Introduction

This list was compiled by some members of the WFRP community. The intention was to compile various answers to the most frequently asked questions. Many of the answers are unofficial and even some of the official solutions are incomplete or unclear. Thus this document should not be construed as canonical, but merely an aid to assist those seeking to answer some of the questions generated during game play.

While some of the material is quoted from official published resources and remains the intellectual property of Games Workshop this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is open material for anyone to share and use. Permission is granted to repost this material or adding it to websites.

The Most Frequently Asked Question: The Naked Dwarf

Q: What is the Naked Dwarf?

A: The way the Toughness mechanic works in combat to reduce the damage inflicted and thus the number of Wounds a character receives creates a phenomenon known as the "Naked Dwarf", in which a character is able to shrug off wounds easily due to an inflated Toughness. Case in point, a Dwarf with a Toughness of 7 and unclothed is hit five times by humans with a Strength of 3 carrying normal swords, doing 5 hits for the following damage: 2, 4, 6, 6, and 9. Struck five times by a sword, and with the Dwarf's Toughness all but four of the hits have done no damage and one attack has done two. In other words, five sword wounds to the head and the character is all but unfazed.

Q: What are Some Solutions to the Naked Dwarf/Toughness Problem?

A: There have been no official solution to the Naked Dwarf problem, although at least one of the designers of the original WFRP line has suggested that this problem be addressed in any possible future editions or versions of WFRP. A number of unofficial solutions have been offered, the options are detailed below:

"Toughness can never eliminate damage on an unarmored location, so you always take at least one point of damage. The Naked Dwarf will thus take a while to kill, though he'll go down eventually.

I should mention two other things, my interpretation of a helpless target and a called shot option that we also use, as both affect the NDS somewhat.

(1) Helpless targets take double damage, which I calculate BEFORE applying armor and Toughness (the book is a bit vague here and I picked one though later found out it should go the other way--I like more damage, though). Anyone who is surprised is potentially helpless, though the character gets an Initiative check to avoid double damage if already engaged in combat or otherwise wary. (Being prone isn't necessarily helpless, I should note.)

(2) I also use some other rules that allow for attacks to vital areas, with increased chances of extra damage. Called shots are -10 or -20. The vital shot penalty (which always requires a called) is an additional -20. Vital hits check for extra damage on a 5 or 6 (all crits that hit are vitals shots). Hits to the head check for extra damage on a 5 or 6 (whether they were called shots or not). Vital hits to the head check for extra damage on a 4, 5, or 6. A vital hit to the head that crits checks for extra damage on 3, 4, 5 or 6! Ouch. " (John V Verkuilen)

Toughness does not subtract from damage in combat, but Armor Points are doubled. (Anthony Ragan)

The value of the Toughness score halved during combat, but functions normally for all other purposes such as Poison tests.

Toughness only reduces damage received in unarmed combat.

Toughness can only negate the Strength bonus, and not reduce the damage any farther (Rev. Lepper)

Scale Rules and any variation based on Toughness equating to size (consult Claycle's rules online at: http://www.employees.org/~claycle/WFRP/index.html)

Criticals "6" + damage or to successful Weapon Skill rolls with a double result (e.g. 11, 33, 44) ignore all Toughness when figuring damage.

"Instead of rolling for additional damage on a natural 6, roll for additional damage on a 5 or 6 -- unless the character is wearing armour. This would hold true for chain, plate, and magical forms of protection (zones), but would not hold true for leather -- whose purpose is only to protect against minor nicks and scratches anyway. Chain and plate gain a value all their own in this way, having more of an ability to turn a blow, as it were.

However, it may be argued that this excessively penalizes characters who choose to wear no armour. Warhammer is often deadly enough for those clothed, human characters. What do you do about that? Answer: smart people do not insert themselves in the path of a sharp blade. That's what knuckle-draggers with steel plate are for.
OR... Perhaps look at modifying criticals instead. There are charts for critical failure... what about critical success? What if a player rolls an 11 while his character has a 78 skill? Reward such a freak occurrence by allowing the player to roll 2d6 for damage and keep the best result.
OR... As an alternate Critical hit system, any roll that is 1/10 of the characters skill level (rounded down) inflicts a critical hit. A human with a 58 WS would score crits on a 5 or less. An elf with a 91 would score crits on a 9 or less. The system above is used for determining effects of a critical hit.
OR... Any critical hit (successful roll of doubles) automatically causes a roll on the critical tables if the character is not wearing metal armour -- even if the hit does NO damage. This doesn't overly penalize the unarmoured characters in the group, though it does for the advantage in wearing encumbering armour as it serves to deflect freakishly lucky blows. A blade may graze an unarmoured man's throat and lead to an unpleasant end, but if he's wearing a gorget (sp?) or coif the blow may deflects harmlessly away with an audible "tink" of metal (and perhaps some light bruising). Note: the critical hit is applied even if the toughness of the target completely absorbs the blow. Magical protection (such as zones) are as effective as proper armour.

