So since time is short with the holidays, I'm thinking about doing some painting posts to keep things interesting.
"...we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make." ~Wood Elf Leader, The Fellowship of the Ring
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Paints...
So right now the battle reports for the Fellowship and Goblins are being put on hold, as a puzzle takes up my usual playing station...and my wife and I are merrily expecting our first child, to be born near the end of June 2012...
This means that there is hardly a viable place in our small dwelling for a 48" square board with lots of pieces and a consuming amount of time to put it together/tear it down. So what's there to do in the hobby when there isn't enough space to play a game?
PAINTING and CONVERSIONS!!!
Anyway, a few pictures to leave you with until the next game...and the jumping Goblins in the picture below are inspired by other hobbyists who have done greater and grander things than I.
This means that there is hardly a viable place in our small dwelling for a 48" square board with lots of pieces and a consuming amount of time to put it together/tear it down. So what's there to do in the hobby when there isn't enough space to play a game?
PAINTING and CONVERSIONS!!!
You'll notice here that I haven't finished painting this Goblin, as I'm planning on borrowing his hand for a different unit and replacing it with an axe-bearing hand from one of my Dwarves later. This is because there is a Goblin in the movies who wields an axe (he happens to cut through the door and show his axe before taking an Elven arrow to the neck or something) |
All of the Goblins on rocky ground... |
...hiding behind rocks... |
...and on cliffs! |
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Fellowship vs. Goblins Teaser
Ok, so this past weekend was busy with several Christmas parties in a row, but I got to play-test some new Goblin scenery which will be surfacing in the upcoming Fellowship games (maybe get a game in this coming Tuesday/Wednesday with Gaius after my grad school classes are over). Here's a few pictures of part of a scenario we played...turns out we're not going to be using the time limit rule, as it takes us too long to get through turns and would therefore slant victory towards the Goblins much to easily.
The Fellowship and Goblins in the depths of Moria. |
Gimli and Aragorn charge a line of Goblins. |
Aragorn kills a Goblin as the rest of the Fellowship assault team attacks Goblins. |
A clean look a the terrain...zoom in for more details. |
The Troll eats the dust after being immobilized by Gandalf. |
While the other four heroes are charging, Legolas defends the hobbits in a defensive structure. |
I have a special affinity for throwing weapons...and Gimli brings a few to the table. |
Be prepared for upcoming reports between the Goblins and the Fellowship soon! |
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Meeting Engagement: The Fellowship vs. The Uruk-Hai
Today we have the second game between the Fellowship and the Uruk-Hai of Isengard. Today's mission is going to be...different. We're still playing to the bitter end, but today we're only going to play until the destruction of 3/4 of an army. After a heavy beating the other day, the Fellowship is out for vengeance against the minions of Saruman. Here are the forces for today's game...
Fellowship of the Ring: 500 points
Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points
Boromir of Gondor with Elven cloak - 115 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with armor - 95 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with armor - 95 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
6 units, 2 bows + 1 thrown weapon, 6 heroes
The Fist of Isengard: 501 points
Uruk-Hai Captain with heavy armor and shield - 60 points
Vrasku - 60 points (ally: Isengard Raiders)
Vrasku - 60 points (ally: Isengard Raiders)
18 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - 180 points
14 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes - 140 points
2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows - 22 points
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner - 39 points
14 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes - 140 points
2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows - 22 points
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner - 39 points
37 units, 2 crossbows + Vrasku, 2 heroes
The scenario we will be playing is a "Meeting Engagement" game on a board that is 48" x 48". Each army places their troops within 18" of their corner and will fight until one side is reduced to 25% of its starting size. The side that reduces the enemy to 1/4 strength wins a major victory if at least 1 hero is still alive, while a minor victory is won if no hero is alive. None of the terrain has been placed within 12" of the center of the board.
For the purposes of this game, Merry and Pippen will not count as heroes. The rules of the game are a double-edge sword against the Fellowship: with only 6 units, the loss of 5 units will end the game (which could come quickly, as the last game showed), whereas if the Fellowship wins the game with more than just Merry and Pippen, they win a major victory. The only reason why this would matter is for the points scored next to each army record on the right sidebar.
