Frosthaven (1st Printing)
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Frosthaven is a standalone adventure from the designer and publisher of Gloomhaven that features seventeen new characters, three new ancestries, more than twenty new enemies, more than one hundred new items, and a new, 138-scenario campaign. Characters and items from Gloomhaven will be usable in Frosthaven, and vice versa.
In addition to having the well-known combat mechanisms of Gloomhaven, Frosthaven features much more to do outside of combat, such as numerous mysteries to solve, a seasonal event system to live through, and player control over how this ramshackle village expands, with each new building offering new ways to progress.
The first printing of Frosthaven has some typos and errata, learn more here.
It's about to get much cooler
Welcome to Frosthaven
Welcome to the Unforgiving North!
Frosthaven begins with you as a party of mercenaries, sent to the small settlement of Frosthaven by Gloomhaven’s Merchant’s Guild. You’ll very soon learn that this is a last ditch effort to keep Frosthaven afloat. The small outpost has not only been subject to the harsh conditions of the area, but there have been attacks by nearby Algox and lurker clans. And what’s this about strange automatons roaming the area? There is much to explore and uncover in the frigid wastelands surrounding Frosthaven.
Frosthaven is our biggest, boldest game, and one we’d recommend to you only after experiencing both Jaws of the Lion and Gloomhaven. This massive campaign adds new mechanics and experiences throughout a sprawling, enormous experience. Featuring 139 scenarios, Frosthaven adds to what you might already be familiar with in Gloomhaven, as it includes:
- A calendar system, as the campaign moves back-and-forth from summer to winter. Each time you return to Frosthaven after a scenario you’ll mark a tick on the calendar. There will be times in which you are told to write a section number on the calendar, allowing story to be unlocked and told over time in a controlled way.
- A town-building Outpost Phase, as you work to build the small, struggling settlement of Frosthaven, mostly left abandoned by the Merchant’s Guild on the edge of the continent. When you loot lumber, hide, and metal in scenarios you will put them to use in Frosthaven to construct buildings that will offer bonuses, special abilities, and secrets.
- A loot deck. Instead of picking up a coin each time you loot, Frosthaven features loot tokens. When you loot a token, you will then flip a card from a loot deck that will include gold, lumber, hide, metal, or a “random item” card. The loot deck is different for each scenario, allowing it to be thematic – you’ll loot more metal when fighting robots and hide when fighting bears, for instance.
- Outpost and road event decks that swap out from summer to winter – you’ll face more challenges in the winter than summer.
- Outpost attacks which you’ll prepare for by building up Frosthaven’s barracks and walls. You even have a town guard modifier deck that you’ll draw from to resolve attacks on Frosthaven, defending it from those trying to bring it down.
- A rich narrative full of compelling people to meet and things to unlock.
- A personal quest system that unlocks buildings when you retire, buildings that you can then construct and add to the outpost, gaining whatever bonuses it provides.
- And of course, 17 new classes to experience, all with multiple unique playstyles and mechanics.
Unique Starters
Banner Spear
This tireless warrior utilizes two major mechanics: 1) “Banner” (think of a colorful flag on a spear) summons that boost allies within range in various ways; and 2) Formation attacks that require having an ally in a specific position to perform the attack. The Banner Spear is capable of immense power if they are able to command and maneuver themselves, their allies, and their summons to the proper positions from turn to turn. A simpler ranged-support build is also available for players who find all that positioning difficult. Thematically, this class is a leader, and you’ll see that play out in cards like Rallying Cry, Combined Effort, or Unbreakable Wall.
Blinkblade
This assassin uses experimental temporal drives to alter the flow of time, speeding things up or slowing things down as needed. Mechanically, this plays out through the use of time tokens. The Blink Blade’s cards are modified on the left if you are going “fast” (in which you must spend a time token at the start of your turn) and on the right if you are going “slow” (in which you gain a time token if you have fewer than two). Fast abilities tend to be stronger than slow abilities, though not always. As you advance, this class is capable of high tempo “nova” turns that can wreck an entire room through various combinations that allow them to play extra cards and go fast, fast, fast – but how long can you keep that pace up? If you play your cards well, you will no doubt cause a Cascading Reaction, Hit and Run your foes, and go into Overdrive.
