Dwarves vs. Easterlings (600 Points) - Sieze the Plunder

Flói rushed towards where Balin & Gimli were talking quietly, who stopped and turned to look at Flói when he approached. “Balin, Gimli. There are Easterlings approaching the river ahead. They appear to be interested in the goods that we found there. We must secure it before they can.” Balin nodded thoughtfully, before Gimli spoke. “Gather the Dwarves. Our axes will taste Easterling blood.”

Forces:

Good:

Gimli, 6 Dwarf Warriors with Shields, 5 Khâzad guard, and 1 Dwarf Warrior with Banner

Balin, 6 Dwarf Warriors with Shields, and 6 Khâzad guard

Dwarf Captain with Shield (Flói), and 12 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf Bows

Evil:

Easterling Captain, and 8 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields

Easterling Captain, and 8 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields

Easterling Captain, 7 Black Dragon Warriors with Shields and Pikes, and 1 Black Dragon Warrior with Banner

Easterling War Priest, and 12 Black Dragon Warriors with Bows

Scenario:

Seize the Plunder

Flói’s archers marched forwards, their eyes on the nearby ford and Easterling archers. “Black Dragons,” hissed Balin, as his and Gimli’s Dwarves advance across the bridge and leapt over the river. The War Priest uttered words of the Black Speech, before moving to join the phalanx that had formed, standing behind the fluttering banner.

A volley of arrows flew through the air, a trio of Easterling archers falling, whilst the Dwarves thick armour protected them from harm.

A Dwarf collapsed, an arrow in his neck, uttering strangled noises, with an Easterling being slain in return. Gimli growled; some of the goods had been taken by the enemy, although they’d managed to secure two. “Barak Khâzad!” yelled Balin, and the Dwarves crashed into the Easterling line. Balin and Gimli quickly sought out the enemy leaders, each engaging a Captain.

The Dwarf archers, attempting to secure the Dwarves right flank, slew another 4 of the enemy bowmen with a deadly volley, the four returning arrows claiming a single Dwarf. Swirling melee erupted, Axe and blade being stopped by shield or armour. Balin grimaced as a blade swept under his shoulder, fatally wounding, but not killing, him. The Khâzad Guard showed why they were chosen for their duty, as four Easterlings were slain, to a single Dwarf.

Balin and Gimli both surged forwards, Gimli skilfully throwing an axe into the Captain, fatally wounding him. Their followers quickly leapt into the battle, whilst the plunder was being safely carried away, by both forces. Another, smaller, Dwarven volley flew into the air, and one of the Easterling thieves was slain. Archers attacked bowmen as the Easterlings dropped their bows to attack the nearby Dwarves, one of the Black Dragons beheading a Dwarf.

With three mighty yells, Balin’s axe struck the Easterling captain twice, and the leader of the men fell to the floor. Both Dwarves and men lacked the stomach for a prolonged fight, but Gimli managed to slay the evil captain he was fighting, with only a single Dwarf and Man dying elsewhere.

“Hold them!” shouted Flói, as the Dwarves attempted to break past the Easterlings. “Cowards!” yelled a Dwarf as one of the Easterlings fled to retrieve the fallen goods. Another Dwarf archer fell at the ford, as the last captain gave a mighty yell of “For Sauron!” his blade piercing the thick Dwarven armour of Balin, slaying the Dwarf. The Easterlings killed in the Dwarves blazing fury was little to make up for the loss of one so mighty.

“Reform!” the War Priest cried over the screams of the dying and clash of metal on metal, and the Easterlings fell back. The Dwarves had managed to escape with some of the goods, and the army hit the reformed line of Easterlings. A trio of Dwarf arrows flew into the neck of an Easterling thief, slaying the wicked man.

Gimli and three other Dwarves surrounded a Black Dragon, easily killing him. Flói grinned as he killed an Easterling, his axe flying through the man’s neck. The first Khâzad Guard fell, although his death was avenged, as another man fell. At the ford, two more Dwarves were slain, their body’s swept away downstream.

The two Easterling thieves fled, realising their allies had been killed by archers, and didn’t want to suffer the same fate. The Easterling Captain’s blade burned hot, easily slicing through the armour of a Khâzad Guard. Another Easterling fell in revenge.

A Dwarf archer fell in combat against two of the enemy archers, but was avenged by his allies. The burning hatred of the Easterlings met the fearsome rage of the Dwarves as the men stormed forwards.

The Easterling Captain’s blade was still steaming from the heat pouring out of it, but Gimli carved through his shield, wounding the man. An Eastern Warrior and Khâzad were thrown into the river, their bodies sinking to the depths. Realising death was imminent, an Easterling archer fled, drowning in the river. The War Priest groaned as an axe bit into his leg, and he limped backwards, but Dwarves were dying all around.

A Dwarf grabbed some of the plunder, and ran towards the Easterling encampment as he escaped the battle. The Easterling Captain, War Priest, and Banner bearer were all slain in the swirling melee, and their army fled.

