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It all began with a Thieving Thegn…
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Kb7vMtTEePAs/360.jpg)
I very much enjoy playing Frostgrave. It was the first set of wargames rules I bought after re-starting the hobby from scratch about five years ago (my previous experience of wargaming was playing 40k as a teenager in the ‘90s), and it is the game I have played the most since. So a thread on it is perhaps overdue.
I think the reason that I did not start a thread when I first started out exploring the Frozen City I did not really know whether it was going to be interesting for me, let alone random people on the internet. Moreover my painting and modelling skills were even more limited than they are now and it would have seemed presumptuous to start broadcasting what I was up to on a forum such as this where the quality of the games and painting presented seemed so high. By the time I had taken the plunge and started posting here and realised how friendly this place was I had already accumulated a bit of a backlog of games and was well into a campaign and it seemed too much effort to go back and post it all properly.
I am currently in the throes of preparing for my second Frostgrave campaign and I would like to share this journey with my fellow forumers. But I want to start at the beginning and work forward, which means introducing a sprue of Gripping Beast Saxon Thegns...
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My first wargame as an alleged grown-up was a quick try of the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game hosted by one of my (then 6 year old) son’s friend’s dad. It caught both of our imaginations and I determined to try and find out whether I would enjoy painting toy soldiers as an adult as much as I remembered enjoying it in my teens. I had not painted a figure for approximately 20 years and owned no paints or specialised equipment. I bought a basic set of paints and a few brushes and started to look for some reasonably priced reasonably generic figures to practice on. 10 Saxon Thegns from eBay for roughly £5 seemed to fit the bill. These my son and I assembled and painted (it turned out his technique was faster than mine - before I had finished applying the base colours to my first figure he had generously applied orange and silver paint over the other 9).
It was while looking for inspiration for a paint scheme for these tiny warriors that I came across both this hallowed forum and reference to a game called Frostgrave. It appeared that you could use any figures you liked and you only needed 10 in a team. Perfect! I ordered the book and set about trying to convert/overpaint our new Saxons so they could be used as a warband.
Once I had the rule book I realised that my Saxon warband could not be perfectly true to the descriptions of the soldier types – they were all clad in mail armour and most carried both spear and shield.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/FHuWkePPaAA8/360.jpg)
I decided that the Saxons armed with spear and shield would have to count as Thugs (maybe the armour was leather painted to look like mail? Maybe the shields were just made of fabric and used to protect the user from snowfall?), which was a bit of a fudge, but the guy with the shield and an axe was perfect for a Knight. I cut down the sword on another chap to make it a dagger and tied some cotton thread “rope” around his torso to make a Thief (on the basis that a thief was more likely to carry a rope for climbing in and out of windows for the purpose of nicking stuff than a Barbarian or Templar etc). My first Frostgrave conversion.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/MmuYqTqoVndG/360.jpg)
Another couple of Thegns became my Wizard and his Apprentice by giving one chap a magic glowing sword and a book of spells made from cardboard and giving the other fellow a long staff and a Reaper Bones familiar as a magical pet.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/LewoRXFDmtdN/360.jpg)
I added a Reaper Bones dog as a Warhound...
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ZgdGfaktKLY2/360.jpg)
...and, imitating posts I saw on this forum (apologies but I cannot remember who the original poster was), I made a small and a medium construct from cardboard, cork, matchsticks and left-over Saxon weaponry, just in case my spellcasters managed to cast "Animate Construct". I distinctly recall finding it very inspiring that we as players could (without needing any particular sculpting talent) make our own unique figures for use in this game out of bits of common household items and that this was entirely in accordance with the spirit of the game.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/KZiRre8WiX2X/360.jpg)
I had my first Frostgrave Warband!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/sC6u8RKAYzw7/360.jpg)
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Loving this thread already.
Warband for 5 quid- awesome.
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Loving this thread already.
Warband for 5 quid- awesome.
I quite agree. Great stuff! 👍
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Thanks both!
@Spinal Tap: I remember working on those Saxons and happily thinking to myself what an inexpensive hobby this was going to be! Of course I kept finding new things I needed; paints, tools, storage, scenery, books and, naturally, more figures, and my total outlay soon increased substantially. But I did not mind, as I was enjoying myself and increasingly confident that the items I was buying were going to provide years of entertainment and relaxation.
With a rule book and a warband the next thing I needed before I could properly start exploring the Frozen City was, well, a frozen city (or at least part of one). I backed the Ulterior Motives Nickstarter, which provided a few nice pieces of scatter terrain, and I obtained some very simple, generic, and inexpensive mdf ruined buildings from ebay. I tarted these up by adding cereal packet floorboards, matchstick window ledges and piles of polyfiller debris, coating everything in a diluted pva mixed with sand and finally painting them using cheap tester pots of emulsion using simple techniques learned from YouTube. I was pleasantly surprised with how the pieces came out despite (or perhaps because of) how generic and uniform they look (all walls are grey, all floor boards are brown), and this collection of buildings has formed the back drop to every game since.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/6Jkp3mTbjcgp/360.jpg)
The Saxon Enchanter and his men pick their way through the (new) ruins...
The next step was to try to entice my new (and more experienced) wargaming friend to try the game. Previously he had only ever played GW miniature games, so I was not sure how open he would be to trying a game he had never heard of from a company he did not know. He had, however, played D&D in the past and I think the character creation part of Frostgrave appealed to him so we (and our sons) gave it a try.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/DaMGioTgi48A/360.jpg)
My first ever game; my noble Saxon warriors took on a disparate band of adventurers from Middle Earth (pity my poor level zero wizard - his first foray into Felstad and his opposite number is Gandalf!).
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I could tell that my friend and his son had enjoyed their first game of Frostgrave (as had I), but I was surprised and pleased when he announced when we next spoke that he had not only ordered a copy of the rule book for himself but had started work on a special Frostgrave board to play the game on.
The new board in progress:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/2NQecojFJD7B/360.jpg)
The new Frostgrave board (designed and constructed entirely by my friend and his son) consisted of two 2x4 foot pieces of mdf backed with felt and covered with sand and pieces of cardboard cut to form flagstones laid in different patterns and formations. I don’t seem to have a picture of the completed board on its own to show you (one of the reasons that I have re-titled this thread “An Incomplete History”) but in the picture below you can get a reasonable impression of it.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/jHCHvMTbiGeG/360.jpg)
It features the positions of the clock in Roman Numerals around the edge of the board (so a D12 can be rolled to determine a random direction) and with deployment zones and treasure placement zones defined by patterns in the flagstones (my friend was very proud of the number of different paving patterns used). The subtle variations across its surface mean that no part is boringly uniform but also that no part is so distinctive and recognisable that it feels like you are playing in the same place over and over again. It immediately improved the look of our games and has been used in almost every game we have played since.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/KfjwodynLoJz/360.jpg)
A Violent Fungi (Thief - painted by my son) breaks cover and runs across the new board watched by a Reaper Bones Minotaur (Barbarian - painted by me) and a cork and lolly stick construct (Medium Construct - built and painted by my son).
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Playing fun games and getting your kids involved? Doesn't get better than that. :)
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Playing fun games and getting your kids involved? Doesn't get better than that. :)
@syrinx0 – you are quite right, it is a special thing to be able to share a hobby with your own child. I have a strong suspicion that my son dabbles in it mainly because he gets to hang out with his friend when playing games and because painting is a good way to get “Dad time”. I fully expect that at some point he will drift away from painting and gaming to pursue his own interests. In the meantime time, however, while he is willing to indulge me, we will continue and I will appreciate the moments.
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario One: Total Eclipse
With a board, set of city ruins and an increasingly firm grasp of the rules we launched into our first campaign – the Thaw of the Lichlord! In order to try keep the games from becoming overlong and risk losing the boys’ interest we restricted ourselves to two warbands, one controlled by my son and me (Elementalist) and the other by my friend and his son (Witch).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/qpR6YnExsTHr/360.jpg)
This scenario does not require much preparation or any specialised scenery so we set up and got stuck in. I cannot honestly remember much about the game other than that it involved my son’s poor elf swordsman (Infantryman) being set upon by a vicious gang of frenzied hobbits (Thieves).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7ZadbWpbNFA6/360.jpg)
Fortunately the first hairy-footed burglar was dispatched and the rest of the light-fingered pipe-smokers fled in the direction of the Shire having learned:
a) that if you want to get the maximum benefit of your superior numbers don't attack your enemy on a narrow walkway where you can only fight him one at a time; and
b) to only pick on people their own size (or smaller).
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Two: Battle on the River
Following Scenario One some re-jigging was required as the boys decided they wanted their own joint warband rather each sharing with their respective Dad. My son provided the Wizard and his friend the apprentice. The boys had also recruited a large construct in the form of a Reaper Bones Bronze Bull which my son had insisted on painting metallic purple.
My friend and I would therefore combine to run the Witch warband (I would control the apprentice). My friend bought and painted up a set of the official Frostgrave Witch and apprentice figures specially for the occasion (because newly painted figures always bring luck on the wargames table, right?).
In stark contrast to Scenario One, Scenario Two required a considerable amount of specific scenery. The centre of the board is meant to represent a frozen river with the banks on either side. For the river I used a felt battle mat I had bought and my friend's mdf board provided the river banks. The fact that the board had been designed in two halves proved unexpectedly useful!
The focal point of the game from a terrain perspective was to be a ship trapped in the ice in the centre of the river, surrounded by a number of smaller vessels. I did not have a ship, and although there are a number of lovely ship models available they were all rather expensive to my mind for something that might only be used once. I therefore had a look online to see if I could find ideas for a home made option and stumbled across a series of blog posts chronicling the construction of a pirate Brigantine to a design produced by Gary Chalk and features in Wargames Illustrated
https://wargaming.info/2010/avast-ye-lubbers-a-pirate-ship-in-28mm-part-1/.
I had not scratch built anything since attempting an Ork Gobsmasha Tank following plans featured in White Dwarf in the 1990s, and this ship was a lot bigger. Having said that, the plans and instructions were very clear so I gave it a go:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/G7GNNXBqvBdt/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/RUpAT9UV3rPr/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/WfbquBv7pyF3/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/TFF5PGpw3aSf/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/CkUDEGWsqJ5K/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/WYsDiJgxggNS/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/VsNPp4AY78kP/360.jpg)
It was fun and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. It took quite a long time to do and I did not get a chance to finish the ship properly (I still have to add the lantern, anchor and the ship's name) but it was deemed good enough to game with! I also built a number of row boats following the Gary Chalk plans and a small section of jetty.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/srH7Ft9pMBtE/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/DoFab6mdwV8q/360.jpg)
The game itself was great and the advantage seemed to swing backwards and forwards until the end. Key moments:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/hkB6vrEiaMuC/360.jpg)
1) Our band cornered and killed the Lich Lord's servant as he tried to flee the ship and we recovered the treasure he was carrying.
2) The scenario includes rules covering the risk of slipping on the ice while running and incurring damage. The only figure in the game to suffer damage in this way was... one of our wizard's Animal Companions - a polar bear!
3) By the end, with most of our minions dead or having run off with treasure, our Witch apprentice and wizard were stalked across the ice by my son's Elemental Bolt-hurling Elementalist. In true wargaming tradition, the freshly painted figures were reduced to scorch marks in the snow, leaving the boys crowing joyfully. The post games rolls (made by me) confirmed that our wizard and apprentice were both in fact dead, so we would be starting the third scenario with a level-zero wizard. I felt quite guilty!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/nhHSseB64Y6y/360.jpg)
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Wow, the ship and boats look great, and the set-up seems like it would be perfect for that scenario!
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Wow, the ship and boats look great, and the set-up seems like it would be perfect for that scenario!
Yeah, I have to echo that. Brilliant work. And it sounds like it was quite the game!
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Thanks guys! I would like to finish the ship off properly but I have not needed it for a game since so there have always been other projects higher up the list of priority. Maybe I need to get some pirates to crew it - what pirate games do you recommend? I own The Silver Bayonet, and have recently picked up Ghost Archipelago (although I have not yet played either) and it seems a ship would be easier to work to scenarios for those games, albeit only as terrain pieces. I note that The Maze of Malcor features "Sky Gondolas", but I think the ship is possibly rather large to count as one of those! Either way, once it is frankly done I will post pictures.
