LAWHAMMER!

LAWhammer Live!

2023-04-16T14:52:00.007+01:00

While I may no longer blog here often, I am still LAWhammering away, working on personal Warhammery projects that tickle my fancy.

And if you want to join me for my newest campaign, you can!

To explain, let me just paste in the text from my blog over on Patreon.

Are you ready? Let me hand you over to... me, who's still doing the playing-GW-game thing! Which game this time? Let me explain...

Andy and GW, still joined at the hip

Hi! My name's Andy Law. I'm an award-winning games designer, writer, cartographer, illustrator, editor, and overall super-enthusiastic wearer of many game-creation hats. During the last two decades, I've worked on Warhammer, Critical Role, Call of Cthulhu, Game of Thrones, Dragon Age, Warhammer 40K, 5E, and many more, and, really, I just adore my work.

SO, WHAT'S THIS PATREON ABOUT?
This Patreon is here to support an upcoming RPG campaign that will livestream weekly, beginning to end, and will be expanded with blogs, prep advice, new rules, art, poems, maps, and much more besides.

WHAT CAMPAIGN? WHAT GAME?
After much deliberation, I've chosen to present a fresh take on The Enemy Within campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP). Why The Enemy Within? Well, not only is it one of most famous and beloved RPG campaigns ever written, but it's also one I know best. I've run it many, many times. I've written for it professionally. And developed it. Mapped it. Spoken with its original creators. And so much more.

It was an obvious choice.

WAIT? 'FRESH TAKE'? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Well, many things. Let's do a top three.

1) New Material
When I was WFRP's Producer, I discussed the entire Enemy Within with Graeme Davis at length. Graeme is (and I hope he doesn't mind me saying this too much) the living ancestor behind the most recent 'Director's Cut' of the campaign, and one of the original writers of WFRP and The Enemy Within campaign. He's also brilliant. We discussed everything that could be added and changed to the campaign, and generally adored working on expanding it further. We shared so, so many ideas.

And that's what this streamed campaign will be about. Bringing all those ideas to the screen.

This version of the Enemy Within will be unlike any seen before. I.e.: I fully intend to do exactly what the most recent edition of the campaign suggests you do: make it your own! For example, I set up many things when I was writing Enemy in Shadows, part 1 of the campaign, and I intend to show some of the different ways these could be paid off as you move through the campaign.

Not only that, but I'm also offering fun, free WFRPy supplements, too. The kinda stuff that's unlikely to ever be released, like this Lexicon of Slang!

2) Suitable for all levels of gamer
The players involved in this campaign include three contributors to the official WFRP game: me, Andy Leask, and Lindsay Law. Joining them, we have a mixture of old hands at the setting and some who are entirely new to it.

So, whether you are a WFRP veteran or a newbie keen to see what it's all about, this is the place to be! We'll even include a tutorial or two as we go to make sure everything is clear. And if patrons have questions about how things work, we'll happily answer.

3) New Rules
In 2018, I wrote the following for page 7 of WFRP 4th edition:
'Throughout the book, we present as many options as we can so that you can tailor the game to your vision, many of which are marked clearly with ‘Options:’. If anything contradicts how you want to play your game, please feel free to change it.'
This streamed game will take that suggestion and run with it. After all, a streamed game is very different to your standard tabletop game. So, I'm adding house rules like crazy to ensure things run smoothly.

That means we'll be using a streamlined version of the rules that everyone will immediately recognise from the most recent 4th edition of WFRP. Included in that will be a rewrite of every career and, where needed, a rebalanced of every rule. As a designer of the original WFRP4 rules, I know them intimately and intend to use that experience to full effect.

You'll also benefit from this as every update and rule change I install will be available here and provided for free to everyone.

Yes, 100% free.

So, whether you are a patron, supporter, watcher, enthusiastic onlooker, or just someone casually aware that we exist, every house rule I use, every new spell I create, every magical item I build for my players will be offered for free for you to use in your games any way you prefer. And there is a lot of it already on the blog!

But that's not all.

BLOGS! MAPS! ART!
I'll also be writing blogs explaining the changes I've made, and why, explaining how I prep, how I build my story arcs... basically, how I do everything. And why.

There will be maps. There will be art. There will be handouts. There will be tokens and counters. There will be discussions about politics. Alongside demographics. And likely discussions about the 'true' populations of Altdorf, because I love a bit of controversy in my posts.

In short, if I need it for the campaign, it will go up here for you to peruse. So, there will be a ton of fun stuff to play around with.

Fresh art of... wine labels!
If I need it for my game, it goes up, no matter how irrelevant it may seem.

AND MORE...
But, I don't just plan to do The Enemy Within...

If we can make this work, and we finish the entire campaign, and we are all happy to press on, then we'll move on to campaign 2. And this one will be epic! I've created a sequel to The Enemy Within alongside Warhammer legend, Gav Thorpe, and I've been tapping away at that for the last year in between other jobs. And it's absolutely bloody EPIC. No other words for it.

And, heck, if that flies, I even have a campaign 3 and 4 planned, too!

So, do you fancy joining us? If so, let's make a few things clear:

WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE
1) All game content, every session, and some blogs and maps are free to everyone!
2) Most blogs about GMing and other special stuff will only be available to Patrons.
3) Special videos and live chats will also be available to Patrons.
4) All support to this Patreon is provided to help us fund building a studio and to pay for real-life expenses concerned with making our streams.

Sound cool?

Excellent. Come join LAWhammer!

***

And that's that. Head over to the blog over on Patreon if you want to know more. And follow @LAWhammering on Twitter, LAWhammering on Facebook, and jump into our Discord group and join the WFRP fun in there.

Hogwarts Legacy - Nope, Not Buying It

2023-02-20T18:28:00.004+00:00

As I sit here at silly o’clock in the morning, wearing a rainbow bobble hat and eating pepperoni pizza, my thoughts are in over-drive. They’re keeping me awake. So, I’ve decided to pin them to the screen rather than let them spin incessantly in my mind.

So, do you want to know what’s keeping me from sleeping this time?

The title of the blogpost likely makes it painfully obvious: it’s Hogwarts Legacy, the new Wizarding World game from Avalanche Software.

Hogwarts Legacy, not controversial in the slightest

Yes, that game. The one causing a furore online.

Now, I don’t like Harry Potter much. I was never a fan. I found the books somewhat mean-spirited and ill-conceived (don’t get me started on its world-building). But the movies were fun. I watched them all. I like magical adventures full of whizz-bang and wheee! And there was a lot of that on display. However, unlike my kids at the time, I wasn’t one of those folks who secretly longed to visit Hogwarts. I never fancied flying one of those 100%-safe brooms. And I certainly never wanted to be sorted by a stupid, judgemental hat with issues. That shit can fuck right off.

But, I do love games. Like, really love them. And I play EVERYTHING. Even games I’m not that keen to experience. I like picking at mechanics, breaking down story beats, and examining every decision made by the creative teams involved. I’m just built that way. Games are my jam.

Further, I especially love my single-player RPG action-adventurey Skyrimathons. By that I mean I love games like Skyrim where I can create characters that can level-up, explore, build, run around collecting cool shit, and uncover fascinating story snippets that only obsessive gamers like me can find. That stuff just does it for me, even when the narrative is bobbins (which, in Skyrim, it mostly is).

I'm always up for a Skyrimathon

So, for all I don’t like Harry Potter much, I have played most of the Harry Potter games. They tick gaming boxes for me. They offer the type of play I enjoy, even when they are poorly made. Sometimes especially when they’re poorly made.

I’m weird like that.

And that’s why I want to play Hogwarts Legacy, the RPG action-adventurey Skyrimathon set in Harry Potter’s Wizarding World.

Like, really want to play it.

It is pretty much designed for a gamer like me.

After all, it lets me Skyrim Harry Potter, and that sounds fucking awesome.

But, here I am at silly o’clock in the morning, eating pizza, not playing Hogwart’s Legacy. Even though it has reviewed very well. Critical acceptance stands in contrast to the previous Potter games I’ve churned through. But, even if the reviews are BadWrong, Hogwarts Legacy is a game that will clearly tick many of my gaming boxes. And that excites me. Nevertheless, I refuse to play it.

Why?

Well, if you frequent any social media platform and like games, you likely already know why I’m avoiding it, but for those who don’t, let me explain.

I’m not playing Hogwarts Legacy for three primary reasons. There are more besides these, but these are my core issues (and, in effect, they are all the same reason, anyway). Let’s list ‘em.

I’m not playing Hogwarts Legacy, because…

…I don’t want to give money to JK Rowling.

Why? Well, because…

…I don’t want to see a tweet from JK Rowling saying ‘I know people support my views because they still buy my stuff’ and think she’s talking about me.

Why? Well, because…

…JK Rowling is a transphobe, I do not support her views, and I do not want to think of myself as someone who supports her views.

Now, I could couch this in a different way, like saying that I want to be an ally to my transgender friends, and could no longer call myself an ally if I bought into JK Rowling’s world. But, for all that is true, for me, it’s much more personal. It’s about my individual morals and what I feel is right or wrong. And I’ve always been driven by that. Sure, I’m human and may make mistakes along the way, but being true to myself has always been at the core of my approach to life.

So, I try to do the right thing. And it doesn’t feel right to give money to a transphobe. It feels wrong to personally contribute to her feeling more justified in spreading her transphobic views.

I can’t and won’t do that.

Hmmm...

Now, for some of you, JK Rowling being described as a transphobe may come as a surprise. For all some social media bubbles are near bursting with JK ROWLING IS TRANSPHOBIC AND WE SHOULD ALL STOP GIVING HER MONEY AND SUPPORTING HER VIEWS FINANCIALLY, most are not.

Sure, the mainstream media has shared a story or four, but most folks ignore that shit and just get on with their lives. Most don’t click through and read the details. Most carry on with their love of stripey scarves, pointy hats, and stupid sweets that might taste of actual sick or earwax and think nothing more about the issue. It’s fun. It’s nostalgic. It’s for kids. There’s nothing more to see here.

But, that’s not me. It’s not just that I’m an over-thinker who constantly looks for the patterns in everything around me (and I certainly am that), it’s that I have an inherent sense of personal justice that is, oftentimes, an absolute arse to live with.

If I see something that isn’t right, it niggles me, and I tend to get fixated on it. Perhaps I’ll try to sort that thing out if I can. Or maybe argue for its change. Or do what I can to avoid that thing if I can’t fix or change it. What’s certain is I’ll not support that thing, even when this comes at a personal cost.

It’s this kind of thinking that leads me to do many personal boycotts. Sure, I know that boycotts generally don’t work, especially if you’re not the sort to tell others about them (and, normally, I am not), but I nevertheless boycott many things.

Pretty much 100% true on both sides. Nevertheless, I still do both.

I’m not the sort that cares if others don’t join me, and I don’t judge when others think differently from me, but I do know where my personal lines are drawn.

And, sure, the personal lines I won’t cross are perhaps drawn somewhat haphazardly, especially when one looks at me from the outside. For example, I still buy Apple but won’t buy Nestle. So far, at least.

But I’m okay with appearing inconsistent. We all have our own tolerances, after all. Mine likely don't match yours. Indeed, mine play an important part of my life and frequently suck, and that certainly isn't the case for everyone. For example...

As I mentioned, I don’t buy Nestle products because that company is, well, evil. But I love Shredded Wheat. And much more besides. But none of that for me now, and that kinda sucks.
I resigned from a job I adored because of homophobia that I was told I had to accept. But I really didn’t want to leave that job. But I did nonetheless, and that kinda sucks.
I also don’t own a car, not even an electric one, for various environmental reasons. But having one would be soooooooo handy. So, my hard lines impact my ability to get about, and that also kinda sucks (fortunately, the public transport in Edinburgh is top-notch).

That’s the tip of my personal-limitation/suckage iceberg. I’m sure we all have similar icebergs, similar things we do or do not accept and don't discuss with others, and some of those may have costs associated with them. And, for me, Harry Potter is on the wrong side of a line I will not cross.

Again, why?

Because JK Rowling is a transphobe.

Now, you may dispute this. After all, I'm pretty sure she would dispute this. Indeed, amongst other things, she's written an essay attempting to explain why she's not a transphobe, and that she's simply speaking out on sex and gender issues. But, as this excellent noob-friendly video response to that essay dives into with balance, sensitivity, and depth, JK Rowling has made some fundamental errors in her stance and has made many transphobic points, whether intentionally or not.

It's rare for me to make a recommendation, but if you have any interest in the subject, this is an excellent use of an hour.

Now, if you look at what JK Rowling has said in her tweets, essay, and elsewhere, she is far from the most transphobic person in the world. Further, it seems likely that she doesn't think she is a transphobe and doesn't realise the damage she is causing.

However, it doesn’t matter to me that she is not the most extreme example of a transphobe and that others have far-fouler or more extreme views than her.

Why?

Well, her public statements on this subject, many of which are misinformed, misguided, and ultimately transphobic (again, watch the video for a starter on this), are widely reported. Because she’s very famous, her voice carries far. That has granted her the position of High Facilitator For Far Worse Views, meaning her transphobic rhetoric grants license to the many crazies who cite her position as support for their more extreme demands. Like banning transitioning. Or reprogramming gender dysphoria. Or just putting them away out of sight where they can do no harm to our children!

JKR does too little to stop these extreme views from gathering behind her banner. No matter her intentions, she has become the golden idol of transphobia, a figurehead of transphobic discourse, an icon for those who would end anything related to the word trans, no matter how stupid that would be (Ban transmedia! Ban transistors! Ban transport! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!), and its a role she does too little to deny. So, she may not publicly support extreme transphobia, but she is nevertheless its representative.

So, she doesn’t get my support.

At all.

In any way.

A line is drawn in the sand.

The line is drawn in the sand

So, here I am, not buying a game that I want to play. Because it financially supports JKR.

I’m not saying anyone else should follow this lead. I have no expectation that others will avoid all things Potter (much of which is already in my house!). Or not buy Nestle. Or ditch their cars. But, this is my position. And I don’t intend to budge unless things change significantly.

And I’m pretty sure things will not change significantly.

JK Rowling has made it crystal clear where she intends to pitch her transphobic tent.

So, no Skyrimming Harry Potter for me.

For the moment, at least.

If I can later play it for free without giving any money to JKR, I likely will. Because I love games. But I’m not chasing that. If it happens, it happens. I’m not against Harry Potter, after all. Nor am I against those who love it. I’m simply against giving money or support to its creator.

For a similar example, if HP Lovecraft were alive today, I would not buy any Cthulhu mythos products that supported him. He was a white supremacist. I do not support that. But now I happily engage with Call of Cthulhu and have even worked with Chaosium on that game, because that game loudly does not support racism.

The same goes for Roald Dahl. He was an antisemite. But I’m not going to avoid Matilda nowadays (also, while I am here, I don’t support the bowdlerising of his work – but that’s another post, I suppose).

And let’s not even start with Michael Jackson, whose music I adored growing up.

Yes, I loved MJ growing up - and I also wore black heavy metal t-shirts

But, unlike all of them, JK Rowling is not dead, is spreading terrible views right now, and is leaving many people, including friends of mine, feeling unsafe.

So, fuck that.

I’m out.

I’m not giving her any of my hard-earned cash.

…

But…

…

I still really, really want to Skyrim Harry Potter.

And, sure, it’s easy to just not play one game, right?

That’s not hard?

You may say that. But that’s not the case for me.

It’s hard for me to not play this game.

I really want to. Not because it’s Harry Potter, but because it’s the kind of game I love playing. And I can easily get obsessed with such things. It’s how my brain works. I want to play it.

But, I won’t buy it.

And I hope you won’t either.

However, if you do buy it, in ignorance or otherwise, I won’t call you a transphobe. Or claim you support JK Rowling’s views. Or call you out for it or get angry or upset or anything else like that.

It's just a game. Boycotts don't work. It provides a negligible benefit to JK Rowling. She's already rich enough that nothing we do on an individual basis will impact her wealth, power, or status.

But I also don’t think that any trans person will consider you an ally if they know you’ve given any money to JKR knowing what she has done and continues to do.

And I believe they’d be right to think that.

After all, if all my trans friends, colleagues, and associates tell me not to buy a game because supporting JKR hurts them, and I buy it and play it anyway, then they are 100% in the right to judge me for making that choice. After all, it’s just one game. As sacrifices go, not buying it is a tiny loss (for most folks).

But for me, it goes a little further. If, in an alternative universe, I bought Hogwarts Legacy, when the next annual month of token rainbow flags came around, I’d be very aware that my right to wave that flag would be diminished.

And I don’t want to think of myself in that way.

After all, I was never a fan of that stupid hat sorting folk into stupid houses.

I’d rather wear my rainbow hat all year round.

And do.

Buy your own rainbow hat here

Thanks for reading the post. As you may note from the above picture, I have scaffolds in my house. We've turned our livingroom into a studio to stream an Actual Play of WFRP, a game I helped design. Coz, that's sensible, right?

Deets if that interests you here.

Also, while I'm here, please consider a donation to Stonewall, especially if you have purchased a JK Rowling goodie of late and want to balance the karma. Stonewall stands for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning, and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. They imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves and can live their lives to the full without discrimination. Find out more about them here and here. And if you wish to make a donation, click here.

WFRP - Alphonse Extras

2022-03-02T22:17:00.002+00:00

Hi, Lindsay Law here, making a return to the LawHammer blog for the first time in several years. Why? Well, I want to dive back into a topic that concerns a very small, but very vocal, segment of the WFRP community: Gnomes.

I love WFRP Gnomes, rare though they may be. I played one when playtesting the Enemy Within campaign, and I helped ensure references to them were included in the WFRP4 core book when I was editing it (and writing it!).

One of those Gnomes mentioned in that book is the focus of this post. He was mentioned on page 64 of the core book and is arguably one of the most famous WFRP Gnomes to date (superseded only in my eyes by Ahn Trethaway and Addic Frayne - but I can cover them in another post if anyone is interested): the famous Gnome detective, Alphonse Hercules de Gascoigne.

If you didn't know, this NPC is named after Marc Gascoigne, who you may know for his long stint running Black Library, or for once editing the Fighting Fantasy series of books. Seriously, if you have never met Marc, watch this video with him, me, Andy, and Graeme Davis as we discuss his career. Marc is brilliant!

So, as an avid Gnome player, I was disappointed to see the retcon of Alphonse Hercules de Gascoigne from Gnome to Halfling in The Horned Rat Companion. As a Gnome player, how do I make sense of that? Graeme Davis offered one option on his blog when he asked Andy to write alternative Gnome stats for Alphonse, but I like to stick with official material where I can. So, I've come up with another potential fix for the Gnome fans out there, and one that allows The Horned Rat Companion to be 100% correct rather than trying to offer an alternative.

How?

Well, part of my work for Rookery Publications has been creating NPCs that not only work well for any fantasy setting but are also filled with fun, characterful details. One of the tools we use to do this is 'You'll Never Guess...'

What is that, I hear you cry?

Well, this blog already has the answer to that as Andy has been using You'll Never Guess... for his NPCs for many, many years as a quick way of adding fun details. For some examples of that, check this WFRP NPC post, or this one. See the 'You'll Never Guess...' entries? All Rookery Publications NPCs use a similar format, but a little more refined, and they have become a popular feature of our NPC write-ups as people who have already downloaded The Well of Bones, a system-agnostic location suitable for any fantasy game, will already know.

Why not buy seven copies...?

So it seemed natural for me to simply add three 'You’ll Never Guess...' entries to The Horned Rat Companion's description of Alphonse for those of us who want to square this particular Gnomish circle. The three I've added are also fully compatible with Andy's version of Alphonse on Graeme's blog, so there are also no worries if you already use that version of Alphonse.

However, before I get to the three You'll Never Guess...s, I have one extra to add: the linguistically-inclined among you will notice that the Gnome section of Rough Nights and Hard Days has naming practices that have more in common with the p-Celtic languages than the Gallic pepper that flavours Alphonse. I have leaned into this, alongside my own experience of playing a secretive Gnome, to make sense of the change and the discrepancy.

That said, are you ready?

A Little Extra Help for Alphonse Hercules de Gascoigne

You’ll Never Guess...

Alphonse is not the first to bear the 'Alphonse' name. He purchased the right to use the famous moniker from a previous investigator who found himself liquidating his assets when his shady past started to catch up with him.

Alphonse is wanted for fraud in the Grand Province of Stirland under the name Carolus-Johannes Wilhelm Pontinius Hackleback III. There he persuaded burghers to invest in 'a magnificent alchemical process' that turned silver coins into bits of gold. The evidence of this potential haul from his 'alchemical mining expeditions', which used a careful blend of smoke, mirrors, and palming to replace low-value coins with shavings he clipped from gold coins. Eventually, his bits-of-coin fraud was uncovered and Alphonse fled, looking for a new life and a new name.

Alphonse's true bloodline includes one of the only Halflings, and almost certainly the only female Halfling, to be decorated with an Imperial Cross for services to the Emperor. Violettina Hieronyma Taliator was an Averland-born corsetier who outfitted the court of Magnus the Pious over two centuries ago. The exact deed that earned her the title 'Hero of the Empire' is unclear; Imperial records only mention her 'boning services at the Gates of Kislev city'. Due to mass shortages of armour during the Great War Against Chaos of 2303IC, it is assumed that Violetta provided a new form of reinforced jacket to protect Empire soldiers. However, according to family tradition, Violette provided a far more visceral service.

And there you go! Another way of imagining Alphonse without having to abandon the Gnome or the Halfling version.

What do you think?

And, before I go, if you'd like to see more of how You'll Never Guess can be used, take a look at The Well of Bones, where the primary NPC uses it. And, while I'm here, we've also just released Mother Hoarfrost, a wintry horror that can be added to all fantasy RPGs. It's a system-agnostic supplement from me and four other Warhammer veterans who you likely know already (Graeme Davis, Mark Gibbons, Andy Leask, and, of course, Andy Law), and is super cheap at only $3.99. We're practically giving it away! Not only that, it's so far rated 5-stars by... everyone. Go take a look!

Mother Hoarfrost

The five of us also host Inside the Rookery, a weekly panel show where we talk about RPGs and gaming with guests from across the industry. It's likely got something for everyone interested in this post. After all, we even ran a WFRP Developer panel! Details about this can be found over on Patreon, and all our videos are on YouTube.

Thanks for reading!

Bright Wizards: Spells

2022-01-17T20:10:00.144+00:00

Well, after what feels like a bajillion hours of furious typing, I now have two ranks of spells, six spell lists, and some extra rules for incorporating them all.

This has been an epic spellathon. I have rarely typed so quickly. Are you ready?

Actually, before we begin, let's make a few things clear: this is not a rewrite of WFRP4's current Lore of Fire. Nor is it a rebalance of the spells. It is also not at all close to what I planned for the magic book when I was running WFRP4. Instead, this simply takes what's in the core book and builds on it, offering more options. That seemed the easiest way to make it more broadly useful to everyone.

Also, please be very aware this blog was written quickly, so it will receive tweaks over the next few days for balance. Drop by Discord and chat with me there if you have ideas for this. I'm happy to talk it out. There is certain to be a controversial rule or two in there, and there are (EDIT: or were, hopefully!) definitely mistakes, and if you feel that's the case, let's talk.

Cool with that?

Then let's take a look at about 7K words of wizardy stuff!

Actually, before we begin...

See the image that opens this blog post above? It's from Fatshark's Vermintide II. If you've not played the game, you should. Why do I say that? Because Fatshark are the coolest folks in the world, and they helped me tons when I was building the WFRP Starter Set.

Vermintide. Buy it! Coz it's awesome.

Anyhoo, that said, let's dive in! (And don't miss the very last sentence.)

Actually, before we begin... (again!)

Edit!
This blog post assumes the following amendment to the rules is used.

A Petty Restriction
Append the following sentence to WFRP4, p238, 'Overcasting', after Paragraph 2:

Petty spells may not be overcast.

That rule suggestion was made by me in my WFRP Q&A that I run on Discord. If you want to know more, click here for Q116 where I explain the reasoning.

And now I am actually ready to go!

So, let's do it!

Bright Magic

Aqshy, the Red Wind of Magic, is the aethyr’s passion and fire, its searing anger, brashness, and exuberance. It is the fierce counterpart of the physical realm’s dynamism, its courage, and its enthusiasm.

Bright energy is hot and hasty, filled with fury, jittering with excitement, and bursting with brazen arrogance. As the Red Wind boils from the Chaos Gates, it burns across the skies, enlivened by the blazing sun above. At night, the Wind gutters low and falls from the heavens, gathering in torrid spirals around glowing sources of warmth. Empirical heat draws the most Aqshy, and the largest infernos gather it in such quantities they can burn for weeks beyond their natural span, enlivened and sustained by passionate, dancing Fire Magic. Enflamed emotions also draw the hot Red Wind, and angry words, unrestrained passion, and enthusiastic violence of all kinds call to its sizzling currents.

Wizards of Bright College in the Empire surround themselves with brands, braziers, and many other sources of fire, all to draw more blistering Aqshy to fuel their potent spells. Due to their close proximity and saturation with the Red Wind, most experienced pyromancers are quick-tempered and hyperactive, and require deep reserves of willpower to function well in social situations.

When the Chaos Gates open wide and flood the world with their perverting magics, an overabundance of the Red Wind brings anger, hatred, extraordinary recklessness, destruction, and great fields of ever-burning flame. Those cursed with a suffusion of Aqshy become atavistic creatures of rage and passion, utterly unable and unwilling to control their burning desires.

Bright Magic

Bright Magic excitedly spins and flares around heat of all kinds and is easy to detect by those with witchsight. However, it constantly twists and turns, making it difficult to wrest into place. So, even though the Red Wind is easy to perceive, it isn't easy to use. Because of the difficulties and frustrations involved with manipulating erratic and destructive Aqshy, there are comparatively few simple spells utilising the Wind. However, those that exist are powerful, for when the Wind is gathered, it often flares high, and is dangerously easy to channel.

Most Bright Spells involve fire, aggression, and destruction. Because of this, Pyromancers are respected across the Old World for their military applications, and many Bright Wizards study the art of war as much as they study the Lore of Fire.

The Red Wind Modifiers

Channelling +20

Language (Magick) +0

Witchsight +40

Channelling Bright Magic. All Channelling (Aqshy) Tests start at a base of your Willpower+Advances+20. So, if you had Willpower 45 and 10 Channelling (Aqshy) Advances, your Channel (Aqshy) Skill is 75 (45+10+20). If you were asked to perform a Difficult (–10) Channeling (Aqshy) Test, you would Test against 65 (75–10).

Forming Bright Magic. All Language (Magick) Tests to cast spells with Aqshy start at your Intelligence+Advances+0. So, if you had Intelligence 32 and 5 Advances in Language (Magick), your Skill to manipulate Aqshy is 37 (32+5+0). If you were asked to perform a Hard (–20) Language (Magick) Test to manipulate the Red Wind, you would Test against a rather paltry 17 (37–20).

Sensing Bright Magic. All Tests to sense Aqshy gain a bonus of +40. So if the GM calls for a Difficult (–10) Perception Test to spot a skulking Bright Wizard in your vicinity, and your Perception Skill was 48, you would Test against 78 (48+40–10).

Bright Curriculum

Bright Magic has three Spell Lists: Elemental, Mystical, and Cardinal. Combined, these form the sum total of spells originally taught to the first Wizards of the Bright Order over two centuries ago, and mastering them forms the core of a Bright College curriculum.

Although there are many other Lore of Fire Spells that can be learned – some taught to the Empire by the Elves, others developed by luminaries of the Bright College – it is demonstrating skill with the core spells that determines whether a Wizard progresses through the ranks of the Order.

Elemental Spells

The Elemental Spell Lists include Spells that summon empirical heat, often by manifesting fire, summoning fiery creatures, or simply making things grow hot. In the Bright College, those solely studying Elemental magic are often referred to as Elementalists or Fire Elementalists. When the Colleges of Magic were formed, most of the first Bright Wizards-to be were practitioners of older, Human magical traditions that trafficked with fire elementals. So, teaching these proto-Wizards Elemental magic using the Lore of Fire was an obvious first step. Today, the Elementalists of the Bright Order claim to be the oldest tradition of magic in the Colleges. They claim their spells were the very first to be taught to humanity by Teclis over two hundred year ago.

Mystical Spells

Mystical spells focus upon aethyric or emotional heat, with most concerning rage, passion, excitement, and impulsiveness. Some mystical spells also concern turning Aqshy inwards, using the Red Wind to bolster or improve the body and mind, or simply burn it. Studying only Mystical Spells is uncommon. The Bright Order prefers its members to focus on the Red Wind's more Destructive potential. The few wholly Mystical Bright Wizards are thus viewed with thinly disguised contempt and discussed with snorts of derision by their more martially minded colleagues. Indeed, the words 'fire mystic' are more akin to a joke than an epithet.

Cardinal Spells

The Cardinal Spell list is widely believed to contain the core teachings of the Bright Order, bringing the elemental and mystical extremes of Aqshy together into a consistent whole. Perhaps because of this, it is by far the most popular Spell List studied in the Bright Order. Teclis once referred to the selection of spells as 'the Cardinal Balance of Thaumaturgical Pyromancy'. In time, this led to those who focussed on Cardinal Spells being called Pyromancers. Given the prevalence of Bright Wizards studying Cardinal Spells, the word Pyromancer soon became synonomous with the Order as a whole.

Bright Wizard from FFG's old Warhammer Quest Card Game

Bright Cantrips

Cantrips are simple spells used by the Colleges of Magic to teach the foundations of becoming a Wizard. They involve all the core skills required for being a College Wizard, including gathering and controlling the Winds of Magic, and forming them into material effects using the lingua praestantia.

Each of the Cantrips is also the starting point for more complicated spells. So, an Apprentice that learns the Bright Aura Cantrip is already taking the first steps to learning the far more complicated Arcane Spell, Armour of Aqshy.

Any character with the Channeling (Aqshy) Skill and the Petty Magic Talent can learn Bright Cantrips. Unlike Petty Spells, Cantrips can be usefully Channelled, as they all have a CN higher than 0, and they can be Overcast. This ensures they make a perfect starting point for learning the core skills of being a Bright Wizard. Indeed, College tradition states an Apprentice cannot graduate and become a Wizard without first demonstrating skill in all 6 Cantrips from one of the three core curriculum Spell Lists.

Unlike Petty Spells, Cantrips cannot be manifested without a proficient teacher or hard study from a grimoire, and do gain the benefit of a Lore of Magic's special rules. In all other ways, they count as Petty Spells for the purposes of the rules.

All Sounds a Bit Petty

Where Petty Spells are manifested without training, draw from ambient magic, reflect the character of the Wizard in question, and are quite illegal, Bright Cantrips are instead learned from others, are cast solely with Aqshy, and are a part of the Bright College's formal training. Arguably more important, Cantrips are also legal.

Bright Cantrip Spell Lists
Elemental	Mystical	Cardinal
Bright Aura	Backdraft	Backdraft
Enflame	Heartfire	Blinding Heat
Firearrow	Hungry Aqshy	Firearrow
Flamehand	Jitter	Firelight
Smoke-eater	Reckless	Heartfire
Spinning Spites	Red Rage	Spinning Spites

Backdraft
Akhaon'r
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. AoE
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A miniature bellows

You channel the surrounding Aqshy, pulling it into yourself, causing a sudden inrush of arid air. All fires within range gutter towards you. Flames of campfire-size or smaller are automatically blown out and cool as the Aqshy is drawn from them. This hot wind is strong enough to scatter papers and ruffle cloaks, but does not have enough force to disturb objects of any weight. For each campfire-sized fire you extinguish, count as having channelled +2 SL for next Round.

Overcast. For +4 SL, you can also neutralise bonfire-sized fires, which counts as channelling +6 SL next Round.

Blinding Heat
Gilkha
CN: 1
Range: WPB yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A vial of captured smoke

You send a surge of Red Magic before a target’s face, burning the air with sudden, blinding heat. The target must attempt an Average (+20) Initiative Test.

Critical. No effect.
Success. The target receives 1 Blinded Condition.
Fail. The target suffers 2 Blinded Conditions.
Fumble. The target suffers 3 Blinded Conditions and 1 Bleeding Condition.

Overcast: For every +2 SL, Blinding Heat also causes 1 Wound to the Head location that ignores TB and APs.

Bright Aura
Aqshao
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A match

You channel thin streams of Fire Magic around your target's body, summoning an aura of harmless flickering flames. Although Bright Aura is eerie in appearance, it is cosmetic only and does no Damage. It is not particularly bright, and may be missed in direct sunlight (it requires a Challenging (–10) Perception Test to notice the flames in such conditions). However, in low light the flames are easily visible, meaning there are also no penalties to hit the target due to poor light. Appearing to be wreathed in fire can be beneficial in some circumstances, such as with uses of the Initimidation Skill. In such instances, make any applicable Tests 1 step easier.

Enflame
Aqshyr
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A small flame

You wrap channel a burning flow of hot Fire Magic around your target. The target must attempt an Average (+20) Endurance Test.

Critical. No effect.
Success. The target receives 1 Ablaze Condition.
Fail. The target suffers 2 Ablaze Conditions.
Fumble. The target suffers 3 Ablaze Conditions and 1 Stunned Condition.

Firelight
Akhinor
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A strip of oiled cloth

One item in your grasp comes alive with licking flames that emit light, but no heat. It provides the equivalent illumination as a torch. The intensity of Firelight can be reduced to as little as a candle, and increased to its original intensity, with a successful Easy (+40) Channelling (Aqshy) Test.

Firearrow
Issaqsh
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A vial of lantern oil

You channel Fire Magic into a thin, flaming arrow that streaks towards a target. Firearrow is a magic missile with Damage 0. If an affected individual can see the incoming spell and is not Engaged, a Challenging (+0) Dodge Test can be attempted. If successful, the individual suffers half Damage after all modification, rounding down.

Flamehand
Aqshura
CN. 1
Range. You
Target. 1
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A piece of flint

You channel a flow of Fire Magic into your palm, causing a bright flame to burst into life. It lasts as long as your palm stays open or until you cast another spell. The flame causes no extra Damage in combat and provides the illumination of a candle. It can be used to ignite flammable targets. You can attempt an Easy (+40) Channelling Test to cause Flamehand to flare upwards for 1 yard, igniting any flammable substances it contacts.

Flashboil
Akhyran
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. The ashes of a sheet of blotting paper

You channel hot Aqshy into a stein’s worth of room-temperature liquid, boiling it away completely. If the liquid was spilt, it will leave no stain as any dissolved substances are also burnt away. If the liquid caused damage to a contacted surface (such as acid may), then any damage will remain. If this spell is cast upon a liquid touching living flesh, a minor scald may occur. The affected individual must pass an Average (+20) Toughness Test or receive 1 Wound to the appropriate hit location that ignores TB and APs.

Overcast. For +2 SL, you can boil away a pot’s worth of liquid. For +4 SL, you can boil away a bath’s worth of liquid. For each additional +2, you can boil away another bath's worth of liquid.

Heartfire
Arqaos
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A melted brass penny

You manipulate a flickering strand of Red Magic to put fire in the heart of another. The target is immune to the Fear Psychology Trait.

Hungry Aqshy
Aq'yao
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial of cooled, boiled water

You form a fleeting swirl of hot Aqshy that devours heat and sink it into your target. The target is immune to the Ablaze Condition. This means the target loses any extant Ablaze Conditions and cannot gain any more.

Jitter
Aosokh
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A pinch of blackpowder

Your channel sparks of Aqshy deep into your target, granting a +1 SL bonus to all Agility-based Tests and a +1 Movement bonus for calculating Walking speed.

Reckless
Qaovirsh
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Minutes
Ingredient. A small, iron key shaped as the Rune of Aqshy

Your form brash Aqshy into a burning key that unlocks your target's heart, flooding it with foolhardiness. This is partly a matter of roleplay, and should influence all decision making. The target also gains a bonus of +20 on all Cool Tests. However, if the target retreats from a conflict, be it an argument, fight, or competition, the spell comes crashing to an end and Aqshy rushes from the heart, causing the target to gain an immediate Broken Condition.

Red Rage
Khaqshao
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A small mask of iron, its face twised in rage

Your form hateful spines of the Red Wind and drive them deep within, unleashing rage. The target is immediately Subject to Frenzy. If the target has the Frenzy Talent, the Frenzy does not end when the spell ends; instead, it ends using the normal rules. This spell can be resisted with an Average (+20) Cool Test if the target wishes.

Sear
Shy'ya
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A lump of molten iron, now cooled, marked with the rune of Aqshy

You channel a torrid spurt of Fire Magic into a small inanimate object, making it momentarily burn hot. While this does not cause the object to enflame, it may cause anyone touching it to pull away from the brief pain. Any living creature holding the target object (or leaning on it, lying in it, sitting on it, or similar), must pass an Average (+20) Endurance Test or let go (push back from, jump out of, sit up from, or whatever else is appropriate, as determined by the GM).

Smoke-eater
Dhlgutha
CN. 1
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A cloth soaked in sulphur-saturated water

You summoning a hungry Aqshy spirit that you entice to spin around you with tight coiling flows of the Red Wind. It appears akin to a shimmering swirling aura, and it eats away any motes in the air that come too close, burning through smoke, fine dust, and other, similar, choking materials. Even in the middle of a cloud of thick, cloying smoke, you and your belongings are unaffected by the contaminated air. Although you can breathe as if the air is clear, you are not granted any ability to see through the smoke, are not protected from the cause of the smoke, and are not protected from poisonous gasses or magical effects of any kind.

Spinning Spites
Dhaosha
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. The ashes of 10 fireflies

You channel Aqshy into a tight spiral that summons spinning fire spirits. These lesser 'spites' occupy a 2×2 yard area (1 square), appear similar to torch flames, and flit a few feet above the ground. For your Action, you can send the group of fire spirits in any direction with an Easy (+40) Channelling (Aqshy) Test. They always stick together and automatically follow corridors or paths and do not need to be controlled or overseen. For your Action, you can directly control the movements of the spites if they are in Range and in your line of sight with an Average (+20) Channelling (Aqshy) Test each Round.

