This post continues my history of WFRP1, which started here.
The foundations of the Warhammer world had been laid over the three years before WFRP1‘s publication (see parts VII, XIX and XXIII), and the setting of the role-playing game hardly differs in outline from that seen before. The map of the Known World closely matches that from the second Citadel Journal (September 1985) (see part XXIX). The only material changes are the disappearance of the large gulf in the Dark Lands and the islands to its south and the omission of several labels (the Elf Kingdoms, Great Western Ocean, New Coast, Albion, Norsca, Ind and Nippon). The historical timeline (WFRP1, p269) is also essentially unchanged from WFB2 (‘Battle Bestiary’, pp10-11).
The third map of the Warhammer world, from WFRP1 (November 1986)
The second map of the Warhammer world, from the second Citadel Journal (September 1985)
Where WFRP1 differs from what came before is in the addition of detail to the presentation of the Old World. There had previously been scattered and inconsistent references to the nations of the Old World, but they were now for the first time comprehensively described, with accounts of their terrain, rivers, cities, people, languages and politics.
The first map of the Old World, from WFRP1 (November 1986)
Of the Old World realms documented in WFRP1 only Estalia had not been mentioned in earlier materials. Bretonnia, the Wasteland and the Empire all reappear from prior sources under unchanged names. The Southern City States and Italia have become Tilea. The Princes have been renamed the Border Princes. The Grand Duchy has completed its transformation into Kislev (though it is notable that the WFRP preview article in WD82 refers to the area as “the Grand Duchy of Kislev”).
Each of the regions is based on obvious historical analogues in Renaissance Europe: Estalia, Spain; Bretonnia, France; the Wasteland, the Dutch Republic; the Empire, the Holy Roman Empire; the Tilean city states, the Italian city states; the Border Princes, the Balkans (perhaps with an eye on later history); Kislev, the Grand Duchy of Moscow and subsequent Tsardom of Russia.
The overwhelming majority of the settlements recorded in WFRP1 were new revelations. Only five cities (Marienburg, Middenheim, Nuln, Praag and Quenelles) and three dwarfholds (Caraz-a-Carak, Karak Kadrin and Karak Ungor) had received mention previously.* Thus locations like Altdorf, Athel-Loren and the Moot made their first appearance in the Warhammer setting.
It was in WFRP1 that the Old World was really born.
Summary of the Warhammer world’s geographical development**
The next post looks at WFRP1‘s treatment of religion and belief.
FOOTNOTE
* Caraz-a-Carak is the only place name in the setting that dates back to WFB1.
** Rows that are shaded grey contain elements that disappeared before WFRP1. Ideas in white rows survived until then, though possibly in modified form. Bold text highlights the first occurrence of a name that survived.
CHRONOLOGY
The following chart summarises the chronology of this post relative to others in this section of ‘The WFRP Story’.
Title art by John Blanche. Internal art by Dave Andrews et al. Used without permission. No challenge intended to the rights holders.
AWESOME LIES 
Somewhat undermines the current theology that WFRP is a roleplaying game based upon WFB. Indeed it actually seems as though if anything WFRP was driving the creative process.
Although I still feel that until the publication of the Enemy Within Campaign nothing had really breathed life into the WFRP world. For me at least it was the Enemy Within Campaign that was the initial work that inspired the WFRP community.
The WFRP 1e Rulebook seems ambiguous about the way the world was portrayed in your game leaving it very much up to the GM to decide which aspects of the book to use and providing rules for sandbox games.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, much of the WFB background was developed for WFRP, and even that mainly came together in the Enemy Within campaign.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is striking seeing how much of the familiar place names were only created for WFRP 1.
I can’t remember if you’ve delved into it in a previous article, but it really was a masterstroke basing the Warhammer world so heavily on the real one. Certainly it lacks originality but it means the whole world is instantly understandable to anyone with a passing knowledge of real world geography and history.
(Also it means you can have some great puns.)
LikeLike
My general knee-jerk reaction is to look at a core rulebook and then decide myself what my games with it will encompass. Subsequently-published adventure modules have no effect on my initial conclusions. Either they will support the game play I’ve settled on, or not. But the core presentation inspires or cohabits with my own decisions. From my POV, while TEW was a lot of fun, its existence doesn’t in any way say to me, “WFRP gaming should be about urban social interactions with corrupt officials and cults” (or however you prefer to summarize it).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I somewhat agree, and I think that WFRP certainly supports quite different styles of play from the “urban cults” style which it has become so associated with. Indeed, there are plenty of significant adventures that are not that, like Lichemaster in 1st edition and Barony of the Damned in 2nd.
At the same time, there’s no doubt that the 1e rulebook was presenting a vision of the Warhammer world that hadn’t really been fully nailed down, and I think the Enemy Within was a (if not the) major part of doing that “nailing down”.
LikeLike
On the points about whether the rulebook or TEW defined what WFRP was, I think it is clear that the conception of what the game was to be was evolving as the game was being written and different parts of it reflect the stages at which they were conceived. The back cover blurb, the world guide and the sample adventure all suggest one sort of game whereas other elements might point to a different sort of background or adventure style. For me, that is part of the charm of the book: gritty elements sit alongside gonzo fantasy and high magic.
I think it is worth noting that at time it was released TEW was published almost immediately and the adventures that came out for it at the time in WD were generally consistent with TEW. A tone was set, whether the rules always reflected it or not.
Great articles, as ever.
LikeLiked by 2 people