Terrain Diagram Series #1: Scaffolding Alfa

Meet Scaffolding Alfa!

She is built out of hobby store balsa wood and a variety of BBQ skewers I was able to pick up at the grocery store. One brand from Safeway's had this thicker section to it but I decided to embrace it's oddity and use it to make a raised platform.

I used alot of super glue and a spacing block that I had laying around (Small Chunk of 4" x 4" cut to around 2" long) to fit the two platforms together while lashing with heavy thread. I love how Alfa looks but it was a pain in the butt to put together with tying all the knots. I know I am terrible at tying them so I always super glue them underneath to keep them from coming undone. I was supposed to do a full double cross at back for bracing but I only placed a single one and I am happy enough with it. I am glad I built Alfa and started with it first as I am unsure how many more I will make of this model for my table.

Important Note: Wipe up all the excess superglue and try to glue it in places out of sight as the glue stops the stain from doing its job and will likely require a bit of paint to sharpen up. Also I used a coffee color stain and it turned out well but the balsa wood is so soft it soaks up all the stain like a sponge so be prepared to wipe of the excess quickly with a paper towel unless you are going for the dark look I wanted here.

The only reason I am using balsa wood is it is winter time and much too cold to tablesaw outside here. Also I differed from my prints in that I decided to go with two planks of wood butted up against each other instead of using the square skewer. Either or would look great.

Lastly I wanted to leave everyone with sneak peek of future content for the Terrain Diagram Series. Personally I am trying to make items suitable for Frostgrave that are mostly detailed accessories and not full on buildings themselves. I will leave buildings to the much more capable folks at Tabletop World.

Galen's Gamble: Legendary Spells

Legendary Spells

The new spells used in the campaign module work slightly differently than those in the core rulebook. I wanted them to be difficult to skill up and I did not want players to guide their roleplay and faction progression on what spells they ultimately wanted to acquire. Thus I made each spell a base cost of 20 to cast, free of casting penalties based on your chosen school. This is just a number I picked and if all players agree you could lower it if need be. But I envision them as this epic spells that take a long time to hone and make useful. Basically end game content level abilities. 

Also I liked the fact that working for the different factions at different times allows an determined wizard to garner all of them if they dare do so.

The New Spells

Polymorph Goat (LoS): The target must make an immediate will roll versus the casting roll if he fails he is transformed into a Goat! He may not attack, shoot, or cast Line of Sight spells. His fight stat is reduced to +0 and at the start of each turn, the figure may attempt to break the spell by making another Will roll against the same target, otherwise the effects last until the end of the game. Found in Honored Elven Faction Deck and classified as an illusionary spell. May be learned from Elves Honored Deck.

Conjure Elemental (T): This spell can be used both ‘Out of Game’ and during the game. If successful, the spellcaster adds one Elemental to his warband. If the spell is cast before the game, the Elemental can be deployed normally. If it is cast during a game, the Elemental appears in base contact with the spellcaster. A warband may only have one Elemental at any one time. If the Elemental is slain during a game, Conjure Elemental can be cast again to create another. An Elemental does not count towards the warband size limit. May be learned from Elves Honored Deck.

Conjure Portal (LoS): This spell creates a dimensional doorway. It can be cast multiple times to open multiple Portals if desired. Each Portal can lead figures to other Portals on the board or lead off the board. May be learned from Elves Neutral Deck.

Farsight (G): A successful cast allows the caster to inspect the inside a target building, Lair, or single piece of Scatter Terrain. May be learned from Orc Deck.

Conjure Soulstone (T): This spell attempts to siphon the life energy of a defeated foe. Soulstones take up an item slot and can be consumed to empower the casting roll of a Summon Demon or Summon Elemental spell by 5. May be learned from Cultists Neutral Deck. 

Enchanted Sword (T): This spell allows the caster to create an enchanted sword to attack enemies with fight +3. It is spawned touching the base of the caster. Should the enchanted sword lose a melee then it is considered slain. The enchanted sword has a base of its own and can support other figures. May be learned from Elves Neutral Deck.

Renew (T): This spell enchants a player with an aura of healing for the remainder of the game. At the start of each activation the target heals two health. May be learned from Orc Deck.

Conjure Mana Crystal (T): This spell allows a player to store a portion of their magical energy and maybe cast out of game. A warband may only hold a single Mana Crystal at a time. A Mana Crystal maybe be used by any caster to empower their spells by up to five a single time before it is used up completely and disappears. May be learned from Orc Deck.

Ice Rune (LoS): A friendly target is temporarily frozen solid, encased in a block of ice and may take no actions on its next activation. After the next activation, the frozen figure may choose to break the spell and move as normal or remain frozen. A wizard may cast this on themselves in place of their move action if they are under seven points of health. May be learned from Cultists Neutral Deck. 

