Faustus Hornraven's Frostgrave Diary - Game 5

The official Frostgrave campaign was over, but one of the guys at the club was keen to have a bash using his own wizard and warband, to get to grips with the rules. He was happy with me using my warband as it was at the end of the campaign, just to get an idea for how the game worked (and how the levelling up affected things). Faustus was only too happy to stride out and explore for more magical secrets in the frozen city...

 

Game Five	9th November 2019
Opponent:	Ali
Scenario:	The Keep

 

Game Five		Roster
Wizard	Faustus Hornraven		Staff of Power [3], Gloves of Casting	Soothsayer, level 12
Apprentice	Rinswynd the Wizzard			Soothsayer apprentice
Soldier 1	Boris “The Bear” Vladistock			Captain, level 0
Soldier 2	Cohen		Ring of Slow Fall	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 3	Johann Schmidt		Banner of Courage	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 4	Harhold the Hammer		Leather Armour +1	Man-at-arms
Soldier 5	Leofric Ethandun			Infantryman
Soldier 6	Eadwyn of Culleigh			Marksman
Soldier 7	Delsaran Greenleaf			Ranger
Soldier 8	Snorri Ironwrath			Thief
Soldier 9	Orm Gundalsson			Thief
Kennel	Ghost			Hound

Faustus Hornraven led his troops through the frozen ruins. It had been months since he had left the hideout, having spent his time pouring over dusty tomes and researching eldritch secrets. But the time had come. He had read everything he had - new knowledge had to be acquired! He only hoped that his motley crew of sellswords hadn't forgotten how to fight during their respite... actually, in truth, he didn't really think about them like that. They were tools to do a job. He left everything else regarding his followers to his trusty captain, Boris. 

Picking his way forward over some rubble, Faustus made out the unmistakable outline of a ruined keep. The magic emanated from this place and felt familiar - looking around, he spied the teleportation discs that had been so popular with the nobles of Felstadt, hidden under the ruined remains of the keep. This should provide some rich pickings to feed his quest for knowledge.

Just then, he sensed the presence of another magic user across the expansive courtyard... Boris called out that his keen eyes had spotted some humanoid figures with bestial features crawling through the ruins. The magic Faustus felt emanating from the other wizard was weak and untamed, not refined lime his own. So what if there were bestial creatures? Probably some bungled experiment of a novice Beastcrafter. With a degree of overconfidence, Faustus led his men forwards to claim what treasures he could find, unconcerned about the interference of this young wizard. 

Sending several of his men through the portal in front of him, Faustus stepped forward to follow them. Grinning as he planted his foot on the teleportation disc and saw the runes begin to glow, Faustus prepared himself for the chill that he would feel as he dematerialised with a fuzzy *pop*. He felt sure that his thorough studies of the ancient technology meant he would be able to control the eldritch magicks and direct himself to join his men on the west side of the compound... but, as the fog cleared from his eyes and he could see where he had reappeared, he quickly realised his hubris as he had been transported into the midst of the other warband and was now nearly surrounded by bestial faced humanoids! Although there was a rich looking chest in front of him, he knew that to try and claim it now would put him in mortal danger.... besides, he had employees to fetch and carry for him! Focussing his mind, he muttered the incantation for a teleportation spell. No sooner had the words left his lips... nothing happened. A moment of panicked rage overtook him. It must be the teleportation disc disrupting his spell! Or the proximity of the enemy distracting him! In his heart of hearts, he knew the truth. Months of reading dusty tomes and not performing the magic he was studying had made him rusty. He told himself he would keep in better practice in the future, if he could escape this situation alive. 

Faustus knew he could trust his apprentice, Rinswynd, to take sensible action, and he could see several more soldiers *pop* out of existence through the same portal he had come through. None of them materialised next to him, however, leaving him alone to face the enemy. 

Some howling beasts came running towards him. Fortunately, they each popped out of existence as they stepped onto the disc, the mechanism of the portal keeping Faustus safe from harm. Until one particularly foul-looking brute stepped up and appeared to clench his teeth, appearing to resist the magical pull through sheer willpower. He stayed standing in front of Faustus with a wolfish grin. Knowing that he must fight or die, Faustus lashed out with his quarterstaff. The beast laughed, knocking the staff aside with an enormous bone he brandished like a club, and knocked Faustus sprawling with a vicious blow. Fortunately, the brute was more interested in the treasure chest that lay between them, allowing Faustus to crawl to safety and begin making his way back to his troops. 

Once clear of the howling brute, which was struggling to drag the chest away while still holding onto the enormous bone, Faustus closed his eyes and concentrated on the teleportation spell again. This time he felt the warmth of the magic course through him and he materialised adjacent to Rinswynd.

"What happened to you?!" asked the apprentice, looking at the blood matting his master's wispy grey hair. 

