Warpstone #28.pdf

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when it was announced that Ganlcs Workshop and

Black industries were no longer to publish WFRP.

However, it was not long before Fantasy Flight

Games were granted the licence to do so. As we go

to press the first WFRP releases fiom FFG are

eagerly awaited. (See pg. 5 for more on this story).

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Editors: John Fw1!

Associate Editors: John Keanc. \fanin O!ixcr. Clivc Oldficld.

Robin LOM it Stc\-c \Irjc+

WFRP fans are used to 'dark ages9etween

publishers but in realiq they are anything but. The

WFRP community has a reputation for keen and

vocal fans and this is reflected by the amount of

material that they have produced, often to an

extremely high standard, Without much looking, a

newcomer to the game can find a wide variety of

support material.

Wcbsitc Editor:

Stcvc Moss

John Kcane

Rnlph m

Mikc

Kcan c

Horslc y

The material that Games Workshop and Black

Industries produced was often viewed with mixed

opinion. Overall, the quality of the material they

produced largely improved during their tenure

with a number of books likely to remain firm

Darklands map by Trocls Hanscn

All uncrdited art by John Keane

Thanks to

Alfrcd Nuficr Jr Dav~d Chart. Jay Lltde. Davld Dean

at Midland Press Corp.. Adam.Anthony and Pctcr.

I favourites for some time. I do not think it

www.warpstone.org

coincidence that one reason for this improvement

I was the growing involvement of those from the fan -

community.

With such support I am convinced that WFRP will

continue to go from strength to strength. However,

Warpstone will not be here for much longer to

help the game grow. The last issue of Warpstone

will be issue 30.1 have always said that Warpstone

would not just disappear and this will allow us

time to fulfil our commitment to those who have

taken out subscriptions. We plan to ensure that the

last few issues are of the high quality you have

come to expect. Then it is over to you.

Thc follow 1112 back issircs arc still axailahlc:

Issue 12

Issue 17

Issue 25

Jssue 14

Issue 18

Issue 26

Issue 15

Issue 20

Issue 27

Issue 16

Issue 24

See u-itu:w~rps/one.oP.g

for prices and order form.

Warhammer, White Dwarf and Games Workshop are

registered trademarks and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

and the names of all prominent imagery, places and

characters within the Warhammer world are trademarks

of Games Workshop Ltd. and are used without permission.

Ilrarpstone recognises the status and ownership of all

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status and ownership.

Warpstone (ESSN 1465-6604) is an independently produccd

mapzinc. and is not owned, licensed or approved by Gamcs

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rnatcrinl is copyright to the respective authorfartist.

Iarpstonc takes no responsibility for crimes against music

committcd in this issue.

dctails are also available at the website that will co\.er

the remaining two issues of Warpstone (issues29 & 30).

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KEP0R"rS FROM THE HEART OF CO~~ON

Ite\ie\r < of Knight\ rrl the Crd. K.nrt)m? 19t

the Damned and Lure of the Liche Lord.

"The founding of Bretonnia as a nation is

The dark sirlc try \Fan;hrrn and terror to

sailors, we detail the Lord of the Raging Sea.

presented as little more than a series of heroic %)3

"In the lore of Manann, Stromfels was a deity

of the None who migrated across the Sea of

Claws to the northern frontier of the Empire."

battles."

U-

, * .

-1 Ir~okhsch at thr dr\eloprnent ot nnc rll thc

...

most controversial parts ol' the lyarhamn~er

background.

"The counhy porfmyd differed in many ways

from the glimpses offered in !he original

rulebook."

rt~criiayir.,~Irh.~rni\.

WUP~.

campaign5 and some idea* ta help yorl do so.

