Frostgrave Campaign - Towers of Power (Draft 1.04)
Frostgrave Campaign - Towers of Power (Draft 1.04)
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Please enjoy.
2 -Shiaic, January 2017
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CONTENTS
Introduction 4
New Soldiers 6
Mason 6
Builder 8
The Campaign 9
Building a Wizard’s Tower 9
General Tower Features 9
Construction Phase 11
Construction Problems 12
Ending the Campaign 14
Optional Rule: Special Tower Enhancements 15
Grand Orrery Planetarium 15
Conservatory 16
Imbuing Forge 16
Hall of Mystic Mirrors 16
Crypt 17
Warded Archive of the Occult 17
Dark Retreat Chamber 18
Portal Arch 18
Crystal Meditation Sanctum 19
Grove of Tranquillity 19
Vivisectionist’s Lab 19
Reliquary 20
Scenario 1: Location, Location, Location 21
Scenario 2: The Quarry 22
Scenario 3: Labour Strike 24
Scenario 4: Defend the Tower 25
Scenario 5: Moving Day 26
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INTRODUCTION
Every wizard aspires to occupy their own tower.
A wizard’s tower is his sanctum and keep. While a wizard’s keen mind might
roam the transcendent planes of the meta-verse and probe the ancient mysteries
of lost arcana, such lofty pursuits are inarguably better conducted without the
prosaic distractions inflicted upon the body by poor weather and climate.
In short, even the mightiest of wizards need shelter. Invariably, they are
attracted to the subliminal and imposing display of architectural might inherent
in the vertical form of rock stacked upon rock. For some wizards, their tower
may only be a temporary abode; with their ambition set ultimately upon fame
(or infamy) in view to reach the golden heights of a palace spire. For others,
their first tower will serve as a life-long abode; a sanctum of solitude and study,
or a repository for their collections of arcana and the results of magical
experimentation.
Whatever the motivation, every wizard aspires to occupy their own tower.
Up until this point, your wizard has been happy to occupy his base in the ruins
of Frostgrave. Whether it be an inn, a temple, or library, this base has served its
master well as a temporary staging area for further exploration into the frozen
city. But as the city continues to thaw, and more and more explorers and
fortune-seekers continue to arrive at the city, it seems as though the ruins may
soon be reclaimed.
As one of the earliest explorers to arrive at Frostgrave, it would seem that this
gradual encroachment by late-comers might eventually lead to the reoccupation
of the city. Much danger still abounds, and this process would be difficult and
long-enduring; but shrewd as ever, your wizard has realised that, given time,
Felstad might once more become the powerful capital of a new magical empire.
There is advantage and power to be gained by positioning yourself early. Your
wizard has decided that there is merit in building a more permanent structure
to house his apprentice and hirelings, and more importantly, permanently stake
a claim upon the frozen city and whatever legacy it marks for the future.
But no sooner has your wizard conceived of his plans for a tower and sought
out the services of a mason, then rumour reaches his ear: Alculmulous the
Thaumaturge has already laid down the foundations for his own tower.
It seems that wizard’s towers will soon be appearing all over Frostgrave, and the
race for position, pre-eminence and power has begun…
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NEW SOLDIERS
MASON
The mason is both the master designer and foreman of building projects using
stone as the predominant construction material. The art of building in stone is
often passed on only to extremely talented and promising builders, selected as
apprentices by the master masons that they have worked for. A mason
understands the art of stone selection, quarrying, cutting stone, mixing mortar,
as well as sound architectural design to account for the weight and load-bearing
properties of stone.
To construct a tower, a wizard must engage a mason, who replaces one of the
other eight standard members of the wizard’s warband. If no free positions
within the warband are available, another soldier must be let go. A mason is
required for all building phases of the wizard’s tower construction, lest
unsupervised work result in damage or structural collapse instead. If the mason
is killed or lost during forays into the city of Frostgrave, no construction on that
wizard’s tower can occur during the post-game campaign sequence construction
phase. Instead, the wizard must seeks out a new mason, who then spends the
time familiarising himself with the construction project in its current state.
The process of tower construction is detailed more fully elsewhere.
