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TH E G A M E M A StE R S G U I dE

A WARHAMMER FANtASY ROLEPLAY RESOURcE FOR GAME MAStERY & AdVENtURE


CHAPtER 1: GAME MAStERING 101 
Your Most Important Job!  Your First Session  Running the Game  Customising the Old World  Managing Encounters and Enemies  Improvising  Running a Session  Watching the Clock  Group Dynamics  Comfort Zones  Feedback and Improvement 

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6 6 6 7 9 10 11 11 12 13 13

Investigation  Combat Encounters  Looming Danger 

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CHAPtER 5: CAMPAIGN PLAY 


Mini-Campaigns  Episodic Serials  Heroic Journeys  Epic Quests  Developing a Campaign and Linking Stories  Plot Triggers & Character Hooks  Interlude, Entry, & Exit Triggers  Character Hooks  Using Triggers & Hooks  Elements of a Campaign  Urban Settings  Campaign Pacing  Wilderness Expeditions  Dungeons  Social Conflict  High Fantasy vs. Gritty Realism  Campaign Downtime: The Interlude  Culmination of a Campaign  Building to a Crescendo  The Final Episode  Tying up the Loose Ends  Character Death  Death & Campaign Style  Introducing Replacement Characters 

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35 35 36 36 36 37 37 38 38 38 38 40 40 40 40 40 40 42 42 42 42 43 43 43

CHAPtER 2: EPISOdES & ActS 


The Structure of a Story  The Rally Step  The Reason to Rally  Example Rally Step Triggers  Planning Ahead  Events and Actions Outside of Episodes  Swapping Structure Mid-Stream  Sample Episodes  The Hostage Negotiation  The Ambush  Mistaken Identity 

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CHAPtER 3: GAME MAStER RESOURcES 


Fortune points  Experience points  Wealth  Fatigue & Stress  Fortune & Misfortune  Party Tension  Renown  Environmental Complications  Random Environmental Damage & Effects  Intepreting the Dice Pool 

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14 15 16 16 19 19 20 21 21 22 22

23 23 24 24 24 24 25 25 25 26

CHAPtER 6: ENEMIES & AdVERSARIES 


Making Memorable Bad Guys  Managing Enemies  Tracking Enemy Wounds & Abilities  Ending Combat Encounters  Customising Encounters  More Challenging Encounters  Less Challenging Encounters  Managing Monsters  Enemy Statistics  Henchmen, Minions, & Underlings  Encounters with Multiple Enemies  Nemesis NPCs  Show Some Mercy! 

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CHAPtER 4: THE PROGRESS TRAcKER 


Social Encounters  Task Completion  Failure Is Not an Option  The Chase Scene  Resource Tracking  Party Reputation 

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31 31 31 32 32 32

CHAPtER 7: CORRUPtION RULES 

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44 45 45 46 46 46 47 47 47 49 50 51

Corruption in Play  Corrupting Influences  Corruption Thresholds  The Effects of Corruption  Mutation & Insanity  Losing Corruption  Marks of Chaos 

52 53 53 54 54 55 56

Strange Festivals and Rituals of the Reikland  Superstitions & Folk Customs  Magic, Religion & Superstition  Variations in Folk Customs 

84 85 85 85

CHAPtER 12: CORRUPtION & HERESY 


Corruption & Cults  The Ruinous Powers  Khorne  Nurgle  Slaanesh  Tzeentch  Heresy & Renegades  Witch Hunters  Blood, Faith & Fire  Agents of the Emperor  Judge, Jury & Executioner  Heresy & Literacy 

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86 88 88 88 89 89 90 90 91 91 91 92 CONtENtS

CHAPtER 8: DISEASE RULES 


Disease Ratings  Catching a Disease  Disease Stacks  Disease Traits  Infecting the Party  Disease Checks & Recovery Checks  Regular Recovery Checks  Severity and Death  Treatment Recovery Checks  Divine Aid  Other Medicine  Specific Disease Effects  Nurgles Rot  Herbs & Medicines 
IN tHE

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58 58 58 59 60 60 60 61 61 61 61 61 62 63

CHAPtER 13: MAGIc THEORIES 


Magic in the Old World  The Superiority of Teclisian Technique  Magic Across the World  Magic, Religion, & Chaos 

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CHAPtER 9: FAItH

OLd WORLd 

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66 67 67 68 68

95 95 96 96

Folk Worship  Imperial Cults, Temples & Shrines  Holy Warriors  Wandering Priests  Prayers and Blessings 

CHAPtER 14: THE COLLEGES

OF

MAGIc 

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98 99 100 101 101 101 102 102 103 104 104 104 105 107 108 108 108 108 109 109 109 109 110 110 110 110 110 111 111 111

