Amon Sûl - LOTR/ Hobbit AAR (Battle Report!)

The weekend saw us finally have time to play the next game in our Fellowship of the Ring campaign...

My son recently started 'big school', which means an early start to get to the train station, to get the train to school... and because of the early starts, this means an early bedtime during the week... add into that time needed for homework now, and Taekwondo lessons twice a week... the week days fly past in a blur, and gaming is thus only happening at the weekends - if he's not out at a playdate or birthday party! Quality time is becoming precious, My Precioussss ! ;-)

So apologies for the gaps between reports...  this also may be the last report for a short while as for the next ones I need to get models painted or terrain made... which is well in progress...

On with the show...

Game eight; Amon Sûl.

Whilst Gandalf tries to distract the Ringwraiths away through the wilderness, several, including the WitchKing, have tracked Aragorn and the Hobbits, to the ruins of the Tower of Amon Sul, at Weathertop...

Aragorn checks the ruins, finding traces of recent conflict, and possibly a message left by Gandalf, but he is not certain...  he then heads off to check the surrounding area, leaving the hobbits within the ruined circle of the tower...

If we are then to believe the movie, the smell of frying bacon and sausage fills the air... no doubt a clear way of attracting any Ringwariths in the near vicinity!

Deployment
The hobbits are deployed within 3" of the centre of the tower ruin. The WitchKing and four Ringwraiths are placed on the perimeter. Aragorn will be available as a reinforcement on the roll of a 4+ from turn 2 onwards...

Key
Red tokens again denote the unnamed wraiths for tracking Will Points.

Victory Conditions
The Ringwraiths must Kill Frodo.
The Hobbits and Aragorn must kill, banish, or drive off the Ringwraiths.

Special rules are as before, concerning the wraiths and the tower area.
Also the hobbits are classed as having flaming brands so if they win any fights, the wraiths are repulsed D6".


Darkness falls, the wraiths close in...

The WitchKing...

... and four wraiths surround the terrified hobbits...

... Aragorn is away, checking the surrounding area, and some how the wraiths have got past him unawares...

The hobbits stay as a group, backing off from most of the wraiths but can't help move closer to one... The wraiths move in - and Frodo is assailed by dark magics... The WitchKing raises a mailed finger, but Frodo grits his teeth and resists the assault on his Will, but cannot bear any more, as another wraith adds to the pressure upon poor Frodo.

His Will crumbled, he is then lashed by a dark bolt of energy from another wraith!

The wraiths move in, lashing Frodo with Dark magics. Frodo tries to hide from their attentions within the cover of the other hobbits, but the taller wraiths can still see exactly where he is, their Black Darts targeting him mercilessly... they then close in for the kill, one fighting Sam and Pippin, the other Merry and Frodo...

Sam and Pippin bravely repel the wraith attacking them, but Merry and Frodo are beaten back... where is Aragron?

Realising his doom is at hand, as the wraiths close in from all sides, Frodo heroically calls the hobbits after him, towards the edge of the circle, his brave friends shielding him from the wraiths. Their cries fill the air, surely Aragorn must hear the ring of steel upon steel?

More Dark energies fill the air, and two of the wraiths close in, the WitchKing bearing down relentlessly, Morgul knife drawn at the ready, glistening in his grasp, in the sharp moon light...

Somehow the hobbits hold off the wraiths attentions, and they can't get through to Frodo... but Aragron is still nowhere to be seen...

The wraiths close in mercilessly, and rather than waste their efforts to fight their way past the defiant young hobbits protecting Frodo, they put forth all their energies into more evil spells, Black Darts once again assailing poor Frodo...

Frodo manages to shrug off one but can't resist another, and his poor small body crumples to the ground... The Ringwraiths have their prey!

Aragorn was nowhere to be seen...

The games ends with a victory to the Ringwraiths!

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As expected Chris was a little glum, with Frodo succumbing to the wraiths attentions... he of course felt he had done something wrong... but as I said to him, its one of those scenarios where luck plays its part - 4 turns of rolling, and no Aragorn to save the day...

Out of curiosity, we rolled once more for Aragorn and sure enough, he arrives just after Frodo falls to the ground, pretty much as cinematically as in the movie! Perfect timing I cried! Aragorn arrives to fight off the wraiths and whisk Frodo away to safety and healing! That got me a smile back...

With no Aragron to worry about and five wraiths in the game at once, sapping Frodos Will was easy and then lashing him repeatedly with Black Darts was eventually going to pay off. Frodo might have dropped a turn earlier, as twice I rolled a 2 to wound with a Black Dart, when I needed a 3!

Interestingly also, I noted this was the first time the Hobbits were specifically mentioned as being armed with swords, gathered from the Barrows of the Wights by Tom Bombadil, and given to them. This makes me wonder whether the hobbits should have been classed as Unarmed during the earlier scenarios...? Not sure whether it would have made a lot of difference?

But no matter. It was a fun little scenario, in which I got to use my Weathertop model again :-) It will certainly be interesting to play the scenario again and see what difference Aragorn arriving earlier would make to the game...

So that leads us on to Flight to the Ford, and a mission I needed to get models painted in time for. I have done Arwen with Frodo mounted on Asfaloth, and have just about put the finishing touches to the 9 mounted wraiths and made a new ford section for my river. Hopefully will have it ready to play for the weekend...

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