The Citadel of the Stars, Part III: Osgiliath

Good morning gamers,

This scenario is sort of deja vu for us here at TMAT - Centaur and I have played this scenario twice during our Fantasy Fellowship campaign (once with me controlling my Fellowship and once with him using his fellowship). This will be the third time we've played the scenario - and like the last two times, we will not be using the exact units in the scenario. :)

Osgiliath (Quest of the Ringbearer, p. 54)

We've decided to use the following models in today's game - due to Anborn and Mablung moving to Legacies (and the already 200pt advantage for Good), I've removed them from this mission . . . but for a bit of foreshadowing, I think I could have used a few more bodies:

• Forces of Good: Garrison of Ithilien 
• Faramir, Captain of Ithilien 
• Madril, Captain of Ithilien 
• Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien 
• Frodo Baggins with Sting, Mithril Coat, and Elven cloak
• Samwise Gamgee with Elven cloak
• Smeagol
• 4 5 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields
• 4 5 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields and spears
• 4 2 Warriors of Minas Tirith with bows
• 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with banner
• 8 Rangers of Gondor 
• 4 Rangers of Gondor with spears
• 2 Osgiliath Veterans with shields 
• 2 Osgiliath Veterans with spears 
• 2 Osgiliath Veterans with bows
• Forces of Evil: The Army of the Great Eye 
• 1 Ringwraith of Fell Beast with 2 Attacks, 2M/14W/2F
• 3 Mordor Orc Captains
• 12 Mordor Orc Warriors with shields 
• 12 Mordor Orc Warriors with spears
• 6 Mordor Orc Warriors with two-handed weapons 
• 6 Mordor Orc Warriors with Orc bows
• 1 Mordor Orc Warrior with banner 

Evil is unchanged (except that the Ringwraith has 2 Attacks base now - huzzah!) and good has lost the Legacied Ranger heroes and traded only two Warriors of Minas Tirith with bows to get melee guys. Some of the hero profiles have changed a bit, but otherwise we've got more or less what we used to have.

The board is set up so that there are eight buildings on the board - all from Jacob Lucas's Kingdom of Tor Ithilas campain (which you can find on Conquest Creations). We will be fighting for control of the barracks (bottom-left), the stable (center-top-left), and the manor house (bottom-right). We'll see how attacking or defending these went, but keep in mind that warrior models can test to see if they can come back after they die.

 

We deployed as you see above - I've got a path for Madril to lead Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol to the right (and while Smeagol is near Frodo and Sam, they'll ignore difficult terrain - perfect on a map like this). I have Damrod leading a bunch of guys on the far-right to make sure there's plenty of space for Frodo to work once he gets to that side of the map . . . but that has left a skeleton crew to protect the middle and the left side of the map. I'm counting a bit on reinforcements helping me with those later in the game.

Turn 1: Priority Good

As is standard for scenario play, Good has priority on the first turn (some scenarios say otherwise) and I declared a Heroic March with Madril (1/3M). I formed up to fight the Orcs on the right side and mostly stood still with my other models to get some shots off. My bowmen in the center-bottom-left building are about to be charged and a few of my guys sitting in the Stable got charged across the barriers.

In the Shoot Phase, I got a kill with my Rangers against an Orc on his way down a corridor - a great start! My bowmen in the building . . . didn't kill anyone.

In the Fight Phase, two of my warriors pushed back the assaulting Orcs (including a Captain), but one of the Orcs cut through one of my bowmen and crossed over. NOTE: the 25mm brick base at the top of the photo is the "red eye" token for the army list - banner where it matters is pretty nice, but more thoughts on this at the end of the post.

Turn 2: Priority Evil

With Evil getting priority, I declared another Heroic March with Madril, who led Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol after Evil was done moving towards the other board edge - we're on the second board panel, so we're making it! I tried to do what I could to keep some shooting lanes and keep the Orcs at bay, including charging the Orc that hopped over the barrier last round.

I got another bow kill with the Rangers - but golly are there a lot of Orcs!

In the Fight Phase, there were two Heroic Combats: one from an Orc Captain on the right side (1/2M) and one by Faramir (1/3M). Faramir went first, won his fight, killed his guy, and charged into someone new. The Orc Captain . . . whiffed it and was wounded (1/2H).

The rest of the fights were a bit wild with me killing a few Orcs and having a strong dominance on my right flank (bottom of the image), but on all of the other fronts, I got rolled - badly. All in all, I've got a good chance of securing the furthest right building, but the other two need help.

Turn 3: Priority tied, Good

I called a March again with Madril, which got the Hobbits well across the table - and a good thing too, since there's a Nazgul on the board now! I engaged as well as I could, but much of the city is lost.

There were two successful Heroic Combats - Damrod killed an Orc on the right and an Orc Captain killed a Warrior of Minas Tirith on the left.

The fighting was brutal again and while we traded guys on both sides, my guys continued to refuse to come back . . . not good.

Turn 4: Priority Evil

The Fell Beast is coming up fast and the Hobbits are running - and yes, most of the city is lost . . .

I believe this was a Heroic Combat from an Orc Captain, slingshoting himself and some warriors into the stable to score it, but it could have also been an arrow . . . I don't remember. :-)

The fights were mostly a push - and I am desperate for a draw right now!

Turn 5: Priority Good

So funny thing: Centaur wanted bodies on the ground, so he jumped from the top level of that building and ended up killing three of his guys! The numbers you see are their respawn checks - two are coming back!

I tagged the Nazgul, but have list a lot of guys. The important thing is that Frodo is on his way into the building!

"Get in quick, Mr. Frodo - that black rider is coming!" Heroic Combats are nasty when flying monsters are involved . . .

The fights were bloody - lots of dead guys . . .

Turn 6: Priority Evil

Sam did a brave thing: he charged the Nazgul ("Back, you devil!"). Frodo presses on, hoping to get to the board edge soonest!

Sam has a free Heroic Combat and promptly loses the fight and botches both of his Fate rolls . . . he died . . .

The rest of the board went fine - I have an advantage in the Manor House at the bottom right, which is good for me . . .

. . . also, this is what the permanent Valhalla looks like:

Turn 7: Priority Good

Frodo puts on the Ring - since I can tag the wraith again, Frodo can put on the Ring and slip to where he can get off the board and land us a draw. We'll see how it goes . . .

Frodo calls a Combat (1/2M), wins (2/2M), and gets off the board - huzzah!

Damrod loses and is wounded (1/2H), but otherwise it's more of the same stuff.

Postgame

At the end of the game, I had permanently lost 19 men, while Centaur had permanently lost 18 Orcs - it actually was quite close! The game was fun, but not as fun as last time. I enjoyed it and would be happy to play it again.

If you enjoyed it too, let us know in the comments below! We'll be back with more Osgiliath fun later - until next time, happy hobbying!