Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago - the Postman Rang Once

I've been eagerly awaiting the postman today, because I was really hoping that my Ghost Archipelago Nickstarter would get delivered and, just before noon the doorbell duly rang. I'd had an email on Sunday from Annie at Bad Squiddo to say that it had been packed and sent, so it wasn't really that much of a surprise.

Anyway, what was in the box?

First off, I love the personalised Bad Squiddo postage sticker.

And here is Annie's personalised delivery note, the obligatory Gunny Pets and a complementary fruit tisane teabag. Thanks, Annie! I'll drink it later.

Now, on to the goodies. First, the rule book, the accessory pack and the book of Ghost Archipelago stories (for some bedtime reading!).

Then, there is the box of plastic crew figures, of which more later.

And the crew sheet, which I expect I'll have to scan and print off, so as not to deface the original.

Now, here are the shiny toys. Top left are the four female crew figures, who are lovely castings. Moving anti-clockwise, there is my chosen Heritor and Warden (I went for a female Stormwarden), the Pirate Queen (she is spectacularly good) with her pet giant iguana, who is clearly going to have to be called Iggy Pop, three one-off add-on figures from Northstar, five resin tokens and, in the centre a Bad Squiddo Ghost Archipelago badge. I've not cleaned the figures up, just trimmed off some of the more obvious bits of flash, but overall they are pretty clean castings and have bags of detail that will look brilliant once painted.

Next, here is the contents of the plastic 28mm crew box. Four sprues of bodies, heads, arms, weaponry and whatnots, which is what one would expect from a Frostgrave box. Plenty of opportunity here to create a characterful and hopefully unique crew for your games. There are also two sprues of 25mm diameter bases. There are plenty of weapons options; swords, axes, spears, bows, crossbows, club etc and some small buckler-style shields, plus quivers, pouches and other bits and pieces. I am rather drawn to creating an Arabian Nights styled crew, because that is the look of the metal female crew members too. Plenty of thinking is required here, though.

Almost at the end now, so here is the contents of the accessories box, the game cards and a special Blood Burn die for recording the decreasing health of your Heritor.

Last but not least, here is a sample of the excellent artwork in the rulebook. From an initial flick through, the art is of the usual high standard we have come to expect from Frostgrave.

So, what now? Should I get started on these, finish off my Congo miniatures or make a start on my "My Last Sunrise" Vampire Hunters and Undead and supernatural minis? The lead mountain grows apace .......................