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An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to
Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
Credits and Further Reading
Article compiled by Dave Allen. Sources include Middenheim: City of Chaos, Beasts in
Velvet (which gives further details of Yevgeny Yefimovich and other political dissidents
in the Empire and is highly recommended as a source), Genevieve Undead, Spires of
Altdorf, Forges of Nuln and White Dwarf magazine.
Much of this article was written by Dan White. Thanks for his optional rules for prior
convictions and his thoughts on causes and the Agitator’s Armoury. Thanks also to
Wim van Gruisen for his ideas about how Agitators might make money and Steve
Darlington for his ideas on pamphlet titles.
Example pamphlets include text from Bar Room Brawl by Matt Connell and Jim
Bambra, and from Otto’s Printworks by Jim Bambra, both articles originally printed in
WD 96.
Garett Leper has written an article for players of Agitators that can be found on the
Strike to Stun website at
http://www.strike-to-stun.com/WFRP/AtoZ/Agitator1.htm
including some advice on what may motivate a character to take up Agitating, and why
an Agitator might consider moving on to one of his Career Exits, as well as plenty of
other ideas and Agitator-driven adventure seeds. The article was written for the career
as it was presented in the first edition of WFRP, but is still highly relevant and useful.
Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2006. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, Black Industries
and their respective logos, Warhammer and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and
race insignia / devices / logos / symbols, locations, weapons, units, characters, products, illustrations and
images from Warhammer are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2006, variably registered in
the UK and other countries around the world. All Rights Reserved.
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
Kurt Groffnung - Agitator
Kurt is an Altdorfer, the son of a burgher who was generous enough to see that he
received a fine inheritance and education. A highly motivated student in his youth, Kurt
acquired an enviable level of literacy and decided to study law. He lacked much
passion for the subject though and, to his father’s chagrin, dropped out in short order.
With his straw-like hair and moustache, small beady eyes and pudding face Kurt is not
a very attractive man. However, he is well spoken and charismatic, with a ready wit that
allows him to make remarks that might see less eloquent raconteurs cause offence.
Stories of the skaven fascinated Kurt as a student. He and his classmates would often
gossip about the ratmen and swap stories of them alongside tales of green men of the
woods and one-eyed bog daemons. The difference between these accounts was that
plenty of evidence could be found to prove the existence of the skaven to those who
bothered to look. A fellow student spoke with conviction about how the ratmen had
caused widespread destruction in his home city of Nuln, and the university library held a
treatise on the anatomy of the skaven for the benefit of the Professor of Bestiaria.
Kurt became angry about the situation in the Empire, where intelligent discourse about
the Skaven threat is quashed. He spent his remaining money to purchase a black
market copy of Wilheim Lieber’s
The Loathsome Ratmen and all their Vile Kin,
and to
buy the trust of a printer known to be sympathetic to radical causes. He learned Tilean
to better research Skaven by reading about a society who acknowledge their existence.
For a while Kurt’s well written and illustrated posters caused a stir in Altdorf but, one
late Vorhexen evening, he was caught by the city Watch in the act of pasting a bill up
on a statue of Mandred Ratslayer. He was branded a Yefimovite and flung in jail.
Kurt looked forward to a grim punishment for his crimes, but before the case was
brought to court his freedom was bought by a visitor from Delberz. Direktor Liebrecht
Schleicher of the Delberz guild for health and safety has studied accounts of the
histories of Tobaro and Miragliano. He is planning to finance an expedition in order to
hire the services of Tilea’s experienced skaven hunters. He thinks Kurt’s knowledge
and background would make him a highly useful person to have on board.
Agitators are active supporters of causes. Almost any cause will do, from the
rights of common Humans (or Elves, Dwarfs or Halflings) to the state of the drains.
They campaign tirelessly to enlist support, addressing meetings, distributing leaflets and
bending the ear of anyone who will listen. To an Agitator, the greatest satisfaction is to
see the establishment forced to act by the weight of public opinion. Some Agitators are
motivated by genuine public concern, but many more have their own interests at heart -
the winning side in a dispute will often reward its most loyal servants handsomely. Often,
the cause of civilisation has been seriously damaged by meddling Agitators, although
they can often be the cause of much good. The fact that there can be professional busy-
bodies of this sort shows how complicated the Old World is.
In the cities of the Old World Agitators will often be found at the centre of a small crowd
of citizens, making a speech about the level of taxes, the attitude of the watch, the state
of the drains, the incursions of Chaos, some new religious zealotry, how some unpopular
felon ought to be turned over to the mob for swift justice, the corruption indulged in by
the overprivileged classes, or anything else they can find to complain about. In a society
where levels of literacy are rock bottom a vocal and entertaining Agitator can be a valued
source of entertainment and gossip amongst the poor and uneducated.
