MEET THE TEAM PART 2 (Patreon)

In the previous post, I introduced the first half of our team. Let's finish that off with the second half. Everyone say hi to Andy Leask, Cath, Dan, and Lindsay!

First up, my partner in crime, Mr Andy Leask...

I’m Andy Leask. English teacher by day; RPG writer by night; nerd 24-7. Alongside Andy & Lindsay Law, and Mark Gibbons, I’m one of the directors of Rookery Publications, and I regularly participate in our weekly Inside The Rookery streams. Recently I’ve combined my worlds: introducing students to RPGs by GMing the WFRP Starter Set, which was a lot of fun. I’m an EV-driving, Fairphone-using, gluten-intolerant pescetarian with a love of books, coffee, dark chocolate, and prestige TV drama, and if given half a chance I will bore you to death by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of fictional narratives.

What got you into roleplaying?

I think I’ve always enjoyed playing in the realm of the imaginary; I’ve been playing 'proper' RPGs since I was about 9, but I’ve always enjoyed crafting and telling stories, even making up bedtime stories for my little sisters when I was a kid. As a teenager I was constantly playing and running RPGs: WFRP, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, MERP, Stormbringer, Paranoia, Call of Cthulhu… It was a chance to create new stories, and especially new characters. Character generation is, hands-down, my favourite bit of playing RPGs.

What’s your experience of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?

Other than some early, confused dabbling with the D&D red box, WFRP1 was my first tabletop RPG. I’ve been playing it since the 80s, and it remains the game I’ve played most (narrowly pipping Vampire: The Masquerade to the post). More recently, I wrote for WFRP4, having a hand in the core book, the WFRP Starter Set (Ubersreik 4 Lyfe!), Archives of the Empire Volume 1 and The Enemy Within. I love the game, warts and all, it remains my favourite fantasy setting.

What are you playing?

I am playing Father Luitpold, a Warrior Priest of Sigmar. An orphan, he was raised in the Cult, becoming an initiate under Sister Habercorn in Ubersreik, an NPC I had the pleasure of writing for the WFRP Starter Set. He was ordained and served as a priest in the Order of the Torch, before leaving Reikland and taking a different path. Now an itinerant preacher of the Order of the Silver Flame, he travels the realm helping those in need, spreading the good word of Sigmar and protecting the Sacred Flame in Middenheim (from afar). A bit like The Littlest Hobo.

What do you most enjoy about your character?

I enjoy digging under the surface of tropes, and exploring more nuanced backgrounds. Sigmarite Warrior Priests have a very one-note presentation in Warhammer lore, on the whole, but Luitpold is very much not like that. A devout sigmarite, his view of his god, and his cult, are far from orthodox. Something that is sure to get him into trouble at some point…

If you couldn’t play your current character, which other PC would you like to play?

Well, the easy answer would be Gerhardt, given in an earlier, aborted playthrough of The Enemy Within I did play a (very different) version of the character. But while all the PCs have their virtues, I think Elrick, our Bright Wizard is probably my favourite. I love Wizards in general, and the Colleges of Magic have such interesting backstory and flavour. Plus Elrick has added wrinkles to his background…but you’ll have to wait for that to come out in the show!

Next up is marvellous Cath, who is playing a character with more twists than the Great Fen Worm of the Grootscher Marsh.

Hi, I’m Cath Evans.  In my real life, I play a business manager for a large financial institution – but I’m really a cheerful nerd with a passion for the imaginary. Often found with my nose in a book, making a good G&T, hanging out with my delightful friends playing board games, or sitting around a table pretending to be someone more exciting in various TTRPGs.  I’m originally from Orrell, a village near Wigan in the Northwest of England, but I’ve lived in Edinburgh ever since I graduated, so I consider myself northern both geographically and philosophically now.

What got you into roleplaying?

I joined the roleplaying club at high school as the only girl at the age of 13 and I’ve been playing regularly ever since – thanks Mr. Pennington!  I cut my teeth on AD&D & red box D&D but stops along the way have included RuneQuest at sixth form college, WARSOC at the university of St Andrews for 4 years (Shadowrun, D&D, Vampire the Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu etc.) as well as dipping into a variety of other RPGs with friends over the years.

I was lucky enough to find my tribe right out of university, so I’ve been playing (and occasionally GMing) with an ever-expanding gang of like-minded and delightful people for the last 20-odd years – mostly D&D3.5 and 5E with a sprinkling of Pathfinder and CoC.

What’s your experience of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?

My first introduction was WFRP1 at university – but then nothing since. When the opportunity came up to play it again, I jumped at the chance – especially given the experience of the rest of the party in the WFRP space! We’ve been prepping for a year now, so I’ve been dipping my toe into the world. But there’s so much more to learn, which I love. As you can imagine, I’m super-excited to be playing The Enemy Within with such a brilliant bunch of folk.

What are you playing?

