Stargrave - Cover Reveal
Yes, the rumours are true. I have spent a lot of this year working on a new game... A game that draws upon many of the basic mechanics found in Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago, but which uses them in a completely new setting. This is Stargrave, a game set in a ravaged galaxy, where two empires fought a vast war that ended in mutual annihilation. Now, pirate fleets roam the shattered ruins of the galaxy, taking whatever they want and enforcing their own brand of 'justice'.
Against this dark background, the players create their own small crew. Maybe they are merchants or smugglers, freedom-fighters or wanted criminals, rogue scientists or collectors of alien artefacts. Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate, each of whom can choose their own background, such as veteran, cyborg, robotics expert, mystic, rogue or psionicist, to name a few. These backgrounds give access to various powers or abilities that these figures can use during or between games.
Well, a lot more will be coming out about the game in the coming weeks and months, before its release in April 2021. For now, I really just came to show off the cover!
Automatically Appended Next Post: I just want sci fi plastic sets compairable to the Frostgrave ones.
Been looking forward to this. I've got a pile of ad hoc models from Sedition Wars, HF Minis, Scale75's Fallen Frontiers and so that'll be perfect for this! Time to break out the old school 40k terrain as well!
I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
Not sure that's a given, other than saying they share mechanics with FG, it doesn't give that level of detail, unless you saw that somewhere else.
zedmeister wrote: Been looking forward to this. I've got a pile of ad hoc models from Sedition Wars, HF Minis, Scale75's Fallen Frontiers and so that'll be perfect for this! Time to break out the old school 40k terrain as well!
zedmeister wrote: Been looking forward to this. I've got a pile of ad hoc models from Sedition Wars, HF Minis, Scale75's Fallen Frontiers and so that'll be perfect for this! Time to break out the old school 40k terrain as well!
Sedition Wars. Not just good for bases!
And don't forget the sci-fi zombies (which were excellent!)
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
Not sure that's a given, other than saying they share mechanics with FG, it doesn't give that level of detail, unless you saw that somewhere else.
The quote you posted literally says
Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
Not sure that's a given, other than saying they share mechanics with FG, it doesn't give that level of detail, unless you saw that somewhere else.
The quote you posted literally says
Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate
pduggie wrote: Why is everyone excited about this but
Rogue Stars (sci fi crew skirmish) and
Scrappers (sci-fi postapoc "get treasure" skirmish)
seem to get very little love.
Personally I am turned off by Rogue Star's "no stats, just traits" approach and Scrappers is a different genre (and honestly somewhat soulless to me, I wouldrather play TNT). Really there's a remarkable lack of mini-agnostic, setting-agnostic sci-fi so everything is welcome, even if personally I'd prefer a larger departure from Frostgrave than we seem to be getting. Not that there's anything wrong with FG! I'm just not that excited to play the same game I already play just with lasers tacked on.
I've made that suggestion on Mr. McCullough's blog. Don't think it will make a difference, but one can hope.
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
I'd imagine there are plenty of potential players who would never consider playing fantasy themed stuff, but are at least somewhat aware of frostgrave and perhaps wish they had access to something like it
Ancestral Hamster wrote: I've made that suggestion on Mr. McCullough's blog. Don't think it will make a difference, but one can hope.
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
I’ll remain cautiously optimistic that there is more differentiation between the games and that this won’t just be “Frostgrave with lasers tacked on.” I play Burrows & Badgers with my kids and in that game your leader and second certainly get the most attention but the rest of you war and can level up and develop personality. I have a feeling that Stargrave will be more akin to Ghost Archipelago in space than original Frostgrave. With each band being the crew of a spaceship it makes sense to use the captain and first mate to set the tone of the crew. Hopefully the rest of the crew can be more than interchangeable generic archetype mooks.
pduggie wrote: Why is everyone excited about this but
Rogue Stars (sci fi crew skirmish) and
Scrappers (sci-fi postapoc "get treasure" skirmish)
seem to get very little love.
Is it that we're all excited for Northstar plastic minis? NS had Rogue Stars minis.
They seem interesting - especially scrappers - but unlike Frostgrave they don't have solo-coop in mind. I'm going to assume that Joe will do that for Stargrave at some point.
Well, that's interesting. But I wonder how they'll adapt the original system, with a very similar kind of main characters (always wizard, all the time) to something with very eclectic main characters (cyborg, mystic, veteran don't seem like they share similar skills)
pduggie wrote:Why is everyone excited about this but
Rogue Stars (sci fi crew skirmish) and
Scrappers (sci-fi postapoc "get treasure" skirmish)
seem to get very little love.
Is it that we're all excited for Northstar plastic minis? NS had Rogue Stars minis.
Maybe Erratas/FAQs have improved it, but I seem to recall Rogue Stars was a bit of an absolute mess at launch. A lot of unclear rules interactions, completely counter-intuitive effects and blatantly unbalanced options (even if you played fully narratively, it was difficult to justify some things over others). A shame, as I liked the sandboxy, versatile idea of it.
Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:Well, that's interesting. But I wonder how they'll adapt the original system, with a very similar kind of main characters (always wizard, all the time) to something with very eclectic main characters (cyborg, mystic, veteran don't seem like they share similar skills)
On first inspection, I wasn't too keen on a Frostgrave reskin (although I greatly enjoy Frostgrave), but it does seem intriguing enough to keep an eye on.
In April, 2021, we’ll be publishing Stargrave: Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy, the new game from award-winning author Joseph A. McCullough!
The skirmish wargame will be fully supported by an official range of miniatures created by North Star Military Figures and Osprey Games.
We’ll be releasing plenty more information about the game and miniatures over the coming weeks and months, but for now here’s a look at the official cover for the game, featuring a fantastic piece of artwork by Helge C. Balzer!
Speaking about the cover, author Joseph A. McCullough said “I think Helge C. Balzer has really captured the feel of the game with this cover. You’ve got big stompy robots, aliens using psychic powers, and battle-armoured soldiers, blasting it out in a dark, industrial setting!”
We'll be showing off some more artwork from the game next Friday (23rd October), so watch this space!
***
In a galaxy torn apart by the Last War, vast pirate fleets roam from system to system, robbing, extorting, and enslaving. Amidst this chaos, thousands of independent operators – smugglers, relic hunters, freedom fighters, and mercenaries – roam the dead stars in small ships, scratching out a living any way they can.
In Stargrave, players take on the role of one of these independent operators, choosing from a range of backgrounds each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and associated powers. Next, players must hire a crew for their ship, recruiting a lieutenant with a unique skill-set and a handful of soldiers, mechanics, hackers, and other specialists. Some captains may even recruit strange alien lifeforms with abilities no humanoid could ever possess.
Once the players’ crews are assembled, they are ready to dive into a campaign. Over a series of games, their crews will have the chance to carry out a variety of missions – recovering lost technology, stealing data, freeing slaves, and fighting back against the pirate fleets. In time, as the crews gain experience, they will become more powerful and hire more talented specialists. The more they grow, however, the more likely it is that a pirate fleet will take note of their activities and come after them!
Sounds like a perfectly good opportunity to come out with a streamlined ship to ship combat expansion (or full fledged game system) while they're at it!
We play the heck out of all of Joe's games in my gaming group so this one has been on the radar for awhile. Glad to see a little info coming out. I have PLENTY of sci fi models but Im sure I'll still pick up Northstar's kit as all the FG kits are top notch.
lord_blackfang wrote: I'm a bit surprised it's sticking to "2 main guys leveling up", you'd think sci-fi would change it up a little like a smaller crew all leveling, or a larger crew with abstract leveling (like leveling the ship to boost the whole team)
Not sure that's a given, other than saying they share mechanics with FG, it doesn't give that level of detail, unless you saw that somewhere else.
The quote you posted literally says
Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate
Given my very positive experiences with Frostgrave and the campaign books written for it, I have a high degree of confidence that this will be similarly good.
And it's another great excuse to "hobby up" a Kill Team of individual miniatures.
I never played Frostgrave so apologies for the likely stupid questions. It was like Mordheim with PVP skirmish combat, correct? Were there solo PVE rules?
Amongst all the talk of Scrappers and Rogue Stars, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Core Space. In my opionion, a far more fun game than Scrappers and Rogue Stars which I bought in to.
I am dubious about Joe's games now. I bought into everything Frostgrave, including 2 sets of spellcards with sleeves and deck boxes (my wife and I play) and all the supplements, to find he went all GW and 2nd editioned it making lots of purchases now useless if you want to keep up. It seemed like an unecessary cash-in to milk FG gamers.
Anyway, I'll keep my eye on Stargrave, but also on the new Core Space expansions.
warboss wrote:I never played Frostgrave so apologies for the likely stupid questions. It was like Mordheim with PVP skirmish combat, correct? Were there solo PVE rules?
One of the supplements (Perilous Dark) added rules for cooperative or solo games. Regular games also have some wild creatures that can attack either player's figures, but with some exceptions (the final scenario in the Lich Lord campaign for example), players won't be expected to fight those together; merely hope they will distract and weaken your opponents.
Gimgamgoo wrote:I am dubious about Joe's games now. I bought into everything Frostgrave, including 2 sets of spellcards with sleeves and deck boxes (my wife and I play) and all the supplements, to find he went all GW and 2nd editioned it making lots of purchases now useless if you want to keep up. It seemed like an unecessary cash-in to milk FG gamers.
Aside from the fact that all but one of the supplements (Maze of Malcor) are almost fully compatible with the new edition (and the rulebook clarifies how to solve some incompatibility issues), the rulebook wasn't changed for the sake of it, but incorporated clarifications and balance issues requested for the duration of the first edition (which included fixing some of the spells, and yes, unfortunately the cards no longer work with 2nd ed); also aside from the fact that the new edition was announced a year before release to prevent people buying soon-to-be-outdated material (cards or 1st ed rulebook); and aside from the fact that the new rulebook explicitly included a bunch of new scenarios so that existing players wouldn't just feel they were buying the same thing that they already bought again. Aside from all of that, yes, the release of a new edition was just like GW churning out annually updated books. Oh, and of course the fact that Frostgrave isn't typically played in tournaments or things, so "keeping up" is basically non-existent: many groups can and will just continue using the 1st edition book and cards, alongside the supplements that, as said, are still useful.
