Xelee's WOTR Battle Reports

[Xelee]

I've been woefully behind (see above -lazy!) but here is a report from a (house-ruled) clash between between my Angamr list and a club-mate's Rohan last month:

This game has made me swear off 'Wings of Terror', for a while anyway. Stupid spell!

The Bandits of Rohavian - Apparently they claim to hail from Rohan. So we shall add illiteracy - alongside cattle-rustling, over-familiarity with livestock and being friendly to elves - to the long list of that people's faults. They were led by some head-cattleherd, though he grandiosely styles himself 'King', named Theoden. Further, unlike the meritocracy that characterises the Carn Dum Plateau, he had his niece, some bint named Eowyn, and his idiot nephew Eomer, serve as his lieutenants. Nepotism, pure and simple, Theoden probably got his current job because his father had done it. Madness. They probably still live in wood houses because they can't master the civilised art of laying square cut stone!
That is a lot of riders in only a couple 0f baskets, if you take my meaning.

Well, whether or not they had the wit to see their doom as it approached, the fate of these particular bandits was sealed this day. The over-lord of these lands, the Fell Witch-King himself, has come forth to lead our punitive expedition.
After a little discussion about houserules (his initial position was "so, you are always saying we should always be taking Royal Knights, right?"), James took the following (dispositions of forces in pic above):
Theoden
Eowyn (hidden location)
Eomer
Two formations of nine coy Riders of Rohan (Eomer led the left wing, Theoden the right)
One formation of eight coy Oathsworn militia

I took:
The Witch-King
The King (selected by his peers on the basis of merit) (Thrydan)
Buhrdur (ambush)
One formation of five coy Carn Dum Berserkers
Two formations of four coy Carn Dum Berserkers
One formation of three coy Orc Bow
One formation of six coy Orc w 2HW
One Carn Dum Siege Bow

The rest of the report is here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.com/2011/1...vian.html#more

Thanks for reading.

[Codsticker]

This line at the end caught my eye:

What are cavalry players supposed to do against infantry armies that can race around expendable Orc units, faster than a horse can run, and flank them easily.

Is this a serious problem with the rules in general or are you just having a bit of fun?

[Dooks Dizzo]

My anti Wings of Terror plan has been to cast enfeeble on the unit, so when they cast Wings it simply counter spells.

Though I agree, Wings is just silly.

[Xelee]

Hi Codsticker it is not a 'serious' problem in that I've always coped ok on the other side of the equation. However, I've never been in that position as a Cavalry army without spellcasters. There is probably already a little too much magic in WOTR (though that's a matter of taste, not balance) but it is definitely true that armies like Rohan + especially their Cav based versions have it a little harder.

The game was instructive in that I did it, then immediately felt like an ass. In RWC terms, I got to be France playing against only 14 guys from Wales in the Semi.

Hi Dooks, yes silly. I wasn't exactly using skill when just picking the button to push, eh?

However, lets not dwell overly on the negatives. James still managed to butcher the Witch-King and his bodyguard and we had a blast playing it out.

[Xelee]

Heart heavy and short of breath we, the veterans of Ithilien, did spy the Drwarven Holdfast at the end of our forced march.

Gandalf's apprentice had received word that the mountain folk were plagued by Spiders, Orcs, Goblins.... even a Dragon. Despite long years at our head imposing King Elessar's will on the East, Prince Faramir was not one to shy from his duty. So we marched once more to the north.

We arrived to a grim spectacle, Dwarven Vault Wardens arrayed in battle-line before their keep and lookouts calling and pointing to something angry and sulfurous in the distance....

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.com/2011/1...-of-misty.html

Thanks for reading.

[Peregrin]

Fun read, Xelee.

[Tupinamba]

Most excellent! Love your blog.

Cheers!

[Xelee]

Thanks guys, the game was a lot of fun and I love multi-player battles.

[Xelee]

A mighty host of Orcs, led by none other than the Shadow of the East himself, had ushered forth from the fastness of Dol Goldur and made a swift assault upon Northern Gondor.

As the sun dawned on the White mountain slopes, our lords Aragorn and Faramir gave a cry and urged us forward to meet the invaders. Aragorn used all of the cunning of his Ranger heritage and stole the march on the enemy, sending the Archers heroically forward, into the abandoned farm and amidst the forces of Mordor. Faramir led his forces out of the woods to our left, ready to do battle with the Orcs crossing the hills toward us and all along the line banners dipped and horns sounded the advance.

Dark omens abounded this day, but how did the Men of the west fare? Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.com/2011/1...mountains.html

[Xelee]

We were tending our pastures when the boy saw the smoke for the watch fires. Was it Elves? The weak men of the South, who had so recently lost their King? Rohavian Bandits? Morgoth's black **** - it is those traitorous Orcs from that fetid Mirkwood and their Misty-Mountain-running-dog-lackey's. And run they did. The black line surged forward and a fake Wraith gave them wings.

How did the warriors of Carn Dum, attacked by surprise but heroes of the people all, handle the Orcs of Dol Goldur?

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.com/2012/0...ldur.html#more

Thanks for reading.

