The fortress town of Ubersreik, the center of mercantile trade for Reikland and a standing monument to what can be achieved with the combined work of dwarves and humans, but a riot soon turns sour there, and a band of adventures find themselves quickly on both sides of the law.
We've been fans of Cubicle 7's Warhammer roleplaying games for a while, and you can read our preview of the full Soulbound rulebook here, and our review of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game core rulebook here.

High Fantasy This Is Not
Before we get into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, it's worth noting the difference between Age of Sigmar (AoS), and Warhammer (now known as Warhammer the Old World in Games Workshop's latest tabletop iteration). The original Warhammer was Games Workshop's fantasy wargaming system. In 2015 (a decade this year and we're still having this conversation) Games Workshop had a narrative event called the End Times, which ended the Old World and started the new Age of Sigmar system, along with moving the narrative completely away and into a new fantasy setting (with many of the same elements, but also a lot of changes). Games Workshop has also since re-released (in January 2024) the Warhammer Fantasy game, which you can read our review of here.
I mention the above because Cubicle 7 publishes 2 Warhammer roleplaying systems. Age of Sigmar Soubound, for which we reviewed the Soulbound Starter Set here, is set in Games Workshop's premier fantasy setting, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP), which we are reviewing in this article, is set in Games Workshop's original fantasy system. WFRP also persevered throughout the removal of Warhammer Fantasy from Games Workshop's wargaming range throughout the 2015-2024 gap.
We'll go into details of both settings in our coverage of the systems, but a quick summary is that Warhammer Fantasy is set in a more traditional fantasy setting, with the races of humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and Skaven (ratmen) all battling over the map of the Old World, and Age of Sigmar sees the different races fighting across 8 different Mortal Realms, 8 unique planes of existence, connected through realm gates. A lot of the classic races are included, but they have a unique Games Workshop twist in AoS.

True Dwarven Craftsmanship
Most roleplaying products start with a single book, either a Core Rulebook, which contains everything players and Games Masters (GM) need to run the games, or a Players Handbook, which focuses on the core mechanics and player options, expanding into other books for the Games Master (which we see historically in Dungeons and Dragons by Wizards of the Coast). Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has a Core Rulebook available, but also to make it even easier, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set has everything 6 players, plus a GM need to play their first few games in one easy package, with no printing or other products required.
The WFRP starter set box includes a whole raft of contents, including 6 pre-generated fold-out character sheets, handouts, rules references for the players, and 2 10-sided dice. The WFRP system uses a percentile system, for which players roll both dice, one for the tens and one for the units, to get a roll between 01 and 100.
For the GM, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set begins with the Adventure Book, and the adventure Making the Rounds, which leads both the players and the GM through their first game. Making the Rounds can be spread across several gaming sessions if the GM wishes. Alongside the core story, the Adventure Book also includes 10 additional scenarios that can be used throughout the adventure, or as separate tie-in adventures later on.
The GM will need to read through the entire Adventure Book, in order to understand the rules and the adventure's story to best guide the players through, but this is usually the case for Games Masters, who do all the preparation in advance of gaming sessions. The starter set adventure book guides you through the system, giving you tips on how to GM, and acts as a tutorial for the rules as the players progress.

Less Heroic Fantasy, More Gutter Survival
The first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay had players' initial characters at an extremely low level. They were capable humans, but not the heroic heroes that we find in Age of Sigmar. In contrast, the 6 pre-generated characters in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay starter set feel more heroic than first edition WFRP characters did, but not as heroic as Soulbound characters (especially not the immortal Stormcast Eternal who are reforged and reborn when they die).
The starter set characters give a fantastic view of those available in WFRP, whilst still being accessible to those not familiar with the setting. There's a noble soldier, a dwarf slayer (think shirtless barbarian berzerker), a halfling thief, a scythe-wielding wizard, an elf merchant (an incredible addition as a less combat-focused character, but still an elf, so still capable), and the classic WFRP Witch Hunter.

What Are The Chances!
WRFP uses a percentile system, the same as the original WFRP system, which gives it a more classical feel that suits the setting. This system requires players to roll 2D10, to get a number between 1 and 100, needing to score under their skill to succeed. The GM can add or subtract to the character's skill, depending on how hard to test is. There's also the option to have a dramatic test, where the amount under the tens number demonstrates how successful the test is (a roll of 10 against a test of 70 would be 6 dramatic successes for example).
The Starter Set keeps the level of detail light and accessible, with wounds and critical wounds, but leaves out the full level of detail on injuries, disease, corruption, and psychology that the full rulebook has. This is probably a good choice for keeping the rules straightforward, the product is aimed at new roleplayers and GMs, but it does leave out one of WFRP's most interesting elements in the realism that it has over more heroic systems.
That doesn't take away from how good the starter set is, as a product, the adventure, and how well it introduces players to the gloriously dark Warhammer Fantasy setting.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set Final Thoughts
The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set is a fantastic product. The components are thematic, immersive, and high-quality. The adventure it contains introduces players well to the setting and the system and can be expanded into several full sessions with the hooks in the adventure book, and the detail included in the Ubersreik Guide. Brand new GMs will have to do some work preparing for the adventure, but the adventure book does give you a lot of tips for running the game. But most importantly, everyone will have a blast playing through the adventure, which is full of character.
The copy of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set used to produce this review was provided by Cubicle 7.
Review Summary
Pros
- The adventure is fantastic, full of life (and death)
- Great introductory product
Cons
- Keeping the set system simple does lose out on some of the horrific WFRP detail