Whilst the chaos of the Turmoil subsides, an invigorated Empire seeks to leave civil strife …
"On the 25th of Sigmarzeit, Salzenmund celebrates
Silberfest. The whole city comes out to watch colourful
litters borne through the streets, each carrying a child
dressed to represent a particular guild. The final litter is
the ‘Silver King’, patronised by the Nordland Silversmiths’
Guild. At the end of the parade the ‘Silver King’ meets the
prince of Salzenmund as an equal. The litters are carried
to the waterfront, where the children take to boats and
sail onto the Ormsdeep carrying lanterns to light their
way. Finally, the Silver King reaches the centre of the
lake and jumps into the water. In modern times someone
fishes him out."
Altdorf is the capital city of the Empire and the birthplace of Sigmar Heldenhammer. It …
A good city book, but not a great one
4 stars
I love detailed #ttrpg city books, and at 220 pages in length, Altdorf: Crown of the Empire for #WFRP certainly qualifies. As the capital city of the Empire, Altdorf is full of factions, power groups, NPCs with secrets, and lots of tiny neighborhoods - each with their own character, yet all feel plausible and believable for the setting of the Old World (well, maybe with a few exceptions - the "Popular League Against Nobility and Taxation (PLANT)" revolutionary group reads too much like something from the 20th century rather than the "German Renaissance" atmosphere the setting generally goes for).
So, why didn't I give this book full marks? It isn't for the bad puns in the German-sounding names - as a German WFRP player, I've learned to tolerate these. No, my problem is that this book doesn't really do enough to make its individual parts interconnected.
The setting of Ptolus …
I love detailed #ttrpg city books, and at 220 pages in length, Altdorf: Crown of the Empire for #WFRP certainly qualifies. As the capital city of the Empire, Altdorf is full of factions, power groups, NPCs with secrets, and lots of tiny neighborhoods - each with their own character, yet all feel plausible and believable for the setting of the Old World (well, maybe with a few exceptions - the "Popular League Against Nobility and Taxation (PLANT)" revolutionary group reads too much like something from the 20th century rather than the "German Renaissance" atmosphere the setting generally goes for).
So, why didn't I give this book full marks? It isn't for the bad puns in the German-sounding names - as a German WFRP player, I've learned to tolerate these. No, my problem is that this book doesn't really do enough to make its individual parts interconnected.
The setting of Ptolus, as usual, shows how to do this right: Each time a character, a place, an organization or something else has a connection to something done elsewhere, there's a page reference to where you fan find more. As a result, you get the feeling that the city - despite its fantastic nature - is an interconnected, organic whole. In contrast, while Altdorf has a long list of fascinating, atmospheric neighborhoods, they all too often feel as if they exist on their own, with connections to the rest of the city only being hinted at.
Nethertheless, a GM interested in running adventures or even entire campaigns in Altdorf will find plenty of useful material in this book. But they should put in some added effort to make this city feel alive.
I love highly detailed #ttrpg settings, so #HarnWorld was definitely a setting of interest to me. Though ultimately, I neither played in it nor ran a game in it - while I've participated in my share of "gritty" games, we like to balance the grittiness with a fair share of humor, as in #WFRP . HarnWorld, on the other hand, is a setting that is both gritty and plays it straight.
Furthermore, the modules were and still are fairly pricey when compared to other products of comparable complexity, which kept me from investing as much money in this game line as I have in some others.