[Xelee]

Andy dropped by with the Orcs of Mordor and we had our planned Ringwraith free clash. His force was led by Gothmog and Druzhag the Beastcaller and featured lots of Morranan Orcs, some ambushing Stalkers (for Druzhag to appear in) and a couple of Trolls. You may not be able to tell from the pics but I had a different army from the usual - Thrydan's Battlehost with Saruman, an Isengard Troll and a unit of Uruk crossbow to back up all the Dunlending Huscarls and the ambushing Wildmen unit. Today's clash used the Maelstrom deployment and Andy's force had the dreaded (well goblin hordes love it....) first go on the first turn.

A new power is rising, our Orcs are breeding in the pits of Orthanc and soon we will have a legion of Uruks to unleash upon Middle-Earth. For now, my Lord Saruman has coddled the witless chieftains of Dunland, and they gather from all sides to fuel his ambitions. Mordor is troubled though - the Witch King's greatest general has spread his Orcs throughout the hills, scattered about and searching, trying to discern the plans of my master. The White Wizard has decided that none must return with word of what he intends....

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012...from.html#more

Thanks for reading.

[Codsticker]

Another good battle report Xelee; I really enjoy these.

[Xelee]

Thanks Codsticker - I get a lot of tracking telling me that heaps do read them but it is good, and much appreciated, to get actual comments from time to time.

[Xelee]

I have long struggled against the Beige Wizard and now another of the locals is building up his army. We played 1200pts, Shield walls, and for VPs... if it came to that. The venue for the game was the Cavs (which longtime readers will recognise from the carpet!). Ray took The Beige Wizard himself, Lurtz, Thrydan, a Troll, some Berserkers, a unit of Wargs (not in pic - deployed to the left), some sappers, a unit of Uruks with Shields, more Uruks with Crossbows, Uruks with Pikes and then a whole lot of Ruffians (where have I seen those figs before?). I had Gondor from an earlier generation, led by Thorongil (Aragorn), Saruman the White, Deorwine from Rohan, two units of Knights, two units of Warriors with shields (one of six and one of four), a unit of Rangers, a small unit of bow and a unit of the Axe-men of Lossarnach. How did the brave warriors of Gondor fare vs the rising evil of Orthanc?

I write to you, Lord Ecthelion, to convey an account of Gondor's engagement with some Great-Orcs near the Misty Mountains. No doubt displeased with the incursions of these rabble, disturbing the peace of his researches, Saruman consented to aid the mysterious Thorongil in bringing the filth to heel....

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012...ge-wizard.html

Thanks for reading.

[Xelee]

It is a shame I didn't have to scroll down too far to find this! Where are our other chronicles of WOTR in Middle Earth?

Andy and I are both suitably inspired by the very cool Hobbit Movie.We haven't got to the REALLY (in a wargaming sense) good bits yet but we can see the wargaming possibilities. Azog/Bolg and the Orcs of Gundabad, the Undead Legions of Dol Goldur, the Men of Rhovanion, the Stout Dwarves, the Noldor (and Wood Elves, once we see how PJ does them). So I made up a couple of lists - Dol Goldur and Rhovanion, Andy gave some feedback and tweaks, and we had a 1200 game of WOTR to give them a try.

Brothers of the glorious revolution against the Tyranny of the Valars' running dog lackeys, there is much progress in our great cause!

After thoroughly reforming the peaceful, hardworking, pastoralists of the Carn Dum plateau, the visionary Witch King has set out to raise a new force at the cool place he (or it is runmoured... his Dark Master) took from some of those slimey Elves.

Facing the forces of Dol Goldur were the decadent and weak remnants of the Elf-Loving men. And some Elf-Hating Dwarves they had bribed to show up, likely to betray by having them die first, and so collect no pay....

On the left were mercenaries from Esgaroth, then some wood-cutters with bows, the luckless Dwarven Mercenaries , then some more Woodsmen with bigger bows, more Mercenaries (this time on horses) and some more men provided by the wine merchants of Dorwinion.When we abolish private wealth throughout Middle-Earth, truley these pawns of the Valar will have no one to fight for them!

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012...nion.html#more

[Codsticker]

It is a shame I didn't have to scroll down too far to find this! Where are our other chronicles of WOTR in Middle Earth?

Yes, it's sad... Once I am done my current project I think I will get back to painting Haradrim.

Thanks for the report.

[Xelee]

Better late than never... The second round in our in our 'War of the North' set of WOTR battles saw Angmar up against our new Noldor Army list.

Gods below, it is cold, cold as the grave. The Elves seem to like the cold though and can be relied upon (being a consistent threat is both their chief vice, and virtue) to come gliding over the snow whenever the boys want to settle in for the winter. Sure enough, the muster of the Grey Mountains spied a band of them in their gold armour, bright gold and no doubt made of stolen candle-sticks and women's jewelry. Morgoth's teeth, they had a lot of archers with them, and the ones in front of my brother's company seemed to be led by some screeching waif of a girl....

Was this to be another Convincing Carn Dum victory over the Elves?
Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2013...lves.html#more

Thanks for reading.