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Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City Hardcover – 20 July 2015

by Joseph A. McCullough (Author), Dmitry Burmak (Illustrator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 573 ratings
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Amidst the frozen ruins of an ancient city, wizards battle in the hopes of discovering the treasures of a fallen empire. In this fantasy skirmish wargame, each player takes on the role of a wizard from one of ten schools of magic, and builds his band of followers. The wizard's apprentice will usually accompany his master, and more than a dozen other henchman types are available for hire, from lowly thugs to heavily armoured knights and stealthy thieves. Wizards can expand their magical knowledge by unlocking ancient secrets and may learn up to 80 different spells. While individual games of Frostgrave are quick and can easily be played in an hour or two, it is by connecting them into an ongoing campaign that players will find the most enjoyment. The scenarios given in the book are merely the beginning of the limitless adventures that can be found amidst the ruins of the Frozen City.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    136 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Osprey Publishing
  4. Publication date
    20 July 2015
  5. Dimensions
    19.81 x 1.52 x 25.15 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1472805046
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1472805041
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

"This book contains everything you need to build your warband, play a long campaign and have a great time with it. Its a fantastic looking book, the artwork is beautiful, and it is full of stunning painted models...a fine addition to any gaming shelf." --The Garage Gamers ..". I urge those of us who remember the AD&D adventures of our youth, have ever read a fantasy novel or seen a fantasy movie, to seek out a copy of this tome and sally forth on the road to adventure!" --Wargames Illustrated "[Frostgrave] allows you to play a game that has the narrative feel of an adventure by J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, or George R. R. Martin, rather than play a medieval wargame with spells and monsters added on. The simplicity of the rules systems also contributes to this atmosphere of heroic fantasy. Frostgrave is one of those gameswhere the rules allow a game to be played, rather than the game being an enactment of a rules system." --Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy "Frostgrave has a real flavour of the old school, fun tabletop adventuring that was prevalent when I first got into D&D... Recommended especially for the money." --Miniatures Wargames Magazine"

Book Description

A set of fantasy skirmish wargaming rules pitting rival wizards and their henchmen against each other in the frozen ruins of a lost city.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing (20 July 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 136 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1472805046
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1472805041
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.81 x 1.52 x 25.15 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 573 ratings

