What
has always interested me about Frostgrave is the exploration of a frozen
city. Many people have talked about, and
even created, mods that allow Frostgrave to be played as a solo or coop
game. I am now doing the same, with an
emphasis on exploration and story-telling.
I’m not interested in creating scenarios, per say, but rather a flexible
system that allows objectives to evolve during play.
The
idea came when I saw a deck of tarot cards called the Wizards Tarot. I loved the artwork and it
reminded me of both Frostgrave and Hogwarts. I realized that
the deck could be used as a source of random events each time a player explored
a new location. The events could be tied
to the picture on the card, with that picture being a glimpse of what this part
of the city looked like before the Great Catastrophe. As such, the narrative could be as much about
history and archeology as it will be about bashing heads and snatching loot. That was the goal, anyway.
Having
made 20 “mystery tokens”, I placed them in buildings and ruins across the 4’x4’
map. Figures that reach mystery tokens activate
them and draw a card to explain the discovery.
A typical discovery involves learning the location of a treasure
(generally guarded by a monster) at a different location determined by rolling
d20. The mystery token corresponding to
the roll is replaced by the treasure token and the random monster. Both players may race to reach the treasure
first, if so inclined. While half of the
cards work in the manner described, the other half have unique events
associated with them.
You can see the table I created here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LPv30yOqwQxasLwMi8Z781S2kRra9VqK/view
As a multiplayer game, it can be played as a competition,
or it can be coop, or a hybrid.
By
hybrid, I mean that players can still compete to get treasure and xp, without
attacking each other directly.
What
follows is an experiment with solo play.
Arpatania
the Sigilist and her apprentice, Prilla, have assembled their team. Overlooking the area, Arpatania notes the dangerous
presence of a white gorilla and a wraith.
These she will seek to avoid, given the inexperience of her band. Arpatania decides to divide the band into two
teams. She will lead one and Prilla the
other.
Arpatania’s
team approaches a small ruined structure.
The templar watches through the doorway while Brutus the Thug sneaks in
through a broken wall. Investigating the
mystery token calls for a card to be drawn.
The
Moon. This chamber was used for
ceremonial rites by witches of an unknown coven. The floor has been worn smooth by centuries of
dancing and devotion. While looking
along the line of two standing stones, Brutus notices the entrance to a secret
passage. A d20 roll reveals the exit to
be mystery token 19. Arpatania leads her
team into the deep passage, happy to have found a short-cut across the
map. She was less happy to find that the
wraith had drifted into the area near the exit.
Lacking any magical weapons to combat the wraith, her team would spend
most of the remaining turns dodging and running. Fortunately, her apprentice Prilla was having
better luck.
Prilla’s
team entered a large structure with several rooms. She sent her crossbowman to the left and
directed the others toward mystery token 3.
Chu the spearman went first and discovered this was the manner of a
great warlord. Among the ruins were his
trophies of war. One sword drew Chu’s
attention immediately. As he reached to
grasp it, a slick red demon emerged from a crack in the floor. This unholy creature of congealed blood and
malice fought hard, but Chu and his companions brought it down and claimed the
treasure.
Meanwhile,
the crossbowmen explored the chamber to the left. Mung kept his crossbow ready while his
brother revealed Mystery token 4. This
room was a council hall. The warlord
probably addressed his lieutenants here and accepted tribute from his vassals.
Although
they report nothing of interest to Prilla, she was aware that their presence in
this place has caused a disturbance.
Magical ley lines carry the energy to a distant location in Felstad (d20
= 7) causing the awakening of a treasure token and guardian creature at mystery
token 7.
Prilla
judges location 7 to be too distant and leads her party upstairs to see what
else might be found on the upper floor of the manor.
Treading
carefully, ever wary of cave-ins, Mung approaches mystery token 5. The others take position to give him instant
backup.
Thinking
they might find an abattoir or harem upstairs, Mung is surprised to find the
bedchambers of the warlord, his wife, and children. All evidence suggests the blessings of a
happy and normal domestic life. Perhaps,
thinks Mung, not all warlords are the ones he served on the Falcon Plains.
Prilla,
always sensitive to the flow of arcane energies, knows that their discussion
of the warlord’s wife has resonated with some spirit in a nearby tower. Could it be the Lady herself? A treasure token and guardian are placed at
mystery token 8. That is not far off, so
the party gets moving.
Crossing
a bridge on the way to the tower, Prilla’s team sees a plaza ahead (and mystery
token 6). Before the catastrophe struck
Felstad, this must have been a beautiful place. It is easy to imagine people
sitting here to relax and to dream. The
man-at-arms, indulging in a powerful daydream himself, almost falls off the
edge before Mung pulls him back. It was a
vision of a tomb in the tower.
No sooner does the soldier relate his vision to Prilla then
from that very tower a hideous ghoul emerges to attack. Mung and his brother both loose bolts. One strikes home. The ghoul is staggering and easily finished
off by the stroke of a sword.
A treasure gleams from within the tower and Prilla thinks
the spirit of the Warlord’s Lady is hiding at the top. Sadly, there is no more time to explore. On turn seven, Arpatania investigates a
mystery and the d20 roll indicates a location that was already revealed. Thus endeth the game. In seven turns, the sigilists and their soldiers revealed
eight mystery tokens, took two treasure counters, and defeated two monsters to
earn 120 xp. The mystery of the tower will have to wait for another day.
