Balthazar's Warband

This is the second post regarding Balthazar and his minions. The first post detailed the gathering of the warband and the very beginning of their journey, this post details their stats and a few more insights into how I am going to play this warband.

For this campaign, I am going to run the warband as if they are completely raw recruits. I am not giving Balthazar the usual 400 Gold Crowns to purchase a warband of his choice, I will be assigning him just eight basic soldiers for free. In the story, Balthazar has cajoled his apprentice and eight local toughs (Thugs in game terms) to accompany him to Felstad to seek their fortunes.

Every time there has been a choice in character creation, I have randomly rolled it. Therefore, Balthazar is from the Elementalist school of magic as that is what was rolled. All of his spells have also been randomly rolled, so he will need to cope with all eventualities thrown at him without a balanced and selected list of offensive, defensive and "useful" spells.

Balthazar Blimp, Wizard...

Balthazar's spell book consists of ...

Dave, Apprentice...

Balthazar's followers - eight Thugs...

At the start of the campaign, the eight thugs in Balthazar's warband are all armed with farm implements - to all intents and purposes these are the equivalent of hand weapons. At the end of each scenario, I will randomly roll (10% cumulative per scenario completed that resets after each success) to see if each thug improves their clothing (warmer layers, better boots etc.) and weaponry (i.e. to a club, axe, sword etc.), even though this will not have any effect on how they play as soldiers. This will be used as a visual clue that shows the look and feel of the members of the warband changing as time moves on - it shows them developing as characters in a story. In real terms, it means I can paint up and use different figures to depict each character as they develop.

During a scenario it is going to be assumed that the soldiers get rich from what they find laying around that Balthazar does not claim - trinkets, silver and copper coins, cheap jewellery pieces and nicer weapons than those they already have (although, as already stated above, these have no effect on their stats etc.) - Balthazar will be getting the results of the rolls on the treasure token table at the end of each game.

Experience points will be used to improve Balthazar's stats, but the treasure he gains can be used to improve the soldiers themselves. I am going to assume that if Balthazar wants to improve a soldier he can pay the GC cost to "upgrade" him - in game terms this is just replacing one type of soldier with another, but in story terms this takes into account purchasing new arms and armour for the soldier needing an upgrade and paying for some training to get him up to scratch in whatever new role he will need to play. Specialist soldiers will still need to be bought, however, as those particular skills cannot be taught.

If a soldier is lost in action, then he can be replaced either by a new thug (another villager that arrives from Standof) or a new soldier in the form of one that can be purchased at full price. This is the tim ewhen specialist soldiers can be recruited to join the warband. Thieves can be "purchased" by swapping the stats of an existing soldier and saying in story terms that the soldier was more adept at that role than as a thug, or a thief can be recruited from Standof when a previous warband member dies.

Balthazar and his followers head out of Standof on their journey to Felstad...

 

 

Just after sun-up, the party stumbled out of the barn attached to the Star Inn to gather their belongings before heading north. Sore heads from the drinking of the night before were nursed as each member saw fit, and packs were shouldered. This was to be the adventure of a lifetime; riches untold of and stories undreamed of were to be experienced and hopefully returned to the snug of the alehouse.

Frostgrave 2nd Edition: My First Warband

It took me a while to get around to this what with real life getting in the way; Covid, redundancy and a general lack of motivation due to these issues. I was hoping to get these details up onto the blog and get in some playing action last month, but I just never able to quite get around to it. However, what with the Christmas preparation (now that we have been locked into Tier 4 and I cannot get to see the kids this year) I have managed to free up some space on the table and photographed my initial warband. I have chosen some of my really old Citadel and Ral Partha miniatures that I painted many years ago to make up the wizard, his apprentice and their followers.

First up, here is my first Frostgrave warband in all its glory...

And some individual/paired photos of the warband itself, starting with Balthazar...

Dave, the sorceror's apprentice...

Bill and Ben, two of the more well-to-do peasants from the village of Standof...

Ant and Dec, just a couple of regular farmers...

Dick and Dom, two more regular farmers...

Bill (2) and Ted, two more fairly (un)regular farmers...

Balthazar had just heard through the grapevine (the Stars Inn), in the back water village of Standof, that the far northern city of Felstad was slowly emerging from its icy grave of a millenium. However, he found that he was a little late to the party, as the news, when it reached him via a band of travelling wizards who had already made their fortune there, was at least five years old, but due to the finding of a second major tome with cryptic clues of what may be found there, there was now renewed interest in the city.

Learning that a trip to the frozen city would be fraught with many dangers, Balthazar realised that he would need his own small warband to aid him on his mission. He cast about the village and the local farmsteads over the following few weeks, and managed to drum up, through promises, lies and various forms of coersion (bribery and blackmail), enough support for his venture.

The wizard already had an apprentice, in the form of Dave, to help carry his magical paraphernalia, but the addition of eight local toughs, he thought, should hopefully be enough for him to visit the city. The ancient magics contained within the mouldering tomes he would find in the ruins would be reward enough for him, but the lure of the ample treasure that is there for the taking also piqued his interest and convinced his followers.

The party left on their journey bouyant and full of good beer cheer...

Frostgrave 2e: Stat Sheets

I have been neglecting the hobby a little bit over the last few weeks due to the newly enforced lockdown dragging my attention elsewhere. However, in dribs and drabs, I have put together some very basic Frostgrave Wizard Character Sheets in Excel.

I have listed each of the wizard and soldier classes from the Second Edition rulebook (I will sort out those featured in the supplements too soon) and messed around until I could get the wizard and apprentice, the spells, and the hired soldiers onto 3 sheets. I will use this spreadsheet as a template going forward so that I can copy/paste the basic outlines for each soldier etc. into a separate spreadsheet for each new warband I create. So, when they are printed out, I will have a visual representation of the miniature used for that particular wizard/soldier as well as a handy easy reference list of their stats.

Anyway, here is an example for one of the soldiers that I knocked up this afternoon just to see what the individual entries would look like. It is for a barbarian soldier called Rollo - who I may or may not use in forthcoming games...

My initial warband will be used for rules testing, but then I will create a brand new one for actually gaming with - I have had some daft ideas on what I want to do here (see below). As I do not have access to any fellow gamers at the moment, my initial games, at least, will be solo affairs.