The spites, if uncontrolled, move at your Movement rate. If finely controlled, they can move at up to twice your Movement rate, but never slower than half your Movement rate. If the spites contact an object flammable to a flame-sized fire, the object can be set alight if you are directly controlling the spites and pass a Challenging (+0) Channelling (Aqshy) Test.

Bright Arcane Spells
Any character with the Channeling (Aqshy) Skill and the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent can learn Bright Arcane Spells.

Tradition states a Wizard of the Bright College cannot become a Master in the College and take on an apprentice without first demonstrating skill in all 10 Arcane Spells from one of the Elemental, Mystical, or Cardinal Spell Lists.

When they graduate, Bright Wizards usually have their Grimoire updated by their master (or the College) with all 10 Spells from 1 of the three Spell Lists.

Bright Arcane Spell Lists
Elemental	Mystical	Cardinal
Armour of Aqshy	Boiling Blood	Aqshy's Aegis
Breath Fire	Burning Vengeance	Burning Cough
Fiery Blast	Cauterise	Cauterise
Fireball	Chain of Aqshy	Crown of Flame
Firewall	Choleric	Flaming Hearts
Flaming Sword of Rhuin	Consuming Wrath	Firewall
Great Fires of U'Zhul	Fire of Battle	Flaming Sword of Rhuin
Inferno	Flaming Hearts	Great Fires of U'Zhul
Shield of Aqshy	Purge	Purge
Smoke Cloud	Unquenchable Fury	Spellburn

Armour of Aqshy
Aqshoth Ao'yond
CN. 3
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A hot metal plate

You channel flows of Red Magic into burning, red plates of aethyric armour. You gain a number of APs equal to your IntB to spread around your Hit Locations. No Hit Location can ever have more than 1 AP more from Armour of Aqshy than any other Hit Location. Anyone grappling with you takes an Ablaze Condition at the end of the Round.

Overcast. For +2 SL you can add an extra +1 AP to spread to your Hit Locations.

Aqshy's Aegis
Dhal'y Loatha
CN. 5
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A miniature iron shield inscribed with the key of secrets

WFRP4, p247

Boiling Blood
Aoyran Sokhr
CN. 6
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A dried internal organ of a large monster that has been boiled alive

You send scalding Red Magic into your target, causing inner juices to heat and orifices to steam. The target must pass a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test each Round or suffer 1d10 Damage that ignores APs. Additionally, the target suffers a –20 penalty to all active Tests due to the extreme pain. A target killed by Boiling Blood explodes in a fountain of steaming fluids and cooked innards, causing 1d10 Damage that ignores APs to all within 1 square (2 yards).

Breathe Fire
Dhahkasha Laar
CN: 8
Range: Special
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A dragon scale

You channel a ferocious flow of Aqshy up your throat and out, breathing forth a rolling ball of flame. Choose 1 target you can see within a range of TB+SB yards. Breathe Fire hits the target as a magic missile with Damage +10 and ignores all non-magical APs. Then all individuals within an AoE of TB yards of the target, and in a direct 2-yard wide line between you and the original target, suffer a magic missile hit with Damage +6 that ignores all non-magical APs. If an affected individual can see the incoming spell and is not Engaged, a Challenging (+0) Dodge Test can be attempted. If successful, the individual suffers half Damage after all modification, rounding down.
Overcast: For +2 SL, you can increase the range by +TB yards.

Burning Vengeance
Akhao Vyrsha
CN. 7
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB months or until vengeance is taken
Ingredient. 3 heated drops of the target’s blood

You channel passionate Red Magic into your target, fanning anger higher and higher. The target, who must be fully named during the casting, must pass a Challenging (+0) Cool Test or become obsessed with revenge against a pre-specified victim. The target finds it hard to articulate what the victim did through the all-consuming rage, but is, with a successful Average (+20) Cool Test, able to voice any outstanding issues, assuming there are any. Each month, the target may attempt a Very Hard (–30) Cool Test to shake off the flames of Burning Vengeance.

Overcast: For +2 SL, the Cool Tests to avoid the spell’s initial effects suffers a penalty of –5, to a maximum of –30.

Chain of Aqshy
Aqsh'a Yaosh
CN. 5
Range. Special
Target. Special
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A miniature shield fashioned from red gold

You sink a great torrent of the Red Wind into your flesh, creating aethyric flows that swirl like maelstroms. You, and any holding your hands, and any holding their hands, and so on in a chain up to a maximum number of targets equal to your IntB, are immune to all damage from heat and fire. Anyone broken from the chain loses this immunity. The immunity extends to Petty/Cantrip and Arcane magical fires created by spellcasters with a lower Willpower Characteristic than you. The immunity does not extend to superheated substances, such as molten metal or magma, nor does it resist suffocation caused by smoke and similar airborne impurities.

Overcast. For +2 SL an extra number of targets equal to your IntB may be added to the chain.

Burning Cough
Kakhaok Kialkhak
CN. 4
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A lit red incense stick

You channel Aqshy into a living target’s lungs, filling them with searing heat. The target must attempt a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test.

Critical. No effect.
Success. The target suffers 1 Stunned Condition.
Fail. The target suffers 2 Stunned Conditions.
Fumble. The target suffers 3 Stunned and 1 Prone Condition.

Cauterise
Akhshyr U'yvlu
CN. 4
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A red-hot poker

WFRP4, p247

Choleric
Ouakh'aa Aqshao
CN. 5
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. SL+WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A thimbleful of warm bile

You spin a hot thread of angry Aqshy and force it into your target’s head, filling their mind with unreasonable thoughts towards an individual of your choosing. The target must attempt a Challenging (+0) Will Power Test.

Critical. No effect.
Success. The target gains the Animosity (your choice) Psychology Trait.
Fail. The target gains the Hatred (your choice) Psychology Trait.
Fumble. The target immediately becomes Subject to Frenzy and will do everything in their power to kill a target of your choice.

Consuming Wrath
Kharo Vyrshan
CN. 7
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A lock of red hair bound in brass wire, shaped as a key

You channel furious Red Magic into your target, filling the mind with blind hatred. The target must attempt a Challenging (+0) Will Power Test.
Critical. No effect.
Success. The target gains the Animosity (Everything Sentient) Psychology Trait.
Fail. The target gains the Hatred (Everything Sentient) Psychology Trait.
Fumble. The target immediately becomes Subject to Frenzy and will do everything in their power to kill the closest sentient target.
If affected by the spell, at the end of each of Round, the target loses 1 Wound (no modiefiers) as the burning fires consume from within. The target may attempt a Very Hard (–30) Cool Test to shake off the spell. Consuming Wrath also ends if the target reaches 0 Wounds, or gains the Unconscious Condition.

Overcast. For +2 SL, the Willpower Tests to avoid the spell’s initial effects suffers a penalty of –5, to a maximum of –30.

Crown of Flame
Gorkhany Ayleth
CN. 8
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. 1 gold crown

WFRP4, p247

Eternal Flame
Inaqash Tzoea
CN. 5
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. SL days (Special)
Ingredient. A dragon’s tooth

You channel sustaining Aqshy into a campfire-sized flame or smaller, rendering it inextinguishable by any means, either magical (not including Battle spells) or mundane. While the spell is in effect, the fire consumes no fuel. After the spell ends, the fire continues burning naturally until its fuel is consumed, or some force puts it out. The Bright College is full of such fires, some of which are said to have been burning since the College was first built.

Overcast. For +2 SL, either the size of the fire that can be sustained is increased by one step (from campfire to bonfire-sized to house-sized) or the duration increases, being measured in SL weeks, then SL months, then SL years, then SL decades. Any further overcast beyond this increases the duration by +SL decades.

Fiery Blast
Quissh Aqshyla
CN. 7
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A multi-bitted key of thrice-forged steel

You unleash a torrent of burning Aqshy, splitting it into multiple blasts of flaming death. You create a number of blasts equal to the units die of your Casting roll, each of which must strike a different target (a 2×2 yard area or 1 square). Each blast is a magic missile with Damage+1. If an affected individual can see the incoming spell and is not Engaged, a Challenging (+0) Dodge Test or, if wearing a Shield, an associated Challenging (+0) Melee Test can be attempted. If successful, the individual suffers half Damage after all modification, rounding down.

Overcast. For +2 SL, each blast causes an additional +1 damage, or you create an extra +1 blast.

Fireball
Qashyia Aqone
CN. 7
Range. WPx2 yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A ball of sulpher

You manifest a burning ball of fire from Aqshy and throw it. Fireball is a magic missile with Damage +6 for the target point (1 square or 2x2 yards), and Damage +2 for the rest of the AoE. If an affected individual can see the incoming spell and is not Engaged, a Challenging (+0) Dodge Test can be attempted. If successful, the individual suffers half Damage after all modification, rounding down.

Overcast: For +4 SL, you create an extra ball of fire that can be thrown at any other target point in range.

Firefists
Akshay'y Shaa
CN. 3
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A lump of phosphorus

You channel burning Aqshy into your fists, igniting them. You now deal Damage +3 and gain the Magical quality with unarmed combat. While Firefists is in effect, your Arm Hit Locations are immune to all non-magical heat-based Damage besides superheated substances, such as magma or molten metal.

Fire of Battle
Harqai Quala
CN. 5
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

You channel bolstering Red Magic into your allies to put fire in their hearts. All allies in range gain a +20 bonus to all Psychology tests.

Firewall
Faqshiroth Khaq'y
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A section of fine tapestry, singed by fire

WFRP4, p248

Flaming Curtain
Ulshiroth Khaq'il
CN. 6
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB Minutes
Ingredient. A finely wrought glass bubble inscribed with a key

You weave a great curtain of hot, vision-blurring Aqshy that causes all flammable material (such as arrows, bolts, clothes, or similar) to burst into flame if they pass through it. The curtain is up to SL yards tall by up to 2xSL yards long, and cannot be placed within 4 yards (2 squares) of any sentient target. You can shape the contour of the curtain at will when the Spell is cast, and can have it hang from any height within range. Missiles that pass through it are ignited and cause +1 extra point of Damage and gain the Magical Trait. Further, if required, they use the Flame Critical Hit Table on even rolls to hit (if you are using such a table). All sight and hearing Perception Tests to peer through the curtain suffer a 1-step penalty.

Overcast. For +2 SL, you can extend the curtain 1 square (+2 yards) in height, or 2 squares (+4 yards) in length.

Flaming Hearts
Harqau Khalai
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

WFRP4, p248.

Flaming Sword of Rhuin
Aqshy Akshila
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A burning torch

WFRP4, p248.

Furnance Gauntlet
Shyaq Ashula
CN. 4
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A brass conker shell

You manipulate fine strands of Fire Magic into the taget's hands and arms, making them utterly impervious to heat of all kinds. The target now ignores heat damage of all kinds to Arm Hit Locations, even Damage caused by superheated material substances such as molten metal or lava.

Great Fires of U'Zul
Qaqshyil Akhne
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A brass-wrought half-burned match

WFRP4, p248

Hostility
Oaqsh'aa Aoqsha
CN. 3
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial of boiled ice water containing a gall stone

You channel a delicate flow of Aqshy, filling the target with determined hatred for all enemies. The target can now reroll all failed Melee Tests. If an attempted Test has already been rerolled once, Hostility does not allow the target to make further rerolls.

Inferno
Qasqhy Tzoenr
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A dragon’s tooth scored with the rune of Aqshy

You channel an immense flow to Aqshy at one target, engulfing it in a whirling inferno of death. Inferno is a magic missile with Damage +IntB×2 that ignores all non-magical APs. Then all individuals within an AoE of WPB yards suffer a magic missile hit with Damage +IntB that ignores all non-magical APs. At the end of the Round, all affected individuals in the AoE suffer a further Damage IntB hit ignoring APs and gain +1 Ablaze Condition. The spell lasts until all living targets in the AoE are destroyed.

Overcast. For every +2 SL you can extend the AoE by +WPB yards.

Melt
Khashtha Qashul
CN. 3
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A chunk of metal from a forge that has seen at least a decade’s use

You channel a burst of hot Aqshy into a fist-sized chunk of non-magical metal. It immediately melts, collapsing into a pool of quickly cooling metal. Larger items only partially melt, with metal Weapons and Armour suffering 1 Damage when targetted by this spell. If a targetted object contains blackpowder (or similar), it immediately Misfires (WFRP4, p160). If the targetted metal is touching another character's flesh, the affected individual takes an immediate Critical Hit to the appropriate Hit Location.

Overcast. For +2 SL you can melt another fist-sized amount of metal connected to the original target, which is the equivalent of causing a further +1 Damage to a weapon or piece of armour.

Pressure
Khashtha Qashul
CN. 4
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A cork carved into a key of secrets

You channel excitable Red Magic into a confined area the size of a bottle, greatly increasing the pressure within. This causes sealed thin glass to explode and forces stronger containers to pop their stoppers, with extra effects as determined by the GM according to the target object. As a rule of thumb, exploding containers usually count as a magic missile with Damage +1d10.

Overcast. For +2 SL you can affect +1 bottle's worth of confined space.

Purge
Elakhs'y Kadhol
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A magnifying glass inscribed with a keyhole

WFRP4, p248.

Shield of Aqshy
Aqshoth Ao'yond
CN. 5
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. An iron amulet etched with a key symbol

You wrap yourself in wavering currents of the Red Wind, shielding yourself from heat-based attacks. You receive a bonus of +IntB to your TB against all damage from fire or cold-based attacks, including those of a magical origin.

Smoke Cloud
Dhulg Thaqhao
CN. 5
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A pouch of wood ash

You use waves of burning Aqshy to attract then crush spirits of fire, causing a cloud of thick smoke to rise. Living creatures within WPB×2 yards (WPB squares) of the target point receive 3 Blinded Conditions and must pass a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test at the end of Round or lose 1 Wound (no modifiers) as the hot smoke scalds skin and chokes lungs.

Overcast. For +2 SL the target area can be extended by +WPB squares.

Spellburn
Quasha Aqshak
CN: 4
Range: WP yards
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A miniature iron sword

You channel Aqshy into an ongoing spell in an attempt to Dispel it. Double your SL for a Dispel Total. You gain an additional bonus of +2 SL if you are dispelling a spell from the Lore of Beasts. If your Dispel Total is equal or higher than the target spell's CN, you Dispel the target spell.

Overcast: For +2 SL, you can add +SL to your Dispel Total.

Taste of Fire
Enqaro Firshaan
CN. 5
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A peppercorn

You channel fiery Aqshy into a plate’s worth of foodstuff, or up to bottle’s worth of liquid, imparting it with a fiery potency. Consuming a portion of the spell’s target counts as a drink of strong spirits for the purposes of Consume Alcohol Tests. If an affected liquid was already alcoholic, drinking it will increase the Difficult of any Consume Alcohol Tests by two steps because of the increased potency. Those not used to the fiery taste of consumables affected with Taste of Fire must pass a Difficult (–10) Toughness Test or suffer from a burning case of the Galloping Trots (WFRP4, p187). All characters with Arcane Lore (Fire) are considered to be used to such food; indeed, most have a preference for the extreme flavours.

Unquenchable Fury
Enqaro Firshaan
CN. 2
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A scorched bone of an intelligent creature you have killed

You flood your body with hate-filled Aqshy, letting intense anger move into and through you. If you can see an enemy (as defined by the GM), you must engage the enemy in combat by the fastest means possible. You gain the Fearless (Everything) Talent, add +2 to your SB, and gain a Free Attack during on your Turn. However, you also suffer a penalty of –10 your Initiative and Intelligence characteristics.

Overcast. For +6 SL, the Range extends to Touch.

And we're done!

Actually, let me tap in one other set of handy rules for Bright Wizards...

Burns! The following is a super simple set of additive rules for Burn Criticals. They will likely change later when I reflect on them. But, they'll do for now. If you have any comments about them, as I said, head over to Discord and ping me.

Any Critical Wound resulting from a Bright Wizard's spells has a Minor Burn added. If a 7 is rolled on the units die for the Critical Wound, that increases to 1d5 Minor Burns on the affected Hit Location. Any even numbered criticals of 50+ instead receive a Major Burn. Any even numbered critical of 90+ instead causes a Severe Burn.

Burns

You have suffered an injury from heat, electricity, chemicals, or friction. Burns, though common, can be very dangerous, and if left untreated are prone to infection and terrible scarring. Large burns are particularly dangerous, and are often fatal.

Minor

You have received a minor burn that, though quite painful and potentially quite large, is relatively minor. If you suffer TB or more minor burn wounds at once, upgrade them all to a single major burn wound.

You suffer a –10 to all active Tests involving the burned location. As your skin is deeply reddened by the injury, or has blistered, you may also suffer a loss of –10 to all Fellowship Tests if the burn is visible and the GM think it's appropriate.

The negative effects of minor burns are cumulative, resulting in a maximum penalty of –30 to the associated Tests.

Healing. A burn will heal in 12–TB days. During the latter three or four days the skin of the burned area often peels away to reveal the new skin beneath, a process that can be itchy. A successful Heal Test mitigates the penalty of one burn for SL+1 hours, but does not significantly improve healing times.

Major

Your flesh has bubbled and blistered under the extreme heat, perhaps causing irreparable damage and hideous scarring. If you suffer ½TB major burn wounds to one hit location, upgrade them to a single Severe Burn wound.

The affected area is unusable as the pain of the bubbling, boiling flesh is too intense. For Arm and Leg hits, you are down to one limb as the other is too damaged to move freely — use the rules for a Severed Arm or Leg to represent this. For Head hits you can barely do anything more than scream in horror — suffer a penalty of –30 to all active Tests and gain 3 Blinded Conditions that can't be regained until the Major Burn is healed. For Body hits, your mobility is limited by the pain: suffer a loss of –30 to all active Tests, and halve your Move.

As your skin is a warped, bubbling mess, you may suffer a loss of up to –20 to Fellowship Tests as determined by the GM if the burn is visible. That increases to –30 if it is the Head hit location that is affected.

Whenever you receive a major burn, you also receive a Prone Condition.

Healing. The burn will heal in 30–TB days. Successful medical attention before the wound is fully healed allows free use of the Hit Location, but you will suffer a penalty of –20 to all active Tests. A successful Heal Test also provides you with an estimate for how long the wound will take to heal. Any day medical attention is not received, you must pass a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test or contract a Festering Wound (WFRP4, p187).

Once the wound is healed, enact a Challenging (+0) Endurance test.

Critical. The affected area is hideously scarred, but otherwise unaffected.
Success. You permanently suffer a penalty of –10 to all active Tests involving the affected hit location.
Fail. You permanently suffer a penalty of –20 to all active Tests involving the affected hit location.
Fumble. Although the burn appeared to be getting better, the affected area significantly worsens over the next 30-TB days. During this time, it is like the burn had just been sustained. At the end of the time, the wound is upgraded to a Severe Burn.

A Major Burn always leaves a permanent scar. Once healed, you may suffer a penalty of –10 to all Fellowship tests if the burn is visible, or –20 if it is the Head hit location that is affected, according to the circumstances as determined by the GM.

Severe

You have received a burn so severe that almost all moisture in the affected area has been boiled away, leaving a leathery, quite painless wound, the nerves completely dead.

The affected area will never be useable again. Further, if it is not amputated where the good flesh meets the bad flesh, an infection is very likely. For Arm and Leg hits, you are down to one limb as the other is too burned to use — use the rules for a Severed Arm or Leg to represent this. You don’t get Severe Body and Head Burn Wounds – such injuries always result in death.

Healing. You can’t heal a Severe Burn, the only option is amputation of the affected area. For every day the burn wound is left attached to your body, pass a Difficult (–10) Endurance Test or contract a Festering Wound (WFRP4, p187). One removed, you will either suffer an Amputated (Arm) or Amputated (Leg) injury, depending upon where the burn was sustained.

And done!

That was a lot of spells to write! And those Burn rules took far longer to tap up than I expected. Cripes! But, done now!

Please, don't let this be a waste of my time. Read them, tell me what you think (and tell me if you spot errors!). As mentioned somewhere up at the top of this post, the best place to do that is in the Rookery Discord Server. I hang out there a lot, and if you post there, you will get me. It's also where I do my WFRP Q&A for folks that have questions about the game.

So, should I do more?

Battle spells, too.

I'm not sure that's worth it. Does anyone really need crazy high-end spells for their WFRP games? I'm unsure. What do you think?

And, with all that that done, it's time for some hard advertising! If you've not seen it already, please take a look at The Well of Bones. It's a system-agnostic supplement from me and four other Warhammer veterans who you likely know already (Graeme Davis, Mark Gibbons, Andy Leask, and Lindsay Law), and is super cheap at only $4.99. We're practically giving it away! Not only that, it's so far rated 5-stars by... everyone. Go take a look!

And if you've bought The Well of Bones already, consider recommending it to a friend! Or three! Or buying it as a gift! Because you're that kind of awesome friend!

Why not buy seven copies...?

The five of us also host Inside the Rookery, a weekly panel show where we talk about RPGs and gaming with guests from across the industry. It's likely got something for everyone interested in this post, and we even ran a WFRP Developer panel. Deets over on Patreon, and videos over on YouTube.

Fare thee well until next time.

Not sure if we'll have more Bright Wizard stuff. Maybe a description of all the Keys of Mystery and all sevel levels of Bright mastery?

PS: Let me single out Jaalib and Michael Mars over on Discord who have gone through this post with a fine toothcomb and helped me fix about 378 mistakes per spell. Absolute Heroes of the Empire! And let me add another thanks to all the comments elsewhere that helped me fix a shedload of fiddly details!

Bright Wizards: Talents & Arcane Marks

2022-01-11T10:59:00.009+00:00

You know, I should just keep my big mouth shut.

When I posted the Bright Wizard Career Path 3 days ago, I figured it was a one-off. Sure, there were clear holes in the rules I offered, but if anyone wanted to use them, there was more than enough to inspire.

But it bugged me a bit that I'd not written it all. So, being the kind of chap I am, I left a loop-hole open if enough people wanted me to write more. I asked folks to add a flame emoji to this post in the Rookery Discord, and if we got 50 of the burning blighters, I'd add some more Bright goodies to the blog.

Obviously, given I'm here writing a new blog post about Bright Wizards, we all know what happened next.

For the record, here's where that Discord post was as I was typing this blog:

Hashtag: 50 Was Not Pretty Unlikely

And here I am. Blogging. Like an idiot. Regretting my life choices. But also very amused because I do so adore the Colleges of Magic.

So, with that in mind, what are we getting today?

After humming and hawing, it made sense to write everything needed to make the previously posted Career Path work. So, this update is all about the new Talents, and perhaps more interestingly, a table of Arcane Marks to support them. It's always a larf writing those!

Are you ready?

Then let's fire this blog up!

'Maybe we shouldn't have invited the Bright College'

However, before we begin, this blog post assumes the following 'Drain Magic' rule, or something similar, is being used. The write-up for below is as fast and dirty as these things come, and could do with a whole bunch of examination in terms of explaining the process, but it is more than enough for the associated Talent to be understood and for you to adapt it all to your own WFRP games.

Also, this was all written in a single evening, so it will almost certainly need an edit. So, if you spot anything, dive into the Rookery Discord Server and tell me.

Drain Magic

Disrupting the local Winds of Magic, commonly called Drain Magic, is an effective way of curtailing the power of spellcasters who are actively channelling or maintaining their spells. If you wish to Drain Magic as your Action for your Turn, it requires a Channelling Test.

Critical. All active spells, held spells, and Channelling attempts within your WP in yards come to an end.

Success. You disrupt the local Winds of Magic, resulting in all Channelling and Language (Magick) Tests within your WP yards suffering a penalty of your Drain Magic SL until the start of your next Turn.

Fail. The attempt to disrupt the Winds fails and you suffer a Minor Miscast.

Fumble. You suffer a Major Miscast.

If several Characters Drain Magic at the same time, only the most effective result applies as a penalty to any Channelling or Casting Tests.

Talents

This is a complete list of the new Talents used in the Bright Wizard Career Path.

Animosity (Any)
Max: 1
There are just some folk you don't like. Gain an Animosity Psychology Trait as described in WFRP4, p190.

Arcane Mark (Any)
Max: Unlimited
One of the Winds of Magic has made its mark upon you in a permanent way. Roll once on the appropriate Arcane Mark table and immediately apply the results to your Character.

Blocked (Any)
Max: 1 per Wind
Your aethyric flows are blocked, perhaps for physical, mental, or spiritual reasons, and you find it harder than other spellcasters to channel the specified Wind of Magic. The exact nature of the block is left for you and your GM to decide. You cannot cast spells or channel magic when your block interrupts, and you cannot enter any associated Wizard Career that doesn't include the word 'Apprentice'. Removing a Block is a matter of roleplaying, is never simple, and may never happen. Sample Bright Blocks include:
Only when the sun is up.
Only when filled with a specific emotion, such as anger, passion, or excitement.
Only in the presence of a bonfire.
Only in the summer.
Only when in danger.

Focus
Max: WPB
Tests: Cool (to resist being Interrupted)
You hold tight to your focus and brook no interruptions when performing your magic. Interruptions, either to Channeling Tests or Language Magic attempts during a ritual, are never harder than a Challenging (+0) Cool Test.

Hatred (Any)
Max: 1
Your all-consuming revulsion will not be denied, no matter how reasonable others think they are being. Gain a Hatred as described in WFRP4, p190.

Master Channeller (One Wind)
Max: 1
Test: Channelling (One Wind)
You find it easier to extract the power you require from one of the fickle Winds of Magic. If you use your Action to channel magic and gather enough to cast a Spell with the associated Wind on your Turn, you may immediately attempt to cast that Spell as a Free Action.

Master Dispeller
Max: IniB
Tests: Language Magic (when Dispelling)
You are an experienced dispeller of magic, able to hold your own in magical duels against multiple spell casters. You may make up to 1+Master Dispeller Dispel attempts each Round, but may not attempt to Dispel the same spell more than once.

Peaked (One Wind)
Max: 1
You have reached the limit of your ability with one of the Winds of Magic. You may no longer learn the Channelling (One Wind) Skill, and you may no longer learn any more Spells from its associated Lore of Magic.

Powersink
Max: IniB
Tests: Channelling (when Draining Magic)
You are a skilled manipulator of the Winds of Magic, and find it easier to disrupt magic in the surrounding environment. The range of your Drain Magic attempts increases by +WPB×Powersink yards.

Prejudice (Any)
Max: Unlimited
Whilst some rise above their petty prejudices, you have learned to wallow in them. Gain a Prejudice as described in WFRP4, p190-191.

Strong Channeller (One Wind)
Max: WPB
Tests: Channeling (One Wind)
You are able to channel greater flows of the Winds of Magic to enhance your spells. You may Overcast all successfully cast spells +Strong Channeller times.

Arcane Marks of Aqshy

Human Wizards Only

Over time, Human Wizards who draw too heavily from a single Wind of Magic take on the primary characteristics of the Wind they channel.

Developing an Arcane Mark

There are two methods of developing Arcane Marks: Talents and Wild Winds.

Talents

Whenever you take the Arcane Mark Talent, you immediately roll on the associated Arcane Mark table and apply the result. As this roll is not a Test, it may not be rerolled with Fortune Points. However, it can be rerolled with a Dark Deal.

Wild Winds

When the Winds of Magic wax strong, they can bring change in their wake. For an unfortunate Wizard caught in this, the results can be life-changing.

The frequency of Arcane Marks caused by Wild Winds is a decision best left to you and the type of game you are playing.

Normally, most Apprentices develop no more than a single Mark as they study, and it is often seen as a sign of their growing connection to their chosen Wind. Most trained Wizards develop a handful of Marks through their career, with veteran spellcaster demonstrating maybe a dozen or more.

However, that frequency may not suit a short campaign where a single Mark would be unlikely to manifest, which is not a lot of fun. That being the case, choose from one of the following three options for the frequency of Arcane Marks in your game, or create your own process that matches your preferences.

Frequent
This is the assumed frequency for short campaigns or one-off adventures. It is also the assumed frequency during a Storm of Magic.

Whenever you roll a double when using Channelling (Aqshy) or when casting a spell from the Lore of Fire, magic burns uncontrollably through your body and you gain an Arcane Mark. This happens even if you reroll the associated Test.

Infrequent
This is the assumed frequency for long campaigns.

Whenever you roll 77 when using Channelling (Aqshy) or when casting a spell from the Lore of Fire, magic burns uncontrollably through your body and you gain an Arcane Mark. This happens even if you reroll the associated Test.

Rare
This is the assumed 'real world' frequency.

Whenever you roll 77 when using Channelling (Aqshy) or when casting a spell from the Lore of Fire, make a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test (which must be attempted even if you reroll the 77). If it fails, magic burns uncontrollably through your body and you gain an Arcane Mark. If it is fumbled, you also gain 1d10 Corruption Points.

Arcane Marks of Aqshy Table

Roll 1d100 on the following table to randomly determine an Arcane Mark of Aqshy.

Doubles. If you roll a double on this table, your hair (odds) or eyes (evens) also grow redder (through brown, orange, or yellow, as appropriate), to a degree the GM decides best reflects the amount of Red Wind being channelled. Normally, it only takes 2 or 3 times of this happening for hair or eyes to turn red.

Maximums. If there is a number in parenthesis, it shows the maximum number of times a Mark may be developed. If there is no number, the Mark may not be developed more than once.

Duplication. If you roll a Mark you have already developed as far as you can, reverse the percentile dice for a new result. If you also have this Mark, you instead gain 1d10 Corruption points.

01-05 Jitters (3). Your body twitches and jitters uncontrollably when under any form of stress. You suffer a permanent –5 loss to your Agility Characteristic as it takes concentration to control yourself properly, dulling your reactions.

06-10 Raging Temper (3). Aqshy burns through your mind, leaving you brimful of barely suppressed rage. This Mark is largely a matter of roleplaying, but also has mechanical effects. The first time you gain this Mark, you suffer a permanent –5 loss to your Fellowship Characteristic as your towering fury can barely be restrained. The second time, you gain the Frenzy Talent. The third time, you also gain the Hatred (Any) Talent.

11-15 Vulnerable to Cold (3). You do not like the cold, and you particularly hate snow, ice, and biting winds. The first time you receive this Mark, you count all Willpower or Toughness-based Tests results including a 7 as a Fail, if it was not already, with –0 SL when you are in a cold environment. The second time, Fellowship-based Tests are also affected. The third time, Agility-based Tests are also affected.

16-20 Belligerent. Your mind finds it hard to concentrate on anything not involving conflict, action, and strife. This mark is largely a matter of roleplaying, but also has mechanical effects. You may not reroll or reverse Intelligence-based Tests not directly involved with conflict of some kind (as determined by the GM), not even with Fortune Points or Dark Deals.

21-25 Aqshy’s Air (3). No matter how peaceable your actions may be, others feel you are an angry, unstable individual. The first time you gain this mark, you count any Charm Test results including a 7 as a Fail with –0 SL, if it was not already. The second time, Gossip Tests are also affected. The third time, Haggle Tests are also affected.

26-30 Bright Eyes. Your eyes alight with Aqshy whenever you experience emotions tied to Aqshy, which betrays your feelings and can unnerve those that notice. This is largely a matter of description, as your eyes burn when you are angry, excited, or passionate. But the GM may impose a –10 penalty to Fellowship Tests or a +20 bonus to Intimidate Tests where the burning eyes are noticeable, such as in low-light conditions or when up-close to a target.

31-35 Burning Hunger (2). Aqshy constantly eats through your body, consuming your energy, leaving you starved, no matter how much you eat. Lose –10% of your Weight, and double your eating and drinking requirements. Further, your flesh is always hot to the touch (as if running a mild fever), and when testing for Old Age (if you use rules for aging), any roll including a 7 automatically counts as a fail. If you gain this Mark a second time, your body grows hotter yet, and eating and drinking requirements triple from the norm. Further, your body runs so hot that diseases find it hard to survive within you, meaning you never suffer a negative modifier to Toughness-based Tests to resist disease.

36-40 Burning. When channelling and casting Bright Magic, your bodily hair goes on fire, as do any marks and Aqshy-made tattoos. Whilst this is purely cosmetic, it can be terrifying for the uninitiated. You may never reroll or reverse failed Fellowship Tests made against non-magic-users who can see you in such situations, not even with Fortune Points, as they find you deeply unsettling. However, you don’t suffer any negative modifiers to Intimidate Tests made against non-magic users when you are alight.

41-45 Tattoos. One randomly determined Hit Location is covered in Aqshy marks similar to a Bright Wizard's tattoos. That location counts as a source of fire for the purposes of calculating the local Winds of Magic. If the Head Location is rolled, suffer a permanent penalty of –5 to your Fellowship Characteristic.

46-50 Aspect of Aqshy (3). You become taller, leaner, and broader, your body a tensed whipcord ready to snap, your mind bursting with confidence. Your eyes and hair turn orangey-red if they were not already. Lose –5% of your Weight, gain +1d5” (1d10cm) in Height, and gain a permanent bonus of +5 to your Strength attribute. The second time you gain this mark your Agility is increased instead. The third time you gain this mark, it is Willpower that increases.

51-55 Brimstone (3). When casting and channelling you exude the smell of brimstone. During such times, your Fellowship suffers a penalty of –10. Further, all characters within 2 yards (1 square) suffer a penalty of –10 to any Agility- or Willpower-based Tests as the stench overwhelms them.

56-60 Aqshy Spite. Aqshy Spites, fiery creatures that dance and swirl in flames, cackling and chattering with unrestrained glee, are common within the Bright College, but rarely found outside its ruddy walls. Contradicting this, a Spite draws to your side and refuses to leave. Gain a Spite Familiar with the Fiery and Blast Creature Traits (#MakeYourOwnFamiliarRules).

61-65 Firefear. Beasts shy from fire and they also shy from you. Any creature with the Bestial Creature Trait must pass a Willpower test to stay within WP yards of you. Further, you automatically fail all Charm Animal, Animal Care, and Animal Training tests on creatures without the Trained (Magic) Creature Trait.

66-70 Mirage (3). When channelling and casting Bright Magic, a shimmering haze of heat surrounds you, making you harder to perceive. If you use the Channelling (Aqshy) Skill, or cast a Lore of Fire Spell, all opponents suffer –5 to hit you in melee combat and –10 to hit you in ranged combat until the start of your next Turn.

71-75 Diurnal (3). You prefer action beneath the sun to languishing in the dark. During daylight hours, even when underground, you gain a bonus of +5 Willpower. If you gain this mark twice, your Strength is also affected. If you gain it a third time, your Agility is also affected.

76-80 Fireheart. Your courage could inspire poets and generals alike. You may reroll either your tens or units die when attempting a Fear, Terror, or Break Test. Note: Using this reroll does not limit you from using another reroll sourced from Talents or Fortune Points.

81-85 Firestarter. Flames and fires flare high in your presence, adding an additional +1 SL to uses of the Red Wind when flames are close. Further, when angered, excited, passionate, or similar, Aqshy washes from you, and especially dry or flammable materials within WPB yards will spontaneously combust. Beyond being deeply inconvenient, it is also likely to unnerve others, providing a bonus of +20 to Intimidate Tests when the GM deems it is appropriate.

86-90 Fiery Energy. Your body fills with barely repressed energy and your limbs snap and crackle with rippling spurts of exuberance. Gain +5 Agility.

91-95 Aqshy Made Flesh. You are highly resistant to heat, and only require Endurance Tests to resist heat in truly extreme environments (50°C/120F or higher). If you gain this mark a second time, you are immune to all non-magical heat. If you gain this mark a third time, you are also immune to magical heat-based attacks. Note: you are never immune to Tzeentch’s Curse results that inflict heat damage, nor are you immune to Chaotic fires.

96-100 Mark of Aqshy (7). The rune of Aqshy appears on a random location on your body. All casting attempts using Aqshy within 10 yards of you gain +1 SL. No matter how many Marks of Aqshy are within 10 yards, you never gain a higher bonus than +1 SL. This Mark can be seen by anyone with Witchsight with a successful Average (+20) Perception Test, even if clothing covers it. If you gain 7 Marks, your soul is lost to Aqshy: you become a burning effigy of the Red Wind, and likely a powerful antagonist NPC to face in future adventures.

And that's that!

Another post down!

Please tell me what you think (and tell me if you spot errors!). As mentioned above, the best place to do that is in the Rookery Discord Server. I hang out there a lot.

With this post completed, we now have all core content written outside some extra spells. If you're interested in more spells, well... am I going to do this again? Why not?

If you're interested in more spells, drop a fire emoji on this post in the Rookery Discord. If 75 people drop a flame on that post, I'll do another follow-up blog with two ranks of new spells.

Now that's done, it's time for some hard advertising! If you've not seen it already, please take a look at The Well of Bones. It's a system-agnostic supplement from me and four other Warhammer veterans who you likely know already (Graeme Davis, Mark Gibbons, Andy Leask, and Lindsay Law), and is super cheap at only $4.99. We're practically giving it away!

Go check it out on DriveThruRPG! It's waiting for you. You can even call it your precious, if you fancy.

And if you've bought The Well of Bones already, consider recommending it to a friend! Or three! Or buying it as a gift! Because you're that kind of awesome friend!

Why not buy seven copies...?

The five of us also host Inside the Rookery, a weekly panel show where we talk about RPGs and gaming with guests from across the industry. It's likely got something for everyone interested in this post, and we even ran a WFRP Developer panel. Deets over on Patreon, and videos over on YouTube.

Fare thee well until next time.

Oh, and before I go, I do believe Lindsay (as you probably know, another core writer of WFRP4!), is planning to make an unexpected return to the Lawhammer blog with a fix for something that bugs her.

Bright Wizards: Career Path

2022-01-08T05:40:00.031+00:00

I was asked on Discord to convert the Bright Wizards I made a while ago when discussing Career Paths to WFRP4. Given it wouldn't take me long, I figured why not.

To make the conversion a little more polished, I've also tapped in some descriptions for each Career listed. They're typed quickly, and likely contain errors because of that, but should give you an idea of what each is supposed to represent in the game.

So, for your delectation, here's a 100% unofficial, and likely to be soon written over, Bright Wizard Career Path. It's mostly a copy/paste job from my other posts with hacked in edits, so if you spot errors (which is likely), pop over to the Rookery Discord, tell me, and I'll fix 'em. But, everything should be fine, and should be in line with the core rulebook.