"\Vcarcrs would always nltl the danger of an

-2,

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"Images of verdant vallcys of golden, rippl~ng

owmealous cultist RpORing them, but most <d

Old Worlders tend to be tolerant of all beliefs." :lP-ydap

corn beneath an azure sky and blazlng sun, do

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not easily evoke claustrophobic fear and

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paranoia."

unrrl\crs srjrllc

ancomfortable truths in this short rtorp that

act$ ar an introd~rction to Unveiling the Lady

kr~irhl

I3ackgrotrrirl on thc Ch,~o< arls ctf tlie

DasLlands and the mutants, the Tainted.

"Thc Imperial Dwarfs of Karaz Ankor arc

unlikely to speak of these ahominattons to

anyone outside their clans and holds given their

shame and hatred.'"

on page 18.

"SIowly pushing the door Mly open, Phillipe

Fhe truth hcllind the I.ad ot ttir I,:rhc .111d

the hidden corruption at the hrsrt of the

nobility.

"Prepare yourself. What I shall recount on these

pages are but fragments of the truth.''

i\ our fricntllr, guide to four rnrir iri

the City of the \\ hitr \\elf,

"When outsiders cnter the tavern, all

conversation ceases and eyes follow every

movement of the visitors (or perhaps victim)" &L

Irc t,ca~~riful

and rr clcoming ('hiteau

I he Seafire Hold the! calt it. a E)\+ asl'hold

Fnaargh. Yothing to Fear here. Uo, really.

br~ilt an the trade of salt and coal.

"Stone and steel are thc first friends of the

smelt steel with wmd alone."

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lnsan~ty Polnts

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Warhammer banla~y Rattle

Gold Crown

Movement

SL Secret Lsnguage WFRP Warhammer Fanmy

Armour Points

GM Game Mastcr

Mag Mag~c

SS SecRt Signr

Roleplay (Second Edition)

Black Industries

Gu Guilda (Marienburg Coinage) NPC Non-player character

SW Specialrst Weapon WFRBl WFRI* First Edit~on

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GW Games Workshop

PC Player Character

Toughness

WIII Power

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Experience Potnts

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Issue Twenry*Eigbt - Pqe a

REVIEWS

hights of the hil: A Guide to Bretonnia

By David Chan

Published by Black Industries

Reviewed by Robin Low

as GMs can invent their own truth 'behind the official Bretonnian

history asthe driving force for an entirecampaign. Nevertheless,

I would have liked the Iack of credibility achowledged in the

text, together with hints or suggestions regarding what really

happened with Gilles and his knights. This could have easily

been done through quotes from NPCs and scholarly texts,

thereby avoiding any charges of Black Industries actively

deviating from the official WFB depiction of the setting.

Bretonnia's social structure is staggeringIy crude: there are

nobles and there are peasants. The nearest we get to anything

more complex is the rising merchant class (still regarded as

peasants by the nobility) and the Hetrimaults [peasant outlaws,

some with revolutionary tendencies). The idea that this type of

society has existed for the last one and half millennia is quite

simply ridicuIous. Unless, that is, some major force is at work

keeping it that way, A god of Law, perhaps? A particularly

contrary god of Chaos? Given what we know, a more likely

candidate is the Fay - the Wood Elves are quite clearly

manipulating the Bretonnians to some degree and have been

doing so since the time of Gilles. They bless some Bretonnian

hights with magical Gifts and take certain children, girls

becoming Grail Maidens and the boys vanishing forever. To

my mind, the activities (known and unknown) of the Fay are

the only reasonable explanation for why Bretonnian society is

so utterly stagnant,What's lacking is any hint of why the Wood

Elves might be doing this. One possibility is self-preservation,

fear of the strength of the humans should they be allowed to

develop, although their cousins in the Empire have survived

well enough. The FayiWood Elves clearly have an agenda,

potentially very interesting and useful to GMs, but KotG offers

no explanation or suggestions.

The social structure highlights another underdevelopedarea,

namely merchants and mercantile activities. The propping up

of the nobility by moneyed merchants is mentioned, and there

are hints that the merchants of the city-port of l'hguille are

looking to Marienburg as an example of a city gaining its

independence. However, merchants represent a major driving

farce for change within Bretonnia, both politically, with their

desire for greater economic freedom and power, and socially,

as they have the most contact with non-Bretonnians and new

ideas. House Agnew, which is mentioned in Sigmar b Heirs as

a merchant house "famous across the Old World" and "key to

the economic prosperity of Bretonnia", is not mentioned here.

