A delight to read and play. While it looks like they aren’t putting out new stuff atm, there is more than enough in this book, let alone the supporting other books to carry you.

If I can recommend ONE house rule? It’s the addition of a Will stat that starts as per Luck. Wizards can use this as an additional pool to draw from BEFORE tapping Stamina… as well as setting this up as a ‘Sanity’ mechanic.

Even without this? This game is great.

I've been a GM for over 20 years, I have to say that this is a masterpiece!

What an incredible job! It's exactly what I was looking for in the OSR scenario, simplicity and great features and ideas for fantasy adventures! This fits perfectly into the game with little preparation but a lot of fun that I'm looking for!

E os suplementos! Certamente Greg é um autor fantastico e estou muito feliz de poder acompanhar toda a produção de conteudo para Warlock! Espero que Greg continue nos agraciando com ótimas aventuras e suplementos!

Warlock shows that we can have OSR outside the D&D paradigm. If you only knew about AC and HP and classes and levels, you should try Warlock. Warlock is gritty, flavourful and concise. Warlock is easy to grasp: seldom have I read a RPG rulebook so fast and still already felt ready for gaming. As a book Warlock is cheap and short and for a ruleset that's a big plus. It's a matter of taste but in my mind Warlock wins hands down compared to more bloated and crunchy systems.

Warlock! Traitor's Edition presents a fun, simple system of mechanics and still manages to capture the style of gaming it pays homage to. It reads so fast too. At 144 pages, I finished my read through in one sitting and I can't wait to get the game to the table.

Excellent system, excellent feeling: rule lite, quick character creation, dangerous magic, deadly combats... WOAW, exactly what I seek in a medieval-rpg! GET IT!

Only critic with this new edition: the paper is thinner than the first edition of Warlock!. It's a little bit disappointing.

But otherwise, just awesome book!

Warlock! is a fantastic game, easy to learn, easy to run, easy to play. I'm pretty sure I've already reviewed it in the original edition so for more thoughts definitely go check out the reviews there.

This Traitor's Edition then is a considerable facelift from the original with all updated layout, art, and design. As much as I like the look and feel of the original I get that it wouldn't appeal to all audiences which I think this edition largely addresses. So to all those that are wondering if they have the original and are unsure about whether to get this version as well, I say... why not!? It's a great game in whatever style and more copies is just more books you can hand out on game night when someone wants to check what are the skills of the rat catcher career. The only caveat I might offer is that there are a couple minor errors that might not be fixed in the print on demand physical copy but that Fire Ruby Designs is quick to correct and update in the pdf.

My first encounter with this game was references by people looking for the WFRP tone, but with simpler, easier rules. That made me curious.¶

So I bought it in PDF. This is a pre-play review - I've read the rules, but not yet played nor run it. Yet. That said...¶

• Simpler? Absolutely.
• Grimdark tone? Yes
• Ratcatchers with a small but vicious dog? Yep, but worded differently.
• Dangerous Magic? Yep
• Characters going insane from combat wounds? Nope.
• Characters suffering mutations from magic? only minor ones.
• Characters suffering mutations from exposure to evil beasts? Not really.
• No lasting damage until all HP are gone? Yes, but they're called Stamina here.¶

The core mechanic is a 1d20+Skill Rating >=20 succeeds. Modifiers may be applied by the GM. There are two attributes, and 32 skills, all of which have a rating. The attributes don't interact with the skills; one's "Stamina" - used as magic points and as hit points (a nice grimdark touch), the other is luck, whcih is a saving throw mechanic, but has limited uses. Advances are earned at GM determined milestones; each is a skill & stamina improvement; only skills in your current career can be raised. Very simple.¶

Given that any attack results in someone taking damage, and armor can only reduce damage to 1 point, not none, it's got a significant amount of "dangerous combat". The magic system has a high rate of mishaps - 1 in 20 castings. Combat overall is very clear, but not all in the same spot; only 4 actions are specified: Move, Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, and (in a different section) Cast a spell. ¶

One of the more novel elements: costs are randomized. There's a nice and short list of what to roll for the costs of various things.¶

Armor is very vague; only three mechanical categories. They're sensible, too. ¶

I like the skill driven mechanic, and that all skills have a score, and so a chance to be used.¶

Career Skills are a great idea, too. while in a given career, you gain a skill with the name of the career at the level of the lowest of the career's skills; when you exit that career, the score is fixed. So, anything that is within scope for a career, but not for its skills, has a default. ¶

Ok, so why only 4/5? I mean, it's clear that I like what I'm seeing... but...

• This, despite being a revised edition, has some clarity issues. EG: It took me a bit of time to grasp that there is zero starting skill increase from career, only allowance for future advances.
• Only 4 combat actions (and 1 of them not in the combat chapter)
• Only one (combined) list of spells; a distinction between priestly and sorcerous magic is made, but the spells are interchangeable as written - steal a priest's scroll, and your wizard can cast it.
• No Orks? WTF? (Especially since it has Goblins)
• No direct rules for traits, despite requireing 3 of them per PC.
• No sanity system. Grimdark is well served by sanity systems.¶

Those are all pretty minor. I do plan to bring this to table. I wonder how many of my negatives are fixed in the compendia...

This review will contain two parts. First part is about Warlock! itself and the other part will be for the differences and upgrade from the normal version of the Game.

Part 1 Warlock! itself: I love this game I picked it up about 1~ year ago and me and my grouped played it for that period every weekend. It has its roots which are pretty clear in a world where there is only war and it fullfills that niche with ease. This game feels gritty and dark fantasy but keeps a bit of humor that lightens it up well enough. It excells at ease of play making a character evolving it and using this system will come naturally to you by the first session as it is very easy to grasp. Its the game I would have liked to design as I am currently in the process of writing my own game but halted that as I have Warlock! now yes it is that good.

Positives:

• Easy to understand rules
• Evokes the feelings of its roots perfectly
• Awesome community that brings the game to life
• Flexible enough for your Fantasysettings and Worlds
• Easy to adjust and homerule

Negatives:

• Rules can feel barebones if you do not want to make rulings on the spot
• Base game can feel a bit barren but this is fixed with the multiple expansions

Part 2 Update from normal version to Traitor Edition:

If you dont have the other Warlock! base game dont read any further you want this. The visuals of this version are enhanced by a lot and it is a joy to read. The normal version by no means was bad or terrible but It had that indie band charm and I think that is no bad thing. This looks a lot nicer and makes it even easier to recommend this game as the old visuals was a turnoff for some people. While I will cherish my old copy of the base game as it has that oldschool feel I will recommend all people to use and buy this one in the future as it is just a straight up upgrade.

If you allready have the basegame like I do I think you should still pick up the new look if you can afford it as it just oozes the feeling of the game from every page.

Final Notes: Great Job to EvilDoctor from Fire Ruby Designs I think update will bring even more people to this game. If you are in the market for a muddy bloody fantasy game you should check out Warlock! :)