Topic: When are your WFB games set?

[Michael Stockin]

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[S.O.F]

Mine has pretty much been set at 2520, the standard year since say the 6th edition or so, to make certain to cut off the annoying Storm of Chaos stuff, even though the 8th edition cut it out.

[Michael Stockin]

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[Michael W]

Before.  Storm of Chaos was GW's first try at a big invasion by Archaon, but it didn't go the way they'd hoped so they retconned it.

I don't think there's any official timeline for the rules pre-End Times other than "Karl Franz is Emperor and the threat of the next Chaos invasion is imminent."

[GamesPoet]

A timeline for the different rules editions?  An intriguing question.

Perhaps the fluff of any particular edition might provide such information.  If I recall, 7th and 8th edition both featured 2522 as the year that was.

I've played in games that were dated as far back as the Crisis in Marienburg of 2201, and as far forward as the last original Animosity Campaign of 2539 (as differentiated from the new "Animosity" campaigns centered in W:AoS, although not directly affiliated with the original Animosity Campaigns from days of the Olde World).  I'm told there was one additional Animosity Campaign between the Olde World and W:AoS, although also understand that it failed to achieve the same flavor as the Animosity Campaigns of the olde days, yet I don't have a date for that one nor did I play any games associated with it.

However, folks can set there WFB games in whatever year they'd prefer.

[Michael Stockin]

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[GamesPoet]

Cool, and to clarify did that come from the 3rd edition rules book for WFB?

So far here is what we have ...

1st edition ...
2nd edition ...
3rd edition ... 2512
4th edition ...
5th edition ...
6th edition ... 2520
7th edition ... 2522
8th edition ... 2522

[Michael Stockin]

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[Zygmund]

Then Mordheim is taking place soon after 2000 and the Empire in Flames stuff during the early 2000's, before the Empire was united again.

I think many aspects of the WFB world are repetitive: chaos incursions, orc incursions, civil wars, chaos/beastman/goblin outbreaks, dark elf piracy, dwarf expeditions, etc. etc. From the point of view of a single campaign or a thematic tournament, setting the exact date often is not important, and the game still catches the feeling of the milieu.

My games have usually featured a looming chaos incursion, a looming orc incursion, the presence of a growing undead/vampire threat, and lots of domestic troubles in the Empire. Apart from a couple of big names from around 2520, all of that could happen any time.

We could then split hairs about when gunpowder became effective and commonplace, when the Steam tanks were constructed, or when the landsknecht fashion became prominent in the Empire. We know how the timeline goes in Europe (try to fit the steam tanks somewhere there?), but it seems the Empire has kept revolving around these themes for a considerably longer time, yet the halberd is still a staple weapon and real pike & shotte warfare seems to remain in the future.

I think this stagnancy is some kind of a hallmark of fantasy. Maybe Tolkien started it. Maybe it's older and goes back to ancient beliefs about the sidhe/fairie/dead living their eternal lives in the otherworld or in purgatorio? Maybe there is a bit of longing for eternal stability there?

-Z

[Michael Stockin]

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[S.O.F]

We could then split hairs about when gunpowder became effective and commonplace, when the Steam tanks were constructed, or when the landsknecht fashion became prominent in the Empire. We know how the timeline goes in Europe (try to fit the steam tanks somewhere there?), but it seems the Empire has kept revolving around these themes for a considerably longer time, yet the halberd is still a staple weapon and real pike & shotte warfare seems to remain in the future.

I think the key element to my own suspension of disbelief on this matter comes from that pike and shotte developed from the forces facing one another being well the same. When you have a world with magic and a large number antagonist that will get to grips with your infantry ignoring the damage from your missile fire the number of hand to hand troops has to stay much higher. So rather in the real world where in a course of a century the number of shotte steadily increased and overtook the supporting pike units such can't occur in Warhammer.

[Zygmund]

S.O.F, that's a solid point of view!

-Z

[Gankom]

YA SOF has a great point there. Even just the element of magic would cause huge tech shifts. You don't really need the same development or the same path when magic exists that can do much of the same thing.

Plus the world is significantly more dangerous and different. When forests are filled with beastmen, and said beastmen can repopulate even if the tribes are smashed and scattered, its going to cut down on a lot of industry and such.

My local group long ago moved to a homebrew setting that was heavily based on post storm of chaos, but even before we did that most of our games were essentially playing the aftermath of that campaign. We had a big narrative setting about the forces of order retaking the north and expanding before we moved.

[GamesPoet]

I have always accepted that 2522 was after SoC, and enjoyed allowing it to exist in the Warhammer Old World as is/was.  The Mad Alfred guy did so much work on all the Empire provinces, and some places beyond, with names, places, populations, etc, etc, etc.  He seemed to move his efforts off the SoC event, and it was great to see how much of the northern provinces, especially Hochland and Ostland were effected by this in the things he produced (and are still available).  By the way, initially his world building didn't include SoC, but instead the world of Pheildorf, Sudenland, and Wissenland, all before the SoC event.

[S.O.F]

I have always accepted that 2522 was after SoC, and enjoyed allowing it to exist in the Warhammer Old World as is/was.  The Mad Alfred guy did so much work on all the Empire provinces, and some places beyond, with names, places, populations, etc, etc, etc.  He seemed to move his efforts off the SoC event, and it was great to see how much of the northern provinces, especially Hochland and Ostland were effected by this in the things he produced (and are still available).  By the way, initially his world building didn't include SoC, but instead the world of Pheildorf, Sudenland, and Wissenland, all before the SoC event.

That was largely drawn out of converting from WHFRP 1 to WHFRP 2 which was set after SoC and fixed the myriad of inconsistencies that had arrisen between the two systems in the intervening years. I prefer WHFRP 2 changes to draw the Empire into the more familiar WHFB since 4th edition lines but before the awful SoC.

Sure the Chaos fluff could insist that Archaon is close to invading but given the way time flows in the wastes vs the real world it could be decades before he showed up.

[GamesPoet]

I was aware that Mad Alfred's site was for WFRP.  I've used some of this for WFB, most particularly for "The Solland Effort of 2524", and continue to use it for other items along the way.  I like the effort that has been made for things like the Border Princes, Estalia, and Tilea as well.

[S.O.F]

Border Princes

Border Princes received an official book for 2nd edition though it was largely devoid hard details being that the Princes, other than a few set locations, are player nation sandbox. I think Estallia and Tilea probably would have gotten source books if WHFRP 2 had lived longer.

[GamesPoet]

Was the 2nd edition Border Prince book any good?

[S.O.F]

Meh, useful if you wanted to randomly generate petty Kingdoms and their rulers with their quirks and such but I don't recall that much more.

[GamesPoet]

Ah, well I'd like to see a copy of that anyway.

[markdienekes]

My brother and I are setting it where Chaos was beaten back, just, so it is set in a ruined Empire, with Karl Franz dead, and the Provinces breaking up and even fighting each other. This is about four years after the End Times. My brother plays as Empire, and I as a large Beastman army attacking Stirland.

Fun so far, but we've only played three games due to lockdown...

[GamesPoet]

Oh, that does sound good.

Welcome to W-E! 

[brr-icy]

Mine are firmly during storm of chaos as i love the fluff in those army lists.

[Michael Stockin]

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[GamesPoet]

I know very little about 4th and 5th.  Suspect 1st and 2nd weren't something where a date was provided, especially 1st since it was different than latter editions, more of a roleplaying game than anything, although could be wrong.