Sunday, May 20, 2018

Frostgrave Campaign, Game 3

If this is the first Frostgrave campaign battle report you're seeing, go read the ones for Game 1 and Game 2.


Now that we're all caught up, I'm happy to tell you I played another game against Tony and his Illusionist's band.  This scenario is The Silent Tower, where a three-story tower in the middle of the board and two connected buildings form a magic null-field inside which no magic will work.  Wizards gain extra xp for climbing at least one story within the tower, and a special treasure on the top of the tower is worth three treasures.  Four other normal treasures are scattered around the board.


As a refresher, here's my band:
From left to right, the Apprentice (still needs a name), the Gimp, my Wizard (an Elementalist whom I still try to resist calling Stumpy Gandalf), Erik the Beserker, an Orc Barbarian I hired with the proceeds game 1, Freya, Bobbins the Thief, Callie the Archer, and Dain Deepaxe.

Here's a view of the table from my end.  We didn't have a purpose-built tower, so three structures with bridges between the three structures will have to do.
My Wizard's band at its starting position.
I start off with a move that takes my Wizard up one level.  I probably should have taken him back down one level at this point, haven gotten the xp for going up one level, and put my Wizard back in the fight.
Tony's band, advancing on the far side of the tower.
My archer and Tony's spot each other, and my archer fires an arrow that finds home and wounds his archer.  My Halfling thief is at right, going for a treasure chest.
My Wizard and some of my band advance on the first bridge.
Treachery!  My thug, Gimp, is seized by a Mind Control spell cast by Tony's Wizard.  The d20 represents the value of the spell.  Tony will "cut" his wizard and bleed Health to elevate the effectiveness of his Mind Control spell, a practice which I recommend to those playing Illusionists.
Tony's Hellhound rushes out to combat my archer.
While combat ensues on the ground floor, some of my warband ascend the bridges that lead to the upper levels of the structure and treasure that lay there. 
In a series of exchanges with Tony's band, my berserker ends up fighting against my apprentice.  Damn mind control.
 Massive fight over treasure between my guys and Tony's guys.
 Broader view of the fight.
Final end of the fight.  My Orc defeats my (mind-controlled by Tony) archer.   A pyrrhic victory that crushed much of my band and much of Tony's.
 
As time went on and the games progressed, Tony's mind control proved more and more effective, as did my elemental blasts.  A well-fought campaign that ended after a few games.  Would love to see a league where I had the chance to play this against more varied warbands in different scenarios.