Great replay, very tense. Didn't think the Fellowship was going to make it!

I wonder if GW will make any changes to this scenario in the upcoming Quest of the Ringbearer book?

Wow, step away from the One Ring for a week and look what I missed! Keep them coming!

_________________
"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Nice to read that the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm scenario was so true to the narrative. I had the same experience when I played through it. It's a really awesome feeling! I think the Moria scenarios in general are very good at capturing the narrative, they are for sure one of the highlights of the campaign so far.

_________________
For scenario and campaign playthroughs, visit https://aiwendil.net/

Thanks for all the comments guys!

@DaveT and @Voyager360, regarding the Moria scenarios in the upcoming Quest of the Ringbearer supplement, personally I have loved playing through Moria and I found that on the whole, even with the newest version of the rules, the scenarios are still quite well balanced. They really challenge the Fellowship, yet give them just enough to get through right at the end!

The one thing I would say could be looked at is in the Escape from Dwarrowdelf scenario; the Goblin reinforcements are allowed come on from all board edges depending on a dice roll. Now I read this as meaning that they come onto the raised platforms (makes no sense to come onto the actual board since that is technically meant to be a quite a drop from the platforms). But this meant that towards the end of the scenario there was a bit of a pile-up of Goblins at the end of the stairs which the Fellowship had to escape from, meaning that there were a few turns of combat that had to be slogged out, which slightly took away from the dramatic 'chase' feel that the scenario was trying to replicate. It'll be interesting to see if there is an updated version of that scenario in the new supplement.

Anyway, onto the final act covering the journey from the Fellowship of the Ring!

__________________________________________________________

Act 5 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

Scenario 1 - Aragorn's Stand

This scenario follows the rules for the scenario of the same name from the FOTR Journeybook. The only modifications that I have made were to replace some of the Uruk-Hai Scouts equipped with shields for plain Uruk-Hai Scouts, simply because I didn't have enough shielded ones.

Objectives

If The Ring is taken, the destiny of the world will be forever changed. If Aragorn is slain, there can be little hope for Frodo's escape. The Good side wins if Frodo escapes from the board via the edge opposite the Seeing Seat while Aragorn is still alive. If either Aragorn or Frodo are slain, the Evil side wins the game.

Note that after Moria, the Fellowship passed through Lothlorien, where they were able to rest and recover their strength. Thus, all Fellowship members have had their resource points restored to the normal values as per their profiles. Additionally, the Fellowship received some gifts in Lothlorien from Galadriel, Lady of Light; all members were given Elven Cloaks, and Legolas was given a bow of the Galadhrim, which is an elf bow with a Strength of 4.

It is on the slopes of Amon Hen that disaster overtakes the Fellowship. It is late afternoon when the company rest up on the shore, with the intention of crossing the river at night and working their way down through the Emyn Muil. Unfortunately, two calamities befall the small company in quick succession.

Boromir, his mind broken by the terrible influence of The Ring, has tried to seize it from Frodo. Though his madness was fleeting, it was enough to convince Frodo that he must flee from his companions and make his own way to Mordor. Even as this happens, Saruman's Uruk-Hai, led by Lurtz, have found the Fellowship and are preparing to ambush their prey.

It is as Frodo says farewell to Aragorn atop Amon Hen that the Uruk-Hai launch their attack. Forewarned by Sting, Aragorn sends Frodo away and prepares to meet the Uruk-Hai attack, though he is outnumbered many times over. All he can do is hope to endure until help arrives, but with his companions scattered across the hilltop, the outlook seems bleak.

Can the son of Arathorn buy time for Frodo to escape and continue his quest, or has the Fellowship failed in its goal?

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the beginning of the scenario. The board is heavily wooded, with the Seeing Seat located on a hilltop at the top end of the board. Frodo and Aragorn are deployed in base contact with the Seeing Seat, while the Uruk-Hai are deployed 3" in from the top board edge.









Since the Uruk-Hai have ambushed Aragorn and Frodo, I felt it was fitting to give them Priority in the first turn, and Lurtz wasted no time in calling a Heroic March to urge his warriors forward at pace to "Find the Halflings!".

As Frodo ran down the hill from the Uruk-Hai horde, Aragorn braced himself and rushed into the Uruk-Hai, aiming to distract them and buy Frodo the time he needed to make his escape.





Winning his Fight, Aragorn cut down one of his foes, yet more were still coming. Forced to retreat into the ruined Seeing Seat to use it for protection, Aragorn was charged by one Uruk-Hai, while the others began to close the gap between them and the Ringbearer.





While Aragorn continues to fight back the Uruk-Hai horde, retreating up the stairs of the Seeing Seat, Frodo must use The Ring to attempt to evade the Uruk-Hai now rushing down the slope after him.









As the Uruk-Hai continue their search of the hilltop for the Hobbit, Frodo's Will wrestles with that of Sauron's as The Ring attempts to seize control of the Halfling's movements. Yet Frodo's Will is strong, and he manages to resist the lure of Evil and continue towards the bottom board edge.



Also in this turn, the fifth turn, help has arrived for Aragorn! Hearing the sounds of battle through the woods, Legolas and Gimli have arrived on the hilltop to aid their companion!



As the game progressed, the Uruk-Hai down the hill continued their search for Frodo, and though they got very close to the invisible Hobbit, the Uruks continued to fail their Courage tests to determine whether or not they spotted the Ringbearer. Meanwhile, managing to continue to resist Sauron's pull, Frodo carefully picked his way thorugh the searching Uruk-Hai, slowly advancing towards the board edge.



Meanwhile, atop the hill, the battle still raged; Aragorn was engaged with the Uruk-Hai atop the ruined Seeing Seat, while Legolas and Gimli fought the remaining uruks below. Here Gimli had to call a Heroic Combat to dispatch his solitary foe and charge into Legolas' combat to assist the elf, as the Strength 4 of the Uruks could very quickly pose a problem for Legolas' low Defence!







Although Lurtz and his Uruk-Hai could not see Frodo, they continued to scour the surrounding area south of the Seeing Seat for the Halfling, unknowingly closing in on his position.



In his panic, Frodo is careless with his movements and he inadvertently scatters the leaves and branches on the forest floor. Aware of something nearby, the Uruks attempt to close in on the Ringbearer! Yet while the Uruk-Hai can travel in sunlight, it still is not kind to their eyes, and they once more fail their Courage checks, allowing a relieved Frodo to silently slip through their midst.





As Frodo continues to evade the Uruks down the hill, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are still locked in combat with the remaining Uruk-Hai around the Seeing Seat. Using his Free Might to call a Heroic Combat, Aragorn cuts his way through two Uruks atop the ruins as he trys to make his way towards his companions, who are engaged with the Uruk-Hai Scout captain.







As more Uruks swarm the hilltop, Gimli deals two huge blows to the Uruk captain with his axe, with the captain relying on Fate to prevent a fatal Wound. Yet his escape from death is short lived, as Legolas cuts him down in the next Fight phase with his elven-made daggers.



The fall of one of their captains comes as a huge blow to the Uruk-Hai atop the hill, and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli proceed to pick off the last few remaining warriors. With Aragorn still alive and in no immediate danger, the outcome of the game depends on Frodo's escape.