I'm excited for how I imagine this thing to be ... but that's going on a verry little info wight now.
That cover though - like a third party Starfinder adventure module, sold only via drivethrurpg ... A considerable effort must have gone into making anything ScFi appear so not sexy.
Lucas Blackwolf wrote: I'm excited for how I imagine this thing to be ... but that's going on a verry little info wight now.
That cover though - like a third party Starfinder adventure module, sold only via drivethrurpg ... A considerable effort must have gone into making anything ScFi appear so not sexy.
The art is about the only thing I like in Starfinder. I've found it to be consistently good (not great but simply good and aesthetically very consistent) but admittedly I don't look at any third party stuff.
The creator tried to put too much in, and didn't give enough polish to what was there. It probably needed more balance before release, but definitely needed the sort of page count Osprey has given to the Frostgrave series. The core of the rules are great and interesting though. The expansion for it was meant to be released many years ago, but has never surfaced. It probably needs a re-release with the huge FAQ included, but that won't happen now stargrave is on the horizon.
If both the captain and first mate level up independently then that might not be too bad, but if they do a wizard/apprentice thing I feel like it'll be a bit too much of a rehash.
I would have loved to see 3-5 leveling characters and then a crew of 0-30 crew joining depending on the mission. (i.e. in an infiltration mission you might only take you're characters, but in an assault mission you might take most of the crew)
I've been hoping that Deadzone's campaign would get an overhaul for years, but now it might suffer with Stargrave as competition.
We tried a couple of games of Rogue Stars and only one of Scrappers. We liked the concept of RS, small warbands facing off in a ton of scenarios and settings. But it felt like too much to track on various statuses and lots of tokens/markers. There were also weapon selections that were almost impossible to counter (can’t remember the names). It has an amazing scenario and setting generator that we consult for other games.
Matt Swain wrote: Hey guys, assuming I know nothing of frostgrave, is it a game that has appeal to 40k players?
I'll give a less trolly response.
I think "probably not." Mainly because 40k is an army/unit game, whereas Frostgrave is definitely a skirmish game. The phased activations in Frostgrave (Wizard plus optional small group, Apprentice plus optional small group, Soldiers) that alternate between players is very different than the phases in 40k in which each player does all their stuff before the other player does. The single d20 roll for attacking and determining damage is likely also off putting compared to the wider distribution you can get from handfuls of d6 (Frostgrave can be very swingy in results). Frostgrave is a very different game than 40k.
Now, that might be exactly what you're after; something totally different. The campaign system in Frostgrave can be kind of fun, but if you're looking for any kind of tactical depth that is not present (IMO) in Frostgrave. If you have even a little bit of That Guy competitiveness in any of your Frostgrave group, it will go very badly as it is very much more a "narrative" gaming experience and there are (still, even in 2nd edition) some pretty badly breaking ways to play if you focus on them.
If you want a "D&D Lite" kind of thing, Frostgrave can be pretty fun. I introduced my nieces (one 20, one 9) to Frostgrave after we had been playing a bit of D&D, and while the eldest has played some other minis games with me, the youngest hadn't, and she pretty quickly got the gist of how to play and actually enjoyed it, and has now started collecting monsters to fill in so they can play at home. On the flipside, a couple of my more hardcore buddies and I started a campaign in Frostgrave that ended quickly because one of them has a tendency to min-max and found that going all in on an Elementalist pretty quickly decimated everyone else's warband (granted, this was in 1st edition so it may not be as punishing in 2nd, but it certainly put a bad taste in our mouths for the game in general).
As an addendum, the -Grave series of games contain AI rules for NPC monsters and actors as unaligned threats. This gives the core rules for all the related games a robust framework for solo and co-op play and, indeed, the Perilous Dark book for Frostgrave expands on that to add more solo/co-op play options. (Perilous Dark is also an amazing book on scenario-making and scenario-specific mechanics both for X-Grave/RoSD in specific and gaming in general, and I highly recommend it.) So, for a 40K player, Stargrave + Perilous Dark might be the game for you if you ever wanted to make a themed Kill Team and take them on adventures and dungeon/space hulk crawls against AI enemies.
I myself intend to make my own setting bashed together from a lot of my favorite properties, including some 40K (especially at the Rogue Trader end of the adventure spectrum).
That said, it looks like I need to put sci-fi minis back into my hobby rotation. I don't suppose anyone knows where I could find some close-enough Hyperion Soldier (from Borderlands 2) helmets that would fit Mantic GCPS bodies?
I never thought about how great Maelstrom's Edge minis would be for a Starfinder-type game! The only problem would be the need for some melee conversions, because lots of the line is quite ranged weapon-focused.
AegisGrimm wrote: I never thought about how great Maelstrom's Edge minis would be for a Starfinder-type game! The only problem would be the need for some melee conversions, because lots of the line is quite ranged weapon-focused.
But the Broken have lots of melee weapon options. The two original factions, not so much, but the Epirians have Enforcers and the Karists have Praetorians. You'll need the Faction Expansion Sprue for those weapon options.
If that's still not enough, there's Northstar's Cultist Sci-Fi Accessory Pack. These are more ranged however. The parts are metal and sized for the Frostgrave figures, so I don't know how well they'll fit with the Maelstrom's Edge figures.
Psychopomp wrote: As an addendum, the -Grave series of games contain AI rules for NPC monsters and actors as unaligned threats. This gives the core rules for all the related games a robust framework for solo and co-op play and, indeed, the Perilous Dark book for Frostgrave expands on that to add more solo/co-op play options. (Perilous Dark is also an amazing book on scenario-making and scenario-specific mechanics both for X-Grave/RoSD in specific and gaming in general, and I highly recommend it.) So, for a 40K player, Stargrave + Perilous Dark might be the game for you if you ever wanted to make a themed Kill Team and take them on adventures and dungeon/space hulk crawls against AI enemies.
I myself intend to make my own setting bashed together from a lot of my favorite properties, including some 40K (especially at the Rogue Trader end of the adventure spectrum).
That said, it looks like I need to put sci-fi minis back into my hobby rotation. I don't suppose anyone knows where I could find some close-enough Hyperion Soldier (from Borderlands 2) helmets that would fit Mantic GCPS bodies?
warboss wrote:I never played Frostgrave so apologies for the likely stupid questions. It was like Mordheim with PVP skirmish combat, correct? Were there solo PVE rules?
One of the supplements (Perilous Dark) added rules for cooperative or solo games. Regular games also have some wild creatures that can attack either player's figures, but with some exceptions (the final scenario in the Lich Lord campaign for example), players won't be expected to fight those together; merely hope they will distract and weaken your opponents.
Thanks. Hopefully this one will include them from the get go as a pandemic quarantine edition release.
I'm really looking forward to this release and have done since it first cropped up on Amazon a few months ago. Love oathmark and have pretty much ditched other (fantasy) games for it now. Love the kits even more, it's so refreshing to have kits that have everything you need to build a unit and with plenty of alternative parts for conversions or command models (Though most of the metal command models are fantastic too). They remind me of the older WFB kits, like the night goblin regiment set that came out around 1999. It's nice to see some fantasy art again too, I hadn't really noticed just how much of the AoS art I'd not really been paying attention too until I noticed how often I was pausing to look at the art in the oathmark rulebook.
Frostgrave was always one of those games that I liked the look off but didn't bother with, but after getting hooked on oathmark I've started collecting the frostgrave books as well, just grabbing them here and there when placing orders. I'm definitely looking at playing some games with my Moridheim & AoS skirmish stuff at some point.
I've really, really wanted to get into the new release of necromunda but personally I found it to be one of the worst releases GW have ever done. The minis are fantastic though, so I've brought them when I've seen them in local stores with nice big discounts. Stargrave will mean that I need to get a table together now.
Gimgamgoo wrote:
I am dubious about Joe's games now. I bought into everything Frostgrave, including 2 sets of spellcards with sleeves and deck boxes (my wife and I play) and all the supplements, to find he went all GW and 2nd editioned it making lots of purchases now useless if you want to keep up. It seemed like an unecessary cash-in to milk FG gamers.
I don't think it was anywhere near as bad as what GW have done/do. It was announced almost a year before release to stop folk buying into the game if they'd rather wait, they gave out a free copy of the 1st edition rules a few months before 2nd was released and it was really only the cards that were made completely redundant, and that's only if you decide to switch to 2nd anyway.
Ancestral Hamster wrote:
If that's still not enough, there's Northstar's Cultist Sci-Fi Accessory Pack. These are more ranged however. The parts are metal and sized for the Frostgrave figures, so I don't know how well they'll fit with the Maelstrom's Edge figures.
They are resin, I picked a couple of sets up a few weeks ago. I honestly don't expect them to keep them in stock if we are going to see sci-fi kits. I picked them up as I really wanted some of the parts for some conversions I started ages ago.
pduggie wrote:Why is everyone excited about this but
Rogue Stars (sci fi crew skirmish) and
Scrappers (sci-fi postapoc "get treasure" skirmish)
seem to get very little love.
Is it that we're all excited for Northstar plastic minis? NS had Rogue Stars minis.
I'd honestly never even heard of Scrappers before this thread. Stargrave already has some popularity before release as there are fairly large communities for frostgrave & oathmark.
Def very excited for northstar plastic minis for sci-fi. I've brought an insane amount of the oathmark kits, I find them so good. So looking forward to mixing the parts into some cool grim dark sci-fi warbands!
warboss wrote: I never played Frostgrave so apologies for the likely stupid questions. It was like Mordheim with PVP skirmish combat, correct? Were there solo PVE rules?
Yes to both.
It's a little more involved then Mordhiem, and has the same sort of build up your teams, but the emphasis is on your magic user duo. THEY are the ones that get the most love. You pay in for everyone else and they are disposable, as in you don't have to keep them around through the campaign.
