Frostgrave, Halo Ground Command and other tabletop minis

[Hahma]

I decided to create a thread where myself and others can post about some games like Frostgrave, Halo Ground Command and some other similar types of games that can also be discussed, pictures shared, etc.

The main reason for creating this thread, is because I feel that it's gotten to the point in the What Board Game Are You Currently Playing thread, that I've derailed it by spamming it with these other miniatures games, terrain, etc. It certainly wasn't the intention, it was more excitement of discovery and sharing things I was into. But, I need to stop that and keep it to board games discussion there, but keep the other stuff over here.

Over time, I will try to link some of my related posts from that other thread to this OP.

[Hahma]

Well to start the ball a rolling, I figured I'd share some pictures of a neoprene (mousepad material) game mat that I got yesterday from a pre-order back in April from Frontline Gaming. It's 4'x4' and is the Snow Covered Tundra design.

They had a pre-order special back in April where the 4x4 mats were $55 including shipping. Regularly they are $60 +shipping. The other size mats, 3x3 and 4x6 were similarly discounted. They have a ton of designs available and are made in America.

I chose to go with the Snow Covered Tundra version because it will likely be my only gaming mat for awhile, as gaming funds get spread about for various things I need/want. I already have a green piece of felt that hangs over my 4x6 miniatures game table. I got it oversized and for use with Halo Ground Command, having a grassy look for that game, as well as possible uses for other games in the future. It was only like $13, so it was a good price compared to the neoprene, fleece and vinyl mats. So I was set with a green/grassy look. Well since getting into Frostgrave, I figured that some snow was needed, and since I have put so much time and effort into building and painting terrain and miniatures, I wanted a mat that would add a little more pop to the setup. But, knowing this was likely going to be the only one of these for awhile, I decided not to go with the all snow and ice version (my buddy Chris has one of those anyway), so I figured getting one with snow and tundra would be good, as I could cover up more tundra with terrain pieces when I want a more snow covered look for Frostgrave, but also cover up more snow area with terrain pieces when I want more tundra look for games like Halo Ground Command. Though, I think having both snow and tundra showing equally on the mat will work well for either of those games too.

While Frostgrave is played on a 3x3 play area, there are ways around that with a 4x4 mat, as you simply adjust starting zones further away from the board edge. Though, for a 4 player game, it could certainly be played to the full 4x4 size. Halo Ground Command is at 4x4 play area for small and medium sized games. So that will work for sure.

So here's the mat, laying on the floor in my basement. I don't have my 4x6 game table setup down there at the moment, and the 3x4ish oval table that we play most games on is too small to accommodate the mat.

[Porkins]

I thought this stuff was perfectly welcome in the other thread as it's board game related, but I'm happy to subscribe here. Post away!

[Hahma]

Thanks Porkins

I guess it just seemed to me that it may have become a turnoff for some, and I didn't want that. At any rate, there is this forum for other miniatures, so ultimately, this seems like the right place to be able to go nuts about it.

With a few buildings/ruins etc. completed and other of the type on the way in the future, I figured it would be nice to come up with some scatter terrain to place around the board to add obstacles and flavor.

I got the idea from someone in the Frostgrave Facebook forum I frequent, so yesterday after work, I grabbed a few pieces of landscape wood mulch from the front garden area and prime them black. These are the cedar chips I believe, and not the stringy type of mulch. I haven't replenished the gardens with them for quite awhile, so the ones that are still there, are dried out and not kind of damp like when you first get them.

Did a sample one, where after spray priming it black yesterday, I drybrushed on some dark blue today, then drybrushed some grey, and then some white. Then I applied a wash with some Quick Shine floor finish and a little bit of brown paint, just to give it a little something extra. After that dried, I glued on some Woodland Scenics Blended Turf here and there to give it a mossy type vibe. Still have to varnish it and will hit it good with varnish, as I don't want it to chip or have parts break off, since it is a pretty dry piece.

[IAmBatman]

I don't think it was out of place either, but it seems like there's enough interest for a dedicated thread.

Since I'm too lazy/didn't read, can you tell me, what exactly is Frostgrave?

[A3n]

[Hahma]

Okay fellas, sorry for not explaining what this game is. Here's the first paragraph from the Introduction in the rulebook, for a quick description.

"Frostgrave is a tabletop miniatures game where players take on the role of wizards and lead their small warband into the frozen city of Felstad in search of lost treasure, enchanted artifacts, and forgotten secrets of magic."

Basically, there is a 120+ page rulebook by Osprey Publishing, and you can get it for less than $20. You play the game on a 3x3 playing area, and will need a good bit of terrain pieces to break up line of sight, as well as make for some interesting movement to different levels and such.

