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Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

WFRP 4e - Break Things

Smugglers can be anyone but Wood Elves. They are, essentially, shippers that attempt to avoid at least the legal taxes on goods, if not necessarily the bandits or protection rackets. They tend to see themselves as charitable - their work means everyone has more coin. The merchants who pay less tax, the bribed Riverwardens, the customers who pay lower prices, and more. It takes experience and creativity to circumvent all the bailiffs, customs officials, taxmen and bandits, of course, but hey! Risk is business. Smugglers come in all shapes and sizes, and they'll work for just about anyone. Some deal in illegal goods, though the punishment for such crimes is much harsher than a simple burned finger or smuggler's brand. Smugglers prefer to avoid adventure, but it doesn't avoid them. All kinds of things can go wrong on a run, and even when they don't, the next job is always right there, luring you in. Smuggling runs could be entire adventures. It's also usually easy for them to leave their post for a while to go a-touring because...well, smugglers will always be needed, and their ingenuity and eye for detail makes them a valuable addition to any party. They are primarily sneaks and social, with only basic combat skills.

On Smugglers posted:

"See, this is where the bottle of best Bordeleaux goes. The river wardens will search behind here, and find it, and confiscate it. That's what we want because it means they don't find the twelve bottles we have hidden under here. And if they find those, all is not lost, because they will be so pleased with themselves they won't even bother searching over there where there's twenty-four bottles." - Hansel Solomon, Smuggler

Tier 1 is River Runner, Brass 2. They are good at Agi, Dex and WP, and have Athletics, Bribery, Cool, Consume Alcohol, Row, Sail, Stealth (Rural or Urban) and Swim. Their Talents are Criminal, Fisherman, Strider (Marshes) and Strong Back.
Tier 2 is Smuggler, Brass 3. They add Haggle, Charm, Gossip, Lore (Local), Melee (Basic), Perception and Secret Signs (Smuggler), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Dealmaker, Etiquette (Criminals), Waterman and Very Strong.
Tier 3 is Master Smuggler, Brass 5. They add Evaluate, Intimidate, Intuition and Lore (Riverways), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Fearless (Riverwardens), Pilot and Strong Swimmer.
Tier 4 is Smuggler King, Silver 2. They add Language (Any) and Leadership, plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Kingpin, Savvy, Strider (Coastal) and Sea Legs.

Stevedores are Dwarfs, Halflings or Humans. They are the loaders and unloaders of vessels, generally members of the Stevedore Guilds, which have effectively total control over many docksides and wharfs. In larger towns, stevedore gangs may even violently compete for control. Stevedores might work by themselves in small villages or as part of a city gang, or may even just be part of a criminal gang that happens to move cargo on the side. Some of them are even just used as enforcers making sure the rest of the crew keeps working. Because the Stevedore gangs are pretty much their own law, they often get into trouble with each other and criminals. They fight hard for every foot of riverbank they control, and sometimes that means having to go out and deal with problems. Stevedores are a mix of combat, social and sneaking skills.

On Stevedores posted:

"Look, I know we specialize in coal, but don't fence us in, we'll port anything if the coin's good. So, let's do it afore the deal porters arrive; anything goes here, mate." - Albert Pfortner, Coal Porter
"Listen, boy. Don't think them dockers have it easy. It's dangerous, claustrophobic work, with heavy goods and high stacks, and if it's done wrong, the cargo may overbalance, perhaps even capsizing the boat. What I'm saying is, pay the Stevedores right - and if you want a boat to sink, pay them extra." - Aleida Fuchs, Merchant

Tier 1 is Dockhand, Brass 3. They're good at WS, T and I, and get Athletics, Climb, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Endurance, Gossip, Melee (Basic) and Swim. Their Talents are Dirty Fighting, Strong Back, Sturdy and Very Strong.
Tier 2 is Stevedore, Silver 1. They add Bribery, Entertain (Storytelling), Gamble, Intimidate, Perception and Stealth (Urban), plus S as a stat. Their Talents are Criminal, Etiquette (Guilders), Strong Legs and Tenacious.
Tier 3 is Foreman, Silver 3. They add Cool, Evaluate, Intuition and Leadership, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Dealmaker, Embezzle, Etiquette (Criminals) and Public Speaking.
Tier 4 is Dock Master, Silver 5. They add Charm and Lore (Taxes), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Kingpin, Menacing, Numismatics and Read/Write.

Wreckers are Dwarfs, Humans or Wood Elves. See, sometimes a vessel capsizes and the goods float downriver and someone lucky pulls them out of the water. And sometimes, well, sometimes people help the vessel capsize. That'd be the Wreckers. They lay traps and send bad signals, luring the unwary boats onto sand banks and rocks, then loot the vessels. Some pride themselves on clever traps and making wrecks seem accidental, while other Wreckers board ships by force and hurl the crew overboard, becoming good at spotting underarmed ships with good cargo. They must move constantly to avoid arrest for piracy, of course. A good wrecking is an adventure, as is avoiding the cops...and whoever you just pissed off by stealing from. And for Wreckers that get embroiled in adventure, well, it's pretty easy for a pirate to just leave their old life behind anyway and come back to it later. Wreckers are good combat and sneaking.

On Wreckers posted:

"We spied this juicy ripe sloop on its way to Carroburg just as night was falling, and lit some fires on the left bank to make them think the village was a few hundred yards closer. They tacked to starboard just like we planned and hit the sand back dead on. Sweet as. How were we to know the boat was transporting a company of pistoliers?" - Greta Lachsmann, shortly before her hanging.
"Look, if we let the crew live, they'll tell the wardens where we operate, so the only sensible thing is to kill 'em all." - Mandel Stein, Pragmatic River Pirate

Tier 1 is Cargo Scavenger, Brass 2. They're good at WS, S and I, plus Climb, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Endurance, Row, Melee (Basic), Outdoor Survival and Swim. Their Talents are Break and Enter, Criminal, Fisherman and Strong Back.
Tier 2 is Wrecker, Brass 3. They add Bribery, Cool, Intuition, Navigation, Perception and Set Traps, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Flee!, Rover, Strong Swimmer and Tenacious.
Tier 3 is River Pirate, Brass 5. They add Gossip, Intimidate, Ranged (Crossbow) and Stealth (Rural), plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Dirty Fighting, Etiquette (Criminals), Menacing and Waterman.
Tier 4 is Wrecker Captain, Silver 2. They add Leadership and Lore (Riverways), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Furious Assault, In-fighter, Pilot and Warrior Born. In-fighter gives a bonus to Melee when in-fighting or to enter in-fighting, and it eliminates all penalties for fighting a foe with a longer weapon than you. It also gives a you a +10 bonus to hit if you use the optional rules for in-fighting. Warrior Born is +5 base WS.

Next time: Bawd, Charlatan, Fence

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Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
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WFRP 4e - Hello Mine Name Is Heinrich the Medieval Fantasy Drug Dealer

Into the Rogues! Bawds can be Halfling, High Elf or Human. They are the people who get you illegal or immoral services. While many object to such things in Human and Dwarf society, both Halflings and High Elves fail to understand what problems they have with drugs, brothels and other vice. Bawds are drug dealers, dancers, hustlers, artist's models, camp followers selling vice and madams, among other things. The leaders among these people can make significant sums in their little empires of crime, selling various forms of access, safety and vice to criminals and more savoery clients alike. Bawds in urban areas sometimes go travelling to flee plague or persecution, which is all too common in Sigmarite areas. Others follow entertainers around and travel as a living, making it easy for them to hook up with adventurers. Those with a patron may also just have a lot of free time when not acquiring whatever unsavory things said patron desires. They are almost purely a social career.

On Bawds posted:

"Come to the Hammer and Bucket, home of the best music and entertainment in old Altdorf town! You will not be disappointed!" - Raynald Schmid, Bawd
"Scoff all you like, but those clothes cost money. For a lad born 'neath a dung heap, he lives a life of luxury." - Hertel Netzhoch, Innkeep

Tier 1 is Hustler, Brass 1. They're good at Agi, Dex and Fel, and have Bribery, Charm, Consume Alcohol, Entertain (Any), Gamble, Gossip, Haggle and Intimidate. Their Talents are Attractive, Alley Cat, Blather and Gregarious.
Tier 2 is Bawd, Brass 3. They add Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Lore (Local), Melee (Basic) and Perception, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Ambidexterous, Carouser, Criminal and Resistance (Disease).
Tier 3 is Procurer, Silver 1. They add Cool, Evaluate, Language (Any) and Lore (Law), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Dealmaker, Embezzle, Etiquette (Any) and Suave.
Tier 4 is Ringleader, Silver 3. They add Leadership and Lore (Heraldrdy), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Kingpin, Numismatics and Savvy.

