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Author Topic: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign '18 (Christmas Islands Report Jan 7, '19)  (Read 18414 times)

Offline mikedemana

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Another enjoyable read. Maybe once my players and I have the game down a bit more, perhaps I can do more of a blow-by-blow account like yours. I really enjoy them!

Mike Demana
www.firstcommandwargames.com
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/


Offline CPalmer

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Another enjoyable read. Maybe once my players and I have the game down a bit more, perhaps I can do more of a blow-by-blow account like yours. I really enjoy them!

Mike Demana
www.firstcommandwargames.com
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/




Thanks, Mike!
Yes, it took me a while to develop my narrative form.  My original game reports were very bare bones...
http://onemoregamingproject.blogspot.com/2016/02/frostgrave-campaign-kick-off-game.html 
So you should be able to do it too, once you get more familiar with running the game.

My secret nowadays is that I rely on taking copious notes to remember all the action. It's a bit of effort, but I find I can do it while other players are activating and I am waiting my turn.  My problem is that towards the end of the game, as the action usually gets more fast and furious, I start forgetting to write stuff down!  ::)
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 07:16:40 PM by CPalmer »
"I have wrought my simple plan,
if I give one hour's joy,
to the boy who's half a man,
or the man who's half a boy!"
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Offline Knabe

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Offline LiamFrostfang

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 :D awesome.

Offline Bloggard

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aye, faba-mundo. Really lovely write-up.

you write at the end as tho' the islands set-up worked against game-flow and crew interaction? Interesting if so - it certainly looks wonderful, and your (and Chris's...) logs give the impression of an exciting and enjoyable game ...

Offline Knabe

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Thanks for the kind comments, glad you enjoyed the report.

The set-up we used kind of channeled each set of opposing crews into strictly one-on-one encounters.  Interactions with opposing crews to the left and right was restricted by the way we had set-up the terrain.  We didn't realize this until the game was underway.  It was still an exciting game but usually in our games given the number of players, a crew ends up encountering more than one other crew during the game.  That did not happen this time.  It was something Chris and I observed and discussed.

A good time was still had by all involved.

Knabe

Offline CPalmer

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     Interestingly, this "channeling" also happened to some extent in the game we just played this past Saturday.  (Eritherian Graveyard)
   Here again, it was due to the terrain to some extent.  Also, having only 4 players, and the scenario set up which placed the majority of the treasures into one 12"x12" area had an effect on this.  But, I think another contributing factor is the players are learning that it really isn't safe to let there crews wander too far afield, as this allows them to be cut up piecemeal. 

I got lured into wandering a little this time and paid the price as you'll see in my coming report...

Offline CPalmer

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We played our August Ghost Archipelago game on the 18th, and did the Eritherean Graveyard scenario from the core rulebook.  My latest report has now been posted.
 
I hope you enjoy!
 
    "...Marnilyne tried desperately to defend herself;  but she was no match for two opponents, and the Pearl Diver's blade sliced her across her shoulder as the Monkey yanked her hair and took bites at her head and neck.  It's claws gouged into her.  The Elf flailed her arms, and tried desperately to dislodge the Monkey as she lurched back and forth.  The Monkey was flung off, and the Pearl Diver stood there,  shocked by the spectacle of the frenzied Warden.   However, it did not take her opponents long to regroup, and they had now been joined by Skorri's Hunter..." 
 
For the full report, and more photos:   https://onemoregamingproject.blogspot.com/2018/08/ghost-archipelago-campaign-18-game-8.html




Offline Smoke Frog

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #68 on: August 27, 2018, 02:22:05 PM »
That is an inspiring terrain board, I really like the boneyard! Beautiful and inspirational work.

Offline CPalmer

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #69 on: August 28, 2018, 10:22:12 AM »
That is an inspiring terrain board, I really like the boneyard! Beautiful and inspirational work.


Thank you!  I'm glad you like it.   The base of the graveyards is just a 12"x12" floor tile, and the piles of bones and pillars were 3D printed by Knabe.

Offline Bloggard

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #70 on: August 31, 2018, 08:18:43 AM »
my word, if anything your write-ups are getting even better! The 'incidental' detail of the graveyard you include to colour the narrative is beautifully atmospheric ...

y'know, I honestly think the rule-books would be enhanced with narrative reports of a quality like this, interspersed with the content as it currently stands. Fluff it's called I know ... but of real value in encouraging and inspiring, for the likes of me anyhow.

you made some erithereans tho' - can't see one in any of the photos? The bones are brilliantly done. 3D printed eh?  roll on brave new world.
« Last Edit: August 31, 2018, 02:20:35 PM by Bloggard »

Offline Brandlin

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #71 on: August 31, 2018, 03:07:28 PM »
I honestly think the rule-books would be enhanced with narrative reports of a quality like this, interspersed with the content as it currently stands. Fluff it's called I know ... but of real value in encouraging and inspiring, for the likes of me anyhow.

