Frostgrave: Blood Legacy 147284159X, 9781472841599

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OSPREY GAMES Bloomsbury Publishing Plc PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK 29 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland 1385 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA E-mail: [email protected] www.ospreygames.co.uk OSPREY GAMES is a trademark of Osprey Publishing Ltd First published in Great Britain in 2021 © Joseph A. McCullough, 2021 Joseph A, McCullough has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This electronic edition published in 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc ISBN: PB 9781472841599; eBook 9781472841605; ePDF 9781472841575; XML 9781472841582

Originated by PDQ Digital Media Solutions, Bungay, UK Osprey Games supports the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. Between 2014 and 2018 our donations are being spent on their Centenary Woods project in the UK. To find out more about our authors and books visit www.ospreypublishing.com. Here you will find extracts, author interviews, details of forthcoming events and the option to sign up for our newsletter. AUTHOR Joseph A. McCullough is the author of several non-fiction books including A Pocket History of Ireland, Zombies: A Hunter’s Guide, and Dragonslayers: From Beowulf to St. George. In addition, his fantasy short stories have appeared in various books and magazines such as Black Gate, Lords of Swords, and Adventure Mystery Tales. He is also the creator of Frostgrave and Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago, and cowrote The Grey Mountains, a supplement for the Middle-Earth Role-Playing Game. His continued ramblings can be read at: therenaissancetroll.blogspot.co.uk

ILLUSTRATOR

aRU-MOR was born in Tarragona, Spain, and studied Fine Arts at the University of Seville, specializing and working on artwork restoration. She began her professional career in 2000, sculpting historical, fantasy, and science-fiction miniatures. These days she combines her work as a sculptor with her work as a freelance illustrator, and has provided illustrations for various Spanish RPGs, books, and card games.

Acknowledgments

Artwork: aRU-MOR Official Frostgrave figure design: Giorgio Bassani, Mark Copplestone, Mike Owen, Mark Sims, Bob Naismith Figure painting: Kevin Dallimore and Paul Cubbin Photography: Kevin Dallimore

Contents Introduction 5 Chapter One

Vampires and Giants Vampires in the Frozen City Creating a Vampire Becoming a Vampire Vampire Spells Giants in the Frozen City Frost Giants Fire Giants Creating a Fire Giant Wizard Fire Giant Spells Chapter Two

New Soldiers

8 8 9 13 13 18 19 19 20 22

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Chapter Five

The Caves of Fin Dalka Campaign

51

The Caves of Fin Dalka Scenario One: The Cave Mouth Scenario Two: Ice Menagerie Scenario Three: The Collapsing Caverns

52 53 56 59

Chapter Six

New Treasure

65

Chapter Seven

Bestiary 73

High-Level Wizards

31

Increased Specialist Soldier Allowance Increased Item Slots Increased Maximum Health Lower Casting Number Minimum Alternate Experience Point Expenditure

31 32 33 34 34

Blood-drinker Bats 73 Burning Skeleton 73 Fire Giant Ruler 74 Fire Giant Hearthguard 76 Fire Giant Militia 76 Frost Giant 76 Frost Wraith 77 Kalshek, Vampire Spellcaster 78 Leechwolf 78 Lord Dantés, Vampire 80 Mist-Walker 82 Spectre 83 Svellen, Fire Giant Wizard 84 Troll-Giant 85 Zombified Troll 85 New Attributes 87

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Appendix 90

Blood Merchant 26 Swordmaster 27 Vampire Hunter 27 Giant-Blooded Soldiers 28 Giant-Blooded Modification 28 Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Eventide Manor Campaign

Creating a Vampire and Henchmen 40 Playing a Vampire Warband 40 Ambush Cards 41 Eventide Manor 43 Scenario One: The Grand Entrance 43 Scenario Two: The Portrait Gallery 46 Scenario Three: The Smoke-filled Parlour 47 Epilogue 49

Ambush Cards Vampire Spell Cards Fire Giant Spell Cards

91 94 95

Introduction Welcome to Blood Legacy, the tenth supplement for Frostgrave! It’s an incredible milestone, and, even as the person who has sat behind his computer day-afterday to create these books, I often find it hard to believe that my little game has expanded so much. On the other hand, one might wonder if I still have anything left to say about the Frozen City! Over the years, I have started each expansion by selecting a specific creative constraint that would both give shape to the book and ensure that it was selfcontained. For example, I have written books based on underground adventures (Into the Breeding Pits), demons and demon summoning (Forgotten Pacts), and solo play (Perilous Dark). I have also written long campaigns that were constrained by a fixed narrative (Thaw of the Lich Lord), location (The Maze of Malcor), and even specific tabletop mechanics (The Red King). By always having the specific constraint in mind as I worked, it helped keep me focused, and greatly aided the creative process. It sounds odd to think of constraints being an aid to creativity, but I have found this to be generally true. Yet, when it came to writing this book, I almost completely eschewed the idea. Blood Legacy was written in the closing months of 2020, a year that few will remember with fondness, where ‘virus’, ‘lockdown’, ‘cancelled’, and ‘closed’ became the most common words. It was a year in which most of us were constrained in ways we had never previously imagined. For the hobby, it meant no conventions, the closing of many stores and wargaming clubs, and even restrictions on when, if, and how we could game with our friends. Workwise, I spent most of my year creating the core rules for two new wargames: Stargrave and The Silver Bayonet. While I enjoyed working on both games, writing core rules is a different experience from writing a supplement. Core rules have much greater constraint to content requirement, precision of language, and a tightness of focus. So, as the year reached its end, I felt hemmed in and trapped, both physically and creatively. Thus, I gave myself a gift of freedom. When I started work on Blood Legacy, I decided my only constraint would be the title, and I would just follow wherever the creativity took me. The first place it led was vampires. While vampires have always existed in Frostgrave, they have basically been just another monster, just another entry on the Random Encounter Table. Sure, they are powerful, but they had no real personality. So, I started this book by taking a closer look at the vampires of the Frozen City. I created tools for making vampires into true characters. I expanded their special abilities and limitations, and I even gave them their own branch of magic with their own spells. Of course, having done that, I

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needed to give players an excuse to use them, so I wrote a short campaign where players get to create and lead a vampire warband against their enemies! The next place Blood Legacy took me was to the ‘giant-blooded’. For a while I have been thinking about a way for players to include a ‘big guy’ in their warband. This is such a classic idea in skirmish wargaming – that one member of the group is much larger and stronger than the rest. I’m not sure where this idea originates, perhaps in super-hero teams, but the fact is it can bring some nice diversity to warbands and gives players more options for the buying and painting figures. So, the giant-blooded are soldiers who are extra-large and powerful thanks to a bit of giant blood somewhere in their family tree. Of course, if I had giant-blooded, it made sense to look at giants, another entry on the Random Encounter Table that could use a personality boost. I gave these guys the same treatment as vampires, giving them their own branch of magic with their own unique spells. I also created another short campaign to give players an excuse to try out some giant magic and get those giant models on the table (come on, if you haven’t got giant models already, you have probably been looking for an excuse to buy some, right?). By this point, I realized that I had created some seriously deadly adversaries for the wizards of Frostgrave, some of which should only be tackled by higherlevel wizards. I had always meant to explore the idea of higher-level wizards in more depth, and this seemed like a great opportunity. So, I wrote a section of new optional rules for players who have managed to keep their wizards alive through many games and reached the loftier heights of power. While working on all of that, I also created some more magic items, more monsters, more soldiers, and even a set of ‘ambush cards’ to add more chaotic fun to scenarios. Writing Blood Legacy has been a wild, fun, and refreshing ride. If it is a bit more scattershot than the supplements that have gone before, I hope you will understand why and forgive me. More though, I hope that at least some of the new rules and ideas contained within these pages will appeal and spark your own creativity. This is a book of Frostgrave ‘stuff’ to be used however you like. As always, I want to say how grateful I am to everyone who has bought this book and supported the game, and thus, supported me. It has been a hard year, but I have found immense comfort in spending my days working on fantastical worlds. I hope some of this work has brought a little cheer, comfort, and enjoyment to your own year. That’s all I’ve got to say for right now. Enjoy the book, and when you’ve got the chance, hop online to the Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City Facebook page, the Boardgame Geek Forums, Reddit, or anywhere else, and show off those vampire and giants you have painted up for your games! To keep up with me and all of my game writing and hobby activities, visit me at my blog: https://therenaissancetroll.blogspot.com.

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CHAPTER ONE

Vampires and Giants VAMPIRES IN THE FROZEN CITY Even at its height, the ancient, magical city of Felstad was plagued by vampires. These parasitic undead creatures lived in hidden tombs, crypts, and dungeons scattered around the city, only coming out to hunt at night or during dark storms. While the great wizard councils made numerous efforts to stamp them out, they only ever succeeded in reducing their numbers for a short time. For every vampire they destroyed, another was soon created. Little is known about the culture of these ancient vampires. It is thought that they lived in small groups or cells, dominated by a progenitor. It is this vampire who infected all the others in the cell. To keep their hold on power, a progenitor rarely, if ever, allowed one of their ‘children’ to infect any others. Each of these cells claimed a part of the city as its ‘hunting ground’ and killed or drove off other vampires who came into their territory. Yet, despite this territorial nature, the vampires rarely seem to have fought amongst themselves, and often several cells would work together, especially when the wizards attempted one of their culls. The exact politics of these alliances is unknown. In the end, it was the wizards who were destroyed when the great cataclysm came. Most of the vampires, on the other hand, were flash-frozen and locked into a chilled hibernation. Though it took a thousand years or more, the thaw eventually came. Assuming these vampires were not standing in the open, and thus destroyed by the returning sun, they eventually warmed enough to regain consciousness. However, the ruins of Frostgrave are a different environment to the ancient city, and many of the newly returned vampires quickly met their demise. Some got trapped in the rubble and were unable to escape the sun. Others were hunted down by the tribes of Rangifer that now patrolled parts of the ruins. Still more were dispatched by wizards searching for riches and lost magic. In addition to this, the vampires discovered their traditional food source, the decadent inhabits of Felstad, was gone and obtaining fresh blood from the wizards, soldiers, and the various creatures that roamed the ruins proved much more dangerous.

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Still, despite it all, some vampires survived and these survivors formed new cells, and gathered small warbands of thralls to do their bidding. A few have even become explorers of this new wasteland city, finding forgotten grimoires, and learning the magic of the ancients to complement their inherent vampiric powers. Some have even encountered the giants, and learned that giant’s blood is an even more potent and powerful food source…

Creating a Vampire The rules for creating vampires are mostly intended for use in the scenarios in this book and for players who want to create unique villains for their campaigns, especially for games featuring a ‘game master’. (See the Creature Spellcasters text box, page 16) That said, since all the rules exist, I am sure there are players who will want to play a vampire wizard. While you should certainly discuss this possibility with your gaming group before you show up with a vampire, the rules presented here should make for a relatively balanced opponent for most wizards. Unless a rule specifically states otherwise, vampires follow all the normal rules for wizards. Amidst all the torn and shredded shoes, we found one pair of gorgeous, perfectly preserved boots. They even had a little tag saying, ‘Dragon Leather’. Well, Torvold decides he’s going to try them on. As soon as he gets his foot in the second one, he goes up like a torch. Doesn’t even have time to scream before the fire turns him to ash…

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STATS

Vampires have the exact same starting stats as a wizard.

EQUIPMENT

Vampires have the same item slots as wizards and can take any items they wish from the General Arms and Armour list (see Frostgrave, page 33), except armour and shields which inhibit their magic.

APPRENTICES

Vampires never have apprentices. They are far too suspicious and fearful of other vampires usurping their power to share any magical knowledge with underlings. They may, however, take 9 soldiers in the warband (4 specialists, 5 standard). They may nominate one member of their warband before each game to act as an apprentice for the purposes of activating figures during the Apprentice Phase.

SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND SPELLS

All vampires have ‘Vampire’ as their school of magic. Vampire has aligned and neutral schools like any other school. However, instead of an opposed school, it has an antithetical school – meaning that a vampire cannot learn any of the spells from that school under any circumstances. Vampires start with 8 spells: 3 Vampire, 1 from each aligned school, and 2 from 2 different neutral schools. Vampire Aligned

+2

Chronomancer, Necromancer, Soothsayer

Neutral

+4

Elementalist, Enchanter, Illusionist, Sigilist, Summoner, Witch

Antithetical

NA

Thaumaturge

CREATURE TRAITS

All vampires have the following creature traits, some of which are new and can be found at the back of the book. • • • • • • •

Undead Immune to Control Undead Magic Attacks Mind Lock Thaumaturgic Vulnerability (see page 89) True Sight Partial Immunity to Normal Damage (see page 89)

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SPECIAL RULES

All vampires are also subject to the following special rules: •

• • • • • •

• •

• •

Vampires still gain experience, but each new level costs 120 experience points. They are still subject to the maximum 300 experience points per game. Vampires may not increase their Will stat beyond +5. The stat maximum for Health increases to 22. Vampires can never learn or cast Transcendence. Vampires may never benefit from Heal or Miraculous Cure spells. Vampires may not drink Healing Potions. Vampires casting Animal Companion receive undead versions of the animal with otherwise identical stats. Vampires may never have Rangifers in their warband. If a vampire damages a giant in hand-to-hand combat, they regain lost points of Health equal to the damage inflicted, up to their starting Health. Unnatural Health (see below) Sun Damage (see below)

UNNATURAL HEALTH

If a vampire is reduced to 0 Health during a game, roll for survival as normal. However, vampires have no natural healing mechanism, so do not automatically return to full Health after each game. Instead, they can only heal through ingesting fresh blood from a sentient creature. To represent this, a vampire must pay 5gc after each game for every Health point they want to regain. If a vampire has been reduced to 0 Health, and cannot pay at least 5gc, treat it as rolling a Dead result on the survival table. Alternatively, a vampire can consume the blood of one of their permanent warband members (though not undead, constructs, or demons). In this case, remove the soldier from the roster. This soldier’s place in the warband may not be filled until after the next game (so the vampire is treated as having a maximum of 8 soldiers instead of the normal 9 for that game).

