Wizard Type review

We have had a few games of Frostgrave now and I feel like I have learned a few things so I thought I might share.

The first thing to say is that this game is all about the Wizard. There are different types and they do different things so it is really important to pick a wizard type that suits your style of play. This is key to enjoying each game.

Casting - its all about casting. You will need to be casting spells every single turn. This is true for both the wizard and the apprentice. This will give you bonus XP after each game. It is how you build your wizard and warband.

This means that you will need to choose a low cast value spell, from your wizard school, that can be cast on yourself or the environment. You can't always see the opposition or indeed members of your own team so this is important. This will be your 'go to' spell. It will have a big impact on how each game feels. Over time this can change but for the first few games it will be very influential.

Spells having a low casting value is important especially for your Apprentice who added +2 to the dice roll. If you are casting Aligned spells there is a further +2 penalty so review your Wizard type carefully. Low value environment spells are the ones you are most likely to be casting.

The lowest cast value is 8 so it would be really helpful to have at least one spell in your armoury with this value. Not all schools have that as an option though so then you are looking at 10 as the lowest cast value.

Elementalist

I choose to play an Elementalist. (I have no spell option with a cast value of 8.) I did this because I like the idea of casting balls of fire. I have managed to do this only occasionally during games. My most commonly used spell is Wall. This is because I can cast it on any turn. I don't need to see anyone else and it has a casting value of 10. Another option for the Elementalist is Shield, which has also a 10 cast value, as this is cast on self only.

My Elementalist has become all about putting up walls. I did not see this coming so it worth reviewing the options before making your starting choice. I have done some of the work below: -

Chromancer has a few low value spells. Fleet Feet at 10 is the spell most likely to be cast a lot. The other potential option is Fast Act which has a low cast value of 8 but you need to have LOS.

Chromancer

Enchanter has a few options. Enchant Weapon and Enchant Armour with a cast value of 8 will be the low value 'go to' spells.

Enchanter

Illusionist there are a number of choices here Monstrous Form has a low cast of 8 which would make it an easy option but there is also Teleport with 10, Glow with 10 and Beauty with 10. So there are options.

Signalist has Explosive Rune. This has a cast value of 10 and is cast on the environment. It is like planting a grenade that can be set off by the opposition. A good option but not a starting 8.

Soothsayer has Awareness. This has a cast value of 8 and cast on self only. It adds +1 to Initiative rolls for the Warband. It doesn't stack but could be cast multiple times to have a successful cast bonus. A bit dull though for your 'go to' option.

Summoner has Leap. Cast value of 8. Move a figure (including self) 10". Handy to have. I really like this option and it is great for moving models encumbered with Treasure which slows movement to half.

Thaumaturge has Heal. Again this has a low cast value of 8 and could be easily cast all the time even on self. Again its a bit dull as a 'go to' option.

Then we have Witch.  There is a good low value spell here which is Fog with an 8 cast value.

Witch

And finally we have Necromancer which is tough. There are no real environment spells with a low value that can be relied on. This could make it tough especially for the Apprentice. Choosing an Aligned spell with a cast value of 8 is probably the way go. Witch, Chomancer, Summoner are the aligned schools, Fast Act, Leap or Fog are your options.

Necromancer

So seven of the ten schools gives you a 'go to' spell with an 8 cast value. This will give them an advantage during the first few games. It will mean a 60% chance of success versus a 50% chance if using cast value of 10.

The other thing to consider is that you are likely to spend your first few improvement points on your 'go to' spell. So it becomes more reliable. Of course because its more reliable you will use it more etc etc. So make sure you like it. I am kind of locked into Wall now and it can be frustrating in games.

Hope this helps you make your decisions.

Most of all just pick the school that suits you and have some fun.

Frostgrave Warband Development

I have had the chance to consider my options for developing the warband. There are so many ways that gold coins can be spent that the options are many and varied.

The first thing that I need to do is replace my dead Marksman, Cedric. (rest in peace)

I have decided to take a Barbarian. He is a hand to hand specialist with a Fight of +4 which is the most available and he comes with 14 Health, which is 2-4 better than other soldiers. He has low armour though, only 10. He has a two-handed weapon so I will be building a new model.