I think I like the last option best, myself. Not applied often enough to overly penalize the non-armour wearers while presenting enough of a chance for unpleasantness to make the NDS players twitch and stock up on armour. (Mind you, if you're foolish enough to allow a Naked Dwarf in your game, do you -really- want him wearing armour too?!?)" Ed Northcott

Character Mechanic Questions

Q: What is the Sense Magical Alarm Skill?

A: The Sense Magical Alarm skill first appeared in a White Dwarf article supporting WFB 1st edition. In the first hardcover printing of the WFRP rulebook this career was listed as existing under "Thief-Burglar" but the skill description was not provided. It was then listed in the "Fistful of Misprints" article in White Dwarf 92. The skill entry under Burglar and the skill itself were not included in any later printings of the WFRP rulebook.

Q: Are Advances for Profiles from Careers Cumulative or Not?

A: No, some confusion exists. Once you have purchased a +10 advance for a particular characteristic, you may not purchase it again. Therefore, you can not purchase five +10 bonuses to Weapons Skill and have a +50 bonus. If one already has a +10 advance, later advances must be higher to increase the advance for that characteristic. Therefore purchasing a +20 advance for a characteristic that already has a +10 advance, will only increase the characteristic +10 since +10 of the +20 has already been purchased and factored into the advance. In other words, an advance of +20, +30, and +40 are not stacked on top of a +10 bonus, but replace that advance instead.

Q: What is the Master Thief?

A: The Master Thief is a career mentioned in only the description of Ranald under "Cult Requirements" (WFRP 199), although the career has never been officially published. An inofficial career-description can be found in Warpstone no. 18

Q: Is There Something Wrong with the Wizard's Apprentice Career?

A: In the original WFRP hardback produced by Games Workshop, the Wizard's Apprentice career is wrong, this has been corrected in all later printings and errata was printed in The Enemy Within campaign. The proper advances should be: W: +1, Dex +10, Int +10, WP +10.

Q: Should the Gnome Jester Really have +20 Attacks?

A: The original Gnome article "Out of the Garden" in White Dwarf 86 had a typo, and the +20 advance under "Attacks" should have been under "Dexterity".

Q: Why Don't Giant Slayers Have a Career Exit?

A: Giant Slayers don't have an exit because there's nowhere to go beyond that--the dwarf in question should just keep bashing on more dangerous stuff until he meets his end on something really big. Oh, you want more advances? Well, tough. :) You can always take a Basic career exit. Presumably this means said dwarf no longer feels dishonored.

There *are* a number of unofficial exit careers on the internet. These haven't made it into official stuff, though. (John V Verkuilen)

Race Questions

Q: Why are Humans so Weak?

A: Examining the Human Profile in all editions of WFRP comes up with a profile this is extremely low. This is an error - the Human Profile and the Halfling Profile have been mixed up, both use the human profile. This error did not exist in the original hardback edition of WFRP but did appear in subsequent softback and has not been corrected in any of the printings of the book to date.

The correct human profile should read:

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dex	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	Fel
4	33	25	3	3	7	30	1	29	29	29	29	29	29

This compares with the halfling profile that is:

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dex	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	Fel
3	25	34	2	2	7	50	1	43	24	29	24	43	43

(David Hatch)

Q: Where are the Rules for Gnome PCs?

A: The rules were originally published in White Dwarf 86 and again in Apocrypha Now released by Hogshead.

Q: Do Gnomes Have An Advantage When Casting Illusionist Spells?

A: In White Dwarf 102 Graeme Davis states in "On the Boil" that Gnomes have the same Magic Points for Dwarfs and Halflings except that all Illusionist spells only cost half their usual magic points (Official)

Q: Can Dwarves Ever Start Off As Rogues? The Requirement To Be A Rogue Is 30 I, Which Can Only Happen If A Character Rolls Two "10" Results On Their Dice During Character Generation!

A: Officially, a 30 is necessary for now, but a GM can change this if they see it necessary to do so.

Does a player really need the "I" 65 result during character generation to be a Entertainer? Or a Minstrel? After all, the WFRP rulebook reads "Elves, being Good, are not naturally given to exploit or manipulate people". Being an Entertainer or Minstrel doesn't necessarily mean one is exploitative or manipulative!

Q: Why Are Elves So Powerful?

A: Elves were the most prized of the Slann experiments as their starting profiles reflect. Should a GM see this as unbalancing, they may always choose to alter the starting profile.

Q: Why Do Elves have a 2d10+30 to WS but only a 2d10+20 to BS?

A: Many people dispute the starting BS profiles for elves, suggesting that they should be superior at firing missile weapons over humans and others, but instead their WS is higher than the human. Arguments have been made to both support the current profile and to contest it. For now the existing rules are official, but if a GM feels that they prefer their elves to be better at missile weapons than melee weapons then they should see fit to follow the suggestion at the start of the WFRP book: "Knowing when not to stick to the letter of the rules is the sign of a good GM..."

Combat Questions:

Q: Why are Long Bows/Crossbows/Elf Bows/Firearms So Weak?

A: There are many complaints that a Crossbow, Long Bow, or Firearms are far too weak. Arguments are made about their penetration contemporarily and historically. Overall, many of the weapons seem underpowered, but guns receive a small increase in power in the articles in the Warhammer Companion and Apocrypha Now.

