wargamesdiary   A diary of war games and board games

Hoping to get these done this week. Death of King Brand and Dain’s Last Stand.

Are these my last prints ? The lcd printer screen seems to be terminal already !

Horror games from Bruce. First we lost to the Thing and Dracula. Then we lost to the Alien. Finally Bruce survived the psycho killer.

When last we left off…

Messing about in boats…(Spoilers)

Our heroes (Bungo the Hobbit, Nuri the Dwarf and Forlong the Ranger) had accompanied Scylda Heather back to Bree hoping to leave her with some family.  However they were soon left in no uncertainty about their continuing responsibility when a furious Orothel arrives.  Apparently the relatives in Bree were unsuitable and Scylda needed to be taken to her distant relatives to the South.  These were fisher folk and resided at Lond Dear.

First they bought an injured Pony from John Fierny and packed it with supplies from Barliman Butterbur, generously purchased by Nuri the Dwarf. 

Travelling to Lond Dar they had some adventures on the road.  Bungo the Hobbit found a short cut which shortened their journey.  Forlong the Ranger, alone Hunting in the woods slew a mighty wild boar with his keen spear.  Nuri rescued the ale (and the Pony) when a sudden noise caused the beast to panic and flee.  Forlong healed the Pony with Scylda’s help.  Bob soon turned out to be looking a lot healthier and more valuable than John Fierny had realised after all. 

In Lond Dear they met the Queen, Nimue and her loyal Halfling Knight.  They were introduced to the Seer who had visions of Forlong upon an Isle.  Eagre the Sailor persuaded them to join him on a journey to the Isle of the Mother.  The Knight would accompany them. 

There they encountered Jagat and the Lossoth who were impressed by Nuri. Eagre and the Knight stayed with the ship, Seawing in order to defend it in case the Lossoth or other enemies unknown dared to attempt to take it.    

Our heroes found an old forge in a ruin from the days of Numenor.  They came across a ghost, mourning in a tower, who failed to turn them from their path.

Finally they came across the grove in the woods. 

During their previous journeys they had learnt the tale of Tarandis, the Knight of Arnor

“Oh, once there was a king who lived in a golden palace by a lake,

and many knights served him, and the greatest of these knights was

Tarandis. Elven-fair

she was, maiden of polished steel, and with her

companions she went on errantry across the lands, fighting Trolls

and Dragons and such things. Then the king of Angmar arose, and

all the land fell under shadow. In those days, Tarandis was like a

blazing beacon all along the hills; wherever the day was darkest

and the foes thickest, she was there. Her star fell in the north, the

stories say, but I’ve heard that she’ll come back when she’s needed.”

Tarandis’ ghost recognised Forlong as the Heir.  He took up her Sword, that which she had forged in the Numenorean Stronghold and her Oath.  They ignited the bonfire and discovered Elwing lying in the mud.  Eagre’s daughter was maddened but alive.  Now the furious spirits and Wights attacked!  Aided by Tarandis’ spirit, Forlong took up the sword forged by her in life and with Nuri’s help and the bright light from the bonfire, drove off the Undead.  Bungo searched the hollow and found some gold.  

Together they travelled back and Bungo was able to diffuse a tense situation with the Lossoth.   Eagre agreed to take the Lossoth safely to the mainland and then the heroes returned to Lond Dear.  Nimue was clearly impressed as were the townsfolk.  Glad to see the return of both Scylda and Elwing our heroes had achieved some celebrity. 

The Halfling slept badly one night.  In his previous dreams, a vast bleak Hill rose like a great dark wave, looming over the land, rising above the lights of Bree or the Shire threatening to snuff them out with its shadow.  Now he also dreamt of the Isle becoming a dark and terrible hill, the Hill of Fear.  As the shadows rose up and crushed their little boat Bungo woke with a sudden start. 

Forlong had determined that their destiny lay not in returning quickly to Bree but to the East.  He needed information and a library would contain valued Lore.  They learnt from a rich merchant who once hailed from Tharbad that there was indeed a library there, in his days at least.  The merchant warned them about the new Captain, who had driven his family away and was he claimed an outlaw. But it was clear he was holding some secrets back as he spoke about his reasons for leaving Tharbad himself.

Forlong wished to know more about the Hill of Fear, which he now knew from Tarandis to be Amon Gurothos. He had sworn the solemn Oath of his ancestor to see it destroyed. 

So with Bob the Pony our heroes head off towards Tharbad following the river upstream.  Scylda’s family would take them part way as far as they could in their boat.  So it would not take long before they reached the famous bridge and discovered the truth about the crumbling citadel and it’s new Captain.  Bandit or Saviour?  They would find  out soon enough for themselves…

When last we left off…

A Troll Hole if ever there was one…

Our heroes had accompanied Jari the Dwarf Wanderer and  Diarmoc the Traveller to the Hidden Valley.

There they had encountered Scylda Heather in an old ruined farmstead.  She had guided them to a boat which they used to reach the Wart.  Descending a secret staircase they encountered and surprised two Trolls.  Despatching them in the Troll Hall they then used the boat to reach Diarmoc’s family. 

The family were held upon a raft in the middle of a Lake. As they attempted to free them they were attacked by the Troll Mother, Nelly Long Arms. She burst out of the water and had the Dwarf and the Ranger nearly defeated in battle. However at the last moment there arrived Aid Unlooked For in the form of Orothel, a veteran Ranger of the North who had swum to their rescue. She distracted the wounded Troll just long enough for the Hobbit to slot an arrow right between the eyes and finish the awful creature off with a well aimed shot.

During their journeys they learnt the tale of Tarandis, the Knight of Arnor

“Oh, once there was a king who lived in a golden palace by a lake,

and many knights served him, and the greatest of these knights was

Tarandis. Elven-fair

she was, maiden of polished steel, and with her

companions she went on errantry across the lands, fighting Trolls

and Dragons and such things. Then the king of Angmar arose, and

all the land fell under shadow. In those days, Tarandis was like a

blazing beacon all along the hills; wherever the day was darkest

and the foes thickest, she was there. Her star fell in the north, the

stories say, but I’ve heard that she’ll come back when she’s needed.”

The Halfling slept badly one night in Bree.    In his dreams, a vast bleak Hill rose like a great dark wave, looming over the land, rising above the lights of Bree or  the Shire threatening to snuff them out with its shadow.

Orothel entertained them with further tales of the lost lands to the West.  Beleriand the land of their ancestors that drowned beneath the seas in the Elder Days. 

Our heroes have spent their time over the last week at the Inn wisely.  The Halfling loudly recounting their tales of brave deeds versus the Trolls much to joy of his fellow Hobbits in Bree, the Ranger quietly, in research of tales to the West, and the Dwarf stoically in healing his wounds and readying his war gear for the doubtless troubles that lie ahead.

Link played some 40K with a friend. I umpired as best I could. Link won with the space marines defeating the tyranids. They both played really nicely in good spirit which made it lots of fun. Close finish with just the tyranid big monsters alone at the end facing off against the remaining marines.

Link enjoyed the game so we did another together with Link using Necrons and me using the Space Marines. This time Link won again through superior fire power and self destructing scarabs.