Today I was hosting* a game of Lotr. I had never actually played one of the scenarios from the Shadow in the east supplement book as I didn't believe I could make up the forces. But by using some dwarf heroes as khazad guard and morgul knights and khandish cavalry as Kataphracts we had two nice armies exactly replicating the ones in the book.
The scenario basically revolves around a raid lead by Dain Ironfoot (I was using Thorin Oakenshield) on an easterling temple where many of the dwarves precious artefacts have been stolen and held. The easterling Infantry and captains start in the temple whilst the cavalry start on the eastern board edge. The dwarves then start on the western board edge.
The objective is for the dwarves to gain 25 pts before their force is eliminated. The dwarves can gain 1 point for each easterling captain slain and 3 points for each artefact moved off the board. They can also gain 10pts for torching the temple but they lose 10 points if Dain (thorin) is slain.
Each turn the Easterling player may move on D6 models removed last turn.
The opening positions were as follows with the dwarves setting up as close to the temple as possible, facing off against the infantry defending it. The cavalry meanwhile were riding dow the flank to role up the dwarven flank.
The dwarves lost the first priority, but this did have the advantage of getting the charge, and in lotr it is very often beneficial to lose the priority. Four dwarven archers sprinted for the watchtower and flung themselves up into it so as to rain down shots on the easterling defenders. Thorin and Durok lead the charge on the captain's phalanx together with their khazad guard. Thorin lept forwards and hacked down one of the captains whilst durok wounded the other. Th dwarven archers opened fire on the on coming cavalry, taking out two of the men's horses whilst the dwarves with two handed axes stalwartly advanced towards the kataphracts, hoping to stem their charge whilst the dwarf shield wall held the flank.
The next round of combat saw the fighting slowly descend towards the chaos it would become... Thorin struck down the other captain and Durok and his guards fought off the easterlings. But now the eastelings were scaling the watch tower scaffolds, pursued up them by dwarven warriors.
The archers in the watch tower had held out strong and now Thorin and Durok had all but negated the easterling right flank, and could start to pillage the temple. Indeed two of the shield wall had broken ranks, diving through the battle to run out from the temple with two artefacts before fighting off all the easterling who tried to grab them. And with the cavalry still held off the four dwarf axemen seemed to be doing their duty.
Some of the cavalry had finally managed to pull away form the four dwarves, but the damaged was already done. Two dwarves were sprintin it for the board edge whilst four more dwarves (including durok) had grabbed some loot and had now started to torch the temple, starting two fire in its framework. The dwarves ha by now secured a root of escape for their loot off the western board edge, so the cavalry had the new mission of breaking this supply route.
The cavalry and all the easterling reinforcements were still being held up by but three dwarves and a couple of the shield wall were also helping stem the charge which was well and truly blunted by the valiant stand of the four. Thorin and two other dwarves had now started to try their hand at looting and als burning, lighting another two fires! But the easterling archers who had fled the burning temple were begining to douce the flames and put out two of the four fires.
The remaing two dwarves of the four were swept aside and the cavalry charged forwards, catching up with the artefact carrying dwarves and setting on them with their scimatars. But Durok had already deposited his and like the dwarven hero of legend he is, was now running up and down the supply train encouraging and helping the stragglers.
And so the game ended. With but eleven points the dwarves had not achieved their objective, however there were still ten dwarves standing so netehr had the easterlings. With four artefacts in dwarven hands and most likely to be rescued another twelve points was probably the dwarves due but in the end it really was still all to play for.
*Hosting in wargaming terms means a game where you supply both forces.
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