Though Games Workshop saw success following the publication of the popular The Enemy Within campaign series a small number of additional supplements (including a character pack, Gamemaster's screen, and the aforementioned Realm of Chaos books), it made the decision to refocus its business.

Nexus Editrice, one of the main RPG publishers in Italy, asked for a licence from Games Workshop.

This success helped bring new licences soon after, including German and Czech ones, which used Nexus's layout and artwork.

Hogshead published a revised edition of the main WFRP rulebook, as well as reprints of the Enemy Within campaign.

Hogshead was subject to a number of restrictions in its rights regarding the WFRP licence; Games Workshop retained extensive editorial control over the line, wanting to ensure that new WFRP material did not contradict the tone and details of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle line.

Several Hogshead projects were abandoned, including a Skaven supplement and a complete rewrite of the final episode of the Enemy Within campaign.

On 12 August 2009, Fantasy Flight Games announced a 3rd edition for immediate release,[11] packaged as a single box containing four rulebooks, over 300 cards and counters, and three sets of 12 custom dice.

Since it is a game devoted to individual characters rather than to entire armies, WFRP depicts the setting in much closer detail than its wargame counterpart.

Other lands with real-life analogies include 'Cathay' (China), 'Khuresh' (Southeast Asia), 'Nippon' (Japan), 'Ind' (India), Naggaroth (northern North America), 'Ulthuan' (Atlantis), 'Lustria' (Mesoamerica), 'Norsca' (Scandinavia) and the island of 'Albion' (British Isles); however, very little official information has been released for these locales.

Firearms are readily available, though expensive and unreliable, and a growing mercantile middle class challenges the supremacy of the nobility.

Secret cults are found among all strata of society, seeking to overthrow the social order or to further their own power.

Mutants lurk in the forests outside the great cities, while the Skaven (a race of mutated humanoid rats) tunnel endlessly beneath their feet.

The set of numbers describing a character's abilities in the first edition is closely based on early versions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

Characteristics are tested using percentile dice, with penalties or bonuses applied to the roll or the target value according to various favourable and unfavourable circumstances.

This system allowed multi-faceted outcome to dice rolls – the character could succeed at a task, while still triggering problems and penalties at the same time.

There were also decks covering Wounds, Insanity, and Diseases that detailed their in-game effects, the latter commonly induced through spells or monster attacks in the body horror-themed Warhammer universe.

Characters are now much more free to advance their Characteristics and Skills independently of their careers, and the cost in experience points scale with higher numbers.

Skill usage (especially in combat situations) is expanded with the concept of 'advantage', where continued success grants cumulative bonuses.

Wizardly magic keeps many spells of second edition, but integrates the casting mechanism into the overall task resolution system.

In the August 1987 edition of Dragon (Issue 124), Ken Rolston compared it very favourably to other fantasy role-playing games on the market, saying "WFR deliberately aims at adventures and settings with a less elevated tone."

"[19] In the December 1987 issue of The Games Machine (#2), John Woods liked the look of the book, but soon found a lot of typos and a lack of organization.

He concluded, "Probably not a system with much to offer the experienced RPGer, but straightforward and detailed enough to give good value to beginners or those moving into RPGs from wargaming.

"[20] Stewart Wieck reviewed Warhammer Fantasy Role Play in White Wolf #9 (1988), rating it a 9 out of 10 and stated that "The system is very workable, adaptable, and most importantly, fun.

"[24] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "The rules start to shine when they get into the character careers, which paint over a D&D-style class system with the trappings of trade in a way that is informative of the world and reflective of realistic life experience."

Horvath concluded by recalling the ignominious end of the system, writing, "The grim and the sardonic, all wrapped in a colorful motley, it seems, was the product of an all-too-brief moment in time.