Murphy’s Heroes

“… Long ago, the great city of Felstad sat at the centre of a magic empire. Its towering spires, labyrinthine catacombs, and immense libraries were the wonder of the age and potions, scrolls, and mystical items of all descriptions poured forth from its workshops. Then, one cataclysmic night, a mistake was made. In some lofty tower or dark chamber, a foolish wizard unleashed a magic too powerful to control. A storm rose up – an epic blizzard that swallowed the city whole, burying it deep and leaving the area as nothing more than a vast, frozen wasteland. The empire was shattered and its magic faded. As the centuries came and went, Felstad passed from history to legend and on into myth. Only a few wizards, clinging to the last remnants of magic knowledge, still believed that the lost city had ever actually existed. But their faith was rewarded. After a thousand years, the fell winter has passed. The snows have receeded, and Felstad has been uncovered. Its buildings lie in ruins, overrun by undead creatures and magic constructs, the legacy of the empire’s experiments. It is an evil, dangerous place. To the few hardy souls who inhabit the nearby villages, the city has acquired a new name – “Frostgrave” – and is shunned by all right-thinking people. For those who seek power and riches, however, it is an unparalleled opportunity, a deadly maze concealing secrets long forgotten… You are one of a group of intrepid explorers from the city of Delft, looking to make a name for themselves in the ruins of Felstad. They call themselves “Murphy’s Heroes”; a cynical bunch believing that anything that can go wrong, probably will go wrong. Will you be the most heroic of the Heroes? Or will it be confirmed that Murphy’s Law holds true? Only time will tell…” 

Introduction

Welcome to the rulespack for the first Frostgrave League to be played at the Murphy’s Heroes club in Delft! The League is planned to start on December 12th, 2015, and will run until the first of the Wizards taking part reaches level 30. After this happens, the Wizard who has achieved this will be declared the Winner of the League and can claim his just reward of Eternal Fame, and assuming he has played his cards right, Eternal Fortune as well!

To take part, send an email to the organizer (Sander Tijssen: stijssen@gmail.com) with the following information:

• Your name
• Your Wizard’s Name and School of Magic
• (optional) A short bit of background story for your Wizard

After each game, please inform the organizer about the result of your game, and of the progress your wizard has made in terms of his Wizard level. If you would like to share some of the highlights of your games, I will try to give a regular update on the Murphy’s Heroes website. All other information required to keep track of your warband’s progress should be recorded by the participating players themselves. This includes any upgrades to your base, your treasury, and your stash of potions/scrolls/magic items. A Wizard Sheet to keep track of your progress is available from Osprey:

https://ospreypublishing.com/gaming-resources/

We will play the Frostgrave League according to the rules laid down in the Frostgrave rulebook, with the exceptions detailed below.

May your Quest to Felstad be successful and reap the rewards you seek, and may your dice roll many 20’s! Most importantly, have fun!

– Sander

 Murphy’s Heroes Frostgrave League Rule Changes

During the Frostgrave League, we will follow the normal rules of the game as laid down in the rulebook, with the exceptions detailed in this section. The exceptions mainly deal with the Campaign Rules to be used to track your warband’s progress through the League.

1. Playing the Game

When playing a game, select a scenario you would like to play from the rulebook with your opponent. You can play whichever scenario you like, but if you cannot decide which one, please roll on the random table in the rulebook. The normal rules for “Ending the Game” on p.47 are followed, with the following exceptions:

– If one player no longer has figures remaining on the table at any point, the other player no longer automatically collects all remaining treasure on the table. You will have to walk over to each piece of treasure and pick it up with one of your models to be able to claim it.

– Although Felstad is thawing, its weather is still treacherous and can turn bad at any time. To represent this in our games and add a sense of urgency, all games will have a random game length, instead of going on until all treasure is claimed. The game length is determined as follows:

• at the end of turn 5, roll a d20. The game ends immediately if you roll 15 or more. Otherwise, continue playing turn 6 as normal
• at the end of turn 6, roll a d20. The game ends immediately if you roll 7 or more. Otherwise, continue playing turn 7 as normal.
• at the end of turn 7, the game ends.

Any treasure carried by any of your models at the end of the game is claimed by your wizard, not only treasure carried off the table during the game. Unclaimed treasure, or treasure that has been dropped is lost in the snow drifts again.

2. Experience

The table detailing how much experience is gained by your wizard during a game (see p.54 of the rulebook) is replaced with the following table:

Some scenarios will provide other ways in which experience can be acquired. This can be done as normal.

3. Between Games

The section of the rulebook explaining the actions you need to take between games is replaced by the rules detailed below.

