Fellowship of the Ring Campaign/Painting
This will develop into what I hope will be an interesting regular project/campaign. Essentially I will be playing through (with a group of people) the Fellowship of the Ring campaign booklet. THe missions will be linked meaning characters states at the end of games effect them later on. To keep the chance of a particular game being a fluke where players misunderstood how a rule, or model works each mission will be played twice, first as a practice game, and second as the actual game that effects the campaign.
My players and myself will be divided into two teams, Good and Evil. Each team will have a team captain (chosen because they are the players who can garuntee they will be there for every game). I will be the good captain, and my cousin will be the Evil captain. Other generals will pop in and out when we play missions depending on their avaliability.
I will be posting my progress in making the terrain and painting the majority of the models for the campaign. So on with some pictures :) !
Two rocks that will be used as well rocks, barrows, and supports in Moria. These look basic but as one of my first pieces of terrain finished I am pleased with them. I used the new textured paint on them and then dry burshed think it turned out nicely.
The Villians of the first half of the Campaign, the Black Riders, the Nine, Nazgul! Very cool models.
The Witch King.
Darker lighting which shows off their bases better. I am trying to improve my basing. Thoughts?
Comments are of course encouraged. WOuld love feedback on the terrain or RingWraiths. Comments on how to improve is especially valuable.
Look for my first two battle reports some time during the weekend. P.S. Greg and Jen I wasn't sure where to put this in the forum hope this works :D
My players and myself will be divided into two teams, Good and Evil. Each team will have a team captain (chosen because they are the players who can garuntee they will be there for every game). I will be the good captain, and my cousin will be the Evil captain. Other generals will pop in and out when we play missions depending on their avaliability.
I will be posting my progress in making the terrain and painting the majority of the models for the campaign. So on with some pictures :) !
Two rocks that will be used as well rocks, barrows, and supports in Moria. These look basic but as one of my first pieces of terrain finished I am pleased with them. I used the new textured paint on them and then dry burshed think it turned out nicely.
The Villians of the first half of the Campaign, the Black Riders, the Nine, Nazgul! Very cool models.
The Witch King.
Darker lighting which shows off their bases better. I am trying to improve my basing. Thoughts?
Comments are of course encouraged. WOuld love feedback on the terrain or RingWraiths. Comments on how to improve is especially valuable.
Look for my first two battle reports some time during the weekend. P.S. Greg and Jen I wasn't sure where to put this in the forum hope this works :D
Thanks for sharing this, Jake! The terrain/models are looking good, and I'm excited to watch the progress on the campaign. What material are the rocks made out of? Are they foam that you cut? Are they plaster casts? Did you purchase them as they are and then paint them?
The basing on the Ringwraiths is excellent. I like how you used multiple types of grass/flock, and the red in particular contrasts nicely with the models.
The painting on the Ringwraiths is solid. Black is actually a tough color to paint, and I think you made a great choice by adding some dirt to their robes. How did you do this?
Two suggestions:
1. It would be cool if you could make the sword appear "glowing" as he pulled it out of the scabbard. Right now I think it is too dark and doesn't really stand out on the model.
2. The model on the front right (as you are looking at the pictures) appears to have a bent sword! I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about this - are these models metal/plastic/resin?
The basing on the Ringwraiths is excellent. I like how you used multiple types of grass/flock, and the red in particular contrasts nicely with the models.
The painting on the Ringwraiths is solid. Black is actually a tough color to paint, and I think you made a great choice by adding some dirt to their robes. How did you do this?
Two suggestions:
1. It would be cool if you could make the sword appear "glowing" as he pulled it out of the scabbard. Right now I think it is too dark and doesn't really stand out on the model.
2. The model on the front right (as you are looking at the pictures) appears to have a bent sword! I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about this - are these models metal/plastic/resin?
The slightly less beautiful host.
Hey Greg. The Rocks are made out of pink insulation board. The dirt on the Ringwraiths is just Beastial brown drybrushed on followed by Scorched Brown drybrushed on.
How would you suggest I make the blade look like it is glowing that would look awesome. And yes you are right it does have a bent sword. The models are metal, and I fiddled around straightening them, but since I bought them used their swords were pretty badly bent that may be the best I can get.
Thanks for the compliments and suggestions :D
How would you suggest I make the blade look like it is glowing that would look awesome. And yes you are right it does have a bent sword. The models are metal, and I fiddled around straightening them, but since I bought them used their swords were pretty badly bent that may be the best I can get.
Thanks for the compliments and suggestions :D
Makes me want to get some rings models:)
The Hunt Begins
This is the first scenario of the Fellowship of the Ring. In this scenario 9 Rangers of the North face off against the Witch King and two other Ringwraiths. The Ringwraiths are attempting to get into the SHire to search for the Ring, while the Rangers are attempting to hold off and defeat the Ringwraiths.
For This scenario I would be playing the General for Good.