Charlatans can be Halfling, High Elf or Human. They are professional liars and con artists. That's their deal. Even the highest ranked people can fall prey to a Charlatan, and most of them are not just excellent liars but entirely amoral. They swindle, con, gamble and cheat to prey on the gullible. Halflings often work with a small number of family members to run their cons, while High Elves slumming it as Charlatans treat it all as one big game to play and usually aren't motivated by profit so much as proving themselves superior to Humans. To avoid suspicion, most Charlatans travel frequently, though they usually won't tell their fellow adventuring companions that they're con artists. They're more than able to pursue side interests even if they do, however - no matter where you go, there's always someone waiting for you to take their money. Charlatans mix mostly social skills with some sneaking.

On Charlatans posted:

"I've carried this across countless leagues from the highest towers of the Elves. See how it sparkles in the moonlight? Only magic can cause this inner light! Unbelievable as it may be, I must grudgingly part with it. For such power, any price is but a trifle!" - Wolmar Rotte, Con Man
"The last living heir of Lord Schwalb, you say? You're the fifth 'heir' to call this afternoon! How much did you pay for that scrap of paper? Better yet, who's the swindler what sold it to you?" - Gerold Behn, Irritated Butler

Tier 1 is Swindler, Brass 3. They have good I, Dex and Fel, and have Bribery, Consume Alcohol, Charm, Entertain (Storytelling), Gamble, Gossip, Haggle and Sleight of Hand. Their Talents are Cardsharp, Diceman, Etiquette (Any) and Luck. Cardsharp gives a bonus to Gamble and Sleight of Hand tests when playing card games and, when you use either while playing cards, lets you use either your rolled SL or your ones digit as your SL, and if for some reason you're playing real cards to represent the game, you may receive extra cards based on your purchases, then discard down to the appropriate hand size before each round of play. Diceman is the same for dice games, but you get to roll extra dice based on your purchases and choose the best results instead if you're using real dice games.
Tier 2 is Charlatan, Brass 5. They add Cool, Dodge, Entertain (Acting), Evaluate, Intuition and Perception, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Blather, Criminal, Fast Hands and Secret Identity.
Tier 3 is Con Artist, Silver 2. They add Language (Thief), Lore (Heraldry), Pick Lock and Secret Signs (Thief), plus Agi as a stat. Their Talents are Attractive, Cat-tongued, Dealmaker and Read/Write.
Tier 4 is Scoundrel, Silver 4. They add Lore (Genealogy) and Research, plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Gregarious, Master of Disguise, Nose for Trouble and Suave.

Fences are Dwarfs, Halflings or Humans. They buy and sell illegal goods, typically from criminals to people who aren't. They often operate as pawnbrokers, importers or other legitimate merchants, while others stay mobile and deal only in things they can carry. Some deal instead in information - particularly illicit or forbidden information. Some move goods across the Empire - stolen art, for example, is usually easier to unload in a different city. They are often the first that people come to when trying to find and acquire high profile stolen goods, and some even take commissions, connecting clients with thieves. The search for a buyer or need to escape can drive many Fences to travel and, thus, adventure. They also often have to move goods around, and some become adventurers as a way to make a name for themselves in the local underworld by dealing with competition or just proving they're skilled. While they are mostly social they get some crafting and basic combat ability.

On Fences posted:

"I know it's stolen. You know it's stolen. Even old Sigmar knows it's stolen. So when I ask you if it's stolen, don't insult me by telling me it isn't stolen. Lucky for you, I deal in stolen, so stop panicking." - Elene Weslach, Mover
"Why am I called a Fence? Well, it's because I provide you with some de-fence from being caught, innit. So, you go thief, and I'll make sure you don't have to worry about how to shift the merchandise. Think of me like your partner-in-crime." - 'Boil' Vakram, Fence

Tier 1 is Broker, Silver 1. They get good I, Agi and Fel, plus Charm, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Evaluate, Gamble, Gossip, Haggle and Melee (Basic). Their Talents are Alley Cat, Cardsharp, Dealmaker and Gregarious.
Tier 2 is Fence, Silver 2. They add Cool, Intimidate, Intuition, Perception, Secret Signs (Thief) and Trade (Engraver), plus Dex as a stat. Their Talents are Criminal, Etiquette (Criminals), Numismatics and Savvy.
Tier 3 is Master Fence, Silver 3. They add Bribery, Entertain (Storytelling), Lore (Art) and Lore (Local), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Kingpin, Strike to Stun, Suave and Super Numerate.
Tier 4 is Black Marketeer, Silver 4. They add Lore (Heraldry) and Research, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Dirty Fighting, Iron Will, Menacing and Briber.

Next time: Grave Robber, Outlaw, Racketeer

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 4, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

Angry Salami posted:

Currently, half the teams in the AFL are based out of Melbourne. The ratio would have been even higher when this book was published.

Ha ha, fair enough. It's what I get for not looking closely enough.

I'm too used to the American assumption of one city = one team.

Kaza42
Oct 3, 2013

Blood and Souls and all that

Mors Rattus posted:

__ can be anyone but Wood Elves.

I swear this is the most common line in the review. What CAN Wood Elves be?

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!

Kaza42 posted:

I swear this is the most common line in the review. What CAN Wood Elves be?

Assholes.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Kaza42 posted:

I swear this is the most common line in the review. What CAN Wood Elves be?

They can be, and on the random table percentage are going to be: Scholars (1%), Wizards (4%), Artisans (5%), Advisors (4%), Artists (4%), Envoys (7%), Nobles (6%), Spies (4%), Herbalists (7%), Hunters (10%), Mystics (5%), Scouts (11%), Bounty Hunters (2%), Entertainers (5%), Messengers (3%), Wreckers (1%), Outlaws (6%), Cavalrymen (5%), Guards (2%), Knights (2%), Pit Fighters (2%) or Soldiers (3%).

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Knights seem like a very odd fit for them, given they're allergic to armor. I suppose that's for the murderous psychopaths on angry deer?

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!

SenZar



But really, SenZar is primarily about one super-important thing, the promise that we can be Gods if we keep at it for long enough and are sufficiently non-dweeby and badass. This all kicks into gear when/if a character hits 20th level(and an appropriate amount of Fame, apparently, because otherwise the supernatural forces of the world just won't notice you exist...), at which point the world starts taking notice of him as being a superior badass, and the various supernatural forces of the world start sidling up with offers ranging from "have all these magical items if you join us" to "nice immortality, be a shame if something happened to it..." Essentially it boils down to being Lawful, Chaotic or "who gives a gently caress, I'm here to be a super cool dude" in the grand scheme of things. Though if you told the authors that you wanted to call it, say, Lawful, Chaotic and Neutral, just like in D&D, they'd probably look at you like you took a poo poo on their book.

The unaligned choice is to be a "Material God," which means you stay on the mortal plane and just continue accruing sick amounts of power. It leaves you less tied to anyone, but also with less allies and considerably more vulnerable if you really piss someone off(which you more or less did by turning down the Lawful offer from the Deific Gods and the Chaotic offer from the Eternals). It's probably the least complicated, and the one most likely to appeal to the sort of psycho who killed and stole enough to reach 20th level in the first place. You're also a bit more fragile than the other options, they need to be utterly annihilated(brought down to negative their max HP) or they will eventually regenerate back to full health and power, while Material Gods can be killed permanently just by lopping off their heads(anything else they'll still regen from, though) probably because the authors saw Highlander like a week before writing this(seriously, if you chop off an enemy Material God's head, there are even badass special effects and you eat a chunk of their Primal Points). Oddly enough, becoming a Material God requires you to actually die as a mortal, though. When you fulfill the requirements and die(either by suicide or by making a dramatic sacrifice), the setting recognizes you as someone super cool and resurrects/reincarnates you as a Material God, usually with some appropriately badass special effects.

Then there's the Lawful choice of becoming a Deific God, which makes you more like a D&D God, with worshippers and a sphere. Your main weakness here is that you have to shepherd your cult/religion, and as it waxes and wanes, so do you. You start this one up by hitting the requisite 20th level and etc. and then finding a God who wants to take you on as an apprentice, essentially. He gives you a minor sphere of influence and you grow your cult until you have the power to become a Demigod, at which point you're a divine journeyman and can do your own thing without being strictly subservient to your former master. This requires about a million worshippers if you want to do it in just a year, so you may be working at this for a while, especially because the primal power you need to advance in divine rank, is also the stuff you'll be burning to do cool poo poo that could affect a growth in your cult and faith. Other options involve having a shitload of sanctified temples(and keeping them from being defiled) or mass human sacrifice. You're a lot safer than a Material God, though, since your actual body is hidden away on your divine plane, and you'll mostly be interacting with the real world via Avatars that only lose you Power Points(not your life) when destroyed. Unfortunately if one gets taken out, you're unable to create a new one for a year and a day, so it can give some folks free run of loving up your faith while you can't interfere.

