Everybody presumed that somebody else would bring a game along but naturally nobody actually did soo in the end we played Lord of the Rings Risk, as supplied by Tony after a quick dash home.
Nominally good vs evil but basically a free for all. The map differed from the traditional Tolkien maps in that there were big gaps in the mountain ranges, presumably so that the armies had a bit more freedom of movement.
And large armies certainly ended up marching from one end of Northwestern Middle-Earth to another. Since Matt was the only other person to have played this version, and Tony sat out, he ran away with the game as he understood the victory conditions.
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Showing posts with label Lord of the Rings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lord of the Rings. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Dark Lord's Ring
Things have finally picked up at the club after the Xmas lull. Both New and returning players were present.
Lord of the Rings.
Just the three players and only the basic game (I have all of the expansions but since both Colin and Alan were new to the game decided to keep things simple). As such we played things 'open handed' with all cards visible.
We managed to get through the first couple of boards OK, but it was a bit expensive in terms of cards used. With the Moria board it might of been better to sit things out and just pick up cards.
Shelob's Lair was where things really started to go wrong; the refusal of Sam to use the ring to try and avoid the black squares (die rolls) towards the end of the track and this caused some events to happen which shouldn't of and help cripple us by pushing all the characters along towards the rapidly approaching Dark Lord.
We did manage to get to Mordor but never managed to get very far into it before Sauron caught up to us on the corruption track. It was a bad idea allowing me\Frodo possession of the ring at this stage as I was closest to Strongbad Sauron.
¶
Lord of the Rings.
Just the three players and only the basic game (I have all of the expansions but since both Colin and Alan were new to the game decided to keep things simple). As such we played things 'open handed' with all cards visible.
We managed to get through the first couple of boards OK, but it was a bit expensive in terms of cards used. With the Moria board it might of been better to sit things out and just pick up cards.
Shelob's Lair was where things really started to go wrong; the refusal of Sam to use the ring to try and avoid the black squares (die rolls) towards the end of the track and this caused some events to happen which shouldn't of and help cripple us by pushing all the characters along towards the rapidly approaching Dark Lord.
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We did manage to get to Mordor but never managed to get very far into it before Sauron caught up to us on the corruption track. It was a bad idea allowing me\Frodo possession of the ring at this stage as I was closest to Strongbad Sauron.
¶
Saturday, 4 October 2008
LOTR - Status Report
Have received a status report from Dave M including details of the casualties (but not the point values!). I have added the percentages.
A quick update on how the campoon is going at the moment.
Scores on the doors are Goodies 8 wins, Baddies 7 wins (with one game outstanding). At the moment Goodies are 1 point up.
Using a figure scale of 1:20
Elves of Lorien began the war with 1480 Warriors, they have lost 580 little fairies. (39% casulties)
The Rohirrim had 2120 and have lost 100 Brave Warriors. (5%)
Southern Gondor began with 2120 and have lost 120 Chaps (6%)
Gondor, Minas Tirith set off with 2100 and have lost 640. (30%)
Isengard began with 3600 and have lost 980 little Uruks (27%)
Mordor started with 4460 and have taken 1000 casualties (22%)
Dol Guldur had 3200 and have lost 660 (21%)
Harad had 2700 and have taken 1160 casualties (43%)
What the above does not include is the amount of horse\warg flesh left littering the battlefields. A number of high value and\or mobile units have bitten the dust.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
LOTR - Round 5
The battle between Mordor and Gondor was a bit of a shambles with zombies probably being more aware than the two commanders, both of whom were feeling like death due to assorted ailments, and neither of them 100% sure of the rules.
Numerous mistakes were made in combat resolution including a major one that should of tilted the result Gondors way. Leaders were dieing all over the place. The Mouth of Sauron got stomped trying to reinforce a Orcish Warband, but then the Gondorian command group and attached cavalry got flanked and wiped out. The Trolls managed to bounce off a Gondorian Shieldwall defending\hiding in a village. The Gondorian Archers managed to do considerable damage (partially due to a misreading of the massed archery rules) before being hit by a couple of warbands. Fortunately for them they managed to do a good rout and escaped OK.
A Mordor victory but in a very unsatisfactory manner.
Meanwhile at Helms Deep the pesky elves managed to pull off a surprise victory against the forces of Saruman after hiding behind a apparently invulnerable hedge.
Still one more battle to do in the round as the forces of Dol Guldur (defeated in the last round) have a rematch against the Rohirrim.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
LOTR - Round 4
Another Breakthrough encounter as Colin's Ithilien troops attempt to get through Tel's forces of Mordor. Given the ratio of points was heavly in favour of the hordes of Mordor a breakthrough was always a big ask. The Ithiliens went for a high risk strategy of charging their knights along with all their leaders straight ahead and hope that the fragile morale of the Orc warbands caused a rout.