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Three: Loot The Cart
The next game called for broken down cart protected by Death Cultists. As I had made the ship for the previous game my friend made the cart, while I painted up a sprue of official Frostgrave cultists.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ymX3iUpodGEn/360.jpg)
In terms of adjustments to the warbands, my son's friend introduced a new apprentice, a lightly clad female holding a candle. On the Witch side as both our apprentice and wizard had perished on the frozen river in the previous game but my friend was loath to exile his newly painted figures after a single game and to acquire and paint replacements, we decided that our Witch's identical twin brother had heard the news and travelled to the frozen city in search of revenge against the blood thirsty Elementalist who had killed his brother (and maybe pick up a few bags of gold coins in the process).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/QHsbU2vYvdye/360.jpg)
The game itself was characterised by both warbands placing missile weapons in positions overlooking the cart and sending soldiers to race to the cart, grab treasure and drag it back to safety.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/2hodxqzofVLe/360.jpg)
The cultists fell quite quickly in the crossfire but the key moment came early on when the Elementalist who had caused such carnage in the previous encounter was felled by a well aimed crossbow bolt. Although the post-game roll confirmed that he had survived the incident without any long term effects it was a clear statement of intent from the Witches.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/HcciTtYzQuBP/360.jpg)
In fact things did not go well at all for the boys' spellcasters as their new apprentice was cornered by a gang of Ghouls with only a Hobbit Thief as escort. Her candle seemed to attract the shambling, glowing-eyed creatures and both the young lady and the halfling were eventually overwhelmed and devoured in a most tragic and unpleasant manner.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/vhuiCHkWAH5b/360.jpg)
After the taunting we had received from the boys at the loss of our wizard during the previous game our sympathy was limited.
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What goes around comes around.
If you want to use your ship for more than static set dressing terrain I would recommend Blood & Plunder.
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Thanks Grumpy Gnome, I will have a look at that game. In fact I have bought some Blood and Plunder swivel guns and small cannon to add to my ship when I do get around to adding the finishing touches so I am somewhat familiar with the B&P model line. I am not going to launch into a major new project just yet but it is good to know there was a decent game that it could be used with in the future.
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The Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Four: Storm of Undeath
This scenario required four pylons or pillars. These were to be arranged in a square within which certain magical happenings would occur (and, of course, within which the treasure would be located). The description of these pylons was pretty non-existent in the text, and I could not find any illustrations in the book, so I knocked together a set using bits left over from the ship, some mdf base and some skulls. I then added a few paper banners and painted on some "magical runes" and they were done.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/JqzvszeypHYe/360.jpg)
My friend and I did not add any new soldiers to our band, but we did confirm that our avenging twin brother Witch wizard was called Ursus because of his love of Polar Bears (evidenced by the presence of two Animal Companions of that species in band, as well as by his, er, white fur coat - ethically sourced no doubt).
While the Dads' warband remained essentially unchanged going into the fourth game of the campaign, the boys had some new figures painted up that they wanted to press into the service of their wizard (named "Jack Zapp", after his liking for casting Elemental Bolt). These included a trio of cowboys in Stetsons and trench coats (the two brandishing revolvers were Archers while the third was a Thief).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/E9BEqDND5Qxe/360.jpg)
The new recruits from the West.
There was also another new apprentice figure. The post-game survival roll had confirmed that Apprentice Florence (and her candle) had in fact survived her encounter with the ghouls in the last game but that she had, rather understandably, suffered "Psychological Scars". As a result, going forward she was going to dress rather more appropriately for combat in sub-zero temperatures. Slightly more unexpectedly, she had also announced that from now on she was going to use the pronouns "he/him" and answer to the name "Steelface"!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/gpzxqAQAZYvL/360.jpg)
Goodbye Florence, hello Steelface!
The game itself turned into a mass brawl in the shadow of the pylons as the Armoured Skeletons were awakened just as the warbands clashed amid the treasure.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/JEyfwq4E97Sd/360.jpg)
I think that warband casualties on both sides were surprisingly light in the end and that honours were fairly even when it comes to treasure. My abiding memory of this game, however, is that (ironically for a scenario set during a snowstorm) the weather was very hot. It is the first and only time I have played Frostgrave outdoors and followed it up immediately with a barbeque and a waterfight!
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That is quite a narrative coming to life through gameplay mate…. Frostgrave at its best!
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My club has been working through the Lich lord and we played this one last week. We had a similar experience with four of us playing and a brawl in the center. Looks like you had just as much fun. I do like your concept for pillars.
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@Grumpy Gnome - I agree! One of my favourite things about the game is how it can feel like an exciting tale is unfolding as you play. I am sure there are plenty of other games out there that do this too, but I it is definitely a strength of Frostgrave.
@snitcythedog - I find that a mass brawl in the centre is sometimes quite refreshing in Frostgrave, especially if previous games have been played a bit more sneakily and cautiously. I am glad you like the pillars, what did your group use?
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I used eight of these
(https://images.reapermini.com/4/44127_w_1.jpg)
Same models that I use for the living statue scenario.
What are you planning for the bone wheel?
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I used eight of these
Same models that I use for the living statue scenario.
What are you planning for the bone wheel?
Nice! I like those statues. I don't own them but I know you can get stone versions and living versions of each, which is clever. As for the Bone Wheel, I did have a go at making one but I have a few more games to report on before I get to that one...
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Five: Run of the Rangifer
This scenario required 6 Rangifer figures. My son's friend had two Rangifer models (the only ones that Northstar produced at the time) but we needed 4 more. None of us had sculpting skills up to the task of creating new ones from scratch so we had to think a little more flexibly. I had recently acquired a set of Perry Agincourt knights from a sale at a local model shop and although I had built a few figures still had plenty of parts left on sprues to play with. I began to wonder whether there might be a type of Rangifer that in appearance was closer to human than Reindeer - to the extent that they could wear human style plate armour - but perhaps still displaying at least one Reindeer-specific physical characteristic. The four of us met up and each built a single Perry foot Knight. I then added an extravagant set of milliput horns protruding from each helmet, and each family took a pair of the new "Rangifers" home to paint.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Y3cFQoxQNCob/360.jpg)
While painting my contingent of armoured Reindeer-men the heretical thought crossed my mind that perhaps the stories circulating the inns and taverns of Frostgrave (and gullibly repeated in the Lich Lord supplement) about these unlikely sounding creatures were more fiction than fact. Stories that were, perhaps, spread by a band of maurauders who, when out maurauding, donned armour that covered their features and attached Reindeer horns to their helmets in order to terrify their victims. I thought it plausible.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/5WKohRddoeTV/360.jpg)
We're Rangifers, honest!
I also painted up a set of official Wraith Knight figures, because two were required for this game (one of which is below).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Bw7Nc3eKAT2r/360.jpg)
There are no specific terrain requirements for this scenario, but my friend had just made a river for general warming purposes so we had that running through the middle of the table (we deemed it frozen and subject to the same rules for slipping as the River in Scenario Two).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/zU4PxH8KZKQn/360.jpg)
The other new thing made for this game was some cotton wool fog. Ursus the Witch had realised that his band needed protecting from Jack Zapp's Elemental Bolts and the Fog spell seemed the best way to do this.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/UrwBZoRiyR2D/360.jpg)
Brenda the Infantrywoman.
It was another fun game. we (the Dads) had identified the opposing wizard as the primary threat and had concocted a plan to deploy a fast moving hit squad of thieves and polar bears under a screen of magical fog to try to take him out. It was almost successful (i.e. the Elementalist survived and the hit squad were slaughtered to a man/bear).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/43YSfQTfFwiq/360.jpg)
Jack is cornered...
(https://myalbum.com/photo/QbMVSBVc5Qwy/360.jpg)
...but his bodyguards rush to his aid and the brave bear is killed.
Meanwhile, there would be plenty of Rangifer and Wraith Knights on the table. The boys' Ulterior Motive card for this game was "Wraith Run" which meant there were two additional Wraith Knights wandering about (we used armoured LotR Orcs for the extra Wraith Knights).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/6V2qGZokKJDv/360.jpg)
Conscripted Wraith Knights
(https://myalbum.com/photo/cP6mvyz5QWcg/360.jpg)
The Elementalist warband deploys.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/VSxFP256AurG/360.jpg)
A Thief darts forward to grab a treasure under cover of Fog.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/LuKNnZ69CMqs/360.jpg)
A Wraith Knight pursues his quarry.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/oDuSg8pM4pcL/360.jpg)
The Cowboys sneak about taking pot shots at the Witch and his followers.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/QbRHgNEK7A8b/360.jpg)
Rangifer meets Brenda.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/kMUwCFvguekN/360.jpg)
Improvised Wraith Knight clashes with imitation Rangifer.
Eventually all the Wraith Knights and Rangifers were slain and the boys had managed to grab 4 treasures to our two. Our spell casters had survived, but as Ursus and his three surviving followers trudged back to their camp, it felt like a win for the boys.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/VJpbiqRsmyDz/360.jpg)
Jack Zapp and his apprentice Steelface gloat annoyingly
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Another enjoyable game it sounds, thanks for the continuing reports. I can game vicariously through your adventures. 👍
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Six: The House of Longreach
This Scenario called for two separate gaming areas, a 3x3ft mansion interior and a 1x1ft treasure room. The two rooms were connected by six (malfunctioning) magical doorways. My friend put together a black and white checkerboard style board to look like the tiled floor of the treasure room while I was charged with constructing some magic doorways. To do this I used some square-ish pieces of pine wood planks and added some details using cardboard, then covered each piece in PVA mixed with water and sand before painting them.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/6sSpW2BCieHx/360.jpg)
The doors were placed on the snowy felt mat (this was a rare game where the large 4x4ft mdf board was not used).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/eudc9CFhTYvr/360.jpg)
In terms of personnel there were a few new figures on the table, particularly in the Boys’ band, although this was more because they wanted to use new toys rather than because of upgrades to their warband. The cowboys had returned home to the range and in their place came some soldiers of Dunland painted by my son’s friend and an axe-wielding Gnoll (being my son’s most recently painted figure). It was also noteworthy that Jack Zapp had a new apprentice whose long beard and pointy hat looked very familiar. It was none other than the great Gandalf, hero of Middle Earth and last seen in the Frozen City leading his own warband against my Saxon Enchanter and now reduced to trailing around after a mere level 15 Elementalist. How the mighty fall!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/fQa5yiQiNm8F/360.jpg)
Gandalf, looking slightly sheepish
On the Dads’ side we had recruited a new Barbarian: Stewart the Minotaur (named after the tartan that I had attempted painstakingly to paint on his kilt). Although he had featured in previous Frostgrave games, this was the first time he would fight for Ursus the Witch.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Yo3apd6XdTfA/360.jpg)
We also had a new Zombie Snow Troll, the official North Star Figure (here escorted by some friendly cultists).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/YEWrnxc5G2q5/360.jpg)
This game was initially played quite cautiously with the warbands keeping each other at arms-length and concentrating on trying to get to the treasure room.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/5nf9vnYp2Cd7/360.jpg)
After a couple of turns, however, the malfunctioning magical doors started mixing up the two parties of treasure seekers and fights broke out.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/4r868ouxGaYZ/360.jpg)
One such scrap involved our new bull-headed Barbarian appearing next to the Boys’ Thieving mushroom. A perfect opportunity for our expensive new recruit to demonstrate his might (and justify our investment). Alas, Stewart had the traditional luck of a new figure in a wargame (despite not technically being newly painted) and after a reducing the sneaky fungi to a single point of health was brought down by his much smaller opponent, much to the amusement of the Boys.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/jsDTULV5PDYw/360.jpg)
"Little mushroom, prepare to meet thy..."
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Vfp2xc9wqLbs/360.jpg)
"Oh."
