Frostgrave Friday

I'm in the US, and the FLGS owner is pretty hip. He stocks a full Frostgrave range, and has straight up recommended KoW for playing Fantasy, pointing out a regular event that is held. There are people who actually play Frostgrave too, and he has mentioned how much he likes the different warbands people bring in (Almost feel guilty for only using the standard soldier minis).

Do it, but you need to adjust some things
>Mordheim Beastmen Raider (left)
>Beast Lord helmet, sword, mace
>Chaman halberd (because Staff)
>2x bestigor mace, sword, helmet
>3x gor mace dager
>gor 2x mace
>3x chaos warhound
the idea is to RUN AND WRECK FACE

>Frostgrave warband (right)
>Fae/Faun Whitch
>Staff
>MAGIC! Poison Dart (witch),Animal Companion (witch),Brew Potion (witch),Strength (enchanter),Planar Tear(Summoner),Spell Eater (necromancer),Call Strom(Elementalist),Monstrous Form (Illusionist)
>Appretice 200 Staff
>3x thugs 60 (ungor with hand weapon)
>2x archers 100 (ungor with bow)
>infantryman 80 (gor axe and dager)
>treasure hunter 80 (bestigor)
>warhound 10 (duh)

the idea is to buff/debuff his warband and have ofensive some spells

in this case i have to include some ungors and a second wizard, but i played beastmen so i have a lot of miniatures to use

also you even could use old GW minis

here are some old plastic beastmen as statues

or even bits (spooky skeleton=ghorgon bits), plastic toys (spider) or use green stuff (giant worm on a 32mm base)to make things, Frostgrave is AWESOME

Well, no such luck at my FLGS. I think they started limiting the traditional game stock after they merged it with a failed comic book store they tried to expand with.

and some mantic dwarfs as another warband for demo games that i haven't yet do it, because i want to have some ruins and scenery before

I was just really gonna make something basic with he soldier sprues using bits and a lot of greenstuff.

Here's a question.

What's our Distraction?

Who or what do we get to sent right up the middle, drawing ire and fire?

>Hopes for Breeding Pits?

Dude I honestly hope that the Gnoll set is as awesome as the Cultists and Soldiers set.

Any online stores in america that sell the official minis?

FRP Games seems to have them.

But from what I've heard, not many distributors get them, or Mantic for that matter.

I would like a bunch of chimera like beasts fused with many animals.

So is the expansion coming out this fall/winter supposed to be barbarian focused?

>spend entire game strugling to roll higher than 10
>at one point roll four 1's in a row
>opponent keeps rolling 20's
>claim no treasure
>everyone taken out but one knight and my wizard

I want to like this game but I don't think it likes me.

In all seriousness though the system is pretty swingy, it's starting to put me off.

A friend of mine and I are considering trying it using 2d10, or 3d6 instead of the d20 for combat and casting. Might be worth a shot.

How about a possessed captain or barbarian? Paint him up garishly, choose a menacing figure....

So it seems. I'm hoping for mounted rules.

Having some plastic fantasy barbarians that is not Warhammer Chaos Maruaders does sounds pretty sweet. I could potentially make an army out of that.

There's the Shieldwolf box, but that's a pain to find, IIRC.

Oh god I want frostgrave barbarian box so bad. I don't care about the game

I like the scale of Frostgrave, though. It should also be easy to kitbash with vikings, or other plastic barbarians for more heads and weapons.

I just have various leftover crap that I want to stick on frostgrave barbarians. What's the source on this barbarian expansion?

Glad to see Frostgrave Friday is back

I quite like the look of the Wargames Factory Orcs but you only get a limited selection on the sprues. Does anybody know of any character models or smaller, goblin type models that would fit with their aesthetics?

Yes
The GW LotR orcs and goblins

From Wargame news.

February
>Stumbled upon this on Amazon looks like Frostgrave, the fantasy skirmish game will be getting a new expansion named Frostgrave: Forgotten Pacts to be released in november!

>This expansion will be introducing fierce northern barbarians to the setting and hopefully some plastic barbarian miniatures! In this supplement for Frostgrave, players lead their warbands into the northern reaches of the city, exploring the ruined temples of the Frozen City to search for the lost secrets of evocation--the art of summoning demons. While the lure of such knowledge is great, few wizards have ventured into this region as it is overrun by barbaric northern tribesmen, who have descended from the hills in their own search for treasure. Marking themselves with demonic sigils, many of these barbarians have aligned with ancient powers discovered among the temples. Along with a host of new scenarios focusing on the exploration of the temples, the book also contains new treasures, spells, soldiers, and creatures that can be found in and around the ruins.

March
>Osprey Games has previewed the Frostgrave Forgotten Pacts cover artwork! Looking at this great piece of artwork we can clearly see some fierce barbarians with one even mounted on a wooly rhino mount! Further in the background we see the magical ruins of Frostgrave, filled with magic and endless treasure.