These rules may require a little work from you to use fully, depending upon your preferences, but they should be pretty much good to go barring all the extra spells you may want, a Talent or two, and Wizard Marks.

Ready?

Bright Wizard Career Path

The Bright Wizard Career Path offers a complete set of careers to represent Bright Wizards in WFRP4. It is split into five levels, each of which contains one or more Bright Wizard Careers, with each level in the Career Path progressively better than the last.

Unless otherwise noted, the Bright Wizard Career Path follows all the rules presented in WFRP4.

Core Careers

Careers listed in ALLCAPS are called Core Careers, and mark the path most Bright Wizards take through this Career Path. These include Bright Apprentice, Bright Wizard, Bright Wizard Master, Bright Wizard Lord, and Bright Patriarch. As long as you have the required Trappings, you do not need GM permission to advance into these Careers using the normal rules.

Non-Core Careers

Non-core Careers are not titled in all caps, and represent less common Bright Wizard Careers. You always require GM permission to enter a non-core Career, and likely also require a tale to explain your unique Career direction. Perhaps you are training in the Bright College itself (Senior Apprentice)? Or you go to war early (Bright Battle Wizard)? It's up to you and your GM to build appropriate stories around these Career choices.

Level 5 Characteristic Advance

The Level 5 Characteristic Advance Scheme option is marked with a ♛.

Skills

Skills are learned in a slightly different way with this Career Path.

Level 1 Skills

There are 10 Skills in Bright Apprentice (Level 1), not 8. You need to have taken the standard 5 Advances in at least 8 of those Skills to complete the Career, not all 10. This means not all Bright Wizard Apprentices are identical with their starting Skills.

Skill Advances

You can purchase Advances in all the Skills listed for your current Career, plus all Skills listed in any Career you have completed in the same Career Path. You do not gain access to all Skills from all previous levels.

So, if you have completed Bright Apprentice (Level 1), Senior Bright Apprentice (Level 2), then moved into Bright Wizard Duellist (level 3), you could take skills from Bright Apprentice, Senior Bright Apprentice, and Wizard Duellist, but not the Skills listed in the other level 2 Career, Bright Wizard.

Talents

All Bright Wizard Careers have 6 Talent options, not 4, one of which is an Adverse Talent.

Adverse Talents

Talents marked in Bold Italics are called Adverse Talents, and are present in every Bright Wizard Career. These follow all the same rules as normal Talents with the following exception:

When you enter a Bright Wizard Career for the first time, you gain the Adverse talent for free.

Starting Wizards

A newly created Wizard Character gains its Career's Adverse Talent for free in addition to the normal free Talent. In this case, that means a new Bright Apprentice Character gains the Prejudice (Any) Talent for free plus one other Talent.

Talent Advances

These rules assume you can buy Advances in any Talent you have already purchased, not just those listed in your current Career. It is recommended that you add this rule to all Careers.

Changing Career

There are several new or adapted rules to consider when changing Careers either within, to, or from a Career Path.

In-Path

Changing Career In-Path means either:

Changing to a Career in the same Career Path that is a higher level than your current Career.
Changing to a Career that is the same level or lower than your current Career.

Higher Level. You may only change to a higher level Career if you have completed a Career from the preceding level in the Career Path. So, if you wanted to enter Bright Wizard Vigilant (level 4), you need to have completed a level 3 Bright Wizard Career first, such as Bright Battle Wizard.

Same Level or Lower. Changing to a Career that is the same level or lower than your current Career does not require you to have completed any other Career. You simply change Career as normal.

Trappings

It is presumed that you must have all listed Trappings for your new Career before you can enter it. Your GM may prefer not to do this.

Career Exits

Some Careers have 'Exits' marked. Career Exits are Careers from another Career Path that you may enter when you complete the Career where they are listed. Doing this requires 100 XP as normal.

Completing a Level 5 Career

To complete a level 5 Career, you need to have taken at least 25 Advances in all Career Characteristics and in at least 8 Career Skills.

BRIGHT WIZARD

Human (Empire)

Perdita Jutzenbach, Wizard of the Bright Order

BRIGHT WIZARD ADVANCE SCHEME

WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
✠		⚒	✠	💀			⛊	✠	♛

Careers

✠ BRIGHT APPRENTICE (Brass 1)

Most Bright Apprentices are attached to a Bright Wizard Master or higher. Although some learn their skills as their master drags them from one battlefield to the next, most are trained in Altdorf's Bright College of Magic. As Bright Apprentices are potentially very dangerous to others and themselves, most are forbidden to leave the College's grounds until they graduate, and are deemed safe. Most apprentices have their hair shorn to pre-empt it burning off during training.

Skills: Athletics, Channelling (Aqshy), Intimidate, Language (Magick), Leadership, Language (Battle), Lore (Magic), Lore (Warfare), Melee (Basic), Melee (Polearm)

Talents: Aethyric Attunement (Aqshy), Petty Magic, Prejudice (Any), Read/Write, Resistance (Heat), Second Sight

Trappings: The Apprentice Key, Grimoire (containing 1 Cantrip Spell List), Staff, Sword, Uniform (Bright Apprentice)

⚒ Bright Journeying Apprentice (Brass 2) It used to be common practice for all apprentices of the Bright Order to 'journey' – to travel the Empire for at least a year, finding distant members of the Order from which to learn new skills and demonstrate those they'd learned, and perhaps also spend some time serving in the State Armies. However, many early mishaps with young Bright Journeymen losing control without their masters there to aid them led to the practice slowly coming to an end – after all, when a Bright Apprentice loses control, fires follow, and that can be fatal for anyone involved. Nowadays, most Bright Apprentices stay either stay in the Colleges of Magic or rarely leave their masters' sides.
Skills: Haggle, Melee (Brawling), Language (Any), Lore (Local), Navigation, Outdoor Survival Talents: Animosity (Any), Etiquette (Any), Nose for Trouble, Rover, Seasoned Traveller, Tenacious Trappings: Grimoire (containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell and 1 Cantrip Spell List), Key of Becoming, Staff, Sword, Uniform (Bright Apprentice)

⚒ Bright Senior Apprentice (Brass 2)

Problem Bright Apprentices that are skilled and mature enough to teach others in the Bright College of Magic, but have an impediment stopping them from becoming full Wizards themselves, may become Senior Apprentices. Although they are granted many freedoms and responsibilities in the College that leave other apprentices jealous, most are looked down upon for their inability to progress through the College more rapidly. Stuck in the College, many turn to book training in an attempt to clear their blocks. Skills: Animal Training (Horse), Art (Tattoos), Entertain (Storytelling), Heal, Language (Classical), Lore (Any)

Talents: Argumentative, Blather, Coolheaded, Blocked (Any), Public Speaking, Speedreader

Trappings: 5 Keys of Apprenticeship, Grimoire (containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell and 1 Cantrip Spell List), Staff, Sword, Uniform (Bright Apprentice)

Exits: Sergeant (Soldier 2)

⚒ BRIGHT WIZARD (Silver 3)

Bright Wizards are fully trained Wizards of the order who are ready to take to the battlefield as an officer. Many enter the State Army immediately with a recommendation from the Colleges or their master, although some Bright Wizards prefer to 'Journey' first, touring the Empire in pursuit of the most impressive pyromancers of their Order, learning new spells and techniques before later entering the service of the Empire.

Skills: Cool, Endurance, Lore (Any), Language (Old Worlder), Perception, Ride (Horse)

Talents: Animosity (Any), Arcane Magic (Fire), Detect Artefact, Drilled, Etiquette (Soldiers), Menacing

Trappings: Grimoire (containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell List), Key of Fire, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

Exits: Officer (Soldier 3)

💀 Bright Battle Wizard (Silver 5)

Bright Battle Wizards are those that concentrate on war to the exclusion of all else. Seen on battlefields across the Empire, they are known for their exceptional skills in combat and are often figures of awe amongst other Bright Wizards. Few Battle Wizards take on apprentices, seeing them as a distraction from their service to the Empire. Should they be appointed an apprentice by their superiors, the unfortunate is usually escorted to the Colleges of Magic in Altdorf to be taught there instead. Some Bright Battle Wizards officially have many apprentices, but have never met any of them.

Skills: Consume Alcohol, Gamble, Melee (Any), Ride (Any)

Talents: Combat Aware, Dual Wielder, Hatred (Any), Implacable, Inspiring, War Wizard

Trappings: Grimoire (containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell List), Key of Battle, Light Warhorse, Magical Item, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

Exits: Veteran (Soldier 3)

💀 Bright Perpetual Apprentice (Silver 1)

Apprentices who simply don't have the skill, talent, or ability to become full Bright Wizards, but are deemed too dangerous to be allowed back into normal society, are called Perpetual Apprentices. As they are forbidden to leave College grounds, almost all of them become full-time workers in the Bright College of Magic in Altdorf, where they perform tasks of all kinds.

Skills: Drive, Entertain (Any), Trade (Any), Stealth (Urban)

Talents: Peaked (Aqshy), Beneath Notice, Etiquette (Servants), Strong Back, Sturdy, Supportive

Trappings: Key of Perpetuity, Uniform (Bright Apprentice)

💀 Bright Duellist (Silver 2)

Wizard duelling is a favourite past-time of Bright Wizards, and apprentices are encouraged to pit their skills against each other daily. After they graduate, many younger members of the Order continue to dedicate time to the Duelling Halls in order to master methods of defeating other Wizards in magical combat. After all, the Patriarch of the Order can only achieve the position by defeating all prominent peers, so ambitious Bright Wizards who, for whatever reason, are not on the battlefield enough to hone their skills, usually turn to duelling instead.

Skills: Climb, Dodge, Intuition, Melee (Any)

Talents: Combat Reflexes, Fast Hands, Hatred (Any), Instinctive Diction, Jump Up, Sprinter

Trappings: Grimoire (Containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell Lists), Key of Adversity, Magic Item, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

💀 BRIGHT WIZARD MASTER (Gold 1)

Once they achieve the rank of Master, all Bright Wizards are expected to take on at least one apprentice. Some balk against this responsibility and send their apprentices to the Bright College to be taught by others, but some embrace it, especially if they are veterans carrying old wounds or are politically motivated. Most Bright Wizard Masters have settled somewhere, perhaps in the employ of an important noble or teaching in the Colleges of Magic, and use their time to hone their finer skills.

Skills: Lore (Any), Research, Teach, Trade (Artefacts)

Talents: Animosity (Any), Etiquette (Nobles), Impassioned Zeal, Magical Sense, Meditation, Sixth Sense

Trappings: Bright Apprentice, Grimoire (Containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell List), Key of Mastery, Magic Item, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

Exits: Artisan (Artificier) (Artisan 2), Scholar (Scholar 2)

⛊ Bright Master Duellist (Silver 5)

Often terrifyingly skilled, Bright Master Duellists teach others how to duel. Although many work from the obsidian Duelling Halls in the Bright College of Magic in Altdorf, individual Bright Master Duellists can be found in cities and towns across the Empire, and their instruction may be much sought after by younger Bright Wizards.

Skills: Lore (Artefacts), Melee (Any)

Talents: Animosity (Any), Distract, Master Channeller, Master Dispeller, Powersink, Reaction Strike

Trappings: Bright Duellist, Duelling Hall, Grimoire (Containing at least 2 Arcane Bright Spell Lists), Key of Dominance, Library (Magic), 2 Magic Items, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

⛊ Bright Wizard Vigilant (Gold 1)

Charged by the Bright College to hunt down Bright Wizards who are traitors to their Order, Bright Wizards Vigilant answer only to the Patriarch of the Bright Order. Most are either skilled magical duellists, experienced military officers, or, more rarely, learned scholars of magic who can spot the signs of potential Black Wizardry.

Skills: Gossip, Lore (Local)

Talents: Fearless (Any), Hatred (Any), Resistance (Any), Shadow, Sharp, Strong-minded

Trappings: Grimoire (Containing at least 1 Arcane Bright Spell List), Key of Vigilance, 3 Magic Items, Sword (Silvered), Uniform (Bright Wizard), Vigilance Writ Exits: Witch Hunter (Witch Hunter 2)

⛊ BRIGHT WIZARD LORD (Gold 3)

The oldest and most respected members of the Bright Order, Bright Wizard Lords are responsible for advising the Patriarch and guiding their Order in all matters. The 20 most powerful are granted a tower in the Bright College of Magic, and are accordingly given further duties and titles, such as the Master of Apprentices, Lord of the Torch of Wisdom, or Keeper of the Flames of Rhuin. Most of these duties are delegated to lesser Bright Wizards under their command so the Wizard Lord can concentrate on other matters. At any one time, it's rare for more than two Bright Wizard Lords to be in their towers in the Colleges. Most are either at war, serving the Elector Counts, attending court, or far away from their peers in their private residences.

Skills: Art (Writing), Lore (Any)

Talents: Commanding Presence, Focus, Frightening, Arcane Mark, Iron Will, Sixth Sense

Trappings: 7 Bright Apprentices, Grimoire (Containing at 2 Arcane Bright Spell Lists), Key of Lordship, Magic Item, Magical Licence, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff, Wizard’s Tower

⛊ Bright War Wizard (Gold 2)

Exceedingly rare and stupendously powerful, it is said that a War Wizard is not trained, but born. Capable of melting fortifications, burning entire armies, and even drawing the sun's heat down from the skies, Bright War Wizards are terrifying. These living weapons of mass destruction are almost always waging war on behalf of the Empire. Most live very short lives, either killed by the enemy or consumed by their own, barely controlled magics. If they do manage to survive, they are destined to rule their Order and be remembered for generations, much like Friedrich von Tarnus, Jodukus Rhuin, or Thyrus Gormann before them.

Skills: Lore (Local), Melee (Any)

Talents: Battle Magic (Fire), Combat Master, Furious Assault, Arcane Mark, Stout-hearted, Unshakable

Trappings: Grimoire (containing at least 2 Arcane Bright Spell Lists), Grimoire (containing at least 1 Battle Bright Spell List), Key of War, Magical Item, Magical Licence, Monstrous Mount, Sword, Uniform (Bright Wizard), Wizard’s Staff

Exits: General (Soldier 4)

♛ Bright Patriarch (Gold 4)

The most powerful Bright Wizard in the Empire, and likely the most powerful Wizard overall. All Patriarchs of the Bright Order were once War Wizards, and most were also practised duellists, as capable of defeating their peers as they are of facing down the most powerful Sorcerers in the known world. The Bright Patriarch rules from the 21st and tallest tower in the Bright College, and as the leader of the most warlike College of Magic, is also enormously influential in the Empire.

Skills: Lore (Politics)

Talents: Hardy, Arcane Mark, Robust, Schemer, Strong Channeller, Warleader

Trappings: Grimoire (containing all 3 Arcane Spell Lists), Grimoire (containing at least 1 Battle Bright Spell List), Blazing Ruby, Bright College, Bright Sword, Firebrand Staff, Firestone of Agni, Key of Patriarchy, Uniform (Bright Patriarch)

Exits: Marshall (Soldier 5)

That should do for this Career Path. Please tell me what you think, and tell me if you spot errors. The best place to do that is in the Rookery Discord Server where I gather with gamers of all types to discuss RPGs.

You'll note that some of the Talents require write-ups. If you're interested in these, or the Battle Magic to support the Battle Magic (Fire) Talent and the Arcane Marks to support the Arcane Mark Talent, drop a fire emoji on this post in the Rookery Discord. If 50 people do that, I'll do a follow-up post with some extras, because clearly it's wanted.

Beyond that, if you've not seen it already, might I also suggest you check out The Well of Bones? It's a system-agnostic supplement from me and four other Warhammer veterans who you may all know already (Graeme Davis, Mark Gibbons, Andy Leask, and Lindsay Law), and is super cheap at only $4.99.

Go check it out on DriveThruRPG! It's gorgeous.

Dare you peer into the Well of Bones...?

Also, the five of us host Inside the Rookery a weekly panel show where we talk about RPGs and gaming with guests from across the industry. It's likely got something for everyone interested in this post, and we even ran a WFRP Developer panel. Deets over on Patreon, and videos over on YouTube.

Until next time!
EDIT. Which is here: Talents and Arcane Marks for Bright Wizards!

Another Lost Interview, with… me!

2021-12-01T17:13:00.000+00:00

I completed this interview an absolute age ago, back when dinosaurs were still a thing (or, at least Lizardmen). It was finished when WFRP2 was a new game, and was brought to my mind when we had Marc Gascoigne on Inside the Rookery last month (great chat btw, I recommend you watch it!).

Last night I found the full transcript of the interview in an ancient back-up folder I thought long lost. So, why don't we take a look at what Andy of yesterday thought, eh?

I think about this car from time to time...

Let's set the scene. It's 2006. I was working for Black Industries as a writer, cartographer, and moderator on their forums, and was also doing some work for Black Library. Because of this, I was interviewed by Black Library for their website. This was the result. It's not 100% embarrassing, but it does seem impossible to me that this was 15 years ago, though!

And here's the interview.

EPIC INTERVIEW INCOMING! Well, maybe not that epic...

A great deal of Andy's work can be seen on this site, as he created and illustrated many of the articles in Black Industries' Fan Materials section. A keen cartographer, some of Andy's maps have made appearances in Knights of the Grail, Barony of the Damned, Children of the Horned Rat and Terror in Talabheim. Andy is also writing for upcoming Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay projects and has work planned for several Black Library books ... but we can't tell you much about that right now.

How long have you been into roleplaying and Warhammer then?

23 years this year [Given this was 2006, it's now 38 years!]. Phew!

I've been roleplaying since my parents introduced me to the hobby when I was eight. Back in the early 80s they were experimenting with RPG classics like Runequest. Being a naturally inquisitive sort, I asked to be included. And I loved it! Soon I was tracing down every fantasy game I could get my hands on. By the age of ten I owned every Fighting Fantasy book and every Games Workshop (GW) game I could find, along with about five hundred or so miniatures. As should be expected, I was already gaming regularly. Soon after that, WFRP was released. I GMed my first session, 'The Oldenhaller Contract', two days after I bought the book. I never went back.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when I turned 18 I applied to work for GW and was hired. By that time I owned my own shop, ran a games club for local gamers, and owned about 5,000-10,000 points of every Warhammer and 40K army in production at that time. From there, I was told I could work pretty much anywhere in the company, so I chose to stay close to home in Edinburgh.

I am a total Warhammer geek, and always have been!

So, how did you get to work on Knights of the Grail?

I responded to a request from Kate Flack on the Black Industries forums for GMs to run games at Games Day in 2005. As I've always enjoyed working Games Day (I'd done it many times when I worked for GW), I readily offered my services.

Being the cheeky chappy that I am, I took a laptop with me with some of my art stored on it, hoping that I'd get a chance to demonstrate my work. In particular, I'd just finished a map of Altdorf Zoo, which I thought she may be interested in. As I'd been working on some fan material already, Kate had already seen my work, so was happy to see more. Luckily for me, she was impressed enough to forward my details to Hal Mangold, Green Ronin's Art Director and all-round great guy!

About a month after this, I dropped Hal an email through Green Ronin's site asking if he was interested in hiring me, providing him some links to a mini-portfolio. I already worked as a freelance artist, so I was quite used to working to deadlines and strict guidelines, so thought I'd be suitable for any work he may have.

Fortunately for me, Hal needed two small maps drafted immediately, as the cartographer he had originally assigned to the job had been forced to pull out. So, somewhat surprised, I was working the very next day, the results of which you will find at the back of Knights of the Grail - my first, published WFRP maps!

There are many more where they came from.

How are you going to celebrate your first published map?

By showing it to everyone I know and making sure they buy a copy. Or two! Actually, a slap-up meal is coming my way, prepared by my beautiful wife, Lindsay - which is nice, as I do almost all the cooking in our house.

What else are you working on?

Well, I have maps in the forthcoming Mousillon, Skaven and Talabheim books, which are all finished. I will also have some more in the WFRP Companion, a book that I've also contributed some words to. Alongside this, I've also done some NPC character portraits in the Skaven book, Children of the Horned Rat, which were enormous fun. I hope I'll get to do more in the future. Lastly for WFRP, I've recently begun a new writing project that will see the light of day sometime next year. It's a book that I think everyone will be pleased to see; I know I'm certainly glad to be involved! But as this is still super-secret, I'll just have to leave you guessing.

Besides this, I'm always working on new material for my own WFRP campaigns, which currently includes an array of new careers, an assortment of extra rules to add to the material in the WFRP Companion (which I may organise as a fun, little PDF for people with the book if I have time), and a rather massive undertaking expanding the Colleges of Magic, as one of the games I run has all of the players playing magisters.

Busy, busy, busy.

Any hard lessons on the way?

Oh yes, there certainly has been.

When I was mapping Mousillon my hard drive died. I lost everything. Absolutely everything. Including tens of thousands of words and over 200 illustrations.

Needless to say, I was gutted!

To make matters worse, my deadline was approaching fast and Hal needed the maps I was working on. I never miss a deadline, so I had to work long, long hours to get the work not only finished, but finished to my satisfaction.

In the end, I got there, although the images were posted to Hal less than an hour before they were due. Even better, the work I sent included a map that is now one of my favourites (the 'Fallen Heaven' in the Mousillon book - I had great fun with the front elevation!).

So, the hard lesson I learned was to back up my files on more than one drive. Something that I now do religiously. On DVDs, too...

You've got a pretty distinctive style - what are your influences?

Well, most importantly for the WFRP maps, I wanted them to look, well, Warhammer. To do this I reviewed every Warhammer map I could get my hands on and took the best bits. So, I've taken to doing front elevations (a view from the front of the mapped area) where ever I can, as this was a useful detail from WFRP that aids imagining the area mapped. Further, I took inspiration from Warhammer Quest, which had a distinctive flavour to its board sections, one that I feel is reflected in, for example, the map of 'The Barrow' in Knights of the Grail. I also reviewed Nuala Kinrade's work (the GW studio's main cartographer), so that I could attempt to capture the flavour of some of her brilliant maps in my projects.

Besides the GW sources, I've also looked to any other map I can find - including those from other games, real Renaissance maps, my older projects, etc. - and synthesised everything I found into, what I hoped would be, a suitable style for WFRP maps.

However, some maps break the mould and have needed to be built up from scratch.

For example, for the map of a warren in the Skaven book, I felt that it was important to have something that was useable as a handout for both Skaven and Human PCs. So, I formulated a plan to present a map created by Skaven, for Skaven, scrawled on the back of a cured rat skin. Now, while this may look cool, it has little practical use, as it would be entirely written in Skaven runes without any English on it at all! But, I didn't want to taint the map with English, as this would lessen its use as a handout for confused Empire PCs, for they would then be able to understand it. So, to explain the map, I decided to surround it with a Light Magister's notes regarding his attempts to translate it. This seemed to work. Not only did I end up with an interesting artefact with which to baffle Imperial characters, but I also had a characterful map for Skaven PCs that would aid their imagination when playing the ratmen.

Of course, because of this, it took ages to draw, but that's a hazard of the job and I felt it was worth it.

So, I take inspiration from everywhere, but, most importantly, it's the context of the map itself that will decide how I will tackle an individual project.

If you had to pick your favourite map in the whole wide world, what would it be?

It would have to be a map I did of the Young Kingdoms when I was first reading Michael Moorcock's Elric books. Yeah, I know, that's dead egocentric, but it's the truth, it's my favourite map ever. I was eleven years old. I'd just read the books and was inspired. I carefully drew the map in pencil, inked it, then aged it with inks, tea bags and a little naked flame. I thought it rocked. Of course, I then used it in roleplay.

I recently went home to see my parents and found the map in my old room. It still looked good to my adult eyes - although it was far smaller than I'd remembered it...

I also have a bunch of antique, 16th-century maps of the Balkans and Eastern Romania. They're pretty cool, too.

What part of the Old World would you love to map?

Easy. Altdorf. I'm gagging to do a full-size map of the city. I love the place. I've played so many games there that the city is real to me. The last time I mapped it was about ten years ago. I did it on an A1 piece of card, and it looked okay. I'd do a far better job today.

I also have a hankering to do the following: Castle Drakenhof (I love vampires!), The High Temple of Ulric in Middenheim, Karaz-a-Karak, The Bright College and, the biggie, Nagashizzar! Having said that, I'm such a Warhammer geek, that any map, anywhere, is a fun project for me.

Where would you hate to map?

Urrgh! I dunno. I can't think of anywhere in the Warhammer World that wouldn't be great fun to detail.

I suppose that 3D maps are very hard to do, which makes Skaven Warrens and Dwarf Holds difficult to render on a 2D surface, so I suppose that they would be more difficult, but I certainly wouldn't hate to map them (indeed, I'd love to map many of them - Hell Pit, for example, would by a really cool project! - but also really hard).

Do you think it's possible for other fans out there to get their stuff published?

Well, I did, and I also know others that have, so I certainly see no reason why not. All it requires is perseverance, the correct work ethic, and time. Luckily for me, I'm a house-dad (I look after my daughter, Josie, at home), so I often have a lot of free time to dedicate to my freelance work.

What advice would you give to someone that wants to make the leap into professional freelancing?

Get known. Work hard. Practice. Don't complain. Be friendly. Take advice from others. Don't take criticism to heart - accept it and learn from it. Don't expect to be rich. Never miss a deadline. Plan your time effectively. Have fun.

And finally: Rat Catcher or Noble?

Noble here, far broader in scope. Indeed, one of the games I run has a party entirely comprised of nobles. Great fun!

And I'd still choose Noble.

And done!

Well that was fun.

And also managed to put my mind off the fact that I'm about to run an online mapping tutorial for the first time in more than a decade. Eek! Click here for more on that incoming fun!

And, if you don't know already, I now work with the bestest folks in the world creating awesome content for all RPGs. We have our own company called Rookery Publications. To learn more, head into our Discord server where we have chat about roleplaying games of all kinds, or pop over to Patreon to learn about Inside the Rookery, our weekly show about everything gaming with guests from across the industry (it's awesome, watch our past streams here).

Just take a look at this!

Map Tutorial for Inside the Rookery - See How I Map!

2021-11-30T18:01:00.008+00:00

A long, long time ago. Before the age of streaming and the ubiquitous nature of YouTube, I did a video tutorial for how to map mountains in the same style I used in Realms of the Ice Queen for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd edition.

I hosted it on my own website - because that's how many still did things back then - and it proved to be popular. Like, really popular. I had to increase my hosting plans to accommodate the downloads it generated.

And, to avoid those costs in the future, I never did another tutorial video.

A lot more folk than I expected wanted to map like this in 2008

Hints of that tutorial can still be found online. For example, I was once a member of the Cartographers' Guild, and I posted about the video there. What remains of the chat about it can still be found here. It's a little like stepping back in time reading old posts like those.

That early tutorial was super simple. I chatted as I mapped onscreen, and I explained the steps I used to create the Kislev map quickly to a tight deadline. I also gave examples for how to reproduce what I was discussing, and afterwards several people sent me maps and images they'd created using the techniques I'd explained.

And that was super cool.

So, I'm going to do it again.

But better.

All of this brings me to a map published today (30th November, 2021 - the time of posting this) by Penguin Random House in Critical Role: Kith & Kin by Marieke Nijkamp.

On Sale Now!

Kith & Kin is an enormously fun read of high adventure featuring two of the characters from Critical Role, both of whom feature in the upcoming Amazon TV Show, The Legend of Vox Machina.

So, what does the map look like in that book?

Well, let's take a look. It was previewed on Polygon earlier this month as a part of their coverage for the book. The map offers a more classical take on the region when compared to the maps I created for Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn.

Tal'Dorei

Spiffy, huh?

So, why do I bring that map up?

Well, I'm going to do a tutorial tomorrow teaching you how map like this, too! And it isn't anywhere near as hard as it looks, as you'll soon see.

How awesome is that? Sound like fun to you?

If so, head over to Inside the Rookery, sign up as a Brazen Rook, and get ready for some mapping fun tomorrow at 9.30pm UK time!

For the first time since 2008, I'm doing a tutorial! And this one will be interactive. Everyone viewing can ask me questions as I draw, and I'll take each in turn as I go. There will also be a few files made available on Patreon so you can duplicate the process.

See you there!

WFRP Gnomes & 'The Seamstress' by Graeme Davis

2021-08-16T17:52:00.022+01:00

If you follow WFRP4, and you've been online in the last few weeks, you've likely caught the simmering rage bubbling up from one of the lesser-known, but certainly passionate, wings of the Warhammer fanbase.

If you haven't, then settle down, for I have a tale...
(If you just want the Gnome NPC from Graeme Davis and her super cool magic item, scroll down to: The Seamstress, 'Willa Belbrag', below)

Recently, The Horned Rat Companion presented an updated version of a diminutive detective NPC called Alphonse Hercules de Gascoigne. This character first appeared in Carl Sargent’s excellent WFRP1 adventure 'With a Little Help from my Friends' back in White Dwarf 105 (1988), so has been around for over three decades. The NPC swiftly became a fan favourite, not only because he was clearly inspired by Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, but for two other reasons: 1) the adventure where he featured was a lot of fun, and 2) Alphonse was one of the few examples of a good Gnome character in the Warhammer setting.

However, a storm was gathering on the horizon.

By the publication of WFRP2, anything from WFRP1 that was not expressly detailed in the Warhammer battle game was dropped. That meant species like Gnomes vanished as they had not featured in the recent editions of Warhammer. So, perhaps unexpectedly, Alphonse took on extra meaning. He not only became emblematic of the Gnome species' removal from WFRP ('How can you play the excellent "With a Little Help from my Friends" adventure where Alphonse features and not make him a Gnome? We need Gnomes in WFRP2!'), but he also became an unlikely champion for all species and characters lost to the many revisions Warhammer has undergone through the years. So, miss Fimir, Bog Octopuses, or Giant Clams? Let's wheel out Alphonse and discuss the problem!

Alphonse has parachuted in? Uh oh! EDITION WARS INCOMING!

I witnessed these edition wars first-hand and couldn't help but feel sympathy for those disappointed when their favourite creatures or species were retconned from existence. So, when I was writing the most recent edition of WFRP, I was astoundingly pleased that Games Workshop not only allowed me to bring back species like the aforementioned Fimir, Bog Octopuses, or even (if I'd had space in the core book), Giant Clams! but they also suggested I do the same for Gnomes.

So, not only did I name Alphonse in the core rulebook (p64), but I also wrote a full treatment for the species in Rough Nights & Hard Days, letting WFRP players officially play as Gnomes for the first time in a very long time.

To say this was a surprise under-writes the online reaction. Some rejoiced. Some were shocked. Some exploded with delight. Some howled. After all, for all Gnomes were not new to WFRP, a significant number of its players didn't know Gnomes had been a part of their game since the very beginning. Not only that, but some players who did know it just didn't like the species.

But, no matter what individual opinion may have been on the subject, Gnomes were back on the Warhammer menu!

Gnomes may be back. Doesn't mean they last long in combat...

However, for Gnome fans, disaster then hit: the version of Alphonse published in The Horned Rat Companion was changed from a Gnome to a Halfling.

Unsurprisingly, this caused dismay in the small, but vocal, Gnome-loving portion of the Warhammer community. They thought Gnomes were back. That Gnomes were safe. Further, as The Horned Rat Companion advertised a republishing of 'With a Little Help from my Friends', they were convinced they were getting another Gnome adventure (to that point, the only Gnome WFRP4 NPCs were in Rough Nights & Hard Days's adventure). They thought it was an exciting time to be a Gnome player.

But Alphonse, their Gnome champion, was no more.

An online campaign soon followed. Posts on WFRP message groups and servers sharing #SaveAlphonse grew increasingly common.

Noting this horror, Graeme Davis, the mastermind behind WFRP4's Enemy Within: Director's Cut, reached out to me to create a Gnomish version of Alphonse. He hoped this would at least appease those who were upset at the change. Given I'd written the Gnome rules for WFRP4, and it did seem a worthy thing to do, I pinged Graeme over a version of the character, which he popped up on his blog.

Go check it out here!

And it kinda exploded.

A lot of folk went to read it. Not only that, I was being messaged again and again by Gnome supporters about how happy they were that Alphonse 'had been done right'.

Both Graeme and I were delighted, and a little shocked, at the response. So we put our heads together to consider if there was anything else we could do. And, as it turns out, there was.

Back at Gen Con 2019, Graeme gave a talk called 'Whose Night Is Rough Anyway?'. This is incidentally, the same Gen Con where Graeme and I not only first met, but we also both won gold ENnies for our writing on WFRP4, so, all-in-all, a great event for us all. The seminar described Graeme's process for creating multi-plot adventures, and had the audience call out ideas to make one off-the-cuff. The adventure created that day was released in 2020 as 'It's Your Funeral'.

Look, it's Graeme! On the cover!

Now, very few people know this, but one of the NPCS in that adventure, 'Willa Belbrag', a seamstress posing as a Human child, was originally designed as a Gnome to better support Rough Nights & Hard Days.

After all, no Halfling could really ever pose as a 'normal' Human child. They're just very... different, and way too... round.

Willa was originally a Gnome.

So, with that in mind, it was decided. Let's bring back the original intention for Willa, too, as a bit of fan work for the blog! Graeme quickly headed off to grab his initial rendition of the character, one I first discussed with him back in 2019. And I loved what he pinged over.

Therefore, without any further ado, let me present 'Willa Belbrag'. The Gnome. And with a sweet magic item I added at the end for extra fun (I had to match what Graeme did for my write-up of Alphonse after all, where he wrote a magic item and appended it to his blog post).

As this is a full write-up, not a quick NPC, she can be added to any WFRP game with ease. If you wish to use this version of 'Willa' when playing 'It's Your Funeral', use the official stats presented in the adventure as her Halfling Hitwoman Secret Identity (fits perfectly!). Also, be aware that this updated, 100% unofficial character is significantly more capable than the printed version, so be careful if you deploy her against unsuspecting groups.

Fate points may fly...

The Seamstress, 'Willa Belbrag'

On the rare occasions when she is seen undisguised, Willa looks like a female Gnome in early adulthood. She is 72 years old, with auburn hair and blue eyes with a touch of grey around the edges of the iris. She is happy dressed in almost any costume, from torn and scuffed but comfortable townsfolk’s clothing to eye-wateringly colourful gowns that would make even Grand Countess Emmanuelle Liebwitz silent with envy. Her mood is mercurial, changing from playful (though slightly cruel) teasing to quietly efficient violence in the blink of an eye. However, it is a very rare person who gets close enough to know any of this.

From the dark corners of the underworld to the council chambers of the powerful, the name of 'the Seamstress' is spoken in hushed and fearful tones. No one knows the truth about this shadowy figure, and the foolhardy few who have tried to find it are mostly dead. The dead are the lucky ones, for from time to time she will make an example of someone by poisoning them with a drug that takes their reason instead of their life, reducing them to drooling vegetables unable even to feed themselves.

Those who claim to have seen her tell wildly differing stories. Some say she is a Halfling, others that she is a Human child – or perhaps a Human woman in a child’s body, through the effects of foul sorcery, chaotic mutation, or some accident of birth. No one knows that she is a Gnome – or at least, no one living has ever admitted to knowing.

A direct descendant of the infamous Gnome traveller, Ahn Trethewey, Willa Belbrag was born between warring families, the product of forbidden love between two youngsters of clans Landreth and Trethewey. They lived an outcast life, rejected by their neighbours but not banished from Glimdwarrow because, despite everything, they were still Gnomes. From an early age, Willa became expert at not being seen, and she caught the attention of the Ashen Queen at the age of 17 when she was arrested for killing one of her outraged Landreth uncles who made threats to her parents' lives. Merrawidda took a shine to the young outcast, and had her trained as an assassin to use against her own enemies. Willa became particularly expert in the use of poisons, using easily concealed needles with deadly precision.

However, she was embittered by her early experiences, and eventually abandoned the Ashen Queen, leaving Glimdwarrow to explore the world beyond as wanderlust took her. Many there, not knowing that Gnomes existed, mistook Willa for a Halfling, or even a Human child, and she quickly learned how to disguise herself as both. She found a ready market for her skills among the high lords and crime lords of the Empire, and her skill with a poisoned needle quickly earned her the grim nickname of 'the Seamstress'. She works for anyone who can meet her price, with loyalty to no one but herself.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find her... maybe you can hire the Seamstress.

Willafreda Landreth – Assassin (Gold 1)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Ag	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	55	27	23	60	52	65	47	47	63	36	18

Skills: Athletics 80, Bribery 41, Charm 64, Climb 43, Consume Alcohol 65, Cool 88, Dodge 90, Endurance 70, Entertain (Act) 61, Gamble 52, Gossip 76, Haggle 81, Heal 52, Intimidate 33, Intuition 72, Language (Classical 52, Ghassally Native, Reikspiel 70, Wastelander 52), Lore (Chemistry 52, Glimdwarrow 62, Medicine 57, Plants 57, Science 52), Melee (Basic 70, Brawl 60), Perception 77, Ranged (Thrown) 32, Secret Signs (Grey Order) 57, Stealth (Urban) 77, Trade (Apothecary 52, Poisoner 57)
Talents: Beneath Notice, Blather, Careful Strike 3, Carouser, Combat Reflexes 4, Dirty Fighting 3, Etiquette (Criminals, Nobles 2), Gregarious, In-fighter 3, Lip Reading, Mimic, Night Vision, Read/Write, Reversal 4, Second Sight, Secret Identity (Wilhemina Alsonnia Lowhaven III – Halfling Hitwoman, Willa Belbrag – Human Child), Shadow, Strike to Injure, Suffused with Ulgu
Traits: Size (Small), Weapon (Dagger) +4 (Dagger of Addic: +10)
Trappings: Black Lotus (6 doses), Dagger of Addic, Doll with detachable limbs (when a limb is detached, it uncovers a needle smeared with a dose of Black Lotus), Stash (with multiple costumes, outfits, poisons, and more, as you decide)

Career Path: Braggart, Informer, Protagonist, Apothecary, Courtier, Spy, Hitman, Assassin

Dagger of Addic

Said to be the personal weapon of the legendary Addic Thrawn, rumoured founder of Glimdwarrow and epic adventurer known for travelling the world, the Dagger of Addic was held in the Ashen Queen's armoury before it was stolen by Willafreda. Its true history is lost to time, with myths variously claiming it was gifted to or stolen by Addic, most likely from Dwarfs, although some tales claim the cunning, old Gnome made it himself. Wreathed in Ulgu, its extraordinary manufacture of glimmering steel worked with glittering runes of silver is masked, ensuring onlookers see nothing more than an old, worn knife.