SUN DAMAGE

Vampires suffer horrific damage if they spend more than a short time in the sun. While this is a hugely limiting factor in their lives, it shouldn’t be overly relevant in games, for the simple reason that vampires won’t come outside during the day. If playing a game with a vampire, it is generally safe to assume it is happening when there is no direct sunlight. If, for the purpose of your scenario or campaign, a vampire is caught outside in the sunlight, it suffers 1 point of damage every time it activates, unless it is under cover from the sun (basically if it has any terrain over its head).

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Becoming a Vampire There are very few wizards who would want to become a vampire. Not being able to stand the sun and having to drink blood to heal and survive are a high price to pay for immortality. Not only that, but it also completely severs the wizards from one of the schools of magic. Wizards who seek immortality nearly always favour lichdom (see Thaw of the Lich Lord). Equally, few vampires would want to infect a wizard. Vampires survive by infecting and dominating those weaker than themselves. Infecting a wizard would likely create an immediate rival; a potentially powerful one. All of that said, wizards do occasionally become vampires, usually by accident. In this case: •

•

• •

•

•

The wizard gains all the creature traits and special rules possessed by vampires. They lose any Thaumaturge spells that they know, and the casting number for every other spell they know immediately goes up by 1, as they must learn how to weave magic with their newly altered physiology. Their Will stat drops to +5 if it was above that. The wizard should recalculate their level, subtracting: • -1 for each spell whose casting number went up. • -1 for each spell they lost. • -1 for each time they improved a spell that they lost. • -1 for each point of Will they lost. The wizard’s magical school changes to Vampire. This has no effect on the Casting Number of spells already known, but all new spells are learned using the relationship to this school. The wizard immediately loses their apprentice, but may add a 9th soldier to their warband, though still with a maximum of 4 specialists.

As you can see, becoming a vampire is not that attractive of a prospect.

Vampire Spells Vampire spells are not really ‘spells’ as such, but really inherent vampire powers. They are not learned from grimoires or written on scrolls, and cannot be taught. Only a vampire can ever learn Vampire spells and can only discover them and improve upon them through self-experimentation. A vampire may use a new level to learn any new Vampire spell or reduce the Casting Number of any one they do know by 1, but may only do each one once after each game, and may not then improve any other spells.

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ANIMAL FORM

Vampire / 10 / Self Only The caster transforms themselves into either: a giant bat, gaining the flying trait, or a large wolf, increasing their Move to 8. All the caster’s other stats remain unaffected. While in animal form the caster may not pick up or carry treasure, and any treasure being carried is dropped. The caster may not use any items. In combat the caster suffers no penalty for being unarmed and its attacks are still magical. The caster can cast spells while in animal form. The caster may end this spell and return to its normal form as a free action during their activation. The caster can switch to a different animal form by casting the spell again.

CALL BLOOD-DRINKER BAT

Vampire / 10 / Area Effect The vampire may immediately place a blood-drinker bat (see page 73) adjacent to the table edge, anywhere within the warband’s deployment zone for that game. This bat always activates in the soldier phase. It receives only one action the turn it arrives but has the normal two afterwards. The bat counts as being under a Control Animal spell that has been cast by the vampire. A spellcaster may only have one controlled bat on the table at any time.

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GHOUL CALL

Vampire / 12 / Area Effect The vampire summons a ghoul to temporarily join their warband. This ghoul may be placed on the table anywhere the vampire’s warband was allowed to deploy for the scenario, as long as it is no closer than 3” to an enemy figure. The caster may not cast this spell again until the ghoul either leaves the table or ceases to be part of their warband. The ghoul may pick up and carry treasure but can never have or use items.

HYPNOTIC GAZE

Vampire / 14 / Line of Sight This spell may be cast while the caster is in combat, otherwise it has a maximum range of 2”. Select a target figure, that figure must make a Will Roll to resist. If the Will Roll fails, the target suffers the effects of a Mind Control spell. However, the spell is immediately cancelled if the target is ever out of line of sight or more than 12” away from the caster. The target must attempt a new Will Roll versus the Casting Roll at the end of each of its activations to cancel the spell.

LIFEDRAIN

Vampire / 10 / Self Only This spell may be cast while the vampire is in combat. For the rest of this turn and the next, the vampire gains the Energy Drain trait. The vampire takes 1 point of damage when this spell is cast. However, if it damages a creature that is not immune to Energy Drain during the first turn of the spell, this point of damage is regained.

MIST FORM

Vampire / 10 / Self Only The caster turns into a cloud of mist and gains the flying trait. While in mist form, the caster may move through any space, no matter how small. While in mist form the caster may not pick up or carry treasure, and any treasure being carried is dropped. The caster may not cast spells or use any items, nor may it attack or make a shooting attack. The caster is immune to all forms of non-magic damage. Other figures can move into combat with the caster and attack. However, no figure may force combat against the caster. If in combat, the caster may move out of combat freely. The caster may end this spell as a free action at any point during its activation or at the end of a turn. As soon as he picked up that big conch, saltwater began pouring out of it. He tried to put it back, but the water wouldn’t stop coming. The room was already ankle deep by the time we closed the door behind us.

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PSYCHIC LEECH

Vampire / 10 / Line of Sight This spell may only be cast on an undead creature with a Will Stat of +2 or less that is not under the control of another Spellcaster. If this creature is controlled by another caster, this spell is cancelled. Whenever the target of this spell causes damage to a creature that is not undead, construct, or demon, the caster of this spell regains 1 point of Health. This may not take the caster above its starting Health. A caster may have a maximum of 2 castings of this spell active at any time. The caster may cancel a casting of this spell at any time as a free action. The caster may not cast this spell on themselves.

THRALLDOM

Vampire / 8 / Out of Game (A) The vampire can add one soldier of any type to their warband as a permanent member without paying its cost. The soldier suffers a permanent -1 Will penalty. If this soldier is reduced to 0 Health during a game roll a die: on 1–10 the soldier has either died or escaped the vampire’s control, on 11+ it recovers and continues as part of the warband.

CREATURE SPELLCASTERS Creature spellcasters have appeared in Frostgrave before, most notably in Thaw of the Lich Lord and The Maze of Malcor, but this is the first supplement that has given specific instructions for how to create some of these dangerous opponents. While these versatile villains can be a lot of fun and create a lot of tension on the tabletop, they come with inherent problems. Most notably, their actions cannot be controlled by the simple set of instructions used for non-controlled creatures. The very fact that these creatures are spellcasters means they have choices. When a creature can command magic, rarely is charging straight into hand-tohand combat their best option. And since each spellcaster is unique, there is no way to build an all-encompassing set of creature spellcaster instructions. So, how does one handle creature spellcasters in Frostgrave? Well, here are a few suggestions, some of which are used in the scenarios in this book. 1. Recruit Another Player. The most satisfying way of handling creature spellcasters is to recruit an additional player to control them. Human intelligence and creativity are always going to beat a simple set of instructions when it comes to something as difficult as a wargame, especially when magic is involved. If going down this route, it is best to give this player the control of a bunch of other lesser creatures as well. This means that they have as much to do, and thus get as much ‘game time’, as any of the players. Alternatively, one player can act as a ‘Game Master’. In this case, the player controls all the creatures on the table, plus all other aspects of the scenario except for the other player’s warbands. So, the Game Master can determine things such as when new creatures show up, traps going off, or other seemingly random events. Using an additional player can lead to some of the best gaming experiences. However, it does have the drawback that one player will not get to play their

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warband for that game. 2. Fight and Switch. In this system, the players play a scenario twice. The first time, one player takes their warband, while the other plays the creature spellcaster and any minions it controls. The players switch roles for the second game. The advantage of this system is that it plays more-or-less like a normal game of Frostgrave. Also, players can create their own ‘creature warbands’ that they can model and paint and use for various purposes. The downsides to this method are that you must play each scenario twice, which obviously takes more time, and it can lose some of the tension of a direct wizard vs. wizard game (though that is not always a bad thing). See the first two scenarios in the Eventide Manor campaign for an application of this system (page 38). 3. Shared Control. Under this system, the wizard players choose the actions of the creature spellcaster during the scenario. The key to this system is that the control should pass between the various players. At the most basic level, the two players could pass the control back and forth between turns, but there are numerous other ways to handle it. For example, every turn, players could make secret bids for control of the spellcaster. This could take the form of a penalty to spellcasting that turn, loss of Health, or even gold. The scenario should include a justification for the system (such as the creature being a mercenary in it for the money). The best part about this method is that it doesn’t require additional players or additional play-throughs of the scenario. The downside is that it can sometimes lead to strange situations where a creature spellcaster takes a less than optimal move because it is controlled by one of the players. Also, some limitations might need to be placed on the creature spellcaster depending on the situation. See the second two scenarios in the Cave of Fin Dalka campaign for examples of this system (page 51). 4. Instruction List. The final system is to create a specific set of instructions for a given spellcaster. In this case, the creature spellcaster works just like a normal creature, except it follows its own priority list. The players will have to construct the priority list based on what spells the creature has available. In general, a creature’s highest priority should be to use its attack spells against visible enemies. Then it should use its enhancement spells, for either it or its allies, if no enemies are currently in line of sight. Finally, unlike other creatures, creature spellcasters will want to stay out of combat so they can continue to cast spells. So, they should always use their actions to move away from warband members instead of towards them. I have included several creature spellcasters in the Bestiary that players can use in their games or use as examples to create their own. As can be seen in most of the examples, if using this method, it is best if a creature spellcaster only has a few spells, not the full complement usually suggested for player controlled spellcasters. The strength of this system is that it causes the least restructuring of how Frostgrave normally plays. The downside is that no matter how detailed a set of instructions, the actions of the creature will still not be as ‘intelligent’ as if controlled by a person. I am sure that there are other methods that could be employed for controlling creature spellcasters in a game, and I encourage players to do their own experimenting, but these are the methods I have used in games and found to work.

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GIANTS IN THE FROZEN CITY Long before the founding of Felstad, the northern regions were ruled by the giants. Little is known of this ancient epoch except what can be gleaned from the few ruins that still stand amongst the mountains. Since that time, the giants have divided into two distinct sub-species: the frost giants and the fire giants.

Frost Giants The most commonly encountered type of giant, and certainly the most frequent visitors to the Frozen City, are the frost giants. Described by one scholar as ‘nasty, brutish, and large’, the frost giants have abandoned almost all signs of culture. They dress in rough skins or clothes cut crudely from scavenged fabric and generally arm themselves with the biggest stick they can carry. Standing between 10 and 12 feet tall, frost giants are actually the smaller of the species. Frost giants speak the common tongue, but with only a limited vocabulary, and never learn to read or write. While it is theoretically possible to bargain with a frost giant, they are generally only interested in food, and since they like the taste of human flesh more than most other things, they would generally rather just eat the messenger. Frost giants produce no wizards. In fact, despite having some natural immunity, they tend to fear magic, more than their size would suggest. Most frost giants live in small family groups with a dominate male, one or more mature females, and children. However, when males reach maturity, they are driven out of the family by the dominate male and left to fend for themselves. It is these younger males that are mostly found in the frozen ruins.

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Frost giants fear fire giants and will do everything they can to avoid them. Most frost giants should use the frost giant entry found in the rulebook but it is also repeated on page 76 for convenience.

Fire Giants Although their days of empire and dominance are long gone, the fire giants have retained some of the knowledge, power, and culture of their ancient ancestors. Much larger and smarter than their ‘feral cousins’, the frost giants, fire giants grow to between 12 to 16 feet in height. Although their bodies are extremely hairy, they take pride in grooming. Males often wear large, finely braided beards, while females often grow extremely long hair that can be worked into numerous different styles. Fire giants are highly advanced when it comes to textiles, woodworking, and smithing. Their clothes are finely made and often feature many decorative flairs. Their weapons and armour are as good as, if not better than, anything produced by man. The fire giants live in extended family groups in large cave complexes far to the north of Frostgrave. These groups are ruled by a king or queen (or both), who are supported by a small council of advisors, generally made up of the older members of the family. These giants speak their own language among themselves but use the common tongue in their infrequent dealing with outsiders. Although they are naturally suspicious of others, they will occasionally trade, both goods and knowledge, with those who can prove their peaceful intent. Fire giants have handed down a long tradition of magic, and each ‘kingdom’ is sure to have at least a couple of wizards. Their magic includes all the schools known to the wizards of Frostgrave, except for Chronomancy, which appears to be a purely human invention. The fire giants also possess some unique magics which they guard jealously. All the knowledge of this magic is recorded in ‘giant’ grimoires, written in their own language and encoded in complex ciphers. Getting hold of such a grimoire would be a treasure without equal but would also likely take a lifetime to unlock. The Bestiary (see page 73) includes samples of several common fire giant varieties. I wasn’t there, but they say this ship just crashed up through the ice of the river, ploughed through a couple of frozen wrecks, then dove back under the water.

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Creating a Fire Giant Wizard Fire giant wizards are far too powerful compared to normal wizards to produce a balanced game, and thus should not be used in a regular campaign. Obviously, if all the players in a campaign agree, exceptions can be made, or players might even decide to play a ‘fire giant’ campaign, where everyone uses a giant. For the most part, though, these rules are designed to create really challenging encounters for higherlevel wizards or when playing large games featuring four or even more warbands. Unless otherwise stated below, fire giant wizards follow all the normal rules for wizards.

STATS

Fire giant wizards start with the stats given below. Fire Giant Wizard Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+4

+0

14

+4

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EQUIPMENT

Fire giants have the same item slots as wizards and can take any items they wish from the General Arms and Armour list (see Frostgrave, page 33), except armour and shields which inhibit their magic. However, when it comes to magical treasure, there are some differences: Fire Giants can use grimoires in the normal way, except for those containing Chronomancy spells or the Write Scroll spell, which they cannot use but can sell. Fire giants have never learned the secret of making or using scrolls. They may never use a scroll but may sell them. When a fire giant finds a magic weapon, they may roll a die: on 16+ the weapon is a size usable by the giant. Otherwise, the weapon is too small for them. It can be given to someone else, sold, or stored in the vault. Most potions are sized for humans,

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and thus do not contain enough elixir to affect a fire giant. If a fire giant finds/ purchases two doses of a potion, they may pour these into one giant-sized container. This takes up one item slot and follows all the normal rules for a potion for the fire giant. All other magic items will resize themselves to accommodate their owner, so can be used as normal.