-My overall plan was to use my Ranger's and sell their lives dearly, hopefully reducing the strength of the Ringwraiths greatly, so as to reduce thier effectiveness in future missions. In the practice game first turn I had a lucky shot slaying the Witch King (needing +3 to hit, 6 followed by 5 to wound). Needless to say this had instilled some confidence in my men's shooting ability, so my movement would try to maximize my chances to shoot. I would also use combat as a way of weakening the Ringwraiths. as every round a Ringwraith is in combat he loses 1 will.
Playing as the forces of Darkness is my cousin, evil's team captain, Ambrose.
-My plan is to split my three Ringwraiths into two groups. The Witch King and one Ringwraith to the right, and the other to the left. As I only need to get two Ringwraiths off the opposite board edge the single wraith will serve as a distraction and sacrificial ghost.
The Scenario
As can be seen the Rangers deployed in a square around the forest.
-The Ranger Arnolf watched as the black servants of Sauron began to move towards him and his brothers. Upon seeing the movement all the Rangers lit their arrows. The Servants of Sauron feared the cleansing flame, this would serve as a pivitol weapon, at least thats what Arnolf hoped. Arnolf and 5 of his brethren split to the left, seeking to intercept the vile Witch King, and right some of the wrongs he had done Arnor's ancestors. Three archers advanced slightly to the right and prepared to pepper the wraith.
Upon drawing closer a dart of black energy burst forth from the Witch King's fingers, seeking to strike down Arnolf. With a shout he narrowly dogded the bolt of energy, and saw in horror that where it struck the gorund the plant life died and blackened. Hearing cheers of glee Arnolf looked over to see the lone Ringwraith writhing around in fire, fleeing the scene of battle.
Before he could shout congrajulations to his brethren the foul Witch King and his companion we within charge range. With a shout to his ancestors for courage, Arnolf and one of his brothers charged forward against the scourge of Arnor. His other 4 companions circled the last Ringwraith, arrows lit shooting; however, none of the shafts appeared effective. The Witch King's blade swung down in a vicious arc, causing both Arnolf and his companion to jump back.
Lifting his hood to the skies the Witch King let out a horrific shriek turning all the men's blood to ice. Several of the Rangers lost their nerve and cowered on spot. However, Arnors vengance would not be denied and one lone ranger each charged the Ringwraith and Witch King. A desparate battle ensued, with the Witch King's combat again inconclusive, but the other Ringwraith was struck down.
With the Witch King all that remained, the skilled Rangers of the North charged in unision into their ancestral foe.
Though their foe nearly drove them off yet again, Arnolf dodged past his darting blade and threw his torch into the wraith's body. With their last foe shrieking on fire fleeing the Rangers settled down for a much needed rest. The SHire would remain safe for at least one further day.
Victor- The Forces of Good.
Hindsight
Ambrose said that in hindsight he should have had each Ringwraith go on his own, in the hopes to divide the Rangers up as much as possivle.
For myself the battle went as planned. I felt AMbrose could have used his spells more agressively which could have made a huge difference. I also rolled very luckily (for once) which helped quite a bit. THe Rangers of the North are quite powerful if they roll luckily, their high Courage really helps against scary foe like the Ringwraiths. It really helped these Ringwraiths were not at their full strength (since this isn't say the Return of the King), no fate points really leaves them vulnerable.
Recovery
Because all the Ringwraiths were slain, they only recovered their wounds automatically back (not a normal rule, say for the fellowship, but since they are Ringwraiths naturally they just eventually come back). At the end of the night the Witch King would have 8 Will, Ringwraith #3 5 Will, Ringwraith #2 7 will.
Hope you enjoyed. Please give feedback, perhaps what you would prefer to see for the next report ect.
Look for the next bit later in the week (We played it tonight, but this type up took a while so I will do it later)
This is the first scenario of the Fellowship of the Ring. In this scenario 9 Rangers of the North face off against the Witch King and two other Ringwraiths. The Ringwraiths are attempting to get into the SHire to search for the Ring, while the Rangers are attempting to hold off and defeat the Ringwraiths.
For This scenario I would be playing the General for Good.
-My overall plan was to use my Ranger's and sell their lives dearly, hopefully reducing the strength of the Ringwraiths greatly, so as to reduce thier effectiveness in future missions. In the practice game first turn I had a lucky shot slaying the Witch King (needing +3 to hit, 6 followed by 5 to wound). Needless to say this had instilled some confidence in my men's shooting ability, so my movement would try to maximize my chances to shoot. I would also use combat as a way of weakening the Ringwraiths. as every round a Ringwraith is in combat he loses 1 will.
Playing as the forces of Darkness is my cousin, evil's team captain, Ambrose.
-My plan is to split my three Ringwraiths into two groups. The Witch King and one Ringwraith to the right, and the other to the left. As I only need to get two Ringwraiths off the opposite board edge the single wraith will serve as a distraction and sacrificial ghost.
The Scenario
As can be seen the Rangers deployed in a square around the forest.