Good had won Priority in this turn and Frodo was less than 4" from the board edge, yet Lurtz, frustrated at his warriors' failure so far to find any of the Halflings, expended his last Might Point to call a Heroic Move. Frodo quickly countered, for there were multiple Uruks within charge range of him should they spot him, and it was too big a risk to allow them to move first. Luckily for the Good side, Frodo won the roll off. If he could just resist Sauron's will for one more turn, he would be able to move off the table to safety.

Although it was another struggle, Frodo's strong Will prevailed once more against the lure of Evil, although only just; Frodo rolled a 3, the minimum result needed to maintain control over The Ring. Moving off the board edge, Frodo managed to successfully give the searching Uruk-Hai the slip. Once out of range of the remaining Uruks, the Hobbit took off The Ring and made his way to the shore, meaning to take a boat across the river and continue his journey to Mordor alone...



__________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

Below are the state of the resource points after this scenario:



Legolas, Gimli and Frodo spent one Might Point each, while Lurtz spent all three of his Might.

Both Legolas and Frodo recovered their spent Might. Gimli failed to recover his Might Point, while Lurtz only managed to recover one of his three Points. This may prove a decisive factor in the next couple of scenarios where he attempts to slay Boromir!

___________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

Another victory for Good! I enjoyed this scenario, although the way I played it it almost felt like two separate scenarios; one played upon the hilltop where Aragorn had to fight off the Uruks and survive, and one played down the hill where Frodo had to evade the Uruks.

I tried to play this scenario to match the narrative of the film. I could of course have simply Heroic Marched with Aragorn, and gotten himself and Frodo down the table away from the pursuing Uruks relatively unscathed, however that would have not been very exciting, and also wouldn't have fitted with the fact that Aragorn had given Frodo his blessing to leave the Fellowship and continue the quest alone, while he remained to distract and delay the uruks.

I think I used the ruined Seeing Seat to good tactical effect with Aragorn, retreating up it, as this meant that only one Uruk could engage him at a time, preventing him from being outnumbered. When Legolas and Gimli arrived in the fifth turn and diverted some of the attention away from Aragorn, I knew that that part of the objective for the Good side was fairly safe.

However, it was much tenser down the table with Lurtz and the Uruks searching for Frodo. I very quickly realised that Frodo would have to use The Ring to have any hope of escape, because the greater movement of the Uruks combined with the fact that slain Uruks can re-enter play from any board edge on the roll of a 4+ meant that there was no way Frodo would simply be able to outrun the Uruks. Luckily for the Hobbit, even when the Uruk-Hai (unknowingly) surrounded him and were within charge range, they failed their Courage tests. Even more luckily, the strength of Frodo's will was easily enough able to resist Sauron, and the Good player maintained control of Frodo for the duration of time that he had The Ring on.

So in terms of the campaign progression, at the end of this scenario we know that The Ring is safe with Frodo and Sam as they cross the Anduin and continue on their journey to Mordor. We will pick up with them in a later act. What remains to be seen in the next two scenarios is whether or not Merry and Pippin are captured by the Uruks and the fate of Boromir. Can the son of Gondor protect the Hobbits? Will Aragorn be able to answer Boromir's call for aid in time? Or will Merry and Pippin be taken and Boromir fall? We shall find out soon enough

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

Nice terrain, models, and writeup. Always good to have Legolas survive; he sometimes seems to have a hard time in this scenario due to his low defense (as you point out).

Looking forward to Boromir with the little ones!

I loved the OTS shot of Gandalf and the Balrog. There's certainly something to be said for simple terrain. I'm in the process of making a water board and am trying to figure out the best layout to use it for both a beach and river. I still use books for hills.

_________________
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

Thanks Dave Yeah I think it is important to try keep Legolas in close proximity to another Hero (in this case Gimli), particularly when he is up against the higher Strength opponents. It means that the Evil models have to split their attention between the two Heroes and the other Hero can potentially use a Heroic Combat to help Legolas if he gets outnumbered, as Gimli did in this scenario.



You're quite right, as well as it being modular and multi-purpose, thus taking up less precious storage space, there is that nostalgic feel for me with some of the old Middle-Earth terrain guides.

___________________________________________________________

Act 5 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

Scenario 2 - Boromir's Redemption

This scenario follows the rules for the scenario of the same name from the FOTR Journeybook. Again, the only modification was that some shield-equipped Uruk-Hai Scouts were replaced with regular Scouts.

Objectives

Boromir must hold out long enough for help to arrive from the rest of the Fellowship - though with the desperate battle still going on further up the hill, it may be some time before he receives any aid. The Evil player wins if he can capture Merry and Pippin and carry the Hobbits off any board edge before the game ends. The game lasts for the same number of turns as the previous scenario (Aragorn's Stand) lasted - so this game will thus last for eight turns. The Good player wins if the Evil player does not achieve their objective.

Even as Aragorn struggles with dozens of Uruk-Hai at the top of Amon Hen, yet more of the foul creatures stream through the trees and undergrowth of the lower slopes. Shielded by the enchantment of his Elven cloak for much of his scramble down the hill, Frodo threads his way past the searching Uruk-Hai, making for the boats moored far below.

Careful as he is, the Uruk-Hai are too many to be avoided indefinitely, and only a chance distraction by Merry and Pippin saves him. Unable to tell one Hobbit from another, the Uruk-Hai begin to chase Merry and Pippin, believing one of them to be Frodo.

As the two Hobbits flee their pursuers, their fate seems certain, for they cannot stand and fight several dozen Uruk-Hai. Yet just as the lead Uruks are upon them, Boromir comes to their rescue. Stricken and haunted by his recent betrayal, the son of Gondor resolves to fight to the last in defence of the little ones, no matter the cost to himself.

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the start of the scenario. The table is covered in as many trees and rocky outcrops as possible to represent the wooded slopes of Amon Hen. Boromir is deployed in the centre of the board, with Merry and Pippin deployed within 3" of him. The Uruks are then deployed 3" in from two joining board edges.



With the horde of Uruk-Hai rapidly approaching, Boromir shields the Hobbits behind him as they ready themselves for the coming conflict. Knowing that they cannot outrun the Uruks, Boromir can only hope to hold out long enough for help to arrive.







For the first couple of turns, as the Uruks approach, Boromir's Elven cloak helps to conceal him from the eyes of the Uruk-Hai archers, yet as he is forced away from the cover of the rocks, he finds himself in their sights! Shielding the Hobbits behind him, the Uruk-Hai loose their arrows, and one finds its mark, piercing Boromir as Merry and Pippin watch on in horror!





As the Uruk-Hai charge and close in upon the Heroes, the Horn of Gondor blasts out, signalling to Aragorn up the hill that Boromir is in need of aid. Yet the sound of the Horn does not sway the Uruks, and Boromir is forced to fight them off!



As Boromir cuts down the two Uruks that stand in his way, Merry and Pippin manage to fend off their attackers but cannot deal a fatal blow.



As more Uruk-Hai join the fray, Merry and Pippin bravely charge two of them to try relieve some of the pressure on Boromir, who is struggling with his wound. Yet the Uruk-Hai number too many, and the Hobbits are countercharged by more Uruks, while Boromir is engaged once again.





