Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Frostgrave => Topic started by: Timeshadow on 05 December 2015, 05:01:18 PM
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As Lao Xane reached the top of the rise a ramshackle village came into view and beyond it the mountain pass that lead to the ruins of the frozen city now known as Frostgrave. There were many newer buildings in the once small village below which was now shaping up to become a town or evin a city for this was the last bastion of civilization before entering the foreboding magical wastes that even now were crawling with all manner of creatures both magical and mundane. Dispite this Xane knew the risk would be worth it for within the frozen depths and catacombs were mystical wonders of a lost age and he would be the one to discover them.
Xane was distracted from his musings by the sounds of bickering. Looking back he spied his apprentice Jade arguing with Vandel and smiled. Those two should just make it formal and get it over with. Even if Xane hadn’t seen this with his divinations it didn’t take magic to see these two were in love. Xane shook his head, just as long as it didn’t interrupt her studies or his research the relationship just tied Vandel more tightly to his little band. Vandal’s brother Korvak had seen the exchange as well and scowled. There was one to keep an eye on. Personality wise the opposite of his brother. Both were renowned hunters and expert marksmen and normally be much too expensive to keep on retainer but they owed Xane for saving their home village and so they traveled with Xane, a dept of honor they could never really repay.
Thinking of the village brought back the memory of how they had found him. They were desperate, an evil wolflord had insinuated itself into their village and in the run of a month everyone was infected. When Korvak and Vandel returned home they were forced to flee from their friends and family who were being controlled by the Wolflord. They think they found Xane by luck, but it was his divinations lead him to them and told him what to expect. It was a savage battle but in the end Xane was able to defeat the Wolf Lord freeing his victims and if it were just that then Xane would have taken a reward and been on his way but the people were still infected and would become uncontrolled monsters on the next full moon. Xane used the last magics of the only relic he had been able to save from doomed Xao. It allowed him to put a permanent mental enchantment on the entire village. This didn’t cure their affliction but it allowed them to remain in control of themselves when the change came upon them or any they accidently infected,(though Xane cautioned them to be very careful not to infect others).
Though many protested their accursed state they knew it could have been much worse. Some came to accept the change and volunteered to accompany Vandel and Korvak with Xane to the frozen city. Xane even promised to return if any cure for the affliction could be found and if one could be found anywhere it was Frostgrave. At first Creed, Victor, Rhane, and Leana were just camp followers helping with choirs, hunting cooking, but soon they acclimated to their condition and with practice began to control their transformations. This made them ideal out runners and scouts. I foresee them only becoming stronger with time and experience. Their feral natures have had another unexpected side effect. Two large wolves have decided to attach themselves to our “pack”. It seems they sense that the shifters are subservient to me which makes me pack leader. It was so easy to teach them simple commands and they obey everyone in the group, very eager to please like overgrown puppies really but threaten one of their pack or give them the order and they would rip out someone’s throat.
Hopefully there were other far stranger bands drawn by the promise of magic and riches. Thinking of strange brought Xane back to thinking of his personal servant “James”. Though technically an animated corpse James is not your average mindless zombie. He was in life the Lao family butler. His family had served the Lao’s for generations but he was the last of his line. His family centuries ago (possibly even as far back as before the ice covered Frostgrave) had sworn to serve the Lao’s and some great magic was cast binding them to the family so now even after his death James keeps reanimating to serve. Never complaining and always insightful James is simply put one hell of a butler “Even if it takes a cantrip every day to prevent unpleasant odors”.
Xane gathered his followers and began walking down the hill. The sun was setting and wind had begun to howl. Soon a storm would blow in he had foreseen it. Shelter was their first concern then after getting some basic supplies they would begin their first foray into the ruins looking for a secure place to make their base camp. What wonders and horrors awaited them? For all his mystical abilities at peering into the future even Xane could not say for sure.
End....for now.
Lao Xane is a traveller from the far east. He hales from the lost city of Xao. During it’s final days Xane divined what was to happen. He fled the city with but a few trinkets, his faithful apprentice Jade and his living impaired butler James. He knew the counsel would not believe him for they had been consumed by the politics of the ancient city and so he fled.
Xane had heard of the ancient city of magic now known as Frostgrave and set out in a quest to learn great and powerful magics lost to time.