The daft idea is for my first warband to have a down on his/her luck 1st level wizard and their apprentice travelling to the environs of Felstad to put together an adventuring party to retrieve some of the fabled treasures of the frozen city. They will have stopped at an inn close by the city (which will become their base of operations) and just advertised the fact that they will be paying a visit into the city and would anyone care to join them for a cut of the loot.

In game terms, this is basically a wizard/apprentice and any free hires they can get - i.e. just thugs and thieves. The wizard currently has zero cash, so cannot hire on better soldiers at the moment, but as time goes by and treasures are amassed then, hopefully, this situation will change. Each wizard will have just very basic equipment to begin with - one weapon each, and I will be rolling randomly for the magic school and on the spells known tables to make it more fun and force me to have to think on my feet with what spells I can utilise in any given situation.

My thoughts are that the main scenario treasure objectives are those that the wizard thinks are worth having - he will have those for himself. However, in an abstract way, there are many other treasures in Felstad that are not so fabulous (piles of silver and copper coins, cheap jewellery, slightly more ornate weapons than those the warband already have (although these have no effect on combat skills), dinner ware and other trinkets), and it will be assumed that the soldiers pick these up for themselves on the way to and from the scenario site, and thus are rewarded for their efforts in this way.

Hopefully, the next week or two will allow me to create my first warband and sort out what scenery I have left and what I can make for no cost from kitchen waste (yoghurt pots, snack tubes and the like).

Frostgrave 2e: My First Warband - Preparation

Even though I bought all of the original wizards and companions with the first Nickstarter, I did not get the opportunity to paint any of them. I will try to remedy that fairly soon though, when I am able to get to my paints and figures after the recent house move.

That said, I do have plenty of adventuring types in my collection of miniatures that I painted several years ago, and detailed elsewhere on this blog, to be getting on with. I will take a look at the types of soldiers available in Frostgrave and match my old miniatures to them; I have plenty of wizardly types, clerics (not sure if they can possibly be used as soldiers of some type?), thieves, fighters and barbarians, as well as loads of historicals that could double-up as fantasy soldiers.

Some wizards for me to choose from...

These are re-used images of the wizards I painted way back. Luckily, I have two or three painted in each colour scheme; perfect for a Frostgrave wizard and his/her apprentice.

I also have penty of soldiers to choose from...

And some thieves...

And barbarians...

Looking at the paint-jobs, they are not that great. I was pleased with them at the time but now I am looking at them several years later...hmmm. I won't repaint them as they are usable, but going forward I hope to make a better hash of the paint jobs on my "official" Frostgrave miniatures.

I also have plenty of Roman and Norman troops to use as cannon fodder soldiers, so these might put in an appearance, as well as a variety of peasants with farm implements - this might make for an interesting skance. I am very tempted to try several different ways of representing warbands on the tabletop; the traditional mix-up of fanatsy tropes, a couple of wizards and their hired men-at-arms (all in the same livery), or a couple of wizards and their peasant followers out to seek their fortune/vengeance on the ill that came from Felstad.

Over the last few days I have been putting together an Excel version of the Wizard Sheet. I have amended it a little to allow automatic calculations of some fields (just basic Sum calculations etc.) in order that I can get a new warband set up and statted more quickly, so it can be printed out and I don't have to rely on my awful handwriting. I am hoping to get my first warband statted up by tomorrow. Hopefully I can blog my wizard sheet and the figures I will use to represent them, then prep for a scenario to try to play over the weekend. It will have to be a solo affair, but it should allow me to learn the ropes of the rules system.

Unfortunately, I do not have any great stock of scenery at the moment. Several years ago, my cat decided he would use my paints and scenery boxes as his litter trays and basically destroyed the majority of it. I have a few items left but I have decided to try to make some of my own going forwards. As mentioned whilst I was summarising the Battle Games in Middle-earth magazines, there are tutorials on how to make scenery for Gondor, Rohan etc. I will put some of this to the test over the following few months and make some ruins. I will use anything else I can get hold of in the meantime; cardboard boxes, toilet rolls, yoghurt pots etc. just so I can at least get started and get a feel for playing the game.

Tales of the Frozen City

After running through all of the rulebooks and supplements over the last week or so, I thought that I should mention the one work of fiction I have from the Frostgrave collection. I received this book as part of the "Nickstarter" I invested in way back when Frostgrave first came out. There are several novels written too, but this book is slightly different in that it offers eleven short stories. I may look into purchasing the novels for my Kindle (if available) in the not too distant future.

Whilst searching the net for a suitable picture of the book cover, I noticed several images showed the tag line "ten authors present ten stories" instead of the eleven stories which my version has. I thought this intriguing but have yet to explore whether this earlier version was actually released (not that I would buy it as I already have the eleven story version, but just for finding out the story).

I have literally just re-read "Tales" (Thursday and Friday evening after work), and feel that I can now start my own adventures in Felstad using the tome as inspiration. I will try to write the weird tales of my own wizard/apprentice and their hardy warband in a similar format so that it doesn't just sound like a write-up of a game session. I kind of tried that with my DnD sessions a few years back and was partially successful (for me anyway), but I have a lot to learn about writing fiction; especially how to write dialogue - hence why I have avoided writing any up until now.

I am hoping that my next post will detail my own warband made up from my very old fantasy figures collection that I used to use back in the day for playing a variety of RPGs. I have plenty of wizard miniatures, as well as thieves, fighters and barbarians, so should have enough choice to make up a decent looking bunch. My issue, as mentioned previously, is a lack of painted adversaries.

Anyway, I digress. This post is about the eleven story collection book and what it offers as a "supplement" to the game.

I was thinking, when I first picked up the book, that each story would be centred around a particular kind of wizard, taking each school in turn, but that does not seem to be the case (or maybe it was and I was just too dense to realise?). Many of the wizardly types are covered (not that I paid too close attention to numbers of each type, because I read the tales for the stories and ideas) but some seem to appear more than others; especially chronomancers.

Each tale is only about 5-10 pages long, so the book can be read in short bursts with each session allowing one to read a complete story or two if so desired. The different writing styles add to the mystique of the stories, and as each author has their own wizardly story to tell there is a lot of variety in the types of story told.