Mason
M F S A W H Cost Notes
6 +1 +0 10 +0 12 80gc Dagger, Staff
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BUILDER
A builder is distinguished from a common labourer in that they have some
previous experience in construction, and more importantly, they come equipped
with their own tools ready to work. This usually includes a large sledge hammer
or crow-bar, which doubles very well as a weapon in the frozen city, and also
ensures that their ‘collective bargaining power’ can be enforced when several
builders band together, as often occurs.
Builders often start out as common labourers until they can earn enough to
purchase their own tools, and demand more pay for their acquired skills. This
often gives builders a stout but strong physique, and grants them the capacity to
carry a little more load than other soldier types. Consequently, builders have
two items slots.
Builder
M F S A W H Cost Notes
Two-Handed Weapon, 2 Item
6 +1 +0 10 +0 12 30gc
Slots
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THE CAMPAIGN
BUILDING A WIZARD’S TOWER
The wizard’s tower is constructed between games of Frostgrave during the post-
game campaign sequence. A basic tower can take between four and ten post-
game campaign sequences to construct – give or take, depending upon the
success or otherwise that the wizard and his warband experience during game
play. Additional features and enhancements can continue to be added after the
basic tower is complete.
There are five specific tower-building scenario included as part of this
campaign pack. These can be played over again multiple times, or you can
intersperse these specific campaign scenarios with a standard game or standard
scenarios from the Frostgrave core rulebook, or other Frostgrave supplements.
The general tower features required for a basic wizard’s tower are outlined in
the general tower features table. Features that are noted as ‘essential’ must be
constructed before work on subsequent general tower features or special tower
enhancements can be constructed.
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Construction can take place to build up to two general tower features during
each post-game campaign sequence. This occurs during a new special
construction phase. The construction phase takes place after the standard post-
game campaign sequence (e.g., after injury and death, experience and level,
counting treasure, and spending treasure).
The wizard must have the gold crowns available to be able to pay for the
material and resources needed for the construction of a chosen tower feature.
Additionally, there must be a mason included within the warband before any
work can occur. Furthermore, each feature being constructed requires two
builders to assist the mason with the physical work. A mason can oversee two
simultaneous tower feature construction tasks per post-game campaign
sequence - construction phase; and as a result, there is only a requirement for
one mason per warband (you can always have another mason for redundancy,
but this does not allow you to conduct any more tower feature construction tasks
than two!). Therefore, for an optimally productive construction phase, the
wizard would require one mason and four builders.
A single builder (per construction task) can be substituted with two standard
soldiers to act in his place as common labourers, but there may be additional
issues associated with this (see construction problems, below). A builder must
be substituted for no less than two standard soldiers to do the equivalent work.
This accounts for the specific skill and experience lacking for want of the absent
builder. Furthermore, any soldier, substituted in such a way may miss the next
game of Frostgrave played by the warband on a D20 roll of 1–4, due to
exhaustion or minor injury from the work. Builders do not need to make this
roll.
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Construction Problems
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Once all of the ‘essential’ tower features have been constructed, the wizard has
built a basic wizard’s tower. Building a basic wizard’s tower signifies the end of
the campaign, in its simplest setting, and the winner of the campaign is the
wizard who accomplishes this feat first.
But of course, the wizards of Frostgrave are ever ambitious, and there are
additional tower features and special enhancements included in this campaign
that a wizard may like to incorporate once he has completed the basic tower.
Players can agree to extend the campaign and instead see it end with the
completion of an enhanced wizard’s tower with all the additional features as
well as one special tower enhancement (see optional rule: special tower
enhancements, below). The benefit associated with a special tower
enhancement may then constitute the ‘reward’ for completing this campaign.
Should players wish to continue to use the mechanics and scenarios in this
campaign, they can continue to build up to a maximum of five special tower
enhancements, or embark on building a second tower for their apprentice…
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A wizard will often choose to enhance his tower with additional features that
reflect his unique magical focus or research interests. A wizard’s tower may only
ever have a total of five enhancements, as they become successively more
difficult to bolt-on or cram into the tower. These enhancements also become
progressively more expensive, as the mason and builders are required to extend
the height of the tower, or overcome unique engineering challenges to build
overhanging annexes or accommodate the wizard’s magical specifications.
Although the special tower enhancements are aligned to the various schools
of magic, there is nothing to stop a wizard from choosing any of the
enhancements for their tower, as the effects apply equally to all wizards,
regardless of their chosen magical school. The alignment becomes important
when the special tower enhancement is combined with a specific relic, which is
detailed elsewhere.