Boneshaper
This necromancer summons hordes of the undead. The Boneshaper’s bread-and-butter summon is the Shambling Skeleton, which you get three of in your level 1 cards. These summons move to your discard pile instead of your loss pile when defeated, meaning you can bring them back again and again over the course of the scenario. As you go, you can also summon Wraiths, Corpses, and other unholy abominations as you assemble your dark army. Will you build your class in a way to create a horde of unending skeletons, or try to keep a single more powerful summon alive to wreak havoc? Wielding this power has a cost, of course, as the Boneshaper will use their life to bring summons onto the board, meaning the push and pull of life and death can put you precariously close to the “death” side. Careful and strategic planning will be required to build your power over the course of each scenario as you Command the Wretched, perform a Malicious Conversion, and dish out Eternal Torment.
Deathwalker
These nomads are intent on ensuring the souls of the dead find rest. As Frosthaven has seen great death and tragedy, Deathwalkers are not far behind. The class’ core mechanic are shadows – tokens you place on the board which you will use and manipulate in a variety of ways to increase your power. Your main way to generate shadows comes from the persistent ability on Call to the Abyss. When you or a summon attacks an enemy, you may “mark” it with a character token. When the enemy dies (even if you don’t deal the killing blow), you place a shadow in the hex it occupied or one next to it. As your shadows build, you’ll use them to attack enemies you’re not even physically close to, teleport across the map, or provide Rest in the Shade to your allies. You will also use the shadows themselves to make your attacks stronger, channeling the Anger of the Dead and unleashing it on your adversaries.
Drifter
Drifters are Inox who survive off the land, and there is no better place for them to test their skills than the unrelenting north. The Drifter has a large hand-size of 12, and makes use of that hand size to play one or more persistent abilities with charges each scenario. These persistent abilities are key to having success with the class, and unlike other classes who have these type of abilities, the Drifter can move the tokens back on them, gaining more uses out of the ability. The key with the Drifter, then, is a balancing act of keeping enough charges on your abilities to do what you want to, as when you run out you’ll find your power diminish. The Drifter is also the ultimate jack-of-all-trades class, as you can build it from scenario to scenario to excel at melee combat, ranged combat, healing, movement, tanking, or support. Do you want to have Continuous Health? Precision Aim? Or be Unbreakable? These are the decisions you’ll make each time you play.
Geminate
This class is the only (as of writing this) one with an extra large hand size of 14 cards. This massive amount of cards, though, is split into two piles of 7 as you start each scenario, because as the name implies, the Geminate is ruled by two opposing hive minds. This will play out mechanically as you will need to change forms, from your more melee form to your more ranged form, back and forth throughout scenarios. This is a complex class, no doubt, as you will need to factor in not only what you’re doing that turn, but in previous turns as well so that you can ensure you’re in the form you want to be when it matters most. The Geminate comes with two unique miniatures so that you can represent your changed form as it happens. Deliver a Hail of Thorns, a Firefly Swarm, or Flailing Tendrils to bring down your opponents.
Contents Included
Frosthaven Rules
Rulebook
How To Play Video
Errata
FAQ
Welcome to the Unforgiving North!
Frosthaven begins with you as a party of mercenaries, sent to the small settlement of Frosthaven by Gloomhaven’s Merchant’s Guild. You’ll very soon learn that this is a last ditch effort to keep Frosthaven afloat. The small outpost has not only been subject to the harsh conditions of the area, but there have been attacks by nearby Algox and lurker clans. And what’s this about strange automatons roaming the area? There is much to explore and uncover in the frigid wastelands surrounding Frosthaven.
Frosthaven is our biggest, boldest game, and one we’d recommend to you only after experiencing both Jaws of the Lion and Gloomhaven. This massive campaign adds new mechanics and experiences throughout a sprawling, enormous experience. Featuring 139 scenarios, Frosthaven adds to what you might already be familiar with in Gloomhaven, as it includes:
- A calendar system, as the campaign moves back-and-forth from summer to winter. Each time you return to Frosthaven after a scenario you’ll mark a tick on the calendar. There will be times in which you are told to write a section number on the calendar, allowing story to be unlocked and told over time in a controlled way.
- A town-building Outpost Phase, as you work to build the small, struggling settlement of Frosthaven, mostly left abandoned by the Merchant’s Guild on the edge of the continent. When you loot lumber, hide, and metal in scenarios you will put them to use in Frosthaven to construct buildings that will offer bonuses, special abilities, and secrets.
- A loot deck. Instead of picking up a coin each time you loot, Frosthaven features loot tokens. When you loot a token, you will then flip a card from a loot deck that will include gold, lumber, hide, metal, or a “random item” card. The loot deck is different for each scenario, allowing it to be thematic – you’ll loot more metal when fighting robots and hide when fighting bears, for instance.
- Outpost and road event decks that swap out from summer to winter – you’ll face more challenges in the winter than summer.
- Outpost attacks which you’ll prepare for by building up Frosthaven’s barracks and walls. You even have a town guard modifier deck that you’ll draw from to resolve attacks on Frosthaven, defending it from those trying to bring it down.