The Eternals are the Chaotic branch of things. Their description makes it sound more or less like they treat their divine club mainly as a social thing where it's about winning arbitrary "Points" and fame in the game of the day, to show the others who the coolest Eternal is. The "Points" they earn also happen to be how they advance in power, unlike normal XP, head-loppings or human sacrifice, as well as being nuclear bombs. Yes, really, they can toss their points at people for absolutely ridiculous amounts of damage, being well into the pentuple digits I think that throwing your "points" at enemies is probably one of the most effective means of ending a fight rapidly. Like Gods, Eternals also don't have physical bodies as much as they do avatars. Rather than being ensconced on a safe plane somewhere, though, they're all consumed by the bookie administrating their games, "The Pool," which dissolves them and handles all the escrow services and other necessities for running a cosmic, divine-level gambling/gaming club. Eternals are a bit more at risk than Gods, though, if their Avatars get nuked out of existence, they'll still be reincarnated within a year(but within that year, if their slayer makes it to the Eternals' HQ they can claim their souls and points for themselves...) but at the lowest possible Eternal rank, unlike the Gods who just lose a negligible amount of power for it. The Eternals are also a relentlessly unfunny sack of garbage, like, they make Kender look like a hilarious addition to a campaign. There's an extensive list, but basically they gain points from the Pool(in addition to the various games) for being WACKY(pyromania, starting wars, etc.) and making bad puns, and lose points for, well, losing or being uncool(more or less treating mortals as anything but furniture).

As a shared thing, everyone who's an immortal gets to breach the normal chargen limits of the game, have absurd numbers of actions per combat round, cast all the spells, cast them super quickly, be telepathic, see in all spectrums, etc. etc. A lot of it still needs to be bought with Primal Points(tm), but if you stay alive as an Immortal for long enough you'll be a pretty scary dude to deal with. There are also some PRIMAL MAGICKS that only Immortals of various stripes can learn, along with some dubious balancing. For instance, if you're a mid-tier God you can more or less effortlessly wipe any planet clean of life with a hard radiation bombardment, which is cheaper(in terms of Primal Point expenditure) than summoning and binding super-demons and super-dragons. If you want to be a bit more picky, you can spend ten times as much as it'd take to annihilate the entire planet to just kill one species on the planet. Considering that one of the setting's few named-and-defined gods is literally a humans-only supremacist, you'd expect that he'd be snuffing out other species one by one.

You'd think there'd be more to talk about here, but a lot of this stuff is defined by the fact that you're breaking free of the rules. The numbers become absurd(like, literally, five-digit damage numbers and up to millions of POWER POINTS and PRIMAL ESSENCE POINTS and worshippers and so on), Material Gods gain undefined-by-RAW powers that they negotiate with the GM, Primal Magicks are mostly defined by the fact that they let you(aside from a number of ways to commit genocide, destroy the planet or destroy the entire universe) cast Wish, or gamble your own soul to chain-cast multiple Wishes(there's literally a specific spell for summoning a MILLION wishes at once). At this point you're entering into the realms of a group fiction-writing exercise more so than running or playing a game.

For all its claims that this is the apex of the game, it feels like the whole thing works better at the mortal levels. But who knows, maybe the supplements have more info that will make the divine-level play more engaging!

You know, on the off chance that any actual human being actually has any of them. The first supplement(monster manual, basically) was the only one that was published on paper, the remaining two were only published as CD's, so good loving luck ever getting your hands on those outside of tracking down Todd King and harassing him to put the entire SenZar library up on DriveThru.

And that's it for SenZar, for now, unless someone develops a brain tumor and scores the remaining things. I'd actually really have liked to get my hands on one of the CD-only supplements because one of them is the one that actually details the world and setting, and I feel like that's the sort of poo poo that'd make for both fun reading and fun reviewing more so than a monster manual.

Dawgstar
Jul 15, 2017

Night10194 posted:

Knights seem like a very odd fit for them, given they're allergic to armor. I suppose that's for the murderous psychopaths on angry deer?

Also pit fighters. I mean, I guess everybody has the chance to be knocked out and dumped in an underground fight club, but it just doesn't seem their thing.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Dawgstar posted:

Also pit fighters. I mean, I guess everybody has the chance to be knocked out and dumped in an underground fight club, but it just doesn't seem their thing.

Asrai love bloodsports, at least.

EthanSteele
Nov 18, 2007

I can hear you
Gotta start your Wardancer career somewhere.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
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WFRP 4e - RESURRECTIONISTS

Grave Robbers can be Halflings or Humans. The body trade is fairly lucrative - universities and doctors always need fresh cadavers to study on but it's illegal for them to buy them. So criminals supply them! The Grave Robbers also tend to steal any valuables left with the corpse in the Gardens of Morr, because why wouldn't you? Now, the work is obvious and illegal and sacrilege, so it's done under cover of darkness. Sometimes they even cut out the 'dead people' part and just kidnap beggars or other street people. The more experienced often decided not to deal with the legal problems associated with the recent dead and instead head for ancient tombs and ruins, preferring instead to deal with undead or bandits, which you can legally hit with a shovel, like a cop. Some successful ones even become hailed as heroic treasure hunters, selling what they retrieve to be displayed by the wealthy. It's even said that the wealth of one of the many Knightly Orders came from its founders plundering foreign tombs. Grave Robbers are easy adventurers, especially if the cops discover their activities and they need to leave town in a hurry. They are sometimes called on by antiquarians who need their expert skills to help excavate tombs, and sometimes feel compelled to hunt down necromancers, on the basis that it is not good business to have people animating their product. Grave Robbers have good combat and sneaky skills, plus decent social stuff.

On Grave Robbers posted:

"You can't take it with you... but I can certainly take it with me." - Symon Schreiber, Grave Robber
"It's not just the jewels, Herbert. Look at all the bones! There's professors in Altdorf who'd pay good money for these!" - Tyle 'the Ghoul' Grubsch, Body Snatcher
"The nightmares of Khemri still haunt me. The curses cast by those long-dead tyrants have sealed my fate. I only hope Morr can put a stop to the necromancy that rots my bones and blackens my heart." - Lady Estelle Haputleiter, Treasure Hunter (deceased)

Tier 1 is Body Snatcher, Brass 2. They're good at S, I and WP, and have Climb, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Gossip, Intuition, Perception and Stealth (Any). Their Talents are Alley Cat, Criminal, Flee! and Strong Back.
Tier 2 is Grave Robber, Brass 3. They add Bribery, Endurance, Evaluate, Haggle, Lore (Medicine) and Melee (Basic), plus WS as a stat. Their Talents are Break and Enter, Night Vision, Resistance (Disease) and Very Strong.
Tier 3 is Tomb Robber, Silver 1. They add Drive, Lore (History), Pick Lock and Set Trap, plus Dex as a stat. Their Talents are Read/Write, Strike Mighty Blow, Tenacious and Tunnel Rat.
Tier 4 is Treasure Hunter, Silver 5. They add Navigation and Trade (Engineer), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Fearless (Undead), Sixth Sense, Strong-minded and Trapper.

Outlaws can be anyone. They prey on the roads of the Old World, leading dangerous lives where they hunt for vulnerable travellers and caravans. Most don't see themselves as criminals, but as the oppressed seeking to live freely. Many Wood Elf Outlaws especially see themselves this way, pushing back against Human encroachment on their forests with drastic action - more drastic even than most Wood Elves. Praticularly clever or brutal Outlaws may form bands or even unite several Outlaw groups under one banner as a Bandit King. No one likes these people, especially because Outlaws rarely care who they rob. Some, though, claim to protect the common people and focus their theft on greedy nobles in exchange for food, information and safety given by the local people. Not all Outlaws are wild killers, though, and many can be reasoned with if you're careful. An Outlaw may agree to serve as a guide to an devneturing band or even to protect them, especially if they're trying to stop evil within the domain of the Outlaw or their friends. Individual Outlaws tend to find it easy to join an adventuring group, though their infamy may require them to disguise themselves anywhere that an open warrant exists on them. Outlaws are explorers, combatants and sneaks.

