We were fortunate enough to have some friends come visit from the UK. Not only was it nice to see them face to face we actually got to get a game of Frostgrave in!
In addition to this blog post you can see Tom‘s blog about the visit from his point of view…
https://darkspacemessages.blogspot.com/2021/11/german-trip-days-4-5-painting-chatting.html
Tom and Laura generously presented us with a couple of gifts, a mini that will do nicely for our Tarnished Splendor project and a 3d printed obelisk that will suit our Frostgrave games.
Tom did the 3d modeling as well as the actual print!
Unfortunately, I did not quite get my Necromancer and his warband fully painted in time but we did not let that stop us. I should have probably focused more on painting and less on discussing philosophy, politics and cinema.
Mrs. GG did manage to get her warband ready in time however…
… thanks to her Contrast paints speed painting. Just a bit of finishing touches needed on some bases.
My plan for our game was to focus on it being cooperative and memorable. So my thinking was… make it big! Dwarven Forge caverns and burrows….
We started with the dragon slaying scenario from Spellcaster #2, the Lair of Gremolean but we added some extra twists. First we used the AI from the dragon slaying campaign in Spellcaster #7, the Great Wyrm. Then we doubled the number of minor demons. We also used Ulterior Motives to give each of us our own personal agenda in addition to slaying Gremolean. Finally we went with a 6×4 table and each of us starting in a different corner.
All of us had fairly new warbands and were still learning the second edition Frostgrave rules. This led to a few mistakes and delays as we looked up rules but we were all eager to play and had fun even before we rolled the first dice.
Things started grim as we had not anticipated how easily the demons would rush towards our warbands and catch us at chokepoints created by the terrain. This prevented us from making the most of our greater numbers. We used GW Orc models as minor demons.
Our Ulterior Motives also added a werewolf, 3 ghouls and a Homunculus to our troubles. At first things looked very grim as we each quickly took casualties, including Tom losing his apprentice.
However, once we got past the chokepoints we were able to destroy the magic mushrooms (I did not have enough crystals) that Gremolean had invested his essence into… causing him great distress (and reducing his stats).
Finally Mrs. GG was able to slay the beast, although she was not able to achieve her Ulterior Motive in time. There were more surprises I had added, just in case, that we did not get to due to time, a greater demon and matriarch spider.
It was a great game and I really wish Tom and Laura lived closer so we could do more gaming together. They were great sports, getting into the spirit of the game and just plain being fun to play with. I certainly had my share of childlike glee… although since I kept rolling better for the Monsters than for my warband I thought for sure my warband was doomed and that all four warbands might get wiped out.
Lots of Kickstarter news.
We were just too undecided on the Dwarven Forge Reliquaries KS to pledge for more than the 1 Dollar pledge so that we can postpone making a decision until the pledge manager closes at some point in the future. We like the sculpts but the prices are financially challenging for us, for what they are.
| Reliquaries: Fantasy Dice Thrones & Metal Relic DiceReliquaries are hand-painted displays for your favorite dice. Complement them with custom-made Relic Metal dice sets.www.kickstarter.com |
We decided to pass on the Gnome Guard KS. They are so cute but gain our finances just could not stretch to cover them.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tommasonsculptor/the-gnome-guard-28mm-miniatures/description
Tiny Furniture has a great looking campaign for sitting Figures and furniture that we are considering.
| SITTING FOLKSHigh-Quality Resin Miniatures in Sitting Poseswww.kickstarter.com |
I have regretted not backing their kickstarters in the past. It is too bad we cannot afford their painting service.
Printable Scenery has a new KS that has terrain and Figures designed by Johnny Frasier Allan of Hagglethorn Hollow fame. Normally we do not back 3d print STL campaigns but this one we might…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/printablescenery/rise-of-the-halflings/description
… it reminds us of the Printable Scenery Hagglethorn Hollow STL campaign.
In other news, Fear the Walking Dead and Walking Dead: World Beyond continue to disappoint while Superstore is good without being great.
What shows are you watching and what games are you playing?
Home of the Grumpy Gnome 
Looks like you had a great game!
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It was great fun. I just wish we could do it more often.
