand Thrones. That location is creepy.

 

[Charlie D]

Warhammer went really well last night. I discovered that the Paths of the Damned trilogy of adventures are all the same (cultists, beastmen, wizard that betrays) so I only used the ruined abbey to point the PCs south to Nuln.

I have to say that Handout 2 seems to contain a lot of hidden messages about sex. Maybe we just turn into high school teens when we read a handout, but seriously: I discovered a hollow space, big enough for a man. I swiftly
rose up to ensure I was alone—which I was much to my later regret—and so I dipped my head into the hole. and It leads into a narrow shaft at a steep decline. I slipped down into the altar, and suppressed a cry as I slid all the way down into what seemed like the bowels of the earth.

Anyway, during a fight with beastmen a critical hit took the veteran from full Wounds down to Critical +2 in one hit. A great tense battle.

Once the PCs learned where the Chalice might be, we moved on down the Reik to Nuln and then to Thousand Thrones, Womb of the Black Witch. Also by Schwalb and more direct body part references. What is going on with this guy?

Wow, he really wanted to mutate and drive characters insane. And he likes the body horror. I really like the cave crawl. I'm replacing the vampires with agents of Chaos like Chaos warriors. All my players were really paranoid after only exploring about ten caves.

 

[Charlie D]

I'm getting ready for the next adventure which kicks off with a duel with 4 Chaos Knights. Each Knight has the Talent:
Flailmaster At the start of your turn each round, you may reduce the Attacks Characteristic of one opponent you are engaged with by 1 for 1 round as a free action.

Even worse, each one has the Chaos Organ mutation (bonus to Toughness and Wounds, minus to Fellowship): A cancerous cyst grows inside of you. The bulge created by the cyst is disgusting and stinks. Worse, it emits guttural rumbling noises at the least opportune moments. If you are slain, the Chaos Organ tears free from your diseased carcass, sprouts limbs, and waddles around spraying fluids everywhere. Eerily, it looks just like a miniature version of you.

So a fight against 4 Chaos Knights who take away Attacks and when slain become half-sized Chaos Knight organs with flail-like arms. That should blow the characters' minds!

 

[Charlie D]

The description of what happens next:

Inscribed on the floor is a pulsing green star of Chaos. Swirls of steam rise from its awful form. Your party carefully avoids the dark magic. You take time to prepare yourselves before moving on.

Your adventurers continue their exploration. The cave passage you have been following opens into a larger cavern.

Waiting for you in the cavern are four Chaos Knights. A Chaos Warrior utterly embraces the power of darkness, dedicating his mind, body, and soul to the Ruinous Powers. Chaos Warriors are terrible foes, having abandoned their humanity for the temptations of the Chaos Gods. They invariably love battle, even those who have not dedicated themselves totally to Khorne. They regard any combat as a chance to prove themselves in the eyes of their patron Gods, and tend to hurl themselves into the fray without a care for their own survival, trusting to Chaos to bring the most worthy of them out alive and covered with dark glories. This makes them extraordinarily dangerous opponents. The most experienced Chaos Warriors are known as Chaos Knights.

Each knight has one name inscribed on his helmet: Altronia Elessedil, Magyln Breyer, Tankred Kaltenbach, and Lanric Guth. A small chain sparking Chaos magic leads from the name to the back of the helm.

Despite your scouting and stealth they seem to know you are there. Likely forewarned by the Chaos star you passed by.

One speaks. “We have been waiting for you. We know who you are, where you come from, your names.. You are trying to prevent the rise of our master. We will slay your bodies and your souls will be drawn into our Chaos runes and serve us for all eternity. Prepare for death and eternal slavery. Blood for the Blood God!”

Someone says, “Bring it on, I’d prefer a good fight to all this sneaking around!”

And battle is joined.

The Chaos Knights are armed with flail, shield, and plate armor grafted to flesh. Each one has a cancerous armored cyst growing through its left side, a mutation and gift from Khorne the Blood God. Empowered by Chaos, it wants to preserve its host. Unfortunately, the bulge created by the cyst is disgusting and stinks like raw sewage and spilled entrails. Worse, it emits guttural rumbling noises at the least opportune moments. Worst of all, the cyst squirms and writhes like it is alive and you could swear it longs to strike at you with its hatred just like its host Chaos Knight wants to.

 

[CRKrueger]

Hmm.
Is the cancerous cyst that sprouts a mini-knight on death something implanted by their sorcerous master or is it a Chaos Mutation or Gift of Khorne?

It's a tad odd, seeming to be crossing over into Nurgle-land, which isn't bad by itself, Chaos being...Chaotic after all. But this is a little emblematic of one of the problems with WFRP2 once you start adding in widgets that are essentially Feats and Conditions - standardization. In WFRP1, you have a group of chaos warriors, each one is going to have a host of different mutations granting them different abilities. It's one of the things that made them so deadly to fight - the unpredictability of it all. Then again, having a single encounter like that that does seem weird and out of place is good too.

Good to see you rocking the second edition content. I grabbed nearly all of it in hardcopy when they were selling it for a song trying to get rid of it when the license went bye-bye. I was working on converting everything to a non-Storm of Chaos timeline, but never finished. Currently waiting for WFRP4.