-The Ranger Arnolf watched as the black servants of Sauron began to move towards him and his brothers. Upon seeing the movement all the Rangers lit their arrows. The Servants of Sauron feared the cleansing flame, this would serve as a pivitol weapon, at least thats what Arnolf hoped. Arnolf and 5 of his brethren split to the left, seeking to intercept the vile Witch King, and right some of the wrongs he had done Arnor's ancestors. Three archers advanced slightly to the right and prepared to pepper the wraith.
Upon drawing closer a dart of black energy burst forth from the Witch King's fingers, seeking to strike down Arnolf. With a shout he narrowly dogded the bolt of energy, and saw in horror that where it struck the gorund the plant life died and blackened. Hearing cheers of glee Arnolf looked over to see the lone Ringwraith writhing around in fire, fleeing the scene of battle.
Before he could shout congrajulations to his brethren the foul Witch King and his companion we within charge range. With a shout to his ancestors for courage, Arnolf and one of his brothers charged forward against the scourge of Arnor. His other 4 companions circled the last Ringwraith, arrows lit shooting; however, none of the shafts appeared effective. The Witch King's blade swung down in a vicious arc, causing both Arnolf and his companion to jump back.
Lifting his hood to the skies the Witch King let out a horrific shriek turning all the men's blood to ice. Several of the Rangers lost their nerve and cowered on spot. However, Arnors vengance would not be denied and one lone ranger each charged the Ringwraith and Witch King. A desparate battle ensued, with the Witch King's combat again inconclusive, but the other Ringwraith was struck down.
With the Witch King all that remained, the skilled Rangers of the North charged in unision into their ancestral foe.
Though their foe nearly drove them off yet again, Arnolf dodged past his darting blade and threw his torch into the wraith's body. With their last foe shrieking on fire fleeing the Rangers settled down for a much needed rest. The SHire would remain safe for at least one further day.
Victor- The Forces of Good.
Hindsight
Ambrose said that in hindsight he should have had each Ringwraith go on his own, in the hopes to divide the Rangers up as much as possivle.
For myself the battle went as planned. I felt AMbrose could have used his spells more agressively which could have made a huge difference. I also rolled very luckily (for once) which helped quite a bit. THe Rangers of the North are quite powerful if they roll luckily, their high Courage really helps against scary foe like the Ringwraiths. It really helped these Ringwraiths were not at their full strength (since this isn't say the Return of the King), no fate points really leaves them vulnerable.
Recovery
Because all the Ringwraiths were slain, they only recovered their wounds automatically back (not a normal rule, say for the fellowship, but since they are Ringwraiths naturally they just eventually come back). At the end of the night the Witch King would have 8 Will, Ringwraith #3 5 Will, Ringwraith #2 7 will.
Hope you enjoyed. Please give feedback, perhaps what you would prefer to see for the next report ect.
Look for the next bit later in the week (We played it tonight, but this type up took a while so I will do it later)
Scenario #2 Trust of Arnor
So this scenario represents all 9 of the Ringwraiths gathering together and attempting to force their way through a lightly guarded part of the shire. 6 Rangers of the North would oppose them, with reinforcements coming in every turn. The Ringwraiths did not start on the table, rather then came in D3 at a time.
To win evil had to get 5 Ringwraiths to the other side of the board. As Good I had to stop them.
Good General-Myself
Evil General-Ambrose
My plan was simple, the Ringwraiths had recieved a battering in the last encounter, I hoped to capitalize on this, causing them to lose even more will as a group. If i could weaken them enough then the Hobbits would have a fighting chance (as starting next encounter I would begin using the Hobbits). In the practice game Ambrose had flooded through the center so I placed a line of three Rangers in the center, one on either flank, and one poor guy to print up on his own to slow Ringwraiths down. I would attempt to shower the Ringwraiths with arrows, then once they came close get in as many combats as possible to lower their will.
With that brief explanation of my plan let the game begin!
The sounds of Ranger's horns bounced amongst the small hills that spotted Bree's country side. Jumping to alert 6 Rangers of the North grabbed their weapons and spread out preparing to defend the peaceful lands beyond. Falnost, the Ranger's newest warrior stood in the center of two veteran warriors. He glanced nervously at his brethren.
"What manner of foe would venture so deep into our territory," asked Falnost. "Surely no orc would have made it past our Nothern patrols, and no troll would have passed up an attempted looting of Bree."
"Hush," snapped the cloaked Ranger to Falnost's right, "Dark tales have been afoot. A troop of our fellows was assulted one day North of here, by Black Riders using fell powers. What ever comes this way remeber your duties."
With that the older Ranger drew his bow, knocked an arrows and watched the hill side up ahead. More horns began to sound but still no enemy presented itself. Suddenly a figure broke the horison, outlined by the setting sun. It was a figure, the size of a man, robed in worn dirty black robes.
"There is the enemy, Rangers of the North forward!" shouted the lead ranger.
Moving swiftly forward the three Rangers rushed to move in between two woods.
The black figure moved forward rushing towards the Ranger's left flank. Falnost began to move, fearing they would be out manuvered, but the lead Ranger's hand stopped him.
"Trust your companions young one, Balfor lies in wait to our left, and he is deadly with his bow."
