Death on the Reik

Last updated
Death on the Reik, role-playing supplement.jpg

Death on the Reik is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1987 as the third installment of The Enemy Within Campaign created for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay .

Contents

Description

Death on the Reik is the third part of The Enemy Within campaign, and picks up where the previous supplement, Shadows over Bogenhafen, ends. The characters become river traders on the River Reik, the largest waterway in the Empire, [1] and must interact with various encounters such as pirates and mutants in order to follow the thread of the campaign adventure. [2] As critic Paul Pettengale noted, "the main thrust of the plot here involves a piece of Warpstone that crashed to the ground from the skies over 100 years ago, and the attempts that a band of Skaven are making to recover it." [3]

Publication history

The six-part campaign The Enemy Within, designed for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, was published between 1986 and 1989. The third installment, Death on the Reik, was written by Phil Gallagher, Jim Bambra, and Graeme Davis, with cover art and illustrations by Martin McKenna and Ian Miller, and cartography by Charles Elliot. It was released in 1987 [4] as a boxed set containing an 88-page adventure book, a 20-page rules supplement, 20 pages of player hand-outs, a map of the area and a map of Reikland Castle. [2]

Games Workshop republished the first three parts of The Enemy Within in 1989 as Warhammer Adventure. [5]

In 1995, Hogshead Publishing acquired the license to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and published an updated version of the series as a series of softcover books. [6]

In 2017, Cubicle 7 acquired the license for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, [7] and in 2019, began publishing a Director's Cut of the campaign for the fourth edition of the game, including a new edition of Death on the Reik, which was accompanied by a separate companion volume with additional bonus material. [8]

Reception

In the July–August 1988 edition of Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (Issue No. 82), Richard A. Edwards had high praise for Death on the Reik, commenting that, "Those Game Masters who want a well done town for use in their own campaign could certainly use the information provided ... The graphical presentation of this series is amazing. The detailed castle map is useable in any gaming situation which could require one and the river material is likewise useable in other systems. But the real value of this package is as part of the continuing saga of The Enemy Within." [9]

In the September 1987 issue of White Dwarf, Phil Gallagher noted the "variety of locations throughout the Reikland, with numerous sub-plots and motivations for the GM to use as prods when necessary." Gallagher concluded that the end of the adventure, "should provide more than a few tense moments for the players, not to mention a shock or two." [2]

Stewart Wieck reviewed Death on the Reik in White Wolf #9 (1988), rating it a 9 out of 10 and stated that "The Enemy Within, Shadows Over Bogenhafen, and Death on the Reik are all very attractive and worthwhile supplements." [10]

In Issue 3 of the Finnish magazine Sininen Lohikäärme, Harri Heinonen thought that this supplement was "Worth the price, and was chosen as the best adventure in 1987." Henonen also noted that Death on the Reik "comes with a lot of additional material." [11]

In Issue 15 of the British games magazine Arcane , Paul Pettengale reviewed the Hogshead edition of Death on the Reik and was impressed, commenting "The level of detail of which Death on the Reik can boast is impressive - even if the player characters pick up on just half of it, they're going to be able to appreciate that this is a finely-crafted adventure. The depth of the plot, the characters which are there to be met, and the glorious locations make this one of the finest adventures you're ever likely to run or play - rarely are scenarios that you buy as good as the ones you write yourself, but in this instance, you're going to be awestruck by the sheer quality of what's been put together." Pettengale concluded by giving Death on the Reik a excellent rating of 9 out of 10. [3]

Related Research Articles

Black Industries was the role-playing game imprint of BL Publishing, the publishing arm of Games Workshop. It was announced on January 28, 2008 that it would cease operations after its products currently scheduled for release are published.

The Enemy Within campaign is a series of adventures for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay where hidden powers of Chaos plot the destruction of the Empire. It was originally published by Games Workshop in the late 1980s. Praised as a detailed campaign that actually told a story, it was voted the best RPG campaign of all time by Casus Belli magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeme Davis (game designer)</span> British writer and role-playing game designer

Graeme Davis is a game designer, writer, and editor in the tabletop role-playing game industry.