The book is a little pricey (£6.99) for only eleven short stories, but the quality is what we have come to expect from Osprey, so I can overlook that minor point. The only main quibble I have though is that there are no colour plates within the covers; just a small pencil sketch of a wizard at the beginning of each story. These are all very nice, but I would have preferred a few more big pictures in order to fuel my imagination. That said, production costs of a book like this are probably high enough already.

Mountfitchet Castle

Yesterday, we decided to take the kids to Mountfitchet Castle near Stansted in Essex. I had never heard of this historic monument until Saturday, so when my better half suggested we go visit, I jumped at the chance. It is only just down the road from our new home, so it is most likely going to be a well-visited site over the coming years. We were a little worried about the weather when we set out, but it turned out to be gloriously bright and sunny (if a little cold) and made for a grand day out.

The site comprises of a reconstruction of the castle as it may have been in around 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded, as well as a toy museum and haunted house to keep everyone busy. The main reason I wanted to go was for the castle reconstruction, but the kids loved it too, as well as all the other attractions.

The plan, found at the entrance, is not fully accurate to what lies within, but is near enough and gives an idea of what can be found within the bounds of the perimeter walls. We explored pretty much every part of the site that we could (although a little too quickly for my liking) and I managed to grab a ton of photos to use as source material (as well as picking up their little guide book as a keep sake).

I wasn't sure what to display here on the blog as a memento of my visit, as I have so many photos to choose from, so thought I would shine a light on some of the more grand stuff...

On the way up the hill from the visitor centre is the pallisade wall and a variety of watchtowers...

The most spectacular building was the Grand Hall where Robert Gernon, Duke of Boulogne, ruled his barony from...

And on the inside we can see that Norman residences were far from dingy and plain; starting with the banqueting hall...

...and the lord's chambers...

Most medieval professions are represented within the wooden walls of the fortress, but I thought that the blacksmith's was the most impressive building after the grand hall...

I took other photos of this building, but this one really shows how impressive medieval construction was. I really like the way that the roof is slatted/tiled with wooden planks, thatched and then topped off with more wooden slatting. The "dragon" decoration (head at the front of the building, tail at the back) really set things off for me.

What I found especially interesting about most of the buildings was the way they were finished and then allowed to age. The site has been standing for around 35 years and from what I can see, left to the elements. The white-washed buildings have begun to discolour, with many walls turning greyish, and the woodwork has aged especially, and faded to a light grey/sandy brown colour (like most aged wood). This made me wonder how often the Normans would have replaced the wood, and whether wood weakened with age and perhaps the weathering made things more brittle. This is something I will need to look into another day.

I would recommend a visit to this reconstructed motte and bailey timber castle if you are interested in history in action. Our visit was only a very brief one, with only a couple of hours actually looking at the site - the rest of the day was spent in the various haunted houses and the toy museum. Next time, I can spend a lot more of my day exploring each of the buildings in turn in a lot more detail.

Mountfitchet Castle, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex CM24 8SP  England
Note: Sat Nav - use the postcode CM24 8LY

Frostgrave: Second Edition

Frostgrave was released around 5 or 6 years ago and has been extensively play-tested since then by a wide-ranging audience (in both gaming styles and location - there are non-English translations available), which attests to the system's popularity world-wide. Working with that time-frame and fan feedback in mind, the author decided to create a more up-to-date version of the game with rules errata, amendments and new additions pulled together behind a new cover.

Thus, Frostgrave: Second Edition was born - a 222 page hard-backed rulebook which collates and expands upon rules that were presented in some of the previous supplements and magazine articles. These additions, according to the author, pull the game into a more coherent system that fits his original vision. They certainly do seem more rounded and comprehensive. The book retails at £25.00 but can be bought cheaper at places like Amazon and so on.

This book is a heftier tome than the previous edition and will most likely be the go-to edition that I will use for gaming. In this post, I will not do a direct comparison with the first edition as there are many places on the web that do this alreday. In keeping with the previous Frostgrave articles, I will just run through what is included in the book.

Foreword - In contrast to all of the other supplements, this foreword is written by one of the author's colleagues from when he worked on the Savage Worlds rules system

Wizards and Warbands - This section starts off with an introduction to what Frostgrave is and then sets about detailing what is needed to play a game. There is then the rules for creating a wizard, listing out all types/schools available, followed by a part about assembling a warband. From a cursory glance through this section, it can be seen that not many of the additional choices from the supplements have been duplicated, so the supplements are still a good option to buy; this second edition is a rules update not a collation of the extra soldier and treasure types and spells

Playing the Game - This part of the rule book runs through how to set up the gaming table and then follows how a game turn plays out. It then runs through activation, movement, combat, shooting, damage, then the all-important spell casting, before rounding off with using potions, collecting treasure, creature actions and finally how to end the game

The Campaign - Anything outside of the tabletop part of the game is included here; including how to deal with injury and death, out of game spells, experience and level, and how to count and spend treasure

Spells - Frostgrave would be nothing without its wizarding and spellcasting. Spell descriptions and optional rules are included here

Scenarios - No fewer than twenty scenarios are listed here for you to get your teeth into. Not all of them are repeats from the first edition

Bestiary - Treaure needs to be guarded and the wizards need adversaries other than each other, so where better to turn than the bestiary? Included here are sections on animals, constructs, demons, undead and a variety of miscellaneous beasts

Appendices - The final section details previous Frostgrave supplements and the minor changes that need to be taken into consideration when using them with this new edition of the rules, plus all of the spells listed as cards and a character/warband sheet to use for recording your wizard and their warband

The production values of this book, again, are second to none, being printed in full-colour with lots of original artwork and pictures of miniatures in action on the tabletop. I have spent ages drooling over the amazing artwork and imagining adventurers in the frozen city. I think it is now time to immerse myself into the (sometimes not so) tall stories that are told around the warm fires in the snugs of taverns in less dangerous environs, where the ale flows freely, the cold winds are kept at bay, and bellies are full of hot food.

Frostgrave: Perilous Dark

Perilous Dark takes the Frostgrave game into the realms of solo and co-operative adventures. A few online digital supplements had already explored this idea before being pulled into a printed format, for example Dark Alchemy in the Frostgrave Folio supplement, but this one goes into a lot more detail and is more rules heavy than previous supplements.