Gimgamgoo wrote: I am dubious about Joe's games now. I bought into everything Frostgrave, including 2 sets of spellcards with sleeves and deck boxes (my wife and I play) and all the supplements, to find he went all GW and 2nd editioned it making lots of purchases now useless if you want to keep up. It seemed like an unecessary cash-in to milk FG gamers.
The second edition corebook contains an appendix listing each 1e supplement book and the updates needed to bring it in line with 2e, which are usually minimal. The only things from 1e that are obsolete are the 1e corebook (replaced by 2e) and the spell deck (the spell lists got a major overhaul and update). Everything else you bought is brought up to date with just the purchase of the 2e corebook.
warboss wrote: I never played Frostgrave so apologies for the likely stupid questions. It was like Mordheim with PVP skirmish combat, correct? Were there solo PVE rules?
Yes to both.
It's a little more involved then Mordhiem, and has the same sort of build up your teams, but the emphasis is on your magic user duo. THEY are the ones that get the most love. You pay in for everyone else and they are disposable, as in you don't have to keep them around through the campaign.
Necromancers.... They know what's for dinner...
Fair enough and I don't have an issue with leveling up only one or two figs in the warband as long as the list building is sufficiently varied enough for the mooks. I never played Gorkamorka or Necromunda beyond a demo but did play in a Mordheim league and levelling up wasn't a big draw for me personally as long as there was a big enough selection of henchman and gear to choose from. Ymmv.
Gimgamgoo wrote: Amongst all the talk of Scrappers and Rogue Stars, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Core Space. In my opionion, a far more fun game than Scrappers and Rogue Stars which I bought in to.
I am dubious about Joe's games now. I bought into everything Frostgrave, including 2 sets of spellcards with sleeves and deck boxes (my wife and I play) and all the supplements, to find he went all GW and 2nd editioned it making lots of purchases now useless if you want to keep up. It seemed like an unecessary cash-in to milk FG gamers.
Anyway, I'll keep my eye on Stargrave, but also on the new Core Space expansions.
Care to tell my something more about core space?
Scrappers sounds like a game I saw long ago where you tried to loot derelict ships from a fallen empire. Which was a little like gorkamorka i suppose.
Considering the open-ended, miniature-agnostic nature of the game, I am willing to bet there will be no mechanical distinction between species and if we get any rubber forehead alien miniatures, they will be purely aesthetic.
Was there any incorporation of races in Frostgrave? Did it matter mechanically if your wizard or mooks were dwarves, elves, or humans? Or was the choice simply asthetic?
warboss wrote: Was there any incorporation of races in Frostgrave? Did it matter mechanically if your wizard or mooks were dwarves, elves, or humans? Or was the choice simply asthetic?
You had Gnolls an Rangifers, but he said elves etc use the standard statline
Thanks for the replies (and jokes!). Hopefully (at least from my admittedly blissfully ignorant perspective) the scifi game will have some meaningful incorporation of species.
Cronch wrote: It looks interesting, but Zone Raiders exists, so I'll probably not look too much into this one.
I have that one pegged as backup too. Love the idea and aesthetic of the unofficial Blame! tabletop game.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The above image was accompanied by the following text on Stargrave fb group;
Today we’re giving you a low-res preview of a fantastic piece of Stargrave artwork from Helge C. Balzer. It shows a mercenary standing alongside a biomorph – one of the backgrounds available for your captain in Stargrave (we’ll be looking at how you create your captain in the future!)
Below you will find an extract from the book describing biomorphs:
"When the old empires fell, so did their laws limiting ‘genetic enhancement’. A few scientists seized this opportunity to engage in radical experimentation. This involved both the genetic manipulation of naturally-born individuals and the creation of wholly new ‘tank-born’ individuals. In either case, those that survived these experiments were often left with unique abilities to control their own bodies, such as realigning their skeletal structure, growing new limbs, changing their skin tones, or even growing additional organs to deal with toxic substances or alien environments. Unfortunately, many biomorphs were also left psychically scarred by their modifications. While the worst of these tend to destroy themselves quickly, almost all carry some form of phobia, psychosis, or other mental impairment.
Depending on the abilities of a biomorph, they tend to dress in loose, or very stretchy outfits, or have specialized suits of armour made that take into account their abilities. More than any other background, biomorphs tend to form independent crews because they are on the run – either from those that created them or want to do further experiments on them, or to escape the consequences of some crime (often unintended)."
Excited to head into the Ravaged Galaxy? Preorder your copy of Stargrave from your Friendly Local Gaming Store or preferred retailer today!
This makes me think alien types will be classes ... And have depression.
I'm wondering if the background of this game is going to line up very closely with Rogue Trader 1st edition 40k (or at least have that 'feel' about it) and whether there will be a way to use collections of miniatures from that era..
Pacific wrote: I'm wondering if the background of this game is going to line up very closely with Rogue Trader 1st edition 40k (or at least have that 'feel' about it) and whether there will be a way to use collections of miniatures from that era..
I'm mainly wondering just how much background the game will have to begin with. Frostgrave was largely very vague in the core book from what I remember, with a short intro about the setting (magical metropolis, big spell, long winter, now thawing and becoming accessible again for those seeking the old magical artefacts... and that's it?), and a lot of small anecdotes about the weird things you may encounter in the city. I imagined the rest was kept vague so that everyone could make of it what they wanted, but at the same time maybe more wasn't necessary because it was meant to mainly be a generic fantasy setting. This preview already appears to be more specific, which in turn gives more specific in-game options by the sounds of it. (Which is good: it won't just be Frostgrave in space.)
We do the opposite. After six months or so of trying to kill each other, we transitioned to just getting treasures with the occasional friendly pot shot. We’re just too nice.
Pacific wrote: I'm wondering if the background of this game is going to line up very closely with Rogue Trader 1st edition 40k (or at least have that 'feel' about it) and whether there will be a way to use collections of miniatures from that era..
I'm mainly wondering just how much background the game will have to begin with. Frostgrave was largely very vague in the core book from what I remember, with a short intro about the setting (magical metropolis, big spell, long winter, now thawing and becoming accessible again for those seeking the old magical artefacts... and that's it?), and a lot of small anecdotes about the weird things you may encounter in the city. I imagined the rest was kept vague so that everyone could make of it what they wanted, but at the same time maybe more wasn't necessary because it was meant to mainly be a generic fantasy setting. This preview already appears to be more specific, which in turn gives more specific in-game options by the sounds of it. (Which is good: it won't just be Frostgrave in space.)
I expect that Stargrave is simply going to have a basic premise of being set in a time of collapsing stellar empires and roving pirate fleet nations, and mostly leave the exact planets and politics up to you to imagine. Anything that's expanded upon would then be connected to improving the game's central complicating mechanic. Or something like that.
I would imagine that Stargrave spreads out the weird abilities and tech over your entire warband instead of concentrating them into your two magicians (even if you have two main characters and a bunch of redshirts) simply due to the nature of equipment and mutant/alien powers. A technology-based game will probably have a wider range of weaponry and other gear than what the relatively plain soldiers in Frostgrave have. Probably you'll pick a model and purchase Leaping as an upgrade, and leave it open whether it's due to a jetpack or kangaroo legs. At most I'd expect a separation between technological and innate ways to grant flight or whatever just so that you can have tech disruption zones or mutant-detecting lasers. Y'know, a little bit of granularity just to give your specific modelling choices a little bit of weight without demanding a specific statline for a specific kind of model.
Mainly I'm very interested in the model line because applying the Frostgrave kit layout to aliens, mutants, robots and all sorts of space dudes would make for extremely useful conversion fuel.
I would not expect that. I would imagine a more Ghost or FGII of you can always have a crew of X grunts, but then you can upgrade Y number as specialists. The crew are expandable and easy to replace, where specialists are not.
Easy E wrote: I would not expect that. I would imagine a more Ghost or FGII of you can always have a crew of X grunts, but then you can upgrade Y number as specialists. The crew are expandable and easy to replace, where specialists are not.
So basically kill team? I seriously doubt that GW pioneered the style in Kill Team (I don't recall even if it was in their earlier skirmish games like Mordheim or Necromunda let alone if someone else did it first/better) but it's what comes to mind for me personally.
No idea who did it first, but in FG1 you had to hire all the guys.
In Ghost Archipelago and Frostgrave II you are assumed to always have access to essential workers/crewmen. A handful can be upgraded to specialists with limits.
Here is my review for Ghost Archipelago that talks a bit about it, but I honestly do not recall how much.....
lord_blackfang wrote: The real question is... will only specialists get ranged weapons? That could look very awkward in sci-fi.
I doubt that they're going to essentially just copy the Frostgrave lists. Your basic dudes having rifles or at least pistols seems incredibly obvious to me. Why wouldn't they?
I think NOT having a change in default to ranged combat as the baseline with melee as a backup or optional upgrade in a scifi game would be incredibly stupid.
I'm really intrigued to see how this handles weapons as it's the issue with sci-fi vs fantasy as generics for me. I feel that the difference between a laspistol, plasma pistol and rail pistol should be in the rules and make a difference. Unfortunately it's hard to make that happen easily and recognisably for your opponents if your not using the same range. With fantasy I'm far happier with more generic weapons.
So you get two hero characters and a bunch of redshirts. I can make that work.
Might even paint up some sedition wars minis to use for it, if I can bare to clean of the mould lines!
Will probably give this a shot, though we've pretty much switched over to F28: War Always Changes for all our SF wargames needs in this house...
Had probably 3 or so games of Rogue Stars and it's a pretty cool, very tactical system, but I think you'd have to go all in on it and play nothing else if you wanted any chance of remembering all the rules. :(
Frostgrave still gets a bit of play here. I didn't rate Ghost Archipelago really though, so will wait and see with Stargrave.
Ian Sturrock wrote: Will probably give this a shot, though we've pretty much switched over to F28: War Always Changes for all our SF wargames needs in this house...
Had probably 3 or so games of Rogue Stars and it's a pretty cool, very tactical system, but I think you'd have to go all in on it and play nothing else if you wanted any chance of remembering all the rules. :(
Frostgrave still gets a bit of play here. I didn't rate Ghost Archipelago really though, so will wait and see with Stargrave.