There is a long tradition of scenarios beginning with PCs hired

to prote~t

By the time this review sees

print, Knights of the Grail

(KotG) will have been

available sometime. I am

confident most readers either

already have a copy or have

heard a great deal about it. For

that reason, I will not waste

space with any discussion of

the major changes from the

WFRP1 depiction of

Bretonnia to the WFB version

or a chapter by chapter

anaIysis of contents. Instead,

1wlll focus on aspects strlklng me as particularly significant.

However, I will state up front that despite the setting change

and some serious underdevelopmentof important aspects, KotG

is a good supplement - that is, as I read it I was inspired and

had ideas for characters, locations and plots that I would like

to use in a game.

The founding of Bretonnia as a nation is presented as little

more than a series of heroic battles between Gilles le Breton

and his knights against various evildoers. Seemingly, there is

little disputing this was how the Bretonni were united into the

Kingdom of Bretonnia; this is what Bretonnians believe and

that is that. Laurent de Pamvon, a "history scholar", makes

that clear in the opening quote of the history chapter, and it

makes smsewithin the context of the setling as described. No

formal scholarly groups within Bretonnia capable of debating

the evidence are mentioned: the peasants lack the skills, the

merchants are too busy making money, and the nobility has no

desire to challengethe stories oftheir heroic ancestors;Laurent

de Parravon is presumably a nobIe dilettante.

However, Bretonnia is not isolated from the surrounding

lands, with connections to the Empire via the northeast coast

and through the Gisoreux Gap and Axe Bite Pass, as well as by

sea. Trade and social contact is certain to have taken place

during the time of Gilles. With the recorded histosy of Bretonnia

beginning around 930 I.C. and physical connections between

Bretonnia and the Empire, it is highly unlikely that Imperial

scholars (probably in the form of Ulrican and Sigrnaritepriests)

failed to record stories coming out of this western realm. In a

nutshell, there should have been some alternative viewpoints

offered in the history chapter.

As it stands, the history of Bretonnia is as incredible as the

Arthurian myths that inspired it. This IackofcredibiIityis useful,

trading caravans, but the opportunityto use trade and

merchants as a hook for stories and to link the core setting of

the Empire with Bretonnia is missed.

The new monsters in KotG have come in for some criticism

This seems unfair given the complaints about the absence of

many WFRPI beasties from WFP2. ApparentIy we only want

the old monsters back, no new ones created. I find it hard to

entirely agree with that when focusing on a new land, but

criticisms can still be made with regard to what and how

additions are created.

The feeblest new monster is the Iron Orc -just a tougher,

stupider Orc - and I would agree this is pointless. The Artois

Boar is entirely appropriate to Bretonnia, as boar hunting is

traditionally French, but they are just beefed-up Wild Boars.

Contrast this with the Bretonnian TruMe Hound, which is

recognised as a War Hound variant and gets background instead

of updated stats, The Derelich is of interest for its ability to

manipulate its physical environment through illusion.

Superficially, it looks like another undead creature with a

gimmick, but it is appropriate to the Arthurian setting where

ugliness and horror is often hidden by beauty. The failing here

is the Derelich's presentation as a simple lure-and-eat-victim

monster, but this does not prevent GMs using it as a more

interesting manipulator and possible patron. The Undead

Knockers, as the victims of mining accidents caused by greed

and carelessness, are a scenario seed in themselves: the PCs

are hired to clear a mine of monsters, but learn that the Undead

can onlyrest when the mine owner, the real monster, is punished

for failing topay for more pit-props and support miners' widows.

Of course, they are just presented as something else to beat up.

Similarly, Chasm Spawn, Lakemen and Dracoleeches are

combat monsters, offering little of interest without some effort

on a GM'S part.