Addickellina

Weapon	Enc	Reach	Damage	Qualities and Flaws
Dagger of Addic	1	Very Short	+SB+6 +Might	Hack, Wreathed in Ulgu

Wreathed in Ulgu: Only characters with the Detect Magic Talent can see the Dagger of Addic's true form; those without the Talent see an old knife. Attempts to determine whether the Dagger of Addic is magical or not suffer a penalty of -30.

Rune of Might: Gain a bonus of +SB (+2) against a creature with a larger Size than you.

2 x Rune of Cleaving: The weapon gains +4 SB and the Hack Weapon Quality (included above).

Thanks, Graeme!

If it wasn't already clear, you should probably check out Graeme’s blog for more WFRP goodness.

Rookery Publications

Graeme and I are two-fifths of Rookery Publications, a new indie TTRPG studio producing system-agnostic adventures and supplements designed to be usable with any game and setting. You can find out more about the Rookery here:

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SQUEEE! Look what Mark Gibbons painted!

Buy Ralph's Book

2021-02-10T17:10:00.000+00:00

Okay, let's get straight to the point. I want you to stop reading this blog so you can go buy Ralph's book. Yup, click this link and Kickstart that bad boy. Or maybe click here. Or here. Bloody hells, I don't care what link you use, just use one of them (like this one), and go Kickstart Ralph's book already! Why?

Because it's bloody Ralph Horsley. And he's making a book. And it will be art-tastically amazing.

Why am I so keen you should do this? Well, let me tell you a tale...

Once upon a time, I worked for Games Workshop. Back before everything was a 'Warhammer Shop', I worked for in the company's retail chain in Games Workshop Edinburgh. In 1997, something rather exciting happened. Black Library, Games Workshop's publishing division, announced a new magazine: INFERNO! #NotCarnageForLegalReasons And it looked spiffy!

My copy of Inferno 1 from 1997.

Me, being the fan-of-all-GW-stuff that I am, immediately bought it. And I found Issue 1 had something rather special hidden within its glossy pages.

A certain Ralph Horsley (yes, the one with the book you need to buy) had an illustration smack-bang in the middle of the magazine. Titled 'The Siege of Gisoreux' it was a depiction of the Bretonnian city of Gisoreux being relieved from a huge siege laid by a liche. It was detailtastic. I poured over the image, read the accompanying text by Jonathan Green (who also has a Kickstarter right now; just saying; Hashtag Sign Of The Times), and was entertained.

Siege of Gisoreux, minus text so you can see how it was drafted.

However, little did I realise just how well I would come to know this image, and others like it, later in my life.

At that point, I already knew Ralph's work from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st edition. Me-being-me, I obviously owned every publication for that game. And, also obviously, I loved what he brought to the table. Because Ralph's art is astonishingly good. And he also did maps. And I liked a good map.

But I didn't realise that Mr Ralph Horsley would become my life coach!

Ralph, life coach. With the awesome WFRP1 Marienburg map.

Okay, I'm being hyperbolic. He wasn't really my life coach.

At that point, I'd never met Ralph. Neither physically nor online. I hadn't even emailed him. There was zero contact.

So how could Ralph be my guide through life?

Well, let's fast-forward to 2006. In the intervening almost-decade, I had resigned from Games Workshop twice - first time because I didn't want to move from Edinburgh, but the company wanted me elsewhere; the second time because I didn't want to move from Edinburgh, but the company wanted me elsewhere (the hint here: Edinburgh's great, I love the people in it, don't make me leave).

I now freelanced for Games Workshop instead of working for them full-time. Because, really, what else would I do? As readers of this blog know, I've been joined to GW's hips in one fashion or another since I was old enough to read.

100% accurate picture of me. Taken just yesterday. Honest.

So it was no surprise that in 2006 I was writing, mapping, illustrating, social managing, and generally doing whatever else I could for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay second edition. On the strength of that work, Black Library decided to also hire me to illustrate some of their other publications.

And that, dear reader, was the day Ralph kicked down my door, took my hand, and led me to a better life!

...

Okay, okay, I'm being hyperbolic again. Not only did Ralph not kick my door down, or take my hand like I was a Disney princess and he was my Prince Charming, but he wasn't even aware that he had become central to the conversations I was having with various GW folks. But he had. Like, a lot.

Y'see, when the lovely Black Library peeps chatted to me in those days, they almost always, in one circuitous way or another, said something like this when they asked me to work for them:

'Hi, Andy, we love what you do. We'd like to hire you to create some images for an upcoming book. Now, what we'd like for you to do is DRAW SOMETHING EXACTLY LIKE WHAT RALPH DID FOR US IN ANOTHER BOOK!'*

*: I'm not sure if Black Library really wrote in all caps back then. I may be adding that for emphasis and fake drama. But it was a long time ago, so who knows? WHO KNOWS?

My role model.

I presume Black Library had seen that I had successfully duplicated the map styles from previous cartographers for WFRP, and they liked that. So, could I copy someone else's, too?

Well, yes. Coz Ralph's stuff is cool. Happy to do that.

And this became a thing. And I really do mean it became a thing. Almost every job I did for Black Library came along with a small, 'do it like Ralph' section.

Why? Because Ralph is bloody amazing, that's why. (And he has a new art book, just in case you missed that!)

Let's grab an example so you can see what I mean.

When a commission to map the 'Calixis Sector' arrived in my inbox, GW said, and I paraphrase: 'Ralph designed an amazing black and white map of the Scarus Sector for our novels. For our new RPG, can you make a map in that style? But colour? And huge? And remember to keep it really Ralphey! REALLY RALPHEY!*'

*: Again, maybe Black Library didn't use the allcaps or the adjective 'Ralphey', and maybe I added all that for vaguely comedic reasons, but who can be sure? #LongTimeAgo

Ralph's Scarus Sector forges forward.

So, let's repeat pretty much every element, but in slightly different places, and with a bigger central square (coz that's what they requested)!

My Calixis Sector follows.

And that process became a standard for my Black Library work.

GW would contact. They would add a Ralph image as a reference. They'd ask me to follow his lead. They'd ask me if that was fine. And I did what was asked. So, even though Ralph and I never talked once, it was like he was guiding me through Warhammer and 40K, beating down a path for me to follow. And I didn't complain. Why? Because, as I said, Ralph is bloody brilliant.

Here's another example of the kind of thing that happened.

'Hey, Andy, here's the area map Ralph did for the WFRP1 Marienburg book. Could you do that map again? But add a little Ralph detail? Y'know, just do exactly the same map, but add some boats like Ralph does? But keep it very simple; it's going in a novel. So, no greyscale either. Oh, and can we have that ASAP?'

Ralph sets the pace.

Sure can.

I jog after him. #MapMadeSameDayAsCommission

All-in-all, I did about 30 images for Black Library. Not many in the greater scheme of things, but enough that I felt like I'd had a good innings. It was mostly maps and battle reports and charts and similar. And Ralph was with me the entire way, like some kind of ever-present, whispering art ghost (I sense a daft Bestiary entry in that!). So, whether I was drawing Dwarfs besieging High Elves, or the Battle at Kislev Gate, or Skarsnik and Gobbla launching an ambush, Ralph was always there.

Indeed, for a full quarter of the images requested by Games Workshop, a variation of this line usually popped up. 'Do you have the Inferno battle maps Ralph did?' Yes, yes I did. 'Well, just do something like that. We like Ralph's stuff.'

And so did I.

But, then it got more interesting. It turns out that it wasn't just my maps and art that Ralph would guide. He came to lead the charge for my writing, too.

The first RPG book where I had a very large contribution was the Tome of Salvation for WFRP2. I wrote about 60K words for that book. I also created art for it, and I mapped it, and did a bunch of smaller jobs behind the scenes, too.

And where did Ralph enter the equation here? Well, he was only on the bloody cover!

The Tome of Salvation

Tome of Salvation, Ralph Horsley

Holy shit. Just look at it all!

I remember when the book came through, and I laughed. It was Ralph, on the front of the book I wrote. Because of course it was.

The same happened for the first book where I scored a developer credit, the Tome of Corruption for WFRP2. Again, there was Ralph, leading the way for me.

Tome of Corruption

Tome of Corruption, Ralph Horsley

As the years passed, I'd find Ralph repeatedly creating covers for books I wrote or contributed towards. He was there again and again, being awesome, bringing fantasy worlds to life with his vibrant, dynamic art.

And that leads us right up to some of my most recent work.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition. As many of you know, I wrote a shedload of that book. And mapped it. And did quite a few other things, too. And, of course, crowning it all was Ralph delivering the cover.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Ralph Horsley

Did I laugh to find that Ralph graced the cover of the first game I was credited as designing? Maybe a little. But I was also delighted, because here was Ralph again. On my book. A constant companion during my creative career.

And, of course, the first product I took from concept to through to print was also graced by Ralph's brilliance.

Y'see, I was so involved with WFRP4's creation that I was hired to produce the entire game line. And the first game supplement I produced? It was the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set. And it looked like this:

WFRP Starter Set

And, yes, that's Ralph's art again. Indeed, from that point on, whenever I talked about WFRP, Ralph and his art were always there beside me. Take, for example, this article I wrote for Meeple Monthly:

There's Ralph's art in the corner!

But, now that I was producing the game, things were different. Why?

Well, now I wasn't being commissioned to follow in Ralph's footsteps, and I wasn't simply finding his art on the front of all my books. No, now I was in the position to commission him to do book covers. And that meant, after almost two decades of ghosting past each other, I was going to finally meet him.

Ralph and I first met at a con hosted in Alexandra Palace in September of 2018. He was displaying his art and selling originals. I was there to tout WFRP4's release. And we met, and we chatted. And, as it turns out, Ralph was possibly the nicest guy in the world. We discussed working together on and off throughout the con, and I may have pinged my wife a few times about maybe, just maybe, spending all the money to buy one of his pieces. Because, y'know, Ralph's work was so intertwined with mine, and it just seemed the right thing to do.

Ralph was more than happy, and he passed over the Starter Set painting for me to look at. The colours were so much brighter in reality.

I may have gone starry-eyed.

Ralph grabbing the Starter Set painting, Perlious, for me.

But I couldn't really justify it. Ralph's art costs what it's worth, and that was more than I could easily shell out. But, I was very tempted...

After meeting him, emails soon pinged between us as we discussed further cover art, and Ralph continued to prove he was just an astonishingly brilliant person.

However, like all good things, my work on WFRP4 sadly came to an end. When I resigned from Cubicle 7, I was bereft. The day it was confirmed, I was in America. At Gen Con 2019. And I was desperately unhappy.

But who should I meet as I wandered the halls of gaming's biggest con?

Ralph Horsley.

So, I did the only thing that was right and proper. I said hello, said now was the time, and I bought the original painting he completed for the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set. It was the perfect way to cap off my time running WFRP. The painting of the first WFRP product that I produced myself. A shaft of sunlight on a stormy day.

And, later that year, that led to this:

The boxed set I produced and the painting that graced the cover, in my living room!

So, yes, for long, personal reasons, I love Ralph's work. And, as it turned out, Ralph is also the bestest of people. So, when I found out he was going on an Art Adventure on Kickstarter, there was only one thing to do: tell you all to buy Ralph's book. Now. You know the drill: click the link.

As is evident, I strongly believe in supporting Ralph's art. That painting may have cost me an arm and a leg and more besides, but it was totally worth it. So, how could an art book costing a fraction of the price including over 400 of his pieces not be worth my time and yours?

So, head over to his Kickstarter, check out all the community engagement he is initiating, drool over all the creative awesome, and back the bloody book.

After all, it will be gorgeous.

Jam-packed with pieces from all kinds of games, including Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, World of Warcraft, and many more.

It's being put together behind the lovely peeps over at Handiwork Games, and it will be high-end, top-drawer stuff that just screams quality.

So, get yer wallets out. Check out the Kickstarter Page. Check out the custom covers and borders he's painting. Check out the book itself. But, most importantly, check out at the till and buy the book!

And, finally, because I just have to, if you want to follow the news about my upcoming secret projects, here are a couple of links (ca-caw, ca-caw!). We will be posting stuff very soon.

...click here for Twitter
...click here for Facebook

Mapping Asunder

2021-01-30T02:53:00.014+00:00

As many of you know, I don't just irregularly blog, or secretly work on secret projects that perhaps, but not definitely, involve secret Rooks doing something secret, I also freelance for games companies across the world. For some, I consult on world-building. For others, I create maps. Or game design. Or editing. Or narrative design. Or production. Or illustration. Or development. Or any of a number of other jobs.

Really, if it involves gaming, I'm there with a big fat happy smile on my face, and I can wear any of a number of different hats.

One of my many hats. I make a great Santa.

Most recently, you'll find my work in Asunder, an RPG Kickstarter from Failed Superheroes Club. It's a new game using the Shadow of the Demon Lord engine (a truly awesome game that followers of my blog will already know!), and it comes to you from the director of Tabletop, Adam Lawson (who was also an Assistant Director on Snakes on a Plane!).

I first met Adam back in 2015 when I was brought in to work on Titansgrave for Geek & Sundry, and he is the best of the best. When that show wrapped, he pinged me to say he was putting his own game together, and asked if I'd like to help him create the world.

Well, Adam was awesome and I loved working with him, so I figured why the hell not.

Not long after, on a dark, rainy day in October 2015, Adam and I leapt onto Skype like it was the 2020s. And soon we were chatting like mad about his plans for the map of Gaia. He had a lot of cool things to say.

Asunder, he told me, was a dark fantasy where a doomed world, abandoned by the gods, was slowly devouring itself. He explained that when the gods had fled, they ripped all the metals from the living earth, tearing creation asunder. Gaia, the world's life, screamed in agony as her terrestrial form was divided, trapping her within in eternal torment. Desperate to be free of this earthbound torture cage, she turned her immense will to reabsorbing all life in the world to reinvigorate herself. She caused fungal blooms to spread across the broken planet, infesting and animating rotting flesh, turning corpses into a rapacious army of undeath to feast on life and liberate her from the pain. But, one species refused to accept this cataclysmic orgy of death. As the inheritors of the gods' divine essence, humanity made a desperate stand and fought for its survival. Across the Broken Lands, humans merged with the shattered realms around them, reshaping the earth, plants, and animals to their whim. Now armed with Gaia's own weapons, humanity prepared to fight for its survival.

A world without metal; what do they rock out to?

Bloomin' 'eck. It sounded kinda awesome. Adam described jungles and sky fortresses and deserts and volcanic plains and much more besides, with unique biomes centred around different island groups.

Well, I was sold. Question is, what did he need from me? Turns out it was two poster maps. One of the Broken Lands -- i.e. the whole shattered world -- and one of the 'Main Island', a place that hid many mysteries and included almost all biomes.

So, two poster maps. Got it. I then asked how much freedom I had? Was everything already created? Or did he want me to create the world for him?

Adam was quick to reply here. For Titansgrave, I built the world used in that show to Wil Wheaton's summary of what it could look like. Beyond including the few locations he and his writing partners had already developed for the story they intended to tell in the TV series, I was given the freedom to create everything else. Adam wanted me to repeat that for Asunder. He told me he had a super-quick sketch map of the area, and I should try to match it, and that he'd send me over all the locations they had detailed so far. Beyond that, I was free to populate the land with whatever was needed to expand the primary themes and make it feel like a rich, living, breathing world. The poster maps were to inspire later writers and artist, as well as offering a solid look at the shape of the gaming world.

Basically, I had to duplicate what I did for Titansgrave.

One of my Titansgrave maps; pretty much every shape, name, and detail was made up by me

There was another way to say this: I had free rein to do what I wanted. Well, that sounded like a lot of fun. Sold!

So, I asked him to send the sketches and I'd get started.

As my mind was tumbling over the possibilities of what I should try to include on the map, the sketch arrived.

This is what I received:

Broken Lands Reference Map

Pretty simple, but solid. This is much more than I get for many projects, and it's certainly enough to send me in the correct direction.

But, it's not the only map I received. There was also another of the Main Island that offered some more details. Again, the map was crude, but it had everything I needed to start.

Main Island Reference Map

This helped pin down the important locations. When these were coupled with the text descriptions of the places, I had a very strong idea of what the maps should look like.

So, I set to work.

First, I sorted the basic island shapes according to the first reference map. After a bit of fiddling, and much referencing to the reference text Adam sent me, I ended up with this.

Initial Sketch

Sure, it's all a bit faint there as the area is big and the lines thin, but it was a start.

Next was to block in the areas according to their biomes. That gave me something a bit more developed as an area. After much scribbling, and after slapping on a quick textured background I whipped up, I had this.

Coloured Sketch

If you zoom in, you can see cracks and craters and other fun stuff to help support the breaking of the world motif. I spent a lot of time making the topography and the draining of the land work, noodling with little details until it all made sense within the descriptions of each of the island groupings.

Relatively happy with this as a basis for moving on, I retinting the background blue, rescaled the image and repainted it to make the details sharper, then prepped it to send to Adam for review.

The next image is from January 2016 and is the rescaled map without any of the details marked so you can see where the Broken Lands had reached by this point. I've added a little glow to the islands so you can more easily see them on the blue.

Stage 3

At this point, the working file was so big that I had to switch to a .psb from a .psd file. This is geek-code for saying Photoshop screamed in agony at the enormous multi-gigabyte file size, and quietly whispered that I needed to change things or it would break. Permanently. So, as my machine chugged a little as it all converted from one file format to another, I sent the map to Adam and awaited his opinions.

And he had a lot of them.

He was concerned about the world being too spread apart, leaving the individual islands looking small. He also wanted the Main Island to change in some key places, with some extra jungles to the east and drylands to the west. I shared Adam's concerns about the map size, and changing the Main Island was easy enough, so I set to immediately.

I reconfigured the entire map whilst still maintaining the original over-all design for each island group. So, land-masses moved to new places and changed size, and in some cases were redrawn entirely to ensure they didn't blur as they were scaled-up.

Eventually, we ended up with this map. It may not look anything like the original reference map, but it had a better balance as an image.

Stage 4

Adam loved this shape. So, now we were in business! Next up was labelling and finishing.

As this map was drafted very early in the creative journey of Asunder, there was no logo for the game, or world-spanning iconography for me to use. So, after some discussion with Adam, we decided to leave off things like compasses (which required metal and were not in the setting), or drawing anything especially detailed like flags or people or animals or anything else, really. I left that for others to create later as the setting was more fully fleshed out.

Instead, we went with lots of labels for seas, places, and the islands, and then added hand-drafted notes scribbled onto the map itself to fill any gaps, all written by the ominously-named 'Gul'Shan the Lost Explorer'.

To contrast with Gul'Shan's messy, white handwriting, the map labels were marked with fonts. This may not have looked 'hand-drawn' but it made it super easy to edit the location names if Adam needed to change them later in development. After all, all the locations I was adding to the map were made up by me, not him or his writing team, and they may have their own ideas they would prefer to use. I then accompanied all this text with a simple title to the top-left in lieu of a game logo, and the map was almost there.

To finish it all off, I added a variety of major trade-routes and marked the estimated time it took to sail them (with the detail of this explained in the bottom-left). This provided a frame-of-reference for the scale of the Broken Lands without having to put an actual scale on the map. Once that was done, I then added some extra texture and rejigged the lighting to provide a more polished final product.

This is what we ended up with.

The final map!

Adam loved it. We edited a few bits of text to incorporate some fresh ideas, but that was small change. Map 1 was finished.

There are lots of fun details on that one. I suggest downloading it and having a read of all the scrawls. Sounds like there is tons of adventure to be had there.

But be careful, thar be pirates!

No-one expects the Faceless Pirates of Pyar!

So, that done, it was time for the main event, the far more detailed Main Island map.

Given I had already had the shape of the Main Island and its surrounds from the Broken Lands map, the first job was zooming in and redrawing everything for the new scale.

First, the zoom in. That gave me an area that looked like this:

Main Island, zoomed in a bit

Now, I wanted this map to be significantly more artistic than the first, rather than appearing as another top-down plan. So, that meant I had to start from scratch, redrawing everything to a finer level of detail and at a slightly different angle.

To do that, I started with the primary waterways that I'd already established. Marking these would set the outlines into which I'd paint the mountains, forests, jungles, deserts, marshes and more that the Main Island offered.

Fortunately, the primary work on the waterways was already completed for the first map. It was just a matter of following the existing detail and adding more where required.

After much twiddling, I had this:

The Main Island and its immediate environs

That all in place, it was time to take a deep breath and get stuck in with the painting. The map was going to be pretty huge, so I knew that I had an absolute shed-load of painting ahead of me. The final product can be printed at an easy 2m (6 feet) wide and still look finely detailed. It doesn't really begin to blur until twice that size. And making something that detailed takes a whole hell of a lot of time.

But, there was no point in dilly-daddling. So I started at one end and slowly but surely worked my way to the other. And it took a very long time.

However, before we take a look at the entire thing, all painted, let's first look at a few close-ups of what the map looks like in comparison to the simpler plan-view version presented on Map 1. You will note the detail level is on a completely different level.

Ariswayas Crater

Edge of the Lybsten Flats

Rising Death

As you can see from those three shots, the entire map has been completely repainted. It looks significantly more pictographic.

Once I'd completed the painting, I added a title box in the top-left corner and drew a simple border designed not to detract from the map itself, and not to inhibit later artist from interpreting a new aesthetic direction. I then overlaid a few textures, made the island pop a little with some pale outlining, and we were in business.

This is where I had reached once the painting was finished.

Almost there!

Now, it may seem that there's not much left to do. But, there is. Indeed, it turns out this map wouldn't be finished for almost a month after reaching this point.

What took so long?

One thing, primarily: labels.

This is a pretty huge map. There are tons of labels.

Every town, area, point of interest, mountain range, island, sea, and more, needed to be marked on the map. Further, to add to the character of the place, some also needed 'detailed labels'. This is another way of saying I decided to draw some scrollwork or heraldry or something similar to embellish the labelling. Enough to inspire future writers and artists, but not so much that it would inhibit their creativity.

And this took far longer than most would expect. The naming of the locations alone, and the reasoning for those names, took a lot of time to work out. But, eventually, after more labels were placed than you can shake a stick at, I'd finished.

All the map needed now was some colour rebalancing and it was finished.

I sent the poster to Adam, we debated a few details and colours, I resolved those, and we were both delighted with the outcome.

So, let's take a look at the final map!

The finished map!

Download that bad boy. Look at the details. Hear my tears of frustration as I slowly painted my way across that map, centimetre by centimetre until I finally reached the other side. Hear me wail as I add label after label after label. It all took bloody ages. But I got there in the end.

And that's how Asunder's two posters were finished.

What do you think of 'em?

Pre-order, perhaps?

If you have any questions about this or the maps, just post them in the comments or come find me on social media.

If you want to follow the secret news about my upcoming secret projects, here are a couple of not-so-secret Rookery links (ca-caw, ca-caw!):

...click here for Twitter
...click here for Facebook

Lost Interview with... me!

2021-01-27T10:25:00.019+00:00

When rummaging through old files looking for some Dark Elf building rules I wrote for WFRP2, I found an interview I completed from, I think, 2008. I was 33. Just a baby! Sadly, the interview never saw the light of day. Given how old it is, I have no recollection as to who composed the questions, or indeed, how I answered them, So. I found reading it oddly fascinating. You may do so, too. I post the interview without an edit. Naive warts and all. It even includes a rant about racism and a lack of diversity in WFRP. You have been warned. I've also added some piccies that weren't in the original for a bit of context.

However, before look at all that, I have a request: if you wrote the questions in this interview, please get in contact with me and I'll correctly credit you. Further, if you still have a blog, let's either do a new interview, or you can grab this one and post it some 14 years too late!

That done, do you want to know what yesterday's Andy thought of WFRP?

I know I do!

So let's take a step back in time...

Interview with Andy Law, WFRP Writer, Cartographer, Illustrator, and Developer

Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

My name's Andy Law and I’m 33 years old. I've been a freelance artist for 10 years, and recently added cartography and writing to my RPG repertoire. When Black Industries saw my writing and maps, they asked me to work on their roleplaying games, and given what a fan of Warhammer I am, I was not going to say no. Beyond that, I live at home as a house-dad looking after my two kids Josie (4) and Lori (2) while my wife toils away working for a bank. I spend far too much time playing games of all kinds, especially roleplaying games and video games. Before I did the house-dadding, I worked for a bunch of different companies in different roles, including Games Workshop and Target Games.

Makers of Warzone, Chronopia, and more - 1980-1999

Your online handle is “Hapimeses”. Where does that come from?

Wow! You spelt it correctly! Most get it wrong – I’ve been called everything from ‘Happiness’ to ‘Happydaisies’!

The handle comes for a decade-long Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle I ran. The name is Egyptian, and means, loosely, ‘Nile-born’. ‘Hapi’ corresponds to Hapy, a God of the Nile, and ‘meses’ means ‘born of’. Much like Ramese (or Ramoses), means ‘Born of Ra’.

In my long-running chronicle, the name was claimed by an ancient Malkavian (the Malkavians are a clan of arguably insane vampires) who believed, amongst other things, that he founded mono-theism both as Akenaten and Moses during different time periods. The name was chosen as a potential source point for the name ‘Moses’, which also could mean ‘born of’ (vowels in ancient Egyptian were often swapped about, so Moses and Meses are interchangeable).

Hapimeses was only one of many thousand NPCs kicking about my game (no joke; ask my players), but he stood out for me for many reasons, so I used the name when kicking about Vampire fora back in the early naughties, and it stuck. I still use the name because it’s pretty much unique on the internet, meaning I always get the handle, no matter what service I join.

Hapimeses Avatar, 2003

What's your relationship to WFRP now? Do you play the game?

Of course! I play the game every week, and have done so for many years. From the current edition, we’ve run through the Paths of the Damned, Terror in Talabheim, and all the one-off adventures since the release of WFRP2, all with the same group. Only one character has survived through that adventurous mess (my wife’s character, Sigrid, a Priestess of Ulric), and it’s been an absolute ball. Currently, I have one group in Kislev, another in Sylvania, and a third in Naggaroth, and they are all playing in the same game-world, and sometimes cross over – in that characters from one group sometimes join another group.

Over the years, I’ve rewritten the rules of WFRP2 into the current ruleset my players use (I’m a constant tinkerer of rules – I also rewrote every rule in Vampire: the Masquerade), which only vaguely resembles its original form. I’m refining those rules now to act as the foundation point to the next long-term campaign I intend to run, which will be set in the Warhammer world some 500 years after the current setting, with the actions of my current PCs defining what happens to the world in the intervening time. Lots of steam-punk, Victoriana-esque fun will be had by all, but that’s a few years off yet. I’m looking forward to it, though.

Beyond simply playing the awesomeness that is WFRP, I’ve also written a lot of material for the game, including work for the Tome of Salvation, the WFRP Companion, Realm of the Ice Queen, and, most recently, Shades of Empire. I’ve also illustrated, drafted almost every WFRP map for the last 3 years, developed the Tome of Corruption, done some proofreading, and even polished off a bit of editing behind the scenes.

So, yes, I have a relationship with the game; mostly, I just love it dearly.

Tome of Corruption, 2006, what's not to love dearly about that?

What was it that primarily attracted you to WFRP?

It was so long ago that I can barely remember. I bought the first edition when it was initially released because I was a fan of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, a game that I’d moved on to from other games published by Games Workshop at the time, such as Runequest, Talisman, Stormbringer, and more. I was a bit of a compulsive collector in those early teenage years, so I bought all GW products at the time. WFRP and its attendant supplements stunned me when they arrived at my door. The accessibility of the world, the familiarity of the background, the rawness, the art, the stuttering beggar from the original WFRP Character Pack, the Great War Against Chaos, Middenheim, the Goblin in a dress, the majesty of the Knights Panther, the Spear Mint, the Realms of Chaos (just how many gods did I make with those books?), all of it grabbed me by the throat and squeezed, throttling me with its consistent quality and inventiveness. And its humour.

Really, from the beginning, I was hooked. Such was my passion, I ended up running my own Warhammer Club in Thurso at the top of Scotland. We played WFB, 40K, WFRP, and a bunch of other games on the side. I also ran a shop from the club, selling GW stuff (I was one of GW’s independent retailers for a couple of years), which all stood as perfect practical experience for joining the company when I turned 18.

WFRP1, 1986 - My first love!

Do you play Warhammar Fantasy Battle or Warhammar 40,000?

I used to play both frequently, and, at one point, had every army in each, with my High Elf army being the biggest at about 20,000 points, although it was easily beaten by the combined Chaos armies I owned (Nurgle was at 12,000 points alone). When I left GW, I sold the griffon’s share of my armies at local conventions, and although I made a lot of money, I regret the rashness today. Now I only have about 7 armies, all at about 3000 points, and uncounted boxes of single miniatures, all sitting in a cupboard doing nothing. Having little kids running around the house makes for a poor environment for miniatures. This has inhibited my use of them in table-top roleplay as well, but I intend to pull them all out again when the kids decamp to school. Only three years to go...

Ah, Claymore, how many miniatures did I sell there? A lot!

What is your favourite WFRP book (any edition)?

Bloody hells! That’s really hard. How do I choose? I suppose I have several favourites, but not because they are necessarily the best publications, but because they are special to me for one reason or another. For example: I love Lure of the Liche Lord as it was the first book where I dictated how many maps would be contained in a book, and at what size; I adore the Death On The Reik boxed set as it gave me many, many years of roleplaying fun (I’ve GMed it so many times; too many to accurately count); the Tome of Salvation also holds a special place in my heart as it is filled with material I created (it has over 60,000 of my words, a bunch of illustrations, and, inevitably, maps and charts, too); and I can’t help but mention the Lost and the Damned, a book I referenced so many times all three of my copies fell apart! Really, favourites are hard to choose for me, as almost all the various WFRP publications have added something to my gaming experiences.

Lure of the Liche Lord, 2007 - Maptastic!

What is your favourite WFRP fan material (any edition)?

This is even harder, primarily as I rarely use fan material as I tend to simply make up anything I need for my games. For example: if I require a new lore of magic, or want to extend a lore, I just write what’s needed myself over the course of an evening or two. I like creating new material, and do it a great deal.

That said, one example of fan material that has consistently maintained high levels of quality and professionalism is Warpstone, and it deserves a mention in any list of WFRP favourite fan material. I have long been a quiet fan, and believe it is worth championing.

Warpstone 30, 2014 - I have a few images in there!

A catchphrase of WFRP is "Grim'n Gritty". What does this mean to you, and how does this influence your game?

All my games tend to be on the grim and gritty side, so it’s easy to incorporate as far as I’m concerned.

They're also perilous... But I will stick to just grim and gritty here.

For me, grim and gritty does not mean playing peasants in the gutter. Nobles, knights, magisters, priests, and other top-tier careers can be just as grim and just as gritty, perhaps even more so, than shit-covered rat catchers in the sewers; it’s all about the stories told, and how the world is presented, not the career of the characters played.

Similarly, grim and gritty does not mean ‘low fantasy’. The Warhammer World is a fantastical place, and includes such things as Black Arks of Naggaroth, Slann Mage Priests, Loremasters of Hoeth, and pretty enormous dragons. Sure, these things are rarely the focus of your average WFRP game, but they can be if a group chooses, and they can still be grim and gritty. As I said, it’s all about the stories told, and how the world is presented within those stories.

To me, ‘grim’ in the context of WFRP, is presenting a game world and stories that are harsh, forbidding, and dangerous, no matter at what level the game is played at, be it the high, marble halls of power or the corroded sewers beneath. They should be uncompromising, nasty, dark, and sometimes relentlessly so. Indeed, the situations the PCs are in can appear completely hopeless. PCs should die, and, even though they are the ‘heroes’ of the piece, they should rarely have a classic ‘heroic death’. And should the PCs succeed, their successes should inevitably herald a new evil, or not be recognised, or come at a great cost, or land them in a whole heap of trouble. Or worse. WFRP is grim, and is a better game for that, as it stands it in contrast to other, popular roleplaying games.

However, all of this grimness must be controlled and used effectively, rather than spread about thickly like peanut butter, leaving itself stuck between every tooth and coating the mouth. This is where the ~~peril~~ grit comes in. The courage to face up to seemingly hopeless situations. PCs must be able to succeed, they must have some hope, they must be able to make a difference (perhaps the difference), but they must not have it easy, must not feel like success is inevitable, and must not feel their characters cannot die; indeed, sometimes, they should fail very badly. Failure, and its repercussions, makes for strong stories when it stands in contrast to success and the consequences for not acting are revealed. Further, even when PCs succeed, and even when they somehow manage to receive acknowledgement for their successes, there must be something darker playing out in the background to act as a counterpoint.

High Elves, Diego Gisbert Llorens - Can be grim. Can be gritty.

How much humour do you inject into your WFRP games?

A lot. And I mean an awful lot. If an average evening doesn’t have at least one moment where everyone is laughing their pants off, I feel something may have gone a bit wrong. After all, we can’t have darkness without light. So, games can’t really be grim without something cheerful to stand in contrast. If it's all grim, then, really, none of it is grim, it is just all... normal for the setting. Then the grimness becomes commonplace and dull, and loses its impact.

But, that’s not to say humour can’t also be grim. Or gritty. Or perilous. It can be all of those things, but it can also be ridiculous, arbitrary, and surreal. I deploy as much of it as I can in as many forms as I can. I do this because I'm really seeking some form of balance in my campaigns. What I mean by that is, at its most basic, for every dark god awaiting a ritual in the docklands of Bögenhafen and for every horrendous mutant attack on the road, I need a goblin in a dress as a counterpoint, and maybe a genteel giant cockroach playing piano for his guests.

Indeed, if I was to call out WFRP2 for one thing, it is its persistent lack of humour. The second edition is a little po-faced. But, to be fair to the game, it is merely reflecting the current state of the Warhammer source material, which has also lost sight of its lighter side in recent years. Its humour has largely gone, and its satire is dead. Sometimes, it really takes itself a bit too seriously.

But, not in my games.

WFRP2, 2005 - Not a joke.

What's the iconic WFRP career for you?

Iconic. As in iconic of just WFRP? Easy.

Troll Slayer.

The Troll Slayer is on every core book cover, and for good reason. So marvellously badass. Doomed Dwarf punks straight out of the 80s. Hell yes. It has to be the Troll Slayer. Sure, not necessarily the best character to have in a WFRP party, but still absolutely and completely iconic in a way no other career is.

And, yes, I'm looking at you, rat catcher. What core books have you been on, eh? Iconic? I call shenanigans.

Troll Slayers are so fucking WFRP.

Troll Slayer, Adrian Smith - Will catch Rats for beer

What's the iconic WFRP opponent for you?

Another easy one.

Skaven.

Nothing quite like them in other RPGs or fantasy settings, for all some have made some weak copies.

Sure, Chaos is the oft-called-upon Big Bad of WFRP, but it’s just too close to Michael Moorcock’s work, and all the games inspired by Mike, to feel at all iconic or unique.

If you want something iconically WFRP, turn to the Skaven. Hell, even Warhammer 40K doesn't have any decent Space Skaven yet, and of all settings, it easily could! The Skaven really stand alone.

So, give me a Grey Seer any time. If I had my way, it would be a Grey Seer that was behind most of the original Enemy Within, for example. Drill that iconic enemy down. Indeed, I’ve even plotted out how that could work (and what a tale that would be for the Emperor Karl-Franz!). But, that’s another story.

Skaven, Mark Gibbons - Will catch Dwarfs for warp tokens

What should we have more of in WFRP?

Okay, now to piss off some diehard WFRP fans.

High fantasy. I’m serious. Of course, we all love rummaging around in the dirt being unlikely heroes, but this is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, not Dirtbag Fantasy Roleplay, and it can accommodate far more than it currently obsesses over. I want the Colleges of Magic and their mighty War Wizards properly examined. I want real Bretonnian Grail Knights. I want High Magic, and Dark Elves, and Slann, and even bloody Nagash and his crazy plans for godhood. I want all of that incorporated into, and easily handled by, the game. WFRP should do better for the Warhammer fans.

Or, to put it another way, if someone collects an Ogre Kingdoms army, and wants to play an Ogre, the game should allow for that. Almost to repeat myself: it’s Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, not Empire Fantasy Roleplay. Give me more than just Sigmar's tiny corner of the planet. He really isn't that significant.

And no, I’m not greedy in the slightest at wanting this.

In fact, I’m so not greedy, I’m going to ask for more.

So, what else should we have more of?

Diversity.

WFRP has long focussed on the Old World, and when describing that continent, the writers have focussed too tightly on a very white, male-dominated reading, occasionally supported by some racist stereotypes. It has left the setting looking small-minded, bigoted, and intolerant. And it simply shouldn't be that way. The Old World is huge and diverse and culturally deep. And that should be examined.

So, we need to visit more of the world. Not just the white, male bits. I’m growing tired of white-man’s Warhammer. The game can be, and should be, so much more than that. But it isn’t. Instead, it's unconsciously racist, blatantly sexist, and... well you get the idea.

Hell, even if just the Empire was handled properly, it would be a massively diverse setting. But, that hasn't happened.

To pull on a single example of this, just look at the WFRP2 core book alone. 50 male-depicted basic careers, 10 female-depicted. 5:1. Fair split? Advanced careers are even worse, because women apparently don't advance in Warhammer. 49 male to a mighty 4 female-illustrated careers, so more than a 12:1 split. In total, that gives us 99 male depictions and 14 female careers illustrations, so approximately a 7:1 split. That's just unacceptable. And let's not even start with how many of the careers are depict as white (I'll let you guess).

Oh, I feel a proper rant coming on now...

The Legend of Sigmar, Stefan Kopinski - White, blond, male

What should we have less of in WFRP?

Racism.

Okay, I know, I'm off on one now. But let's run with this a little more because we should.

