Spellcaster: The Frostgrave Magazine

[Severon]

I had a look at it and one thing i noticed is, "Sure-footed" in the rules for horses.
The way it is written (or the way i read it) it makes sure-footed horses more likely to break their bones.

Maybe you should give some alternative information on the table setup for the Catacombs of the Evrenbright, since not every one has the Urban Mat and Death Ray Designs dungeon terrain.
Oh and one more question, what diameter are the phantasmic spheres in Scenario 2?

[critsmash]

Rules look great and well-balanced! We will test firearms and knightly orders in a game this weekend!
Also looking forward to try out the alone in the crypt scenario, see some potential for co-op there as well. Great way to break in new captains, or to increase the level of one who has fallen behind. I like the horsie rules too, especially that you can try and steal the opposing warbands horse!  

[joe5mc]

Thanks to everyone who has bought the issue already, and keep the feedback coming.

Severon - you win by finding the first mistake. Sure-footed should provide a -2 on the Stumble Table (not +2).

For the scenarios in The Catacombs of the Evrenbright, you can basically set-up the table however you want. It has no impact on the special rules for each scenario. The disks used at Adepticon were about 1.5" in diameter, but can be anywhere around that size.

[Smith]

I had a look at it and one thing i noticed is, "Sure-footed" in the rules for horses.
The way it is written (or the way i read it) it makes sure-footed horses more likely to break their bones.

Yup - you're right. That should be -2.

[spect_spidey]

Let me preface this by saying, I never bought any of the digital only Frostgrave content. I got into the game after a couple of these had already been released and once the Folio was announced, I just held off. But I have to say after a glance, I am disappointed in this purchase. This is supposed to be a magazine, but I feel it is more like a pamphlet or brochure. It contains 17 pages total, two of which include the cover and an editorial! There are only three pictures besides the cover in the whole thing. The layout appears to have been done in Microsoft Word as it is very simple text on a plain white background. There is no production value to it outside of the pretty cover that gives the appearance of a standard magazine. I can't speak for the content just yet since I only skimmed over it. But when I think of a gaming magazine, I think of various articles, maybe a short story based on the game, and some hobby material. This is very light on content. When it was announced and the details were given, I thought "Cool these items will be the features of the magazine. I wonder what the rest of the content will be like." I had no idea that this would be the only content! I don't feel it brings much more to the table than the previous digital only releases and they were a bit cheaper. Although now I see that their prices went up to $5 each on DrivethruRPG.com

I understand that the majority of this is the effort of Joseph solely. But I think if you want to release a magazine, you should try and do it right. Get some layout help, some fluff or hobby article submissions by others to flesh it out. If you want an example of how to do a gaming magazine right, take a look at Wyrd Miniatures Chronicles magazine. It is an every other month publication they put out. It is normally 50 to 60 pages with a couple pages of advertisements for their new releases, a couple short stories, strategy article, and an adventure for their RPG. It will take less than an hour to read through, but it has content. As this product stands, whether the rules/scenarios are any good, I don't foresee me buying another one unless the amount of content increases. I just can't justify $5 a month/issue for something I can read through in five minutes. This is no personal attack towards Joseph, but I feel cheated and that this is just a quick cash grab. If you want the game and community for this game to expand, there needs to be more.

Let the flames begin. 

[gnomehome]

There are only three pictures besides the cover in the whole thing. The layout appears to have been done in Microsoft Word as it is very simple text on a plain white background. There is no production value to it outside of the pretty cover that gives the appearance of a standard magazine.

No flame intended.

In understand that this day and age expectations may have been higher as to the look, but to be honest, the "lower" production value was communicated in advance. Maybe it wasn't so clearly stated when purchasing, I cannot judge that.

[joe5mc]

Spect - If you will private message me, I will arrange to refund your money.

The design was done in Word, and the few photos are taken by myself of my own miniatures. I did say in the original announcement "It does also mean the internal layout is done by myself, so don't expect anything amazing there!"

In truth the magazine is more or less the same price as the mini-supplements (the difference is only due to exchange rate fluctuations). The magazine actually has more content than any of those - at least word count wise (even if you remove the editorial) - but it certainly lacks Osprey's high production values!

At the end of the day, each individual will have to decide if the content is worth it to them or not. I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations.

[spect_spidey]

Spect - If you will private message me, I will arrange to refund your money.

The design was done in Word, and the few photos are taken by myself of my own miniatures. I did say in the original announcement "It does also mean the internal layout is done by myself, so don't expect anything amazing there!"

In truth the magazine is more or less the same price as the mini-supplements (the difference is only due to exchange rate fluctuations). The magazine actually has more content than any of those - at least word count wise (even if you remove the editorial) - but it certainly lacks Osprey's high production values!

At the end of the day, each individual will have to decide if the content is worth it to them or not. I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations.

No refund necessary. I wasn't expecting a lavish layout, but I did expect a more professional presentation and more content. Regardless of this product, I still fully intend to purchase the Ghost Archipelago when it comes out.

I did get a chance to read it. Here are my observations.

With the firearms rules I see a few issues.
1. They come with a negative to shoot, at over 1/2 range do the same damage as a crossbow, and you run the risk of a misfire.
2. At less than half range, I see no reason to take the pistol at all. If I am within 5 inches and my fight is the same or higher, why would I not charge? Firing and reloading the gun will use both actions. I can move to charge and then fight. My odds of damaging are higher and the negative two for armour will only be really valuable against opponents who have armour 12 or higher.
3. The Wild Shot result on Misfire Table is weird as it could result in you hitting an opponent behind the shooter. ( I tend to play with facing the minis towards their intended target.)
4. Blunderbuss might be okay, but I think it would work better with a cone type of template rather than picking a target. I don't understand why you can't select an area rather than a target. That would allow the possibility of hitting more targets if you drop it in the middle of a group.
5. The upgrades seem extremely expensive when compared to the purchase of other items.

The Alone in the Crypt solo scenario is pretty good. I could see that has a fun little experience with a Captain. It could also make for a nice little competitive scenario to use in a store to bring in other players.

The horses rules. Just no, no, no. LOL They are too expensive and don't bring much of anything to the table. Maybe for a Captain if there were rules to give them Tricks of the Trade related to horses. Otherwise, this will probably never be used when I play.

I think the Knightly Orders is a neat idea, but they are not balanced. I could see a few of them always being selected while a couple may never see the light of day in play.

The Catacombs of Evrenbright mini-campaign is interesting, but I think I prefer the path brought about by Ulterior Motives. I could see using Ulterior Motives to develop a campaign. It could be for a set number of games and each card can only be drawn once per player. This combined with a say five or six basic scenarios would be awesome in my opinion.

[Ivan DBA]

This sounds like good value to me.  In order to get just one article for Frostgrave or other games I'm interested in, I'll often end up spending $5 for an electronic copy of a wargame magazine, or twice that for a print copy.  This has five articles, so is a good deal.  And it's a great way to support the author and the game.

[sebrex13]

$5 well spent. Love that you are doing this and adding to Frostgrave.

[joe5mc]

Thanks, guys.

[Darkson71]

Roll on payday...

[Malebolgia]

Money well spent I'd say. Lovely magazine.

And Joe, if you need help with designing, let me know. I have years of experience with Photoshop and InDesign and love working in it, also in my free time at no charge.

[Darkson71]

Got my copy, just got to wait till next week to print it off (I hate reading pdfs!).

[Davout]

Got my copy, just got to wait till next week to print it off (I hate reading pdfs!).

I also dislike reading PDF's and in many ways the lack of an elaborate layout makes this mag really easy to print. $5 well spent in my opinion and I look forward to the next installment.