Good morning gamers,
It's scenario NINE and we have one of the oddest scenarios to date - Folco Boffin (one of the WORST heroes in the game) and eight Hobbit Militia (one of the WORST warrior profiles in the game) are going up against a bunch of Shirriffs . . . is it even possible for them to win?
The Arrest of Folco Boffin
The board has three Hobbit smials on it - the 12 Hobbit Shirriffs and two heroes deployed within 3" of the southern board edge and Folco and his friends deployed within 3" of the northern board edge. The Shirriffs can Paralyze and carry Falco and the Militia, but they can't kill them - if Centaur's Militia can win fights, they could gain the upper hand quickly. There will be no Thrown Stones this game ("we don't want hurt you guys") - it's basically a bar fight on a roadside, so let's see how it goes!
Turns 1-2: Priority Good (both rounds)
On the first turn, both forces just moved towards each other - very boring stuff.
On the second turn, both armies continued to move towards each other - more boring stuff.
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 0/9, Shire 0/14.
Turn 3: Priority Good
On the third turn, the Hobbit Militia advanced forward with Folco moving to the side a bit (he's one of two guys without the heather flowers). The Shirriffs engaged and the fighting began!
After some intense fighting, one Shirriff was killed and four Militia were Paralyzed - if the Shirriffs can capitalize on their numbers, they've got a good shot at winning!
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 4/9, Shire 1/14.
Turn 4: Priority Good
Holfoot Bracegirdle called a Heroic Move (1/1M) so I could get the matchups I wanted. Since Folco doesn't have any Might, the Shirriffs swarmed who they could and some of the Paralyzed Militia were dragged away . . . and I learned that dragging away paralyzed models really confuses your battle line!
In the Fight Phase, another Shirriff was killed and there were STILL only four Paralyzed Hobbits. No one recovered in the End Phase from their "paralysis", so we continued to Turn 5.
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 4/9, Shire 2/14.
Turn 5: Priority Good
Robin Smallburrow called a Heroic Move (1/1M) - and now I'm out of Might. Still, I got the matchups I wanted and we sailed in for another rough round of fighting. Several Militia have been dragged away from the action, but I could only get one model on Folco, who drifted behind his friends.
During the Fight Phase, all of the Shirriffs survived, but now there are five Paralyzed models . . . which I feel like there should be more than that . . . this is proving more difficult than I thought . . .
. . . and to add insult to injury, two of the Hobbit Militia recovered at the end of the round and now I've got guys who can keep my Shirriffs tied up on the flanks!
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 3/9, Shire 2/14.
Turn 6: Priority Good
With Good winning yet ANOTHER Priority round, Folco got around my men and to safety. As a result, I just swarmed Militia, intending to get as many of them on the ground as possible to make reaching and capturing Folco easier. Lots of fights have been doubled-up, so I'm hoping that helps me convert wins to paralyzed Hobbits . . .
. . . and it basically worked - six down for the count, though I did lose two Shirriffs to the two guys who didn't get knocked senseless. Still, I've got ten active models to Centaur's three - and none of them recovered this round, so we're in good shape for Turn 7!
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 6/9, Shire 4/14.
Turn 7: Priority Evil
FINALLY - I dragged some paralyzed Hobbits to the one side and engaged as best I could. Holfoot is holding back at the center-bottom of the picture just in case things go wrong, but I've got two guys on Folco this turn, so I'm hoping that works out.
Alas for Centaur, I managed to paralyze both Folco and one of his two remaining Militia . . . and no one recovered. I now have to drag him off the board edge that he wants to get off of, so hopefully he doesn't wake up or anything . . .
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 8/9, Shire 4/14.
Turn 8-9: Priority Evil, then Good
I abandoned all the Hobbits I'd Paralyzed and started moving Folco - but forgot to take the initial movement pic. As you can see here, Centaur's one remaining Militia managed to kill one of my Shirriffs as I'm dragging Folco off (even though it was two Shirriffs on one Militia)!
At the end of that round - wait for it - FIVE people woke up and on the following turn, they slammed into me! Well, that kinda bites . . .
. . . but only for a moment, as we put three of them back on the ground. One guy got up at the end of the round, but it's still looking pretty good for me!
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 5/9, Shire 5/14.