My wizard has reached level 8 and I have spent the points improving Wall (7), Bolt (9) and Leap (6). Leap is an aligned spell so I have to suffered a +2 making it 8 for my Wizard and 10 for my Apprentice.

The Dark Templar has had a better level of success when casting spells and as such he is a couple of levels ahead of me. He is level 10. His Wizard is more powerful and this could become an issue as we move forward.

I rolled on the Treasure table for the two pieces that I picked up. An 8 and a 9 gave me low gold coins but I did get a Cloak of Protection and a Magic Bow. I will give the Cloak to Baldric and my Ranger Edmund will receive the Bow. It is reward for killing the opposing wizard in the last game.

I have spent my gold on a Kennel, which gives me a war hound and then I have purchased a Magic two handed weapon for Barbarian, Uther.

Edmond & Uther with magic weapons

I have highlighted the magic weaponry by painting them blue and red with little flashes of white to represent magical lightening. The rest of the warband is quite dull by comparison which helps the weapons stand out.

War band after game 4

War band after game 4

In summary the balance of the warband has shifted more towards hand to hand with the inclusion of my Barbarian and the new Warhound. The Warhound is speedy with a Move of 8. I have improved Leap which is now 6. I used it a fair bit in game 4 and anything that improves movement is good especially if the soldier is carrying treasure as this halves movement.

Frostgrave Warband advancement

I have been doing a bit more reading and I note that the low starting gold (500 gold and your apprentice costs 200 leaving 300 for troops) means that in the beginning the choice of soldiers is limited and the number of soldiers taken is low, maybe 6 out of the 10 allowed.

The way the Warband advances is to spend gold on more troops and then over time on better troops. If a soldier is 'taken out' during the game you roll for them at the end to see what happens. There is a 20% chance of death and I have noted that the soldier is removed from the roster and all his equipment is lost. This will be important because the next way to advance the Warband is by increasing the quality of equipment, the type of equipment and use of magical items, potions etc.

So the Warband gets better over time and it would be hard to lose a member that had been properly tooled up. You might start with a 20 gold crown (gc) Thief who has a dagger (-1 damage modifier) that gives him +1 Fight and 10 Health. Then you upgrade to say a Barbarian at 100gc who has a two handed weapon (+2 damage modifier) that gives +4 Fight and 14 Health. This is a decent stat improvement.

Barbarian

He has one more item that can be given to him. So lets say ...  Gloves of Strength 300gc. This would give him +2 damage modifier. That is 400gc on one member of the Warband. It would take many games to be able to afford to gear up the Warband and it would be a loss if an individual died.

(Modified following feedback, thx DT)

Campaign battle two

The second game in our campaign saw us follow the same format as the first. We placed the treasure tokens and we were ready to go.

The growing Warband

My warband had grown and was now 11 strong. I was using some replacement models from Zombicide Black Plague. Having the Inn as my base allows me to take an extra member. I spent my gold crowns on a Marksman, two more Rangers and another Thief.

Gaming Board

This meant that the board was much more open and this made life a lot more difficult. You really do need lots of Terrain for this game.

The pattern for the game followed along the lines of the first game except we had much more people on the board. I placed a couple of Walls and the Dark Templar threw down some fog. It was all a bit mad. We went from total openness to a blockade in a matter of minutes. It wasn't helped by us placing the tokens in a fairly narrow line along the centre of the board.

We both suffered casualties from the ranged weapons and spell casters. Neither Wizard took out any of the opposition. We have figured out that there are big bonuses for this so its something that we need to pay attention to in future.

We each captured three pieces of Treasure and I even used my Telekinesis ability to drag a piece of treasure from the centre of the board to make it easier to capture. It was good fun pinging shots across the table.

Warband after two games

In the end phase, I spent my XP on improving my ability to cast Wall and Elemental Bolt and I spent my money on acquiring a new spell Elemental Ball. I am keeping a fairly detailed spread sheet with records of exactly what happened to who. So far I lost my Apprentice in game one, but he recovered and then I lost my Ranger Gawain in the second but he also recovered.

I have 245 gold crowns in the bank, A Grimoire with the Heal spell and a  Scroll with the Plane Walk spell. It is starting to build nicely.

