Frostgave campaign episode 1: The Well of Dreams and Sorrows

 It's a go, together with Wouter and Thibaud we started a campaign for Frostgrave second edition.

 

Now, for the moment as we are three, our plan is to play a scenario twice each evening, once against each opponent, determening at the end the scenario for the session the next month.

 

But for the first game, and get a hang of the system (we made mistakes, especially in combat resulting in barely any casualties, as we found out during game 3, so that will be corrected next time) we picked the basic scenario The Well of Dreams and Sorrows, without random monstets (they will enter the campaign from next time forward).

 

Game 1: Zarbag the Illusionist versus Archibald the Sigilist

 

In the first game of tonight, the goblin Illusionist Zarbag (left) faced of against the beer-brewing dwarf Sigilist Archibald (right) to try and discover the power of the Well.

 

Both warbands deployed at the edges of the town section, ready to taste the mystical waters and learn of it's secrets.

 

The dwarfs where the first to reach the premises of the well, a statue of the Holy Lady of Crooked Dice Rolls, and drink from her fresh springwaters.

 

But the scurrying feet of the goblins could be heard nearby, as they quickly approached through the ruins.

 

The dwarfs rushed forward to secure the treasure tokens in the meantime.

 

 More of the little greenskins kept hoarding treasure tokens though, as the glittering gold coins shined in their beady little red eyes.

 

These efforts continued, as both sides wanted to grab as many riches to finance their journeys along the city though, avoiding any direct confrontations for the moment.

 

 But soon the goblin warsquigs caught sent of the dwarfs, and howling and bouncing charged forward to bite their faces off!

 

The dwarfs firmly held their line though, protecting the treasure from the vicious beasts. 

 

In the meantime, two archers had clambered up the walls to draw lines of sight to the well and try and stop anyone approaching.

 

But the dwarven apprentice Patje did manage a swig before slinking back into the city, and the game came to an end, both warbands counting their wins.  The Dwarfs, winners of the scenario, moved into a Brewery, while the greedy Goblins took refuge in a Treasury, where they took care of an injured warsquig, but the beast would not be able to join the next expedition though... 

 

Game 2: Zarbag the Illusionist versus The Witch of Balantine

 

 

And then it was time for me to step into the arena for the first of two games tonight, and I began with facing the "defeated" Zarbag of the first scenario. 

 

The section of the city was rearranged for some different gameplay...

 

 ... and both warbands set up on their edges to try and have a drink of the Well.

 

 

The greedy goblins immediatly began advancing to the open central square where the statue was located.

  

They cast an Explosive Rune nearby, but an Echanted Armoured thug bravely threw himself on it, both him and the Cursed enemy wizard taking damage from the blast.

 

The Witch of Balantine had set up and ambush though, and her warriors streamed in as Barnacle Bert made off with a single golden ring.   The brave barbarian however is SO dimwitted, he didn't even realise the enemy wizards tried to cast Fool's Gold on him, making off with the treasure unfazed.

 

Almost as dimwitted as this goblin trying to climb the walls... 

 

 As the enemy warhound was dispatched, the warriors took up positions to shield the Witch and her Apprentice, allowing them to drink from the well.

 

And after tasting the magical waters, the warbands retreated.  The Witch took residence in an old Library, while her quest had yielded 100 GC, Scrolls of both Leap and Summon Demon, and Potions of Poison and Invisibility as well as a Grimoire of Time Stop.  She advanced to level 2, increasing her Health and lowering the casting value of Curse.  Unfortunatly for Zarbag the Illusionist, his warhound did not survive the wounds it had suffered during the game.

 

Game 3: Archibald the Sigilist versus The Witch of Balantine

 

In the final game for this evening, my Witch faced the victor of the first game, the Sigilist Archibald and his merry crew looking for a mythical beerbarrel. 

 

The scenery as such was rearranged one final time for today's game...

 

... and both warbands deployed for a final run towards the Well.

 

The Witch started aggressive, rushing (and Leaping) her warriors forward. as Bob the Thug set off all alone to the far treasure.

 

The Dwarf wizard however, instead thought it a better idea to damage himself while failing to cast, and his apprentice, eager to copy his master's movements... did the same! 

 

 But soon he encountered quit some opposition, as the Sigilist's troops had their eyes on that book as well!

 

Run Bob, RUUUUUUUUUN!!!!

 

Bob managed to shake off most of his pursuers, helped mostly by being tandem Leap-frogged by both the Witch and her Apprentice. 