Starting Warband/Expansion plans:
Lao Xane Soothsayer (Primary Wizard)
Jade (Apprentice)
1. Korvak (Marksman)
2. Vandel (Marksman)
3. Creed (Thief eventually upgrade to Treasure hunter or maybe Barbarian)
4. Victor (Thief eventually upgrade to Treasure hunter or maybe Barbarian)
5. Rhine (Thief eventually upgrade to Treasure hunter)
6. Leina (Thief eventually upgrade to Treasure hunter)
7. Fang (Warhound/Wolf) *eventually will be slotted into Kennel bonus.
8. Snarl (Warhound/Wolf) *to be replaced with a Raven master: Mesha (Raven: Loki)
9. (Inn bonus) Third Marksman: Lucas Sure shot
10. (Kennel bonus) Raven master: Sasha (Raven: Thor)
Others:
Summoned Zombie: James (the living impaired butler)
Hope you all liked the story. I plan to do a similar write up for each battle Xane is in along with an after battle story/blurb to explain any new hires or events.
Now I just need to complete/paint all the miniatures for the war band.
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Nice intro. Can't wait to see the minis!
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like it, Nice backgroud mate :D
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Here is my Wizard Lao Xane and his companions... minus James still need to put him together. :D
Warning!! If anyone is offended by medeioker painting please look away. I am a gamer not an artist.
This was a public service announcement. Regardless I had fun painting them and that's the main goal really ;)
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Group photo!!
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First Battle!!!
Xane peered into the shifting smoke as he chanted the words of power and he suddenly knew where they would go for their first foray into the foreboding ruins of Frostgrave. He nodded to Jade who doused the ceremonial candles and began packing up the ritual gear. “South through the ice caves then toward the black obelisk. There we will find great treasures but will be confronted by fire and brimstone. Beyond that I cannot see. The skeins of fate are frayed which means another wizard’s magic will be in play. I see blood on the snow but I cannot be certain if it is ours or theirs.” Jade looked up at Xane as she finished the packing with a worried expression. “Can you see death?” What Xane knew she meant was will Vandal be hurt. “That question is beneath you my apprentice. You should concentrate on your own divination and preparation. We can only see what may happen and even then we can only affect the outcome if we are prepared and we are strong enough.” Jade bowed and went to tell the others they would be leaving soon and to prepare for battle.
First Battle (Standard match) vs Damien Black the Summoner (played by my friend Rod)
Opponent’s warband
Wizard (Damien Black) Summoner w Sword & Dagger
Spells: Summon Demon, Leap, Bind Demon, Brew Potion, Raise Zombie, Elemental bolt, Heal, Mind Control
Apprentice (Cole) w Sword & Dagger
Archer, Archer, Infantryman, Infantryman, Thief, Thief, Thug, Thug
Pre combat spells
Xane: Reveal secret and Raise Zombie were both successful
Damien: Raise Zombie and one Brew Potion (Demon in a bottle) successful.
Pics and report to follow.
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Xane finally relaxed, they were safe for now. Their first excursion into Frostgrave was nearly their last. Nearly half the party had been taken down before he was able to route the insidious Summoner he now knew as Damien Black. Things looked bleak for a wile there as both Fang and Snarl were sent running by one of Damien's cruel thugs and Creed got taken out by a bolt of hellfire from Damien himself. Luckily they were able to rally and drive them away first by defeating their summoned minions then by taking control of one of Damien's blade beasts sending it after his apprentice. Xane recalled the shocked look on his face as he himself brought the unfortunate apprentice low with a mighty blow from his staff. His seeing had not been wrong. The snow was stained with blood though it had been mostly the enemies. A hefty sum of gold along with no less than four grimories to study and an enchanted crossbow for Vandel were their prizes. They had claimed this abandoned Inn which was quite comfortable and everyone had recovered completely from their wounds. Now the real work began.
Summoner Damien Black with his apprentice Cole and friends.
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The board
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Starting positions
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My casualties..... they all rolled over 9 so full recovery. I collected 5 treasures including 4 grimories and a magic X-Bow (+1 shoot) and 410GC.
I also recieved 430 xp for spells cast, an apprentice and soldier kill by Xane and 5 treasures.
Damien(Rod) didn't do as well with only 2 treasures and a total of 200 xp
We both agreed a very fun match.
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Looks like a great first game - fantastic looking board too!
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Xane's next foray into Frostgrave... The Living Museum. Here is where the battle will take place...now I just need to wait on an opponent :-)
And a pic of my living statues.
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I only just saw this thread after posting mine. Nice them and great work!
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Jade burst into Xane’s chambers “Master I have news!!” Xane looked up from the grimoire he was studying. “What is it my student? What has you so worked up; you know emotion interferes with our sight.” Jade calmed herself, “I have done it master I have deciphered the runes from the manuscript. They tell of a museum where some of the city’s greatest treasures were once placed on display. I have a location!” “Well done Jade. Now go and gather the others we have no time to waste. My foresight tells me that we are not the only ones that have discovered this location. We have no time for a proper reading I will cast my auguries as we travel. Prepare yourself my student I fear more than rival treasure hunters will challenge us this day.”