- A rich narrative full of compelling people to meet and things to unlock.
- A personal quest system that unlocks buildings when you retire, buildings that you can then construct and add to the outpost, gaining whatever bonuses it provides.
- And of course, 17 new classes to experience, all with multiple unique playstyles and mechanics.
Banner Spear
This tireless warrior utilizes two major mechanics: 1) “Banner” (think of a colorful flag on a spear) summons that boost allies within range in various ways; and 2) Formation attacks that require having an ally in a specific position to perform the attack. The Banner Spear is capable of immense power if they are able to command and maneuver themselves, their allies, and their summons to the proper positions from turn to turn. A simpler ranged-support build is also available for players who find all that positioning difficult. Thematically, this class is a leader, and you’ll see that play out in cards like Rallying Cry, Combined Effort, or Unbreakable Wall.
Blinkblade
This assassin uses experimental temporal drives to alter the flow of time, speeding things up or slowing things down as needed. Mechanically, this plays out through the use of time tokens. The Blink Blade’s cards are modified on the left if you are going “fast” (in which you must spend a time token at the start of your turn) and on the right if you are going “slow” (in which you gain a time token if you have fewer than two). Fast abilities tend to be stronger than slow abilities, though not always. As you advance, this class is capable of high tempo “nova” turns that can wreck an entire room through various combinations that allow them to play extra cards and go fast, fast, fast – but how long can you keep that pace up? If you play your cards well, you will no doubt cause a Cascading Reaction, Hit and Run your foes, and go into Overdrive.
Boneshaper
This necromancer summons hordes of the undead. The Boneshaper’s bread-and-butter summon is the Shambling Skeleton, which you get three of in your level 1 cards. These summons move to your discard pile instead of your loss pile when defeated, meaning you can bring them back again and again over the course of the scenario. As you go, you can also summon Wraiths, Corpses, and other unholy abominations as you assemble your dark army. Will you build your class in a way to create a horde of unending skeletons, or try to keep a single more powerful summon alive to wreak havoc? Wielding this power has a cost, of course, as the Boneshaper will use their life to bring summons onto the board, meaning the push and pull of life and death can put you precariously close to the “death” side. Careful and strategic planning will be required to build your power over the course of each scenario as you Command the Wretched, perform a Malicious Conversion, and dish out Eternal Torment.
Deathwalker
These nomads are intent on ensuring the souls of the dead find rest. As Frosthaven has seen great death and tragedy, Deathwalkers are not far behind. The class’ core mechanic are shadows – tokens you place on the board which you will use and manipulate in a variety of ways to increase your power. Your main way to generate shadows comes from the persistent ability on Call to the Abyss. When you or a summon attacks an enemy, you may “mark” it with a character token. When the enemy dies (even if you don’t deal the killing blow), you place a shadow in the hex it occupied or one next to it. As your shadows build, you’ll use them to attack enemies you’re not even physically close to, teleport across the map, or provide Rest in the Shade to your allies. You will also use the shadows themselves to make your attacks stronger, channeling the Anger of the Dead and unleashing it on your adversaries.
Drifter
Drifters are Inox who survive off the land, and there is no better place for them to test their skills than the unrelenting north. The Drifter has a large hand-size of 12, and makes use of that hand size to play one or more persistent abilities with charges each scenario. These persistent abilities are key to having success with the class, and unlike other classes who have these type of abilities, the Drifter can move the tokens back on them, gaining more uses out of the ability. The key with the Drifter, then, is a balancing act of keeping enough charges on your abilities to do what you want to, as when you run out you’ll find your power diminish. The Drifter is also the ultimate jack-of-all-trades class, as you can build it from scenario to scenario to excel at melee combat, ranged combat, healing, movement, tanking, or support. Do you want to have Continuous Health? Precision Aim? Or be Unbreakable? These are the decisions you’ll make each time you play.
Geminate
This class is the only (as of writing this) one with an extra large hand size of 14 cards. This massive amount of cards, though, is split into two piles of 7 as you start each scenario, because as the name implies, the Geminate is ruled by two opposing hive minds. This will play out mechanically as you will need to change forms, from your more melee form to your more ranged form, back and forth throughout scenarios. This is a complex class, no doubt, as you will need to factor in not only what you’re doing that turn, but in previous turns as well so that you can ensure you’re in the form you want to be when it matters most. The Geminate comes with two unique miniatures so that you can represent your changed form as it happens. Deliver a Hail of Thorns, a Firefly Swarm, or Flailing Tendrils to bring down your opponents.