Agitators are known by a variety of different names, rabble rousers, fire-breathers, busy-
bodies, street preachers and so on. However, most commonly such an individual is
known as an Aufklarer in Reikspeil, Agitateur in Bretonnian, Agitatore in Tilean and
Alborotador in Estalian.
Day to Day Agitating
Like many of the careers one can take up in the Old World agitating can take a variety of
forms. Agitators are rarely motivated by the prospect of becoming wealthy; instead they
crave the attention of a rapt audience, or the desire to see their cause gain recognition
and become a force for change. In societies as reactionary and conservative as those of
the Old World these motivations are naïve at best, and suicidal at worst (not least
because, in the minds of some, change is synonymous with Chaos), yet rabble-rousing
loud mouths can be found in the town squares and high streets of many Old World towns
and cities.
There are a great many causes with which to grab attention and draw a crowd, from
socially conscious Agitators who wish to see things improve for the common citizens of
the Old World, to those who wish to enlighten people to the truth of threats such as
Chaos or Skaven, to advocates of a religion or tradition, to bitter personal attacks on a
person as the result of a grudge.
Agitators are not jurists, they don’t need evidence to back up their claims. Of course it
helps their cause a great deal if they can provide some proof to back up their arguments,
but in most cases a charismatic and eloquent public speaker will win a crowd over
sooner than an Agitator who takes a dry academic approach.
The attitude of most authority figures in the Old World towards agitation is one of
antipathy. However, they are careful not to come down on popular Agitators too harshly
or publicly, after all allowing a show of dissent gives a populace the illusion of freedom.
Main Profile
WS
BS
S
T
Ag
Int
WP
Fel
32
36
32
31
29 38*
30
34
Secondary Profile
A
W
SB
TB
M
Mag
IP
FP
1
11
3
3
4
0
0
3
* An advance has been taken in this characteristic.
Skills:
Academic Knowlegde (Law), Common Knowledge (The Empire), Concealment,
Charm, Gossip +10, Perception, Read/Write, Speak Language (Tilean), Speak
Language (Reikspeil) +10.
Talents:
Flee!, Public Speaking, Street Fighting, Suave (added to profile above).
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
Agitators in Middenheim
In the City of the White Wolf some priests of Ulric have been known to hire Agitators to
stir up anti-Sigmarite feelings. This is a risky business in a society were both religious
feelings and divides run deep; and whilst followers of Sigmar are heavily outnumbered
by Ulricans in the city it is far from unknown for an Agitator expounding on some detail
of the Sigmaran heresy to suddenly find himself surrounded by a wall of very angry
men and women bearing icons of hammers or twin-tailed comets.
The attitude of the Watch towards anti-Sigmarite Agitators can seem odd to outsiders –
the authorities here can be surprisingly lenient towards Agitators who are critical of
followers of Sigmar, and even those who rant about such Sigmarite institutions as the
Imperial Court are treated with levity. They are asked to move on, or given a verbal
warning rather than being taken into custody and charged for disturbing the peace. If an
Agitator in the streets of Middenheim were to say similar things about Ulricans, or the
Graf’s family and retainers, he would almost certainly find himself beaten, arrested or
worse.
Pen of the Purple Hand
Lukas Farber is a hunted man. Just a few weeks back he
responded to an advert posted on the Deutz Elm offering light, though poorly paid work.
He met with a man in one of Nuln’s inns, who provided him with a stack of bills to
distribute. The pamphlets contained articles calling for changes in the way Nuln was
run. Nothing too major or controversial, a slight increase in window tax compensated for
by a decrease on chimney tax, the opening hours of a city park to be extended until the
evening, demands that Watchmen from a certain district of the city wear slightly
different uniforms to better distinguish between them and Watchmen from a different
district, reclassification of what the city regards as an ocean worthy vessel, and so on.
The pamphlets are written with skill, the issues are persuasively argued with deft
language and poetic metre. Witty use of rhymes and jest mean that the points raised
therein remain in the reader’s minds longer than they otherwise might. The pamphlets
are of high quality, some kind of vellum, and the ink shines iridescently in a certain light.
The Nuln authorities are having to deal with an unprecedented number of calls for these
changes to be made. It seems to the staff of government institutions that no more than
five minutes passes without some concerned citizen arriving to say something like: “I
wouldn’t normally bother about this sort of thing, but have you considered how the
knock on effects of a reengineering of the city sewer system might improve our
relationships with Dwarfs and therefore further benefit our gunnery industry?” City
authorities are therefore very keen to track the pamphlets to their source.