Summon Mana Wraith (T): The wraith drains all energy from magical items from players they come within base to base contact with. For the rest of the game players that have previously come into contact with a Wraith may not Empower their spells by means of magical items of any type. A warband may only have one Mana Wraith at any one time. If the Mana Wraith is slain during a game, Summon Wraith may be cast again to create another. A Wraith does not count towards the warband size limit. Immaterial being. May be learned from Cultists Honored Deck. 

Well that is all for this week. Next week I want to shake it up a little and post a terrain build for the community. 

Galen's Gamble: Factions, Faction Cards, and Resources

~ A Frostgrave Module WIP ~

Factions

Prince Galen Ebon'mere's Contingent of Elves

• Desires and will pay full buying price for Grimoires. Also pays handsomely in retaliation for cultists ears as the Cultist have been found harvesting those from fresh Elven Corpses. 
• Attacks the closest player’s warband holding 3 or more Cultist Cards. Elvenkind have excellent eyesight and will engage enemies from across the battlefield.
• Defeating an Elf is worth 5xp. In a game in which Elvenkind is killed by a player AND an Elven Soldier remains on the board at the end of the game, then that player is required to take a Cultist Card.
• A player is considered respected by the elves when he holds 5 or more Elven cards. He then that point on draws only from the respected pile until such time as he is no longer respected.
• Elven Soldiers are attempting to occupy a hostile city and have been order to work in pairs. If you see only one Elven soldier chance are you likely have not spotted its escort generally working within earshot. Should you attack an Elven Soldier and only one is visible on the table then another is spawned behind one member of your warband selected at random. 

The Cult of the Undying

• Desires and pays full buy price for Scrolls, Potions, and average selling price for Grimoires. Will pay small amount for Soulstones. The Cult is on the look out for Elven Ears to as regents to fuel some of their darker magics.  
• Attacks the closest player’s warband holding 4 or more Elven Cards within LoS and 20 inches.
• Defeating a cultist is worth 10xp. Defeating demons or undead figures yields an additional 5xp.
• Cultists cast spells and are always played by your opponent when they are being targeted.
• A player is considered respected when he hands in 10 Soulstones to a member of the cult. Once respected he will never lose respect. The cult honors power first and foremost. Cultist will often elect to attack even a respected wizard if they hold 4 or more Elven Cards.

Burning Grog Orcs 

• Desires and pays full buy cost for Potions with diversity bonus. Will pay handsomely for Soulstones to free their imprisoned brethren. 
• Attacks the closest player’s warband holding 5 or more other faction cards. If warband member is over 10 inches away the Orc will just stop and watch them closely. If they come closer the Orc will sound a hunting horn and then attack. Then a pair of Orcs will enter a random edge of the board.
• Defeating an Orc is worth 10xp. In a game in which an Orcish figure is killed by a player AND an Orc remains on the board at the end of the game that player is required to take one Elven AND one Cultist card.
• The Burning Grog Orcs will likely never respect wizards given their background and circumstances during this chaotic period.

Factions Cards

Faction cards in two varieties; Neutral and Respected, they offer a DM free narrative element to the game. There are Neutral decks for all three factions and only respected decks for the Elves and Cultists. As you kill NPC of certain factions you will be assumed as in the camp of another faction as per the detailed bullet points above. Holding a certain number of these cards gives you your progress in the reputation system and many of these cards give you missions to complete in the city. Some of the Respected cards and a few of the Neutral cards give you access to new spells or equipment.  I hope to detail a series of examples for you in future posts. 

Faction Resources

Minor Resources; Smaller token items you can use for barter to cycle faction cards to gain a more desirable mission card. These include Wine Skins for the on duty Elves, Reagents for the Orcs, and Elven Ears for the Cultists. A single supply of Reagents and Wine Skins can be purchases ahead of time and take up an item slot. Elven Ears may only be harvested from corpses of Dead Elves they also take up an item slot but can like the rest mentioned here can be stacked up in the same slot.

Major Resources; May only be handed in by means of faction card mission criteria. These include Cultist Ears, Potions, Scrolls, Soulstones, and Grimoires. These mission criteria are the opportunities mentioned on the faction details above where you will be able to sell certain items for full purchase price.

Upon your first match in the campaign you find wanted posters listing a bounty for the collection of Cultist Ears warranted by one Prince Galen Ebon'mere. Cultist Ears will yield you an Elven Card when handed into any Elven Soldier. 

Well that is all for this week. Next week look for details on the new spells to be added to the game.