Archive
Doomstones 5 – What might have been
Hogshead’s 2001 title Heart of Chaos by Robin D. Laws was not the first attempt to wrap up the Doomstones campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and solve the problem of what to do with the Player Characters now that they have all four Crystals of Power. When the campaign was adventures originally written for D&D, a concluding episode had gone unpublished.
While I was working on the WFRP adaptations at Flame publications, I started working on an outline for a fifth instalment that would tie things up nicely. I left it behind at Flame when I quit Games Workshop in 1990, and I had assumed that, like so many other things, it had vanished in the mists of time. But I was wrong.
A copy of my outline somehow survived in the archives of Marc Gascoigne, and recently made its way to me. I have no idea whether or not Robin Laws saw it while he was working on Heart of Chaos. There are some clear parallels between my outline and Robin’s final work (take that as a spoiler warning, if you will), but the similarities could be put down to the fact that some events and characters are obvious must-haves in a fifth and final Doomstones adventure.
Apart from saving the original Word file as a PDF, I haven’t done anything to it at all. It is just as I wrote it (though someone – probably Mike Brunton – turned it into a Word file from my original ProText file for Amstrad PCW and formatted it using Flame’s style of the time), so its integrity as a historical document is as good as it can be, for those to whom such things matter. Added later: But see the comment below about an earleir version on Gideon’s Awesome Lies blog.
Anyway, take it for what it is, make of it what you will, and I hope you find it interesting. Like everything else WFRP on this blog, this is completely unofficial and no challenge is intended to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else. Anyway, here it is.
Doomstones 5 GD outline – download PDF
And while you’re here…
Since 2020, I’ve been a director of Rookery Publications, a new indie TTRPG studio that I co-founded with some names that WFRP fans are sure to recognize: Andrew Law, Lindsay Law, Andy Leask, and Mark Gibbons. Our first product is available from DriveThru, and has garnered some good reviews so far. There is much, much more to follow.
If you like the idea of new, system-agnostic roleplaying products (which means that they have been designed to be used with any edition of WFRP, and indeed with any other ruleset) from our merry band, check the Rookery out on any of these platforms.
Discord is the the hub of a vibrant and growing Rookery community.
YouTube and Twitch each have a Rookery channel where you can find our weekly Inside the Rookery streams, where we chat with big-name guests from across the industry about all manner of things.
Inside the Rookery, along with the occasional Beside the Rookery streams, are supported by our Patreon campaign. If you like what the Rookery has to offer and would like to be part of our story, you can support us for a very low monthly commitment (and if you can afford more, we have higher tiers, too!), and get access to exclusive content like the Rookery masterclasses on game design and development and special publications like the just-released Mother Hoarfrost PDF.
And you can also find us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RookeryPublications
Twitter: @RookeryP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rookerypublications/
A Challenge for WFRP 4 Fans
In 2020, shortly after WFRP 4th edition was released, I wrote up a number of creatures from the darker corners of Warhammer’s history with 4th edition rules and stats. The series proved quite popular, with some entries attracting as many as 7,000 views.
Then, as deadlines loomed on the final instalments of The Enemy Within Director’s Cut, the series petered out. The posts are still popular, and I’d like to do more. So I’ll make you a deal:
Simply put, I would like this blog to have more followers. Currently it has 457, which is no real reflection of the traffic it gets. So, here’s what I propose:
In the comments section below this post, tell me about any creatures from any edition of Warhammer or WFRP, or any never-statted Citadel/GW miniatures, that you would like to see for WFRP 4. Whenever WordPress tells me that the blog has 500 followers, I’ll do one. I may run a poll to decide which, or I may just choose. I’ll do another at 550 followers, another at 600, and so on. As well as stats and rules, I’ll throw in any memories or anecdotes that come to me as I’m writing.
Of course, nothing I post on this blog is official – here, I’m just another fan and I’m not challenging any rights held by Games Workshop, or Cubicle 7, or anyone else – so take them for what they’re worth, and feel free to use, modify, adapt, change, and generally play around with anything from the links below, here, and anything I’ll write up in the future.
So go on – tell me about that Warhammer monster you’ve always wanted to see for WFRP 4. Or – heck, why not – tell me about the WFRP 4 monster that you’d like to see adapted for one of the previous editions. And then, follow this blog and tell all your friends to do the same.
I’ve no idea where this will end up going, but let’s find out together!
