Season Two : Episode Seven
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (with Graeme Davis)
Welcome back to RPG Blokes. Anyone who knows us knows that Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) is the big one. Back in our youth, it was the system that tempted us away from D&D, trading shiny knights and high fantasy for rat-catchers, social climbing, mud, and the creeping threat of Chaos. It’s all about surviving in a grim and perilous world, and we’ve been tugging our forelocks and fighting the good fight ever since.
To help us explore exactly what makes the Old World so special, we are joined by absolute RPG royalty: Graeme Davis. As one of the original creators who built WFRP from the ground up and a key architect of the legendary The Enemy Within campaign, Graeme knows the system better than anyone.
We discuss the history of the game—from the arrival of that fat, iconic rulebook to the struggles of the Flame Publications era—and break down what makes its mechanics, like careers and Fate Points, so brilliant. Graeme also shares what it was like to return to The Enemy Within for its 4th Edition Director’s Cut, answers our burning questions about the missing "Albion" sourcebook, and talks about his current work on fantastic games like Vaesen and Monster of the Week. Grab a pint of Bugman's Best and settle in!
FAQs
1. What’s this episode about? A deep dive into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) with one of its founding creators, Graeme Davis. We discuss the history, the mechanics, and the legacy of surviving in the grim and perilous Old World.
2. Who is Graeme Davis? An industry legend. He is one of the original writers of WFRP and a key architect behind The Enemy Within, widely considered one of the greatest tabletop RPG campaigns ever published.
3. What makes WFRP so different from D&D? Instead of playing heroic classes with linear levels, you play ordinary people (like toll keepers or grave robbers) advancing through realistic careers. It features a dark British sense of humour, deadly combat, Fate Points to keep you alive, and a focus on Law vs. Chaos rather than traditional Good vs. Evil.
4. Which editions of the game do you cover? All of them. We talk about the brilliant but bumpy days of 1st Edition, our personal favourite (2nd Edition) and its incredible fan material, the experimental 3rd Edition, and the fantastic ongoing 4th Edition.
5. What is The Enemy Within? It is the epic, multi-part campaign that guaranteed WFRP's immortality. Graeme discusses the pressure and excitement of returning to it decades later to write the updated "Director's Cut" for 4th Edition, including major changes like keeping the story in Middenheim for The Horned Rat.
6. I’m new to WFRP. Where should I start? We ask Graeme exactly this. The consensus is to hold off on tackling the massive Enemy Within right away and start with the excellent, slightly lower-commitment adventures set around Ubersreik.
7. Did you ask about the missing Albion sourcebook? We did. We finally get to ask why a heavily foreshadowed Celtic/British Isles setting for WFRP never materialised back in the day, despite the obvious talent available to write it.
8. What else is Graeme working on? Beyond Warhammer, we touch on his fantastic work with other systems, including Vaesen, Vampire, Fighting Fantasy, and Monster of the Week.
Show Links & Next Steps
Check out Graeme at the following places.
Monster of the Month Club
https://www.patreon.com/monsterofthemonthclub
Graeme's Blog
https://graemedavis.wordpress.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/GraemeDavisAuthorAndEditor/
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