APPRENTICES

Fire giant wizards do not have apprentices. Within a given kingdom, all wizards are expected to teach their magic to the next generation but rarely form any kind of special bond with a specific student.

SCHOOLS OF MAGIC

All fire giants have ‘Fire Giant’ as their school of magic. Fire Giant has aligned and neutral schools like any other school. However, instead of an opposed school, it has an antithetical school – meaning that a fire giant wizard cannot learn any of the spells from that school under any circumstances. Fire giant wizards start with 8 spells: 3 Fire Giant, 1 from each aligned school, and 2 from 2 different neutral schools. Fire Giant Aligned

+2

Enchanter, Elementalist, Soothsayer

Neutral

+4

Illusionist, Necromancer, Sigilist, Summoner, Thaumaturge, Witch

Antithetical

NA

Chronomancer

CREATURE TRAITS

All fire giant wizards have the following creature traits: • • •

Large Strong Elemental Resistance (2)

SPECIAL RULES

All fire giant wizards are also subject to the following special rules: •

• • • •

•

Fire giant wizards still gain experience, but each new level costs 200 experience points. However, they may earn a maximum of 400 experience points per game (instead of the normal 300). The maximum Health Stat increases to 30. Fire giants can never learn or cast Write Scroll or any Chronomancer spells. Fire giants cannot use scrolls. Fire giants are still subject to the Maximum Armour rule (see Frostgrave, page 36). Due to their Elemental Resistance, fire giants have greater difficulty empowering spells or Will Rolls to resist spells. When empowering, a fire giant must spend 2 points of Health for every 1 point of increase to the roll.

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Fire Giant Spells COMET

Fire Giant / 14 / Line of Sight The caster makes a +3 elemental magic shooting attack against a target within 16”. This attack does +4 damage. In addition, all figures in contact with the target figure also suffer a +1 elemental magic shooting attack that does +4 damage. Any figure that suffers damage from these attacks is immediately moved 2” in a random direction.

EARTHQUAKE

Fire Giant / 12 / Area Effect The caster pounds the ground and sends a massive shockwave rolling through the earth. Every figure within 8” of the caster (but not the caster) must make an immediate Move Roll (TN20). Large creatures get +2 to this roll. If the figure fails, it is knocked prone. While prone, a figure is a -2 Fight, -2 Shoot, and -2 to all Casting Rolls and may not take a move action. A figure can get back to their feet simply by spending a move action. This requires the full move action.

ENFLAME

Fire Giant / 8 / Line of Sight The caster causes a weapon to burst into sudden flames. This weapon is now considered magic and does +2 damage. If cast upon a missile weapon, such as a bow, crossbow, or javelin, the bonus only applies to the next attack made with that weapon.

MIST SHROUD

Fire Giant / 8 / Area Affect A thick blanket of mist surrounds the caster. This figure, and any figures within 3”, suffer no penalties for being Large when rolling against shooting attacks. It was hard not to laugh. I mean those enchanted combs and scissors were really going at it, even though it was only a skeleton frozen into the chair.

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MAGNIF Y

Fire Giant / 14 / Out of Game (A) This spell may be cast on any magical weapon, magical armour, or potion. In the case of a magical weapon or armour, the giant can change the size of the weapon so that it is usable by a giant if it was human-sized or a human if it was giantsized. If cast upon a normal potion, the potion is doubled so that it becomes a giant-sized potion.

PYRE

Fire Giant / 12 / Line of Sight This spell creates a 2” diameter, 3” high, circular, pillar of flame, within 12” of the caster. This pillar may not be placed in contact with a figure. Anytime a figure moves into contact with this circle of flame, or activates while in contact with it, it suffers an +3 elemental magic attack. The pillar blocks line of sight. At the end of each turn, roll a die. On 1–2 the flame is extinguished and should be removed from the table.

RAZE

Fire Giant / 14 / Line of Sight This spell can target any piece of terrain within 12” of the caster. A 3” diameter, infinitely high, section of that terrain is completely destroyed and should be either removed from the table or marked in some way. Any figure that was standing on that terrain falls, taking damage as normal. In addition, all figures on or within 2” of the destroyed section of terrain immediately suffer a +2 nonmagical shooting attack.

RUNIC STONE

Fire Giant / 16 / Out of Game (B) or Touch This spell engraves potent words of power into a stone surface. This can be the wall of a building or cave, a cliff-face, a statue, or even a free-standing stone. While the caster is within 12” of this stone, it may empower all of its spells and Will Rolls on a 1-for-1 basis (one Health for one increase to the roll) instead of the 2-for-1 that is normal for Fire Giant wizards. In addition, the wizard may use the stone as a Wizard Eye (see Wizard Eye spell, Frostgrave page 135). A wizard may have two of these stones active at any one time, but they must be at least 36” apart. A wizard may not have a Runic Stone and a Wizard Eye spell active at the same time. A wizard may cancel any casting of this spell at any time. Runic stones may be destroyed but are immune to non-magic attacks. Treat a runic stone as Fight +0, Armour 22, Health 1. If this spell is successfully cast before a game, the wizard may place a runic stone anywhere in their deployment zone.

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C H A P T E R T WO

New Soldiers This chapter contains a selection of new soldiers. All these soldiers can be added to a warband following the normal rules. Also included are rules for making any type of soldier into a giant-blooded.

Blood Merchant These unsavoury characters are sometimes found in vampire warbands, where their special ‘skill’ is greatly appreciated. Essentially, these soldiers collect blood from the badly wounded or newly deceased and use enchanted vials to hold it and keep it fresh. Most of humanity looks upon these soldiers as little better than cannibals. Blood Merchants start each game with a vial of blood. If the blood merchant is within 1” of a vampire, and there are no enemy figures within 1” of either figure, then the blood merchant may spend an action to give the vial of blood to the vampire. The vampire immediately regains up to 5 lost points of Health. Blood merchants are standard soldiers that cost 75gc to hire. Blood Merchant Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

6

+0

+0

10

+0

12

75gc

Notes Hand Weapon, Vial of Blood, Harvest Blood

So, the old man finally lowers his glowing hands, nods, and says, ‘none of the statues are constructs’ but before we can breathe a sigh of relief he adds, ‘but there might be a basilisk around here somewhere…’

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Swordmaster Although it is more common in the kingdoms of the far South, there are a few schools that teach true swordsmanship. These schools focus on quick movement, the importance of footwork, skill over strength, and the ability to deliver a quick, killing strike. Usually recognizable due to their lighter, finely balanced blades, these soldiers are used to taking on multiple opponents at the same time or finding the weak point in a heavily armoured enemy. Swordmasters are specialist soldiers and cost 125gc to hire. Swordmaster Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

Notes

6

+4

+0

11

+1

12

125gc

Hand Weapon, Dagger, Light Armour, Supporting Figure Maximum, Opponent Armour Reduction

Vampire Hunter Back when vampires were a major problem, there were schools devoted to the art of hunting and exterminating the creatures – but most of these schools died along with Felstad and much of that ancient knowledge was lost. While vampires still exist in every corner of the world, they are a rare threat. Still, there are a few soldiers who have spent their lives researching, hunting, and destroying these undead, and have developed special skills, techniques, and equipment for doing so. Vampire Hunters are specialist soldiers and cost 125gc to recruit. Vampire Hunter Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

Notes

6

+3

+2

11

+2

12

125gc

Hand Weapon, Crossbow, Quiver, Light Armour, Magic Attacks (Undead), Hunter’s Will (Vampire), Immune to Energy Drain.

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GIANT-BLOODED SOLDIERS Giant-blooded are not a new type of soldier exactly, but a new descriptor that can be applied to any soldier, similar in some ways to ‘undead’ or ‘construct’. The giant-blooded are those individuals who have a giant somewhere in their family tree, usually within the last three generations. While this blood legacy may, or may not, express itself in a given individual, it can lead to people who are larger and stronger than is common, though these people tend to have difficulty with self-control.

Giant-Blooded Modification Whenever a player recruits a new soldier, they may declare that they are recruiting a giant-blooded version of that soldier. If this is done, the following modifications should be made to the soldier: Giant-blooded Modification Table Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

-1

-

-

-

-2

+2

+50gc

Notes Add: Giant-Blooded, Large

Giant-blooded soldiers cost 50gc more than a normal soldier of that type. Due to their rarity, no warband may include more than one giant-blooded soldier. Being giant-blooded does not affect whether a figure is a standard or specialist soldier.

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Only the soldier types found in the main rulebook may be recruited as giantblooded. Soldiers found in supplements may only be giant-blooded if all the players in a campaign agree. Animals, demons, constructs and undead can never be giant-blooded. For ease, here is the complete list of soldiers found in the main rulebook converted to giant-blooded. Standard Giant-blooded Soldier Table Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

Notes

Thug

Soldier

Move Fight 5

+2

+0

10

-3

12

50gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Hand Weapon

Thief

6

+1

+0

10

-2

12

50gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Dagger

Infantryman

5

+3

+0

11

-2

12

100gc Giant-blooded, Large, Two-Handed Weapon, Light Armour

Man-atArms

5

+3

+0

12

-1

14

125gc Giant-blooded, Large, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour

Apothecary

5

+1

+0

10

+1

14

125gc Giant-blooded, Large, Staff, Healing Potion

There was a deep boom, like thunder, and then all these forks, knives, and spoons rained down. Must have been hundreds of them. They just bounced off my armour, but that idiot, Sved, decided to look up! Anyway, after we patched him up, we quickly scooped up all the silver ones we could find and got out of there.

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Specialist Giant-blooded Soldier Table Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Cost

Archer

Soldier

5

+1

+2

11

-2

12

125gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Bow, Quiver, Dagger, Light Armour

Crossbowman

5

+1

+2

11

-2

12

125gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Crossbow, Quiver, Dagger, Light Armour

Treasure Hunter

6

+3

+0

11

0

14

150gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Light Armour

Tracker

6

+1

+2

11

-1

14

150gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Staff, Bow, Quiver, Light Armour

Knight

4

+4

+0

13

-1

14

175gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Shield, Heavy Armour

Templar

4

+4

+0

12

-1

14

175gc

Giant-blooded, Large, TwoHanded Weapon, Heavy Armour

Ranger

6

+2

+2

11

+0

14

175gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Bow, Quiver, Hand Weapon, Light Armour

Barbarian

5

+4

+0

10

+1

16

175gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Two Handed Weapon, Dagger

Marksman

4

+2

+2

12

-1

14

175gc

Giant-blooded, Large, Crossbow, Quiver, Hand Weapon, Heavy Armour

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Notes

CHAPTER THREE

High-Level Wizards

This chapter is a collection of optional rules that mainly come into play when wizards reach higher levels. Some of these rules give extra rewards for reaching certain levels, while others give more options for how wizards expend their resources between games. It is perhaps worth taking a moment to explain what I mean by ‘optional’. Essentially, players should always assume that optional rules are not being used unless all the participants in a given campaign have agreed to use them. Also, each optional rule should be considered separately. It is perfectly fine for a group to adopt some optional rules and not others. Really, it is only important to consider whether each rule makes a campaign more or less fun. If it is former, go for it. If it is the latter, ignore it.

Players who have read a lot of my work will realize that this is my philosophy on all rules, not just optional ones. However, unless groups have played together for a long time and/or are very comfortable creating house rules, it’s best to keep the discussion to the optional rules at first.

Increased Specialist Soldier Allowance As wizards grow in power, they also tend to grow in prestige. This allows them to attract more skilled help. This optional rule allows higher-level wizards to have more specialist soldiers in their warband than is generally allowed. As illustrated on the Increased Specialist Soldier Allowance Table, every time a wizard gains a full 20 levels, they can have one more specialist soldier in their warband. Thus, a level 20 wizard can have a warband with 5 specialist soldiers and 3 standard ones, while a level 60 wizard can have 7 specialist soldiers and 1 standard one. This new specialist soldier allowance should be considered the new base level for that wizard. Any other items or special abilities that allow a wizard to have an additional specialist soldier in their warband should be applied on top of this new base level.

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This rule does not change any other limitations specific soldiers might have, such as the limit of one captain per warband. If a wizard manages to lose levels (or an apprentice takes over for a dead wizard) and the new level total is below the threshold for the number of specialists the warband currently contains, then specialist soldiers must be dismissed from the warband before the next game to bring the warband into a legal configuration. If using this optional rule, players should also discuss if they want to put a limit on the number of warriors carrying bows and crossbows allowed in the warband as this is one of the reasons that the limit exists in the first place. I suggest always having a maximum of 4 figures carrying bows or crossbows allowed in a warband. Increased Specialist Soldier Allowance Table Wizard Level

Maximum Specialist Solders in the Warband

0–19

4

20–39

5

40–59

6

60–79

7

80+

8

Increased Item Slots As wizards reach the higher levels, they are likely to have acquired a significant hoard of magical treasure, and some players may become frustrated by the item slot limitations of their wizards. Under this rule, both the wizard and apprentice gain an additional item slot when they reach level 30 and another when they reach level 70. Figures may never gain more than 2 additional item slots. Even more than the other rules listed here, this rule potentially allows for a significant power jump for higher-level spellcasters. Players should think carefully before including in their campaigns.