Out-of-Game Turn Sequence

After each game, each player that took part in it should complete a single Out-of-Game turn. During the Out-of-Game turn, follow the steps below:

1. Roll for the treasure collected during your game (as per the normal rules).
2. Roll for injuries (as per the normal rules), replacing the 1-2 result of “Dead” with the following for a Wizard only:

Left for Dead: The wizard is s badly injured he is thought to be dead. His warband heads back to their base to regroup. Through force of will the wizard overcomes his near-fatal injuries and manages to somehow crawl back to his base, but not before he has been picked clean by vagabonds and ne’er-do-wells. Roll once on the Permanent Injury table for the wizard and also apply the effects of A Close Call. Due to the trials and dangers the wizard overcomes, he is left stronger and more determined to succeed. The wizard gains d20 x 5 xp.

3. (optional) Cast Out-of-Game spells. This action may only be performed once during the Out-ofGame turn.
4. Roll for and apply any Base effects (e.g. for a Library or Laboratory)
5. Level up your Wizard if necessary.
6. Perform Wizard and Apprentice Actions (see below).
7. (optional) Cast Out-of-Game spells. This action may only be performed once during the Out-ofGame turn, so cannot be used if action 3 was taken.

Wizard and Apprentice Actions During step 6 of the Out-of-Game phase, the Wizard and his Apprentice may each take one Out-ofGame action. This is not affected by their current injury status (such as missing the next game) or any other game rule. Both actions must be declared before they are resolved.

The Wizard and Apprentice have the following options:

• Visit a Vendor
• Oversee Improvements
• Recruit Soldiers
• Scour the Ruins

The following activities may be performed freely and do not consume an action:

• Dismiss Soldiers
• Wizard Healthcare
• Buy/Sell Mundane items (weapons and armour)
• Transfer items between warband members

Each available action is described below:

Visit a Vendor

Supplies are limited in remote places like Frostgrave, but some vendors brave the dangers to make a profit. Your wizard can go shopping for needed supplies, but which items will be available to buy is never certain. The spellcaster can choose one of the following vendors to visit:

• Potion Vendor
• Scroll Vendor
• Grimoire Vendor
• Magic Item Vendor
• Magic Weapons/Armour Vendor

Items are not freely available to buy and sell as described in the Frostgrave rulebook. Instead, when you visit a Vendor selling Potions, Scrolls or Grimoires, roll 3 times on the item table in the Frostgrave rulebook appropriate for that vendor. Only these 3 items are available for purchase at the Vendor during this visit, and may be purchased at the price indicated in the Frostgrave rulebook.

You may also sell items in your inventory to the appropriate vendor, at half the price indicated in the Frostgrave rulebook. So you may only sell potions at a Potion Vendor, Scrolls at a Scroll Vendor, etc. This is the only way items may be sold.

Magic Items, Magic Weapons and Magic Weapons are rare items, and are indeed the main reason most Wizards seek out Felstad. Some Vendors are known to sell Magic Items occasionally though, so you might get lucky. When you visit a Magic Item Vendor or Magic Weapons/Armour Vendor, only roll once on the appropriate table. You may buy the available item at the price indicated in the table in the Frostgrave rulebook. All Wizards are known to be hoarders of Magical trinkets and will jealously guard any Magic Item in their possession. You may never sell Magic Items, Magic Weapons and Magic Armour.

Oversee Improvements

The spellcaster may oversee the building of a single base resource, at the cost indicated in the Frostgrave rulebook. The cost must be paid, and the improvement may be added to the warband’s record sheet. This is the only way that base resources may be constructed.

The entry for the Base Resource Carrier Pigeons (see p.71) is replaced with the following:

• When your base is upgraded with Carrier Pigeons, your wizard is allowed to recruit a single soldier   during the Out-of-Game phase without taking the Recruit Soldiers Wizard or Apprentice action.
• The cost of the Carrier Pigeons Base Resource is increased to 250 gc.

Recruit Soldiers

The spellcaster can travel to nearby towns where mercenaries are known to offer their services to anyone willing to pay sufficient coin. The Wizard or Apprentice may recruit any number of soldiers for their warband by paying their costs as per the Frostgrave rulebook.

This is the only way that new soldiers may be recruited, unless you have constructed the Carrier Pigeons upgrade for your base.

Scour the Ruins

Sometimes, your Wizard is down on his luck, and has to resort to scouring the Ruins of Felstad to find anything of value. You may only perform this action once per Out-of-Game turn, and only if you captured zero treasure counters in your previous game. Roll once on the treasure table, halving any gold coins gains. In addition, your Wizard gains 25 xp.