It was not all one sided – Michelle the blond half-orc with the stripy leggings (recently upgraded to a Marksman) spotted the Gnoll emerge from a magical doorway and after adjusting her position slightly felled him with a single bolt. The new figure curse had struck again!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/bmyL8XVT6mKW/360.jpg)
Michelle spots movement amid the ruins.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ZmoRfq2xmGW4/360.jpg)
One shot later and the movement stops.
Eventually small groups of followers of both the Witch and the Elementalist made it to the Treasure Room and found themselves battling side-by-side against the crazed cultists defending the room’s two treasures.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7S9jVEHNin2W/360.jpg)
Once the cultists had been dispatched the two groups of treasure-seekers eyed each other across the blood-soaked tiles. The Boys’ warriors in the treasure room consisted of a Thief on 1 health and a Knight on 4 health, facing our full strength Treasure Hunter, Infantrywoman and Bear. By that point the Boys’ warband had collected three of the four treasures on the main board and, realising that the odds did not favour them, agreed to our proposal that they be permitted safe passage out of the Treasure Room on the condition that we kept the two treasures within.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/zDBbpzz7ZTVz/360.jpg)
The Boys had lost more men in the battle, although post game rolls confirmed that they all recovered. Our only casualty, poor Stewart the Minotaur, was on the other hand actually fully and entirely dead. Both warbands collected 3 treasures each, although we had the “special” treasure from the Treasure Room. It felt like a fair result.
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Seven: Lair of the Ghoul King
(https://myalbum.com/photo/CyrCh72aYSZZ/360.jpg)
For this game we needed:
1. The Ghoul King.
2. The Ghoul King’s Throne (featuring levers which operate the doors leading out from the Lair).
3. Lots of Ghouls.
The Ghoul King’s Throne was a joint effort between my friend and I. One evening while our children played upstairs and our wives chatted we sat sawing, drilling, cutting and gluing bits of wood together. We wanted something that was useable as a terrain piece (i.e. normal sized figures could be placed on it) and which was obviously a the seat of someone important, just not someone important and nice. We also decided it did not need to be a beautiful work of carpentry as in our view Ghouls would probably not have particularly advanced woodworking skills.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/dgFgYjm4ochx/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ZSvtPx5gQeDz/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/PJ8eiEzHARNa/360.jpg)
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(https://myalbum.com/photo/ncxadD8vZMaG/360.jpg)
I needed to decide which figure I was going to use for the Ghoul King. As usual in Frostgrave, the description in the text is fairly vague (to encourage the players to use their imaginations, I presume) but the book did state that the Ghoul King was to start the game sat on his throne. I could have used the official North Star figure, but when I was browsing in a local gaming shop and came across a slightly strange looking crowned and seated figure, I immediately thought he could fill the vacancy. The figure was Gripping Beast's Brian Boru, a historical Dark Age Irish King. I really like the sculpt, mainly because he looks (to me) pensive and rather tired, as if he is sitting contemplating the result of a recent bloody battle - a refreshing contrast to the usual mighty-warrior-brandishing-his-weapons-and-roaring-at-the-enemy pose. I decided to paint him up with the same eyes and skin tone as the Ghouls, but with much richer coloured clothes to signify his status.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/vpQt2hFnCEQx/360.jpg)
The Ghoul King Supervising the construction of his throne.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/wMRvgm9bRtXr/360.jpg)
The Ghoul King and Ghouls in progress.
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Ready for battle.
For Ghouls in previous games I had used "Revenants" from Gripping Beast's Saga range. These are fun old fashioned metal figures with great character. They are slightly crude compared to the latest digitally sculpted creations available from some manufacturers but the poses are dynamic and the variously contorted faces snarl, leer and wail in a suitably horrific manner. I have a long term aim of creating a horde army for Dragon Rampant or similar consisting entirely of the these figures. For this game, however, I restricted myself to painting up another 6 to give Brian the Ghoul King a rentinue of 12.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/KJ4qMcU6wLRE/360.jpg)
The Ghouls and their King.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Z2YJbUTFpB3z/360.jpg)
A Zombie in the service of the Ghoul King.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/MyKVoUm5VzsE/360.jpg)
A friendly welcome guaranteed.
The warbands were fairly unchanged save that we (the Dads) hired another Barbarian to replace Stewart the Minotaur who had died on his first outing last game. In came a brawny pirate carrying a treasure chest and scimitar whom we imaginatively named “Long John”. He was a Reaper Bones figure given to me by a friend to provide the nucleus of a crew for my ship (see Scenario Two: Battle on the River upthread), which is why I painted him with a “sandy beach” style base at odds with the rest of our band. I know it doesn't match but I wanted to play with my new figure!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/cGSaUptVkD4C/360.jpg)
Here is a group shot of Ursus’s warband on the eve of the venture into the Ghoul Kings Lair: Bear Who Walks In Snow (Ranger), Brenda (Infantrywoman), Sir Ethel (Knight), Ursus Major (Wizard), Ursus Minor (Apprentice), Michelle (Marksman), Legolas (Archer), Long John (Barbarian), Aladin (Treasure Hunter). The only figure missing is Ursus’s signature Polar Bear (Animal Companion).
The game itself turned out to be reasonably straightforward and looking back now (the game took place three years ago) neither my friend or myself can remember any particular incidents. The records show that the Dad’s warband retrieved 4 treasures to the Boys’ two and it was Ursus who acquired the Amulet of the Ghoul King from its former owner.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/JUneKkf26aKq/360.jpg)
The Ghoul King ponders.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/yKxLjGEBx2xv/360.jpg)
The Lair of Ghoul King, ready for visitors.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/8ixBmuXHWGe8/360.jpg)
Gandalf the Apprentice Elementalist meets a Ghoul.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/RdikVns6KqEX/360.jpg)
Brenda wrestles with a Wraith Knight for control of the levers.
We felt that the warbands were becoming increasingly powerful relative to the forces that the Lich Lord was throwing against them, and that unless the warbands stood and fought each other (rather than the weaker side retreating as seemed to happen in this game) casualties would be light. In this game the only soldier who did not walk off the board was Long John (new figure curse again). I cannot remember how he became a casualty, but given that he was barefoot then frostbite cannot be ruled out. He survived the post game rolls, however, so he would return to Felstad. Unlike Brian, the former King of the Ghouls, who would not.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/HGoTJ4DyAnm3/360.jpg)
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The Lair of Grimolean
(https://myalbum.com/photo/8oE8ZDyvRb3n/360.jpg)
The next game of Frostgrave we played was the cooperative scenario featured in Issue 2 of Spellcaster magazine. We chose this scenario for a number of reasons:
1) I had received a couple of issues of Spellcaster for Christmas and wanted to use the new rules (we also used the rules for black powder weapons from Issue 1);
2) We had a new player join us and we thought a cooperative game might be a good way for them to cut their teeth in relation to the rules;
3) It gave me an excuse the use my newly painted Reaper Bones Zombie Dragon. I had backed the Reaper Bones IV Kickstarter reasonably heavily and was generally very pleased with the stuff I had received (it had more than doubled the size of my unpainted stash) but the Zombie Dragon, sculpted by Julie Guthrie, was easily my favourite of them all.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/FdfDpAcLpr63/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/uAn9oPoP2UBm/360.jpg)
The detail was good for a Bones model and the pose was both sinuous and agonised. The model, while larger than most things I had attempted before, was still smaller than most Dragon models and could be used within the confines of the ruined city reasonably easily.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/hATmn6jXtEq6/360.jpg)
I took control of the Dragon and found it to be a very powerful combatant. Unfortunately (for me) I was facing powerful warbands who were able to first dispose of my Minor Demon servants with reasonable ease. They then combined and focused their attacks on me while I could only fight my tormentors one at a time. If we had played this scenario with level 0 warbands the outcome might have been different, but after a running battle through the icy streets with gouts of flames periodically turning snowdrifts (and the Boys’ Gnoll) into water vapour, the ancient beast was finally brought down and put out of its misery.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/jRcxM4fLrKJf/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/wji6hLN3pfzG/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/N6FAqLPcpzzW/360.jpg)
The game took place on New Years Eve 2019. At the time we wondered whether this might be the start of a new tradition, but seeing how 2020 turned out it is not one we have repeated.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/F6YpMwd3PGa4/360.jpg)
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Great work on the zombie dragon. It sounds like you have been having a lot of fun in Felstad!
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Thanks Grumpy Gnome. My games of Frostgrave have always been fun, although I sometimes wonder if it's the building and painting leading up to a game that I enjoy the most. I guess that the majority of us in this hobby end up spending a lot more time building and painting than actually playing, and I personally like the way most Frostgrave scenarios seem to present you with a little modelling challenge (or quite a large one in the case of the Pirate ship!) you are invited to complete before playing it.
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Eight: The Black Cauldron
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For our next game we returned to the Lich Lord’s dastardly bid for domination of the Frozen City. This scenario involved our wizards following a group of cultists dragging a sled piled with bodies until they reach a large cauldron into which the bodies were being fed and then regurgitated as zombies.
I decided to have a go at making a sled out of lolly sticks, which was fairly straight forward.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/AFjgPEjBkBPb/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/QQ2GZMRntdqd/360.jpg)
I did not have any suitable casualty figures for the bodies being transported, so I had a go at making some out of milliput. I quickly realised that sculpting believable humans was beyond my capabilities, but I thought that if I created roughly human shapes I could have them covered by a blanket with just their heads poking out (I used Mantic zombie heads).
(https://myalbum.com/photo/sXPnMioNNz4e/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/n62SWT494ykJ/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/LnXKqoZH7QoW/360.jpg)
I also made a large fire place out of broken lolly sticks and matches on which to place a cauldron.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7HRDCy9VoZn2/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/mNwaiQAEJ5xa/360.jpg)
I had nothing in my existing collection that resembled a cauldron large enough to swallow piles of human corpses so I knew I would need to improvise. While enjoying some cockles with my fish 'n' chips one evening I was admiring the decorative patterns on the glass jar the cockles came in and realised that its slightly bulging profile was rather cauldron-esque. I therefore added some handles and magic runes using milliput to make an suitably enormous cauldron.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/jfy9EXejsMYZ/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/XWT5nxvC6oeX/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/X9hc2937WjTK/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/khDtY9XCgFxh/360.jpg)
I also added a lip on the inside of the cauldron that I could rest a large clear acrylic base on.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7EtTravLbQcT/360.jpg)
I then added some more Mantic zombies "emerging" from the liquid and applied some water texture to the base along.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/YwoZN2vQPbHc/360.jpg)
There was enough room underneath the acrylic base to fit one of those battery powered flickering tea lights, and the effect of this light shining though the textured acrylic was pleasing.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ekf3gvNVGY5Z/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Wp9VCSYR3tM9/360.jpg)
My friend provided a pony to pull the sled and it's grisly cargo.
The game itself proved rather more perilous than the venture into the Ghoul King's Lair (at least for the Dads' warband). We only made it off the board with one treasure and three soldiers. Both our Wizard and his Apprentice became casualties, with the Wizard making a full recovery but the Apprentice being badly wounded.
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(https://myalbum.com/photo/bgAhjTMc3L8V/360.jpg)
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Jack Zapp, the Boys' wizard, was now casting Elemental Bolt on a 5 and making it very dangerous for zombies or other warband members to come within line of sight. The Boys eventually picked up three Treasures and succeeded in tipping over the Dark Cauldron.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/56iRPZ6pyn2n/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/8Y5MjeruKSDQ/360.jpg)
Our new player, whose Wizard commanded a gang of human sized mice (from a board game I believe) acquitted himself well too.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/fwmw6eXqqcv9/360.jpg)
Ursus and his remaining followers returned to camp to lick their wounds (literally in the case of the polar bear). But at least they would not have to to face The Cockle Jar of Carnage The Dark Cauldron again!
(https://myalbum.com/photo/5EYDnnSCPRey/360.jpg)
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Loving it! 👍
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I love what you put together for that scenario! The sled and the cauldron turned out brilliantly. Very cool using the heads and partial bodies to make the scenery pieces work.
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Grumpy Gnome: I am glad you are enjoying the thread. There is still a few more Frostgrave posts to come before I catch up with the present day (at which point progress and updates will slow right down!).