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Treasure tokens ;)
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Great read, thanks!
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Constructs Small med and large. ;)
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Ooh I like those! Where are they from?
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They are all "former" Dreamblade models. Dreamblade was a chess like collectible minis game that wizards of the coast put out years ago but it died quickly after wizards stopped doing large tournaments with prize support.
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Here are some Wizards and their minions I tossed together with models I had laying around. Many need touch ups paint wise but they all have nice themes and look pretty cool I think. They are gonna be my "loner" armies since I'm trying to get a bunch more ppl interested in frostgrave :-)
The first is Damien Black with his apprentice Cole and their minions. In the back on the ruins are Damien Black himself and his apprentice cole(the smaller one is Cole). Left to right: Minor Demon, Major Demon, Imp, Thief, five Infantrymen, another thief, Animal companion (Bear), and a "crazy" zombie.
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The next is my Enchanter Ackeron with his apprentice Kate up in the back. In the front left to right:
(Ninja) Thief, (Herculean) Thug, Medium Construct, (In the back) Minor Demon/Angel, Small construct, Crossbowman, Large Construct, Archer....repeat in reverse order ;)
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My third band includes my Elementalist Aurora Monroe (yes I went there), and her apprentice Bolt. Left to right:
2 Warhounds, Large "Elemental" construct, Marksman, Thug, 2 Small "Elemental" constructs, Medium "Elemental" construct,Thief Marksman, Thug, and a pair of med-large "Elemental" constructs.
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Finally we have the great combat Thamaturgest Dr Infinite and his apprentice Fred. Left to right:
2 Warhounds, Treasure hunter, Goblin Thief, Infantryman, Goblin thief, Treasure hunter,, Goblin thief, and Animal companion "Skyrum the Griffon"
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Now my Witch Loki and her lackey Malklith. Left to right:
2 Small(Front), 2 Medium (middle), 2 Large (back) Inscetoid constructs, Thief, Five Infantrymen, thief, 2 "Bottle" Minor Demons, and the Minotaur Animal companion "Ragnarock".
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Modified with descriptions of what each model was supposed to be.
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Great warbands!
They are all "former" Dreamblade models. Dreamblade was a chess like collectible minis game that wizards of the coast put out years ago but it died quickly after wizards stopped doing large tournaments with prize support.
Ah, thanks - I have a couple of Dreamblade minis myself - they lend themselves very well to Frostgrave.
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I used to play Dreamblade and it was a very interesting game but not fun outside of competitive play which was in my opinion the main reason it died. On the bright side I have a ton of cool looking models to cannibalize for other games. I was also a big Heroclix player back in the day as you can see from many of the minis shown. Super Heros/Villans lend themselves very well to Wizardry :-)
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So I started a new campaign today with both excellent and devastating results. First game vs my illusionist opponent went well I took 4 treasures to his 3 ( and he was the one to get reveal secret off)
Both sides did well with no real losses. Then we played the moselium and things went badly with my apprentice getting shot down quickly and a super skeleton taking out not only my wizard but both his wizard and apprentice. I was able though to keep my head and secure 5 treasures. Unfortunately my wizard Xane rolled a 2 for recovery and died. I could have restarted but I had a nearly perfect warband now and total of six spellbooks acquired so I early promoted Jade to wizard. Her stats are M6 F +2/3 S-2 A10 W +2 health 12 and she casts with no penalty (she is effectively - 4th lvl(wizard was lvl 6 so -10= lvl -4). It's gonna be a challenge getting caught up.
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Jade dried her eyes and continued to go through her now deceased master's notes. She had to be strong. She had
to lead the group now. Thank goodness Vandal was still with her or she didn't think she would have been brave
enough.
The last few days had started out so well. They had gone once again into the ruins of Frostgrave and with Xane's
guidance and leadership had driven back a rival Wizard, an Illusionist with next to no losses and secured many
treasures and several spellbooks. They had even begun plans to renovate their Inn to make it more comfortable
adding a rookery for carrier pigeons and a kennel for the dogs. They had even hired a new hand his name was
G'regl and he had claimed he knew where more treasures were hidden in the city. This is where things began to go
wrong....the treacherous little toad had us all fooled it was all an "Illusion".
For some reason the greater divinations were not working little did we know we were being sabotaged. We had
arrived at the ancient Mausoleum and Xane seemed more serous than he had ever been and he cautioned me about
overconfidence. Once again across the ruins was the Illusionist Esmeralda she had plotted revenge since our last
encounter and with the betrayal of G'regl trapped us, but Xane used his magics to twist fate and turn the trap
back upon the deceiving vixen. He sacrificed himself to not only save all of us but seize most of the
treasures hidden in the mausoleum and deal a little pain to the Illusionist and her apprentice.