On Outlaws posted:

"They were children, not brigands. Starving, filthy, sickly. They held us under the sight of their arrows and we stood fast... my son's age, they were. Children. Killed six of us..." - Valentin Behr, Road Warden
"...and he says, 'Titus, why d'you carry them shears?' And I says, 'These?' And he says, 'Aye, those're the only shears I see.' So I laughed and answered, 'Sometimes they don't want to take off their rings like I ask 'em to. When I shoe 'em the shears, most of 'em change their tune right quick. And if they don't...' Hehehe." - Titus Widmann, Outlaw

Tier 1 is Brigand, Brass 1. They're good at WS, S and T, and get Athletics, Consume Alcohol, Cool, Endurance, Gamble, Intimidate, Melee (Basic) and Outdoor Survival. Their Talents are Combat Aware, Criminal, Rover and Flee!.
Tier 2 is Outlaw, Brass 2. They add Dodge, Heal, Lore (Local), Perception, Ranged (Bow) and Stealth (Rural), plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Dirty Fighting, Marksman, Strike to Stun and Trapper.
Tier 3 is Outlaw Chief, Brass 4. They add Gossip, Intuition, Leadership and Ride (Horse), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Rapid Reload, Roughrider, Menacing and Very Resilient.
Tier 4 is Bandit King, Silver 2. They add Charm and Lore (Empire), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Deadeye Shot, Fearless (Road Wardens), Iron Will and Robust.

Racketeers can be Dwarfs, Halflings or Humans. They are extortionists that run protection rackets or similar 'services.' If their fees aren't paid, well, their victims are put at considerable risk...by the Racketeers and their gangs. They'll bribe or intimidate local authority when they can, and they're not above killing or worse. The start out working as thugs to collect debts of all kinds, especially those by loan sharks. The more organized their schemes get, the larger the groups of Racketeers do. They're organized, and while the smaller rackets are run by just gangs with limited territory, the largest can span cities or even provinces. Racketeers are pretty much always willing to use threats and violence, which makes them valuable in a party because they are good at fighting. They may take their business on the road to expand their territory or seek out now opportunities, and given the competitive nature of the racket, even the most powerful may end up deposed and forced to hide or flee, perhaps seeking employment with some advnetuerers they can use to reestablish themselves. Racketeers are fighters with some social and sneaky abilities. Very similar to Outlaws, actually, but with better social skills and less ranged combat or rural survival.

On Racketeers posted:

"I hope you have Hazelmann's money because I really hate the sound of breaking fingers." - Claus Betelhof, Well-Mannered Racketeer
"IF YOU CAN'T PAE THE DEBT, DON'T MAKE THE BET." - Sign in Bosco's Bones (Altdorf gambling house)
"or bosco wil brake ya legs" - Bosco's Bones Sign Addendum, scrawled in chalk

Tier 1 is Thug, Brass 3. They are good at WS, S and T, and get Consume Alcohol, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Intimidate, Lore (Local), Melee (Brawling) and Stealth (Urban). Their Talents are Criminal, Etiquette (Criminals), Menacing and Strike Mighty Blow.
Tier 2 is Racketeer, Brass 5. They add Bribery, Charm, Evaluate, Gossip, Language (Estalian or Tilean) and Melee (Basic), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Embezzle, Street Dirty Fighting, Strike to Stun and Warrior Born.
Tier 3 is Gang Boss, Silver 3. They add Intuition, Leadership, Perception and Ranged (Crossbow), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Fearless (Watchmen), Iron Will, Resistance (Poison) and Robust.
Tier 4 is Crime Lord, Silver 5. They add Lore (Law) and Lore (Politics), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Commanding Presence, Kingpin, Frightening and Wealthy.

Next time: Thief, Witch, Cavalryman

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

It's sort of hilarious to see Tomb Robber as a high tier variant now because it was always a fantastic Basic. Education, thieving skills, okay combat ability, and Luck? With exits into Vampire Hunter or the rest of the thief tree? It turns out a person who's used to dealing with traps, evading the law, and stealing poo poo from tombs makes a good adventurer, funnily enough.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

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WFRP 4e - The Magic Class You Really Don't Want To Be

Thieves can be Dwarfs, Halflings or Humans. They aren't violent people by nature. They are greedy, though - they steal from others to live, and generally hate the idea of honest work. They typically organize themselves into gangs working with other criminals to further their wealth and, ideally, have someone who can actually break legs around if needed. Thse gangs often get into feuds that last years or even decades. The lowest Thieves target individual peoples, picking their pockets or waylaying them in alleys. Others avoid confrontations by breaking into homes and businesses to steal valuables. The more ambitious Thief cases a target for days, even weeks - sometimes going so far as to infiltrate it beforehand to get a lay of the land, or owrking with other professionals to organize massive heists. Thieves that run into law trouble must hide or flee, so many of them are on the run, and sometimes the stuff they steal seems to be so valuable or potent that it draws trouble to them like a magnet. Plus, their talents are extremely useful to adventurers, and a reliable Thief can expect to be paid well for the work. They have excellent criminal sneaking, and...well, they can do a combat, but don't ask for much.

On Thieves posted:

"One creaky floorboard in the whole place and I'm the one to find it..." - Alette Zimmermann, Thief, Jailed
"What the...? Those aren't dogs... they're bears!" - Marx the Mauled, Unlucky Thief
"No, the list of charges does not include, 'Stealing the magistrate's heart away.' You must have me confused with a magistrate who has a heart." - Leonora Nithardt, Magistrate

Tier 1 is Prowler, Brass 1. They are good at I, Agi and WP, and have Athletics, Climb, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Perception and Stealth (Urban). Their Talents are Alley Cat, Criminal, Flee! and Strike to Stun.
Tier 2 is Thief, Brass 3. They add Evaluate, Gossip, Lore (Local), Pick Lock, Secret Signs (Thief) and Sleight of Hand, plus Dex as a stat. Their Talents are Break and Enter, Etiquette (Criminals), Fast Hands and Shadow.
Tier 3 is Master Thief, Brass 5. They add Bribery, Gamble, Intimidate and Ranged (Crossbow), plus S as a stat. Their Talents are Night Vision, Nimble Fingered, Step Aside and Trapper.
Tier 4 is Cat Burglar, Silver 3. They add Charm and Set Trap, plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Catfall, Scale Sheer Surface, Strong Legs and Wealthy. Scale Sheer Surface gives a bonus to Climb tests, lets you climb even seemingly impossible surfaces like sheer marble, ice shelves, plastered walls and so on, and lets you ignore any penalties to Climb that are based on the difficulty of the surface.

Witches are Human. By law, any with the talent for magic must be trained at the Colleges. Witches are those who refuse to accept this. They risk madness and damnation, for their magic burns through them untaught, and they rarely understand the true nature of what they dabble in. Others embrace their growing power, accepting it with all the risks entailed. Witches come in all sorts, as magic doesn't follow any notable pattern. Some are friendly, benign types that just want freedom, while others are nobles that refuse to accept their fate for fear of losing their inheritance, and others are just too terrified of themselves to not run. Whatever the case, few Witches will admit their ture nature for fear of being burned by the overzealous Sigmarites. A Witch leads a very dangerous life, and while some can pass themselves off as trained wizards, their dfeception is easily seen through by anyone that knows about magic. Bands of adventurers, however, are often happy to take them in as long as they're useful and have no dealings with the Dark Gods, especially if the adventurers lack strong faith or morals. While unlicensed witchcraft is highly illegal and carries penalty of death by fire, most wizards had a brief experience as unlicensed Witches before joining the Colleges, and so a Witch, if discovered, can submit to the authorities and survive, training in the Colleges between adventures and becoming a trained wizard. Or not. (Do it. Seriously.) The reason why you should is that Witches...aren't that good. They trade in a lot of magical talent (and the valuable bonuses for having a proper Lore) for some sneaking and social skills, as they don't get a full Lore - instead, they get Witch! and the Witchcraft Lore, which is not great. Also it takes them for-loving-ever to get Aethyric Attunement, which is a very important magic Talent.

On Witches posted:

"Do you think only Magisters can wield magic? Think again! I, too, have such understanding, and I refuse to become a slave to the so-called Colleges." - Apprentice Franz Zimmel of the Gold Order, 3 months before being captured by a Witch Hunter

Tier 1 is Hexer, Brass 1. They're good at WS, T and WP, and have Channeling, Cool, Endurance, Gossip, Intimidate, Language (Magick), Sleight of Hand and Stealth (Rural). Their Talents are Criminal, Instinctive Diction, Menacing and Petty Magic.
Tier 2 is Witch, Brass 2. They add Charm Animal, Dodge, Intuition, Melee (Polearm), Perception and Trade (Herbalist), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Arcane Magic (Witchery), Attractive, Sixth Sense and Witch!.
Tier 3 is Wyrd, Brass 3. They add Bribery, Charm, Haggle and Lore (Dark Magic), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Animal AFfinity, Fast Hands, Frightening and Magical Sense.
Tier 4 is Warlock, Brass 5. They add Lore (Daemonology) and Lore (Magic), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Aethyric Attunement, Luck, Strong-minded and Very Resilient.

