Brawl: Rohan and Gondor vs. Moria and the Serpent Horde

 This past weekend, I played the largets game I've ever played with my good friend Zorro and his two brothers, Captain Glot and Tavros. We played the largest game I've ever participated in with the following forces (and the first game I've played with Zorro's brothers since they got their own units):

Tiberius: The Warriors of the Westfold: 500 points

Rohan Captain with horse, shield, bow - 65 points

Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points

9 Warriors of Rohan with shields - 63 points

9 Warriors of Rohan with shields and thrown spears - 81 points

6 Warriors of Rohan with bows - 42 points

3 Riders of Rohan (all can shoot) - 39 points

2 Riders of Rohan with thrown spears - 30 points

31 units, 11 bows + 11 throwing weapons, 2 heroes

Tavros: The Garrison of Osgiliath: 481 points - NOTE: I just now realized that this army was short-handed

Boromir of Gondor - 105 points

Captain of Gondor with shield, lance, and horse - 70 points

18 Warriors of Minas Tirith with shields - 144 points

8 Warriors of Minas Tirith with bows - 64 points

7 Knights of Minas Tirith with shields - 98 points

35 units, 8 bows, 2 heroes

Zorro: The Warriors of the Serpent Horde: 501 points

Golden King of Abrakhan - 115 points
Dalamyr, Admiral of the Corsairs - 100 points
20 Serpent Guard - 160 points
13 Haradrim Warriors with bows - 78 points
6 Abrakhan Guards - 48 points

41 units, 13 bows + Dalamyr, 2 heroes

Captain Glot: The Denizens of Moria: 500 points

Durburz, Goblin King of Moria - 60 points

Goblin Shaman - 45 points

18 Goblin Warriors with shields - 90 points

17 Goblin Warriors with spears - 85 points

10 Goblin Warriors with Orc bows - 50 points

2 Cave Trolls with Troll chains - 170 points

49 units, 10 bows + 2 troll chains, 2 heroes

The scenario we will be playing is a Brawl game, which means we're all just trying to kill each other. We've placed terrain on the map to create the following set-up:

Rohan has formed up on the bottom right, while Gondor is on the bottom left. Our archers have joined together so we can volley (which I haven't been able to do yet), and we've got cavalry on both flanks. The Goblins have squared off against the forces of Rohan, while the Serpent Horde is squaring against Gondor. Below I've got two close-ups of some of the armies of Good.

Today I'm playing with 6 Rohan cavalry. I'm doing this firstly because I think they're cool, but secondly, I'm looking at investing in some (potentially), and I want to see how they work. Today, they'll be playing against Goblins, which won't simulate fighting against units with a higher Fight value (as most of my civs do), but it will demonstrate how they cope with large numbers. The unit in the center of the first rank is a captain.

The might of Gondor. Boromir is leading a company of Gondor infantry and a strong squad of knights. The knight on the far right is also a captain.

We rolled for priority and we chose location and gave priority to Evil.

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Turn 1: The Armies Mobilize, Arrows Fly (Priority - Evil)

Both armies move towards each other. In the Shoot phase, a Goblin archer kills the horse of the Rohan Captain (real bummer), but the Captain rises from the dust uninjured and ready to join his infantry companions. Two Gondorian archers during the volley killed two Haradrim Serpent Guards.

Kill count: Good 2/90, Evil 0/66.

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Turn 2: Taking Ground (P - Good)

Both armies have now reformed their ranks after a round of archery and continue to move towards each other. Nothing interesting happened in the Shoot phase, so we'll move on now.

Kill count: Good 2/90, Evil 0/66.

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Turn 3: Strategic Placement (P - Good again)

The attack continues, with half of the Moria battle line moving towards the Rohan ranks, while the other lingers for a bit. During the Shoot phase, one of the Goblin volley troops nailed a Rohan archer in the head. The cavalry have begun to do something interesting on the Rohan front.

The Rohan cavalry are 5.5" away from the Goblin line, which means the Goblins can't charge them in one turn and the Goblins are in range of the Rohan throwing spears. Unfortunately, the Rohan riders didn't hit anyone during this Shoot phase...bummer.

Kill count: Good 2/90, Evil 1/66.

