Drake's Perch: First Game of Fur-grave

A Silver Drake perches atop the ruins hiding one of the central treasures in our first game of Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago

When I first floated out the idea of running Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago for my friends on our Sunday evening game night, quite a few seemed interested. I wanted to use my collection of Splintered Light Miniatures animals as crews, so I merrily began painting away. You've possibly seen me charting my progress on this blog, to include creating additional terrain beyond what I'd already made for my SE Asian Pulp games. Last night, though, was the big night -- our first game of "Fur-grave!" I had 8 players show up and compete, so I did not play and ran it as GM, instead. I split my host's 8'x4' table into two 4'x4' boards, with four players each.

All eight of my players gathered around the two boards - from left, Joel (Squirrels), Mike W (Pine Martens), Brett (Satyrs), Keith (Raccoons), Andy (Badgers), Mike S (Mice), Allen (Jungle Rats), Brian (Weasels)

One player needed to be done a bit early for work Monday morning, so I had an "early" starting group at 6pm and the other four at our normal 7:30pm start time. The rules explanation seemed to go easily enough, and by and large all the players picked up the mechanics quickly. I am sure we made some mistakes here and there, but everything seemed to flow very well. Since my jungle-pattern battle mat I'd recently purchased is only about seven feet wide, I had a river section on the end of the one board. I placed some hill pieces each side of the river material rectangle to create a winding river, with little islands and bridges across it.

Brett's Satyrs hurry towards a treasure they've spotted nestled behind a row of ancient statues

I used the "four corners" style deployment suggested in the rules for 4 players, with two central treasures in the middle of the each 4'x4' board. Eight ordinary treasures were spaced out relatively evenly between the central treasures and the board edges. I want to simplify the setup and have everything ready for my players when they arrived. Most treasure locations were semi-ruined temple sections or piles of rubble. Thankfully, I'd painted so many treasure tokens up that I had more than enough for two games simultaneously!

Andy's Badgers split up to grab multiple treasures -- with one crewman about to search a semi-ruined temple

In the first game, I had Andy's Badger crew vying against Keith Raccoons, Brett's Satyrs, and the Mice belonging to Mike S (who had painted his own crew). I think initially the players thought they would be nice and not attack each other. However, that cooperation soon went by the wayside as players deployed creatures generated from random encounters to attack their opponents and began snatching up treasures others coveted. Andy's Badgers, in particular, took it on the chin as he tried to quietly slip off the board with treasures in hand. I have asked each player to send me an account so I can give more details in each game. The big winner on the first board seemed to be Brett's Satyrs, who snagged a central treasure and three minor ones with no losses.

The Jungle Rats' Heritor in combat with a Large Snake -- one of the many random encounters that plagued this crew

The second game saw Joel's Squirrel Crew (painted for him by Keith), Brian's Weasels, Allen's Jungle Rats, and the Pine Marten Crew of Mike W. I actually "spaced it" and swapped the Weasel and Pine Marten figures, so I may have to rectify that in the second game! In the second game, random encounters quickly began to fill up the table. What was very interesting was that Mike W won most of the rolls to place them, which he did to thwart the advance of the Jungle Rats across the table. First, Allen's rats came under attack by a Large Snake, which the Heritor eventually dispatched with one mighty swing. Next, a pair of Rat Tribal Warriors caught sight of their Jungle rivals and charged. The rats knocked out the Heritor and grievously wounded the crew's Warden (one health point left!). Allen was given some unintentional help when the Weasel Warden slung a magical projectile into combat and accidentally took out one of the tribal warriors. Allen's crew was able to rally and kill off the final warrior, and escape with one treasure, dragging their unconscious leader with them.

Soon after the snake was slain, a pair of Rat Warriors (my "Dricheans" in Fur-grave) spot their Jungle rivals an charge

Meanwhile, by the river, Joel's squirrels crossed the bridges to snag a treasure on the island. They tried to block the Weasels' Heritor from crossing another bridge to grab a treasure on a nearby island. However, the Weasel leader, and a crewmen who had looted the other central treasure, both surmounted the obstacle and escaped off-board. The Pine Martens, meanwhile, took their time and grabbed both a central treasure and a nearby minor one. All the while, Mike W dispatched random encounters (Drakes, Gargoyles, Baboons) to hem in the Jungle Rats and keep them from contesting the center of the table with his Pine Marten crew.

The Weasel Crew (alas, I gave Brian the Pine Marten figs!) advances to contest the riverside treasures with the Squirrels

When most of the treasures had been seized, the players on the second table decided to call it a halt. The looming showdown between the Pine Marten Heritor and the Squirrel Warden was not to be, as darkness falls suddenly in the tropics (apparently). Interestingly, my Southeast Asian location was felt in person as a violent rainstorm actually knocked out the power at my host's house for about five minutes. The players watched wide-eyed as winds hurled his rattan deck furniture around, outside. More than one cocked their head and wondered if they'd left the windows of their cars open...ha, ha! Life in the summer tropics of Columbus, Ohio!

