Map of Frostgrave

[Lotan]

Hey guys!

Is there any map of the city available at the moment, and if not, will there be any plans to produce one, as it will be great for planning a narrative campaign. 

[Daeothar]

Would be a great idea.

I was thinking along those lines for my first campaign too: a map with different territories which can be taken from opponents. Or perhaps a map with 'points of interest' which can be looted by warbands, opposed by the other gangs in the campaign of course.


I was also thinking about a mission in which one warband raids another warband's base. A case of attacker and defender:

Defender: defend your base against all attacks for X rounds
Attacker: raid the base and make off with as much loot as possible

Additions to the base, such as kennels or summoning circles are destructable, and huge XP can be won by breaking into the defender's vault. Likewise, if the attacker does not breach the base proper or does not crack the vault; many XP to the defender.

Oh, and perhaps all attackers who go down can be captured and held for ransom at a certain roll (50/50?).

[Philhelm]

There is no map that I am aware of, and the background consists of literally two paragraphs.  It was once a great city called Felstad, that was the center of a large, magical empire long since fallen.  The few people that live in villages outside of Felstad call it "Frostgrave" due to winter climate and the many perils found within the ruined city.

It seems that the background is intentionally vague so as to allow players to do as they please with the setting.  It seems like standard, generic fantasy which lends itself well to the vast number of miniatures available on the market.  I can finally use some miniatures that I've always liked, but never had use for.  It's also a much better setting than Age of Sigmar.  

[joe5mc]

There is no map. I can confirm that it has a river (well frozen at the moment) running through the middle of it. It is hilly, running into the mountains in the north. Otherwise, I like to keep it pretty vague so people can design it so it best fits their needs.

[nicknorthstar]

Budapest. Or Prague.

[Harry]

There is no map. I can confirm that it has a river (well frozen at the moment) running through the middle of it. It is hilly, running into the mountains in the north. Otherwise, I like to keep it pretty vague so people can design it so it best fits their needs.

.... and their imagination.

One of the things I like about Frostgrave is it is such a 'springboard' for the imagination and creativity because so much is left unwritten .... un-drawn and un-mapped.

I love the fact that whilst the art work gives us a very clear idea of what the Wizards look like, Frostgave itself is just hinted at in the backgrounds .... as a result the Frostgrave I have in my head is perfect ...  it is my Frostgrave. As soon as you publsh 'Solid' artwork rather than the misty washes we have currently that becomes frostgrave and takes something away from us ... Bit like watching the movie after you have read the book.

I love maps .... Love um .... but the same would be true of a map.

I am sure I will be drawing maps myself ... I have this idea in my head for a campaign based around a map and getting bonuses for having control of certain areas of the city.

So please continue to resist the temptation to give us a map or make the artwork any more specific than it is..... EDIT: or even write too much solid background, history, etc. 

[Gutbukkit]

I have an idea in my head of how my version of Frostgrave will be mapped. As others have said I love the fact the background just hints at enough to spark our own imaginations. I think that's why I've taken to it so well and really progressed well with my own project.

[Hobgoblin]

.... and their imagination.

One of the things I like about Frostgrave is it is such a 'springboard' for the imagination and creativity because so much is left unwritten .... un-drawn and un-mapped.

I love the fact that whilst the art work gives us a very clear idea of what the Wizards look like, Frostgave itself is just hinted at in the backgrounds .... as a result the Frostgrave I have in my head is perfect ...  it is my Frostgrave. As soon as you publsh 'Solid' artwork rather than the misty washes we have currently that becomes frostgrave and takes something away from us ... Bit like watching the movie after you have read the book.

I love maps .... Love um .... but the same would be true of a map.

I am sure I will be drawing maps myself ... I have this idea in my head for a campaign based around a map and getting bonuses for having control of certain areas of the city.

So please continue resist the temptation to give us a map or make the artwork any more specific than it is.

Hear, hear to all that!

I think it's very much to the detriment of modern games that they're so laden with "fluff". There are now uncounted third- or fourth-rate fantasy settings designed for games. In general, the more detail, the worse they are, with tiresome variants on standard tropes that serve only to dull the resonance of the originals.

There are exceptions of course: there's Glorantha, and there's Tekumel. But those were the works of lifetimes (and visionaries). For the most part, it's far better for game creators to come up with intriguing specifics that can be slipped into generic backgrounds. Frostgrave as it stands could be slipped into any setting from the pseudo-historical to the highest fantasy, and that's greatly to its credit (and Joe's).

I think this provocative essay by M John Harrison is also strangely relevant here (although I also think that part of the fun of Tolkien's creation is that you can try to work out the organisation of an orcish regiment ...).

[JohnDSD2]

Is a map necessary?

I was thinking of perhaps having a number of districts, that could be associated with different scenarios and different rewards. Players in a campaign could choose which district their warband is going to. They might be unopposed or there might be a number of others contesting the treasures. Some districts will give modifiers to the treasures, bigger rewards more danger.

This could be used to give underdogs a hand up too, a weak warband could risk a raid into territory that gives a treasure boost or try for a district that stronger players are unlikely to visit as the rewards are better elsewhere.
Just a few thoughts.

[Harry]

Is a map necessary?

I was thinking of perhaps having a number of districts, that could be associated with different scenarios and different rewards. Players in a campaign could choose which district their warband is going to. They might be unopposed or there might be a number of others contesting the treasures. Some districts will give modifiers to the treasures, bigger rewards more danger.

This could be used to give underdogs a hand up too, a weak warband could risk a raid into territory that gives a treasure boost or try for a district that stronger players are unlikely to visit as the rewards are better elsewhere.
Just a few thoughts.

Yes. This is just what I was thinking. They might still have to deal with some wandering monsters but ....
It also helps manage when not all players can make it on the same night / every week.

[Daniel36]

That would be cool for a follow-up, campaign minded book. Also, while I agree that a map isn't necessary, some background information on the region would be cool. I don't have the book yet, so I have no idea if this is already implemented in some way, but I wouldn't mind to have some cool background material on villages dotted around Frostgrave.

Perhaps you could then base your wizard in one of these villages, and each village could have its own small bonus associated with it. Perhaps these villages flag their own colours, so you could base your mercenaries on those colours.

I could imagine one village having better archers, while another may have well trained close combat fighters. Nothing too overpowering of course, but stuff like that would be cool. My favourite things in Warhammer were always the articles on different regions and their colours.

[Lotan]

Would be a great idea.

I was thinking along those lines for my first campaign too: a map with different territories which can be taken from opponents. Or perhaps a map with 'points of interest' which can be looted by warbands, opposed by the other gangs in the campaign of course.


I was also thinking about a mission in which one warband raids another warband's base. A case of attacker and defender:

Defender: defend your base against all attacks for X rounds
Attacker: raid the base and make off with as much loot as possible

Additions to the base, such as kennels or summoning circles are destructable, and huge XP can be won by breaking into the defender's vault. Likewise, if the attacker does not breach the base proper or does not crack the vault; many XP to the defender.

Oh, and perhaps all attackers who go down can be captured and held for ransom at a certain roll (50/50?).

I have actually written up a Base Raid scenario for our campaign play! It should be up on Calmdowns Blog in the near future along with other stuff I've been working on! (Please bear in mind the initial set will be pre-playtest, so we would greatly appreciate feedback!

[Philhelm]

The official map of Frostgrave.  Enjoy.

[Harry]

You forgot the river running through it and the hiils to the north. 

[fred]

They are there, they just have snow on them...