This full-colour book has the increased page count of 96 pages again, plus the usual card cover. It also retails at £14.99, which seems to be the new price bracket for these books.

In this supplement...

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of the author's thinking process when it comes to creating new supplements, and moves onto what ideas can be found in this particular tome

The Basics - This section explores the basics of the game as a solo event and as a co-operative venture; there are specific rules depending upon how the game is to be run as each mode of play has distinct advantages and disadvantages. It then runs through how to set objectives and the level of difficulty before summarising how to apply spells and monsters. It finishes up with a short recap

Limited Time, Unlimited Monsters - One major challenge in playing solo is how to create a challenging encounter. The author runs through some basics for this before introducing a couple of additional rules for time limitation and ruminating on treasure carrying capacity for soldiers. This section is then rounded off with three new scenarios that link into a mini-campaign. The scenario descriptions follow the usual Frostgrave scenario layout but with an additonal section that describes changes that can be made for playing co-operatively rather than solo. Each scenario has nods towards what has been learned (rules and ideas wise) in the section just completed

Traps and Obstacles - After a brief run through of how traps and obstacles work in solo gaming, three more scenarios are presented. These form a continuation of the narrative from the previous section and build on the knowledge gained in the rules part of the section

The Unknown - Frostgrave is all about exploring the unknown. This part of the book runs through ideas on how to create clue markers and room cards for those exploratory adventures where wizard versus wizard combat isn't the aim. This chapter continues the scenario narrative with two more challenges for solo wizards

Dungeon Crawls - This is mainly what draws me to solo gaming; the ubiquitous dungeon crawl. I have played Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D 1st edition) using the random dungeon generator and then played my own made up games, but want to try something slightly fresher. This section details two ways of achieving dungeon crawling in Frostgrave; room cards and random generation. The two scenarios, again linked to the previous growing campaign, utilise the latest rules mastered in this section

New Treasure - a set of alternative tables that can be rolled on to replace one or two treasure items gained in the Perilous Dark scenarios

Bestiary - This final section lists and stats all of the new monsters encountered in this supplement; Ballista II, Borock, Chronohound, Hellcrow, Magmite, Manaworm, Matriarch, Planar Lurker, Reaver Wight and Vapour Snake

I really enjoyed my run through of this supplement. I really hope that I am able to capitalise on this and play a few solo games in the very near future. I think I will create a warband or two in a few days time and see if I have some miniatures to match. However, the problem I will have gaming in the Frozen City is a severe lack of scenery items. I may start off just using random boxes and pieces of "stuff" I have laying around the house just to get a feel for the game and then begin to create ruins and so on when I can get the raw materials for them (I will most likely use the methods detailed in the Battle Games in Middle-earth magazines so my creations can be used in at least two settings).

Frostgrave: The Wizards' Conclave

This supplement is a little different to those that have preceded it; each scenario is written by a different games designer but the author/editor of the book gives them the Frostgrave treatment so that they are all in a very similar format. I think it is a good idea to have multiple designers working on something at the same time, as the scenario plots go off in all sorts of directions and are not limited to just one person's imagination. It took me back a little to the good old days of the early (pre-issue 90) White Dwarf magazines before it became a showcase for painted Games Workshop miniatures (not that there is anything wrong with that).

The Wizards' Conclave is an 88 page full-colour, card-covered book that is priced at £14.99. Again, the production values are as fantastic as we have come to expect from Osprey with plenty of original artwork as well as many pictures of miniatures in action.

In this supplement you will find 16 scenarios and campaigns written by a variety of wargames authors. Full rules, treasuries and bestiaries are included within each of the encounters and situations that are listed.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement and summarises how Joe brought his vision of a collaborative expansion supplement to fruition

Scenarios - There are sixteen scenarios in this section, with two of them being three-part campaigns. All are set out in the standard scenario format of Introduction, Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure & Experience, but, in this supplement, these ones also have a short couple of paragraphs About the Author

This supplement summary is a little shorter than usual as I do not deem it right to go into too much detail about each scenario in the book; these are all individual scenarios with their own twists and I don't wish to give anything away. Also, just doing a repetitive list would be, quite frankly, very boring to read

The next supplement is also very different in its construction, as it features an exciting way to play Frostgrave: Solo gaming. This is the one I am looking forward to putting into use very soon as I can only really game on my own at the moment due to the lockdown and so forth.

Frostgrave: The Maze of Malcor

In the foreword, the author mentions this supplement as the sixth expansion that has been released for Frostgrave. I can only count five books (other than the original rule book which is obviously not an expansion) released so far, but what was the other one mentioned? Perhaps he means the 40 card deck called Frostgrave: Ulterior Motives? I do not own this set, but it does appear useful - 40 new secret and side missions would make for a nice diversion between campaigns.

With the release of The Maze of Malcor rulebook supplement, there is a price rise to £14.99, but the page count has now increased to 96 pages plus the card cover.

In this supplement, there is a rules update section, taking Frostgrave a little more in the direction that some players and the author have been wanting to do for a short while. This supplement takes us to the Collegium of Artistry, a labyrinthine location within a mountainside that a fortuitous calving from the local glacier exposed. A dozen new scenarios make up the new campaign, and full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, as well as an aftermath to allow adventures in this setting to be continued.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Rules Update - This section details the new rules updates that the author deemed were necessary to make Frostgrave a fresher game. New ways of setting up treasure tokens on the board, Stat rolls, Experience, Scrolls, Uncontrolled Creature Actions, purchasing magic items and how to create experienced wizards

The Campaign - Twelve linked scenarios make up this campaign, with the latter half allowing for the "monsters" to be controlled by another player to add to the complexity and difficulty of the scenarios. Once the campaign has been completed, there are options to continue on with games set within the Collegium if Malcor is still "alive" at the end of things

The Schools of the Pentangle - This part of the supplement collates details of the five newly discovered schools of magic from Felstad's past. The wizard types are: Astromancer, Distortionist, Fatecaster, Sonancer and Spiritualists. They are ideally intended for non-player gaming (in that scrolls can be found with spells from these schools and players pit themselves against members of these schools) but rules are included to enable use of these new wizardly types in future games. Six spells for each school are featured in the supplement

New Treasure - A couple of new tables are featured for alternative treasures that are only to be found in the Collegium

Bestiary - The final part of the book is a listing of all the new monsters encountered within the Collegium: Acrisbird, Advisory Council, Banshee, Bloodwave, Bog Man, Coal Man, Collegium Porter, Glass Spider, Mantodeus, Phase Cat, Shrieking Wolf, Starfire Elemental, the 5 Wizard Shades from the campaign (one from each new class of magic), and finally the Wraith of Malcor

Again we have a very full supplement this time. We are introduced to yet another new quarter of the city of Felstad and its denizens. New ways of playing are introduced with this book, so we can now play standard games of wizard versus wizard, co-operative games, and, with this supplement, games that kind of have a referee controlled (where a player can take the part of the encounters rather than another set of wizards) feel to them. The number of spells available has increased with these five new schools of magic, thus increasing the choices available to our wizards.