A Pine Marten crewman (Alas, I gave Mike the Weasel figs!) escapes with a treasure found on a ruined staircase

Stay tuned for the accounts of the players, which will follow this entry. I've received accounts already from the Mice, Badgers, and Squirrels, and will hopefully receive the others, as well! I was gratified that all eight took the time to say they enjoyed the game and thank me for all the work that went into getting this campaign ready for the tabletop. I expect we will run Fur-grave sequels every 3-4 weeks, depending on player availability. So, stay tuned for more...!

The Foxes!

The Fox crewmen for my Ghost Archipelago campaign (Splintered Light Miniatures)

I thought I was done with my Ghost Archipelago crews for my players, but then another friend expressed interest in playing, as well. I sorted through my Splintered Light Miniatures animals, slapped my head with a "Doh!" when I found four more unpainted crews already sorted out, and picked the foxes to paint. When I was looking through the unpainted lead bag, I was surprised how few poses there really were. I would end up having to use the same figure pose two of the five-man crews. Not to worry, though, as one of them would be the Warden and he would be substantially modified.

The Fox crew's leader, or Heritor,  in Ghost Archipelago terms

Starting with the figure I picked out to be the crew's Heritor, there really wasn't much choice. He was so obviously a leader figure, from the cape to the heavier armor, to the pointing, commanding arm. Since he was leader, I had to give him a purple cloak in my favorite Ral Partha "Tongue Purple" color, and dry brushed in a lighter shade. The detail in the figure's chainmail made it easy to paint. I spiced it up a bit with a bronze helmet, and some gold armbands. Although there is not a lot of "fox" showing on this fig, I really liked the way her turned out.

The Fox crew's modified Warden, or spellcaster. I added an Iron Wind 25mm fox to the base as a familiar

This figure is the same pose as the middle one below (and at top - sorry for the repeat photograph). The big modification was to cut out the large sword from his left hand and replace it with a banded staff. I used some beads from another project to build the staff, gluing the top half under the hand and the top half onto the fist. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. It may be a tad chunky, but what the heck? I actually had another photo of the front half of the Warden, but it was so out of focus I just couldn't bring myself to use it. As a final touch, I added an Iron Wind Metals 25mm fox to the base as a familiar. I have done this with a lot of the crews. If nothing else, it makes it easier to pick out which fig is the Warden!

Deja vu? Yep, these guys again...

I forgot to do a "crew assembled" photograph for the first photo. So, you have to look at this one again -- ha, ha! I did not come up with a fancy theme for this crew -- no medieval quartering, or stripes, or whatever. I figured that the foxes coloring is distinctive enough I really didn't want to compete with that. Once cool touch on the middle figure was how the hair coming off of his face is tied up into locks or braids with ribbons. The sash around the waist also kind of makes him pirate or reggae looking, so maybe I missed an opportunity here. The other two were done in plain tunics with a base color and dry brush. They were all molded with armbands, which I did in copper for this bunch to set off the reddish tone of their fur. Speaking of which, I used Iron Wind metals Red Brown for the base coat, then did a light drybrush of Howard Hues Middle East Flesh for their coloring. I always look up Google images of the creatures I am painting so I can get the fur patterns as correct as possible.

So, will there be yet another crew to be painted? Perhaps. I kicked myself when I found the box where I had pre-sorted figures for another 3-4 warbands. I certainly have the unpainted lead. And who knows? Maybe another friend will jump in and want to play!

Rats! More "monster" progress...

Splintered Light Miniatures Rats -- who will be taking on the role of "Dricheans" in my Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago

My upcoming Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago campaign is taking a slight spin-off from the worldview that the creators of the game envisioned. Instead of human adventurers exploring the South Seas, I am using the Splintered Light Miniatures animals as my races. So, my players have chosen from among my Badgers, Mice, Bears, etc., to fill out their crews. Similarly, I am modifying the "monsters" they will encounter. One of the races said to inhabit the Ghost Archipelago's islands are called Drichean -- essentially Bronze Age humans. I decided to substitute these out, as well, and make the islands "rat-infested."

My favorite rat is the one in the center here - the dark gray with light gray drybrush fur came out best, I thought

Here is what should be the last of the monster I have to paint up to be ready to game -- my Dricheans, Splintered Light Rats. I painted them in a variety of fur colors, with a tendency towards dark gray. So, in that way, they are not a whole lot different than my Splintered Light mice that I've painted up. However, they certainly look nastier, which is on whole the difference between a mouse and a rat...ha, ha! I gave them solid but dull colored clothes, and primitive looking shield designs. For decoration, they have copper rather than bronze or gold.

Rats guarding a treasure token somewhere on a "rat-infested isle" in the South Seas

Also pictured in each is one of the dozen resin chests that I painted up as treasure tokens for Frostgrave. One of the main objectives in games of Frostgrave for the adventuring parties are scrambling for (and fighting over) treasures located on the board. One of my friends had given me a bunch of these that he had cast up from Hirst Arts molds, and I also had a couple Acheson Creations ones. I also painted up some with stone floor bases (not pictured) for those that I'll tuck inside ruined temples and such.

