Frostgrave Campaign Game 2

This past weekend we got together for the second game in our Frostgrave campaign.  Four wizards managed to show up.  Additional write-ups can be found here Tower of the Archmage and here
One More Gaming Project

The druid Knabe climbed up on the remains of a nearby building to survey the ruins.  Off to his right, he could make out the shadowy figures of Kodak's warband (an Illusionist) moving near the dock area.  To his front, he could see what appeared to be the warband of a Necromancer making their preparations.  After a few seconds, he felt a tingling sensation that told him a chronomancer (probably The Doctor) had to be nearby even though he couldn't actually spot him in the ruins.


The warbands  in their starting locations

His warband was prepped and ready to root out the treasures and secrets of the frozen city.  Before entering the ruins, Knabe had successfully cast Animal Companion and attracted the services of a Snow Leopard.  He also successfully brewed up a potion of Teleportation which went to the treasure hunter Gruber.  Knabe then promptly failed his Raise Zombie attempt.  Vogel failed both his spell attempts - that boy still has a lot to learn.

Since his last foray, Knabe had established a base of operations in the old inn called the Hungry Shark.  This allowed him to increase the size of his warband by hiring the services of a ranger named Kiefer.


Knabe's warband as it enters the frosty ruins

Knabe spots an item of treasure and immediately casts Telekinesis moving it closer to his warband.  Fritz puts a crossbow bolt into one of the Necro's thieves but the thief is still able to pick up a treasure item and move out of line of sight.  Kiefer spots one of Kodak's thug trying to reach another treasure and skewers him with an arrow.  Bogen follows up with a bolt that takes him out of action.  Bogen then kept overwatch on that treasure chest preventing Kodak's band from taking it.


Bogen eyeballs his kill

Vogel gets into telekinesis battle with the Necromancer and they move a treasure chest back and forward several times -- until a cowardly crossbowman puts a bolt into him and takes him down near death.  Vogel then ducks to safety behind a bridge.

A telekinesis battle takes place

Fritz avenged Vogel by taking out the offending crossbowman with a single, well placed bolt.
The snow leopard (Note: freshly painted for this game) races into combat with the necro warhound.  It was a short fight that saw the snow leopard gasping out its last moments in the snow.

Fear the Bear!!  Bobo lumbered out from behind cover and engaged the necro's zombie.  It was quick - he threw the zombie's legs one way, and its head another.

Bear carnage in front of the ice rat

The necro knight charged the bear while the warhound charged Knabe's treasure hunter, Faenger.  Faenger parried the warhound's attack and then followed through with a fatal blow putting the warhound out of the fight.  Bobo managed to get the upper hand over the knight and inflicted several wounds.  In a later round of combat, Bobo easily defeated the knight just before a minor demon appeared and attacked him.  Bobo fights off the demon and forces the foul creature backward.  The demon is later killed by the necro's warband.

Meanwhile, in another part of the ruins, Diebin (a thief) and Gruber spot a thief running away with a bag of loot.  Diebin engages him first and inflicts a couple wounds.  Gruber moves in and with Diebin's support, manages to take him out and recover the treasure.

Vogel thought he was hiding.....

Crouching behind the bridge, safe from the necro's crossbowmen, Vogel is attacked from behind by an ice spider who crawled under the bridge.  Like I said earlier, the boy has a lot to learn, as the spider easily bests him in combat.  The venom knocked him out but he survives; although the venomous bite forces the amputation of several fingers from his left hand. 

Fritz puts a bolt into the spider pinning him to the ground.  Gauner, a halfing thief, races out of cover to grab a treasure chest.  He later heads for safety, his movement covered by Fritz.  Faenger managed to grab the loot dropped by Vogel.

Knabe hears two zombies scrabbling up the side of the ruined building he was using for cover.  He attempts to cast fog to confuse them but fails, forcing him to climb down and out of their reach.

The necro and his apprentice are last seen scampering away as fast as they can move.

Bogen fires a parting shot at Kodak's warband but is unsuccessful.  Although he does witness one of Kodak's hirelings being killed by the chronomancer's warband - dropping a bag of loot.  Sadly, it too far away to try and recover (and went unclaimed).

As the weather starts to run bad, Knabe and his merry band pick up Vogel and head for the safety and comfort of the inn.  Another good foray into the frozen ruins is over.....for now.
In the end, three treasure tokens were left on the table.  In the multi-player games, our group has decided that any treasure tokens not phyically picked up at game's end are lost.

Aftermath:
Knabe and Vogel only managed to successfully cast 5 spells (50 xp) out of 10 attempts, even with most of them only needing an 8 or 10.  He completely forgot to use his Fate Stone or his Orb of Power.  The warband recovered three treasure items (150 xp).  This gave Knabe enough points to advance two levels

The loot haul consisted of 190 gold, two scrolls (Planar Tear and Circle of Protection), one grimoire containing Enchant Armor, and a nicely crafted pair of Boots of Speed.