Pattus Magnus: Thank you! At first I thought using that jar as the cauldron would be amusing if rather silly but in the end I think it was turned out grim and sinister enough. It is a shame I don't know how to embed video on the forum as the flickering light from within the cauldron added a nice bit of animation to the table (we tried it with the room lights off and curtains closed and the effect was pretty cool, although it was not very practical as we couldn't properly see the miniatures, dice, rules etc!).
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The Fountain of the Olfactomancers
Build Something Competition 2021
(https://myalbum.com/photo/zi8t2y4su8Xe/360.jpg)
The next significant Frostrave-related thing I did was to take part in the 2021 Build Something Competition (BSC) on this very forum. The theme was "Difficult Terrain" which inspired to me to make a fountain and pool covered with treacherous ice suitable for use as scenery in games of Frostgrave (and in the process invent a new minor school of magic).
I am not going to go through it all again (some of you will have seen it first time round in any event) but I would say that I found participating in the BSC fun and inspiring and I would encourage anyone with time to have a go next time it is run. I have entered twice now and both times I have been involved there was lot of support from forum members and it was great to watch the other entrants' pieces take shape. Here is the link if you are interested:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=130683.0
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Just feel the need to comment again for no good reason beyond saying this is still brilliant.
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Some great terrain and figures. The mice are from Mice and Mystics - a pretty good RPG style board game.
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Spinal Tap: Thanks, I appreciate that. I was pleased with how it turned out and I suspect I will never make anything as good again. Oh well!
jon_1066: Thank you - My friend has that Mice and Mystics game (not just the miniatures), I will have to try to persuade him to play it with us.
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Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Nine: The Bone Wheel
(https://myalbum.com/photo/4fjoCPrUhKTs/360.jpg)
The next scenario required a magical contraption constructed of leather and bone from which six bodies were to be suspended and which would slowly rotate around a central axle. Each dangling body was to have a jewelled bag dangling from their neck. I consulted my bits box and quickly realised that I was not going to be able to make something that looked as though it was literally made out of human bones. Instead I figured that a more traditional wooded construction would be acceptable provided it was decorated with bone motifs (I am sure we would forgive the wizards that made it back from their encounter with the Bone Wheel from embellishing their story a little for dramatic effect). I therefore set to work with lolly sticks, cocktail sticks and string, plus a few other bits and pieces.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/JPk58eL5nK7V/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7vygcUpuDUoj/360.jpg)
I did not have any hanging figures to be used for the bodies so, inspired by the Bone Wheel made by LAF poster jp1885 (who sculpted sacks dangling from the apparatus to simulate the bodies) I decided to make my own victims trussed up mummy style. I made them out of milliput and used some thin strips of masking tape to simulate bandages. I added a hook made from part of a paperclip so each figure could be hung from the Bone Wheel and detached once they had been rescued and added a milliput bag hung by string round the neck of each suspended body. Each bag features a sparkly “jewel” donated by my daughter from a craft set.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/xvxVzv3N3fpN/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/otL7JgVp92K3/360.jpg)
The game was fun and the rotating wheel injected an element of Chaos.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/VxpQfr2eASN6/360.jpg)
Ursus's warband prepares to approach the Bone Wheel.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/xTJcwqdtNG64/360.jpg)
Jack Zapp leads his followers towards the grisly machine.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/UmEMFPG5pJFF/360.jpg)
The Witch's Apprentice attempts to direct the fire from the Ranger and the Markswoman despite the magical fog.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/xptvJAYdTNcG/360.jpg)
Brenda the Infantrywoman tries to drag a victim to safety...
(https://myalbum.com/photo/X3TfzckMjuWg/360.jpg)
...but is felled by a musket ball in the back.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/VFnrFnCNpypR/360.jpg)
A fierce fight develops beneath the creaking arms of the Wheel.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/HG3Ktfpyxmzd/360.jpg)
The Witch's Apprentice is attacked by a Wraith.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/eHHwR7FNnF8w/360.jpg)
At one point a slimy green Major Demon appeared.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/e2nqCtngKRDF/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/kG8J8EnRdVgQ/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/NvNetby3qspC/360.jpg)
As usual the Boys had the best of it suffering only one casualty, but all the warbands retrieved at least one treasure and all the Bone Wheel’s victims were eventually rescued.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/zKemyMquwEVr/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ntYFT6CvDUuu/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/3SzpByNdS5fN/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/L2SkJMfLRc3H/360.jpg)
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Wow! That is another very cool scratch built piece of scenery, I can imagine how it set the mood for that scenario. Inspiring work!
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What a great looking centerpiece for that encounter!
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Genius mate! That Bone Wheel looks brilliant. 👏🏻
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Very nice solution.
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fantastic crafting
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Excellent work on that Bone Wheel, love it (and the cockle jar)! :-*
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I’m about to get back into Frostgrave after a break of 5 years (unfortunately, it’ll have to be solo but it’s better than nowt) and this topic has been an inspiration. I love the way you’ve improvised special items for the scenarios and got some great results. I echo the Mad Lord about the Bone Wheel, for example and I’m on fire to make a construct myself.
Well done and thanks.
Doug
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Doug seems to have inspired both the Mad Lord and I to have a go at this Frostgrave malarki.
Your thread is also amazingly inspirational, I'm impressed by the work you've put into each individual game requirement, painting and sculpting a specific item for 1 game is way beyond my intention so I'm going to be fudging most of it.
Thanks for the thread, I've really enjoyed reading it.
Cheers
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Ohhh - hello; Vaggers has finally ventured here. There goes the neighbourhood…. :)
Actually I’m quite chuffed that some idiotic ideas I had about playing Frostgrave without the proper scenery have taken root in the fertile (but horribly twisted) brains of Vaggers and The Mad Lord. Watch out for more on Scungrave (no, Martin, I’m not using your version of the name on this gentlemanly forum).
Doug
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Pattus Magnus: Thank you! I was hoping that it would set a grim mood for the scenario, even more so than the Dark Cauldron in the previous game. I was trying to build a sense of mounting unease for the players as they work their way through the Campaign and the Lich Lord’s diabolical plans are gradually revealed.
syrinx0: Thanks. Its shape means that it takes up a fairly imposing amount of space on the board but helpfully packs away very easily. I just need to now think of another situation in which it might be useful!
Grumpy Gnome: Thanks Grumpy Gnome, I am glad you like it!
snitcythedog: Thanks! I look forward to seeing your group’s version.
Bloggard: Cheers Bloggard!
Mad Lord Snapcase/Doug ex-em4/Vagabond: If my thread has in some small way provided encouragement to you esteemed Gentlemen to give this game a(nother) go then I am very pleased (unless, of course, you play it and don’t enjoy it in which case I will let Doug ex-em4 take the blame and I want it placed on record that I said all along that it was not a game for everyone and that you lot specifically would hate it).
As you can probably tell from this thread I like Frostgrave because the game it gives me the right amount of structure and direction in terms of the requirements for each scenario while also leaving enough space to be filled by imagination and improvisation and I am very much looking forward to seeing what your imaginations come up with (please ensure it is posted on the forum!).
Your setting is intriguing – presumably “Scungrave” is the name given to the frozen monster-infested ruin that was created when the magical cataclysm befell the third largest settlement in North Lincolnshire?
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Dark Alchemy
The Alchemical Monstrosity
Talking of fertile and horribly twisted brains my daughter (aged 7) made a figure out of clay which inspired my son and I to have a go at one of the Scenarios in the Frostgrave Folio. Behold, if you dare, the Alchemical Monstrosity!:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/222f7deb-d2b9-4ab4-81a6-8a8f9c609035.jpg)
She sculpted it, painted it and controlled it in the game herself.
The scenario involved my son and I each controlling a handful of figures each (including one spellcaster). I used a Games Workshop Water Elf that I was in the process of painting at the time (a very complex but impressive sculpt) along with my trusty Thieving Thegn and a musket armed cultist.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d49539b4-2d50-4e93-8761-d2f46e646df2.jpg)
My son took his Gnoll, the Blue Knight and a newly painted armoured ghost.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a8201292-e73f-4bb3-bd62-dcaf6bf26eb6.jpg)
I seem to remember most of our figures managing to avoid the Monstrosity, deal with the rats and escape unharmed. Most, that is, but not all. The Saxon Thief was obviously out of practice at this sort of thing (having not seen an active game board for some time) and found himself cornered by the hulking and deformed Monstrosity. Neither his length of rope nor his little knife was much use and he was devoured, much to the satisfaction of my daughter.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/735ab558-caf5-456b-8e64-fdfbf0b40418.jpg)
Gulp!
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Bearwoodsman - thanks for your remarks - it’s quite startling how quickly you got onto the derivation of our alternative FG setting.
I love your daughters Alchemical Monstrosity. I just played that scenario as a standard (ie not-Scungrave) game and had to repurpose an old Cthulhu monster for the Alchemical beast.
(https://velodoug.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/811b034c-9f4e-453a-a12a-125c2e41c032-e1667228426101.jpeg)
Doug
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I have been following this thread for a wee while and I have been quite taken by your efforts in making the various terrain items. In particular I thought the Dark Cauldron excellent. Unfortunately I have a shellfish allergy and will need to find an alternative source of the fine looking cauldron you made.
Coincidentally I have been writing a series of scenarios inspired by a chat with my son where a force of Romans will land on an island that resembles mythological Ireland (a bit) using my Alternative Armies figures (now marketed as their Erin range). In one of the planned scenarios the Romans need to capture or destroy a cauldron (similar to "Pair Dadeni" of Welsh Legend) that resurrects the dead to fight again.
I have a, so far unused, set of 1st edition Frostgrave rules that I was won in a raffle. Not sure if they would work for this campaign as son would like larger forces but may try them out later in another.
Anyway thanks for sharing this inspirational thread.
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Fair play to your daughter mate, she has constructed quite the hungry terror there! Great to see the family sharing in the fun! 👍
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Neat!
I remember getting the Grenadier bulletin/newsletter in the 80s- that's where I learned about the Call of Cthulhu game, and from there I discovered HP Lovecraft and the very deep rabbit hole...
I recall the newsletter that showed off the Cthonian release, had a pic of that miniature :)
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Apologies for the delay in updating this thread and thanks for the comments.
Doug ex-em4: That Cuthulu terror works very well. I know there is much discussion about the need for specific scenery/monsters in Frostgrave but when you need an Alchemical Monstrosity pretty much anything goes! And there is something deeply unpleasant about something that pink.
dadlamassu: Thanks for the comment! It is a shame that your allergy precludes using the same jar as I did, but no doubt there are other potential sources for the foundation of a similar project. Are you able to consume peanut butter? Or jam? (Not necessarily at the same time). If all else fails it is possible to buy empty glasswear of a suitable shape, but is it is of course nice to do a bit of recycling (and have something tasty to eat while doing so).
Grumpy Gnome: Thanks - I showed your comment to my daughter and she was chuffed!
Dr Mathias: I actually know very little about Lovecraft and his work, and most of what I do know was learned from this forum. My key takeaway so far is that many Lovecraft-inspired miniatures, when well painted, look very unpleasant indeed!
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The Thaw of the Lich Lord
Scenario Ten: The Final Battle
The climax of this campaign, as the title suggests, was to be closer to a pitched battle between the Wizards and the forces of the Lichlord than the usual Wizard v Wizard treasure hunt. One of the other players offered to construct the wall of the Lichlord's fortress that was to form one side of the table, so it was my job to put together the forces of Darkness.
