One of the most recent expansions for Osprey Games' Frostgrave is Blood Legacy. Blood Legacy from Joseph A. McCullough offers up brand new options for those wanting to dive into skirmishes in the frozen city of Felstad with rules for Vampires, the Giant-Blooded and more.

With the book now out there in the wild, we're going to be taking a closer look at it and giving you our first impressions of this fun new expansion. It's one that is helpful for those getting started in the game and those who have been playing Frostgrave since the first edition!

Blood-Sucking Vampire Spellcasters

The first section of the book is given over to Vampires. Vampires used to fight amongst themselves in the streets of Felstad but when the cataclysm came they found themselves locked away and hidden beneath the ruins of the city. As many places in the city have now been uncovered by bands of roving Wizards, the Vampires have begun to wake up.

Vampires fit into the world of Frostgrave in much the same way as Wizards. They can be chosen as leaders of a warband however you should check with your group before playing as one. They have access to a host of creature traits and special rules which balance them to fit in with other Wizards but still make them seriously powerful individuals.

As well as rules for making a Vampire straight away, you'll also find a set of rules for becoming a vampire if one were to be unfortunately bitten by one of these creatures. This, matched with a series of Vampire "spells" give them a seriously interesting edge that, I think, makes them fit perfectly with the narrative feel of Frostgrave.

For example, they cannot actually really "die". They can be reduced to zero hit points but they can consume the blood of one of their soldiers (killing them) or pay gold in order to find someone to feed on out in the city. This makes them an intriguing option for a new player but you have to balance that alongside all of the negatives. They feel like a good option for someone wanting to tell a specific story in Felstad.

Ancient Giants & The Giant-Blooded

The Giants are another new addition to Blood Legacy. With this particular addition to the rules, you'll find options for introducing more Frost Giants into your games whilst also considering the option of including a Fire Giant Wizard into the mix.

Much like with Vampires, the Fire Giants come with their own significant upgrades and additions to a traditional Human Wizard but a few drawbacks too. They cannot access certain spells like those of the Chronomancy school or access the use of scrolls.

Some of these limitations are then weighed against a better health pool and a different stat line but also an entirely new school of spells, just like with Vampires. They can pull on some super cool sounding spells like Comet which brings a massive rock down on the battlefield and Earthquake which is able to rock the very ground beneath you.

The theme of Giants then continues through to the addition of new rules for Giant-Blooded soldiers. So, if you want to play a game where the majority of your crew are descended from these mighty warriors then you can do so. You pay a premium comparably but it gives you some fun options. I love the hobby potential that you get from introducing the Giant-Blooded into the mix. You could do some fun conversions, especially with the Barbarian sets.

New soldier rules are also included for a few specialists that fit the theme. You've got the Blood Merchants, Swordmasters and Vampire Hunters.

High-Level Options

As well as the introduction of new rules and options for Vampires and Giants, you'll also find options for veterans who have been playing Frostgrave for a long time. It is easy for groups to play for so long that their warbands become super powerful. So, the rules presented here offer up ways for you to play with these powerful individuals.

You'll find options for more Specialised Soldiers, Item Slots, an increase to Maximum Health, Lower Casting Number Minimums and alternative options for spending Experience gained. All of these rules are considered to be guidelines and you can chop and change them as you see fit. But, they offer up a good way to keep playing with a mighty spellcaster of renown.

It would be fun to see what campaigns you could make up using these rules. I like the idea of some Wizards almost looking to command and control their own sections of Felstad. At this point in their careers, they probably don't have much to fear!

Two New Campaigns

Blood Legacy contains two new campaigns for you to dive into as well. The first of these is the Eventide Manor Campaign. This is designed for two players over three different scenarios.

Each of the warbands is exploring the ruins of an ancient manor house that has become infested by the undead. Each group enters from opposite sides of the manor and then comes together in the climax of the third scenario!

Because of this, the campaign allows you to make a Vampire warband that is played by your friend when you're not controlling your own warband. You could also rope in a new player to take control of that warband and then play as the mighty blood-sucking lord at the end of the campaign!

There are some fun additional rules here too including Ambush Cards (which can be used for regular games too) that can be unleashed on your wizards and soldiers through the ruins. Your actual warbands can't heal or re-equip during this campaign either! It is quite a challenge for everyone involved.

The second of the campaigns is called The Caves Of Fin Dalka. This has been specifically designed for those high-level Wizards we talked about earlier.

This campaign features more challenging monsters, obstacles to overcome and more. You even get to see more of the Giant-Blooded and their ancient kin in action throughout. There is also a mighty prize in the form of The Grimoire Of Fin Dalka which can then be used to unlock more powers in your regular campaigns.

You could use The Caves Of Fin Dalka as a good way to start the ascension to the final moments of your long-running campaign. You could play a few games with your mighty Wizards, dive into Fin Dalka and then go from there and see which of your spellcasters take command and rule over the frozen city!

New Toys To Play With

The book caps off with a new list of treasures for you to find as well as a new Bestiary which includes fifteen new monsters for you to battle in the ruins. This also includes some named foes include Lord Dantes, Vampire and Svellen, Fire Giant Wizard who might be fun ways to really, really spice up your games.

Having loads of brand new options like this is great for those who might have found themselves exhausting their collections. I know that is quite hard to do but I know a lot of people have been playing many, many games of Frostgrave over the last year or so. Plus, it's always fun to roll on a table and find yourself coming up against something weird!

A Good Expansion?

As always with McCullough, I think that he has done a good job with this. It is packed with fun ideas and interesting options for players that are enjoying Frostgrave.

The game is one that seriously loves it when you have fun and dive into the unfolding narrative rather than just play for the win. So, Blood Legacy works nicely in that regard. It provides options for players that are powerful and different yet could easily be worked into any campaign.

The big things for me are the inclusion of the two campaigns to play and the rules for high-level Wizards. The campaigns give you something to focus on and collect towards as a group plus the high-level rules mean you can keep playing Frostgrave even if you think you've reached the top!

A good option for anyone thinking of expanding their Frostgrave collection I'd say!