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Turn 4: The Tension Rises (P - Evil)

It is on this round that we have our first melee fight! It's a bit one-sided, you might say, with a Rohan cavalryman charging into some Goblins on the flank (unfortunately, he didn't kill anyone with his throwing spear). During the Shoot phase, Dalamyr killed a Gondorian swordsman with a thrown dagger (poisoned blade), while one of his fellow archers killed another Gondorian infantryman. The Goblins volleyed at the warriors of Gondor and managed to wound Boromir once...wow. Rohan responded by killing a serpent guard, a Goblin swordsman, and managed to wound Durburz (but that one was saved by Fate).

After solidly winning the fight, the Rohan cavalryman killed his Goblin opponent, but only wounded him once with the four dice. This was a common event during this game - proving that the riders of Rohan are noble slayers...at least most of the time.

Kill count: Good 5/90, Evil 3/66.

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Turn 5: The Melee Begins (P - Good)

We are now solidly engaged in combat, largely because the warriors of Gondor needed to charge into combat to be effective (my Rohan could have avoided the Goblins for a few more turns simply because we use throwing weapons/cavalry and move faster than the Goblin warriors). So, we are in combat and one of the Rohan cavalry with spears killed a Goblin swordsman in the move phase.

During the Shoot phase, a Gondorian archer killed the Abrakhan guard (the one sticking out of the hill there), while the Haradrim archers killed a Gondorian swordsman and plucked another wound off Boromir. Ouch...

As you can see, several of the Rohan have engaged in fights (one cavalryman is in bad shape against that troll), but for the most part, the cavalry shouldn't have a problem in these fights. The infantryman beside the cavalry is the forcibly-dismounted captain, who encourages his men to continue fighting. Resolution of these fights to come later.

The rest of the Rohan line continues to fight the Goblins, though the other Troll, like Aragorn, is noticeably absent from the combat this round.

Here we see what the warriors of Gondor are doing. Some have entered the ruins for both protection and gaining valuable ground. Below we have the resolutions for those fights.

In the fights between Rohan and the Goblins, the rider against the troll died (pitifully), but one of other riders won his fight and killed the goblin he was fighting. The other rider lost his fight, but wasn't wounded. Rohan warriors killed 1 other Goblin, while the Goblins killed 1 Rohan swordsman in return.

As you can see, the fight against Gondor was a bit...one-sided. The serpent guard killed 1 Gondorian swordsman, while Dalamyr killed 2 (he's a wicked hero, I tell you what). 3 Abrakhan guards killed a swordsman as well (included in the center of the previous shot).

The Golden King used his 4 attacks and not only beat the riders, but due to his Chop! rule (+1 to wound with no penalty to win the fight), he slew not only both the riders, but also both the horses. Ouch...just...ouch...

Kill count: Good 9/90, Evil 12/66. Notice...Evil has passed Good in kills...that's not good.

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Turn 6: Forcing The Lines (P - Evil)

In this round of fighting, the riders no longer have the down beat, but they are joined by Aragorn who successfully charges the troll on the right flank. The other troll has also made it to the fight, so that should be interesting. In the Shoot phase, two Haradrim archers kill two archers (one Gondor archer, one Rohan archer).

Aragorn won his fight against the troll easily and with the help of the Rohan rider who was fighting with him, they killed the troll (Aragorn spent his free Might point and 2 of his stored Might points to kill him). In the other fights, a Rohan rider killed the Goblin he was fighting (seen at the top of the frame), while the Rohan captain killed the Goblin he was fighting. The Goblins, in return, killed one cavalryman, two Rohan infantry, and Durburz killed a Rohan swordsman. The other cave troll killed yet another Rohan infantry, so in truth, they're giving the Rohan a pound-for-pound punishment over here - not bad for having a lower fight value.

The warriors of Gondor managed to kill a serpent guard and an Abrakhan guard, while the knights and their captain killed 2 Goblins. Boromir in this picture managed to burn through all three Fate points of Dalamyr and land 1 wound on him - leaving the Corsair captain with a single wound left! The Serpent Horde responded by killing 2 Gondorian swordsman and the Golden King finished up the other two knights behind the hill (again, without help).

Kill count: Good 16/90, Evil 22/66. Evil has killed 1/3 of the total force, but they will need to break each army individually. The Good force...has a long way to go.

