Buckleberry Ferry - LOTR/Hobbit SBG - AAR

The next game in our Fellowship of the Ring campaign; Scenario 4 -  Buckleberry Ferry...

The hobbits have escaped the attentions of the Wraiths in the woodlands of the Shire, thanks to Gildor's help... However, Gildor and his company are heading west to the Grey Havens, and the hobbits are heading east, and sadly they must part and go their separate ways...

Once more the hobbits are alone in the rural lands of the Shire... having left the Greenhill Country and the woods of WoodyEnd behind, they find themselves in the relatively open lands of The Marish. The river known to the hobbits as the Brandywine, lies ahead of them... They must cross the river to reach the relative safety of Buckland, beyond...

But fell shrieks pierce the air, and an evil presence closes in once more...

Buckleberry Ferry, across the Brandywine...

A peaceful riverside scene, yet danger stalks these fair lands, and mischief and malice will be afoot this night!

[Interestingly, this scene was shot roughly 7kms (as the Nazgûl flies!), from where I work. ... on private land, the family having to sign the usual confidentiality clauses etc., at the time, but their kids were apparently thrilled at all these folk in costumes in their garden each night, as you would expect!]

This scenario pits the 4 Hobbits against 3 Ringwraiths, who are at minimum power, as per previous scenarios...

Tree positions tweaked and deployment zones marked out...

The hobbits are deployed in the 2nd from left vertical band, just to the right of the large rock. Then, one Ringwraith is deployed in the vertical band running through the woodland. The last two wraiths are deployed touching the western (left side) board edge....

Chris deploys the hobbits as a group just on the large wooded hill, hoping this route may screen their approach towards the ferry crossing. One wraith deploys between them and that very place. The last two are behind and to either side of the gaggle of brave hobbits!

However, in this scenario, the wraiths don't know exactly where the hobbits are, and are impeded by the current daylight conditions. So the Ringwraiths are governed by the 'Sentries rules' for movement, and the hobbits gain the benefit of having 'relative' elven cloaks due to the adverse effect of sunlight on the wraiths.

Good side goes first for the first turn AND they get to move the wraiths..., as expected, out of the way...

To win, Frodo must cross the river and escape off the Eastern board edge. Evil wins if Frodo is slain....

The forces deploy, the brave hobbits start to climb the wooded hill, evil shrieks filling their ears and unnerving them to say the least... but for now they have not been spotted, and are safe...

The hobbits crest the hill approaching the wooded top, as the wraiths wander off hissing and sniffing the air, yet heading away from their quarry...

The hobbits press on, through the concealing woods on the hill top, overlooking the river below, the sunlight glinting off its glass like surface...

...but one of the wraiths has sensed something, and moves towards them...

Frodo, realising danger is getting nearer, urges his fellow hobbits on as quickly as possible (heroic move!)...

But finally the wraith notices their break from cover, and lets out a fell cry, alerting its foul brethren... This cry momentarily chilling Frodo's heart! (Sap Will!). The wraith, sensing the four hobbits ahead, waits for its brethren to catch up, to surround the terrified hobbits. Until then, it moves to cover their approach to the ferry, and their escape to the east bank...

Wraith blocks approach to ferry

The wraith continues to play the waiting game, knowing time is on its side, as aid draws near. The hobbits aren't going anywhere... or are they!?

The hobbits, realising the game is up, their way of escape is blocked, decide to try and steady their hobbit misgivings, and head down to the river bank. They will swim the Brandywine!

Frodo, Merry and Pippin, brave the cool waters, but Sams nerve fails him and he stays nervously on the riverbank, eyeing the flowing waters in front of him ...

The hobbits swim for it!

The wraith is surprised and perplexed by this turn of events. Its quarry is getting away! Yet it dare not enter the waters of the Brandywine...more correctly named, the Baranduin. And though a long way to the sea from here, it provides a direct link to the realm of Ulmo; Valar of the Seas and Oceans! The wraith dare not enter that realm!

So if it may not enter the waterway, it will force its victim back through a strength of will... Frodo finds himself swimming back towards the wraith, caught under its influence... (Compel!)