The culprits are a cell of Purple Hand cultists, calling on their god for inspiration for the
arguments they write and casting spellbinding rituals on the ink they use. Even going so
far as to print a batch on vellum made from camoleech skin, hoping that it’s captivating
properties will add to the effect. They hope the constant call for change, and the
pressure it puts on the Nuln authorities, will please Tzeentch.
The cult of the Red Crown find such tactics deplorable, however, as they feel
Tzeentch’s followers should exercise patience until armies of mutants and beastmen
can be rallied to the cause. They feel that the Purple Hand’s habit of causing change for
change’s sake jeopardizes their grand plan. As a result they are very keen to find the
distributor of the pamphlets and have a little talk to him.
A Personality Clash
Prince Kloszowski had made his triumphant return to the Empire,
the writer’s block that has plagued him since the aftermath of the Great Fog Riots has
long since departed and he has a head full of ideas for grand new revolutionary tracts
and magnificent gestures.
He has made his way to Middenheim, having long heard about the New Millennialists
from his various underground contacts, and has hooked up with Old Otto in the hope of
publishing a veritable plethora of incendiary revolutionary poetry.
However, within a short time the two men are at each others throats. To Otto
Kloszowski is an embarrassing, attention-seeking liability (and a nobleman to boot),
whilst to the Prince the old publisher is an over-cautious, dried up fuddy-duddy.
This clash of personalities has been noticed by many of the New Millennialist Agitators,
and is causing something of a split within the group. Those who would like to see more
action siding with the revolutionary poet, the more level-headed amongst them
remaining firmly loyal to Old Otto and his less flashy methods.
Printers in Middenheim
The craft of printing is still a fairly recent invention in the Old World, and has yet to
become widespread and accepted. Cities the size of Middenheim have a few presses
operating in them, but reproduction of the printed word is still done mainly by scribes in
the city’s scriptoria (offices were professional scribes perform their work, reactionary
institutions that would certainly refuse the custom of most Agitators).
Rudolf Drucker maintains a small printshop in the Neumarkt district. The printshop is a
one-storey building, with the press in a back room behind the living quarters. Drucker’s
apprentice, Thomas Buchstab, makes up the printing press from the carved wooden
and lead letter-blocks which stand in racks along the walls, and Drucker checks the
plates and operates the cast iron press with its lever operated roller. Meanwhile
Buchstab keeps the letter blocks freshly inked. The press can take any size of paper up
to three feet by two, and the paper quality ranges from coarse grade to fine quality high
grade parchment.
Drucker’s prices are:
•
1 shilling per line per 50 copies, rounding up (on low grade paper).
•
1 shilling per 50 copies for parchment.
•
1 shilling extra per 100 copies for paper larger than 2 feet by 2 feet.
Drucker knows all the other printers in the city, and will talk openly about the resistance
they face from the scriptoria, and the resulting bureaucracy that has prevented printers
in Middenheim from forming a guild. The scriptoria have a lot of influence and exercise
their power to resist the competition arising from the development of printing.
Drucker, careful of his reputation as an upright businessman, tends not to welcome the
custom of Agitators, though Buchstab, something of an armchair Agitator himself since
he has been influenced by the fervour of an ex-apprentice, might suggest any that
anyone wishing to print material Drucker would be unwilling to handle approach one of
the other printers in the city, Old Otto.
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
An Inclusive Introduction to Agitators
Adventure Seeds for Agitators
A Stack of Pamphlets
The vine growers and wine makers of the Stirhügel have long
resented the imposition placed on them by the Vintner's Guild of Wurtbad, the ruling
that all the wine produced by the region must be sold solely through them. In Flensburg
a group of disgruntled wine makers and merchants have formed a forum called,
somewhat ironically, Thick Skins. They secretly discuss how they can protect their
interests by wresting control of the distribution of their products back from the provincial
capital and the Vintner’s Guild.
They have a sympathiser in Wurtbad (who they also pay quite handsomely) who makes
pamphlets giving details of corrupt actions, dirty secrets and bad habits of Vintner's
Guild members, or those who work alongside them or in their employ. He leaves the
pamphlets scattered about on inn tables and street corners. The articles in the leaflets
are told in lurid detail, rude satire and not a little exaggeration. The pamphlets do not
tell outright lies though, and some of the stories have been investigated and have
turned out true. This has had the result that the Vintner’s Guild is becoming discredited
in the eyes of many Stirlanders.
There are only a handful of printers officially working within the town, and the speed
with which the leaflets appear, as well as the contemporaneous nature of the stories
they tell, has Wurtbad authorities convinced that the Agitator is using one of them to
produce his gossip. As a result they are under some heavy surveillance. Recently a
stack of these pamphlets (which claim that a Rat Catcher who works for the Vintners
often performs paid work without informing his own Guild), was found in the front office
of one of the town’s printers Endal Zahnlos and Son.
