Burning from Within

Set in the Warhammer Fantasy Setting 📖, this campaign will be a tour of the Old World—dangerous travel, intrigue, and adventure. We’ll use the Burning Wheel Gold 📖 system.

Set in the Old World is the Empire of Man, an empire comprised of provincial states. Think of the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire is a contradiction; a bastion of law rotting with corruption. Deemed a bulwark of order yet teetering as the world turns.

You should create a character that would respond to a Wanted! Bold Adventurers! poster. I’ll provide more details during a character creation session. It might make sense for a Guiding Light belief around why you’re seeking the life of adventure.

Preamble

I’m assuming that we’ll be using Burning Wheel Gold, however I’m open to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (Fourth Edition) 📖; especially in light of my Recontextualizing my Relationship with Burning Wheel.

Critical to the campaign, and what I’m envisioning, is the mechanics for Corruption and Downtime. Both systems have fantastic mechanics for those concerns.

I’ve been writing session reports Campaign: Burning Warhammer; I encourage you too look to those session reports as I’m framing my Game Master (GM 📖) approach based on my observations as player.

Getting Started

We’ll be starting in the Reikland, a few days coach-ride from Altdorf 📖. Your characters will be on the road and looking for adventure.

We’ll only be using the Mannish stock. You may choose 3 or 4 Lifepaths. You’ll start play with 3 Fate and 3 Persona.

We’ll be using both the Burning Wheel Gold and the Burning Wheel Codex 📖. I have written a few extra lifepaths available for characters.

Cultural Traits

Several provinces comprise the Empire, below are the Character traits of most people from those provinces:

• Averlander: Curious, Open, Changeable
• Hochlander: Open-minded, Tolerant, Valiant
• Middenlander: Stubborn, Firebrand, Traditionalist
• Nordlander: Stubborn, Storyteller, Churlish
• Ostermarker: Stout, Flamboyant Despair, Old-Fashioned
• Ostlander: Stubborn, Thrifty, Proud
• Reiklander: Imperious, Friendly, Optimistic
• Stirlander: Stout, Suspicious, Thoughtful
• Talabeclander: Honorable, Self-Effacing, Quiet
• Wissenlander: Dour, Dependable, Obsessed

There are other regions outside of the Empire, and the most likely foreigner would be someone from Marienburg. They are sharp-witted, wheedler, and hard-headed.

Life of Crime

Die Trait, 2 points

You supplement your income through graft and illegal activities; maybe it’s operating outside of a guild or tax evasion. Regardless, you gain a 1D infamous reputation with agents of the law.

When you test Lifestyle Maintenance Burning Wheel Gold or Get a Job! Burning Wheel Gold you may add this reputation to your Resource test.

Technology

This is the era of blackpowder weapons and the advent of the printing press. Appropriate weapons include pistols, swords, daggers, crossbows, and so forth. The full gamut of armor is available.

Religion and Faith

This is a polytheistic setting and we’ll be using the domains from the Burning Wheel Codex. And we’ll also be using the Divine Afflictions: Empower Thine Enemies!, Tax Thine Allies, Awful Revelation, Enmity, Infamy, and Isolation. Burning Wheel Codex

Magic

The following magic systems are available:

• Art Magic
• Enchanting
• Folklore
• Spirit Binding
• Summoning
• Death art
• Blood Magic

By law, anyone that is Gifted must be trained by the Colleges of Magic.

The Colleges of Magic does not sanction Blood Magic, Sprit Binding, Death Art, nor Summoning of the dead nor agents of the Ruinous Powers. In otherwords, using those methods are regarded as witchcraft.

Corruption

We will be using the Corruption system, but I’ve taken liberties to modify that table (see Table 222: Corrupted Body and Soul Trait).