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Increased Maximum Health Even at higher levels, wizards remain vulnerable. Although they have considerable magical abilities and are likely carrying some powerful magical items, they are always limited by their maximum Health Stat. This is an intentional part of the game. Keeping wizards vulnerable ensures that games remain tense, especially when fighting particularly powerful creatures. All of that said, some players might prefer a style of game where the wizards can take a bit more punishment without being removed from the table. They might also like a higher Health Stat to give the wizards a greater supply to draw from when empowering spells. If your gaming group leans towards this more powerful level of gaming, you should discuss adopting this rule for your campaign. For every full 10 levels a wizard gains, their maximum potential Health Stat is increased by 1. So, a level 10 wizard has a maximum potential Health Stat of 21 while a level 70 wizard has a maximum potential Health Stat of 27. This continues until the wizard reaches a maximum potential Health Stat of 30, which is the highest allowed under this rule. This is illustrated on the Wizard Maximum Potential Health Stat Table. Even if this rule is in effect, wizards still must use levels to increase their actual Health Stat following the normal rules for levels. If using some other rule that allows the Wizard to increase their maximum potential Health Stat, such as becoming a lich (see Thaw of the Lich Lord, page 40) or playing as a vampire (see page 13), then treat the maximum granted by that rule as the base and increase it by one for every ten full levels, up to a maximum of +10. Wizard Maximum Potential Health Stat Table Level

Maximum Potential Health Stat

0–9

20

10–19

21

20–29

22

30–39

23

40–49

24

50–59

25

60–69

26

70–79

27

80–89

28

90–99

29

100+

30

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Lower Casting Number Minimum Wizards who reach Level 100 are truly masters of magic and have a much deeper understanding of the flow of mystic energy and how that can be channelled through the body. As such, these wizards can decrease the Casting Numbers on their spells to 4 (instead of the normal minimum Casting Number 5). Wizards must still spend levels to decrease their Casting Numbers following the normal rules.

Alternate Experience Point Expenditure Over the course of a campaign, it is possible for a wizard to gain more experience points than they can usefully trade for new levels. This can happen several ways, most of which are more common at the higher levels. As a campaign progresses, a wizard is increasingly less likely to find grimoires containing spells they don’t already know, making it harder to learn new spells. Also, it is eventually possible for a wizard to completely max out all their stats. Finally, the wizard could find a way to consistently earn more than the 300 experience points normally allowed for each scenario. Early in a campaign, having a few extra experience points ‘in the bank’, so to speak, is not a bad thing. That way, if the wizard has a bad game, they can draw upon this reserve to still gain new levels after a game. Also, if the wizard finds a big cache of grimoires, they will have the experience points on-hand to learn all the new spells. Later in the campaign, however, these experience points could mount up to no useful purpose. The rules presented here give wizards several alternative ways to spend this extra experience. There is no limit to how many experience points a wizard can spend on these alternatives after a game, though some of the entries have specific limitations. It is worth noting that none of these alternatives are particularly attractive compared to gaining new levels. This is deliberate. These rules exist to give wizards a use for experience points that would otherwise be wasted, it is not supposed to replace gaining new levels as the primary means of wizard advancement. Spending experience points on any of these alternatives has no effect on a wizard’s level. Simply remove the experience points from the Wizard Sheet.

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EXPERIENCE FOR GOLD

Any time a wizard can sell items after a scenario, they may also sell some of the knowledge of the Frozen City they have gained to scholars, criminal gangs, and even other wizards. A wizard may trade experience points for gold crowns on a one-for-one basis. So, if a wizard cashes in 100 experience points, they may add 100gc to their vault.

EXPERIENCE FOR SPELL COMPONENTS

Experienced wizards have often learned a trick or two about using material components to enhance a spell’s effect. A wizard (not an apprentice) may spend experience to gather up useful components when casting Out of Game spells. In this case, every 20 experience points expended gives the wizard a +1 to the Casting Roll of one Out of Game spell. The wizard must spend the experience points before making the Casting Roll. A wizard may spend a maximum of 100 experience points (to gain +5) on any specific casting of a spell but may spend experience points to boost the Casting Roll of multiple different spells between each scenario.

EXPERIENCE FOR POTION INGREDIENTS

Experienced wizards who dabble with potions often discover better or cheaper alternatives to the traditional ingredients. A wizard may spend experience points to gather ingredients for a potion. In this case, treat each experience point expended as 2gc towards the cost of ingredients. A wizard may use a combination of experience and gold crowns to pay the cost. For example, if a wizard wants to brew a Potion of Restoration, which has an ingredient cost of 750gc, they could spend 200 experience (worth 400gc) and 350gc to pay the cost.

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EXPERIENCE FOR A NEW APPRENTICE

Finding a new apprentice is often a long, irritating, and expensive process. However, as wizards grow in power and prestige, they often have eager young spellcasters applying to them. A wizard may defray the cost of a new apprentice by spending experience points. In this case, treat each experience point spent as 3gc towards the cost of a new apprentice.

EXPERIENCE FOR BLACK MARKET CONTACTS

The longer a wizard adventures in Frostgrave, the more contacts they’ll have with those who deal in magic wares, increasing the likelihood of finding specific items, weapons, or grimoires. After any game in which a wizard would roll for Black Market Contacts, they may expend 25 experience points for an additional roll. However, in this case, the wizard may roll directly on their choice of the potions table, the magic weapons and armour table, the magic item table, or on the random spell table to identify a grimoire, or any of the magic item tables found in any of the supplements. The wizard must still pay for this item as normal if they wish to purchase it. A wizard may spend a maximum of 100 experience points in this fashion after each scenario.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Eventide Manor Campaign This campaign is specifically designed for two-players and consists of three scenarios. However, the structure of the campaign is different than anything that has been presented before in Frostgrave. The basic premise is that both warbands are exploring the ruins of an ancient manor house that is infested with vampires and other undead. The warbands have entered on opposite sides of the manor, and thus will only meet in the final scenario. Each of the first two scenarios will be played twice. First, one player will control their wizard and warband as they attempt to fight their way through the manor while the other player controls a vampire and the other creatures on the table. After the game is complete, the players should switch and play the scenario again. That way both players have the chance to play both sides during the scenario. The second scenario works the same way. In the first two scenarios, the vampire player is at something of a disadvantage, in that they will only have one spellcaster and their henchmen are generally of lesser quality. This disadvantage is somewhat offset by the ‘Ambush Cards’. These special cards are drawn randomly by the vampire player before the scenario. Each card states exactly when it can be played and what happens – usually something bad for the wizard and their warband! These are fully explained on page 41. In truth, the vampire player is not expected to ‘win’ these scenarios and has no specific victory conditions. Their only goal is to soften up the wizard as much as possible. Unlike a normal campaign, warbands are not allowed to fully heal and re-equip between scenarios. Thus, the more damage a player can do while playing the vampires, the weaker their opposition will be in the final scenario. In the third and final scenario of the campaign, the warbands finally meet in the centre of the manor house, which also happens to be the lair of an ancient vampire of considerable power. While full rules are given for how to control this vampire, it might be more fun if the players recruit a third player to play the vampire and its minions. This will make the vampire smarter and more dangerous than it could ever be while controlled by simple rules. Either way, the final scenario should be a tough challenge for the wizards.

38

'It was buried under snow, so grave'. 'I don’t know, I still think it should be called Frosttomb or Frost-mausoleum or something.'

39

CREATING A VAMPIRE AND HENCHMEN In each of the first two scenarios, each player will need to create a small vampire warband to challenge their opponent. They should start by creating a vampire using the rules presented in on page 9. If players are using experienced wizards in this campaign – above level 5 – then the vampire should be given levels equal to the opposing wizard, minus 5. So, if a player is using a level 15 wizard, the opposing player should create a level 10 vampire. Vampires level up following the same rules as wizards. They must divide their levels as equally as possible between increasing stats, decreasing casting numbers, and learning new spells. Vampires can learn whatever new spells they wish when levelling up this way, don’t worry about grimoires. Vampires have six henchmen. Three of these henchmen are soldiers. A vampire may select any three soldiers its wishes from any book or supplement. These soldiers may be specialists, but are still subject to any rules limiting the maximum number of a specific type of soldier in a warband (so no more than one captain). Each of these soldiers are assumed to be under the effects of a Thralldom spell, so suffer -1 Will. The other three henchmen are ghouls. For each ghoul, the vampire can decide to give the ghoul a two-handed weapon, a hand weapon and shield (thus increasing its armour by 1), or +1 Move.

PLAYING A VAMPIRE WARBAND When playing a vampire warband, the vampire follows the normal rules for wizards in terms of activation. The vampire activates in the Wizard Phase and may activate up to three of its henchmen (apart from their second in command) in the phase following the normal rules. The vampire may use group activation. Before each game, the vampire should select one henchman to be their second-in-command. This figure activates in the Apprentice Phase following the normal rules, including activating up to three other soldiers. Henchmen that haven’t activated in either the Wizard or Apprentice Phase activate in the Soldier Phase. Both scenarios which feature vampire warbands also feature other ‘uncontrolled’ undead, usually skeletons or undead that enter via ambush cards. Although the vampire player can choose the actions for these creatures when they activate, they are not ‘controlled’ and not part of their warband. They still activate in the creature phase and follow all rules for uncontrolled creatures outside of their activation.

40

Vampires do not gain experience points during these scenarios, nor may they interact with treasure tokens. Since each player plays the vampire in two scenarios, they can choose to use the same vampire and henchmen in each one, or they may create a new group for the second scenario. In the first case, the vampire and all henchman are healed back to full Health for the second scenario.

AMBUSH CARDS At the back of the book is a set of 24 Ambush Cards. Before playing these scenarios, these cards should be photocopied, cut up, and shuffled into a deck. (They can also be downloaded from the Osprey Games Resources page online.) Before each scenario, the vampire player should randomly draw six cards from this deck. The vampire player should read their cards immediately but keep them secret from their opponent. Each ambush card states exactly when during the scenario it can be played. For example, some can be played at the start or end of a turn while others can be played when a treasure is picked up or a soldier activates. As soon as this condition is met, the vampire player may interrupt the current turn, play the card, and resolve the effect of the card immediately. Once played, the card is discarded. There is no way to recover ambush cards or gain new ones during a scenario. A player may never play more than one ambush card per turn but is not required to play a card each turn.

FURTHER USES OF AMBUSH CARDS While the ambush cards presented in this book are intended for use specifically with the first two scenarios of the Eventide Manor Campaign, there is no reason they cannot be used to increase the fun, chaos, and tactics of a standard game of Frostgrave. In this case, just deal each player a fixed number of cards before each game (4 is suggested). Cards are still played in the exact same way, except now both players have the potential to ambush the other. As these cards add an extra level of complexity to the game, giving the player another set of possibilities to deal with each turn, they are best reserved for experienced players who are comfortable with all the other mechanics. Also, since the cards presented here are themed for this specific campaign, they tend to lean heavily towards undead and nasty traps. If you plan to use the cards more generally, it might be fun to create your own deck that features additional types of monsters and other strange events.

41

EVENTIDE MANOR Though it stands on the outskirts of the Frozen City, deep snow kept Eventide Manor hidden after the thaw. Then, all in one night, the snow melted away, revealing the great gothic columns, the iron framed windows, and the heavy wooden doors. Trading all thoughts of architectural beauty for a sense of power and intimidation, this grim edifice looms over the surrounding ruins, somehow casting its shadow in all directions. Although it is visible to all, the impenetrable darkness glimpsed through its windows has so far prevented intruders. Untouched by anyone for a thousand years, who knows what treasures this lordly house must contain!

Scenario One THE GRAND ENTRANCE Every side of the great manor house features a colonnaded entrance. The building has no ‘back’, no weak side. Picking one of these entrances at random, your warband forced open the thick, black door. What little light that came in through that open doorway seemed to falter and die within a few feet. So, summoning up a fairy flame, you proceeded inside.

Set-Up Requirements: Two Staircases, Skeletons, Skeleton Archers. The table should be roughly 3’ x 3’. On one table edge, set up a platform 6” wide and 4” off the ground, running the entire length of that table edge. Two staircases, one on either side of the table, should run up to this platform. These staircases should be around 4”–6” wide. Place a doorway in the centre of the table edge on the platform. Place another doorway on the ground in the centre of the opposite edge. The two other table edges represent solid walls and may not be moved through. The rest of the table should be crowded with all kinds of rubble. The exact nature of this is unimportant, but none of it should be more than 6” high. The vampire player should place three treasure tokens on the table. These tokens can be placed anywhere provided they are on the ground level, no closer than 8” to one another, and accessible to figures without the use of magic. The vampire player should set up their vampire and henchmen anywhere they wish within 8” of the platform side of the table, including on the platform. This player should also place four skeletons anywhere on the table provided they are at least 12” away from the platform side of the table and no closer than 6” to one another.

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The vampire player should draw six ambush cards. Finally, the wizard player should set-up all of the members of their warband within 6” of the doorway that is opposite the platform edge.

Special Rules Members of the wizard’s warband may only exit the table through one of the two doorways. Members of the vampire warband may not exit the table at all. Members of the wizard’s warband suffer no movement penalties for carrying treasure in this scenario, though they suffer Fight penalties as normal. Members of the vampire warband may not pick up treasure tokens. At the end of turns 1, 3, and 5 the vampire player may place a skeleton at the centre of either wall edge. At the end of turns 2, 4, and 6 the vampire player may place a skeleton archer at the centre of either wall edge. From turn 7 onwards, the vampire player may place either a skeleton or a skeleton archer at the centre of either wall edge.

44

Treasure and Experience Roll for treasure after the scenario as normal. Experience points are gained as normal with the following addition: •

+10 experience points for each member of the warband that exits the table through the doorway on the platform.