At the very least, WFRP should move away from the Empire. Sure, I want that enormous realm handled well, with a focus on its diversity and many cultures, but, for all its legacy as a setting, it is not what Warhammer is all about. How many people just collect an Empire army? It's not a great percentage, trust me. So, I want more Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and less Empire Fantasy Roleplay. I want a WFRP game that entices all Warhammer players, not just Empire players.

But I also want more than that. Give me Cathayans, Southlanders, Lustrians. Give me Arabyans, the Indish, or even just some decent Tileans. Please, something, anything, that isn’t just another white-washed realm, or a fantasy race over-writing a non-white culture. It is a really bad look. It has to change.

What makes this even more frustrating is that the Old World shouldn't be so white in the first place. The existing background calls for more diversity, even if so much of the writing and art skims over this.

As a single example of this, I tried hard to reinforce that Kislev was not just a white European analogue for my writing in Realm of the Ice Queen. I made the origins of the Gospodars explicitly eastern because the existing background said they were. The Gospodar tribe came across the World's Edge Mountains from the Chaos Wastes to the far north and east. So, I ran with that. Take a look at the illustration I did of the Ice Queen in Black Library's Empire at War. She's eastern, not western, in appearance.

And I didn't just handle the Gospodars in this fashion, I did the same with the Ungols, using the GW models as the basis. Ungols, an indigenous folk to Kislev, are somewhat obviously based on Mongols and similar eastern peoples. So, again, a Kislevite people that are not a white European analogue. So, that's what I wrote.

Even with just those two examples (which are the only two that the book could detail), we are working towards a modern Kislev that expressly isn't just white. But the history of the realm speaks to a far broader depth of diversity. Other tribes lived and live in Kislev, including the Ropsmenn, the Dolgans, the Thurini, the Ostagoths, the Udoses, the various Norsii tribes, and more. Some are indigenous, some are invaders, some are migrants. Some are very white European in appearance. Some are very not. In short, Kislev is super diverse, regardless of how the art makes it appear white. Which is great, and as it should be.

But, for all diversity on the Old World should happen, I'd still rather see places from outside the Old World tackled in WFRP.

And, if we’re doing that, let's diversify the writing staff, too. I'll happily take less work for that. How awesome would that be?

So, what do I really want less of in WFRP?

White men.

Realm of the Ice Queen, 2007 - Not an Ice King

So, you’re a multitalented guy. You write and illustrate, and make maps. Let’s start with the mapping. Why do you like creating maps?

Do you want the real reason or the really real reason? Let’s try both. Both are easy.

The real reason is... because not many people do it well, and I do it well enough. So, I can easily secure work and I am, in turn, paid well to do so. In short: the real reason is capitalism.

But, let's be honest, that's boring, and not strictly true.

The really real reason is that I’ve been mapping since I was a kid, and I just enjoy doing it. I’ve been doing it for almost a quarter-century now, and I'm not stopping any time soon. I love making maps, I love poring over maps, I love using maps. So, having people pay me to effectively do my hobby is bloody marvellous.

Maps are cool. If you disagree, you are wrong.

Tal'Dorei, Andy Law - Maps are cool!

What role do maps fill in WFRP?

That can be a somewhat personal question, as, beyond the obvious answers, the roles maps fulfil are different for everyone that uses them. For me, they are, obviously, a source of information. A tool. And also, when done correctly, a window into the world, not just in terms of what’s where, but in terms of aesthetics and immersion into the Warhammer world. But, in WFRP’s case, maps are also so much more: they are contradictory, inconsistent, and, oftentimes, bloody annoying. So what role to the maps really play for me in WFRP?

A puzzle to fix.

The Empire, Shawn Brown - Mootland, there, WTF? Puzzletime!

Please relate to the readers the sad story about your Altdorf map!

Nooooooooooooo! Don’t make me. The heartache is still too real. Let’s just accept that it’s gone. All the bajillion of locations on it, all drawn from official sources, are all gone, too. Doing all that work again will be soul-destroying. But, I still have a big map of the city that I made for a ‘mini-game’ called 'The Siege of Altdorf' that I created for my RPG campaign. It depicted the fall of Altdorf to a Chaos incursion led by Archaon, so the general layout I created for the city isn’t lost, even if all the detail is.

Also: sad now.

The Fall of Altdorf - My version looked literally nothing like this, at all

Are there any other creations of yours that you are especially proud of?

My kids, Josie and Lori. The best creations my wife and I could ever have made. They are a constant source of wonder and joy. I never understood why parents wanted to be parents until I was one. And then it all made sense.

They are the best. I am an especially proud father.

Lori, Josie, Best. And much older than 4 and 2, now!

What do you think about the future of WFRP?

As long as there is Warhammer, there will be WFRP. And, in the unlikely event that there is no Warhammer, people will still play WFRP. The property is just too strong to die, and would even survive if GW shut tomorrow.

But, that's unlikely, so the future of WFRP is bright. If GW doesn’t support it, the fans will make their own. If GW does support it, the fans will buy it. So, why wouldn’t GW support it and just rake in the easy cash? Hell, a huge chunk of their own staff are fans, so it's always just a matter of time before more books or a new edition comes along. For example, and not to go into any details, I'm working on two new books right now!

The only reason I can see GW backing away from WFRP is if it doesn’t match their current view of what Warhammer is, but even then the game will prevail as the cycle of Games Workshop release, rest, and reissue continues. So, no matter what the future brings, the future of WFRP is grim, gritty, and perilous, and also, I hope, a bit more humorous. No matter what happens, it will be played.

By me at the very least.

Warhammer: Old World - The cycle of release, rest, and reissue continues

And that was that. It's very odd reading these answers all these years later. So much of what I wrote back then still stands today, but other parts do not at all. Also, I'm rather amused at how blind I was to my own failings. After all, Realm of the Ice Queen has 17 careers included, all of which I wrote. Appallingly, the only female career images are witches, and they had to be female! Now, sure, I didn't resolve any of that art, but I did influence it. So, while the book has 11 men to 6 women, for a not as awful 2:1 as a ratio, it is really much worse than those numbers suggest. All 6 of those women had to be women, after all. So, for every career where there was a choice, the book depicted a man. Enormously uncool.

Many years later, and WFRP4 is better, but still not good enough. I remember requesting for a 50/50 split when resolving the writing for the career chapter, but when the art was completed the split had men massively out-numbering women. Again. Also, there were no dwarfs or wood elves! So, I complained. We just had to do better. I didn't entirely get my way, so we didn't end with a 50/50 split, but some careers that didn't have conventional art were quickly redrawn in the dying embers of the production to score a better mix, and we ended up with 27 women to 37 men. Not what I wanted, but a hell of a lot better than it could have been.

Representation matters.

Anyway, must get back to work. As this post kinda makes clear, there is still so much work to do.

With that in mind, if you want to follow the news about my next projects, here are a couple of Rookery links (ca-caw, ca-caw!):

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Let's stat... Marius Leitdorf

2020-10-09T03:52:00.007+01:00

So, the brilliant Darko Stojanović has been posting 'Knightober' images this month - i.e.: inked images of knights. On the 5th of October, he posted a piccy of his version of the Elector Count of Averland, Marius Leitdorf. As soon as I saw it, I couldn't help myself, I wanted to stat him for WFRP.

Statting the comparatively young Countess of Nuln for Rough Nights & Hard Days was a blast (and shocked a few used to WFRP1 or WFRP2 numbers - if that was you, just be glad I didn't create the 2520 version of her!) so turning my head to this was undeniable. What's not to like about statting another Elector Count? So, I asked Darko if I could use his art, and he said I could, so... let's do this!

Before we begin, we have to decide which version of Marius to stat. He's been reigning Averland, in some fashion or another, since the late 2490s, and every year of his life brings quite a different character. Given he's possibly going to be in the Enemy Within at some point, and may even be statted in there, I'll avoid creating a version of him from that era. Instead, let's put together a statline of the Elector Count from his later years. I'll go for just before the Third Battle for Blackfire Pass where Marius fatefully encounters Warboss Vorgaz Ironjaw. At that point, he's at the height of his power, and arguably his lunacy, so he's going to be a pretty impressive character that will stretch the rules of the core book to the max. But, stress tests like this are fun, so I'm sticking with it.

When I make him, I won't dive into his Psychology rules, as the core book's Psychology's section isn't hard-coded into the Career system. But, if anyone wants to use this NPC, I may do some rules to reflect that aspect of his character. For the moment, I'll just drop a wee Animosity on him and give him Frenzy. Coz Marius.

So, strap in. I'll be using the core rulebook only, so no new Talents or Careers for this one, for all I would use both if I was doing this 'properly'. I also intend to build a relatively 'realistic' version of him for this one. Really, this is more a test to see if the Career rules as written in just the core book can make something that matches my intentions. Which is always fun. And with that in mind...

...let's stat Marius Leitdorf.

LET'S STAT...

ELECTOR COUNT MARIUS IV OF AVERLAND

Unpredictable Marius of House Leitdorf, the flamboyant Grand Count of Averland, is a long-standing ally of the Emperor, and also one of the greatest thorns in his side. Belligerent, courageous, eccentric, dashing, moody, ostentatious, vengeful, but undeniably brilliant, the so-called 'Mad Count of Averland' is known for being both infuriatingly mercurial and doggedly stubborn.

Rumours of the count's screaming rages, crippling bouts of depression, and prolonged periods of raving delusion are persistent gossip in the Empire's courts, but the truth behind the troubled man is more complex. Whilst he is undeniably deeply eccentric - he once invaded Stirland with over 10,000 state soldiers just to bring down a particularly troublesome hive of bees that stung his favourite advisor (his horse, Daisy Kurt von Helboring II) - he is also an accomplished poet, skilled debater, inventive engineer, and an astonishingly innovative general. Worrying his many detractors, he is also one of the finest swordsmen of the Empire, and has reportedly never lost a duel.

The count's many eccentricities have repeatedly caused deep divisions within the grand province he rules. Civil issues have dogged his two-decade reign. Indeed, Marius has been deposed on three separate occasions, and has abdicated at least twice. Most famously, the Averlander noble Ludmilla of House Alptraum went to war with him in 2510 after Marius executed her son for supposedly flirting with his roast chicken. Horrified, she rallied the Averlander horse lords of the south to her banner, seized his Runefang, and drove the Elector from Averheim. Equally famously, Marius returned to power with the Emperor's full backing not more than two years later.

Known for his love of extravagant clothing of varied and conflicting colours and styles, the man beneath the finery is whippet-lean with muscles like tightly wound springs. Behind his manic grins, sullen frowns, and frenzied screams, he is also handsome to the point heartache. This, and his significant power and influence, has caused many hopefuls to travel to the southern city of Averheim with dreams of courting the Mad Count. Few last very long.

As an Elector Count of the Empire, Marius has the right to a Runefang — one of the magical warblades gifted to the Empire by the Dwarfs centuries ago — and it rarely, if ever, leaves his side. Indeed, he is known to brandish the tremendously powerful weapon at the slightest whim, terrifying those unprepared for such unwise actions.

MARIUS OF HOUSE LEITDORF - ELECTOR COUNT (Gold 15)
M
WS
BS
S
T
I
Agi
Dex
Int
WP
Fel
W
4 84 58 52 64 89 57 55 65 61 57 23

Skills: Animal Care 70, Art (Calligraphy) 65, Art (Poetry) 70, Athletics 82, Bribery 62, Charm 72, Consume Alcohol 89, Cool 91, Dodge 87, Drive 57, Endurance 94, Entertain (Storytelling) 62, Evaluate 70, Gamble 75, Gossip 62, Haggle 65, Heal 70, Intimidate 87, Intuition 119, Language (Battle) 80, Language (Brigundian) 68, Language (Classical) 100, Language (Khazalid) 75, Leadership 87, Lore (Arts) 70, Lore (Averheim) 75, Lore (Averland) 95, Lore (Empire) 78, Lore (Engineering) 80, Lore (Heraldry) 80, Lore (History) 75, Lore (Science) 70, Lore (Warfare) 95, Melee (Basic) 104, Melee (Fencing) 124, Melee (Parry) 119, Navigation 85, Outdoor Survival 75, Perception 119, Perform (Dancing) 67, Play (Chittarone) 70, Play (Harpsichord) 65, Ranged (Blackpowder) 86, Ranged (Engineering) 73, Research 80, Ride (Horse) 82, Ride (Pegasus) 72, Row 57, Trade (Engineer) 85, Trade (Gunsmith) 65
Talents: Ambidextrous 2, Animosity (Subject randomised each day), Attractive 5, Beat Blade 5, Blather 4, Carouser 3, Combat Reflexes 6, Commanding Presence 5, Craftsman (Engineer), Disarm 7, Distract 3, Doomed (By The Third Toll Shall Ye Know), Dual Wielder 4, Etiquette (Nobles) 2, Feint 5, Frenzy, Inspiring 5, Iron Will 5, Luck 2, Noble Blood, Public Speaking 5, Read/Write, Reversal 5, Riposte 4, Savvy, Speedreader 5, Step Aside 3, Stout-hearted 4, Suave, Tenacious 4, Very Resilient, Warleader 3, Wealthy 13
Trappings: Averland Runefang (Rinnti Kolak), County of Streissen, Crown Jewels of Averland, Full Plate (Best Quality), Grand County of Averland, Main Gauche (Best Quality), Princedom of Averheim, Royal Garb (Best Quality), Unique Taste in Fashion

That'll do. What do you all think? More or less than you expected? From my view, I could have gone far further, but this is a very solid starting point and it does most of what I want, for all I popped it together super fast. He's been through a good lifetime's of careers at various tiers, and it shows.

Oh, and just to make sure you definitely check out his work, Darko Stojanović's Instagram account is right here. Why not pop over and give him a like or two? Or three. Well worth it.

Edit: BUT WAIT! We also have this in a pdf version, thanks to the tireless work of Stuart Kerrigan, who should be lauded for the scholar and the gentleman that he is. If you want to know more about his fanwork for WFRP, go check his actual play podcast here: Perilous Realm. The pdf looks like this:

And, lastly, if you want to know what I'm doing next professionally, the Rookery will be posting news at the following links when we're ready:

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Until next time!

Da Whiteskulls

2020-10-05T19:17:00.003+01:00

I was halfway through writing this mega post before catching the damned coronavirus earlier this year. Then I almost died. Months of long-COVID followed, and the blog was left to languish, unloved and untouched, as I slept, whined, slept, and whined some more. Pity my poor family.

A few days ago, I recently returned online. Last night, I was chatting on Discord about WFRPy stuff, and this unfinished post came to mind. It related to the ongoing conversation. I looked it up to see how much work was left to finish it, to see if I could polish it off and post it. But I found it seriously unfinished.

Unfortunately for my plans to post and go, I don't have time to be writing the hundreds, maybe thousands, of words to complete this post. I'm trying to catch up with half a year of lost work, after all, and that takes precedent. But I also want to see this post online as its content is potentially useful.

So, screw it, I'm just posting it. As is. Incomplete. Warts and all. In a semi-finished state. Likely with a bajillion typos (I'm not checking it just now). And certainly a bit wordy in places as I've not edited this. It's also picture free, so be ready for a wall'o'text.

With that in mind, take what you can from this post, but be aware that I did have a lot more to add, mostly background material for NPCs and detail about orcy life. All the stuff that's not properly written is marked with red text. Hopefully, someone will find what is posted useful.

Anyway, enjoy, stay healthy, and keep on gaming.

Also, if you're in the US, vote. Please, just vote. It affects the world.

Right, let's get to it!

So, I made a post a wee while back about building some Orcs using the WFRP4 core rulebook. I built a veteran Boy, a well 'ard Big Un, and a Big Boss, one of da meanest greenskins around. It was a post less about Orcs, and more about how to use the tools offered in the rulebook to create whatever NPCs you need.

Today, I'm going one step farther. This time, I'm going to create a whole Orc tribe. Then quickly stat the lot. Not a big tribe, mind, but certainly one large enough to give us a good variety of Orcs and take a look at what their statlines might look like. I'm aiming for about 70-100 Orcs. A good Warhammer army's worth.

Now, let's make a few things clear from the outset. I've no interest in creating 'balanced' Orcs here, built to make a 'fair' encounter in WFRP. What I'm going to do is build a tribe of the most brutal, overwhelmingly violent creatures the Warhammer world has to offer, because that's what Orcs are. These are not to be a balanced encounter for your average PCs. Greenskins resolve even the slightest disagreement with staggering violence, and that will be represented in what I build. However, Orcs are also a full-functioning society, with the capacity to build, hunt, forge, and much more, so all of that will also be accommodated.

Also, I've no intention of creating creatures that use a bajillion rules that make running these NPCs a chore for the GM. We're sticking with Creature Traits, Attributes, and the most useful Skills. Sure, I could make some real monsters and add Talents, too, but I'll keep that for primary NPCs only. No need to go crazy here.

And, lastly, before anyone asks, there will be no female greenskins here. This post is going to assume Orcs have a fungal reproductive process. Why? Because they do, and I like it. It makes GW's greenskins more interesting. So, I'm sticking with it. And that's hard for me to admit as I find female-erasure of any kind to be deeply offensive. But, in this case, I like what it does to the species. So, to quote Warhammer 8E, page 159:

From the wilderness came the greenskinned Orcs and Goblins, their insidious spores perhaps unwittingly introduced to the world upon the star vessels of the Old Ones.

They reproduce with spores. And that's that. If that's not your jam, that's totally cool. But it is mine.

So, ready to get started?

Excellent.

'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go! 'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we goooooo!

BUILDING THE TRIBE
First up: what types of Orcs do we need?

Well, let's keep it simple and assume three things:

1) This is an Orc tribe only: no Goblins or other greenskins here, thanks. I want to keep it simple, even if adding Goblins would make more sense for the tribe as a whole.
2) I will not be going into Orc lifecycles, how they reproduce, or similar. I'll leave that to GW to cover. Simply: it's spores for this post. Orc Yoofs come in from the forest and join da tribe. They hit each other and get bigger. The biggest Orcs move into positions of authority. Job done.
3) The following example is not representative of all Orc tribes, or even close to that. The Orc tribes are as variable as any group of sentient creatures can be, and they almost always usually contain a bunch of Goblins. However, this article covers just one smallish grouping of Orcs. Why? Because I want to keep this easy to write.

So, where do we start?

SOCIETY
I suppose, first up, what does a tribe of Orcs look like? Is there much differentiation between each Orc? Do they have different careers? Social hierarchies? Appearances? Are Orcs more than just green meatbags for your PCs to chop into pieces?

The answer is an emphatic yes to all of that. Orcs not only vary massively in size - from relatively skinny Yoofs to older Boys to bigger Big Uns to the enormous Bosses almost the size of Trolls - they also have a variety of different positions they fulfil in Orcy society. Digging into that a little here will be the fun bit of writing this post.

However, be clear, I'll not have the Orcs fulfil every imaginable duty their society requires. Why? And what do I mean by that?

Well, Orcs wear clothes. I'll not delve into why, but they do. Obviously, these clothes need to be made. Now, I could add Orcy weavers or tailors to this tribe I'm creating, but that would be, well, just wrong. The obvious alternative would be to add some Goblins pressed into such duties, as these 'runts' are bullied into doing all the chores Orcs don't like (which, in short, is all chores). But, as stated already, this is going to be an Orc tribe without any other greenskins. So, I'll be going for the third option: slaves.

SLAVES! REALLY?
Now, if the idea of Orc Slaverz is upsetting to you, time to run from this article now, as this tribe of Orcs is going to have some slaves. And, should those slaves not perform well, they will be eaten. Hur! Hur! Hur!

Slaves are not only a useful way of keeping our Orcs dead Orcy - keeping them away from non-Orc careers they would need to survive - but it also opens up the tribe to PC interaction as there will be human slaves of various kinds to approach, save, or ignore, opening up the camp to broader use by the GM. It also allows me to have some Orcs that speak Reikspiel in order to control the slaves. This, again, opens up the tribe to wider uses at a standard RPG table. WFRP is about much more than just chopping up bad guys, after all.

So, slaves. Horrible, yes, but, in some respects, that's the point.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Right, with that all said, let's sort some demographics!

First, what sort of Orcs will I have in this tribe?

To answer that, I'm going to do two things:

1) Look at the WFRP Careers, and pick the ones I think should be used by the Orcs.
2) Look at the most recent Warhammer Orc and Goblin army list, and make sure everything I want from that is covered.

CAREERS
So, Careers first. I'll go through the lot here so you can see my thinking. I'm presuming an Orc tribe that raids from a crudely constructed fort in the forests of the Empire. I'm also presuming it is isolated from other greenskin tribes so I can easily add the Human slave aspect.

Scholars
I can't imagine we'll have many (any?) of these. Let's see...
❌ Apothecary: Nope. Orcs don't make medicines in such a formal fashion.
❌ Engineer: Nope. Just no. Hard no.
❌ Lawyer: Hahahah. ''Ere, wotz goin' on? I objekt, boss!' Nah!
✔️ Physician: Hmm. Tempting. A Painboy... An Orcy Doc. I may say yes to one of these!
❌ Priest: Hmm, an actual Priest of Gork and/or Mork? Nah.
❌ Scholar: Hahahahaha. If I need a Brainboy, or some similar nonsense, I'll likely just use a Shaman with some OrcyKnowWhats.
❌ Wizard: Too formalised to represent Orc Waaagh magic.

Burghers
Doesn't sound very Orcy, especially for a small tribe. But's let's check anyway.
❌ Agitator: Too talky. Orcs agitate with their fists.
✔️ Artisan: Got to get choppas from somewhere. I'm dropping this in the yes pile. I'll have an Orc working a forge.
❌ Beggar: Orcs don't beg. They take. Hard no.
❌ Investigator: In a Sherlock Holmes hat? With a Basset squig? And Dok WotsThatSon? Nah. But I'd consider it for a comedy piece. Because I'm that guy. But not here.
❌ Merchant: I could see this in a variety of circumstances. Cagey trade between rival tribes. But, not for the tribe I'm making, which I intend to be relatively isolated from other greenskins. Next!
✔️ Rat Catcher: As a Snotling Catcher, perhaps? Helped by a trusty small-but-vicious Squig? I could run with that, but perhaps for a different tribe. Or this one... Screw it, this is my article, I'm doing it. Snot Catcher it is, with a big Catching Stick!
❌ Townsman: Orcs don't town, they fight.

Courtiers
Hahaha! I think we'll almost as well skipping these.
✔️ Advisor: This would fit well for a Goblin... Really well. So close to changing my mind and adding some Goblins. But, instead, I'll use this one to a particularly cunning Orc...
❌ Artist: 'Well, ladz, I smeered it wiv me crap. Now, if dat ain't art, wot is!' Nope.
❌ Duellist: Too formalised and not arm-swingy enough.
❌ Envoy: Another great Goblin career. So hard to skip this. So many ideas come to mind... Moving on.
❌ Noble: Orc Nobz! A bit too 40K, eh? Especially when the career doesn't at all fit an Orcy leader. Skip!
❌ Servant: Even the lowliest boy in the mob is supposed to fight, learn to fight, or die trying. There just isn't enough time for an Orc to be 'just' a servant. This is more a slave job, not one for the Orcs. I could see many Goblins fulfilling this role, though.
❌ Spy: Sneaky Gits are more the Goblin/Hobgoblin province.
✔️ Warden: Da Orc wot looks after stuff for da Boss. Hmm, yes, there is something to this. Squig or Slave keepers, or da Orc wot looks after the tribal lands for da boss... I think I can run with that... Maybe... I may change my mind later when I start creating the characters. In fact, I think this will be perfect for my slaver...

Peasants
Hmm. These are basically villagers. I can see a few of these working.
❌ Bailiff: Da Orc taxman. I could make that work. But I'm not going to. These Orcs take what they want directly, they don't send extortionists.
❌ Hedge Witch: Hard no. This just isn't how Orcs do their magic.
✔️ Herbalist: Hmm. I think a yes here, and I'll wrap it up with the Shaman. Brewing weird fungal brews, potions, and poisons for the boyz.
✔️ Hunter: Hard yes. Arrer Boyz and other Orcy hunterz that prowl the forest. Sold.
❌ Miner: Hah! Nope. That work is for runts and slaves.
❌ Mystic: Tempting for the Shaman, but the theme is all wrong. Mystics are all about palm-reading, fortune-telling, and similar. An Orcy Shaman is not.
✔️ Scout: Another hard yes! Da bestest hunterz scout out for da ladz, checking wot their soft enemies are doing before the attack!
✔️ Villager: Hmm, herding the squigs and boars or tending slaves... Unexpectedly, I'm going to say yes to this, but with the proviso that it's used for Orcs that are doing proper Orcy stuff, not for <shudderz> Orc farmers or similar. That's just not on.

Rangers
Given this is a tribe of Orcs raiding from a fixed location and the Careers are largely designed for more civilised species, I'm don't think many of these will work.
❌ Bounty Hunter: Sure, I could make this work, but I'm not going to.
✔️ Coachman: I'll have one gibbering Orc who drives a red Boar chariot. He has wild eyes and likes SPEED... So, I'll add a yes to this, but change all Skill references of Horse to Boar (indeed, that likely stands for all Careers)
❌ Entertainer: Hahahahaah. I'll leave that to the Goblins. No juggling Orcs, Orc mimes, or Orc musicians today. Not even Goffik Rokkers. If I was building a bigger tribe, I may add something like this. But not today.
❌ Flagellant: So, a zealot of Mork or Gork? I mean, I could... But I won't. Perhaps another day.
❌ Messenger: That's for runts and slaves.
❌ Pedlar: This is another that I could easily see in an area that was proliferated with many Orc tribes, and it could make a great character, but not for this tribe, which I'm going to drop in the middle of the Empire, surrounded by hoomies to all sides.
❌ Road Warden: Hah. No.
❌ Witch Hunter: Again, just no.

Riverfolk
Well, given I'm making a forest-based tribe, should I just skip these?
❌ Boatman: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe. I'll copypasta this for everything below. Ready?
❌ Huffer: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
❌ Riverwarden: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
❌ Riverwoman: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
❌ Seaman: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
❌ Smuggler: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
❌ Stevedore: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe.
✔️ Wrecker: Nope. I'm making a forest tribe... NOWAIT! I actually like this idea. A mob of Orcy Wreckers! 'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go! I'm going to add some. Ignore everything I previously said! These Orcs live close(ish) to a river!

Rogues
Rogue Careers? This isn't going to happen, is it? I'm making Orcs, not Goblins. But I could be wrong. Let's see what we have.
❌ Bawd: Nope.
❌ Charlatan: Nope.
❌ Fence: I'll give ya dis many teef for it! Nope.
❌ Graverobber: Funny, but nope.
✔️ Outlaw: Actually, this works quite well for forest raiders. So, I'm going to use it. Big fat yes to this.
❌ Racketeer: This is almost worth it for 'Thug' alone, but we're not making Orcy criminals, per se, we're making a small tribe of well 'ard warriors, so I'm skipping this,
❌ Thief: No. An Orc thief is an Orc that punches another Orc and takes his teef. I.e.: just a normal Orc.
✔️ Witch: And this is what I'll use for the Shaman! Woot!

Warriors
I have high hopes for these. All Orcs, at heart, are warriors.
❌ Cavalryman: Boarboy? Possibly, but Knight may be better for that. Cavalryman is more for the Goblin Wolfboyz. So, I'll skip.
✔️ Guard: To guard the camp or the Boss? Damn straight.
✔️ Knight: For da Boarboyz. Definite yes.
✔️ Pit Fighter: To represent the Orcs that are constantly fighting for supremacy over each other? Tempting. And perhaps a better fit than Soldier. Indeed, this is almost the basic starter Orc career... Hmm... I should have thought of that when writing the last Orc post. Good to note and move on from.
✔️ Protagonist: The boss's bully boyz. Yup, I can use these.
❌ Slayer: Hah! No.
✔️ Soldier: For da Boyz that are more experienced at mobbing up for a scrap. Yup.
❌ Warrior Priest: Nope.

So, that's 18 Careers to draw from for my tribe of around 70. That'll do. Let's take a look at the list:

Adviser, Artisan, Coachman, Guard, Herbalist, Hunter, Knight, Outlaw, Physician, Pit Fighter, Protagonist, Rat Catcher, Scout, Soldier, Villager, Warden, Witch, Wrecker.

ARMY LIST
Now, let's turn to the army list and see what that offers for me to use.

First, let's look at the core societal stuff that is of use in building what this tribe will be like. The following four points are mostly drawn from the background section (pages 8-9 of the army list have the most useful stuff if you want to look it up).

1) A tribe is comprised of several mobs under one Big Boss, who is the biggest and hardest of the Bosses, and not to be messed with.
2) A mob is a group of Orcs under a single Boss, who is the biggest and hardest of their mob.
3) Tribes gain and lose mobs relatively frequently as new mobs arrive and old ones leave to seek their own fortunes.
4) All members of the same tribe take the colours of the Big Boss to they can better fit in.
5) Repeated defeats tend to make tribes disband as the individual mobs head elsewhere

And, on page 10 of the army list, we have this useful snippet which directly impacts Orc-only tribes:

On occasion an Orc tribe will actually be made up solely out of Boyz mobs or, rarer still, almost entirely Boar Boyz. With no Goblins to beat indiscriminately, Orcs are left to sort out their own menial tasks. This makes the always belligerent Orcs angrier still, and full-on fights break out in Orc-only camps with alarming regularity.

There is much more on this page (I suggest you go read it if you're interested), but, in short, this allows for Orcs to take all manner of Careers I ignored above because I'm having these Orcs uncharacteristically deal with slaves. Why do I mention the above quotation? Solely so if you are making your own Orc tribes, you know there is a far broader choice of Careers available than I am using here.

Anyway, back to what I was doing. Let's list everything I'm going to include, using the Orc and Goblin army list as a guide.

Arrer Boyz
Orcs with bows are viewed with suspicion by other Orcs, so I'll probably have one mob dedicated to this, filled with Outlaws, Soldiers, and Scouts, most of whom have had some Pit Fighter experience, too. This will be seen as the sneakiest of the mobs, and generally unliked for their Goblin-like behaviour.

Armourer
Orcs wear all manner of massive armour pieces and carry weapons far too large for most Humans to carry or manufacture. So, I'm having an Orc be the tribe's armourer. He can use the Artisan and Pit Fighter career.

Big 'Uns
These are the biggest, hardest Orcs that have yet to become Bosses themselves. I'll have a few of these in every mob, and have them go through a level or two extra of their standard careers, or enter the Protagonist career, to show their new bully-boy position.

Boar Boyz
I'll have the Big Boss's Mob have a group of Boar Boyz. These can lord it over the other boyz as is their wont. They'll need animal handling skills of some type as there are no runts to look after their boars, so I'll drop them through the Knight, Pit Fighter, and Villager careers.

Boar Chariot
The Big Boss can ride a chariot pulled by two war boars. The crazed driver will need special skills, so he can go through the Coachman as well as the standard career mix for da boyz.

Boyz
'Da Boyz', the Orcs that comprise the mobs in the tribes, are all hardened fighters, used to daily scraps and bloody conflict. I'll use the Pit Fighter and Soldier careers for these.

Bosses
I need a Big Boss and a few Bosses, each leading their own Mobs. If I have 70-100 Orcs, we're probably looking at around... 5 mobs of 15-20 Orcs each. So, 4 Bosses and 1 Big Boss, with about 90 Orcs split between them. Nice. The Bosses can all use the Soldier, Pit Fighter, and maybe Guard careers.

Dok
I'm going to have one of the mobs supported by an Orc doctor of sorts, a saw-wielding maniac that hacks limbs and stitches wounds with thin rope. We can use the Physician career on top of normal Careers for da boyz.

'Oomie Herda
The 'Oomie Herda is the tribe's slave master, the Big Boss's advisor, and 'da big brain' behind encroaching into human territory to take slaves 'wot is betta then dem runts!'. He'll be handled the same as da Boyz, but with some extra Warden thrown on top for looking after the stock.

Shaman
I'll also include a Shaman, from the same mob as the Big Boss. He can live on the edge of the tribe's fortified camp, stirring a massive cauldron filled with mind-bending fungus concoctions as he tries to understand 'da Great Green'. He can use the Witch and Herbalist careers.

Snot Catcha
The tribe also has a 'Snot Catcha' attached to one of the mobs. He captures Snotlings, Squigs, and others, caging them up or dropping them in large pens or pits. These are mostly used for food or shamanic purposes, although many are kept as pets. The Snot Catcha has a faithful Squig Hound to help him do his job. It's no doubt small but vicious. He can go through the same careers as da boyz, but add some Rat Catcher atop.

Squigs
The camp will have many small squigs running around, none of which are big enough to join the tribe in battle, but are all large enough to get into everything.

Wreckas
Da Wreckas are a small mob of Orcs that specialise in sinking barges on the Reik. They are rich with loot, and widely hated, but also hold a special position with the Big Boss because of their many successes. They can go through the same careers as the Arrer Boyz, plus some Wrecker for fun.

And that's it. Let's build those mobs!

DA MOBS
So, pulling all of that together, this is what my tribe is going to look like.

Mob 1: Da Big Boss's mob with an 'Oomie Herda, Shaman, Charioteer, Boar Boyz, and some Boyz. (33)
Mob 2: A Boss and some Arrer Boyz. (21)
Mob 3: A Boss, an Armourer, and some Boyz. (19)
Mob 4: A Boss, the Dok, and the Wreckas. (13)
Mob 5: A Boss, the Snot Catcha, and some Boyz. (12)

To stat those up, I'll use the following simple divisions for how I'll add Careers to the basic Orc statline, using the same method I described in this post. This will make the creation of an entire camp super fast, and ensure they are relatively easy characters to use (no Talents or extended Skill list to worry about).

Yoofs
Young, inexperienced Orcs. 1 Career Level. Pretty much at the same competency as starter PCs.

Boyz
Standard Orcs boyz. 2-3 Career Levels. They've been about and can threaten even experienced PCs.

Champions
Experienced Orcs, Bosses, or Big 'Uns. 4-5 Career Levels. These are dangerous Orcs and they know it. They likely pose a serious threat to most PCs.

Heroes
Veteran Orcs or Big Bosses. 6-7 Career Levels. Most PCs should simply avoid these seriously deadly greenskins. (note: that if you want to make these heroes a serious threat, adding a few relevant Talents make a difference; I will not be doing that here).

Lords

We'll not have any of these epic-level Orc Warbosses, but I'll mention them here because they are out there...

So, splitting that between the Mobs, I'll make the following.

Mob 1: 2 Heroes, 8 Champions, 15 Boyz, 8 Yoofs
Mob 2: 6 Champions, 12 Boyz, 3 Yoofs
Mob 3: 4 Champions, 9 Boyz, 6 Yoofs
Mob 4: 3 Champions, 6 Boyz, 4 Yoofs
Mob 5: 2 Champions: 5 Boyz, 5 Yoofs

Alrighty. Add a bunch of Slaves, Squigs, and Snotlings atop of that, and we can call it a day.

Phew.

Let's do this.

WHITESKULLZ

The Whiteskullz tribe are led by Mawzag da Mighty, an enormous Orc from the Reikwald Forest. His personal mob, Mawzag's Goblin 'Unterz, is joined by four other Reikwalder mobs: Da Bloody Stikkers, Bonsbasha's Boyz, Da Pain Boyz, and Guzzl's Squigeatas. The tribe currently lives in a crudely barricaded ruin that was once an Empire border fort, but was long ago reclaimed by the forest.

MAWZAG'S GOBLIN 'UNTERZ
Mawzag's Goblin 'Unterz is personally led by Mawzag the Mighty, the Big Boss of the entire tribe. The mob includes: Krabbit his 'Oomie Herda, a cunning slaver with far-reaching plans; 'Edcruncha the Shaman, a deeply disturbed Orc who is rarely far from his cauldron; and a mob of self-important bully boyz, many of whom ride War Boars when raiding abroad.

HEROES

MAWZAG DA MIGHTY
Career Path: Recruit, Soldier, Sergeant, Sentry, Guard, Honour Guard, Officer
When a yoof, Mawzag joined the 'Deff Gorgahs' a militarised Black Orc tribe, and from them learned to be a 'propah solejah'. He swiftly rose through the ranks until he became the personal bodyguard of Warboss Gulguz da Krool, an enormous Black Orc who demanded absolute compliance in all matters. Eventually, after 25 years of duty, Mawzag watched in horror as Gulguz was assassinated by treacherous Goblins during a tunnel assault on Karaz Angaraz. As the runts swarmed to all sides, Mawzag hacked himself free and fled to the Reikwald forest. There he wandered, nightly vowing vengeance on all Goblins, before encountering an itinerant Orc mob, Slashstab's Boyz, in the deep forest. Mawzag slew several of their number, including all their Goblins, before the remaining Orcs surrendered. One of the surviving Orcs, Krabbit, was insidious and wily, and immediately noted Mawzag's hatred of Goblins. On his knees, Krabbit presented his conqueror with a new and extraordinary plan: Mawzag da Mighty could be the hero that all Orcs needed, and could rid the tribes of treacherous Goblins forever. And the way to do this was to replace the runts with more easily controlled slaves. In particular, Humans. But to do that, Mawzag would need Krabbit's help, as he could speak the tongue of the filthy Humans. Mawzag roared his approval, beat Krabbit bloody, then immediately agreed to the plan.

Like the Black Orcs he idolises, Mawzag believes in strong leadership and military discipline. He drills his mob frequently and inspects his Boyz at least twice a day to make sure their weapons are sharp and their skills honed. Ultimately, he plans to storm the Grey Mountains and free them of Goblin treachery. But to do that he will first need to conquer many more local tribes. And he will also need to take many more human slaves. With 'propah plans and no stinkin' runts!' he ambitiously believes this will be easy.

