This past weekend I finished 4 more figures to add to my monster collection for Frostgrave
First up is an old metal RAFM figure of a minor demon from what I believe was a magician set.
As well, 3 more of the Nolzer's pre-primed plastic D&D Giant Spiders.
I wanted to keep a couple of them raised on their legs...though not sure how well they will remain secured to their bases, with just their leg tips to hold them.
I admit to contemplating modified spiders for our games that will actually spit webs onto targets which will reduce their actions similar to poison. However when hit twice & failing their TN, they become ensnared & are auto-poisoned once the spider either draws them to itself or moves to them.
I opted to go with varied paint schemes as well.
I next have some old GW ghost/spectral horde figures to paint up for use as banshees or spirits of some sort.
This past Sunday was our 4th campaign game of Frostgrave. This time we delved into the first scenario of Into The Breeding Pits.
We had 5 warbands pitted against one another.
Yhegda the Witch (Level 9)
Bilgax the Necromancer (Level 5)
Severus the Enchanter (Level 10)
Kalzar the Summoner (Level 0)
Herryk the Enchanter (Level 12)
The scenario was pretty much verbatim from the book with the following modifications.
At the beginning of the turn, the person with the lowest initiative rolls a d4 to determine how many terrain features will move 4" in a straight line. The large bluff in the centre of the table could not move.
Whenever a treasure is picked up, a Violent Fungi appears using our house rules of a d20 & direction die to determine where it spawns.
The Violent Fungi were also modified in that when they were slain, they exploded in a cloud of spores affecting anyone within 2" with poison unless they passed a Will Test with TN 10.
The Aftermath:
This was one of our fastest games to date, with all the treasures quickly being scooped up & rushed off the table.
Severus - 300xp, 80gc, Scroll of Nightmare, +2 Damage Bow, Grimoire - Shield.
Herryk - 330xp, 120gc, Grimoire - Heal (sold), Amulet of Resistance, Scroll of Planewalk. Dain Killed.
Kalzar - 290xp, 250gc, Grimoire - Embed Enchantment, Horn of Destruction, +2 Damage Dagger.
Bilgax - 280xp, 160gc, Grimoire - Power Ward, Orb of Power (8). Kill Badly Wounded
Yhegda - 90xp, 2gc. Ewald & Bear Killed, Arnot Badly Wounded.
The store in Bordertown now has the following items available to purchase
Grimoires - Fast Act, Furious Quill, Brew Potion, Bone Dart, Bind Demon, Heal, Reveal Secret, Banish, Grenade
Scrolls - Circle of Protection, Combat Awareness, Call Storm
Potions - Strength, Demon in a Bottle, Teleportation.
Thanks to all those who are following along!
This Sunday is our next Frostgrave Campaign game & we venture into the Breeding Pits.
Our first scenario will be the Moving Maze & we needed to get Violent Fungi miniatures done up for it. My buddy Scott had already painted some, but I saw the need for more as our game involves 5-6 players, meaning lots of treasure, which in turn means lots of Fungi!
Enter Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Myconid Adults. Pre-primed, they just needed rebasing & then some painting. Looking at the painting on the packaging, I thought about it...then looking at real mushrooms, have come to see that most Fungi, have rather more mundane appearances.
Coming 2 to a pack, I snagged 3. I opted for the more mundane colouring of the bodies, then added some moss green for their 'beards'. I definately liked the multi-coloured crests, so wanted to retain that aspect.
Finishing up with Strong Army Painter Dip to get into the recesses, makes their bodies pop.
Now we will see these guys in action..of course with the multi-player games we have I have to modify the scenarios, otherwise they are a cake-walk. However I have a wonderfully great modification idea for these critters!
Last Tuesday was our last club night of March. Dan brought out Strange Aeons for us to play. Originally set for 4 players, we only had 3, so the Cultists got to eventually run both of the "bad" forces.
Threshold has discovered a cultist enclave set up in a rural part of Canada. As such they have requested the assistance of the RCMP to apprehend the 'human traffickers'
I played the RCMP force which has 4 constables & a Sergeant. We wet up a cordon while we awaited the arrival of the Threshold Agents.
However the cultists dispensed with normal procedure by firing upon the RCMP members. The constables were slightly taken aback by the strange stunted members of the oddly dressed farmfolk.
Threshold arrives & the assault on the coven begins in earnest.
2 of the Stunted ones waving cleavers approach the cordon.
Constable Green drops one.
Alas not very long after, things had turned nasty for the forces of Good. The Sgt, his revolver jammed was reduced to fisticuffs with Tcho Tcho's who rushed him. The remainder of his men taken down.