Turn 10: Priority Good
Without priority, I was once again caught flat-footed trying to get Folco out, but I was able to drag some guys out of the way so I have a nice open road (something that you NEED if you're going to move two models with another guy in tow). I doubled-up where I could in response to Centaur's charges, but golly I'm tired of people waking up - they're just Hobbit Militia after all!
At the end of the round, I had seven guys konked out, though one woke up at the end of the round (again, on a flank!). I also lost another Shirriff, so things are starting to tip . . . my hope is that I can just get a few turns of running so I can get clear of the Militia, and hope Folco doesn't wake up just as we're ready to cross the board . . .
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 6/9, Shire 6/14.
Turn 11: Priority Good
Centaur moved who he could, but I was able to start breaking away with Folco. I also started trying to close the gap with my Shirriffs to make sure no Militia could charge me next turn - we'll see if it works.
At the end of the round, one Militia was standing - and he's blocked out by a Shirriff's control zone, so hopefully I'm home-free!
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 8/9, Shire 6/14.
Turn 12: Priority tied, Evil
Well, I legged it! I tied up the last guy and started moving my Shirriffs to a consolidated position. All told, I'm pretty happy with how things are going . . . so long as Folco doesn't wake up.
In the Fight Phase, there was a lot of nothing - one guy got up at the end of the round, but no casualties on either side were taken.
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 7/9, Shire 6/14.
Turn 13: Priority Good
Centaur did what he could, but he couldn't reach Folco - and while several Militia woke up, Folco wasn't one of them. Pity, because that means . . .
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 5/9, Shire 6/14.
Turn 14: Priority Evil
. . . I could just walk off with him. The game was over, but we fought out the last of it . . .
. . . and the Militia managed to bring down one more Shirriff . . .
. . . and other people woke up, but alas, their friend was gone . . .
Paraylze/Kill Count: Ruffians 5/9, Shire 7/14.
Victory for the Ruffians! In The Battle of Bywater scenario, Holfoot Bracegirdle and Robin Smallburrow aren't allowed to call heroic actions - that'll be sweet for me!
Conclusion
This scenario was really, really interesting - more on that shortly in the ratings below. The scenario also took a surprising amount of time because the prone Hobbits clogged up a lot of space, making it hard for the Shirriffs to really bring their numbers to bear. In a one-on-one fight, the Shirriffs have an advantage, but only a slight one - and if they drag a Militia guy out of the way and he wakes up . . . the Shirriffs can be outflanked and the game can swing. Like other scenarios we've seen in this campaign, dragging Folco towards the board edge is great for the Shirriff player, but could also backfire if he wakes up and moves off on his own . . . really interesting scenario.
Tiberius Scenario Rating: 19/5 stars. I'm gonna be honest - I thought this was gonna be a 15-minute scenario. Centaur thought it was gonna be a 6-minute scenario as he was jogging down the lane. It turned out to be almost an HOUR long due to the prone bodies that needed to be dragged out of the way (some of which got up again). It was actually a very interesting game, what with the Hobbit Shirriffs having better stats but being unable to kill anyone - and the Militia being able to Piercing Strike without worrying about their lower Defense and being able to clear Shirriffs that they actually beat on a 4+! I had a lot of doubts going in, but the design team did a REALLY good job with this scenario. I stopped short of 20 stars, however, because Folco can't do anything with his Will points in this scenario . . . using them to boost his Paralyze tests would have been a nice touch. Still, I think this was the best designed scenario to date and I'd enjoy playing it again!
Centaur Scenario Rating: 5/5 stars. I don't typically weigh in, because Tiberius and I tend to be of the same mind when it comes to narrative play, but I wanted to chime in to say that I thought for a moment there that I was destined to lose, but boy howdy was this an interesting scenario. The mechanic of the shirriffs not actually being able to remove anyone, and the hobbit militia being able to take them out and potentially make a gap, makes for a very interesting scenario. Just a few rolls working out differently and this could have been a very different ending. Great design, very different from other scenarios from other books, very fun - just really good all around.
We'll be back next time with the Old Storehouse - can Baldo's extra traps (possibly other stuff) lead the Hobbits to victory? Or will the Ruffians carry the day? Find out next time - and until then, happy hobbying!
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