MAWZAG - BIG BOSS (Gold 1)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	78	56	61	90	28	30	36	32	63	47	66

Skills: Athletics 60, Cool 93, Dodge 60, Endurance 120, Intimidate 81, Leadership 67, Melee (Basic) 108, Perception 58, Rode (Boar) 40
Traits: Armour 4, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Hardy, Hatred (Goblins), Night Vision, Painless, Size (Large), Weapon (Huge Choppa +12)

KRABBIT DA 'OOMIE 'ERDAH
Career Path: Pugilist, Soldier, Custodian, Warden, Aide, Advisor
Krabbit Krapflingah has always had plans. Neither the biggest nor the fightiest of Orcs, he had something that his peers never had: his 'Orcy Know Whats'; i.e.: his smarts. His previous boss, Slashstab the Git, was a sadistic Goblin who enjoyed inflicting pain on Humans after once being captured by them. Krabbit fashioned new tools to best capture Humans, and learned what he could of them and their language. This provided him with a measure of protection from the other Orcs, most of whom were significantly larger than him. Later, when Mawzag arrived and wiped out all the Goblins in one night of swift bloodshed, Krabbit was perfectly placed to present a new plan that would appeal to his new boss: to replace all Goblins with Humans! Mawzag, in his hatred, lapped this up. Krabbit has since sidled himself into the best position he can with Mawzag, fully aware his new boss has no chance of success, but equally aware that sharing such thoughts would spell his doom. So, instead, he is looking for a way to remove his new boss before he gets them all killed.

Krabbit is cunning and appreciates duplicitousness in all its forms having spent most of his life with backstabbing Goblins. He is obsessed with Humans, and interrogates any he finds incessantly, asking about all aspects of their lives. Should he be offered any reasonable plan that seems likely to rid him of his Mawzag problem, Krabbit will leap at it.

KRABBIT KRAPFLINGAH - SLAVER (Silver 4)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	31	53	75	31	31	28	51	41	37	23

Skills: Athletics 51, Charm 42, Cool 68, Endurance 105, Intimidate 58, Language (Reikspiel) 61, Lore (Humans) 66, Melee (Basic) 60, Melee (Brawl) 55, Perception 51, Ride (War Boar) 36
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Man Grabbah) +9

CHAMPIONS

'EDCRUNCHA THE SHAMAN
Career Path: Hexer, Herb Gatherer, Witch, Wyrd, Herbalist
'Edcruncha knew he was different the moment he first staggered from the forest into a camp of capering Goblins, his head thumping with extraordinary pain. What started as a fight for his life against three leering runts turned into him roaring as, one by one, their heads were crushed as if by massive hands. Slashstab, the goblin Boss of the camp, squealed with delight, and immediately called the new arrival his ''Edcruncha wot was sent by the gods!' Since then, 'Edcruncha's life has been hell. Slashstab chained 'Edcruncha to a cauldron and demanded he make 'potions an' brews an' poisons!' So, 'Edcruncha set to work, and, somehow, he figured it out by tasting, brewing, and experimenting. It was almost like he'd always known what to do. Ten years later, and 'Edcruncha still doesn't understand how he knows what he knows, he just does. He also doesn't understand how he can chant and cast spells. But he can. Mawzag tells him it's because he's blessed by the gods, that he calls Gork and Mork. But 'Edcruncha doesn't care about that, he just cares about his next hit of fungus brew that dulls the pain of his incredible headaches.

'Edcruncha is a sullen, moody Orc that eschews the hooting and arm-waving so favoured by many other Shamans. Instead, when calling upon the gods to smite his boss's foes, he glowers, his eyes screwed tight as he leans hard on his staff to keep himself standing. If Mawzag didn't stop him, 'Edcruncha would be permanently drunk on his various fungus-brews.

'EDCRUNCHA - SHAMAN (Silver 1)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	24	32	71	39	32	40	28	54	14	22

Skills: Channelling (Waaargh!) 69, Cool 74, Dodge 47, Endurance 96, Intimidate 47, Melee (Staff) 55, Language (Magick) 53, Perception 49, Stealth (Rural) 47, Trade (Herbalist) 60
Traits: Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Magical, Night Vision, Spellcaster (Big Waaagh!), Ward 9+, Weapon +7
Spells: Drop, 'Eadsquisha, Fearsome

LORE OF DA BIG WAAAGH!

(This is a quick placeholder until C7 releases some Waaagh! magic.)
Spells from the Lore of da Big Waaagh! are woven through with the power of 'da Great Green' and the raw Waaagh! energy that all Orcs emanate. The more that Orcs fight, the more Waaagh! energy they create, meaning Shamans can unleash more powerful spells as they are filled with brutal Waaagh! energy.

Lore Trait: For every 5 Orcs fighting within the Shaman's WP yards, gain a bonus of +1 to all Channelling (Waaagh!) Tests, or add +1 Damage to any successfully cast spell, when casting spells of da Big Waaagh! The maximum bonus the spellcaster can claim in this way is +Willpower Bonus. However, if you gain any bonus from this rule, you automatically suffer a Minor Miscast; or, if you are already suffering a Minor Miscast, you instead suffer a Major Miscast. Further, all rolls for a Miscast that roll a double also suffer a Major Miscast of 96-00: Aethyric Feedback.

'EADSQUISHA
CN: 8 (4)*
Range: 4 yards
Target: 1+
Duration: Instant
You dance, howl, and shriek, as eyes bulge, skulls creak, and faces collapse to terror around you. One random potential target must pass a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test or die as their head (or heads) implodes with a sickeningly wet crunch. If a target is killed by this spell, another target within range (i.e.: 4 yards of the Shaman), becomes the new target. The spell ends when a target survives or all targets in range are dead.

*: The CN is 4 for this NPC built using no Talents. If full Talents are used, the CN should be 8.

This is as far as I completed with this article pre-COVID. So, what follows is presented partially written, with the unfinished sections marked in red. Make of it what you will. If anyone wants to fill in the red sections, post some relevant words to me and I'll edit them, plug in the text, and credit those responsible.

GUZZWIZZA DA CHARIOTEER

Career Path: Pugilist, Villager, Squire, Coachman, Coach Master
Unwritten background. Guzzwizza cares not from whence the speed comes.

Unwritten character description. Guzzwizza is wild-eyed and lives for speed.

GUZZWIZZA - CHARIOT DRIVER (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	39	46	58	62	32	52	34	17	53	14	22

Skills: Animal Care 37, Athletics 67, Drive 72, Endurance 82, Intimidate 73, Language (Reikspiel) 22, Melee (Brawling) 49, Perception 42, Ranged (Entangling) 61, Ride (Boar) 67
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Immune to Psychology, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Whip 6) +7, Weapon (Choppa) +9

WHITESKULL BIG 'UNS
Career Path: Pugilist, Soldier, Squire, Knight
These are some of the biggest and 'ardest Orcs in da camp. Should the tribe go to war, the Big 'Uns usually ride boars into battle.

6 WHITESKULL BIG 'UNS (Silver 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	60	35	55	60	30	40	30	20	45	20	27

Skills: Animal Care 30, Athletics 60, Cool 55, Dodge 55, Endurance 75, Intimidate 65, Melee (Basic) 80, Melee (Brawling) 75, Ranged (Thrown) 40, Ride (Boar) 50
Traits: Armour 4, Belligerent, Die Hard, Hardy, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Heavy Stikka) +10

BOYZ

WHITESKULL BOAR BOYZ

Career Path: Pugilist, Villager, Squire
The tribe's Boar Boyz. They often scout the surrounding territory on their Boars, and are usually led by one of the Whiteskull Big 'Uns.

5 BOAR BOYZ (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	55	30	55	60	25	40	30	20	40	20	27

Skills: Animal Care 30, Athletics 45, Dodge 45, Endurance 70, Intimidate 60, Melee (Basic) 65, Melee (Brawling) 65, Ride (Boar) 45
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Hardy, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Heavy Stikka) +10

WHITESKULL BOYZ
Career Path: Pugilist, Sentry, Soldier
Some of the toughest orcs in the tribe. Usually tasked to protect Mawzag and Krabbit, and to keep 'Edcruncha in line.

10 WHITESKULL BOYZ (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	55	35	40	65	20	35	30	20	45	20	20

Skills: Athletics 40, Cool 50, Dodge 45, Endurance 80, Intimidate 45, Melee (Basic) 70, Melee (Brawling) 65, Perception 25, Ranged (Thrown) 40
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +8

YOOFS

WHITESKULL YOOFS
Career Path: Pugilist
The biggest and strongest of the yoofs are picked by Mawzag to join his personal mob.

8 WHITESKULL YOOFS (Brass 4)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	30	40	55	20	30	25	20	40	15	18

Skills: Athletics 35, Dodge 35, Endurance 60, Intimidate 45, Melee (Basic) 50, Melee (Brawling) 50
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +8

DA BLOODY STIKKAS
6 Champions, 12 Boyz, 3 Yoofs. The most cunning, and hated, of the tribe.

CHAMPIONS

URGAT DA GIT

Career Path: Pugilist, Hunter, Tracker, Scout, Pathfinder
Boss of the Bloody Stikkas, and a seriously horrible Orc. Cruel, sadistic, and in love with making things bleed. Like to torture the slaves, and hates Krabbit.

URGAT - BOSS (Brass 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	59	47	73	44	53	49	33	32	16	28

Skills: Athletics 68, Climb 67, Cool 37, Dodge 40, Endurance 98, Intimidate 52, Melee (Basic) 65, Melee (Brawling) 50, Perception 64, Ranged (Bow) 79, Set Trap 59, Stealth (Rural) 73, Track 59
Traits: Arboreal, Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Fury, Hardy, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Heavy Bow 45) +10, Weapon (Nasty Stikka) +9

5 ORC SCOUTS

Career Path: Pugilist, Hunter, Tracker, Scout
The most cunning of all the Arrer Boyz, used to stalking prey in the forests.

12 ORC SCOUTS (Brass 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	50	45	65	30	50	35	30	30	20	19

Skills: Athletics 55, Climb 60, Cool 35, Dodge 55, Endurance 85, Intimidate 50, Melee (Basic) 55, Melee (Brawling) 45, Perception 45, Ranged (Bow) 65, Set Trap 45, Stealth (Rural) 45, Track 35
Traits: Arboreal, Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Bow 50) +8, Weapon (Nasty Stikka) +9

BOYZ

ARRER BOYZ

Career Path: Pugilist, Trapper, Hunter
Cunning Ladz that prefer Arrers to Choppas.

12 ARRER BOYZ (Brass 4)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	45	45	60	25	35	35	30	30	20	19

Skills: Athletics 40, Climb 55, Cool 35, Dodge 40, Endurance 75, Intimidate 50, Melee (Basic) 50, Melee (Brawling) 45, Perception 35, Ranged (Bow) 55, Set Trap 45, Stealth (Rural) 40
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Bow 50) +9, Weapon (Stikka) +8

YOOFS

BLOODY STIKKAS YOOFS
Career Path: Pugilist
The wiliest and sharpest of the yoofs are picked by Urgat to join his mob.

3 YOOFS (Brass 4)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	35	35	50	25	35	25	30	30	20	16

Skills: Athletics 40, Dodge 40, Endurance 55, Intimidate 40, Melee (Basic) 45, Melee (Brawling) 45
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +7

BONSBASHA'S BOYZ
4 Champions, 9 Boyz, 6 Yoofs. Solid, dependable boyz recently formed from the Goblin 'Unterz.

CHAMPIONS

BONSBASHA DA BIG 'UN

Career Path: Recruit, Sentry, Guard, Soldier, Honour Guard
Trained by Mawzag. A real soldiering Orc who has just taken over his own mob. Not a good leader. At all. Eats those who don't do as he says.

BONSBASHA - BOSS (Brass 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	68	45	58	76	35	41	24	18	55	14	24

Skills: Cool 70, Dodge 66, Endurance 101, Intimidate 72, Melee (Basic) 93, Perception 50
Traits: Armour 4, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Spiked Club) +10

ODDLUG DA SMIFF

Career Path: Pugilist, Guard, Apprentice Artisan, Artisan
The tribe's armourer. Utterly under Bonsbasha's thumb, and has been since a Yoof. He says very little.

ODDLUG - ARMOURER (Silver 1)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	51	29	73	66	37	23	59	38	31	8	22

Skills: Cool 41, Endurance 86, Intimidate 78, Melee (Basic) 61, Melee (Brawling) 56, Perception 42, Trade (Smith) 69, Perception 42
Traits: Armour 5, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Enormous Hammer) +12

BONSBASHA'S GUARDS

Career Path: Pugilist, Soldier, Guard, Honour Guard
These boys, relatively young ex guards of Mawzag, were trained by Bonsbasha, and rarely leave his side.

2 BONSBASHA GUARDS (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	35	40	60	15	35	20	25	60	20	22

Skills: Athletics 55, Cool 75, Dodge 50, Endurance 80, Intimidate 55, Melee (Basic) 65, Melee (Brawling) 55, Perception 25, Ranged (Bow) 50
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Bow 50) +8, Weapon (Huge Choppa) +9

BOYZ

BONSBASHA'S BOYZ

Career Path: Pugilist, Soldier
Solid soldiering ladz.

9 BONSBASHA BOYZ (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	35	35	50	15	25	20	25	50	20	18

Skills: Athletics 40, Cool 55, Dodge 35, Endurance 60, Intimidate 40, Melee (Basic) 50, Melee (Brawling) 50, Ranged (Bow) 40
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Bow 50) +8, Weapon (Choppa) +7

YOOFS

BONSBASHA'S YOOFS
Career Path: Pugilist
Bonsbasha goes for the steadiest Yoofs

6 BONSBASHA YOOFS (Brass 4)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	35	30	35	45	15	25	20	25	45	20	15

Skills: Athletics 30, Dodge 30, Endurance 50, Intimidate 40, Melee (Basic) 40, Melee (Brawling) 40
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +7

DA PAIN BOYZ
3 Champions, 6 Boyz, 4 Yoofs. Da Pain Boyz are an elite, and rich, group of Wreckin Orcs that everyone hates.

CHAMPIONS

KAPTAIN ARGHAZ DA PAINDEALAH

Career Path: Pugilist, Wrecker, River Pirate, Wrecker Captain
A ruthless, untrustworthy pirate of an Orc that few dare cross

ARGHAZ - WRECKER CAPTAIN (Brass 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	75	46	68	59	49	26	22	32	53	34	26

Skills: Athletics 31, Climb 83, Cool 73, Dodge 46, Endurance 79, Intimidate 83, Leadership 44, Melee (Basic) 95, Melee (Brawl) 80, Perception 64, Ranged (Crossbow) 56, Row 83, Set Traps 37, Swim 83
Traits: Armour 4, Belligerent, Die Hard, Hardy, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Huge Crossbow 100) +9, Weapon (Serrated Hook) +11

DOK STIKKIT

Career Path: Pugilist, Physician, Pit Fighter, Doktor
Loves a laugh and a joke at his patient's expense. Love to fight even more. Often refuses to tend to patients without a brawl first. Has smarts, but cares little about using them.

STIKKIT - PAINBOY (Silver 2)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	51	26	52	61	31	22	39	49	58	27	22

Skills: Athletics 32, Cool 78, Dodge 32, Endurance 81, Heal 59, Intimidate 62, Melee (Basic) 66, Melee (Brawl) 61, Perception 46
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Saw) +9

CHIEF SINKAH

Career Path: Pugilist, Wrecker, River Pirate, Guard
Hardened Pirate that never leaves his Kaptain's side.

SINKAH - PIRATE (Brass 5)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	58	42	54	56	44	40	25	19	54	23	20

Skills: Athletics 50, Climb 64, Cool 69, Dodge 60, Endurance 76, Intimidate 54, Melee (Basic) 78, Melee (Brawl) 63, Perception 54, Ranged (Entangling) 47, Row 69, Set Traps 35, Swim 64
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Ranged (Net 8), Weapon (Big Oar) +10

BOYZ

WRECKERZ

Career Path: Scavenger, Pugilist, Wrecker
Sharp-eyed, vicious river pirates.

6 WRECKERS (Brass 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	50	35	50	45	35	30	20	25	40	20	17

Skills: Athletics 40, Climb 60, Cool 50, Dodge 45, Endurance 60, Intimidate 55, Melee (Basic) 65, Melee (Brawl) 55, Perception 40, Row 60, Set Traps 30, Swim 65

Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Big Oar) +10

YOOFS

WRECKER YOOFS
Career Path: Scavenger
Arghaz goes for Orcs with the keenest eyes and strongest backs

4 WRECKER YOOFS (Brass 2)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	35	40	40	30	30	20	25	35	20	15

Skills: Climb 45, Dodge 35, Endurance 45, Melee (Basic) 45, Row 45, Swim 45

Traits: Armour 1, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Oar) +8

GUZZL'S SQUIGEATAHS
2 Champions: 5 Boyz, 5 Yoofs. They herd the squigs and sometimes the slaves.

CHAMPIONS

GUZZL DA GOORMOND

Career Path: Pugilist, Villager, Guard, Soldier, Sergeant
An enormously fat orc who's constantly nomming on squigs. And snotlings. And captives. And underlings. And anything else to hand. Hence his small mob.

GUZZL - BOSS (Silver 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	64	32	58	75	37	17	18	29	54	25	62

Skills: Cool 64, Endurance 100, Intimidate 68, Language (Reikspiel) 34, Leadership 35, Melee (Basic) 89, Melee (Brawling) 84, Perception 52
Traits: Armour 5, Belligerent, Die Hard, Hardy, Infected, Night Vision, Size (Large), Weapon (Mighty Cleavah) +10

BUGGRIT DA SNOT CATCHA

Career Path: Pugilist, Villager, Rat Hunter, Rat Catcher
The primary herder of the tribe. Enjoys the hunt.

BUGGRIT - SNOT CATCHA (Silver 1)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	59	42	54	63	28	39	24	27	42	24	15

Skills: Animal Care 32, Animal Training (Snotlings & Squigs) 37, Athletics 59, Dodge 44, Endurance 83, Intimidate 59, Language (Reikspiel) 32, Melee (Basic) 79, Melee (Brawling) 69, Perception 38, Set Trap 34, Stealth (Rural) 49
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Squig Catcha) +9

Add rules for small but vicious Squigs.

BOYZ

HERDER BOYZ

Career Path: Pugilist, Villager
Those that tend the snotlings and squigs, and sometimes the slaves.

5 HERDER BOYZ (Brass 3)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	45	30	55	50	25	35	20	25	30	20	18

Skills: Athletics 45, Dodge 40, Endurance 60, Intimidate 60, Language (Reikspiel) 30, Melee (Basic) 55, Melee (Brawling) 55
Traits: Armour 3, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +9

YOOFS

HERDER YOOFS
Career Path: Pugilist
Bonsbasha goes for agile, strong, quick-witted Orcs

5 HERDER YOOFS (Brass 2)

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	40	30	45	45	25	30	20	25	30	20	15

Skills: Athletics 35, Dodge 35, Endurance 50, Intimidate 50, Melee (Basic) 45, Melee (Brawling) 45
Traits: Armour 2, Belligerent, Die Hard, Infected, Night Vision, Weapon (Choppa) +8

And, sadly, that's it. Obviously, I never finished all the background sections. But, everything needed to do this yourself is included above. If anyone fancies giving it a go and wants to fill in the red blanks, feel free to message me and we can build the full resource. I would do it myself, but won't for two reasons:

1) Long-COVID. Man, so exhausted! Bleh! Not happening. And so on.
2) I am spending my time on Rookery Gubbinz. What is the Rookery? Well, more on that later. And likely soon™ given our current pace (it's nice to be working full-time again).

If you want to follow our news when it comes, there are a couple of Rookery links (ca-caw, ca-caw!):

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Delbren? Delberz? WTF!

2020-07-19T18:45:00.014+01:00

So, you read WFRP 4E's Enemy in Shadows, and you read about the town of Delbren. But, you also read WFRP 1E's Mistaken Identity, and it uses the town of Delberz for the same location.

What's going on? Is this a typo? On purpose? Something else?

And if Delbren does exist, where in the Realm of Chaos is it?

Let's sort this out.

So, in 1E's 1986 map from the original Enemy Within, Delberz is here:

Position 1

So, it lies not far to the north-east of Altdorf, just north of the River Talabec. It's in the grand province of Middenland. It's to the south of the Five Sisters. It's just west of Schoppendorf, which is on the River Talabec. This is all pretty clearly placed. Hard to get that wrong in future books, right?

Wrong.

1E was the first edition to muddy the clarity here. 1989's The Restless Dead has this map, and it has a few problems:

Position 2

So, what's wrong with this rather famous campaign map?

Two things for our discussion:

1) Delberz is marked as being on the Middenheim/Altdorf road.

As we can see on Map 1 in this blog post, it is not. It is many miles away from that road (marked with dashes on map 1, leading north from Altdorf).

2) The River Talebec between Altdorf and Schoppendorf is marked as the River Delb.

This is also wrong. This is the River Talabec. The Talabec flows by Schoppendorf, from Talabheim and beyond, to Altdorf. The Delb is a river that flows north from the River Talabec and snakes by the Five Sisters (and later the Pestwen Hills and Erzot Hills). So, this map mistakenly places Schoppendorf high up on the River Delb, not down on the River Talabec.

Now, both these errors are small - tiny even - but they have a significant impact. In later maps, these errors are not just repeated, they become the new standard for Delberz's location, a standard that assumes Delberz is on the Middenheim/Altdorf road, and assumes that the 'River Talabec' is the label that is incorrect (on map 2 beside 'The Three Feathers). And, if that's true, then the River Talabec must be far to the south of those two locations; after all, the Delb flows into the Talabec. So, that being the case, we better put Delberz and Schoppendorf north of the Talabec, right?

It seems others certainly thought so. Let's see that in action.

Several maps from the late 90s and 00s place Delberz in a completely different place, arguably all because of the Restless Dead map's inaccuracies (and, so I'm told, a lack of it mattering too much to the studio at the time). Most famously, Delberz was moved far to the north in the maps for the Storm of Chaos and Nemesis Crown campaigns. As a single example, let's grab the map from 2004's Storm of Chaos. It shows things have changed significantly.

Position 3

Wow. Take a look at how far north Delberz is (red lines). It's so far north, we can't even see Altdorf on the map anymore (Altdorf would be off the map to the bottom-left). Further, look at Schoppendorf. That town has moved an enormous distance both north and east, now sitting on the border of Middenland/Hochland, not Talabecland/Middenland.

Let's all shake our fists at the Chaos gods. Or maybe the Empire's poor cartographers...

So, when 2E came along, it had to use the most recent maps from the studio as a basis. That led to this map in 2005's Sigmar's Heirs. No matter how you tried to spin it, 2E was now, cartographically, very different from 1E.

Position 4

This map matches the maps coming from GW's studio at the time, but it did not match the maps from 1E. To show just how far things have moved, I've marked each town's original placement on the map above with the little red and pink suns. Each town has easily shifted at least 100 miles on that map (and much farther on later 2E maps). And this becomes the standard for all 2E maps as Delberz is nailed into place into the north sector of Middenland, lying on the Middenheim/Altdorf road.

As a single example, let's look at the campaign map from 2E's 2008 book The Thousand Thrones:

Position 5

So, Delberz location, as marked on that map, is in red near the top; the red location lower down is where it used to be. I've also picked Middenheim and Altdorf out in pink for easy spotting. That's a huge movement! But, the consistency in 2E's positioning of locations is firm. GW had moved Delberz, and so do all later GW products.

So, now we know where Delberz now is, and loosely why, let's now turn to Delbren. Where is that town on the maps, and where did it come from?

Back in 2005, I was a moderator in Black Industry's official 2E forums. I used the pseudonym 'Sigmar', and I was tasked to keep everything running smoothly alongside a small team of others. Delberz, and its shifting position, was one of the many hot topics. At the time, the forums were alive with hate for 2E. The edition wars between 1E and 2E were in full swing, and it was ugly. Being the type of chap I was, I did my best to fix every problem folk rose, where and when I could. In particular, I looked at the Delberz-moving issue, and the need for Delberz to be in the south for the Enemy Within campaign to work, and came up with a simple solution: Delbren.

In short, I went with in-time maps from 1E having cartographical errors. All instances of 'Delberz' were actually referencing 'Delbren', another town in Middenland. I wrote a little post for this on the forum. 'Blame the lazy cartographers in Altdorf for that one', I said, 'they never left their cosy offices in the capital to investigate the truth. After all, really, is there much of a difference between Delberz and Delbren? They are both on the River Delb (a river that is also called the Drelb in some maps). What are the Middenlanders complaining about? Silly uneducated Ulricans...'

I made maps to address this at the time, and that was that (I just took the original 1E maps and drew over them, also fixing the Schoppendorf-moving issue), problem solved.

Fixed (just ignore the River Teufel label - eek! - another 1E mistake)

This was enough for most to forget the issue at the time. It was annoying, particularly for map fans, but hardly game-breaking.

Later, I created my master map to list every GW location in the Empire ever printed. I initially did this because Dave Allen, who arrived to help with social media at Black Industries a year or so after the Delberz debacle, wanted some maps for the website. Delbren was marked on all map files I created from that point forwards to ensure the Enemy Within could work.

So, when 4E's 2019 Enemy in Shadows needed a location to replace Delberz (because Delberz had shifted over 150 miles north and was no longer a suitable starting point for the Enemy Within), I went with Delbren yet again as a fix for the problem.

One of only two instances of 'Delbren' in the book

Which leads us to the last question: where, exactly, is Delbren?

Well, it's largely where 1E placed Delberz (but now by the Pestwen Hills rather than the Five Sisters, which are closer to the Altdorf/Middenheim road). Here's a section of my master map to show that:

Delbren, mapped

Attach that map to the top-right of the snippet from my master map used in Enemy in Shadows, and you're off. Delbren pinned down!

Phew.

WFRP: Cats

2020-03-19T19:46:00.000+00:00

So, super-fast post today.

WFRP4 needs a Cat. It has no cats*. And that's cattist. So, in a bid to resolve that, here's a quick Bestiary entry for a cat until Cubicle 7 come up with one of their own. And, as a bonus, there is also a super-fast sketchy cat-image to accompany it.

I've used the WFRP4 'The Beasts of the Reikland' entries as a model (starting on page 314), so it can be used just as any of those entries can be used. This, for example, opens the Cat up to the Beast Form Spell (WFRP, page 245).

Anyway, let's get this typed. I'm too ill to take too long on this today.

*: Well, beyond the 'Great Cats', found in the Enemy in Shadows Companion, but they are far from normal cats.

BEASTS OF THE REIKLAND

'We do not deal with cat-tongued, honorless dogs! Take these so-called Sigmarites away.'

– Denfather Klaus Liebnitz, Deputy High Priest of Ulric

CATS

Cats are a primary predator of vermin in the rat-infested Old World, as successful in the wild as they are in the over-populated towns and cities. Ubiquitous as pets because of their keen hunting skills, Cats prowl through most homes, farms, shops, and warehouses, stalking any small creatures foolish enough to enter their territory. Most Cats are also notoriously independent creatures, usually making attempts to train them an exercise in futility. The majority of the domesticated cats found in the Empire are rarely larger than a small dog, but some Middenland and Nordlander breeds are particularly sizeable, and are often used by Rat Catchers in preference to, or in addition to, dogs.

CAT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	30	–	15	20	40	50	–	15	30	–	2

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision 2, Size (Little), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Weapon +2

Optional: Afraid (Dogs, Witches), Animosity (Dogs), Immunity (Falling), Infected, Infestation, Prejudice (Everything), Size (Medium), Territorial, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Magic), Ward (10+)

That'll do. Next up, a set of Cat rules for those looking to use them as Henchmen, following the same template as my Dog and Horse rules.

This means that the following rules do not add any Talents you may expect (such as Acute Sense), because the WFRP 'Chapter X: Bestiary' doesn't stray into that territory, and I've used the rules found there as the starting point.

However, for those looking to use Talents, a Career is also supplied, so it should be easy to add them to taste.

CATS

Cats are some of the best vermin hunters in the Old World. Confident, silent hunters, they roam everywhere, from the echoing halls of the great and good down to the dirtiest, lowliest hovel. There they catch mice, spiders, rats, and other small creatures. Many are so independent that they don't even require much in the way of feeding. Because they are so common, Cats are some of the cheapest animals to buy.

CAT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision 2, Size (Little), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+1, 2 Random Traits

Commonly Owned By: Hedge Witch, Townsmen, Villagers, Warden, Witches, Wizards

RANDOM TRAITS

All cats have two Random Traits to demonstrates the variances of their bloodlines. Use the following Table to determine these, rerolling duplicates if necessary:

1d100	TRAIT
01–10	Arboreal
11–15	Belligerent
16–25	Big
26–30	Bite SB+1
31–35	Cunning
36–45	Fast
46–55	Fury
56–70	Magical
71–75	Night Vision +1
76–80	Trained (Any) +1
81–90	Tracker
91–00	Ward (10+)

PRICE LIST

ANIMAL	COST	AVAILABILITY
Cat	3/–	Common

We're getting there, next up is the Career. Because who doesn't want a Cat Henchman?

As always for my animal Henchmen Careers, this is a touch tongue-in-cheek, created for 'Adventuring Cats', assuming you believe there is such a thing.

HENCHMAN: CAT

Most folk believe cats are one of three things: witches' familiars, Ranald's divine servants (and thus untrustworthy sources of good or bad luck), or simple vermin hunters. And for all the last category massively outnumbers the first two, you would never know this given the frantic signs to ward evil whenever cats are encountered. But, for all this negative superstition, cats are owned by all levels of Old Worlder society as there is no better way to keep vermin in check.

CAT ADVANCE SCHEME

WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
✠			💀	✠	✠			⚒	⛊

✠ TRAINEE CAT

Skills: Athletics, Climb, Intuition, Melee (Tooth and Claw), Outdoor Survival, Perception, Stealth, Track

Talents: Acute Sense (Hearing or Smell), Cat Fall, Night Vision, Sixth Sense
⚒ CAT

Skills: Charm, Endurance, Entertain (Meowing or Purring), Cool, Dodge, Perform (Nap)

Talents: Alley Cat or Rover, Beneath Notice, Luck, Magical Sense

💀 TRAINED CAT

Skills: Intimidate, Navigation, Perform (Obedience), Trade (Hairball)

Talents: Combat Reflexes, Jump Up, Nose for Trouble, Resistance (Chaos)

⛊ VETERAN CAT

Skills: Perform (Tricks), Swim

Talents: Fated, Fearless (Dogs), Pure Soul, Second Sight

NEW TALENT

Here's a controversial Talent that could be added to tier 4 Celestial Wizards, Ranaldans, and similar. It costs 500 XP to buy, and I add it here because, well, cats.

FATED

Max: 1

You are extraordinarily lucky. Perhaps the Gods have blessed you, or maybe you can somehow see the crackling skeins of fate spun by the Great Weaver itself. Gain +1 Fate Point.

And that should do nicely.

What, you want some Cat breeds, too? Really?

Okay, okay, but only a few. I'm feeling really ill...

CAT BREEDS
HOCHLAND FOREST CAT
The Hochland Forest Cat is a native of the Middle Mountains. It is adapted to extremely cold conditions, and has a glossy top coat and wooly undercoat, which somewhat hide the breed's long legs and powerful body. Known for being swift and effective hunters, as well as being intelligent, friendly, and very good with children, the Forest Cat is one of the most popular house cats of the middle Empire.

HOCHLAND FOREST CAT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	2d10 +35	2d10 +35	1d10	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Arboreal, Bestial, Night Vision 2, Size (Little), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+1

LONGHAIRED DRAKE
The Longhaired Drake is the largest breed of domesticated cat outside the occasional, and very rare, big cat. Larger than most dogs, the breed is usually found wild in western Drakwald Forest where it hunts game of all sizes. A common sight in the coaching inns and fortified hostels of Middenland, the Drake is renowned for its ratting skills, and is even used by some Rat Catchers of Middenheim and Delberz in preference to dogs. Sporting a thick, silky coat, always striped ginger and liver-red, the breed is famous for its bushy tail, sour disposition, and its startlingly golden eyes that appear quite lizard-like. Local myths, most spanning back to the lost Grand Province of Drakwald, claim the Drake has a close association with Dragons, but such tales seem fanciful at best.

LONGHAIRED DRAKE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10	2d10 +40	2d10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Hungry, Night Vision 3, Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

NORDLAND WILDCAT
Slightly larger and significantly more robust than standard domesticated cats, the Nordland Wildcat is a common sight in the forests of the Northern Empire, and was first tamed over two thousand years ago. Frequently used as housecats in Nordland, the breed is known for its bad temper, dark stripes, and bushy tail. According to the folklore of the north, the breed is famous for keeping ghosts at bay. Because of this, they are a common pet for northern Morrians, and, should hauntings be rumoured, commonfolk often seek out Wildcats to protect themselves.

NORDLAND WILDCAT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +35	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10	TBC

Traits: Arboreal, Bestial, Bite SB+1, Fury, Magical, Night Vision 2, Size (Little), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Trained (Broken), Ward (10+), Weapon SB+1

VERGER TUFTCAT
The large Verger Tuftcat is only found in the Northern Marches of Ostland and the Eastern Oblast of Kislev. It has a dense silvery-white coat with a ruffed face and tufted ears. It is distinctive for having longer back legs giving it a particularly powerful leap, and for having a stubby, almost non-existent tail. A common pet of Ungol tribesfolk in the area, the Tuftcat is commonly used by hunters to track and fetch small game and fish. Unlike most cats, this breed is not only easy to train, it is surprisingly affectionate.

VERGER TUFTCAT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Night Vision 2, Size (Small), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Fetch), Weapon SB+2

WISSENLAND LYNX
The Wissenland Lynx is one of the larger cat species and is most commonly found roaming the undulating plains of Wissenland and Averland. Rarely domesticated and surprisingly territorial, the animal is favoured for its hunting abilities and its superior ratting skills, but it is notoriously difficult to train. Almost twice the size of a standard cat, the Wissenland was a tawny coat with black spotting and distinctive tufted ears and a ruff, and is sometimes found as a ratting guard-pet.

WISSENLAND LYNX

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	2d10 +35	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision 2, Size (Small), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+2

CATS	COST
Hochland Forest Cat	5/4
Longhaired Drake	4GC
Nordland Wildcat	7/–
Verger Tuftcat	2GC 2/–
Wissenland Lynx	1GC 8/–

And we're done. That nicely plugs a gap. And, if you happen to be a Ranaldan with the Cat's Eyes Miracle, you have some actual stats to reference, too.

Job done.

Beyond that, seen the hints as to what I'm up to next?

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WFRP: Horses

2020-03-18T12:30:00.001+00:00

So, having built SBVDs, it's now time to tackle the other missing 'pet' of WFRP4: horses.

But before that, have you spotted the new project I'm involved with? It's very exciting, but very little is released about it yet.

If you want to know more, either:

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Now that's out of the way, let's get stuck in!

The following WFRP Careers either begin with a horse or later require a horse (or mule) as Trappings for a higher Career level:

BEGIN

Cavalryman
Knight

LATER REQUIRE

Advisor
Bailiff
Bounty Hunter
Coachman
Entertainer
Herbalist
Hunter
Merchant
Messenger
Noble
Outlaw
Pedlar
Protagonist
Road Warden
Scout
Soldier
Villager
Warden
Warrior Priest
Watchman
Witch Hunter
Wizard

Wow... Stop the press. That's over a third of the Careers needing horsies. We need full rules for these, and stat! After all, we wouldn't want to leave our horsie friends without attributes, would we!

So, what do we need to resolve, horse-wise? Well, let's take a look through the Careers and see what riding animals are mentioned:

Destrier
Draught Horse
Light Warhorse
Horse (we can assume this means any horse you prefer)
Mule
Pony
Riding Horse

As expected, really, given these are all the horsies mentioned in the Consumer Guide in WFRP on page 306. It's almost like I planned it that way...

But are all these equids properly statted in the rulebook?

Well, ahem, that's where things are somewhat sketchier. There are stats for the following riding animals (assuming we discount 'monsters' like Pegasi or Demigryphs and so on) in WFRP's bestiary in Chapter 12:

Horses

That's far from ideal. Sure, we can use Creature Traits to build different horse types – and that works fine for the short term – but that's super weak.

Are there any other rules to reference?

Thankfully, yes. There is much more horsey goodness to be found on pages 22–24 in the Enemy in Shadows Companion; we also get stats for:

Draught Horse
Heavy Warhorse (Destrier)
Light Warhorse (Hobby)
Pony/Donkey/Mule
Riding Horse (Palfrey)
Heavy Draught Horse

That's much better. But I also have two primary issues.

1) Ponies, Donkies, and Mules are all given the same stats, but are quite different animals in real life.
2) Ponies also cost double the price of Mules and Donkeys, but have the same stats.

Fortunately, all of that is easily fixed if I'm doing a deeper dive into horses (which is exactly what I'm about to do). Further, I’m pretty sure I can accommodate everything in EiSC so that I have very few contradictions to it by creating some fun breeds that are pretty much the same as those from that book. So, I'm in a good place for creating every horsey we could ever require.

So, let's get statting!

Much like I did with the doggos, I'll split the horsies up into various 'types' to group together animals used for similar purposes, and also group those with similar physical characteristics. I'll use the medieval 'typing' as a starting point, but merge in more modern horse breeds for purebred horses later. After all, the Old World is not like the real world, and can head off in its own direction whenever that's what works best for the setting. Also, I'll mention all the Careers that normally use each horse type.

But, before we jump in, I have three rules-based extras to add so it all makes sense. Take a look:

EXTRA TRAINING

This blog post assumes the following updates are applied to the Trained trait from WFRP page 342-343. Of note, look to Broken, which was never supposed to imply the Bestial trait was ignored completely.

Broken: The animal has been domesticated. Now tame, it gains +2d10 Fel, even if it has the Bestial trait. Further, it can now learn more Trained traits (see WFRP page 199).
Calm: The animal can attempt a Challenging (+0) Cool Test to ignore the effects of the Skittish Creature Trait. It gains a bonus of +10 to this Test for each point it has in Calm. It can have a maximum of WPB rating in this trait.
Drive: The animal is trained to pull a coach, cart, plough, buggy, or similar. The animal can pull up to its own body weight for TB hours without needing to make an Endurance Test. The animal can also pull up to twice its body weight for short hauls of TB minutes. The animal's gains a bonus of +1 TB to do this for each point it has in Drive. It can have a maximum of WPB rating in this trait.
Pack: The animal is trained to carry great weights on its back. It can carry its Strength rating in Encumbrance points upon its back for each point it has in Pack. This limit is doubled for each step in the Size trait to the creature has above Large. It can have a maximum of TB rating in this trait.
Magical: The animal is trained to accept a spellcaster as a rider. Without this Trained trait, the animal typically shies from spellcasters.
War: The animal is trained to carry a rider into the hell of war. It can use its Rider’s WP instead of its own for all appropriate Tests

NEW TRAITS

Amble
The creature has a smooth gait, making it more comfortable to ride over long distances. Add +Amble hours to any length of time a rider can comfortably ride. Further, reduce the Combat Difficulty for Shooting From Horseback by 1 step.*

Sure-Feet
The creature can instinctually find its footing, even when it has a rider on its back. The creature automatically passes all Tests concerning uncertain footing caused by such things as screes, rocky trails, heavy undergrowth, and similar.