- Evil broken – 3 victory points to good

- 2 objectives carried off side – 6 victory points to good

- 1 objective carried off enemy board edge – 5 victory points to good

- Enemy leader slain – 3 victory points to good

- No victory points to evil

- 17-0 to good

Good victory!

Scenario for warbands (can be used with LoME) - Meeting Engagement

 The Armies:

Each player chooses their force, as described on pages 4-9 to an equal point’s value agreed before the game.

Layout:

Set up terrain as described on page 9.

Starting positions:

Both players roll a D6 – the player with the highest score chooses one of the table edges. He then selects a warband in his force and rolls a D6.

On a score 1-4, the warband is placed within 12”/28cm of the table edge, within 6”/14cm of the hero leading it. On a score 5-6, the warband may be placed anyway on your half of the table.

Initial Priority:

Both players roll a D6. The player with the highest result has priority in the first turn.

Objectives:

The game lasts until the end of a turn in which one force has been reduced to a quarter (25%) of its starting number of models, or below, at which point, the force that has scored the most Victory points wins the game. If both players have the same number of victory points, the game is a draw. Victory Points are scored in the following way:

-          You score 1 Victory Point if the enemy force is broken at the end of the games. If the enemy force is broken and your force is unbroken, you instead score 3 Victory Points. Also, if the enemy force was broken before yours, you gain 1 Victory Point.

-          You score 1 Victory Point for causing one or more Wounds on the enemy leader (Wounds prevented by a successful Fate roll do not count). If you kill the enemy leader, you instead score 3 Victory Points.

-          You score 1 Victory Point for causing every Wound caused by your leader (Wounds prevented by a successful Fate roll do not count).

-          You score 1 Victory Point for each of your Heroes still alive at the end of the game.

Scenario for warbands (can be used with LoME) - Sieze the Plunder

Notes:

The following scenarios often refer to page numbers. These are the pages from any of the following rulebooks: Kingdoms of Men, the Free Peoples, Mordor, the Fallen Realms, and Moria & Angmar.

If not using the warbands rules, replace the word “warband” with model.

Sieze the Plunder

The Armies:

Each player chooses their force, as described on pages 4-9 to an equal point’s value agreed before the game.

Layout:

Set up terrain as described on page 9. You will need 5 objective markers (25mm bases could be used) placed in the centre of the board (one in the direct centre, the other four in base contact with the original).

Starting positions:

Both players roll a D6 – the player with the highest score chooses one of the table edges. He then selects a warband in his force and rolls a D6.

On a score 3-6, the warband is placed within 12”/28cm of the table edge, within 6”/14cm of the hero leading it. On a score 1-2, the warband is not deployed at the start of the game, and will arrive later in the game (see below).

Initial Priority:

Both players roll a D6. The player with the highest result has priority in the first turn.

Objectives:

The game lasts until the end of a turn in which one force has been reduced to a quarter (25%) of its starting number of models, or below, at which point, the force that has scored the most Victory points wins the game. If both players have the same number of victory points, the game is a draw. Victory Points are scored in the following way:

-          You score 1 Victory Point if the enemy force is broken at the end of the games. If the enemy force is broken and your force is unbroken, you instead score 3 Victory Points.

-          You score 1 Victory Point for causing one or more Wounds on the enemy leader (Wounds prevented by a successful Fate roll do no count). If you kill the enemy leader, you instead score 3 Victory Points.

-          You score 2 Victory Points for each objective you carry off of your own table edge, 3 Victory Points for each objective you carry off of a side table edge, and 5 Victory Points for each objective you carry off of your opponent’s table edge. If you are holding an objective, but haven’t carried it off, you instead score 1 Victory Point.

Special Rules:

Reinforcements: At the end of your Move phase, roll a D6 for each of your warbands not on the battlefield and consult the chart below (the warband’s captain can use Might to alter the roll). Models can’t charge in the turn they arrive, but otherwise act normally. Roll for each warband separately, deploy the models in the warband, then roll for the next. Warbands yet to arrive count as being on the battlefield for the purposes of determining if your force is broken.

D6  Result

1-3 The Warband does not arrive, but receives +1 to this dice roll next turn.

4-6 The controlling player chooses a point on his board edge at least 6”/14cm from a corner – all models in the warband move onto the battlefield from this point.

Objectives: An objective can be carried off the board by any model, who must then roll on the table above to see if they re-enter the board, exactly as if they were a reinforcement (on the same board edge that they left). Models that leave the board edge in this way count as being on the board for the purposes of the force being broken, and must re-enter the board (they may not choose not to).

Objectives count as light objects with the following additional rules. They may not be passed to other models, and the model carrying it may not benefit from any equipment they are carrying. For instance, models carrying shields will not receive the defence bonus for it, models cannot use two handed weapons, bows (of any kind), throwing weapons or any other weapon until the turn after they have dropped the objective or re-enter the board. If engaged in combat, they immediately drop the objective, and count as armed with a hand weapon in the following fight (unless their profile specifically states they count as unarmed, in which case, they count as unarmed).