Frostgrave: The Frostgrave Folio

The Frostgrave Folio, the fourth supplement for Frostgrave, is an amalgamation of several previously released online/downloadable digital supplements. It has the slightly higher count of 72 full-colour pages again, as well as the usual card cover, but still with the same price tag of £9.99.

In this supplement, the author compiles four of the mini-expansions for the game that were released as digital supplements, and adds a brand new mini-campaign set of scenarios to offer something new to others who may have already got the downloads of the previous four.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement, and a mini-history of how Frostgrave was released and how the unanticipated high demand for the system led to some quick thinking by the publishers and author.

Each of the following sections of the rule book comprise a foreword and/or introduction by the author, a 3 part scenario campaign that follows the standard process of Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure and experience for each one, a mini-bestiary and spell section if appropriate...

The Hunt for the Golem - This mini-campaign involves the wizards in a hunt, study and capture/destroy story arc for a new monster called a Granite Golem. There are six new magical treasures to be found that can be rolled for on a special scenario specific table. There is also an aftermath section that allows for the continuation of the adventure if the wizards fail to capture or destroy the golem

Sellsword - A new soldier type is detailed in this section of the supplement; The Captain. This soldier is the only hireling (other than the apprentice) that can gain experience and improve stats as adventures go by. Full details of a captain's capabilities are given, including a table for equipment, skills and experience, as well as a full stat line. Following this section are three new scenarios with a new magic item and new monster for the Bestiary: The Nullmen

Dark Alchemy - What this mini-campaign brings is a set of three solo or co-op play scenarios plus the rules on how to accomplish this different form of gaming. There is a special tresure table that can be rolled on specifically for this campaign and there are a few new monsters for the Bestiary; The Alchemical Monstrosity, Fire-flingers and Burning Skeletons. This is followed by a section devoted to potions and their utilisation in Frostgrave

Arcane Locations - Frostgrave allows for a player's imagination to run wild when thinking of strange locations for them to be set, and the three un-linked scenarios in this section show just how wild adventure locations can be. All three scenarios take the usual format of Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure & Experience, and these are followed up by a mini-Bestiary (Foulhorn and Starfire Elemental), a new treasure, and a new spell (Shape Starfire Elemental). Finally there is a table that adds new Wizards' Base resources

The Ravages of Time -The last mini-campaign is the only original work in this volume. It is a semi-cooperative adventure in three parts, with each part building and being dependent upon the results of the adventure prior to it, culminating in facing down Lourrent, Vampiric Chronomancer (full stats featured in the Bestiary for this campaign alongside Dying Construct)

This supplement pulls together a wide variety of scenarios, campaigns, and additional and alternative rules for Frostgrave from the already existing digital versions, so that everyone now has a chance to purchase them in physical format (so few companies do this and that makes it difficult to be a completist when trying to collect together all rules, addenda etc. for a particular game system).

I am not a great lover of digital versions, as I find them more difficult to navigate and they do not offer me the same sensory experience when reading them. There is most definitely a place for digital versions though, especially if you want to lug all of your game specific rule books to a friend's house or the local gaming club. Those short on physical space both at home and in their travel bags will find them a boon.

Frostgrave: Forgotten Pacts

The third of the Frostgrave supplements followed very quickly after the second - just a four month interval this time. Thaw of the Lich Lord was published in November 2015, Into the Breeding Pits in July 2016, and Forgotten Pacts in the November of the same year.

Forgotten Pacts was written in 2016, again by the author of the original rules set, Joe McCullough, but this time the full-colour page count has increased to 72 pages (plus the card jacket) in the soft-cover book...

In this supplement, the players explore the northern reaches of the city; a place called The Hallowed. Here they encounter barbarian tribes and a plethora of demons to vanquish. Full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, including new rules for summoning and forging pacts with demons.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Forging Pacts - This section introduces new rules for binding demons using their true names. It also lists the costs in terms of Sacrifices the wizard has to make, but Boons are granted in return. Like with previous supplements, these rules are optional but they do add more depth to the game

Advanced Summoning - These optional rules allow for demons to be summoned out of game. A couple of tables of minor and major demonic attributes list appearances, traits and skills summoned demons can possess

New Magic - Only two new spells in this section this time around, linked to demon summoning (Demonic Servant) and introducing the use of magical tattoos (Mystic Brand). They are additions to two of the already established schools of magic, so can be used outside of this supplement, but both are out of game spells

New Soldiers - There are five new soldier-types documented in this supplement; Assassin, Demon Hunter, Demonic Servant, Monk and Mystic Warrior. Each is accompanied by a brief description of what their role in a warband is and their stat line

Scenarios - There are eight new scenarios listed that take place in the area of Felstad called The Hallowed; the first six are two sets of three mini-campaigns followed by two very challenging sceanrios. Each scenario description, again, has the same layout as per those in previous supplements; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up, special rules and a final section on treasure and experience awards

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to vary the treasure gained by a wizard's warband in The Hallowed area of Felstad

Bestiary - This section starts with two random encounter tables specific to The Hallowed setting and then describes and stats many new monsters that can be encountered there: Ambronnax - Endower of Senescence, Balkren - Barbarian Summoner, Barbarians, Bile Hound, Chilopendra, Failing Wretch, Grakyura, Kaylakid, Kornovik - Barbarian Outcast, Toravor and TiszirainViolent Fungus

This supplement sets out more adventures and encounters within the vast city environs of Felstad. This time the action takes place in the northern reaches and we have had underground settings explained in Into the Breeding Pits. Future supplements take the narrative to other major parts of the city.