Last up, Warriors! Cavalrymen can be High Elf, Human or Wood Elf. They come in many forms - pistoliers, outriders, demilancers, horse archers, the works. Cavalrymen are used for strategic advantage - scouting, raiding, harassment of enemy lines, defending foragers, hit-and-run attacks. They are fast, versatile and stylish. Lightly armored cavalry are usede by most armies, including cult forces and less formal groups like mercenaries. Bretonnian armies make heavy use of them, and Wood Elf Gladeriders are some of the most terrifying light cavalry in the world. A currently enlisted Cavalryman is going to have trouble dropping everything to go pursue adventure without permission from their senior officers or going AWOL. However, they might be ordered to investigate matters of import, and mercenary Cavalrymen have a lot more flexibility about going out to do random poo poo. Cavalrymen mix exploration and combat skills, with social skills coming in later.

On Cavalrymen posted:

"Any pistolier not dead by thirty is a scoundrel." - General Lasaal, Reikland's 5th Regiment of Cavalry
"An outrider came by yesterday, checking to see if we were safe. Gosh, he was so handsome and dashing, who wouldn't want to go outriding with him? He grabbed my buns and was off like the wind. Never paid for them, mind." - Lena Fluffe, Walfenburg baker

Tier 1 is Horseman, Silver 2. They're good at WS, S and Agi, and have Animal Care, Charm Animal, Endurance, Language (Battle), Melee (Basic), Outdoor Survival, Perception and Ride (Horse). Their Talents are Combat Aware, Crack the Whip, Lightning Reflexes and Roughrider. Lightning Reflexes is +5 base Agi.
Tier 2 is Cavalryman, Silver 4. They add Charm, Consume Alcohol, Cool, Gossip, Melee (Cavalry) and Ranged (Blackpowder), plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Soldiers), Gunner, Seasoned Traveller and Trick Riding.
Tier 3 is Cavalry Sergeant, Gold 1. They add Intimidate, Intuition, Leadership and Lore (Warfare), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Reflexes, Fast Shot, Hatred (Any) and Warleader.
Tier 4 is Cavalry Officer, Gold 2. They add Gamble and Lore (Heraldry), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents arE Accurate Shot, Inspiring, Reaction Strike and Robust. Inspiring gives a bonus to Leadership during war and greatly expands how many people you can influence via Leadership while at war based on your purchases.

Next time: Guard, Knight, Pit Fighter

psudonym55
Nov 22, 2014
Cavalrymen also come with an expensive horse worth 15 gold crowns. Sold even for half price that is a lot of starting cash for a character.
I had a Cavalryman as one of my players starting career. First thing they did was sell the horse to buy decent armour and a shield.
Then moved to a warrior career that didn't require a horse so they could make use of their shiny new equipment.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Do elven cavalry still get Black Powder or do they swap for bows?

Gun Elf is always fun.

Ronwayne
Nov 20, 2007

That warm and fuzzy feeling.
"Barbaric human and dwarf toys which no self respecting real person would ev-" BOOM "HAHAHA, holy gently caress give me one of those."

psudonym55 posted:

Cavalrymen also come with an expensive horse worth 15 gold crowns. Sold even for half price that is a lot of starting cash for a character.
I had a Cavalryman as one of my players starting career. First thing they did was sell the horse to buy decent armour and a shield.
Then moved to a warrior career that didn't require a horse so they could make use of their shiny new equipment.

Its not really WFRP unless you're just forced to eat the horse for emergency rations.

Daeren
Aug 17, 2009

YER MUSTACHE IS CROOKED

Ronwayne posted:

"Barbaric human and dwarf toys which no self respecting real person would ev-" BOOM "HAHAHA, holy gently caress give me one of those."

The best part of elves, and I don't remember if it was said in one of these threads or an old review or what, is that elven armies are full of thousand-year-old impeccable masters of their form of combat, huge rank and file lines of bowmen each trained to nail a fly between the eyes a mile out...and in practice, those squads of bowmen are only slightly above the effectiveness of a squad of 16 year old freshly conscripted permanently hung-over poo poo-shovelers who can't read, can't find their own province on a map, but know how to point a metal tube downrange.

ChaseSP
Mar 25, 2013



Individual skill becomes less effective when you can be waylaid by hail of flying hot lead. Of course elves have magic, but a dead high elf is far worse to them than a dead human for humans.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

I always imagine elves are really amazing and impressive at the drills and forms they practice with, just most of them aren't all that great in a real battle because it turns out those are really different from practice and most of them don't have that much experience with the real thing. Since they're as likely to die in their first real battle as anyone else.

ChaseSP
Mar 25, 2013



Eh I figure with how magical the elves are anyone not killed at the end are healed to good health. Unless it's chaos.

fool of sound
Oct 10, 2012

ChaseSP posted:

Eh I figure with how magical the elves are anyone not killed at the end are healed to good health. Unless it's chaos.

I think in the main war game fiction elves are immune to chaos, at least of the 'develop tentacles' variety. Chaos exposure just makes them bigger jerks.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

fool_of_sound posted:

I think in the main war game fiction elves are immune to chaos, at least of the 'develop tentacles' variety. Chaos exposure just makes them bigger jerks.

They certainly aren't in the RPG. They'd certainly like you to think they are, though. Some of them probably do, too.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

So there’s a table later in the book, about physical mutations and mental 9nes, Humans have the highest chance of gaining physical when mutated, a coin flip. The others lean to mental.

Elves can’t be PHYSICALLY mutated.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

That's definitely new. When I made the Chaos Lord for ToC, Taurial the Bright was totally rules compliant.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Night10194 posted:

That's definitely new. When I made the Chaos Lord for ToC, Taurial the Bright was totally rules compliant.

It is absolutely a lovely deal for the Elves because mental mutations are by far the worse ones.

(Except the one that gives you Frenzy and +10 WS.)

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

WFRP 4e - War Times

Guards can be anyone. They keep things safe by standing next to them and, in the one instant it matters, springing into action and preventing bad things. The best of them are paid quite well and trusted to guard the highest people and most valuable objects. But Guards? They're everywhere. They're at the Imperial palace, they bounce at bars, they're the grave wardens on Morr's Gardens that stop thieves. Merchants often hire them to defend stock, and some say that Guards working as bodyguards have it best, for being able to partake of the life of their charge. Guards can find just about any kind of adventure when their guarding is compromised. They ofte want to follow up and investigate those who bested them, after all, and get back whatever was taken. This often drags them into adventure. They may also be hired to defend people or things on expeditions. Guards have good combat skills and some social skill.

On Guards posted:

"I stood outside the shrine for thirty days and thirty nights, without fail. No one got in and no one got out. Of course, it turned out I was stood outside the wrong door." - Ernst Bluchard, Ex-Temple Guard of Manann
"If you're not on the list, you're not coming in!" - Anonymous Altdorf guard to the Grand Theogonist at the coronation of Karl-Franz I, apocryphal

Tier 1 is Sentry, Silver 1. They get good WS, T and Agi, and have Consume Alcohol, Endurance, Entertain (Storytelling), Gamble, Gossip, Intuition, Melee (Basic) and Perception. Their Talents are Diceman, Etiquette (Servants), Strike to Stun and Tenacious.
Tier 2 is Guard, Silver 2. They add Athletics, Cool, Dodge, Intimidate, Melee (Polearm) and Ranged (Bow), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Relentless, Reversal, Shieldsman and Strike Mighty Blow. Shieldsman gives a bonus to any test to defend with a shield, and allows you gain Advantage when you fail the opposed test while defending with a shield based on your purchases.
Tier 3 is Honor Guard, Silver 4. They add Heal, Language (Battle), Lore (Etiquette) and Melee (Two-Handed), plus S as a stat. Their Talents are Fearless (Intruders), Jump Up, Stout-hearted and Unshakeable.
Tier 4 is Guard Officer, Silver 5. They add Leadership and Lorre (Warfare), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Master, Furious Assault, Iron Will and Robust.

Knights can be High Elves, Humans or Wood Elves. They are heavy cavalry, and many believe them the finest warriors in the Old World. Even alone, they can be a one-man army. Many Knightly Orders exist in the Empire, including the Reiksguard, the White Wolves, the Knights Panther and the Knights Griffon, all with their own storied histories. Most Imperial Knights belong to secular orders, largely because training heavy lancers is too expensive for most nobles, and the templar orders dedicated to specific gods tend to be somewhat more independent. There are also an unknown number of free-lances, mercenary knights and disgraced or fallen knights, all of whom sell their strength to the highest bidder. Knights may end up adventuring on behalf of their Order or be called on by nobles to guard a wandering heir. Templars have a responsibility to go out and serve their god's will. All of these are good reason to go adventuring. As for free-lances, well, adventuring is kind of their default existence. Knights are excellent fighters who eventually get some decent social.

