Winds of Chaos

Things are moving along with part one of the Winds of Chaos campaign, slowly but surely, in between episodes of writer’s block. I added a new scenario in the middle, so it’s going to take a little longer, and I just recently got a bunch of finished artwork from Freddy Lopez, Jr, which looks absolutely amazing and has inspired me to push forward through the writer’s block. No ETA yet, unfortunately, but I would like to share a few of Freddy’s pieces to make up for the long wait.

So I’ve had this kernel of an idea for a WFRP campaign for over 10 years now, inspired by reading the excellent “Realms of Sorcery” for 2nd Edition. I actually had a fair amount written up in 2007, including a bunch of artwork by TJ Adamowicz, the same guy who drew all the stuff for Noblesse Oblige and Dead Ringer. I tested the first scenario with my group at the time and it played pretty well. But then life got in the way.

Fast forward to early 2018. When I heard that the 4th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was in the works I got excited about the Old World all over again. So I dug out my old campaign and began reworking it. The first thing I did was strip out all references to the Storm of Chaos and bring the content in line with the timeline for 4e, which according to the letter at the front of the core rulebook is IC 2411.

The campaign begins with the discovery of a druid’s corpse at the southern end of the Drakwald Forest near Altdorf, and mainly concerns various intrigues within the eight Colleges of Magic, set against the backdrop of political intrigues within the Empire. “Stones & Sigils” is a set of 5 interlinked scenarios, and comprises part one of a two-part larger campaign I call … wait for it … “Winds of Chaos.” The PCs figure prominently, of course, and their actions during the investigative sections determine how much information they have on hand to strategize when it comes down to the final battle. The outcome of that final battle will have an enormous effect on the second half of the campaign — which I have down in rough outline form but does not yet have a title. Right now, the plan is to write “Winds of Chaos” for 4e but to include statblocks that make it also compatible with 2e.

I’ve been running my group through “Stones & Sigils” over the past few months (in 2e) and so far it’s been well received. I’d say I’m about 60% done, but already it’s the largest project I’ve ever attempted for this sort of thing. It needs to be cleaned up and a few areas require reworking, tightening, or some additional material. After I wrangle it into what I think is suitable for outside viewing, I’ll put out a call for playtesting. In the meantime, I’ll be hip deep in writing, rewriting, and then writing some more.

Over the past two years this site has never been very far from my mind, but unfortunately I have had next to no time to devote to it. I keep hoping I’ll scare up some moments to finish the first chapter of my 2nd Ed campaign “Stones & Sigils,” but so far it hasn’t worked out and this site has remained silent.

Fortunately, Seann McAnally has come through with a very useful tool: a convenient online critical hit generator, complete with critical effects compiled from this site. Try it out, kick the tires a bit, and let us know what you think. Thanks, Seann!

So I’ve been looking around for ways to expand the site’s offerings without compromising the quality of the site. The perfect solution hit when Seann McAnally emailed me about Masquerade of Horrors, his award-winning entry for the 2005 BI Scenario Contest. He sent me a revised and updated version, which is up right now on the Scenario page, ready to be downloaded and enjoyed.

He’s hinted at sending me more scenarios in the near future, which given the quality of Masquerade of Horrors, I’d be honored to host as well. You might help encourage this process by leaving him some feedback on Masquerade in the comments.

Wolph42 has sent me updates on some of his useful tools, including Ex Libris, 3 versions of his Inn Generator (2 for PC and 1 for Mac), and a new version of the Trade Tool. These tools are pretty polished, so further updates should be few and far between. Apparently, the new Ex Libris generates a “GUI Library” for players, and the Inn Generator contains a room builder with groups of people and descriptions.

So check out the updated versions in the Downloads Section!

Remember when Black Industries had a yearly WFRP scenario contest? Well, Strike to Stun is hosting one for 2009 and I’m a judge! Head on over to the StS Contest Page for more information.

Here’s hoping we get a ton of entries!

I spent the last week elbow-deep in code, adding the material from Dave Graffam’s Encroachment of Chaos site. You can find it all under the new, aptly-named “Encroachment” tab, along the site’s link bar above. Or you can just go here and start downloading all of Dave’s WFRP v2 goodness.

I think the addition of Dave’s material makes Winds of Chaos one of the best one-stop resource sites for WFRP v2 on the net. Based on that, and the feedback I’ve received from all of you, I’ve decided to keep the site online for the foreseeable future. In addition, I’m thinking about doing something special for the WFRP v2 community. So keep your eye out here in the next week or two for another exciting announcement.

Good news everyone! Two more tools from Wolph42 today. This time the excel spreadsheets are based on two of Henrik Gronberg’s Liber Fanatica articles from the GM Toolshed.

The first is a book generator, complete with, among other things, quality of writing, age, condition, notable features, and peculiarities of penmanship. It’s perfect for the GM constantly put on the spot by players searching through libraries or (gasp!) private homes.

The second is something we’ve seen before in another form: Henrik’s Inn Generator. This tool is extremely handy for those of us who don’t have internet access while GMing and so are limited to offline tools. It will generate the name, type of establishment, size, costs, what the inn is known for, and even random “inn-cidents.”

Both tools can be found in the Downloads section.

Wolph42 has developed a few tools for the computer-savvy WFRP Gamesmaster who owns a copy of Microsoft’s Excel. The first is a trade tool based on the rules found in “Death on the Reik,” complete with MadAlfred’s Imperial and non-Imperial Gazetteers (used with permission). The second tool is handy for keeping track of large combats, quickly resolving blind opposed tests, and quite a bit else.

Check them out in the Downloads section!

Have your PCs ever stood in front of a tavern, squinting at the shingle to read the faded print, while you cast about in a desperate search for an appropriately WFRPish name for that establishment?

joe.caffeinated does you one better. He constructs the entire inn for you, complete with number of beds, price of food and drink, and even gives ideas for events within — based on Henrik Gronberg’s wonderfully detailed Liber Fanatica article and the fantasy names found at hackslash.net, all wrapped in a gorgeous Web 2.0 interface.

So head on over to Inns of the Empire and kick the tires. It’s the kind of thing I wish I had back when I was actively GMing, and it’s one of the first places I’ll go when I take it up again.