I am kind of hoping that one day there will be an official map of the city of Felstad that outlines, in general, these adventuring areas, but not in too much detail as I am sure players would want to map out their own adventure paths too. An online supplement could probably do the trick as it could then be updated and modified as new supplements are released - if a nominal charge was made for downloading a decent sized version of the map then most players would, I am sure, keep their adventure sheets up to date with each new amendment that is released.

Frostgrave: Into the Breeding Pits

The second of the Frostgrave supplements followed hot on the heels of the first. Thaw of the Lich Lord was published in November 2015 and Into the Breeding Pits was released the following July. The popularity of the system has proven itself with the busy release schedule of supplements and miniatures.

Into the Breeding Pits was written in 2016, again by the author of the original rules set, Joe McCullough, and is another full-colour 64 page (plus the card jacket) soft-cover book. Each supplement has great production values and are, in my humble opinion, good value for money at £9.99, even if only used as a source of ideas and reading material...

In this supplement, the players delve into the underground catacombs of Felstad. Here they encounter the results of the experimentation of the city's Beastcrafters. Full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, including new rules for traps and secret passages.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Underground Exploration - This section introduces new rules for playing Frostgrave underground. It details new options like dungeon settings and which spells are limited by the confines of being underground, doorways, lighting, random encounters, traps (both magical and mundane), and secret passageways. Like with all supplements, these rules are optional but do add to the flavour and complexity of the game.

New Magic - This section introduces a new "school" of magic; the Beastcrafter. It details what a Beastcrafter is/was and how to inherit the traits of one. There are two specific Beastcrafter spells presented; Animal Manipulation and Animal Mutation. After the Beastcrafter section, the book moves onto a new type of spell casting, the Reaction spell. It describes what they are and gives a few examples; Capture Incantation, Deflect, Elemental Lash, Flash, Slowfall and a "lost" spell called Nightmare.

New Soldiers - We are presented with two new soldier-types in this supplement; Trap Expert and Tunnel Fighter, each with a brief description of what their role in a warband is as well as their stat line

Scenarios - Five new underground specific scenarios are offered up in this section. Each scenario description has basically the same layout; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up the table, any special rules for this particular scenario and a final section on treasure and experience awards. It finishes with a brief description on how to extend the campaign when completed

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to vary the treasure gained by a wizard's warband in the world beneath Felstad

Bestiary - This section starts with a random encounter table specific to the Breeding Pits setting and then goes on to describe and stat line several new monsters that can be encountered below ground: Amplipede, Basilisk, Devourer, Giant Worm, Gnoll, Hydra, Hyena, Minotaur, Sewer Slime, Two-headed Troll, Vaplorhine and Violent Fungus

Again we have a very packed supplement with lots of useful information and stats. There is no actual cohesive campaign here, but the scenarios can be adapted into one. The new monsters, magic, soldiers and treasure all add to the core rules in a positive way by enabling those dungeon-stye adventures we all know and love.

Frostgrave: Thaw of the Lichlord

There have been a number of supplements released for Frostgrave so far, and most feature some kind of campaign game (a series of scenarios that can be run back to back to form a full storyboard of adventure in the frozen city) with new monsters, treasures and spells.

This new run of posts (for the next week and a half or so) will feature each of the supplements in turn, detailing their contents and giving a brief overview of what can be seen in the books.

Thaw of the Lich Lord is the first of several supplements written for the wizard vs wizard tabletop battle game, Frostgrave. It was penned, back in 2015, by the author of the original rules set, and is a full-colour 64 page (plus the card jacket) soft-cover book...

In this supplement, the players race against each other and the Lich Lord's minions to sieze possession of various treasures and use their skills and experience to overcome the latest threat to Felstad. That said, not all will want to stop him and may want to join him in Lichdom - full rules are included for this outcome too.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

The Campaign - This section introduces what the campaign is about and then sets out to detail the ten scenarios contained within. Each scenario description has basically the same layout; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up the table, any special rules for this particular scenario and a final section on treasure and experience awards. It finishes with a brief description on how to extend the campaign when completed

New Soldiers - Four new soldier-types are detailed; Bard, Crow-master, Javelineer and Pack Mules, each with a brief description of what their role in a warband is as well as their stat line

New Spells - Three new spells are introduced in this campaign; Homunculus, Lichdom and Revenant. These are all out-of-game spells that only occur when playing this particular campaign

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to varify the treasure gained by a wizard's warband

Bestiary - This section starts with random encounter table specific to the Lich Lord setting and then goes on to describe and stat line several new monsters that can be encountered in Felstad: Banshee, Blood Crow, Death Cultists, Frost Wraith, The Ghoul King, Rangifer, Spectre, Wraith Knight, Zombie Troll and the Lichlord himself

This is an interesting campaign that allows for a variety of after-campaign directions too. The out-of-game spells are a good addition to the flavour of Frostgrave, allowing one's wizard to follow the dark paths as well as the light. The new followers, treaures and creatures in the bestiary flesh out the great frozen city in even more detail.

Frostgrave: An Overview

Way back in July 2015 I mentioned that I had bought into a "Nickstarter" to grab a whole bunch of Frostgrave goodies. I must admit that I did not do a lot with them except read through the books that came with the package, give the miniatures a once over and then put it all away for later use. As time went on, more supplements were released for the rules system (which I bought and read) but still I did not get a game in. What prompted me to write this post is that there is a new edition of Frostgrave out now and my interest in the game has grown as a result.

Frostgrave 1st Edition

The new version is compatible with all of the old supplements (give or take a few minor items) that have been released, which is a relief, and has a heftier feel to it (more pages and info contained within the covers). I will run a short series of posts on the rulebooks and supplements over the coming days, and write a comparison of the first and second editions towards the end.

The author, Joe McCullough, has been quite busy with his output for this ruleset and he has expanded it in a couple of new directions too:

Ghost Archipelago moves the adventures to a different setting with a more pirates/Lost World feel (although I do not have any rule books or supplements for this game so I may be completely wrong here)

Rangers of Shadowdeep appears to be a co-op or solo game that uses the same engine but allows players to collaborate against the grim-dark world setting rather than each other - again, I do not have any rules or supplements to corroborate this

Oathmark seems to also be set in the same vein but is aimed at mass-battles rather than skirmish gaming

All of the above games are getting full support from the author along with Osprey and North Star Miniatures who published the books and miniatures ranges, which is good to see as I want to immerse myself a little more into the setting and see where it takes me.

