A Howl in the Darkness

I decided to run a modified version of the Frostgrave mini Campaign that appeared in a recent edition of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. Since time was tight, we could only really play two games. I therefore decided to combine the first two scenarios of the campaign (Prey and The Quest) into a single game. If the boys managed to escape the board with treasure, they could forge silver weapons and return for Hunters Become the Hunted. Of course they would have to find the silver treasure...

 

 

An unpaved road winds its way through woodland and exits the board through the outskirts of the ruined city (located to the lower right in the above image).

After successfully negotiating his way across the old bridge and escaping from the Frost Giant, Mighty Kyle's dwarven warband decided to rest before continuing their journey to Frostgrave. But during one particularly long and bitterly cold night, the howls of hunting wolves could be heard ahead. Leaving his diminutive wizard to recover his strength the dwarf captain and a handful of soldiers (along with 'Laddy' a summoned highland bull - don't ask) decided to investigate. They make their way along the road and emerge from the trees with a scene of carnage directly ahead.

Kyle's friend took charge of another warband. This one was led by Otto and his soldiers (as per the published campaign). Otto entered the board from the ruins.

The two warbands needed to investigate the ruined caravan and discover who or what was responsible. Wolves were starting to feed on the fallen, even whilst some still lived. The old woman was clearly still alive. But for how long? Four treasure chests were scattered across the board.

After last time (!) the boys immediately decided that they should work together. Otto's men quickly found a treasure chest amongst a ruined tower - but alas the chest was empty...

Fighting off wolves, the dwarven captain secured two chests. One was filled with gold, the other silver. The body closest to the caravan was searched. Its limbs were torn away, this was not the master of the caravan. More wolves appeared.

 

 

From amongst the trees a foul shape emerged. Not a wolf, but also not a man.

 

 

Fortunately standard werewolves are not shapeshifters and can be killed with normal weapons. As he dispatched the man wolf and removed its head for the promised bounty of 20gc, Otto sighed with relief. His greatest fear was that he would encounter a true werewolf.

But what of the old woman? The wolf before her had turned and bounded off towards the dwarfs. The old woman ran towards the woods. Otto saw her close to the last treasure chest and sent his tracker in pursuit.

By now (turn 6) the sun had set and ragged clouds raced across the night sky, revealing the full moon.

Otto's tracker reached the chest and grasped the old woman. But her wild eyed expression startled him. He stepped back.

With a terrible shriek, the old woman started to writhe and twist. Claws erupted from her fingers and before the tracker's very eyes, the old woman transformed into a hideous werewolf - a True Werewolf! Frozen in fear, the soldier could only watch as the werewolf pounced...

 

 

"Time to escape" shouted the dwarf captain - or words to that effect!

Soon, both warbands were running back towards the ruins of Frostgrave, hotly pursued by a pack of wolves and their mistress.

 

Two more of Otto's men fell along with a dwarven thunderer. But the two captains, puffing and wheezing do manage to make it safely to the ruined city.

After a short interlude, the two warbands return. Both captains have forged themselves silver weapons. The hunt for the werewolf can now begin!

 

 

Meanwhile the wolf pack recover their strength by feeding on the fallen. In the light of the moon the shapes of men and dwarfs can be seen in the distance. The wolves emerge from the forest ready for fresh meat!

 

 

Led as before by the True Werewolf.

 

 

The two captain's advance their warbands.

 

 

And the wolves move in for the kill...

 

 

But what's this!? Otto's archers are deadly accurate with their dice rolling and two wolves are slain. Turning from the attack, the werewolf scrambles up a hill and casts Heal to stop a third from meeting the same fate. But the werewolf is now dangerously close to the silver weapons. Before she can escape Otto charges. There follows a desparate fight between man and beast. Otto is wounded, but he cuts down the werewolf. The beast staggers and falls. As the werewolf lies bleeding it looks up only to see a silvery flash as the dwarf captain races forwards and brings down his silver coated axe...

 

 

As they retrieve the last treasure chest, the two captains decide to share their spoils.

"That looks like a nasty cut" remarks the dwarf to Otto.

