Warpstone has had two significant changes in its publishing history. The first would be when Hogshead took up distribution of Warpstone while the second just recently happened: the publishing of their Talabheim series. It looks to be a bit of an undertaking involving a dozen writers or so… but more on this series later in the review.

This issue begins with reviews, the first review being "Bergsburg: On-line WFRP Project". As of late, Warpstone has been giving this project a bit of help, mailing some related flyers to Warpstone subscribers. There isn't much to review about the project since it is a work in progress, but the attention devoted to the project might help rouse interest in the project. The next review is a bit of a shock: SLA Industries, Nightfall Games sci-fi something or other with attitude (and wholesale ripped off images from other sources). Warpstone strays from being a WFRP magazine to being a Hogshead magazine. The review is brief but fair, but I found myself being torn in whether or not the space would have been better served elsewhere. The last review is Death's Dark Shadow - or mostly a short brief revisit of an earlier review. Not of much use other than to remind you to that Hogshead has released it and to read the older Warpstone review for more information. Overall the Warpstone reviews were uninspired, but in light of the dearth of products to review, this is understandable.

The Warpstone Fragments that follow are of less interest than usual, a blurb on the Dying Earth series, Lord of the Rings, gaming conventions, and a review of Dungeons and Dragons the movie. None of these I consider particularly newsworthy or relevant.

Tim Eccles' The Correspondent column is a bit of a misfit in the magazine, lacking a definite sense of purpose. In the past it's served as a platform to voice the author's opinion on issues previously covered on the WFRP email list while other times a hodge podge of various ideas. The better columns are neither, tackling a facet of the Old World background, but in these cases the information is poorly served in the context of the column since the material could be expanded upon in a longer and substantial article. This column is a perfect example: Imperial Law. Tim Eccles suggests that the current existing tables in the various rulebooks fail to convey a full feel of the law, but it seems strange to suggest that this very brief, dense, and jargon ridden column in small print is hardly an improvement, or hardly legible for that matter. A longer article covering the topic in a more digestible manner with numerous role-play suggestions and adventure hooks would have been more fitting.

The Nine Tribes: The Empire Before Sigmar is an interesting article, albeit more in concept than in practice. The article outlines the eight (nine? twelve?) tribes of Sigmar in the Empire's past, providing a map for the area where they historically resided. The article is derailed initially by commentary about real world versus Old World comparisons, a needless comparison. Rather than entirely confine itself to history as a meaningless if interesting academic exercise, the article looks at the relevance of history and provides adventure seeds related to history. Notable was the art and related column showing some of the dress and character of the Empire's early tribal peoples, a nice touch. On a side note, I found the use of footnotes in this article and the earlier Imperial Law column very distracting - the information should be incorporated into the body of the work itself or excised. Still, the article is a nice contribution to the body of WFRP material.

Excerpts from Doktor Brauer's Book of Fable and Fancy, Nuln College Press, 2503: Background from the Felix and Gotrek Books provides a look at some of the detail and background of current WFRP fiction. It would be a nice addition, yet it is marred by one egregious omission: the book and page numbers of the snippet of information so that others can reference it for themselves or examine the information in greater depth in its context. Rather than proving a resource, this article is merely a curiosity. The good Doktor Brauer should know better: any academic should cite his sources!

Forms of Address by Toby Piling is a simple article which provides detail to enrich the background.

Blue Blood on the Carpet by N. Arne Dam and Alfred Nunez Jr. is a redundant article covering nobility, especially in light when the subject has been covered in an earlier White Dwarf series and in Apocrypha Now. The article reiterates noble hierarchy, provides more history on how nobility emerged historically while providing far less detail on how one actually enters the nobility, gives a brief and far too simplified description of noble obligations and privileges, discusses briefly the art of intrigue, marriage, inheritance, and the decline of a noble house. After this superficial description of material already covered in various other sources the article improves by offering three adventure seeds that prove far more useful to the GM. The article concludes with description of the Von Bildhofens, less an examination of a prominent Imperial family since it is comprised solely of bios of some of the family's historically important figures.

