Another excellent game this weekend. Third one in our quest for Middle-earth.

This time I taught my friend about characters. We played the second scenario from the Two Towers rulebook, in which Merry and Pippin have to be taken into Fangorn by the capturing uruk-hai. The good side wins if the little ones are released from their captors and walk into Fangorn on their own.

Pre-game sequence, including mate. The orcs deploying on their camp, surrounded by fires (cool huh?) and of course, our zone of control measuring device. Isn´t it nice?

A hard game for the good side, which I played. People usually say how powerful the good guys are in this game. However, since we started playing, the dark powers won each and every game!

The chase begins!

It´s been a while since I played so I really think I misspent my resources (Might, Will and Fate points). Guess it will come back with experience. Gabriel didn´t have to use them much except to save Grishnakh from a beating. Twice.

Éomer leading from behind (not sure why though), and the uruks run in a typical Blood Bowl formation!

It was a very simple battle though. The uruks ran. The Rohirrim tried to flank, then to break through. I killed all of his orcs except for the four that got away with the hobbits and only lost 3 riders. But it was not enough! I found myself shooting at the damn uruks in the end, trying to actually hit the hobbits and get a draw out of the game. It was all in vain!

The Rohirrim clash with the orcs and begin a slaughter that would prove completely unnecessary.

I finished painting the figures just a couple of hours before the game. That´s why some of them have unfinished bases. Besides that we used the wonderful Gamling on horseback figure to play Éomer, a figure I still don´t have. These guys will be in their galleries once I complete the bases and take good pictures.

After the orcslaughter the only thing left to do was to try and shoot the running uruks. No luck, and they crossed into Fangorn carrying the hobbits. Victory for Saruman!

Next time we´ll play the same scenario, changing sides. It´s something we enjoy very much, and this game is perfect for it. Meanwhile I´ll paint some dwarves, slowly creating Moria, but I´ll prepare for the next scenario when our heroes face some wargs!

Troops back to quarters, until next time.

Second game.

This happened about a month after the first game, but we seem to have remembered the lessons from the first game. This time I played the forces of Saruman.

Visually speaking, the only change (and minor flaw) was the use of an actual Éomer figure instead of using a mounted Gamling, but his base wasn´t finished. The model was painted, but you´ll notice the black base with sand in it.

Deployment was mostly by the book. I put my hobbit carrying uruks inside an uruk-hai blockade, with orcs and uruks to the sides, and a weak screen of orc archers in front ready to harass. Gabriel deployed two wings with 4 riders on each side, and the rest of his troops in the middle with Eomer and the Rohan captain.

Some images of the deployment of the orc camp and the Rohan fury.

I started my crazied run towards the Fangorn edge. He advanced his wings, dividing the one on the right flank to strike on my orc archers. The big bulk of his army moved half to shoot his bows.

Off we go, running away. Check his 2 horse detachment to deal with my poor orc archers.

In an amazingly lucky shot an orc manages to kill the captain´s horse, leaving him on foot. We used a Gondorian warrior since I still don´t have any foot Rohirrim. My intention was never to cause that, but it was welcomed.

Orc´s lucky shot leaves a pedestrian amongst the riders. And yes, they stand fast for the Rohirrim charge.

I kept running away, using my character´s Might to do a heroic move when initiative was not on my side, and it was time to try and stop the rider´s assault. I detached a few orcs and uruks to the attacking wings, and my archers stood firm blocking the center body of horsemen. They were dead meat, but every second counted.

Trying to deal with the flanking rider´s and stopping the main body of troops with weak orcs.

He managed to avoid some of my blocking orcs, but I did get to stop Éomer for a few turns. His other character, the captain, was on foot, so he was no longer a danger to my escape. Some of his original flank attackers managed to escape and kept closing in on my guys.

Stopped his characters, but some rider´s avoided my block, and kept staring at those hobbits closing in every turn.

Finally I had to send the last guys to stop the incredibly fast flankers, leaving only 3 uruks guarding the hobbit carriers. My guys were brave, but they were somewhat frightened of the horses.

Last turn and I lost initiative, so I went for another last ditch heroic movement effort. I had both my characters with me, while he had Eomer and the captain way behind. If he had his characters near the hobbits, only a die would have decided who moved first, and the Rohirrim would have stood a last minute chance of winning.

Last effort, finally getting into Fangorn with both hobbits, and deadly close Rohan flankers.

It was an amazing game. Gabriel remembered my mistakes and didn´t do them, making a wonderful flanking maneuver. However he made the mistake of leaving his characters behind. I did everything I could, and no obvious mistakes. It´s always a very close game for the forces of darkness in this scenario.