Showing posts with label The Old World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Old World. Show all posts

23 November 2025

TOW RPG: The Old World Roleplaying Game - Gamemaster's Guide (Cubicle7, DriveThruRPG)


This is my little review of Cubicle7 new The Old World Roleplaying Game - Gamemaster's Guide, Grim and Glorious Adventures in The World of Legend. The second book of a new Warhammer RPG based on the WFB with same name. Shortly - it has number of chapters to give ideas and rules for gamemasters and the bestiary. Not bad package, but I would have rather moved some amount of the Talagaad information (which are examples off course) to own sourcebook about Talagaad and maybe added little more specific general rules for various things that players might need or face.

But, let's go Chapter by Chapter:

- Introduction -
This is introduction of The Port of Talagaad, which is the starting point of adventures presented in the Core Rulebooks. Description of the rulers, law, different areas, some places, and groups and persons.

There is also number of adventure ideas.

- Contacts -
This continues information about the Talagaad. There is a large number of different persons with interesting information. These NPCs could be patrons, sources of information, starting points of adventures... anything.

- Being the Gamemaster -
As the header says chapter gives ideas and rules to create campaigns & adventures, NPCs, (dark) threads, handling downtime, character creation, social encounters, magic, combat, how to use the rules...etc. Pretty basic "how to use rules" stuff.

- Events in Talagaad -
And back to the Talagaad and what you can do there. This chapter connects skills, random events and contacts found from the city.

- Corruption -
Whispers of Chaos. Chaos is everywhere. You got the normal rules: Exposure and different steps to damnation (Tarnished, Tainted, Damned). This means also mutations. There are interesting categories of different types of exposure and preferred victims and then how they change.

- Magic Items -
Well as header says. Always good extra.

- Allies & Antagonists -
This is off course important chapter. You could named it also as Bestiary. There is a huge number of different stats: Normal folk (peasants, criminals, nobles, soldiers, priests, Ogres, Halflings, Dwarfs, Elfs, witch hunters, magic-users...), common animals, beasts, Beastmen, Orcs & Goblins, undead, trolls, giants, dragons... Pretty much all the familiar ones, but not everything you can find from the Warhammer world (like Skaven).

And that's it.

See more information from Official Cubicle 7:

27 June 2025

TOW RPG: The Old World Roleplaying Game - Player's Guide Review (Cubicle7, DriveThruRPG)


Cubicle7 has now published The Old World Roleplaying Game - Player's Guide, Grim and Glorious Adventures in The World of Legend. New Warhammer RPG based on the WFB with same name. Setting is few hundred years before the "default" time (and Storm of Chaos and The End Times...). So, here's my little review about the first book.

TOW RPG doesn't use the WFRP4 system. It's game mechanics are more lighter version (more about that later). I haven't player AoS for example, so I don't know if this system is actually similar or same as some other Cubicle7 games.

So, what we have here. Let's go Chapter by Chapter:

- Character Creation -
Origin. This means species AND cultures. We have all the standard ones: Human, Elf, Halfling, and Dwarf. And starting species gives you starting Characteristics. Actually there are more Origins as different cultures are counted as different Origins and here we have rules for both The Empire Humans and Bretonnian Humans, yet they have same starting Characteristics. But, later more about differences between Bretonnians and The Empire folk.

Characteristics (and Skills). There are eight familiar Characteristics: Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Initiative, Agility, Reason, and Fellowship. But, also Fate is part of the starting Characteristics. Starting Characteristics range from two to four and you get few bonuses. Maximum range from five to seven. So, Halflings can be stronger than Humans... Each Characteristic has only TWO Skills. So, this is one of the "lighter" rules - Skill amount is VERY LIMITED, everything doesn't have it's own skill.

Origins #2: Each Origin (this means both Bretonnians and The Empire folk, which have different sets) get their own random Talent, starting Skill level and couple of Skill bonuses, Lores. Pretty familiar from the WFRP4 (or other editions). There doesn't seem to be Size system anymore, but Halfling for example will get Short Size Talent.

Careers: There is 30 Careers to start with. Some special Careers, just for certain Origins. Familiar Careers from any edition. Each have familiar status (brass, silver, gold), Origin requirements, Favored Characteristics, Skill Bonuses, Lores you get, and then Trappings, Assets and Contacts. Each Career also has own Special Talent(s).

Contacts. Well, these could be called Patrons too.

I won't go to details about advancement and minor rules here.

- Abilities -
This chapter details more about Characteristics, Skills, Talents and Lores. Well, I dont go to Characteristics or few skills and their descriptions here, but Talent section is interesting and worth mentioning. But, for skills see also Endeavours.

