Act 3 - Osgiliath
Scenario 5 - Defend the GarrisonThis scenario follows the rules for the Defend the Garrison scenario from BGIME #48. Some minor modifications have been made, detailed below:
The Good force consists of 350 points of Gondorian soldiers, but must include the Osgiliath Battle Company. Additionally, the Battle Company spent 8 Influence Points at the start of this scenario to be allowed to use Hurin the Tall. Hurin follows his normal rules and does not actually join the Battle Comany.
The Evil sides points were also increased to 550. The Evil force consisted of Mordor Orcs, Morannon Orcs, two Morannon Orc captains, two Mordor Orc banners and one Mordor troll.
The board was reduced to a 4' x 3' (since that's the max size I can make with the terrain tiles). Thus, the turn limit was reduced to 18 turns, from 20.
ObjectivesThe game lasts for 18 turns, or until one force is completely wiped out. At the end of the 18th turn, count the number of models from each side within the walls of the garrison. The side with the most models wins the game. If both sides have the same amount of models within the walls, the game is a draw.
Ingold's company have fallen back from the front lines of the battles to one of the many garrison fortifications within Osgiliath. Here, Ingold is meeting with Hurin the Tall, Warden of the Keys, who has been sent from the White City by Denethor, Steward of Gondor, to get an update on the situation within Osgiliath.
However, shouts from the guards posted on watch duty interrupt the meeting; orcs are assailing the garrison from all directions, equipped with ladders to scale the battlements. Heavily outnumbered, can the defenders hold out?The below photo shows the layout of the board at the start of the scenario. The Osgiliath Battle Company, Hurin and the other defenders are all positioned within the walls of the garrison. The Mordor troll, along with a captain and other orcs, have come onto the board from the east, heading straight for one of the gates. The other orcs approach the garrison from all sides, ready to raise their ladders.
As the orcs rush towards the garrison, the defenders ready themselves, making use of the boxes of throwing spears and the high vantage points of Thorindir and Belecthor to fell some orcs before they can reach the walls.One of the special rules for this scenario is that the defenders can have boxes or barrels of rocks or throwing spears stationed throughout the garrison. I have represented boxes of throwing spears using, well, boxes, which many soldiers are positioned beside.
For the first few turns, a combination of throwing spears and some accurate shots from Thorindir and Belecthor resulted in a few orcs going down on their approach to the garrison. However, the attackers managed to raise the ladders and charge the defenders atop the walls.
Yet, due to shielding, the defenders were able to keep the orcs at bay, with many orcs stumbling and falling from ladders, breaking their necks when hitting the ground. So far, the defenders were holding strong.
Satisfied that his men were capable of holding the walls, Ingold turned his attention to the gate, for the troll had now reached it and was attempting to smash it down!The Evil side's tactic was mainly to occupy the defenders on the walls with the ladder, and use the troll to smash through the gate, piling in orcs behind it and overwhelming the defenders through numbers. Victory or defeat for the forces of Good could very well depend on how many turns it takes the troll to smash the gate open. In this first attempt, the troll managed to inflict one Wound on the gate.
The defenders upon the walls are more than holding their own, as they repel the repeated attacks from the orcs, even managing to push down some of the ladders.For the next few turns, the situation on the walls continues in the same manner as before; the defenders are winning fights due to shielding, and orcs continue to fall off ladders, getting killed due to falling damage. However, a group of orcs is attempting to hack open the other gate, but are not getting very far yet.
After initially holding firm, the main gate that the troll is attacking takes another Wound, and is now only one Wound away from breaking. Ingold steadies his men behind the gate.
The next turn, turn 7, is a big one for a potential swing in momentum. Dirhael, who has managed to successfully hold his part of the wall so far, is overcome by an orc, whose lucky strike evades the ramparts and cuts down Dirhael. One of the orcs has finally made it onto the battlements. Additionally, the orcs attacking the secondary gate score two Wounds on it in one turn, leaving it splintered and barely intact. However, the big impact comes from the troll, who smashes open the main gate, and now looks to bash his way into the garrison.
Leading by example, Ingold bravely charges the terrifying troll before it can enter the garrison. His men, Baranor amongst them, are encouraged by his bravery and follow suit.Ingold needed a Will point to charge the troll, yet it was worth the spend, as Ingold knows they need to contain the troll and the other attackers here at the gate. Ingold then spends a Might point to Heroic Strike, bringing him above the Fight value of the troll, and now in a good position to win the combat, which he does, rolling a 6! With the troll backing away, the two Gondorian soldiers and Baranor all fail to make a Wound with their strikes, yet Ingold, wielding the Ancient Dagger he found in the sewers previously, rolled two sixes and a five to slay the troll outright, in one combat!