Shortly after this was said an arrow shot out from the hills on the left, spearing through the black figure. The shout of victory died on Falnost's lips; however, as the arrow mearly passed through causing no seeable damage.
"What manner of fould beast are these," whisper the lead ranger.
Another horn sounded closer to the right of the three rangers. Looking forward three more black figures came forward on the right side; however, behind them a fellow ranger also arrived.
Before the rangers laying in wait could shout a warning one of the black figures pointed his hand at the new arrival and a black dart shot forth striking the ranger. To the amazement of all the man did not fall, instead his cloak had caught the dart before it struck him, fate had surely smiled upon him this day.
Before the man could celebrate; however, another dart struck him in the neck knocking him to the ground dead. The 3 black figures were joined by a forth, who strode over the corpse of the dead men.
Before the 4 black riders could move forth; however, 2 spearmen came rushing out of the shadows with shouts of "Arnor!"
A flurry of arrows shot forth from the original Ranger party; however, though many found their mark none slew their foe.
More black riders rushed forth from the gloom attempting to overwhelm the right flank. The one of the spearmen who had charged forward was struck down by a black dart, the other; however, entered into combat with one of the evil minions of sauron.
A lone archer looked down in horror at the growing number of enemies rushing him.
On the left flank 4 rangers, including Falnost, moved to surrounded the lone black rider.
Losing a slew of arrows into their foe the rangers were sure of victory. However, their shots had no effect and the black rider continued to move forward looking for an opening in the line of men.
On the left flank shouts of hurrah were raised as the lone spearmen cast one of the black rider down and set him on fire with his torch. With his foe vanquished the ranger began to shout, "Use fire, Use fire," however, his warning was cut short as one of the black riders thrust his hand forward slaying the man with a black dart.
Setting their arrows alit the lone ranger on the right set another of their foes on fire. With a grim thought the ranger drew another arrow, on 6 more of the bastards to deal with; however, before he could loose another shot a black dart struck forth and slew him.
Seeing their weakness on the right flank two rangers sprinted forth hoping to cut the unopposed black riders off.
On the left flank flamming arrows flew forth into the lone black rider; however, the figure managed to stay unlit and burst forth from his surrounding foes.
With a shout the rangers pursued their quarry it was clear he was attempting to enter the shire.
On the right flank the remaining 6 black riders were greatly weakened from their large use of dark powers. Seeing their foe's weakness the two archers steeled themselves and charged into single combat (one each taking a foe). Dodging past the darting blades each lit one of their foes on fire slaying two more of the creatures (for the time being). The 4 remaining black riders sprinted forth, attempting to use dark magic to cunfuddle and force their foe away.
Though this had limited sucess, one archer would not be denied his vengance and charge forth casting down his enemy (the witch king :) ).
On the left flank the lone Ringwraith to the amazement of all managed to dodge all forms of attack and sprint off into the distance. On the right flank three Ringwraiths moved to disappear into the darkness; however, before they could do such the same determined archer rushed forth and cast yet another one down.
The remaining two disappeared into the darkness. With a sigh the remaining rangers moved back to see to their wounded and slain. Sitting down Falnost gasped his first battle had been quite different from what he imagined.
Outcome
So that is yet another victory for good. I felt I weakened the Ringwraiths quite well in that battle, as almost every single one had used half their Will. Ambrose was happy with how he did (blamed his lose on my luck ;) ). I must say I was quite worried when nearly every Ringwraith came rushing down my right flank with minimal resistance to oppose them. But with some well placed resistance other allies were able to move into a position to help.
Recovery
Ringwraith#1-Will left 1
Ringwraith #2- Will left 7
Ringwraith #3- Will left 1
Ringwraith #4- Will left 5
Ringwraith #5- Will Left 7
Ringwraith #6- WIll left 7
Ringwraith #7- Will left 2
Ringwraith #8- Will left 1
Witch King- Will left 2
So as can be seen I really weakened the Ringwraiths quite a bit. Sadly for me Evil only needs three Ringwraiths for the next scenario and Evil gets to choose which ones. This means that the three Ringwraiths at full will (7) will fulfil the needed number of troops for evil, meaning the hobbits will be fleeing from Ringwraiths at full power!
Oh well.
So look for updates on my progress soon. For the next scenario I need to paint up Frodo and Sam (I already have a painted pippin), and create either a hedge or paint up my GW fences to represent the side of a road.
As usual feel free to comment.
So this scenario represents all 9 of the Ringwraiths gathering together and attempting to force their way through a lightly guarded part of the shire. 6 Rangers of the North would oppose them, with reinforcements coming in every turn. The Ringwraiths did not start on the table, rather then came in D3 at a time.
To win evil had to get 5 Ringwraiths to the other side of the board. As Good I had to stop them.