Sam has finally mastered his courage and swims out towards Frodo, but Pippins nerve fails him and he swims back to the riverbank. Merry, with great fortitude, has reached the far bank, and crossed the tall hedge... not realising the worsening situation of his friends... as more wraiths close in...

In an act of supreme bravery, verging on the suicidal, Pippin readies to sacrifice himself to allow his friends to escape...he charges the nearest wraith! Frodo and Sam are still foundering in the steadily chilling water of the Baranduin... Merry, seeing the welcoming twinkling lights of Buckland ahead, presses on, not realising the dire straights his friends are in!

Brave Pippin charges a wraith!

Pippin fights bravely, but cannot best the wraith and ducks at the last second as the wraiths blade hisses through the air above his head...( Wraith rolled a 3, a 4 would have killed Pippin!).

The cries of Pippin do not go unheeded, and Sam and Frodo cannot bear to abandon Pippin to his fate. They swim back to the riverbank and climb out to confront the vile threat.

Merry too, suddenly senses the danger his fiends are in and heads back to help, cursing as he realises the distance between them, he must swim the Brandywine again!

Frodo, Sam and Pippin fight desperately. Yet the wraiths only seem interested in Frodo and do all they can to get past Sam and Pippin. But they steadfastly hold their ground, drawing the wraiths off Frodo... Horrified at what he sees happening on the far bank, Merry stops and stares in dumbfounded silence for a moment, rooted to the spot! (Failed courage check to enter the river). Somehow the hobbits survive the swirling melee...

Rousing himself, Merry jumps once more into the now frigid waters, and drives himself onwards, his tired limbs feeling leaden and uncooperative... The wraiths again do all they can to get at Frodo, and are virtually oblivious to the other hobbits... what is it that attracts them so, to poor Frodo? And yet with extreme bravery the little hobbits fight on against the wraiths, neither side able to land a telling blow... but surely the wraiths cannot be held off indefinitely...

... and then, the inevitable happens, with a gasp, Pippin slumps to the ground, pierced by a wraiths blade! Stunned by this injury to their kin, and the shrieks and cries of combat engulfing them, Frodo and Sam fail to notice the sound of splashing in the river behind them, has ceased. The weak cries of Merry go unnoticed as fatigue gets the better of him and his head dips below the surface, for the last time...

Pippin falls to the wraiths... and Merry drowns!

Yet exertion is not only affecting the hobbits, and one wraith dissipates into the breeze, its mournful cry hanging on the air for a moment...

The wraiths are nearing exhaustion, yet the hobbits are battered and bruised too... can they hang on in the face of their dread enemy?

Swords and knives flail the air once more, the hobbits ducking and diving for all their worth...

... and yet the Valar, at last, must have smiled upon the bravery of these two stouthearted hobbits, as the despairing banished wails of the last two wraiths rent the air, their forms melting to nothingness...

The victorious hobbits!

Frodo and Sam emerge from their ordeal victorious, yet at great cost, with the loss of two of their kin... there is no feeling of celebration...

... still, the Ring moves ever closer to its ultimate doom!

-----o0o-----

I have to say this was a thrilling game for both us! At one point I reckon I have got it all covered, Frodo has no Will remaining, and I have cut off their escape to the ferry, with more wraiths approaching, strength in numbers and all that, they're just hobbits after all...

Then Chris takes a direction I never thought of - swim the river! I am not sure the difficulty he realised this may cause him, but I explained it all, and he still went for it.

It did present an interesting option for me, Transfix Frodo in the river! - Would he drown automatically? A read through of the spell, and I felt not, he'd probably just tread water, so I Compelled him back to the bank instead... It became rather amusing watching the hobbits foundering in the water, swimming back and forth as they passed or failed courage checks or got Compelled!

Had Frodo drowned in the river, it would have had major issues for the campaign on the whole, as the Ring would have been lost in yet another river! Thankfully it didn't happen.

But in the end the hobbits showed their worth, and when I thought I had them, again my dice failed me... despite winning most of the fight rolls, I then couldn't roll a 4 to cause a wound and when I did, Chris passed the required Fate roll. Chris won a few fight rolls, but wounding a wraith needed a 6 followed by a 5! A tough ask!

