Monday 23 January 2017

Mother Goosegog: Witch Whacked!


Mother Goosegog coughed; the acrid smells from the alchemical factory still permeating her robes despite days of scrubbing. Meg, her faithful apprentice, surveyed the small crumbling huts that squatted among the ruined houses and shivered.
“I don’t like this place – it feels evil… Well, more eviller than usual…”
“That’s because them huts is haunted my girl.” The witch felt her familiar squirming further under her arm. “It’s not just other wizards we face this day…”

Time for some more Frostgrave fun at Giles’ – this time an epic four-warband clash! Facing Mother Goosegog were Rinsesoap Washbag, the enchanter that Goosegog had already fallen foul of once before; Copernicus Cadmium, sneaky elementalist and Hexxenmeister Doozelbat, an evil necromancer and his piratical followers. Having rolled for table sides, we began…

Mother Goosegog and her band arrive on one side side of the table, with the other three bands occupying another side each. Goosegog and her crossbowman try to find an early vantage point to cover the nearest three haunted huts. My plan is to grab what would hopefully be an easy treasure in the middle hut, and successfully (hah!) engage the warbands on my flanks to win the treasures to my left and right.

On the opposite side of the table, the enchanter pulls a treasure from a hut via telekinesis (a spell he would use to great effect throughout the game). The ghostly occupant takes exception to this and looks for someone to blame…

One of my thieves races forward to snatch a treasure, but is shot down. So it’s going to be like that is it?

The released wraith floats up to engage one of the necromancer’s henchmen and generally make a nuisance of itself during the game.

My witch engages in a bone dart duel with the necromancer on my right, whilst javelineer and zombie make for the middle hut, watched over by my crossbowman. My witch is already wounded, but luckily has a healing potion about her person.

Another wraith appears among the elementalist’s band opposite my left flank. Luckily for him, his minion is armed with a magic weapon and swiftly dispatches the creature.

Closer to my left flank, my knight tries to beat another of the elementalist’s minions to the nearest hut, supported by my apprentice. The dice were not being kind again, so my spell tally was depressingly low so far.

On my right, the necromancer’s demon beats me to the treasure and unleashes a wraith. Winning in combat but unable to damage it, the demon pushes it away instead . It floats through the wall and into line of sight of my band…

For once the dice are kind and my crossbowman manages to shoot the enemy minion who was contesting the left-hand treasure.

On my right, the necromancer tries to turn my flank. However my bear and warhound soon put paid to this idea, despite the loss of my dog.

My zombie shambles forward to engage the wraith, joined by my thief. I was hoping to use the thief to run forward and snatch the treasure left by the wraith-slain demon, but it’s success against the spook scuppered this plan.

My knight gets into the hut and takes the treasure, luckily not awakening the evil spirit that guards it. However the elementalist’s band is closing in, so my apprentice steps forward to screen the knight with a fog spell.

My javelineer makes off with the central treasure, watched over by my ranger (whose targets have now vanished behind the fog).

Uh-oh. Wraith kills zombie, leaving my thief unsupported. Any thoughts of luring the wraith away from my band are put on hold.

Goosegog manages to bone dart the necromancer’s demon into oblivion. It drops the treasure, but who will pick it up? Not my thief, as he's now being sucked dry by the wraith. In the next ruin my tracker looks on, hoping to shoot anyone brave enough to go for it..

Having secured my right flank, the bear rampages up towards the necromancer. However one of his underlings eventually turns him into a rug.

My thief is slain by the wraith. Where will it go next? It's a tough call and we have to dice for it... Towards my tracker hiding in the building on my right, that’s where!

The elementalist’s gang pour through the fog and onto my left flank. Having stepped forward to cast the fog spell (and repeatedly fail to leap my knight out of harm’s way), my apprentice is exposed.

Zap! An elemental bolt blasts her into crispy pieces.

Splat! My knight fails to beat off his pursuers.

Thwack! In retaliation my crossbowman downs one of their archers. (Note the soldier standing on the fog - this actually signifies that he's within the fog.)

Ouch! Goosegog is forced to step out of cover to leap the tracker away from the wraith (lurking top right). This allows the necromancer to finally win the bone dart duel and send the poor old dear sprawling.

However this leaves him also exposed, as the wraith heads towards him after an extremely jammy (for me at least) random direction roll. Eventually however the wraith is pushed back and then finished off by an enemy archer with a magic bow. Rinsesoap Washbag the enchanter came out the winner, having telekinesis-ed the most treasures off the board.

I was the definite loser in this game, having barely cast any spells, gaining only one treasure, losing both spellcasters and failing to kill any wraiths. However it was an extremely fun game, despite me muttering darkly about disbanding the warband, poor spell choices and other feeble excuses.

In retrospect my main mistake was sending my apprentice out to the left to screen the knight with fog. This not only left her exposed, but also cut the line of sight of my elevated ranger & crossbowman from the oncoming elementalist band. Perhaps a few successful shots could have halted their advance, allowing me some more chances to leap the knight out of harms way.

Anyhow, with four players converging on each other, it was crowded, madcap lunacy all the way – great stuff! Giles' report can be found at https://thelostcityofcarcosa.com/2017/01/25/fg-a-four-way-battle-of-newbies/

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