Good General-Myself
Evil General-Ambrose
My plan was simple, the Ringwraiths had recieved a battering in the last encounter, I hoped to capitalize on this, causing them to lose even more will as a group. If i could weaken them enough then the Hobbits would have a fighting chance (as starting next encounter I would begin using the Hobbits). In the practice game Ambrose had flooded through the center so I placed a line of three Rangers in the center, one on either flank, and one poor guy to print up on his own to slow Ringwraiths down. I would attempt to shower the Ringwraiths with arrows, then once they came close get in as many combats as possible to lower their will.
With that brief explanation of my plan let the game begin!
The sounds of Ranger's horns bounced amongst the small hills that spotted Bree's country side. Jumping to alert 6 Rangers of the North grabbed their weapons and spread out preparing to defend the peaceful lands beyond. Falnost, the Ranger's newest warrior stood in the center of two veteran warriors. He glanced nervously at his brethren.
"What manner of foe would venture so deep into our territory," asked Falnost. "Surely no orc would have made it past our Nothern patrols, and no troll would have passed up an attempted looting of Bree."
"Hush," snapped the cloaked Ranger to Falnost's right, "Dark tales have been afoot. A troop of our fellows was assulted one day North of here, by Black Riders using fell powers. What ever comes this way remeber your duties."
With that the older Ranger drew his bow, knocked an arrows and watched the hill side up ahead. More horns began to sound but still no enemy presented itself. Suddenly a figure broke the horison, outlined by the setting sun. It was a figure, the size of a man, robed in worn dirty black robes.
"There is the enemy, Rangers of the North forward!" shouted the lead ranger.
Moving swiftly forward the three Rangers rushed to move in between two woods.
The black figure moved forward rushing towards the Ranger's left flank. Falnost began to move, fearing they would be out manuvered, but the lead Ranger's hand stopped him.
"Trust your companions young one, Balfor lies in wait to our left, and he is deadly with his bow."
Shortly after this was said an arrow shot out from the hills on the left, spearing through the black figure. The shout of victory died on Falnost's lips; however, as the arrow mearly passed through causing no seeable damage.
"What manner of fould beast are these," whisper the lead ranger.
Another horn sounded closer to the right of the three rangers. Looking forward three more black figures came forward on the right side; however, behind them a fellow ranger also arrived.
Before the rangers laying in wait could shout a warning one of the black figures pointed his hand at the new arrival and a black dart shot forth striking the ranger. To the amazement of all the man did not fall, instead his cloak had caught the dart before it struck him, fate had surely smiled upon him this day.
Before the man could celebrate; however, another dart struck him in the neck knocking him to the ground dead. The 3 black figures were joined by a forth, who strode over the corpse of the dead men.
Before the 4 black riders could move forth; however, 2 spearmen came rushing out of the shadows with shouts of "Arnor!"
A flurry of arrows shot forth from the original Ranger party; however, though many found their mark none slew their foe.
More black riders rushed forth from the gloom attempting to overwhelm the right flank. The one of the spearmen who had charged forward was struck down by a black dart, the other; however, entered into combat with one of the evil minions of sauron.
A lone archer looked down in horror at the growing number of enemies rushing him.
On the left flank 4 rangers, including Falnost, moved to surrounded the lone black rider.
Losing a slew of arrows into their foe the rangers were sure of victory. However, their shots had no effect and the black rider continued to move forward looking for an opening in the line of men.
On the left flank shouts of hurrah were raised as the lone spearmen cast one of the black rider down and set him on fire with his torch. With his foe vanquished the ranger began to shout, "Use fire, Use fire," however, his warning was cut short as one of the black riders thrust his hand forward slaying the man with a black dart.
Setting their arrows alit the lone ranger on the right set another of their foes on fire. With a grim thought the ranger drew another arrow, on 6 more of the bastards to deal with; however, before he could loose another shot a black dart struck forth and slew him.
Seeing their weakness on the right flank two rangers sprinted forth hoping to cut the unopposed black riders off.
On the left flank flamming arrows flew forth into the lone black rider; however, the figure managed to stay unlit and burst forth from his surrounding foes.
With a shout the rangers pursued their quarry it was clear he was attempting to enter the shire.
On the right flank the remaining 6 black riders were greatly weakened from their large use of dark powers. Seeing their foe's weakness the two archers steeled themselves and charged into single combat (one each taking a foe). Dodging past the darting blades each lit one of their foes on fire slaying two more of the creatures (for the time being). The 4 remaining black riders sprinted forth, attempting to use dark magic to cunfuddle and force their foe away.
Though this had limited sucess, one archer would not be denied his vengance and charge forth casting down his enemy (the witch king :) ).
On the left flank the lone Ringwraith to the amazement of all managed to dodge all forms of attack and sprint off into the distance. On the right flank three Ringwraiths moved to disappear into the darkness; however, before they could do such the same determined archer rushed forth and cast yet another one down.
The remaining two disappeared into the darkness. With a sigh the remaining rangers moved back to see to their wounded and slain. Sitting down Falnost gasped his first battle had been quite different from what he imagined.
