For our second ever Frostgrave game, we played a four way game. After a quick reincarnation, my warband came back exactly as it had been at the start of the first game. Rowan’s was enhanced by adding a couple of higher quality henchmen such as a knight. We played on a 3’x3′ table again, with even more scenery. I thought it would be too small, but it actually worked pretty well – although 4’x4′ might have been better. The other two warbands were a bit more experienced, but in Frostgrave the benefits of this are relatively moderate so it didn’t feel unfair.
Rushing for the treasure
Here you see my warband. The barbarian has led one group to grab some treasure (the grey disk near the wall). There’s more treasure around in the form of giant gems in the shape of dice, although at least two are illusory. I’m about to meet another warband rushing in from the right. On my left flank was Rowan’s warband. He covered me warily with a marksman but didn’t fire for fear of provoking my wizard. We weren’t going for the same treasure so there seemed no reason to fight (and we were using the Bad Karma rules which give no XP for killing).
Melee
A turn or so later, the thief has climbed the building and retrieved a bit of treasure – luckily it turned out to be real. The apprentice and a thug are advancing to recover another bit (the grey disk). On the left Rowan’s warband advances, and in the foreground the barbarian and his companions are in desperate melee with the other warband. The warhound has been sent in to protect a thug while he tries to get away with the treasure. In Frostgrave, escaping with treasure is impossible without your comrades protecting you, because it halves your move.
Enchanter warband advances
Meanwhile Rowan’s enchanter was advancing into the middle of the table. He managed to drive off the Chronomancer’s advance on one side by shooting one model and grenading another in the same turn. Above you can see one of his new acquisitions – a templar knight. He didn’t have much treasure on his side – in this game the gold statue was representing a medium construct, so no loot there.
I had much better luck this game. The warhound killed its opponent with two lucky rolls, and the barbarian demolished another. Whilst my thug escaped with the loot, the rest got stuck in to their single remaining opponent – a ranger. Sensing victory, I threw an archer into the fight, only to suffer my only casualty of the game when the ranger calmly killed him with a single blow. My wizard occupied himself by repeatedly trying to cast Blinding Light, but never strongly enough to do any damage.
Up on the tall building, the apprentice and a thug secured another piece of treasure and climbed down inside the building with it in order to retreat as safely as possible. The illusionist warband had taken a beating – in addition to his bad luck in the melee (three dead), my archer shot one of his archers as he tried to climb over a wall to help the ranger, and another of his men was shot by Rowan.
By this point I had recovered three pieces of treasure and having learned from the last game, I decided to beat a retreat while the going was good. An archer and Jeremiah, the wizard, covered the rest of the warband as they filed off with the loot.
Time to go home
What did I learn from this one – concentrate on the achievable treasure, stick together and don’t be too rash. Frostgrave for four works pretty well, although it is a bit slower. As there is a separate phase for wizard, apprentice and others, in effect it takes three circuits of the players to complete each turn. However, the magic is pretty quick, and there are no cumbersome magic points to track. I particularly like the way the wizards can choose to drain their own health, for the points required to bring a roll up to the number needed for success. It adds an interesting tactical twist and also fits in well with the atmosphere.
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