First up were the Death Cultists. I had already made 5 cultists from a sprue of the official Frostgrave figures (and featured in previous scenarios) but I needed to expand the group. I wanted to make a unit of 12 so that it would be suitable for Dragon Rampant, so using other bodies (mainly Gripping Beast Arabs), the generous number of spare heads on the Cultist sprue and some judicious milliput application I filled out my rag-tag mob of desperate and gullible fanatics.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/80f4e932-624a-49e8-8229-ad875988b0cc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2cb5e245-2b02-4575-9e53-bd96af8ae794.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/5240ffcb-0178-4781-8288-96c5c8c6e510.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/80570cfd-f93e-4334-84fd-bb602ea7de61.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ad0d732a-ce8c-485b-b4b0-080102b4db5c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4ff94537-0707-4340-b52f-a612283cf910.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d9883e31-70df-4bde-b79e-04eb7a417718.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4b40ca9f-914c-4b87-a186-e28d9a0acefc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/8fc9f139-03d8-403b-aac2-6c929a67b4eb.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3b5dabdb-4c3f-4e18-a08d-f3047c699755.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f5dd3933-eee7-4e6a-b473-b6447643190d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/de97f2d7-87bf-4f02-8455-f0c0ae7a5323.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/71cbd577-7e27-4d1a-9d30-ad9760071c83.jpg)
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Brilliant work mate, they look the part! 👏🏻
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Next were some Armoured Skeletons. These were comprised of figures from the North Star Undead Encounters set, plus a few odds and ends (including some kind of Roman I got free with a magazine - there is a bit more flesh on him than the others but there is a skeleton inside him waiting to get out, honest!).
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/feee2019-d59f-4b6f-970a-640e88832294.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a0aa9097-ce78-4534-9525-72987cfecff5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/7bb9effe-87ed-444e-ad76-88e31a741cf6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ff7ea9cc-d986-4ee5-9658-716e4ed63ffc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/022b98e9-04b1-4462-a4a5-a45eafe95209.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2af336d6-4fac-4b1c-8325-377b23fbf169.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/85919e92-f0be-411a-951e-6dc1d805bca4.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/9315ab94-3139-46d9-a342-1121a8f684fa.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b808a45b-e250-4e2e-8f19-62970b6d0cc0.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ca73f347-622d-4678-91ef-c3cbf038205c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/26491a7c-d391-4061-b606-a1f2d17987fd.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a0592fbc-64b5-4b89-bc8d-e7799c443a5e.jpg)
The colour scheme for the shields was shamelessly copied from Knight-Captain Tyr's wonderful Black Order on the Fantasy Board.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/81fc5928-06b7-4545-a999-c820876b66bd.jpg)
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And of course we needed the Lichlord himself!
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f3c78171-179f-496b-b207-9721149e8285.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d01c0d0b-1169-4c15-89d4-678953957215.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3ce28d46-25d5-4578-8648-6b0ef06e7422.jpg)
A lovely chunky metal Gripping Beast Saga figure.
And with his horde:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/eaa005c1-5650-4567-bec4-1f3f2778b9d2.jpg)
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Excellent job on the figures you put together for the scenario! I like your kit bashed and the colour palette a lot.
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Very cool units, I really like the cultists.
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A great looking mob of evil.
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I love those death cultists!
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Thank for the comments guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, I have been distracted and now fallen further behind with my chronicling of my adventures in Frostgrave.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/f06c71a9-3b7a-4edb-bd6e-21021854ce22.jpg)
I have decided to put less pressure on myself to write something interesting in each post and simply get the pictures up. So here are my pictures from The Thaw of the Lich Lord - The Final Battle.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/148677d2-57d4-49c3-af98-ae5cd2b5a05c.jpg)
Note the large clock tower that my friend made especially for the occasion.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/9c317a3b-041a-4c54-a3de-b590c536bd83.jpg)
Death Cultists prepare to defend the Fountain.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/89a72713-1eba-4a0f-85e1-5350e57a5599.jpg)
Battle is joined.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/71511401-408e-4248-ad9b-de38b0b6a431.jpg)
The cowboys archers take the frozen water
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6617e822-97d0-45d1-83fa-86fdb250a184.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c46fac83-06f4-4899-b5d7-8169e0367887.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/20ce77c7-1e20-474c-bd8a-0ae119c4b3cc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/40d474c4-c7c5-4f77-b762-b609343bc0df.jpg)
The game itself was rather one sided in the end; I took control of the Lich Lord and his freshly painted horde, but struggled to defend myself against the combined might of three powerful wizards and their warbands now working (for a change) in concert. But it felt like a climactic spectacle.
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Looks like it was a hoot. Nice yo see the nose in action. We have been playing through and are getting ready for the bone wheel soon.
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Looks like it was a hoot. Nice yo see the nose in action. We have been playing through and are getting ready for the bone wheel soon.
Thanks snitcythedog - The Bone Wheel is a fun scenario I hope you enjoy it!
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The Maze of Malcor
Scenario 1 - The Relic Room
I ordered the Maze of Malcor supplement when it was released but was a little bit disheartened when I first read it and released how many new creatures were required and the extent of the scenario specific modelling involved. But then another member of my Frostgrave group bought it and was very enthusiastic about giving it a go, and the enthusiasm was infections!
Cabinets!
For Scenario One the key terrain feature required is display cabinets. I used orange hollow plastic jenga pieces as the starting point – these are about the right size as described I the rules save for being about half the stipulated length. However as we were planning to play the scenario with 4 wizards and therefore needed 16 cabinets we thought the reduction in size was acceptable.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/62d3b4fa-763d-4642-a143-e188836077a2.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/fd61d5a6-64a7-4ac0-aa9e-af22c4212f5e.jpg)
There were two basic designs, one being a deep cabinet with a flat glass top, the other being shallower with an angled top and drawers beneath. I put together two prototypes and then my friends and I built the rest in a sort of production line.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c3e2a1c7-e72e-4b08-81c0-9ae148682c54.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6eeffcd4-867d-41c2-bc47-a08ee79d9b0c.jpg)
Once they were primed we split them between us to create contents using clay or whatever was in our bits box.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/9a2a6343-1102-40eb-ab09-343a3a127015.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/833f9cf8-0e6d-45f1-8cf8-e62051429ecc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/397f6810-3506-41d5-8d7f-7e2dc8a519e0.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/e932e1f0-2442-4b2f-bb04-445d80df77a2.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/cd3f4467-9c36-4439-af7a-4d0b3a290c62.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/589a84aa-ca52-4a2d-b635-7ae570564a96.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/965e32e6-5e43-4cf5-bbe6-b0236ce0c65b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bfb49990-9c44-4ac0-b2f6-c18f8bd2b6c6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-The glass was made from transparent plastic from toy packaging.
[img]https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6bbe113c-97f9-4767-b117-5b58bbb5226c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bfb49990-9c44-4ac0-b2f6-c18f8bd2b6c6.jpg)
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The glass was made from transparent plastic from toy packaging.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6bbe113c-97f9-4767-b117-5b58bbb5226c.jpg)
And here is photo from the actual game:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3be48a46-5517-47e4-867c-a1bfc9279300.jpg)
But even with 16 filled and glazed display cabinets there was more we had to do before we could start the campaign...
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Cabinets came out great. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
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Cheers snitcythedog - there is plenty more to come, although I have not attempted a Chronomasters Tower... yet!
Bogmen
One of the most intriguing new creatures potentially required for Scenario One are Bogmen; human cadavers with the insides removed and replaced with peat. Essentially skin sacks filled with decomposing plant matter sewn together they flop about alarmingly (although not particularly dangerously) and release unpleasant gas when pierced. Northstar do produce a single metal Bogman figure but it does not really fit how I imagine these poor creatures to look, and in any event we needed several.
I am definitely no figure sculptor and when I have tried previously the figures just look like Mr Blobby. But then I though that might actually work for a Bogman, so I and my 9 year old daughter had a go. Here are my efforts:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/89df4b48-6de4-4668-94f5-ec90771d194a.jpg)
And here are my daughter's
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/66ac3dce-b2e0-47e0-8ea5-40b421dc371a.jpg)
Painted up:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/82f2c4e0-93ee-44fc-af42-c096d15cb3fb.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/debb481c-c625-4857-aaf5-e78a64ede5d5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/82ff30a3-c381-4b57-8920-f0b351be2de8.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/23c221ed-2e31-48c5-9db8-78d5a7383768.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/cc9c54d6-0366-4279-94e1-91b81b343541.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/2767d989-3a07-4d75-b4d5-1611019be7a6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/a6c73691-40be-499e-9397-11ca9e97135c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/fa81e101-4168-476d-a42b-e9501ef89f48.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/aaf4b888-81fd-41ba-adb7-423da12c54e7.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/15f17314-7d5c-4b59-91c1-6b9fb57a4985.jpg)
I see these creatures as being almost (not not quite) comically pathetic, while also being repulsive and tragic.
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Between the saggy, bloated sculpt and the paint they work really well.
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brilliant modelling and painting in this thread.
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Thanks both!
Shrieking Dogs
Next I need some large and almost immobile guard constructs. Often built in the shape of a dog (but not always) these emit a piercing alarm when triggered. I used some Reaper Bones statutes as they had suitably gaping mouths.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/aeabc82d-0a17-4d1a-8b94-8f0e5c2a8d93.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/05f797f0-cc92-45b5-ba4c-7f7a7b101bcf.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/8e610fd6-8024-495a-a2e3-c4fc9cb26bef.jpg)
Phase Cats
I also needed some magical cats so I used these from Bad Squiddo:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b06d7aa8-44d4-43cb-b0cd-c8a2e1ce53e5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ef186116-dd6c-4d8c-9096-088dc83eeb09.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/140cf8f0-1ac1-467f-98be-8a527f40b924.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c1843d95-5a02-4fc7-9ba9-7c27b2325d9f.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/589490f8-a2bd-423e-b95e-969187d63fd4.jpg)
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bagpuss !
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bagpuss !
Good point! Bagpuss is certainly a magical cat!
For non-Brits or those under a certain age here is a picture of Bagpuss accompanied by some small constructs:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/180/7aa64617-9e62-4e0e-88df-d35eedac347b.jpg)
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Continually great work! Those Bogmen are particularly effective.
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I too get a little disheartened with the number of enemies and terrain in Frostgrave (and Stargrave for that matter) and have adopted strategies to address whilst keeping the narrative alive.
I'm really impressed with what you done, especially those bogmen; when I saw your initial sculpts I thought they looked awful but once painted they are amazing.
Your cabinets are a bit nice too - I might have to copy some.
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Thanks Spinal Tap. I usually only get to game once every month or two so my group generally have time to attempt to create what each scenario requires. But we are not above proxying where necessary - even after playing Frostgrave for years my friends and I do not have any White Gorillas, Snow Leopards, Snow Trolls or Ice Spiders amongst other creatures!
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Bloodwaves
These creatures are aggressively sentient liquid - an interesting concept that is hard to model. Again I was not particularly taken with the official Northstar offerings (mainly because it is hard to make lead look like liquid) so I had a go at making my own.
First I made some normal snowy 25mm mdf bases and added a blob of Vallejo Water texture to each.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/df93afd9-a925-4c42-8745-2b6ea3b23764.jpg)
Next I wrapped some baking paper round a toilet roll insert and painted on a series of wave shapes using more Water Texture. Once these had dried I peeled them off the baking paper and glues them onto the bases I had prepared.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ab1bddb8-e024-4b6e-956b-913f2348abb4.jpg)
I then painted them with thinned GW’s “Blood for the Blood God” paint.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f5186b8e-86c9-43e9-94de-47602b5f0abc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/324be407-a7e5-4d3e-ad01-a1c46f4bfd59.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0ef6e08f-660c-478c-a3e4-87506084f1e5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c59503c5-be77-4513-831d-4d7cb599323b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1fc1f131-0df9-4c00-a9e0-966786ca384c.jpg)
And here is a group shot of the Shrieking Dogs that I forgot to post earlier:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/5f0f49bf-cbd6-4ab0-bb17-977cfe84ef30.jpg)
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Very nice Blood Waves. Works a treat.
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The Shrieking Dogs look great.
Excellent idea and execution with the Bloodwaves.
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You've exceeded yourself again with those bloodwaves - ingenuity and style.
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Great thread I have been thinking of frostgrave ever since I watched the Dwayne Johnson/jack black version of jumanji
A mix of people looking like post apoc survivors to modern day looking military carrying melee weapons .
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...because it is hard to make lead look like liquid...