"A bit of a miscalculation, my apprentice," replied the wizard. "Too hasty after all that time out of the field! How are the rest of the lads getting on?"

It was apparent that the rest of the crew had indeed performed admirably... Rinswynd had remained out of the frontlines, directing troops (as Faustus should have been), using his telekenetic abilities to draw treasure towards Boris and his boys. The thief, Snorri, had done himself proud by despatching a war hound and its handler! All in all, they had gathered a good haul of five treasure chests, with the only remaining one that seemed to be around was taken by the brutish barbarian that had knocked Faustus to the ground. A small price to pay for him to escape with his life, the wizard mused. It had been a good day, and a valuable lesson in humility learned.

Injuries

Game Four	Injuries
Leofric (Infantryman)	Badly wounded (miss next game)

 

Experience

Game Two	Wizard Experience
Wizard spells cast	1	10 XP
Apprentice spells cast	2	20 XP
Treasures collected	5	250 XP
Casualties caused	None by wizard	0 XP
Extras	Wizard travelled through teleportation disc	50 XP
TOTAL XP GAINED TOTAL CAREER XP		330 XP 1,530 XP

 

Faustus gains three levels and is now at Level 15. He gets the following advancements:

7.    -1 to cast Mind Control 

8.    -1 to cast Elemental Bolt

9.    -1 to cast Telekinesis

 

Game Two	Captain Experience
Took part in battle	Yes	10 XP
Finished with health	Yes	20 XP
Casualties caused	None by captain	0 XP
TOTAL XP GAINED TOTAL CAREER XP		30 XP 80 XP

 

Boris remains Level 0.

Treasure

Game Two	Treasure
Regular chest #1		170 GC
Regular chest #2		400 GC
Regular chest #3	Magic weapon/armour: -       Shield +1	20 GC
Regular chest #4	Magic Weapon/Armour: -       Dagger +1 fight	20 GC
Regular chest #5	Grimoire: -       Draining Word	80 GC
TOTAL GOLD CROWNS		690 GC from treasure -69 GC Captain’s share (10%) +18 GC in the vault 639 GC total

 

Faustus chose to purchase the following with his gold crowns:

·         Ring of Teleportation (300 GC)

·         Upgrade Leofric to a Templar (99 GC)

·         Upgrade Harhold to a Knight (99 GC)

TOTAL = 498 GC

(141 GC left in the vault)

 

This left Faustus and his band in a good position for future games. I didn't play any games of Frostgrave during 2020, but with Version 2 of the rules out now and hopefully an end to the lockdown in sight early next year, it seems like a good time to get back into the frozen city. It may be worth restarting with a fresh warband, as he is pretty powerful at Level 15, but we'll see - playing one of the campaigns like the Lich Lord or the new Red King would be good, and might require a proper veteran to succeed in defeating them! 

It's been great seeing Faustus grow and develop, and he's been surprisingly successful in his games. I didn't think the Soothsayer was going to be terribly powerful, but it was the wizard type he most looked like so I went with it. I know that the rulebook suggests to not worry too much about the individual soldiers, but I like giving them names and thinking about why they are there - likewise, I prefer the idea of paying to get them new equipment and/or training to upgrade the individuals, rather than simply discarding them and buying new Templars or Knights or whatever. I still paid the cost but in my head it was buying an upgrade and represented them developing along with their wizard boss. The only real disappoint I've had is Boris - I had high hopes for him, but he just hasn't been managing to do too much. Perhaps holding him near the back with a bow has been a mistake and I should throw him into combat a bit more, perhaps that will allow him to achieve some kills and finally level up. 

End Game Five	Base of Operations
Headquarters	Inn	(Warband size increased to 11)
Upgrades	Crystal Ball Carrier Pigeon Kennel	(+1 to cast Reveal Secret) (-1 GP to hire soldiers) (+1 hound permitted in warband)
Vault	Grimoire (Fog) Grimoire (Restore Life) Grimoire (Wall) Grimoire (Glow) Grimoire (Embed Enchantment) Grimoire (Draining Word) Potion of Toughness Demon in a Bottle 141 GC	Banner of Courage (Boris) Ring of Slow Fall (Cohen) Staff of Power [3] (Faustus) Gloves of Casting (Faustus) Leather Armour +1 (Delsaran) Dagger +1 Fight (Johann) Shield +1 (Harhold) Ring of Teleportation (Faustus)

 

