Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Frostgrave => Topic started by: Grumpy Gnome on July 16, 2021, 10:43:54 AM
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I see Blaster 3 has come out and with it Shadowgrave 2, the second part of the horror expansion for the *grave series of games.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/359671/BLASTER-Volume-3?%3Faffiliate_id=132096&fbclid=IwAR2h9dpZuJ8DsAL0Db4UQOCqo-nGg_iR0_FSsWvl8lL4Pp1xv2beQWnhsrw
Does anyone have experience with these expansions in Blaster?
What is your opinion of them?
Edit: Over 100 views and no replies? I guess I am not the only one that finds Blaster too expensive to try…
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Considering the lack of response to my Shadowgrave question… I have opened this up a bit to cover other questions I have.
Having ordered some second hand Frostgrave books I am now more firmly on the path of introducing the *grave series of Games to my Tarnished Splendor project. I am curious what more experienced players feel of these games and their expansions as I am as always rather late to the party.
At the very least I am keen to add captains and gun powder to the games…
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:D i love all of joes games....and i cant wait for more spellcaster...great stuff!!!!
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I guess I am not the only one that finds Blaster too expensive to try…
Far from it - I'm happy to support the games' creator by buying Spellcaster and other "Rangers of OathGrave" products, however Blaster is a lot of expense when I'm only interested in 10% of the content
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Far from it - I'm happy to support the games' creator by buying Spellcaster and other "Rangers of OathGrave" products, however Blaster is a lot of expense when I'm only interested in 10% of the content
Rangers of Oathgrave… ha! I laughed. But yeah, too much in those Blasters that I will not use. The Spellcaster PDFs I will get at some point though. Seems like good value for money.
Any advice anyone has in any regard for a new person getting started in the Rangers of Oathgrave series of games is most appreciated!
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Any advice anyone has in any regard for a new person getting started in the Rangers of Oathgrave series of games is most appreciated!
My one bit of advice: Don't be afraid to proxy like mad until you're sure what you need/want.
I know people who tried to get started by going through and making huge shopping and painting lists for every possible randomly-appearing critter, multiples of every soldier type, ambitious plans for multiple tables worth of terrain - and then they never got the mountain of projects done and hardly even played the games. It's easy to bite off more than you can chew with McCullough's stuff (partly because the figs are so inexpensive) when you're better off tapping existing collections for "close-enough" figs and easing your way into things with more modest projects.
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"Rangers of OathGrave"
Thanks for the free advertisement! :)
Any advice anyone has in any regard for a new person getting started in the Rangers of Oathgrave series of games is most appreciated!
Take one, which You like at most (I took Frostgrave), they have the same engine (only RoSD is another type of game, not really a skirmish, more like an RPG). What I would recommend, if You want to make new miniatures for it, to plan Your warband. Ity possible to make 2 complete, but basic warbands from one Northstar plastic box (+leaders):
https://oathgrave.blogspot.com/2020/10/9-frostgrave-soldiers.html
Or even to use them in Oathmark, or other games:
https://oathgrave.blogspot.com/2021/04/48-frostgrave-sets-in-oathmark-with.html
And remember, dont get mad on the dice! :)
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Humanoid character models I have plenty of. Monsters… not so much. And terrain is a constant project with ongoing progress.
So I guess I will be proxying like mad for awhile.
That said, the first set of Frostgrave books arrived today with the last Ghost Archipelago book I needed…. and where I originally had no intention to play a necromancer at any point after seeing you can become a lich I am finding that tempting just for the pure ambitious craziness of it.
I can see myself easily biting off more than I can chew. Mrs. GG just sighed and rolled her eyes when I told her.
Edit: Nice blog by the way BZ. First time I have seen it. Unfortunately blogspot can be challenging to comment on and follow.
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To be honest I bought the latest Blaster just for Sludge (just I say, it's a complete game) and mythos is not really my cup of tea. Haven't even read the Shadowgrave bits despite being a huge Frostgrave fan. I like almost everything Joe writes, but not everything is going to make it to my game table.
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In a game world with various supernatural horrors adding Mythos Horror to the usual demonic line up sounds good to me. Plus additional scenarios are always nice.
