Threats of the Old World: Everything Wants You Dead

A Bestiary of Nightmares

The Food Chain: Spoiler Alert - You're Not at the Top

In the Old World, danger comes in all shapes and sizes. From the mundane (angry merchants) to the apocalyptic (Greater Daemons), everything seems designed to end your career as an adventurer. Think of it as an ecosystem where you're simultaneously predator and prey, but mostly prey.

graph TD A[Threats to Your Existence] --> B[Mundane Threats] A --> C[Monstrous Threats] A --> D[Supernatural Threats] A --> E[Cosmic Threats] B --> F[Bandits/Thugs] B --> G[Wild Animals] B --> H[Disease/Starvation] C --> I[Beastmen] C --> J[Greenskins] C --> K[Skaven] D --> L[Undead] D --> M[Daemons] D --> N[Chaos Cultists] E --> O[Chaos Gods] E --> P[Your Own Hubris]

Threat Categories: From "Ouch" to "Oh Sigmar No!"

Common Threats: Your Everyday Nightmares

Highway Bandits WS: 30 | BS: 30 | Wounds: 10 • Appear in groups of 2d10 • "Your money or your life!" • Will flee if half are killed • Loot: 2d10 shillings each Danger: 2/5 💀💀 Giant Rats WS: 35 | BS: - | Wounds: 6 • Size of small dogs • Disease carriers (Ratte Fever) • Pack fighters (+10 when grouped) • Sign of Skaven nearby... Danger: 1/5 💀 Goblins WS: 25 | BS: 20 | Wounds: 8 • Cowardly (flee when it goes badly) • Animosity (might fight each other) • Poor equipment (rusty weapons) • Led by bigger, meaner goblins Danger: 2/5 💀💀 Zombies WS: 15 | BS: - | Wounds: 12 • Mindless (Immune to psychology) • Shambling and relentless • Painless (shrug off most crits) • Grave-stink you can taste Danger: 2/5 💀💀 Beastmen (Gor) WS: 40 | BS: 25 | Wounds: 15 • Hatred of civilization • Natural armor (Tough hide) • Ambush predators • Corrupting presence Danger: 3/5 💀💀💀 Chaos Cultists WS: 35 | BS: 30 | Wounds: 11 • Hidden in plain sight • Dark magic users (sometimes) • Fanatical (rarely surrender) • Mutations (roll on table) Danger: 3/5 💀💀💀 River Troll WS: 35 | BS: 10 | Wounds: 35 • Regenerates wounds every round • Vomit attack (acid damage) • Stupid (might forget to fight) • Fire damage won't regenerate Danger: 4/5 💀💀💀💀 Vampire WS: 60 | BS: 50 | Wounds: 25 • Undead (Immune to psychology) • Dark magic user • Superhuman strength/speed • Weaknesses (fire, beheading) Danger: 5/5 💀💀💀💀💀

The Skaven: They're Real (But Don't Tell Anyone)

Chaos: The Ultimate Threat

graph TD A[The Chaos Gods] --> B[Khorne] A --> C[Nurgle] A --> D[Tzeentch] A --> E[Slaanesh] B --> F[Blood God<br/>War & Murder] C --> G[Plague Lord<br/>Disease & Decay] D --> H[Changer of Ways<br/>Magic & Mutation] E --> I[Prince of Pleasure<br/>Excess & Perfection] F --> J[Bloodletters] G --> K[Plaguebearers] H --> L[Horrors] I --> M[Daemonettes]

Mutations: When Chaos Touches You

A Quick House Mutation Table (d100) 01-10: Extra fingers (harmless but creepy) 11-20: Scales (+1 armour, -10 Fellowship) 21-30: Third eye (+10 to Perception tests, obviously mutant) 31-40: Tentacle arm (extra grab, can't hold weapons) 41-50: Beast head (gain a bite, can't speak properly) 51-60: Wings (can glide, too obvious to hide) 61-89: Something worse (GM's choice) 90-00: Chaos Spawn (game over, roll a new character) This guide's shortcut; the Rulebook has full Physical and Mental mutation tables.

Survival Guide: Know Your Enemy

Real Encounter Example: When Things Go Wrong

The Ambush at Dusk

GM: "As you make camp by the road, you hear rustling in the bushes."

Players: "We ready weapons!"

GM: "Six pairs of red eyes gleam in the darkness. Roll Perception."

Players: *various rolls*

GM: "Those who succeeded notice goat legs beneath tattered cloaks. Beastmen!"

Player 1: "How many?"

GM: "Roll 2d10... *rolls 15* Plus the Bestigor leader makes 16."

Player 2: "We're four rat catchers and a beggar..."

Player 3: "RUN!"

GM: "Smart choice. Roll Athletics to escape..."

The Psychology of Fear

Many creatures cause Fear or Terror. This isn't just flavor—it's a game mechanic that can leave your character cowering when they should be fighting.

Fear and Terror Rules:

  • Fear (Rating): An Extended Cool test needing SL equal to the creature's Fear rating; until you pass, it has you rattled and you struggle to close in or act against it
  • Terror (Rating): Fail your Cool test and you gain Broken conditions (basically, run away screaming), and the creature still frightens you afterward
  • Things that cause Fear: Trolls, large monsters, horrible mutations
  • Things that cause Terror: Dragons, Greater Daemons, your party's bar tab

The Most Dangerous Enemy: Other Humans

Sometimes the real monsters walk on two legs and wear nice clothes. Noble conspiracies, witch hunters gone mad with power, and corrupt merchants can be deadlier than any beast.

"I've fought daemons, beastmen, and the living dead.
But the creature that frightens me most? Man."
- Captain Marcus Krueger, shortly before his mysterious disappearance

© 2026 Ray de la Paz. The Warhammer Fantasy RPG Guide. All rights reserved. · Ray's House of Fun
Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are trademarks of Games Workshop; the 4th edition is published by Cubicle 7. This guide is an unofficial fan resource.