The Old World

Art by David Astruga

Most citizens of the Old World know little of what occurs outside their communities. Their interests are local: the upcoming harvest, rumours of Beastmen warherds massing in the forest, or the schemes of Osterlunder nobles across the river.

Your characters in Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game have similar concerns. You are embedded in your local community, working your Career, and forming relationships with the people who live there. For the core setting of Talagaad, we’ve designed several ways to make players feel part of the town. Every character has their own set of Contacts, useful NPCs who provide favours, share information, and start the characters off on their adventures. There are 20 Contacts in Talagaad to begin with, and it’s possible you and another character might know the same one — though your relationships with that Contact could be very different!

Contacts aren’t the only thing keeping characters tied to Talagaad. Each Career starts off with an Asset — their most valuable possession — often a building or structure used to work their Career. Having your own Workshop or Library can be a useful resource in play, though your access to the facilities may vary depending on your Status. A Gold character’s Workshop may have its own smith working there, whilst a Brass character’s Workshop might be the place at which they work as an apprentice, not their own shop.

Art by Alberto Bontempi

 

Of course, being part of the community means having to deal with the community’s problems. Talagaad is a town beset by dangers, from the obvious threats like Beastmen raids to more insidious threats like scheming wizards or manipulative nobles. All of these antagonists are connected through the Dark Threads, a network of enemy factions, with Talagaad itself at the centre.

GMs can use the Dark Threads to plan their campaign, as interacting with one node opens opportunities to pursue other related factions. It also gives players options to target their enemies from multiple directions — though their actions always have consequences, and targeting one enemy may trigger reprisals from their surviving allies. The result is that one adventure leads naturally to another, as you follow the trail to its horrifying conclusion!

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

Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, available HERE!