I couldn't diagree more. For me I like the ability to put my own imagination to things and I dislike fluff and such materials in any rulebooks - I consider them 'filler' to bulk out the book so you can charge more.

The frostgrave rule book is already at least twice the size it needs to be because of the way things are laid out. For example you do not need two descriptions of each spell - one in school order and another in alphabetic order.

Now, I happen to think frostgrave is a great little game - its maybe a little too dependent on dice rolls and less on tactics for me than I might like but thats a minor gripe. But I do think  better clarity and layout of the rules would help.

In a previous life I was an engineer and for my sins had responsibility for a technical writing team that wrote operating and servicing manuals for fast jets. You learn something about clarity of language when you are explaining safety critical operations that might have multi million pound consequences to an operative who's first language is not english :-)

« Last Edit: September 01, 2018, 08:59:29 AM by Brandlin »

Offline CPalmer

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #72 on: August 31, 2018, 09:31:06 PM »
my word, if anything your write-ups are getting even better! The 'incidental' detail of the graveyard you include to colour the narrative is beautifully atmospheric ...

y'know, I honestly think the rule-books would be enhanced with narrative reports of a quality like this, interspersed with the content as it currently stands. Fluff it's called I know ... but of real value in encouraging and inspiring, for the likes of me anyhow.

you made some erithereans tho' - can't see one in any of the photos? The bones are brilliantly done. 3D printed eh?  roll on brave new world.

Thanks, Bloggard!   It's always a hard task to balance the "atmosphere" with the direct game play narrative, so I'm glad you appreciate it.  Probably a lot of folks just want me to get on with what happened!

As far as fluff goes, I'm somewhere in the middle between you and Brandlin; I don't necessarily want to see chapters of it, but I really like how it was handled in the Frostgrave rulebook with just a sentence here and there sprinkled throughout the rules. It really helped set the mood.  It might be neat if there was just a couple paragraphs on one page at the very beginning to set the tone of the rules...

Here's the Eritherean I made from a Reaper Bones Bugbear and a toy elephant:


The build article is here: http://allbonesabout.blogspot.com/2018/03/rugg-bugbear-leader-bones-2-figure.html

We also had some 3D printed Eriithereans, that were actually meant to be kind of Wooly-Mammothmen, so they were a bit hairier.    I didn't post a photo of one of them anywhere, so don't have one to share.  There might be a shot in Knabe's report, since he fought the one that appeared.  :)

Yes, 3D printing is certainly the way things are going.  It's all beyond me at the moment, but luckily Knabe has a handle on it, and a printer; so he keeps us supplied with the needed scatter terrain for our scenarios.

Offline Bloggard

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #73 on: September 01, 2018, 10:46:02 AM »
...
In a previous life I was an engineer and for my sins had responsibility for a technical writing team that wrote operating and servicing manuals for fast jets. You learn something about clarity of language when you are explaining safety critical operations that might have multi million pound consequences to an operative who's first language is not english :-)

fair enough Brandlin, but personally I think you're going to the other extreme with that attitude - and that para of yours above would kind of suggest why to me, as fantasy miniatures rules aren't a very comparable product to the sort of thing you describe, either in substance or intention. Ultimately 'fluff' is what they're all about ... as opposed to historical simulations etc.

the sort of thing I mean would be page long 'excerpts' with atmospheric illustrations creating a border etc.
Done well (a la Chris's write-ups) these would a) stimulate my imagination rather than stifle it, and b) also help to illustrate the use of skills / spells etc 'in action' (again as per Chris's notes).
« Last Edit: September 02, 2018, 08:19:27 AM by Bloggard »

Offline Bloggard

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Re: Our Ghost Archipelago Campaign 2018 (Eritherean Graveyard posted Aug 27)
« Reply #74 on: September 01, 2018, 10:50:24 AM »
nice work on the Eritherean Chris.

I would certainly hope that you're not discouraged from with your write-ups (whether for GA or not) anyway.

yes, 3D printing - amazing, sci-fi-like to me really ... but on the minus side potentially the death-knell for many a small scale supplier of traditional gaming pieces (particularly terrain at this point) I would have thought, unless they get in early and are able to invest in more 'commercial' quality machines etc (quite apart from having the skills to model designs in-house) and give punters a compelling reason not to bother with doing it at home.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2018, 02:50:09 PM by Bloggard »

 

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