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Turn 7: Hope Begins To Fade (P - Evil again)

The lines have now become mobs and there is a gap in the Rohan line (thanks to the Troll and some of the poor work of the Rohan). To prevent their horses from becoming bogged down, the Rohan captain and the Gondor captain call heroic moves. In the Shoot phase, a Rohan spearman killed a Goblin swordsman with a throwing spear, while the Haradrim archers continue to batter their opponents and kill one Gondorian swordsman and a Rohan archer.

In the Fight phase, Aragorn spends his free Might point to call a heroic combat, but loses the fight badly to the Goblins he was fighting (and is wounded by one of them). The Rohan cavalry, as you can see, killed 3 Goblins (the one with the dice next to him is merely knocked down, not killed). The cavalry with spear that you see is the only cavalryman to score more than 1 hit per model during the entire game...I think he's tired of sparing them pain.

In the other fights, the Rohan Captain and his assisting infantryman killed the Goblin they were fighting. One of the Gondorian knights killed his Goblin, but the rest of the work belongs tot he Goblins: Durburz killed the infantryman he was fighting, while two other Goblins killed Rohan spearman. An Abrakhan guard on this side of the board killed the Rohan warrior he was fighting, to further add to the slaughter.

Boromir also called a heroic combat and not only plowed through the Abrakhan Guard and Serpent Guard he was fighting, but also killed another Serpent Guard and Haradrim archer in the following round of combat. YEAH! One Gondorian warrior killed an Abrakhan guard on this side, but the rest of the kills belong to the Serpent Horde: they killed a Gondorian archer and two Gondorian swordsman. Three other Good units died somewhere...probably near here...

Kill count: Good 27/90, Evil 34/66. Both good forces were broken this round...ouch.

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Turn 8: The Lines Are Broken (P - Good)

So things have gotten pretty messy over here, but here's what's happened. Aragorn has charged into the heart of the Goblin archers, with the hope of killing a few of them. None of the Gondor units flee, while two Rohan units do (they are sent to the cone of shame).

During the Fight phase, Aragorn rolls 3 1s to win the fight and promptly loses. He takes a second wound and saves a potential third wound with 1 Fate point. The two cavalry at the bottom kill their foes, but the other riders fail to wound theirs, simply knocking them to the ground, as indicated by the dice. The Rohan Captain and his loyal bodyguard kill their foe, as do two other Rohan warriors.

The Gondor unit with the spear is the Gondorian captain: during this turn, he was forcibly dismounted by the troll and Durburz, but he rose from the dust unharmed. Two Serpent Guards and a Goblin swordsman killed a Gondorian warrior with shield.

Six Serpent Guard and an Abrakhan Guard killed four Gondorian archers and a swordsman. Dalamyr also killed a swordsman, making the force of Gondorian knights dwindle very quickly. Boromir won his fight, but only killed 1 Haradrim archer (using up his last Might point). Right now, it's looking pretty bleak for the forces of Good.

Kill count: Good 33/90, Evil 41/64.The Goblin force is almost broken...perhaps we can last 1 more turn.

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Turn 9: All Is Lost (P - Evil)

The armies have now smashed together for one last round of combat (at which point the forces of good are fine with surrendering). Our objective: break the forces of Moria. Aragorn calls a heroic move and gets his cavalry friends to charge into their foes for one last epic charge.

The Golden King, having slain four knights during the game, now moves to the tactical role of making heroes fail their courage tests. He spends a few Will points to "bribe" Boromir to flee the battle, after Boromir takes a low courage test.

Here you can see Boromir hanging from a gallows in shame...oh well.

As you can see, the riders devastated the Goblin lines on this turn, with only one unit being knocked over and not killed (see the unit with the dice). Between Aragorn, the riders, and the Rohan infantry, they sent 8 more Goblins to their maker...which breaks the Goblin force. The Gondorian soldier you see on the far right was smashed by a Cave Troll...ouch.

The Goblins and Serpent Guard clean up against the archers of Rohan and Gondor, but one warrior of Gondor still stands...

The last Gondor soldier on the far side of the battle won his fight against overwhelming odds and managed to kill a Serpent Guard in the process! Well done, noble son of Gondor! (A little too late, though, but I won't tell him that).

Kill count: Good 42/90, Evil 45/63.