While there is an official line of miniatures available to use for this game, many people use figures from various product lines, either purchasing new, or using minis they already have from other games. The main thing when doing this, is to make sure each type mini representing a specific warband type, is identified for both you and your opponent to know which figure represents what type of character. There are sheets to list your warband member, so it's easy to make a note that the lizard man with a sword is a Thug, etc. If you have more than one member type, say 2 Thugs, each model should either look a little different, or you can mark their base differently if they are the same model design. That way when they take wounds or have some affects put on them, you know which one to mark on the character sheet.

There are 10 different schools of magic to choose from, so players will choose which school they would like their main character wizard to be from. There are base stats for the wizard for move, fight, shoot, will, armor and health. For each school, there is a chart that shows which other 3 schools are aligned with yours, which other 5 are neutral towards yours and which one is opposed to yours. There are 8 spells for each school of magic, but when you first start out, you are only allowed to choose 3 spells from your school, 1 from each of the three aligned schools, and 1 each from two of the five neutral schools, for a total of 8 spells you start out with.

You then have 500 gold to assemble your warband. You will need to spend 200 on an apprentice to your wizard, and the apprentice with have some lesser stats than your wizard, but will know the same spells, but will have a -2 penalty on the d20 roll when trying to cast them. All spells have a casting roll requirement, from 8 on up on the d20. Aligned spells have a +2 requirement, and neutral spells have a +4 requirement.

Then you have 300 gold to buy your soldiers, which include thieves, thugs, infantrymen, archers, crossbowmen, barbarian, treasure hunger, tracker knights, etc. Each has a cost and abilities to match that cost. You can only have a total of 10 (including your wizard and apprentice) members in your warband.

There are sheets where you write down all the stats an information for your wizard and the others to keep track of.

Basically, there are scenarios with special rules in the rulebook, or you can just make one up. But the main gist of the game is for you to get treasure. Usually each player will place 3 treasure tokens randomly on the board with x distance from the edge and from each other. Then players will roll to see who gets what board edge and then for initiative. You place your warband in your starting area and then during the course of the game, you are trying to get a party member to treasure tokens and carry them off the board. Whenever a treasure token is grabbed, you rolld a d20 to see if a monster comes. On a 16+, your roll on the random monster chart to see what monster shows up on a random board edge, though in some scenarios, the monster will come from where the treasure is.

After all treasures are off the board, the game ends. During the game, the primary goal is to get as much treasure as possible, because the game is meant to be played as a campaign, so the treasure helps toward your campaign success. After each game, players roll on a chart to see what each of their treasure tokens end up being. Could be gold, potions, scrolls, grimoires, or magical items. The items can be used in future games and gold can be used to pay for better warband members and to buy items. Also, after the first game, players can choose a home base from a list of different places, such as a library, inn, treasury, and the like. Each one gives you a potential benefit over the course of the campaign. There are also improvements that you can buy to add more benefits to your home base.

Wizards also gain XP's for various things. Sometimes a scenario will give xp's for a specific task, but for the most part, the wizard will get 10 XP'S for each successful spell they cast in a game, 50 xp's for each treasure their warband gets off the board, I believe it's 50 for taking out an opponent's wizard, 40 for opponent's apprentice and maybe 30 for other warband member. Can't remember if that's the exact numbers there, but you get the idea.

For every 100 xp's, the wizard gets, they can level up. They do this between games, but don't have to, as they can choose to wait for awhile and then level up as far as they can or want to. When levelling up, for each level up, you can increase one of your stats by 1, lower the cast number requirement by 1, or learn a new spell. The only way to learn a new spell is to have a grimoire with a spell in it that you don't already know. You can either get a grimoire from treasure you get off the board, or for paying 500 gold for one. So while you start out with 8 spells, you can learn more over time.

When a member of your warband gets reduced to 0 health during a game (they start out with anywhere from 10 to 14, depending on the character), they are knocked out of the game, but not necessarily dead. After each game, you roll a d20 to see how they fare. The soldiers have a separate chart. A 1-4 means they are dead, 5-8 means they are badly wounded and can't participate in the next game, and 9+ means they have recovered. The wizard and apprentice have a different chart and can have more options for being wounded, such as losing an eye or toe, or a nagging injury etc. So they will have a minor affect on the wizard's stats in future games.

Here is a link to a session report I posted here in the other thread, several pictures to give an idea of how things can look.

[Dad_Scaper]

I think this game looks so cool. So, so cool. And it seems to me I could play it with just the instructions and my mountain of Heroscape stuff.

The problem is, I don't have the person to play it against. For now. I look forward to seeing your posts, Hahma, and I think a separate thread is a good idea. Not because the others were out of place, but because here you can post streams and streams of pictures and we can all talk about it or dream about it without necessarily talking about whether we're playing it *now*. So I supported your posts elsewhere but I like it this way, too, and I see the advantage of a separate thread.

