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Frosthaven classes: the six you start with

Frosthaven has seventeen classes in the box. Six are available at the start and the rest unlock as the campaign goes on; this page covers the six, using the rulebook's own complexity rating and one-line role for each. Nothing on this page spoils a locked class.

Complexity and role line: Frosthaven rulebook, “Starting Character Classes”, p. 3. First purchase: “Creating a Character”, p. 4.

Drifter

Low complexity

Jack-of-all-trades with great stamina to fill any role you need.

Flexible melee that can be built into a damage dealer, a bruiser or a support depending on which persistent abilities you keep running. The rulebook rates it low complexity, and it is the easiest of the six to play well on a first campaign.

Good at

  • · Fits whatever role the party is missing
  • · Persistent bonuses keep working while you do other things
  • · Forgiving to play: no single card you have to time perfectly

Watch out

Sustainable rather than explosive. If your group needs one big hit to break a fight, the Drifter is not it.

First purchase with starting gold: Amulet of Life, Winged Shoes. In a party: The safest first pick for a table that has not decided who does what.

Boneshaper

Medium complexity

Summoner of the undead who sacrifices their health to create and heal allies.

A summoner with a healing habit. The Boneshaper spends its own hit points to put skeletons on the board and keep them useful, so your health total is a resource rather than a score.

Good at

  • · Extra bodies soak attacks and hold chokepoints
  • · Healing is part of the class's own kit, so nobody has to pick a pure support
  • · Scales well in a small party, where every extra figure matters

Watch out

Summons need to be placed in empty hexes next to you, so cramped corridors can shut the whole plan down. Health spent early is health you do not have later.

First purchase with starting gold: Warden's Robes. In a party: Pairs with the Banner Spear: summons count as an ally for formation attacks.

Deathwalker

Medium complexity

Manipulator of dead spirits who uses death as fuel for their abilities.

A class that turns killing into fuel. Its abilities work off the shadow tokens that death leaves on the board, so it wants to be where things are dying — and it wants them to keep dying.

Good at

  • · Damage that ramps up as a fight goes on
  • · Turns ordinary kills into extra resources
  • · Pairs naturally with any class that kills a lot

Watch out

If nothing dies for a couple of rounds, there is less for the class to work with than the other five.

First purchase with starting gold: Boots of Speed. In a party: Best with a party that produces kills steadily rather than one huge hit per round.

Blinkblade

High complexity

Powerful melee fighter who is able to quickly zip in and out of combat.

Fast melee that chooses between a fast and a slow mode each round, then lives with the consequences. The rulebook rates it high complexity: the damage is real, but so is the risk of being caught in the open.

Good at

  • · Movement that gets in, hits and gets out
  • · High single-target damage
  • · Rewards planning two rounds ahead

Watch out

High complexity, and fragile when the initiative plan goes wrong. Not the class to learn the game on.

First purchase with starting gold: Leather Armor, Poison Dagger. In a party: Wants a front line that holds without it, so it can pick its moment.

Geminate

High complexity

Insect swarm with two separate forms that allow for switching between melee and ranged attacks.

One character, two forms: a melee side and a ranged side, switched by taking actions in the right order. The most complex of the six, and the one that changes shape most between rounds.

Good at

  • · Answers both melee and ranged situations
  • · Two forms means two toolboxes in one character
  • · Strong in a party that can cover whichever form is on the board

Watch out

You have to track form, elements and a second hand of options at once. The rulebook is honest about it: high complexity.

First purchase with starting gold: Amulet of Life, Leather Armor. In a party: Best after the table has played a few scenarios, not on scenario one.

Which starting class first?The six ranked by learning curve and party fit, with the reason for each tier.Read the tier list →Best starting partyWhich two, three or four of these six actually work together on a first campaign.Build a party →

Picking a class is the first maths question of the campaign, not the last. The XP calculator shows how fast it levels and the enhancement calculator prices the first sticker on its cards.