Good morning gamers,
We're back with another Scouring of the Shire scenario, and this time we have The Gaffer and some angry Hobbit Militia trying to keep Bill Ferny and a squad of Ruffians from tearing trees on Bagshot Row. The scenario rules might look a bit like deja vu, but I think this scenario was better than its predecessor. Let's dig into it!
Uprooting of Bagshot Row
The rules for this scenario are simple: the Ruffians need to quarter the Hobbits (there are 13 of them, so three remaining) and the Hobbits need to kill Bill Ferny (if both happen on the same turn, it's a draw). This is . . . exactly the same scoring conditions as we had in the first scenario (Skirmish in Bree - though if Bill Ferny doesn't kill 2 models in that scenario, it's also a draw), but there are some really key differences in the supporting rules.
First, all the Hobbits and Bill Ferny must charge if they can - this makes it so Bill Ferny has to either stay completely out of the fighting (which could slow down the speed at which the Hobbits are quartered) or he needs to get stuck in (possibly without support). This you-gotta-charge rule is absent from the Skirmish in Bree scenario and makes the game more exciting if you want to use Bill's Might point to help you kill stuff faster - though Bill Ferny does have to do some fighting in the Bree scenario or the game is a draw - but in this scenario, he at least has the option to stand back if he wants to.
Second, the Gaffer gets +1 FV when fighting Bill Ferny (which means they'll both be F3 and neither has Heroic Strike). The Gaffer also rerolls failed To Wound rolls in combat against Bill (or rerolling 1s/rerolling all faileds with his stones if Bill Ferny is within 4" of a flower or has removed one or more of his flowers respectively). This gives the Good side a hero who's not particularly good, but is also not bad - and last time, they didn't have a hero to fight the Ruffians at all.
Third, last time, the Ruffians walked on from one board edge while the Good models started in the middle of the board. This time, the Ruffians start on one side and the Hobbits start on the other - that allows the Hobbits a bit more choice on how they want to play, though the bows on the Ruffian side do make it so they can't just sit and wait for the Ruffians to charge.
Okay, so with all that in mind, we set up as you see above - Centaur got his Hobbits as far up as he could and I deployed my Ruffians as close to 3" away from the smial as I could. Bill Ferny is touching the chimney and feels very exposed at the moment. Centaur then placed his flowers and decided to use them to make a "no man's land" across the center, undoubtedly to either make a kill zone for his stones or to force me to go around, which will limit my application of numbers. Let's start round one!
Turn 1: Priority Good
The Hobbits moved up in a few places, but about half of them hung back. I blocked out what 4" of each flower was and made most of my Ruffians walk around it towards the southern board edge. All four of my archers stood still and three of my Ruffians (two with whips) advanced straight forward on the northern side to get some whip shots in. They're also very exposed, but Centaur didn't have any shots that way (In retrospect I should have kept my hobbits together - I don't know what I was thinking when I did this, :P ).
In the Shoot Phase, my bow-armed Ruffians got a kill in - great start!
Kill Count: Ruffians 1/13, Shire 0/13.
Turn 2: Priority Good
The Hobbits won priority and jumped on some of my Ruffians - I responded as best I could. Centaur's Hobbits who were stationary in the middle started to come up this round while my archers (mostly) stood still to shoot. Bill Ferny jumped into a Hobbit and got two buddies in the same fight . . . I wonder what he could be planning . . .
In the Shoot Phase, another archer killed a Hobbit - clutch start!
In the Fight Phase, Bill Ferny called a Heroic Combat (1/1M), which he proceeded to win and killed the Hobbit he was fighting - and if I was smart, I would have sent Bill Ferny down to help with the other lop-sided fights. Instead, I chose to send him towards where the larger group of Hobbits was . . . this was a bit of a risk in hindsight, but not an overly bad decision in the moment (he was fighting on the end of the battle line, after all).
The rest of the fights went pretty well, with my Ruffians up top killing two Hobbits, my guys down south killing one of the two Hobbits, and Bill getting his man. So far, not a Ruffian has been lost and we've got a very strong position (see what I was saying: my whole setup was REALLY dumb. Don't try this at home kids! :P )!
Kill Count: Ruffians 7/13, Shire 0/13. If I can just kill 3 more Hobbits and keep Bill alive, I can win!
Turn 3: Priority Good
With no Might on my side and Centaur winning priority again, Bill was charged - and I did my best to counter-charge him with the models that could reach. My archers started to close in since the game would likely end if I could just kill some models.
The Fight Phase was a whirl of emotions - Centaur started off with the Bill Ferny fight (he was up against the Gaffer and one Hobbit Militia - but was trapped by another Hobbit Militia who had been engaged by one of my Ruffians), Bill only got a 4 compared to the Gaffer's 5-high, the Hobbit Militia in the same fight got a 5 and a 6 on his To Wound rolls (both successes) and the Gaffer got garbage rolls at first, but then rerolled them (because scenario rules) and got a 4, which he boosted to a 5 (1/1M) - Bill didn't roll for Fate and just died!
In the other fights, I killed the Hobbit I swarmed below and I killed one Hobbit that I fought two-on-one, but then in my remaining two fights, I lost to the Hobbits and the Ruffians fighting those Militia died! I dug up two flowers (mostly for spite), but with four models left on the board, the Hobbits weren't quartered and won the game!
Kill Count: Ruffians 9/13, Shire 2/13. Victory to the Shire - Centaur will get to use the Gaffer in the Battle of Bywater scenario . . . those flowers are gonna hurt with all the bows and stones that he's got in that one . . .
Conclusion
15-minute scenarios are great fun - and BOY was this one a come-from-behind victory for the Shire! The game felt a bit better than the Skirmish in Bree scenario, mostly because the Hobbits had more agency, but the Ruffians are just better than the Militia - a few bows on the Hobbit side would have probably made things feel more even (or if the bows on the Ruffian side became whips - either one would be fine). All told, it was quick and good fun - and exciting to the very end!
Tiberius Scenario Rating: 3.5/5 stars. The Gaffer got bonuses that made him feel angry and at least a comparable hero to Bill Ferny (which isn't saying much, but is good for the scenario). The scenario participants could be changed a bit, but no matter how you cut it, the Ruffians will always have an advantage over the Hobbits if they can get to melee - and that's not a terrible place to be, but can also make a game swing hard. If I had played a bit more conservatively with Bill, I could see this one being a lopsided game that wasn't as fun. Still great to play, but not as great as some of the more recent scenarios.
Centaur's Assessment: This was luck, pure and simple: had I not won priority the third turn we probably would have lost. I recommend keeping your hobbits together, and then mobbing Bill en masse for more success. But hey, I'll take a lucky break! :P
With Bagshot Row sort of uprooted, we turn next time to a really interesting scenario, where I get to control Hobbit Shirriffs as they attempt to arrest Folco Boffin (one of the WORST profiles in the Shire list). Can Centaur pull out a win and get Folco to safety? Find out next time - and until then, happy hobbying!
No comments:
Post a Comment