It is when you're working at room temperature, yeah... lol
Those bloodwaves look absolutely spot on though; awesome idea and execution! 8)
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I have been thinking of frostgrave ever since I watched the Dwayne Johnson/jack black version of jumanji
A mix of people looking like post apoc survivors to modern day looking military carrying melee weapons .
Stargrave would fit the bill for you there.
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I was thinking they would be to sci-fi I was thinking frostgrave soldiers with modern heads , maybe some death fields cannon fodder? And then something more modern but more hand weapons than guns .
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I was thinking they would be to sci-fi I was thinking frostgrave soldiers with modern heads , maybe some death fields cannon fodder? And then something more modern but more hand weapons than guns .
It should fit the bill. You can easily work the rules to fit the theme.
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Thanks for all the kind comments!
It is when you're working at room temperature, yeah... lol
Good point lol
I am not going to do a detailed report of the game itself, other than to note that as expected the Bogmen were not particularly fearsome, but that the players various new warbands and their level 0 wizards were desperate not to come across a Bloodwave due to their immunity to non-magical weapons! It was fun.
I should also introduce my son's new Elementalist: Mango Inferno. Created from a blob of milliput and some bits from the bits box, he is armed with a magical mango. On a stick.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/f6d988dc-05f4-4344-a316-908b0b4c6d2c.jpg)
Anyway, here are some photos from the game:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/71031940-69b4-4a9c-a296-c9a8f3b7d4e6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4deaf518-5cef-4072-b790-4324df6a412d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/151580d6-e2f3-469c-9c49-8bca32ac687d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6a68c031-4bf8-47fe-bf9d-a25683444f8b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/9d6a3cc3-8a45-4b60-b71c-cc44069e9f86.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6ece7b9f-62e8-4fad-9599-b71805d87605.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a582fad1-015a-47e1-ab78-ad62bbb1d64d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/8193de0f-492f-47ce-873e-201697e6911e.jpg)
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you're brilliant at all this stuff. love it.
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Bloggard – thanks, you are too kind!
Collegium Porters
I forgot to mention previously that the first scenario also required a couple of these large furniture-based constructs. I decided to try and make these using two of the same plastic Jenga blocks that I used for the display cabinets, plus a bit of cereal packet cardboard and some bits from the bits box.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bf0da502-29df-4577-86e1-831adea1179e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/a643e756-3c21-4353-a306-1d1c32657064.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/22a0c7f4-3a09-4d49-8b33-23de2aae15ef.jpg)
The arms are magnetised so that can appear as normal furniture before they “come alive”!
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/da845b3a-e3b5-4dba-947e-141bb3195bb6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/7bd301a0-e04e-4318-9794-a83851e694b9.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f2370100-ecf8-47d1-ae22-23913666f0b3.jpg)
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The Maze of Malcor: Scenario Two
The Great Hall
The next mission called for a banqueting Hall filled with long dining tables. My friend volunteered to build these so I decided to try to make a fireplace out of cereal packet cardboard and a plastic Troll’s head while my daughter made some platters of food out of milliput and plastic bases to adorn the tables.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4eb4fbb2-405a-401a-be3e-f2423b00000a.jpg)
Once painted up the fireplace looked quite reasonable I thought.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3d36428c-725a-49c0-b0d6-c2827415db6f.jpg)
My daughter painted the platters of food. The wizards would be treated to roast chicken:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/5e2d15c6-a4b8-4942-895c-11040367664b.jpg)
Sausages and pie
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ac613454-d5ec-4b2e-ad49-4bbff3361cd9.jpg)
Fish and chips
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/94a46dd8-90d7-46fc-8b5f-6ed10c66c211.jpg)
and some watermelon for dessert!
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/27e3684b-d8b7-4d70-813d-4f21c815105a.jpg)
Yum!
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Very nice. Like the plates and fireplace.
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Great attention to detail mate!
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Thanks chaps!
Glass Spiders
This Scenario called for a potentially fairly large number of these small constructs. Originally designed to serve drinks at banquets they now contain corrosive fluids rather than wine. They therefore need to be dispatched with care to avoid getting splashed when their glass shatters!
Northstar do a quite nice Glass Spider model but again I wanted to have a go at making my own. I used a large rivet as a body with a glass paint agitator as a head, then made legs from matchsticks and cocktail sticks.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/79119bb8-613f-48d8-83f8-ee6e0c8adf94.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/56de4e8f-268a-49e8-b9e0-38d6efbeb71c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d182ded1-b435-4ec5-90d9-fc6e5cd30425.jpg)
After experimenting with different types of metallic paint for the legs and attempting to use ink to tint the glass, I went with brass lower legs, copper upper legs and clear glass "heads".
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/29b152c1-68a1-4316-b3b1-4dbe5b92fa7e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/db42702c-8481-4abe-9c3c-de878bfefcdb.jpg)
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Those turned out quite well, kind of eerie with the glass heads. Very cool scratch building!
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Brilliant idea mate!
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Clever spiders
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great stuff.
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Those are fantastic little creations - great work!
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Just discovered this thread, now I’m finally getting into Frostgrave properly. Really inspiring stuff, it’s logging quite a fantastic journey!
Thanks so much for sharing all this.
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Lots of lovely sculpting and innovations your daughters food and blobby men were especially creative.
I miss the text on your games reports but can well understand why.
Cheers
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I just found this and I have to say: everything is absolutely beautifully done. great imaginative modelling and painting. thanks for taking us along this ride. hope there is a lot more to come!
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Apologies for neglecting this thread! It is lovely, however, to read all the kind comments - Vagabond I showed yours to my daughter and she was very pleased!
As for the game reports the problem is that not only does it take a bit of effort to write a report that might be interesting, but by the time I do try and write something I have usually forgotten the details of the game anyway. Which is sadly largely the case with our playing of the Great Hall Scenario:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1af6731b-d81b-404e-9e14-ce55a8ae2ff1.jpg)
The table set up.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1b0091ef-b120-4d55-8cd5-00f244e5512a.jpg)
Tables not exactly heaving with food as such, but what food there was looked jolly tasty.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/070ce560-7b2d-4710-9526-0419b29ad9e8.jpg)
The Enchanter's warband.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c0a00929-fa4a-4d60-86fa-90791663fa76.jpg)
The Distortionist warband.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f9c52add-03b3-4dc4-8fc9-8d96938f7b63.jpg)
A Glass Spider waiting to serve/attack (with reinforcements waiting in the wings).
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3af02989-bafe-4192-927e-125f2233f5ae.jpg)
My son's Elementalist warband (the Baboons are "Thieves").
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b0cdb1f2-4b77-4dd2-816b-181a4cd0ae3c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2aa351fb-d12f-47ae-a329-0259b111a900.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c341ef71-ed20-46a5-b211-0dacbc969bc6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/8a1bfb80-b121-45d9-b1c8-393c9ac1171c.jpg)
One thing I remember was that the Distortionist managed to use the spell "Collapse" to bring down the balcony of the tower on to the heads of the Elementalist apprentice below. Distortionism is considered a "lesser" school (not being one of the 10 main schools featured in the main rule book), but our player who chose this school for their wizard has been pretty successful so far.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b88f10d3-7e9c-44a6-9901-ab0dfe56de40.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f5a104f8-fd25-4e1c-bab3-daca28594d87.jpg)
A Demon appeared...
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/384b6842-66fe-4bf3-a102-2b8be34e487a.jpg)
...and was dispatched!
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/048cd49e-052d-495b-b961-91c2a1fce1ca.jpg)
Glass Spiders kept popping up. Soon the floor of the Great Hall was strewn with shards of broken glass.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/860ae01b-a16e-4365-9c3a-42002a587045.jpg)
"Fog" was cast to prevent the fireballs of the Elementalist (and the crossbow bolts from his penguin!) from dominating the open spaces in the Hall.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1a5d3dbe-4125-4f36-8e52-11e11ca027d6.jpg)
This encounter came as a result of an Ulterior Motives card - I recall one of the players was being pursued by a relentless hunter!
Another fun game, all the warbands took casualties but all were, after treasure was counted and then spent, ready to come back stronger for the next game!
-
The Maze of Malcor: Scenario Three
The Aviary
This scenario provided an opportunity for a rather different setting to the usual frozen ruins as it was set in a magically preserved jungle environment used to house the University's collection of exotic plants and animals. My friend already had suitable trees and other plants available to use so I tried to think about what I could contribute. I found some large Greek style statues from the Reaper Bones Greek Odyssey how I had got through a Kickstarter and painted them up in an attempt to make them look like marble. These would In my opinion be suitable decoration for the Aviary.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c1dfcd84-b79f-4dce-b544-1fb2f39df7d6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/18eab0fe-8ae6-478f-8d37-1d545a788837.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/fa97c1ed-590e-4602-b186-ec1c2fcdb3e6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/79cb1b34-4047-4222-ac8e-60acf7be36d5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d3e40a50-7a60-4b72-b4b2-bc42abf20493.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/60f3adf0-8cdc-43d1-8a75-c172fcf546ed.jpg)
In terms of creatures my friend had painted up some Terror Birds (from Crooked Dice, I think) to be used as the large and aggressive Acrisbirds that inhabit the Aviary.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0707b6fe-1ff1-46b7-a2ae-5e59cbc1e7de.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a28b07ba-e91c-4d9e-928c-52ec1a1c3676.jpg)
I really liked how he had painted them, but he only had two and there was a strong chance that we would need more, so when I came a cross a slightly chewed plastic toy ostrich at a car boot sale I bought it as the potential basis of a conversion into an Acrisbird.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/270fa16e-f125-4f96-93d2-c86189d2a6b9.jpg)
I did my best with milliput and then attempted to imitate my friend's paint job.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4965e81e-14a6-48c8-b247-ae6c88bbcf29.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/e834ac62-858d-4ff7-9711-f4f4c06d6af0.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0afe1ef4-4167-4871-8d22-60db83a71cd5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/468fa37f-e8f2-4d5b-b399-e85bccc1b7c0.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/6e3ecaf4-656e-4f23-9ee8-21cfa8a53f25.jpg)
Not perfect match, but good enough to be perhaps an adolescent Acrisbird, or maybe a slightly different sub-species.
I was thinking about what other terrain we could use when I came across a set of salt dough Halloween themed sculptures my youngest daughter had made with her little friend and a skull they had made using a mould caught my eye.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/063aa8e4-ac2a-40fb-ba8e-d146c05d6ba2.jpg)
After obtaining sculptor's permission I mounted it on a plasticard base and added cork and sand to try to make it look as though it was a large rock carved into the shape of a huge grinning skull but now rather overgrown.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0a1f076e-c8db-4202-ac4a-2908912947c7.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3f4a495c-a286-4754-9444-8365b401053e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d8e7055e-2f3f-4004-8f71-93badf402ec2.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a4037ad8-b26d-45ca-a5c1-f8fc738f0981.jpg)
It looked to me like the kind of ancient and primitive art that wizards may have brought back the University from distant lands and used to decorate their magical aviary.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ed5282cf-6058-472b-9d52-828997b0964c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/ba2b334b-a04e-485f-b1a4-58ac5ff2e90a.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/eafdee88-b118-49e7-8cfb-f18eba81e67b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f9cb4eda-c660-4624-98de-453be8ddb551.jpg)
We now had what we needed to play...
-
Those all turned out great! I especially like the converted ostrich and the skull statue. I never would have considered cookies as a source of terrain, but it looks brilliant!
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Great work mate!
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Continual creative genius; that Acris Bird is outstanding.
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That stone skull really looks the biz. Bird came out great too.
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Thanks all! Now to the game...