This time, the deafening blasts of the Horn of Gondor causes the Uruks to falter, and Boromir deftly slays them. Yet his victory is short-lived, as Merry and Pippin are both overpowered by the Uruk-Hai and lifted from the ground!



As the Uruk-Hai begin to flee with their hostages, Boromir attempts to delay them, yet his Heroic Move is countered by the Uruk-Hai captain, and the Son of Gondor finds himself surrounded and trapped.



Once more the Horn of Gondor sounds throughout the hilltop, yet the Uruk captain rallies his warriors, and Boromir must spend two Might Points to avoid losing the Fight. Outnumbered though he is, Boromir manages to slay two of the Uruks, creating a potential gap through which he could catch one of the fleeing Uruk-Hai.



However, Evil win Priority once more and push to surround Boromir, whose Heroic Move is once more countered by the Uruk-Hai Captain. This allows the two Uruk-Hai carrying Merry and Pippin to advance towards the board edge.





Blowing the Horn of Gondor once more, but to no effect, as neither the Uruk-Hai falter nor does any help arrive, Boromir must use all his skill to fend off his attackers again, yet he fails to cause any fatal Wounds to the Uruks.



As the last turn begins, the Good side wins Priority, yet with his way blocked by Uruk-Hai and the Hobbits already too far away, there is little Boromir can do except brace himself once more for combat. As the Uruks close in on the son of Gondor, Boromir now knows that Merry and Pippin are beyond his help.





As he fights off the Uruk-Hai once more, and with a massive effort manages to slay two of them, Boromir sees Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in the distance, making their way down the wooded slopes towards him - help has arrived at last! Yet there are still numerous Uruk-Hai between him and his would-be rescuers; wounded and weary, can Boromir survive long enough?



___________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

Boromir is the only Hero that needs to roll for spent resource points at the end of this scenario. Even though the special rules for the next scenario states that Boromir starts the scenario with only one Might and one Wound, to represent the fact that he has been pierced by the three arrows, I have decided to alter this.

Thematically, I'd rather play out the Lurtz-shooting-Boromir scene in-game in the next scenario, so I have decided to let Boromir attempt to recover his spent resource points, yet add in a couple of other special rules in the next scenario, which I will detail at the start of the report for that.

In this game, Boromir lost a Wound and spent four Might Points. After rolling for recovery, he failed to recover the Wound and recovered two Might Points. Thus, Boromir will start the next scenario with four Might Points and two Wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

A victory for Evil this time, only just though! The Uruks managed to carry Merry and Pippin off the board in the final turn, yet they needed the Uruk-Hai Captain to win the roll-off for the Heroic Move a couple of turns before that to manage it; had Boromir won that roll-off, he would have been able to charge the Uruk carrying Merry, which meant it would not have managed to carry Merry off the board by the end of the eighth turn.

Although taking an early Wound from an Uruk-Hai arrow, I was quite impressed by how Boromir held out while surrounded by such overwhelming numbers, managing to slay about half a dozen Uruk-Hai in the process.

Tactically, this game posed a dilemma: I could have continuously retreated towards the far corner with Boromir and the Hobbits away from the Uruks, and while this would have brought the Hobbits closer to a board edge, it would have only given the Uruks one or two turns to attempt to defeat the Hobbits in combat and carry them off the board by the time they caught up. However, as this is a narrative campaign after all, I decided to try stay relatively central and fight off the Uruks to make the game more exciting.

Altogether I enjoyed playing this scenario; I felt it captured the theme and narrative very well, and it was fun to pit Boromir and the Hobbits against the Uruk-Hai Scouts. I also got to use the two models of the Uruks carrying the Hobbits!

I hope you enjoyed this report, stay tuned for the final one in this act, aptly named 'The Breaking of the Fellowhip'!

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

"Find the Halflings!'

"The Horn of Gondor!'

Excellent reports. Led me down the rabbit hole of youtube

These are nicely edited versions of the appropriate scenes after reading your reports.

https://youtu.be/LPBnefRM24g

https://youtu.be/OjG6qX69IVU

_________________
"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Thanks @Mapper, I'm really enjoying the scenarios since the Fellowship formed, they're all playing out so thematically! Thanks for the video links too

_____________________________________________________________

Act 5 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

Scenario 3 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

This scenario follows the rules for the scenario of the same name from the FOTR Journeybook. Once again, some shield-equipped Uruks were swapped for standard Uruks. Additionally, I did not use the Mortal Wound special rule; instead Boromir carried over his resource points from the previous scenario. However, wishing to replicate the scene where Lurtz pierces Boromir with the arrows, I created a special rule. For this scenario, Lurtz gains a +1 bonus to his rolls To Hit and To Wound with his bow when firing at Boromir, and does not need to roll for any In The Ways (this includes if Boromir is engaged in combat).

Objectives

Frodo is gone, The Ring safe for now. All that matters now to the Fellowship is to save Boromir and defeat the Uruk-Hai - only then can they pursue those who have taken Merry and Pippin. The Good player wins this scenario if at least two Good Heroes survive until all the Uruk-Hai are slain. The Evil player wins if the Good player does not achieve this objective.

The Fellowship is now all but scattered. Frodo and Sam have taken one of the boats and have continued on their quest. Merry and Pippin have been seized by Uruk-Hai, and even now are being carried back to Isengard to face torture and death at the hands of Saruman's followers. Boromir, wounded by both arrow and blade, is bleeding his life away into the dark soil of Amon Hen, surrounded by those he has slain. Each time he winded the Horn of Gondor, it was not help that arrived, but more Uruk-Hai hungry for his blood.

Though death reaches out to claim this mighty warrior, still he fights on in defiance of those who would take his life, yet he cannot endure for much longer. Boromir's only hope lies in the arrival of his remaining companions - Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Fortunately, these last three have finally managed to fight their way to the son of Gondor's side, but are they in time to save him?

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the beginning of the scenario. Again, the board is densely covered in trees and rocky outcrops to represent the wooded slopes of Amon Hen. Boromir is deployed 6" in from the far board edge, with six Uruk-Hai deployed 12" from him. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are deployed 6" in from the near board edge, with the remaining Uruk-Hai deployed 12" from them. Finally, Lurtz is deployed in the centre of the board.









Aragorn knows that time is against them if they are to reach Boromir and save him from the Uruk-Hai, so the Ranger wastes no time in rushing forwards, Gimli following in his wake. Legolas remains in place, preparing his bow to target the onrushing Uruk-Hai.



Meanwhile, Boromir moves behind a thicket of trees, which blocks him from the view of Lurtz, who had an arrow notched and ready to fire. Annoyed, the great Uruk rushes forward at full speed, as his warriors tighten the noose about the son of Gondor.



Taking aim with his bow, Legolas fires three shots at the Uruk-Hai archers in the distance, yet only one finds its mark, slaying an Uruk before it can fire back. Yet the remaining archers get revenge on the Elf, loosing black arrows in his direction; Legolas has to burn all three of his Fate points to stay alive!