On Knights posted:

"The knight demanded I get out of his way. 'Why?' I asked. 'I am in the service of the people,' he replied. 'Well, I'm the people,' I said, 'so I don't have to get our of your way.' He didn't have an answer to that, of course. So he punched me in the face!" - Holger Kass, 1st Bogenhafen Halberdiers
"Lady Myrmaelia Jacke is the finest knight in the Order of the Blazing Sun. How can I be so sure? Well, I used to hold that title, and she bested me." - Birgitte van der Hoogenband, Abbess-General of the Monastery of the Black Maiden, former Knight of the Blazing Sun

Tier 1 is Squite, Silver 3. They have good S, I and Agi, and have Athletics, Animal Care, Charm Animal, Heal, Lore (Heraldry), Melee (Cavalry), Ride (Horse) and Trade (Farrier). Their Talents are Etiquette (Any), Roughrider, Sturdy and Warrior Born.
Tier 2 is Knight, Silver 5. They add Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Intimidate, Language (Battle) and Melee (Any), plus WS as a stat. Their Talents are Menacing, Seasoned Traveller, Shieldsman and STrike Mighty Blow.
Tier 3 is First Knight, Gold 2. They add Charm, Consume Alcohol, Leadership and Lore (Warfare), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Fearless (Any), Stout-hearted, Unshakeable and Warleader.
Tier 4 is Knight of the Inner Circle, Gold 4. They add Lore (Any) and Secret Signs (Knightly Order), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Disarm, Inspiring, Iron Will and Strike to Injure.

Pit Fighters can be anyone. Fights are popular entertainment, and in the cities, organized fights happen nightly. There's a lot of money to be made off spectators and gamblers, after all. Winners earn coin and fame, while losers are hurt or even killed. Because pit fighting is officially frowned on, the fights are usually run by criminals and the rich must slum it to watch, though they enjoy doing so most of the time. The Tilean gladiators are the most famous pit fighters, but the chain-fighters of Marienburg and bear-wrestlers of Kislev are nearly as famed. Pugilists and wrestlers work travelling fairs or challenge the public to survive three minutes in the ring with them, but just about any fighting style could be used by a Pit Fighter. Most end up in the sport because they have a talent for violence and a need for cash. Some would love to stop and work at better things, and so they often end up joining adventuring parties, especially since their work is hardly steady in the first place, though it's certianly not hard to find. They get great fighting skills and eventually get a bit of social.

On Pit Fighters posted:

"It was my big chance. The biggest ifght of my life. Then the Hooks came and told me to go down in the fourth or they'd chop off my hand. Well, you know me, of course I went and won anyway. And I've no regrets. After all, there are lots of things you can do with one hand." - Sigurda the Bull, Arm Wrestler
"Roll up! Roll up! Dare you face the might of Gosser Papa? Could you last three minutes with Resige Henhaufer!" - Raimund Heenan, Ring Announcer

Tier 1 is Pugilist, Brass 4. They get good WS, S and T, and have Athletics, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Gamble, Intimidate, Melee (Any) and Melee (Brawling). Their Talents are Dirty Fighter, In-fighter, Iron Jaw and Reversal. Iron Jaw gives a bonus to Endurance tests to resist Stunned, and whenever you gain one or more Stunned conditions, you can make an immediate Endurance test to resist taking them.
Tier 2 is Pit Fighter, Silver 2. They add Haggle, Intuition, Melee (Basic), Melee (Flail or Two-Handed), Perception and Ranged (Entangling), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Ambidextrous, Combat Reflexes, Dual Wielder and Shieldsman.
Tier 3 is Pit Champion, Silver 5. They add Consume Alcohol, Gossip, Lore (Anatomy) and Perform (Fight). Their Talents are Combat Master, Disarm, Menacing and Robust.
Tier 4 is Pit Legend, Gold 2. They add Charm and Ranged (Any), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Frightening, Furious Assault, Implacable and Reaction Strike.

Next time: Protagonist, Slayer, Soldier, Warrior Priest

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 4, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!


Rifts World Book 19: Australia, Part 6 - "Consequently, any City-Goer made available as a player character, regardless of his O.C.C., can only be one of a few things: 1) secretly a City spy/assassin or other agent for the Tech-Cities, 2) an exile whose punishment has been expulsion from the City, typically a life sentence, 3) a criminal, 4) a terrorist/political activist/rebel or 5) an adventuring bozo who has a secret way in and out of the City without being noticed or missed."


BMF = Big Mean Fascist? I can't imagine anything else it could stand for, really.

City Based O.C.C.s

Yes, you can play citizens of Perth or Melbourne under the above circumstances, or if you're part of a PC group affiliated with one of the cities. In other words, fascist sellouts. Well, they're still better than the Coalition, I suppose... but it emphasizes that most of the time they consider outsiders worse than animals. One thing I have to add, though, is even though I do make fun, I really like Michael Wilson's art here. He does a good job of making the classes look distinct and unique. I mean, the classes usually aren't distinct or unique, but the art is solid.

As always, the percentage is the amount of human PCs that will qualify for the class, given normal attribute rolls.


The Man and The Rebel
  • Administrator O.C.C. (23%): This is a Level 5 citizen that's likely involved in a high position in business or government. It notes that PC administrators are more likely to buck the system or be characters that shake up the status quo, of course, and their main "ability" is that they have additional rights in their city others don't have - the ability to leave and reenter the city, use restricted technologies and weaponry, requisition personnel for tasks, or request policy changes. Otherwise, they get a lot of skills, though they lean towards the technical and academic sort. Also-

    Rifts World Book 19: Australia posted:

    No player character may ever be a member of the City Administration Office (CAO). No way, no how!

    Rifts World Book 19: Australia posted:

    Note: The Administrator can be a very powerful role to pass onto a player, and the G.M. is well within his rights to refuse to allow this character. In all, I feel it is best kept as an N.P.C. villain or powerful ally, but a campaign that begins in the higher levels of government and control, balancing the powers that spell the future of the last civilizations left in Australia, can be fun too.
  • Cyber-Specter O.C.C. (28%): Apparently, the largest group of subversives in the cities are hackers, and you can play one, of course. These aren't particularly special in any way other than being particularly familiar with the security protocols of the city they come from. Unfortunately, rampant penalties mean they only have around a 30-50% chance to break a simple security program. Oh, you want to hack into the Central Computer? Be prepared to take at least several months to get a chance that's probably less than 25%. Basically, it's a skill that only really works in two places on the continent, and stinks. You stink. Nerd.
  • City Police O.C.C. (33%): You want to be a jackbooted thug of the state? "City Police can make fun player characters..." We get a lot of details on the law code, where crimes are designated by number and letter and which ones get priority. (Grand Theft is prioritized over Rape, enjoy that part.) They get the usual dartboard selection of combat bonuses, a bonus to Affinity, maybe some cybernetics, and the ability to act as a Level 4 Citizen while on duty. Otherwise, they're fairly generic.
  • Police: TRG O.C.C. (6%): Where TRG stands for "Tactical Response Group". These are essentially highly-trained and armed thugs that are sent into the Outback to investigate and eliminate potential and imminent threats to the city. A lot of this consists of just intimidating or eliminating nearby communities, and generally speaking they sound like a bunch of motherfuckers. They're mostly like police with a heavier combat emphasis, and get a choice in specializing in power armor or heavy weapons & demolitions. Not a bad class, if you don't mind being a murderous, brutal jackboot in human form.

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only sport.
  • Sportsman O.C.C. (3%): Though listed in the city section, it emphasizes that this can be used for any Australian location, then emphasizes that most Outback "sports" are more just death games by Roadgangers and the like. Whiplash! In any case, you get to to be a physical powerhouse, but... that's of limited use given you're still at a human level, but your bonuses vary based on the sport you choose. Also, some of the sports seem odd given the setting. How is anybody practicing white water rafting in a closed city? Well, I guess you could use it for white water rafters in other parts of the world. You know, in... like... um... anyway. I presume Perth and Melbourne must have multiple teams for multiple sports, because they're not doing any away games or attracting any visiting teams. Which makes some sense because Australian football will probably never die. But are there really still bicycling competitions? We then get a list of sports still played, which includes stuff like arena combat or football (makes sense)... or cricket and tennis (even in the Outback?).

    Rifts World Book 19: Australia posted:

    Cricket. A bat and ball sport similar to baseball (only a lot less interesting).
    I imagine Outbackers pine for uninteresting days.
  • Technologist O.C.C. (25%): Like the Sportsman, this isn't a city-exclusive class. It grants different skills depnending if you're a "city technologist" or an "outback technologist", but the difference isn't vast other than the fact the former gets some modest cybernetics. You get a lot of geegaw equipment, but ultimately this class isn't too different than the existing non-psionic Operator or Rogue Scientist from the core book.


