Solo play - tinkering with initiative/turn order

[Evil Doctor]

So I want to play Frostgrave solo, as I haven't really got anyone to play with 

Instead of wizard band against wizard band, I'm thinking of having my wizard band attack a stronghold of the enemy, where I buy the enemies soldiers from the same list as a player would use but there's no wizard or apprentice. Thinking I might give the bad guys twice as many points as me (i.e. twice as much as my soldiers + apprentice). They instead of treasure tokens, I'll give the treasure randomly to some of the opposing figures... that's right, it's kill things and steal their stuff! Five turn limit I think.

Anyway, as a way of making initiative/turn order more interesting for this kind of battle, I came up with the following.

1) Take a pack of standard playing cards. Remove the picture cards.
2) Assign 1 number card to each enemy model (thug number 1 is the 3 of hearts for example).
3) Take all the cards you have assigned, and add one King, one jack and a joker (suit unimportant).
4) Shuffle all the cards and set to the side face down.

Then during the game...
1) Turn over the top card
2) If it is a number card, activate that opposing soldier. If he's dead, remove the card and draw again.
3) If it is a king, activate your wizard as per the normal rules (so with up to three of your Soldiers)
4) If it is a jack, activate your apprentice as above
5) If it is a joker and you haven't activated both your wizard or apprentice, put it at the bottom of the draw pile
6) If it is a joker and you have activated both your wizard or apprentice, activate any of your soldiers that you haven't already activated with your wizard and apprentice
7) If you run out of cards, shuffle and start over.
If an opposing soldier is killed, remove his card next time you shuffle.

So, this will mean opposing soldiers will activate at varying times during the game, and you won't be able to predict when. It will mean your wizard and apprentice will activate in different orders depending on the card draw, but I don't think that's an issue. Your soldiers who aren't with the wizard or apprentice will always activate last.

What do you reckon? Should make for a dynamic game I think.

[ragsthetiger]

I like your card deck solution to initiative -- it should make for a lively and unpredictable game.  Will your enemies operate under some kind of preference protocol, such as trying to attack your wizard or apprentice if possible, or just attack the nearest member of your warband?  Might be fun to add an enemy spellcaster, too...use spell cards, and draw one when he/she activates, for example.
rags

[capthugeca]

Sounds like a good plan.
I too am planning to do solo but have only just got the rules so am a bit behind you.
So I'll be following your developments with interest.

[Roberticus]

I tried your system today and it went pretty well, I think. I used a standard warband setup for the opposition, with wizard/apprentice.  I did the Complex Temple scenario, which was good because their wasn't any random treasure placing needed. All the spellcasters had their own number on the cards, so they came up randomly, which actually worked OK.  The only issue I had was that the activation of your own soldiers seemed to be a disadvantage.  Mine always activated last, at least those that weren't with the Wizard or apprentice.  I suppose that you could give every member of both warbands their own card, then everyone would activate randomly.  I'll have to try it without opposition spellcasters, and see how that works.  Giving the opposition twice as many points, and hence many more soldiers, seems like a formula to get your own warband slaughtered.  Its all about the numbers of fighters when you get into combat.  Those +2's to the fight stat add up fast.