I did not see what happened but Vandel loyal brave Vandel stayed and saw it all. The Illusionist had cast a
spell to send the hoards of undead from the mausoleum directly at our fleeing warband and burdened as we were
with our injured and the treasures we had acquired they would had us. Xane allowed himself to be slain so his
spirit might possess one of the mindless undead and he turned the tide back on the Illusionist forcing first
her apprentice then the Great Esmeralda herself to flee badly injured their plan for revenge thwarted. Vandel
was able to retrieve Xane's lifeless body afterward for berial.
As Jade pondered the previous days she noticed an envelope with her name on it within the spellbook Xane had
last been studying. She opened it and read.
"My apprentice Jade. I have had a feeling for some time now that I would be soon leaving you. So I leave this
message in case my departure is sudden and final. I Lao Xane am your Uncle and you are now the last of my line.
Within my notes are the notes and rituals that will unlock your true potential and allow you to claim your
birthright. My brother never wanted you to become a wizard but you had so much potential and with his unfortunate
passing you came into my care. He and your mother were assassinated and the contract included any children of
his house so I hid your identity and did not acknowledge your bloodline to protect you. Now we are far from lost
Xao and you will need the powers granted to our bloodline to continue. First you must summon James then he will
help you with the final steps you will need to take to become a full wizard. I will be sure you have plenty of
resources before I go this I have foreseen, so take your time and complete the rutuals then go back into
Frostgrave. There are great treasures and magical mysteries for you to discover there and I know you will do me
proud......I have foreseen it. Lao Xane Soothsayer of the first house of Xao.
One week later Jade looked out over the deadly ruins of Frostgrave she was distracted from her musings by the sounds of
bickering. She smiled as she saw her apprentice arguing with Korvak. It didn't take magic to see that it would
never work out between those two. Sasha was just too independent and free spirited to kow-tau to a brute like
Korvak and he was too stubborn to change for anyone. As long as it didn't interfeer with her studies or their research it didn't matter. His brother Vandal had seen the exchange too and winked at Jade. She smiled Vandal could always cheer her up. She turned back to the ruins ahead. She knew that great treasures awaited along with great danger but she and her followers would become some of the greatest explorers ever known to travel the icy streets of Frostgrave she had foreseen it.......
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Just found this- reading through now :)
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Very interesting, and well done making Jade likeable after Xane - SPOILER ALERT - died!
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It felt good returning after this her first foray into Frostgrave as a full wizard. Everyone performed excellently and even now she could hear the others beginning to celebrate downstairs. Jade slumped into her master's....no now her desk chair exhausted. Though very successful it had been a harrowing encounter hopefully the tomes and golden lamp recovered would be worth it. She thought back to the encounter and how things could have gone and shuddered. Her Divinations that morning had been confusing but in hindsight perfectly accurate.
(That morning)
As the smoke and incense cleared Jade shivered. This was her first full divination after her accention to wizard. The vision was so clear but confusing. Glimpses of a tall fiery creature striking her enemies, which were a well armed and organized band of orks led by a deeply robed and hooded wizard. Then everything changed and the fiery creature was burning a bloody swath through her people first to die was Lucas, the new sharpshooter she had just hired. He fired on the beast point blank and did nothing then was burned to dust in a searing blast. Then Sasha was before it straining to summon and finally succeeding but the angelic spirit was consumed along with her as the molten beast just kept advancing. Then it was upon her and she could smell her flesh cooking..... the scene shifted to a series of landmarks and finally rested upon their Inn (Now renamed "Fate's Rest") and then she woke and the smoke and incense cleared as she shivered....
Jade was able to follow her series of visions to a newly revealed section of Frostgrave. Everyone was on edge for she had warned them of the flaming creature and if it attacked them their weapons would be useless. Brunhild, Lance and Lucas, all new to the band were laughing and quite confident almost dismissing Jades warnings with their bravado but Vandal quickly set them straight and seeing Victor, Creed, Leina and Rhanie transform into their half wolf forms took them aback.
As they rounded a corner in the frosty city Korvak spotted movement in the distance. It was the Orc band Jade had seen in her vision. Jade quickly gave everyone the order to spread out and take positions. Lucas quickly scaled up the side of a ruin to get a better sniper position. Brunhild, Lance and Victor were assigned to protect Sasha and the the left flank wile Korvak, Vandel, Creed, Rhanie, Leena and Fang took the right flank. Jade quickly cast another divination locating a golden lamp and sent James to retrieve it. She also cast an illusion of the same lamp up to the center right near another ruin to distract the orcs from the real treasures....and it worked.