For the purposes of this game, Merry and Pippen will not count as heroes. The rules of the game are a double-edge sword against the Fellowship: with only 6 units, the loss of 5 units will end the game (which could come quickly, as the last game showed), whereas if the Fellowship wins the game with more than just Merry and Pippen, they win a major victory. The only reason why this would matter is for the points scored next to each army record on the right sidebar.
Turn 1: Undaunted Will (Priority - Uruk-Hai)
Turn 2: Fly True (P - tied, Fellowship)
Turn 3: To The River! (P - Fellowship)
Turn 4: The Dunedain Strikes True (P - tied, Uruk-Hai)
Turn 5: The Volleys Are Answered (P - Uruks)
The armies continue to avoid each other, though Gimli has brought the Uruks into throwing-axe range. The crossbows prepare to fire for the first turn this round, so we'll see if they do much damage. |
Turn 6: The Deep Breath Before... (P - Uruk-Hai)
Turn 7: A Clash of Arms (P - Uruk-Hai)
In the Shoot phase, Legolas paid his last Might point to kill a pikeman supporting one of Boromir's attackers. Boromir now faces 4 attack dice instead of 6...yaye. |
Turn 8: Flurry of Blades and Futile Flailing (P - tied, Fellowship)
Turn 9: The River Runs Red (P - Fellowship)
Kill count: Fellowship 18/37, Uruks 2/6. The Uruks are 1 unit away from breaking. Aragorn has 5 kills, Gimli has 4 kills, and Legolas and Boromir have 3 kills. 3 Uruks have been killed by the river or friendly fire. The only scoring unit on the other team is a single Uruk-Hai Warrior who drowned after shoving the hobbits underwater with his broad sword.
Turn 10: Broken (P - Fellowship)
Kill count: Fellowship 22/37, Uruks 3/6. With both sides broken, we need to test and see how many units stay. It all depends on who gets priority now...
Assessment by Gaius:
Well, we tried. The first terrain pieces placed were the river and forests and I placed terrain places I didn't want the battle to go to (really out of the way). I was banking on getting to choose my location first, but that didn't happen. Oh well. I tried crossing the river and it worked for one Uruk (not so good with the trapping units who fought Aragorn and ran into two angry hobbits though. Next fight we'll do better...though the next set is Goblin games, so we'll see how that goes.
Assessment by Tiberius:
Ah, when the heroes work, they're amazing. Case settled. No fights lost in close-combat means no getting pummeled to death mercilessly like we did last game. Makes the game so much more enjoyable. Though I love playing with all these heroes, the fact that they need to share kills really hurts their performance. Seven kills for Aragorn is still really good, but 4 for all the other heroes? That's an under-performance, especially for a game that fights on until 25% of one force is left. Still, an enjoyable game and one of the few to actually incorporate combat with water!
Stellar unit for the Fellowship: Aragorn/Strider with bow
Gimli and Legolas both scored 4 kills, culminating in 40 points each. Boromir technically had the highest amount of points scored because of the Captain (who Legolas wounded twice), scoring a grand total of 90 points, which would be less if we gave 40 of the Captain's 60 points to Legolas because of the wounds he dealt. Aragorn, however, came out with 7 kills (most on the team) and single-handedly took warriors from the other player's plates and endured two showers of crossbow bolts (until Legolas was a likely candidate). It's so much fun to play with Aragorn, as his free Might point never ceases to do wonders for his survive-ability. Though all four heroes are amazing in their own right, I need to give this laurel to Aragorn.
Stellar unit for the Uruk-Hai: Vrasku
I try not to give it to heroes, but since we gave it to Aragorn above, we should go completely off merit. Merit works as follows: one Uruk killed Merry and Pippen. Another Uruk wounded Legolas and burned two of his Fate points. Vrasku wounded Aragorn and killed Legolas. Hmmm...hard choice. Vrasku also handily passed his Courage test to keep the other units in the game and always scored a hit each round. Sometimes the core units are disappointing...and when that happens, we may just have to pick a hero to give the award to.