The Jackboot and... Troll from Youngblood, apparently.

Military Based O.C.C.s


Loves the smell of napalm on the you.

I have even less to say about these. After the main book, Triax & the NGR, South America, Mercenaries, Underseas, Japan, Coalition War Campaign, Coalition Navy, and Warlords of Russia, what is there left to say about another mild variation on a set of military classes? The Aerojock O.C.C. (10%) is a pilot usually sent to patrol or air strike locations for tech-cities. They're institutionally bigoted, which no doubt helps when they're called upon for Bombs Over D-Bees. The Infantry Grunt (100%), Special Operations Soldier (3%), and Navy Sailor 25%) are nothing we haven't seen before. The Special Operations Soldier does nothing to justify its stiff requirements, and the Sailor can choose from a variety of specialities waaaait- The Navy Sailor is pretty much a copy-paste of the Coalition Navy Sailor! Well, knock a word off and you got yourself a whole new class, son!


Clearly the leopard print is standard issue for G.I. Joey here.

Next: Humans and mutants cannot live together in peace.

GimpInBlack
Sep 27, 2012

That's right, kids, take lots of drugs, leave the universe behind, and pilot Enlightenment Voltron out into the cosmos to meet Alien Jesus.

Night10194 posted:

Do elven cavalry still get Black Powder or do they swap for bows?

Gun Elf is always fun.

AFAIR, no Careers get modifications based on species--the closest thing is how Elves interact slightly differently with Magick Lores, but More will get to that in a few chapters.

There is a sidebar that says you can customize your Trappings a little bit if you want, but nothing explicitly about tweaking Skills or Talents in the book.

So I guess by a strict reading of the rules you can be a Wood Elf Cavalryelf who carries a bow but has no idea how to use it. Which is a character concept in and of itself.

That Old Tree
Jun 23, 2012

nah


GimpInBlack posted:

So I guess by a strict reading of the rules you can be a Wood Elf Cavalryelf who carries a bow but has no idea how to use it. Which is a character concept in and of itself.

I like the idea of playing a member of Famous Group That Does X and having to bullshit your way out of everything because you do not, in fact, know anything about doing X.

Ghost Leviathan
Mar 2, 2017

Exploration is ill-advised.

quote:

I presume Perth and Melbourne must have multiple teams for multiple sports, because they're not doing any away games or attracting any visiting teams.

They do now, I don't see why they'd stop.

It's entirely unsurprising that post-apocalyptic Australia retains as many sports as possible. This country is sports mad. I even have a couple of cousins who play American football. (aka gridiron) And y'know, there's local teams.

Also, Bawd being a career choice for High Elves is hilarious, and a High Elf pimp would be a sight to behold.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

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WFRP 4e - Career Enders

Protagonists can be Dwarfs, High Elves or Humans. They are thugs for hire, muscle you bring on to scare, hurt or even kill people. They live and die by their bad reputations, brutes and bullies with little qualms about roughing folks up. Some have a code about what they will or won't do, but others don't. Some are just folks who like to pick fights and figure out of if they can make money from it later. In theory, they're always up for an adventure because, well, they like to fight. They will usually expect to be paid, however, and them joining up without asking for payment is a very personal thing for any given Protagonist. Protagonists are almost purely fighters. Their big weakness is that they get no native WP raising and they don't get to raise Cool until Tier 3 natively, so they're less brave than most.

On Protagonists posted:

"Remember Thommy Two Knives? I'm not saying he crossed me. I'm just saying you don't see him walking round town no more, do you?" - Gilly Three Knives, Protagonist
"Yeah, Big Yuri came round and destroyed all my merchandise. Said this town was only big enough for one lotus dealer, and that was that. I completely agreed, so I doubled his pay and sent him back to White Tiger's den. And that was the end of that." - Toni Miragliano, Lotus Dealer

Tier 1 is Braggart, Brass 2. They get good WS, T and Agi, plus Athletics, Dodge, Endurance, Entertain (Taunt), Gossip, Haggle, Intimidate and Melee (Any). Their Taletnts are In-fighter, Dirty Fighting, Menacing and Warrior Born.
Tier 2 is Protagonist, Silver 1. They add Bribery, Charm, Intuition, Melee (Basic), Perception and Ride (Horse), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Reflexes, Criminal, Reversal and Strike to Stun.
Tier 3 is Hitman, Silver 4. They add Climb, Cool, Navigation and Ranged (Thrown), plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Careful Strike, Disarm, Marksman and Relentless.
Tier 4 is Assassin, Gold 1. They add Entertain (Acting) and Ranged (Crossbow), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Accurate Shot, Ambidextrous, Furious Assault and Strike to Injure.

Slayers are always Dwarfs. When a Dwarf suffers an unacceptable shame and loss of honor, they take up the Slayer's Oath and the path of the ancestral god of warriors, Grimnir. They cover themselves in tattoos, shave the sides of their head, dye the hair that's life bright orange and spike it with animal grease, then set out, axe in hand, to find a glorious death. Slayers wander the Old World hunting the greatest beasts. Because of their shame, many suffer from depression, and drown their sorrows in food, alcohol and drugs. The more they surfive, the more dangerous and mad they become, hunting ever deadlier foes in the hopes of finding the one that can kill them. Until their fall in battle, all a Slayer does is adventure. They may take on the occasional odd job to make beer money or finance their travels, but they seek death all the way. Slayers had lives and careers before they became Slayers, though, so there is usually more to them than just being a Dwarf with a death wish. The book makes a note that being a Slayer is a unique experience because you want to die. Embrace it. Seek out a mighty doom and die well. Slayers are extremely good at fighting. Extremely good.

On Slayers posted:

"We avoid them, if given the choice. They are outcasts and have no honor, only the hope of reclaiming such. Still, we'll feed them, and give them a place to rest. They are Grimnir's Chosen, now." - Dimrond Zindrisson, Miner
"Herwig didn't mean nothing by it, honest. He just asked why the Dwarf had them strange tattoos. It happened so fast, I didn't even see the DWarf move, just Herwig hitting the floor." - Regimius, Stevedore
"We're all going to die, manling. It's the manner of our going that counts." - Gotrek Gurnisson, Slayer

Tier 1 is Troll Slayer, Brass 2. They get good WS, S and WP, plus Consume Alcohol, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Gamble, Heal, Lore (Trolls) and Melee (Basic). Their Talents are Dual Wielder, Fearless (Everything), Frenzy and Slayer. Slayer lets you use your opponent's TB in place of your SB to determine damage, if it's higher. This is determined before any factors that would modify Strength or SB. Further, if the target is larger than you and you cause a Critical, you multiply all melee damage you deal by the number of steps larger than you the target is on the chart, after all modifiers are applied.
Tier 2 is Giant Slayer, Brass 2. They add Evaluate, Intimidate, Language (Battle), Lore (Giants), Melee (Two-handed) and Outdoor Survival, plus T as a stat. Their Talents are Hardy, Implacable, Menacing and Reversal.
Tier 3 is Dragon Slayer, Brass 2. They add Entertain (Storytelling), Lore (Dragons), Perception and Ranged (Thrown), plus Agi as a stat. Their TAlents are Ambidextrous, Furious Assault, Relentless and Robust.
Tier 4 is Daemon Slayer, Brass 2. They add Intuition and Lore (Chaos), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Master, Frightening, Strike Mighty Blow and Very Strong.

Soldiers can be anyone. They serve in armies to fight. After the Great War Against Chaos, Emperor Magnus the Pious ordered that all provinces should maintain a standing army, so there's plenty of Soldiers out there. They are rarely encouraged to think for themselves, and are famously fatalist and stoic about the fact that they may well be ordered to die. They may be arhcers, crossbowmen, halberdiers, handgunners, swordsmen or spearmen - and that's just in the Empire. Dwarfs use units like Hammerers or Thunderers, while the Elves are generally archers are spearmens. Soldiers may also be found as mercenaries, local militias, private armies, cult forces or other such things. They have little free time, but they do have some. Outside campaigning seasons, many are goven extended leave, and officers may order them off to investigate weird poo poo in their unit's territory. Some see this is as an excellent way of training their men on the cheap, after all. Non-human Soldiers will often be in the Empire on missions that are adventures in themselves. Soldiers fight. They get some minor social but mostly they just fight.

