Bruce played the Scots against Mike’s Vikings and Phil was the Umpire.
The Vikings formed up on the hill (anywhere east of the road) in shieldwall. Meanwhile King Malcolm prayed at the Kirk.
The Scots under the three Fated Thanes rushed forward across the Dullan Water and surged towards the shieldwall. At the clash of the forces the Scots fared badly losing 2 units of spearmen and one of their heroes in single combat. They did however manage to push some units up the hill and pursue with the Scottish Thegns (Huscarles). At this point the Viking King was held in reserve.
From the Kirk, Malcolm could see the disaster unfolding! His cup of reputation tokens was rapidly emptying whilst the Vikings were gaining! Soon all would be lost. So he prayed to God almighty to intervene on his behalf on the scenario prayer table! a good roll with 3 units/ leaders lost meant he gained a unit of Thegns and a mounted Champion arriving late to the battle field and was able to rally his remaining troops.
At this moment there was a lull in the fighting as both sides withdrew to their initial positions. The Viking shield wall reformed on the hill. The Scots redeployed all their forces in the meadow, now under the command of Malcolm the Destroyer himself.
Battle began again. The Scots outnumbered but not cowed formed facing the hill and advanced but did not charge. The vikings were tempted from the high ground and advanced down shields locked onto the meadow. With a mighty roar the Scots charged led by their King.
As in the legends Malcolm challenged the Proud Viking King to single combat. The Viking leader was slain, dragged from his horse and strangled in the last round of single combat. His troops too were pushed back. However not all the Vikings were defeated and were pushing forwards on the flanks. The Scottish mounted champion was killed in combat!
With their king dead though the forces began to retire to their second camp and it was clear the day was lost. So victory was awarded to the Scots when the Viking reputation cup was empty of honour!
Thorin’s Company of Trusty Dwarves must brave the Dungeon. They have a map detailing a route through the mountain though it is unclear at points. The map is of a natural volcanic cavern that offers them a beneficial short cut on their quest. By all accounts the caverns lie abandoned but Gandalf suspects this may no longer be the case. Thorin however is determined to proceed.
Rulebooks:User – User Created; SBH – Song of Blades & Heroes; SGD – Song of Gold & Darkness; SWW – Song of Wind & Water; SAM – Song of Arthur & Merlin; SDG – Song of Deeds & Glory;Pictures from the game outlining the main points of action below.Mike and Bruce played as Thorin and Gandalf respectively and Phil played as the Evil overlord. Thorin’s Co had the quiet as a Mouse reward due to their previous success which meant that Bilbo could scout ahead and be a Sneak if only one long stick away.For thlis game I used some rules for SoBH / SGD I found on the net and adapted them as scenario rules. I did prefer the wandering monster rules there as otherwise they can be annoying and occur too frequently plus I always forget to check using the basic system. So we played that these were tested for only when no monsters were available. The players did not actualy know this but their aggressive playstyle taking on each room as quickly as possible and leaving stragglers to fight their own battles did effectively counter wandering monsters. Phil only rolled once and failed. In designing the scenario I went for 1000 points of monsters but in the interests of time only went for four rooms. In retrospect I think I maybe made the earlier rooms too weak and not enough of a challenge and the last room too powerful. Some bad luck on Evil activations for the first 3 rooms made it a disaster for Evil until the last room when luck turned rapidly on poor Dwalin and Thorin. So maybe the balance was fine and just a bad moment for Thorin and Dwalin trying to enter a packed room through a narrow passage. It was a fun scenario though and it was good to get my new dwarven hero figures on the table (see post two below). I used the Treasure rules from the player made guide I found and the heroes garnered 80 gold which was a good haul.
Thorin and Dwalin are hastily gathered by their friends (with Dwalin sporting an especially nasty wound) under the cover of Gandalf’s powerful light spells. Giving them just enough time to snatch them away and Oin is able to stabilise their injuries. The heroes duck into one of the side branches and are quickly lost in the passages below the montain.
Next time The Winged Devil will pursue them into the Darkness deep down below to enact revenge as the destruction of his goblinoid minions has set his evil plans back some time and such an insult cannot be allowed to pass. Especially as the Black Numenorean envoys will be passing any suggestion of weakness back to the Dark Lord himself. The heroes will use the 80 gold coins to improve their warband. It seems that Bilbo on searching the Hobgoblin Sorceror’s chest has spotted a useful scroll that can be used against Devils and similar creatures by Oin or Gandalf. One can only imagine the Hobgoblin was keeping such a precious item secretly handy in case his former master turned on him. This will allow one of the two to be Lethal to Devils. When I upgrade the Band for the next scenario. Also I think they can buy Bombur to make the party complete.
The Ice Cavern
Dwalin charges the Goblins and kills their champion living up to his Title as Goblinslayer
The Troll is Fallen (or is he)
Thorin dispatches a Giant Spider
Gandalf is momentarily at the mercy of the Spider Queen but somehow survives until rescue arrives
The Hobgoblins and the Pit
Thorin’s Company dispatches the Hobgoblins in short order
The Devil in the Lava Room. Unfortunately Thorin and Dwalin are defeated by the Savage Goblins and Antipaladins so our heroes are forced to beat a hasty retreat
The Hunnic Empire and their Subject Gepid allies have crossed the Danube and are raiding and pillaging as they go into Roman territory. A relief force of Roman Field Army troops have mobilised in defence. Intercepting the invaders at a river crossing guarded by a watch tower along a Roman road the Romans prepare for battle. A Church burns already looted by advancing raiders whilst the forces deploy for battle. The Romans deploy first with Cataphracts and light horse to their left flank and infantry cantre and right. The Huns deploy cavalry on their own right flank with infantry centre and left. The Gepid shock cavalry deploy to the rear left flank awaiting a gap in the line to smash through.
Mike’s Romans certainly had the better of the action dice. However they rolled badly when saving against being hit in combat. In the end we decided it was a very close barbarian victory. The Hunnic cavalry advanced rapidly and even charged the Cataphracts deployed to shore up the gap on the Roman left. They charged whilst the Romans had no action die but lost one unit of horse archers who had strayed too close in the process. The Cataphracts however held their ground whilst more huns attempted to encircle them. In the centre both infantry lines eventually clashed with no real winners on either side. Roman cavalry moved towards their left of centre but in this time the Gepid cavalry were eventually moved round to oppose them. The force of the barbarian attack had been blunted across the line as the Romans held but numbers were beginning to tell and the Cataphracts did appear exposed on the Roman left wing.
Big thanks to James for all the excellent painting work on these figures from the Hobbit films. I am very pleased with his work on my Hobbit figures. Bigger pictures here.
Continuing on from our last scenario we will begin with “The Search for Brian”.
The redoubtable Sir Brian the Blessed has escaped from the English Castle and is making his way across the border to safety. Last episode he had been feared dead but in fact had been captured by the English Knights to be held for ransom. No stronghold exists that could hold Sir Brian of course and dressed as a chambermaid he has escaped into the night.
As dawn breaks across the rugged borderlands will his countrymen rescue him first or will he fall once again into the clutches of Sir John the Great?
Forces
Two large retinues with 2 leaders each to allow for multiplayer (45 points a side).
wargamesdiary 