The Old World

Art by Andreas von Cotta-Schønberg

Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game uses a brand new game system — a modern and fast-flowing design, that’s easy to get your head around and with a depth that provides a satisfying gameplay experience.

At the system’s core are the basic test rules: rolling a pool of 10-sided dice, and counting successes. These situations test Characteristics (like Strength and Initiative) and the Skills that correspond to them (like Brawn and Awareness). Typically, you roll as many dice as your Characteristic (3 is average, the same as in the Warhammer: the Old World tabletop wargame), and look for values that are equal or lower than your Skill Rating (which start between 2 and 4). Any successes are enough to achieve the task, but extra successes are relevant if it’s important to know how well you’ve done, or if an NPC is contesting your action.

Special circumstances may add or remove dice from your pool, though these modifiers apply selectively. These modifiers are designed to reward movement, tactical positioning, specialisation, or other narratively exciting action that will make the stories you tell in your games more memorable.

Besides ratings in the game’s 16 Skills (two per Characteristic), characters have various other abilities at their disposal. Talents confer special abilities or unique options, Lores represent subjects of specialist knowledge, and trappings like weapons and armour equip a character to fight more effectively. Any of these can provide bonuses on tests, afford opportunities to test in circumstances you usually couldn’t, or skip tests entirely.

Combat breaks down the battlefield into zones, and is ordered into rounds and actions. The result is fast-paced, kinetic fights, as lethal as you’d expect of battles in the World of Legend. Book-keeping is minimal, as characters make immediate tactical choices — between giving ground or suffering a grievous injury, for example. We’ll be exploring the range of options available to you in combat later!

This blog is part of our series on Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game. Missed one? Head here to catch up on our latest blogs!