We recently learned about the new Warhammer 40k RPG, Wrath & Glory. Today we’re getting a look at Ulisses North America’s first designer diary entry.
The new Wrath & Glory Warhammer 40k RPG will be released sometime next year, and it looks like Ulisses North America is going to be giving us a designer’s diary along the way to help keep us updated. Let’s take a look at their first entry that was spotted over on Reddit.
Wrath & Glory Designer Diary 1: Archetypes
For me, designing Wrath & Glory is at once both a path I’ve traveled down before and breaking new ground. On the one hand, I’m very familiar with the grim darkness of the far future, having worked on many games placed in that setting. In addition to that, I’ve done a lot of design work in roleplaying games over the years…but on the other hand, that design work was never quite like what I’m attempting to do with Wrath & Glory.
This game is a brand-new approach to Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, and that means it has all the challenges and advantages of building an entirely new system of game mechanics to help drive the experience. A big part of that involves a complex balancing act, designing depth while trying to avoid over-complication, embracing simplicity while trying to add meaningful choices, and many other choices along the way. One of the most important things about designing for Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, however, is steady as a rock:
The game must feel like Warhammer 40,000.
There are many ways to approach that goal, but one of the first that came to mind when I set out to work on Wrath & Glory is the idea of archetypes. The 41st Millennium is home to many iconic character types: Commissars, Space Marines, Tech-Priests, Psykers, Sisters of Battle, and Inquisitors, just to name a handful. The idea of these archetypes goes beyond just the bare definition of their role in the galaxy. Indeed, these archetypes are powerful, living examples of the main themes of the setting itself.
And that is what makes them perfect player characters.
The idea of an archetype and what that means in a roleplaying game has had many iterations, from the “Smuggler” in West End Games D6 Star Wars to the “Street Samurai” of many editions of Shadowrun. Sometimes, an archetype is simply a name attached to a specific build of character options. Other times, an archetype has its own particular identity expressed in the mechanics of the game, often through a special ability or mechanical effect that is unique to them.
For Wrath & Glory, I knew that I wanted the archetypes to trend closer to the latter than the former on the spectrum. There’s something great about being able to express what an archetype represents within the game system, something that can meaningfully add to a player’s experience in the game. I like to believe that these things can, in many cases, lead a player to greater immersion in the game, in the setting. I think this also leads to greater verisimilitude.
So what does all this discussion mean for Wrath & Glory? I wanted to give people who are fans of the game and the setting a glimpse into my design philosophy. Know no fear…not all my designer diaries are going to be so introspective! We will be discussing more concrete details about the game in the future, including looks at artwork, specific mechanics, and other parts of this project. Thank you for reading, and rest assured I am hard at work refining the construction of the Wrath & Glory RPG!
From the sounds of it Ulisses North America is doing everything they can to get the perfect feel of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and it’s reflecting in the way they talk about the archetypes. We can’t wait to see what they reveal in the next designer diary entry!
Did you miss the original announcement of Wrath & Glory? Games Workshop and Ulisses North America were both pleased to announce the upcoming RPG.
A new Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game is coming – soon, you’ll be able to dive into the 41st Millennium in Wrath & Glory. Tabletop roleplaying is a very different experience from wargaming – rather than commanding your forces from above, you’ll be able to inhabit characters of your own design in imaginative collaborative storytelling.
Wrath & Glory is currently in development at Ulisses North America, an experienced designer and publisher of several popular roleplaying games. We can’t reveal anything more at this point, but watch this space for updates and news, and get ready for your own adventures in the 41st Millennium.
But who exactly is Ulisses North America?
Ulisses Spiele North America is the English-language division of Ulisses Spiele, Germany’s premiere RPG translator and publisher of Das Schwarze Auge, the classic German fantasy RPG.
They shared a little bit more in their initial announcement than Games Workshop about the new role playing game in the making.
The time has come once again to step into the grim darkness of the 41st millennium!
Roleplaying game company Ulisses North America have acquired the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay licence and would like to announce their first product line, Wrath & Glory.
Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory is a roleplaying game set in the universe of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000. The setting is a dark, Gothic future where the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset by horrific threats and endless war. In Wrath & Glory, players join to tell stories of mystery, action, and terror amongst the bloodstained stars. You may take on the roles of characters fighting against the tide of corruption sweeping the galaxy, struggling to keep alive a glimmer of hope as others revel in the consuming flames.
Wrath & Glory launches in 2018 with the Wrath & Glory Core Rulebook. Inside are rules for character creation, task resolution, combat, and other activities your character may employ as they explore the grim darkness of the far future. In Wrath & Glory, your characters glimpse the grime on the cherub’s wings, the hint of regret in the Radical’s eyes, and confront their own worst fears in the Harlequin’s mask.
In anticipation of this release, Ulisses North America have launched a teaser website that includes a few Frequently Asked Questions, as well as a link to the Gen Con seminar. You can also read the official press release here.
So it looks like Ulisses North America is planning on the game coming out some time next year, and they’ll also be holding a seminar at Gen Con which is less than a week away. All in all it looks like this is going to be a really fun way for Warhammer fans everywhere to dive deeper into the lore, create a character, and dive into one epic journey. We can’t wait to find out more.
What do you think about the idea of a new Warhammer 40,000 RPG? Let us know in the comments below.
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