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CONSERVATORY
Elementalist
This conservatory is not designed to protect the wizard from the elements,
but rather to contain them. An Elementalist might use this conservatory to
practice spells that call forth and manipulate weather.
The wizard gains +2 to the casting roll for the Call Storm and Elemental Bolt
spells.
IMBUING FORGE
Enchanter
No Enchanter can truly ascend to mastery of their chosen craft if their
interests are limited only to simple tricks of animation. There is a deep root of
magic to be tapped in the art of fabrication, where the practice of enchantment
can applied at an elemental level to the raw material itself. This forge, whilst
ostensibly no different to a common smithy, allows the wizard to imbue the very
substance of matter with magical energy that is subsequently called forth more
strongly during incantations of animation after that material has been worked
and tempered into practical implements or weapons.
The Imbuing Forge allows the wizard to create one magical item from the
Magic Weapon and Armour Table (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 62) between
games. During the post-game campaign sequence, roll for this item as per
determining treasure during the Counting Treasure phase. The item can be
equipped on a warband member or sold for half of the price listed in the table.
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CRYPT
Necromancer
The wizard has established a crypt deep beneath the tower and his minions
routinely collect fresh corpses to keep it fully tenanted. A Necromancer will use
this tomb-stock for experimentation and to draw forth newly reanimated
reinforcements for the warband when journeying out into the Frozen City.
The wizard gains +2 to the casting roll for the Raise Zombie and Bones of the
Earth spells.
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PORTAL ARCH
Summoner
An ornately engraved arch with no
apparent function beyond decorative
presence. However, when invoked with
summoning magic, a shimmering portal
to elsewhere surges into existence. A
wizard may use this portal to travel to
other places or planes, or summon forth
demonic entities from beyond the void.
In addition, the portal arch has the
property of compact vertical storage, a
comparative advantage over the more
traditional horizontally-laid summoning
circles when factored into the
penthouse lifestyle of high-rise dwelling
within a wizard’s tower.
The wizard gains +2 to the casting roll
for the Plane Walk spell. Additionally,
the Portal Arch grants the wizard a
single bound demon for the next battle
without having to cast the Summon
Demon spell. Roll as usual to determine
the type. Any attacks resulting from a
roll of 1 take place on turn one.
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GROVE OF TRANQUILLITY
Witch
A small Werewood grove has been established within an enchanted atrium
that maintains the temperate climate necessary for a micro-forest habitat to
thrive. Many Witches believe that the spirits of their ancestors and other
powerful witches and druids return to nature after death to reside in favoured
trees, groves, ponds, and the like. The Werewood thrives all year round, even
amid the freezing chill of Frostgrave in the deepest midnight of winter. This
carefully tended natural grove allows the wizard to ground himself in serene
harmony with his forbears and the Great Nature Spirit itself, all the while
enclosed in tranquillity and separate from the frigid outer city.
A wizard with a Grove of Tranquillity may have a maximum of two animal
companions, but must still successfully cast the Animal Companion spell for
each as usual and adhere to the applicable warband member size limit.
VIVISECTIONIST’S LAB
Beastcrafter
The vivisectionist's laboratory is a terrible place established for the dark
purpose of surgical and magical experimentation upon living creatures. Here,
beastcrafters carve and assemble new forms of life out of the still-living parts of
animals, and occasionally people. Lasting success is infrequent, and unstable
beast-forms are often doomed to a lingering, suffering existence until a wistful
death claims them.
The Vivisectionists’ Lab grants the wizard the ability learn the Animal
Mutation spell (Into the Breeding Pits, page 28) at the Beastcrafter II trait level
(instead of at Beastcrafter III); and a +2 bonus to cast this spell at the Beastcrafter
III trait level. (Note: the wizard must still acquire and learn the spell in the usual
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fashion, they are simply more advanced at an earlier trait level due to the use of
the Vivisectionists’ Lab.)
Additionally, the Vivisectionist’s Lab means that all human soldiers cost an
additional 5 gold crowns to hire (this amount is added to the additional hire
costs associated with Beastcrafter trait levels (Into the Breeding Pits, page 25-6).
RELIQUARY
All Schools
This special reliquary is a
small shrine that amplifies the
natural magic associated with
any ancient relic housed
within. Relics are special
magical or non-magical
artefacts from the ancient
empire of Felstad that can be
found in the ruins of
Frostgrave.