The next few posts will contain summaries of the Frostgrave rulebooks, supplements and miniatures that I have to date, and then maybe afterwards I will look at getting onto painting/assembling some warbands to play. My games will most likely need to be solo affairs and, in order to speed things up, I may even sort out some warbands from my existing fantasy minis collection, which is what these games were aimed at doing from the get go.

An idea that popped into my head recently whilst re-reading the main rules and supplements was how it could be adapted to fit into the Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth universe. Magic in LotR is not very prevalent, but the Games Workshop Strategy Battle Game allows for a little more to be used, so maybe I can see how the two systems could be made to overlap - I may need to drop a lot of the magic (I know that is the main premise of Frostgrave) and see where the creation of a not-Fellowship warband would lead. Perhaps I can run a few solo adventures for a mini LotR camapign? Perhaps utilise some of my GW LotR minis for my band of warriors versus a variety of baddies (elf or human warband versus orc warband with a shaman?).

Sci-fi Play By Email

Over the years I have played many sorts of games; board games, pen and paper role playing games, wargames with miniatures, play-by-email strategy games and play-by-email role playing games.

I have covered most types of those games on this blog at some time or another, but I don't recall mentioning or commenting on the RPG by email games I occasionally get involved in.

So, there is a bit of a change of pace with this post. This one actually relates to some gaming I am currently involved in! A few weeks back I began playing in a new campaign with a brand new character in a play-by-email sci-fi role playing game called StarVigia - designed by my friend Colin (the referee). It is a gritty low-level/low-life adventure game where the PCs work hard to extract themselves from a life of poverty and petty crime, and ultimately (sometimes spectacularly) fail in true future-noir fashion. The turn-around time for each "move" is approximately a week, and the scenario has been set up for my character who is an out-of-work, down on his luck, ex-planetary marine corp type.

Below are a few scenes put together by Colin from his extensive sci-fi miniatures collection that shows what we used to get up to in our face-to-face games of yesteryear. All are 15mm and the scenery etc. is created and painted by him.

A showdown between a gang of heavies and a local biker gang at Colita's Bar...

And what could be a rude awakening for a security force arriving after the alarms went off over an intruder alert at a top secret laboratory in the outback of some desolate world in the Outer Rim...

This sudden delve back into sci-fi gaming has renewed my interest in all things space related, so I am about to dig out my old star system and world creation notes in order to update them with the latest scientific facts and figures on exo-planets and their star systems.

That said, all the new scientific discoveries in our own solar system recently may make this quite difficult to boil down to a few dice-rolls as commented by Colin, but I will update the rules and see if I can perhaps open a spreadsheet to make creating systems easier. Up until now, it has all been rolling tons of dice, cross-checking tables, adding modifiers and so on - a very manual and time consuming process that I will streamline, but Excel may help me automate a lot of that. I am not a computer programmer in any way, shape or form, but I would like to try to write something that will collate all of the system stats, display a table of details and allow for a graphical representation of all the system components to be created.

More on StarVigia and the exploits of Thomas Aquinas in a future post.

200,000 Views and Counting!

This post has been written just after we passed the 200,000 views mark. I am not usually one for this kind of thing but these milestone numbers give a nudge to make me pause and reflect, so I think they need to be acknowledged.

 

 

This milestone took ten and a half years to reach. The blog began way back in April 2009; it took seven years (April 2016) to reach the first 100,000 views, but only an additional three-and-a-half years to reach 200,000 views. This is a doubling of views in half the time, a kind of geometric/exponential progression. I wonder how long it will take to get to 400,000 views? I find this kind of number crunching fascinating.

The blog has taken many forms over its lifetime. It began as a miniatures painting log and slowly morphed into a more general gaming related blog. I do not know where it will be heading over the next few years, but I am hoping to continue with product reviews, game write-ups (AARs), painting logs and begin to use it more and more as a game aid repository.

The problem at the moment is that I do not get much spare time to actually do any "proper" hobby-related stuff like playing games, painting miniatures, building peripherals etc., but product reviews and other comments of that ilk are a little easier for me to accomplish.

The Covid-19 lockdown has meant that most gaming related meetings have had to be avoided due to the social distancing measures that are in place, and a long-distance house move and many recent life-changing events have added to that obstacle for face-to-face meetings with friends.

I am hoping that once we can get out there and mingle again, work sorts itself out and other personal issues get resolved I can get back to what I like most. Here's to the next 200,000 views. Thank you all for reading and interacting in my little place on the net.

Testing Downloads

This is a test post - I am trying to be able to add links to certain JPGs and PDFs that I have created in order for fellow gamers to view and subsequently download those files to aid in their games - I have had many requests for my Village of Hommlett maps, so would like to present these for all to use.

To begin with, here are test links to my two Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition (AD&D) village maps. I have had a play and they seem to work for me, but I am wondering if there are other settings at my host site that may need to change to enable others to download them? Could some of you out there have a play and let me know if they work - I am aiming for the links to open the JPG files and display them for on-screen use but also allow them to be downloaded.

If you could leave comments below that would be most helpful. Here are the links (I will try to "pretty them up" at a later date as my skills at doing this grow)...

Hommlett

Nulb 

Many thanks.

 

 

 

BGiMe Magazine - Special Editions

Throughout the run of the magazine, the publishers decided to lavish the reader with free gifts and magazine inserts. They also added three movie tie-in special editions, named after the actual films. The first to be released was The Two Towers, then The Return of the King, followed by a return to the beginning of the story-arc with The Fellowship of the Ring.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any front-page pictures of these magaizines on the net, so a cover I used earlier will have to do...

These magazines are more battle reports than anything else, but the minatures that come with them make up for the cover price (£5.99 rather than the usual £3.99, except for The Fellowship of the Ring Edition)...

The Two Towers Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - Gandalf the White (1 page)

Battle Game - Battle for Helm's Deep - Gandalf the White, Aragorn, Theoden, Eomer, Gamling, Legolas 6 Royal Guard, 16 Riders of Rohan versus 36 Uruk-hai, 6 Uruk-hai Berserkers, 2 Uruk-hai captains (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Gandalf the White and Shadowfax (4 pages)

The Two Towers Special Edition was released between issues 15 and 16 of the main magazine.