Everyone advanced and the battle was on. In the first few moments Vandel was able to take down one of the darting orcs and Fang rushed up into the fray. Then James reached the lamp and just like her vision the infernal flaming beast sprung forth intent on destruction. James in his calm unruffled living impaired manner just walked away from the beast with the lamp it had just sprung from.
This was the moment where her visions diverged, the moment of truth. If the beast was left unchecked it would consume them all. As Jade struggled with her emotions the beast hurled a ball of fire at Lucas nearly incinerating him. His screams of pain snapped Jade from her indicision and she spoke the words of compulsion channeling all her will at the flaming entity. It's will was strong but Jade knew that failyer was not an option and she channeled so much of her lifeforce into the spell she nearly fainted from the exertion.....but she broke it's resistance and it's will was now her's to command.
It was a good thing Vandal is so procetive of me. Wile I was battling mind to mind with that brute I was completly exposed to that pack of wolves that showed up right behind me. Vandal was able to run back and intercept them and call back Rhanie and Creed. If only they had such a rappor with Xane... I think he might have survived. Vandal Creed and Rhanie quickly dispached the wolves but this allowed the opposing wizard to escape with several treasures but Jade couldn't help smiling remembering the ork curses as one of the treasures they were about to claim vanished from sight.
With the burning behemoth furmly in control the orks and their master were quickly forced to flee leaving a good haul of treasures for us to cart home. Fang was badly hurt but with a little magic he was good as new and Lucas luckley escaped with just superfical burns and the loss of his favorite cloak.
Jade sank further into the comfortable padded desk chair. Now to put our new acquisitions to use. With some reworking the gold in that lamp could form a mount for a seeing crystal to improve our divinations as well some could go into channeling gloves. These would help prevent the draining effects of spellcasting and after that incounter Jade knew that they would be needed in the future.....she had forseen it.
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Current Warband: After 3 battles(1 standard vs Esmeralda,1 Mausoleum vs Esmeralda"Death of Xane", 1 Genie in a bottle vs Unnamed Summoner)
Lao Jade Soothsayer (Primary Wizard) Lvl -1
Sasha (Apprentice)
1. Korvak (Marksman)
2. Vandel (Marksman)
3. Creed (Treasure hunter)
4. Victor (Treasure hunter)
5. Rhine (Treasure hunter)
6. Leina (Treasure hunter)
7. Lance (Templar)
8. Brunhild (Templar)
9. (Inn bonus) Lucas Sure shot (Marksman)
10. (Kennel bonus) Fang (Warhound)
Others:
Summoned Zombie: James (the living impaired butler)
Summoned Celestial Spirits (Imp/Minor Demon/Major Demon)
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Jade sat back at "her" desk still amazed that she was in charge and not her former master Xane. They had been very busy over the last few weeks. When not making forays into Frostgrave they had been hard at work gathering and crafting reagents into usable items that would give them an edge in said forays. The gloves she had made last month had been so successful she had another set made for Sasha and now she was hard at work crafting four magical rings that would allow Victor, Rhanie, Leina, and Creed to transport themselves magically a short distance once a day. This would allow Sasha and herself more freedom to cast offensively in upcoming encounters and they would need any edge they could get. There had been more run-ins with both Esmeralda the illusionist and The Dark summoner during her latest explorations of Frostgrave and Jade realized that they too must be hunting the great Granite Golem that has been running amuck killing other warbands it encounters. She had seen first hand what it could do and heard from a survivor of it's wanton butchery. The thing it seems had formed a rudimentary intellect and it did not like humans and in particular spellcasters which warranted study. In her last foray they had even fought the construct first hand. Victor was still sporting some large bruises but thanks to her magic he would be fine. She had let the thing go so that Rhanie and Creed could follow it back to it's lair, so anymore deaths caused by the beast would lay heavily on her. As soon as they completed their preparations they would storm the creatures lair and ether capture or destroy the beast that was the only option. From past experience Jade knew that other wizards were going to get in the way so preparation was key.
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Some new (to me anyway) models for me to paint and mod for a new warband :-)
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Finally got some skellies, some ghouls, spiders, and a few other critters as well as some wizards and apprentices. I'm gonna be painting up a storm tomorrow.
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So some desterbing news for my warband.....it seems a necromancer has animated Xane's corpse and is using him for his apprentice....this will make things interesting (can't wait to write about their first encounter)
Another side note with the release of Sellsword "Vandal" my Marksman is beeing promoted to Captain. I have a great cashflow so he is beeing equiped with a +1 shoot crossbow, a fatestone, TH sword and mail armor. This will give him a near Elemental bolt lvl first shot with his tricks giving him a one time +4 Shoot (his base with the magic x bow is 3) so that's a total of +7 rerollable...if that doesn't snipe something dead well I'm really unlucky :-) Then he will run in with my templars for melee.