Due to this close brush with death, Legolas cautiously takes cover behind one of the rocky outcrops as he prepares to fire his bow once again. Aragorn charges the Uruk-Hai captain that stands in his way, and is countercharged and surrounded by two other Uruks. Gimli rushes into another scout and is similarly countercharged.





Meanwhile, further down the slope, Boromir engages the Uruks closing in on him but quickly finds himself surrounded, while Lurtz is still edging around the thick trees to get a shot.



Legolas manages to pierce another Uruk with an arrow, while the lone archer that fires back misses the Elf. In testament to their skill as warrriors, both Aragorn and Gimli easily hack down two Uruk-Hai each, while the Uruk captain has to rely on Fate to save him from a Wounding blow from Anduril.



Meanwhile, further down the slope, the Horn of Gondor does nothing to dissuade the Uruks from their ferocious attack on Boromir, and he is forced to fight off his foes, which he does so, slaying one in the process, although he needed the help of a Might point to win the combat.



Growing anxious at the length of time that the Uruks are delaying them, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli each charge into the Uruk-Hai in their way.









Both Aragorn and Gimli call Heroic Combats; Aragorn's is resolved first, with him easily besting his foes in combat but relying on a Might point to ensure he slays them both. Aragorn then rushes into Gimli's combat, engaging the Uruk-Hai captain, leaving Gimli to fight a lone Uruk-Hai.



The Dwarf makes short work of the Uruk, relieving the beast of its head, and wastes no time in rushing to Legolas' aid.



The combined skill of the Elf and the Dwarf are too much for one Uruk-Hai to compete with, and Legolas' Elven daggers land the killing blow. Meanwhile, Aragorn swiftly deals with the Uruk-Hai captain, slicing through its leg before plunging Anduril into its chest.

While all of this was happening, Boromir was surrounded by five Uruk-Hai warriors further down the slopes, yet this time the blasts from the Horn of Gondor struck fear into the hearts of the Uruks; as they faltered, Boromir cleaved two of them in half!





Yet Lurtz was now close enough to Boromir to take aim with his bow, a black-feathered arrow ready to pierce the son of Gondor! Aware of the danger that he was now in though, Boromir swiftly called a Heroic Move, and though Lurtz attempted to counter, the roll-off favoured the Good side, which allowed Boromir to once more skirt around the trees and use their cover to his advantage.

Meanwhile, leaving Gimli to handle the remaining two Uruks, Aragorn and Legolas sprinted down the slope towards Boromir, Aragorn using his free Might point to gain an extra 3" thanks to a Heroic March.









Gimli manages to slay one of the Uruks, and Legolas hangs back to help him finish off the final one. Meanwhile, Aragorn approaches Lurtz, who finally manages to get a clear shot at a trapped and surrounded Boromir. However, although Lurtz appears to hit the son of Gondor, the arrow simply catches on Boromir's cloak without wounding him. Yet he must again rely on a Might point to prevent himself being overwhelmed in the fight; pushing back his attackers, he cuts one down with a swift strike.







Now within charge range of Lurtz, Aragorn uses his free Might point to call a Heroic Move and charge the Uruk before he can attempt to ready himself. Boromir is charged by the last two Uruk-Hai warriors, while Legolas and Gimli rush down the hill, Legolas readying an arrow as he moves.



Taking aim at the Uruks in Boromir's combat, Legolas looses an arrow; not wishing to be outdone in the combat by Gimli, Legolas is pinpoint in his accuracy, the arrow whistling past Boromir's ear and embedding itself in the neck of one of the Uruks, although Legolas did require a Might point to ensure his arrow had sufficient power to travel the distance and strike a killing blow!



Encouraged by help arriving at last, Boromir rallied himself and slew the last Uruk-Hai warrior. Meanwhile, although Aragorn managed to best Lurtz in combat, he underestimated the strength of the Uruk's armour, with only one blow causing a Wound; yet as Fate would have it, Lurtz seems immune to the pain as Aragorn's blade slices through his leg.





With all the Uruk-Hai except Lurtz now lying dead, scattered across the slopes of Amon Hen, Legolas and Gimli too far away to assist and Boromir fatigued from his Wound and the vicous combats, Aragorn alone charges into Lurtz once more and uses his free Might point to declare a Heroic Challenge! Alone and isolated, Lurtz has no choice but to accept.



The final combat between these two mighty warriors is swift and violent; winning the Fight, Aragorn strikes out with Anduril, first chopping off Lurtz' arm before plunging the blade deep into the Uruk-Hai's abdomen, yet still Lurtz stands! With one final push of Might, Aragorn wrenches Anduril from the Uruk and frees Lurtz' head from his wretched shoulders in one swift motion - the Uruk-Hai are finally defeated!



____________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

The next scenario, the first one in the next act, features the three hunters (and now Boromir - we'll discuss that below!), so I needed to roll recovery for all four of them. The below photo shows the resource points at the end of the scenario - note that Gimli did spend a point of Might, but I forgot to mark it off:



The following photo shows the resources after recovery; Aragorn actually recovered all his three Might points from the Heroic Challenge, so didn't need to roll. Legolas recovered his Wound, all three Fate and his one spent Might point. Gimli recovered his one spent Might, while Boromir recovered both his spent Might points.



Unfortunately for Lurtz, as he was killed in this scenario and is actually killed here in the original narrative, he stays dead!

___________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

A victory for Good, and a very important victory that can now change the course of the narrative overall, as Boromir survived! Since the son of Gondor is still alive, he will join the three hunters (now the four hunters?) and pursue the Uruk-Hai that have captured Merry and Pippin across the plains of Rohan.

I have yet to decide what to do when the Heroes reach Rohan though; does Boromir stay with the others and help defend Rohan from the fighting Uruk-Hai at Helms Deep? Or does he instead leave them at Edoras and travel to Minas Tirith? In this case, does Aragorn go with him? And then when in the timeline do they reach Minas Tirith, before or after Osgiliath is overrun? Let me know your initial thoughts

Regarding the game itself, it was thoroughly enjoyable to play; the four Good heroes really outperformed themselves, consistently rolling well and cutting down all the Uruks in their path. The final confrontation between Lurtz and Aragorn was also so themey, I loved it!

So this brings to a conclusion the parts of the campaign that cover the narrative of the Fellowship of the Ring movie - next it is on to the Two Towers! Stay tuned for more battle reports, although I've a fair few models to paint up for the next act so there may be a bit of a wait Feel free to check out my WIP thread though for updates Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this report and please share your comments

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

Two scenarios in two days? Our cup runneth over!

Those were a couple of exciting reads. It's great to see Boromir survive; I imagine he will be quite the asset farther down the line.

I think book Boromir goes to Minas Tirith. IIRC, he's pretty upfront about his intention to do so all along. But movie Boromir, having bonded with Merry and Pippin, would no doubt accompany the Three -- now Four -- Hunters.

I know: I'm no help.

This is awesome! It's like watching the movie and not knowing what's going to happen!

As for Boromir it depends whether you want to follow the book or movie narrative. I do like the fact he says he would have followed Aragorn in the films, so if I were you I'd keep him with the 3. He'd be determined to find Merry and Pippin and would no doubt blame himself for their capture.

What to do with Boromir?

Having failed to protect Merry and Pippin does he go with the Three Hunters?