It really came down to the wire, Frodo and Sam were out of Fate and and just waiting for the next telling blow to land, but it never came! 

Pippin went down fighting manfully (hobbitfully!), doing what he had to do, keeping some of the heat off Frodo. I suppose in these scenarios, if one is brutally honest, Pippin and Merry are just 'meat shields' for Frodo... and yet I always remember the first time I played  LOTR with Chris, many years ago when he was young (er), and we played Balin's tomb - and Pippin got killed - poor Chris burst into tears and took an age to console - "its just a game - we can play again, he's OK!"... ;-)

Poor Merry! Failed a swim roll in the middle of the river and had no Might points to change the roll... falling to the curse of 'anything but a one!'...

Great game!

Oh, I didn't use Cry of the Nazgûl again! I might remember it one of these days!

We'll just have to assume Merry bobs back to the surface further down stream and is hauled ashore by Farmer Maggot and given a bowl of hot broth! No doubt Pippin had only suffered a 'flesh wound' and had just fainted from the experience! ;-)

On to the next scenario, and the Fog on the Barrow Downs awaits!

Till then gentle reader...

WANTED! Have you seen this Wraith? - REWARD $$$$$$$

Have you seen this Wraith? Last known whereabouts; The River Bruinen, Rhudaur...

Goes by the Name of 'The WitchKing of Angmar'...

WANTED - Dead or Alive... er , perhaps that should be 'painted' or 'unpained' !

Is the above model ( mounted figure as pictured) lurking unloved in your lead mountain? Or perhaps you played with them sufficiently and moved on to other games?

If you can help this would be wraith-wrangler... please drop me a line. Happy to talk a deal.

(Email link in sidebar below pirate picture)

Thanks
Scott

UPDATE - Model found and bought thanks to Facebook group : Wargamers buy and sell:
group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/192684244127536/

Thanks all for looking
Cheers
Scott

A trip to the Walls of Moria, followed by some 'friggin in the riggin', and finished off with a pint down the pub...

Over the weekend I managed to get more hobby stuff done. Since fathers trip to visit with us, has come to and end, normal service has been resumed on the home front...

Its great to see folks again, and after a month long visit, it nice to get back to 'normal' too..., though with fond memories still to last until his next time with us...

So, since garden chores were all done last weekend, it meant I could spend some hobby time this weekend...

As you may have seen in my prior post, I made a start with the Walls of Moria, here.

Once the poly and MDF was all glued up and set, it was then first skim coated with Polyfila

Once that was dry, it was all painted with dark grey sand textured paint - roughly equal parts of black paint / white paint / PVA glue / Sand....

When dry, dry brushed with mid grey...

I thought about doing another final top light grey drybrush, but felt this was enough, I wanted it 'dark and brooding'...

So there we have it,... a couple of potential staged in use pics...

The Fellowship at the Gates of Moria...

"Speak Friend, and Enter"

Its a fairly simplistic terrain piece in its current state. Very usable, but could be improved upon. I think I'll try and make an insert that will fit the open doorway , that I can paint the Ithildin doorway on to, in both a closed, and then open format. I'll also model some wasted trees to go either side as per the movie image at top of this blog post.

However, as it is, its also doing double duty as rocky walls within the abandoned dwarven realm, where goblins have now made their home...

The Dwarrowdelf... while fleeing the wrath of the Balrog, the Fellowship are beset by goblin arrows from up on high...

Plenty of places to perch goblins!

Not bad for a couple of days work.

Whilst various parts of the above were drying, I pressed on with a couple of other things...

Having got my Brig out and dusted off recently (Old terrain projects never die - they just gather dust!), I decided, having just finished the crows nests, it was high time to add some rigging rope ladders to reach them.

So, I used some simple dress makers pins, chopped down to size, and glued these into place, to act as anchor points for the string to be tied round for the main vertical lengths, superglued into place. Once that was all done, then the laborious part was  supergluing into place all the horizontal lengths - that took quite some time, I can tell you, but I think the effect is worthwhile...

It really begins to to look more properly ship-like now, I think, though its certainly no scale model. It still is a wargaming model first and foremost.

I do have some tiny Dead-eyes, that I may mess about with seeing if I can get them to look right at the bottom end of the rigging on sides of ship hull.