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Vandal looked over his notes again and smiled. They were doing well...very well. Jade practically had a library of magical tomes to study the entire band was well equipped and the Inn was quite prosperous. The only shadow on this otherwise good news was a report that Xane's tomb had been broken into and his body stolen.
As he pondered this Korvak came into the office. "It is time brother. Are you sure you want to do this? You still have time to back out of this ritual." Vandal smiled and picked up a small box from his desk. "This has been a long time coming and I wouldn't change it for the world." Vandal opened the box. Inside were two identical gold bands each set with a single lightly glowing diamond. "These along with our vows will forever bind my fate with Jade's and ensure that our people will be saved from their curse, at least those who want to be saved."
Vandal thought of the four that had accompanied them to Frostgrave and how they had come to revel in their new lyanthropic powers. Who wouldn't want to be faster, and stronger able to heal from almost any injury espushly since Xane's spell kept all the savage drawbacks at bay. Their last foray into the ruins had proven how capable those four were.
Each was able to easily fight their way through a virtual army of animated statues, Orks, and other wizard's minions to secure five chests of treasure for Jade. Only Creed had been injured and due to his lanthrocopic constitution he recovered from the magical bolt with only some singed hair.
But now was not the time to remenise about the past Vandal had a wedding to attend. He and Jade would lead this band side by side and they would realize all their dreams....together.
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So long time since an update here. Beginning a new campane and will be using Lao Jade and her warband starting from lvl one. With no Captains to start.
Wizard: Lao Jade (Soothsayer)
Apprentice: Sasha Myrr
Marksman: Vandal
Marksman: Korvak
Thief: Victor
Thief: Creed
Thief: Rhanie
Thief: Leina
Warhound: Snarl
Warhound Fang
Spells: Reveal Secret, Mind Control, Wizard Eye, Leap, Heal, Raise Zombie, Fast Act, Beauty
Plus the second Pic includes my eventual Captain (or a marksman) and 2 Templar I plan to recruit.
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Wow I can't beleave it's been a month since Ive updated this.
Just got a sweet arctic Fat-Mat I'll throw up a pic soon. I can't wait to play on it.
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I've really missed the exploits of Lao Jade - we definitely need more bat-reps!!! 😀
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So here are some pics of my new mat. Comes in a nice carry case. Great quality... a bit too expensive for my tastes normally but since 3/4 of the cost was from tournament winnings I made an exception.
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A fun one off 4 way battle:
It was well of dreams and sorrows but since it was a 4 player game I decided to add a twist with 4 minor demons guarding it.
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This was a real nailbiter but by the end everyone got their 3 treasures (except one which got 2) and about 250xp. Noone managed to drink from the well. When one wizard tried he got immediately sniped out of the game. The four minor demons were joined by a bear a wraith and an Ice troll as treasures were picked up.
I think I will going forward add one random monster to each senerio per player and set them up centerally near one treasure per player. This makes a cool "battle/Danger" zone for players to fight over.
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Looks like fun!
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Dark Alchemy Chapter one:
"I found a way in" Vandal yelled back to the others. They all hurried to his position. It was bitter cold outside and they all were eager to see what they could discover from this mostly intact complex they had discovered. Inside they found themselves in a storage room or vault. The walls were covered with shelves upon shelves of potion bottles. The vast majority had not weathered the elements well and many bottles were shattered or their contents dried out by the passage of time but a few seemed to be intact but before Jade could issue the order to begin collecting there was a huge explosion and it seemed the world learched sideways then the floor gave way and they all fell into the darkness.
Jade awoke and used her magic to illuminate the room. There in the darkness she found Vandal, Victor and Creed half buried in the rubble. They were all unconscious but other than some minor cuts and bruises they seemed alright. She would know soon enough if her healing magics were up to the task. As she began chanting she heard movement out in the next chamber followed by something roaring. Vandal was the first to recover.
"Are you alright?" He asked. "Yes but there is no time for questions now. Watch over me as I heal the others. Something is smashing around in the next chamber and I'd rather have everyone hale and ready before we are attacked." Jade was able to put Victor and Creed to rights. Both of them looked angry and ready for a fight. Their wolves very much showing.
Jade hoped the others were ok. They must have been separated in the explosion. After healing her own scrapes and bruses she cast a simple divination and discovered her apprentice Sasha, and the others were fine but were much in the same situation. Jade hoped Sasha was ready for this. She would need to lead the others until they were able to meet up again.
The four of them moved forward slowly toward the sounds of whatever it was rampaging. They came into a large chamber. Scattered everywhere were smashed bottles and the air was thick with an almost toxic mysima. Through the mist they finally caught a glimpse of the monstrosity. It was about 10 feet tall and over five feet wide at it's base. A vast blob covered with slime and tentacles. It had a shark like maw filled with rows of razor sharp teeth. It seemed to sense their presence as it lumbered about and began to charge forward toward them.