Just when Evil thought they had gotten the momentum shift by smashing open the gate, Ingold was standing stalwart behind it, ready to cut down anything that dared enter the garrison!
Struggling to find a breakthrough against the defenders on the walls, and seeing the might of Ingold in taking down the troll, many of the orcs turn tail and flee the battle. Only those close to the captain stay, their fear of their leader overcoming their fear of the Gondorians. Crucially, the attackers are now broken, and the low courage of orcs results in the majority of them fleeing for their lives. However, the Morannon captain's Stand Fast! at the gate ensures that the battle is not yet over.
While the Morannon captain wins his fight, his wild swing with his two-handed weapon fails to connect with his foe. Meanwhile, Ingold cuts down another orc. Yet these orcs remain determined to fight to the last, as they all pass their courage tests again.
This time the orc captain is beaten back, but his thick armour saves him from taking any Wounds, while Ingold slays his opponent and pushes forward to finish the orcs off.
Pressing their advantage, Ingold pushes forward, cutting down an orc in his path before continuing on to engage the captain.Here, Ingold called a Heroic Combat and cut down the single Morannon he was fighting, before subsequently charging the orc captain. Winning the fight, he could only land one Wound however, which the orc captain managed to save with Fate.
Meanwhile, Baranor was beaten back by the orc he was fighting, meaning that his free Heroic Combat (from his Heroic Presence special rule) did not go off.
However, with just the two of them left on the battlefield, both the Morannon captain and the orc warrior failed their Courage tests at the start of the next turn and fled the battle. The defenders successfully held off the orc assault!
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Post-Game Recovery and ExperienceWith Dirhael being the only casualty for the Good side, I needed to roll on the Warrior Injury Table to determine his fate. Thankfully, he rolled a Full Recovery and was fine.
Ingold received enough experience to level up twice, gaining an increase to his Strength value (he is now Strength 5!) and gaining another Will point.
Cirion leveled up, increasing his Fight value.
Baranor also leveled up, gaining another Wound, bringing him to 2 Wounds now, which should keep him in games for longer, allowing the Good side to really make use of his Parry and Heroic Presence special rules.
Due to a combination of winning the scenario and Ingold's Battle Veteran special rule, the Battle Company received 5 Influence Points. Four Points were spent on a reinforcement (rolled a 1 again
), thus Aragost, an Osgiliath Veteran with Shield joins the company.
Note that Hurin does not stay with the Battle Company after this; he was a one off addition for this scenario, costing the 8 Influence Points.
Finally, rolling on the scenario special rewards table below, the Good player rolled a 2, allowing each Hero in the Company to gain a single point of either Might, Will or Fate (which can allow them to go above the usual max values of 3/3/3). All three Heroes decided to take a Might Point each, meaning that both Ingold and Cirion now have 4 Might, while Baranor has 2.
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Post-Game CommentsI enjoyed playing this game, as I haven't played too many siege-style games, so its a nice change. I do need to clarify some rules though, because I think Evil might have had a harder time of it than they should have.
Regarding fighting on the ladders and walls, I'll break it down into two situations:
1. The defender (atop the wall) wins the fight: If the defender fought normally, they make Strikes as normal. If they Shielded, they make no Strikes. Since the attacker lost, they have to back away down the ladder, yet risk falling. Rolling a D6, the attacker falls off the ladder on a 1-3, and takes normal falling damage. If they roll a 4-6, they back away an inch down the ladder.
2. The attacker (atop the ladder) wins the fight: They attempt to Strike the defender, making an In-The-Way roll first. Since the defended barrier is a purpose built fortification, they need a 5+ to get past. If they fail, they have to back away and risk falling, as above. If they succeed, but fail to kill their opponent, they have to back away and risk falling, as above. If they succeed and kill their opponent, they hop over the battlements onto the wall.
Are these situations correct? It seems like very low odds for the attackers, hence why a lot of the orcs died from falling off ladders
Regardless, it got really exciting when the troll smashed open the gate, and that had potential to swing the momentum in favour of the Evil side, but Ingold put in an absolute monstrous round of combat to charge the troll, Strike up, win the fight and then take all three Wounds off the troll by himself! I have definitely made him overpowered in this Battle Company
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this report
As always, comments are very much appreciated, and any insight into the siege ladder rules would be great!
Until the next one