The monster that has come in for most criticism is the

Hagranym: the intelligent, carnivorous horse. This is a shame

as it is a perfect WFRP monster. It is rooted in folklore, a transfer

of the malevolent fairy water horse to the mountains. It is a

mixture of creatures - horse, carnivore and intelligent being -

and frankly you do not get much more WFRP than that, As a

race, the Hagmnyms are manipulating the Orcs, and I see no

reason why individuals should not hide their natures and

manipulate NPCs and PCs for their own evil ends. And what

happens when the PCs get entangled in a romantic relationship

between a Knight's Pegasi and a Hagranym? Who gets custody

of the foal?Accusations of high fantasy be damned: that's pure

WFRP.

Perhaps unusually for mm, KotG offers new powers for

PCs in the form of Virtues of Knighthood and Grail Virtues, as

well as Gifts from the Lady of the Lake. I am unsure whether

this is a good thing or a bad thing in terms of the flavour of the

setting, although I do think some degree of corruption or

negativity shouId have been associated with these powers - in

WFRP, every silver lining should have a cloud. However, their

inclusion highlights the fact that WFRP has little to offer players

looking for exciting character options beyond careers. For many,

this is part of WFRP's appeal, but in terms of harsh financial

reality players outnumber GMs and any game company needs

to sell to as many of the potential audience as possible, How

can Black Industries sell to players and GMs alike, without

compromising the feel of the game? Answers to the forums,

please.

For all its many good points, KotG is frustrating at times. It

raises (perhaps unintentionally) some interesting questions

regarding the bigger picture, but stubbornly refuses to answer

them. This would not be sobad if it was at least ackmowledged

that there is a bigger picture. On the plus side, GMs have some

excellent starting points if they consider developing the setting

and its future. Having released a scenario, it seems unlikely

that WFRP will return to Bretonnia again in a hurry, so GMs

are probably free to guide Bretonnia as they see fit without the

worry of what future supplements might say.

Barony of the Damned: An Admure in Mousillon

By Ben Counter

Published by Black Industsits

Review by Stew Moss

Barony of the Damned was

released by Black Industries to

little fanfare. I had my doubts

that a Bretonnian adventure

would be useful to WFW fans

in general or to my group in

paflicular. I was wrong. Bamny

of the Damned was full of

surprises.

Written by Ben Counter, it is

a 96 page black and white

hardcover book with a colour

cover of a female knight on

horseback running the gauntlet

of Undead. Most of the inter~orartwork is by Tony Parker, the

artist used for most of Black Industries' 96 page books to date.

His artwork here is dark and evocative and captures the desolate

and pestilent atmosphere of the Bamny of the Damned. The

maps are drawn by Andy Law and Ha1 Mangold, and most are

well laid out and easy to read.

Barony oj'the Damned is divided into three main parts: the

first is a guide to Mousillon, the second details Mallobaude the

Black Knight and the third features the main adventure.

Mousillon is a very bleak and desperate region of Bretonnia, a

cursed place where the light of the Lady of the Lake does not

shine and the people live in despair and squalour. The book

does an excellentjob of conveying the senseof stagnant gloom

and misery that the inhabitants and visitors would feel in such

a forsaken place.

The guide examines the society of Mousiflon, religion, travel,

an extensive history of the Duchy and various geographical

locations. There is useful information on the various quarters

of the city of Mousillon and the swamp, "Cordon Sanitaire",

that separates Mousillon from the rest of Bretonnia. It details

the inhabitants, including a couple of new Mousillon-specific

careers. There is even a humorous mutation chart for providing

the afflicted peasants with the "Mousillon look".

The second section of the book offers information about the

renegade Duke of Mousillon - Mallobaude, the Black Knight

-and his followers. He is intent on destroying Bretonnia's ruling

order and with the help of Moudllon's nobles has begun

amassing a revolutionary army. This section also contains

descriptions of various individuals who are tying to help the

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