The Monsters so Far:
Zoats
Ambull
Viydagg
Mardagg
Mabrothrax
Jabberwock
Gargoyle
Toad Dragon
The Spectral Claw
The Mud Elemental
Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos
Leaping Slomm Two-Face
Zygor Snake-Arms
Independent Daemons
Chaos Snakemen
Menfish
Golems
Giant Bats and Fell Bats
Lesser Daemon of Malal
Greater Daemon of Malal
So vote with your follows, and let me know what you’d like to see!
And while you’re here…
Since 2020, I’ve been a director of Rookery Publications, a new indie TTRPG studio that I co-founded with some names that WFRP fans are sure to recognize: Andrew Law, Lindsay Law, Andy Leask, and Mark Gibbons. Our first product is available from DriveThru, and has garnered some good reviews so far. There is much, much more to follow.
If you like the idea of new, system-agnostic roleplaying products (which means that they have been designed to be used with any edition of WFRP, and indeed with any other ruleset) from our merry band, check the Rookery out on any of these platforms.
Discord is the the hub of a vibrant and growing Rookery community.
YouTube and Twitch each have a Rookery channel where you can find our weekly Inside the Rookery streams, where we chat with big-name guests from across the industry about all manner of things.
Inside the Rookery, along with the occasional Beside the Rookery streams, are supported by our Patreon campaign. If you like what the Rookery has to offer and would like to be part of our story, you can support us for a very low monthly commitment (and if you can afford more, we have higher tiers, too!), and get access to exclusive content like the Rookery masterclasses on game design and development and special publications like the just-released Mother Hoarfrost PDF.
And you can also find us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RookeryPublications
Twitter: @RookeryP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rookerypublications/
We think it’s pretty cool.
Developing WFRP
Ever wondered what the collective noun for a grim and perilous gathering of WFRP developers is?
The answer to that question and more can be yours when, for the first time ever, WFRP developers from all four editions of the game – Graeme Davis, James Wallis, Chris Pramas, Jay Little, and Andy Law – gather to answer your questions.
So, mark this date in your calendars: Wednesday 27th October at 21:30 UK time.
If you want to pre-submit questions, head over to the Rookery Discord: https://discord.gg/KGzxJw7Taw
Or, turn up on the day and comment on Facebook, Twitch, or YouTube. Our host, WFRP writer and editor Lindsay Law, will take your questions live and put them to the panel.
If you want to see our previous streams, head over to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRookery
If you want to know more about Inside the Rookery, head over to our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/InsideTheRookery
Inside the Rookery
I’m proud to be a part of Rookery Publications along with fellow veterans Andy Law, Lindsay Law, Mark Gibbons, and Andrew Leask. Between us we have over a century of experience developing award-winning tabletop roleplaying products for some of the biggest and best publishers in the business, and now we’ve decided to go out on our own. One commentator called us “a roleplaying supergroup”.
We have some great things planned for our ground-breaking, system-agnostic*, modular** Coiled Crown line of tabletop roleplaying products. But that’s not all we do.
Every week, we do a streaming show called “Inside the Rookery”, which goes out live on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube. We discuss topics related to gaming in general, we have guests on now and then (and there are some great ones lined up for the rest of September), and we let you know how things are progressing with The Coiled Crown.
The streams are open to all. They are live every Saturday at 7 pm UK (2 pm Eastern, 11 am Pacific), and past shows can be found on our YouTube channel.
To help support our weekly streams, Rookery Publications just launched a Patreon campaign. Please take a look and support us if you can. Rewards include our undying gratitude, special status and exclusive channels on the Rookery’s clamorous Discord server, patron blogs and more!
Want to know more? Watch as Andy Law and Lindsay Law give you a tour of the Rookery’s Patreon offering, along with a peek at our vibrant Discord community!
*That’s right, system-agnostic. Whatever your game of choice – even if it’s not even fantasy – we show you ways to incorporate our products into your games.
**We like to think of our approach as like LEGO sets. You can use everything as given, to create an absolutely awesome campaign with a stunning setting, a staggering plot, memorable NPCs, some terrifying original monsters, and an array of optional adventures. Or, you can pick and choose what works in your games, change the order, mix it up with other things to make something completely new that no one even thought of before. It’s yours to do with as you please – well, that’s true of every roleplaying product you’ve ever bought – but the difference is that we know it, and we’ve planned to support you in however you choose to use it!