Pretty much my thoughts on Rogue Stars as well. It is a decent (if somewhat clunky) system that has provided my main opponent and I some very cinematic games... but hot dang is it a pain to remember the rules when you only get it play it once every few weeks.
Really hoping Stargrave itches the 10-12 model per side simple sci fi skirmish game on a 3x3 board with a campaign system I have been itching for.
Tamereth wrote: So you get two hero characters and a bunch of redshirts. I can make that work.
Might even paint up some sedition wars minis to use for it, if I can bare to clean of the mould lines!
Funny that you should mention them... I've been thinking about digging out my SW minis, stripping and repainting them, then using them to play...
Sedition Wars!
This might not be the smartest idea that I've ever had.
Has anyone ever bothered to strip them? Do they go sticky and gooey?
I would use something plastics-friendly to strip them, but it shouldn't be an issue. Simple Green takes a couple days, but is friendly to almost anything.
I wish we could get more preview information so I could start working on minis for this. Just a list of weapon options, no stats, would be incredibly handy.
Assuming it sticks close to Frostgrave precedent, what is on the model will not be important as long as the weaponry is not deceptive. (e.g. A figure with a lightsaber representing one armed with a SAM launcher is a no, but lightsaber dude could represent any melee type weapon user.) So building most of your figures based on your preferences should be safe. Having said that, I will wait to see what HW and specialist weapons are available before building any more.
Psychopomp wrote: I wish we could get more preview information so I could start working on minis for this. Just a list of weapon options, no stats, would be incredibly handy.
Ancestral Hamster wrote: Assuming it sticks close to Frostgrave precedent, what is on the model will not be important as long as the weaponry is not deceptive. (e.g. A figure with a lightsaber representing one armed with a SAM launcher is a no, but lightsaber dude could represent any melee type weapon user.) So building most of your figures based on your preferences should be safe. Having said that, I will wait to see what HW and specialist weapons are available before building any more.
I'd like to know if the thug-equivalents are armed with a hand weapon, pistol and hand weapon, or rifle. That sort of thing. Will there be a difference between a rifle and an assault rifle? A rifle and a shotgun? Or are they all just long guns with a generic statline?
While Frostgrave certainly has a lot of play with what various melee weapons can represent, we currently have no idea of how much granularity a sci-fi ruleset will have. I'd expect there's little difference between an automatic rifle and a laser rifle, but I'm not sure about that, either. Will grenade launchers and/or plasma guns be an option? There's a lot we don't know at the moment.
Psychopomp wrote: I'd like to know if the thug-equivalents are armed with a hand weapon, pistol and hand weapon, or rifle. That sort of thing. Will there be a difference between a rifle and an assault rifle? A rifle and a shotgun? Or are they all just long guns with a generic statline?
While Frostgrave certainly has a lot of play with what various melee weapons can represent, we currently have no idea of how much granularity a sci-fi ruleset will have. I'd expect there's little difference between an automatic rifle and a laser rifle, but I'm not sure about that, either. Will grenade launchers and/or plasma guns be an option? There's a lot we don't know at the moment.
Fair enough. And I'd expect more granularity with Stargrave. Rifles and shotguns do serve different combat roles in the real world, and treating them the same would feel off for many players. Similarly, there does need to be some difference between solid shot weapons and energy weapons.
The first supplement for Stargrave, the science-fiction wargame from award-winning designer Joseph A. McCullough, introducing new scenarios, soldiers, technology and aliens to the ravaged galaxy.
At the time of its commission, Imperial Research Station 37 held nearly ten-thousand scientist and researchers working on a vast array of biological and chemical projects. Then, six-months before the outbreak of the war, Station 37 went dark. There were no distress messages; no escape pods were launched. Only a solitary, repeating broadcast filled the silence. This station is under quarantine. Do not approach. When the Endwar came, the station was forgotten, left to drift lifelessly in its empty system. Now, with the war over, and the Free Traders roaming the ruins, the station has been rediscovered. Although the station must clearly be approached with caution, the technology it contains is worth many fortunes...
Quarantine 37 is a supplement for Stargrave, in which the players lead their team of Free Traders into an abandoned space station, looking for lost technology as well as potentially unique research and experiments. Unfortunately, a few of those experiments have escaped and still roam the tight, dark confines of the station. Along with a host of new scenarios, this book also contains new technology, soldiers, aliens, and ship options for the players to upgrade their forces.''
MrPieChee wrote: I would hope/assume that there will be more weapon granularity and less soldier/henchman granularity with Stargrave compared to Frostgrave.
But who knows...
It's hard to find the right balance, yes I want an assault rifle to be different from a shotgun and both to be different from a laser gun. But I also want to make my guys look cool, and not worry about whether then have a shotgun or laser gun...
I think 3rd edition 40k got a decent balance. All hand weapons are either normal or power, who cares if it's an axe, sword or nunchucks.
There’s a bunch of minis I think it might give some secondary life to. The sci fi Zombicide version has all sorts of techy looking models and alien baddies, Deadzone models, Pig Iron, Sedition Wars, Judge Dredd, Aliens Vs Predator and any of the Star Wars stuff. I’ve seen people use the standard Frostgrave as a Star Wars proxy rules set, treat the wizard as your Jedi/Sith and spells as their force powers. Renaming crossbows and ranged weapons as blasters etc.
Frostgrave is for casual play and very open ended in terms of what type of minis you use which is a huge part of why it’s appealing. There isn’t a hard focus on using a single line of minis and you can adapt the rules to include almost anything you want. It allows for a lot more imagination and house rules than something like 40k does. I also find skirmish level games faster and much more fun vs grinding with full armies 40k style.
Personally I hope this game will allow me to put a group of Modiphius Klingons and GW Orks against Xenomorphs, Predators, Zombies and Borg. If it does, I'll be happy.
> If you want a "D&D Lite" kind of thing, Frostgrave can be pretty fun.
I'll also mention McCullough's (sp) Rangers of Shadowdeep, for a solo or coop fantasy miniatures skirmish game. Actually, might as well mention the older Song of Blades and Heroes. (: SoBH also includes a web-based unit designer, so you can make your own custom units, rather than not add modifiers for races, weapons, etc.. I did noticed that some Frostgrave scenarios use uncommon terrain features and monsters.
For miniatures stripping, see the Painting and Modelling forum. Myself, I recommend 90% isopropyl alcohol or Purple Power. Use gloves and two containers for stripping!
Sgt. Cortez wrote: Personally I hope this game will allow me to put a group of Modiphius Klingons and GW Orks against Xenomorphs, Predators, Zombies and Borg. If it does, I'll be happy.
So long as you don’t mind if they all have pretty much the same stats.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ced1106, thanks for mentioning Rangers of Shadow Deep. Sounds like a tabletop fantasy game I could get my family to play. Maybe.
To quote Northstar: ''Stargrave. Next to Oathmark, this will be our biggest release of the year. Joseph McCullough's sci-fi version of Frostgrave, with multiple plastic kits to support it.''
Shadow Walker wrote: To quote Northstar: ''Stargrave. Next to Oathmark, this will be our biggest release of the year. Joseph McCullough's sci-fi version of Frostgrave, with multiple plastic kits to support it.''
Shadow Walker wrote: To quote Northstar: ''Stargrave. Next to Oathmark, this will be our biggest release of the year. Joseph McCullough's sci-fi version of Frostgrave, with multiple plastic kits to support it.''
What is this strange feeling in my breast?
Is it hope?
No, it is post-Christmas and your heart has just grown 3 sizes too large!
I am sure I am not the only one interested to see what they come up with. It will be nice to get some "sci-fi adventurer" style kits out there. Otherwise, the Maelstrom Edge Remnants are pretty good kits too.
Maybe they will partner with Palladium so the models can have so many parts and be like old Star Trek. Regular humanoid head, but dozens of “alien” face applications so you can have all the options
Theophony wrote: Maybe they will partner with Palladium so the models can have so many parts and be like old Star Trek. Regular humanoid head, but dozens of “alien” face applications so you can have all the options
I like it. The complexity of a bandai kit with the detail of gumball machine toys accompanied by rules more antiquated than including DIP switch diagrams for programming an early VCR with a chromecast streaming device. This is the (Palladium) way.
I like it. The complexity of a bandai kit with the detail of gumball machine toys accompanied by rules more antiquated than including DIP switch diagrams for programming an early VCR with a chromecast streaming device. This is the (Palladium) way.
You forgot about the chronic fiscal irresponsibility, if not outright malfeasance.
warboss wrote: I like it. The complexity of a bandai kit with the detail of gumball machine toys accompanied by rules more antiquated than including DIP switch diagrams for programming an early VCR with a chromecast streaming device. This is the (Palladium) way.
Sounds rather modern. And far too ordered. Add more chaos and a dwindling fan base that pretty much consists of yes men convincing Uncle Kevo that he’s the second coming of gaming. All others have been chased away or left in disgust
This could be very thematic in a cyberpunk system, not too sure how I feel about it in scifi, where urban environment is just one of the possibilities. To my doubts the author has confirmed there is a separate random encounter table, but I wonder weather the "Unwanted Attention" rule won't speed the game up just because no one will want the added frustration of the endless waves of mooks in their game.
Sledgehammer wrote: I think this IS a cool mechanic, however I'm not certain this should be in every mission.
Agreed, space is BIG. Just because there is salvage in a spot does not mean the pirates are hanging around in scanner range and a quick jump/thrust/warp away.
One can always house rule stuff if necessary, but it's early days yet. Need to see the exact rules first.
Re: Silent Death. Right, the Night Brood, and the fall of the Terran Empire thanks to the idiocy of the last Emperor. [For those who have not played Silent Death, the Emperor used nukes on a large mass of the brood . This appeared to be a great victory, but soon all the brood within a certain range converged on Earth and all major population centers in human space. The Empire was destroyed and there are only scattered powers left. There are fleets and entire worlds that are salvage targets (including the Solar System, but the brood are extremely numerous there). However, the brood is still around, just hibernating, and if there is too much violence near them, they wake. I don't remember if there is a similar clock mechanism in Silent Death, or the waking is just fluff.