On Soldiers posted:

"Go down to the bottom of the hill, the captain told us. So we did, and the general told us to go up to the top of the hill and await further orders. Then the captain told us we were wanted at the bottom." - Holger Kass, 1st Bogenhafen Halberdiers
"Though Lords and Ladies come and go,
A soldier's life is all I know,
Karl-Franz com,mands we obey,
O'er the hills and far away." - Marching Song, Reikland 118th Regiment of Foot, the Greenbacks

Tier 1 is Recruit, Silver 1. They have good WS, T and WP, plus Athletics, Climb, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Language (Battle), Melee (Basic) and Play (Drum or Fife). Their Talents are Diceman, Marksman, Strong Back and Warrior Born.
Tier 2 is Soldier, Silver 3. They add Consume Alcohol, Hamble, Gossip, Melee (Any), Ranged (Any) and Outdoor Survival, plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Drilled, Etiquette (Soldiers), Rapid Reload and Shieldsman.
Tier 3 is Sergeant, Silver 5. They add Heal, Intuition, Leadership and Perception, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Aware, Enclosed Fighter, Unshakeable and Warleader.
Tier 4 is Officer, Gold 1. They add Lore (Warfare) and Navigation, plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Inspiring, Public Speaking, Seasoned Traveller and Stout-hearted.

Warrior Priests are all Human. Some cults of the Empire do train their clerics for war, and in Reikland, these are most commonly the Warrior Priests of Sigmar. Most armies of the Empire have a few of these hammer-wielding priests, but they aren't the only ones. Myrmidia, Ulric, Taal and Morr all have their own Warrior Priests and ideas about how war should be done. Away from battle, they also work to minister ot the soldiers and ensure high morale and discipline. Some orders of Warrior Priests take oaths to wander the Empire, seking out and defeating heresy and evil where they find it. Others prefer to lead armies rather than join them. While many stay with an army, some do missionary work or otherwise wander the Empire, which makes them natural adventurers. Of course, they may need permission from their cult or commander to do so. Warrior Priests mix combat skills and social skills, plus prayer access.

On Warrior Priests posted:

"Surrounded, we were. Greenskins on all sides. They knew we were done. Then the priest raises his hammer towards the sky and bellows his prayer. And as the words echoed to silence, the lightning struck. And we were all unharmed, I swear to Sigmar. But the Goblins! All dead." - Holger Kass, 1st Bogenhafen Halberdiers

Tier 1 is Novitiate, Brass 2. They get good WS, T and WP, plus Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Heal, Leadership, Lore (Theology), Melee (Any) and Pray. Their Talents are Bless (Any), Etiquette (Cultists), Read/WRite and Strong-minded.
Tier 2 is Warrior Priest, Silver 2. They add Charm, Entertain (Speeches), Intimidate, Language (Battle), Melee (Any) and Ranged (Any), plus S as a stat. Their Talents are Dual Wielder, Inspiring, Invoke (Any) and Seasoned Traveller.
Tier 3 is Priest Sergeant, Silver 3. They add Animal Care, Intuition, Perception and Ride (Horse), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Aware, Holy Visions, Pure Soul and Stout-hearted.
Tier 4 is Priest Captain, Silver 4. They add Consume Alcohol and Lore (Warfare), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Fearless (Any), Furious Assault, Holy Hatred and Warleader. Holy Hatred causes Miracles to deal extra damage per purchase.

Next time: Skills and Talents

Young Freud
Nov 25, 2006

Where does the WFRP definition of "protagonist" come from? Its always struck me as a pretty brutal take on the concept of the heroic adventurer as "someone who seeks out trouble" but have never seen anything beyond literary criticism term.

Also, I miss the literal social justice warrior, the Judicial Champion.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

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Check the tier 4 Duellist title.

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you
Aww you did not mention the Trappings of the Slayer. Namely that each rank up they have the head of the creature the previous rank hunts.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

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WFRP 4e - Skilled Actors

Skills a pretty simple - add your number of Advances in a skill to its relevant stat, and that's what your rolling under. Basic Skills are the ones you can make rolls with even if you don't even have any Advances in it; these are: Art, Athletics, Bribery, Charm, Charm Animal, Climb, Cool, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Drive, Endurance, Entertain, Gamble, Gossip, Haggle, Intimidate, Intuition, Leadership, Melee, Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Ride, Row and Stealth. You can male rolls with those even if you do not have them! The Advanced Skills, ie, everything else, you cannot. A sidebar notes that most skills may have applications in combat to help gain Advantage, but that you can be creative and use ones that aren't listed. This is pretty handy for noncombatant characters - spending a turn or two to hang back and build Advantage is going to make you much more valuable in a fight when you don't naturally have good WS or BS and don't have any combat skills.

Animal Care, if you have it at all, lets you keep animals healthy without a roll, and can make tests to identify and resolve problems, like figuring out of an animal is sick or uncomfortable and why, healing animals with veterinary care, stop animals from bleeding or making them look pretty. In combat, you might use it to appraise enemy animals or mounted foes and get a +10 bonus based on your knowledge of animal behavior and the possible problems that animal is having, like a loose tack or an old wound. However, it can't give more than +10 to hit per animal, no matter how many rolls you make.

Animal Training, on the other hand, requires you to specify which animal you're specialized in training. It lets you identify what an animal can be trained for and to train said animals. In combat, you can use it against a relevant animal's WP to try and intimidate it, causing Fear against that animal until the end of your next turn and, while you do, using Animal Training instead of Melee to defend against the fearful animal. The GM may even allow you to attack with it to order the animal around.

Art gets penalties if you don't have appropriate tools, and it makes art. It has little combat use assuming you don't find a way to gain Advantage somehow with it. It also requires you to pick what art you specialize in when you buy it.

Athletics is your running and jumping skill, and also helps you do combat movement, more on which in the combat chapter.

Bribery helps you judge how likely someone is to take a bribe and how to offer it. A test tells you if the target can be bribed and you get to play a 20-questions game to determine the amount required - basically, you name a total, the GM tells you if it's higher, lower or equal to the required, and you only get a limited number of guesses based on your roll. In combat you can attempt to use this to stop a fight, but at a -20 penalty and also you obviously need to have the cash on hand and speak the appropriate language.

Channelling is another specialized skill...sort of. Wizards specialize in a single Wind, but Witches and Hedge Witches apparently get to take it entirely ungrouped. More on this in the Magic chapter. The entire thing runs on Magic rules, after all.

Charm makes people like you. A simple Charm test against Cool lets you influence a number of people based on your roll. In combat it is only likely to work if the target's already willing to listen to you, but can be used as a defense skill against single targets likely to do so, or to try and keep a group of people from targeting you, at least until you fail a roll. It can also be used for public speaking, to sway entire groups, who oppose with an average Willpower of, generally, 35. You can also use it for begging to get small amounts of cash.

Charm Animal is similar but it's used on animals, and animals are generally going to always be a viable target to charm out of attacking you briefly, but not permanently.

Climb lets you climb stuff; if you have even one Advance you can automatically climb any reasonably small height. Anything else runs on the climbing-in-combat rules. Including large enough opponents. More in the combat chapter on this.

Consume Alcohol determines how hosed up you get when you drink; each drink is a test and failure gives -10 penalties to several stats, to a max of -30 cumulatively. Enough failures force you to roll on the Stinking Drunk table to see what happens, with a 20% chance of getting a huge Cool bonus due to drunken bravery, a 20% chance of ignoring any Prejudice or Animosity you might have, a 20% chance of making you extremely useless in combat (because you can only move or take an action, not both, in any round), a 20% chance to get Animosity (Everyone) while drunk and a 20% chance to wake up the next day hungover and amnesiac, with the GM and the other players telling you what the gently caress you did. Also you might be poisoned. Because this era's water isn't very clean, this might come up more often than you'd think. Also, if you avoid drinking for a while you can sober up with Consume Alcohol rolls. You can spend Resolve to ignore the effects of being drunk until the end of the next round, as a note.

Cool is a vitally important skill now that not everyone gets to raise Willpower. It is used to resist most social skills, along with just about any effect that would make you do something you don't want to do. It is also the main skill that controls Psychology traits. Basically, Cool is hugely important to not panicking and fleeing when monsters happen.

Next time: Skills That Begin With D

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
I always laugh at the career progression for Dwarf Trollslayers in WFRP2e. It skips Dragonslayer, but goes from Troll to Giant to Daemonslayer, and from there there's only one way to leave that career: "Glorious death."

Does 4e warn you that becoming a Trollslayer is a swift road to your character's death?

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

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Yes. It tells you to embrace it.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Snorb posted:

I always laugh at the career progression for Dwarf Trollslayers in WFRP2e. It skips Dragonslayer, but goes from Troll to Giant to Daemonslayer, and from there there's only one way to leave that career: "Glorious death."

Does 4e warn you that becoming a Trollslayer is a swift road to your character's death?

There's a section in the Career Compendium where they explain that the usually bare-chested Slayer is permitted to wear a Leather Jack or whatever because dwarves don't consider anything that isn't metal to be actual armor.

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MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you
I thought Slayers were allowed to wear armor. They just don't cause it reduces the chance of them getting killed.

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