Frostgrave Campaign Game 3

This past Saturday, the entire campaign group was able to get together for a large, seven player game of Frostgrave.  We played a combination of the "Haunted Houses" and the "Well of Dreams and Sorrows".  We placed 12 huts and two wells plus several other pieces of treasure.  We then randomly determined starting locations.  I was unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle with the other warbands in a semi-circle around me.  It would be an interesting game.  Unfortunately I did not take very many pictures - was having too much fun.

The entire table

 The frozen ruins stretched out before him, beckoning him to enter and seek out its hidden secrets.  Knabe and his band of explorers readied themselves for another foray into icy unknown.  Some touching their lucky charms or quietly praying to their gods while Knabe and Vogel used their magic abilities.  Both of them successfully brewed a potion, Teleport and Invisibility.  Knabe successfully summoned another snow leopard to accompany the group while Vogel raised an undead being to serve the warband's needs.

Tightening straps and shouldering weapons, they moved out of their base and made their way towards the ruins.  Following rumors of magic fountains with the ability to grant some kind of enlightenment upon those brave enough to take a drink, Knabe wanted to see if they actually existed.
Upon finding a good spot to enter, Knabe quickly detected multiple wisps of magic energy permeating through the area - there were other wizards nearby.


To the left, a necromancer enters the ruins

The Doctor and his gang

To the right front, another warband

To the right a sigilist's warband

Kodak's Warband

Once again Knabe split his band into two main groups, one led by himself, the other led by Vogel.  The animals (Bobo the bear and the snow leopard) were sent left and right, and commanded to go cause havoc with any other groups they encountered.  Knabe cast telekinesis on a chest he spotted half buried in the snow and moved it through the air toward Vogel and his group.

Knabe and his warband

Meanwhile Kiefer (a ranger), who had climbed up some ruins, spots some kind of construct moving in the distance and lets loose an arrow.  His aim was true and the arrow hit home but didn't even slow the beast down.  Seconds after shooting, Kiefer found himself flying through the air as an unseen force pushed him off the ruins.  He landed 30-40 feet away; it took some time to regain his senses.  Knabe saw Kiefer's unplanned flight and immediately summoned a fog to conceal the rest of his group.

Vogel commanded his summoned undead creature to enter a nearby ruined hut, look for treasure, and take whatever it found back to base.  He then turned his attention to the chest floating in the air.  He made some intricate patterns with his hands and the chest moved closer to his location.  Diebin (thief) ran over and picked it up - the first treasure of the day.


The leopard attacks the necromancer

The snow leopard was prowling through the broken walls and centuries old rubble when he spotted a gaudily dressed man bending over and drinking from a pool of water - a necromancer.  The leopard pounced like a...uh...leopard and landed smack on his back.  A thief and a thug ran in to save the necromancer but both were successfully forced backwards.  The leopard then killed the thief with a single swipe of his paw.  He then laid into the wounded wizard and finished him off as well.  While licking his chops and relishing his kills, the leopard was struck from behind and collapsed to the snowy ground.
Knabe and Vogel once again teamed up to cast successive telekinesis spells to move a chest out of the reach of a thief who had just spent a lot of time climbing up a tall ruin (got to love that spell....)

Bobo engages some gurads

Bobo is taken down

In another part of the ruins, Bobo found the warband of the sigilist.  He remembered their smell from a previous excursion and moves towards their wizard.  He is ambushed from behind by three gurads (strange duckbilled manlings).  Bobo killed one and threw another across the snow.  Then his luck ran out as the remaining thug took him down.


Faenger mad dash.....

Faenger, in an act of bravery, or maybe stupidity, decides to run across a rickety wooden bridge three stories up.  He spotted what he thought was an item of treasure.  As he is running across, he dodges a magical push and survives several arrow shots.  And then, just as he reaches the treasure, he falls to a well placed shot from a member of the sigilist's warband.  Before he lost consciousness, he saw The Doctor's apprentice materialize out of no where beside him and claim the treasure.

While Faenger was making his wild run, Gauner climbed up three stories and grabbed a bag of loot.  Fearful of arrows and magic spells, he quickly climbed down and headed to the rendezvous point.
Having recovered from his fall, Kiefer decided to move in the opposite direction.  To the left of the group, Kiefer spots the necromancer's apprentice trying to help get some kind of treasure.  He takes aim and puts an arrow through his chest - ending his day.  Kiefer then changes location.  While surveying the ruins, Kodak appears out of thin air.  Once again, taking careful aim, he puts an arrow in his back.  Kodak proved to be tougher then he looked but a well placed bolt from Bogen's crossbow sealed his fate and he collapsed upon the icy ground.

From his lofty perch, Kiefer next spotted what looked like an elementalist's apprentice.  And again, a well placed shot was fired, and again, an apprentice ended her day face down in the snow.  Just as Kiefer was thinking that killing magic users could become habit forming, he too was struck down.  Even though Bogen carried his body away, Kiefer did not survive.  Bogen was hoping to recover his magic boots of speed but was surprised when they crumbled to dust.

Gruber was cautiously moving through the rubble when he heard a heart stopping, piercing wail off to his left.  A quick glance revealed a wraith floating in his direction.  Not knowing if he had been seen, he quickly ran to his right and passed through a wall of fog.  That was the last time he was seen alive.  His arrow and bolt pierced body was finally found but it was too late.  His corpse was recovered and will be transported to his home village for burial rites.

Unbeknownst to Gruber, the wraith followed him towards the fog.  Knabe saw the wraith and immediately drank an invisibility potion.  Knabe realized that neither he, nor any member of his warband, had the magic to take down an immaterial being.  The wraith then spotted Fritz (a marksman) who was hunkered down and shooting bolts at two other warbands.  He never even saw the wraith coming...until it was too late.  Fortunately, the wraith was distracted and moved off towards The Doctor's warband.  Gruber was able to recover and will be ready for the next expedition into the city.

While invisible, Knabe briefly contemplated on trying to reach the fountain and risking taking a sip.  However, the shadows were lengthening, so instead, he moved towards a nearby chest and picked it up.  With his invisibility gone, Knabe started moving towards the prearranged meeting location.  As a precaution, he called up a fog to cover his movement.
At the rally point, Knabe waited for the rest of his warband to arrive.  Both Diebin and Gauner made it back, each with a treasure.  The zombie lumbered in dragging a chest as well.  Added to the one Knabe brought back, it made for a good day's haul. Bogen arrived with Kiefer's body slung over his shoulder.  Vogel also made it back - unscathed this time.  Maybe the lad was learning after all.

As the zombie crumbled to dust, Knabe gathered his survivors and headed towards the inn.  Injuries needed to be treated, tall tales needed to be told, and most importantly, loot needed to be assessed and divided.

Six warband members were incapacitated this trip.  The treasure hunter Gruber and the ranger Kiefer had made their last visit to the city; the other four will be ready for the next time.

Four chests were recovered, containing 410 gold coins, three grimoires (Banish, Shield, and Fleet Feet), and a pair of magic gloves of casting.  Some gold will have to be spent to hire a couple new members, plus an assessment will need to be made whether or not to promote a couple of the lads who did well.

With four chest and eight successfully cast spells, Knabe should be able to advance his skills and knowledge a couple of times.  He'll take some time to determine what he will study as he considers rumors of great wurms and a museum full of rich treasures - there for the taking.  But how to best prepare.....how indeed?  Stay tuned for next month's adventure......

For another telling of this adventure, go here:  Kodak's Fanciful Frostgrave Adventure