Ghost Archipelago - #5 The Rescue.

The first game of the new year and another outing in the Ghost Archipelago.

This is rapidly becoming one of the go to games during mid-week, slowly our little mini-heroes are growing a character of there own and you do feel a little bit worried about putting some of the more experienced characters in the line of fire, for fear of being sent back to the start if they get killed.

This game was a little different I wanted to grow the forces slowly so why not offer a Warden or Heritor up for grabs if you could rescue your man.

Our three hostages are shackled in the centre of the temple guarded by those nasty turtle fellas who are surprisingly hard to dispatch.

Guarded on all corners the poor man's ninja turtles won't move until anyone comes within 10"s of them. So my plan was simple sit back and wait for the others to thin the herd and perhaps killed each other in the process.

The Marines did their usual thing and rushed towards danger drawing a number of the guards away.

Whilst lead proved to be rather ineffective, steel was a far better choice as they went to work on those harden shells.

Meanwhile the Free Company moved forwards grabbing their treasure and pushing forward on the opposite side of the table drawing more of the guards into combat.

Now the Atlantians are devious. They are the sort of people who would stand back and let others do the work. They are the sort of people who would shoot you in the back when you are fighting the locals and steal all your treasure when all the hard work is done. So it is claimed.

I might have by accident shot a Pirate in the back when he was fighting his way through the temple entrance, but I am afraid that photo never made it on to the blog :-)

Meanwhile other bullet heads as they have been rudely nicknamed made hard work of killing two guards.... It took almost all night to finish the little buggers off.

With the Free Comany a number of men down, due to people carry off treasure, a couple of injured due to the heavy fighting in the temple entrance and one of their biggest fighters accidently killed by the bulletheads, they were forced to fall back as their leader fell under heavy blows from the remaining defenders.

The Marines seized their chance having cleared their guards they grabbed two of the prisoners and headed off table.

The sneaky Atlantians with the temple to themselves grabbed the last prisoner, but not before their Warden was taken down by the last remaining defender.... Cheats never prosper....

Whilst the Atlantians may have gained a new character to aid them in their battles I fear I my have burnt my bridges with the Pirates and Marines.....

Let's hope everyone has forgotten the accident by the next game..... I suspect not.

Ghost Archipelago - #4 Swampland

Blimey has it really been over 6 months since the last outing of Ghost Archipelago?

No wonder it took longer than usual to get to grips with the rules, good news by the end of turn 2 we were well under way.

A couple of quick texts around the group and we were able to amass enough boats and bridges for the Swampland Scenario, three islands with treasure aplenty, but don't roll low on your initiative as this will cause a swamp zombie to appear. Unsurprisingly it was a night of low rolls :-(

The adventures had been busy over the past 6 months and everyone had a couple of sail boats to bring to the party, Marines, Privateers and Atlantians all prepared their landing parties.

The Crew of the Sun Chaser got off to their usual start, set upon by Zombies. OK we the other players kept placing our undead foe in their path. The Marines marched about confidently shooting anything that moved and the bullet heads hung about doing very little.

Bonus points could be gained by stepping on each island, but being a sporting bunch we of course were happy to let that happen - Not. So Zombies were soon appearing on the bridges to block the path of the adventurers.

Whilst the Privateers made a lightening grab for the central treasure, the Marines rushed the central island however tonight for once the Atlantians had decided to bring some powder for the muskets and could actually hit a target, the Marines came under concentrated fire and several of their section were killed caught in the open, left isolated even Captain Masters was shot and put out of the game.

Even without a leader the Marines continued their bold moves snatching treasure and loading up their sail boats, however if you can block a bridge why not fill have a zombie climb aboard your vessel. Yes we the other players might be going last, but we get to mess you up with Swamp Zombies.

As the game drew to a close the Privateers had snatched the bulk of the loot, the Marines limped off with a bunch of treasure and the Atlantians were left holding the table with nothing but one pile of gold and a bunch of undead.

A cracking evenings entertainment which makes me wonder why it took so long to make it on the table. The wandering monster rule and low initiative placement keeps the game flowing and serves as a great tactic to keep players tied up. As you push for that extra treasure.

Despite their high casualties on the night the Marines managed to recover most of their troops and everyone is spoiling for a fight to get their revenge. Roll on round 5.

Ghost Archipelago - Rope Bridge and Swamps.

After a bit of a clear out in the man cave, I came across several items tucked away in the cupboard of shame, odds and ends from long gone projects, loose change purchases from shows, because you have to buy something right?

Or simply ideas that just needed that spark of inspiration to push them up the painting queue.

After last weeks fun encounter and having rolled for the next encounter which involves bridges and boats, so I had the perfect excuse to get this aquarium bridge finished, which I picked up several years ago.

The legs were a little on the high side, if you saw off the main struts they make for perfect steps to get on to the bridge.

Not a bad purchase for £8.00 and the perfect setting for some challenging encounters in Ghost Archipelago or any other pulp type game.