BETWEEN GAMES The scenarios in this campaign occur in quick succession, meaning there is no time for wizards to return to their base, recruit new soldiers, re-equip, etc. For that reason, the following special rules are in play after each of the first two scenarios. After the third, the campaign is concluded, and the rules revert to normal. Any figure that rolls a ‘Dead’ result for their survival roll, instead suffers a permanent -3 Health. This figure may participate in the next scenario but starts that scenario with a current Health of 5. This penalty is cumulative, so if the figure rolls a Dead result in the first two scenarios they suffer permanent -6 Health. Each time a wizard suffers this penalty reduce their Level by 3. Any figure that is ‘Badly Wounded’ may participate in the next scenario but starts that scenario at half of their normal starting Health, rounded down. All other warband members that survive either regain 6 Health or go to half their normal starting Health rounded up, whichever is higher. No new soldiers may be recruited. Wizards gain levels as normal. Only the following Out of Game spells may be cast: Awareness, Familiar, Illusionary Soldier, Miraculous Cure, Raise Zombie. Roll for treasure as normal. New items may be given to warband members that can carry them. All other items and gold may be stored in the vault as normal. No items in the vault may be accessed (except Grimoires to learn new spells). Warband members may trade items they are currently carrying. No items or base upgrades may be purchased. Wizards may not access, or receive any bonuses from, their bases.

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Scenario Two THE PORTRAIT GALLERY Having fought your way through the entrance hall, you advanced through several dark, abandoned rooms filled with once opulent, but now destroyed, furniture. Then, stepping through another ornate doorway, you find yourself in a long hall lined with portraits. Many of these are cracked, torn, or turned to mush by the damp, but others seem strangely untouched. The people that stare out of these ancient paintings all share a similarly unhealthy pallor, and their eyes have been enchanted so that their gaze follows you as you make your way down the gloomy hallway…

Set-Up Requirements: Numbered Markers, Frost Wraiths. This scenario should be played on a table 2.5’ wide by 3’ long, or as near to that as is practicable. The two short table edges should each have a doorway in the centre. One of these should be designated the player edge, the other the vampire edge. Place six markers, numbered 1–6, equally spaced down each long table edge (six-sided dice work perfectly for this). The numbers should run sequentially, but in opposite directions. So, starting from 1 and counting up on one side, while starting from 6 and counting down on the other. The table should be crowded with all kinds of rubble. The exact nature of this is unimportant, but none of it should be more than 6” high. The vampire player should place three treasure tokens on the table. These tokens can be placed anywhere provided they are on the ground level, no closer than 8” to one another, and accessible to figures without the use of magic. The vampire player should set up all of the members of their warband anywhere within 12” of the vampire edge. This player should also place one frost wraith adjacent to a numbered marker of their choice. The vampire player should draw six ambush cards. The wizard player should place all of the members of their warband within 3” of the wizard edge of the table.

Special Rules Members of the wizard’s warband may only exit the table through one of the doorways. Members of the vampire warband may not exit the table at all. Members of the wizard’s warband suffer no movement penalties for carrying treasure in this scenario, though they suffer Fight penalties as normal. Members of the vampire warband may not pick up treasure tokens.

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At the start of each turn after the first, the vampire player should roll two six-sided dice. The player should select one die and place a frost wraith adjacent to one of the numbered markers with the same number. The player should then place the other die at the marker on the other side of the hall which has the same number. This die can be used as a wizard eye (see the Wizard Eye spell, Frostgrave page 135) by the vampire for the coming turn.

Treasure and Experience Roll for treasure after the scenario as normal. Experience points are gained as normal with the following additions: • •

+5 experience points for each frost wraith killed (to a maximum of +30). +10 experience points for each member of the warband that exits the table through the doorway in the vampire edge.

Scenario T hree THE SMOKE-FILLED PARLOUR Having battled through uncountable undead, you have finally reached the heart of the great manor. As you push open yet another heavy door, thick, grey smoke comes floating out. Stepping inside you see the smoke comes from two great fireplaces on either side of the room that are producing a tremendous amount of heat. However, you don’t have long to take in the scene, before a shadowy figure stands up from a high-backed chair in the centre of the chamber. He speaks in a language you don’t recognize, and suddenly ghouls emerge from every smoky corner…

CAMPAIGN NOTE – SCENARIO 3 Unlike the previous two scenarios, Scenario 3 is played only once. Both players should use their normal wizard-led warband in this scenario. Although Scenario 3 is designed for two players, it will be even more fun if a third player takes on the role of Lord Dantés. In this case, the Lord Dantés player controls all the normally uncontrolled creatures in the scenario. In addition, Lord Dantés himself should always activate in the Wizard Phase, after the other players have taken their activation. This player may also decide if a fireplace produces a jet of flame or a burning skeleton each turn, and if a jet, which figure it is targeted against.

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Set-Up Requirements: Two Fireplaces, 8 Ghouls, Burning Skeletons, Lord Dantés. This scenario should be played on a table 2.5’ wide by 3’ long, or as near to that as is practicable. The two short table edges should each have a doorway in the centre of the edge. Place a fireplace, approximately 6” wide, at the centre of each long table edge. The rest of the table should be crowded with rubble. The exact nature of this terrain is unimportant, but none of it should be more than 6” high. Place one treasure token in the centre of the table. Place two additional treasure tokens 4” away from each of the two fireplaces, so that their placement is more-or-less symmetrical. Place Lord Dantés adjacent to the central treasure token. Place 4 ghouls in a line on either side of Lord Dantés, so that each line faces one of the two doorways. These lines should be about 6” away from Lord Dantés and each ghoul should be about 4” from its neighbours. Players should select starting doorways for this scenario and set-up all of their warband members within 6” of this doorway.

Special Rules The room is incredibly smoky, and this smoke seems to concentrate about Lord Dantés wherever he moves. The maximum line of sight in this scenario is 12” for warband members. This does not apply to Lord Dantés or any of the other uncontrolled undead. Additionally, a figure must be within 8” of Lord Dantés to draw line of sight to him (again, the opposite is not true). At the end of each turn, check each of the fireplaces in turn. If there is a warband member within 8” and line of sight of that fireplace, the fireplace spews out a jet of flame at the nearest warband member in line of sight. Make a +4 elemental magic shooting attack against this figure. If the fireplace does not make this attack, place a burning skeleton directly in front of the fireplace instead. Full rules for Lord Dantés, including his action priority list, can be found in the Bestiary (See page 80). Warband members may only exit the table through one of the two doorways.

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Treasure and Experience Roll for treasure after the scenario as normal, though wizards receive an extra 50gc for each token secured in addition to whatever is rolled. Experience points are gained as normal with the following additions: •

•

•

+10 experience points for each member of a warband reduced to 0 Health by a jet of flame from the fireplace (to a maximum of +40). +10 experience points if a member of the warband is ever in combat with Lord Dantés. +30 experience points if a member of the warband kills Lord Dantés.

EPILOGUE Scenario 3 ends the Eventide Manor campaign. After this scenario, the wizards and the surviving members of their warband return to their bases. All the normal rules for the post-game sequence are in effect after Scenario 3.

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CHAPTER F IVE

The Caves of Fin Dalka Campaign I designed this three-scenario campaign to challenge higher-level wizards of the kind discussed in chapter three. For that reason, the challenges, and especially monsters, presented in these scenarios are significantly tougher than those found in most other campaigns. Also, since players who have attained these higher levels are assumed to have a good grasp on the rules, these scenarios include more special rules than are often found in other scenarios. Beyond that, The Caves of Fin Dalka is unique in a couple of other ways. First off, it is not set in the ruins of the Frozen City, but in a cave system in the mountains north of Frostgrave. Also, it requires each player to create a fire giant wizard, but one that they will be sharing control of in the second and third scenarios. Not only should this greatly increase the challenge but will also give the players a chance to try out some of the fire giant magic presented earlier in the book (see page 22). One final thing that makes this campaign unique is the prize for the winner: The Grimoire of Fin Dalka. This giant (in both meanings of the word) book contains unique magical knowledge. I have presented rules for using this tome in an ongoing campaign (see page 63), but players should discuss beforehand if they want to allow it. In many ways, it should be treated the same as the other optional rules for high-level wizards. The chairs, the table, all the furniture was constructed out of petrified snakes. Dead, I hope…

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THE CAVES OF FIN DALKA A rumour is spreading through the Frozen City and the towns nearby. In the mountains north of the city, a band of adventurers found a cave system filled with the ruins of the ancient giant empire. If the sketches they took of the writings on the walls are to be believed, then these might be the legendary caves of Fin Dalka, a giant wizard famous in the tales of Ancient Felstad. If these truly are those caves, then any magical knowledge found within would be priceless. Although the mountains are treacherous, dangers as great as any found in the Frozen City, such a prize is worth any risk. However, you know that you won’t be alone in your pursuit. Other wizards will be after the prize as well, and maybe, just maybe, so will the giants…

VAMPIRE GUIDES – OPTIONAL RULE If players would like to make this campaign even more unique and have another chance to use a magic-wielding vampire in their warband, they might consider using this optional rule. In this case, the caves of Fin Dalka were discovered by a group of vampires who have their own motivations for wanting to plunder the ruins of the giants. However, these vampires are not strong enough to take on the giants themselves, so they have gone off to try and recruit wizards and their warbands. For this campaign, each wizard may replace their apprentice with a vampire. The vampire should be created in the normal fashion and then levelled-up so that they are half of the level (rounded up) as the wizard. The vampire activates in the Apprentice Phase and may activate up to 3 other figures following the normal rules. Of course, vampires are never trustworthy, so players might want to create some rules for the possibility of the vampires betraying the wizard in Scenario 3. This works especially well if there is already a third player controlling the forces of the giants in this scenario. I will leave the possibility of these rules with the players; however, as it is best if they are tailored to each specific group of players. It should be noted that using these rules gives the player a lot more to think about during the game. Now they will have two spellcasters in their warband, each capable of casting a different set of spells, and two of the scenarios add a third spellcaster on top of that. Such power diversity is a lot to handle! For that reason, these rules should only be used by players who are very familiar with the rules of the game and with their specific wizards.

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Scenario One THE CAVE MOUTH After two horrendous days of marching through the thick, treacherous snow of the fells beyond Frostgrave, you have finally reached the entrance to the Caves of Fin Dalka. Unfortunately, you are not the first to arrive, as you spot a pair of giants guarding the entrance. You have only a second to take in this scene, as a moment later a thick mist rises and obscures the view…

Set-Up Requirements: Cave Mouth, 2 Fire Giant Hearthguard, 2 Pylons or Runic Stones, Mist-Walkers This scenario should be played on a table that is at least 3’ x 3’. In the centre of one table edge, mark the cave mouth; it should be about 6” wide. Place a fire giant hearthguard (see page 76) on either side of the cave mouth. On the same table edge, but 6” away from either giant, place a giant runic stone or pylon. The rest of the table should be covered in ruins or rubble. The tableside opposite the cave mouth is the player side. Each player should choose a corner of this table edge and set-up all of their warband members within 6” of this corner. Place a central treasure token as normal. Each player should then place two additional treasure tokens. These tokens must both be placed in the opposite table quarter from their starting corner. No treasure token may be closer than 6” to any other. Finally, place one cloud of mist, 6” in diameter in the centre of the table. Each player must also place one 6” diameter mist cloud anywhere on the table they wish.

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Special Rules The central treasure token can only be secured by moving it off the table through the cave mouth or by having a figure holding it when the game ends. Other treasure tokens can be secured in the normal fashion. Line of Sight may not be drawn through a mist cloud. A figure within a mist cloud cannot draw line of sight to anything. At the end of each turn, several things happen. First, each mist cloud moves 6” in a random direction. If this moves the cloud to a table edge, it should bounce off in a random direction and continue its movement. After the mist clouds have been moved, the player that had the lowest initiative roll for the turn should place one mist-walker anywhere on the table provided it is under or adjacent to a mist cloud. Mist-walkers can draw line of sight through a mist cloud. Then, the player that had the highest initiative roll should roll on the Cave Mouth Spell Table below and follow the instructions given. If the instructions cannot be followed, then ignore the result and no spell is cast this turn. These spells are cast automatically, no Casting Roll is necessary. Cave Mouth Spell Table Die Roll

Spell

Instruction

1–4

Comet

Select one of the runic stones. Cast this spell using that stone as the caster at a legal target that is not a fire giant.

5–8

Earthquake

Select one of the runic stones. Cast this spell using that stone as the caster.

9–12

Enflame

13–16

Pyre

Select a fire giant. Cast this spell on it. Select one of the runic stones. Cast this spell using that stone as the caster.

17–20

Raze

Select one of the runic stones. Cast this spell using that stone as the caster.

The fire giants and mist-walkers follow the standard rules for uncontrolled creatures. The target point for this scenario is the cave mouth.

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Treasure and Experience Roll for treasure tokens as normal after the game. The maximum Experience a wizard can earn for this scenario is 350. Otherwise, experience points are earned as normal with the following additions: • •

•

+10 experience points for each fire giant killed by a wizard or their warband. +10 experience points for each member of the warband that exits the table through the cave mouth. +5 experience points for each member of the warband that is still on the table when the scenario ends.

FIRE GIANT WIZARDS Before playing Scenarios 2 and 3, each player needs to create a fire giant wizard. Follow the process outlined on page 20, with one addition: the giant wizards should be levelled-up until they are 5 levels below the lowest-level wizard in the campaign. So, if one player is playing a level 30 wizard and one is playing a level 25 wizard, each player creates a level 20 giant wizard. Unlike the vampire wizards and warbands created in the Eventide Manor campaign, players will not have total control over these giant wizards. How to use these wizards will be spelled out in the scenarios.

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Scenario Two ICE MENAGERIE After the battle by the entrance, you made it into the caves. Your warband went one way, while your rivals turned the other. You explored several chambers, but found nothing of interest, except plenty of fresh giant footprints in the snow. Then, stepping through another great doorway, your eyes were dazzled by a bright light and the strange scene in front of you. The entire chamber is filled with large blocks of jagged ice. You can clearly see a creature inside each block of ice: undead, demons, constructs, trolls, and more, all frozen in some instant of fury. You are still taking in this strange tableau when movement in the centre of chamber draws your attention. There, standing amidst the ice, is a giant dressed in long robes, holding a staff of power…

Set-up Requirements: Fire Giant Wizard, 2 Fire Giant Hearthguard, 12 Blocks of Ice, 4 Doorways. Place a doorway in the centre of each table edge. Doorways should be approximately 6” wide. Place 12 blocks of ice on the table so that they form a rough diamond pattern around the centre of the table. Each block of ice should be about 6” away from the other blocks of ice closest to it. Place a fire giant hearthguard adjacent to the blocks of ice that form the two points of the diamond furthest from either of the player starting edges. Treasure tokens should be placed as normal. The rest of the table should be covered in small bits of ruins or rubble. Both players should roll a die. The player who rolls highest should place the fire giant wizard that they created for the campaign in the centre of the table, adjacent to the central treasure token. Players choose a starting table edge and place all of the members of their warband within 3” of the doorway on their edge.