"By the contract that binds your soul to my family line I call upon you my faithful servant" Jade uttered the words of power and from the ether a form appeared in the path of the charging monstrosity. "Protect us James" Jade whispered. The form coalesced into a gaunt nearly skeletal man in a top hat and suit, that looked back quickly to Jade and with a nod turned, setting himself for the charge.
Vandal fired off a shot with his powerful crossbow. The bolt tore into the beast causing it to howl in pain. "Quickly Victor, Creed prepare to charge the creature once James intercepts it." Vandal directed, both Victor and Creed had fully transformed into their werewolf forms and were ready for a fight snarling they loved a good scrap.
As the beast slithered forward tendrils flailing it was unprepared for the furoricity of the small band's counter assault and their teamwork. James took the initial charge wile Victor and Creed flanked it, systematically tearing chunks out of it's gelatinous body. As it roared in pain Vandal thrust his sword deep into the center of the creatures body. It shuddered and died.
Wile the others dealt with the Alchemical Monstrosity Jade cast her senses out into the ruins looking for a way out. She not only found a pair of doors out of this room but the glint of gold and several other items of interest. She directed the others to these treasures and they quickly looted the room stopping briefly to dispatch a few maddened giant rats that charged out at them. Hopefully the others were doing as well as they were.
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Chapter Two:
Flushed with victory over the Achemical Monstrosity Jade and their small group take a few moments to look through what they had scavenged so far. Some potions and a scroll. A pair of Grimiours and a smattering of gold. Jade tucked a healing potion onto her vest pocket just in case and handed one that would allow the user to breath out a jet of fire to Vandal. The rest they packed away in her magical bag of holding (Don't leave home without it).
The crumbling corridors formed a maze filled with smoke and dust. Jade once again cast her divinations and was informed that Sasha and the others were not far away but trapped by a huge vault door they could not open alone. It was just beyond this hallway.
Suddenly there was movement both ahead and behind them as flaming skeletons began to pour into the hallway. "They must have been drawn by my spells. We must quickly get through this hall or we will be overwhelmed". Once again Jade called forth James the living impaired butler as they rushed forward. Vandal and Victor took on a pair wile Jade, James and Creed fraught another pair. Jade could feel the heat from the advancing undead. She quickly cast a spell of domination on one of the advancing terrors turning it to attack the other. As the skeletons flailed away at each other Creed was able to get into position and destroy the victor.
Speaking of Victor he and Vandal were not doing as well. They easily smashed one flaming skeleton but the second got in a lucky strike almost killing Victor and another strike badly hurting Vandal before he smashed the creature to bits. "Jade" he groaned barely standing wile helping Victor forward. Jade used the moment between waves of undead to heal Vandal's wounds but one look told her that Victor would need more than she could provide all she could do was stabilize him so he could walk but any strain and he would collapse, if it weren't for his lycanthropic nature he would surly have died.
As they battled forward both Jade and Vandal snatched up a few magical trinkets. Then they were swarmed again and were almost overwhelmed but James held them back long enough for Creed and Vandal to finish them. James was unfortunately burned to ash. Lucky for Jade James's body was just a shell created by magic and with a few uttered words he was reformed and ready for battle once again.
As they reached the end of the hall Jade saw another treasure tantalizingly close. There were just two skeletons in the way, after the dozen or so they had taken down how could these stand in their way..... She soon found out. As they engaged the monsters another appeared from the summoning circle right in front of them and cut down Creed the flames buring his fur. James pushed back the flailing undead giving them just enough time to flee out the door as James held the flaming hoard back.
Though they made it to the Vault door now both Victor and Creed were badly hurt and beyond Jade's ability to heal. Finally with a group effort they managed to get the Vault door open and reunite with Sasha and the others. Just in time too another explosion rocked the building causing hunks of the ceiling to fall and revealing the sky. It was another way out. Jade cast another divination which revealed the room ahead wile ablaze with fire had great treasures. She quickly decided, "Sasha, Korvak you two are with me and Vandal. Rhanie, Leina you take Victor and Creed out and wait at the fall back point. This place feels like it's gonna blow and we may need to run for it but there are magical treasures to be had and for once we don't need to freeze to get to them" she smiled. "Lets go and you four be safe. We will join you as soon as we see what else we can get before this place blows."
