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I'm thinking of starting a warband to play Frostgrave using Templar and/or Teutonic infantry from Fireforge with the fluff/aesthetic that they're a holy order that loathes magic in all forms and when the Marshall caught wind of so many heathe- I mean wizards in one place he sent a contingent into the city to thin their numbers down a bit. Is there any way to use the Knight or Templar characters as my "wizard" so to speak, or is it absolutely mandatory to have magic users in my warband?

The warband has zero customizability really aside from marginal differences in what statlines you pick for your henchmen, and what your spell list / wizard type is.

Sadly, this is one of the reasons why I can't enjoy Frostgrave after giving it a go and much hope.

You're best off with a 'counts as' wizard, which your knight is.

I guess he could be like a Paladin or a Warrior Priest to explain why he can do magicesque stuff or perhaps just use like passive or only spells that like buff the warband's stats

One of the .pdf expansions has rules for Captains instead of wizards. Sellsword I think it's called?

 Nostromodamus wrote:
One of the .pdf expansions has rules for Captains instead of wizards. Sellsword I think it's called?

Yes that is correct, but a captain does not replace the wizard. The other thing is how activations work. If you don't have a wizard or an apprentice, then your warband is not activating until the end of the round. As you can activate up to three members of your warband with your wizard and apprentice as long as they are within three inches of the model whose activation it is.

Also, magic is a very important part of the game. No spells = relative impotence, slower progression.

So, NO, all in all, you cannot have a viable warband without wizards (and not getting your butt handed over to you, again and again).

This does not prevent you from fluffing the hell out of your wizard, making him an anti-magic Inquisitor type with spells that are purely defensive or have non-magical effects only.

 Killionaire wrote:
The warband has zero customizability really aside from marginal differences in what statlines you pick for your henchmen, and what your spell list / wizard type is.

So it's got zero customisability. Except for being able to completely customise your wizard's spell list, which is the entire crux of the game, and select different henchmen with different weapons from an ever expanding list and equip them all with different magic weapons/items/armour.

I mean it's fine to not like the game, but tossing out a phrase like 'zero customisability' is just plain misleading.

The other nice thing is that your henchmen can be whatever you want them to be appearance wise as long as the weapon is represented correctly. Check out Frostgrave videos on YouTube and you will see mice warbands and even some duck men which I think is a call back to the RuneQuest world. The customization comes from the wizard's magic capabilities, which henchmen you field, their allowed one item, and their appearance. IMHO that is alot of customization without adding additional rules to the game.

To be fair, it is something they could do with an expansion. There's nothing that says only a wizard could be as powerful as a wizard. it's entirely possible to set up other popular RPG archetypes with similarly progressive abilities. Ranger archetype with lots of ranges archery and light melee abilities, warrior archetype with higher toughness and heavy melee abilities, etc.

Could be something for the community to look at doing. I know it would get me more interested in the game - I've never enjoyed magic user characters in RPGs, I've always played an archer character.

 -Loki- wrote:
To be fair, it is something they could do with an expansion. There's nothing that says only a wizard could be as powerful as a wizard. it's entirely possible to set up other popular RPG archetypes with similarly progressive abilities. Ranger archetype with lots of ranges archery and light melee abilities, warrior archetype with higher toughness and heavy melee abilities, etc.

Could be something for the community to look at doing. I know it would get me more interested in the game - I've never enjoyed magic user characters in RPGs, I've always played an archer character.

This is exactly why I wanted to have my leader be a knight. I'm really not much of a wizard user at all.

You can have:

A D&D style cleric who uses either the Sigilist or Thaumaturge spell base. This isnt really a mod as Thaumaturges are usually clerics anyway, but it is a waty to get around having a wizard per se.

Alternately have a tinkerer/spark/artificer based on the Enchanter spell list. Give your army a steampunk theme, or a gunpowder age theme. Again the lists support this, though constructs are normally wooden or stone golems, there is no reason why you cant have a warjack/clank instead. To round off the theme equip your missile troops with crude firearms, with pistols counting as bows, and handguns counting as crossbows.
This is precisely what I am doing with my Enchanter warband.

As for a wizard who is not a wizard at all. I suggest you look at Mordheim instead as the Frostgrave game doesnt support you. The nearest you can get is to have a 'hero' instead of a wizard and count every spell he has as a skill or magic item instead. This will work to start off as you can tailor your skill/heroic ability list to mimic those spells that make sense. however I think it will quickly breakdown as you gain random grimoires unless your opponent agrees you can roll from a select list of spells that are plausible as heroic skills. Also you will need to explain spelleater and dispel abilities cancellimng your skills. All in all I dont think it is worth it.


I agree with the concensus of the thread that the warbands are rather thin when minus the wizard. Many gamers are thinking homebrew expansions, myself included. I am happy to open a new thread on expanded warband rules if there seems to be an interest fro the house rules. One of the nice things about Frostgrave is that not only are house rules encouraged, but the developer himself endorses and uses some.

http://xinslair.blogspot.com/2015/11/frostgrave-8-player-convention-game.html
This guy did exactly what I had in mind and he figured out how to incorporate a Wizard: The Cleric. I'm incredibly saddened by the fact that my warband is not unique in aesthetics but oh well.