Which Old World?
Posted: 22 Oct 2026, 08:29
I though I would add something to this area of the forum; like many players, I put up with Age of Sigmar, it feels like a half remembered version of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, but does have some wonderful models and characters. GW has made it difficult to talk about "The Old World", as the current Old World game sits in a different time to the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer Fantasy Role Play. This is compounded by licensed Old World Role play and a separate license of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play.
Why does any of this matter? Well, I like to think that "The Old World" as it was imagined in the late 1980s established the themes and elements that have gone on to underpin the other elements of the Warhammer grimdark universes. (You could possibly argue in some ways that the common design team mean that the world of Titan, from Fighting Fantasy and Advanced Fighting Fantasy are also part of this lineage). However, what the Warhammer fantasy universe of the late 80s did establish was a visual and thematic language; black humour, gothic and Gothicism, cosmic and body horror and an often ludicrous small scale lens on enormous events.
So, do we mean the current game, or the wider post-medieval Europe inflected setting that the wider set of universes flow from?
Why does any of this matter? Well, I like to think that "The Old World" as it was imagined in the late 1980s established the themes and elements that have gone on to underpin the other elements of the Warhammer grimdark universes. (You could possibly argue in some ways that the common design team mean that the world of Titan, from Fighting Fantasy and Advanced Fighting Fantasy are also part of this lineage). However, what the Warhammer fantasy universe of the late 80s did establish was a visual and thematic language; black humour, gothic and Gothicism, cosmic and body horror and an often ludicrous small scale lens on enormous events.
So, do we mean the current game, or the wider post-medieval Europe inflected setting that the wider set of universes flow from?