Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago Campaign Game One

                                        Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago

Welcome to the first report on the exploration of The Ghost Archipelago. Since the terrain befitting a jungle is still a work in the conceptions phase, our two band of adventures have stumbled into a ruined city strangely devoid of any greenery. Scenting gold and mystery, they press forward into the strange ruins, hoping that whatever curse befell this city does not be fall them.

The Heritor Baldric and the Warden Aleia have, up to this, foraged into the Archipelago two times with some success. Baldric is a heavy hand-to-hand combat hitter with heavy armor, shield, and sword (13 armor) His skills, randoms rolled, are Surge, Crushing Blow, Evade, Catch Missile, and Lunge. Thinking that evade would be very useful to slip around enemy units to go after archers, I lowered Evade's utilization number down to 3. I haven't used it once and that's probably because Baldric is so slow. Slipping quickly around foes is not his thing. 

That was my first mistake. My second was my misunderstanding of Surge. I have a bad habit of crippling myself in war games. Partly, this is because I am usually playing against new players or teaching a new game. That said, I don't want to pick the "best combination". I want to make it a challenge. Because of this, if I read a skill like Surge (or later Projectile) I interrupt them as weak as possible. For Surge, I thought it was more of a "charge" skill that would allow my Heritor to use both move actions and still attack. It does allow this, but I did not think I could attack twice in one turn. I eventually clarified this on Frostgrave's facebook page (ran by the author) and got an official answer that states that you can indeed attack twice (but you can't shoot twice).

My second was with my Warden and this one has cost me dearly. I specifically avoided the Storm Warden and the Water Warden because the advantage is obvious (lightening and true flight for a ranged threat) and the Water Warden with healing to keep the warden going. So I went with the Earth Warden because I looked at her spells and did not think they were that good. I choose Earth Blood, Earth Wave, Projectile, and Beast Strength. Now here's the funny thing (please don't laugh), I thought Projectile was limited to ONLY two damage (OK, you can laugh). I was used to Frostrave spells that didn't have any +damage modifiers. Enough being defensive. Nonetheless, with my Heritor unable to use Surge effectivey and my Warden unable to work her magic, its a wonder my warband managed to do as well as it.

The set up:

                                           

Here's the board with the Drichean Cage set up in the middle represented by cellar door guarded by four Drichean Spearmen. Our goal is to slay the guards, recuse someone who knows where the treasure is, and get out.

Baldric advanced and a steady stride with Axel at his side and a crew man nearby. Mark, the Eagle Eye, crept nearby to offer support. Aleia casts Earth Blood on Baldric, strengthening him for the coming match. The old man needs all the help he can get, she thought to herself.

The enemy approaches from the opposite direction, coming in fast.

  Baldric and his adventures spread out around the cellar door. The spearmen launches themselves at the approaching adventures, but the Heritor and Axel quickly dispatch one while Cort dispatches another on the other side. The opposing Heritor in turn takes out the other two, but at suffers a crippling blow in return dropping to four health. Mark takes position without being told and starts taking providing covering fire (no damage). The crewman snatches up the treasure at Baldric's orders. "Get out of here, return to the ship and we'll take a look at it later," snapped the Heritor as more arrows from above clattered around them. He looks up at the creaking sound above just as the enemy Warden brings up a walls of vines in front of them, blocking the direct path to the prisoner.

On Baldric's left flank a Crackshot gets ready to take aim, cooly ignoring the Drichean reinforcements

A foe rushes the driechean cage and cracks it open with a solid kick. Baldric grimaces as the prisoner jump out. "Take him out, now," he orders his approaching men. There enemy was brave, or a fool, rushing in alone like that. They would soon put an end to him. Baldric, meanwhile, thought he heard something to the right. Fearing a flanking maneuver, and seeing the center well secured Baldric, went to head off whatever might be coming.

A furious battle begins in the center surround the prisoner. Dedric, seeing the Crackshot lifting his crossbow to shoot poor Cort in the back, charges, hacking him down with one powerful strike (that was very satisfying indeed).

Indeed, a lone warrior was coming from behind. The man swung clumsly with his heavy mace and Baldric smashed him in the face with the hilt of his sword before clobbering him senseless with his shield. When he turned around, expecting to see the free prisoner well on his way to safety, and instead saw a travesty.

The fearless enemy crewman had single handed dispatched Cort and Hugh while barely taking a scratch. Cort must have been drinking. Baldric cursed. Meanwhile Dedric had his hands full dealing with the Drichean warrior while the menacing Axel had become entangled in a wreathing mass of vines and while he was attemptin to cut himself free, an arrow from above took him full in the back. He fell and did not get up.

Dedric handedly took care of the Drichean warrior only to find a dagger in his chest thrown somewhere from the shadows (enemy Heritor). Meanwhile, Aliea remained in the back struggling with her magic, wondering why on earth her projectile attack was so useless! The only thing she was good for was giving Earth blood to the adventures, just to watch them taken out by the enemy snipers! (I could have really used Projectile here)

Above the center of the battlefield, Baldric's crewmen struggle to take out the sniper, but get entangled in vines themselves!

I did not take any further pictures of the game. It was actually a close game. Because the Drichean crippled the enemy Heritor in the early game, he couldn't do much except throw daggers (although he did manage to kill one of my warriors) Baldric tried to head off the fearless crewman heading off with the prisoner with Mark's help, but Mark got taken out by another Crackshot hiding atop a building. The prisoner got away, but not before Baldric turned on the enemy Heritor and cut him down. 

The enemy came out easily on top of this game and I was so incensed I urged him to another battle. That one went even worse. 

I think I slew maybe one of his guys and he took out half of mine. Most of his kills were from archers, but Baldric, in a long, drawn out conflict, was taken out by an infantry man while my freebooter was taken out by a crewman! Meanwhile, the enemy Heritor simply took his time securing the central treasure and didn't have to lift his sword the whole game.

My poor adventures banding together before the dreaded whistle of arrows starts.

My left flank went after the archers and got shot down one by one....

The only good thing about this game was that Aleia gained level four and learned how to raise up walls. I also learned latter that Surge and Projecticle can actually be very useful. I cannot wait for revenge... (although I'll be two specialists short)