Special Rules Each of the blocks of ice contains a frozen creature. If a block of ice is destroyed during the scenario, immediately roll on the Random Encounter Table in the main rulebook (see Frostgrave page 177) and replace the block of ice with the specified creature. Only place one creature, even if the result on the table specifies multiple figures. These creatures follow the standard rules for uncontrolled creatures. A block of ice may be destroyed in a few ways: First it may be attacked, either by a figure adjacent to it or with an attack generated by a spell, (bow, crossbow, and javelin attacks cannot destroy blocks of ice, even if magical, unless enchanted

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with an Elemental Hammer spell). Treat blocks of ice as having Fight +0, Armour 14, Health 1. Blocks of ice never cause damage. Always roll for blocks of ice if they are within the damage radius of a spell. Additionally, blocks of ice are automatically destroyed if they are the target of a Crumble or Raze Spell. If a figure casts Earthquake, roll a die for each block of ice within 8” of the caster. It is destroyed on 17+. Players should keep a running tally of the total number of times the following spells are cast during the game: Crumble, Destructive Sphere, Elemental Ball, Elemental Bolt, Explosive Rune (only when it goes off), Comet, Earthquake, or Raze. This will be significant in Scenario 3. The fire giant wizard is the first creature to activate in each creature phase. In the first turn of the game, the player who created the giant gets to decide its actions. In the second turn, the other player gets to decide its actions. Control passes back and forth between the two players on subsequent turns. Players may attempt to cast any spell that the fire giant wizard knows, but they may only empower a spell enough to make the Casting Roll successful, and only if that can be done without spending more than 6 Health and without reducing the fire giant wizard to 0 Health. For this scenario, the fire giant wizard can cast spells while in combat. Fire giant hearthguard follow the standard rules for uncontrolled creatures. If one player has no figures left on the table, but the fire giant wizard is still on the table, then the player without figures takes complete control of all the fire giants for the rest of the scenario. The scenario ends when there are no warband members left on the table, or only one player has warband members on the table and the fire giants have all been killed. Warband members may only exit the table through one of the four doorways. The target point for this scenario is the nearest treasure token, regardless of whether or not it is being carried.

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TREASURE AND EXPERIENCE

Roll for treasure after the game as normal, except each player may choose to exchange two tokens for rolls on the Blood Legacy Treasure Table (see page 65) instead of the normal one. The maximum experience points that can be earned for this scenario is 350. Otherwise, experience is earned as normal with the following additions: •

•

•

+5 experience points for each warband member that exits the table after the end of turn 3, or that is still on the table when the scenario ends. +10 experience points if a wizard or a member of their warband destroys at least 1 block of ice. +15 experience points for each fire giant hearthguard killed by the wizard or their warband.

Scenario T hree THE COLLAPSING CAVERNS Having battled through numerous dangers, you finally reach the central chamber of the cave complex, a vast open cavern covered in ice. Four cracked pillars dominate the room, holding up a roof that is covered in chunks of ice and icicles the size of harpoons. Between the pillars, a great book, nearly the size of a grown man, rests on a dais. A group of giants looms over it. As you step into the cavern, a deep rumble echoes all around, and several chunks of ice break free of the ceiling and come crashing down. To reach the book, you’ll have to fight, but you’d better do it quickly before the entire complex collapses.

Set-Up Requirements: Four Pillars, Dais, Fire Giant Wizard, 2 Fire Giant Hearthguard, Grimoire of Fin Dalka, 4 Doorways. Place a dais about 1” high and 6” square in the middle of the table. Place a special treasure token (the Grimoire of Fin Dalka) in the middle of the dais. Place four pillars so that they form a square approximately 16” to a side around the dais. The rest of the table should be filled with small ruins, rocks, and large chunks of ice. Place a fire giant wizard adjacent to the Grimoire of Fin Dalka. Place 2 fire giant hearthguard on opposite corners of the dais. Players should each place 2 normal treasure tokens following the standard rules. A doorway, approximately 6” wide, should be placed in the centre of each table edge. It is also useful to place markers that clearly divide the table into quarters.

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Sixteen iron cages, one inside the other, each smaller and smaller. Each one locked with a magical lock. In the smallest one, right in the centre, nothing but the sad little corpse of a frozen bird.

Special Rules The players should use the player-created fire giant wizard that wasn’t used in Scenario 2. The fire giant wizard is the first creature to activate in each creature phase. In the first turn of the game, the player who created the giant gets to decide its actions. In the second turn, the other player gets to decide its actions. Control passes back and forth between the two players on subsequent turns. Players may attempt to cast any spell that the fire giant wizard knows, but they may only empower a spell enough to make the Casting Roll successful, and only if that can be done without spending more than 6 Health and without reducing the fire giant wizard to 0 Health. For this scenario, the fire giant wizard can cast spells while in combat. Fire giant hearthguard follow the standard rules for uncontrolled creatures. At the end of every turn each player, starting with the primary player, should roll for a random quarter of the table. They must then select one figure in that quarter to suffer a +0 shooting attack that does +4 damage, representing a great block or spear of ice falling from the ceiling. Figures that are standing completely beneath terrain may not be selected. Spellcasters may only be selected if there are no other viable targets in that quarter. No figure may be selected more than once per turn. The Grimoire of Fin Dalka is a treasure token but has its own rules. The Grimoire may only be moved if two or more members of the same warband are in contact with it and not in combat. Whenever one of these figures activates, the player may move the Grimoire, and all figures in contact with it that aren’t in combat, 2”. This must be a legal move but ignores all movement penalties. So, there is no reduction for rough ground, climbing, etc. This move counts as the figure’s move action. If it has a second action it may take any action normally allowed – however, if it takes a second move action, it must move away from the Grimoire. Figures suffer no Fight penalty while moving the Grimoire. Figures never count as ‘carrying’ the Grimoire. So, if they are moved by an external force, move the figure, but leave the Grimoire where it is. If no figures are currently adjacent to the Grimoire, a figure may cast Telekinesis on it but may only move it up to 2”. The player that moves the Grimoire into contact with any doorway has secured it. Giants will never move the Grimoire. At the start of the game, place a counter next to the table set to ‘20’. Reduce this number by 1 for every 2 of the following spells that were cast during Scenario 2: Crumble, Destructive Sphere, Elemental Ball, Elemental Bolt, Explosive Rune (only if it went off), Comet, Earthquake, or Raze. Also reduce the counter by 1 each time one of these spells is cast during this scenario as well as decreasing the

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counter by 1 at the end of each turn. When the counter reaches 0, the cavern collapses. At this point, the scenario ends immediately and all figures still on the table are immediately reduced to 0 Health. The four pillars may be destroyed in a few ways: first, they may be attacked, either by a figure adjacent to it or with an attack generated by a spell (bow, crossbow, and javelin attack cannot destroy pillars, even if magical, unless enchanted with an Elemental Hammer spell). Treat pillars as being Fight +0, Armour 18, Health 5. Pillars never cause damage. Always roll for pillars if they are within the damage radius of a spell. Additionally, pillars are automatically destroyed if they are the target of a Crumble or Raze Spell. If a figure casts Earthquake, roll a die for each pillar within 8” of the caster. It is destroyed on 17+. Immediately reduce the counter by 3 each time a pillar is destroyed. This scenario continues even if one player has no figures on the table. In that case, the player with no figures on the table takes control of all giants left on the table, if any. The player is not allowed to use the giants to take any action that would lower the counter to more than 5. Even if there are no giants, and only one warband left on the table, the scenario should continue to be played, to see if the warband escapes the table before the cavern collapses.

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Treasure and Experience Roll for treasure after the game as normal. If a warband recovered the Grimoire of Fin Dalka, they may either keep this item in their base (see rules on page 63) or they may sell it for 1,000 gc. The maximum experience points that can be earned for this scenario is 400. Otherwise, experience is earned as normal with the following additions:

•

•

•

•

•

+5 experience points for each warband member that exits the table after the end of turn 5. +20 experience points if the warband ever moves the Grimoire of Fin Dalka without using the Telekinesis spell. +10 experience points if the player has a figure on the table when the counter reaches 10. +20 experience points if the player has a figure on the table when the counter reaches 6. +30 experience points if the player has a figure on the table when the counter reaches 3.

These last three items are cumulative, so a player that has a figure on the table when the counter reaches 3 will get +60 experience points for achieving all three.

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THE GRIMOIRE OF FIN DALKA This gigantic magic tome contains all eight of the Fire Giant spells found on pages 22 and 23. However, these spells are written in a ciphered form of the fire giant language, meaning they are incomprehensible to most wizards. As far as most campaigns are concerned, a player is probably much better off selling the book and buying something more useful. Yet the pursuit of magical knowledge is an obsession that can affect gamers almost as much as the wizards who explore the ruins of Ancient Felstad. For that reason, if players wish, they may use the following optional rules for trying to decipher and learn the spells from this grimoire. To try and decipher the spells, the wizards must devote significant amounts of time to the pursuit, and, of course, time is money. So, every attempt to decipher a spell costs 100gc. Once this is paid, the player may select one Fire Giant spell and make a Will Roll (TN20). If successful, they have deciphered the spell. They may now learn this spell following the normal rules for learning a new spell. If the roll is unsuccessful, the have failed to break the code, but are perhaps one step closer. The player gets a +1 to all future Will Rolls to decipher this specific spell. This is cumulative, so after 3 failed rolls, a wizard will have +3 to all future rolls (but will be out 300gc on the deal so far!). However, if a wizard ever rolls a natural ‘1’ for any of their Will Rolls, then they have utterly failed to understand the code. That spell becomes locked permanently and may never be deciphered by that wizard. A wizard may still try to decipher the other spells in the book. A wizard may sell the Grimoire of Fin Dalka at any time. The sell price is 1,000gc minus 100gc for each spell that has been learned from it. The wizard schools have the following relation to Fire Giant Spells: • • • • • • • • • •

Chronomancer: Opposed Elementalist: Aligned Enchanter: Aligned Illusionist: Neutral Necromancer: Neutral Sigilist: Aligned Soothsayer: Aligned Summoner: Neutral Thaumaturge: Neutral Witch: Neutral

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CHAPTER SIX

New Treasure After playing any scenario in this book in which a wizard has secured at least one treasure token, they may exchange a maximum of one treasure token for a roll on the Blood Legacy Treasure Table below. Also, if the players are using the Black Market Contacts optional rule from the main rulebook (see Frostgrave page 104), a player may trade one of their Black Market Contacts rolls for a roll on this table as well. Blood Legacy Treasure Table Die Roll

Treasure

Purchase Price

Sale Price

1

Misticene Quiver

350gc

175gc

2

Dancing Dagger

500gc

200gc

3

Ring of Foresight

500gc

250gc

4

Planebreaker Hammer

500gc

200gc

5

Magic Dog Whistle

300gc

125gc

6

Balancing Staff

200gc

100gc

7

Shield of the Paladin

400gc

150gc

8

Ring of Recall

450gc

200gc

9

Ring Sabre

550gc

260gc

10

Spitfire Wand

400gc

150gc

11

Firefairy

200gc

75gc

12

Living Quill

400gc

150gc

13

Obliteration Orb

400gc

150gc

14

Demonic Vessel

500gc

220gc

15

Shielding Pendant

300gc

150gc

16

Staff of Radiance

400gc

175gc

17

Winged Bracelet

300gc

150gc

18

Two-headed Wand

300gc

150gc

19

Falconeye Mask

300gc

150gc

20

Devouring Skull Ring

400gc

200gc

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Balancing Staff This magic staff grants the user +8 on all Move Stat Rolls.

Dancing Dag ger This magical dagger does +1 damage. In addition, it may be carried by a soldier that does not carry a dagger as part of their standard equipment. In this case, the dagger does not take up the soldier’s 1 item slot.

Demonic Vessel Demonic vessels come in a variety of forms, generally small caskets, chests, metal pots, or lamps. A figure with a demonic vessel may spend an action to activate the item. Mark the position of the vessel on the table. For the rest of the game, any time a demon activates or moves within 3” of the vessel, it must make a Will Roll (TN14). If the demon fails, it is imprisoned in the vessel. Treat it as killed for scenario purposes. A demon must only make this Will Roll once per turn. As soon as a demon is trapped within the vessel, remove the vessel from the table. It is destroyed for game purposes. A vessel may not be picked up or moved during a scenario. If the scenario ends without a demon having been imprisoned in the vessel, the vessel is returned to its original owner.

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As an optional rule, if all the players agree, a demonic vessel that captures a demon is returned to its original owner. A figure may carry this item in later games and may spend an action to release the captured demon, placing it within 2”. The demon is treated as an uncontrolled creature. The demonic vessel is destroyed upon the demon’s release.

Devouring Skull Ring This magic ring features a large, platinum, screaming skull. A figure wearing this ring suffers no damage whenever it successfully casts the Spelleater spell.

Falconeye Mask A figure wearing this mask does +1 damage when making a bow, crossbow, or javelin attack. However, they suffer a -3 penalty to their Combat Roll when rolling against any kind of shooting attack.

Firefairy This one-use magic item can only be used by a spellcaster. If a figure carrying the firefairy is in line of sight of another figure that attempts to use a scroll (for any purpose) the carrier may immediately release the firefairy. The scroll the other figure was attempting to use is immediately destroyed and whatever spell the figure was attempting to cast with the scroll fails and their action is lost. The firefairy is destroyed upon use.

