Me and the boys met for game two of the "Hunt for theGolem" Frostgrave mini-campaign. After my poor showing during the last
foray I was determined to do better and I did...sort of. This particular
scenario posed an interesting problem, namely the Golem himself. The action
takes place in ruined garden with the Golem present and loaded for bear. The
tricky part was that the wizards were there to examine the Golem and therefore
he could not be killed or the campaign would be over and all the wizards would
receive 0 experience! However, as we desperately tried to gather treasure and
hopefully examine the Golem it was trying its very best to kill us all...
Before I jump to the pictures I would like to examine the
different tactics and methods used by my opponents the Deuce, and Big Rob.
The Deuce is a very mathematical, methodical, and analyticalplayer. It kind of makes sense because before he was an educator he was a
lawyer and he is also a longtime World of Warcraft devotee. I struggle against
him gaming in part because I am absolutely not a "number cruncher" and
I have never been adept at "min-maxing" or playing the odds. I do enjoy
playing against the Deuce because it makes me a better player, I have to think
through my tactics in a more thoughtful way rather than just "giving it a go." He also is a great role-player, he adds great characterizations to
his wizards and comes up with hilarious commentary over the on-board action.
Big Rob is a classic gamer, he has a background in RPG's, board games, and the Games Workshop stable of tabletop games (Warhammer etc.). He has a good grasp of tactics and looks for the best way to win based on the scenario. He is very clever at using unorthodox methods to achieve a goal. My biggest obstacle in beating Rob is he almost always has a counter to any move I make, it is very difficult to take him off-guard. One of the cool things about playing with him is he enjoys the narrative and adds to the immersion factor.
Then there is me...I am impetuous, I love taking risks, I am very aggressive, and I try not to "over think" my moves. I think I have a good grasp of tactics but I skew towards historical and big battle gaming so it doesn't always carry over to fantasy/skirmish gaming. I tend to win big or lose big. I can be more methodical when I am playing a campaign with limited resources but I still tend to be more aggressive than average. I also think that spending so much time playing solo has me make more assumptions about real opponents than I probably should.
But enough of that rubbish...to the game!
This shows the board and the initial deployments of our wizard bands. I am to the left, Rob is at the bottom and Deuce's necky is to the right
A glam shot of my apprentice and Emi the attack dog
My wizard and Tiny the warhound. I used my warhounds as wizard protectors, it worked pretty well
My archer climbing a pillar to get the treasure...
Deuce's apprentice, captain and soldiers
the Necky, his zombie Fang Face and company
The object of the quest...Fearsome!
My Barbarian and summoned imp peak around the corner to get a glimpse of the Golem
Big Rob's marksman sets up with a good field of fire...
While his wizard "turtles" behind a wall.
Most of the game was spent playing "hide and seek" from the Golem
My thief with a couple of bodyguards grabs a treasure
Rob's treasure hunter approaching a treasure, the green bead signifies he has "Fleet Feet" cast on him
My apprentice casts "control construct" on one of the many statues in the garden...
and it distracts the Golem and gives me XP!
the Necky apprentice peeks around the corner at Rob's marksman
While the rest of his troops go for treasure
My barbarian and his imp friend hide from the Golem
Peek-a-Boo!
My thief makes off with a treasure
I am going after the Neck's treasure..
Can I get there in time?
the Necky's crossbowman gets a clear field of fire
The Chrono will leap his treasure hunter successfully away...
"Do I have a summon Beer spell?"
Nice field of fire...
A wandering wolf takes out the Chrono's captain...Doh!
The Golem charges the necromancer band...
Rob's wizard eye being cast...
...carefully..
...success!
I have to get through the necky captain to get the treasure...
the Deuce's troops make off with two more treasures
The captain falls!
...another angle..,
...and another
Captain Stewie charges the Chrono's troops, I did major damage but did not manage to kill a single soldier!
I caught up with the necky knight and hammered him, but the Deuce managed to leap him to safety
Rob still hiding from the Golem
Marco...
um...Marco?
My barbarian ends up isolated and falling to the necky's minions
Another angle...
"he's over here!"
Fang face sacrifices himself for the greater good (evil?)
Another of my controlled statues makes off with a treasure...
Andy the apprentice weaves his spell
My imp distracts the Golem
Rob's soldiers are coming for my captain...
My apprentice kills himself trying to cast a spell ending the action
The Game ended with the Deuce once again getting the edge in experience by making off with four treasures and getting all of the Golem related XP. I came in next with three treasures and finally Rob's Chrono with two. It looks like it is going to be a week or so before we can get the last game in so until then...as the Brits say, "Au Revoir!"