Next thing I need to do is rig up the Anchors and CatHead supports. I've also got some swivel guns to add to the hull sides.

I think, I've also got some small racks with, wooden 'pins' in them which go on the insides of the hull sides.

After all that hard work in the rigging, it was time for a pint down the pub, so I broke out the DAS clay, and started cladding the Victorian Tavern. I got the front sides done...

To wrap up the weekend, I had a brief time for a game of LOTR with Chris... he'd had a mate over for a sleepover playdate for the weekend, and they played LOTR all weekend it seemed. Once his friend had left, it was my turn... no rest for the wicked! ;-)

That's all for now folks, as always thanks for viewing.

Switching to Google+ for blog comments?

Dear all,

I am considering switching to Google+ for comments on this blog.

I rather like the link to the Google+ community, and the fact that comments are editable.

The downside would mean, you would have to have a Google+ ID to be able to comment all.

I'm unsure what happens then with Captcha - which I must admit I dislike, so have it turned off...

The other possible issue is comment moderation... whilst I would still have control over undesirable comments and could delete them from the blog, if they have been shared to the wider Google+ environment - I cannot remove them from there. Not sure whether I am being overly paranoid about that???

Interested in your thoughts and feedback before I make the switch...

Thanks
Scott

The Walls of Moria... WIP

Looking ahead to some more of the scenarios we'll be playing in our Fellowship of the Ring Campaign... I've stared working on models and terrain I am going to have to get completed...

Arwen carrying Frodo On Asfaloth is base painted, on the painting table, and tonight I made a start on the Walls of Moria. This is used in the Watcher in the Water scenario,... and can also be used later in the Dwarrowdelf and Bridge of Khazad Dum scenarios...

Here's what I knocked up tonight... wifey-poos was working late and the kids were happy playing Lego-LOTR together on the PC - I could hear the giggles from where I was working... so I had a spare moment or two...

Its three layers of dense poly sheet glued together, and based and backed with 5mm MDF for strength... clamped while it dries overnight.

This is roughly what I was following, though I didn't what it to look like three layers so I added lots of little bits... to break it up...

Once the PVA is dry, I'll be using some filler to start filling gaps and building up a textured surface, that will be finished, once that's dry, with a coat of sand-textured paint...

Oh and I've ordered the extra wargs I needed for the Hounds of Sauron and Lothlorien scenarios...shhh... don't tell the wife... I've been spending again! ;-)

Bye for now...

A trip down memory lane... D&D 40th Anniversary...

As many others have already blogged, its the 40th Anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons...

Jeez doesn't time fly when you are having fun!

Like many others, my first introduction to gaming was via the red box set of D&D, sometime in the early 80s, as a pre-teen... hard to remember exactly now...

I remember being somewhat intimidated by the amount of stuff I had to read to figure out how to play the game initially, and picked up the slimmest book first ( the Keep on the Borderlands scenario), thinking that would be the easiest to get to grips with... oops... OK try having a go at the rulebook...

I had a great little set of mates that we played the game with, and worked our way through the red box missions and on through the Blue Expert set, through our teenage years...

The Keep on the Borderlands, was an excellent simple 'Dungeonbash' introduction, and many more great scenarios followed, eagerly bought at the games store.

A great start to RPG Dungeon bashing

Hoggy was our DM, me, Dickie, Mike and Roger the players...

At this time I also started collecting TSRs Grenadier figures but then discovered the much nicer Citadel miniatures at a quirky little 'GamesShop' (the forerunner of GW) located then in the Central Arcade in Newcastle Upon Tyne... it later moved to Pilgrim Street adjacent the Fire Station, then moved again to Clayton Street, where I think it still currently resides? [Another shop used back then for such gaming  supplies was Beatties (A hobby/model/ model railroad shop) on Pilgrim street - a forerunner to ModelZone?]

But back then the 'GameShop' was a treasure trove of varied miniatures, games and gaming magazines...

I started painting these models and self taught myself how, mostly through trial and error, starting with smelly Humbrols Enamels (discovered from my airfix model plane times), before finding acrylic paints... and starting to read WD and the then Citadel Journal, I picked up many tips to improve my painting...