Note: None of the creatures in the WFRP rulebook should have either of these two traits, but they could be used as an Optional wherever you feel it fits.

*: Amble references rules I use where you can't ride a horse for longer than TB hours a day without picking up some Fatigue Conditions, depending upon the results of an Endurance Test. Further, Shooting From Horseback is a penalty of at least –20, depending upon the circumstances. Riders with the Trick Riding Talent reduce this difficulty by 1 step.

GIVE 'EM A HAND!

A ‘hand’ is a term used to measure horse height. When measuring the height of a horse, you typically measure from the ground to the ‘withers’, the ridge between the horse’s shoulder blades.

1 hand = 4 inches = 10cm.

So a horse of 15 hands is 60 inches or 150cms tall at the withers.

For you metric folk, there is a little rounding deployed here as 15 hands actually equals 152.4cm. But this tiny difference is easy to ignore to keep the numbers easy to remember.

That done, let’s get started!

HORSES OF THE OLD WORLD
COURSERS
Coursers are the fastest and most popular of the three 'chargers', or war horses. These large animals are agile, strong, and bred for speed and resolve. They are normally only used for hard warfare, racing, or hunting, with other, more comfortable horses, such as palfreys or cheaper rounceys, used for general riding. Coursers are normally around 16-hands tall and are some of the most majestic horses of the Old World.

COURSER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Traits

Commonly Owned By: Cavalryman, Noble, Knight, Soldier, Warrior Priest, Wizard

DESTRIER
Destriers, sometimes called 'great horses', are the largest and strongest of the three 'chargers', or war horses. They are highly prized by the Empire's Knightly Orders and command enormous prices at market. These towering animals are most commonly seen jousting or on the battlefield. Few use these horses for everyday riding; instead, most ride comfortable palfreys or inexpensive rounceys, afraid to damage their prized stock for no reason. Destriers are usually around 17 hands tall, although some rare breeds far exceed this.

DESTRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +50	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+2, Night Vision, Rear, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Knight, Soldier, Warrior Priest

DONKEY
Donkeys (also called asses) are smaller members of the horse family known for their strength, sure-footedness, and endurance. Relatively cheap to buy and maintain, Donkeys are a common sight in all civilised lands, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. Adapted to survive in hot environments, Donkeys are more common in the south of the Old World than the north. They come in many different sizes, some larger than most horses, but 10-11 hands is an average height.

DONKEY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Graverobber, Miner, Pedlar, Villager

DRAY
Drays, or draught horses, are bred to haul great weights, and are thus some of the largest and strongest horses in the Old World. Most commonly seen working fields, drawing carts, hauling logs, or pulling field artillery to battlefields, these enormous creatures are known for the feathering on their lower legs and their calm natures. Most Drays are around 17 Hands tall.

DRAY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +50	2d10 +30	2d10	2d10	1d10	2d10	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm 2, Drive), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Boatman, Engineer, Entertainer, Merchant, Pedlar, Stevedore, Villager

MULE
A crossbreed between horses and donkeys, and invariably sterile, mules usually take the best qualities of each. They are cheaper to keep than a horse, less picky about food and stabling, and stronger for their size. On the other hand, they are larger, more agile, and faster than donkeys, and generally friendlier. Known for their endurance and their sure-footedness, mules are usually used as draught or pack animals. They can range significantly in size, but normally lie somewhere between 11-14 hands tall.

MULE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Traits
Commonly Owned By: Pedlar, Nun, Villager

PALFREY
Palfreys are light-weight steeds with a very smooth gait, making them particularly suitable for long-distance riding. Most Palfreys are expensive because of the superior comfort they offer, meaning they are ridden almost exclusively by nobles, richer merchants, and important clerics. Palfreys are usually around 15 hands tall, but sizes can vary considerably.

PALFREY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Amble 3, Bestial, Size (Large), Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Traits
Commonly Owned By: Envoy, Lawyer, Noble, Priest

PONY
Ponies are smaller horses – those 14 hands or shorter – their breeds often originating from areas with harsher habitats, such as Kislev or World's Edge Mountains. They are strong for their size and notoriously mischievous, usually deployed for driving, riding, or as pack animals. They are also used to teach youths how to ride horses, or offered at travelling carnivals for children's pony rides. They come in a variety of sizes, but most are around 13 hands at the withers.

PONY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, Pack), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Traits
Commonly Owned By: Herbalist, Hunter, Miner, Outlaw

ROUNCEY
Rounceys are all-purpose horses, suitable for riding, draught work, carrying loads, and more. They are also trainable for war, making them the smallest of the three 'chargers', or war horses. Because of their relatively smooth gaits, Rounceys are the preferred mount for most ranged cavalry such as horse archers or pistolliers. Given their all-round utility and relative cheapness, Rounceys are the most commonly encountered horses in the Old World, and are usually 14–15 hands tall.

ROUNCEY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, Pack), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Advisor, Bailiff, Bounty Hunter, Cavalryman, Coachman, Messenger, Outlaw, Protagonist, Road Warden, Scout, Soldier, Townsman, Warden, Watchmen, Witch Hunter

RANDOM TRAITS
All horses have one or more Random Traits. Use the following Table to determine these, rerolling duplicates if necessary:

1d100	TRAIT
01–10	Amble +1
11–15	Belligerent
16–25	Big
26–30	Bite SB+2
31–35	Fast
36–45	Hardy +1
46–55	Night Vision +1
56–70	Rear
71–75	Stealthy
76–80	Sure-Feet
81–90	Tough
91–00	Trained (Any) +1

PRICE LIST

HORSE	COST	AVAILABILITY
Courser	70GC	Common
Destrier	230GC	Scarce
Donkey	2GC	Common
Dray	4GC	Common
Mule	5GC	Common
Palfrey	150GC	Scarce
Pony	10GC	Common
Rouncey	15GC	Common

Phew! That's that done.

Up next is a horsey Career. I'm going to do the same thing I did with the dogs and make a general adventuring horse Career. Sure, I could make one for Warhorses and Draught Horses and Coaching Horses or whatever, but, much like the dogs, no time for that.

Again, much like with the dogs, it's a bit of a cop-out, but it will do for just now. If I need something better, I can make it up later.

So, onwards to...

HENCHMAN: HORSE
In 1797IC, Sighardt Schneider-Koller wrote in his epic poem Sigmar, Emperor!: 'Those Horses Twelve did Sigmar strap / and great Empire of Man form'd He.' Whilst clearly a metaphor, Schneider-Koller was nevertheless accurate, for horses are central to life in the Empire. The large animals work hard at all levels of society, and are used for food, herding, warfare, transportation, agriculture, sport, and much more besides. Because of this, the best examples of the species are perceived to be important status symbols, and are bought and sold for extraordinary prices.

HORSE ADVANCE SCHEME

WS

BS

S

T

I

Agi

Dex

Int

WP

Fel

⚒

✠

✠

⛊

💀

✠

✠ TRAINEE HORSE

Skills: Athletics, Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Perform (Obedience), Swim

Talents: Flee!, Sixth Sense, Strike Mighty Blow, Sturdy
⚒ HORSE

Skills: Cool, Intimidate, Melee (Tooth & Hoof), Navigation, Perform (Tricks), Stealth

Talents: Hardy, Menacing, Strong Legs, Sprinter

💀 TRAINED HORSE

Skills: Charm, Climb, Drive (Any), Perform (Show Horse)

Talents: Fleet Footed, Frightening, Resolute, Strong Back

⛊ VETERAN HORSE

Skills: Language (Battle), Perform (Dressage)

Talents: Berserk Charge, Implacable, Robust, Step Aside

Good stuff. That's all the horsey basics in place. Now, just like the doggies, time for some different breeds.

My only note here is that I'll not add breeds of mules, as that makes little sense (there are crossbreeds, after all). Obviously, mules come in all different shapes and sizes (some massive, some rather small) depending upon the parent animals, but that's slightly beyond the scope of this ruleset. Perhaps if I do an animal breeding addition or something similar, mule creation could go in there? Something to consider.

Anyway, see you on the other side. This is the one that takes a while to type up...

PUREBRED HORSES
The following provides a wide array of purebred horses in the Old World (with a focus on Empire breeds).

COURSERS
ARABYAN COURSER
The Arabyan Courser is believed to have originated in Nehekharan over 4000 years ago, supposedly from stolen Elven stock. The expensive breed was imported to the Empire three centuries ago and has been carefully cultivated ever since. Most of the stud farms are found in the Reikland and Wissenland, but some also exist in Stirland and Averland. With its distinctive head shape, long croup, and high tail-carriage, an Arabyan is unmistakable to any lucky horse dealer that should find one misidentified at market. Spirited, strong, and known for their extraordinary endurance, most Arabyans stand between 14–15 hands high.

ARABYAN COURSER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
8	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +60	2d10 +20	2d10 +50	1d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Fine 3, Night Vision 2, Size (Large), Rear, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

BILDHOFEN
Bildhofens are some of the fastest horses in the Empire. Originally from the stony hills of central Wissenland, the breed is now found in racetracks and hunts across the Old World. Bred for its willing and trainability, as well as its speed, strength, and agility, the Bildhofen has a powerful body, athletic movement, and strong limbs. Ranging from chestnut to black, many consider the Bildhofen to be the peak of what a courser should be, meaning prices for the animals can often be very high. Most are at least 16-hands tall.

BILDHOFEN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
9	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +45	2d10 +45	2d10 +35	2d10 +45	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Fine, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Calm 2, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

OOSTERNIAN
The energetic Oosternian, originally from the rolling Atter-Oostenmarchen duchy to the west of the Midden Moors, is a majestic horse prized for its ice-white coat and royal demeanour. The breed has a powerful confirmation with sloping shoulders, muscular body and a thick, long, wavy tail and mane. Originally only used as a warhorse, the last century has seen rich Marienburger merchants use the animal for recreational purposes. This mostly includes harness-work, and it has become almost commonplace to see the horses pulling high-wheeled carriages called sjees around in the Wastelander capital. Well-proportioned, Oosternians stand just over 15 hands on average, and are one of the most expensive horses in the Empire.

OOSTERNIAN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +25	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Fine 2, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

WASANER HOBBY
The Wasaner Hobby is a native breed of Stirland supposedly first bred in the County of Wasa. It is used extensively as a warhorse by outlaws and lesser nobles in the grand province. Famous for its trainability and surprisingly friendly nature, it is a common first steed for young nobles keen to earn their spurs. Its hide is usually chestnut to black, although white markings are common. Its mane is short, and its height is rarely taller than 15 hands. (This is the equivalent of the 'Light Warhorse' from the Enemy in Shadows Companion, page 24.)

WASANER HOBBY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +25	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

WILLENFELDER
One of the heaviest coursers outside Bretonnia, the grey-to-black Willenfelder is a powerhouse of thick muscle and sleek lines. Surprisingly fast for its bulk, the breed is relatively recent, bred by the Willenfeld stables in the County of Bocks in southern Averland. Known for a terrible temper mixed with a surprising calm in battle, the Willenfelder, when trained properly, has become the first pick for many of the more belligerent horse lords in the south of the Empire. Most are 16 hands or taller.

WILLENFELDER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +55	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite (SB+2), Fury, Night Vision, Rear, Size (Large), Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount, Pack, War), Weapon SB+3

COURSERS	COST
Arabyan Courser	700GC
Bildhofen	180GC
Oosternian	320GC
Wasaner Hobby	70GC
Willenfelder	90GC

DESTRIERS
AULD VELDTER
The towering Auld Veldter is one of the largest warhorses bred in the Reik Basin. Usually dun to grey or white with a long, flowing mane and tail, this destrier is a powerhouse that easily dominates any battlefield it graces. A relatively recent breed, it was named 'Auld' by the equerries of Ostermark's Veldt to provide the appearance of age in order to boost sales to the Knightly Orders across the Empire. The breed is rarely less than a full 17–18 hands tall.

AULD VELDTER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +65	2d10 +40	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+2, Night Vision, Rear, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm 2, Mount, War), Weapon SB+4

AVERLAND SORREL
The lumbering Averland Sorrel has been a mainstay of the southern armies of the Empire for over a thousand years. Although always chestnut, but ranging from dark liver to red roan, it may have white markings, but only about the muzzle or lower legs. In recent centuries, the huge horse, which is almost exclusively bred by the horse lords of southern Averland, has also been used to pull heavy artillery as it is also a natural draught animal. It is typically 17 hands or taller.

AVERLAND SORREL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +60	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Rear, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Drive 3, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

OSTLAND MARCHER
The Ostland Marcher is one of the oldest breeds of destrier in the Empire, and originates from the northern borderlands between the Empire and Kislev. An extraordinarily hardy beast, it's a far smaller warhorse than many of its contemporaries, but still packs an enormous punch. Their heads are heavy with a wide face and convex profile, and they have an incredibly heavy confirmation that is broad, muscular, and surprisingly compact. Their coats are usually roan or gray, although blacks are not unknown. Most Ostland Marchers stand near 16 hands tall.

OSTLAND MARCHER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +50	2d10 +50	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy 2, Night Vision 2, Rear, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

SOLLANDER
The imposing Sollander may be colossal, but it is also elegant and well proportioned. The breed is usually grey, although bright perlinos and cremellos are not uncommon. It used to form, the backbone of the Solland army before that grand province fell over 700 years ago, but today is mostly bred in Wissenland and some parts of southern Averland. The fineness of the animal's form has led many to suggest that it is the noblest of all the Empire destriers, but the Sollander's foul temper and propensity to bite stands contrary to this reputation. A giant of a beast, most Sollander's are 18 hands in height or higher, making them somewhat impractical steeds for many, but that hasn't stopped it becoming one of the most expensive breeds in the Old World.

SOLLANDER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +70	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	1d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+2, Fine 2, Fury, Hatred (Greenskins), Night Vision, Rear, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Mount, Pack, War), Weapon SB+3

VORBERGER
Over two-thousand years of military service has granted the good-natured Vorberger a solid reputation as the warhorse of choice in the Reikland. Usually dark bay in colour with white markings to the face and lower legs, the horse is squat and muscular, with a broad back and shorter, powerful legs. Once the mainstay of the Sigmarite Knightly Orders, it has somewhat fallen from favour as the rich and powerful turn to larger, stronger animals from Ostermark and Averland. Most horses of the breed average at around 16 hands. (This is the equivalent of the 'Heavy Warhorse' from the Enemy in Shadows Companion, page 24.)

VORBERBER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +40	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount, Pack 2, War), Weapon SB+3

DESTRIERS	COST
Auld Veldter	250GC
Averland Sorrel	240GC
Ostland Marcher	255GC
Sollander	1000GC
Vorberger	230GC

DONKEYS

ALTAHLENEAN DONKEY
The sleek Altahlenean Donkey is native to the Wissenland Grey Mountains but is found through the south of the Empire. It usually has a glossy black-to-chestnut coat with a pale muzzle and underbelly, and white eye patches. It is mostly used for agricultural work, both under harness and as a pack animal, and its milk is a staple for many Wissenland dishes. The breed typically grows to 12-13 hands, but some examples can grow upwards of 15 hands or more (giving it the Large trait, and adding at least 1GC to the price).

ALTAHLENEAN DONKEY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack, Ride), Weapon SB+3

GREENLEAF HONASS

The Greenleaf Honass (Honass is Mootish for 'Donkey'), is one of the smaller breeds of donkey. Its wiry coat is usually black or dark day in colour, and, like many donkeys, it has a paler muzzle, belly, and patches around the eyes. Known for being strong for its size, the Greenleaf is used across the Mootland for agriculture and to pull carts, and also for milk and meat. It is also used in the Black Mountains as a mine donkey, and is known for its keen instincts. It usually stands around 10 hands in height.

GREENLEAF HONASS

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy 2, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack), Weapon SB+3

SALINBADER
The enormous Salinbader donkey is one of the largest breeds in the Old World. Originally from the former province of Salinbad just north of Salzenmund in Nordland, the breed is known for its distinctive shaggy coat that hangs in heavy locks. Usually chestnut coloured with a pale muzzle, they have long heads, long necks and particularly long ears that are so heavy they often fall flat. Affectionate, docile, and strong, they are mostly used for farm work and to breed mules, and local fables claim ancient tribesmen once rode them to war. Most Salinbaders are around 16 hands tall.

SALINBADER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10	–	2d10 +45	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 2, Bestial, Hardy 2, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive 2, Pack), Weapon SB+3

THERRA ASS
Originally hailing from central Stirland, the sizeable Therra Ass is one of the larger species of donkey in the Empire. It has a shaggy, dark-brown coat that gives way to a pale underside and muzzle, and is known for its irascible temper when provoked. Because of its surprisingly smooth gait and notable endurance, the Therra is primarily used as a pack animal or for riding, and is particularly popular in the highlands of Talabecland. On average, it is 15 hands tall.

THERRA ASS

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +50	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Fury, Hardy, Night Vision, Skittish, Size (Large), Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack 2, Ride), Weapon SB+3

VENNLAND DONKEY
The Vennland Donkey is native to the south of Wissenland, but has spread as far north and east as Nuln and the Mootland. It is famous for its soft, dove-grey coat that turns russet at the edges, and for its snowy skin that can be seen at the muzzle, eyes, ears and legs. The animal is primarily used as a pack animal, where its gentle character and sure-footedness make it a common companion to shepherds and pedlars. One of the cheaper equids available, Vennlands average at around 12 hands tall.

VENNLAND DONKEY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +25	2d10 +15	2d10 +25	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive, Pack), Weapon SB+3

DONKEYS	COST
Altahlenean Donkey	2GC 14/–
Greenleaf Honass	3GC 6/–
Salinbader	5GC 4/–
Therra Ass	5GC 10/–
Vennland Donkey	1GC 15/–

DRAYS

BERGSBURGER
An autochthonic horse breed from north-western Hochland, the spirited Bergburger has been used for agriculture and draught duty since the time of the Cherusen tribe almost three thousand years ago. A long-legged, well-proportioned horse with chestnut-to-dark brown colouring and a dark mane, the animal usually stands at some 18 hands. The cool-headed breed has recently been crossed with Ostermarker Veldt destriers in an attempt to breed more robust warhorses, but with little success. (This is the equivalent of the 'Heavy Draught Horse' from the Enemy in Shadows Companion, page 23.)

BERGSBURGER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10	2d10	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision 2, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm 2, Drive 5, Pack 2), Weapon SB+3

HOLSWIG KALTBLUT
A smaller dray with chestnut colouring, a heavy tan mane, and white feathering, the widely available Holswig Kaltblut is the powerhouse behind much of Reikland's recent prosperity. A common sight down the length of the Reik, the inexpensive Holswig can be found, amongst other things, ploughing fields, hauling timber, and dragging grounded barges from rivers. Although averaging at only 15 hands in height, it is a muscular animal with a broad forehead and heavy shoulders, and is known for its patience.

HOLSWIG KALTBLUT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10	–	2d10 +45	2d10 +30	2d10	2d10 +5	1d10	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm 1, Drive), Weapon SB+3

KISLEVITE DRAY
The Kislevite Dray (Kislevii Tyazhelovoz) is one of the oldest dray breeds of the northern Old World. Early Dwarf records suggest it was used by Ungol and Friking tribesfolk that predate the Time of Sigmar. A heavy draught horse with a small head and short legs with no feathering, the roan animal is known for its long life (some 40 years of work on average) and its lively gait. Although only 15-hands high on average, the Kislevite Draught is one of the strongest horses of the Empire, and is one of the source bloodlines for the modern Ostermark Veldt destriers. It is mostly found in Ostland and the Western Oblast of Kislev where it is used for farming, milking, and meat.

KISLEVITE DRAY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +55	2d10 +35	2d10 +10	2d10	1d10	2d10	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm 2, Drive 5, Pack 3), Weapon SB+3

LITTENER DRAUGHT
Named for the village of Litten in south-east Wissenland where it was first bred over four centuries ago, the Littener Draught has a golden colouring with a white mane. Originally crossbred from hardy Black Mountain ponies and Averlander destriers, this horse is known for its broad chest, powerful hocks, and unexpectedly frisky nature. It is mostly used for harness-work and driving, but is also used for some under-saddle purposes. Litteners are rarely less than 16-hands tall. (This is the equivalent to the 'Draught Horse' from the Enemy in Shadows Companion, page 23)

LITTENER DRAUGHT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +35	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive 3, Mount), Weapon SB+3

OLD MOOTLAND SHIRE
The enormous Old Mootland Shire, often called the Imperial Great Horse outside the Empire, is a white-socked giant with a sleek black-to-dark brown coat. Impressively strong, the breed was imported to the Reik Basin alongside Halfling settlers and their Ogre bodyguards almost two millennia ago, and is reputedly the foundation stock for most of Averland's courser and destrier breeds. Prolific across Mootland, Stirland, and Averland, it is used heavily for farm, forestry, and driving work, and to move goods at the many river docks down the Aver and Upper Reik rivers. Rarely standing at less than 18 hands in height, some horse experts believe the breed may originally come from Elven stocks left behind when the High Elves fled the Old World.

OLD MOOTLAND SHIRE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +50	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive 4, Pack), Weapon SB+3

DRAYS	COST
Bergsburger	8GC
Holswig Kaltblut	3GC
Kislevite Dray	8GC
Littener Draught	5GC
Old Mootland Shire	5GC

PALFREYS

FEINER SCHRITT

The Feiner Schritt (fine step) is less a breed and more a name for the smoothest, four-beat gaited horses in the Empire. In recent years, many Feiner Schritt stud farms have become famous for their horses, with each naming their versions slightly differently. The most famous are the Holzbek Feiner Schritts of north-eastern Middenland (usually grey), and the Auld Uhland Feiner-Schritts of northern Reikland (usually chestnut). Most are just over 14 hands in height and are distinctive for their clean legs and relatively short back with prominent withers.

FEINER SCHRITT

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Amble 4, Bestial, Size (Large), Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Mount), Weapon SB+3

HEINER HORSE

The distinctive Heiner Horse is a rare breed from the County of Heine in western Averland. A single stud farm breeds it, ensuring premium prices and a seller's market. Known for its inward-turning ears and the whorls in its hide down the neck, the Heiner is slender, elegant, and has an exceedingly smooth ride. Coming in all colours besides white, the breed is usually 15 hands tall and is especially popular with the courtly women of Averland, Stirland, and Wissenland.

HEINER HORSE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +50	2d10 +10	2d10 +40	1d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Amble 6, Bestial, Size (Large), Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount), Weapon SB+3

KHIVAL

The Khival, from the County of Hohenkhiv in the north of the Veldt in Ostermark, is one of the most sought after horses in the Old World. Although they have a strong reputation for their smooth gait, speed and endurance, it's the extraordinary, almost metallic-gold sheen to their dark brown to dun coats that make them exceptional. Believed to be autochthonic, the Khival is certainly an ancient breed, and has recently gained much popularity with the wizards of the Colleges of Magic due to their unexpected tolerance to their kind. Most Khivals are 15 hands or taller.

KHIVAL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +35	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Amble 2, Bestial, Fine, Size (Large), Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Calm, Magical, Mount), Weapon SB+3

SIERT PALFREY

The Siert Palfrey, named for the noble house that first bred it on the Reikland–Westerland border, is not the first choice for most palfrey purchasers. A passable ride at best, it is notorious for its poor vision and is not particularly intelligent. However, it is an exceptionally long-lived breed, able to reach a grand age of 60 years or more, and is relatively cheap. This meaning the horses are often bought by poorer nobles or merchants, who later pass them to younger siblings, cousins, or their children. Most Siert Palfreys rarely grow taller than 15 hands to the withers.

SIERT PALFREY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Amble 2, Bestial, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount), Weapon SB+3

VILVIZAN

The Ostermarker Vilvizan is one of the most famous breeds in the Empire, having been continuously bred for over two-thousand years. Originally hailing from the County of Vilv in the Bleak Moors where the Vilviza Stud Farm has reputedly operated for 2143 years, these gray horses are known for their extraordinarily smooth gait resulting from their long legs, convex profiles, and their broad rumps. Vilvizans are stubborn animals that mature very slowly, but, if well trained, can continue to work deep into their 30s. Most horses of this breed are between 14–15 hands in height.

VILVIZAN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10	2d10 +40	2d10	TBC

Traits: Amble 4, Bestial, Size (Large), Sure-Feet, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount), Weapon SB+3

PALFREYS	COST
Palfrey	165GC
Heiner Horse	360GC
Khival	310GC
Palfrey	115GC
Vilvizian	170GC

PONIES

AACHDENIE

The Aachdenie is a small riding horse originally bred in central Ostland near Aachden. It's noted for its comfortable gait, placid and inquisitive nature, and patience, making it a popular breed for those seeking to teach the young to ride. Normally with fleabitten or dapple-grey coats, Aachdenies can be found at horse markets throughout the Empire, but are most common in the north-east. They are usually no taller than 12 hands.

AACHDENIE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +40	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Mount), Weapon SB+3

BEK HORSE

Bek Horses are ponies from northern-eastern Talabecland that are usually dun with a dark ridge and darker horizontal stripes on the legs. Known for being aggressive animals that kick and bite, Beks have little inclination for driving, hauling, or being pack animals, but has surprising enthusiasm for warfare. Southern Talabeclander myths claim the Bek was originally introduced to the Reik Basic by the Taleuten tribe long before the Time of Sigmar, and some smaller communities consider the beast to be sacred. Most Beks are rarely taller than 13 hands.

BEK HORSE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +40	2d10 +25	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+2, Hardy, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

BELLASECHSEN

The Bellasechsen is a tiny horse from north-eastern Averland. They are seldom taller than 7 hands and usually have palomino coats and long, feathery manes, tails, and fetlocks. Because of their size, only children and smaller species such as Gnomes (see Rough Nights & Hard Days) can ride them, meaning they are more often used to pull carts, although particularly fine examples are sometimes found as curious pets. Considered intelligent and particularly trainable, the Bellasechsen has become an unexpected 'guide animal' of Nuln, where it can sometimes be found accompanying the old and blind.

BELLASECHSEN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision 2, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount), Weapon SB+3

GEOPONY

The Geopony, or Nordland Geo Pony, is a small but incredibly strong breed often used to scale cliff faces and delve 'geo's: large, coastal sink-holes. An agile horse, the Geopony is usually dun with a short, white mane. It has a strong, arched neck, sturdy legs that are good for climbing, and very sure feet combined with a compact muscular body. Despite its small size, it can carry or pull a great deal of weight. The breed is usually 12–13 hands in height and has a generally good temperament.

GEOPONY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +50	2d10 +40	2d10 +25	2d10 +30	1d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Hardy 2, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Sure-Feet, Trained (Broken, Drive 2, Mount, Pack 2), Weapon SB+3

TROMA PONY

Troma Ponies hail from the Troma Isles just north of Nordland. They have heavy coats and short legs, and are adapted to the harsh conditions found there. With muscular bodies and stubby, thick necks, the breed oozes compact power. Their broad backs and deep girth lend them a springy stride that sends their very long manes and tails flying. They can be almost any colour, and are known for their brave, almost cheeky characters, and their surprising intelligence. Most Troma Ponies, which are used for almost all purposes, are around 8–9 hands tall.

TROMA PONY

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +50	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +15	2d10 +35	2d10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Hardy 3, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, Pack 2), Weapon SB+3

PONIES	COST
Aachdenie	7GC
Bek Horse	11GC 6/–
Bellasechsen	8GC 9/–
Geopony	12GC 8/–
Troma Pony	12GC 6/–

ROUNCEYS

ALT-VOLGENER

The Alt-Volgener is the result of a concerted effort by the burgomeisters of Volgen in northern Talabecland to breed a versatile, economical rouncey with a focus on agriculture. After many attempts, they succeeded, and the resulting rose- to dapple-grey horses are now a common sight down the length of the Talabec river. Its careful nature, inexpensive upkeep, and effective power at the plough has made it the horse of choice for many. The average Alt-Volgener stands at just under 15 hands.

ALT-VOLGENER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount), Weapon SB+3

DENKESIAN

Hailing from the Barony of Denkesland, Denkesians are a Hochlander breed with an unusual black-on-dun spotted coat, coupled with long, white manes and feathered tails. Used for almost all purposes in Hochland, eastern Middenland, and pasts of southern Ostland, their distinctive appearance makes them popular in travelling fairs and circuses, especially because of their general utility on the road. Relatively large horses with a friendly demeanour, most Denkesians are just under 16 hands tall.

DENKESIAN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, Pack), Weapon SB+3

GRAULLER GENET

The Grauller Genet is an old breed believed to be indigenous to the Grau valley in the Southern Vorbergland, unchanged since the Time of Sigmar. Like most rounceys, the Grauller is versatile, as suitable for pulling a plough as it is for riding to the local temple on Festag or piling high with goods for market, but has relatively poor eyesight. Distinctive horses with long heads and blue roan coats, they are most commonly found across Reikland and down into Wissenland, and usually grow to around 14-hands high.

GRAULLER GENET

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +25	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, Pack), Weapon SB+3

STRIGANY COB

The usually piebald Strigany Cob (Cob for short) has feathered heels and a long mane and tail. The traditional horse of travelling fairs, the Cob is famous for pulling caravans and Strigany vardos. It is often mistaken for a dray because of its heavy frame and obvious strength, but the horse is considerably more versatile. Known for its gentle nature and hard-working spirit, the breed is capable of almost any duty, which it usually fulfils with no complaint. Most Cobs rarely grow taller than 15 hands.

STRIGANY COB

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	1d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Calm, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive 2, Mount, Pack 2), Weapon SB+3

VYORMYTOV

The dark-hided Vyormytov was originally bred in the village of Vormyto in the Northern March of Ostland to not only be useful for everyday use, but also have the temperament for war. It has a rectangular build with long sloping shoulders, good hindquarters, and strong legs, and is topped with a finely chiselled head that narrows at the muzzle. Particularly athletic and trainable, the breed is the most common warhorse of the Ostland cavalry and is known for its endurance and calm nature. Most Vyormytovs are around 15 hands tall.

VYORMYTOV

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	2d10 +25	2d10 +40	1d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +35	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Amble, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Drive, Mount, War), Weapon SB+3

ROUNCEYS	COST
Alt Volgener	13GC 12/–
Denkesian	15GC 10/–
Grauller Genet	12GC
Strigany Cob	22GC
Vyormytov	16GC 8/–

And done!

Phew! That was a lot of horses.

Also, as an aside, did I miss a trick by not adding Ride (Horse) to the doggo career?

Bork! Bork! Onwards!

I think I did.

Until next time.

WFRP: Dogs

2020-03-01T18:07:00.000+00:00

(Polish? Here's a translation of the article in two parts: part 1, and COMING SOON.)

I've been super busy, so no posts for the last couple of weeks. So, let's catch up with an absolutely enormous post that kinda went much farther than I planned. If anyone reads all of this in one sitting, I'll be super surprised. There is a lot in here, ranging from new stats, a new career, and 35 new breeds of...

Well, look at the title image.

So, today it's Dogs. It's something WFRP 3E eventually hit, but WFRP 4E hasn't quite managed yet.

But I'm going to go far further than ever before with this.

3E's SBVD!

So, I'm writing about small but vicious dogs. And medium dogs. And large ones, too.

Why?

Well, the core book provides only a basic support for keeping and developing your own dogs (or any pets). We have a base statline for Dogs on page 315 and Wolves on page 317. We also have the rules for Henchmen on page 309.

Why are the Henchmen rules so important? Because they are specifically designed for, amongst other things, handling pets. Let's take a look at what they say?

In summary:

Pets are 'Henchmen'.
Henchmen have full Character Sheets and are given to a Player to play alongside their PC.
A Player's Henchmen earn half the XP of their PC.
This XP is spent as normal.

Sounds great. But, can you see the missing element here?

Yup, the Careers in Chapter 3 aren't exactly designed for dogs, or, indeed, any pets, so spending XP could prove a touch difficult.

So, I'm going to fix that.

Andy the Builder doesn't alliterate, but I can live with that.

However, before I do, there are more dog stats for us to look at. I added statlines for two breeds of dogs in Enemy in Shadows. These are the Telland Pit Bull on page 98, and the Ulzhammer Shepherd Dog on page 111. I also statted a 'Fighting Dog' to the Guide to Ubersreik, page 53, and there is the Dog used for pulling carts in the Enemy in Shadows Companion on page 22. No need to look 'em up if you don't have the books to hand; it's just good to note they exist for the moment, so you know everything I create below takes these into account.

So, looking at those, we have a Dog, a Draught Dog, a Wolf, a Pit Bull, Shepherd Dog, and a Fighting Dog all nicely statted and ready for careers. However, we don't have a single Small but Vicious Dog.

Call in the PCs, because this is a Warhammer crime that needs to be investigated!

It's time to do some doggo statting.

I'll get right on that...

But, me being me, I'm not just going to do our Small But Vicious, I'm going to loosely cover all dogs. Coz it's my blog and I can.

To do that, I'm going to stat 8 different loose domesticated dog types that'll cover all the basics I'll need. The ones I'll go for are:

Herd Dogs
Hound Dogs
Hunting Dogs
Lap Dogs
Mongrel Dogs
Pit Dogs
Terrier Dogs
War Dogs

#AllTheDogs

Well, almost, I'm missing out some work doggos – you know, ones that pull sleds or the like, the aforementioned 'draught' dog from the Enemy in Shadows Companion – but I'll add these later. I already have enough for a small book here, as you'll soon see...

I'm going to present each of the eight dog types with random stats and starter Traits. I'll also mark three Careers that often own the dog type for some examples of use. Lastly, I'll drop some random doggo traits to individualise our favourite pets a little at the end of the list, using the Creature Trait rules. Got that? Great, let's go.

DOGS OF THE OLD WORLD
HERD DOGS
Herd Dogs are intelligent animals bred to help with herding, guarding, and general farm work. They tend to be frisky and excitable, and most prefer wide spaces to run and play.

HERD DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +25	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Boatman, Guard, Villager

HOUND DOGS
Hound Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell, and are usually trained to track by scent (although some can track by sight, too). They are also bred for their high stamina and persistence, with some breeds used for hunting (coursing) larger game.

HOUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Bounty Hunter, Investigator, Scout

HUNTING DOGS
Hunting Dogs are trained for fetching, pointing at, flushing out, and generally hunting down small game. They are lively, hardy animals that can become despondent when not physically active.

HUNTING DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Hunter, Noble, Warden

LAP DOGS
Lap Dogs are bred to be small and highly sociable. They are common pets at all levels of society, and rarely serve any purpose beyond companionship.

LAP DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 2 Random Traits
Commonly Owned By: Merchant, Noble, Townsman

MONGREL DOGS
Mongrel Dogs are mixed-breed, or those not bred for a specific purpose. They are the most commonly encountered dogs and exhibit a wide variety of different traits.

MONGREL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 3 Random Traits
Commonly Owned By: All

PIT DOGS
Pit Dogs are bred for blood sports, and are usually stocky, powerful, and strong. The more 'game' a pit dog has, the more likely it is to maintain an attack despite injury or exhaustion, which is seen by many breeders as a key trait.

PIT DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Bawd, Pit Fighter, Racketeer

TERRIER DOGS
Terriers are small, but vicious dogs bred to hunt vermin, often in underground dens or warrens. Known for their wiry frames, low patience, and fearlessness, terriers usually have little tolerance for other dogs, but show strong loyalty to their owners.

TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Bawd, Rat Catcher, Villager

WAR DOGS
War dogs are massive, brave, and strong. They are specifically bred to attack and kill large creatures. War dogs often wear spiked collars or strapped armour, and are sometimes used as guard dogs.

WAR DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +15	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon, 1 Random Trait
Commonly Owned By: Cavalryman, Guard, Outlaw

RANDOM TRAITS
All Dogs have one or more Random Traits. Use the following Table to determine these, rerolling duplicates if necessary:

1d100	TRAIT
01–10	Armour 1 (Fur)
11–15	Belligerent
16–25	Bite SB+3
26–30	Brute
31–35	Fast
36–45	Frenzy
46–55	Hardy
56–70	Night Vision
71–75	Stealthy
76–80	Tough
81–90	Tracker
91–00	Trained (Any)

Alrighty, good start. Sure, some rules to individualise each dog type might be fun, but they also add complications I'd rather not bother with.

So, that done, what's next?

Well, beyond Rat Catchers receiving a Small But Vicious Dog (i.e.: a Terrier) for free at Character Generation, how does everyone else grab one?

Time for some pricing.

PRICE LIST

DOG	COST	AVAILABILITY
Herd Dog	2 GC	Common
Hound	2 GC	Rare
Hunting Dog	2 GC	Scarce
Lap Dog	1 GC	Common
Mongrel	10/–	Common
Pit Dog	2 GC	Scarce
Terrier	1 GC	Common
War Dog	4 GC	Rare

Right, that done, it's now time to hit the last step: doggo Careers.

Now, this could easily develop into a whole selection of Careers describing the various roles a Dog can fulfil in the Old World, be that Barge Dogs, Sheep Dogs, Guard Dogs, Show Dogs, or whatever. But that would be far too grand for this blog post.

For the moment, I'll just create a generic doggo Career – an adventuring Henchman Dog, so to speak. It will loosely describe a dog that goes where the party goes, being, in general, a good pupper, helping out, attacking or barking where required. As the dog will have its own Skills, it will also be a useful aid for Assisted Test. However, in my games, I'll only let a pet assist its owner, and only in appropriate circumstances. So, if the dog has Intimidate, it can assist its owner's Intimidate tests by barking or growling at appropriate moments, and that's a nice wee bonus.

With all that in mind, the following is a super generic Career, but it's enough to cover all my current needs. If I require Careers with more depth, they can be added later. But I doubt it will be necessary.