Keeping up with the theme of finishing other items from the cupboard of shame I added some extra grass to these to marshes which were unopened from a last minute purchase back in November.
Three items down... Not a bad mornings work.

Ghost Archipelago - #3 Crustacean Graveyard.

Back in the 80's when I was at school, Giant Rats, Slugs and Crabs were all the rage, all craving human flesh..... A bunch of us used to seek out these cheap paper backs and swap them every Friday in the play ground... A firm favourite of mine was Guy N Smiths Crab series hugh armoured crabs marching in land to destroy humanity but mostly sneaking up on midnight bathers... :-)

I had long fancied putting these nasty nippers into a scenario and Ghost Archipelago seemed like the perfect vehicle.

Another outing in the occasional Ghost Archipelago Campaign which see's Pirates, Marines and Atlantians in a three way battle in the islands and swamp lands.

After the last brusing encounter all three crews retreat into the hinterland frustrated at not being able to rescure their crewman, they stumble into the ruins of an ancient temple. Scattered amongst the ruins are the claws of several giant crabs, these razor sharp pincers fetch a pretty price on the open market. A quick sprint into the temple grab the prize and head home - Simple.

You need to be careful in the temple one wrong step and you risk falling on the sharp and jagged pincers, so tread carefully.

Guarding the temple and the treasures within are several crustaceans who will attack any potential trespassers in the area.

Everyone has the same idea rush in grab the valuable treasure and get out. Once again the Marines pick a fight with anyone within range and make short work of my Atlantians, killing one in the opening salvo and taking down Atmir the Warden. Fortunately he survies after rolling for wounds at the end of the battle but has lost a toe..... much to the amusement of my fellow gamers.

He really needs to swap his flip flops for boots.

With the Marines exchanging shots with the Atlantians, the Pirates make a run for it, grabbing the treasure and heading for the exit, but their path is blocked by a Crustacean.

Having seen the Marines take one down with musket fire Captain O'Keith seeks to go one better and launches an attack with his cutlass only to see it glance off the hardened shell.

The crew of the Sun Chaser join the melee but try as they might the nasty nipper would not go down, he continued to snap at his attackers, wounding a number of crewmen in the battle.

Meanwhile the Marines were advancing steadily through the temple and where forcing the Pirate rear guard out of the temple and stopping them from securing the central treasure.

As smoke of the sound of battle filled the temple hardly anyone heard the click click click getting ever closer.

It was now a straight fight between the Marines and Pirates each hell bent on securing the central treasure. Whilst the Atlantians hung around the side lines like annoying wasps at a picnic. Sniping at anyone within range.

As the battle raged on the Crabs moved towards the human combatants.

The Pirates had their fill and took off with their loot. The Marines were unable to take advantage of their victory as the temple was rapidly filling up with Crustaceans who were snapping the bones of the Captain Masters who had slipped and fell on the jagged floor.

With their leader KO's the Marines pulled back, leaving the temple to the crabs.

A great game with everyone securing two treasures each and casualties on all sides.
Next up an adventure in the Swamp lands and an excuse to paint up that sail boat that's tucked away somewhere in the depths of the garage.

Ghost Archipelago is turning into a midweek favourite.

Ghost Archipelago - Heritor and Storm Warden..

A few hours to quickly push a few figures off the production line.

 These have been knocking around since the Nickstarter several months back. The Heritor will blend in well with the eastern crewmen, whilst I figured the Storm Warden would compliment the Pirate or Royal Navy faction.

Quite the warband now, with the weather finally turned I should be able to get the varnishing done and the final flocking, but these will come in very handy for competing factions.

The Storm Warden is a little on the small side compared to the Black Scorpion Miniature, I considered raising the base a touch but it should not be that much of a problem during game play.

With these complete I now have the perfect excuse to get the next game rolled out.

Ghost Archipelago - #2 Boiling Point.

Atmir was concerned, last week their were scattered reports of musket fire in the swamp lands to the north of Atlantis and now one of his guardians was missing, judging by the markings it looked like Terrorpids, but they had never ventured this close to the city before?

Atmir step off with his patrol to track down his missing guardian.

A three way battle to rescue the captive slowly coming to the boil, none of the players are sure who the victim is, but each are convinced that he is a member of their crew or patrol.

Each player places two treasure tokens and are tasked with securing the treasures and tipping over the pot, before it comes to the boil.

After last weeks encounter both Captain Masters of the Royal Marines and Captain O'Keefe and the crew of the Sun Chaser had retreated into the hinterland to regroup and take stock of the situation, where on earth were they?

The last thing they both remember was the naval engagement, the storm and then nothing, swashed ashore in land appearing on no maps or charts. 

Both knew there must be more of their crew ashore in the steaming jungle but where?

So they set off in search of other survivors.

Heading down the jungle track they blunder into one another, Masters reacts first and fires off a volley as the rival crews duck for cover and ready their pistols and muskets.

Menawhile in a clearing not far from the ongoing gun battle the Terrorpids, get ready for lunch.