Unfortunately (for the Gondorians) a sliding door maneuver lead to the cavalry's intended targets being replaced by a row of four Olog-Hai (Trolls) and the fear inducing Mouth of Sauron and his command team. All or nothing for both sides!
The crash didn't go well for the Knights despite being armed with throwing spears and getting a re-roll of all initial fails. Armour played a vital role as the Trolls made a number of 5+ saves. At the end of the combat it was 3 knights lost verses 1 scratched Troll, and the horses bounce back as the Trolls pursue behind ready to charge in their next turn.
The Trolls charge into the cavalry's rear and pushes\routs them through their own shieldwall which then receives the charge proper. Due to the fear effect the infantry are forced to make a morale check to receive and fail. Since they have no re-rolls due to all the leaders\standards being with the routing troops they rout but not fast enough and are then pursued and destroyed. This forces morale checks on nearby troops which causes a domino effect along the Gondorian line. Only the archers on his flank remained unaffected.
This is in fact near the end position after round 2, when Colin announced that he'll be withdrawing his one unbroken unit next turn, and I agreed that I was in no real position to chase and catch any of his other units.
My attempt at trying to flank his forces with the Warg Riders and some quick marching Uruks never had the chance to come to fruition.
The other battle of the night came to an almost as abrupt end when the Elves luck\arrows finally ran out and they were caught and thrashed by the forces of Saruman. By turn 3 it was all over, and the absent fairy queen will probably be furious when news reaches her\him.
Given that the final battle was in the middle of nowhere we ended by doing the map moves for round 5. The elves are now up against the wall at Helms Deep, while the army of Gondor is now being pursued by the forces of Sauron to Osiligath from Minas Tirith. The Haradrim have a slight problem as their Oliphant appears to have got bogged down in rough terrain, but at least it will give them time to recover.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
LOTR - Round 3
Army of Ithilien vs Army of Harad
The forces of Harad bite off more than they can chew as the near full strength force of Ithilien descended upon them in a pitch battle.
The left flank was fairly static with a Harad Warband advancing and forcing a standoff, as the main force of Haradrim Archers tried some long distance shooting to weaken the opposition. A late charge from the warband saw off the rival unit which had moved closer after a failed charge declaration.
In the centre the Oliphant was enjoying itself as it first faced a charge from the Gondorian command crew. The loss of a Gondorian commander to the combined might of the beast and some charging archers, and the routing of both the leader (also wounded) and standard bearer caused minor problems to the Gondorians, where as the charge of the newly free Mumakil and the Harad Leaders into some spearmen was more serious.
The Orcs on the right flank faced a pounding from the Gondorian Cavalry, who had already successfully seen of the screening force of Haradrim Horse Archers, with one of the Orc units breaking in the final turn.
Despite punching above their weight relative to the two forces strengths, the Haradrim had to concede defeat.
Meanwhile... If you go down to the woods today...
Army of the White Hand vs Elves of Lorien
The sneaky elves were up to their dirty tricks again this time ambushing the forces of Saruman. The confusion was enough to cause the orcs to panic in what quickly became a one sided battle. The Elven casualties amounted to one dead and another who died but got better. (i.e. made the replacement roll.)
The forces of Harad bite off more than they can chew as the near full strength force of Ithilien descended upon them in a pitch battle.
The left flank was fairly static with a Harad Warband advancing and forcing a standoff, as the main force of Haradrim Archers tried some long distance shooting to weaken the opposition. A late charge from the warband saw off the rival unit which had moved closer after a failed charge declaration.
In the centre the Oliphant was enjoying itself as it first faced a charge from the Gondorian command crew. The loss of a Gondorian commander to the combined might of the beast and some charging archers, and the routing of both the leader (also wounded) and standard bearer caused minor problems to the Gondorians, where as the charge of the newly free Mumakil and the Harad Leaders into some spearmen was more serious.
The Orcs on the right flank faced a pounding from the Gondorian Cavalry, who had already successfully seen of the screening force of Haradrim Horse Archers, with one of the Orc units breaking in the final turn.
Despite punching above their weight relative to the two forces strengths, the Haradrim had to concede defeat.
Meanwhile... If you go down to the woods today...
Army of the White Hand vs Elves of Lorien
The sneaky elves were up to their dirty tricks again this time ambushing the forces of Saruman. The confusion was enough to cause the orcs to panic in what quickly became a one sided battle. The Elven casualties amounted to one dead and another who died but got better. (i.e. made the replacement roll.)
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
No one has ever escaped...
...From Stalag Lebenin.
The War of the Ring continues as the final game of the round took place.
This was a replay of the Dol Amroth breakout scenario but with slightly different terrain. And this time the forces of Harad had a fully loaded Oliphant.