 

Around the well, a melee had erupted, Curses and Poison darts wreaking havoc amongst the Dwarfs efficiency.   The Dwarf apprentice drank from the well... but then a thug appeared from around a corner and pushed him into the well, draining his lifeforce as a result!

 

With three treasure tokens in her possession and not willing to risk her apprentice to also go drink from the well, the Witch of Balantine gave the order to withdraw from the field of battle, the battered dwarfs glad they where allowed to slink away with their treasure tokens.

 

Unfortunatly for them, Patje was recovered from the well, but he remained cold and stiff.  The Sigilist apprentice had died from the overdose of magical infusion of the waters.  The Witch had gained 90 GC from this encounter, a second Potion of Invisibility and a Philtre of Fairy Dust, as well as a Grimoire of Poison Dart.  She sold this book as she already knows this spell, and then spend a portion of her gold to install a Giant Cauldron in her Library.  Rising three levels, she learned Time Stop from an earlier found grimoire, increased her Will and lowered the casting value of her Leap spell.

 

So, that was the first session of our little "beer and pretzel campaign", with some hilarious moments to go with them.  The next game night for this will be in about 5 weeks, and having rolled for the scenario (so we know what to prepare in figs and scenery) that will be a night of Genie in the Bottle (ouch!).  With the Random Encounter Table (level 1 only) also coming to the table then, so it will be a lot more mayhem and chaos for sure!

 

Until then, and may you never get lost in the ruins of Felstad! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dead Mount Death Play

 Time to return to some action fantasy anime to watch, and that is the first season of Dead Mount Death Play.

 

A 12 episode series that aired in 2023, involving a necromancer god, killed in ancient times and now resurrected as a young boy in modern day Tokyo.  

 

Maybe they should have added the comedy tag as well, as it tries to make funny scenes and jokes, but fails imho, and detracts seriously from the horror intentions...

 

Guess that's a sort of reverse isekai then?  Anyways, Polka Shinoyama is trying to adapt to this new physical body,  and is tracked down by a girl who had just murdered this new body.  Whome he then kills and returns as a zombie in his service.

 

Now, what follows is a series that has some high intensity action, as Polka is part of a criminal family and people are out to get him.  On the other hand, there are two excentric police officers who are trying to resolve crimes caused by people who appear to have special powers, and run amok in the city.  This gives ground for an enjoyable series... had it been only that.  As I said at the beginning, the (attempts at) humour do a lot of discredit for the series in my personal opinion, resulting in my intrest slipping down rather fast on this one.

 

Never the less, there are some intresting arcs in the story, like is the holy crusader who defeated the Corpse God also back in this world?  Why are they exactly so focussed on taking down Polka, and what are those police officers really up to.  Those are questions that will be probably answered in the second season, and I'll watch that as well for certain this year, but it won't be with great enthousiasm I must say, as I found it all rather bland so far.

 

But, who knows, I might be proven wrong in the second cour... 

Frostgrave objective markers

 Right on time for the campaign that starts of this friday, come the objective markers!

 

Nothing to fancy to paint up, but at a tiny price on Vinted, I wasn't passing these up.

 

The models, made in resin, are from Northstar Miniatures itself in their Frostgrave line, and depict some fun little items to be scattered around the battleground to be picked up.

 

Including a very peculiar looking, plain golden ring...

 

And now, we set out for the journey to discover the riches of Felstad! 

Lord Ipsqueek's Adventures: Disney 2026

 Hello all, and welcome to my journey to a Magical Kingdom located in Frankia!

 

And that is the Kingdom of Disney... which is actually 2 parks yet for all apps and purposes still counts as one, so yeah, that confusion is a magic spell for sure...

 

We departed in the early mornings, taking the Thorin Grand Vitesse or TGV (well, Eurostar, but this sounded cooler) for short from Antwerp to Paris, where we would be brought right at the door of the amusement park. 

 

  

But first we needed to get through The Village to check in with the hotel , Sequoia Lodge, and get my special pass.  Along the way, I noticed some very pretty LEGO build, while mommy saw some very pretty purses.  Not sure which one would be the most expensive hihi.

 

 

But then we where there, the magical lands of Disney!  We started with the "classic" park to immerse ourselves into the atmosphere. 

  

 

And that atmosphere is immediatly created as you step onto Main Street, bringing back the feel of old "Dixieland America" with it's lovely themed buildings and set-ups, housing snack bars and souvenir shops a plenty. 

 

But at the end of the street, perhaps the most iconic feature of Disney Land comes into view! 