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Conclusion:

Assessment by Tiberius:

On the whole, I assumed that we'd probably lose this game - particularly after the Gondorian cavalry were neutralized by either a troll or the Golden King. I was impressed with how well the Rohan cavalry work if you can distract most of the enemy force with your cheap, cheap infantry. A Goblin shield-and-spear team costs more points than a Rohan Warrior with throwing spear who can shield to get the same amount of dice and have a higher Fight value. This impressed me quite a bit, since the cavalry can not only capitalize on a decent selection of ranged weapons, but can also couple that with incredibly good movement, which is great in the skirmish game, where you can deprive units of their spear support and trap whole portions of the battle line.

Stellar unit for Good: Riders of Rohan

These guys are excellent skirmish cavalry. Particularly against units with Movement 5", they are exceptional at skirmishing and coupled with cheap infantry with thrown weapons, you can really harass an enemy that moves slower than you and doesn't field cavalry. I particularly like how my guys could all use their ranged weapons, which made them versatile units - and they can be devastating on the charge if you pick your battles right. In the end, I've been greatly impressed with the Rohan horseman and am a little intrigued to begin a Rohan army myself...if I can get over their low Fight value.

Stellar unit for Evil: Serpent Guard

The Serpent Guard are 8 points each and have a Fight value of 4 and re-roll rolls to wound of 1. This makes them excellent troops in combat, but they need to remain protected from enemy archers as their defense is low. I'm impressed with these guys and have come to the conclusion that in facing them, my Dwarves are going to need to change their tactics a little. Normally, my Dwarves trust to having heroes crush through the enemy, but when you're facing units Serpent Guard, it'll be interesting to see if my heroes can still hold up against them. We'll see what we do at a later date.

Clash of Piquets: The Fist of Isengard vs. ... The Fellowship?

So my longest-standing Good force "army" has been the Fellowship of the Ring. For a good 3 months, they were my only Good units, though they were soon joined by a good-sized company of Dwarves and Elves. I noticed, after my friend Zorro said I should show the records of my armies, that I never really fought battles with my fellowship, and so today, I'm seeking to remedy that. To assist me in this, I've asked my good friend Gaius to take an army to play with...and with a wicked grin on his face, he said two words: "Uruks, dude." So...here are the forces.

The Fellowship of the Ring: 500 points

Aragorn/Strider with bow - 180 points

Boromir of Gondor - 105 points
Meriadoc Brandybuck - 10 points
Peregrin Took - 10 points
Legolas of Mirkwood with armor and Elven cloak - 105 points
Gimli, Son of Gloin - 90 points

6 units, 5 units capable of making ranged attacks of various sorts, 6 heroes

The Fist of Isengard: 499 points

Uruk-Hai Captain with shield and heavy armor - 60 points
Uruk-Hai Captain with crossbow and heavy armor - 60 points
18 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields - 180 points
16 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes - 160 points
1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner - 39 points

37 units, 1 crossbow, 2 heroes

The scenario we will be playing is a Clash of Piquets game on a board that is 24" long by 24" wide. In this game, half of each force (rounded up) is deployed at the beginning of the game. All units must be deployed between 6" and 10" from their board edge. At the end of each player's Move phase, the player will roll to see whether the rest of his units enter the battle. On the roll of a 4+, the unit arrives anywhere on the player's board edge. If one side is broken at the start of the End phase, all of the units of that force will flee the field, leaving the other force as the winner. If both forces are broken during the same turn, the game is a draw. To be clear, three of the Fellowship heroes must die, while 19 Uruks must be killed on the other side. With this in mind, here are the forces and the map, and the map we will play on:

Fellowship Deployment: Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli

Fellowship Reserves: Boromir, Merry, and Pippin.

Uruk-Hai Deployment: Uruk-Hai Captain with shield, 9 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields, 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes, Uruk-Hai Warrior with banner.

Uruk-Hai Reserves: Uruk-Hai Captain with crossbow, 9 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields, 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes.

This map simulates the ground near Amon-Hen and some of the grassy plains of the Rhovanion region: a ruin fashioned after teh great combat locale of Amon-Hen has been set up and will probably serve as a valuable vantage point for the few archers in this game. A few sets of trees and some hills are scattered on the field, but the rest of is flat ground strewn with rocks and various logs. The characters in play (at least for the Fellowship) are accurate to the story (or movie at least): six of the Fellowship will fight to the death and are opposed by Uruk-Hai (heavily armored this time) and opposed by an Uruk captain (this time armed with a crossbow). We rolled to determine who gets to choose either placement or priority, and the roll went to the Uruks, who chose to place first, giving the Fellowship priority during the first round.