"Don't worry" replies the captain "it's just a scratch..."

 

A Howl in the Darkness - Prelude to a Frostgrave Mini Campaign

The scene is set. It is late afternoon and a pale sun starts to slowly sink over the wooded landscape. An ancient trackway winds its weary way to the ruined city of Frostgrave. Somewhere along the road a column of smoke rises from amongst the trees.

 

 

The smoke carries with it the foul stench of death.

 

The merchant caravan lay in ruins. It's axle broken, oxen vanished and load spilt. Amongst the background hum of birdsong and creaking boughs, snarls and the sound of frenzied feeding can be heard.

 

 

An old woman staggers backwards. In front of her a wolf advances, its teeth bared. The wolf prepares to pounce...

 

 

 

Stay tuned (full game report here)!

 

Standard Werewolves for Frostgrave

I've had these Mantic werewolves knocking around for quite a while now. Since I'm putting on another Frostgrave game for Kyle tomorrow I decided to finally finish them off.

 

 

 

Standard Frostgrave werewolves are a sort of hybrid between man and wolf, so I thought these looked the part. The models are plastic and are ok I guess, although I still think the heads are too small. Thought long and hard about whether to finish the bases with a snow effect. Was tempted, but in the end decided not to. I've gone for a woodland floor effect that matches my existing woodland terrain - quite a bit of which will feature in tomorrow's game.

I have a fair bit of terrain created now for various games and whilst I do like the idea of a snow covered landscape, I just don't think I could make a whole new raft of snowy terrain for Frostgrave...

I also need a wagon for tomorrow, so spent this evening making this one from 4ground. Not made one of these before and can't decide whether to paint, wash with ink or leave untouched?

 

 

I'll be acting as GameMaster again tomorrow, so hopefully will find the time to grab a few photos.

 

Frostgrave - Better with a DM?

We invited one of Kyle's mates over this afternoon for a game of Frostgrave. After our initial game earlier in the week I had a few misgivings. The d20 based combat system and 'grab the treasure & run' scenarios don't quite do it for me. But (and this is important), I really want to like this game. I can see that it has a lot of potential.
So what to do? I decided to try something slightly different. Rather than play a standard game or one of the supplied scenarios I thought it would be fun to put together my own scenario for the two boys to play with me acting as Dungeon Master. This would allow Kyle and his friend to play the game without getting bogged down in the rules (simple though they are) and give me the opportunity to watch them play and see if my concerns are valid.
The short answer is that the kids had a blast, thoroughly enjoyed the game and simply didn't care about the vagaries of rolling a d20. In my role as DM, I was able to add little extras to the game to keep things moving along at a brisk pace and ensure that uncertainties over rules etc didn't get in the way of the boys simply having fun. I was also able to keep certain things hidden from the players to introduce an element of uncertainty.
So, here's what we did...

The Road to Frostgrave
Those adventurers brave enough to face the perilous road to Frostgrave will find treasures a plenty...

Set-up
The game takes place outside of the ruined city, where an ancient trackway crosses an old stone bridge.

At one end of the table is a small village. Various sacks and boxes are stored near the hovels. Outside of the village is a murky pond close to which is an area of boggy ground. A steep sided hill is located near the river on top of the hill is a large upright stone engraved with mysterious symbols. Several woods are located either side of the trackway.

The trackway crosses an old stone bridge before winding its way through marshland and then onwards to Frostgrave.
The rotting corpses of several soldiers and an old man with a long staff lie where they fell along the road. A severed arm still clutches a sword that appears to shine with an eerie blue glow... Only the old man is located on the far side of the river. His outstretched arms seemingly clawing for the edge of the road, whilst next to him is an open chest of treasure.

Special Rules
Players are heading to Frosgrave and to get there they have to cross the river and exit the table (ideally along the road, but it depends how fast they are running)! Players enter from the two table corners on either side of the village.
Of course nothing is as simple as it seems. Old bridges have stories of their own and the one in this game concerns a tortured spirit that haunts the bridge in the form of a wraith.