Sludge sounds interesting to me but is not Mrs. GG’s cup of tea (neither is Mythos Horror) and I really need to avoid another genre.
Joe does make the Mythos rules sound appealing…
http://therenaissancetroll.blogspot.com/2020/11/cthulhu-comes-to-frostgrave-ghost.html
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Any advice anyone has in any regard for a new person getting started in the Rangers of Oathgrave series of games is most appreciated!
My first question is: are you going to be mainly playing solo, or mainly verses other people?
If solo, I'd say go with Rangers of SHadow Deep, as that is designed as a solo (or co-op) game, rather than being 'bolted on' as it is for *Grave.
2nd question is: what is your preferred type of game - skirmish or unit-based?
Skirmish you want *Grave, unit-based you want Oathmark.
3rd question is: Favourite genre to play - fantasy or sci-fi?
Fantasy - pick up Frostgrave. Sci-fi - pick up Stargrave.
But for all games, never, ever be afraid to proxy and 'counts as'. We played a scenario of Rangers using nothing but strips of paper and stuff we could find in the hall's kitchen (when the guy bringing the terrain forgot), and it didn't detract from the fun of the game.
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The plan is to play mainly solo, with some coop.
I realize that RoSD is built from the ground up to do this, unlike FG and GA…. but my wife and I really like the setting for GA and FA has so much interesting material that seems a shame to miss out on. So we will be looking for ways to adjust things to suit our play style.
We will be focusing on skirmish rather than unit.
For sci-fi my current go to skirmish game is Core Space. I am curious to see if there might be things in Stargrave that I can use to enhance Core Space.
We are also wondering how we might integrate The Silver Bayonet (Napoleonic Gothic Horror) when it comes out as we are debating on whether to use these games for our current Tarnished Splendor project (which was already looking at a mashup of Sharp Practice, 7th Sea and Blood & Plunder).
My current thinking is to use the RoSD rules as the core then use FG and GA to create modified expansions for RoSD.
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My current thinking is to use the RoSD rules as the core then use FG and GA to create modified expansions for RoSD.
I'm not positive but the fan community may already be producing those, so you might find inspiration online with some poking around. The Rangers mechanics are very loosely tied to their own setting, and porting them over for use in (let's call them what they are) adventure modules set in the Archipelago or around Felstad seems pretty effortless. Probably want to stick to the relatively low-powered rangers as your protags rather than trying to squeeze full-powered wizards or heritors into the game, ore even apprentices and wardens.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the inevitable similar take on Rangers for Stargrave's setting - "Rangers of the Stellar Abyss" or somesuch. Likely be a fan effort rather than McCullough's own work though. The teasers so far make it sound like he's working on a semi-co-op "Star Wars Rebellion" style campaign variant where your crews are trying to break up the Pirate Fleets and re-establish galactic civilization rather than just scrapping over loot, but that's probably far off yet.
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I have been poking around the internet trying to find things the fan community has already made rather than try to reinvent the wheel on my own. It certainly seems possible but it sounds like it will be hit and miss on balance… which I am fine with.
It will be interesting to see where Stargrave goes but it is The Silver Bayonet that really has me sitting on the edge of my seat.
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It will be interesting to see where Stargrave goes but it is The Silver Bayonet that really has me sitting on the edge of my seat.
That one sounds interesting too, although my figure collection is going to need some expanding to play it. I've got some historicals that would work for skirmish, but my gothic horror monster selection is a bit thin.
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We added the Gothic Horror set to our Blacklist Games Lasting Tales KS… fulfillment is quite some time away but that should fill any gaps on our collection. Nothing in this hobby seems quick to me.
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It will be interesting to see where Stargrave goes but it is The Silver Bayonet that really has me sitting on the edge of my seat.
Same here!
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Nothing in this hobby seems quick to me.
Haven't been watching GW's insane release rate since the shutdown ended, have you? :)
Seriously, they're choking both their end customers and the indie stores with far too many releases all crowded together, despite the fact that they can't keep their existing catalog in production properly. Something's gotta give sooner or later.
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Well, I decided to take the plunge and got Spellcaster issues 1 to 6.