Silent Death is a good fighter combat system (if anybody is looking for one), although they are adding bigger ships now. There is an associated minis line. Indeed, some of the generic plastic fighters being sold online were originally sculpted for Silent Death when the late Iron Crown Enterprises added plastic fighters to their line.
I think the pastelly paint jobs, while technically well-executed, might not be ideal for sci fi. Still, I'm stoked, looking forward to seeing the mercs and pirates
Look alright to me. Not too exciting, but not bad. Versatile.
Most interesting part is that there will be 3 different plastic sets at launch - that's a pretty big deal, with previous (Frostgrave) books only having one with each supplement.
"We’ve got three boxes lined up for starters – Crew, Mercs, and Troopers. Each box will give you enough bits for 20 figures, with plenty of options for kitting out your crew."
Good lord, they're going to sell a bazillion of these kits. Generic plastic scifi dudes that are all interchangeable has been on every scifi skirmish gamer's wishlist since the 1990's
More realistic paintjob and more sci-fi gubbins bolted on to the guns and I think they'd look like fairly convincing Star Wars characters. Classic 70s/80s star wars anyway, not so much the newer stuff. Not elaborate enough.
If they do metal figures too (and North Star normally do) I wonder if they'll have integral stands, if so that'll look a bit inconsistent
judgedoug wrote: "We’ve got three boxes lined up for starters – Crew, Mercs, and Troopers. Each box will give you enough bits for 20 figures, with plenty of options for kitting out your crew."
Good lord, they're going to sell a bazillion of these kits. Generic plastic scifi dudes that are all interchangeable has been on every scifi skirmish gamer's wishlist since the 1990's
Yeah, goodness knows what the sprue layouts will be like. Hopefully tons of options. These’ll be picked up for all sorts of games and rpgs.
I love the simplicity of them. If you want extra details you can add them, but if you want to just use Contrast paints and/or drybrushing it looks like you'll get a great effect.
I wish I was more of a fan, if only because Northstar distributes widely enough that these will be available locally.
The human figures look OK, but the aliens are not in a style I am a fan of. Maybe with a very different paint job? But the posing also seems poor on the cyclops dude, I hope that is not a common pose because it looks really bad. Look at his hands on the gun, not great.
Will have to see more. I was not blown away by the first frostgrave sets, but they have grown on me and now I basically have one of each of all the sets, so there's obviously something in it!
Part of the strength of the Frostgrave figures is the number and variety of weapons and accessories. I hope for the same in these, including non-weapon equipment like tools, handheld computers and techy gubbins etc.
bbb wrote: I love the simplicity of them. If you want extra details you can add them, but if you want to just use Contrast paints and/or drybrushing it looks like you'll get a great effect.
Only, yaknow, sculpting details is more difficult, than scraping them of. And it’s a bit hard to paint around these... sculpts.
If the sculpt is simple, it’s not good or bad in it of itself, but it must at least have style. These figurines border on green army men minus the flash and mould lines.
I know a lot of people aren't happy about the lack of details on these buys, but I kind of like it. I don't imagine most "Star Scum" being particularly ostentatious in their outfits. I think the kit will be pretty cool personally.
Billicus wrote: Worth remembering with the criticism that if these are priced like the frostgrave soldier boxes it'll be £20 for 20 figures - great value
Worth remembering Wargame Atlantic's Deathfields line is the same price, but the deisngs don't look 30 years old ...
Billicus wrote: Worth remembering with the criticism that if these are priced like the frostgrave soldier boxes it'll be £20 for 20 figures - great value
Worth remembering Wargame Atlantic's Deathfields line is the same price, but the deisngs don't look 30 years old ...
Yeah, that is a great point.
I still think a box of these will be useful for all the mcguffins they hopefully come with, but idk, the guns aren't great looking so I'm not sure the scanners etc. will look much better.
I'm guessing these will also be pretty small to fit in with the Frostgrave stuff. They are going to be 28mm, not GW size.
Billicus wrote: Worth remembering with the criticism that if these are priced like the frostgrave soldier boxes it'll be £20 for 20 figures - great value
Worth remembering Wargame Atlantic's Deathfields line is the same price, but the deisngs don't look 30 years old ...
They are decent. If this was a TV series, they'd be the extras. Extras don't get fancy outfits. There are plenty of 3rd party places to get parts for kitbashing if you don't already have them, and if previous Northstar plastics kits are anything to go by, there should be plenty of bits in them. These are classic "spear carriers" in the movie industry sense, and I'll use them for the redshirts, be they mine, the pirates, or a 3rd party scenario complication.
Mind, I was in high school in the early 80's, and I'm getting a Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and original Battlestar Galactica vibe from these. They do strike me as very retro.
So these guys are from the crew box, with Mercs and Troopers still coming. I kind of hope the crew have non-weapon options with tablets, tools, scanners etc.
They look fine to me, generic, not too stylized, they'd fit into a Galaxy Far Far Away, a Federation Starbase or the Grim Darkness of the Far Future. Obviously I want to see sprues and well, reduce the pile of shame, but I'd buy these.
I like that the blue guy looks like Marc Copplestone's old troopers, some of my favorite near future soldiers.
Billicus wrote: Worth remembering with the criticism that if these are priced like the frostgrave soldier boxes it'll be £20 for 20 figures - great value
Worth remembering Wargame Atlantic's Deathfields line is the same price, but the deisngs don't look 30 years old ...
Worth remembering people still like those, too.
Oh nothing wrong with that, far from being for me to judge someone else's aesthetic taste, but neither should the argument of price be made to shut down the criticism of those who don't like the models - in other words, "great value" is a very subjective thing, is what I was trying to address.
Oh nothing wrong with that, far from being for me to judge someone else's aesthetic taste, but neither should the argument of price be made to shut down the criticism of those who don't like the models - in other words, "great value" is a very subjective thing, is what I was trying to address.
I wasn't trying to "shut down the criticism", just providing a bit of context that they'll be priced at the cheaper end of the market so expectations should be set accordingly. Chill out. Yeah, I can take the point that there are other good budget ranges available, with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Sabotage! wrote: I know a lot of people aren't happy about the lack of details on these buys, but I kind of like it. I don't imagine most "Star Scum" being particularly ostentatious in their outfits. I think the kit will be pretty cool personally.
Detail is not just trinkets and ornaments being smeared all over the sculpt, but just plain sharpness of it as well.
I absolutely don’t have anything against people liking these minis, but I don’t get the argument about the price, as if it makes the whole thing more appealing. Sure it’s better, than if they were expensive, but If you like the minis already. I’d never want a Mantic army for example, even if it costs like 3 sandwiches and has a million models in it. I’d rather buy less minis, but actually like how they look, than buy many and be “meh” about their design. Or, even id rather get no minis at all, rather than get dirt cheap subpar miniatures. My shelf of shame is already quite enormous :(
The alien heads look Goofy as sin (Not helped by the pastel-y color schemes), but other wise the bodies and human heads look fine. Looking foreword to seeing what the full frames look like.
I don['t know I'm really digging that yellow bugged eye green dude in dark green/grey on the right. I have enough sci fi humans If can get enough of those specific alien heads this is a done deal. I'm not a fan of the adhoc nature of various uniforms and species in that picture but with a more uniformed look the crew could look pretty good
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this. They've got an early Star Wars toy vibe but that's not a problem for me. Will be interesting to see the full sprues and what kinds of bits they'll have. Mercenaries sounds promising, might make for some neat bounty hunter style squads.
Gamingdog wrote: I don['t know I'm really digging that yellow bugged eye green dude in dark green/grey on the right. I have enough sci fi humans If can get enough of those specific alien heads this is a done deal. I'm not a fan of the adhoc nature of various uniforms and species in that picture but with a more uniformed look the crew could look pretty good
I think their suits are going to look uniform enough if you just paint them the same way. Sure, they might not all have pouches or straps in the same place but it's all done in a similar enough style and appears to be capped off by a wrist computer on every left arm. With the same, basic colour scheme on them they're gonna look like a unified crew. A minimum amount of rag-tagness is probably unavoidable due to the setting and style of the game but you can just rationalise that as older and newer models of space suit, to say nothing of repairs.
The alien heads are adequate. That they are on human bodies is kind of uninspired. Actual alien bodies for them would have been much more interesting, but I guess that wold have been a separate box.
No way. Much more Good Star Wars vibe mixed with Traveller and Star Frontiers. But I have a feeling these were obviously designed for fans of 70's and 80's scifi.
judgedoug wrote: No way. Much more Good Star Wars vibe mixed with Traveller and Star Frontiers. But I have a feeling these were obviously designed for fans of 70's and 80's scifi.
Agreed. I'm getting an "80's video rental store sci-fi section" vibe from these that I really kind of like.
Billicus wrote: If these sell, probably get a "Stargrave Crew 2" box that's all female next year
Oh, I was just being silly. I've a few female minis to paint, like the Not-Ripley, Not-Caprica Six, Not-Zoe, and Not-River from the Sedition Wars kickstarter, and I backed the Toughest Girls in the Galaxy KS, and only painted 3 of my Jailbirds and none of the stretch goal character models. There's enough female minis in the collection to keep Kirk and Ryker busy. For a month, tops.
[Khan Noonien Singh] I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you.[/Khan Noonien Singh]
Okay, that was pretty mean. In the comments to another Shatner cover from that same album, someone wrote,
It was a concept album. The concept was Shatner versus music.
I think we can agree, Shatner won, unfortunately.
Here's something more pleasant, and it is incorrectly titled. It should be "tribute" or "homage." The interesting part starts at 1:11.
Back to the topic. That pilot aiming the blaster could pass for a rebel pilot if you painted him orange and white. The chest is wrong, but perhaps there is a torso that would be a closer fit.
Back to the topic. That pilot aiming the blaster could pass for a rebel pilot if you painted him orange and white. The chest is wrong, but perhaps there is a torso that would be a closer fit.