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Chapter 3
With minor explosions and fires breaking out all around them Jade, Vandal, Sasha, and Korvak entered the main lab looking for anything of value. As they searched being mindful of the fires they were accosted by a pair of fire spewing automatons. Vandal fired a shot from his trusty crossbow and the bolt slammed home with almost preternatural accuracy driving into the construct's fuel storage causing it to burst into flames consuming it from the inside out. (didn't even need to crit 18+2shoot+3trick+2crossbow damage=25-13 Armor = 12 exactly enough for one dead construct)
Korvak and Sasha were having less luck with theirs as Korvak's bolt just bounced off the beast's armored body and Sasha could not maintain her concentration to cast the domination spell injuring herself in the process. Further back they could all see two more flaming constructs beginning to approach undeterred by the flames. As the construct lined itself up to engulf Korvak in flames Jade cast her own Domination spell stopping the beast in it's tracks and sending it back toward the two that were approaching. With the dominated construct distracting the others Vandal and Korvak were able to quickly cut down the remaining beasts. As the flames grew higher and the heat began to become unbearable the four of them gathered much treasure and quickly fled the building. Jade smiled it was in impressive haul and it would set them up well in this part of Felstead.
As they left the ruins there was a massive explosion that leveled the building nearly knocking them all from there feet. "It's a good thing we got out of there when we did" Vandal commented. "I had no worries." Jade smiled, "I knew we would be fine, I had foreseen it."
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This was a very fun solo mini campaign. I very much enjoyed how it played out and how each senerio flowed into the next. I liked that each was unique and gave a feeling of danger and urgency.
My only critiques would be that senerios one and three are a bit easy and that #'s 1 and 2 could be farmed for xp as they have no set turn limit and theoretically unlimited monsters spawning that are worth xp.
My solution for this would be ether put a 10 turn limit on both senerios like the last one (you are racing to find your warband and escape an unstable ruin that is about to explode) or put a set max xp gain for each senerio ie max 300xp per senerio (for your wizard). This prevents someone from being a tool and using the first two senerios to get a bunch of extra lvls at little to no risk. Personally I prefer the 10 round limit as it adds the feeling of urgency and 10 rounds is more than enough to get through these senerios.
I really like the new potions table and the advanced potions(though I don't think anyone will fork out 3000gc to make an elixir of life (then roll a 1 and lose the cash) it's nice to have the option and makes finding these potions very fun. I also like that there is no or capped sell values on all the potions making them less of a cash machine. Finally I like the modified potions table and new effects for some of the potions. Demons in bottles were an issue and I'm not sad to see them gone though I wouldn't mind them coming back as an advanced potion that costs 200GC to make and has Summoning circle, Summon and bind demon as prerequisites.
All in all I am very satisfied with this expansion and I look forward to more as long as they stay affordable and of this quality.
Thanks Joe for an outstanding product.
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Stirring stuff - bravo!
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Nice job, well done! I'm happy to see a review of Dark Alchemy, I'm going to be starting my own campaign soon.
Where did you get the battle mat from?
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Nice job, well done! I'm happy to see a review of Dark Alchemy, I'm going to be starting my own campaign soon.
Where did you get the battle mat from?
It's called a FAT MAT I bought it from my local gaming store.
and thx everyone for your comments. I love to write short stories about my warbands and the RPG games I play in so this is just fun for me :-)
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Jade sighed and nearly cried with frustration. Everything was gone, destroyed by what could only be described as a magical cataclysm. They were lucky really, if she hadn't had that vision they would have all perished. Their home at the inn that they had originally settled into with her now deceased master was gone, burned away in a mystic cyclone that had torn through this part of Felstead. It had seemed drawn to her vault and all the magical treasures and her vision had told her that they must divest themselves of all magic or it would follow them and they would all have been consumed. Even the enchantments on Rhanie, Leena, Creed, and Victor allowing them to control their bestial natures one of the last great magics of her ancient homeland had been weakened and the four struggled with their lancrothopic powers more than ever. Thank goodness they had already learned to control their changes and to harness their inner beasts or this loss would have turned them into inhuman monsters instead of just weakening them considerably. Still it was a great loss and now they would need to begin anew in a new part of Felstead. As the ragged band moved on Jade thought about what other terrors and wonders they would encounter in this aptly named sprawling ruin known as Frostgrave.
Current state of my newly rebooted warband:
Wizard: Lao Jade (Soothsayer)
Apprentice: Sasha Myrr 200gc
Marksman: Vandal 100gc
Marksman: Korvak 100gc
Thief: Victor 20gc
Thief: Creed 20gc
Thief: Rhanie 20gc
Thief: Leina 20gc
Warhound: Snarl 10gc
Warhound Fang 10gc
Total:500gc
Spells: Reveal Secret, Mind Control, Wizard Eye, Leap, Heal, Raise Zombie, Fast Act, Beauty
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A small model update.
I painted a few wolves I got from the Dice bag lady (along with my Into the breeding pits)