 

I went into my very first ride at the park then, Buzz Lightyear, where I would become a Space Ranger!  I solidly trashed daddy with a score of 400 to 0, as the only thing the old man seemed intrested in was spinning our spaceship around. 

 

The weather was a bit shaky though, so we took a moment of refuge in Videopolis as a short shower hit outside.  They played some Star Wars cartoons there, so at least that kept daddy silent from shaking fists at clouds. 

 

From there we went to the Fantasy Land section of the park, where I found my two favorite rides for sure in the whole park. Over the three day weekend, I would go in them for multiple times!  Because boats and things to see.

  

The first one of these was the Fairytale Tour, which brings you around all sorts of stories from Disney while calmly sailing along in a cute little boat.  The other one of course being It's A Small World, with according to grown up's has the most insuferable earwurm of a themesong.  They don't know good songs when they hear them!

 

Talking earwurms, the parade passed by in the main area and we had front row space to watch it and dance to the music.  Daddy is still humming it as he writes this, half a week later... I guess better this then the constant Jurassic Parc theme he always has stuck in his head?

 

After the parade, we went to the second parc, Disney Adventure World, where we got a look at the new Frozen area. I didn't do the ride, but I'll explain later why though...

 

But then it was time for dinner, and we went to visit Bistro Chez Remy for some great meals in a very well dressed up restaurant!  We actually sat on corkscrews!!! 

 

After that, I was done for the day, and went to bed.  Daddy however went back to the park by himself, to do some rides that had to long a queue during the daytime, like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Terror.  Which now was just walk in, step in a cart and squeel like a baby of fear.  He says otherwise, but I know him... 

 

 

He then went to the Hyperspace Mountain, and boy did he complain all day after that they should really do better to make it more Star Wars themed then some banners in the loading dock, but as he says "they ruined the franchise, they might as well continue that trend with the attractions".

 

And so the first day came to a close as he looked for a spot for the end show of the day... 

 

Day two started with a good breakfast and some morning exercises on the big lawn before the hotel, to have my head clear and ready for another day of adventuring.  Uncle Rubin and Aunt Evi would be joining us around noon as well today, so that is even more people I can have me take into rides, woohoo! 

 

We kicked off the day with some flying around, as Dumbo carried us to the clouds. 

 

And Lancelot's Carroussel had us make some ride alongs on lovely horses as well! 

 

Before of course going back in It's a Small World, told you I loved that ride! 

 

We also took a ride in Casey Jr, a kiddiecoaster which my daddy found the best thematised coaster in the whole park, with the lovely setting of riding around the Fairytale boats waterway. 

 

Unfortunatly, this little boat wasn't sailing, or I would have definitly taken that one for a tour as well! 

 

The park also hosts a heap of pirates, like these friendly fellows called Captain Hook and mr Smee! 

 

But this guy, I didn't like at all!  He dropped me two times in the dark, and this has given me a bit of a scare of that sort of attractions for sure!  Guess no Ho Ho Ho a Pirate Life for Me just yet...

 

And that brings me to the tale of Frozen, it has a similar drop and when I saw the loading dock, I didn't want to do that ride.  Luckily, mommy, uncle and auntie went back to do it later that day, when I was already firmly asleep with daddy back in our hotelroom.  I'll take her word for it for now that it is something beautiful and fun, maybe next time I'll try it. 

 

After seeing Spider-Man perform some breathtaking stunts on the rooftop, we started to go back as such to the hotel for dinner. I want to put on record Hunter's Grill has awesome olives by the way!

 

But not before one last ride for the day, the fun teacups of Tangled! 

 

Day three however the weather changed, having a mild rain most of the day, some splashes in between, and barely any sun. 

 

Today we spend most of the time in Adventure World to start out, and the first ride was the Flying Carpets of Alladin that we took, to go to A Whole New World. 

 

 

We also had a bit of a Cars day, I LOVE Lightning McQueen, as we took both the Cars Tour and the Cars Rally rides.

  

But that weather...

 

 

After having some fries and some sightseeing, including catching a glimp of the upcoming UP attraction ride concept art, we returned to the other park. 

 

Here I did my favorite attractions again, and then it was time to do some shopping for souvenirs! 

 

And then, after a bit of stressy moments for taking the Eurostar back, we drove back to Antwerp, including my new friend Hamm from Toy Story! 

 

And so the story concludes, with mommy thinking about her big journey for next year... 

 

... daddy cursing he wasn't invited to this party... 

 

... and me reflecting back on a fantastic weekend in which I managed to do a lot of rides, see a lot of things, and had a fantastic time! 

 

Until my next adventure!