Guilt ridden with what happened with Frodo, does he try to redeem himself and vow to protect him and follows Frodo and Sam?

I believe pride would prevent him from going back to Gondor, but does he seek out his brother?

Will be interested in seeing how this plays out.

_________________
"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Thanks again for all the comments and advice, I'm delighted that everyone enjoys the campaign so far, keeps me motivated!

I agree with your points regarding what to do with Boromir; I reckon that he will accompany the Three Hunters across the plains of Rohan in pursuit of the uruks that captured Merry and Pippin.

However, assuming the narrative follows canon, and Merry and Pippin escape the Uruks, wake Treebeard and run into a resurrected Gandalf, what will Boromir do after riding to Edoras with the others?

If we take his dying words in the canon "I would have followed you my brother, my captain, my King", then that would suggest that he sticks with Aragorn. So if Aragorn heads to Helm's Deep with Theoden, Boromir would go with him.

However, as you've mentioned, in the book he is very clear on his intent to go back to Gondor, and even in the movie that is his main point of contention with Aragorn; that Boromir reckons they should lead the Fellowship to Mordor via Minas Tirith. So he could trust the fate of Rohan to Aragorn, and head back to Minas Tirith to defend his own people.

Personally, I'm leaning towards him sticking with Aragorn and going to Helm's Deep. Then, assuming he survives Helm's Deep and the campaign narrative plays out like the canon, he would head to Minas Tirith with Gandalf and Pippin; too late to prevent Osgiliath from falling, but he can then either join Faramir's attempt to retake Osgiliath, or convince his father to concede the city and prepare Minas Tirith for the oncoming siege.

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

I think he should stick with Aragorn at Helms Deep. Gandalf would likely advise it. Then as you say if he should survive then he will go with Gandalf and Pippin to Minas Tirith.

It'll be interesting as he will likely be able to convince Denethor that there is no point trying to retake Osgiliath, meaning Gondor will be better prepped for the assault with both of it's commanders there. And Gandalf won't have to concern himself with Denethor as a major issue? Maybe he still tries to burn himself due to the doom he foresees?

One change to the narrative does create quite the domino effect!

It's been a very long time since the last battle report here Sorry for the wait! Real life got in the way (as it tends to do), but I have some time off this week so hopefully I can get a few games played and continue the campaign

The first battle to kick off the Two Towers section of the campaign is detailed below!

___________________________________________________________

Act 6 - Saruman's War on Rohan

Scenario 1 - Let's Hunt Some Orc

This scenario follows the rules for the scenario of the same name from The Two Towers Journeybook. However, as you may recall, Boromir survived Amon Hen, and so he joins the Three Hunters as they pursue the Uruk-Hai across the plains of Rohan.

Even though the Heroes recovered a good bit of their Resources at the end of the last act, I decided to go with the Forth The Three Hunters Special Rule in this scenario, which reduces each Hero's starting Might, Will and Fate to 1. This represents the fatigue they are feeling due to their long pursuit. To further attempt to even the odds, I also left the Hero's Wounds at the recovered value from the last scenario (so Boromir only starts with two Wounds), and if a Resource point was already less than 1, I did not change it (so Boromir also starts with no Fate!).

Finally, I threw in an extra Uruk Scout with bow, and equipped some more of the Scouts with shields (because I don't have eight without shields).

Objectives

The Fellowship is broken. After the attacks of the Uruk-Hai at Amon Hen, Sam and Frodo have chosen their own path to Mordor, and Merry and Pippin have been captured, despite the valiant efforts of Boromir. However, the Son of Gondor has resolved not to fail the little ones, and so he accompanies Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in pursuit of the Uruk-Hai that have captured their friends.

The Uruk-Hai have a head start on the Heroes, and have dispatched a force of warriors to ambush any that dare follow them across the Plains of Rohan. Can the remaining members of the Fellowship break through to save Merry and Pippin?

Time is of the essence; if Aragorn and his companions cannot break through the Uruk-Hai quickly, then Merry and Pippin may be lost forever. The Good player wins if Aragorn and at least one other Good model escapes the board from the opposite edge to which they started by the end of turn seven. The Evil player wins if they manage to prevent this.

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the start of the game. Aragorn and his companions start touching the middle of one board edge, while the Evil force is split into three roughly-even groups, and deployed touching each of the other board edges, at least 12" away from any Good model.





With Good winning Priority in the first turn, Aragorn wasted no time in using his Free Might Point to call a Heroic March, ensuring the Four Hunters continued their pursuit at speed. However, over the crest of two rocky hills, and in the distance, Uruk-Hai Scouts appeared, ready to slow down the Heroes!



Undeterred by the sudden appearance of the Uruks, Good won Priority again in the second turn. Out of charge range, Aragorn pushed forwards with Boromir and Gimli, forming a defensive semi-circle to try minimise the possibility of the Uruks getting around behind them for the trap.

Legolas slowed his advancement, moving 3" while readying his bow.

The Uruks charged forwards, managing to surround Boromir with three, engaging Aragorn with one, but holding off just outside of Gimli's control zone.





Weary from the lengthy pursuit, Legolas' aim is off, and none of his three shots hit their mark. Luckily for the Elvish Prince, the four Uruk-Hai archers are also wayward with their shooting!



With Boromir outnumbered and only on Two Wounds, Aragorn used his free Might to call a Heroic Combat, easily slaying his single opponent and charging into Boromir's Fight to peel an Uruk away.



Still outnumbered, Boromir sounded a blast on his Horn of Gondor, yet the Uruks held firm. Besting his two opponents in the combat, Boromir cut one down, while Aragorn parried the attacks of another Scout.



Pushing forwards once more with another successful Priority roll, the Good side charged all their Heroes into the fray. The Uruks countercharged, focusing on ganging up on Legolas, as with only two Attacks and a low Defence, he was deemed to be the weakest one, in the eyes of the Uruks.



Spotting that Legolas was in a dangerous situation, both Aragorn and Boromir called Heroic Combats in an attempt to fight their way through to their companion. However, Boromir failed to beat his opponent, instead having to quickly dodge the Uruk's blade. Similarly, Aragorn found his opponents tougher than he anticipated; having to spend his 1 Might Point to win the Fight, he then only managed to slay one of the Uruks. It looked like Legolas was going to have to fend for himself against the three Uruks!

Yet the Prince of Mirkwood is a skilled fighter, and his companions need not have worried; the sun glinting of his shining daggers, Legolas beat back his attackers and cut down two of them! Encouraged by the Elf's skills, Gimli had no issue dispatching his foes.





With the pile of dead Uruk-Hai growing, the Four Hunters once more won Priority and pushed forward, deciding to forgo some ground so as to enable them to protect themselves somewhat against being caught by countercharges.



Aragorn once more called a Heroic Combat, this time easily chopping his way through to assist Legolas.



The ensuing fights were bloody and swift; the Uruks faltered before the deafening Horn of Gondor, enabling Boromir to cut down one of his foes, while Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli all slew the Scouts they were engaged with.



Moving into turn five, the Evil side finally won Priority, yet it made little difference. Needing to delay the Heroes as much as possible, the Uruks had no choice but to charge into combat. However, with so few of them left now, it was four against four; Boromir versus one, Aragorn versus two, while Legolas jumped in to assist his Dwarven friend against the final Uruk-Hai.