 

[Charlie D]

Hmm.
Is the cancerous cyst that sprouts a mini-knight on death something implanted by their sorcerous master or is it a Chaos Mutation or Gift of Khorne?

It is a Chaos mutation from Tome of Corruption. It is also a mutation of Nurgle.

Since the Womb is all about body horror, this Chaos organ fit right in. Although I liked the flaming skull of Khorne quite a bit too.

 

[Charlie D]

Tonight we start our Warhammer 2E game off by rolling initiative against these guys:

 

[Charlie D]

That went amazingly well. Multiple compliments from multiple players. The chaos warrior/chaos tumor fight lasted almost an hour which is really long for Warhammer. It was fast and brutal though, not slow. Miss, hack, parry, dodge, slash, back and forth. A desperate crazy exciting fight. Thrilling is the word I'd use. When the tumors came to life and attacked the players were really impressed. They thought that was a great touch.

The Thousand Thrones, Womb of the Black Witch is a great dungeon crawl. Creepy, great mix of weird and mystery and trap and violence and random crazy. Even after the chaos warriors and their tumors were defeated the PCs faced so many more challenges. Needle rooms, orcs with a dung idol, ghouls, and a woman looking in a mirror.

Warhammer 2E is going to be hard to top. I hope 4E keeps the thrills going. If I ever wonder why I put so much time and money into gaming, last night is the answer.

 

[Charlie D]

We are going to be wrapping up this phase of Warhammer soon. We started with the adventure in the rulebook, went to Middenheim, explored the haunted house in Plundered Vaults, pub crawled through Altdorf, traveled down the Reik to Nuln, and explored a witch's lair moved from the Thousand Thrones. The PCs are about to hit their third careers and head for Karak Asgal.

I like Ashes and Spires but when I realized Forges was a third version of basically the same adventure I was disappointed. Switching to a dungeon crawl turned out to be a good thing.

Warhammer 2E holds up really well. I'll start another thread for Warhammer, this time about Karak Asgal. https://rpgpub.com/threads/warhammer-2e-karak-asgal.1459/

 

[Charlie D]

Should be wrapping up the Paths of the Damned tomorrow. Finish the Chaos Caverns, destroy the chalice, and learn about Karak Asgal. If the PCs decide to go see the dwarfs they will have a wilderness trek south through the Empire. Bandits, toll-collectors, haunted forests, and more along the way.

 

[Charlie D]

Warhammer 2E rolls on. The players are having so much fun we just kept going. That $1 I spent to get all the PDFs was money well spent.

We have 1 year of play done, having gone through the Paths of the Damned and into Karak Asgal. The PCs have nearly 4000 XP now and all are on the third or fourth career.

The PCs also gained a flying Dwarfish ship and I'm using Mighty Empires the boardgame to allow the PCs to explore the hexes around Karak Asgal. They found a river and plan to follow it down from a Dwarfish village they added to their patron's kingdom.

During winter, the PCs dungeon delve in Karak Asgal. They just fought through an undead Dwarfish ruined temple. Last night was pure dungeon crawl and a real blast to run. The players liked the undead vampire bats. I plan to use tomb guards for the second level in two weeks because of:

Tomb Blades: Any weapon a Tomb Guard wields is considered magical. In addition, Tomb Guards roll for Ulric’s Fury whenever they roll a 9 or a 10, instead of just a 10.

Rune guardians are great to use in Dwarfish ruins as well.

 

[Charlie D]

We had our penultimate adventure in Warhammer 2E last night, with the PCs facing a dragon. Instead of fighting they negotiated and got into a drinking contest with the terrifying creature. The dragon was amused and a deal was struck.

The final adventure has the PCs and their airship crew facing a host of old enemies including Chaos dwarfs, vampire, and daemons. I'm going to use the map and figs and castle from Battle Masters to have a huge battle set up plus the ships from Broadsides and Boarding Parties. I think the final battle will be something to behold.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

We had our penultimate adventure in Warhammer 2E last night, with the PCs facing a dragon. Instead of fighting they negotiated and got into a drinking contest with the terrifying creature. The dragon was amused and a deal was struck.

Details on the negotiation and drinking contest, please!

 

[Charlie D]

Details on the negotiation and drinking contest, please!

We have a crime lord highly skilled in negotiation who worked on convincing the dragon that the enemy of my enemy (religious zealots) were a better target than the city of dwarves. At the same time, the ship captain dwarf convinced the dragon to a drinking contest: dragon wins he gets to eat the dwarf and if the dwarf wins he gets to eat the dragon! The dragon was amused at this modern take on the ancient art of riddling and after several rounds of Bugman's ale and elvish wine he ended the contest without anyone getting eaten. The dwarf promised to provide a cottage sized round of Bugman's for the dragon along with the heads of several enemies. In return, the dragon would stop preying on the dwarfs and eat some of those same enemies.

I handled both of these events with a combination of roleplaying and skills checks. Warhammer of course has rules for discussion and diplomacy as well as drinking so I was well supported.

This whole scenario took place in a lava cave. When the dwarf asked for wyvern mounts he actually made the dragon laugh out loud which came with a small puff of fire that singed the dwarf. The whole discussion and drinking really was amusing.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Well played!