Books to read before getting into WFRP?

[u/DarthMaren]

Hi all, ive read a lot of 40k books before I even THOUGHT about setting foot into the RPG world of it. So I wanted to do the same for fantasy. Wondering what is a good starting point and what are some must reads

[u/Zekiel2000]

Drachenfels! And Beasts in Velvet.

[u/sigmumar → u/Zekiel2000]

This is the real answer. Those two book define what warhammer should feel like. AFTER those, you may want to read some Gotrek and Felix novels, and Zavant. Then Silver Nails and Genivieve Undead (but those only after Drachenfels and Beasts in Velvet). And if you finish enough of Gotrek and Felix, then the Ulrika novels. The WFRP 2nd edition sourcebooks are nice. Then read The Apotechary Rose, which is a historical novel, but great for WFRP, and various warhammer rulebooks. And any review of The Enemy Within campaign as long as you don't care about spoilers. And a history book on The Holy Roman Empire before the 30 years war.

But really - Drachenfels and Beasts in Velvet will set you right!

[u/sigmumar → u/sigmumar]

(If anyone tells you to read The End Times novels, scorn them in the name of Sigmar and never speak to them again under any circumstances.)

[u/ACompletelyLostCause → u/Zekiel2000]

I second Drachenfels.

[u/Ogarrr]

Gotrek and Felix.

If you can find Riders of the Dead get that too.

Otherwise - the Mordheim rule book and older editions.

[u/Minimum-Screen-8904]

The first two Gotrek and Felix books will help get the feel and tone so much. Wish I had read them years ago.

Probably can stay away from the Legends of Time books. For tone and scope more than anything.

[u/Nachoguy530 → u/Minimum-Screen-8904]

Seconded on Gotrek and Felix. The books read like a novelization of someone's home game and I mean that in the best way.

[u/Minimum-Screen-8904 → u/Nachoguy530]

For realszes

[u/chiron3636]

Tales from the Old World - Short Story anthology

Tales from the Ten Tailed Cat - Comic series similar to above

Hammers of Ulric - you can see the seams in where these short stories get forced together but the Priest of Morr is an excellent template for how to do priests and the story itself is a good one.

Tome of Salvation for WFRP 2e - this is probably the number one resource you can have for getting how religion and how the old world "thinks" - its a great book.

Angelika Fliescher series - A grim and gritty corpse robber gets in over her head, repeatedly.

Florenz and Lorenzo series - Dashing Bretonnian swordsmen and assholes have adventures

Gotrek and Felix - the first 2 books for sure

Zavant - Sherlock in Altdorf basically, mysteries solved, wrongs righted.

[u/Dapper_Calculator]

Kim Newman's Genevieve Undead cycle - the original Warhammer versions rather than those adapted to form the basis of the Anno Dracula series.

https://www.blacklibrary.com/authors/kim-newman

[u/WishOnly4100 → u/Dapper_Calculator]

Note for OP: the Genevieve books are not canon Lore. Still good, though Genevieve herself is extremely boring as a character. If you gotta pick one, choose Beast in Velvet.

[u/Dapper_Calculator → u/WishOnly4100]

It's the other characters that shine, which is quite common in Newman's work. Even the ones who died in the first few minutes of Drachenfels left a powerful impression in my memory.

I wonder if it's like the Twilight thing - he holds back on the depth to allow us to self-insert more easily? Though the con of that is "I don't read to be me. I already know how that ends."

[u/OgreGib]

I always hand my new players Wolf Riders and Ignorant Armies. Two anthologies that touch on so many aspects of the world.

[u/Bullet1289]

Gotrek and felix are always a good choice, and by extension Thanquol Grey Seer  too.
What other people are suggesting so far are really good too. I might also recommend Mark of Damnation and Mark of Heresy if you want to see more of the cults and secret organizations operating within the empire.... plus lots of mutants.

I remember Wulfrik being good. And I remember really liking Palace of the Plague Lord even if I don't think I ever actually finished the book. Warning for PotPL its a pretty gross book in a lot of its later descriptions.

The Sigmar Trilogy was enjoyable too.

Malus Darkblade is the go to dark elf book set I think.

Oh there was the one Florin & Lorenzo book about them trying to convince a woman raised by ogres to come back to her life of nobility. I remember liking that one even if the name escapes me.

Honestly trying to think through it all, its hard to pick what is the quintessential warhammer fantasy reading list as the more I talk about it the more stuff I want to go back and read or try and find. My elementary school had a big pile of different warhammer fantasy books that I got to at least start to read at one point or another and I probably have a bunch more that I partially remember, even if I'm mixing them up with other books lol

[u/Vonatar-74]

Gotrek and Felix #1

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[u/typhoonandrew]

The Empire anthology is a good read.

[u/BadBloodBear]

Knight of the Realm and Gotrek and Felix.

Also the Malas Darkblade novels.

[u/Lyranfaer]

Beasts in Velvet and Drachenfels for full novels. Wolf riders for short stories.