Tim Eccles' The Simple Coin succeeds where his earlier contribution failed. This article works on a number of levels, first and foremost by examining an all too often overlooked aspect of the world: the coin. It provides a short history, moving on to the nature of coinage, although it sadly becomes mired in a digression on the Kislev Mark with takes up half the paragraphs. Coin manufacture is touched upon, although more detail on how mints are run and more information on the fixing of specie to bullion would have been nice. The information on inflation is particularly relevant to the GM and has profound consequences for PCs, and the author wisely touches upon later. Sadly, the article breaks down into yet another hodge-podge of arbitrary categories and random associations, the headings follow little rhyme or reason: Old Coins, Banking Institutions, Finance Houses, Church of Vernea, Gnomes, Dwarfs, Sea Elves, Value, How to Inspect Coins, and Paper Money. The content is great, the organization leaves much to be desired. Also noticeably missing is information on counterfeiters. This excellent article concludes with an examination of coins in scenarios with serious repercussions for PCs. Enhancing the entire article is art illustrating coins with commentary.

The coins article could have been the best article in the magazine, if not for the following article: Talabheim Part Two - the Noble Heart. All too often work by a dozen people or so feels disjointed, but to date the Talabheim articles have been a triumph for Warpstone, one of its defining moments.

It begins with an introduction to demi-humans in Talabheim. The information on dwarfs and close association with the cult of Sigmar proves a liability here in Talabheim - a particularly clever and insightful twist. Sadly the other races were neglected, halfling and elves getting three sentences each, with gnomes non-existent.

The portion on the watch is interesting and the limitations in which they work under add complexity. The details on the Secret Protection Office however rang false: the idea that a band of undercover commoners could potentially arrest anyone (including nobles) at any time. A curious power if you remember that the city is conservative and the nobles hold tenaciously to their power.

The bulk of the article covers the city districts at the center of the city, interspersed with text boxes on Custom and Law endow the world with credibility, history, and eccentricity; their inclusion in the article deeply enrich the world in a way that neither the Marienburg book nor the Middenheim book ever did. The descriptions of the districts themselves are good, if somewhat uneven. Some locations are given too much detail (the rather cliché beggar-king), some are given great detail (Saint Tomas of the Snows), and others are given too little detail (Shrine of Ranald the Protector). Sadly missing is any key to where the locations are in the city, a troubling oversight. The article finishes with an adventure that isn't tied in any way to the actual contents of the article itself - taking place outside Talabheim. The adventure seed is one of moral ambiguity concerning a rape, and while interesting, it seems like something more directly related to the article could have been used instead.

Reviewed: The Professionals is Tim Eccles' look at Dragon, Dungeon, White Dwarf, Games Unplugged, Valkyrie, and Knights of the Dinner Table. Tim Eccles holds them up to high standards, savages the magazines for their failings. However I question the inclusion of this article in Warpstone, firstly its not directly related to WFRP, secondly, it seems less a review of the magazines and more an exposition on the sad state of gaming these days. Eccles' complaints have been voiced for over a decade.

The obligatory scenario is in here as well, John Foody's In the Name of Love. To be honest, I don't care for scenarios and hardly read them. This one I did read, and enjoy. First of all there were no agents of chaos or dark gods, no grand conspiracies, no ancient legacies, simply human folly and misunderstanding. There was a minor typo overlooked in editing where "beggar" is used instead of "pedlar". My biggest complaint is not entirely relevant: the case involves a rape, or in actuality a lie about rape. The article may seem to feed off the myth that if a woman cries "rape", she's probably lying or secretly really wanted it. On the other other hand, others may feel that the adventure plays in well with a grim world and that such things do occur. Reservations aside, it's a short and excellent adventure, and in my opinion one of the best the magazine has had to offer.

It finally concludes with The Forum, Warpstone's letter pages.

In summation, this issue has its disappointments, notably the reviews, a misguided column, and a superfluous article on nobility. The Nine Tribes article was a creative addition, yet the real merit lies in the article on coins and Talabheim. These two articles alone make the issue worth the cover price. The Talabheim article itself easily rivals the earlier official published city sourcebooks even in its unpolished state, quite an accomplishment for the Warpstone team. This article of Warpstone, and the last, are excellent additions your WFRP collection.

Rev. Lepper