The table.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/fe2c8f20-070b-4c6e-b401-05c7ed785361.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/647dff9f-e906-4581-b603-c52f7772f61f.jpg)
The bearded Enchanter and his band.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f0c190cb-ad50-4333-9ab5-9fabd0e52e94.jpg)
The Elementalist Mango Inferno, his Apprentice Monsieur Baguette (the big guy with the golden shirt carrying a freshly baked baguette under his arm) and their strange bunch of followers prepare to explore the Aviary.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/45973b5c-7c25-4999-b0ac-6dd934769d99.jpg)
A few treasures were placed on top of tall statues which meant retrieving them was a very dangerous process.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1d78f8d7-607a-48c1-acac-d9d3543337c2.jpg)
Not even "Fog" can help you up there! In fact her return to ground level was helpfully effected through the casting of "Push" at a carefully selected angle. Unfortunately her return was without treasure. Or health.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/010186eb-b1a5-41d6-8f49-3a06a83a1b87.jpg)
The Distortionist used "Collapse" to great effect on trees, turning each one affected into a kind of grenade showering those nearby with sharp splinters of bark and branch.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a2391a17-a6f3-46ff-b397-24b8d312b87d.jpg)
The Acris Birds were pretty tough and occasionally deadly.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/702a6dab-3419-4d50-b8bc-44348fcb9d49.jpg)
At one point we ran out of model Acris Birds so used the next closest thing we had, which was, er, a Unicorn.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/cf662a6f-5031-4d78-b3ac-d6f703d9240d.jpg)
The Enchanter did particularly badly this game, caught between Elemental Bolts from the Elementalist, a couple of particularly persistent Acris Birds and a pair of Wraith Knights attacking from behind. The other players of course provided the appropriate amount of sympathy ;D
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/74c6c2d2-b9b6-4d31-b40a-734da62fb6d2.jpg)
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The Maze of Malcor: Scenario Four
The Furnace
The next encounter was to take place deep in the bowls of the University where the magical furnace has somehow just about continued to function despite the icy apocalypse that befell the city.
Coalmen
The furnace is tended by a very particular and specialised kind of construct designed to withstand high temperatures as they feed fuel and waste into the flames. They are covered in coal dust and embers, hence their name.
I thought this was a good opportunity to go back to the material I used to make my first ever construct for Frostgrave (see earlier in this thread): cork!
I chopped up some wine bottle corks and a roll of insulation cork and my son and I combined these pieces with some bits from my bots box to come up with some varied designs.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/10ab2bc0-8cb9-4a52-9e07-0c5fc32f23dd.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/9ba9a89c-cb63-47cd-9047-1bc87bbc1445.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/bf3bbe7a-8001-4340-b1a7-dc40a6bfd283.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/1849a4ee-6ffa-4a26-abc2-070d15114701.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/4392e2b9-4941-4b40-87f6-0aefb4a007b0.jpg)
Painting in progress.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/6b470e1a-1462-4d35-a535-4aef49d3d144.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/0d169a8d-c838-4e9d-bdfd-7fb7ea24c8a6.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/38e9266c-b305-47b4-ac32-7d086c06eb87.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/ad76e585-78c4-4a61-a2dc-2551ef08643d.jpg)
And done. Now they need a Furnace to serve...
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nice and good builds
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brilliant interpretation and modelling.
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(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/ce6a3a03-079a-4664-80e7-e82a39c8dbe8.jpg)
The centrepiece of Scenario Four is a furnace, a square shaped structure with each side approximately 6 inches long. There is a door in each side of the furnace through which the fuel is fed by the Coalmen. Fuel for the furnace arrives in the furnace chamber down four long tunnel-like pipes, each one terminating in a different corner of the board. It is via these pipes that the warbands will enter the playing area.
My friend volunteered to create some pipes so I would make the furnace.
I had some ideas in my mind about what the furnace might look like so I started sketching out some plans, one of which escalated into a sort of artist's impression of what it might look like:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/861fba14-c7c4-464f-a97b-94a009ab972c.jpg)
I am not an engineer, but as I developed my idea it stuck me that the furnace had to have been designed to heat something, presumably water, and that heated water must have been intended to be pumped around the University in order to provide heat. The design of my furnace ought then to include some kind of tank above the heat source and some pipes to distribute the heated water and bring back cold water for re-heating. Including these would mean the structure on the table would make a little more logical sense (hardly a requirement when playing a game of magic and fantasy, but nice nonetheless) but more importantly would provide an opportunity to add some additional playable surfaces of different heights. I find having plenty of raised areas for players to climb up, run along and fall (or be pushed) off tends to improve a game of Frostgrave.
Here is my detailed working drawing:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/efe6b1ad-7ac2-4fbf-9276-27fb1d0a80b6.jpg)
I made it from cereal packet and toilet roll cardboard, drinking straws and little jewel stickers (the latter to act as rivets):
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/5d026413-8014-49c6-8f8d-f52454234b09.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/c57eb9fe-4921-4b51-bf79-64d38adbc6b1.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/e636aefb-ef9e-44f5-a7d0-8aa5a0c77fb0.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/aa36c383-2554-4833-a12a-3243d8c0910b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/52abae88-6d40-46ca-8683-752ad49a5e9e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/e5515dd9-0b0e-4253-adaf-12445524234d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/64deceaf-17f2-4ac6-a15d-b07769aa3501.jpg)
A fairly simple paint job later and it was ready for the game. Here are a few pictures - note the rather good entrance pipes in the corners of the board made by my friend from toilet rolls.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/d6c00a04-56d0-4bfd-b4f4-edbaf491c98c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/dc631da4-0110-4c8b-8b64-4763666c9be9.jpg)
Again apologies for the lack of a detailed game report. My key memory from the game was that it was very bloody with lots of Spellcasters being taken out.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/fc0e4174-3018-40a9-b152-db615e67faf1.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/12779730-873d-43bc-86a0-bc156557873e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/f02c407d-dabf-41b1-9982-7c77b331816b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/872d26fd-e79a-4e6f-8a1e-78570050fd58.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/d0f4150e-5c13-4d8b-8d60-7455823f107f.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/215062a0-fd52-4b10-9a9a-328c2dd5450e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/104c1b62-4973-48d2-9a42-7762b9feb519.jpg)
Some Baboon Thieves approach the Furnace.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/d1e7c139-8e73-480e-a828-fb1c2acb1d8f.jpg)
My favourite moment, as the controller of the Coalmen, was managing to stuff the Distortionist wizard actually into the furnace (instant death in this scenario).
Rolling after the game the Distortionist wizard somehow managed to survive his fiery ordeal without a scratch.
No such luck for the poor Enchanter. He actually died actually to death. For the second campaign in a row my friend had lost his wizard and would have to start again at level 0 mid way through.
Some time after the game I had a bit of fun playing around with my phone camera while using some explosion markers made from polyester cushion filing sprayed black and wrapped around a flickering LED tea light to simulate the flames inside the furnace:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/9bc0f7eb-f684-4ea8-90d2-ca335bcd1bfc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/d0f4f936-b366-4974-9820-790a26bf5310.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/f85eb6b1-44f8-4bf8-8e28-9b8fdea3c77d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/8772ae43-ca95-4fc8-b669-4d8066fcd6e5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/77acbca5-b76e-467d-8bc2-696b9ec727fb.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/bb285de3-dcbf-494a-b4a4-635c815df233.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/6ad6d239-6e8a-4714-82f9-b10f3d453e8a.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/eab1e615-36a3-4131-8ade-9b7110b79d1e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/9055d38f-ee60-41e5-ac96-6275dc08ceaa.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/155bd783-4126-4211-b456-23a0b42bcc21.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/870a18df-4f20-46c5-99ad-749fd53df99c.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/bb2e169c-de26-4ae3-8467-6b431d231b95.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/a97e3f43-0114-4908-a391-3e73c7f4e10e.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/d89bfa1d-357e-4a3d-8b09-6d7af0585295.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/540/05417953-db7e-41ab-947e-9ff813bc4f34.jpg)
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Outstanding work! One suggestion if you will have other builds with rivets find an adjustable leather hole punch. Looks like this.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71h+bmPI3IL._AC_SY300_SX300_.jpg)
You can emboss your flat material with raised rivets without having to glue them in place.
Again, very cool build.
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amazing. :-*
love the pen and wash sketch too. (that style would be great in the official product books - accompanying the more 'finished' colour paintings.
they could do some really nice stuff with the layout overall using artwork like that.)
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Fantastic.
I also think the pen and wash drawing is lovely.
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That has turned out rather spectacular. Great work!
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That’s a fabulous build! I appreciate the though you put into why the heating system would be set up a certain way- it really adds to the plausibility!
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The Maze of Malcor: Scenario Five
The Gondola Docks
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/dcb3d0f9-0cdb-4cef-a8ef-43c1a3d7c980.jpg)
Firstly, thanks for all the encouraging comments! I really do appreciate it and I am glad you lot are enjoying following our progress in Felstad. Thanks also to @snitcythedog for the tip regarding rivets – I feel I have done enough riveting on the Furnace to last me a while but next time I need some I will give that technique a try.
I am flattered by the compliments on my sketch but I am well aware that there is a vast gulf between my efforts and what the professionals produce and therefore I am very keen not to put pressure on myself in terms of quality. This is mainly because if I feel that I need to reach a certain standard I will probably never complete a drawing (and certainly never share it!). I will draw a picture if I feel like it and if the result helps me visualise what the scene might look like (or even if it is rubbish but was enjoyable to do) then that is good enough.
Which leads me nicely on to the terrain requirements for the next scenario in the Campaign – a set of docks high up a mountain designed for enchanted flying boats called “Gondolas”. They are described only very vaguely in the book (although there is an illustration in the book that seems to show them looking like conventional docks on the banks of a frozen river – perhaps these are the docks at the base of the mountain?) so I thought I would have a go at showing how I thought they should look:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/1b49253b-0771-4a3e-862d-da2c0b890369.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c6976b67-10c7-4183-ae17-f44795010bd8.jpg)
My friend said that he had suitable quantities of foam and offered to make them – and in a very short time he had constructed a very impressive set of structures.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/536e2975-7b8d-405b-83e0-16b60006b8ad.jpg)
The Scenario also introduced a new type of creature that has been happily nesting underneath the Gondolas (until disturbed by prying warbands) – large predatory insects known as Mantodeus. There is an official North Star model of these creatures but my friend instead proposed using some GW Tyranid figures he had. Painted in a very vivid green they looked very fearsome and insect-like.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2ec76530-5977-423a-a1ee-f50b082f14ee.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3abafb41-9726-455e-91b9-a392e44147a9.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4a164c72-cb0d-44fd-a823-48853a03b3c7.jpg)
My only contributions to the modelling preparation for the scenario were:
(a) to make some flight stands to fit the small boats we had made for the “Battle on the River” scenario in the Thaw of the Lichlord Campaign – these would be our Gondolas;
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/87bf9bf4-b01f-4843-b957-395ec7c2d304.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/509739a3-6a76-4108-93ff-f6962fd12606.jpg)
and
(b) to fix up and paint some partially failed 3d prints of park benches that I had got cheap from a bargain box at the UK Games Expo. I imagined that these could be placed on the docks for passengers to sit down at while they awaited the next Gondola flight to take them down the mountain.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/852eb7ca-0fed-41ac-b94c-c0f39b625cae.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c1bcca12-4e0d-4619-b439-5b4a99b24c78.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/e21632d0-575c-451a-9084-4f4f846fad4a.jpg)
Here is the table set-up. Our rules were that the docks ended and the sheer drop down the side of the mountain began at the end of each of the “piers” or at ground level where the cobbled/paved area on the board ended. Figures could not enter or leave the board on this side unless in a Gondola or if pushed.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bf04f5d1-d47a-482d-b82e-24a343463b26.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/17c30e01-9b7f-4686-9f44-54f246baa9f4.jpg)
The Elementalist's Warband:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2acb73a6-3490-438a-9700-830f2fe99dd3.jpg)
The Enchanter's Warband:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/7acd3166-05c0-450b-b1b7-9fb009cbc18c.jpg)
The Witch's Warband:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/005ec125-7e78-420c-adf1-a1a01617300d.jpg)
The Distortionist's Warband:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/66ab5200-e8bb-4d63-b639-a5de958eeeee.jpg)
My friend playing the Enchanter had recently acquired the Fireheart supplement and a number of new Construct figures and was keen to try out his new acquisitions, including a small flying construct.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b19b4127-494d-4f39-9173-5ff80651ec99.jpg)
Inevitably it suffered the fate of all newly painted models and was caught and devoured by the Elementalist’s Warhound.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c0c60fb5-71e4-48bb-956e-9b0d3b0bf22c.jpg)
Other scenes from the encounter:
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/5db3510f-cf03-4feb-91d3-9b034e596407.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0b6ba8e0-8a9c-44de-aebb-637a30cbcd4d.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/99a17db3-f31d-43b9-83ab-69defd217e2b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/54f45a76-533d-4f9a-a1a9-5dc3c9af96d8.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a1d868b4-77ee-4846-a543-2c08062425b9.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bce98808-7401-45d8-90ae-330c92577919.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f9de6f1c-5942-458d-82a7-6aef1066ca21.jpg)
Apologies again for the lack of a detailed report but unfortunately my memory has faded. I do remember that the Mantodeuses which were potentially roused from sleep by any rocking of the Gondolas proved very deadly.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/d5ad5bdb-f8b6-46fe-a6eb-5ee8c97a3afc.jpg)
The Distortionist’s warband in particular suffered very heavily from their master’s order to try and escape with a valuable Gondola rather than simply removing the treasures from the Gondola and escaping on foot.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/21f5a817-6a74-4dd2-af92-10f53f612f6a.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f1724c34-655d-46e7-817a-24b670ce6689.jpg)
After a prolonged and desperate effort the Gondola in question finally came to a halt just a few inches from the board edge (and safety), empty save for a treasure, and a couple of Mantodeuses picking their way over the heaped and unmoving bodies of a significant proportion of the Distortionist’s warband.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/273a9a78-9922-4a5a-96db-465c0d1a823e.jpg)
The Enchanter’s warband had more luck, however. A random encounter triggered by the picking up of a treasure caused the powerful Wizard Shade of Alentha Lemedes to appear on a board edge (the end of one of the piers) right next to one of the Enchanter’s Thugs.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b5732465-de56-4701-bb87-674162590e7d.jpg)
The Thug managed to win the first round of fighting but as she was not armed with a magical weapon she could not cause any damage to the Wizard Shade. She therefore opted to push her opponent back in an attempt to disengage from combat. This resulted in Alentha toppling backwards off the docks and down the mountainside, much to the Thug’s relief!