End Game Five		Roster
Wizard	Faustus Hornraven		Staff of Power [3], Gloves of Casting, Ring of Teleportation	Soothsayer, level 12
Apprentice	Rinswynd the Wizzard			Soothsayer apprentice
Soldier 1	Boris “The Bear” Vladistock		Hand weapon, dagger, bow, mail armour, Banner of Courage	Captain, level 0
Soldier 2	Cohen		Ring of Slow Fall	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 3	Johann Schmidt		Dagger +1 Fight	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 4	Harhold the Hammer		Shield +1	Knight
Soldier 5	Leofric Ethandun			Templar
Soldier 6	Eadwyn of Culleigh			Marksman
Soldier 7	Delsaran Greenleaf		Leather armour +1	Ranger
Soldier 8	Snorri Ironwrath			Thief
Soldier 9	Orm Gundalsson			Thief
Kennel	Ghost			Hound

 

Post-Game Five		Spellbook
SPELL NAME	SCHOOL		BASE CASTING	CURRENT CASTING
Mind Control	Soothsayer		12	8
Reveal Secret	Soothsayer		12	10
Wizard Eye	Soothsayer		8	8
Fast Act	Chronomancer		8	10
Fleet Feet	Chronomancer		10	11
Forget Spell	Soothsayer		12	12
Teleport	Illusionist		10	12
Heal	Thaumaturge		8	10
Telekinesis	Enchanter		8	10
Elemental Bolt	Elementalist		12	13

Faustus Hornraven's Frostgrave Diary - Game 4

 

Game Four	8th June 2019
Opponent:	Phil (Thaumaturge)
Scenario:	The Keep

 

Game Four	Roster
Wizard	Faustus Hornraven -       Staff of Power [3]	Soothsayer, level 9
Apprentice	Rinswynd the Wizzard	Soothsayer apprentice
Soldier 1	Boris “The Bear” Vladistock	Captain, level 0
Soldier 2	Cohen -       Ring of Slow Fall	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 3	Johann Schmidt -       Banner of Courage	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 4	Harhold the Hammer	Man-at-arms
Soldier 5	Leofric Ethandun	Infantryman
Soldier 6	Eadwyn of Culleigh	Crossbowman
Soldier 7	Delsaran Greenleaf	Archer
Soldier 8	Snorri Ironwrath	Thief
Soldier 9	Orm Gundalsson	Thief
Kennel	Frostclaw	Hound

Wandering through Felstad, Delsaran Greenleaf’s sharp eyes spotted a White Gorilla lumbering through the ruins. At such a strange sight, he followed it, finding the animal approaching a Thaumaturge and his warband. To the archer’s surprise, instead of attacking the group, the gorilla seemed to be fond of the humans. As he surveyed the scene, he noticed that the group were seated in the ruins of an ancient Keep nursing some clearly horrific wounds. The magical energies emanating from the area were palpable even to him, so he returned to Faustus and retold his tale. The Soothsayer roused the rest of the party and headed towards the Keep, ensuring a watchful eye was kept out in case the White Gorilla should appear less friendly to other people in its territory.

Phil’s wizard was only level 2 so we agreed he could have a White Gorilla under his control to help him out. His party had taken a severe beating last game against Monty, where they coincidentally played the same mission – we assumed they were still holed up near the Keep nursing their wounds and resting.

Sensing the magic of the place, Faustus reached out with his mind for any additional treasure using a Reveal Secret spell, but it must have been overwhelmed by the natural magic of the place and failed to reveal anything. As he approached the Keep, the opposing party sprung into action, throwing off most of their bandages and rushing forwards. Faustus could see four treasure chests located on magic circles that looked like teleportation devices, and he managed to use Telekinesis to move one of those chests away from the tricksy device and towards Snorri the Thief. Meanwhile, Delsaran the Archer loosed an arrow that found its target and did substantial damage to his opponent.

The warband started jumping onto the teleportation portals – a risky business as they didn’t know where they would end up. Other than Leofric (the Infantryman), the warband stayed mostly intact through the teleportations and began picking up whatever treasure they could find. Leofric was set upon by enemy soldiers, taking out one attacker with a single swing of his two-handed axe. Meanwhile, Johann and Harhold were attacked by the White Gorilla but managed to take the beast down with a combined attack. The animal died with a confused look on its face, not fully understanding what was going on. Rinswynd cast Telekinesis, moving some more treasure towards his fellows before the enemy could steal it away.

Over the other side of the Keep, battle was not going so smoothly. Orm Gundalsson was laid low, followed by Cohen the treasure hunter. The treasure they had captured fell into the enemy’s hands while Boris and Frostclaw ran to stop them escaping with it. Faustus cast Mind Control on the opposing Treasure Hunter, forcing the weak-willed fighter to walk over and simply hand the treasure to Boris. By the time the dim-witted soldier blinked his bleary eyes open and understood what had happened, Boris was already running back towards the Inn as fast as he could – he knew the potential value of what was inside the box.