CHAPtER 10: THE IMPERIAL CULtS 


Cult Structure and Hierarchy  The Role of the Cults  Life in a Cult  The Cult of Manann  Sample Strictures of Manann  The Cult of Morr  Sample Strictures of Morr  The Cult of Myrmidia  Sample Strictures of Myrmidia  The Cult of Ranald  Sample Strictures of Ranald  The Cult of Shallya  Sample Strictures of Shallya  The Cult of Sigmar  The Cult of Taal Sample Strictures of Sigmar  Sample Strictures of Taal  The Cult of Ulric  Sample Strictures of Ulric  The Cult of Verena  Sample Strictures of Verena  The Dwarf Gods  The Elven Gods  Holy Days, Festivals, and Rituals 

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70 71 71 72 72 73 73 74 74 75 75 76 76 77 77 77 78 79 79 80 80 82 82 83

CHAPtER 15: THE EIGHt ORdERS 


The Amber Order  The College of the Amber Order  Shamans  Becoming an Amber Apprentice  Opinions on the Amber Order  The Amethyst Order  The College of the Amethyst Order  Spiriters  Becoming an Amethyt Apprentice  Opinions on the Amethyst Order  The Bright Order  The College of the Bright Order  Pyromancers  Becoming a Bright Apprentice  Opinions on the Bright Order  The Celestial Order  The College of the Celestial Order 

The Founding of the Colleges  History of the Colleges  Joining a College  College Ranks  Apprentice & Acolyte  Wizard Staffs & Other Arcane Foci  Wizard  Higher Ranks  Ranks & Symbols  Perceptions & Superstitions  Discipline  Tomes & Artefacts  Magical Sight 

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CHAPtER 11: OtHER FAItHS 

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TABLE

OF

NEw WFRP GAME MAStERS


The Game Masters Guide contains important rules and information for the player who will be running the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) sessions as the GM. It includes suggestions and guidelines on managing longterm campaigns, handling character development, and creating adventures. The book also contains the information to manage enemies and adversaries. The appendices feature charts and tables for reference. The Game Masters Guide also features a complete introductory adventure, An Eye for an Eye.

CHAPtER 16: FORBIddEN LORE 


Unauthorised Magic  Magic beyond the Empire  The Border Princes  Bretonnia  Kislev  Norsca  Sorcerers  Dark Magic & High Magic  Dark Magic Dhar  High Magic Qhaysh  Wizards within the Empire  Magic & Heresy 
FOR AN

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VEtERAN WFRP GAME MAStERS


The Game Masters Guide contains a wealth of information for new and veteran GMs alike. Some of the content from this guide has been compiled from previous bookssuch as the Tome of Adventure, Tome of Blessings, and Tome of Mysteries from the popular Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Core Set. This book also contains the rules for corruption and mutation, as detailed in Winds of Magic, and the rules for disease as detailed in Signs of Faith.

CHAPtER 17: AN EYE

EYE 

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THE WFRP VAULtS


This book references cards and components from several different WFRP products and component sets, including The Game Masters Vault and The Players Vault. Available separately, The Game Masters Vault is the perfect complement to this book, featuring the components, cards, and other tools a GM may wish to use to help manage and run his Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay sessions. The Players Vault has the resources and components someone running a player character needs to manage his hero during a game.
Astromancers  Becoming a Celestial Apprentice  Opinions on the Celestial Order  The Gold Order  The College of the Gold Order  Alchemists  Becoming a Gold Apprentice  Opinions on the Gold Order  The Grey Order  The College of the Grey Order  Illusionists  Becoming a Grey Apprentice  Gavius Klugge  Opinions on the Grey Order  The Jade Order  The College of the Jade Order  Elementalists  Becoming a Jade Apprentice  Opinions on the Jade Order  The Light Order  The College of the Light Order  Hierophants  Becoming a Light Apprentice  Opinions on the Light Order  111 112 112 112 113 113 113 113 114 114 114 114 115 115 115 115 115 116 116 116 117 117 117 117

APPENdIX: CHARtS & TABLES 


Using the Charts & Tables  Table A-1: Critical Wounds  Table A-2: Insanity  Table A-3: Miscast  Table A-4: Mutation  Table A-5: Diseases  Conditions  Locations 

Background  Running the Adventure  A History of Grunewald Lodge  Using this Information in the Game  What the Characters Certainly Dont Know...  Recent Events  The Eldritch Order of the Unblinking Eye  The Painting  Chapter 1: Welcome to Grunewald  Encounter 0: A Job Offer  Encounter 1: The Reikwald Beastman Battle Progress Tracker  Encounter 2: Let Me Get Your Bags  Chapter 2: Investigation  Schlaf Poisoning  Layout of Grunewald Lodge & Grounds  The Manor First Floor  Kordens Ramblings  The Manor Ground Floor  The Manor Basement  The Manor Roof  The Grounds  Other Characters  The Dinner  Schlaf Poisoning Recap  Chapter 3: The Dramatic Finale  Encounter 1: The Ritual  Encounter 2: The Beastmen  Tying up Loose Ends  Running the Beastmen in the Final Battle  Experience Rewards  Master NPC Roster  NPC & Creature Stats & Actions 

124 124 125 125 125 126 126 126 127 12 8 129 130 131 133 134 134 134 137 138 140 141 141 145 146 146 147 147 148 149 149 150 151 152

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GAME MAStER INdEX 

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