Interview: Alfred Nunez Jr

I’m thrilled to have been able to interview Alfred Nunez Jr, a legend in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Alfred has been writing official and unofficial material for WFRP since the late 1990s, with his work published in the 1st, 2nd and 4th editions of WFRP. This includes Dwarfs: Stone and Steel, and contributions to Realms of Sorcery (for 1st edition), Archives of the Empire (vol 1), Altdorf: Crown of the Empire, Lustria (all for 4th edition), as well as more besides. He has also created many unofficial sourcebooks, gazeteers and adventures for WFRP 1st and 2nd edition, and is an incredibly prolific unofficial mapper of the Warhammer world.

His unofficial works can be found on his website www.madalfred.com 

Alfred Nunez Jr (photo from his website, with permission)

Zekiel: How did you get into WFRP originally? And how did you come to write for Hogshead Publishing?

Alfred: I was introduced to WFRP by Anthony Ragan¹ in 1986 when he returned from GenCon with a cool new game.  I would soon after get my own copy and in about two years’ time I got my playing group to leave AD&D for WFRP.

When it came to writing for Hogshead, I can (once again) thank Anthony.  Through him (and the old WFRP mailing list), I was able to meet James Wallis and worked at the Hogshead booth when I attended GenCon in 1997.  I also wrote a few WFRP convention scenarios over the next couple of years for Hogshead.  Working the Hogshead booth gave the ample time to get to know James and talk Warhammer.  Eventually, this led to talking about Dwarfs and pitching an idea of a Dwarf sourcebook.  I like to think it helped that my knowledge of Warhammer lore at the time was thorough.

Zekiel: I’m a huge fan of Warhammer maps and you have produced a staggering amount of them (see www.madalfred.com). What got you started on mapping Warhammer? How do you use them in your own games?

Alfred: Thanks for being a fan of my maps.

I’ve always loved maps and drew them almost as soon as I began roleplaying.  I loved the maps that came with the Enemy Within campaign.  I started drawing WFRP maps shortly after my TEW campaign ended in 1992.  My first maps were an effort to provide more details to the various Old World realms, including the Empire.  My first map of Norsca was drawn for use in the 1995 Norsca project on the WFRP mailing list.

I didn’t use any of the early maps in my own game since we never left the Empire.  I started drawing more detailed maps during the Hogshead years.  I drew a city map of Marienburg and regional map of the Wasteland that was the basis of the maps that appeared in the Marienburg sourcebook as well as the maps that appeared in the Dwarf sourcebook.  I started working on provincial maps of the Empire just after Hogshead returned the WFRP license back to GW.  That’s about the time I started making more usable and detailed maps for my WFRP group.

My more detailed maps (which I am still drawing) gave my players a better sense of the environment in which their characters were operating. 

Alfred’s Middenland map, also used in the article header (reproduced with permission from his website).

Zekiel: Can you give your thoughts on how WFRP has developed over the years since first edition? 

Alfred: Until 4^th edition, I didn’t really like how WFRP developed.  In my view, the gritty, shades of grey, corrupting world of 1^st edition essentially changed into Warhammer Battle roleplay.  Spiky bits were everywhere and wizards went from looking like ordinary folk to flashy, D&D knock-offs.  In all truth, I stopped paying attention to 2^nd edition when their version of Realms of Sorcery came out.  In that book, they essentially elevated Wizards to being the equals of the nobility without addressing the reactions of the old nobility to these usurpers.  Later 2^nd edition products might have toned this down a bit, but I was back to developing the first edition world.

My sense of 3^rd edition is that it was more like Warhammer the boardgame with its cards and special dice.

In my opinion, 4^th edition brought back much of the magic of 1^st edition in terms of bringing back much of the 1^st edition background and enhancing it.  I am pleased to be part of this effort.

Zekiel: I agree about the change of tone in WFRP, and I’m delighted that 4th edition seems to be recapturing the tone of 1st edition!

Which editions of WFRP have you played, and what would you say are their strengths and weaknesses?

Alfred:  I still only play 1^st edition WFRP.  Its strength is its background and simplicity of play.  In the decades of GMing, I have come to prefer a rules-lite game.  I also have a vested interest in 1^st edition in that I have spent so much time making it my own.

While I am having a blast writing for 4^th edition, I cannot foresee my group moving to that edition.  The basic reason is the cost to everyone to move to the new system (since we rotate the GM chair) is fairly prohibitive as many of us are retired. 

Zekiel: There’s a lot to be said for familiarity. What have been your favourite publications from each edition of WFRP (either your own, or written by other people)? 

Alfred: In 1^st edition, my favourite publication is Shadows over Bögenhafen as it set the tone of the game followed closely by Marienburg: Sold down the River. 

Sigmar’s Heirs was my favourite 2^nd edition book. I don’t own a 3^rd edition publication. Sorry.

Archives of the Empire, volume 1 is my favourite 4^th edition book.  What can I say?  I love background.  Salzenmund is a close second as it was the first sourcebook to break new ground.

Zekiel: You were one of the authors of The Empire at War – a hugely ambitious alternative finale to The Enemy Within campaign in place of the much-derided official adventure Empire in Flames. Can you talk us through the aims behind that adventure, and how it came to be written? Which bits were you responsible for and how did you go about writing them?

Alfred: Empire at War came about as one of the criticisms of Empire in Flames is that it did a poor job of wrapping up a number of threads from earlier parts of the Enemy Within.  James Wallis had a plan to rewrite the finale, but he returned the WFRP license to GW before that plan was realised.  There was also a need to have an ending within both Emperor Karl-Franz and Graf Boris Todbringer survived as both appeared in Fantasy Battle during the Storm of Chaos². 