Living Quill If the figure carrying this magic item successfully casts the Furious Quill spell, they can choose to activate this item instead of using the spell’s normal effects. Activating this item follows all the rules for the Animate Skull spell (see Frostgrave, page 112). The living quill has the same stats as an animated skull except that it replaces the ‘Undead’ attribute with the ‘Construct’ attribute. The caster may only use this item once per game. If the living quill is reduced to 0 Health during the game, then roll a die after the game. On 1–2 the living quill is destroyed and should be removed from the Wizard Sheet. On any other result, the living quill is fine and can be used again next game. The fountain contained a huge pile of gold and silver coins just under the water. It also contained a worrying number of finger bones…

67

Magic Dog Whistle An apprentice or wizard who carries this whistle may activate one warhound or wolf that is part of their warband during the appropriate phase, as long as that warhound is within 12” (it doesn’t have to be within line of sight or the normal range of 3”). Wizards and apprentices may still only activate a maximum of three other figures during their phase. If this magic whistle is carried by a soldier, they may ‘group activate’ with one warhound or wolf that is part of the warband (so that both figures may move first and then take their second actions). Warhounds and wolves may still only activate once in a turn.

Misticene Quiver All bow or crossbow attacks made by a figure carrying this quiver count as magic attacks. However, if the figure ever rolls a natural 1 on a shooting attack, then it has run out of ammunition and they may not use the quiver to shoot their bow or crossbow again that game. They may still fire other ammunition, such as a specific magic arrow or crossbow bolt, or use another quiver if they have one.

68

Obliteration Orb Once per game, a spellcaster carrying this orb may cast the Destructive Sphere spell while in combat. If the caster rolls a natural 1 on their casting roll when using the obliteration orb, then the caster immediately suffers a +5 elemental magic attack and the orb is destroyed. The spellcaster using the orb never suffers an attack from it. Any time between games, a wizard can pay 300gc to have this orb affixed to a staff (magic or otherwise). In this case, it no longer takes up an item slot. However, if the orb is ever destroyed, the staff to which it is affixed is also destroyed.

Planebreaker Hammer When this magic weapon is found or purchased, the player may decide if it is a hand weapon or two-handed weapon. Either way, the weapon does +1 damage. When wielded against a demon, the wielder also gains +1 Fight. If a demon takes any damage from this weapon it must make an immediate Will Roll (TN6) with a penalty equal to the damage taken (so -4 to the Will Roll if the demon took 4 points of damage). If it succeeds, there is no additional effect. If it fails, it is immediately banished back to its home plane. Remove it from the table as though it had been reduced to 0 Health. Demons with a Will stat of +10 or higher do not need to make this Will Roll as they succeed automatically.

Ring of Foresight This ring may only be worn by a spellcaster. Once per scenario, if the wearer of this ring is on the table, a player may add +8 to their Initiative Roll. This bonus only affects the comparison between this player’s roll and the rolls of other players, it should not be taken into account when determining special events that are triggered due to an initiative roll for a specific scenario.

Ring of Recall This magic ring features a large ruby that seems to glow faintly with its own inner light. A figure wearing this ring may use it at any time by spending an action. They may even use it while in combat, despite the normal prohibition against using items in combat. When used, the figure is immediately removed from the table. It is out of the game but does not have to make a Survival Roll after the game. Any treasure tokens carried by the figure are dropped at the point the figure left the table. After the ring is used, roll a die. On 16+ the ring is destroyed.

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Ring Sabre This is a magic +1 Fight hand weapon that has a special place in the hilt or pommel where a magic ring can be inserted. This allows a figure to carry a second magic ring (allowing them to ignore the usual prohibition of carrying two types of the same magic item). Both the sabre and the ring still take up item slots as normal.

Shield of the Paladin A figure carrying this shield gains +2 on Will Rolls to resist spells or to break free from a spell. In addition, whenever this figure is the target of a spell other than a spell that generates a shooting attack, it immediately gains back 1 point of lost Health.

Shielding Pendant A spellcaster may cast Elemental Shield on a figure wearing this pendant, even though the spell is normally ‘Self Only’. The figure wearing the pendant must be within 12” and line of sight of the spellcaster when the spell is cast.

Spitfire Wand This magic wand can only be used by a spellcaster. A figure carrying this wand may use it to make a +1 elemental magic shooting attack up to a range of 16”. Additionally, a figure carrying this wand counts as having Elemental Resistance (1).

Staff of Radiance This magic staff does +1 damage. In addition, if the figure carrying the staff casts Destroy Undead, they may target 2 undead creatures, provided those creatures are within 3” of each other. Otherwise, follow the normal rules for the spell. It looked just like a normal puddle, but when you looked into it, instead of your face, you saw your mother’s face looking back at you…

70

Two-Headed Wand This strange, forked, magic wand allows a figure to cast the Transpose spell on two figures that are within line of sight of the caster and 16” of one another.

Winged Bracelet If a figure wearing this Bracelet casts the Summon Demon spell, and gains an Imp, that imp gains the ‘Flying’ attribute.

71

CHAPTER SEVEN

Bestiary

This chapter contains all the new creatures found in this book. The rules for specific creature attributes are found in the next section (pages 87–89).

Blood-drinker Bats These oversized bats live in some of the tunnels and breeding pits under the city. About the size of an average housecat, they are nocturnal hunters that generally shun the light of day. These bats will happily attack a human. Blood-drinker Bat Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+1

+0

8

+0

6

Notes Animal, Flying

Burning Skeleton These skeletons have been coated in a sticky, burning substance that slowly eats away at their bones. Any figure that touches a burning skeleton is likely to suffer burns. Burning Skeleton Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+1

+0

10

+1

1

73

Notes Burning, Undead

Fire Giant Ruler Every group of fire giants is ruled by a king or queen, or occasionally both. Usually, these are the biggest and strongest of their group, but even if not, they certainly have access to the best equipment, weapons, and magic items. Fire giant royalty are truly fearsome opponents and not to be trifled with. Although it is rare, fire giant rulers are sometimes spellcasters. If that is the case, a special profile should be created for them using the rules presented earlier in this book (see page 16. The stats given here are for a non-spellcasting ruler). Fire Giant Ruler Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+7

+0

15

+8

28

74

Notes Elemental Resistance (2), Large, Magic Attack, Mind Lock, Strong, True Sight

Fire Giant Hearthguard All fire giant kingdoms keep a small, but elite group of warriors known as the hearthguard. These are full-time, professional soldiers, who are expected to do the bulk of the fighting whenever the kingdom is threatened. These giants are completely fearless and will happily give their lives in defence of their kingdom or ruler. Fire Giant Hearthguard Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+6

+0

15

+5

25

Notes Elemental Resistance (2), Large, Magic Attack, Never Wounded, Strong

Fire Giant Militia All fire giants receive some training in the arts of war and, if the situation is desperate enough, are expected to come to the defence of the kingdom. While they may not be front-line warriors, their size and strength make these militia more than a match for most threats. Fire Giant Militia Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+5

+0

14

+3

20

Notes Elemental Resistance (2), Large, Strong

Frost Giant Ever since the great storm that destroyed the city, frost giants have occasionally wandered down from the northern mountains. Possessed of a rudimentary intelligence, they can occasionally be reasoned with, but generally they see humans (and most other animals) as little more than food. Frost Giant Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+5

+0

15

+4

25

76

Notes Elemental Resistance (2), Large, Strong

Frost Wraith Frost wraiths are a peculiar form of undead only found in the ruins of Frostgrave. Essentially, they are ethereal undead that somehow have become partially frozen. Although they look like sparkling ghosts, their bodies are formed of a loose collection of ice crystals. Because of this semi-material nature, they cannot move through terrain and are vulnerable to normal weaponry. However, their icy grasp is extremely painful. Frost Wraith Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+2

+0

10

+3

6

77

Notes Chilling Touch, Undead

Kalshek, Vampire Spellcaster Known as ‘The Lone Hunter’ by the other vampires in ancient Felstad, Kalshek maintained a permanent, hidden chamber in a deep vault beneath a prison. Although the prison officials never saw him, they knew that ‘something’ lived beneath their dungeons, and if a prisoner gave them too much trouble, they often ‘went missing’ after being told to clean the lower levels. Kalshek survived the cataclysm in frozen hibernation and now hunts the shadows of the Frozen City. Unlike most spellcasters, Kalshek is not afraid to get into hand-to-hand combat.

KALSHEK’S ACTION PRIORITY ORDER • •

• •

•

If Kalshek is in combat, he will cast Hypnotic Gaze and be done. If there is an undead creature controlled by a Wizard in line of sight, he will cast Control Undead. If he does not have a controlled ghoul on the table, he will cast Ghoul Call. If Kalshek is reduced to 5 Health or less, he will cast Mist Form and use all remaining actions to exit the table. He will move directly towards the closest warband member and attack if he gets in combat.

Kalshek Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Notes

7

+5

+0

12

+7

22

Immune to Control Undead, Magic Attack, Mind Lock, Partial Immunity to Normal Damage, Thaumaturgic Vulnerability, True Sight, Undead

Spells: Control Undead (8), Ghoul Call (8), Hypnotic Gaze (10), Mist Form (6)

Leechwolf With the size, speed, and nimbleness of a wolf, but the fleshy body and bloodsucking head of a leech. These demonic predators commonly appear when summoning magic goes wrong. Originating in one of the planes of existence close to Frostgrave, it is said that leechwolves can smell (or possibly taste) their prey from across the dimensions. Apart from their aggressive nature and pack hunting tactics, the biggest problem with leechwolves is getting one off once it has a grip with its blood-sucking maw. Leechwolf Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Notes

7

+2

+0

10

+2

10

Demon, Latch On, Pack Hunter

78

Lord Dantés, Vampire A few years before the cataclysm that destroyed ancient Felstad, Lord Dantés and his undead minions murdered the previous inhabitants of Eventide Manor in a night of violence and blood. For the next several years, Lord Dantés kept his presence hidden from the rest of the magical city, even as he sent his servants on infrequent raids to gather ‘livestock’. When the great storm struck, Lord Dantés and his minions were all frozen in ice. Now, thanks to the thaw, and Lord Dantés’ control of the magical fireplaces in the manor, he has managed to thaw out the whole of the building and looks to reclaim his position in the now destroyed city. Lord Dantés is a complicated figure, and it is probably best if he is controlled by a player. However, if this is not possible, Lord Dantés’ actions can be determined by following the priority order given below. Lord Dantés will never force combat, and if he wins combat, he will always push his opponent back.

80

LORD DANT É S ACTION PRIORITY ORDER • •

•

•

•

•

If Lord Dantés is in combat, he will cast Hypnotic Gaze and be done. If he does not have a controlled bat on the table, he will cast Call Blood-Drinker Bat. He will then move as far away from all warband members as possible. If he does not currently have a Psychic Leech spell in play, he will cast Psychic Leech on the nearest eligible figure. He will then move as far away from all warband members as possible. He will cast Bone Dart at the nearest enemy spellcaster in line of sight. He will then move as far away from all warband members as possible. He will cast Bone Dart at the nearest enemy figure in line of sight. He will then move as far away from all warband members as possible. He will move as far away from all warband members as possible.

Lord Dantés Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

7

+5

+0

12

+7

18

Notes Immune to Control Undead, Magic Attack, Mind Lock, Partial Immunity to Normal Damage, Thaumaturgic Vulnerability, True Sight, Undead

Spells: Animal Form (6), Bone Dart (8), Call Blood-Drinker Bat (6), Hypnotic Gaze (10), Psychic Leech (8), Spell Eater (10)

81

Mist-Walker Standing about the height of an average human, this creature resembles a thinlegged, small-bodied spider with only four legs. It also features a pair of ‘arms’ that grow out of the under-side of its body. These curve forward, ending in a pair of pincers or claws. The mist-walkers get their name from the short, fleshy tubes that run down their backs, and constantly exude a thick mist. This mist is indistinguishable from normally occurring mist, making the mist-walkers virtually invisible on misty or snowy days. On clearer days, mist-walkers tend to hide or sleep, but if they are encountered, they appear like small puffs of cloud until the viewer gets close to them. Mist-Walker Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+2

+0

10

+2

12

82

Notes Animal, Expert Climber, Shrouded Form

Spectre Spectres are a form of ethereal undead which are relatively uncommon in the ruins of Frostgrave. They resemble wraiths, except that they glow with a faint greenish light. Unlike wraiths, they don’t haunt a particular location or area, instead roaming the world. There are many theories why spectres roam, but there is little proof to back any of them. Compared to other forms of ethereal undead, they are generally considered less dangerous, but are extremely quick and notoriously difficult to control. Spectre Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

9

+0

+0

10

+10

8

83

Notes Ethereal, Immune to Normal Weapons

Svellen, Fire Giant Wizard No one knows the full story of how Svellen came to Frostgrave. Rumours say she was a promising student of magic in one of the frost giant kingdoms north of the city, but one day her teacher died in a searing blast of fire... However it came to pass, Svellen is now a well-known, and rightly feared, explorer of the Frozen City. She generally travels with a pair of leech-wolves by her side. While she is not immediately violent to others, she will brook no challenge to her right to possess the magic treasures of Frostgrave.

SVELLEN’S ACTION PRIORITY ORDER •

• •

•

• •

If in combat Svellen will fight. If she wins, she will push her opponent back and move as far away from warband members as possible. If four or more warband members are within 8” she will cast Earthquake. If two warband members are adjacent and in line of sight she will cast Comet at the closest warband member. If a warband member is in line of sight she will cast Elemental Bolt at the nearest warband member. If no warband members are in line of sight she will cast Enflame on her staff. Svellen will move as far away as possible from any warband members.