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Joseph McCullough

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
573 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Richard D. Coates
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 July 2015
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The previous reviewer concentrated admirably on production values , organisation and other factors so I will simply agree with him on this and concentrate on game play experience. In our first game my esteemed opponent and I were up to high jinks to gain our treasure. His mage tried desperately to control the skeletons pouring out of the mausoleum but alas the fates ( dice ) were against him so in the end his minions had to dispatch them ( done by a zombie he created pre-game). His apprentice blasted a necromantic door through a building then pleased with himself for having more success than his master became consumed with hubris and summoned a major demon which ( he rolled a 1 on a d20) promptly attacked and ate him leaving an unfettered demon on the battlefield on his side. His Mage then desperately tried to control it to the point of shedding blood but guess what, demon says no and proceeds to gulp up his followers. He then decides to retreat with whatever treasure he has recovered using his own followers as cover. My more sober ( admittedly more boring) Mages just covered the advance of the followers casting magic shields, healing soldiers shot by enemy archers. My mage did try to cast a wall to keep the demon out and apprentice, sick of casualties caused by the archers did blast one with an elemental bolt.
All in all a simple elegant system bound to give the wargamer hours of fun and clearly customizable to your own style of play. Only things I could wish for: a quick reference sheet, an index. An interesting development would be to have a skill system ( especially for the soldiers) and perhaps traps on treasure etc. but this would make the game more complex. The combat mechanic works really well.
6 people found this helpful
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Stephen Wylde
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Amazing!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2015
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I have received this book today on the day of release and it was an impulse purchase after reading a couple of reviews in wargames magazines and seeing it on amazon I pre-ordered it. I am to say the least very happy that I did, because this book is simply superb. From the production quality with all the pretty pictures and beautifully designed pages to the actual clarity of the layout and not forgetting the quality of the content, it is more than worth the asking price. I have spent more than double this on similar rule sets that were not as good as this so I am truly shocked and delighted at how good this book is. As for the contents, well to put it simply you have everything possible to have a great game, campaign and just about anything you want all from this one book. Although there are figures affiliated with this set of rules you do not need to buy any of them, unless you really want to, you can use any figure from anywhere to make your band of adventurers. The game itself is very clearly set out and not even the use of d20 could put me off wanting to play this, it is without a doubt extremely well thought out and novel in some of its approaches to playing the game. The simplicity in places belies a subtle complexity that adds massively to the whole gaming experience, and the style of writing is very easy to read and understand which immediately puts you at ease when sifting through the rules. Now I must go and build myself a Frostgrave gaming board and ruined buildings.
22 people found this helpful
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Mike Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars The best fantasy skirmish out there!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2015
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I watched a few battle reports online first and decided that Frostgrave might scratch that Mordheim itch. I was wrong - what I found was a far better campaign-orientated system with some of the most fun scenarios/missions I have read for a long time. The rules are incredibly slick and the entire book is concise and economical at the same time. What will really hook you is the campaign aspect of growing your warband. There is a decent online community now, growing all the while and the supporting figures range is impressive, though you are encouraged to use any miniatures at your disposal - another aspect that appealed. It's been a while since I was genuinely surprised and delighted at a rules set, but Frostgrave delivered and then some. I look forward to Felstad, the Frozen City being fleshed out more with upcoming supplements...
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ieuan
5.0 out of 5 stars A great game, highly recommend.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2020
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Frostgrave is a fantastic game. It's simple enough for inexperienced tabletop gamers to learn but the real joy comes from the excellent campaign system. You don't need a specific range of miniatures to play either. In about 30 years of gaming, both the well known systems and all kinds of lesser known ones, Frostgrave is my favourite.
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Mr. R. Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth exploring.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2019
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Great entry to skirmish tabletop miniature gaming. If you have some miniatures from any game, or collection and some D20s, you are good to go. Just need some scenery or homemade equivalent to add atmosphere and obstacles/objectives. The 'lore' is lighter than other similar games, but there is plenty of scope to homebrew your own stories and scenarios. For the price this is well worth exploring.
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Andy M
5.0 out of 5 stars Great rulebook
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 April 2018
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Excellent rulebook, nicely illustrated and thought out. The game itself is fun and simple to play, though some rules could do with tweaking, the author is active in his community and encourages people to have their own house rules. The only down side to this game is that it is very terrain heavy, you can build a war and for a reasonable price, but if you arent very crafty you can end buying a LOT of scenery to play the game propperly.
One person found this helpful
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Carl Walmsley
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book. In and of itself
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 August 2015
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An excellent book. In and of itself, it is very well produced with some lovely art work, a nice binding and is produced using good-quality paper. The contents are what really impress, though. The book is imaginative and very well-written: we have here the spiritual successor to Mordheim. Friends and I will be running a league shortly, sending our wizards in to the ruins of Frostgrave in search of treasure and glory.

At twice the price, this is worth buying - as it is, it's an absolute steal. Buy it, and have fun.
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Mezezzo
5.0 out of 5 stars Enticed me into miniature games.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 August 2016
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I tended to only play board games and x-wing thinking most miniature games with a tape measure looked too haphazard, gave this go and I’m now hooked and trying more

It’s a very simple game at it's core and easy to play. All you need is the book and a few random miniatures (i use zombicide and SDE minis) some scenery and your all set. We are not using the scenarios in the book for our campaign but i have tried a few and they are interesting.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Artemis Entreri
5.0 out of 5 stars Gioco splendido!
Reviewed in Italy on 26 November 2021
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Detto da un gamer che non ha particolare simpatia per i giochi di miniature, Frostgrave é divertentissimo! Non richiede altro al di fuori del manuale, lo gioco con mappe disegnate, generiche o assemblate con parti di vari boardgame.