If you disagree, or feel I've missed anything, do holler.

HENCHMAN: DOG
Dogs have a long association with the folk of the Old World. They perform all manner of tasks, including hunting, herding, entertainment, pulling loads, guarding, going to war, companionship, and more besides. They are so intertwined with Old World society that its no surprise many believe dogs were domesticated as Taal's last gift to mortals before renouncing the mortal plane after the First Great War Against Chaos.

DOG ADVANCE SCHEME

WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
✠		⚒	💀	✠	⛊			✠

✠ TRAINEE DOG
Skills: Athletics, Charm, Dodge, Intimidate, Perception, Perform (Obedience), Swim, Track
Talents: Acute Sense (Smell), Beneath Notice, Flee!, Night Vision

⚒ DOG
Skills: Cool, Intuition, Melee (Tooth & Claw), Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Perform (Tricks)
Talents: Combat Reflexes, Magical Sense, Menacing, Strong Legs

💀 TRAINED DOG
Skills: Endurance, Entertain (Barking), Stealth, Perform (Herd or Point)
Talents: Distract, Fearless (Any), Nose for Trouble, Strike Mighty Blow

⛊ VETERAN DOG
Skills: Charm Animal, Climb,
Talents: Disarm, Frightening, Implacable, Iron Will

Alrighty, so we now have stats, costs, and a Career for dogs of all kinds. We have everything I need!

Woot!

But...

...remember the Ulzhammer and Telland mentioned at the beginning of this post? What if I want to make and cost some more specific breeds like them?

Hmm, it's perhaps worth teasing this out, see what we get...

If we look at the stats for a Telland Pit Bull and Ulzhammer Shepherd Dogs in Enemy in Shadows, we can make randomised versions using the Random Creatures rules on page 314 of WFRP. That gives us:

TELLAND PIT BULL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +25	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

So, comparing that to the generic Pit Dog I created above, we can see the Telland is pretty different. It has M +2, WS +10, S –10, I +10, Agi +20, WP +10, and Fel +5 when compared to the Pit Dog, and it also has the Tracker and Guard Traits. That's a lot to accommodate.

What about the Ulzhammer?

ULZHAMMER SHEPHERD DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +35	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +35	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	1d10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

Again, that's very different from a basic Herd Dog. We have M +1, WS +25, S +15, T +5, I +15, Int –5, WP +15, and Fel –10. And three new Traits: Armour, Bite, and Tracker. Eek! Impressive doggo! Many changes there.

Can I find a way to account for all those changes relatively quickly? I think so.

In short, thoroughbred dogs, such as the two above, are beyond the generic rules, and are bought separately. However, if I do that, I'll want a quick system for me to cost, in cold hard coin, whatever breed I can imagine. I'll need to address all the differences from the baseline for the dog type at hand, including the extra traits, and land on a final price for the Dog Breed. Creating new breeds like the Telland above id easy, but I want an underpinning system for costing them, too.

So, let's make one up!

How about...

COSTING NEW BREEDS
For each 'Advance' (i.e.: each +5 to an Attribute or +1 to Move), the cost to buy the dog breed increases by 1/–. Further, for each Creature Trait a new breed has, or step increase with the Size Trait (e.g.: from Small to Medium), the costs increase by another 10/–. Lastly, for each Decrease (which I'll count as each –5 in an Attribute or –1 Move), the cost for the dog breed decreases by 1/–.

CHANGE	COST
Each Advance	+1/–
Each new Trait or Size increase	+10/–
Each Decrease	–1/–

So, let's apply that to the Telland. It has 11 Advances, 1 Decrease, and 2 Traits when compared to the Pit Dog. That equates to +11/–, –1/–, +20/–. So, and extra +20/– on top of the base 2GC for a Pit Hound. So the Telland has a base cost of 3GC 10/–.

Nice. What about the Ulzhammer?

Well, it has 16 Advances, 3 Decreases, and 3 new Traits, so +16/–, –3/–, +30/–. Adding that to the base cost of 2 GC for a Herding Dog, we get base cost of 4GC 3/–.

That... works well enough for me. I don't feel I need rules to create the different breeds (I'll simply make them up as needed later in this post), but some rules for costing them will be handy. And the ones above do nicely.

Thanks, red-collared pupper.

Lastly, if I'm sorting prices for buying and selling doggos, I should also consider Item Qualities, especially if I'm considering creating special breeds like the Telland or Ulzhammer. After all, pure-bred animals always cost more, which sounds like the Fine Quality to me.

However, the normal Item Qualities rules don't really apply as Dogs are living creatures, so I'm going to limit it to just the one I need. So I'll just use the Fine Quality to represent a pedigree.

So, the more Fine Qualities purchased, the stronger the bloodline of the animal, and the more impressive it appears. This brings no advantages beyond bragging rights and high returns if the animal is ever sold. So, if a Player wants to buy any special breed beyond the generic versions presented at the beginning of this post, at least 1 instance of Fine should have to be bought to show it's a purebred animal accessing the special rules. I'll not make that a firm rule, as I may wish to keep costs low at some points; it's more of a guideline that I'll almost always follow.

That would mean a typical Telland actually starts at 7GC (the base cost of 3GC 10/– is doubled because of the Fine Quality). Obviously, Mongrels cannot purchase the Fine Quality to represent breeding, but it could be purchased to show a dog with a particularly pretty face or similar.

That'll do.

Equally, I'll dump the Item Flaws outside Ugly. Taking the Ugly Flaw for your pet shows it's particularly ill-favoured in appearance, which may come with penalties in some situations.

Normally, both Ugly and Fine can't be applied to a single doggo, but I'm sure there are examples of ugly versions of purebred animals, so I'll not make that a hard rule, and leave it to individual circumstances to dictate.

So, let's put all of that into action with a variety of new breeds for each of the Dog types, alongside their prices. I'll use the formula I quickly pulled from nowhere for most of the coin costs here, but a few breeds will break this as they are especially rare.

So, time for 35 breeds of dog.

PUREBRED DOGS
This is an example of some of the many purebred Dogs in the Old World (with a focus on Empire breeds).

HERD DOGS
JAGERMARK COLLIE
The Jagermark Collie is dark brown and white herding dog originally hailing from the Stanch Hills in Middenland. Considered one of the most intelligent dog breeds and a natural fetcher, it is energetic, acrobatic, and athletic, and a favoured work dog for farmers across the Empire.

JAGERMARK COLLIE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Fetch), Weapon SB+3

NORDWACH SHEPHERD
The Nordwach Shepherd, commonly called a 'Nordi', is northern Hochlander herding dog with a thick, white coat that's sometimes dappled with black or ginger spots. A common sight around the Middle Mountains, Nordis are valued by local stockmen for their versatility, hardiness, and obedience.

NORDWACH SHEPHERD

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

OLD AVER SHEEP DOG
The sizeable Old Aver Sheep Dog stands almost 36 inches (90 cm) to the withers and has a thick, long, shaggy grey to black coat. These intelligent, hardy herd-dogs are popular with those tending flocks in higher foothills or by mountains, although they can be stubborn animals.

OLD AVER SHEEPDOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 2, Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

SARHEIM CATTLE DOG
Bred to drove cattle across the rolling hills of Averland, the temperamental Sarheim Cattle Dog is a short-coated brown to black dog noted for its intelligence, energy, and strong independent streak. Dogs of the breed are often nicknamed 'horn-heelers' for their propensity to nip the heels of reluctant cattle.

SARHEIM CATTLE DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +25	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +30	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

ULZHAMMER SHEPHERD DOG
The brown and black Ulzhammer Shepherd Dog was originally bred to watch over southern Middenlander stock along the banks of the Talabec. However, its natural speed, aggression, and strength, coupled with its in-bred territorial nature, have made it the guard dog of choice for many across the Empire.

ULZHAMMER SHEPHERD DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +35	–	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +35	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	1d10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

HERD DOGS	COST
Jagermark Collie	2GC 14/–
Nordwach Shepherd	3GC 2/–
Old Aver Sheepdog	3GC 4/–
Sarheim Cattle Dog	2GC 18/–
Ulzhammer Shepherd Dog	4GC 13/–

HOUND DOGS
GOBHOUND
The black-and-tan Gobhound is one of the larger dog breeds of the Old World. Originally bred for hunting down Greenskins in the forest, the good-tempered breed is now more commonly used to track criminals and outlaws. Famed for its ability to detect scent over great distances and for its tenacious tracking skills, Gobhounds are a common companion to bounty hunters and witch hunters across the Empire.

GOBHOUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +25	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Tracker 2, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

HAMMERHOUND

A small dog, the Hammerhound, so-called because of its elongated tan body that loosely resembles a golden hammerhead, is famed as one of the best scent hounds in the Old World. Hammerhounds are extremely vocal animals and famously devoted to the hunt. They are also famously stubborn and require patient owners.

HAMMERHOUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +40	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Tracker 2, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

MOHLHUND

Mohlhounds are sighthounds originally bred for coursing in the northern Drakwald, but are now more commonly seen in racetracks across the Empire. They are tall, slender dogs, usually tan to dark grey, and have the perfect combination of deep chest, flexible spine, and long, powerful legs meaning they can reach speeds rivalling the fastest racehorses, and in just three steps.

MOHLHUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
7	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

NORDMARK ELFHOUND

One of the largest and oldest dog breeds of the Old World, the Nordmark Elfhound stands at an average of 48 inches (120 cm) at the withers, and usually has a thick, rough, grey coat. There is much debate whether the Elfhound was bred by, or to hunt down, the Elves of the Laurelorn Forest. However, there is little doubt that it is regarded as one of the best coursing breeds available, making it very popular with huntsmen of the Empire, especially in Nordland, Ostland, and Middenland.

NORDMARK ELFHOUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Bite SB+3, Hardy, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

VORBERG BEAGLE

A small scent hound known for its white coat, often with black and tan spots, the Vorberg Beagle was originally bred to hunt hares (beagling). Intelligent and eager, and known for its superior tracking skills, Vorberg Beagles often accompany hunts in southern Reikland.

VORBERG BEAGLE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10 +35	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Tracker 2, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

HOUND DOGS	COST
Gobhound	3GC 12/–
Hammerhound	2GC 15/–
Mohlhund	3GC 2/–
Nordmark Elfhound	5GC 10/–
Vorberg Beagle	2GC 7/–

HUNTING DOGS

BRAZEN RETRIEVER

Considered by many to be one of the best gun dogs available, the ginger-coated Brazen Retriever has a soft-mouth perfect for fetching wildfowl. The breed also has an instinctive love of water that ensures no matter where shot birds may land, the Retriever can fetch them. Known for their exceedingly friendly natures, they make marvellous pets, but very poor guard dogs.

BRAZEN RETRIEVER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Swimmer (start with Swim Skill +10), Tracker, Trained (Broken, Fetch), Weapon SB+3

COURONNER

A common gundog of the Wasteland and Reikland, the ginger and white Couronner is believed to have originally been bred in Couronne in Bretonnia. Floppy eared and friendly, they are easy to train, making them popular animals for work and as pets. Although they have the appearance of a dog bred for flushing game, like a spaniel or cocker, they make better retrievers

COURONNER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Fetch), Weapon SB+3

GERTZEN POINTER

Gertzen Pointers from Stirland are bred to spot birds and 'point' to them by freezing and aiming their muzzle towards the game. They have smooth black coats with a sheen, and are genial animals contradicting their impressive size, which is rarely less than 32 inches (80 cm) at the withers.

GERTZEN POINTER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Pointer), Weapon SB+3

MIRROR SPANIEL

The Mirror Spaniel was bred to flush game into the air from the moors and marshes that dominate southern Middenland. The black and grey dogs are somewhat aggressive and excitable, prone to barking off in any direction their owners suggest, and they adore jumping into water.

MIRROR SPANIEL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Swimmer (start with Swim Skill +10), Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

REIKLAND SETTER

Gentle, but strong-willed and mischievous, Reikland Setters are proud-looking, ginger gundogs bred for endurance and athleticism. They silently hunt by following the airborne scent of birds, then freeze into place, 'setting', when they draw close to game. On command, the dog then flushes any birds from their resting places to be shot.

REIKLAND SETTER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +15	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +35	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stealthy, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Pointer), Weapon SB+3

HUNTING DOGS	COST
Brazen Retriever	3GC 7/–
Couronner	2GC 12/–
Gertzen Pointer	3GC 2/–
Mirror Spaniel	2GC 12/–
Reikland Setter	3GC 10/–

LAP DOGS

KHYPRIAN

With its very long, silky, white hair and its huge black eyes, Khyprians – so-called because the tiny dogs were supposedly bred in the Border Princes' city of Khyprus millennia ago – are popular lap dogs in all the courts of the Old World. The breed has long stood as a status symbol, with ancient amphorae from Tilea and the Border Princes decorated with effigies of the dog, and Dwarf records mentioning the tiny white 'KarIThEAN' dogs as a common companion to Human rulers long before the Time of Sigmar.

KHYPRIAN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10	–	2d10	2d10	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +40	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

LEDEN LAPDOG

The smallest known dog in the Empire, the Leden Lapdog is so minute as to appear almost magical to those not used to its diminutive size. Named for its supposed origins in Wissenland, the Leden is an extraordinarily prized dog in the courts of Nuln, Averheim, and Altdorf, but is also so expensive that the white puff-ball of soft fur is an extremely rare sight.

LEDEN LAPDOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
2	1d10	–	1d10	1d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Size (Tiny), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+1

MOTTENOHREN

Named for its mothwing-shaped ears, the self-assured Mottenohren were bred from Ostermarker spaniels and became very popular in Kislev as pets amongst the nobility. Sometimes called squirrel dogs because of their vibrant ginger coats, Mottenohren are found throughout the east of the Empire and in Kislev.

MOTTENOHREN

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +25	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

RZEDINSKIENER

Named for its supposed county of origin, Rzedinskie in Ostland, Rzedinskieners are compact, sturdy dogs with an abundant, textured coat of white to ginger fur and a high, plumed tail. Often affectionately called Din-Dins for short, they are famous for their topcoat that forms a ruff of fur about their necks. Notoriously easy to startle, Din-Dins are a prized delicacy by some communities on the Kislev Verge.

RZEDINSKIENER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +5	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	2d10 +30	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	1d10	2d10 +25	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Hardy, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

SACHEN ZWERGPINSCHER

Originally bred from Wissenland farming dogs used for ratting and guarding, the Sachen Zwergpinchscher is a small, well-proportioned animal with a short, black coat with a high sheen. Prized for its alert, spirited presence and its utterly fearless nature when it comes to loud noises, the animal is especially popular with courtiers in Nuln.

SACHEN ZWERGPINSCHER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +10	–	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +35	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +45	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, War), Weapon SB+3

LAP DOGS	COST
Khyprian	15GC
Leden Lapdog	25GC
Mottenohren	2GC
Rzedinskiener	4GC
Sachen Zwergpinscher	5GC

PIT DOGS

BÄRENBITER

The tan and black-striped Bärenbiter is a large, short-haired dog originally bred to hunt and grip to bears and other large prey until hunters arrive. It has a square muzzle with very strong jaws, perfect for biting and hanging on to large prey. Although still occasionally used as a hunting dog, it is much more common to find Bärenbiters in fighting pits as the animals have significant game.

BÄRENBITER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+5, Night Vision 2, Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

KOLITZ GRYPHON BAITER

The black Kolitz Gryphon Baiter is not the largest dog, but it's a wonder of pure muscle and belligerence. It's broad chest, which often sports a white patch, is topped with prominent shoulders that support a proud head with a square muzzle and a large nose. Although originally bred to track and lock its powerful jaw on griffons and other monstrous creatures, outside Ostermark the dog is almost exclusively seen in fighting pits.

KOLTIZ GRYPHON BAITER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +20	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Belligerent, Bestial, Bite SB+4, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

OBLAST SPIRIT DOG

Traditionally bred for guarding herds from the terrors of the frozen steppe in Kislev, the white-coated Oblast Spirit Dog is a robust animal. Famous for its dogged stamina and independent nature, Spirit Dogs are known for being imperturbable, no matter the circumstances. They have heavy heads and low-set necks with a dewlap, held up by a solid, well-proportioned body. Not a friendly dog, it is nevertheless reputed as one of the most loyal breeds, and is a popular, albeit rare, addition to fighting pits across the east of the Empire.

OBLAST SPIRIT DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +40	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +60	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+4, Magical, Magic Resistance 3, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Guard), Ward 10+, Weapon SB+3

STIRLAND FIGHTING DOG

The Stirland Fighting Dog is a staple of fighting pits across the Old World. Its short, sandy coat is deeply wrinkled and prickly, allowing it to withstand bites and shake off grapplers. They are bred widely, and are known for their short tempers and relatively strong game. (Note: this is the breed in the WFRP Starter Set).

STIRLAND FIGHTING DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
4	2d10 +50	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

TELLAND PIT BULL

The Telland Pit Bull was bred for pit fighting from larger Reikland Butcher Dogs used to herd livestock and pull carts. It's a stocky, ferocious animal with a short, sleek black coat. Tellands are known for their territorial nature and their propensity to bite first no matter the circumstances. Because of this, the breed is often used for guard duty.

TELLAND PIT BULL

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +25	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +30	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

PIT DOGS	COST
Bärenbiter	4GC 3/–
Kolitz Gryphon Baiter	3GC 10/–
Oblast Spirit Dog	6GC 10/–
Stirland Fighting Dog	2GC 14/–
Telland Pit Bull	3GC 10/–

TERRIER DOGS

AHALVALLEN WHITE TERRIER

The short-haired Ahalvallen White Terrier is a vicious animal from southern Wissenland. It has short legs and a stocky body bred for hunting vermin such as rats, rabbits, and hares. It is an energetic dog that particularly loves tunnelling through warrens. Fiercely loyal, the breed is known for biting any that draw to close to their owners without permission.

AHALVALLEN WHITE TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10	TBC

Traits: Belligerent, Bestial, Bite SB+4, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

GREENLEAF FOX TERRIER

Greenleaf Fox Terriers are highly energetic dogs originally hailing from the Mootland, where they are used extensively to help keep foxes and other vermin in check. They are a smooth-haired breed, usually white with black patches, and tend to go for any creatures smaller than themselves unless restained. Enormously friendly dogs who love licking and barking, Greenleafs can be somewhat overwhelming for those unused to affectionate animals.

GREENLEAF FOX TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10 +5	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

KRANKEN TERRIER

Bred for ratting in the deep halls beneath Krankendorf in Middenland, Kranken Terriers are a small, long-haired breed of dog ranging in colour from grey through russet brown to black. Feisty animals, 'Krankies' are pro-active explorers that get their noses into everything, keen to protect their owners from any potential danger.

KRANKEN TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +20	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +35	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

NORDLAND TERRIER

The short, compact Nordland Terrier is famous for its irrepressible desire to attack, attack, and attack. Bred primarily for ratting, the scrappy dog has a long, wiry, black coat and distinctive face with piercing eyes and perky ears. Independent and self-assured, Nordlands have a rugged nature and seemingly endless determination.

NORDLAND TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
3	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +25	2d10 +25	2d10 +10	2d10 +10	2d10 +45	2d10 +10	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Belligerent, Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Little), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

WARGEN GREY TERRIER

Bred to control vermin, including rats, rabbits, badgers, snotlings, and hares, the woolly Wargen Grey Terrier is a common sight in Talabheim, where the breed is used extensively by Rat Catchers. Strong-headed and highly spirited, Wargens are large terriers known for their white beards and their tenacity when it comes to hunting their prey.

WARGEN GREY TERRIER

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +25	–	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +25	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Size (Small), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

PIT DOGS	COST
Ahalvallen White Terrier	2GC
Greenleaf Fox Terrier	1GC 15/–
Kranken Terrier	1GC 1/–
Nordland Terrier	2GC 10/–
Wargen Grey Terrier	2GC 3/–

WAR DOGS

BORGRAD BANDOGGE

The Borgrad Bandogge is a huge, dark-brown Ostlander dog bred to act as a night-guard. Typically chained up during the day to ensure strangers are not mauled, the short-haired war dogs are let loose each evening to kill anything foolish enough to enter the village or farm at night. In times of war, Bandogges are used extensively by Ostlander hundsmen, who bring them in small packs to the battlefield.

BORGRAD BANDOGGE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +30	2d10 +20	2d10 +15	2d10 +10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +15	2d10	TBC

Traits: Belligerent, Bestial, Bite SB+4, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

IMPERIAL MASTIFF

Exclusively bred for war, the tan-coloured Imperial Mastiff is a terrifyingly large animal. Standing at more than 48 inches (120 cm) at the withers, the Imperial Mastiff is also particularly broad and heavily muscled. A prized dog for any noble kennel, the high prices they command are far beyond the purse of most inhabitants of the Old World.

IMPERIAL MASTIFF

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +40	2d10 +30	2d10 +10	2d10	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	2d10	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+5, Night Vision, Size (Large), Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

KALW CANE

Less bulky than many mastiffs, the black-coated Kalw Cane is named for the Barony of Kalw in southern Wissenland where the breed's ancestors were originally imported from Tilea. Used extensively in the region to support local Free Companies and protect war camps, the animal is known for its intelligence, keen senses, and surprising affection to its owners.

KALW CANE

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
5	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +35	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +10	2d10 +15	2d10 +15	TBC

Traits: Bestial, Bite SB+3, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Trained (Broken, Guard), Weapon SB+3

SOLLIN HUNTING DOG

Originally bred as a coursing dog in old Solland, the Sollin Hunting Dog is now almost exclusively used by the State Armies of Averland, Wissenland, and Stirland. A sleek and brutal beast, the dun-coated Sollin has short fur and a shorter temper. Standing at around 30 inches (75 cm) at the withers, the Sollin is a particularly imposing animal.

SOLLIN HUNTING DOG

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +30	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +30	2d10 +15	2d10 +20	2d10	2d10 +5	2d10 +15	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 1, Belligerent, Bestial, Bite SB+4, Night Vision, Skittish, Stride, Tracker, Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

VERHUNGERN GEISTHUND

It is said the shaggy Verhungern Geisthund was first bred by Blessed Aethelbert the Vigilant, a Morrian saint from Stirland. Such was his love for the dogs, he is said to have blessed the entire breed. A rangy, black-coated dog, the Geisthund now supports Morrian Raven Knights as they patrol the haunted marshes and woods of Sylvania searching for evidence of the Restless Dead.

VERHUNGERN GEISTHUND

M	WS	BS	S	T	I	Agi	Dex	Int	WP	Fel	W
6	2d10 +50	–	2d10 +35	2d10 +25	2d10 +20	2d10 +20	2d10 +5	2d10 +5	2d10 +40	2d10 +5	TBC

Traits: Armour (Hide) 2, Bestial, Bite SB+4, Dark Vision, Magical, Skittish, Stride, Swimmer (start with Swim Skill +10), Trained (Broken), Weapon SB+3

PIT DOGS	COST
Borgrad Bandogge	5GC 4/–
Imperial Mastiff	25GC
Kalw Cane	4GC 14/–
Sollin Hunting Dog	6GC 12/–
Verhungern Geisthund	8GC 2/–

And done!

So, we now have loads of dog breeds, some generic dog stats, a dog Career, and even a quick system for pricing up any new dog breed we choose to create.

Have I missed anything? Or anything else worth adding?

If so, tell me.

And has anyone read this far? Biiiiiiig blog post...

Also, for those interested, I have a new venture coming soon:

Follow @RookeryP for more on that in the near future.

LAWHAMMER!

LAWhammer Live!

Hogwarts Legacy - Nope, Not Buying It

WFRP - Alphonse Extras

A Little Extra Help for Alphonse Hercules de Gascoigne

Bright Wizards: Spells

Edit!This blog post assumes the following amendment to the rules is used.

A Petty RestrictionAppend the following sentence to WFRP4, p238, 'Overcasting', after Paragraph 2:

Bright Magic

Bright Magic

Bright Curriculum

Elemental Spells

Mystical Spells

Cardinal Spells

Bright Cantrips

BackdraftAkhaon'rCN. 1Range. WPB yardsTarget. AoEDuration. InstantIngredient. A miniature bellows

Blinding HeatGilkhaCN: 1Range: WPB yardsTarget: 1Duration: InstantIngredient: A vial of captured smoke

Bright AuraAqshaoCN. 1Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. WPB minutesIngredient. A match

EnflameAqshyrCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A small flame

FirelightAkhinorCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WP minutesIngredient. A strip of oiled cloth

FirearrowIssaqshCN. 1Range. WP yardsTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A vial of lantern oil

FlamehandAqshuraCN. 1Range. YouTarget. 1Duration. SpecialIngredient. A piece of flint

FlashboilAkhyranCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. SpecialDuration. InstantIngredient. The ashes of a sheet of blotting paper

HeartfireArqaosCN. 1Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. A melted brass penny

Hungry AqshyAq'yaoCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A vial of cooled, boiled water

JitterAosokhCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WPB minutesIngredient. A pinch of blackpowder

RecklessQaovirshCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WPB MinutesIngredient. A small, iron key shaped as the Rune of Aqshy

Red RageKhaqshaoCN. 1Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A small mask of iron, its face twised in rage

SearShy'yaCN. 1Range. WP yardsTarget. SpecialDuration. InstantIngredient. A lump of molten iron, now cooled, marked with the rune of Aqshy

Smoke-eaterDhlguthaCN. 1Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WP minutesIngredient. A cloth soaked in sulphur-saturated water

Spinning SpitesDhaoshaCN. 1Range. WP yardsTarget. SpecialDuration. WP minutesIngredient. The ashes of 10 fireflies

Bright Arcane SpellsAny character with the Channeling (Aqshy) Skill and the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent can learn Bright Arcane Spells.

Armour of AqshyAqshoth Ao'yondCN. 3Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. A hot metal plate

Aqshy's AegisDhal'y LoathaCN. 5Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. A miniature iron shield inscribed with the key of secrets

Boiling BloodAoyran SokhrCN. 6Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A dried internal organ of a large monster that has been boiled alive

Breathe FireDhahkasha LaarCN: 8Range: SpecialTarget: SpecialDuration: InstantIngredient: A dragon scale

Burning VengeanceAkhao VyrshaCN. 7Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. WPB months or until vengeance is takenIngredient. 3 heated drops of the target’s blood

Chain of AqshyAqsh'a YaoshCN. 5Range. SpecialTarget. SpecialDuration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. A miniature shield fashioned from red gold

Burning CoughKakhaok KialkhakCN. 4Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A lit red incense stick

CauteriseAkhshyr U'yvluCN. 4Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A red-hot poker

WFRP4, p247

CholericOuakh'aa AqshaoCN. 5Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. SL+WPB RoundsIngredient. A thimbleful of warm bile

Consuming WrathKharo VyrshanCN. 7Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. SpecialIngredient. A lock of red hair bound in brass wire, shaped as a key

Crown of FlameGorkhany AylethCN. 8Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB RoundsIngredient. 1 gold crown

Eternal FlameInaqash TzoeaCN. 5Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. SL days (Special)Ingredient. A dragon’s tooth

Fiery BlastQuissh AqshylaCN. 7Range. WP yardsTarget. SpecialDuration. InstantIngredient. A multi-bitted key of thrice-forged steel

FireballQashyia AqoneCN. 7Range. WPx2 yardsTarget. AoE (WPB yards)Duration. InstantIngredient. A ball of sulpher

FirefistsAkshay'y ShaaCN. 3Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. A lump of phosphorus

Fire of BattleHarqai QualaCN. 5Range. WP yardsTarget. SpecialDuration. WPB minutesIngredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

FirewallFaqshiroth Khaq'yCN. 8Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (Special)Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A section of fine tapestry, singed by fire

Flaming CurtainUlshiroth Khaq'ilCN. 6Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (Special)Duration. WPB MinutesIngredient. A finely wrought glass bubble inscribed with a key

Flaming HeartsHarqau KhalaiCN. 8Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (WPB yards)Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

Flaming Sword of RhuinAqshy AkshilaCN. 8Range. WP yardsTarget. 1Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A burning torch

Furnance GauntletShyaq AshulaCN. 4Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WP minutesIngredient. A brass conker shell

Great Fires of U'ZulQaqshyil AkhneCN. 10Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (WPB yards)Duration. InstantIngredient. A brass-wrought half-burned match

HostilityOaqsh'aa AoqshaCN. 3Range. WPB yardsTarget. 1Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A vial of boiled ice water containing a gall stone

InfernoQasqhy TzoenrCN. 10Range. WP yardsTarget. SpecialDuration. SpecialIngredient. A dragon’s tooth scored with the rune of Aqshy

MeltKhashtha QashulCN. 3Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A chunk of metal from a forge that has seen at least a decade’s use

PressureKhashtha QashulCN. 4Range. WP yardsTarget. 1Duration. InstantIngredient. A cork carved into a key of secrets

PurgeElakhs'y KadholCN. 10Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (WPB yards)Duration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A magnifying glass inscribed with a keyhole

Shield of AqshyAqshoth Ao'yondCN. 5Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB Rounds+Ingredient. An iron amulet etched with a key symbol

Smoke CloudDhulg ThaqhaoCN. 5Range. WP yardsTarget. AoE (Special)Duration. WPB minutesIngredient. A pouch of wood ash

SpellburnQuasha AqshakCN: 4Range: WP yardsTarget: SpecialDuration: InstantIngredient: A miniature iron sword

Taste of FireEnqaro FirshaanCN. 5Range. TouchTarget. 1Duration. WP minutesIngredient. A peppercorn

Unquenchable FuryEnqaro FirshaanCN. 2Range. YouTarget. YouDuration. WPB RoundsIngredient. A scorched bone of an intelligent creature you have killed

Burns

Minor

Major

Severe

Bright Wizards: Talents & Arcane Marks

Drain Magic

Talents

Animosity (Any)Max: 1There are just some folk you don't like. Gain an Animosity Psychology Trait as described in WFRP4, p190.

Arcane Mark (Any)Max: UnlimitedOne of the Winds of Magic has made its mark upon you in a permanent way. Roll once on the appropriate Arcane Mark table and immediately apply the results to your Character.

FocusMax: WPBTests: Cool (to resist being Interrupted)You hold tight to your focus and brook no interruptions when performing your magic. Interruptions, either to Channeling Tests or Language Magic attempts during a ritual, are never harder than a Challenging (+0) Cool Test.

Hatred (Any)Max: 1Your all-consuming revulsion will not be denied, no matter how reasonable others think they are being. Gain a Hatred as described in WFRP4, p190.

Peaked (One Wind)Max: 1You have reached the limit of your ability with one of the Winds of Magic. You may no longer learn the Channelling (One Wind) Skill, and you may no longer learn any more Spells from its associated Lore of Magic.

PowersinkMax: IniBTests: Channelling (when Draining Magic)You are a skilled manipulator of the Winds of Magic, and find it easier to disrupt magic in the surrounding environment. The range of your Drain Magic attempts increases by +WPB×Powersink yards.

Prejudice (Any)Max: UnlimitedWhilst some rise above their petty prejudices, you have learned to wallow in them. Gain a Prejudice as described in WFRP4, p190-191.

Strong Channeller (One Wind)Max: WPBTests: Channeling (One Wind)You are able to channel greater flows of the Winds of Magic to enhance your spells. You may Overcast all successfully cast spells +Strong Channeller times.

Edit!
This blog post assumes the following amendment to the rules is used.

A Petty Restriction
Append the following sentence to WFRP4, p238, 'Overcasting', after Paragraph 2:

Backdraft
Akhaon'r
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. AoE
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A miniature bellows

Blinding Heat
Gilkha
CN: 1
Range: WPB yards
Target: 1
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A vial of captured smoke

Bright Aura
Aqshao
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A match

Enflame
Aqshyr
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A small flame

Firelight
Akhinor
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A strip of oiled cloth

Firearrow
Issaqsh
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A vial of lantern oil

Flamehand
Aqshura
CN. 1
Range. You
Target. 1
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A piece of flint

Flashboil
Akhyran
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. The ashes of a sheet of blotting paper

Heartfire
Arqaos
CN. 1
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A melted brass penny

Hungry Aqshy
Aq'yao
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial of cooled, boiled water

Jitter
Aosokh
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A pinch of blackpowder

Reckless
Qaovirsh
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Minutes
Ingredient. A small, iron key shaped as the Rune of Aqshy

Red Rage
Khaqshao
CN. 1
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A small mask of iron, its face twised in rage

Sear
Shy'ya
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A lump of molten iron, now cooled, marked with the rune of Aqshy

Smoke-eater
Dhlgutha
CN. 1
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A cloth soaked in sulphur-saturated water

Spinning Spites
Dhaosha
CN. 1
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. The ashes of 10 fireflies

Bright Arcane Spells
Any character with the Channeling (Aqshy) Skill and the Arcane Magic (Fire) Talent can learn Bright Arcane Spells.

Armour of Aqshy
Aqshoth Ao'yond
CN. 3
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A hot metal plate

Aqshy's Aegis
Dhal'y Loatha
CN. 5
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A miniature iron shield inscribed with the key of secrets

Boiling Blood
Aoyran Sokhr
CN. 6
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A dried internal organ of a large monster that has been boiled alive

Breathe Fire
Dhahkasha Laar
CN: 8
Range: Special
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A dragon scale

Burning Vengeance
Akhao Vyrsha
CN. 7
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB months or until vengeance is taken
Ingredient. 3 heated drops of the target’s blood

Chain of Aqshy
Aqsh'a Yaosh
CN. 5
Range. Special
Target. Special
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A miniature shield fashioned from red gold

Burning Cough
Kakhaok Kialkhak
CN. 4
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A lit red incense stick

Cauterise
Akhshyr U'yvlu
CN. 4
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A red-hot poker

Choleric
Ouakh'aa Aqshao
CN. 5
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. SL+WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A thimbleful of warm bile

Consuming Wrath
Kharo Vyrshan
CN. 7
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A lock of red hair bound in brass wire, shaped as a key

Crown of Flame
Gorkhany Ayleth
CN. 8
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. 1 gold crown

Eternal Flame
Inaqash Tzoea
CN. 5
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. SL days (Special)
Ingredient. A dragon’s tooth

Fiery Blast
Quissh Aqshyla
CN. 7
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A multi-bitted key of thrice-forged steel

Fireball
Qashyia Aqone
CN. 7
Range. WPx2 yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A ball of sulpher

Firefists
Akshay'y Shaa
CN. 3
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. A lump of phosphorus

Fire of Battle
Harqai Quala
CN. 5
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

Firewall
Faqshiroth Khaq'y
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A section of fine tapestry, singed by fire

Flaming Curtain
Ulshiroth Khaq'il
CN. 6
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB Minutes
Ingredient. A finely wrought glass bubble inscribed with a key

Flaming Hearts
Harqau Khalai
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial containing 50% warm oil and 50% fresh blood

Flaming Sword of Rhuin
Aqshy Akshila
CN. 8
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A burning torch

Furnance Gauntlet
Shyaq Ashula
CN. 4
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A brass conker shell

Great Fires of U'Zul
Qaqshyil Akhne
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A brass-wrought half-burned match

Hostility
Oaqsh'aa Aoqsha
CN. 3
Range. WPB yards
Target. 1
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A vial of boiled ice water containing a gall stone

Inferno
Qasqhy Tzoenr
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. Special
Duration. Special
Ingredient. A dragon’s tooth scored with the rune of Aqshy

Melt
Khashtha Qashul
CN. 3
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A chunk of metal from a forge that has seen at least a decade’s use

Pressure
Khashtha Qashul
CN. 4
Range. WP yards
Target. 1
Duration. Instant
Ingredient. A cork carved into a key of secrets

Purge
Elakhs'y Kadhol
CN. 10
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (WPB yards)
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A magnifying glass inscribed with a keyhole

Shield of Aqshy
Aqshoth Ao'yond
CN. 5
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds+
Ingredient. An iron amulet etched with a key symbol

Smoke Cloud
Dhulg Thaqhao
CN. 5
Range. WP yards
Target. AoE (Special)
Duration. WPB minutes
Ingredient. A pouch of wood ash

Spellburn
Quasha Aqshak
CN: 4
Range: WP yards
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Ingredient: A miniature iron sword

Taste of Fire
Enqaro Firshaan
CN. 5
Range. Touch
Target. 1
Duration. WP minutes
Ingredient. A peppercorn

Unquenchable Fury
Enqaro Firshaan
CN. 2
Range. You
Target. You
Duration. WPB Rounds
Ingredient. A scorched bone of an intelligent creature you have killed

Animosity (Any)
Max: 1
There are just some folk you don't like. Gain an Animosity Psychology Trait as described in WFRP4, p190.

Arcane Mark (Any)
Max: Unlimited
One of the Winds of Magic has made its mark upon you in a permanent way. Roll once on the appropriate Arcane Mark table and immediately apply the results to your Character.

Focus
Max: WPB
Tests: Cool (to resist being Interrupted)
You hold tight to your focus and brook no interruptions when performing your magic. Interruptions, either to Channeling Tests or Language Magic attempts during a ritual, are never harder than a Challenging (+0) Cool Test.

Hatred (Any)
Max: 1
Your all-consuming revulsion will not be denied, no matter how reasonable others think they are being. Gain a Hatred as described in WFRP4, p190.

Peaked (One Wind)
Max: 1
You have reached the limit of your ability with one of the Winds of Magic. You may no longer learn the Channelling (One Wind) Skill, and you may no longer learn any more Spells from its associated Lore of Magic.

Powersink
Max: IniB
Tests: Channelling (when Draining Magic)
You are a skilled manipulator of the Winds of Magic, and find it easier to disrupt magic in the surrounding environment. The range of your Drain Magic attempts increases by +WPB×Powersink yards.

Prejudice (Any)
Max: Unlimited
Whilst some rise above their petty prejudices, you have learned to wallow in them. Gain a Prejudice as described in WFRP4, p190-191.

Strong Channeller (One Wind)
Max: WPB
Tests: Channeling (One Wind)
You are able to channel greater flows of the Winds of Magic to enhance your spells. You may Overcast all successfully cast spells +Strong Channeller times.

MARIUS OF HOUSE LEITDORF - ELECTOR COUNT (Gold 15)
M
WS
BS
S
T
I
Agi
Dex
Int
WP
Fel
W
4 84 58 52 64 89 57 55 65 61 57 23