The fighting was over in a flash, with Aragorn using Anduril to easily slice thorugh the two Uruks, and Boromir cutting down his lone foe. Legolas and Gimli, so eager to outdo one another, landed four Wounds in total on the last remaining Uruk-Hai, yet in the heat of battle, who really knew which one made the killing blow?



Alas, there was no time to argue, as the Four Hunters quickly rallied themselves and continued their breakneck pursuit of the Uruk-Hai that have captured Merry and Pippin, who are rapidly advancing towards Isengard across the Plains of Rohan...


________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

The photo below shows the state of the Resource Points at the end of this game:



I decided not to roll for recovery yet; if everything follows the canon, the Heroes here do not feature again until the Restore the King scenario at Edoras, before then moving onto the Warg Attack scenario. I will roll for recovery then if needed.

__________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

Its good to be back playing games again!

This was a fun little scenario to get me back into the swing of things. It wasn't very challenging for the Good side due to the fact that they now have Boromir with them (I'm still getting used to calling them the Four Hunters ). However, if the Good side had not been so prolific at slaying the Uruks in nearly every combat, it may have been a bit closer!

I hope you enjoyed reading this report, please chip in with some comments to get the discussions going again! Are you happy to have seen Boromir survive and join Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? How do you think the warriors of Rohan will fare trying to defend their villages from Saruman's marauding bands of Uruks in the next scenario? And then Theodred's fate will be decided at the Fords of the Isen after that! Exciting stuff ahead!

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

Great report on all counts. Your models are terrific, the board and photographs looked good, and if the results were a little one-sided at least the right side won!

I'm looking forward to seeing Boromir wreak some havoc at Helm's Deep.

Thanks @DaveT! Yeah I'm looking forward to seeing Boromir at Helm's Deep too, although he has to survive the Warg attack first

____________________________________________________________

Act 6 - Saruman's War on Rohan

Scenario 2 - The Burning of the Westfold

This scenario follows the rules for the Burning of the Westfold scenario from War in Rohan. However, since I don't have any Dunlending models (and couldn't really justify the spending for a couple of scenarios), I converted the Evil force into their points equivalence, and picked a force from Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, Uruk-Hai Scouts and Mordor Orcs, to represent an Isengard raiding party. The Good participants consisted of two Rohan Captains and twenty four Warriors of Rohan, while the Evil force was made up of three Uruk-Hai Scout Captains, twelve Uruk-Hai Scouts and twelve Mordor Orcs.

I also only have three Rohan houses, so I positioned these around the centre of the board, but kept the victory conditions the same. All other special rules also remained the same.

Objectives

Saruman's allegiance to Sauron has seen his armies swell in size, the union of the towers of Orthanc and Barad-Dur dramatically increasing the Wizard's power. Within the pits of Isengard a legion of Uruk-Hai are being bred for war, armed with thick plate and sharp swords.

Saruman's war would strike first against the Kingdom of Rohan. Under the orders of the White Wizard, raiding parties of Orcs and Uruk-Hai begin their attacks upon the lands of Rohan, burning villages and settlements, and slaughtering those in their way.

As the raiders attack, they are met with resistance from the warriors of the Westfold, who are intent upon protecting their lands and people from the torches and blades of their foes. Even as hope seems lost, the leaders of the Rohirrim attempt to ride to Edoras to warn the King of Saruman's treachery.

The raiding parties from Isengard are determined to burn every village to the ground. The Rohirrim must fend off the attackers and protect their homes. The game lasts for ten turns. If at the end of ten turns, less than half of the Rohan houses are on fire, then the Good player wins. If at the end of ten turns, more than half of the Rohan houses are on fire, then the Evil player wins.

Note that the Special Rule Warn the King has an impact on the victory conditions; if the Good side is reduced to 50% or less of its starting numbers, any surviving Captain of Rohan may try to escape and bring word to Theoden, King of Rohan. To do this, the Captain simply has to leave the board via any edge. Should this happen, the best result Evil can get is a draw.

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the start of the scneario.



The Good force were split into two groups, one group deploying in the western half of the board and the other in the eastern half of the board, but no further than 3" from a house. The Evil player then deployed one Scout Captain and half of their force 6" in from the Southern board edge.







The first turn saw the raiders getting priority and charging towards the village from the South, while another Captain and more raiders entered play from the North. This forced the Rohirrim to split their forces, with one Captain taking his men towards the Southern board edge and setting up a defensive line there, while the other Captain led his men towards the attackers coming from the North.



The Rohirrim archers loosed their arrows, but failed to land a single hit.

The next turn saw the Rohirrim rally themselves with a Priority win, choosing to keep their defensive lines tight and take the charge of the attackers. However, as the raiders charged into the defenders of the Westfold, yet more Evil troops joined the fray from the West, led by another Uruk-Hai Scout Captain!





The Rohirrim held their ground well though, beating back the attackers and slaying some in the process. Pressing their advantage, the Rohirrim once more won Priority, charging the raiders before they could steady themselves.





The Rohirrim Captain to the South called a Heroic Combat, cutting down his single foe before charging into the rear of the Uruk Captain, trapping him.



Yet the Uruk-Hai Captain proved to be a fierce fighter, fending off his assailants.



The fighting in this turn turned sour for the Rohirrim to the North, as nearly all of their number were slain in the one turn! Only the Captain and one other warrior survived the onslaught.



This enabled the Uruks to light the Northern house on fire in the following turn, while the Captain charged towards the next house.



The Rohirrim to the South and West of the village were holding their ground and delaying the raiders though, and some fine accuracy from the throwing spears in the Move Phase felled three of the enemy! Realising that their companions to the South needed assistance, some of the raiders to the North began to charge towards the other two Rohan houses, leaving enough warriors behind to tie up the Captain and the lone Rohan warrior.





Although one of the Rohan archers managed to land an arrow between the eyes of one of the Uruk-Hai Scouts running towards him, disaster struck to the East! One of the Orcs managed to slip behind the Rohirrim while his fellow tied up the warriors in combat, and the Orc managed to start a blaze in the house. To make matters worse, one of the Rohirrim on the other side of the house attempted to put the flames out, but in his haste, he rolled a 1 and spilled a barrel of oil into the fire, engulfing the house in flames!



As the flames gripped a second house, the Uruk-Hai Captain to the West called a Heroic Combat, cutting down the single warrior he faced, before charging into the support model from another combat, and slaying him too. Horrified by the brutality in front of them, the other two warriors of Rohan faltered, allowing an Uruk Scout to easily cut one of them down.





In one bloody Fight Phase, the defenders to the West had now lost the advantage of numbers, and the third house was looking in serious danger of being attacked.

With the house to the East engulfed in flames and the fire out of control, the raiders turned their attention to lighting the final house on fire while also preventing the remaining Rohirrim from reaching the Northern house and attempting to put out the blaze.





Although their village was burning, the Rohirrim were not yet ready to give up. Led by the bellowing orders of their Captain, the Rohirrim rallied themselves one last time and fought valiantly, slaying many of their foes. This granted them a small window to reach the Northern house and attempt to douse the flames, while the Captain rounded the corner of the Eastern house and faced down an Uruk Captain.