Endal claims he is the victim of a frame, after all the Vintner's Guild are one of his best
customers. Others claim they have encountered Endel, somewhat in his cups,
stumbling out of one of the inns on the Stahlstrasse, complaining loudly about the
exacting standards and meagre commissions he receives form the very guild he claims
to so happily work for.
Rats!
The Rat Catchers of Middenheim are seeking to drum up more trade by making
pest control into a social issue. Middenheim’s Komission for Health, Education and
Welfare should employ a body of Rat Catchers but the chancellor is reluctant to fund
them, so the Catchers of the city operate on a freelance basis. This has led to some
disgruntlement and in order to force the chancellor’s hand the Rat Catchers have
contacted the New Millennialists, and have commissioned them to produce a set of
posters (see the centre pages for an example) and paste them up around town.
The initial public response to this has been enthusiastic, and a number of rats have
been ’posted’ through the Grafsmund gates, but the city authorities have yet to take any
action to deal directly with the rat problem. Instead they have just increased the guard
around the Grafsmund, giving them orders to stop and search anyone they suspect of
carrying a rat.
This has also had the consequence that city authorities, previously relatively ambivalent
towards the activities of Agitators, are now determined to crack down on the New
Millennialists, and rabble rousers and printers are undergoing high levels of scrutiny
and disproportionate punishments for any misdemeanours they commit.
In one of the many side streets that make
up Middenheim’s Wynd district lies an old,
dilapidated warehouse. A sign reads ‘Otto’s
printworks – leaflets and books printed to
order’. The front door opens into a small
dusty office, where the proprietor can be
found. Otto sits behind an ink-spattered
desk, strewn with pieces of paper. From
behind a closed door can be heard the rattle
and clatter of printing presses.
Otto looks in his late sixties, with thick
pebble glasses, wild grey hair and a goatee
beard. He is friendly and appears to all
intents as an honest artisan wishing to
provide his customers with fine service.
However, Otto is one of the leading
members of the New Millennialists – a
radical group dedicated to change in
society. Far from fanatical, all Otto’s
arguments are based in reason. He can see
that a rationally ordered society would
benefit far more people than it does at
present. However, he does wish to keep his
activities secret, after all the authorities
would put him out of business if they caught
him printing seditious literature. For
someone to convince him to do so they
would have to gain the trust of a contact,
who might then arrange a meeting with Otto.
Otto’s prices are:
•
A crown per 100 sheets, with
discounts for 500 sheets or more (500
sheets for 4 crowns, 1000 sheets for
8 crowns and so on…)
•
30 crowns for ever 100 pages of a
book (100 of these books would
therefore cost 2000 crowns), for each
additional book ordered the rate is
reduced by a crown to a minimum of
10 crowns per 100 pages. It takes
around 3 days to prepare a press to
print a 100 page book, and then
about 10 days to run off 100 copies.
•
These are for standard works, special
layouts and woodcut illustrations
might cost up to 200% extra.
Printers and Agitators
When deciding on an Agitator’s background
it may be good to consider how they came to
be in possession of the leaflets they carry.
As Agitator characters begin play with the
Read/Write skill it is possible that they could
have produced their leaflets by hand, but
someone who is serious about spreading the
word in a community of any size will need
access to a printing press in order to
produce the quantity of material they require.
With this in mind most Agitators will have a
relationship with a printer, and this can
provide the opportunity to add depth to a
character. Some causes are not
controversial enough to arouse much
suspicion, but if the Agitator is concerned
with a matter that is seen as seditious (and
most are) then they will have had to gain the
confidence of a printer who is willing to risk
their livelihood to produce the leaflets. The
character may have previously earned a
printer’s enmity, either by approaching them
with a job they found offensive, or by
bringing heat onto them by being indiscrete
about where they got their leaflets made. A
particularly controversial Agitator might well
be interrogated at length by the authorities
about where they had their literature printed,
and the printer might be subject to fines,
closure, wrecked presses or worse.
Bear in mind that almost all printers within a
city wish to be seen as reputable, and even
sympathetic ones are unlikely to take on
seditious materials lightly. On the other hand
the profession is somewhat radical in itself,
and so finding a sympathetic printer is often
far from impossible.
Middenheim provides a model for most of
the major cities in the Old World,
businessmen like Drucker are unlikely to
want the custom of any characters who
might threaten their livelihood, though an
impressionable and somewhat irresponsible
apprentice, like Buchstab, might be
convinced to do a quick run of leaflets
behind his master’s back. Characters like
Old Otto also exist, but have to be very
careful that their activities are not traced by
the authorities, so their trust is hard won.
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