As soon as the first adventurer sets foot on the bridge, the wraith materialises and attacks! DMs should remember that wraiths are immune to non-magic weapons...
Clever players may realise that an open treasure chest on the far side of a bridge is too good to be true and rightly guess that the bridge may be trapped in some way. They'll enquire about wading across the river and the GM should inform them that since there hasn't been much rain, they can indeed cross the river with a half movement rate. Thinking they have outsmarted the GM the player may test the water with a soldier. As soon as the figure enters the river, the water around his feet will start to boil and a monstrous shape will loom before him...

The river is enchanted and protected by a large construct.
[I painted this old Citadel water elemental sometime around 1988 and this is the first time it's been used in a game!]
Of course pesky kids think they are smarter than wise GMs and as soon as they hear some befuddled old git muttering about low rainfall and wading with only a half movement penalty, they'll know that something is afoot.
[It was at about this point in our game when the two boys started to encourage each other to cross the stream. A smug DM even heard one of them say 'We should be helping each other not fighting"]
There are spells that allow figures to leap (and possibly other convoluted ways that smart ass kids will come up with for getting across the river without using the bridge or getting their feet wet).

A wise DM will have on hand a second large construct, this time in the form of a wind elemental that materialises mid-air and immediately attacks.
[yes this old Citadel figure was also painted in the late 80's]
Hopefully by this time the players will have stopped trying to outsmart the DM and start searching for something that can kill a wraith!
Some players may feel that battling past elementals and killing undead spirits with a pilfered magic sword is quite enough excitement for one day. However, the DM should simply smile and suggest that a thudding noise can be heard in the distance. Nervous players will by now be sufficiently unsettled that their wizards will be legging it over the bridge to escape with their plundered loot. As soon as the first figure crosses the bridge...

[remember Blood Rage? The figures are very nice! And will be even nicer once they are painted!!]
A frost giant appears from a random table edge and rushes towards the lead wizard.
Whether the DM allows the frost giant to reach the wizard depends on how tidy that particular player has kept their bedroom during the week.
[in our game Kyle used a previously summoned demon to engage the giant in melee giving the rest of his warband time to escape. Clever move!]

Treasure and Experience
The DM places 10 numbered tokens face down at suitable locations on the village side of the river.
[in our game the ten tokens were numbered 1 to 6; with several low numbers and only a single 4, 5 & 6 present]
Players are told that locations with tokens can be searched and treasure may be found. Each time a player's figure searches a location with a token, the token is turned over and the player rolls a d20 (or two d10s if you prefer...). The number on the token is added to the roll. A score greater than 20 reveals treasure. The first treasure found is a magic sword (+1 to hit). A score of 16 - 20 reveals a creature that immediately attacks. A score of 15 or less reveals nothing. DMs are advised to secretly roll for encounters before the start of the game. These can then be quickly produced from a covered box without interrupting the flow of the game. Creature encounter levels should be mostly low, with a few higher levels to keep players on their toes.
[I found it very satisfying that in today's game both players started to fear 'the box'!]
If the magic sword has not been found, it is always revealed when the last token is searched.
[To spice things up, GM's can consider revealing a creature alongside the magic sword...]
Whilst players know that tokens could be treasure, the only definite treasure item is the open chest. To get to it players must cross the river...
Experience is awarded as normal. In addition wizards gain the following experience:
15 experience points for their warband finding the magic sword
25 experience points for their warband killing the wraith
10 experience points for escaping with the magic sword.

Frostgrave - First Impressions

The bandwagon has rumbled past Brady HQ and we've jumped onboard! In other words I've recently bought a copy of Frostgrave.

 

 

I was (very) late to Mordheim. It came and went during my 20 year gaming break. The concept sounded intriguing, a skirmish game set in a ruined Warhammer city where bands of adventurers searched and fought for treasure. Kyle and I both put warbands together and a mini campaign was suggested at Friday Night Fire Fight Club. It soon fizzled out... Running campaigns is difficult at the best of times, but with Mordheim... The rules are all over the place. Perhaps it's because I had to download PDF copies (the game lost support from GW long ago), but there seemed to be an awful lot of looking things up... My head hurt after a game. Actually my head hurt during a game. Kyle's Dwarfs got stuffed on their first outing and he quickly lost interest. But I still thought the concept was intriguing. It just needed to be a bit (lot) simpler. Perhaps simpler is the wrong word. Games need to flow.