 

The Return of the King Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - The Return of the King (1 page)

Battle Game - Assault on Minas Tirith - Points Match : 1000 pts (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Aragorn Elessar (4 pages)

 

The Return of the King Special Edition was released between issues 47 and 48 of the main magazine.

The Fellowship of the Ring Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - Journey to Rivendell (1 page)

Battle Game - The Road to Rivendell - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Arwen versus Witch-king and 8 Ringwraiths (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Arwen Evenstar (4 pages)

The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition was released between issues 73 and 74 of the main magazine.

So, that brings us to the end of this magazine run-through. I hope you found it informative and that it sparked an interest in Lord of the Rings Middle-earth gaming for you.

I am not sure where the muse will take me now, but I will take a look at what gaming I am currently interested in and take it from there. I am hoping that I should be able to get the paints and miniatures out again soon; just as soon as I get the garage sorted out and I can move stuff within the house into their permanent storage places to create the room for me to get other stuff into view - it is a bit like a 3d version of Tetris at home at the moment, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Why are house moves such a complex mix of jobs to do?

BGiMe Magazine - Issues 79-91

And so we come to the final thirteen issues of the main run of the Battle Games in Middle-earth magazine. No longer do we have photographs/stills taken from the trilogy of films on the front covers; these have been replaced by some really nice drawings/paintings of characters from the books. They all fit the same artistic style, so I imagine that they are painted by the same person. I must admit, that I have not looked into this yet, so may do at a later date if the fancy takes me.

Issue 79

Guide to Middle-earth - Wizards of Middle-earth (1 page)

Playing the Game - Master of the Wild (4 pages)

Battle Game - Kill the Wizard - Radagast, Gwaihir, Ent, Treebeard versus 2 Uruk-hai captains, 20 Uruk-hai, 5 Warg Riders (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Brown Wizard (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Radagast's Cabin (6 pages)

Issue 80

Guide to Middle-earth - Tom Bombadil (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Barrow-downs (4 pages)

Battle Game - Fog on the Downs - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Tom Bombadil versus 4 Barrow-wights (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Tom Bombadil (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Ancient Tombs (4 pages)

Issue 81

Guide to Middle-earth - The Long Retreat (1 page)

Playing the Game - Defenders of Rivendell (4 pages)

Battle Game - Surrounded! - Glorfindel, Elladan & Elrohir, Gildor, 24 Elves versus 2 Orc captains, 18 Orcs, 6 Warg Riders, 24 Goblins, Cave Troll, Goblin captain (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Glorfindel (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Rivendell Hall (6 pages)

Issue 82

Guide to Middle-earth - The Eye of Sauron (1 page)

Playing the Game - Shamans of Darkness (4 pages)

Battle Game - Rivendell Campaign - 3 scenarios (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Orc Shaman (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Desecrated Statue (4 pages)

Issue 83

Guide to Middle-earth - The Long Decline (1 page)

Playing the Game - Forces of the Dwarves (6 pages)

Battle Game - Into the Depths - Dwarven Battle Company versus 24 Goblins, Cave Troll (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Dwarf Captain (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Moria Ruins (6 pages)

Issue 84

Guide to Middle-earth - The Invasion of Moria (1 page)

Playing the Game - Drums in the Deep (2 pages)

Battle Game - Balin's Campaign - 3 scenarios (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Goblin King (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Goblin King's Lair (6 pages)

Issue 85

Guide to Middle-earth - Balin, Lord of Moria (1 page)

Playing the Game - Armies of the Dwarves (4 pages)

Battle Game - The Balrog Unleashed - Balin, all of the Dwarf card figures supplied so far versus Balrog and all of the Goblin miniatures released so far (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Balin (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Balrog's Lair (6 pages)

Issue 86

Guide to Middle-earth - The Haradrim (1 page)

Playing the Game - Lords of Harad (4 pages)

Battle Game - Battle in the Desert - 24 warriors of Minas Tirith, captain versus Suladan, 24 Haradrim Warriors, Haradrim Chieftain (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Suladan (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Desert Boards (4 pages)

Issue 87

Guide to Middle-earth - Assassination and Murder (1 page)

Playing the Game - Force Strategies (4 pages)

Battle Game - Desert Siege - Points match : 500 Attack, 350 Defence (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Hasharin (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Haradrim City (8 pages)

Issue 88

Guide to Middle-earth - The Citadel of Dol Amroth (1 page)

Playing the Game - Forces of Dol Amroth (6 pages)

Battle Game - Defend the Fortress - Prince Imrahil, 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith, 5 Swan Knights, Minas Tirith captain versus Suladan, Hasharin, 12 Haradrim Warriors, Banner Bearer, Chieftain, 18 Orcs (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Prince Imrahil (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Border Fortress (8 pages)

Issue 89

Guide to Middle-earth - Woses of the Wood (1 page)

Playing the Game - Ghan-buri-Ghan (6 pages)

Battle Game - The Dangerous Journey - Ghan-buri-Ghan, Theoden, Eomer, Hama, 12 Warriors of Rohan versus 36 Orccs, Orc captain (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Ghan-buri-Ghan (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Traps (4 pages)

Issue 90

Guide to Middle-earth - The Scouring of the Shire (1 page)

Playing the Game - Hobbits of the Shire (4 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for the Shire - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Farmer Maggot, 18 Hobbits versus Sharkey, Worm, 13 Ruffians (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Farmer Maggot (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Ravaged Shire (4 pages)

Issue 91

Guide to Middle-earth - Journey's End (1 page)

Playing the Game - Sharkey's Rogues (2 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for the Shire part 2 (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Sharkey (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Industrial Mill (8 pages)

 

So, that brings us to the end of the main run of the magazines; 91 issues in total, that gave an insight into the world of Middle-earth and its many denizens. The painting and modelling tips allowed for some great looking miniatures to be prepared to fight over some outstanding terrain. The scenario ideas can be built upon to create many more ideas for future battles using different combinations of miniatures and terrain. The introduction of Battle Companies also meant that small forces can be used to begin with and allow the battles to grow in size and complexity as player confidence and model and scenery collections grow.

The next post will conclude my run-through of these magazines.