>Nick over at Northstar Miniatures has also announced a fourth plastic boxed set with hopefully some barbarians to be released alongside the expansion. The Forgotten Pacts expansion is to be released in November.

That is pretty interesting.

Seems that way yes.

>Planned warbands?

Thinking of starting a build with:
>3 Infantrymen
>2 Archers
>2 Thieves
>Apprentice

With a Wizard focused in either Illusion or Enchanting, not sure which yet, with both Wizard and Apprentice armed with bows. Warband is composed of Elves with a Wood Elf/Fey theme so I figure I'd stick with models generally one step above the rank and file Hired Thugs.

Don't forget the Captain!

Always go with a Captain, 'cause they're just that damn good.

I'd have to hire one on and pay upkeep.

That might be a slow-grow for the game with everyone's starter armies. Actually wondering if it might be balanced to have a captain instead of an Apprentice at army creation. More points for dudes, but you cast half the spells.

Yeah, I rather like me some pagan demon worshipping barbarians.

>planned warbands

Generic human one using the Frostgrave box as a demo opponent.
Viking themed one I can use SAGA models in.
Dwarven one with an enchanter representing a runesmith.

Thinking of something involving Night Goblins too.

If anything, you've got a great excuse to use Chaos Warriors and Demons as Frostgrave minis now.

The only trouble you have to worry about here is that the odds have now changed into a bellcurve if you use multiple dice like 2d10 or 3d6. Suddenly, their +4 fight vs. your +1 is not just a 15% bonus, that extra 3 points over you on a 3d6 turns into 25% bonus over you. Any bonus to a normal stat turns into something that much more insurmountable quickly. Another good one is to think about how armor works, which might make armor decent finally, but in order to roll a 14 or better on 3d6 is only 16% without a bonus.

I would try 2d10 a few times first, but 3d6 is such an aggressive bell curve your "battles" might turn into knights simply battering at each other until SOMONE finally gets a 20 and brutally one shots their opponent from full health.

I think if they do a good job the barbarian box will do well.

The GW chaos marauders were never great but they have aged terribly. And theoretically you could use the box for several games easily.

Chaos warriors also look a lot more impressive against less comically inflated models.

I think the 2d10 curve would be an advantage for a lot of people though. Since many feel its too easy for cheap soldiers to get lucky against tougher opponents.

I was gonna make a Mordheim Possessed warband out of the cultists. So this might work out even better than expected.

Thank God that GW didn't replace the generic Chaos Warrior models with overdesigned Age of Sigmar ones..

>Hopes for Breeding Pits?
Oh I can't wait to see what kind of minis they release alongside the Gnolls that are planned for it. I'm honestly hoping they do the same thing they did with the Cultists by making a Knight and Templar sculpt for them, or a Barbarian and the Tracker and hounds.

>Planned warbands?
Oh I haven't been able to get any minis yet, but I'm hoping to grab both a Soldier and Cultist boxed set and make enough starting forces for a Thaumaturge, an Elemantalist, a Necromancer, and some other "dark" wizard.

Then Gnolls, Barbarians, etc. etc. From what I've seen I'm already in love with the multi-part kits. Hell, I might even use the minis for D&D games.

So anons, I have a group of Frostgrave minis, a mix of cultists and soldiers.

I need a wizard, and he'll have to look good in blues and browns.

I'm thinking the frostgrave illusionist. Good plan?

What minis are those next to the Chaos Warrior?

I know the Shields they bare are the GW marauder ones, but where do those infantry come from?

They look like Gripping Beast plastics, not sure which though.

Two-Handed Weapons seem kind of genericised when it comes to stuff like great-weapons and polearms and spears.

I propose that there be a statline for polearms/spears that helps show off that they put your opponent at a disadvantage because of reach. A Polearm/Spear is like a Staff weapon, but also like a Two-Hand weapon, so combining the stats makes a weapon with +1 Fight that imposes a -1 Fight on its opponent.

Of course, the hard part is determining where that weapon is implemented. Is it simply an addition to the weapon choices, do new entries need to be drawn up, or if a model is said to have a two-hand weapon, they can choose it to be a spear. Though what about rolling up random weapons? Does the table need to be changed?

>Demon Summoning
>Barbarian tribes
Sounds like good WoC proxies at the very least. Glad to see them focusing on the various schools of magic, with Lich Lord focusing on necromancy and Breeding Pits focusing on witchcraft, and now a supplement for conjuration.

And Hunt for the Golem throwing a bone to Enchanting. At least for the Animate Construct spell.

That definitely counts. The plastic kits are really nice too, especially as they are all largely compatible with each other. Even the gnolls use similar arms, so if you magnetized either of the other kits you can continue using the arms.

My necromancer and dudes.
Pardon the shit light. It's half past 11 where I'm at.

Bossman, apprentice, and Captain in closer view.

Three mooks.

Three more mooks.