I’m playing a taciturn and rather violent Ratcatcher from Middenheim called Birdie, short for Brunhilda, and her Small but Vicious Dog, Meatpie. She’s trying to work out her place in the world after a rough childhood and a career to date spent in tunnels dealing with vermin. She’s pushing her comfort zone as she finds herself rubbing shoulders with nobility, wizards, and even an elf in some very unlikely situations.

Oh, and she has some pretty HUGE secrets...

What do you most enjoy about your character?

My day job requires a lot of diplomacy, consideration, and strategic thinking – so playing a character who is much more visceral, direct, and no-nonsense is great fun. Birdie gets to say the things everyone is too polite or ethical to say. While the politics of the Empire swirl about her, she gets to be the practical one – even if her practicality is a little too forceful sometimes. Diplomacy served with a big stick! That said, she’s also a character of layers, whose complexity will be revealed through The Enemy Within, so she’s a fun challenge to play, too.

If you couldn’t play your current character, which other PC would you like to play?

I love playing a Ratcatcher – but if I had to swap, I’d probably choose Andy’s character and play a Priest of Sigmar. The contrast between the two careers is stark, and the constraints of playing a character trying to adhere to a strict code in a world gone mad is really appealing. That said, Andy plays Luitpold so beautifully I wouldn’t want to swap!

Our next player is the inimitable Dan, the marvellous fellow who took most of the pictures used int the Meet the Team blogs.

I’m Dan. Like the rest of this group, I’m a big nerd. Outside of that, I’m a fan of climbing (specifically bouldering), faffing about in the gym, and photography. Oh, and I’m also going to be crushing Ed at Blood Bowl soon!

What got you into roleplaying?

As a kid, my friends and I were super into Warhammer and would hang around the local GW shop painting and generally annoying the staff. When they eventually told us there was a roleplaying game we convinced the store manager to do a campaign in the store after hours!

What’s your experience of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?

WFRP 1st edition, baby! Played that and started a TEW campaign at the tender age of 13, but then didn’t play again until I stumbled upon 4th edition.

What are you playing?

I’m playing a very complex wizard. Basically, I set things on fire, a lot.

Sure, there is more to Elrick, but that will come later...

What do you most enjoy about your character?

He has a very interesting internal struggle that will hopefully resolve itself as the campaign goes on and he grows.

If you couldn’t play your current character, which other PC would you like to play?

Alo-whatever I can’t spell her name! But who wouldn’t want to play an Elf and do bullshit elf things?

'See that guy in the tree about 6 miles away? Well, of course YOU can’t, but my Elf eyes can. Anyways I’ve rolled 170 on my D100 so that’s a hundred success levels and he has basically exploded from my arrow’

And, talking about bullshit Elf players, last but not least is Lindsay. And, yes, she is playing a bullshit elf. So, it's only right that she have a photo taken in a tree...

I’m Lindsay Law, by day a mild-mannered Head of Audit in a Bank, and by night, International Woman of Mystery! I’m one of the Directors of Rookery Publications, and host of Inside the Rookery, where we stream weekly with insiders in the TTRPG industry. In my spare time, I volunteer in my local community, train in iaido at my local dojo or lift weights at the gym, and practice Norwegian so I can become truly mysteriously international.

What got you into roleplaying?

When I was 7 my brother and I went around to a boy’s house in my local village to play games and we ended up playing red box D&D, MERP, and Judge Dredd. I played an elf called Angel. It felt like a natural extension of the make-believe games we all played in the playground where we took on characters from Star Wars or Ghostbusters. Later I got back into it when was about 15. My boyfriend at the time suggested we play WFRP1 and I never stopped playing.

What’s your experience of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?

I have played every edition of the game, and have written and edited for WFRP4. I’ve also read so many of the novels and categorised locations for Andy Law’s master map. During my many WFRP campaigns, I have played various characters and lived through many different iterations of the world. When I was writing for WFRP4 it felt like remembering rather than creating, because for much of what I contributed (especially the Careers in the core book), I was writing from my experience of meeting characters in those careers in our sessions!

What are you playing?

I am playing Alamennowyth Shadowvale, a mysterious, young Eonir spy from the Laurelorn who walks the Path of Shadows. Not even her face is what it appears to be...

What do you most enjoy about your character?

I love working out ways to portray her as elven, rather than human, in subtle ways. The way I describe her movements or the way she perceives the world and interacts with other characters, and I really like to focus on my own passions (for example, language and etymology), to inform this.

If you couldn’t play your current character, which other PC would you like to play?

This is a hard question. I have played a lot of the archetypes or careers these characters represent over the years. For example, I would love to play Elrick, but I have played a Bright Magister twice before, so maybe I wouldn’t bring enough new energy to it? I have also played a noble character a number of times and played many religious characters: Shallya, Myrmidia, and Ulric. So, I think I would like to play Birdie the Rat Catcher, but I am not sure I could make her as terrifying as Cath does!

And that's everyone. Tomorrow, we all gather on Twitch to start playing the Enemy Within!