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Turn 1: Taking Ground (Priority - Fellowship)

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, move to get a better vantage point. I've staked out the side of the map without the trees on my side, hoping to get to the defensible part of the woods. Boromir and Merry arrive, and are placed on the board edge. The Uruks split into two groups: one to tie down Aragorn and company, while the others rush towards the opposing board edge, where Boromir just showed up. No doubt, their intention is to kill off the reinforcements before they meet up with the more adept heroes (no slight to Boromir intended). 10 Uruks join the frey on their board edge, while the captain and seven others fail to arrive.

During the Shoot phase, Gimli fails to hit his target with his throwing axe, but the two keen archers of the fellowship slay 3 Uruks as they try to advance (Aragorn used a free Might point to hit his target, but on all other counts, the kills were flawless, each rolling a 6 to wound his foe).

Kill count: Fellowship 3/19, Uruks 0/3.

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Turn 2: Tactical Withdrawal (P - Fellowship)

The Fellowship moves to tactically consolidate its forces, including moving Gimli out of view of his nearby Uruk companions, so that he cannot be charged by them. Pippen arrives in the back corner of map, safe from the oncoming storms of Uruk-Hai. All but 2 of the Uruks arrive this turn, and they are quickly making a pincher move towards the Fellowship.

In the Shoot phase, the same story happens, except this time the two kills of the round go to Gimli and Legolas (Aragorn was fiddling with his bow or something). With the arrival of the Uruk Crossbow captain, the hobbits must move towards the safety of the log, instead of the board edge...and all hope of getting to the woods is now officially over, thanks to the arrival of a fresh block of troops.

Kill count: Fellowship 5/19, Uruks 0/3.

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Turn 3: Skill of Arms is Tested (P - Uruk-Hai)

The Uruks engage the three melee heroes and start to press Legolas. Merry (hard to see in this shot) climbs over the log to get between Legolas and an advancing Uruk (doesn't engage him, but is ready to). Pippen lacks the speed to get to the log in time to climb it this turn, but he's taking cover behind it now.

In the Shoot phase, the Uruk commander misses Aragorn completely (risking his own comrade in the process), but Legolas sends two arrows into the Uruk who is supporting the Uruk Aragorn is facing. This should make a heroic combat rather easy to win, don't you think?

In the Fight phase, you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear there are 3 heroic combats: one by each stellar hero. Boromir wins his fight easily and pays another Might point (second of six) to wound his opponent. Aragorn beats his opponent down and guts him easily (no Might needed). Gimli beats his opponents easily enough, but pays both of his remaining Might points to kill the guy he was fighting (ouch). All three continue moving on to fight other villains...

So...one of the Uruks fighting Boromir passed his courage test to keep fighting and Boromir paid 2 Might points to win his fight and paid yet another Might point (1 left) to kill both of the guys he was fighting. Gimli wins his fight with his two-handed axe and makes two large gashes in the face of the Uruk he's fighting. Aragorn, taking an ambitious swing at the upcoming regiment of Uruk-Hai, not only fends of their pike support, but also pays 1 Might point to cut through the two Uruks he engaged.

Kill count: Fellowship 14/19, Uruks 0/3. Though this is looking undoubtedly good for the Fellowship, two of their stellar melee heroes are out (or nearly out) of Might points. Hopefully their success will last for one more good turn.

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Turn 4: Weariness Sets In (P - Fellowship)

So, with one more turn of priority, the Fellowship heroes carefully select their targets and being to clean up the Uruk-Hai. The Uruks try to isolate a few heroes that they hope to beat. The Shoot phase had nothing interesting happen (except that Merry threw a rock at an approaching Uruk, hitting him square in the chest, but his rock bounced harmlessly off his plate armor).

This time it was Legolas who called a heroic combat (1 Might left), and he easily beat and killed his opponent, stabbing both of his daggers in the neck of the Uruk he was fighting. Given a tough choice as to which unit to charge, he decided to take on one of the Uruk pikemen who was fighting Boromir. You can see the Uruk who Merry threw the rock at in this picture by the way...he's the one going head-on towards the halfling.