Svellen Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

6

+5

+0

14

+6

24

Spells: Comet (10), Earthquake (8), Elemental Bolt (10), Enflame (6),

84

Notes Elemental Resistance (2), Large, Magic Staff, Strong

Troll-Giant Though commonly known as troll-giants due to their size and appearance, the accuracy of that term and the origins of these huge, savage creatures are the source of fierce debate amongst wizards and scholars. Some theorise that they are an evolutionary offshoot of the frost giants, some that they are ancient troll progenitors, others believe them to be giant-blooded trolls, and some hold that they’re the product of beastcrafter magic. For those unfortunate enough to run across a troll-giant in the ruins of Frostgrave, taxonomy is the least of their concerns… Troll-giants are famous for hurling stones at their prey, and in ruins of Frostgrave, they have limitless ammunition. Although incredibly rare, there are a few recorded cases of two-headed troll-giants. Troll-Giant Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

Notes

6

+5

+0

14

+6

22

Hurl Rock, Large, Strong, (Rare: Two-Headed)

Zombified Troll Theoretically, the corpse of any animal can be turned into a zombie, but, for whatever reason, most necromancers find humanoid subjects to be far easier to reanimate. Thus, trolls are a popular choice for a death mage looking to add a little strength to their forces. While not quite as tough as their living counterparts, undead trolls are still creatures to be feared. Zombified Troll Move

Fight

Shoot

Armour

Will

Health

4

+4

+0

14

+2

10

85

Notes Strong, Undead

NEW ATTRIBUTES

Burning This figure has a burning touch. If this figure wins a fight, it causes an additional 2 points of damage. This damage is inflicted even if no other damage was caused by the attack.

Chilling Touch This creature does +2 damage, except when damaging undead and constructs.

Giant-blooded This figure does +1 damage in melee on top of any other bonuses or penalties. The figure also gains +4 to all Fight stat rolls – those with a Target Number – it does not apply to combat rolls. This trait also includes the ‘Large’ trait, though it should also be listed separately for ease of recollection.

Harvest Blood If this figure takes part in a game as part of a vampire’s warband and ends the game without rolling a ‘Dead’ or ‘Badly Wounded’ result on the survival table, it can harvest the blood of the dead and wounded for its master. Count the number of warband members, for all players, that were reduced to 0 Health during the game. Do not count undead, constructs, demons, or animals. The vampire may regain this many points of Health without having to pay for them. For example, if the game ended with eight warband members reduced to 0 Health, a vampire could regain 8 points of Health for free. It would have to pay for any additional healing. A vampire may only benefit from one figure with this attribute after each game.

Hunter’s Will (X) Whenever the specific creature (X) is on the table, this figure gains +2 on all Will Rolls.

Hurl Rock This figure has a shooting attack with a range of 12” that does +4 damage.

87

Latch On Figures in combat with this creature may only push back themselves or their opponent only if they do damage. Simply winning the combat is not enough.

Magic Attacks (X) Whenever this figure is in combat with a specific creature (X), then all its attacks count as magic attacks.

Magic Vulnerability All magic attacks, whether from spells or magic weapons, do +1 damage against this creature.

Opponent Armour Reduction If this figure wins a round of combat versus a figure wearing light or heavy armour, its opponent suffers -1 armour against the attack.

88

Partial Immunity to Normal Damage Any time this figure suffers damage from a non-magical attack the damage is halved, rounding down.

Shrouded Form This figure is hard to see. No figure may draw line of sight to this figure if it is more than 12” away. In addition, it gains +3 Fight when making a Fight Roll against any shooting attack.

Supporting Figure Maximum This figure is used to fighting multiple figures at the same time. No figure may claim more than a +2 bonus for supporting figures, no matter how many figures are supporting the combat.

T haumaturgic Vulnerability This creature suffers -1 to all Will Rolls when rolling to resist spells from the Thaumaturge school.

Two-Headed A figure fighting a two-headed creature always counts as having one supporting figure fewer than it actually does (to a minimum of 0). The construct was so big and heavy, we couldn’t get it off Rork, even with both of them dead. So, we just set the whole thing alight. What a way to go, killed by your own funeral pyre.

89

Appendix

SPECTRE

Play this card at the start of a turn. Place a spectre in any table corner.

F ROST WRAITH

Play this card at the end of a turn, after all creatures have activated. Place a blood-drinker bat anywhere on the table, so long as it is at least 3” from any warband member.

Play this card at the start of a turn. Place a frost wraith in any table corner.

MIST-WALKER

Play this card at the end of a turn, after all creatures have activated. Place a mist-walker anywhere on the table so long as it is at least 6” from any warband member.

ZOMBIES

Play this card at the start of the creature phase. Place a zombie in any table corner. This zombie will activate in the coming phase.

BLOOD-DRINKER BAT

ARMOURED SKELETONS

Play this card at the end of a turn, after all creatures have activated. Place 2 armoured skeletons at the centre point of any table edge, so long as they are at least 3” from any warband member.

SKELETON

Play this card at the start of the creature phase. Place a skeleton in the centre of any table edge. This skeleton will activate in the coming phase.

AMBUSH CARDS

ZOMBIE TROLL

Play this card at the start of a turn. Place a zombie troll in any table corner.

AMBUSH CARDS

BONES OF THE EARTH

Play at the start of a turn. Select one warband member. That figure has Bones of the Earth automatically cast upon it with a Casting Roll of 14.

BONE DART

Play this card at the end of any phase. Select one warband member who is not a spellcaster. That figure suffers an immediate +5 shooting attack.

FOOL’S GOLD

Play this card at the start of a turn. Select one warband member who is carrying a treasure token. That figure has Fool’s Gold cast upon it with a Casting Roll of 16.

DRAINING WORD

Play this card at the start of any turn. A Draining Word spell is now in play. The player of the card may select which spell is affected by the Draining Word.

DISPEL

Play this card at the end of any phase. Select one spell that is currently active. That spell is immediately cancelled.

BLINK

Play this card at end of any phase. Select one warband member who is not a spellcaster. That figure has Blink cast upon it with a Casting Roll of 16.

FOG

Play this card at the start of any phase. Place a line of fog, 6” long, 3” high, and 1” thick anywhere on the table. This fog remains for three turns then dissipates and should be removed from the table.

POISON DART

Play this card at the end of any phase. Select one warband member who is not a spellcaster. That figure suffers an immediate +3 poisoned shooting attack.

Play this card at the end of any phase. Huge clouds of mist swell up all around. Maximum line of sight is reduced to 12” for the remainder of the scenario.

CREEPING DREAD

Play this card at the start of a turn. A sense of doom settles over the area. All Will Rolls are at -2 for the remainder of the game. Undead and constructs do not suffer this penalty.

SHIMMERING AIR

Play this card at the end of any phase. The air has a strange shimmer to it that distorts anything seen at a distance. All shooting attacks suffer a -2 penalty for the remainder of the scenario.

TRANSPARENCY

Play this card at the start of any phase. Suddenly, everything becomes semitransparent. For the rest of the game, nothing blocks line of sight. Terrain can still block shooting attacks and provides cover as normal.

ILLUSIONARY RESHUFFLE

MYSTIC DAMPENING

Play this card at the start of any phase. For the rest of the game all Casting Rolls are at -1.

MYSTIC WIND

Play this card at the end of any turn. Specify a direction. Every figure on the table must make a Move Roll (TN15) or move 2” in that direction. This may move a figure out of combat but not off the table.

Play this card at the start of any turn. Move every treasure token not being carried by a figure up to 6” in any horizontal direction. This must leave the treasure token on the table in an area accessible without the use of magical movement.

INCREDIBLE NOISE

Play this card at the start of any turn. Only undead and constructs can activate along with the wizard and apprentice in the Wizard and Apprentices Phases of this turn. All other members of a warband can only activate during the Soldier Phase.

AMBUSH CARDS

RISING MIST

VAMPIRE SPELL CARDS

ANIMAL FORM Vampire / 10 / Self Only

CALL BLOOD-DRINKER BAT

The caster transforms itself into either a giant bat, gaining the flying trait; or a large wolf, increasing its Move to 8. All the caster’s other stats remain unaffected. While in animal form the caster may not pick up or carry treasure, and any treasure being carried is dropped. The caster may not use any items. In combat the caster suffers no penalty for being unarmed and its attacks are still magical. The caster can cast spells while in animal form. The caster may end this spell and return to its normal form as a free action during their activation. The caster can switch to another animal form by casting the spell again.

Vampire / 10 / Area Effect The vampire may immediately place a blood-drinker bat (see Bestiary, page 73) adjacent to the table edge, anywhere within their warbands’ deployment zone for that game. This bat always activates in the soldier phase. It receives only one action the turn it arrives but receives the normal two afterwards. The bat counts as being under a Control Animal spell as cast by the vampire. A spellcaster may only have one controlled bat on the table at any time.

GHOUL CALL

HYPNOTIC GAZE

Vampire / 12 / Area Effect The vampire summons a ghoul to temporarily join his warband. This ghoul may placed on the table anywhere the vampire’s warband was allowed to deploy for the scenario, as long as it is no closer than 3” to an enemy figure. The caster may not cast this spell again until the ghoul either leaves the table or ceases to be part of his warband. The ghoul may pick up and carry treasure but can never have or use items.

Vampire / 14 / Line of Sight This spell may be cast while the caster is in combat, otherwise it has a maximum range of 2”. Select a target figure; that figure must make a Will Roll to resist. If the Will Roll fails, the target suffers the effects of a Mind Control spell. However, the spell is immediately cancelled if the target is ever out of line of sight, or more than 12” away from the caster. The target must attempt a new Will Roll versus the Casting Roll at the end of each of its activations to cancel the spell.

LIFEDRAIN

Vampire / 10 / Self Only

MIST FORM Vampire / 10 / Self Only This spell may be cast while the vampire is in combat. For the rest of this turn and the next, the vampire gains the Energy Drain trait. The vampire takes 1 point of damage when this spell is cast; however, if it damages a creature during the turn, that is not immune to Energy Drain, this point of damage is regained.

PSYCHIC LEECH Vampire / 10 / Line of Sight This spell may only be cast on an undead creature with a Will Stat of +2 or less that is not under the control of another Spellcaster. If this creature is controlled by another caster, this spell is cancelled. Whenever the target of this spell causes damage to another creature, that is not undead, construct, or demon, the caster of this spell regains 1 point of Health. This may not take the caster above its starting Health. A caster may have a maximum of 2 castings of this spell active at any time. The caster may cancel a casting of this spell at any time as a free action.

The caster turns into a cloud of mist and gains the flying trait. While in mist form, the caster may move through any space, no matter how small. While in mist form the caster may not pick up or carry treasure, and any treasure being carried is dropped. The caster may not cast spells or use any items, nor may it attack or make a shooting attack. The caster is immune to all forms of nonmagic damage. Other figures can move into combat with the caster and attack; however, no figure may force combat against the caster. If in combat, the caster may move out of combat freely. The caster may end this spell as a free action either at the end of a turn or at any point during its activation.

THRALLDOM Vampire / 8 / Out of Game (A) The vampire can add one soldier of any type to his warband as a permanent member without paying its cost. The soldier suffers a permanent -1 Will penalty. If this soldier is reduced to 0 Health during a game roll a die, on 1–10 the soldier has either died or escaped the vampire’s control. On 11+ it recovers and continues as part of the warband.

EARTHQUAKE

Fire Giant / 14 / Line of Sight The caster makes a +3 elemental magic shooting attack against a target within 16”. This attack does +4 damage. In addition, all figures in contact with the target figure also suffer a +1 elemental magic shooting attack that does +4 damage. Any figure that suffers damage from these attacks is immediately moved 2” in a random direction.

Fire Giant / 12 / Area Effect The caster pounds the ground and sends a massive shockwave rolling through the earth. Every figure within 8” of the caster (but not the caster) must make an immediate Move Roll (TN20). Large creatures get +2 to this roll. If it fails, it is knocked prone. While prone, a figure is a -2 Fight, -2 Shoot, and -2 to all Casting Rolls and may not take a Move action. A figure can get back to their feet simply by spending a Move action. This requires the full move action.

ENFLAME

MIST SHROUD

Fire Giant / 8 / Line of Sight The caster causes a weapon to burst into sudden flames. This weapon is now considered magic and does +2 damage. If cast upon a missile weapon, such as a bow, crossbow, or javelin, then the bonus only applies to the next attack made with that weapon.

MAGNIF Y Fire Giant / 14 / Out of Game (A) This spell may be cast on any magical weapon, magical armour, or potion. In the case of a magical weapon or armour, the giant can change the size of the weapon so that it is usable by a giant if it was human-sized or a human if it was giant-sized. If cast upon a normal potion, the potion is doubled so that it becomes a giant-sized potion.

RAZE Fire Giant / 14 / Line of Sight This spell can target any piece of terrain within 12” of the caster. A 3” diameter section of that terrain (include all height) is completely destroyed and should be either removed from the table or marked in some way. Any figure that was standing on that terrain falls, taking damage as normal. In addition, all figures on, or within 2” of the destroyed section of terrain immediately suffer a +2 Shooting attack (these attacks are not magical).

Fire Giant / 8 / Area Effect A thick blanket of mist surrounds the caster. This figure, and any figures within 3”, suffer no penalties for being Large when rolling against shooting attacks.

PYRE Fire Giant / 12 / Line of Sight This spell creates a 2” diameter circle of flame, that reaches 3” high, within 12” of the caster. This circle may not be placed in contact with a figure. Anytime a figure moves into contact with this circle of flame, or activates while in contact with it, it suffers an +3 elemental magic attack. This circle of flames blocks line of sight. At the end of each turn, roll a die. On 1–2 the flame is extinguished and should be removed from the table.

RUNIC STONE Fire Giant / 16 / Out of Game (B) or Touch This spell engraves potent words of power into a stone surface. This can be the wall of a building or cave, a cliff-face, a statue, or even a freestanding stone. While the caster is within 12” of this stone, it may empower all of its spells and Will Rolls on a 1-for-1 basis (one Health for one increase to the roll) instead of the 2-for-1 that is normal for Fire Giant wizards. In addition, the wizard may use the stone as a Wizard Eye (see Wizard Eye spell). A wizard may have two of these stones active at any one time but they must be at least 36” apart. A wizard may not have a Runic Stone and a Wizard Eye spell active at the same time. A wizard may cancel any casting of this spell at any time. For full rules see Blood Legacy page 23.

FIRE GIANT SPELL CARDS

COMET