hi all, first post.

i am not stranger to the games workshop products (i have a 40k tyranid army) however i have never really looked into LoTR, whitch is strange, because i like the books and the movies. so anyway, after looking at the product range, i decided i would get into it. now, being more of a painter/modeller and less of a player, i decided to do something different:

create the fluffiest army possible, something that follows book fluff more than GW fluff.

but i need help. even though its going to be pure fluff, i want to stick to an army list of 500-700points. i have decided to go moria/angmar - the dark places of the world. so i need your help with the following:

-short fluff on both armies
-fluffiest units
-what looks the best, ei: what can be painted to look really good.
-epicly cool units
-anything else that you think might help me.

i plan on getting the sourcebook in the coming days.

500 to 700pts Angmar may not be the best idea as its heroes are very expensive.
Ive gone for Moria myself due to the fact you can march forth with large hords of very cheap troops (and heroes), howling packs of wargs, warg marauders, venomous spiders that ingnore most terrain and can scale walls, towering cavetrolls, fast moving bat swarms and offcource the big guns...Balgog...Dragon..Drake..the watcher in the water...hmmmmm

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"If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten"

i dont mind about points costs, as long as the models look epic and offer fluffyness. however moria sounds nice too and is in the sourcebook after all...

moria fluff and fluffy units please?

my moria setup (havent played yet but been told its a good start) for 500 pts is


Durbûrz (named hero with a command bonus)
6 goblins with shield
4 goblins with bow
2 goblins with spear
120pts


Goblin Captain with shield
6 goblins with shield
4 goblins with bow
2 goblins with spear
100pts

Warg Chieftain
5 Wild Wargs
1 Warg Marauder
1 Warg Marauder
185pts


Goblin shaman
6 Gundabad Blackshield goblins

93pts

Total 500pts

a lot of troops on the field, goblins move slow but the wargs dont, the fast moving warg marauders carry 2 archers so can potentially be good for harrasing (or perhaps even hero hunting?) shaman is key as i understand as it keeps the cowardly goblins from breaking a bit.

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"If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten"

not sure what you think but i think a cave troll would make good fluff, just charging around a cave smashing skulls in.

for fluff from the story, have a look at the bit where the fellowship are in balins tomb place, there are a few fluffy bits af fighting there

You can easily find fluff about Moria and all the other regions of Middle Earth just by searching wikipedia and similar sites.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

Welcome, fluff.

It is best to go hunting online first, then if you want more details about things, the appendixes of the Lord of the Rings can be nice.

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"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

If you want fluff I'd stay away from the silly Warg marauders and GWs named characters. I believe Durburz was in the books...

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I'm the good and the bad; you must be the ugly
I'd mess up your face but your momma did it for me!

Durburz was in the books in idea, as the Goblin King of Moria, but not in name. And no, I have no issues with the model whatsoever.

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"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

For fluff, the best option is of course: Read the Books (especially the Hobbit for Moria).

If you want quick information, there are a number of good LOTR Wiki's: http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page is the best IMO. Ordinary Wikipedia also has a lot of info. searching on youtube might help get a general impression.

Short fluff on Moria: Once Khazad-Dum, the greatest and richest of the dwarf realms, the Balrog took it long ago, and Goblin's filled it and plundered it. It has huge hosts of troops (though these are rather useless), capable of surrounding the enemy and drowning him in soldiers. Taking it as Misty Mountains, it also gets hosts of Warg Riders (which GW strangely makes a point of ignoring), and one can add all sorts of evil creatures to the list. The most themed units would be: Moria Goblins, Moria Goblin Captains, Durburz, Warg Riders and Cave Trolls. Steer clear of Shamans of any sort, and to a lesser extent Marauders. Groblug is fine, so long as you get another model.

Angmar: High in the north, the Witch-King has gathered all sorts of fell creatures: orcs, trolls and evil hillmen. All that unites them is fear of the Witch-King and hate of the Numenoreans. The ghosts which GW has added in WotR are not fluff, IMI (in my imagination, ie how I picture Angmar), however, not much is known about it, as it falls outside the great tales, so anything could be. Fluffy units: Orc Warriors, Morannon Orcs (to represent elite Orcs), Cave Trolls, Dunlendings, plain Ringwraiths. Avoid: Nothing that isn't obvious, really.

IMO, anything can be painted very, very nicely, so I'm not much of a help there.

However, keep in mind that this is very much my version of it, nothing is defintive.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

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"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.