[Ravenhammer] Notes on playing Ravenloft with WFRP

[d'Ysmaul]

So our last campaign ended with acrimony and a breakup with the DM, and we haven't had a game this year. Then, three weeks ago, I stumbled across a copy of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 2E at a friend's house, flipped through it, and had a very bad idea.

"Has anybody here ever played WFRP before? No? How about Ravenloft, ever played in a Ravenloft game? Hmmm... you could probably run a cool Ravenloft game with this. Anybody wanna roll up characters?"

Once I realized what I'd gotten myself into, I hit Google and looked around to see if anybody had experience with this idea. As far as I can tell, the idea of Ravenhammer isn't new, but there's no evidence that anybody's done it before, and not much discussion about how well it works.

Which brings us to the present day, and this thread. As the campaign goes, I'll note any mechanical issues (good or bad) that come up here. Consider this a tech-support document of sorts.

Going into this, I have no experience running WFRP. Based on the book, though, WFRP feels dumbed down in all the right ways:

• Combat and magic are simplified so much it's a thing of beauty. Guns aren't game-breaking, and wizards don't rule the world.
• "Build" is basically nonexistent. Chargen automatically gives you the skills you need to be able to not die. (This also means that there isn't any "I'm going to suck until I level up at the end of this arc" thinking.)
• PCs aren't heroes. They're explicitly NPCs with Fate Points, no different from anybody else. (One of the players, for the first time ever, got an entire stat line of good-side-of-average rolls, and now has to find the voice of a character who can't be defined around a glaring strength or weakness.)
• PCs are part of the world. We're going into greater detail than I think we've ever done with character development. Stuff like "What was your relationship with your other siblings like?" and "What stands out in your memories about Darkon ca. 750-780?" We aren't wandering martial artists or adult feral children or runaways from an abusive home like we've always been. The PCs have homes, and career plans, and extended families of their own, and stuff like that.

The most immediate problem I see is a shortage of monsters. Night's Dark Masters gives you all the vampires you want, and if you're creative with Tome of Corruption's mutation rules you can model a lot of other stuff, but a Ravenhammer GM has a lot of homework to do for monsters. (Using this forum's ideas about Faerie would open things up a bit, but you're still going to have homework.)

There's also no good curse mechanic, so I'm going to have to figure one out that uses WFRP-style mechanics rather than ripping off d20.

That's pretty much it for now; I'll post when I figure out curse mechanics, or have some actual play experience under my belt.

[Ancalagon]

I ran the AD&D2e adventure Night of the Walking Dead using WFRP2e and it went extremely well.

Have you flipped through a copy of the Old World Bestiary? That might be able to help you a good deal on your issue with critters.

Don't sweat coming up with a curse mechanic. If you, as DM, deem a character should be curse then by all means curse him/her. To be worthy of the title "curse" the effect shouldn't be something easily or quickly removed. You'll have plenty of time to devise a unique solution... if one exists at all.

Good luck!

[d'Ysmaul]

Have you flipped through a copy of the Old World Bestiary? That might be able to help you a good deal on your issue with critters.

I have, and I'm using it, but it's still more Monster Manual than Denizens of Dread. Which is actually why I mentioned Faerie in the first place: simply declaring that some monsters are fey makes it easier for me to include them, without giving the players the idea that this is kitchen-sink fantasy rather than Gothic horror.

Don't sweat coming up with a curse mechanic. If you, as DM, deem a character should be curse then by all means curse him/her.

My general rule is to not roll dice unless it's dangerous, plot-significant, contested, or important to a player. The problem is that curses are ALWAYS the first three, all four if a PC tries one. (Also, since we've discussed DM rights before, my group WOULD call me out if curses were pure fiat.)

So unfortunately I'm gonna have to sweat a curse mechanic. The game's on standby for awhile; I've got time. Chalk it up as a labor of love for future generations.

[ewancummins]

You might look at the curse, powers checks, etc rules from AD&D Ravenloft. Those should be fairly simple to graft onto WFRP 2E,if you aren't excited about adapting the D20 Ravenloft rules.
I agree that the combat system and skill systems work well for Ravenloft, possibly better than any incarnation of D&D. The magic system will need to be adapted to Ravenloft- or else, you must alter Ravenloft to fit WH magic. Either way could work, but the second way is a lot easier. I'd add more spells to each path, and also include quite a few new 'petty magic' spells. The Chaos effects can be reworked into powers checks pretty easily.