Even Rougher Nights
My WFRP 4 adventure collection Rough Nights and Hard Days uses a multi-plot format that I first developed at Games Workshop more than 30 years ago. It’s been widely discussed online, though to my surprise I never heard of anyone using the same style in their own adventures – until quite recently.
A little while ago, I got a very complimentary email from Arjen Poutsma in the Netherlands, thanking me for all the enjoyment that WFRP had given him and sharing a copy of a multi-plot Call of Cthulhu adventure he had written called Night of the Rising Sun. It is now available on DriveThruRPG.
As the title suggests, the adventure is set in Japan – 1830s Japan, to be exact, which makes it something of a niche product. Still, I think it is worth your time. It was designed to be run as a one-off, and would make a different and interesting con adventure. With a little work, it can be adapted to be run with 80s-era games like Bushido, GURPS Japan, AD&D Oriental Adventures, or Land of the Rising Sun, which will shortly be available in a new 5th edition. With a little more work and a little imagination, it can be set in any version of Japan from the 1920s of Call of Cthulhu to that of cyberpunk settings.
Thinking of Night of the Rising Sun reminded me that I had written one other multi-plot adventure beside those in Rough Nights and Hard Days. Called ‘The Last Resort’, it was written for the d20/3.5 rules and appeared in Green Ronin’s 2003 adventure collection Tales of Freeport.
The adventure has eight plots, which I won’t spoil by describing them here. It is set in a grand hotel and features a wide and diverse cast of characters, and while it fits right into the Freeport setting, it could easily be moved to Altdorf or another large city in WFRP’s Old World, or to 1920s New York, London, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco or somewhere similar for Call of Cthulhu.
‘The Last Resort’ completes the catalogue of multi-plot adventures that I have currently in print, but I’ll add a little teaser: there’s another one coming from Rookery Publications. If you don’t already know about this new indie publisher (which consists of WFRP veterans Andy Law, Lindsay Law, Andy Leask, and Mark Gibbons as well as me, and was described by one poster as ‘a roleplaying supergroup’), you can find out more here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1044080065964332/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RookeryP
Discord: https://discord.gg/mMeRpPgY
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxVxRCPYv–_w9xFjW5fdOA
So are there any other multi-plot adventures on the market? Has anyone tried to create one for their own campaign? How did it go? Let me know in the comments section!
Golems in Warhammer
Golems have a rather patchy history in Warhammer and WFRP. The conventional four types – clay, flesh, iron, and stone – were established in fantasy games by the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1977, and Citadel made a few Golem figures in the late 70s and early 80s.
No rules were published for Golems in Warhammer, although it might be argued that the Ushabti from the Tomb Kings army lists are a form of Golem.
A couple of Flesh Golems appeared in WFRP 1st edition adventures. Death on the Reik featured the Wittgenstein Monster, and a similar creature appeared in the adventure “The Curse of the Reichenbachs” in Death’s Dark Shadow. Golems were mentioned in the WFRP 2nd edition supplements Liber Necris and Renegade Crowns, but without game stats. A kind of Flesh Golem appeared in Forges of Nuln, but it was far from standard – if a Flesh Golem can ever be described as standard.
My earlier post on Gargoyles covered the living-statue type of that creature, and can be used for Stone Golems. Another take on Stone Golems is given below, along with the other three “classic” Golem types. As always, everything that follows is completely unofficial and should be regarded as a fan work. No challenge is intended to trademarks or copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Golems
Imbued with a semblance of life through magical and alchemical processes, Golems are Constructs of flesh or other materials. Most take humanoid form, but theoretically that can be any shape.
A distinction must be made between true Golems and the humanoid mechanical constructs made by some Dwarven and other engineers. Golems are animated by magic rather than engineering, while the others rely on steam and other power sources and move by the action of gears, wires, and levers.