Outcome
So that is yet another victory for good. I felt I weakened the Ringwraiths quite well in that battle, as almost every single one had used half their Will. Ambrose was happy with how he did (blamed his lose on my luck ;) ). I must say I was quite worried when nearly every Ringwraith came rushing down my right flank with minimal resistance to oppose them. But with some well placed resistance other allies were able to move into a position to help.
Recovery
Ringwraith#1-Will left 1
Ringwraith #2- Will left 7
Ringwraith #3- Will left 1
Ringwraith #4- Will left 5
Ringwraith #5- Will Left 7
Ringwraith #6- WIll left 7
Ringwraith #7- Will left 2
Ringwraith #8- Will left 1
Witch King- Will left 2
So as can be seen I really weakened the Ringwraiths quite a bit. Sadly for me Evil only needs three Ringwraiths for the next scenario and Evil gets to choose which ones. This means that the three Ringwraiths at full will (7) will fulfil the needed number of troops for evil, meaning the hobbits will be fleeing from Ringwraiths at full power!
Oh well.
So look for updates on my progress soon. For the next scenario I need to paint up Frodo and Sam (I already have a painted pippin), and create either a hedge or paint up my GW fences to represent the side of a road.
As usual feel free to comment.
I love the narrative style of this second report - lots of fun to read and easier to follow for someone who has never played LotR. Looks like the forces of good are off to a commanding lead!
The slightly less beautiful host.
Thanks. And here's hoping that lead continues its going to be a real struggle to keep Pippin and Merry alive for the 3-4 scenarios I have before meeting up with aragorn.
So I played the scenario tonight. Won't get time to type up a report tonight should go up later this weekend. As a teaser I successfully kept all the hobbits safe (though in the practice game Merry died lol).
Scenario 3: Short Cuts Make Long Delays
Overview: This scenario represents the moment in the book (and kinda the movie) where the hobbits first realize they are being hunted by the Ringwraiths. Hiding behind a hedge the Hobbits are fairly terrified (well Frodo is at least). In the actual scenario 1 Ring Wraith is in front of the Hobbits on the other side of the hedge, and one is on each other side of the board (East and West).
To escape their pursuers the Hobbits must flee to the southern board edge. To give the hobbits a fighting chance the scenario has Gildor start on the southern edge of the table.
The Forces:
Evil-
Good-
(Note that Pippin was not actually in the scenario, I just hadn't painted same yet so he was filling in model wise. This elf Captain would count as Gildor for the scenario as well)
The scenario had a few special rules:
One the hobbits terrified must take courage test at the beginning of each of their moves, if failed the evil player moves them (in the practice game Merry failed twice walked right up to a ringwraith and was promptly killed).
Two the Ringwraiths know the Hobbits are somewhere near, but don't know exactly where. To represent this they follow the rules for sentinels, rolling on a chart to determine what they can do.
Strategy: Going into the scenario (with one practice game under my belt), I realized it was important for the Hobbits to head to one side or the other of the table, so as not get sandwhiched between two ringwraiths early in the game. This should give time for Gildor to come save the day. It was important for me to make sure all the Hobbits survived, because they all still had quite a long journey to go. With this in mind I prepared to try try to outrun, or outmanuver the Ringwraiths.
Short Cuts Make Long Delays
Merry peered out of the underbrush trying to catch a glimpse of the black rider Frodo had seen. It must have been some site to shake him up so badly. Before he could get a good look over the hedge growing along the side of the road; however, he began to hear an odd snuffling sound.
Frodo whispered "There it is, that person is trying to sniff us out."
"Want me to go out and have some stern words him Mast, asked Sam?
Frodo grabbed same and whispered, "No let us leave and disappear into the wood for a bit, I don't like all these prying eyes."
Scratching his head Merry glanced at Sam and they nodded. "I'm with you cousin," stated Merry.
Rising up slowly the three Hobbits began to steal off into the wilderness, directly away from the searching black rider. However, an odd sensation came over Merry and instead of heading South the young Hobbit trotted directly North, towards the searching rider.
His companions had already sneaked into the underbrush and lost Merry from sight. Seeing an odd black shape shuffling around on the ground, like a man on all fours sniffing, Merry shook sense into himself and took back off towards the copes of trees. Before he could get far; however, the Black robed figured lifted his head and darted forward. Coming within grasping distance of the Hobbit the figure shrieked, two other cries answered it on either side.
"A trap," thought Merry. With a shout he yelled "Frodo, Sam run!" Before he could say more a gauntleted hand struck him in the chest. Falling to the ground Merry dodged the thing's grasping hands and rushed off back towards the hedge.
"At least I will lead this one away from Frodo," thought Merry as he took off. However; he soon realized that the thing had made no attempt to follow him and instead made a bee-line for Frodo as if drawn to him.
Sprinting around the Eastern side of a thick copse of trees Merry heard a melodic voice shouting. It seems another had joined the fray, for he could not picture such a voice issuing any of the shrieks he had heard.
Sprinting around the copse of trees Merry witnessed an elf shout "Elbereth," pointing at one of the dark shapes, which they froze up. He then charged a second robed figure (most likely the one that had siezed Merry) both of whom drew swords.