Talents section has nice amount of Talents to boost and modify your Character unique way. There is a new system here were you can buy basically any Talent you want, if you meet the Requirements it has (and have enought XP to buy). This gives interesting possibilities to modify ANY Career. Like in the other editions, Talents give various different bonuses to tests, magic, miracles...etc.

Lores are also another interesting and long list of options. These also provide bonuses to any related tests. There are number of Lore types: Academic, Cultural, Environment, Magic, and Trade.

- Equipment -
Simple purchases. You just have certain amount of coins and you can buy few things that are available for your status (brass, silver, gold)... Simple, but maybe little too simple for my taste. Matter of opionion. Also, there isn't really encumbrance system any more.

Weapons. Both Melee and Ranged (and Throwing) weapons feature all the familiar ones, with couple of stats, including Traits. Traits give different types of weaponry more unique features.

Clothing & Armour. Very simple and similar style as Weapons. Traits give various other bonuses or penalties.

Then there are tools, services, food & lodging, transportation, animals & vehicles... and so on.

- Rules -
Well, system is simple. As mentioned before on some articles, Charactistic is the dice pool (d10) and Skill level is your possiblity to succeed. And then you probably have some bonuses or penalties. Finally number of successes give you better result, similar to WFRP4 SL. There are rules about Opposed Test and Exacting Tests.

Fate is as it has been always. I won't go more details about that.

Combat seems fast based and simple. But, I haven't tried this one yet, so I don't really have more experience how it works. There is also ability called Speed and some amount of various options.

Then rules about Wounds, Conditions, Mounted Combat, Vehicle Combat... Rules also cover investigations, exploration, and social encounters.

- Between Adventures -
Endeavours. This is similar system that WFRP4 presetend also. But, there is a little twist here. Skills are increased with Endeavours, not with XP!

- Religion & Belief -
Description about the cults, requirements, strictures, Prayers and Miracles. Only three Prayers.

- Magic in the Old World -
Magic is little different at this point of Warhammer timeline. Colleges are not formed yet. It seems that these more "hedge" type of magic-users use number of Winds to create their magic, not just one. But how is this different after Colleges is not really explained. Like is this "hedge" or "Wild" magic more unstable (miscast), less powerful...etc.

Lores include familiar ones from WFRP1: Battle, Elementalism, Illusion and Necromancy. Each have number of Spells and interesting "Improvised" table, which gives even more custom powered effects depending on casters experience. Casting uses Willpower (Note! This is Skill now) Test and depending on difficulty of the Spell needs certain amount of successes. Similar to WFRP4 Channelling, but more simple again.

- Old World -
Well, chapter about the current timeline and whats going on.

See more information from Official Cubicle 7:

06 April 2025

Warhammer - The Old World - Roleplaying Game (Cubicle7)


Warhammer: The Old World (World-That-Was) will have this year Roleplaying Game too made by Cubicle 7. There has been some "rumours" about this RPG for a some time, but this week Cubicle 7 published couple of blog posts. One was just about RPG, other is list of future products, including The Old World RPG. I have posted some news about the WFB time to time. It has expanded fast. So - new era, new lighter (easier) system, new books... Is it going to be interesting or not? Well, that remains to be seen. But, even if you don't like the game mechanics there will be sourcebooks about interesting era and you probably can pretty easily play it with any rules you prefer.

Setting is 2200 IC (2276), so it is few decades before The Great War Against Chaos (coming soon), and few centuries before the "default" WFRP settings (and The End Times). The Empire is divided after the death of Emperor Mandred von Zelt, which lead to civil war. Magical Colleges has not been formed yet, so wizards are little different on this era. On WFB they are more like what they were on WFRP1 rules mixing different Winds of Magic. So casting could be (or should be) little more unstable and maybe not as strong as later on... Otherwise setting has pretty much same factions - World hasn't changed that much over the centuries.

You can find the link to the official site below and find the news there.

By the way... I like short name WFRP. What should The Old World be called then? WTOWR? TOWR? TOW?

See more information from Official Cubicle 7:

01 April 2025

Warhammer Community: The Old World WFB (Warhammer Community)


Warhammer: The Old World (World-That-Was), is expanding. There are alot of news and new factions coming all the time to the game. But this one got my eye: The Grand Cathay.

The Grand Cathay has always been mysterious realm in the Warhammer World, that has not been explored very much officially. There have been some little details there and there over the years (novels, WFB, WFRP, maps...) and off course various fan-projects. But then came the Total War: Warhammer III, which finally opened possibility to play Grand Cathay and gave us huge amount of new official information about the realm and its people (and Dragons). Now comes Warhammer: The Old World and Grand Cathay army.

I have collected here latest articles. They lead to Warhammer Community site:

Bring harmony to the Old World with the armies of Grand Cathay (27 Mar 25) Official Site

Warhammer: The Old World – Empire of Grand Cathay Revealed (27 Mar 25) Official Site