Vogel recovered enough to make the next trip out, but without the affore mentioned lost fingers. The snow leopard didn't make it but Knabe can attempt to summon another one for the next adventure.
This is the second trip into the ruins where Vogel has been incapacitated.  Knabe put a lot of training into physical fitness and managed to increase his health by one point (which means Vogel also gained an increase - hopefully it will help).

Additional study was put into improving the casting ability of the spell Telekinesis, reducing it from a 10 to a 9.  This has been a very useful spell for accessing treasure, as well as denying it to rival warbands.

Knabe decided to keep the Circle of Protection scroll after seeing two demons show up in the ruins.  The Planar Tear scroll was sold for 100 gold. 

With such an outstanding performance, Knabe decided to promote Fritz from Crossbowman to Marksman (release crossbowman, hire marksman (-100 gold), keep the same name).

While he was studying and training, Knabe sent a few members out to scrounge up a Cauldron to assist with brewing potions (-250 gold).  Not sure it was the best purchase to make, only time will reveal its usefulness.  With only 160 gold remaining, the warband will need to make another trip into the ruins soon.

More pictures next time....

Fall In 2015 - Encounter at St Joost - January 1945

This is the second Battleground WWII game:

Encounter at St Joost - January 1945

The scenario: The British 8th Hussars had the task of breaking out towards the River Roer. In their path, lay the village of St. Joost with an unfordable stream and one bridge across it. St. Joost was thought to be held by a unit of second-line Germans reservists. Looks like a cake walk. Can the Germans prevent the British from breaking out towards the Roer River?

Rules:  Battleground WWII

This was a slightly modified scenario from Squad Leader - Cold Crocodiles.  Another member of the HAWKs ran the same scenario earlier in the day using the same terrain and figures but showcasing the new Combat Patrol rule set.

The German defenders used hidden map set-up and movement to make things more interesting.

The British cautiously advance into the village.  A view of the British attack as they entered the village with the infantry supporting the Cromwell's advance. 

One squad with a Cromwell enters the village

A building is captured

Another view of the British advance; in the bottom right corner you can see the Vickers MMG set-up to cover the street crossing.

Another view of the British advance

This British artillery barrage scattered a bit too close to the British Cromwell and infantry behind the wall.  It had no effect on the German defenders.  In fact, the British artillery was not very effective at all during the game.  Even the smoke barrages hindered the British as much as the Germans.

Danger close - no kidding

The Pak-43 claims its only victim of the evening - a Cromwell IV.  The Pak-43 then received a barrage of small arms fire that kept it out of action for the remainder of the game until the Crocodile moved into the village square and finished it off with a burst of flame.

A Cromwell is brewed up

A supporting Churchill Crocodile finally enters the fray. 

A Churchill Crocodile lumbers into the village

The hidden map movement and set-up didn't slow things down too much.  But because they couldn't "see" anything, the British advanced very slowly and were not able to capture enough of the village to claim a victory.

As usual, I failed to take enough pictures throughout the course of the battle.

Fall In 2015 - The Assault on Villers La Bonne Eau

 The Assault on Villers La Bonne Eau

The scenario:  During the later stages of the Battle of the Bulge, the 137th Infantry was deployed near Villers-la-Bonne-Eau.  On the night of the 29 December 1944, Companies K and L forced their way into the village.  They radioed back that they had taken the village but needed bazooka ammunition.  They settled in and waited for the inevitable counterattack.  The following day, the Germans attacked.

Rules:  Battleground WWII

This scenario was the first of five games that would be played using the village terrain over the course of the weekend.

A top view of the village square.

A top down view

A few views of the village from various sides.


A view from the North side

A view from the West side

A view from the East side

A view down one alley showing American GIs slowly maneuvering forward to engage the Germans.

GIs advance.....slowly

A squad of German infantry dismounts and prepares to assault into a building containing American GIs.  The GIs laid out the welcome mat with grenades and BAR fire.  A misthrown German grenade landed on their own flamethrower operator, killed him, caused the fuel tank to explode which then took out two German riflemen.

Panzergrenadiers prepare to assault a building

Panthers in the square

After several bazooka shots failed to hit, Panthers claim control of the village square.  It was a good close fight but the Germans failed to capture enough buildings to control the village.

Games I've Played Lately

Over the past month I've had the opportunity to play several games.  Here's a couple pictures highlighting the action:

Here's a game from a recent HAWKs club night hosted by Chris:  10mm Lizards, Dwarves, and Elves fight for control of an island.

Bear Yourselves Valiantly:  LSNC Ancients & Fantasy

 And down at the local game store (Critical Hit Games), I played in a six player game of Kings of War to commemorate the release of the KoW Second Edition rulebook.  We played the entire game in less than 2 1/2 hours.

Kings of War 2d Edition

 Another day at the local game store - Muskets and Tomahawks.  This was a four play game with 200 points each.  The British forces completely routed the Canadian (me) and French forces.  Two new players were trying the rules for the first time.