The reliquary initially
contains a non-magical relic.
Magical relics are obtained
separately from the reliquary
and can only be found during
specific game scenarios (these
scenarios and the interactions
of the magical relic with the
reliquary are detailed
elsewhere).
On its own, the reliquary
attracts a small but frequent
stream of dedicated pilgrims
to visit the tower, each
seeking a blessing or vison of
the artefact within. The
authenticity or provenance of
a relic is often a matter for
debate, but regardless, the pilgrims still come. Often they will leave a small
tithe for the privilege of a viewing.
During the post-game campaign sequence, roll one d20. On a result of 2–18,
add that many gold crowns to the warband treasury. On a result of 19, add 100
gold crowns. On a result of 20, the warband is gifted a treasure by an especially
rich and devout pilgrim – determine exactly what it is as per treasure captured
during a game.
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SCENARIO ONE
LOCATION, LOCATION,
LOCATION
During past forays into the ruins, the wizard has taken note of a location that
would be particularly suitable for his soon-to-be-built wizard’s tower.
Coincidently, so has another wizard. As they both lead their warbands back to
this spot, neither wizard is willing to yield their claim and a fight is inevitable.
Lay out the table as per the rules for a standard game, including the placement
of treasure (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 26).
The wizard must bring the mason with him to survey the location. Four of the
treasure tokens represent a specific spot that the mason may wish to check. The
remaining two tokens are standard treasures. Players should determine and agree
upon which is which before game-play begins. During the battle, the mason
must visit at least three out of the four locations to perform his survey
measurements (by simply declaring and spending one action to do so).
The scenario is won by the warband that can complete a minimum of three
surveys and drive off the opposing warband.
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SCENARIO TWO
THE QUARRY
Stone abounds in the Frozen City, but much of it lies strewn under ice or
crumbling in ruin. Despite this, the wizard’s mason is confident that there is
enough stone nearby to complete the tower. However, he would prefer to
quarry and cut the key structural stones himself, to guarantee his work and
reputation.
Fortunately, there is a quarry nearby, with strange runic markings upon the
rock.
Lay out the table as per the rules for a standard game, including the placement
of treasure (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 26).
Four of the treasure tokens represent special Rune Stones. The remaining two
tokens are standard treasures. Players should determine and agree upon which is
which before game-play begins.
The Rune Stones are very heavy and weigh twice as much as a standard
treasure. They will need a builder or pack mule (Thaw of the Lich Lord, page
26) to be carried.
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SCENARIO THREE
LABOUR STRIKE
The builders hired by the wizard and mason have banded together to demand
better pay. Travelling deep into the Frozen City was never part of the original
agreement! These builders are fired up and have rallied with another band of
rogue builders a short distance away. But the wizard is determined to break this
strike immediately… the old-fashioned way.
Place three treasure tokens and up to eight builders in the middle of the game
board. The builders should be gathered around the treasure tokens in groups of
up to three, no more than four inches apart from each other, and with a
minimum of eight inches between distinct groups (and treasure).
Builders who are part of the wizard’s warband cannot be deployed under his
control for the purpose of this scenario. However, the wizard may hire other
soldiers as ‘strike-breakers’ immediately prior to the game to temporarily replace
them and bolster the warband.
The builders behave as per other creatures (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 45),
except that where possible they will not split up and act separately. Rather, they
will remain in groups of builders, except to move to join another group if they
find themselves alone (further than four inches away from another builder).
The wizard gains 25 experience points for each builder his warband takes out of
the game. These represent the builders they have bludgeoned unconscious and
forced back to work.
If the wizard can bludgeon five or more builders, he can effect a special (one-
off occurring) third wizard’s tower feature construction in the post-game
campaign sequence – construction phase after this game. If he bludgeons less
than four builders, he may only perform one tower feature construction in the
construction phase after the game.
Remember, where necessary after the game, the wizard must also dismiss
some of the extra soldiers or builders in order to adhere to the warband size
limit.
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SCENARIO FOUR
Lay out the table as per the rules for a standard game (Frostgrave core rulebook,
page 26), but place a large tower ruins terrain piece (or cluster of ruins terrain
pieces) in the centre. This will represent the tower under construction and
should cover an area of 10” square, and be at least two stories high.
