Cliched Post-headings aside, what follows is a quick report of my first game of Ghost Archipelago.
I would be using my 'Sinbad-esque' Northstar Crew, versus Andy in command of my own Sohei warrior-monks (originally for Warlord Games' excellent Test of Honour!).
As this was a demo game, we played the basic scenario- a brief explanation of the differences between GA and Frostgrave, and we were off!
It began with both Crews predictably advancing towards the central treasure at the sacrificial pit- Andy's peasants having a little trouble crossing the water separating them from the 'mainland', and drawing the attentions of a shark!
I split my Crew into two 'teams'- my Heritor Suladin leading one and his brother Omar (my Warden) leading the other. Omar's group split off and circled around the pyramid towards the treasures lying on some small islands, while Suladin forged on through the jungle towards the sacrificial pit.
Andy's Crew meanwhile advanced in force, with a 'firebase' of musket-men (counting as Crossbowmen) left behind to garrison some ruins that overlooked the treasure islands on his right flank.
One of my two Archers had a clear shot at the rival Crew as they made land-fall, but the enemy Heritor snatched the arrow out of the air!
Meanwhile, one of Andy's Infantrymen- afraid to cross the water surrounding his starting position- was ambushed by a venomous Snakeman! Perhaps embarrassed by his earlier hydrophobia, he took out his frustrations on the scaly creature and battered it to the ground over a couple of rounds of combat...
|*Green D6 used to track the Snakeman's remaining health.
My other Archer (from Omar's team) had climbed the pyramid, and so now had commanding views over the whole battlefield. Unfortunately for me he did little but harass the enemy for the rest of the battle- until a pinpoint musket shot finally tumbled him from his precarious perch!
With my missile support proving ineffective, Suladin ordered his men to fall back to the pyramid with their treasure while he attempted to hold back the encroaching foe- in his first close combat of the game he Sprinted into melee with Andy's other Infantryman and promptly Critted the poor soul! He would go on to take out the enemy Warden and another peasant... Heritors are great!
*Natural 20 recorded here for posterity- it will never happen to me again...
While my Heritor got his hands dirty, I was playing it cagey on my left flank- the treasure was right there across the water, but Andy's formidable firebase of teppo-armed peasants was giving Omar and his lads pause... I buffed my Pearl Diver Tok with Omar's spells and then sent him on a daring amphibious assault mission- the water protecting him from the worst of the enemy fire and buying time for Omar and the others to make a mad dash across the water to the island!
Tok even managed to reach land, outflank the peasants and shiv one with his obsidian blade before an Infantryman (with a natty new pair of snakeskin boots!) got involved and clubbed him to the ground unceremoniously!
Continuing the aquatic misadventures, one of Andy's Crewmen attempted to escape from the mainland with the golden idol he was carrying- he got halfway across the water and promptly failed his next swimming test! The hungry shark from before obviously had a taste for peasant as it took a chunk out of him in the Creature Phase- the fresh blood in the water attracting yet another shark! In his next turn, the unfortunate swimmer failed his test again and the two ravenous fish closed in and chewed him up in short order, the idol sinking down through the red waters...
*Smile, you sonofa...Aarghh!
To cheer Andy up, his musket-men had recovered from Tok's surprise attack and opened up on Omar as he tried to reach the treasure on the small island- they had already downed his remaining Crewmate! Omar survived their fusillade (barely), and limped towards the water with treasure tucked under his arm. Slowed by his injuries and the weight of all that gold, he was caught by Andy's Heritor and (despite actually winning the first round!) cut down for his troubles, while his brother Suladin could only watch from the jungle, powerless to help!
And so the dust settled- both Crews had been mauled severely, but both had come away with a fair amount of loot! Even though this wasn't a Campaign game, we went through the after-game process just for fun. Everybody survived, and various magic weapons and herbs were discovered- I even managed to find a coveted map-stone with a roll of 20; you just know that I'll never manage that again when we play a proper Campaign!
Overall, GA is great fun- a nice change of environment from the dark ruins of Frostgrave and a chance to paint up some exotic characters and creatures! While Frostgrave is brilliant, GA really feels a little slicker! After playing, we had a long and enthusiastic discussion about ideas for Crews, and Andy went away with plans for a Spartan-inspired force. My next Crew is sat in the painting queue as I write this, and will be a band of greedy (and extremely sun-burnt) Vikings!
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