TSR / Grenadier miniatures - my lead pile begins ;-)

Of course with RPG-ing, you never have all the right models you need and are constantly proxying or using counters. I recall once we came across a dragon, and a large china dragon ornament was quickly pressed into service! It was probably about the right scale too! Great times...

We spent several years playing together as a group, through our teenage years, and progressed to AD&D,  and the World of Greyhawk (I had the large map up on my teenage bedroom wall for years and endlessly poured over it, wondering who lived where),  until serious exam study became important, and then sadly, splitting up after school, to varying colleges and universities...

AD&D...

... and the World of Greyhawk. 

We stayed loosely in touch, though adult life; marriage, kids, jobs, and moving, round the country/world has somewhat got in the way now... yet I still look back on these halcyon days where it all started, with fond memories...

Some years ago, I tried to get back into into AD&D, but was bamboozled by the array of Editions and Realms now available. I got the 3.5Ed books, but it just didn't really get off the ground and I sold them all off...

These days I just don't have the time for RPG-ing; and trying to find a group of adults who can meet regularly for a campaign to have any chance of running successfully, has always been a tricky one...

Plus, I find being a DM requires a lot more background work to get it going and set it all up and run it, and I just don't have the time, I was always more a player than a DM/GM. Now I have far too many miniatures to get painted and terrain to make for the various wargames I enjoy now, to devote the required time as a DM...

I'd make a reasonably good player, depending on your style of RPGing (I'm not too good at 'acting & accents' though),  just not sure I could commit the regular time to a group..., ah well, things and times change, and I am happy as a wargamer these days...

I still keep my ears and eyes open though, for any Middle-Earth themed RPG games, as this is the one realm I'd love to fully immerse myself in... I got the basic MERP set many years ago (Purple box), but having come across it during my studies never had the chance to develop it further, or really get it started...

MERP - loved the cover art

At about this time GW were producing a MiddleEarth Range of figures and I collected many of these, now long since sold off...

The aged battered box from long storage still sits on my hobby library. Many years later, I then got the Decipher set of books, but again this came to naught, though I still have them... apparently the game folded when authors wern't getting paid for their work on the books (that's the rumor I heard), not sure whether they still have the licence...

Decipher - looked to be the real deal...

Recently I have become aware of "The One Ring - Adventures over the edge of the Wild", which has had good reviews, and I was sorely tempted to buy in...

TOR - close, but no cigar

... but it uses an abstract Combat system where miniatures and floor plans are not really required, and that's part of RPG-ing I enjoyed, so I have held off this purchase...

However, I digress, and back to D&D, I must say congratulations on this 40th anniversary milestone, and thanks to Mr Gygax et al, for starting me, and clearly many others, off into this wonderful gaming hobby... long may it continue...


... oh and if Hoggy, Dickie, Mike and Roger stumble across this, I hope you're all well!

Regards
Scott

Short Cuts Make Long Delays - The Hobbit/LOTR - AAR

Game three of our FotR campaign...

So with the Dunedain stoutly defending the southern Borders of the Shire, against the threat of the Ringwraiths, the Witch King must find another time and place to find 'Baggins'... Spreading his forces out to surround the Shire, he hopes some wraiths will find him somewhere as their net closes in from all sides...

This scenario sees Frodo, Sam and Pippin, making their way from Hobbition towards Crick Hollow (as per the novel). They are travelling cross country, having been advised to stay off the road, as it is no longer safe. Whilst travelling through the countryside of the Shire, they gradually become aware of a menacing presence closing in... But wait, some hope exists in this rural setting... Elves are travelling westwards towards the Grey Havens, and with them is Gildor Inglorion.

Will he arrive to save the day, and keep the Ringwraiths at bay!?
{Tolkien must be rubbing off on me - I'm getting poetic!  ;-)  }

The Hobbits start at the break in the hedge. Three wraiths are closing in; coming from behind and to either side of them. Ahead of them is Gildor...

Again the Wraiths are at low power, each with only 4+D3 Will, representing their exhaustion during the hunt...

The wraiths are trying to kill Frodo. Frodo is trying to escape to the far side of the board, hopefully with his companions still with him!

