Thursday 20 August 2015

Battle Report: The Well of Dreams and Sorrows - Frostgrave

 
I am part of a small Frostgrave campaign. Just five of us, I think we've had something like four or five battle each so far. There was some talk about the lack of a balancing mechanism for wizards of different levels on various for a (I say some talk as if I was no part of that, I did bring it up in my review). Maybe if the levels were vastly different then there would be a problem or two. However we've been playing with wizards up to 9 levels apart and it really hasn't made a difference. Indeed in my last game I was level 9 against a new warband, and I lost. What is more, my wizard, Papa John, bit the dust, leaving his apprentice to carry on. (The experience from the battle took him up to level 11 so I was able to drop ten levels and carry on.)
 
Baby John had a lot to prove after the last battle, he was determined to show he was up to the challenge of leading a warband.
 
It was said that a spring, somewhere on the outskirts of Frostgrave granted anyone who drunk its waters a glimpse of the future. Zromon the destroyer had also heard of this magic spring, but Baby John was determined to get there first.
There was no dilly-dallying and the wizard and two knights were soon in the grounds of the hollowed spring. But it didn't all go Baby's way, Zromon's archers gained a good spot in an old temple, where they had line of site to the spring. Cover saved the wizard though as he drank the magic water. 
A simple matter now just to grab a few items of treasure and fall back to safe ground. Or maybe not that simple. Two barbarians in Zromon's service stormed the spring. Baby John fell and so did one knight, the other though beat the two heathens back. 
 
Papa John may have been dead, but he had not abandoned his old band. The shambling corpse of his one time master, animated by Baby John's foul magic, lent a hand and carried some treasure back to safety.
Both Zromon and Baby John had fallen and only the last remnants of their bands battled it out. Three items of treasure were already in control of the witchdoctor, two in that of the necromancer. One item remained and this was being carried by one of Zromon's thugs. Defying the odds one of Baby John's thugs ran across a square in clear view of the enemy archers. A hail of arrows fell but non struck home.
Surely the thug couldn't climb the stairs in time to catch the treasure bearer, strike him tot he ground and steal his loot? No. No he couldn't. He fought bravely but in the end it was too much too ask.
 
The official score lay at three items of treasure each, but how did the wizards fair in the bigger picture. Zromon went up three levels. Baby John was not so lucky, a roll of a 2 and he joined Papa John in the icey ground. I was gutted at loosing another wizard. Two from two games was beginning to look like carelessness. I didn't have the levels in hand to carry on either, so it's a restart for me.
 
I have to say this was a fun game, but pretty much all the Frostgrave games I've played have been. I like the fact there is no clear cut winner or looser (well usually anyway). There are several criteria for how well you've done. Firstly you want to advance your warband, so lots of experience but not too many deaths. Secondly you want to screw your opponent over, so killing as many of them as you can is good, while denying them their experience. Thirdly is the treasure, I see this as the icing on the cake. Money is good but not the main thing in my eyes.
 






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