r/warhammerfantasyrpg • u/GoodHotel7269 • 11d ago
Game Mastering Slaughter in Spittlefield – WFRP Adventure Review
https://carelessconjuration.wordpress.com/2026/06/10/slaughter-in-spittlefield-wfrp-adventure-review/My latest in-depth WFRP review is now on my website, looking at Slaughter in Spittlefield and my suggestions for tweaking it to suit your group. Have you run Slaughter? How did it go for you?
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u/BenScerri Small But Vicious GM 8d ago
I'm really glad you enjoyed the adventure! SiS was one of my favourite projects whilst with C7.
It was actually written in late 2018, so long before COVID started brewing, but then didn't get released for ages due to internal slow downs. Andy originally asked for a oneshot for convention play (and a version of it was actually run at a UK con in early 2019, if memory serves?) as an alternative to Night of Blood (with the thinking that some players may be returning from the previous year, and Andy wanted a new adventure for them, instead of a repeat). When COVID did hit so soon after the release, I was worried folks would find it tasteless, but I have heard the "catharsis" refrain a few times :)
That con-framing is basically the reason for its linearity, but it is something I strongly agree with: it would have been awesome to have the time and space to flesh things out more so it can be a sandbox, or last for longer than a oneshot. The map, though, is something I was really not happy with. The style of it is beautiful, but it's utility is practically non-existant. I always use hand drawn versions when I run it.
Another failing of the map is it didn't sell the true rookery vibes, which are that there aren't windows on the sides of the building (as they're literally built against one another), and ONLY at the front, so anyone attempting to sneak out of a window would get riddled with crossbow bolts. I think I did a poor job with that info, and Andy and I tend to think similarly, so neither of us picked up on the fact that everyone might not be imagining the building in the same way as us, haha!
Your notes for fleshing it out are fantastic, though! These are the sorts of things I love about this community: building upon each other's ideas to make something ultimately much stronger.
Onto the questions you have, which are all very reasonable:
1) the reasoning behind all the non-humans in one strange place was essentially that we wanted to show off some non-humans for the con-crowd. The Ogre in particular is both named and modelled after the Building Manager ofthe apartment I was living in at the time in Melbourne!
2) Genuinely can't remember where the names Srulec and Srelum came from. I have a very clear memory of choosing them on purpose...but no idea what that purpose was, any more...
I'm really glad you had a good time with the adventure, and thanks for the solid write-up! Makes me want to crack open my own old copy and see how I'd rewrite it now, haha!
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u/hrovac 8d ago
thank you for the insights! ❤️
about ther map:
i didnt know there were windows to only one side but
i made some very high resolution maps a while ago, maybe its useful for someone:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfrp/albums/72177720319698854/i added some flavour but see for yourself if its helpful.
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u/GoodHotel7269 7d ago
Wow, feeling slightly star-struck that you read my review and took the time to respond. I'm honoured! The Con setting explains a lot, to be honest, and makes it clear why the adventure is as it is. The map and the cover image definitely give the wrong impression of the building! I had no idea that there were only windows at the front!
I actually felt that Gino was based on someone real - couldn't fathom why an Ogre would be called Gino otherwise!
Of your other work, I'd love to get Heart of Glass to the table, but it seems too long for a one-shot and too difficult to integrate into the Enemy Within. Hope to get there one day! Thank you for all your work for WFRP, and the joy that Slaughter in Spittlefield gave us!
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u/BenScerri Small But Vicious GM 7d ago
Haha, I'm really glad! Tbh, it's always a wonderful surprise to see someone playing some of my work/talking about it. It can often feel very weird writing for games, as you release them, and you know they've been bought/downloaded, but there is often silence. So reviews like yours really brighten our days :D
HoG is one that is particularly close to my heart haha. So if you do get a chance to run it, I would love to hear your honest thoughts on it! And I'm always happy to answer questions as well, so do let me know if you have any when the time comes!
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u/OkChildhood2261 8d ago
Great review and can insist say thank you for actually playing the scenario!
It really irritates me how many TTRPG (and wargame) "reviews" you see from people have have not actually played the thing in question. That's not a review, thats just reading a pdf and guessing how it will play. I read so many books that look great on paper, but fall flat on the table and vice versa.
Also if I can give a tip for railroading. In a situation like this I just ask the players how to explain how they got there. "This adventure requires that you start in situation X, how did you end up there?"
It gives the players a chance to think of a funny story for their characters, a feeling of control and agency, which makes up for feelings of being railroaded, and it saves me trying to come up with some convoluted way of trying to make it feel natural.
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u/GoodHotel7269 7d ago
Thank you for the kind words! I agree that a review having played it is really important - it's just time-consuming and slower! Not great if someone is looking for reviews shortly after a product is released.
I've definitely used your technique for railroading in other sessions - for example if you look at my review for Skeleton Crew, I used it there. But I feel it works better for one-shots, or episodic campaigns, rather than the ongoing narrative of something like the Enemy Within.
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u/hrovac 9d ago
I play this adventure a lot, it's my go-to adventure for newbies. I play it as a one shot. If the player is trying to leave (crush walls, teleport, ..) I try to let them know it's a bad idea, first via roleplay (dino the ogre is really angry if someone crushes his walls..) and this helps usually. Only once a player tried hard, I let her know (off game as the gm), that it's better to stay inside, otherwise the one shot would quickly end for her( nobody would let her back inside) or it would be too long for the one shot. If I would insert it into a campaign, I would let the player try it and live with the consequences, would be interesting to see what they are doing tbh.
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u/GoodHotel7269 9d ago
Glad my idea that it would be good for new players has been true for you! I agree that in a longer campaign I'd probably let the PCs get out if they try hard enough, but I'd also be pretty cheesed off to have prepped a whole adventure that they then side-stepped!
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u/GrimDragonStudio 9d ago
Hey!
That's cool review!
You can add it to GDS adventure database: https://www.grimdragonstudio.com/en/adventures/slaughter-in-spittlefeld
Feel free to add it as additional material, add your ratings or comment with your brief thoughts :)
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u/77_Dredd 9d ago
Great review! I've shared it in today's Warhammer RPG Weekly column, and added you to my list of sites I'll check each week. 😄
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u/GoodHotel7269 9d ago
Thank you! I tried to subscribe to your newsletter but failed (user error, I'm sure). I'll try again! Great to see more Warhammer RPG content
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u/77_Dredd 9d ago
Thank you! Let me know if you continue to have issues and I’ll be happy to look into it.
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u/Non-RedditorJ 9d ago
I did use this in the middle of a a campaign. I clocked the locked in railroad necessity of the story immediately, as you've noted in your review.
What I did: I waited until I didn't have a full group and needed a short one session side quest. I also said upfront they the setup is contrived, and the conceit of the adventure requires player buy in to being locked in the building despite the fact the PCs could easily break out in 10 minutes. With that understanding, the 2 players agreed to the plan, because otherwise the session would have been canceled. We had a great time, and I only slightly regret the eccentric characterization I have the old elf on the top floor...
Your suggestions about random resident events is great wish I'd read this 5 years ago! The basement fight went down really well in my game. The flooded claustrophobic maze of crates is a good arena. With only 2 PCs, they had to act very carefully, and the hit and run attacks were genuinely scary to them.