[TREX]

@Hahma , I just love that you share all your stuff and its so picture heavy. Reasons like this is why I don't just play heroscape anymore. Similar things have got me to try out a bunch of different games and I love all of it. I should be getting my other 4 manuals in the mail today....Exciting. I have been putting in even more hours at work than my usual 6 days a week.(Mandantory training) So yesterday after work I was forced to just drink beer and go to sleep early. I will be throwing up a bit of custom terrain here soon that I have been hit and miss working on for frostgrave and hexless heroscape.


and......I cant rep you yet. Cool idea for Frostgrave's own thread.

[keglo]

@Hahma

I'm glad that you started this thread. Great idea!

I love the new mat.

I did the exact same thing with mulch a couple of years back and it actually works pretty well.

Like @Dad_Scaper , I have no one to play Frostgrave with even though I have some of the stuff already. I'll have to live play vicariously through you. Is that a thing?

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

Tut, tut. I like looking at your Frostgrave stuff, @Hahma , and it excites my imagination about an unfamiliar gaming system. It's something you're playing, and you're sharing your passion for it, and you are doing so without bragging or making anyone feel left out. It's just sharing, and I welcome those posts.

And, as I recall, you've gotten about a zillion questions about it. So if you've gotten feedback that your posts about Frostgrave are not welcome, I'm sorry to hear it. I enjoy them.

This is true. I think that you even got a couple of new people involved with the game. That is saying something.
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[TREX]

Skimmed through the new manuals. Its very cool that it adds new spells and new soldier types to the fray. Freaking assassins in the one book. Also hire able captains that level up also. Not to mention the other beasts that you fight and such. Im building frostgrave terrain now. @keglo I think there is a campaign in one book that plays solo?

[Hahma]

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

I think this game looks so cool. So, so cool. And it seems to me I could play it with just the instructions and my mountain of Heroscape stuff.

The problem is, I don't have the person to play it against. For now. I look forward to seeing your posts, Hahma, and I think a separate thread is a good idea. Not because the others were out of place, but because here you can post streams and streams of pictures and we can all talk about it or dream about it without necessarily talking about whether we're playing it *now*. So I supported your posts elsewhere but I like it this way, too, and I see the advantage of a separate thread.

Yeah, this is the best place for this stuff. The rulebook is relatively inexpensive and the system isn't too difficult to learn. Minis and terrain can be whatever, heck, I'm sure people have used whatever is laying around the house as some terrain pieces. Hopefully you'll be able to someday find someone that would play it with you DS.

Originally Posted by TREX

@Hahma , I just love that you share all your stuff and its so picture heavy. Reasons like this is why I don't just play heroscape anymore. Similar things have got me to try out a bunch of different games and I love all of it. I should be getting my other 4 manuals in the mail today....Exciting. I have been putting in even more hours at work than my usual 6 days a week.(Mandantory training) So yesterday after work I was forced to just drink beer and go to sleep early. I will be throwing up a bit of custom terrain here soon that I have been hit and miss working on for frostgrave and hexless heroscape.


and......I cant rep you yet. Cool idea for Frostgrave's own thread.

Hey TREX, at first, I thought you were going to be throwing up after that "one" beer

Look forward to seeing your custom stuff. Don't work too hard.

Originally Posted by keglo

@Hahma

I'm glad that you started this thread. Great idea!

I love the new mat.

I did the exact same thing with mulch a couple of years back and it actually works pretty well.

Like @Dad_Scaper , I have no one to play Frostgrave with even though I have some of the stuff already. I'll have to live play vicariously through you. Is that a thing?

This is true. I think that you even got a couple of new people involved with the game. That is saying something.
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Thanks Keglo, I like the mat too. Yeah, the mulch thing seems to be a good cheap way to get some scatter terrain on the board.

Part of my excitement and posting in that other thread was because others seem interested, so I'm glad that it was something that worked out that way and perhaps others will give it a go.

Hopefully you'll and DS will be able to find gaming buddies for this sometime, but as TREX mentions, there is a 3 scenario campaign called Dark Alchemy, in the Frostgrave Folio book, that plays solo or 2 player co-op. There are other short competitive campaigns in there as well.

Originally Posted by TREX

Skimmed through the new manuals. Its very cool that it adds new spells and new soldier types to the fray. Freaking assassins in the one book. Also hire able captains that level up also. Not to mention the other beasts that you fight and such. Im building frostgrave terrain now. @keglo I think there is a campaign in one book that plays solo?

I don't have the one with the assassins, as I don't have Into the Breeding Pits or Forgotten Pacts. My buddy Chris has them all, so when the time arises, we'll refer to his, unless I feel like having a copy of them as well His schedule is kind of wonky now, and he and his girlfriend are looking for houses, so we'll see when we can get together again. In the meantime, I'm going to keep building and painting, and perhaps set things up and let my daughters take it for a test spin. Or invite other guys from my gaming group to give it a go, as others tried it, while some others have yet to be able to give it a go. So plenty of interest, just a matter of scheduling.

The captains looks like a neat option too. Each of the campaign books seems to add a little bit more to the game, though they are completely optional if people want to keep things simpler.