Overall, the solution to this is to either:

Increase the damage and range of some weapons

Do not use toughness in factoring damage from firearms or specific missile weapons (Ouroboros)

"One solution was that missile weapons always have the ability to cause minor criticals even if they don't do any significant damage. I haven't playtested the idea substantially so I don't know what impact it will have. Basically, if a missile does *any* damage, roll on the Sudden Death Critical Hit table. A 'K' results indicates a minor critical. This will be of the level D8, regardless of how many wounds it caused (these only increase the chance of the critical, not the level). These low criticals are more irritating than crippling, for instance pinning the targets foot to the ground, severing a finger or knocking teeth out. The rational is that most melee hits can be at least a little bit cushioned by turning or rolling with the punch at the last instant, saving fingers, eyes and other soft areas. However, missiles are to fast so you don't have time to react and they therefore have side effects besides just the wounds loss.

Of course, if the hit doesn't do any wounds no critical is caused, and if the hit is sufficient to cause a real critical, use that one and don't roll for an extra critical." (Leif Eriksson)

"The general rule for the 'weakness of archery' was that for some weapons, toughness (and/or armor) was ignored at specified ranges.
Crossbows: Ignore Armor at Short Range.
Firearms: Ignore Armor and Toughness at Short Range; ignore Armor at Long Range. Bonuses from Magical armor (+1, +2), are Never Ignored.
Likewise, shields are also never ignored, so long as they are in a position to be hit. Getting hit from your right side when you've got a shield strapped to your left arm is going to mean that the shield's bonus AP (1) will be ignored.

I don't believe that normal bows/arrows are necessarily underpowered; when you get down to it, why is everyone convinced that an arrow does more damage than the axe Henrik the Beserker is swinging? Crossbows, however, have a fairly steady record of punching through armor, as do bullets, hence the 'ignore armor at short range' line. Toughness should tend to NOT be ignored, but I'll note that Naked Slayers and other individuals who rely too heavily on their native capacity to resist Bad Things aren't coming out of battle without a scratch; they're coming out of battle battered, bruised, bloody, but not giving a shit and not letting it slow them down. Scrapes, nicks, road-rash, fifty square centimeters of skin removed ... encourage characters to give themselves lots of scarring if they managed to avoid a W due to their T." (Felix Eisen)

Q: Why are Elves the only Ones Able to Use Elf Bows?

A: The Elf bow, described on page 128 under the Missile Weapon Chart and under "Elf Bow" in Specialist Weapons in the section titled "Ordinary and Specialist Weapons" (pages 126-128) lists the Elf bow as the most powerful bow in the game that can only be used by Wood Elves. There is no official explanation on why only Elves can use it, so as the rule stands now, in the hands of any other race (would this include High Elves, Dark Elves, or Sea Elves) the weapon counts as a shortbow, perhaps because the weapon is designed with Wood Elf physiology in mind or as the result of specialized training that only the Wood Elves keep among themselves.

Q: How Do I Throw a Bomb Far Enough Without Killing Myself?

A: It is difficult using the basic rules for bombs in WFRP to throw the explosive far enough without catching oneself in the blast radius. These rules have been amended in the article "Hack and Slay" in Restless Dead and in Apocrypha Now "Combat Rules".

Q: Is the Parry Penalty for Weapons A Penalty for You Parrying With that Weapon or a Penalty for Those Parrying Your Weapon?

The WFRP rulebook says in page 120 :" PARRY : this modifies the Weapon Skill of
any OPPONENT who tries TO PARRY a blow FROM the weapon. This passage was included originally in the first GW hardcover edition of WFRP but was absent from the later GW softback editions.

Q: The New Combat Rules say "remember that all Unarmed Attack are to Stun (see WFRP rulebook) whether the attacker likes it or not". Is this true?

A: The rules above, cited in the "Hack and Slay" article in Restless Dead and Chapter Five: Combat Rules "Unarmed Combat" in Apocrypha Now suggest this, yet this is not addressed in either the "Unarmed Combat" section (WFRP p. 119), the "Stuns" section (WFRP p. 125) or under the "Street Fighter" or "Wrestling" Skill descriptions (WFRP p 57 and 58 respectively).

There has not, to date, been an official ruling on this, thus assume that the above rule in Apocrypha Now is an optional rule whose use should be determined by the GM. (Unofficial)

Q: Why Can't Vambraces Be Worn Over Mail Sleeves?

A: This question was originally answered by Graeme Davis in "On the Boil" in WD 98 on page 80. The designer cites the problems in mobility, but suggests that if a GM wants to allow it, the designer recommends a penalty on both Initiative and Dexterity.

Q: Are There Prices for a Leather Jerkin, Leather Coif, Leather Greaves, and Leather Sleeves?

The jerkin is 40 GCs, Enc 40, Avail Common and the leather coif is 10 GCs, Enc 10, Avail Common, there are no rules for leather greaves or sleeves, GM's can create these if they see fit (Official: WD 98 page 80).