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Minireview: Forges of Nuln (Warhammer 2e)
Forges of Nuln is the finale of the Paths of the Damned adventure trilogy for Warhammer (2nd edition). From a design viewpoint, it’s a mix between the tight railroad of the first one and the almost total free-form sandbox of the second one. It’s also pretty good, on par with the previous book (and much better than the first one).
As the title implies, events take the PCs to Nuln. As always, this sort of transition involves a bit of railroading, but that railroad is made somewhat more interesting by framing it as a river cruise, with a murder mystery. It’s a fun diversion, marred by the fact that the PCs have extremely little chance of actually catching the guilty party. Since this subplot it mostly disconnected from the main one, it can also be left out if it doesn’t seem to fit in. After the cruise the PCs arrive in Nuln, and the main plot kicks into motion again. As in the previous parts, the driver here is the recovery of an artifact – a cursed chalice in this case. The PCs are given free rein in the city and a pile of clues and starting points, but on the other hand events outside their direct control are on a set timeline here – certain events happen at certain points unless the PCs interfere. Things spiral towards chaos, with a cataclysmic endgame which the PCs may or may not manage to stop or at least temper somewhat.
As with the previous parts, the book begins with a section describing the city of Nuln. It’s shortish, but contains enough locations and general flavor to let the GM improvise city events without needing to make everything up.
As a whole, the trilogy is in the “ok” category. It has great segments, but also a weak (i.e. over-railroaded) beginning. The “find X artifacts to prevent bad thing Y from happening” main plot is more than a bit tired, but at least the artifacts themselves have some plot potential and the three books are all quite different in style and plotting. It’s probably a fun campaign to play through, but the GM needs to step easy on the railroading and maybe rethink some bits and pieces to better suit the play group’s style.
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