(Gildor saves the day! whew!)
Merry continued to view the ensuing Chaos and saw two smaller forms dart out from behind the melee, it was Frodo and Sam. Overjoyed at seeing his friends save Merry began to wave; however to his horror a third of the robed figures came out from the darkness and raised his hand. A black dart shot forth and struck Frodo in the back. Fate must have been watching over him; however, because the dart became stuck in his cloak leaving him unharmed.
(A close call and a lucky fate point on Frodo's part!)
The Hobbits then began to flee south at the urging of the elf. The frozen robed figure soon charged forth attempting to slay the elf while the other two began to pursue the hobbits. The skill of Gildor was not to be denied; however, and his glowing blade passed through the black robes dismissing the dark being within.
With a shout the elf took off after the remaining two figures seizing initiative and catching one before he could react. This one he cast down two. The remaining figure attempted to cast a dark enchantment on Frodo; however, it failed. Gildor then charged into combat yet again; however, to the dismay of the hobbits he was wounded. This effort must have cost the black rider dearly for no sooner had he wounded the elf, then he dissipated.
The Hobbits were safe, for now!
Overview: This scenario represents the moment in the book (and kinda the movie) where the hobbits first realize they are being hunted by the Ringwraiths. Hiding behind a hedge the Hobbits are fairly terrified (well Frodo is at least). In the actual scenario 1 Ring Wraith is in front of the Hobbits on the other side of the hedge, and one is on each other side of the board (East and West).
To escape their pursuers the Hobbits must flee to the southern board edge. To give the hobbits a fighting chance the scenario has Gildor start on the southern edge of the table.
The Forces:
Evil-
Good-
(Note that Pippin was not actually in the scenario, I just hadn't painted same yet so he was filling in model wise. This elf Captain would count as Gildor for the scenario as well)
The scenario had a few special rules:
One the hobbits terrified must take courage test at the beginning of each of their moves, if failed the evil player moves them (in the practice game Merry failed twice walked right up to a ringwraith and was promptly killed).
Two the Ringwraiths know the Hobbits are somewhere near, but don't know exactly where. To represent this they follow the rules for sentinels, rolling on a chart to determine what they can do.
Strategy: Going into the scenario (with one practice game under my belt), I realized it was important for the Hobbits to head to one side or the other of the table, so as not get sandwhiched between two ringwraiths early in the game. This should give time for Gildor to come save the day. It was important for me to make sure all the Hobbits survived, because they all still had quite a long journey to go. With this in mind I prepared to try try to outrun, or outmanuver the Ringwraiths.
Short Cuts Make Long Delays
Merry peered out of the underbrush trying to catch a glimpse of the black rider Frodo had seen. It must have been some site to shake him up so badly. Before he could get a good look over the hedge growing along the side of the road; however, he began to hear an odd snuffling sound.
Frodo whispered "There it is, that person is trying to sniff us out."
"Want me to go out and have some stern words him Mast, asked Sam?
Frodo grabbed same and whispered, "No let us leave and disappear into the wood for a bit, I don't like all these prying eyes."
Scratching his head Merry glanced at Sam and they nodded. "I'm with you cousin," stated Merry.
Rising up slowly the three Hobbits began to steal off into the wilderness, directly away from the searching black rider. However, an odd sensation came over Merry and instead of heading South the young Hobbit trotted directly North, towards the searching rider.
His companions had already sneaked into the underbrush and lost Merry from sight. Seeing an odd black shape shuffling around on the ground, like a man on all fours sniffing, Merry shook sense into himself and took back off towards the copes of trees. Before he could get far; however, the Black robed figured lifted his head and darted forward. Coming within grasping distance of the Hobbit the figure shrieked, two other cries answered it on either side.
"A trap," thought Merry. With a shout he yelled "Frodo, Sam run!" Before he could say more a gauntleted hand struck him in the chest. Falling to the ground Merry dodged the thing's grasping hands and rushed off back towards the hedge.
"At least I will lead this one away from Frodo," thought Merry as he took off. However; he soon realized that the thing had made no attempt to follow him and instead made a bee-line for Frodo as if drawn to him.
Sprinting around the Eastern side of a thick copse of trees Merry heard a melodic voice shouting. It seems another had joined the fray, for he could not picture such a voice issuing any of the shrieks he had heard.
Sprinting around the copse of trees Merry witnessed an elf shout "Elbereth," pointing at one of the dark shapes, which they froze up. He then charged a second robed figure (most likely the one that had siezed Merry) both of whom drew swords.
(Gildor saves the day! whew!)
Merry continued to view the ensuing Chaos and saw two smaller forms dart out from behind the melee, it was Frodo and Sam. Overjoyed at seeing his friends save Merry began to wave; however to his horror a third of the robed figures came out from the darkness and raised his hand. A black dart shot forth and struck Frodo in the back. Fate must have been watching over him; however, because the dart became stuck in his cloak leaving him unharmed.
(A close call and a lucky fate point on Frodo's part!)
