To accompany my reviews of The Enemy Within: the Director’s Cut, I have put together some FAQ about the original campaign and its remake.

What is the Enemy Within campaign?

The Enemy Within was the original campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay‘s first edition, first published by Games Workshop in 1986 to 1989. It played a significant role in establishing WFRP‘s style of play, and is widely considered to be one of the great role-playing campaigns.

The first logo for the campaign

There was another campaign titled The Enemy Within released in 2012 by Fantasy Flight Games for WFRP‘s third edition. However, this was entirely different from the original and just reused the name. This version is not discussed any further in this post. If you’d like more information on it, see this review by Kelvin Green.

The Enemy Within for WFRP‘s third edition rules

What adventures made up the original Enemy Within campaign?

There is no straightforward answer to this question. The campaign was published in a number of different formats. The content scarcely differed between the different releases, but the titles did.

The first release format came in 1986-1987. This comprised only the first three parts of the campaign. The first was The Enemy Within (1986), which contained a guide to The Empire, advice on running a campaign and a short adventure titled ‘Mistaken Identity’. It was published in the standard module format of the time: a booklet with a detachable card cover, plus loose reference sheets and maps. The second instalment, Shadows Over Bögenhafen (1987), contained the second adventure, and took the same format. The third part, Death on the Reik (1987), was much larger and came in a boxed set. It contained an adventure book, a separate guide to river life in The Empire, plus maps and reference sheets.

Games Workshop then switched to publishing the campaign as hardback books. This meant The Enemy Within and Shadows Over Bögenhafen were bound together under the title Warhamer Campaign. Death on the Reik was also repackaged in hardback form. The campaign continued with a fourth instalment, Power Behind the Throne (1988), accompanied by a guide to the city in which it was set, called Warhammer City (1987). The fifth episode was Something Rotten in Kislev (1988) and the last Empire in Flames (1989).

Later still, Games Workshop produced two softback omnibus editions. Warhammer Adventure (1989) contained The Enemy Within, Shadows Over Bögenhafen and Death on the Reik. City of Chaos (1991) contained Power Behind the Throne and Warhammer City.

When Hogshead Publishing republished the campaign in 1995-1999 it used yet another arrangement. The original Enemy Within and Shadows Over Bögenhafen were combined, somewhat confusingly, under the title of the latter to form a new first part of the campaign (1995). Death on the Reik (1996), Power Behind the Throne (1998) and Something Rotten in Kislev (1999) were republished under the same titles (though Power Behind the Throne added a short adventure called ‘Carrion Up the Reik’). Warhammer City was reprinted as Middenheim: City of Chaos (1998), separate from the campaign. Empire in Flames was not reprinted; Hogshead planned an alternative finale, Empire in Chaos, which was never completed.

The Cubicle 7 PDF reissues of the original first-edition campaign follow the Hogshead presentation, except to add Empire in Flames.

To add to the complexity there is also a fan-made alternative finale, The Empire at War.

What is the Director’s Cut?

The Director’s Cut is Cubicle 7’s re-release of the original Enemy Within campaign for WFRP‘s fourth edition. It converts the adventures to the rules and setting of the new edition. It also updates and rewrites the adventures. It is being overseen by one of The Enemy Within’s original authors, Graeme Davis.

The first part of the Director’s Cut is (thanks to a serendipitous mishearing) called Enemy in Shadows. It is based on The Enemy Within and Shadows Over Bögenhafen. Death on the Reik and Power Behind the Throne will follow, and will be updates of the originals. The final stages of the campaign will be new adventures: The Horned Rat and Empire in Ruins.

The different editions are summarised in the table below:

Summary of editions of The Enemy Within

Why are the later adventures being replaced?

Something Rotten in Kislev was not originally intended to be part of the campaign, but was inserted for marketing reasons, displacing an adventure called The Horned Rat. The new edition reinstates the adventure originally intended for the campaign. Something Rotten in Kislev is generally considered a poor fit with the rest of the campaign.

Empire in Flames was a rushed finale and is also commonly considered unsatisfactory. In addition changes to the setting since 1989 mean it conflicts with the current Warhammer background.

What are the companion volumes?

Each of the five Director’s Cut adventures will have a separate companion volume of supplementary material. Cubicle 7 has given indications of the contents of the first three companions here, here and here.

The companion volumes are completely unrelated to the unofficial companion to the original Enemy Within campaign that I have produced.

What is the Collector’s Edition?

The Collector’s Edition is a special release containing the five adventure books and five companion volumes of the Director’s Cut. The books are presented in slipcases with alternative Tarot-inspired covers and separate wallets of handouts. Purchasers of the Collector’s Edition also receive emailed ‘Developer Diaries’ tracking the developers’ progress on the new edition.

Aside from the ‘Developer Diaries’, the Collector’s Edition has the same content as the Standard Edition of the Director’s Cut.

Do I need to buy the Collector’s Edition to get the companions?

No. The Collector’s Edition includes the companions, but they are also available separately.

When will the Director’s Cut be available?

Enemy in Shadows and the Enemy in Shadows Companion are available now in electronic and physical forms. Death on the Reik and the Death on the Reik Companion are also available as PDFs.

There has been no indication from Cubicle 7 when physical copies of Death on the Reik and the Death on the Reik Companion will appear. There is also no published timeline for any other releases in the campaign.

How good is the Director’s Cut?

For my own thoughts, see my reviews.

I intend to keep this post updated with the latest developments.

Title and internal art by John Blanche, Wil Rees, Ian Miller, Les Edwards, Richard Dolan, Ralph Horsley et al. Used without permission. No challenge intended to the rights holders.