| John Blanche's cover painting for the Enemy Within is probably as famous as the game itself. It remains a wonderful relic of a more subtle Warhammer World. A world before the skulls, spikes and the corporate stink. |
The Oldhammer zeitgeist seems to be learning towards Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay these days, and to be honest with you, I am not really surprised. For many of us fantasy fans, WFRP was our only source of information and background for the Warhammer World in the late '80s and early 1990s. Hidden amongst the great many articles that were produced in support of the game are some absolute gems, many of which can be used to base interesting scenarios for games around.
We have discussed the first 'proper' WFRP article already in this series - On The Road by Graeme Davis and that seems to have been published around the same time that the first supplement for the game was released- the now legendary Enemy Within with its first adventure, Mistaken Identity.
But what does this first seminal release actually contain? And does it deserve its title of 'one of the greatest adventures ever written?'
The best way to find out is to actually have a little look at what the release contains and look at the first adventure, Mistaken Identity, in a little more detail. A word of warning though, there will be spoilers in this article, so if you are hoping to play the Enemy Within Campaign one day you may well want to stop reading now and leave the horror of the Warhammer World for another day.
A quick glance at this page will provide a solid overview of what the supplement contains. The first 34 pages present the player and GM with a wealth of detail about the Empire as well as tips on running the campaign. Its also noteworthy for the great picture of the authors posing outside on a set of steps. Rock 'n' Roll roleplayers indeed!
To put this material into context, both the WFRP and WFB3 rulebooks had done a little to flesh out the background to the world we would be playing our games in. Gone was the local view presented by the scenario packs of the mid 1980s and in their place we had a broadsheet with a more national view of how the Empire functioned, not just in the corridors of power, but in the corridors of the inns, temples and dwellings that made up the place.
There is quite a lot of detail to be absorbed and I would recommend the supplement to anyone who has an interest in the original history of the Empire, as well as its early visual appeal. I have selected a few of my favourite pieces of this tapestry to discuss in more detail below.
This page is significant for two reasons, firstly it gives lots of background detail to one of the most important pieces of background for anyone playing WFRP in the Empire - the Coaching Houses! If you have played WFRP then you have no doubt spent loads of time sitting on the top of one of these wooden boxes (most likely in the driving rain) or annoying the toffs within. Mentioning them here as a ubiquitous sight in the Warhammer World on the 1980s make me think that I really should go about producing a couple of models of them, with the appropriate bade painted on the side mind you, to help populate the gaming worlds I create with my scenery.
Anyone know a good model available that could be converted for such a job? Please let me know if you do!
The other significant fact on this page is the fleshing out of the legend of Sigmar, a character we now know was created by Phil Gallagher. Though the legend was discussed briefly previously, this is the most detailed take on the story seen to date. Its funny just how much has now changed in this particular piece of fluff, isn't it?
I have selected this page as its best illustrates what everyday people would have looked like in the Warhammer World of the 1980s. There is a gritty historical realism that I have always appreciated, largely due to the fact that fantasy works best when it is presented in a believable world. That is where 8th Edition went so horribly wrong for me, with every tree a dangerous spirit, undead incursions sweeping the land endlessly and the geological layer of skulls beneath the ground.
How was the Empire supposed to function? How was food grown? Etc? Etc?
I often return to these pages when I am researching colour schemes for my miniatures as the fluff presented here makes the perfect starting point.
Something that is easy to overlook is that the original characters for the Enemy Within make their first appearance in the Enemy Within. They are beautifully presented with lots of original art to show them off to would be players. I wonder how many adventures these characters have been on over the years?
As I just mentioned with the PCs, there is a great deal of quality art to be found in this publication, and much of it cannot be found elsewhere. I have selected these two works by John Blanche as examples of what can be found within, so it really is worth chasing up a copy if you have any interest in 1980s Warhammer art. The sense of wacky humour is evident in the two pictures as is that subtle mix between historical possibility and fantastic improbability.
The two images show off what the military of the Empire should look like and indeed many of the knights you can see in the second image certainly made it into miniature form by the late 1980s. I have a large number of these models kicking around in my collection and one day I intend to do them justice by painting them up in a similar baroque style to these.
Another favourite section of mine from the Enemy Within is this page detailing some of the herbs that can be found out in the wilds during this adventure. I used to hand this out o Harbull and Wanda in their packs at the start of the campaign and I always enjoyed the gathering of herbs and other resources as a player. In fact, when I play the Elder Scrolls games to this day I often spend hours and hours out and about collecting all sundry of things to become a master alchemist. Its a bit harder to do that in WFRP but a little medical knowledge is vital in this dark and dangerous world!
A nice touch this.
Now we are on our way to having a look at the 'Main Event' of this first supplement, the first scenario - Mistaken Identity. To me, the ideas presented here, though small in scale when compared with later adventures, make for quality gaming as well as exciting GMing. Having done both in my time, I can honestly say that the moment your coach stumbles upon the mutant ambush your blood is up, either with the thrill of taking on a role or controlling the action.
The scenes set in the Inn at the start of the adventure allow you to spend as much time as you wish developing your characters before the off, with plenty of opportunity to offend the noble patrons who you find within.
The scenes set in the Inn at the start of the adventure allow you to spend as much time as you wish developing your characters before the off, with plenty of opportunity to offend the noble patrons who you find within.
Without giving too much away to those who haven't yet have the chance to get to grips with this first supplement, the rest of the adventure contains a mixture of dopplegangers, bountyhunters and ships called Berebelli. The plotline gives your players, or your GM skills, just enough space to begin to florish if you are new to the system as well as setting up the rest of the campaign.
Interestingly, there is another proto version of the mutation table that would later see the light of day in Slaves to Darkness. Obviously, its far simpler than the resource many of us now know and love but it has its uses if you need to create 'quickie' mutants on the spot.
To conclude, this first release is an excellent start to the Enemy Within campaign, and is many ways an excellent start to roleplaying in general. It is packed with loads of information that will help you expand your knowledge about the background to Warhammer Third Edition. With a good mix of social roleplaying and sinister actions there is plenty to sink your teeth into here.
Highly recommended.
Orlygg