Eventually he was also slain & the Cultists continued the sale of their human cattle to the Tcho Tcho's....along with some bonus meat.
Thanks for Dan bringing this out.
Then Thursday saw me depart for the Rocky Mountain Retreat. 4 days of gaming with other like minded folks.
We decided prior to have our annual Eldritch Horror game on the Thursday Night.
I must say this is one of the hi-lights of the event. There is a group of us that are all 'into' the game, enjoying the flavor text, as well as the 'conditions' we all find ourselves suffering.
Brent gave his blessing in passing. (He was unable to make it, so one of the guys made a huge cut-out of him!) In fact he made a lot of appearances throughout the weekend.
We went with totally random characters & even with much reduced stats, managed to win the game!
Another thing I enjoy with this gathering is an opportunity to learn some new games. I am not the biggest 'boardgamer' more enjoying the miniature side of things.
However Torbin introduced me to the game Imperial Settlers!
I was really taken by the comic-like artwork on the cards. The game had each player take a race (we played Barbarians, Romans & Egyptians). Each race has a specific deck of cards & there is a large common deck.
The various cards consist of 1 of 3 types. Production, Action & Feature. Depending on their type, will determine where they can be placed. The game plays fairly quickly with only 5 rounds. This allows the game to remain fresh & replayable, as you will never get to use all the cards.
Below is the final display I had as the Egyptians. I wonder if my winning added to my wanting to get this game?
Then I got into a game called Epic Zombies.
I got the Mall Cop as my character.
You have a health & a bullet meeple across the top. If they ever share the same location, you die!
The area is laid out & there are 3 missions we must complete to win. In the centre there is a base where our barricades hold back the horde...that will come.
As you clear areas you can of course find better gear. I found a Machete.
Which there is a miniature of that clips onto your character! You can have 1 ranged & 1 melee weapon.
The next shot shows the group getting geared up...YEP! There is a Chainsaw!
As games run various lengths, there is often a space where some folks are waiting for the next game, so I brought out Guilds of Cadwallon as a short game that could take a good number of people.
I was then off to play Pony Wars with Bruce & Rob...wait is that Brent showing how impressed he was with the table?
The scenario was somewhat the same as before, get out with the army to collect the various settlers & other folks & get them to the fort before they were overrun by hostiles.
We only had the 2 of us playing, as Bruce moderated. Below is my 'Troop A' Cavalry unit.
One of the things you need to determine is the random 'ability' your leader has. I rolled Shortsighted, which meant my troops would never fire at long range.
One of the cards that came up early was 'Clam Bake' which had all the settlers load up & make for the church to celebrate.
My Cavalry made it in time to persuade one of the settler groups to be escorted back to the fort. Just in time as a group of hostiles was fast approaching.
After getting them to safety it was back out to seek more folks in need. I ran into 2 groups of hostiles.
Meanwhile on the far side of the board, both a Buffalo herd & a Wagon Train were moving across the board on the ridge.
The War Wagon makes its appearance. It smashed through all the hostiles it met on the way to the mines to collect the gold, sending them packing.
The game is scored depending on which units you've saved & penalties for all those that didn't. Also you get points for some of the other events that occur. However as I expect to see more of this game, I don't want to give all the fun away. Suffice it to say, we didn't score in the positive values.
Saturday morning was the Command & Colours Big Battle. We had 3 players a side to refight the Battle of Bagradas - 253 BC.
The Romans got stomped & before we knew it, the game was over......not even a chance for any more photos!
I then got some of the fellows into a game of Big Trouble in Little China. The photo below is as we entered Lo Pan's lair..& then quickly lost the game!
However everyone who played really enjoyed the game & we can expect to see it make an appearance again next year! I may make a point of trying to get these guys painted up!
Darren then brought out Auztraila to play. This is one of the games I got into the Kickstarter for, but hadn't had a chance to play yet.
The first photo is the player board. The game is all about Time management. Where every action reduces your time. As time ticks by we soon get to where the Great Old Ones begin to awaken & begin wreaking havoc.
You can buy various forces to attack the Old Ones, each being affected differently by the various unit types. As well your forces can only travel so far from the rail lines, so if your going to be effective at waking them up & taking them down, you need to get well established rail routes.
Thanks Darren for the opportunity to finally play this.
So another retreat ended with the drive home in time for The Walking Dead & Into the Badlands..as well as to catch up on some much needed sleep in my own bed! Thanks to all those who attended & made it another great event!
Oh, as an aside, I did stop in at the local game store on the way home just to see if they had Imperial Settlers. Imagine my happiness when I not only found the game & several of the expansions...but they were all on sale! Oh Happy Day!
