Frostgrave advice for a new player

[Luddite]

OK, well, late to the party i recently picked up Frostgrave and will probably give it a go.

First observations

1.  The rules appear fairly simple, although on initial read-through there look to be a few situations where the rules might be a little loose.

2.  I'll be setting my games in a different place.  Don't fancy making a whole new snow board and terrain.

3.  I've searched LAF for some advice on how to build a decent force.  And that's what i was wondering about here.

What advice do you have for a new player?

What are must have's in a Wizard's band?

Is it better to go with fewer quality troops or lots of cheaper troops?

Is their a better Wizard option?  Are there any to avoid.

Hints and tips for good tactics and tactics to avoid.

Yeah, general advice and tips would be most welcome.  

[Coenus Scaldingus]

From what I've read and experienced:

- Most important thing is to have fun. Always, in all games, but this is not a competitive, win at all costs, apply all rules strictly kind of game. Take the spells you think are fun, models you like and whatever. Of course, being destroyed all the time stops being fun at some point (depending on the hilarity of the deaths), so some general advice below.

- Early on, focus on numbers. Do take an apprentice (despite being a very expensive model), the game is about magic, and this is your only way of getting two casters in one band. Other than that, 5 thugs will beat a knight to pulp in all cases apart from incredible dice rolls, so do invest in quantity over quality. Over the course of a campaign, you'll have ample opportunities of upgrading the band (hopefully!). A bit of speed is useful to get to treasure and take it off the table more quickly. Having at least two models with movement 7 is good, some guys with ranged weapons will probably prove useful too.

- As for the wizard type, really, just take whatever you happen to like the look or idea of. Given the experience system, having a wizard able to cause some damage is useful, but seeing how you'll have more spells from other schools than your own (3 vs 5), this can be achieved by any mage. Besides, the main goal is to get treasure, so if a nicely cast telekinesis allows you to get those 50xp, in addition to X gold and a plethora of magic items, that's probably worth more than killing some enemy soldier. Having some movement spells is useful too, getting treasure off or yourself out of trouble. Be wary of taking too many difficult spells, you'll hardly be able to cast during a game, and likely kill yourself in the process.

- Finally: warband members can be replaced, wizards not so much. Keep him safe while they do the messy dying...

[Magos Kasen]

Having played half a dozen games in the last few weeks, here are some of my thoughts on the game for new players:

Best advice is go for treasure, rather than fights. You need to kill things, but your first objective should always be getting treasure off the board.
There are no real 'must haves', although movement spells are very handy for getting to, and away with, treasure.
More is generally better than higher quality troops - especially early one when you need bodies to win fights and escort treasure. Two thugs (40g) will usually beat one infantry (50g). HOWEVER, the advantage of better quality troops is that they become far more fearsome when buffed, and some wizards like to buff. In my first game I managed to get a templar to fight +8 and armour 14 by the second turn - he was vastly superior to every other fighter on the field, and probably would have carved a swathe through the enemy if he hadn't rolled multiple 1's for every fight. So basically, early on try and get as many bodies as possible, either thugs and thieves, or free soldiers like zombies or small constructs.
No wizard is really 'better'. Some people rate fireball slingers to be the best build, but personally I've always found the wizard rather wasted when attacking, and much more powerful when using movement or buff spells. However, some lores do have a few dubious spells. Chronomancer and Soothsayer are probably a bit harder to make 'good'. In general, try and avoid having all your spells be high cost or out of game - you probably want at least one 8+ spell from your own lore, for easy apprentice casting.

[Luddite]

Excellent advice guys thanks.

Any advice on core tactics?

How to place terrain.

How to place treasure.

How to suppress the opponent while getting to 'their' treasure.

Also, what sized battlefield do you use?

[tyrionhalfman]

As said you want quantity rather than quality, so you have enough cheap soldiers to carry off treasures - you don't want your knight crawling off the board at half speed with treasure before doing anything amazing for your 100gc. You might want to include the odd missile troop to attack anyone threatening your wizard or to cover some treasure.

I don't think there's a particular wizard to avoid, so either look through the list of spells and see which you'd want to use as even though a wizard can learn any spell there are penalties for using one's outside his or her school, depending if it's an allied, neutral or enemy school's spell.

You want a mixture of spells. Fight spells so your wizard can defend him or herself. Movement spells for getting soldiers or treasure where you want them quicker. Others depend on taste. Some are for gaining extra soldiers such as zombies or animal companions. Some are for enhancing soldiers' equipment. Then of course there's wizard's eye for increased line of sight.

Placement of treasure needs careful consideration. If you put them too close to what you hope will be your deployment zone it may become your opponent's instead so you've just handed him or her three easy treasures. If you put them all in the centre of the board you could end up with a bloodbath as everyone fights over them.

