Out of the Mists
So, I just learned that Forge World is issuing a set of Fimir models. It seems that these critters just won’t go away.
The story of the Fimir is well-enough known to anyone who has followed the development of the Warhammer world. When Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was in development in mid-1986, GW miniature designer Jes Goodwin and I created them in response to a challenge by GW boss and Warhammer co-creator Bryan Ansell, who wanted the game to have a distinctive and unique race. For one reason and another, they didn’t make it, and were quietly dropped from the Warhammer canon – but every so often, they pop back up again. Like Bigfoot, every few years there is another Fimir sighting.
The WFRP fanzine Warpstone produced an issue devoted to the Fimir in 2006.
Fimir miniatures were included in the HeroQuest board game developed by GW for Milton Bradley.
They were mentioned briefly in the 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles rulebook, although not included as playable creatures.
And I’m told that GW’s Storm of Magic supplement for Warhammer, published in July 2011, included a Fimir sorcerer called a Balefiend.
So who knows, maybe they’re coming back. I always kind of liked them, but then I’m biased.
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Graeme Davis 
The fimir are among my favorite WFRP critters (along with Skaven and snotlings). Much more interesting and horrific than the bog-standard orcs and goblins. (Although the GW take on them was more interesting than TSR’s.)
I just found an unofficial Fimir army book for WFB, put together by a couple of German Warhammer fans. They’ve done a very nice job of it. http://bit.ly/YE8YF9
I have been putting together ideas for bringing the Fimir into 3ed WFRP, to make them more in line with the current Warhammer back ground as though I like the concept of the race they really do not fit in in many aspects of the culture with the current or even the previous edition of the RPG. I was hoping you could give me your thoughts upon my ideas, though they are very very rough at the moment but get the basic concepts covered.
My idea was to make them true natives of the Warhammer world that were forced out by the Old Ones and the new races they crafted, being a very basic tribal species they had no choice but to hide and move away from these rapidly developing cultures, but this obviously left them feeling somewhat bitter.
When the Arcane gates collapsed and Chaos flooded into the world the Fimir were approached by several power Arch Daemons & Daemon Princes most notable was the Shadow Lord and Karios of Tzeentch, these vastly powerful entities offered the Fimir a chance to fight back against there tormentors as well as showing them ways to harness the raw power of Chaos in exchange these daemons gained a willing mortal army who would sacrifice and worship in their name. Yet the Daemonic incursion was cast back by the spawn of the Old Ones and even worse was the banishment of the Shadowlord by the Chaos Gods as punishment for his failures, while Karios being wise and blessed with foresight dropped his allegiances with any who backed the Shadow Lord including the Fimir so as to avoid any such reprisals he suffered.
With the Shadow Lord banished and trapped combined with Karios’s abandonment left the Fimir as outcasts from the powerful gaze of the Chaos gods, while they retained the ability to summon daemons and channel the energies of Chaos they did so without being blessed by the Chaos Gods.
With the Old Ones on longer present and the hordes of Chaos defeated the Fimir built fledgling civilisations across the Western Warhammer World, the pinnacles of these where forged on the isle of Albion and on the lush and plentiful grasslands surrounding the estuary of the great River Riek where they were able to prosper. Sadly such prosperity was not to last as the tale of the Fimir is one of misery and suffering.
The coming of the Rat like Skaven was to be the greatest plight for the Cyclopean Fimir race and with them came forth the Great Skaven wars as they two civilisations battled for resources and diabolic artefacts. The Fimir called forth Daemonic forces, calling forth Daemons into the mortal realm or binding Daemons into elemental golems animating them to serve there will these battled with the Skaven’s raw sorcery as well they arcane machines these sorceries created. The Fimir’s warriors were far superior to those of the Skaven but each loss they suffered was not readily replaced especially when compared to the unending hordes of the fast breeding rats. For decades there forces raged war, neither side gaining advantage for long while constantly the unleashed Chaotic powers rent the skies and altered the land. Eventually though the horns Seers of the Skaven developed a plan in which to deal a fatal blow in the conflict and they were able to create a apocalyptic blight which not only left the Fimir lands devastated and cursed rendered the Fimir females infertile an act that left them on the verge of extinction.
Defeated, outcast and ruined the Fimir were forced to hide in the depths of the Chaos tainted mash lands the Blight had created, hiding seeking a way to counteract the Skavens dire curse. Eventually they found that they could use the female of other sentient humanoid species to breed with and even though it more often than not created a lesser Fimir breed it provided them a way to survive clinging at the edges of civilisation.
Well that is the basic overview I have so much more depth I can add, as well as filling out the time line details and adding modern events. This is before looking into the cultural and religious aspects, their societies and civilisation as well as how they interact with daemons, pacts, elemental’s and there attempts to free the Shadow Lord and help him gather power once more in the Warhammer World. Anyway I would greatly appreciate any feedback and ideas if you have the time…
crimsonsun
Wow, you really have thought about this! It sounds good to me, though of course I’m not in any position to approve or disapprove anything Warhammer. All I can say is, if it works in your campaign, go for it!
If you haven’t seen it already, you might also be interested in Warpstone’s book on the Fimir, written mainly by Robin Low. Details can be found at http://warpstone.org/issue-25/
Of course this is contemporary with 2nd edition, but there’s a lot of information there that I think would work with 3rd edition as well.
I have seen the Warpstone issues and I feel that the work those guys have produced is excellent and I have a very high opinion of Robin also from both his articles as well as posts on strike-to-stun. I also have been provided some files on Fimir by Andrew Law which I will be using bits from (with his permission) and briefly spoke to Mad Alfred about using some of his articles for relevant source materials.
My intention is to eventually write up this version of the Fimir, along with some work I’ve been putting together on the empires environments and the creatures that dwell there along with some mechanics for Shamans, rituals and alchemy that tie in alongside all together in a fan based PDF. Though I have been slack at getting it out of draft form and those parts I had done in more detail (Alchemy and Magic mainly) were lost due to a corrupted hard drive and since I’ve struggled to get properly motivated in actually writing it up.
As a final question do you know if FFG are developing any further products for the current line or another edition at all? I am not expecting you to either know or if you do know to be allowed to say but if you don’t ask you don’t get I always say!
Crimsonsun
No idea, I’m afraid. I haven’t heard from them since The Enemy Within was released.
Here’s a pretty thorough retelling of the sad story of the Fimir, together with some canny insights: http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2014/04/07/bizarre-bestiary-fimir/