Chapter IX: The Game Master
“V olunTeer ” m IlITIa / p ress -g anged
that are willing to believe them, the PCs will have to decide if they have what it takes to be heroes. If WFRP could ever be said to have a “classic” plot, this is it. g olden C onflICT The PCs are all mercenaries, hired sell-swords who risk their lives for coin. Chance finds them in a small town caught up in a feud between two or more rival factions, all of which are in a stalemate until the unexpected arrival of some skilled outsiders. Clever PCs can play upon the rivalries of the different groups, hiring themselves out to the highest bidder, then shifting their allegiance when the time seems right. Sooner or later, though, they may find that they’ve chosen the wrong side when the hammer falls. Even if they manage to stay on with the winners, nobody really trusts a warrior whose The PCs are quietly contacted by the Church of Morr, the God of Death and asked if they are willing to take on a great and terrible task. One of the Noble families of the Empire has been secretly afflicted by vampirism, which has been very well hidden. Due to the possible political repercussions, the Church of Morr cannot publicly accuse the family, but if some well meaning adventurers should happen to stumble upon the right evidence… Of course, the PCs were chosen for both their skills and their expendability, as the family will do nearly anything within their not inconsiderable powers, material and supernatural, to not be exposed. s CaVenger h unT The PCs are hired to acquire a number of strange and unusual items for one of the Wizard Orders of the Empire. Their journey will take them to the summits of the Grey Mountains in search of Great only loyalty lies with the clink of coinage. m orr ’ s V engeanCe
There are times when the Empire badly needs soldiers and will conscript any that come to hand. For various appropriate reasons, all of the PCs were travelling through part of the Old World when an Orc Waaagh or Beastman horde is spotted nearby. The characters are all forcibly taken into the service of the Emperor, for as long as it takes to deal with the immediate threat. A variation on this theme, especially if you’re nautically inclined, is to have the PCs all be press-
ganged by either a naval crew or pirates. p loTTIng a way
So now your PCs are comrades, willing or otherwise, and ready to take on whatever the cruel world has to offer. What you need now is a good plot, the story that drives the adventure. The plot will act as the spine about which the rest of the body of your tale will be wrapped. By starting with a good idea of the type of story you ultimately wish to tell, you’ll be able to smoothly react to whatever your PCs might do. Don’t get too attached to any one outcome though, as plots in roleplaying games need to be far more flexible than those you’d find in a book or a movie, mainly because an RPG has, in a sense, multiple authors, all of whom may have their own ideas. Adventure plots range from the simple, like “hunt and kill the marauding wolf ”, to the complex, such as “save the Baron Kopeck’s jewel from the clutches of the Twisted Rune society, lest they awaken its hidden powers to rend space and time as we know it in order to bring forth the Daemon Lord Ffabhle’Kwaadh all the while avoiding the ominous attentions of the Witch Hunter Vorster Pike”. All adventures should have some sort of plot though, otherwise, you’re just wandering down dungeon corridors, killing things and taking their loot. The following classic premises are ideas to either use as is or help start you on the road to crafting your own adventure. T he e nemy w IThIn Through a series of strange coincidences, the PCs are drawn into a complex web of corruption that they were, up to now, happily unaware of. Under the calm surface of the Empire there are a large number of secret cults and conspiracies. Some of them want nothing more than to establish the wool price for the next year, but the most sinister are pledged, body and soul, to Chaos. Ironically enough, many of the various Chaos cults seek to expose and destroy one another, as the majority of them believe that only they know the “proper” way to worship Chaos. The adventure begins when the PCs are unwittingly exposed to the machinations of a secretive group operating quietly within the Empire. Perhaps they intercept a message intended for another or they are attacked by a drunken cloaked figure that they are forced to kill, who turns out to be a mutant. Shortly thereafter, strange figures begin approaching them, speaking odd turns of phrase and growing angry when they aren’t answered correctly. Various attempts on their lives will start occurring on a regular basis. The PCs have been mistaken for agents of a Chaos cult and targeted by members of rival cults, as well as the original cult they encountered who believes they’ve turned “traitor” to the cause. If for no reason other than their own self-preservation, the PCs will have to learn more than sane men should about the inner workings of the Chaos cults as they seek to unravel the mystery of who wishes them dead. Anyone seeking such knowledge is, of course, suspect in the Empire, which won’t make their lives any easier. Along the way, they’ll find out far more is at stake than they thought: the cult they unwittingly disrupted was on the verge of completing a terribly powerful ritual. With little time left, and few
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