Our group has been playing Frostgrave for a while now. We recently starting something a little different; using Frostgrave for an RPG campaign, both as the setting and as the rules. All of the players are part of a single warband, albeit not a standard one per the rules.
I've decided to set it in the world of Minaria, a great fantasy setting from TSR's classic boardgame Divine Right (I never understood why they never made it into an official DandD setting)
I took an existing warband that we had been playing regular Frostgrave games and gave more detailed backgrounds. Two of the players had already been playing as the Summoner and his apprentice. I added another player who had previously run an Illusionist warband as a third magic user, with a background about the destruction of his warband that set up the adventure. The other players took up as new, non-magic user members of the Summoner's warband. I initially gave them some of the skills from the Captain rules but shortly after the first game session, I picked up Ghost Archipelago and decided to give all the none magic-users Heritor skills. This put them more on par with the magic-users in terms of special abilities to play with. I used the justification that their time in the magic-laden atmosphere of Felstad had awoken these latent powers.
All this makes the warband powerful and obviously couldn't be used in a regular Frostgrave/Ghost Archipelago game but I've tried to balance this by giving them harder opposition in the encounters. I used Thaw of the Lich Lord as the basis for the campaign.
Here are the Player characters:
Rt Hon. Lord An'var Rhellig, Grof Aquillon of Lashuhag: As a younger son in one of the oldest noble families in the Empire of Meutar, he was raised to be a magic user. Attending the Invisible School of Thaumaturgy, he became a summoner and was soon raised to the ranks of the magical researchers. However, ambitious and somewhat arrogant, he was expelled from the school for failing to follow proper daemonological safe-guards and researching into areas of forbidden lore. As word of the discovery of the great magical treasures in the ancient ruined Lloroi city of Felstad spread, he decided that this was the best way to pursue his work and so set off with his apprentice, Atlantia. Gather a small band of treasure hunters, rangers, and thugs, he has exploring the ruins, quite successfully for some weeks now. Dissatisfied with some of his minions, he has sent out word that he is willing to pay well for experienced warriors.
Atlantia: The daughter of wealthy Mivioran shipping merchant, she was disowned by her family for refusing to marry a much older associate of her father as part of financial deal. She attempted to gain entry to the Invisible School but was refused because she had no sponsor. She was taken on as an apprentice by An'var Rhellig after his expulsion. A few weeks ago, she traveled with him to explore the dangerous ruins of Felstad.
Redmaine the Magnificent: A fairly shady character, something of a con man, whose origins and background he keeps intentionally obscure. Where he learned his Illusionist skills, no one is certain but it definitely was not the Invisible School. He has been in Felstad for some time with varying amounts of success. Recently, he met disaster while explore the ancient treasure galleons on the frozen River Maragille. Here, his warband was wiped out and his apprentice, Thisbe, taken captive by a large force of gnoll tribesmen. He has returned to the explorers' settlement at The Two Kings and hopes to gain aid in rescuing his apprentice.
Captain Bozydar Stemada - A mercenary from the eastern border
kingdom of Pon, he has served many masters in many wars. He now is an agent of the Emperor of
Meutar, and has been sent into Frostgrave to investigate the doings of
expatriate Meutarian nobleman/wizard Lord An'var Rhellig, who is said to be
dabbling in dark magic.
"Ril" Rilian Daebanise the Neuth (Elf): An agent for the Elven King of the Neuth, Ril will try to learn what dark magics may be found in Frostgrave that can be used to start, and this time win, the war against the Humans.
Dame Roswith Widow-maker - Only child of an Immerian border lord, she was taught to be a warrior by her father and has gone to Frostgrave to seek treasure to save the family castle and estate which is heavily mortgaged to Lord Herviot of Nithmere
Sir Emerick the
Relentless of Herstings Hold - Younger son of a minor Hothior nobleman, his youth was misspent in
pursuing wine, women, and duels of honor.
Forced to leave home due to his troubles with the law, he has spent
the last few years as a sellsword, hoping to gain enough to buy some land to
settle on, preferably with a winery or brewery.
Rounding out the party are NPC rangers, Urkmaas (helmet) and Midgon(hood) with treasure hunter, Garamond (center).
Chapter I: The Promise of Riches
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The Two Kings, one of the many boom town settlements on the outskirts of Feldstad, where vast amounts of trade is undertaken in the magics recovered from the ruined city as well as in providing services of all sorts to the adventurers. The name comes from a pair of large statues of some unknown Lloroi dignitaries found in a ruined palace that has been converted into a tavern.
The settlement is well defended by local Conodra tribesmen, adept in surviving in this frozen environment, who had been hired by the mysterious proprietor of the Two Kings, known only as Sweetflower.
On the road into Two Kings, would-be adventurers gather seeking employment in the entourge of the exploring wizards. Bozydar, Ril, Roswith, and Emerick are adventurers new to Felstad, seeking to join the warband of some reknown magic uses. Bozydar suggests they seek out An'var Rhellig, who is said to be one of the more successful.
The new arrivals are approached by a rather tattered looking Illusionist who is seeking help after his warband has been wiped out search the ancient treasure ships on the frozen River Maragille
They meet the high-rolling yet arrogant An'varr Rhellig, a Summoner, with his apprentice Atlantia. An'varr has had a number of successes, most recently against Gudlub tribe of barbarians. Redmaine regales them with tales of the great riches to be found in the ships, including a navigational device that allows one to travel to different planes of existence. After some rest and preparation, the party sets off into heart of the ruined city the next day.