I find the semi- random character, career-based generation of WH to be one of the game's best features. The fact that most characters start out as regular folks with authentically medieval/early modern occupations is just great. Ratcatchers, common laborers, blacksmiths, farmers, coachmen, etc. It's like defining your 1st level AD&D PC by his secondary skill instead of his class. The background, as you say, is built into the system.

I would suggest adding gnomes from WH 1E.

Lack of reams and reams of monster stats is no big deal, from my POV. After all, do you really need stats for dozens of monsters you'll likely never use, or not use anytime soon? Just convert or create monsters as needed. Start with the ones you find really good/useful/scary.

[d'Ysmaul]

You might look at the curse, powers checks, etc rules from AD&D Ravenloft. Those should be fairly simple to graft onto WFRP 2E,if you aren't excited about adapting the D20 Ravenloft rules.

*looks up AD&D curse rules*

Ooh, shiny! Thank you, thank you very much. For the moment, at least, I'm definitely stealing these.

Definitely going with "Ravenhammer uses WFRP magic" route; since the party doesn't actually have spellcasters, I can get away with a bit more. (Drawing up new paths is harder than it looks.) Making Chaos manifestations into Powers checks doesn't sit right with me, though; magic is scary, but not inherently evil. At the moment I'm redrawing the Chaos manifestation tables, stealing extensively from Ravenloft wild magic and Heroes of Horror; drawing up those tables is fun.

[ewancummins]

Sounds cool, d'Ysmaul!

I'd want to pay a rat-catcher from Richemulot! They earn lots of hazard pay.

[d'Ysmaul]

A few days ago I mentioned that I was reworking the Curse of Tzeentch rules to get a more Gothic vibe. My current draft of the first table is posted here for your reading pleasure. (Note that there are two other tables of Dark Manifestations, in the event that you somehow roll triples or quadruples. Those are taking much more time.)

Minor Dark Manifestations
01-10: Aethyr Burn: The energy coursing through you causes you to lose 1 Wound regardless of TB or armor. In addition, your start to bleed from some of your facial orifices, and continue until you succeed a Toughness Test (attempted 1/round.)
11-20: Body Horror: The magic coursing through you induces a cosmetic (but disturbing and painful) transformation, which you recover from the next time you sleep.
21-30: Corruption: Within 30' of you, magic wreaks havoc on the organic world. (Grass withers underfoot, milk curdles, fruit turns to flesh and seeds into teeth. Stuff like that.)
31-40: Depleted Magic: Your magical working draws far too much power. Your Magic score is reduced by 1 for ten minutes.
41-50: Desecration: Within 30' of you, magic wreaks havoc in sinister ways. (Mirrors crack, holy water turns to slime, the faithful are unable to name their gods. Stuff like that.)
51-60: The Dimming of the Light: All natural lights around you are snuffed out by a cold, unnatural wind.
61-70: The Mists Arise: Within ten minutes, the scene is swallowed in mist, which doesn't clear for two hours. (Note the number you rolled doubles of; every time that number is rolled during the scene, the mists last an extra hour.)
71-80: Ominous Weather: The weather takes a turn for the worse; the sky clouds over and a seasonal storm arrives in ten minutes, lasting for two hours. (Note which number you rolled; every time that number is rolled during the scene, the storm lasts an extra hour.)
81-90: Revulsion: Animals within 30' are repelled by you, fleeing the scene unless controlled with an Animal Training Test. If there are no animals convenient, inanimate objects express their unhappiness with you instead. (Portraits cringe, statues weep, and signs twist to try and misguide you. Stuff like that.)
91-94: Unrelenting Darkness: Roll twice on this table. The first roll affects you now; the second roll affects you the next time you attempt to cast a spell, in addition to any other Dark Manifestations that may arise.
95-96: Sins of the Fathers: Roll again, but instead of affecting you, the dark manifestation affects your closest kin.
97-00: It Got Worse: Roll a Major Dark Manifestation instead.

Thoughts?