Ennaktra: Frostgrave In Ancient Egypt (UPDATED 6/17/16 Proper board pics)

[punkrabbitt]

OK, so here's the thing. My wife was willing to try a couple of games of Frostgrave with me, which is great. But she isn't really into euro-themed fantasy. Her big love in life is Ancient Egypt. So I took it upon myself to re-skin the game as the land of the Pharaohs. The rules are easy enough, they work the same no matter what. Sometimes the flavor wording needs to be changed a little. However, the scenery is certainly a lot different. But first up, the new background:

Ennaktra

   Long after the war of the Gods had ended, but still over a thousand years ago, Djoser the first Pharaoh united the lands of the north and of the south to form Kemet. He established his capital at Inbu-Hedj, and over the years monuments to Gods and Pharaohs were built while smaller cities and towns spread across the land and the armies of Pharaoh protected Kemet from all who might seek to plunder or rule her. In later times, priests and the sorcerors discovered new magic and learned to harness the powers of the land, the elements, the spirits, and some say even of the Gods themselves. As the power spread, so too did corruption, as there are things that men are better left not knowing. Like a plague, unrest spread through Kemet as brother turned angainst brother, husband against wife, and parent against child. Pharaoh Memtyemsafi was murdered by a rioting mob almost 400 years after the kingdom had been united. His wife and twin sister, Nitocris who was said to be braver than all the men of her time and the most beautiful of all women, became Pharaoh in his stead and took revenge on the murderers by diverting the Nile itself to drown them during a banquet where she had gathered them. Alas, the power she had unleashed was too strong for her to control, and Inbu-Hedj was buried under muddy sand, the kingdom of Kemet falling to savage peoples without the divine wisdom of Pharaoh to guide her.

   700 years later, Pharaoh Thutmose the Divine and Benevolent has again reunited the kingdom of Kemet, and established his capital at Waset. His armies have forced the savages back beyond our lands, and only the midnight skinned people from Ta-Seti to the south continue to invade against the power of Pharaoh. From the north blow ill omens, however, as the wind has stripped the sand from old  Inbu-Hedj, revealing a ruined city full of forbidden and unknown magic. Those few villages unfortunate to be near the ancient site speak in whispers of the dead walking and even stranger things seen in the night. They do not know it was once Inbu-Hedj; they call it Ennaktra among themselves, the grave of the sands. But for those who have been born into the new kingdom, there is no attraction greater than the lure of untold riches and magic rumoured to lie within Ennaktra. The captains of Pharaoh and the children of nomarches, merchant princes and scribes, have journeyed to the north in the hope of finding the ultimate power.

[punkrabbitt]

Here are some pictures of our first and second games. I am not going to supply much narrative, mostly I am just trying to show off Frostgrave being played as Sandgrave!

[tomogui]

This is a great idea! Looks spectacular.

[punkrabbitt]

After the first game, my wife caught on to having more cover and less line of sight. She was also annoyed that the scenery would move every time she would bump it. She suggested essentially that we have a fixed terrain board to play on. I decided to make a set of four modular 18"x18" boards so the layout could be changed by rotating the boards between scenarios. I also ensured that each board had at least two corners with a 5"x5" area clear, so that there could be a 10"x10" space in the middle of the game area if desired for scenario objectives. I have two of them done so far:











As you can see in the final picture, my second stories will be removable for further options.

[Like_Clockwork]

This is incredibly cool. I love the printed out scenery, it's like the kind my dad and I use when we play. Very cool concept, you don't even have to do much to completely change the feel of the game. Literally all you did was rewrite a backstory (easy for any creative) and change the scenery, and now the game has a unique idea to it. I strongly believe you should type it out in some form of printable document so that others could take it and play. I'd assume it'd be no more than a few pages of fluff change and instructions, then it could act as a Frostgrave SUPPLEMENT! I hope you or more people come up with more things like this, I personally would love to write my own. It gives people the opportunity to use any excess scenery that they'd like to try out.

All in all, very cool.


Thank you,
Like Clockwork

[Emir of Askaristan]

Looks great - and what a fantastic idea for a setting. The terrain is very nice, especially the obelisks. If you are worried about open terrain and line of sight, why not add more rubble or dunes. You mention it was buried after all, so there should be plenty of both around.

Thanks for sharing and hope to see some more.

[LeadAsbestos]

Looks great! A fine idea too. We are playing in a jungle, but my warband.would fit right in your Sandgrave !