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The Scouring of the Shire, Part 16: The Battle of Bywater

Good morning gamers, This is it - this is for all the bananas! We've reached the end of the Scouring of the Shire campaign and we're...

Monday, February 21, 2011

Battle Reports for the LOTR SBG

You will probably see regular posts from me containing "battle reports," detailing how two armies that I've collected in the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game fought in a random engagement. In each post, I'll try to include pictures, so that there is a picture for you to follow. Some of the different types of games are:

Storm the Camp: Each force defends their camp (a certain corner of the board and all the space within 6" of that corner) while trying to take the enemy camp. The game ends when there are more enemy units in one player's camp than friendly units.
The High Ground: both armies try to have the most units on the hill after 10 turns. During rounds where there is a tie for priority, a strong wind knocks all units on the mountain to the ground.
Contest of Champions: The player who wins this scenario is the one that wipes out the enemy force and whose lead hero (select one and specify him when there are several) kills the most units (twice as many is a major victory).
Take and Hold: Players roll to see when their models arrive in a fight to hold a certain artifact. After one side is broken, a dice is rolled at the end of each turn: on the roll of a 1-2, the game ends and the side with the most units with their full bases within 3" of the relic wins.
Ill Met by Moonlight: in this game, archers are forbidden from shooting at targets more than 12" away, but they gain a +1 bonus to their wound rolls, as it is harder in the dark for their targets to avoid their arrows. Both sides fight until one of the forces is destroyed or flees the field.
To The Death: both armies just try to kill each other (following normal rules). Each force is split in half and each half of the army rolls a dice: on the roll of a 1-3, the units may not be placed more than 3" away from their board edge, while on a 4-6, the units must be placed within 18-24" of their board edge.
Domination: Usually, this is an objectives game, with several important locations being fought over and whoever holds two of these for three turns wins.
Clash of Piquets: Half of each force is deployed at the beginning of the game. At the end of each Move phase, players roll to see whether the rest of their units enter the battle. After one side is broken, the game ends with that side fleeing the field (no choice). If both forces are broken on the same turn, the game is a draw.   
Meeting Engagement: both armies fight each other normally until one side is brought to 25% of its starting size. The winner tries to have at least one of their heroes alive after the battle.
Reconnoiter: both sides try to get 25% of their army across the opposing player's board edge while trying to stop any enemy forces from getting across. The game ends after one side successfully gets 25% of his force over the board edge. Should both sides get at least one unit across the targeted board edge, the army with the most units to cross over wins the fight.
To Kill a King: Each side identifies its "king" and the goal is to not let that unit be killed. Once one of the kings is killed, the game ends, with the major victory being achieved by having the winner's force unbroken.
Seize the Prize: a sort of capture-the-flag engagement, with a certain item being the "flag," and each side trying to get to the middle of the map and seize it before the other side arrives. A unit in base contact with the artifact in the End phase may roll a dice: on the roll of a 4+, the item has been dug up and that unit is now carrying it (like a small item, so there is no limit on its movement). The item must then be taken off of any board edge for that side to win.

To determine which game is played, roll a dice: on the roll of a 1, the scenario will be one of the two gray scenarios, with each subsequent set gaining the subsequent number on the dice (with the red scenarios being selected on the roll of a 6). After the pair of scenarios has been identified, another dice is rolled: on a 1-3, the first of the two listed scenarios is chosen, while on a 4-6, the latter is chosen.

At the beginning of each battle report, I intend to not only describe what type of game is being played, but also provide pictures of what is going on. I will only be showing the important actions in each round, so I will be leaving a few things out.

Finally, I'll go over a review of what types of units were effective in each game and what units were...less effective. This should provide some insight (with repetition and trend-tracking) as to what units are effective in certain games.

So...if you'd like to pop in for a journey or two, you are certainly welcome to do so.

~Tiberius

Monday, February 14, 2011

The magic of a little creativity

Since I was very young, I lived in two worlds: one was the world that was - everything around me as it should be and as it is. But occasionally, another world would be open to me - a world which usually extended only to the borders of my room, but allowed for me to create in my own way. Whether it was through lego creations or building out of cardboard, the creative life allowed me to meet an inner need...a need that all humans possess.

Man is a creative being. Though some may disagree as to his origins, it is clear that man is not only capable of being creative with his work (art, design, construction, etc.), but he also needs such creative exercises in order to obtain a sense of fulfillment. This blogspot will explore some of the creative movements I have, whether literary or recreational fun. If you should choose to enter my world of imagination, you must do so with the understanding that this is a playground for the imagination, and therefore what is written is presented as a thought in progress, not a completed work.

Tiberius