From the frozen city to the north, a Necromancer, his apprentice and their band of ne'er-do-wells trying to find what they can in Frostgrave.
The (not so) merry band of scum and villainy. 15 models in all, all of them build from the North Star Frostgrave Cultists plastic kit (and some sundry bits and pieces, as well as some green stuff. And some pieces have been taken of and/or modified... but it's all plastic. And a little green stuff). Most of these ca be used for, and are intended for, several different kinds of hired help, as long as the equipment is in general agreement. Any armour can generally be handwaved as hidden under thick winter robes.
The big cheese himself, as well as the medium-size cheese in his apprentice. They're applying the Warhammer logic of command: the more skulls you have/carry, the higher up the totem pole you are.
A bunch of Thugs and random scum is always useful for carrying heavy stuff, ganging up on annoying monsters (or the warbands of other wizards) or, worse come to worst, ingredients. They're cheap, and there's always more in the nearest tavern.
Some faster fellows are occasionally useful, either cheap Thieves (armed with only a single dagger) or the more competent Treasure Hunters (dual wielding sword and dagger). Generally, you want two such models, or, as the case is with the middle guy, someone that can counts as either as circumstances (warband attrition and finances) may dictate.
Some ranged support is always welcome, be it bow or crossbow. The bowman can serve as an Archer or a Ranger, while the crossbowman can be either a Crossbowman (very imaginative name, that) or a Marksman. Generally, two guys on ranged support ought to be enough, and with one of each, there is little chance for mistakes and confusion.
Bigger weapons are always nice to hit stuff with. Three different, suitable two handed weapons in the bits pile means three guys armed with such. They can stand in for Infantrymen (the guy with a spear would be excellent for that), Templars (guy with big-ass sword dito) or Barbarians (flail-guy), or any mix of the above, once more as attrition and finances allow. The swordman could also work as a Captain of the warband, if such is desired.
A view of the two handers from the side, showing exactly how large those weapons are. The flail is converted from a spiked club (the head, and the shaft) with a bit of plastic chain in between, and a bit of green stuff to keep it all together. The sword is, I think, from the Frostgrave Soldiers kit (got a sprue from a friend, with a few bodies and random equipment left), otherwise all pieces for these guys are from the Cultist kit.
Or you could go with a shield instead of a larger weapon, if you're not quite as fanatic and think you have some chance of survival. Both and either can serve as anything armed with a hand weapon and shield, although the guy with the larger shield is primarily intended as a Knight or Captain, while the other guy would be an Man-at-Arms (or a Thug, as seen above, assuming the buckler isn't all that useful for actual protection).
Warbands in Frostgrave tend to suffer some level of attrition. But if your wizard specialises in necromancy, there is no need to waste those bodies (or any other you find in the frozen city, no matter their age). Pictured above: Bob the Thug, before and after a unfortunate run-in with something a bit larger than he could handle (yes, they're very intentionally painted the same. Necromancers, man).
The nice thing with Frostgrave (and Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago, the follow-up) is that you don't need all that many models, you can even use models intended for completely different gaming systems. I've been using my SAGA vikings so far, with a few painted up additions (mostly the two "wizards" and a few treasure hunters). So, naturally, I have ideas for 3 or 4 warbands, and all of them will be expanded way beyond what is "needed". Then again, I've never really been known for moderation.
/Fool Out
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