Instead of treasure as usual, place nine structural support tokens between 5”
and 7” from the exterior of the tower, spread with at least two at each cardinal
point of the tower. Additionally, place a single treasure token in the centre of
the tower at ground level.
One player is the defender of the tower, and the other is the attacker. The
attacker can deploy as usual on any table edge, or even split the warband to
deploy from multiple table edges simultaneously. The defender must deploy
within the perimeter of the tower, and all members of the warband must start
at ground level.
A figure can fight the structural support tokens to destroy them. The structural
support tokens have a Fight stat of +0, and do not deal damage in return. Any
successful attack against a structural support token is sufficient to destroy it.
The defending player cannot pick up the treasure in the centre of the tower.
For each structural support token left intact at the end of the game, the
defending wizard gains 25 experience points. Additionally, for every three
structural supports that remain intact, the defending wizard may roll once for
treasure on the Treasure Table (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 57).
For every structural support destroyed, the attacking player gets 50 experience
points. Additionally, for every three structural supports that are destroyed, the
defending wizard must roll once on the Construction Problems Table.
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SCENARIO FIVE
MOVING DAY
The tower is nearing completion, so much so that the wizard has decided to
move into it as soon as possible. Of course there is much that has been collected
and stored in his old base that will need to be moved. With rolls of the eye, the
hired soldiers load up for the day of moving ahead.
But elsewhere, a band of fortune hunters see this as a chance at easy pickings.
Lay out the table as per the rules for a standard game (Frostgrave core rulebook,
page 26), except do not place any treasure tokens. The game board should be
set up in a rectangular shape (five by four foot is suggested), and terrain should
allow for some broad avenues of movement both across the table and along the
length. These represent roads and alleyways. Of course, the roads will still be
blocked by rubble and debris in some places.
One player will be the wizard’s moving warband, and the other player will be
a band of opportunistic fortune hunters. The moving warband starts on one of
the short edges of the board and must move off the opposite short edge, moving
along the long axis of the game table. Each soldier of the wizard’s moving
warband starts the game carrying a treasure.
The fortune hunters can deploy anywhere within the middle third of the table.
Movers start deployment
Fortune hunters
deployment zone
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The player acting as the band of fortune hunters can use their own wizard’s
warband, or generate a new group of no more than 12 soldiers from the soldier
table (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 23) with a 400 gold crown total spending
limit.
If a new fortune hunter band is used, specify one soldier to be the fortune
hunter leader and another to be a deputy. These two figures will act in the
wizard and apprentice phases, respectively. Both the fortune hunter leader and
deputy should be a soldier type worth 80gc, at least, and gains an additional 12
health points for this scenario (they gain endurance in lieu of spell-casting
abilities), plus one free magic item each (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 63).
The wizard has been moving all of the previous base’s resources to the new
tower. For each soldier in the wizard’s warband that successfully moves off the
game table at the movers end zone with a treasure, he can transfer one of the
existing base resources (Frostgrave core rulebook, page 71) from his old base to
his new wizard’s tower.
If the wizard’s moving warband only succeed in moving less treasure than his
old base has resources, he has lost a base resource. The fortune hunter player
can chose which of those base resources that the wizard has lost. Lost base
resources must re-purchase if the wizard still wishes to have them in effect at
the new wizard’s tower.
For each base resource lost by the wizard, the fortune hunter band gains 300
gold crowns. For each base resource/treasure that the wizard’s moving warband
makes off the table at the movers end zone, the wizard gains 10 experience
points.
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I
n this new campaign, the wizards of Frostgrave are slowly
realising that the frozen ruins of the once great city of
Felstad represent more than just the remnant of a bygone
age, fit only for opportunistic pickings. As the ancient city
slowly thaws, rumour and tale of the Frozen City have
spread far, and more and more fortune hunters arrive
each day to seek their fate within the ruins. These new-
comers have prompted the original explorers to consider
not only what Frostgrave once was, but what it might
again become. Some are even beginning to see that amid
the ruins of the ancient magical empire, a new power
might arise. In this vision, there is advantage and power
to be gained by positioning yourself early. And so, many
wizards are seeking to establish a more permanent abode
within the city. Thus begins a new race for power and
pre-eminence, as from the ruins of Frostgrave arise new
Towers of Power.
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