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That Frostgrave game looks incredible! Visually stunning and just a fun time for everybody. Nice job!
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Thanks! We are big Frostgrave and Dwarven Forge fans.
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Nice setup for the game. The mat seems to go pretty well with the cavern pieces, maybe more so with the burrows.
Never played Frostgrave. I see and hear good things about it.
Didn’t go in at all on the DF Reliquaries. The pieces look nice, but I have no need for their primary purpose of dice holders, and as scatter terrain they are too pricey and of limited use. I can get stuff nearly as interesting but more usable at the Dollar Store after applying a little elbow grease, or aquarium supplies from amazon/ebay.
I don’t like being negative on the forums, particularly during a KS. Sometimes I wonder if it is better to let them know why I am not interested, but in truth they kinda left me behind a few years ago for various reasons. One is all the celebrity stuff they have invested in since KS 5 or 6. Its a shame they pander to those youtube guys, when they have so many creative and active gamers on their own forum. I’d rather see Law or Oldent or Talistran or Feymous have some face and build time on a KS instead of Billy Joe Ray Dunston or Saltine or who the hell ever. I know the company is trying to access their followers, but I also know for a fact they are losing some of their long time fans doing it, while ignoring other things wanted and promised (more water tiles, the science fiction project – which they backseated for this reliquary stuff).
Another rant – sorry. I seem to do that every time I swing by your blog…
Not watching any TV. Doing some painting of terrain bits from D&L right now. Much of that stuff is pretty easy with primer, a wet/heavy drybrush, and a final lighter drybrush.
Cheers!
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Grumpy looks you you had a great game – the dungeon scenery is superb.
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Thanks mate!
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Thanks for the kind words mate. As usual I agree with your points.
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Have to admit I was cyber stalking your friends on their trip, made me miss brats, beer, and schnitzel more than my waist line can accept.
Surprised you didn’t have them fill up their trunk/boot with UK gaming supplies before they came over, or would they have to pay some kind of tax?
Funny you’ve been watching Voyager, we started watching it then US Netflix took it off. Went to Next Generation but we seem to have fonder memories of it than what we are getting in rewatching it. The special effects aren’t much better than the original and Q is more annoying.
The sitting character kickstarter is interesting, at one point I wanted to do a tavern scene but found sitting characters hard to find in a consistent scale.
I noticed that sarrisa has the secure compound I mentioned https://sarissa-precision.com/products/secure-compound-scenery-set-28mm , still so tempted.
By the way, nice muttonchops!
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I do enjoy the food here in Germany. Perhaps too much.
We were unsure how taxes would go.
To be fair we probably do not need sitting characters but they make nice stuff and the price is good since it is a Kickstarter.
I am so tempted to do post-apoc… must… resist…
As for the muttonchops, the movie version of Colour Sergeant Bourne inspires me.
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The pictures from the game and more importantly, I’m glad that you had a great time playing too! All of the hard work on terrain has paid off, I would say. It looks like you’ve got plenty of Kickstarters keeping you hyped as well. That will certainly keep your productivity up going into 2022 with all those new goodies arriving 🙂
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Thanks mate! It was brilliant fun. I wish we could do it more often. Despite still having a mind numbing backlog of things to paint I keep finding things I want. Some of the things that I have lost interest in or have become a lower priority are going to have to head to eBay.
I keep trying to resist post-apoc, Wild West and Back of Beyond/Pulp Interwar. Lately I have also had to start resisting WW2 era alternative history. So difficult!
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I know what you mean, mate. There’s always something else I want to paint or game with as well and never enough time to do so!
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Doh! I won some Warlord Games WW2 Infantry at a bargain price on eBay… uh-oh…
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Congrats and this is how eBay gets someone in trouble, mate 😉
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Yup, very much so.
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Awesome use of Dwarvenforge for Frostgrave – I have been slowly building a DF collection for that dame purpose.
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Thanks! It takes time to put together a DF collection, especially if you are hunting for good deals… but I think it is worth the effort. It helps motivate me to hear others like the photos I post on the blog. I am sure you will enjoy a DF Felstad!
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