At this stage, I just have the odd monster or two to paint up, in case my players encounter multiples of the same monster. So, look for me to actually run my first game in a month or so. I still want to create player aids - such as cards for the monsters and spells. Not everyone has rushed out and bought the rules, so I think having these will move the game along much better.

Fur-grave: Gallery of the Warbands

I'm ready to start my Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago campaign with my regular Sunday evening gaming group. The South Seas setting really appealed to me because I had so much appropriate terrain painted up already from my 28mm Pulp games set in Southeast Asia. As you have likely seen from earlier posts, I will be using the anthropomorphic figures from Splintered Light Miniatures as my warbands.

I have been busy painting up warbands for my players to select from for the last few months. Each warband will be half the size the rules suggest (5 figures, instead of 10). This is because we will have bigger groups playing, most likely. For their convenience, and as an introduction, here they are all gathered together. Some may show 6 or more figures painted, but that was just to give them some variety or choice!.

Badgers

Badger Heritor and Warden (with familiar on base)

Badger Spear and Axe

Badger Archer and Axe

Bears

Bear Heritor with Animal crew

Bear Warden with small brown bear familiar on base

Bear crewmen

Jungle Rats

Jungle Rat crew, with Heritor in black at front left, and Warden in middle with staff

 Pine Martens

The Pine Marten warband

Pine Marten Heritor and Warden

Pine Marten crew

More Pine Marten crew

Raccoons

Raccoon Warden (with raccoon familiar on base) and Raccoon Heritor

Raccoon Crew

Satyrs

Satyr Warband

Satyr Warden

Blurry image (sorry!) of the Satyr Heritor

Satyr spear and archer

Satyr Sword and Archer

Weasels

Weasel Warband

Weasel Warden

Weasel Heritor

Weasel Crew

 Assemble Your Own Crew

In case any of my players want to create a motley warband of various, random Splintered Light Miniatures animals, I am giving this option on a first-come, first served basis. As you can tell, I really like SLM's animals. One thing, though, is that many of their cool creatures are single-casting, or have just a couple poses. So, we'll see if any players decides to go this route. For their convenience, here are the rest of the SLM animals I've painted!

Three mice (not blind), suitable for either crew, Warden, or even Heritor

Three Squirrels

Two Skunks

Two Opossums

Two Wolverines

Two Beavers

One Coyote Warrior

One Prairie Dog Warrior

Wildcat Warrior (or Heritor?)

Armadillo Warrior

Fox Warrior

New Frostgrave Warband: Weasels

Weasel warband using Splintered Light Miniatures

I had to put painting more Frostgrave warbands on hold while I finished up some terrain and miniatures for my Wars of Insurgency (modern skirmish) scenario that I was playtesting this past weekend. Once those were out of the way, though, I primed up four unpainted Splintered Light Miniatures weasels. A couple of the figures required modification, which I will discuss below. This brings me up to six painted warbands. Considering one of my players has painted up his own mice warband, I am just about ready to begin play.

A heavily-armored weasel will be this warband's Heritor, most likely

First up is the leader of the warband, the Heritor. He was the most heavily armored and impressive looking of the five, so I chose him. Of course, if whichever of my players decides for the Heritor to be one of the other figures, that's their call, too. I was going for a somewhat pastel theme to this warband. So, I decided a rose or pink color would be interesting and different. I thought copper colored armor would make the color palette even more striking, so I added highlights and plate in that color. I really like this figure, although the "sniffing armpit" post isn't the most unique or impressive in their line, he painted up really cool looking, I feel.

The warband's Warden, or spellcaster -- a figure I modified to give a cool-looking wizard's staff

This figure began as an axeman. He held a small axe in both hands, which I thought I could convert into a staff. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I snipped off the axe at the blade and flattened out the surface. I glued a tiny golden bead to the top. I added a piece of appropriate width spear shaft to the bottom of the axe, and voila! It was done -- axeman to wizard! I gave each of the figures besides the Heritor a fancy, scrolled "W" (for Weasel, naturally!). I like this one's design the best, as I tried to make it look like arcane writing, too. I'm very happy with how this figure turned out.

The Weasel crew -- all from Splintered Light Miniatures (archer's bow added on)

And here is the crew for the Weasel warband. I decided to give front and back pictures so you could see the scroll "W's" on them. I added the bow to the archer on the right. I simply took a length of lead spear, bent it appropriately, and epoxied it to his back. From there, it was all paint. I like how it looks slung across his back. The one on the left was actually painted previously. I did at a tuft of grass to make him match the other four better, but otherwise he was untouched from before. I really liked the scroll W on the back of the swordsman in the middle. I was able to give it a lighter touch, which I think looks better than the thicker designs on the other figures.

What's next? I have six Satyr figures on my desk, primed and with their flesh base-coated. Once this batch is done, I think I will go ahead and let players choose their races, outfit their warbands, and we'll play our first game. I'm looking forward to trying out a Ghost Archipelago campaign, and hope the players enjoy it!