Dol Amroth vs Army of Harad at Lebenin.
Full points breakout scenario (Dol Amroth to attempt breakout)
Harad deployed their Orcs and Skirmishers on the left with the hope of capturing the hill and farm house. The Mumakil was based in the centre so it could support either side. The Harad Warbands screened by Archers deployed in the centre-right and the Light Cavalry to the far right. This left the forces rather thinly spread but given the nature of the scenario there was not much option if all routes off board were to be covered.
The Knights deployed most of the ground troops against the Harad left probably hoping that the mounted knights could punch a hole against 'the Thin Harad Line' and allow the necessary two units and leader to escape.
A thrust failed to materialise against the Harad right flank, with Archers and Light Cavalry holding off the enemy at a distance as the respective Archers traded shots, and the infantry refusing to risk opening up their flanks to the Harad cavalry.
At this point the power of the Dark Lord was felt in full as the land was plunged into premature darkness. (The lights in the Hall failed! Good job there was still some daylight left else we would never of found the fuse box.)
Meanwhile the Mumakil entered first gear and advanced towards the left to try and disrupt the attack developing there. It never actually charged any unit but its Archers managed to cause enough discomfort to force a unit of militia to attack it. With the assistance of the Harad Leader it eventually managed to disintegrate the infantry (big tusks tend to do that sort of thing!).
On the centre-left the Knights launched a charge against the Harad Skirmishers who retreated into the farm to allow the cavalry to run into the Orcs Spears. The combination of Orcs and Archers some how managed to hold out against the cavalry, despite leaders being thrown into the thick of it in later turns. They held on grimly until the last turn when they finally broke leading to the Harad front, which had also taken a fair amount of archery damage, totally collapsing. But by then it was too late for Dol Amroth as once again none of their units could manage to exit the map by the end of turn six.
And so once more the forces of Dol Amroth are pushed back to their little island, with another rematch on the cards.
Given the fact that a number of players are going on holiday over the next few weeks there is a good chance Dave M may postpone the next round till everyone is back.
The War of the Ring continues as the final game of the round took place.
This was a replay of the Dol Amroth breakout scenario but with slightly different terrain. And this time the forces of Harad had a fully loaded Oliphant.
Dol Amroth vs Army of Harad at Lebenin.
Full points breakout scenario (Dol Amroth to attempt breakout)
Harad deployed their Orcs and Skirmishers on the left with the hope of capturing the hill and farm house. The Mumakil was based in the centre so it could support either side. The Harad Warbands screened by Archers deployed in the centre-right and the Light Cavalry to the far right. This left the forces rather thinly spread but given the nature of the scenario there was not much option if all routes off board were to be covered.
The Knights deployed most of the ground troops against the Harad left probably hoping that the mounted knights could punch a hole against 'the Thin Harad Line' and allow the necessary two units and leader to escape.
A thrust failed to materialise against the Harad right flank, with Archers and Light Cavalry holding off the enemy at a distance as the respective Archers traded shots, and the infantry refusing to risk opening up their flanks to the Harad cavalry.
At this point the power of the Dark Lord was felt in full as the land was plunged into premature darkness. (The lights in the Hall failed! Good job there was still some daylight left else we would never of found the fuse box.)
Meanwhile the Mumakil entered first gear and advanced towards the left to try and disrupt the attack developing there. It never actually charged any unit but its Archers managed to cause enough discomfort to force a unit of militia to attack it. With the assistance of the Harad Leader it eventually managed to disintegrate the infantry (big tusks tend to do that sort of thing!).
On the centre-left the Knights launched a charge against the Harad Skirmishers who retreated into the farm to allow the cavalry to run into the Orcs Spears. The combination of Orcs and Archers some how managed to hold out against the cavalry, despite leaders being thrown into the thick of it in later turns. They held on grimly until the last turn when they finally broke leading to the Harad front, which had also taken a fair amount of archery damage, totally collapsing. But by then it was too late for Dol Amroth as once again none of their units could manage to exit the map by the end of turn six.
And so once more the forces of Dol Amroth are pushed back to their little island, with another rematch on the cards.
Given the fact that a number of players are going on holiday over the next few weeks there is a good chance Dave M may postpone the next round till everyone is back.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
LOTR - Round 2
Two battles this round with a third yet to be played.
Army of Gondor vs Mordor at Osgiliath
A Last Stand scenario with Gondor the defenders. (750pts vs 2000pts, Colin vs 40ker)
Despite being surrounded and after losing one of the three defending units early one, the forces of Gondor (or at least their Leaders) went on the offensive leaving the safety of the village to rout isolated units. Mordor failed to make use of their archers, despite Gondor not having any themselves, keeping them at long range and firing into cover with minimal effect. The Gondorians achieve an unexpected win.