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/81e63097-2341-49bb-b130-3cd8e6848890.jpg)
Aletha is not dead of course, and will return. Just not in this scenario.
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brilliant, as ever.
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Wow! That’s brilliant!
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Wow what a wonderful frostgrave campaign. You have done so well making set pieces for each game.
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The Maze of Malcor: Scenario Six
The Cloister
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/80179459-e5f6-4f36-b273-7bba93613e3d.jpg)
The next scenario was called “The Cloister” and required a partially collapsed covered walkway around a central area that was once lawn but had since become overgrown with bushes shrubs and a number of trees. This had my modelling friend and I scratching our heads as to how best to represent this best on the table top in a way that:
a) was playable;
b) was not excessively time consuming to build;
c) did not take up too much of our limited storage; and
d) left open the possibility that it could be used in future scenarios/games.
This last point was a key concern as the structure was clearly going to be large and we did not want to spend a long time making something that was simply going to take up a big chunk of our available storage and never see the light of day again.
As luck would have it, the build up to the game coincided with a family holiday to Normandy which included a visit to Mont St Michel. To anyone not familiar with this remarkable place it is essentially a roughly round large rocky outcrop just off the French coast that can be walked to when the tide is out. It has been fortified by the addition of defensive walls and turrets behind which shelter various ancient buildings crammed together to form narrow winding cobbled streets all overshadowed by a large fortress-like Abbey perched on top. Apparently it withstood all English attacks during the 100 years war and would not look out of place in innumerable fantasy settings from Harry Potter to Middle Earth. The thought struck me as I entered the main gate that the place would be great as the setting for a 1-1 scale game of Frostgrave and it was easy to imagine (despite the summer sun and the crowds) wizards and their minions creeping and battling on the ancient ramparts and through the shadowy halls. And the icing on the cake was that it had a Cloister! My wife could not at first understand why I was so excited about this particular area of the Abbey (and when she found out she rolled her eyes!). I took some photographs for reference.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/7913c56e-8c80-4019-93ea-5ae4174a4b32.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/7fd4b23f-69d7-4914-af37-6b57bd11f244.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/8bbdb1b1-bf6f-4ed6-9b58-2401be257205.jpg)
Armed with my holiday snaps and I discussed the with my friend and we came to the conclusion that the simplest and most flexible approach to the issue would be to make a large number of separate pillars which could then be lined up to represent the pillars holding up the covering over the walkway. We would not model the covering itself as this would make it too hard to access figures underneath it (and it was meant to be ruined in any event). My friend had previously made simple pillars from toilet rolls attached to hexagonal mdf bases which had featured in previous games so our initial plan was simply to mass produce these. We probably would not need all of them again for a single game, but pillars feature quite regularly in Frostgrave scenarios and are nearly always useful as extra terrain even when not specifically required, so they would not be single use items.
Thinking back to the Cloister at Mont Saint Michel I began to have concerns that toilet roll pillars might be too large and think to create the correct impression. My friend’s son then suggested cake decorations so I had a look on a Chinese shopping app famed for low prices and found they were selling a pack of 4 plastic pillars for £1.76. I ordered all 6 available packs and qualified for free shipping. When they arrived I was very pleased with their useful size and solidity.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/999da489-26d6-4f3f-aa96-1fed1b6b37b4.jpg)
They did suffer a little from mould lines but looked far better than toilet rolls would have done.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/47d3d748-b541-45a8-a063-9f38d9b3bb7e.jpg)
I added a cardboard cap on each and attached them to the same hexagonal bases that my friend had used for his toilet roll pillars. Happily this allowed enough space between each pillar for a figure on a 25mm base to pass between them.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4b4812b6-d792-4495-94f1-c0951d5f95eb.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/686edae2-9726-44e5-87f4-c557141d7708.jpg)
I then realised that while the hexagonal bases meant that the pillars would fit together to form a straight line very evenly and neatly, they would not neatly and evenly fit around a right angle (square or octagonal would have worked better).
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b42a346f-3fa4-4dab-a6c6-1a3eb1f539b5.jpg)
I therefore decided to make “special” pillars on square bases to go in the corners that each of the 4 straight runs of 6 pillars on hexagonal bases could connect into. These pillars were special because they were made by me from cereal packet and therefore simple straight square section shapes.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f785955b-b14c-4dfc-a8a0-2e943879c056.jpg)
It was noticeable that the plastic pillars were very smooth and to try and add some contrast and texture I tried spraying them with some stone texture paint from B&M. I am not sure if it made much difference, but it did seem to stick to the plastic.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/0a34de0f-2eb1-4053-bed4-5a1aad09ccbf.jpg)
I then primed them black and then added a zenithal highlight before I dabbed on a few different shades of vaguely stone-coloured paint using a bit of ragged foam from a blister pack. I then called them done.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/9051c7b3-9e3f-49b1-8c93-8e8d16ccea26.jpg)
Meanwhile my friend was making the grassy area that the Cloister would surround. He made out of a piece of mdf and a lot of flock.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/3d92c1d6-dd0c-46a4-9f37-32785759396b.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f13ac67c-c5b7-464e-bc38-074d60dc7667.jpg)
We paired them together for the first time on the day of the game and were relieved that when placed on our usual Frostgrave board they seemed to fit together pretty well.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/bee34acc-7129-4e1d-b099-aa8bfb714ac3.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/2729e99a-ac26-4c24-97d5-fba6d0b925d1.jpg)
We hadn't really built a Cloister, but we decided that if one knew (as all the players did) that it was intended to represent a Cloister then when looking at it a Cloister would probably be brought to mind. Good enough.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/f8682d13-6a22-4ff8-baaa-80ad3bde5b95.jpg)
So we had the scenery. But this scenario didn’t just require scenery…
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Very nicely done! The cake decoration pillars look quite good painted up.
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Very practical solution. Looks like it will be a fun game.
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When I started to read about your visit to St Michel I naturally though you would model the whole island for a one off game, a single cloister was a bit disappointing. lol lol
Tremendous work on all these scenes, I'm very impressed both at your crestivity and incurable insanity. Your comment about your wife rolling her eyes when you wanted to photograph the cloisters made me smile. Mrs V is in a lot of my phots to provide scale to the subject. ;) she thinks I'm more than slightly bonkers.
The docks and gondolas were very neat, I've often thought about doing a harbour side but you must have a lot more storage space than I do and the furnace was truly a work of a mad genius.
Strangely only yesterday I was trying to break a cork into pieces to make a Construct, I'd seen someone do it before but they must have more strength and skill than me, I see you have cut yours and I may have another go at this, afterall I had to drink a lot of wine to obtain the cork, I really should use it although the blobby constructs from clay might be easier.
Keep up the good work and I'll be back in 6 to 12 months time to see how you're going on.
Cheers
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Thanks for the comments all, I was pleased with how the pillars turned and I am sure they will feature in many games in the future (although I suspect that it will be rare for me to need all 28 at once!).
Vagabond: thanks in particular for the "incurable insanity" diagnosis. I had been considering seeking help for my condition but on the basis of your evaluation that it is too far progressed to for any cure to have effect I might as well just embrace it.
On the other hand, your threat to revisit this thread again in 6-12 months time makes me feel like a teacher being given notice of a potential Ofsted inspection. I now feel pressure to ensure that my metaphorical classroom walls are nicely decorated, my metaphorical lesson plans are compliant with the current curriculum and (on the basis that a smaller class is easier to manage) as many as possible (if not all) of my metaphorical pupils are expelled immediately before your return. Which I think basically means I need to have posted something about painting figures and playing games. So here goes:
A notable feature of this scenario is that it is the first scheduled appearance of the main man himself, Malcor the Mad, along with his Advisory Council. I decided to use a figure my son had made out of the North Star Wizards plastic sprue for Malcor. He looked quite striking to me, with his pointy collars and pointy beard and I "double based" him to try and make him seem more substantial and important than the other human figures in play.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/c3b8b368-36f5-4a9c-b573-b09eb77e1991.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/e925cf1a-cfed-4036-b9a1-d69190b3d6bb.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/535511f2-84cd-476d-91ae-ffe4d468acdb.jpg)
I am still not sure if he is quite impressive enough to be the big bad boss of the whole campaign, but he would have to do.
For Malcor's three person Advisory Council I used a set of three very Shakespearean looking witches. I am not sure of the manufacturer as I purchased them from the sale section of this very forum. I toyed with painting them in brighter more adventurous colours but in the end went with traditional black for ease and future flexibility.
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/70f3b6f0-def9-4b96-b2b3-d3bf83b1cf02.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/65a1c545-0e5b-4bfd-a13e-b2f8c3ee70b5.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/fb0274fd-ea79-4e2d-a433-5d60a2203a22.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/69da65d4-26d4-43fc-aa01-b4cb44177f35.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4b79b9bb-d14d-4680-be51-9fa0063bc8f3.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/5764bcf4-aa62-46aa-8755-538f388d39bc.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/4fdd17bb-95d2-4cf9-b673-8a60cfe4fd31.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/a4b25e75-ddcb-483a-b208-a0ca33870906.jpg)
(https://thumbs-eu-west-1.myalbum.io/photo/360/b4dd0131-a402-4868-baf7-2818f877469d.jpg)
It turns out black is harder to paint than I remember. But again, they would have to do.
Next I had to review the capabilities of my newly painted Senior Leadership Team and plan some unpleasant surprises for the trespassing warbands...
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Just saw this post and these will be great additions to the campaign. I would be very interested if anyone knows the manufacture on the witch coven. They are very not bad.
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Yes, they very nice traditional ugly sinister witches! And they came with a small cauldron that I have not yet painted. Note that I had to replace the right hand of the last figure as it was missing, as was the top of the staff of the first witch pictured, so they would have looked a bit different originally.
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They look familiar.
So I checked my lead pile and it turns out I have a completely different set of 3 witches! lol
I have a vague recollection of that one witch lacking a hand was actually stirring the cauldron, but don't quote me on that...