Dînadan:
The Fourth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is up for pre-order:
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - Cubicle 7 Entertainment Web Store
After the radical changes Fantasy Flight made to the mechanics for Third ed, this edition will be returning to a D10/D100 system like the first two editions.
Any else looking forward to this? 
Admiral:
Nice! Never played it, but WHFRPG have always seemed fun. Is it true that you can die every time you mount a horse in these rules?
Dînadan:
I think that�?Ts an oversimplification (although if you don�?Tt have the animal handling and/or horse riding skills* there�?Ts probably a good chance of getting thrown which could lead to death) but WHFRP is a brutal system with plenty chances for messy ends; don�?Tt know if that�?Ts been preserved for 4th ed, but considering the designers are fans of the older two editions and it sounds like they�?Tre dedicated to replicating the spirit of those editions, I expect it to be as brutal as ever.
Similarly I expect they�?Tll stick to the old career system rather than going for D&D classes considering how iconic the Rat Catcher is to WHFRP.
I also approve of the return to D10s and D100s rather than Fantasy Flight�?Ts D8s with different symbols and in different colours; I found the FF dice system less intuitive and more awkward and clunky (played in a short campaign of 3rd as a player and GMed two sessions of 2nd, and personally I found 2nd easier and smoother to grasp). Mathematically speaking there�?Ts probably no statistical difference between needing X number of Y symbols on Z number of colour W dice and needing to roll under U with a +V modifier on a D100, but the latter is far less abstract and easier to work out, especially if it�?Ts a roll off as you just need to compare two numbers rather than trying to work out which symbol cancels out which.
I�?Tm hoping that it�?Tll be similar enough to 2nd ed that if I ever get the chance to GM a campaign (unlikely as my local club doesn�?Tt have much interest in RPGs and in my D&D group we�?Tre too busy playing D&D to squeeze another system in currently) then it won�?Tt be too difficult to convert the modules I�?Tve hot for 2nd ed across.
I�?Tm also glad that they�?Tve set it in the Old World as it�?Ts nice to see that that setting is being kept alive, and if this does well, then coupled with the success of Total War it might encourage GW to revive Fantasy somehow (even if it�?Ts just as a Specialist Game rather than a Main System).
* Talking of skills, I hope they retain skills like they had in 2nd ed (not sure if it was the same in 1st and 3rd) for things like read/write; for context, in 2nd ed, if your character didn�?Tt have read/write, then they were functionally illiterate (think they could still manage extremely simple things like writing their own name, but that was pretty much it), which is a nice characterful way of reflecting the setting I think. 
Poison:
was looking forward to this for a few years now… when will be the release date announced?
Dînadan:
was looking forward to this for a few years now... when will be the release date announced?Dunno, the pre-order for the regular edition says PDF expected to be delivered in June and the physical book in July though.
Poison
Dînadan:
Cubicle 7 have posted some info on FB:
Today we�?Tre going to tackle one of the most frequently asked questions about the new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: what, exactly, is the stat line? So, with no further ado, here it is:
Weapon Skill (WS) �?" close-quarters fighting ability
Ballistic Skill (BS) �?" ranged fighting ability
Strength (S) �?" physical strength
Toughness (T) �?" hardiness and healthiness
Initiative (I) �?" speed of thought, reaction, and awareness
Agility (Agi) �?" coordination and natural athleticism
Dexterity (Dex) �?" ability to perform delicate manual tasks
Intelligence (Int) �?" powers of thought, analysis, and understanding
Willpower (WP) �?" strength of mind and determination
Fellowship (Fel) �?" ability to influence and befriend others
Each of these Characteristics has a numerical value, along the same general scale as those used in the first and second editions of the game. That said, as WFRP4 has no upper limit, some nasty creatures have Characteristics soaring significantly higher than 100! Whatever the number, the first or �?~tens�?T digit of each Characteristic is its bonus value, which is used in a variety of different ways, including limiting Talents and defining spells, and determining Wound loss in combat.
Characteristics are used as the basis for your Skills. Much like second edition, skills come in two kinds, basic and advanced. Everyone has access to basic Skills, but advanced Skills can only be used if you have learned them, for example as part of your career.
You�?Tll note that we have Dexterity and Agility �?" why both? Those familiar with RPGs will have seen those terms used interchangeably. Dwarfs are a great example for why we wanted to include each as a discrete Characteristic. Dwarfs are known for their exquisite works of craftmanship rather than for being flexible acrobatics, and we believed supporting that difference was important, allowing Dwarfs to make intricate machines, jewellery, and artefacts, but not have a natural flair for dance. So we used Dexterity to reflect manual dexterity, leaving Agility to define nimbleness of the body.
Similarly, we wanted to differentiate between speed of body and speed of mind, so we have both Agility and Initiative. Agility is used for tests involving dodging, dancing and similar movements of the body. By comparison, Initiative is used for perceiving, reacting and intuiting what�?Ts happening in the world around you.
Stay tuned for more previews in the coming weeks! We�?Tre hard at work with the finishing stages of preparing the game and will keep you posted as we finalise delivery times. The PDF will be the first thing released, followed by the physical books. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered the game, both directly through us and through your friendly local game store. To find out more about pre-ordering, take a look here - http://shop.cubicle7store.com/epages/es113347.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es113347_shop/Categories/Warhammer_Fantasy_Roleplay
Dînadan:
For those that pre-ordered this, the preview copy pdfs are out; been having a quick flick through mine and can confirm it is indeed closer to 1st/2nd ed than 3rd with nary a weird die to be seen.
Also good news is that the Rat Catcher still comes with a small (but vicious) dog as standard. 
Haven�?Tt looked through the rules in depth yet, but from what I can tell it shouldn�?Tt be too hard to convert over the modules for the first two editions if you�?Tve got them.
One thing that caught my eye on one of the random tables is on the table for how the gods react to religious characters that have offended them with one of the results being:
A Devine Servant of your deity appears within 1d100 yards and attacks, intervenes, berates or similar, according to the nature of the relevant god.Emphasis mine; just gives me the mental image of the Devine Servant of the halflings goddess of hearth and home appearing and wagging a finger at the offending character saying �?oNaughty boy; now go to your room without any supper!�?� �Y~,