Frostgrave warband assembly

Yesterday I took delivery of some Frostgrave soldiers from the Dark Templar, thank you kind sir. Great kits and everything swaps so it is possible to build some characterful models.

I have previously drawn up a warband and so now I have the chance to construct the models.

First up is my Thief.



He is armed with a dagger and I have given him a sackful of loot and some rope. He might need that to get to those difficult to reach windows.

Next is my Man at Arms.



He has a hand weapon and shield. I have added pouches to the rear belt on the assumption that a man at arms will needs lots of bits and pieces to maintain his weaponry.

Then we have the Ranger.



He is armed with a bow, hand weapon and I added the quiver of arrows to his back.

I have also opted for a Thug.




He has a hand weapon and I added a stick with fire in the off hand. That is very thug-like. Maybe he will be setting fire to something or else he is just out on an evening prowl.

Finally we have the Treasure Hunter.




I like this guy a lot. I gave him a lantern for searching those dark corners. He is armed with a hand weapon and has a huge sack on his back to carry all that treasure.

A motley crew indeed.




I need to get some paint on them and then we will be ready to play.

Building my Warband for Frostgrave

Yes folks,  Frostgrave is giving me lots to think about.


Spells
Spells are a big part of the game. Each Warband has 2 casters and they cast the same spells. The Apprentice is less good than the main wizard and suffers a +2 to the dice roll. I figure that it is important to choose low value spells in the beginning to increase the chances of being successful when casting.

I have decided to take an Elementalist as my Wizard. In my mind this is a proper wizard. He has lots of damage related spells which should be fun and a couple that provide cover in the form of a shield or wall. The down side is that all spells are starting level 10 / 12 to cast (on a D20). There are no level 8 spells.

I just like the idea of Elemental Bolt. You shoot a bolt of lightening at anybody in line of sight. No distance restriction. You get a +8 benefit to your dice roll. So it is my Shoot against the target Fight. We both roll a D20 and add the modifier. Most characters have a Fight of around +2 so my +8 is a major advantage. It is a level 12 starting spell so not great in the beginning but later in the campaign could be dominant.

Elemental Shield might be handy and is starting level 10. It absorbs 3 damage.

Wall is another level 10 spell and allows a 6" section of wall to appear on the board near the caster. Could be great for breaking LOS.

He is allied with Chronomancer where the spells are mainly to do with movement and the environment, Summoner who summons a lot and Enchanter who does what it says on the tin. In order to use spells from these disciplines you suffer a +2 to your dice roll. I thought I would go for level 8 spells to start with.

I like Leap from Summoner - you can move the target 10". If carrying treasure your move, typically 6" / 7", is halved, so a 10" move could be very handy indeed.

Enchant Weapon from Enchanter is also level 8 and bestows a benefit to a weapon that lasts for the entire game. Cool. Might be good on a bow.

Telekinesis from Enchanter is also a level 8 spell. Move any treasure within 24" unto 6".

I can start with two more spells but from the Neutral schools of magic. To cast these I have to add 4 to the dice so they will be pretty useless in the beginning.

I am thinking that I will only look to these spells in an emergency so I had better go for something dramatic.

Steal Health looks interesting. You gain 3 health and the opposing character loses 3 health. When its down to the wire and it is do or die I might just opt for using this level 10 spell.

Blinding Light also looks good in that you dazzle the opposing character and they can't use their Line of Sight abilities. Again this could be a last ditch action so I think I will go for it. Another level 10 spell though.

So there we have it. After much reading I am going for Baldric the Elementalist and his apprentice Ming. They will be using Leap and Telekinesis to enhance team movement, dropping walls and shields to protect the war band and ultimately they are a massive threat because of the ability to hurl bolts of lightening across the table. I am getting into character already! Kaboom!

Warband

I have decided to go with the following: -

Silas as a Ranger 100 gold, Clovis as a Man-at-Arms, 80 gold, Ann the Treasure Hunter, 80 gold, Samson as a Thug, 20 gold and Nelly as a Thief, 20 gold.

My Apprentice, Ming costs 200 gold so that is all my 500 spent.

My Warband is 7 members strong and looking forward to its first outing.