<i>Something Rotten in Kislev</i> Role-playing game supplement

Something Rotten in Kislev is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1988 as the fifth installment of The Enemy Within Campaign created for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Although it received good critical reception, there were complaints that this product did not match the previous four installements in tone, and in a later edition of the campaign, Something Rotten in Kislev was replaced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Pramas</span> American game designer

Chris Pramas is an American game designer and writer, as well as a founder of Green Ronin Publishing. He is best known as the designer of the Dragon Age RPG, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and Freeport: The City of Adventure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cubicle 7</span> Publisher of tabletop role-playing games

Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd is an Irish games company that creates and publishes tabletop games. Best known for its Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings games, Cubicle 7 offers titles covering a range of licensed and self-developed properties.

<i>Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay</i> Fantasy roleplaying game

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay or Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play is a role-playing game set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, published by Games Workshop or its licensees.

James Wallis is a British designer and publisher of tabletop and role-playing games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Masters</span> British role-playing game designer and author

Phil Masters is a British role-playing game designer and author.

Phil Gallagher is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.

Jim Bambra is a British designer and reviewer of fantasy roleplaying games (RPG), and a former company director. He is particularly known for his contributions to Dungeons & Dragons, Fighting Fantasy, Warhammer, and Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game which was based on the Star Wars films. Later he became head of design at MicroProse, then managing director of Pivotal Games, a publisher of video games including Conflict: Desert Storm.

Hogshead Publishing was a British game company that produced role-playing games and game supplements.

<i>The Enemy Within</i> (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) Role-playing game supplement

The Enemy Within is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1986 for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay as the introduction to the 6-part The Enemy Within Campaign.

<i>Shadows Over Bögenhafen</i> Fantasy role-playing game suppplement

Shadows Over Bögenhafen is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1987 as the second installment of The Enemy Within Campaign created for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

<i>Apocrypha Now</i> Role-playing game supplement

Apocrypha Now is a 1995 role-playing game supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay published by Hogshead Publishing.

<i>The Restless Dead</i> (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) Role-playing game supplement

The Restless Dead is a series of adventures published by Games Workshop in 1989 for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

<i>Warhammer Campaign</i> Role-playing game supplement

Warhammer Campaign is a set of two adventures published by Games Workshop (GW) in 1988 for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

<i>Power Behind the Throne</i> (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) Role-playing game supplement

Power Behind the Throne is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1988 as the fourth installment of The Enemy Within Campaign created for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

<i>Empire in Flames</i> Role-playing game supplement

Empire in Flames is a supplement published by Games Workshop in 1989 as the final installment of The Enemy Within Campaign created for the fantasy role-playing game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Many players found this product disappointing, and in a later edition of the campaign, it was heavily revised.

References

  1. "Death on the Reik". Guide du Rôliste Galactique (in French). 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  2. 1 2 3 Gallagher, Phil (September 1987). "Open Box". White Dwarf . No. 93. p. 3.
  3. 1 2 Pettengale, Paul (January 1997). "Death on the Reich". Arcane . No. 15. p. 68.
  4. Appelcline, Shannon. "An A to Z of RPGs". RPGNet. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  5. "The Enemy Within Campaign". RPGGeek. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  6. Appelcline, Shannon (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '90s. Evil Hat. p. 221. ISBN   978-1-61317-084-7.
  7. David Miller (24 May 2017). "New Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Coming From Cubicle 7" . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  8. Callum Bains (24 December 2021). "How Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay rebooted a seminal RPG adventure" . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  9. Edwards, Richard A. (July–August 1988). "Warhammer Fantasy". Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer . No. 82. p. 42.
  10. Wieck, Stewart (1988). "Review: Warhammer Fantasy Role Play". White Wolf Magazine . No. 9. p. 36.
  11. Heinonen, Harri (1989). "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay". Sininen Lohikäärme (in Finnish). No. 3. p. 13.