They have been good enough to leave me wanting more. I really hope Joe decides to keep adding to the collection.
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Has there been any previews/discussion on The Silver Bayonet? To be honest, I had to search what you were on about as it had passed me by entirely!
The premise sounds really interesting, but if it's another game using the *Grave rules I'll probably pass, not because I don't like *Grave games, but because I already have 3 or 4 like it (depnding on whether you cound GA as a separate game or not).
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There is not much info out yet.
So far I have heard it is largely a clue discovery game, solo and co-op friendly, sounding a lot like Rangers of Shadow Deep to me but perhaps with lessons learned from what has been popular from Stargrave.
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So after seeing this video about the Blaster magazines, I am even more keen to get my hands on Joe’s Mythos rules additions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BltRKpPDQ_c
My wife and I have had 3 games of Frostgrave and loving the game. She is ok with the base game but me, I want to add every bit of all the extra stuff that has come out. So Blaster 2 and 3 are on my wish list now.
And I hope Joe adds Mythos to The Silver Bayonet and Stargrave at some point.
Speaking of The Silver Bayonet, it seems from a recent video from Osprey to be an evolution of Rangers of Shadow Deep but with some Core Game mechanic changes.
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I would be interested in Shadowgrave too. But to be honest, the Blaster is just too expensive, if Im only interested in one part of it (even so, that I know, that it supports the writers much better, then conventional publishing). I wish there would be a Shadowgrave book...
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My too. Maybe if enough folks ask Joe nicely he will cater to our request?
Maybe if I fall into some surplus finances I can buy the Blasters to support the other game designers as well, but yeah, I am only really playing Joe’s games, MESBG and Core Space these days.
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I would be interested in Shadowgrave too. But to be honest, the Blaster is just too expensive, if Im only interested in one part of it (even so, that I know, that it supports the writers much better, then conventional publishing). I wish there would be a Shadowgrave book...
That's been my sticking point as well. I used to buy gaming mags even if 90% of the contents were nothing I really cared about, but that was back when issues cost $3 or so. For what Blaster costs it needs to be 100% useful to me, even allowing for inflation over the passage of decades.
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Mrs. GG and I got our 4th game of Frostgrave in and are loving it.
Blacklist miniatures makes some great Vapor Snakes… but I wish they made larger ones as well. How often have folks needed more than 5 Vapor Snakes?
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The Silver Bayonet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc3Ne12JGlY
Having now watched this video I'm more intrigued, but still not sold. Seems closer to Rangers (unit creation, clues, campaign) but with a pvp addition (along with the random monsters) and a different combat system (will have to re-watch, as I'm not sure if they mean it's a D10 system or a 2D10 system for combat).
At the moment, interest is piqued, but I'll watch some more of their videos to see how it goes on.
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I am curious how adversarial the players are meant to be.
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From their flipthrough, there's 10 pvp scenarios and 10 solo.
The pvp ones I guess will be like Frostgrave (they said the win conditions were remove the opposing unit or complete the scenario objectives).
The solo ones I wonder if they can be played co-op like Rangers, or whether is a true solo set-up.
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I find that I'm just plain greedy and also hoping for a Galaxy Rangers of the Shadow Zone, to do for Stargrave what RoSD does for Frostgrave.
Of course, 5 Parsecs might scratch that itch just as well.
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I find that I'm just plain greedy and also hoping for a Galaxy Rangers of the Shadow Zone, to do for Stargrave what RoSD does for Frostgrave.
I get the impression that a lot of the negativity about Stargrave early on (some of it pre-release even) was from people who expected/demanded it to be just that - more of a scifi Rangers than scifi Stargrave. Don't really understand why some folks felt that way given the title of the game, but I admit I'd like to see something like that as well. At least SG came with a Day One free pdf that allowed solo play, and Q37 has some co-op as well IIRC.
EDIT: Now that I've got Q37, I'll correct that - no baked-in co-op mode, but it does have a set of four solo scenarios and some advice on how to adapt other competitive scenarios to solo mode.
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We ordered Spellcaster #7. skimming the PDF it looks good. We enjoy spell crits so this is a good one for us.