Legolas's help was gladly welcomed, as Boromir blew his great horn. The Uruk-Hai Captain used his 1 Will point to pass his courage test and kept himself and a friendly pikeman fighting against the great warrior of Gondor. Each hero paid a Might point to try to win the fight, but Boromir's lack of one more point of Might kept him from winning the battle. The captain then proceeded to take a great swing towards Boromir...and on the three dice that he and his comrade rolled, they ended up rolling 3 twos...bummer. Legolas beat his opponent, but failed to wound him as well. Gimli, taking on 3 Uruks, won his fight easily, but also failed to wound...what's the problem, guys?!?

If any hero in this army is going to kill his opponents, it's going to be Aragorn...and he did. He won his fight without paying his free Might point and succeeded in killing both of his foes without using his free might point. So...he promoted the third dice to do a finishing blow "stab-in-the-chest" against one of the Uruks that he just slew. It felt good...

Kill count: Fellowship 17/19, Uruks 0/3. The Fellowship is 2 kills away from shutting out the Uruk-Hai...

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Turn 5: Sadness and Hope (P - Fellowship)

Ok, at this point, the Uruks are forced to play a defensive game, because the members of the Fellowship are calling the shots. However...the Uruks succeeded in the preceding four turns to draw the fellowship out and spread themselves thin, allowing (as you will see) access to the vulnerable halflings.

In the Shoot phase, the Uruk captain shot at Pippen...and hit him...and wounded him! BUT...Pippen saved the wound with his Fate point. WHEW!

Pardon the blurriness. In the Fight phase, Gimli loses his fight, but dodges the blows of his oppressors. Legolas wins his fight (paying his last might point to do so), and fails to wound any of his assailants. And to think that the Fellowship only needs to kill 2 more people...

Boromir loses his fight and is not wounded, but an Uruk comes down hard on Merry's head and knocks him out (killing basically, but right now we're playing that they want the hobbits "alive and unspoiled.").

Sorry, this shot is also blurry, but it is once again up to Aragorn to save the day...and he does. He pays his free Might point to win the fight and then pays 1 more Might point (1 left) to slay all 3 of his opponents. Pretty sweet, as this ends the game, with the victory going to the Fellowship.

Kill count: Fellowship 20/19, Uruks 1/3.

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Conclusion:

Assessment by Gaius:

So, the Uruks were able to make the Fellowship split their forces, but unfortunately, they rolled too many 6s (Aragorn especially). I'm starting to realize that to fight such a force, you really need the dice to roll poorly (like they did in some of the latter rounds) and when that happens...just hit them with a lot of guys. But even this strategy didn't work all the time (like the Uruk Captain who needed to roll 5s to wound Boromir and couldn't). So...fun game, but I like how pike walls can really drain the effectiveness of heroes.

Assessment by Tiberius:

I was really saddened that Merry died - almost had a clean sweep there. Still, the fellowship did well and with Aragorn the healer in the army, I'm sure Merry will be fine soon. BUT, what I wasn't that pleased with was how the heroes performed near the end. Without the ability to change dice rolls, the end game really didn't work well. But, given that the goal of the game is to kill quickly, the decisions that were made early in the game were, I think, justified. And of course, with Aragorn as your star, you can count on someone doing something later in the game, when everyone else has used up their Might stores.

Stellar unit for the Fellowship: Aragorn

What else can we say - he killed close to half of the units that the group killed and was certainly ready to continue felling Uruks until he cleared his point cost. I just love fielding him in battle, but since he's so expensive (180 points with bow), he takes up a lot of your army space. Still, always fun to play with him when I get that chance.

Stellar unit for the Uruk-Hai: Uruks with pikes

I really can't decide who to crown the stellar unit, since there really was no stellar unit in this game. The pikemen get the award because not only did they score the one kill of the game, but they also allow a fair (or fairer) fight against Boromir, which is always nice. They also assist in draining the Might stores of heroes, by forcing them to contest more dice, each trying to find that golden 6 roll. A few times, they even gave their Uruk companions the edge they needed to win fights (but only in one case was that actually capitalized on). Oh well...better luck next time, chaps.