Regole semplici, potenzialmente infinito e con elementi di light-roleplay, ha tanta varietá, peraltro espandibile con tanti compendi. Facile sperimentare squadre anche in Solo play.

Non é in filler, ma una volta comprese le dinamiche di base, si presta a due/tre scenari consecutivi. Bellissime le campagne e divertente l'idea di coltivare un team e crescere il proprio mago.

Ambientazione avvolgente.
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dszd
5.0 out of 5 stars Rapido e divertido
Reviewed in Brazil on 1 March 2019
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Ótimo jogo, rapido e muito bom para quem já joga Dungeons and Dragons mas não tem tempo para reunir todos os amigos
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Earth Dragon
5.0 out of 5 stars Minor explotation issues aren't enough to drop this game a single star!
Reviewed in the United States on 28 June 2018
Verified Purchase
A little late to the party, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway.

Frostgrave stands out amongst a myriad of lackluster 21 century table top campaign systems that can't strike the right balance of streamlined rules, complexity, engaging play, and immersion. Focusing your Warband's progression on your Wizard alone simplifies things to where post-game activities don't run the risk of taking hours, nor do pre-game activities (other then putting together the models for new hires of course if not already available). Transition from a higher level Dead Wizard to an Apprentice is very streamlined and efficient with the system in place, as well as a simple system of figuring the cost to replace your apprentice if needed (it does get more expensive as your wizard grows as the apprentice is always just a "light" version of whatever you make your wizard into).

The rules easily allow for more then two players to participate in a match, with 3-4 players in a game being somewhat a better campaign experience (stronger players naturally get kept in check and run a greater risk of losing their assets). The system also lends itself nicely to have several players running through a storied campaign at the same time, as it's more thematic that your personal band wouldn't be running into the same exact other wizards every confrontation. It affords groups of 6-8 players to each individually feel like this a very tailored story to their Wizard, confronting many different opposing wizards at different times and intervals. In the same vain, this is also an extremely good system if only two players have the time and schedule to play with each other and the stories revolve around a pair of rival wizards.

The system isn't without it's flaws, but most of them just surface around possible group dynamic issues where experienced or (not so) crafty gamers can massively take advantage of inexperienced ones. It does have official miniatures and can suit your needs of course, but the system also encourages you to branch out and use whatever you have lying around. This is where players will (unintentionally or not) gain tactical advantages by using lower scaled minis (25mm) use "small" race minions (goblins, gnomes, mousemen etc.) or inaccurately represent their figures with the wrong weapons. The official sprues come with Spears, but, from what I've seen, there is no declaration as to whether these count as Staves or Two-Handed weapons. Not only is a spear definitively worthy of claiming it's own category and should have gotten one, different players have been known to designate them as different things, which of course can throw off an opponent as to what exactly they are getting into melee combat with when they see that spear represented on a model.

Best practice: Discuss with the group what a spear counts as, what scale you are using, and if people are going to use "small" races, come up with a slightly varying stat line (like -1 movement) to counter the tactical advantage of it being easier for them to take better cover. And this is a game where with the exception of crazy items on the main two characters, WYSIWYG should be in effect when it comes to minions (aka a naked harlot model shouldn't be representing an armored fighter with a shield and hand weapon)
11 people found this helpful
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Zoroastre
5.0 out of 5 stars Best wargame ever
Reviewed in France on 30 December 2019
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Beautiful book, and the best wargame ever.
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S. Brandt
5.0 out of 5 stars Das bessere Mordheim
Reviewed in Germany on 20 September 2019
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Da GW ja einige ihrer beliebtesten Spiele einfach hat entschlafen lassen, war der Umstand, dass andere Firmen in dieses Vakuum vorstoßen absehbar. So hier geschehen, da mMn Frostgrave das bessere und modernere Mordheim ist und obendrein billigere - und in meinen Augen schönere - Modelle zum Spiel anbietet!
Bislang sind alle Erweiterungen und Zusätze gut spielbar und erweitern das Spiel in einer "runden" Art und Weise ohne es unnötig zu verkomplizieren!
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