Phil rolled three consecutive Criticals – painful!!! Luckily Mind Control saved the day for me…

A flurry of arrows kept flying back and forth between Delsaran and the enemy ranger. Eventually the archer succeeded in taking down his foe, before turning his attentions to the enemy wizard. The enemy wizard was severely wounded and eventually felled to the ground by the withering hail of fire. His apprentice continued fighting on, but there was little they could do to prevent Faustus and his warband from leaving the field of battle with most of the treasures intact.

Though he had recovered a great trove of potentially valuable treasures, this battle had taken its toll on the warband. Four of his soldiers were wounded, though they all managed to recover well enough to walk back to the hideout. However, with a howl of anguish, Boris announced the death of his trusty companion Frostclaw. Faustus never imagined the big man would be so upset by the death of an animal, but the grief was plain across his face.

Injuries

Game Four	Injuries
Archer	Full recovery
Thief	Full recovery
Hound	DEAD!
Treasure Hunter	Full recovery
Infantryman	Full recovery

 

Experience

Game Four	Wizard Experience
Wizard spells cast	3	30 XP
Apprentice spells cast	5	50 XP
Treasures collected	4	200 XP
Casualties caused	None by wizard	0 XP
Extras	None	0 XP
TOTAL XP GAINED TOTAL CAREER XP		280 XP 1,200 XP

 

Faustus gains three levels and is now at Level 12. He gets the following advancements:

7.    -1 to cast Fleet Feet

8.    -1 to cast Elemental Bolt

9.    -1 to cast Reveal Secret

 

Game Four	Captain Experience
Took part in battle	Yes	10 XP
Finished with health	Yes	20 XP
Casualties caused	None by captain	0 XP
TOTAL XP GAINED TOTAL CAREER XP		20 XP 50 XP

 

Boris remains Level 0.

 

Treasure

Game Four	Treasure
Regular chest #1	Grimoire: Glow	100 GC
Regular chest #2	Grimoire: Embed Enchantment	100 GC
Regular chest #3	Grimoire: Heal (SELL)	100 GC
Regular chest #4	Magic Weapon/ Armour: Leather armour +1	20 GC
TOTAL GOLD CROWNS		320 GC from treasure 250 GC from sale of Grimoires -57 GC Captain’s share (10%) +12 GC in the vault 525 GC total

 

Faustus chose to purchase the following with his gold crowns:

·         Gloves of Casting (300 GC)

·         Upgrade Eadwyn to a Marksman (99 GC)

·         Upgrade Delsaran to a Ranger (99 GC)

·         Replace Hound (9 GC)

TOTAL = 507 GC

(18 GC left in the vault)

 

 

End Game Four	Base of Operations
Headquarters	Inn	(Warband size increased to 11)
Upgrades	Crystal Ball Carrier Pigeon Kennel	(+1 to cast Reveal Secret) (-1 GP to hire soldiers) (+1 hound permitted in warband)
Vault	Grimoire (Fog) Grimoire (Restore Life) Grimoire (Wall) Grimoire (Glow) Grimoire (Embed Enchantment) Potion of Toughness Demon in a Bottle 0 GC	Banner of Courage (Johann) Ring of Slow Fall (Cohen) Staff of Power [3] (Faustus) Gloves of Casting (Faustus) Leather Armour +1 (Harhold)

 

This was the end of the campaign at this stage, but Faustus and his merry band continued to explore the frozen city. At the end of the campaign, the warband looked like this:

Post-Game Four		Roster
Wizard	Faustus Hornraven		Staff of Power [3]  Gloves of Casting	Soothsayer, level 12
Apprentice	Rinswynd the Wizzard			Soothsayer apprentice
Soldier 1	Boris “The Bear” Vladistock			Captain, level 0
Soldier 2	Cohen		Ring of Slow Fall	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 3	Johann Schmidt		Banner of Courage	Treasure Hunter
Soldier 4	Harhold the Hammer			Man-at-arms
Soldier 5	Leofric Ethandun			Infantryman
Soldier 6	Eadwyn of Culleigh			Marksman
Soldier 7	Delsaran Greenleaf			Ranger
Soldier 8	Snorri Ironwrath			Thief
Soldier 9	Orm Gundalsson			Thief
Kennel	Ghost			Hound

And Hornraven's magical abilities were certainly growing, with a  comprehensive spellbook:

Post-Game Four		Spellbook
SPELL NAME	SCHOOL		BASE CASTING	CURRENT CASTING
Mind Control	Soothsayer		12	9
Reveal Secret	Soothsayer		12	10
Wizard Eye	Soothsayer		8	8
Fast Act	Chronomancer		8	10
Fleet Feet	Chronomancer		10	11
Forget Spell	Soothsayer		12	12
Teleport	Illusionist		10	12
Heal	Thaumaturge		8	10
Telekinesis	Enchanter		8	11
Elemental Bolt	Elementalist		12	14