Besting the Uruk in combat, the Rohirrim Captain managed to land a Wound on the Uruk with a well placed swing of his axe, yet even though the Uruk failed his Fate roll, he still stood.

Meanwhile, the Uruks to the West had closed in upon the Western house and were attempting to light it aflame.



Alas, disaster struck once more for the Rohirrim; attempting to force his way through the door of the Northern house to put out the blaze, a warrior of Rohan only caused the roof to fall in, allowing the fire to irreparably engulf the house in flames!



Seeing that the village was all but lost, the Captain to the North called a Heroic Move to evade the charges of the Uruks and escape the battle, making his way to Edoras to hopefully warn the King of Saruman's invasion.



The final two turns were bleak for the remaining defenders of the Westfold. With the numbers against them, and two of the three houses already engulfed by the fire, the fight seemed to leave them. Trapped against a burning building, one of the warriors was swiftly cut down, before his attackers turned their attention to the remaining Rohirrim Captain and the last few warriors.



As the third house was finally set alight, the Captain of Rohan struggled against the vicious attacks from the Uruk-Hai Scout Captain, taking a Wound but saving it with his Fate.



As his village burned around him, and the bodies of his fellow warriors lay in the dirt, the Captain of Rohan summoned the last of his strength and slew the Uruk-Hai Captain in the final turn. As the enraged raiders closed in upon him, the Captain's last comforting hope was that the other Captain of Rohan would reach Edoras and warn the King of the coming war....





__________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

Since there were no named Heroes in this scenario, there was no need to roll for any recovery.

__________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

This was a very enjoyable game to play! Even though there wasn't any huge outcomes riding on this scenario, it was still quite tense, and there were many points where the tide of the battle seemed to turn.

The Rohirrim actually started well, holding their ground and cutting down a few Uruks, but the superior Fight and Strength of the Uruk-Hai soon became too much for them, and they suffered heavy losses, especially to the North.

The Good side were also incredibly unfortunate that both of their rolls to attempt to put out the flames resulted in a 1, meaning that the building was engulfed in flames and destroyed!

This almost handed victory to the Evil side, if it wasn't for the valiant efforts of the Captain of Rohan to the North, who managed to hold out for a few turns against the Uruks, and then used his Might to call a Heroic Move to evade the Uruks and move off the table once the Good side had been reduced to 50% of their starting number. This managed to rescue a draw for the Good side.

The Uruks probably should have left more warriors behind to ensure they killed that Captain before he could run, but they were too focused on lighting the houses on fire.

Altogether, it was a fun and closely fought scenario, and was very themey I like how the Rohan houses look

Let me know what you thought of this report!

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/

Sounds like Good was lucky to pull off the draw. The Rohirrim should try using water instead of alcohol to douse the flames.

Those Rohan houses are nifty little kits. They certainly looked great on your table.

Fun read. Thanks for sharing!

Not one, but two excellent reports! Not sure how I feel about Boromir being with the three hunters, seems kinda unfair for whoever they meet. Nicely done though, interested in seeing how he does in other scenarios.

Nice Rohan village, nicely burned down too! It must have been different doing a scenario without any hero's or magic, my kind of a game.

Hard to see how Rohan can win this one, glad to see the Captain escaped to spread the alarm.

_________________
"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Yeah it was a close one, next time Evil will make sure to kill both Captains! Hahah yes the Rohirrim were incredibly unlucky with the rolls to put out the flames



They are indeed, good fun to put together and paint up, and quite versatile. I have seen some fantastic conversions with them over on Instagram!



Yeah Boromir is quite a big hitter (once he is away from the influence of The Ring). I may have to adjust some of the future scenarios from how they are written to balance out the sides.



Thanks! Yeah the lack of big heroes really made each individual warrior very important, which made for some tense duel rolls!

_________________________________________________________

Act 6 - Saruman's War on Rohan

Scenario 3 - The First Battle of the Fords of the Isen

This scenario follows the rules for the First Battle of the Fords of Isen from the War in Rohan book, however I modified the participants once again, because I do not have any Dunlendings. The participants I used are listed below:

Good Participants

Theodred w/Horse and Shield
Elfhelm w/Horse
Grimbold
24x Warriors of Rohan
12x Riders of Rohan
Rider of Rohan w/Banner
Warrior of Rohan w/War Horn
Warrior of Rohan w/Banner

Evil Participants

Vrasku
2x Uruk-Hai Scout Captains w/Shields
18x Uruk-Hai Scouts
12x Mordor Orcs
6x Warg Riders
Isengard Troll

I roughly converted the original participants into their points cost and chose themed lists then from the models I have. I feel that the participants thematically reflect the battle (except maybe the Isengard Troll, but its a really cool model and I wanted to use it).

Additionally, since I have no way of differentiating between warriors of Rohan and Helmingas, I decided to create a Special Rule for this scenario: Any Rohan Warrior model within 6" of Grimbold gains +1 to their Strength value. This is to represent Grimbold urging his men onwards to protect the King's son.

Objectives


The attacks upon the villages of the Westfold and the mustering of Saruman's armies in Isengard have not gone completely unnoticed by those within Rohan. News of the White Wizard's armies reached the ears of the prince of Rohan via his trusted scouts, and Theodred began to gather to him a force to take Saruman's armies by surprise at the Fords of the Isen.

However, Saruman had weaved a cunning ruse by tricking the scouts into delivering information they believed to be true, but would instead lure Theodred into a trap. Upon arriving at the Fords, Theodred ordered some of his men to stay back and protect the flanks as he and a band of followers crossed the Isen. It was here that Saruman's forces sprung their trap, catching the Prince of Rohan unawares and leaving him stranded on the Fords and away from the support of his armies.

With Theodred engaged in a fight for his life against Saruman's Uruk-Hai, Grimbold makes haste to his Prince's side. Yet even as things look hopeless, news of Isengard's attack upon the Fords has reached Elfhelm, who now rides with his Éored to Theodred's aid.

If the Rohirrim cannot prevent the Uruk-Hai from crossing the Fords of the Isen, then Saruman will control the path into Rohan and Theodred shall surely be slain...

The forces of Saruman have been tasked with slaying the young Prince of Rohan and securing the Fords. The game lasts for 12 turns. The Evil player wins if they can slay Theodred and get 12 or more models across the river by the end of the game. The Good player wins if they can prevent both of these from happening. Otherwise, the game is a draw.

The below photo shows the layout of the board at the beginning of the game.



The river Isen runs through the centre of the board and is counted as deep water. Theodred and twelve warriors of Rohan are deployed on the ford in the centre. Grimbold and his men are then deployed 12" in from the board edge. The Evil force deploys 18" in from the opposite board edge; most Evil models are positioned to head straight for the fords, except for Vrasku and the archers, who have set up on a small hill, ready to fire into the Rohirrim.







Evil won Priority in the first turn (which is fitting, since it is supposed to be an ambush), and charged towards the ford. Theodred, in his recklessness, wasted no time in charging straight into the oncoming Uruks; the battle had begun!