Canadian Militia preparing to drive off the British Indian allies.

British Rangers fire from the woods

 And one more HAWKs game night......This time it was 10mm chariot racing hosted by Buck.  We ran two laps around a figure 8 track.  It was mostly a close run race with only one player wrecking his chariot (unusual for a group of HAWKs players).


10 mm Chariots heading into the first turn



The second lap the pack had closed up a bit

Little Groups of Paratroops - A Battleground WWII Scenario

"March to the sound of the guns and kill anyone who is not dressed like you..."  On D-Day, small groups of scattered paratroopers merged into larger groups. One such group from the 101st Airborne Division found itself near a causeway exit from Utah Beach.  The beach exits were primary objectives and had to be taken and held until the beach landing forces could link up.

 

Looking from the far side of the village toward the beach

Another view of the village

View from the south side of the village

The Germans had flooded some areas in an attempt to hinder an Allied invasion.  They had a bunker with an anti-tank gun positioned to cover the beach exit.

Looking from the beach towards the causeway exit at the village; protected by a pillbox

The German defenders started in the village and had to send out two patrols on preset routes (until contact was made).

A different view from the beach side

The four groups of paratroopers were scattered around the table after randomly determining their starting points.

The German defenders paid a heavy price to keep one group Airborne troops out of the village

Another little group of Airborne troops approaches through the woods

The paratroopers moved building to building to clear a route to the bunker blocking the beach exit.

"Knock, Knock"

By game's end, they had cleared most of the village and had effectively neutralized the bunker.  The Germans only controlled two buildings and had a bunker full of wounded and broken men.

An Airborne trooper throws a grenade into the bunker

In the end, the Airborne had captured a majority of the village and the pillbox had been neutralized.  A minor victory to the Americans.

(Note:  I forgot this entry was in my draft folder - oops)

Battleground WWII at Historicon - Buchholz Station

So this year saw the return of Stan, who moved to Colorado a few years back.  It was good to see him and catch up on news.  Several regulars were absent this year.  Hopefully we'll see them around the table again soon.

For Historicon 2015, I revived my adaption of an old ASL scenario - Buchholz Station:

"The opening moves of the Battle of the Bulge centered around seizing key road junctions.  One such place was near the village of Buchholz.  A unit of the German 27th Fusilier Regiment moving quickly through the morning fog stumbles into an American unit eating chow.  Being the Division reserve, the Americans were unaware that the Germans had penetrated so deeply."

The American's had to send half of their troops toward the chow line.  They had to continue rotating through the line until all the troops had "eaten" or until the enemy was spotted.  The heavy fog made spotting twice as difficult as normal (measure the range, then double it before checking the spotting chart).

The set-up from the point of view of the Germans

The unit XO set-up the chow line across the field and waited for the troops to arrive for their meal of slightly green colored eggs and SOS.

The chow line is open for business

Here comes the first of the morning's guests as the squads start sending troops to chow

The American's hadn't even reached the chow line before the Germans started their attack.  If only they had waited another turn or so......

The Germans have taken the old train station and advance along the railroad

The Germans attacked with 2/3'd of their forces along the abandoned railroad and 1/3 along the road.  The railroad forces moved methodically (i.e. slowly) and eventually overcame the American resistance and captured the railroad underpass.

The American's defending the road approach whittled the Germans down to just a couple troops by the end of the game.

As usual, once the game got going, I forgot to take more pictures.  I'll have to work on that in the future.

Tanker's Challenge Returns to Historicon

After having a few people ask last year, I decided to bring Tanker's Challenge back to Historicon 16-19 July 2015.  And plan to do so each year.

On Thursday night, 10 tankers climbed into their tanks and prepared to battle it out for the title of "Top Tanker".  Points are scored for killing a tank; points are lost for losing a tank.  The points were calculated using hull front armor value + turret front armor + gun armor penetration value.  The initial starting line-up included the following:  M3A1, M5A1, Semovente 75/32, M14/41, 2 Cruiser I, 2 StuG IIIB, and 2 Pz38T.

The starting locations were set to prevent "spawn" camping as much as possible.

The table set-up at the start

When a tanker lost a tank, they rolled on a chart to get something better.  There were a total of 66 tanks available.  By the end of the game, 43 tanks were on the board - mostly burning.  The number of tanks lost per player ranged from two to a total of seven with most players losing three.

A Char-B1 lumbers out looking for a victim.  It didn't last long.

The field of burning tanks continues to grow

As was too busy running the game to take many notes or get a lot of pictures.  My usual assistant GM couldn't make the trip this year.

Finally upgraded to something with a bit of armor - a Churchill IV enters the fray

As usual, alliances were made and then immediately broken when the backend of tank was shown to a supposed ally.  And several friendly rivalries popped up between opposing tankers.

When all the dust settled, the top tanker had +163 points and the bottom tanker had -379.  All in all, everyone had a great time.