A new age is beginning. The winds of magic blow strongly, and the Old World’s two moons shine brightly in the night sky. Storms appear out of nowhere, and the land is rife with conflict. From the north descend savage groups of chaos marauders, men dedicated to the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos. They are seen side by side with degenerate beastmen and profane daemons. Their raids are striking further and further south, yet they are only the scouting forces.

Within, the lands of the Empire are besieged by Orcs and members of hidden cults. The Orcs delight in battle, and are laying waste to all they can find. The enemy within is rising up and striking vicious blows that mankind is unprepared to face. War is coming on all sides.

For every age, there are heroes willing to stand up and fight, or common folk for whom destiny has its own unseen plans. This age sees the arrival of many new warriors. Dwarfs, humans, high elves, and the enigmatic wood elves must set aside their differences to face the forces bent on destroying the Old World. Fortune favors the brave, and these heroes will need all the fortune they can muster.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a new, exciting way to experience the popular Warhammer Fantasy setting. It is a grim world, constantly at war. As a hero, you will take up weapon, spell, or prayer and do your best to combat the might of enemies terrifying to behold. As the Game Master, you will make the lands of the Old World real as you craft the story, the people, creatures, and the mysteries the other players will encounter during their adventures.

Everything your group needs to begin its adventures in the Old World is included in the Core set. This Core set is an excellent way to bring new players into the fold, as well as to reward experienced roleplaying with new and exciting innovations.

What is Roleplaying?
In a Roleplaying Game (RPG) you create an alter ego, a fictional character like one of the heroes you've read about or seen in films. Using the game rules, you and your friends create characters and develop them as you play through a series of adventures. Imagine a group of detectives working together to solve a case or a company of knights sent to defeat a monster. Rather than read or watch a story, you tell it.

How is the story told? How do you decide what happens? What do you do if you and your friend disagree? That's where rules come in. Roleplaying is only half of the story; the other half is the game itself. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay presents you with the rules of the game – how to design your character, how to resolve actions and how to have fun doing so. During a game of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the players roll pools of custom dice to determine the outcome of combat, social intrigues, magic, or other risky actions. The custom dice add a game playing element to the RPG and help prevent the outcome of actions from becoming too predictable. The full-colour play aids and reference material makes it easy to keep track of special abilities, actions, and other important information.

Before you start playing, you and your friends will need to decide which of you will be the Game Master (GM). The GM is the referee and the lead storyteller, the person who describes the game to the other players. The GM presents the stories and situations, provides the setting and its denizens, and adjudicates the rules. The other players take on the roles of the characters, around which the action primarily revolves. These characters are known as the Player Characters (PCs). They describe their intentions and actions to the GM, who then decides how their actions affect the plot.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a ground-breaking new experience. Among the innovations are;

Rolling up a story
Using a new task resolution system featuring custom dice, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay gives you unparalleled story-telling options. Every roll of the dice has a story to tell, providing far more information and flavour than just “you hit” or “you miss.” These dice represent the abilities and skills your characters will gain, as well as include the whims of fate. With each roll, players will be able to see how the check succeeded or failed. Did they make it through based on their natural skills or did they just get lucky as fortune intervened? There are more than 30 custom dice included to help you craft your story.

How much will you risk?
With every decision comes a risk to assess. In Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, heroes will decide how they wish to approach any situation. Do they rush in, swords drawn, in an attempt to quickly overwhelm their foes? Do they advance cautiously and appraise the situation before entering to gain advantage? Your stance, reckless or conservative, will guide your actions and the bonuses they provide. As stances can be changed on the fly, players will have new levels of control over situations.

Action at hand
Mighty warriors perform mighty deeds. You can quickly reference the full-colour action cards to see what your abilities and innate skills can accomplish, allowing players to spend more time focusing on the task at hand. From spells, blessings, and attacks to social gambits, and reactions, and acrobatics you will have the actions you need to tell your character’s tale.

More fun in a group
Every hero is powerful on their own, but when combined, heroes interact in interesting, new ways. Each party will be able to select a party sheet, which helps track and manage the group as a whole. Will the dwarf and high elf be able to put aside their differences in order to work as a cohesive unit, or will the ancient grudges be too much for them? Can the human overcome the arrogance of the high elf, and can the high elf overcome the brashness of the short-lived human? Each party sheet also provides special abilities for the party members. In this way, every group becomes far more than the sum of its parts.

More than a job
Straight from the world of Warhammer, there are dozens of careers for heroes to choose from. Every career provides valuable skills and abilities that will give adventurers a definitive advantage in their exploits. From the resolve of the Witch Hunter and the deadliness of the Dwarf Troll Slayer to the keen eyes of the Wood Elf Waywatcher, or the fiery magic of a Bright Wizard, there are many exciting paths to follow.

Quick and easy clean up
Inside the Core set are three character keepers designed to hold everything your hero will need each session. From your dice, actions cards, and character sheets to any wounds, items, or skills your hero acquires, you will have a convenient place to store everything after a session.

How do I start?
These innovations are brought to life in the Core set of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Inside you will find four full-colour books. The main rulebook introduces all the mechanics and key information you need to get started. Also included are three tomes to provide you with more information on the world, and give you new opportunities for character creation. The Tome of Mysteries is your guide to wizards and the winds of magic. Follow along with grey wizard Gavius Klugge as he gives you insight into this powerful career path. The Tome of Blessings provides information on priests and the gods they follow. Information on the Cults of Sigmar, Shallya, Ulric, Taal, and others are contained within this volume. The Tome of Adventure is a book for the Game Master, and provides valuable information on running sessions, background and statistics on a variety of enemies, information on how to get the most out of your roleplaying experience, and a complete introductory adventure.

This Core set is best suited for a group of four players – one Game Master and three Player Characters. Adding more players is easy! You can find more careers, party sheets, action cards, and components in the the Adventurer’s Toolkit.

One player gets to be the Game Master. The Game Master is responsible for crafting the story, and giving life to the adventure the heroes are about to undertake. Setting up the encounters, adopting the role of the non-player characters (often referred to as NPCs), and acting as the ruling authority for how the rules apply to the game at hand all fall under the Game Master’s sway.

Three players form the hero party, seeking out adventure and glory. They will be the protagonists, and act together towards a goal. As they perform mighty deeds, combat foul enemies, and exercise their diplomatic skills they will gain experience. This experience allows players to upgrade their skills and abilities, as well as gain new options and help define their characters’ roles within the world. As the PCs gain experience and become even more powerful, the Game Master will craft more challenging stories.

Over the course of the story, the Game Master and the hero party will perform a variety of actions, make skill checks by rolling the custom dice, and keep track of any information related to their characters.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is an experience like no other. Custom dice help you to tell the story with every roll, the stance system provides greater depth to the decisions the GM and the PCs must make, action cards keep all your options close at hand, group party sheets give each party a reason for existing and unique abilities to draw from, and the wide variety of careers give each player a variety of options when creating their character and even more options when they advance their hero.

So how do you win?

The answer is up to you. The Game Master is not set against the heroes. Both the Game Master and the hero party are working together to create a memorable experience for all involved. Each session gives both parties a chance to become part of something larger, and allow them to create their own legend.