Why not a Former rebel pilot who bought a new shirt? There's approximately one infinite number of scenarios for Star Wars gaming in the Outer Rim
Like the Maelstrom's Edge Broken, these Stargrave Crew figures will probably be scaled way too small for my needs. (But for those so inclined, you'll probably be able to do great mix-and-match between the Stargrave Crew and Broken trooper sets.) I have a sprue of Frostgrave cultists, and I really like their casting quality, character, and detail. Unfortunately, Frostgrave seems to be locked into a small scale that doesn't fit well with any other miniatures that I own, so I don't have much use for my tiny cultists, even for swapping bits. The creepy hooded heads are so cool, but so teeny.
It would be nice if the Frostgrave figures had a lot of non-weapon arms. No company ever seems to want to release a polystyrene sprue of unarmed sci-fi civilians. They're probably right not to; like many of the things I'd really like to buy, they probably wouldn't sell well. But unarmed sci fi crew and civvies are one of the few things you can't get from anyone in polystyrene, so maybe there's a viable untapped niche there? There's certainly no competition.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
BobtheInquisitor wrote: So, is anyone else planning to use the cyclops head on a Conquest Nord body to create the character from Krull?
You'd need to Green Stuff some shaggy "that 70's show" hair.
Back to the topic. That pilot aiming the blaster could pass for a rebel pilot if you painted him orange and white. The chest is wrong, but perhaps there is a torso that would be a closer fit.
Why not a Former rebel pilot who bought a new shirt? There's approximately one infinite number of scenarios for Star Wars gaming in the Outer Rim
Because I know nothing about the Outer Rim, so it had not occurred to me. However, you've done me a favor. I've made the mistake of thinking of the SW universe as static, and it isn't. The Rebels won in Ep. 6, and started the New Republic, so former Rebels would need new jobs. Many of them would be part of the New Republic's power structure, be it military or civilian, but some would not make the cut, or not want that life.
Heck, that ex-Rebel might be an anarchist, and not want anything more structured than contract bridge, and so only joined the Rebellion because the Empire was way too structured and rigid. So the Rebellion is over, and he's willing to let the New Republic prove itself, but in the meantime, he's going "where the best is like the worst, Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst."*
Ancestral Hamster wrote: Because I know nothing about the Outer Rim, so it had not occurred to me. However, you've done me a favor. I've made the mistake of thinking of the SW universe as static, and it isn't. The Rebels won in Ep. 6, and started the New Republic, so former Rebels would need new jobs. Many of them would be part of the New Republic's power structure, be it military or civilian, but some would not make the cut, or not want that life.
Heck, that ex-Rebel might be an anarchist, and not want anything more structured than contract bridge, and so only joined the Rebellion because the Empire was way too structured and rigid. So the Rebellion is over, and he's willing to let the New Republic prove itself, but in the meantime, he's going "where the best is like the worst, Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst."*
*Mandalay - Rudyard Kipling
Dang, go watch The Mandalorian if you haven't! And if you have, rewatch it with the eye on extracting adventure ideas from it. Every episode is like a new RPG adventure or skirmish scenario. This is what Favreau said: "What would really happen with a strong, tyrannical central government disappearing? At first it's wonderful, because it's freedom. But then sometimes freedom gets sloppy. Like after the fall of the Roman Empire, a lot of the world descended into darker times. So it was interesting to explore what the Star Wars version of that would be."
judgedoug wrote: Dang, go watch The Mandalorian if you haven't! And if you have, rewatch it with the eye on extracting adventure ideas from it. Every episode is like a new RPG adventure or skirmish scenario. This is what Favreau said: "What would really happen with a strong, tyrannical central government disappearing? At first it's wonderful, because it's freedom. But then sometimes freedom gets sloppy. Like after the fall of the Roman Empire, a lot of the world descended into darker times. So it was interesting to explore what the Star Wars version of that would be."
Okay, thank for the tip. (Have not seen it.) And yes, the results of a power vacuum are not always pretty. It was a nasty surprise for the Romano-Britons when the last legion pulled out of Brittannia, and they were left to fend for themselves. Their great-greatgrandfathers might have been able to fight off the Saxon invasion, but most of the contemporary Romano-Britons were soft civilians who were used to the shield of the Legions. I'm sort of tempted by Pendragon, part of the COIN (short for counter-insurgency) series. It can be played solo or with opponents, and depending on the side, you can try to stop the Fall, or bring it about. And even the Romano-Britons are split; so while the civilian and military parts agree on keeping out the invaders, they each want to be THE power in the government. However, it is a $95 game that I'd have to play solo (even without COVID, my regular group would not be interested), and COIN series games are known for a steep learning curve. May still get it as some point because the subject interests me.
I'm surprised that scale is such an issue, when it comes down to it figures are just basically markers on a table top. If you really need to have all your figures the same size an easy way round it is to build up your bases, that way they'll all be the same height.
The irony is that most figures would actually scale to each other, the odd one out is actually GW, who threw scale out the window.
Maybe we shouldn't be using GW as a scaling template?
Yeah, I was gonna say, my Frostgrave stuff scales perfectly with nearly all my other fantasy stuff *except* modern GW's and the minority of manufacturers that try and ape them.
Billicus wrote: Yeah, I was gonna say, my Frostgrave stuff scales perfectly with nearly all my other fantasy stuff *except* modern GW's and the minority of manufacturers that try and ape them.
Especially as GW has wholeheartedly embraced a larger 1/48 quarter-scale for new human-sized models for the last six years now, making ranges have inconsistent scaling within themselves.
Easy E wrote: I find that at table top distances my eyesight isn't good enough to tell the difference in most scale issues.
That’s ...kind of an argument against buying these, though. At tabletop distances, my eyes can’t really tell between nice Stargrave models and those cheapo plastic party favor aliens. Might as well use standees or chits if all i care about is how the minis look from across a table.
I spend the most time interacting a mini during assembly, conversion and painting. I imbue my minis with personalities so that I care what happens if they ever make it to a table top (and most of them never will).
So, while I agree that Frostgrave minis have unfortunate proportions, I’m quite excited for this kit for all the potential kitbashes it contains.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: 80’s style. I enjoy having peripheral vision. (Also, I haven’t been able to turn my neck very far since a car accident when I was young.).
Imagine putting the chunky old Forgefathers goggles onto a Perry miniature’s bare face.
Yeah, I support the "rubber forehead alien" styling in the rules. One of the great parts of Frostgrave is being able to use any species of soldier, as long as you can tell what class they are.
I imagine using the captain and lieutenant abilities, you could make either of them into a sufficiently weird alien, even as the crew member 'extras' are 80's VHS scifi human-in-a-suit-and-mask style aliens.
First, I apologize for the quality of the photos. That is the best my phone's camera can do.
Second, these Stargrave conversions were made using the Cultist Sci-Fi Accessory Pack. The parts are resin and had lots of flash, which surprised me since I bought their Forest Outlaws parts which were metal and they had minimal flash. At least with resin flash it is easily removed. While the bits were originally made for the Frostgrave Cultist box, they will work with the Ghost Archipelago Crew box, and I'd suspect with any of the FG or GA human boxes made by Northstar. While I put a shotgun on one of the Frostgrave Gnolls, it showed me it was not a good fit, so I left it at that one. The gnoll torsos are wider than human torsos. Similarly, the converted snakeman only has a pistol as snakemen torsos are much wider than human torsos.
The Last War as mentioned in Keith Laumer's Bolo series universe is a fine match for the Stargrave fluff as revealed so far. The Bolo stories were an inspiration for the gigantic cybernetic supertank "Ogre" in the game of the same name by Steve Jackson Games.
Shadow Walker wrote: They do not have integral bases. I wonder if this will be a new standard for all future Northstar kits?
Oh man I hope so! I hate integral basing because I really love making custom bases. The “standing on a little mound” base is horrible unless you can cover it with grass, which is not so great for sci fi.
Well hi Lee, nice to see you around here. Please tell me Joe has organized an advance copy for you and Lynn to make us a video introduction to the game!
Manchu wrote: Well hi Lee, nice to see you around here. Please tell me Joe has organized an advance copy for you and Lynn to make us a video introduction to the game!
We would love that! Our current plan is to get our terrain and minis ready and then bang out a game or two as soon as we receive our pre-order. But yeah, if the powers wanted to bless us with an advance copy, that would be awsome.
From Joe's blog:
Backgrounds you can give to your captain and first-mate - in the rulebook: Biomorph, Cyborg, Mystic, Robotics Expert, Rogue, Psionicist, Tekker, and Veteran. Each one of these comes with specific stat boosts and a list of 'core powers'. Captains and first-mates can, but are not required, to have the same backgrounds.
For some reason the rest of the text was cut off (twice even, I guess some error on dakka?). Here it is:
''Why the last one?? I think we might have run the Kickstarter/ Nickstarter joke too long. So, although this is the last ever 'Nickstarter', we'll still run pre-order programs and specials for future projects. Might even come up with something better... ''
For some reason the rest of the text was cut off (twice even, I guess some error on dakka?). Here it is:
''Why the last one?? I think we might have run the Kickstarter/ Nickstarter joke too long. So, although this is the last ever 'Nickstarter', we'll still run pre-order programs and specials for future projects. Might even come up with something better... ''
There's probably an emoji or similar in the text. Dakka will delete it and everything after it in a 'paste' if it's not something that it can handle (took me an age to figure that out), just delete the emoji from the text before you post and all will be well
For some reason the rest of the text was cut off (twice even, I guess some error on dakka?). Here it is:
''Why the last one?? I think we might have run the Kickstarter/ Nickstarter joke too long. So, although this is the last ever 'Nickstarter', we'll still run pre-order programs and specials for future projects. Might even come up with something better... ''
There's probably an emoji or similar in the text. Dakka will delete it and everything after it in a 'paste' if it's not something that it can handle (took me an age to figure that out), just delete the emoji from the text before you post and all will be well
You are correct, there was an emoji there. I will remember it for the future. Thanks
BrookM wrote: May hop onto this all, how do these Nickstarters work?
As Kid Kyoto has already stated "Preorders with a discount."