Stone Golems include the massive Ushabti of ancient Khemri, animated Gargoyles, and other living statues. They are often created as guards, and given orders to attack anyone except their controllers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 45 | 25 | 75 | 75 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 28 |
Traits: Armour 3, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Hardy, Immunity (poison, fire, electricity), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +10
Optional: 2 Fists +10, Die Hard, Size (Small to Enormous), Magic Resistance 1-2, Ranged (Throw) +10
Iron Golems (and more rarely, Golems of brass or other metals) are also used as guards and troops, although they can only guard a location for a few centuries before becoming corroded and useless. Their great strength makes them useful as menials and labourers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 45 | 25 | 70 | 70 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 28 |
Traits: Armour 2, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Hardy, Immunity (poison, fire), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +9
Optional: 2 Fists +9, Die Hard, Size (Small to Enormous), Magic Resistance 1-2, Ranged (Throw) +9
Clay Golems are less durable than most other types but easier to make, and the secrets of their construction are more widely available. There are many tales of a Clay Golem being constructed by a learned priest or other scholarly individual as a bodyguard or servant.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 25 | 25 | 65 | 65 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 18 |
Traits: Armour 1, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Immunity (poison), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +8
Optional: 2 Fists +8, Die Hard, Size (Small to Large), Magic Resistance 1
Flesh Golems are often made by necromancers, although they are not undead. Instead, they use alchemical processes to imbue a dead body – or a construct assembled from parts of several bodies – with a semblance of life and intelligence.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 20 | 0 | 60 | 60 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 18 |
Traits: Afraid (Fire), Construct, Fear 2, 2 Fists +7, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +7
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large)
More Like This
Zoats: From Warhammer to 40K (and back again)
The Ambull: From 40K to WFRP (again)
Viydagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mardagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mabrothrax: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Jabberwock: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Devil Eel: A New Monster for WFRP4
Gargoyle: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
The Toad Dragon: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
The Spectral Claw: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
The Mud Elemental: Two Old Monsters Combined for WFRP4
Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos: A Very Old Citadel Miniature for WFRP4
Leaping Slomm Two-Face, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Zygor Snake-Arms, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Independent Daemons for WFRP 4th Edition
Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Menfish – Another Lost Warhammer Race
Making Monsters: Leap Day Edition
Thanks to everyone for your response to my earlier post on the Jersey Devil. Before too long, it will be getting and update and expansion as I work toward the ideal format for a system-agnostic monster description. Soon I hope to make the official #secretprojects announcement and you’ll see what my plans are, and how you can help.
Here’s another monster – and today being Leap Day, I’ve gone for the Water Leaper from Welsh folklore. I’ve changed the format a little, and as always I would love to know how it could be improved. Let me know in the comments section.
The Water Leaper
Water leapers, known as llamhigyn y dwr (pronounced roughly “thlamheegin uh duwr”) in their native Wales, look something like large toads with wings (sometimes bat-like, and sometimes like those of a flying fish) instead of front legs and a long, sinuous tail instead of back legs. Their broad mouths are full of very sharp teeth. Their bodies are 2-3 feet long, with tails twice as long again.
They will attack almost anything, and regularly destroy the nets and lines of local fishermen. They also attack swimmers and livestock drinking at the water’s edge.
Water leapers have been known to try to knock fishermen out of their boats by deliberately leaping at them. They can emit a piercing shriek which can startle an unwary fisherman or animal, making their attack easier. In the water, up to 12 of the creatures can attack a human-sized victim at the same time.
Their pack attacks show a rudimentary organization. For instance, they may spread out and attack a target from all sides at once. One creature may stand a little way off and shriek just as the others are swimming or leaping to the attack.
Water leapers can live on lake fish, but their appetites are so voracious that they quickly deplete the fish stocks in any lake they inhabit. They seem to prefer the meat of sheep, cattle, and humans. They have no natural enemies apart from enraged fishermen and deadlier water monsters such as lake worms and water horses.
Painting by Brian Froud. Used without permission: no challenge to copyright intended.
RANGE
Real World: Wales: swamps and ponds. Lone or pack (3d4).
Fantasy World: Temperate marshes and ponds. Lone or pack (3d4).
TYPE: Animal
SIZE: Small (3ft/1m long)
MOVEMENT
Swim: 25 feet (7.5m) per round
Glide: 30 feet (9m) per round. Must spend at least 2 consecutive rounds swimming before being able to fly.
Crawl: 5 feet (1.5m) per round.
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Dexterity/Agility: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Constitution: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Intelligence: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Willpower: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Hit Points/Health: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
ATACKS
Bite: Animal, small (e.g. cat, fox, or small to medium dog)
Buffet: Only usable when gliding. Ignores armour. Knockdown, based on creature’s Strength, resisted by victim’s Dexterity/Agility. No damage, but the second and subsequent hits in a round cause a cumulative penalty to the victim’s Dexterity/Agility as the victim fights to keep their balance. Used to knock victims out of boats and into the water.
