Frostgrave seems to want to do something very similar to the original game, to give us "rules for gaming with figures in a fantasy medieval setting". When my buddy first showed me Frostgrave a few months ago I thought how similar this is to the way early white box games were run, at least from the standpoint of using miniatures on a tabletop, measuring moves in inches and all. The rules of Frostgrave treat each miniature figure as one person and the idea for the game seems similar to the way miniatures were used while gaming the lead-up to and assaulting of Castle Blackmoor and it's dungeons as described during the First Fantasy Campaign.
Frostgrave is a new game (copyright 2015) authored by Joseph McCullough. Mr. McCullough sets his game in a frozen ruin of a formerly great city occupied by some nasties and hidden treasures. Each player controls a wizard, which is the PC of-sorts. The wizard can be from one of ten schools of magic each with it's own magical strengths and weaknesses. The wizard can gain experience and improve in ability. Accompanying the wizard is the apprentice and a supporting cast of various hirelings. Frostgrave is scenario based and ten scenarios are included in the book (with presumably more to come in future supplements). Since the action is wizard verses wizard, the scenarios have some replay potential.
The concept of Frostgrave is that the wizard will enter the frozen city in search of various treasures and mysteries, encountering other competing wizard's and their hostile entourages as well as dangerous denizens and traps native to the city itself in an attempt to acquire wealth and power. If this sounds familiar it's because Frostgrave has all the trappings of a traditional dungeon crawl set in a ruined city. Really, such a game could be played out using almost any roleplaying rules and I also wonder if Frostgrave couldn't easily be adapted to almost any other setting and work just as well. Replace the frozen city of ruins with the tower of the mad archmage or the lost mines of the dwarven king or just about any setting ripe with fantastic adventure potential.
I have yet to play the game, but the rule mechanics look straight-forward and easy enough for the veteran gamer. The player verses player aspect may appeal more to traditional miniatures gamers, but also offers a novel twist for fantasy roleplayers used to a cooperative game. Frostgrave is supported by it's own line of miniatures and there is considerable prep time involved in collecting and painting figures and terrain for the game. I wonder if this won't be a deterrent for gamers who don't already possess suitable substitutes or ample time and resources to assemble the required collection.
Frostgrave is a fantasy miniatures game with strong roleplay potential. The fact that it is inherently tied to the use of miniatures on the tabletop sets it apart visually, but somewhat limits it's versatility by the necessity to have physical models and appropriate terrain. Much like the white box an ambitious gamer with enough time and creativity can do just about anything with such a game.
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