The Hobbits have just passed through the gap in a large hedge when they sense an evil presence approaching... the wraiths coming at them from behind and to both sides...

...yet hope lies in front of them, with the sound fair voices singing, in the dusk twilight...

The hobbits press on, yet the sound of footsteps approaching from behind is unnerving...

Evil closes in from the flanks, whilst hope is rekindled ahead...

Gildor also senses something is not right in these lands tonight, and approaches to investigate...

A wraith approaches and attempts to weaken Frodo's resolve, casting Sap Will. However Frodo is made of stern stuff, and resists manfully (or 'hobbitfully'!), though this still costs him a Will point...

Gildor has arrived to greet the Hobbits in their moment of need, but the wraiths move in. Sensing the potential threat posed by the elf, they turn their attention to him. Another Sap Will is cast this time at Gildor, and his resolve must have weakened, for his Will crumbles to naught! Another evil presence further assails him, weakening him again, his Courage starting to falter...

Seeing the elf weaken, the wraiths close in, further draining his Courage. Bolstering his nerve however, Gildor still charges the wraith by the woods, as the hobbits also bravely charge the wraith in front of them! Blades whirl in the dusk, but there are no injuries... yet...

Concerned at the bravery of Gildor, and the daring pluck of the hobbits, the wraiths take Gildor out of the fight, hitting him with sorcerous powers and Transfix him to the spot. They then surround and attack Frodo from all sides, trapping him between them! But both Sam and Pippin rush to their friends aid, and each attack a wraith, leaving Frodo to only have to deal with one...

But Frodo still finds himself caught up with the swirling melee all around him. A sword thrust from the wraith slices through his travel cloak, Fate saving the hobbit from more serious harm. Pippin and Sam, fight for their lives against the evil menace.

Sensing the Ring before them, the wraiths again press their attack on the Ringbearer, and again leave Gildor rooted to the spot, Transfixed in place by the wraiths dark influence.

Sam and Pippin again bravely try and distract the wraiths away from Frodo, and he fights off the sole wraith left against him desperately, though is jostled on all sides. The wraiths blade cutting through his waistcoat, and leaving a deep gash in his side!

The wraiths seem to have the upper hand but their own strength is starting to falter. At a crucial moment, the fates give impetus to Gildor, rousing him from his magical stupor, and with a strength of character, hurls himself at the neatest wraith! Pippin and Sam again both show enormous courage, the pained cries of their friend urging them on. With the wraiths distracted momentarily, by the elf's onslaught,  and the hobbits attack, the wraiths lose track of the Ringbearer, and he slips away into the cover of the woodland...

The Valar again must heed their plight, and give aid to those in direst need. Gildor strikes down the wraith he is fighting, as the exhausted forms of the other two wraiths, dissipate into the night air, a last flailing sword tearing Pippins cloak...

Evil is held at bay once more and the hobbits survive a very close shave. Terror in the twilight it was indeed!

-----o0o-----

A hugely enjoyable game again. I feel I am getting the hang of these wraiths and their abilities a little better. Despite sapping Gildors Will and knocking 3 points of Courage off him, Chris kept rolling a straight 10 on 2d6, so I couldn't keep Gildor out of it. The Transfix being the only thing to keep him out of the fight.

Chris got a little careless perhaps allowing Frodo to get into a position where he could be trapped, but he survived and kept piling the exhaustion on the wraiths with each round of combat fought.

And another mission where I could have used 'Cry of the Nazgul', if I had remembered - it could have froze out the hobbits coming to Frodo's aid, leaving him trapped against 3 wraiths...

Exciting stuff this one, I thought I had the Ring for Sauron... close, all Frodo's fate used up and one wound caused... but no cigar! Or should that be, no pipe of Longbottom Leaf!

Maybe next time Mr Baggins, next time...

-----o0o-----

On a related note, my young 'Mr Baggins', flushed with success, and currently enjoying all to do with Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; the movies, novels, computer games, Lego, and GW's SBG, has decided to start his own blog, here. I've helped him set it up, now its up to him to write it. It's still early days, but check it out if you get the chance. Please bear in mind the age of its author. I'll be keeping a close eye on it (Cyber-safety and all that). Thanks, Scott.