You may want to consider a game limit either a fixed number of turns or rolled for after a certain turn, to make it a race for treasure rather than an all out fight.

[has.been]

I agree with what everyone else has said.
Have FUN.
It is very easy to have a first war-band  with 5 to 7 figures. If it works for you stick with it, add the occasional option (e.g. paint up 2 archers & you can swap them for the lazy knight etc.)
If it doesn't work for you, start a second war-band (something different) this is an easy way to build up a file-box full of options, a few figures at a time. It also give you troops that a friend can borrow to try out the rules. Get them hooked & doing their own (I really would like a Barbarian....)

[JohnDSD2]

Starting out warm bodies is what you need as detailed above. I would take as many bows as you can, up to 50% of your men if you can afford it. An archer fights as good as a Thug, has better armour and can kill at long range. Talking of armour, in a game of low durability for henchmen, I think armour is the key stat, one point of armour will save you one health every time you are hit. It won't save you from the big hits but in a low scoring slugging match it will keep you in it longer.

[Fencing Frog]

Pay attention to the casting number of a spell.  A cool spell with a high casting number is a risk. If that elemental bolt spell has a casting number of 12 that means that 60% of the time its going to fail on you and that about 40% the time it will hurt you. (You'll take damage on a roll of 8 or less.)  Casting spells successfully means more experience so the spells with the lower casting number will be your bread and butter.

[Helznicht]

Any advice on core tactics?

Melee as a last resort.  Since the defender who you attacked on your turn has just as much chance to kill you on your turn, use spells to get treasure and stay away from scraps.  Honestly, if you have experience with other mini games that use D6's or D8's, you will quickly notice that the +1's and +2's have little effect on the outcome of a D20.  Putting tactics around your spells is also a path to frustration, you WILL have games where you fail even an easy spell 3-4 turns in a row, its the D20s nature.  Frostgrave has been classified as a Miniature Skirmish game, IMO its not, its a roleplaying game in the vein of D&D and Pathfinder, without the DM to guide the story and party when the D20 gets erratic.  This does not make FG a bad game, just know what you are getting into.  If you really want to add a more tactical element to FG, look to some of the mods using 2D10, or I could send you my tactics rule mods to see what you like and do not.

How to place terrain.

More is More.  Stay away from lots of waist high terrain (+1/+2 cover) in favor of taller terrain that fully blocks line of sight.  There is a recommendation on terrain density in the rulebook.  That MUST be followed IMO.

How to place treasure.

I don't like the way the rules tell you to place treasures, its way to open to abuse by experienced wargamers.  The way we do it is one person places ALL treasures, the other gets to pick his side.  Leads to more balanced placement.

How to suppress the opponent while getting to 'their' treasure.

Bow fire and spells.  Crossbows are particularly nasty.  Wall and Mud come to mind as far as spells go.

Also, what sized battlefield do you use?

I play on a 4x4.  Rules say 3x3.   With my modded rules, you tend to cover more ground faster so I like the 4x4 better.

[Bodvoc]

Hey Luddite, welcome to Frostgrave. My advice, get your warband created and give it a go, you will soon be hooked. Plenty of players have gone for a non snowy themed terrain so dont worry about that. Make sure you take at least two thugs as cheap 'blockers' and at least one archer or crossbow to add a bit of firepower. Put plenty of terrain on the table and make good use of the cover.
Have fun!

[Bodvoc]

...and to add to my last comment, perhaps for your first game, dont bother with experience, just play to get the hang of the game, allowing you to tweak your warbands before your first full game.

[Darkson71]

We've played a couple of games on 4x4 and a few on 3x3, and I can say I prefer the 3x3 with lots of terrain.
We also use a house rule of 5 turns with a 50/50 chance of turn 6, means we focus more on getting treasure off the board and less on trying to wipe each other out.

[Wraith01]

Love all the advice...!
I'm new too, just ordered the core book and I'm hunting for mini's.

[Roger]

Please check out the frostgrave resources section and get the errata, that might help as well.
tactics will depend on your opponent ,play a few games to get the feel.
Dont get TOO attached to your first wizard or warband.
I would suggest that when you start you put a limit on the levels you obtain say 15 -20 , you decide, then everyone makes a new war band.
the one who gets there first can be the winner if needed.
Try out different configurations of troops and different types of wizards, draw the wizard type from a hat ( with no repeats)and go with that.
It'll only be for 5 or 6 games, you can then decide when you want to start your prefered school of magic and troop config.
its a fun game ,enjoy , and dont be afraid to house rule some things.

Roger