Frostgrave - Our Third Expedition into the Frozen City

[tim in saskatoon]

last night I sat down with the family to play a third expedition into the Frozen city of Felstad.

A full report (and a bunch of pictures) of the action can be found on my blog:

http://saskminigamer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/another-expedition-into-felstad.html

[Jiron]

Nice! What was your table size?

Edit: I just read the full report! Really a four warbands game? How do you manage deployment? I also love that you have all your guys named. When I play with someone whose wizard don't have the name, I do my best to make him feel incomfortable with it. Reffering to my wizard and apprentice (and all others) with their names is really funny.

[tim in saskatoon]

Nice! What was your table size?

Thanks! We play on a 90cmx90cm board (slightly under 3'x3'). There is always action on the first turn.

I have to build a couple more boards and a bunch more terrain soon as a number of other players will likely be joining us for a fall campaign.

I just read the full report! Really a four warbands game? How do you manage deployment?

Well we roll for who picks their side and deploys first. Highest roll picks first, then second and so on. Then Highest roll deploys first. At first we just said you have to deploy within 6" of your side - but on the second game realized this meant warbands could be deploying in each other's set up area and potentially in contact with each other - so we modified it to within 6" of your base edge, but at least 6" away from the side edges when there's an enemy warband setting up there. We're probably going to modify this further to be not within 8" of the side edges as not within 6" meant figures could still be set up within 1" of each other!?

When I play with someone whose wizard don't have the name, I do my best to make him feel incomfortable with it. Reffering to my wizard and apprentice (and all others) with their names is really funny.

I do the exact same thing... my son and I also get really descriptive about what everyone is doing and describe what happens when there are epic successes or failures... It's almost more like a role-playing game for us (as are most skirmish games!).

I also tease people relentlessly about unpainted figures. I've never played with any figures that were not completely painted and never understood why anyone would do otherwise. Generally it's been my rule that - at my table - if it ain't painted, it doesn't go on the tabletop... I've had to let that slide on occasion when someone shows up with something unpainted - but I let them know that every time they fail morale it's because of their shame at not being fully painted, etc!

[Jiron]

I also tease people relentlessly about unpainted figures. I've never played with any figures that were not completely painted and never understood why anyone would do otherwise. Generally it's been my rule that - at my table - if it ain't painted, it doesn't go on the tabletop... I've had to let that slide on occasion when someone shows up with something unpainted - but I let them know that every time they fail morale it's because of their shame at not being fully painted, etc!

Ooops... I do my best to have most painted but I have soooooo many projects.

[Zinkala]

Nice to see some gaming action in Saskatchewan. It's too bad I'm so far from Saskatoon or I'd want to get in on your campaign. I live way down next to the US border but lived in Saskatoon for a few years in the 90's. I'd have to get more painting done for me and the boys before we were allowed on your table. Lots of bare minis running around here even though I try to get them painted.

We've been doing 3 player games here on a 4'x4' table and did the set up similar to you. We use our set up zone as 6" from each table edge, so a 3'x6" box. #1 son is using a soothsayer and casting for extra real and fake treasure markers every game so that gets kind of crowded at times. It usually allows each player to get at least one off the map each game before the bloodletting gets too heavy.

[Bodvoc]

I have just shown your article and blog to my wife and daughters, may get them gaming yet?

[mweaver]

I enjoyed the battle report and the pictures - sounds like everyone had a pretty good time!

-Michael

[Daniel36]

How well would you say do those pieces of scenery work? They look real nice and without the height seem easy enough to build. And would you say 90-90 is a good size, or are you planning on going slightly larger?

[tim in saskatoon]

How well would you say do those pieces of scenery work? They look real nice and without the height seem easy enough to build. And would you say 90-90 is a good size, or are you planning on going slightly larger?

I like the size we're playing on. The action starts right away - the game gets a little long with four players so anything to keep it shorter is good.

I've played a fair bit of Song of Blades and Heroes and Ronin and other skirmish games on this size and have really gotten to like it. It seems like it might get a bit crowded with FOUR factions on such a small table - but as long as there is a lot of terrain, it really hasn't been an issue.

While there are rules for (and scenarios involving) multi-story buildings, I don't feel we're missing much with simply having a lot of low-level, line-of-sight blocking terrain.

I played a lot of Mordhiem with multi-level terrain and it mostly just led to a lot more disagreements over line-of-sight issues..

I'm not saying I won't build some bigger stuff at some point. But we're having lots of fun with some pretty simple terrain and that's all that's important, isn't it?

[tim in saskatoon]

Nice to see some gaming action in Saskatchewan. It's too bad I'm so far from Saskatoon or I'd want to get in on your campaign. I live way down next to the US border but lived in Saskatoon for a few years in the 90's.

Were you here in the early 90's when the Wizard's Corner was still around? (I used to work there!). A few years later I also worked at the original Collector's Edge... before it burned down... I had nothing to do with that..

There is a weekend game convention in Saskatoon in September - http://www.tooncon.ca/ - I'm not running Frostgrave this year (I had thought about it but just couldn't say for sure early enough). Perhaps if it's still popular next year I'll run a demo (and/or a campaign!). I will be running a Song of Blades and Heroes game there on the Saturday evening (though it doesn't seem to be on the schedule at the moment...

[Zinkala]

I was at the UofS from the fall of 92 to spring of 96. I don't remember the Wizard's Corner but shopped at Collector's Edge and remember that it burned down. Didn't do much gaming while I was there which was a big missed opportunity. Too much time spent at bars, parties and occassionally classes.  We used to have a nice little group here after I came home from Saskatoon but everybody except me has left to work in other places. If it wasn't for my kids I'd never get more than a game or two in a year.

Don't think I can make ToonCon this year. I'm a farmer/rancher and it's kind of hectic now. Nice to know that it's a possibility though. For awhile I was trying to promote Armies of Arcana and I did a bunch of running around to events in Regina, Calgary and even once in Vancouver. Didn't work out well financially but it was a fun experience. Timed it so we had family trips wherever and I spent a bit of time at the conventions. Nowadays I just lurk and occasionally post on a few different forums like here.

[Iamafish]

Great to see all the family playing.

I am using frostgrave to get my two sons in to roleplaying and war gaming, the wife not so much