Oh, and their counterpart.
Legitimate frostgrave mooks, looking for a wizard and apprentice to sign on with.

And why not also my special project dudes?

Wait, why are they having different-

Fucking magnets.

Could work. If you're going illusionist might I suggest some swirl-patterns, maybe take a page from Tzeentchian patterning.

For reference, it's these guys.

Bump.

You can mix their sprues with historicals or lotr minis. Back in the days WGF did a mash up contest, where I stole the idea to mix them with their zulu warriors. Works sirprisingly well.

Honestly, the heads fit right on Frostgrave bodies pretty much perfectly.

Painted this one a good while ago. .

...

They look to be Gripping Beast plastic Saxons.

Good ideas, thanks.

When do the gnolls come out?

June I think, maybe July.

Presumingly this summer. I would guess july.

So I'm checking this out and I need to ask - how active is the company behind Frostgrave ? Do they still support the game and release new material or am I late to the party ?

They're about to release an expansion this summer, Into the Breeding Pits, and another this coming Fall as well, so its still a new game that's getting some good support. both model and rules wise.

The game is less than a year old, still getting plenty of support.

Total noob here, somewhat interested in the game and the models. How do they compare size-wise to GW?

They're a tad smaller, in less of a "Heroic" scale, and are better thought out when it comes to their poses in my opinion.

Cool, thanks.

Quick question, is there a way to replace your mage with a non-mage as your main character ? Say a knight that can level up, get a mount, etc or some sort of sneaky thief.

No, unfortunately. Your main dude is a Wizard still, but with the Sellsword expansion people have been thinking about using the Captain unit as a substitute for the Wizard's Apprentice.

Oh, that's fine, I think. I was thinking about a warband revolving around a Knight which could be the Captain and the servants he took on his quest, including his Wizard. I guess that could be done, yes ?

You can definitely fluff it that way. Hell, if your friends/opponents want to you could do a mundane campaign with captains replacing wizards.

The game is just themed around a wizard leading a war band in the search for loot and magical secrets by default.

Cool, I get wizards are the theme but it's nice to have the option you know? Anyway I'm checking out the rules for the captain and he doesn't seem to replace the apprentice?

He isn't *designed* to, but a group could experiment with using him in the Apprentice's role, allowing him to use the Apprentice's Phase instead of faking it in the Soldier's Phase.

Why not just make a buff-focused wizard, instead?

Go Enchanter or Thaumaturge. Bam.

Strong chance i'm being a remtard but I cant see the Fantasy terrain in the mega folder. Some extra bits for my print terrain would be P cool. Can someone help (and call me a remtard if i'm being a remtard).

Also the Perry stuff makes for a nice warband, the Italian mercs have nearly everything you need, bar dogs.

It would be better with one or the other. Balance-wise, while a soldier might beat up on a wizard in regular combat, wizards bring a whole bag of tricks to play that's the central focus of the game, and built even with just a bunch of trick spells rather than outright combat, they can run circles around any soldier, getting that loot.

Mordheim actually has a bit of the same problem where a team with a wizard will usually beat out a team without one, so Frostgrave simplifies the whole thing by giving everyone a wizard and an apprentice and access to all the same spells, if different focuses.

Optional rules for replacing an Apprentice with a Captain could work quite well, though replacing a wizard would be pretty tough on your own team. Still, make an Enchanter and throw buff spells on both him and the captain and you've got some tough dudes on the field.

I have GW Floi Stonehand for my enchanter, and wanted to build a very eclectic band of mercs for my fluff, but I keep going back to wanting to use LOTR dwarves for a kind of royal expedition retinue as well. What do you guys feel would be best? I want a couple of other wizards too, so maybe one of them can "inherit" the merc mix so I can use Floi for a pure dwarf band?

Make both, always good to have a warband you can use for new players.

To be honest, I don't know anyone who plays it. Maybe the local gaming club, though I've never been there. If they don't, I'll try to introduce it.

Well its a new game, someone has to introduce it to people.

Hasn't it been out for almost a year soon?

I actually do not know anyone who plays Frostgrave.

But i do know at least 10 people who bought the book.

Probably a bad sign?
MY current warband plans are Arabic Summoner, like the Northstar model suggests. will you the gripping beast arabians box for most of the mercs.

Well why don't you tell these people to play each other?

Any wargame has this problem if none of the potential players know of each other.

Maybe they don't wanna invest in terrain?

Posted a while ago. Took a stab at making my own Frostgrave Wizard. Thinking of going Illusionist to fit with the tricksy fey theme the warband's going to have.

How do I get gud at sculpting, senpai?

Read yourself a whole lot of tutorials, have a clear sculpting goal and vision in mind, and prepare to furnish your workspace with all you might need. Also, spend a whole lot of time practicing and honing your skills.

The implication is that they bought the rulebook, read it, were unimpressed, and never played. Or played once or twice and quit based on that experience.