However, they usually have tiers to choose from, where the lowest tier gets you just the latest product, and the highest Everything. There is usually a preorder bonus figure as well that applies to every tier if you order before "d/m/y". If the Nickstarter does very well, there may be two or three bonuses. IIRC, when the Frostgrave Wizards II set came out (the female PYO set), one got a free female Thaumaturge (the one on the cover of Perilous Dark), a set of resin cloaks, a cauldron, and broomstick. So you are better off preordering from Northstar when they run a Nickstarter.
In the end I could not stomach the video but the bits I gleaned when fast forwarding sound like there's a good balance of keeping what works and giving a different play experience.
lord_blackfang wrote: In the end I could not stomach the video but the bits I gleaned when fast forwarding sound like there's a good balance of keeping what works and giving a different play experience.
I suffered through the whole thing, though I got bored a few times and got up and did some light housework. (I think he explained how Frostgrave apprentices work three separate times in a video he says is for people with Frostgrave 2e wondering how Stargrave compares/contrasts.)
Basically, you're right. There's not a lot of crunchy details in here. I'll list what I could remember and sift out of the dross below, but the overall gist seems to be that Stargrave benefits from the good changes in FG 2e, it's still recognizably the same core set of rules, but there are numerous changes and major adaptations to better fit the sci-fi concept and setting. Stargrave deviates from Frostgrave 2e more that Ghost Archipelago does did from Frostgrave 1e, in ways that makes me (a fan of Joe's rules) even more excited about Stargrave. I just wish I could have read this guys bullet point notes instead of him rambling about them for an hour.
Things I gleaned (not an exhaustive list - I may have gotten bored and tuned some out):
Backgrounds are kind of like a wizard's school - you get most of your powers from your background (3-4 at character creation), but the captain and first mate can have different backgrounds. Some powers are shared between backgrounds (both roboticist and techie have Drone as a core power, for example).
Powers cost 0-2 health to use, depending on the power.
Captains are considered to start at level 15, and first mates at level 0. Advancements are along a chart, though some levels offer choices between specific options at that level. There's only two 'Additional Power' rank ups in the chart. There's also some sort of rule about the captain leaving the first mate too far behind in levels, but it wasn't made clear what that rule is or does.
Crew are split between common and specialists, just like Frostgrave 2e. It was implied there will be free thug/thief equivalents, but I don't remember it called out specifically.
Scenarios that focus on a specific type of terrain (like a spaceport) give you permission to substitute any thematic similar terrain you may have. (Which I know some people need.) If you spend your first run of games exploring ancient ruins on a snow planet, that's fine.
There's 10 scenarios in the book.
There are grenades and flamethrowers, which use templates.
Treasure tokens are called Loot, and are split between Data and Physical Loot. Physical Loot has to be carried like FG tokens, Data Loot does not. All Loot is locked, and requires some sort of roll to access and claim.
Critical Hit rules, Wounded rules, and rolling four items available on the market are not optional rules in Stargrave and are considered part of the basic ruleset.
There's separate AI baddie charts for randomly appearing creatures and sapient enemies.
That's all the meaty bits I remember. If you're satisfied with that, I've just saved you 58 painful minutes. If you feel like suffering through to see if you can sift out any gold flecks I missed out of the Tabletop Engineer's stream of consciousness, I wish you good luck and godspeed.
Looking forward to more reviews on this. I don't know if the two games scratch a similar itch but I'm considering both Stargrave and Star Breach (assuming both get solo play just in case).
Are the game mechanics noticeably different from Frostgrave? I know there is a limited amount of granularity in a game of this type but one of my scifi pet peeves is when firing an advanced rotary laser pew pew gun is the same and letting an arrow loose from your bow. It's one of the reasons I'm ambivalent mechanically to Starfinder and it's (admittedly purpose built) Pathfinder in Spaaaaaace! gameplay.
warboss wrote: Are the game mechanics noticeably different from Frostgrave? I know there is a limited amount of granularity in a game of this type but one of my scifi pet peeves is when firing an advanced rotary laser pew pew gun is the same and letting an arrow loose from your bow. It's one of the reasons I'm ambivalent mechanically to Starfinder and it's (admittedly purpose built) Pathfinder in Spaaaaaace! gameplay.
Have you tried Zone Raiders? It has all the toys like portal guns and shoot-through-walls guns and hit-everything-in-a-line guns and so on.
Here's another video, this time with a flip-through of the actual book in the first part:
I can't recommend listening to the insightful commentary on this one, either (the part where he flips through the scenarios just reciting the scenario names and calling out donors in the chat was especially...something), but this is a great video if you pause and use the slider to find the best views on page turns. There's a very nice stretch where you can clearly read the crew soldiers and specialist tables to get an idea of what sort of models & equipment you might want to get ready!
I have no idea what this guy was expecting, if he's angry that the sci-fi adaptation of Frostgrave is very similar to Frostgrave with some sci-fi elements.
He's trying to make the case that it's exactly the same as Frostgrave but with elements simply renamed, but I know just from the other videos that's not true. Expanded ranged weapon classes, a new class of armor, an entirely new list of loot types that aren't just reskinned magic items (though some probably are), every soldier having some form of ranged weapon, 10 entirely new scenarios (The Data Vault seems especially creative to me), two types of loot counter, locked loot counters requiring skill rolls, the secondary character being more like a captain than an apprentice, the freedom to classify any character or soldier as a robot...the list goes on.
This is akin to saying that, for example, 40K is exactly the same game as Warhammer Fantasy, just with names being changed to sci-fi stuff.
This fellow is entitled to his opinion, but I'm not obligated to place any value on it.
I have no idea what this guy was expecting, if he's angry that the sci-fi adaptation of Frostgrave is very similar to Frostgrave with some sci-fi elements.
He's trying to make the case that it's exactly the same as Frostgrave but with elements simply renamed, but I know just from the other videos that's not true. Expanded ranged weapon classes, a new class of armor, an entirely new list of loot types that aren't just reskinned magic items (though some probably are), every soldier having some form of ranged weapon, 10 entirely new scenarios (The Data Vault seems especially creative to me), two types of loot counter, locked loot counters requiring skill rolls, the secondary character being more like a captain than an apprentice, the freedom to classify any character or soldier as a robot...the list goes on.
This is akin to saying that, for example, 40K is exactly the same game as Warhammer Fantasy, just with names being changed to sci-fi stuff.
This fellow is entitled to his opinion, but I'm not obligated to place any value on it.
I guess he expected much more but yeah, if the game is called a Stargrave, and is made by an author of a Frostgrave, who is known to use basically the same system in his other games, then it should be obvious that there would be no drastic changes here as well.
Shadow Walker wrote: I guess he expected much more but yeah, if the game is called a Stargrave, and is made by an author of a Frostgrave, who is known to use basically the same system in his other games, then it should be obvious that there would be no drastic changes here as well.
Also, the game is published by Osprey, who ever since they struck gold with Frostgrave, have been going back to that well over and over. Not that I'm criticizing that pattern, but Outraged Youtube Reviewer should have been smart enough to pick that up.
Shadow Walker wrote: I guess he expected much more but yeah, if the game is called a Stargrave, and is made by an author of a Frostgrave, who is known to use basically the same system in his other games, then it should be obvious that there would be no drastic changes here as well.
Also, the game is published by Osprey, who ever since they struck gold with Frostgrave, have been going back to that well over and over. Not that I'm criticizing that pattern, but Outraged Youtube Reviewer should have been smart enough to pick that up.
Well, in Osprey's defense they did not go "back to the well" with:
Gamma Wolves
Across a Deadly Field
Scrappers
Last Days
Ragnarok
Land of the Free
90% of the Osprey Wargaming Series
In fact, it is more Joe M. has gone back to the well.... which is fine as there are a lot of advantages for doing that.
Osprey went back to the well in how many publications have they done for Frostgrave, while the rest of those would be lucky to get a second print. The only other game they do that is likely to be even remotely known is Gaslands.
They've put out a few Ragnarok supplements, as well as Dracula's America.
Plus there's been a few books based on Mersey's "Rampant" engine, and I believe the scifi version, Xenos Rampant was due in the future from Osprey as well.
Robert Facepalmer wrote: Osprey went back to the well in how many publications have they done for Frostgrave, while the rest of those would be lucky to get a second print. The only other game they do that is likely to be even remotely known is Gaslands.
for profit publisher makes printing decisions based on what is profitable!
Robert Facepalmer wrote: Osprey went back to the well in how many publications have they done for Frostgrave, while the rest of those would be lucky to get a second print. The only other game they do that is likely to be even remotely known is Gaslands.
They only other game published by Osprey that is remotely known outside of Frostgrave is Gaslands?
I mean, sure, if you ignore Bolt Action (in collaboration with Warlord Games), Oathmark, Ronin/En Garde, Lion/Dragon Rampant, Dracula's America, Last Days and several more games I'm not personally interested in (renaissance/alternative history/pulp), but have seen played in various stores and clubs over the years...
Stargrave.
A selection of Troopers put together by our Kev from the new plastic box set.
This boxed set offers enough parts to build 20 heavily equipped characters for Stargrave, ideal for use in independent crews or as members of the pirate fleets hunting them down. While this kit includes a range of weaponry and a mix of helmeted and bare heads, even more variety can be achieved by mixing in components from other Stargrave boxed sets.
Anyone know who sculpted them? They look a lot like the Copplestone Future Wars guys on my desk.
It also needs to be said that North Star's house painter has a knack for making figures look more retro in a bad way (chunky, shallow detail) than they actually are. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I open a North Star box that the raw minis are much, much better than they look in photos.
Yeah I like Kev's painting but his style is chunky pastel layers which do sort of flatten/soften everything a little bit. I like the mercs best of those 3 images. Looking forward to the Nickstarter
They look better in these photos, but I agree, the paint scheme is not particularly flattering.
Glad to see the quality is a little better. I also like that there are obvious engineer and scientist types, always useful for roleplaying games and the like.
Wait, are those three different kits? Or one kit with three “options”?
It looks like they took the safest, most conservative approach to Sci Fi costume design for those designs. The animal heads for aliens are nice, but could have been more ambitious.
Wow, those are the blandest, most boring miniatures I think they could have come up with. The proportions and boring poses and minimal detail make them look like they could have been made 30 years ago.