The Army of Mordor retreats to Ithilien.
Elves of Lorien vs Dol Guldur in the Wold
An Ambush by the Fairy Queen's pointy-eared sneaks. (1000pts vs 1500pts, Matt vs Dave M)
The first volley from the elves wiped out a unit straight away, but after the initial surprise it became a fluid battle with the more maneuverable forces of Dol Guldur just failing to launch a decisive cavalry charge before the end. The Pixies claimed the victory.
The Army of Dol Guldur retreats to the Fields of Celebrant.
The return breakout battle between Harad and Southern Gondor in the Lebenin has yet to take place.
Army of Gondor vs Mordor at Osgiliath
A Last Stand scenario with Gondor the defenders. (750pts vs 2000pts, Colin vs 40ker)
Despite being surrounded and after losing one of the three defending units early one, the forces of Gondor (or at least their Leaders) went on the offensive leaving the safety of the village to rout isolated units. Mordor failed to make use of their archers, despite Gondor not having any themselves, keeping them at long range and firing into cover with minimal effect. The Gondorians achieve an unexpected win.
The Army of Mordor retreats to Ithilien.
Elves of Lorien vs Dol Guldur in the Wold
An Ambush by the Fairy Queen's pointy-eared sneaks. (1000pts vs 1500pts, Matt vs Dave M)
The first volley from the elves wiped out a unit straight away, but after the initial surprise it became a fluid battle with the more maneuverable forces of Dol Guldur just failing to launch a decisive cavalry charge before the end. The Pixies claimed the victory.
The Army of Dol Guldur retreats to the Fields of Celebrant.
The return breakout battle between Harad and Southern Gondor in the Lebenin has yet to take place.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
LOTR - Round 1
Finally got under way last night with the first two rounds of strategic movement leading to a battle with the good guys managing to overcome the baddies as the forces of the Haradrim held their own against the evil knights of Dol Amroth (Its all a matter of perspective... guess which side I'm on!)
This was a breakthrough scenario with the forces of Southern Gondor from Dol Amroth trying to barge through the Army of Harad. Given the turn limit that was being played (5 turns) it was almost an impossibility that they could achieve it and so they tried for the overall win by trying to rout my forces, which are mostly warbands with the tendency to charge anything.
The main loss was the unit of Olog Hai routing after being charged by a unit of archers, these should of actually been a Mumakil, but instead some used-camel salesman had left an IOU and 4 trolls (i.e. someone forgot the figure).
Despite a brief scare towards the end when a number of morale roles had to be made, the brave Harad soldiers held on to earn the draw on the field, victory in the campaign, and, after the following strategic move, a rematch.
This was a breakthrough scenario with the forces of Southern Gondor from Dol Amroth trying to barge through the Army of Harad. Given the turn limit that was being played (5 turns) it was almost an impossibility that they could achieve it and so they tried for the overall win by trying to rout my forces, which are mostly warbands with the tendency to charge anything.
The main loss was the unit of Olog Hai routing after being charged by a unit of archers, these should of actually been a Mumakil, but instead some used-camel salesman had left an IOU and 4 trolls (i.e. someone forgot the figure).
Despite a brief scare towards the end when a number of morale roles had to be made, the brave Harad soldiers held on to earn the draw on the field, victory in the campaign, and, after the following strategic move, a rematch.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Warhammer Ancients Lord of the Rings Campaign
A snappy title if ever there was one!
Furness Wargamers have started up a campaign based on a minor work of fiction called 'The Lord of the Rings'. Intended to be played four per side it looks like the teams may end up more flexible than expected with the coming holidays.
Making use of the figures from Games Workshops LotR battlegame, but using a variant of the Warhammer Ancients Rules that was available for download.
The following is extracts from the Campaign Crib Sheet.
Furness Wargamers have started up a campaign based on a minor work of fiction called 'The Lord of the Rings'. Intended to be played four per side it looks like the teams may end up more flexible than expected with the coming holidays.
Making use of the figures from Games Workshops LotR battlegame, but using a variant of the Warhammer Ancients Rules that was available for download.
The following is extracts from the Campaign Crib Sheet.
The Map
The map is a stylised version of Middle-Earth, divided into areas, with lines showing valid movement routes.
Battle Scenarios - Standard from WAB book
Sides
The Goodies
1. Army of Rohan at Edoras (1500pts)
2. Army of Ithilien in Osgilarth (1500pts)
3. Army of Southern Gondor at Dol Amroth (1500pts)
4. Army of Elves in Lorien (1500pts)
Baddies
1. Army of the White Hand, Isenguard (2000pts)
2. Army of Khamul, Dol Guldur (1500pts)
3. Army of the Witch King, Minas Morgul (2000pts)
4. Army of Harad in Near Harad (1500pts)
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