Shriek: Startle, based on creature’s Willpower, resisted by victim’s Willpower. Range/Area of Effect 30 yard/meter radius centered on creature’s position. Startled characters act last in the next turn and suffer a mild (e.g. 10%) penalty to all actions. Critical success on the creature’s part, or critical failure on the victim’s part, causes a Fear result in addition.
WEAKNESSES
No special weaknesses.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Stinger (Optional): Some reports of water leapers give them a barb or stinger at the end of their tail. This gives the water leaper one additional attack per round, causing damage as a dagger. In the case of a stinger, the attack also causes mild poison damage, like the venom of a small, mildly venomous snake.
Links
Shrove Tuesday
Mike Brunton: White Dwarf editor, Realm of Chaos author, Total War head writer, and shrove aficionado. Dearly missed by all who knew him.
It’s Shrove Tuesday, and that always makes me think of my friend Mike Brunton. Readers may know him as a legend of the UK’s games industry, and I’ll add some links to interviews at the end of this post.
We lost Mike less than a year ago, but his stories live on. Everyone who knew him can recount at least one ridiculous (but strangely believable) story he told, or quote one of his many quotable quotes, or tell of some incident or anecdote in which he figured. This is one of my favourites.
Shrove Tuesday is the opening of the shrove season. These small creatures overwinter on Scotland’s grouse moors, feeding on the heather to keep it from overgrowing. On this day they are cleared out so the grouse can nest without danger to their eggs. The race is on to bring the first brace of shrove to the Savoy in London!
Thanks, Mike, for all the laughter and silliness you brought to those around you.
Links
An interview from 2014 on the Realm of Chaos 80s blog.
Mike’s last interview, for the Grognard Files podcast.
Monday Maps #5: An Interesting Patreon
Instead of just one map, or one type of building, this week I’ve found a Patreon campaign that seems worth a look.
Jerome Huguenin creates plans and isometrics under the title Architecture for Adventure. His Patreon campaign has two very affordable backer levels – $2/month and $3/month – and he gives a lot of his plans away for free. Plans like this one: Map 30, Doctor’s House.
One of the delights you’ll find for free at the Architecture for Adventure Patreon page – whether you’re a backer or not.
From what I’ve seen, Jerome’s work is easily as good as anything you’ll find in a professional publication – and at $2.00 or $3.00 a month, cheaper than most maps you’ll find. You won’t be sorry you checked it out.
And now for something a little (but not completely) different:
Patreon. It will probably play a part in my unfolding plans for two #secretprojects. I’m doing some research, but I would really love to hear from all of you.
Do you back Patreon campaigns? Would you back mine?
What would you be willing to pay per month, assuming one article per month? Or would you prefer to pay per item?
What other Patreons do you currently back? What kinds of rewards would you like to see at higher levels?
Do you have a Patreon of your own? Is there any advice you would be willing to share with me? Any tips, or warnings?
Please let me have your thoughts in the comments section below. And if you’d like to be kept in the loop, take a moment to follow this blog. I’ll be using it as the main channel for news and updates.
Thanks!
Monday Maps #4: Town and City Gates
In medieval Europe, and in most fantasy worlds, towns and cities are surrounded by wall to protect them from attack. The gates are the weakest part of a town wall, so they tend to be the most heavily fortified.
In a small town or walled village, the gate fortifications may be very modest. In a great and wealthy city, each gate can be a small castle in its own right.
From The Pictorial History of England (W & R Chambers, 1858)
This 19th-century image of Monk Bar in medieval York shows the basic components of a fortified city gate. It has a barbican with a double gate and a portcullis between: when the outer gate is breached, attackers enter a killing zone and must endure fire from all sides as they assault the portcullis. Having broken down the portcullis they must pass under an archway to reach the inner gate, and the ceiling of the archway is pierced with “murder holes” through which defenders above can fire missiles or drop boiling water or oil.
A guardhouse stands beside the gate, and outside it stairs lead up to the wall top and the room above the murder holes. The winch for raising and lowering the portcullis would often be at this level as well.
Finally, there is a sally port beside the gate, through which defenders could break out and get behind an attacking force.
Smaller towns will have more modest arrangements, like this:
Borrowed from VK.com
This model would suit a medium-sized town in Warhammer’s Old World or a similar setting:
Borrowed from Turbosquid.com
…and here’s a floorplan from Jason Engle, whose web site is worth a look. Find it here.
See you next Monday for more maps!
Graeme Davis 