The Hobbits then began to flee south at the urging of the elf. The frozen robed figure soon charged forth attempting to slay the elf while the other two began to pursue the hobbits. The skill of Gildor was not to be denied; however, and his glowing blade passed through the black robes dismissing the dark being within.
With a shout the elf took off after the remaining two figures seizing initiative and catching one before he could react. This one he cast down two. The remaining figure attempted to cast a dark enchantment on Frodo; however, it failed. Gildor then charged into combat yet again; however, to the dismay of the hobbits he was wounded. This effort must have cost the black rider dearly for no sooner had he wounded the elf, then he dissipated.
The Hobbits were safe, for now!
Summary
Whew, that one was much closer then the report may seem. Merry failing his first courage test nearly cost him his life. The forces of evil did face some bad luck with the western Ringwraith rolling a 1 twice for sentinels which means it doesn't get to move.
Gildor was amazing proving the Ringwraiths chose well in the book to run when they heard him.
Evil did manage to burn some of my precious fate, and might in the fellowship with Sam and Frodo using a fate, and Frodo using one of his two might to heroic move to saftey.
So after recovery this is the standings.
Evil:
Rw 1) will 2
Rw 2) will 6
RW 3) will 5
RW 4) Will 7
RW 5) Will 1
Rw 6) Will 4
Rw 7) Will 5
Rw 8) Will 6
Witch King- Will 8
Sam- Might 1, Will 1, Fate 1 (he failed to recover his one used fate)
Frodo- Might 2, Will 3, Fate 2 (Even with the reroll for winning the scenario Frodo failed to recover his used fate, he did recover his used might)
Merry- Fate 1
The Next scenario is Buckleberry Ferry. This means look forward to my attempt at making the Ferry itself (and an awesome blue felt river for it to go on lol). Hopefully good can keep up its winning streak, but without an avenging elf to help them the hobbits will have to not lose their head when running from 3 more Ring Wraiths.
Whew, that one was much closer then the report may seem. Merry failing his first courage test nearly cost him his life. The forces of evil did face some bad luck with the western Ringwraith rolling a 1 twice for sentinels which means it doesn't get to move.
Gildor was amazing proving the Ringwraiths chose well in the book to run when they heard him.
Evil did manage to burn some of my precious fate, and might in the fellowship with Sam and Frodo using a fate, and Frodo using one of his two might to heroic move to saftey.
So after recovery this is the standings.
Evil:
Rw 1) will 2
Rw 2) will 6
RW 3) will 5
RW 4) Will 7
RW 5) Will 1
Rw 6) Will 4
Rw 7) Will 5
Rw 8) Will 6
Witch King- Will 8
Sam- Might 1, Will 1, Fate 1 (he failed to recover his one used fate)
Frodo- Might 2, Will 3, Fate 2 (Even with the reroll for winning the scenario Frodo failed to recover his used fate, he did recover his used might)
Merry- Fate 1
The Next scenario is Buckleberry Ferry. This means look forward to my attempt at making the Ferry itself (and an awesome blue felt river for it to go on lol). Hopefully good can keep up its winning streak, but without an avenging elf to help them the hobbits will have to not lose their head when running from 3 more Ring Wraiths.
That was a very dramatic scenerio, nice job. I really didn't think the Hobbits were going to make it!
The slightly less beautiful host.
Thanks Greg! It was pretty intense at certain moments.
So I am working on models and terrain for the next scenario. Few thoughts, man scenery is much tougher then I thought it would be.
I have put together and removed the mold lines from tom bombadil, Goldberry, Barrow Wights, and paralyzed hobbits.
I am super excited to get further into this campaigns, Barrow Downs is one of my favorite moments in the book so obviously playing through it is exciting. Hoping to play through the games next week.
I am debating moving away from the narrative style of battle reporting that I have been doing. For a few reasons 1) I can't ever hope of contending with Tolkien's writing skill and don't want to be compared to him :) 2) It would be easier to tell what happens in the battles.
The reporting would still have a narrative style, but feel a lot more like white dwarf battle reports.
Any thoughts? Should I keep the narrative style? No opinion either way?
I have put together and removed the mold lines from tom bombadil, Goldberry, Barrow Wights, and paralyzed hobbits.
I am super excited to get further into this campaigns, Barrow Downs is one of my favorite moments in the book so obviously playing through it is exciting. Hoping to play through the games next week.
I am debating moving away from the narrative style of battle reporting that I have been doing. For a few reasons 1) I can't ever hope of contending with Tolkien's writing skill and don't want to be compared to him :) 2) It would be easier to tell what happens in the battles.
The reporting would still have a narrative style, but feel a lot more like white dwarf battle reports.
Any thoughts? Should I keep the narrative style? No opinion either way?
I've been enjoying the narrative style you've been using, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it either way! Whatever helps keep you motivated to continue the campaign and writing the reports - when things start to become a "chore" people tend to stop doing them.
The slightly less beautiful host.
Gotcha. Well I wont be stopping this anytime soon (I bought an octopus toy while on vacation to convert into a watcher in the water, another scenario I'm really excited about)
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