And so it begins... the second season of our Lord of the Rings campaign, where we follow the journey of the Fellowship from Rivendell to Amon Hen. Yes, we know – “finally”, you say, and right you are. But neither Rome, nor Middle-Earth, was built in a day, and we can but apologize for the long hiatus between games. But we do hope the multitude of hero figures brings new variety to the battle report photos. Without further ado, we catch the Fellowship somewhere in Eriador…
After the failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the Redhorn Gate, the Fellowship continued southward with their mind set on another route through the mines of Moria. Still at least a day’s journey from the western entrance, the company was about to halt for the night when Aragorn cried: “the wind is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!” He loosened his sword Andúril in its sheat and looked around the clearing where the members of the Fellowship were standing. Suddenly, snarling wargs appeared from between the trees in three directions, led by a grey old warg chieftain. Gandalf strode forward, holding his staff aloft: “Listen, Hounds of Sauron!” he cried. “Gandalf is here. Fly, if you value your foul skin! I will shrivel you from tail to snout, if you come closer.” But the wargs were seemingly unafraid, for these were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness...The gaming table layout follows the Fellowship journeybook instructions, and is shown in the picture below. The Fellowship begins at the center of the board, with wargs initially approaching from the north, south and west board edges.
The journeybook scenario called for random game length, where the game is abruptly ended at some point after turn 10 if the priority roll is drawn. All through the game, the slain wargs are returned to game in the subsequent turn. We decided to make it a bit easier for the good player, reduce the length of the (rather monotonic) scenario, and have a more thematically satisfying end by agreeing that turn eight is the last turn when the wargs are respawn, and after that, the game ends when the final warg is slain. In practice, this rather ensures that the evil side is unable to meet its specified victory conditions, but we didn’t mind. There will be enough opportunities for evil victory later on in the deep places of the world! The good models started with their wounds, might, will and fate at maximum.
Turn 1 – good priority. The Fellowship formed a tight, defensive ring in the center of the clearing, with wargs closing in around them. Legolas fired his bow three times, killing one warg but missing two others he targeted. Aragorn’s ranger bow twanged, as well, but his arrow failed to stop an attacking warg.
Turn 2 – evil priority. Wargs continued to close in, with the closest now at charging distance. Clearly irritated by the Grey Wizard’s taunt, a warg charged Gandalf. The Fellowship members spread out a bit. Shouting “Khazâd! Khazâd”, Gimli let loose his throwing axes as he charged another warg. The evil creature managed to dodge the flying dwarven weapons, but not Gimli’s sturdy battle-axes. Next to him, Gandalf was harmlessly driven back by the snapping jaws of the warg. While still unengaged in combat, the bows of Aragorn and Legolas continued singing, killing one warg and wounding the chieftain.
Turn 3 – good priority. There were now over a dozen wargs within charging distance of the Fellowship, all driven to attack by some dark malice. Gandalf immobilized a warg near Gimli, while charging another one. Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli charged ahead, but soon every other company member was also engaged in a close combat. Aragorn’s mighty swing with Andúril sliced two wargs nearly in half. Gimli also showed might in battle, as he added two dead wargs onto his count. Boromir and Gandalf killed one each, as did Pippin while defending Frodo. Glowing, he turned to boast his accomplishment to Merry – only to feel a cold hand clenching his stomach as he had a sudden flashback to the Weathertop. Near him, Merry laid lifeless on the ground, with blood gushing from a large bite wound...
Turn 4 – evil priority. The wargs continued to press on, and the chieftain and another warg charged Aragorn. The company had no time to grieve for their fallen comrade, as everyone had to keep defending against snarling and clawing beasts. With a great sweep Boromir hewed the head off a warg. Gimli, standing with his stout legs apart, wielded his dwarf-axe and killed another. Sam, joining the fight alongside Frodo, was also victorious as he mortally stabbed the warg trying to reach Frodo. Meanwhile, Aragorn was driven back by the ferocious chieftain, whose claws tore into his arm.
Turn 5 – good priority. Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas and Boromir tied the closest wargs into combat, while a newly-arrived warg charged Gimli. Wargs were now pouring from the east as well, approaching from behind the small hill with their eyes set for the weaker hobbits. The chieftain caused another wound on Aragorn, and near him, the elven grace of Legolas was also not enough to prevent him from being bitten. Boromir and Gimli continued their killing spree, and two more dead wargs dropped to the ground. Gandalf fared worse, but the attack of the victorious warg only managed to remove the wizard’s hat.
Turn 6 – good priority. Aragorn and Boromir decided to finish the warg chieftain for once and for all. In the ensuing heroic combat, Boromir sliced the head off the grey beast. Without a beat, the two heroes moved on to engage further hounds – another kill for Boromir, but the other warg manages to dodge the blade of Andúril. Nearby, Gimli scored his sixth warg, now well ahead of Legolas, even though the elf mightily dispatches two wargs with his bow. Gandalf’s sorcerous blast sent another warg to its death.
{ PORTAL }
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