Hold on, what about Frostgrave? From the game's blurb:

"Frostgrave is a game of Wizards, battling through a ruined frozen city in search of magical artefacts."

The city may be frozen rather than smashed by a meteorite but...

I've read several online reviews and battle reports that are mostly positive. So I ordered a copy of the (nicely produced) hardback book and had a good read. I then gave the book to Kyle and he had a good read. We both concluded that Frostgrave is Mordheim Lite - and the 'Lite' part here is key.

Kyle has just moved on from primary school. His new school was supposed to have an after school Warhammer club. Kyle went along only to find that there was only one other student there... And nobody to run the thing. He wasn't too disappointed (he comes along to Friday Night Fire Fight Club with me after all), but I thought it a shame his new friend was left stranded by the lack of support. Enter Frostgrave.

So what are my initial thoughts?

It's cheap. My copy cost less than a tenner (inc postage). It doesn't require huge numbers of figures (a wizard, an apprentice and up to eight additional soldiers per warband) so there's only a small financial/time investment in buying and painting a warband. The gameplay is fast and combat/shooting simple. No tables to look up, just roll a d20 and compare results (with a few modifiers here and there). Turns are broken into phases (wizard, apprentice, soldier, beasts) with initiative rolls determining who goes first. But play moves quickly from one wizard to the other and then to apprentices etc. The action comes thick and fast so there's not much waiting around. There are plenty of spells for wizards to choose from and these really do influence the outcome of the game.

So, it's a cheap game that doesn't require a huge time investment with plenty of action to entice new players, especially younger players.

Are there any downsides? Yes. Quite a few.

Before reading on, remember I think the game achieves what it set out to do - create a simplified Mordheim like skirmish game aimed at younger players.

But the Frostgrave world is rather shallow. There's none of the lavish background that GW used to lovingly pour into Warhammer (before they blew the whole thing up - but I digress). There are no dwarfs. No elves. Or any races other than men. There are creatures in the bestiary, but they are a bit thin really. The stats for some creatures appear a bit odd to me as well. Zombies have armour 12, the same as greater demons. Really? Zombies are too hard to kill, whilst greater demons (in comparison) are not hard enough. Perhaps future supplements will flesh out the world and introduce other races. But that may introduce additional complexity that I suspect the author prefers to avoid.

There are several scenarios in the book that appear interesting, but they are perhaps a bit specific. Rolling randomly for scenarios means that the same ones are likely to come up. There's only so many times you'll want to look for treasure in the living museum I think. Specific scenarios can be fun but should perhaps be in supplements rather than the core rulebook. Additional scenarios are being published by Osprey (a cheap 3 scenario mini campaign is already available as a digital download).

The combat and shooting mechanism is perhaps too simple. We played 2 quick games tonight to test the rules. Who won or lost a melee seemed pretty random. Individual stats don't really influence scores very much. My Templar was hitting with +2 in melee... Against Kyle's newly summoned greater demon with +4. The demon (surely one of the most dangerous things to be encountered), only has a 10% better chance of winning the combat. Hmm. The spells are interesting but appear poorly balanced. Kyle's chances of casting a summon demon spell were the same as my chance to take control of one of his zombies. In our second game he managed to gain a demon, wolf and zombie without too much difficulty. Once spells are selected, they can't be changed. New spells can be learned during a campaign, but I suspect many games will be won or lost due to the initial spell choices.

We found that the game became very bloody, very fast. And perhaps that's all that matters.

I'll be running a game this weekend for Kyle and his new friend. Playing the game tonight made me realise that prerolling on the random encounters table is useful (to ensure figures are immediately available). If the kids take to the game I'll see about easing them into a short campaign. I can think of a few scenarios that would make good use of my new Battle Systems Fantasy Terrain...