I try not to give it to heroes, but since we gave it to Aragorn above, we should go completely off merit. Merit works as follows: one Uruk killed Merry and Pippen. Another Uruk wounded Legolas and burned two of his Fate points. Vrasku wounded Aragorn and killed Legolas. Hmmm...hard choice. Vrasku also handily passed his Courage test to keep the other units in the game and always scored a hit each round. Sometimes the core units are disappointing...and when that happens, we may just have to pick a hero to give the award to.
Monday, November 28, 2011
To the Death: The Fellowship vs. The Uruk-Hai
With the grand tournament done, I'm going to experiment with the Fellowship a little against various evil forces. I went back through the battle reports I've put up, and figured out how many points each army has gained while playing their 11+ games. These numbers are visible in the brackets to the right of the army's record. 5 points are gained for a major victory, 4 for a minor victory, 3 for a draw, and 1-2 for a major/minor loss respectively. In these upcoming Fellowship games, I'll be sure to highlight what a major/minor victory entails. Two of these games are going to be against my army of Uruk-Hai (who are desperate for a better game than the "Clash of Piquets" last time), and two are going to be against the Goblins in two Moria scenarios.
Fellowship of the Ring: 500 points
Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points
Boromir of Gondor with Elven cloak - 115 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with armor - 95 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with armor - 95 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
6 units, 2 bows + 1 thrown weapon, 6 heroes
The Fist of Isengard: 501 points
Uruk-Hai Captain with heavy armor and shield - 60 points
18 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - 180 points
18 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - 180 points
14 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes - 140 points
2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows - 22 points
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner - 39 points
2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows - 22 points
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner - 39 points
Ally: Vrasku - 60 points
37 units, 2 crossbows + Vrasku, 2 heroes
The scenario we will be playing is a "To the Death" game on a board that is 48" x 48". Unlike the last game, the ability to consolidate a starting force is difficult in this game, as both groups could be spread pretty thin. In this case, only three units will be in each group, so hopefully (for me), the Fellowship heroes will start in the same region, so I can form a solid defense. I know already I need to keep Merry and Pippen out of the fighting if I can, but primarily just to make sure that Boromir and Aragorn don't get clobbered by the Uruk-Hai when the charging comes.
Uruk-Hai Captain with heavy armor and shield - 60 points 9 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - 180 points 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes - 160 points |
Here's the Fellowship groups:
Fellowship, Group 1: (0-3" OR 18-24")
Boromir of Gondor with Elven cloak - 115 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Fellowship, Group 2: (0-3" OR 18-24")
Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with armor - 95 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
The scenario lends itself to my choice of how to group my soldiers - this Fellowship is the same one that fights at Amon Hen! Boromir and the hobbits need saving, so Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli will be meeting up with them. It's also nice that the measure for splitting up soldiers is based on number of units instead of points (as one side dwarfs the other by far). Unfortunately, also like in Amon Hen, the three Hunters will need to reach Merry, Pippen, and Boromir before they are overwhelmed.
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points
The scenario lends itself to my choice of how to group my soldiers - this Fellowship is the same one that fights at Amon Hen! Boromir and the hobbits need saving, so Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli will be meeting up with them. It's also nice that the measure for splitting up soldiers is based on number of units instead of points (as one side dwarfs the other by far). Unfortunately, also like in Amon Hen, the three Hunters will need to reach Merry, Pippen, and Boromir before they are overwhelmed.