The aim of EaW was to (hopefully) bring a more satisfactory ending to the Enemy Within while bringing the aftermath more in line with what Games Workshop did with changing some of the Electors in the Storm of Chaos.

EaW was a project I drove and did the majority of the writing.  As I recall, John Foody of Warpstone fame wrote the Talagaad portion and I incorporated Paul Alder’s commentary.  Tim Eccles was credited as I used some of the background he developed for his A Private War campaign.  I also used some material from the Bergsburg Project in EaW.

I had some idea where I wanted the scenario to go and just wrote it.  When developing scenarios, I do not use an outline.  I just write and see where the story takes me.  I did know that I should not use the appearance of a Changer of the Ways at the end since I did not want to rip off that surprise ending from EiF.  So, I took a slightly different approach to the final battle.

Zekiel: You also wrote the adventure Pretty Things for 2nd edition³, which I think serves as a very nice introduction to the Warhammer world for new players. What were your aims when writing it? Were you happy with how it turned out?

Alfred: My aim in writing Pretty Things (working title “Roadkill”) was to present how the Empire was a darkly capricious and deadly place.  The editors at Green Ronin made two changes, which did not sit well with me.

The first change was in the scene “Hang ‘Em High” wherein the PCs had an opportunity to save Heinz Gerber.  In my original version, there was simply no way to prove Heinz Gerber’s innocence or guilt.  He was either an outsider who was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an outlaw.  The PCs are pressed into service as a jury to give the whole affair the air of legitimacy.  A merchant from Gersdorf was determined to get his revenge.  So, the trial is really a show and the verdict predestined.  The only thing left was to see how well Heinz dies in the morning (or if the PCs set him free before then).

The second change was in “Visiting Ossino.”  In the printed version, Moritz Hausier is a grief-stricken, paranoid man who believes Bianka is his long-dead daughter Helga.  In my original version, Moritz was a slaver.  At the time, GW had decided that such a career was not appropriate for their game.  I obviously thought otherwise given that career’s appearance in 1^st edition.  

Zekiel: Your sourcebook Dwarfs: Stone and Steel was one of the last official publications for 1st Edition WFRP. I am guessing that you are a particular fan of Dwarfs – what appeals to you about them? 

Alfred: Unlike AD&D, Games Workshop made Dwarfs a fun race to play.  They are dour on one hand, but rowdy beer-guzzling drunks on the other.  If one can manage to befriend a Dwarf, then one will have an ally until death.  Woe to the person who crosses a Dwarf and gets an entry into that Dwarf’s Book of Grudges.

Zekiel: And how do you go about writing Dwarf lore in a way that makes them distinct from Middle Earth (or D&D) dwarves?

Alfred: All I really did was take the bits GW wrote about Dwarfs and tried to make them relatable, though somewhat alien, race.  This was especially important given the Dwarfs’ shared history with the Empire and the mutual influence they each had on one another.  I knew Dwarfs to be very clannish on one hand, while caring about their own individual reputation on the other.  My goal was to make Dwarfs distinctive from Manlings as well as give insights in how the stout folk approach life.

Zekiel: You seem to have become the go-to guy for Dwarfs in WFRP, having written the Dwarf bits in Archives of the Empire and Altdorf: Crown of the Empire! I really liked the chapter on Imperial Dwarfs in Archives, which I felt did a great job of presenting them as long-settled immigrants. I’m afraid I’m very ignorant about Imperial Dwarfs – was there a lot of material in Warhammer lore for you to draw on, or was much of it your own invention? 

Alfred: First, let me say that I am really appreciative to the folks at Cubicle 7 for giving me the opportunities to revisit Dwarfs in 4^th edition.  There were things briefly touched on in Stone and Steel that needed elaboration, but could not due to word count considerations and my decision to focus on covering other material from other GW products (like Dwarfen warships from Man O’ War).

One of the areas Stone and Steel mentioned all too briefly was the difference of Imperial Dwarfs (then known as Expatriate Dwarfs) from Karak Dwarfs (known as Imperial Dwarfs in 1^st edition).  Archives allowed me to further elaborate what was mentioned in a small section of Stone and Steel and give the differences between the separate Dwarf populations additional depth.   I don’t believe GW ever made a distinction between Dwarfs from the mountain realms and those living in the Manling realms.  So, most of what is written in this chapter is my own invention, even if some of it came from the 1^st edition Dwarf sourcebook. 

Zekiel: Is there anything you would particularly like to see in WFRP’s future?

Alfred: I would like to see more of the Imperial provinces developed, even if such would be at odds with what I have unofficially developed.  I also think another campaign would be nice, especially if such were used to cover Imperial provinces in more depth.  I am thinking of something along the lines of my unofficial Gathering Darkness campaign for 1^st edition⁴.  That campaign allowed me to cover much of Wissenland, Sudenland, southern Reikland, and the Dwarf kingdom of Karak Hirn.  

Zekiel: Agreed – I would love to see more detail on other provinces of the Empire! That would be amazing.

Finally – do you have a favourite WFRP pun?

Alfred: The Dwarf war cry “Mhinz Abeir”.

Zekiel: Fantastic! 

Thank you so much for your time Alfred, some fascinating insights into WFRP’s past and present. I hope we get to see more of your work in print in WFRP’s future!

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Make sure to check out Alfred’s website to find his Warhammer maps, WFRP scenarios (including Empire at War) and more. To hear more from Alfred (including lots more about his maps), check out an interview that Federico da Remas did with him recently on the Warhammer Wiki.

1. Who I’ll be interviewing soon for this blog! ↩︎
2. The Storm of Chaos was a big participatory campaign in the wargame in 2004 which formed a major part of the WFRP 2nd Edition background ↩︎
3. Available in the Gamemaster’s Pack ↩︎
4. Also available on Alfred’s website under ‘WFRP Scenarios’ ↩︎