Albino Squirrel wrote: Wow, those are the blandest, most boring miniatures I think they could have come up with. The proportions and boring poses and minimal detail make them look like they could have been made 30 years ago.
I think you have to balance the basic appearance with the fact that if Frostgrave pricing is anything to go by, these minis will work out at less than £1 each from a 3rd party retailer. So half the price of Cadians, and less than half the price of Catachans. To my mind the Stargrave minis are a little nicer than either of those. Sure they're not as nice as Victoria Miniatures infantry, which are more than three times the price, but that's what you'd expect, surely?
Albino Squirrel wrote: Wow, those are the blandest, most boring miniatures I think they could have come up with. The proportions and boring poses and minimal detail make them look like they could have been made 30 years ago.
Except no one did.
The only thing that comes close if the Maelstrom's Edge Broken.
I love, love, love the Lego style plastic kits that GW has moved away from.
I have for years and years wanted a general sci fi kit that offers that flexibility and have literally boxes of bits to make what I'd like of them.
I've seen the Frostgrave kits painted up really nicely in natural palettes, JoshInJapan has a bunch on his painting blog that look awesome. I think the bright colours they use on the minis in the promotional pictures don't really do them justice in the flesh.
They are a little blocky and chunky, but that's a style choice rather than a defect. I can see why some might find it off putting but personally as gaming pieces I like the chunkyness.
Ian Sturrock wrote: I think you have to balance the basic appearance with the fact that if Frostgrave pricing is anything to go by, these minis will work out at less than £1 each from a 3rd party retailer. So half the price of Cadians, and less than half the price of Catachans. To my mind the Stargrave minis are a little nicer than either of those. Sure they're not as nice as Victoria Miniatures infantry, which are more than three times the price, but that's what you'd expect, surely?
Where I am, Frostgrave minis are some of the most expensive plastic minis outside of GW and Conquest: LAoK. WGA’s minis, even their premium-priced Sci fi minis like the Grognards and Eisenkern, are noticeably cheaper per mini with nearly as much bit utility. Mantic’s GCPS troops can often be found much cheaper, and have more style while also being capable of filling generic roles.
I’ll still likely buy a box or two for bits and alien heads, but these feel like a step back compared to the competition. I’m definitely buying WGA’s Cannon Fodder kit before Stargrave’s Crew set.
If priced the same as the frostgrave sets, 20 of these guys would cost me $32. For $35 I could get 24 of the Wargames Atlantic sci fi models, which look a lot better, or 20 of the Eisenkern Stormtroopers, which are way better.
Albino Squirrel wrote: If priced the same as the frostgrave sets, 20 of these guys would cost me $32. For $35 I could get 24 of the Wargames Atlantic sci fi models, which look a lot better, or 20 of the Eisenkern Stormtroopers, which are way better.
They're for Stargrave though, 20 uniform stormtroopers would not a fitting warband make. It's all about giving you options to make a diverse cast of characters with.
As I've mentioned before, the retro look is what I grew up, with Star Wars, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and the original Battlestar Galactica, so it doesn't bother me. It's comfortingly nostalgic. Sure, crisper detail would be better, but it isn't a deal-breaker. Definitely a box of Crew, maybe Mercs, but the Troops can wait until I fond out how many Heavy Weapons a Crew can take, and how many you need for pirates (Joe's blog article suggests two or so, so using my 40k marines or my Necron Immortals would work for the pirates).
Where I am they're decent value. Historicals are generally better value, but don't come with as many bits and pieces for customizing your dudes.
I dunno, the point is to make diverse warbands of space men. I think the Wargames Atlantic stuff is great, but it's more for armies, right? If I got this I'd be making a bunch of scientists and space adventurers.
Da Boss wrote: I dunno, the point is to make diverse warbands of space men. I think the Wargames Atlantic stuff is great, but it's more for armies, right? If I got this I'd be making a bunch of scientists and space adventurers.
Agreed. This is a multi-part sci-fi "motley crew" box set, more akin to the WHFB Empire Militia box than the Empire State Troopers box. The WA boxes would probably make fantastic mercs and/or AI bad guy organizations, though. I'm actually putting together some Deadzone Plagued to be an alternate set of Space Pirates. I'm even planning a custom chart and maybe custom stat lines for them, to make them distinct from pirates!
Albino Squirrel wrote: If priced the same as the frostgrave sets, 20 of these guys would cost me $32. For $35 I could get 24 of the Wargames Atlantic sci fi models, which look a lot better, or 20 of the Eisenkern Stormtroopers, which are way better.
They're for Stargrave though, 20 uniform stormtroopers would not a fitting warband make. It's all about giving you options to make a diverse cast of characters with.
I can think of a show where the same military uniform was worn by an Airforce Colonel, an astrophysicist, and archaeologist, and an alien rebel. And a movie sequel-pentology used the same sort-of naval uniform for a captain, a doctor, a scientist and educator, a communications officer, some crewmen, and a chief engineer (sometimes).
With space bands, as with Malibu Stacy, accessories are key.
A bonus for Frostgrave kits.
I'm a sucker for anything ~grave-related, so I'm sure I'll be getting some of these. In my experience, Northstar's plastics paint up quite nicely, and come with so many extra bitz that no two models need look the same.
I've painted a bunch of the Frostgrave minis, and it was very enjoyable. Lots of customization, and sure, a little nostalgia too.
These remind me a lot of the old metal Star Wars minis I painted... um... around 25 years ago now. I had the bounty hunters kit and some rebels, which are very much the same style as these guys. Good times.
There's certainly something to be said for simple, generic rules for modeling freedom... I'm looking at these rules, and the models I have sitting around here, and having so many ideas for crews...
I have to say that this one paragraph really speaks to me:
That said, players should not feel bound by these categories. If you’ve got a
weird alien figure that you really want to include in your crew, that is fine. Use the
stats for a normal soldier (or for your captain or first mate if you wish) and make
sure you inform your opponent what exactly the figure represents before you start
a game. In general, players should try to get figures that roughly match the
character they represent, but this should never get in the way of having fun and
collecting the miniatures you want.
It's a shame I don't have anyone to game with these days
Nickstarter launching early April for release at the end of April. Will have the 3 plastic kits and a series of metal figures. If it’s like the early Nickstarters then there is likely to be an exclusive metal promo model and some stretch goals giving early access to more metal models.
Paizo is releasing random pull boosters for Starfinder next week. Like most booster miniatures, I'm sure they will be available on ebay and other sites as individual minis for sale.
The creatures and heroes in the first release (Planets of Peril) would probably make cool additions to crew, monsters to fight or just bystanders walking around in the background in some missions.
You can also make a couple of captains with different backgrounds but identical stats and powers
(apart from which powers get the out-of-class penalty)
Unfortunately, Warlord Games' shipping policy is in for a massive overhaul (and certainly not for the better).
Minimum order value of $50, $25 postage for orders between $50 and $150, and free over $150.
https://store.warlordgames.com/pages/shipping-delivery?__s=psty38cvb4xtbhjz0o8d (They don't mention the costs there, but yesterday's newsletter stated €24/$25.)
As said, Brigade Games is Northstar's NA partner I think.
Frostgrave and stargrave are both skirmish size right?
So just 10-20 or whatever in the crew?
I’ve seen from time to time some nice minis ‘made for’ or suited for Frostgrave but never really looked in detail, don’t know where I’d go to see them again.
But I like this idea of all the different races together in a group.
Something akin to a campaign like Necromunda/Mordheim building up as you go would be ideal I guess.
Not that I should be getting stuff for another game..
Everyone has guns, pistols are 10" and carbines 24", no damage bonus.
Armour is 1 less across the board but hit points start at 12, and crits are +5 dmg instead of double, so regular hits might actually mater now.
Hacker types pick up data loot and thief types pick up physical loot, everyone alse struggles with a TN 14 roll to pick up anything. Might see a lot less income.
Loot placed after deployment, can't place on your half of the board.
D&D style level up table preventing you from dumping all XP into a single stat/power.
Pinning! Any hit causing over 4 damage knocks you down, you get cover but lose an action to get up.
Decent evolution of FG but, as Ash vehemently states at the start, it is literally Frostgrave... iiin spaaace.
Everyone has guns, pistols are 10" and carbines 24", no damage bonus.
Armour is 1 less across the board but hit points start at 12, and crits are +5 dmg instead of double, so regular hits might actually mater now.
Hacker types pick up data loot and thief types pick up physical loot, everyone alse struggles with a TN 14 roll to pick up anything. Might see a lot less income.
Loot placed after deployment, can't place on your half of the board.
D&D style level up table preventing you from dumping all XP into a single stat/power.
Pinning! Any hit causing over 4 damage knocks you down, you get cover but lose an action to get up.
Decent evolution of FG but, as Ash vehemently states at the start, it is literally Frostgrave... iiin spaaace.
Are those good changes/additions to the base Frostrgrave ruleset for a change in genre to scifi?
I would say every change that was mentioned so far is a good change and except pinning and data loot I would house rule them into Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago.
I'm not super interested precisely because it's Frostgrave in space and I've spent the better part of the last two years while not in lockdown playing Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago, so I'm not doing the same thing again just with star trek rubber forehead aliens and laser swords.
But it's great that it exists and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light sci-fi game with leveling up who isn't tired of Frostgrave.
Frostgrave tweaked for use in space is exactly what I'd hoped for! I feel confident enough with the Frostgrave system to tweak fantasy stuff to use in sci-fi. So, I'm looking forward to lots of solo play using Perilous Dark until a more sci-fi tweaked version comes out.
Also, it looks like the bestiary uses the same statline, so all my fantasy Frostgrave books contain a trove of strange alien creatures and fauna to encounter in Stargrave.
I'm honestly very excited about having a quick, solid set of scifi rules with a "create your own weird, perilous galaxy" feel like Rogue Trader had.
Stupid question... but does Osprey offer the rules in some limited form (like art-free and/or without fluff) for download? I know I got the Frostgrave rules years ago (1st edition) when they had some special limited time offer on their site so figured I'd ask.