Turn 1: The Fast Pursuit (Priority - Fellowship)
Turn 2: Answering The Horn (P - tied, Uruk-Hai)
Boromir called a heroic move and shifted himself between the advancing Uruk phalanx and the hobbits nearby. The Uruks then charged all around and Aragorn emerged from the Amon Hen structure. |
Legolas takes aim against the crossbowmen on the hill and lands two wounds: one on Vrasku and one on one of his bodyguards (1 Might used). |
Turn 3: The Sound of Steel (P - Fellowship)
Crossbows ready to shoot on the hill and Uruk-Hai racing around the melee heroes spells bad news for the heroes here. I'm more than a bit concerned about how this fight is going to go. |
Turn 4: Noble Warriors (P - Fellowship)
Legolas was worth his salt this round and slew two Uruks with shields while paying NO Might points. I'm so happy... |
Turn 5: No Escape (P - Uruks)
Turn 6: Hard Pressed And Hardly Beaten (P - Fellowship)
So at this point, I'm really pressed for what to do. I've got two trapped heroes fighting eight Uruks each. I really, really, really need to roll a 6 in each fight this round. |
Turn 7: All Turns Black (P - Uruk-Hai)
Conclusion:
Assessment by Gaius:
Winning feels good. It does - especially when you have an army of Uruk-Hai and you best the Fellowship of the Ring. :) In all seriousness, the game moved quite smoothly. I don't handle crossbows very well, so it was tough playing against a skilled archer with a good bow shooting at my vulnerable hero and guardsmen. I like Vrasku's ability to shoot twice, but his Defense 5 is a real draw-back when fighting Strength 3 ranged weapons (as Tiberius' Free People armies all sport). Next time, Uruks with shields will be standing in front of them to provide some protection, but on the whole, they served as a good diversion, tying up a 95 point archer with 80 points of units and leading to his getting trapped before he could move towards his friends. It all worked in the end.
Assessment by Tiberius:
There's something about playing with the Fellowship that is both invigorating and disheartening. It's great to have all (or mostly) elite troops who win fights when they roll a 6 and smash through the enemy without a problem. What can be tough, though, is losing a hero before you're done using him. It's also a bit unnerving when Merry and Pippen die and you're one unit from breaking. It shouldn't be a problem against armies that don't sport the Golden King of Abrakhan, but it's a bit disheartening all the same. On the whole, it was a fairer game facing the full-force of the Uruk army this time, unlike the Clash of Piquets game we played a while back.
Stellar unit for the Fellowship: Aragorn with bow
Though the bow was no help in this game, Aragorn really did a good job (except at the end). I usually say that Aragorn can kill his weight in units (namely, score 180 points in a game). In this game, he only scored 70 points, but that's still really good for a short game. Legolas scored 90 points this game, but this consisted of the crossbow Captain Vrasku and 3 other units. For having more turns of archer, I expected more from him. On the whole, the heroes had a rough day, with no 6s in their Fights after Turn 2 (Gimli had a 6 in Turn 3, but nothing that high since that turn).
Stellar unit for the Uruk-Hai: Uruk-Hai Warrior with pikes
I very rarely give these guys the titles they deserve (same with Goblin spearmen). If it weren't for the overwhelming number of dice (and the all-but-guaranteed roll of a 6 with 8 attacking warriors), the Uruk-Hai would lose most (if not all of) their fights. The pikes are vulnerable to Strength 3 units (Legolas' bow and Gimli's throwing axe in this case), but against Strength 2 weapons (hobbits and Aragorn's bow) or Strength 4 heroes (everyone except the hobbits), these guys are solid troops (or at least, as solid as their shield-toting cousins). The ability to spell death for a hero in one turn of losing a fight like this game featured is invaluable. I am looking at converting two of my pikemen into crossbowmen to mimic this army with warg riders potentially coming in the future. In the mean time, keep an eye out for more hobby projects and games this coming week!
I very rarely give these guys the titles they deserve (same with Goblin spearmen). If it weren't for the overwhelming number of dice (and the all-but-guaranteed roll of a 6 with 8 attacking warriors), the Uruk-Hai would lose most (if not all of) their fights. The pikes are vulnerable to Strength 3 units (Legolas' bow and Gimli's throwing axe in this case), but against Strength 2 weapons (hobbits and Aragorn's bow) or Strength 4 heroes (everyone except the hobbits), these guys are solid troops (or at least, as solid as their shield-toting cousins). The ability to spell death for a hero in one turn of losing a fight like this game featured is invaluable. I am looking at converting two of my pikemen into crossbowmen to mimic this army with warg riders potentially coming in the future. In the mean time, keep an eye out for more hobby projects and games this coming week!