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.