As Theodred crashed into the Uruk-Hai at the ford, Vrasku bellowed an order to his archers, who rained arrows across the river at the Rohirrim, striking down two warriors. However, the Rohan archers returned fire, taking out a couple of Orcs.

Although reckless, Theodred is a skilled fighter, and he easily bested his foes in this first round of combat.

In the second turn, Good won Priority, which sent Theodred charging straight into the Uruk line again. His fellow warriors followed suit, and there was now a brutal scrum of fighting upon the ford.

Theodred was countercharged by more Uruks, including one of the Scout Captains, yet still he fended off his attackers. Alas, even with his double strikes and his re-rolls of failed To Wound rolls, he could only land one Wound on the Scout Captain, whose Fate saved him.



In the End phase, I rolled a die and added the turn number to it to see if Elfhelm and his riders would arrive. Rolling a six and adding the turn number of two, the result was eight, which meant Elfhelm and his Éored had arrived, charging towards the river from over the horizon!



This meant that the Evil forces had to change up their tactics a bit; rather than throw everything into the bottlenecked ford, the Warg Riders were sent to the left flank to attempt to swim across the deep flowing waters of the Isen.



Theodred once again charged forward, yet now Grimbold had arrived to lend a hand to the Prince of Rohan.



A couple of successful throwing spears from the warriors of Rohan on the charge, and it seemed that Theodred's forces had the upper hand, cutting their way across the ford.

Yet a deadly bolt from Vrasku's crossbow flew through the air, piercing the Rohirrim banner bearer and felling him, with the banner being swiftly washed away down the river. The forces of Isengard were not nearly finished!



The fighting at the ford continues to increase in intensity; Grimbold is driven back by the uruks, yet Theodred shows his might as a warrior and cuts down the Uruk Captain and another scout in one combat!



The next turn sees much action; Theodred continues his rampage across the ford, cutting down all in his path, while Elfhelm and his riders reach the banks of the Isen and prepare to swim across.







Although Theodred has been successful in combat thus far, his continued recklessness has found him depleted of Might Points, and dangerously close to the hulking figure of the Isengard Troll.



Luckily, Good win Priority and can manouvre their charges so that the Troll cannot reach Theodred, this turn anyway!





With nearly every model engaged in a fight, it seems that there are no shots available, but Vrasku has other ideas! Having come down from the hill, through the maelstrom of battle, his keen eyesight enables him to spot Elfhelm astride his horse, charging into a lone orc. Using his Expert Shot Special Rule and spending a Might Point to call a Heroic Accuracy, Vrasku takes aim at the combat.



With both shots hitting, and thanks to the In The Way re-rolls, two crossbow bolts fly across the battlefield and strike Elfhelm! Thanks to another Might Point from Vrasku, both bolts cause Wounds. Calling on his Fate point to save him, Elfhelm rolls.... a one! He has to burn all three of his Might to stay alive, with one Wound remaining! What a powerplay from Vrasku!

After a couple more turns of intense fighting all along the river Isen, the casualties on both sides are mounting up. Grimbold is still held up on the ford, the slippery rocks impeding him being accurate with his two-handed axe, while Wargs swim and charge across the river, hoping to flank the Rohirrim.

Theodred's reckless charging has finally caught up with him; after slaying many Uruk-Hai and Orcs, including two Scout Captains, he now finds himself isolated from his companions, surrounded on all sides, with the Troll bearing down on him!



Too hemmed in to get off a cavalry charge, the Prince of Rohan is trapped; though he fights valiantly, his skills are no match for the raw strength of the Troll, who easily throws him from the saddle and slams him, broken and defeated, into the rocky ground. Theodred has fallen.

With their Prince lost, Elfhelm, Grimbold and the remaining Rohirrim knew that their last chance to salvage anything from the battle was to prevent the forces of Saruman from getting across the river, and thus they swiftly charged into the Evil models.





Although many of the Rohirrim benefitted from cavalry charge bonuses, they still had Strength 4 Uruks to contend with, not to mention an Isengard Troll, and both sides suffered heavy losses in the combat phase.



After another couple of turns of fierce fighting, although Rohan took severe casualties, there were now not enough Evil models to cross the river, and so the only outcome could be a draw. Yet there were still a couple more turns to play out, and Elfhelm, Grimbold and Vrasku were all still in the fight!

However, Elfhelm, having rode in to assist Grimbold earlier, now found himself charged by the Isengard Troll. Although Grimbold leapt in to assist, neither Hero was a match for the troll.



Striking down Elfhelm first, the troll then cotinued its rampage next turn, charging into Grimbold and knocking him aside, the exhausted Hero smashing against the cold wet rocks of the ford.



As the twelfth turn ends, both armies are decimated; the last few survivors on both sides limp back to their respective camps, to tend to their wounds and ready themselves for the next assault upon the river!

___________________________________________________________

Post-Game Recovery

The below photo shows the state of the Resource Points at the end of the scenario:



As Theodred was killed in this scenario and he dies here in the canon, he stays dead in the campaign; I did not roll for recovery.

For the other named Heroes that died, I used the Battle Companies Hero Injury Chart to determine their fate; Elfhelm rolled a full recovery, while Grimbold suffered a Leg Wound.

I then rolled for the recovery of Resource Points. Elfhelm recovered all his Might and his Fate, while Grimbld recovered two Might and his Fate. Vrasku recovered all three of his Might, but failed to recover his Fate.

I think I will use this method for recovery rolls going forward, as lots of the Heroes feature in many scenarios in the future, and I think the Battle Companies Injury Chart is a good one to allow for the possibility of death as well as other injuries. If a Hero does not die, then they reover all Wounds and suffer whatever injury they rolled, if they rolled an injury. Any Might Points the Hero had unused before being killed in the scenario can be used to modify the Injury roll, but cannot be recovered until after the next scenario.

The below photo shows the Resource Points after the recovery rolls:



__________________________________________________________

Post-Game Comments

Wow, that was a big battle! Apologies for all the photos; there was quite a lot going on and I though it was cool seeing all the models on the tabletop too. The report might not have been as detailed as some others too, as the bigger and longer the game, the less detail I can remember (it would also be a massive report if I did document every detail!). I hope you guys still enjoyed it and got the main picture of the ebb and flow of the battle

A draw was the outcome of course, since Theodred was slain but Evil did not get enough models across the river. Although it fits the canon, I must admit I am sad to see Theodred die; I've never played with him before now, and he was an absolute beast in combat this game, surviving way longer than I expected and taking down so many models, including the two captains! With three Attacks, three Might, the cavalry charge bonus, the double strikes thanks to Knock to the Ground and re-rolling failed To Wound rolls, he caused some serious damage! In fact, had there been no Troll in his way, I reckon he would have survived the battle!

Thankfully though, Elfhelm and Grimbold are ok (except for Grimbold's Leg Wound), as they are set to feature in a good few more scenarios as we progress through The Two Towers and into The Return of the King.

Of course, aside from the Troll killing Theodred, Evil MVP has to go to Vrasku, for that absolutely insane Shooting Phase against Elfhelm! Taking a Wound, a Fate and all three Might Points off Elfhelm in one turn!

I really enjoyed this scenario, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading the report Please let me know what you thought of it!

_________________
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainquark38/