Who know who they where or who created them... [thanks e-bay :-)] 

But they seemed unconcerned with the crash of muskets and dense smoke, as they watched lunch come to the boil.

Atmir drawn by the musket fire arrived on the table top, seeing a Terrorpid rush towards his patrol he orders his men to fire, but the musket balls had no impact on the hardened shell of the reptile.

Atmir grabbed the nearest treasure which only served to awaken more Terrorpids as the rushed from the jungle to enter the fray, clearly at this stage I was going nowhere and having little impact on the battle on the other side of the board.

 

The crew of the Sun Chaser continued to exchange fire with the Marines, with casualties on both sides but slowly the marines pressed their advantage and the privateers started to fall back.

Both sides had exhausted their blunderbuss rounds and their supply of grenades and smoke bombs.

The protracted firefight drew a number of Terrorpids from the guard posts, which only added to the confusion on the battlefield. The poor captive started to come to the boil.

On the far side of the battlefield Atmir was unable to extract himself from the increasing number of Terrorpids, as a Wave Warden he cast a Pool Spell to pin two of the reptiles, but they simply crawled out.

All three factions with treasure in hand, decided to leave our poor victim to his fate they grabbed their own treasures and headed off the table, leaving the Terrorpids to return to lunch.

A great encounter even if once again we had no outright winner.

The wandering monster rules, where the player with the lowest initiative places the creatures served to really mix up the game play and in effect stopped the game becoming 2v1.

The amended firing and melee rules felt alot better.

Next up Crustacean Graveyard.

Black Powder Ghost Archipelago....

The beauty of Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago is that the rules are very simple, quick to pick up,  which opens them up to be adapted to various settings, having read through the rules over a number of weeks they did not need to many tweaks to make introduce muskets and pistols to the crews armoury.

In the world the alternative setting of Black Powder Atlantis, Warden's are fewer, but the crews are bolstered by a further 100 gold coins to spend, unless of course you opt for a magic user, Heritors take the form of Officers or Captains.

And so to the first dry run. A simple table and a case of run in and grab the treasure before running off.

The Marines are first on the scene, I used crossbow rules as the standard template, in review I shall be increasing to damage to +4 damage for Muskets and +2 for pistols with the ranges remaining unchanged given the size of the table.

The Pirate crew rush straight up the middle heading for the central treasure. The Marine fire off a volley.

Musket rounds are fired off by both sides, but damage is minimal. So time to close with the Cutlass!

Meanwhile an injured crewman staggers back to the start line only to trigger a Swamp Zombie who stumbles towards the injured crewman.

In the centre of the table an almightly melee is underway. Without the magic users on the table damage is taking a long time to wear down opponents, it could have been poor dice rolls but next outing, I propose to inflict double damage if surrounded by 4 opponents and you have no escape.

The clock ran down before the game could be fought to a conclusion, but with a few tweaks the setting transfers rather well.

So in the next outing I shall be upping the damage for firearms.

Pistol - +2 Damage
Musket +4
Grenade +6 - 2" Burst.


Each figure can gain experience and take wounds rather than just the main two in each faction. Each faction can secure more advanced crewmen by increasing the gold by 100 points if no Warden is in the crew..

To mirror my existing collection of wandering monsters and to keep with the theme, I have adapted the encounter table as follows, more on the particular stats next time.

Random Encounter Table
First Die Roll	1 - 12	13 - 18	19 - 20
Second Dice Roll	Level 1 Encounter	Level 2 Encounter	Level 3 Encounter
1	Tribal Warrior	Tribal Warrior (2)	Swamp Zombies (2)
2	Werewolf	Werewolves (2)	Atlantean Warriors (2)
3	Tribal Warrior	Swamp Zombie	Swamp Zombie (2)
4	Swamp Zombie	Atlantean Warriors (2)	Atlantean Warrior
5	Tribal Warrior	Atlantean Warriors (2)	Atlantean Warriors (2)
6	Tribal Warrior	Tribal Warrior	Atlantean Warriors (3)
7	Atlantean Warrior	Tribal Warrior	Swamp Zombies (2)
8	Atlantean Warrior	Werewolf	Tribal Warrior (2)
9	Tribal Hunter	Atlantean Warrior	Tribal Warrior (2)
10	Tribal Hunter	Atlantean Warriors (2)	Swamp Zombie
11	Swamp Zombie	Atlantean Warrior	Giant Crab
12	Atlantean Warrior	Atlantean Warrior	Atlantean Warrior
13	Tribal Warrior	Swamp Zombie	Atlantean Warrior
14	Soldier Crab	Tribal Hunter (2)	Giant Crab
15	Atlantean Warrior	Swamp Zombie (2)	Giant Crab
16	Atlantean Warrior	Tribal Warrior	Soldier Crab
17	Swamp Zombie	Giant Crab	Soldier Crab
18	Tribal Hunter (2)	Witch & Swamp Zombies (2)	Giant Crabs (2)
19	Werewolf	Giant Crab	Witch & Swamp Zombies (4)
20	Soldier Crab	Soldier Crab	Soldier Crab