Friday, June 1, 2018

Domination: Army of Thror & Dale vs Harad

Armies:

Good-
Thror
12x Grim Hammers

Young Thorin Oakenshield /w Oakenshield
6x Warriors of Erebor /w Shields
6x Warriors of Erebor /w Shields & Spears

Young Balin
6x Warriors of Erebor /w Shields
6x Warriors of Erebor /w Shields & Spears

Agnarr (Captain of Dale) /w Shield
4x Warriors of Dale /w Shields
4x Warriors of Dale /w Shields & Spears
4x Warriors of Dale /w Esgaroth Bows

Evil-
Suladan The Serpent Lord /w Horse
12x Serpent Riders

Hasharin
1x Black Numenorean Warrior /w Banner
9x Black Numenorean Warriors
2x Half Trolls of Far Harad

The Betrayer /w Armoured Fell Beast
9x Warriors of Abrakhan /w Bow
3x Watchers of Karna /w Bow

Turn 1 - Good
The turn opens with Good taking Priority. Thror and Agnarr gather their forces at the bridge, with several Grim Hammers moving onto the span. Thorin directs his dwarves to begin crossing the river, while Balin and his warriors rush out to attack the Serpent Riders. The Serpent Riders counter-attack, with several of them beginning to ride around the rock outcrops. The Half Trolls lead the Black Numenoreans onto the bridge and engage to leading Grim Hammers. The Betrayer waits with his warriors on the hill, observing the bottleneck of dwarves at the river.





Shooting this turn is relatively uneventful. A shower of Haradrim arrows either miss, or fail to injure any of the dwarves of Thorin's warband, while a Black Numenorean is felled by a Dale archer. In return, the Hasharin strikes Agnarr with a dart from his blowpipe, causing a Wound after Agnarr failed his Fate roll.

In the fighting just North of the South-East objective, a Warrior of Erebor slays a charging Serpent Rider, while another Serpent rider strikes down a Warrior of Erebor.

At the bridge, the only casualty is a Grim Hammer, smashed by one of the Half Trolls.


Turn 2 - Good
Good retains Priority this turn, and Suladan shouts "With Me!", declaring a Heroic Move. He and his Serpent Riders charge back into combat with the dwarves before they can act.

Thorin's dwarves continue their struggle across the river, anxious to make contact with the Haradrim.

Thror himself, and more warriors step onto the bridge, though two Grim Hammers feel their courage drain away, unable to charge the Half Trolls.

The Betrayer spends three Will points, and casts Black Dart at Thorin. Thorin in turn spends two Will, but fails to resist and is forced to spend two Fate points to avoid injury. In the South-East, two Serpent Riders that could not join Suladan's Heroic Move, charge several of the dwarves closer to the objective.

Combat this turn largely goes in Evil's favor, with three Warriors of Erebor falling to the lances of the Serpent Riders.  Most of the rest of the warband were bowled over by the charging horses. Balin did manage to kill one of the Riders, and another dwarf was able to shield, and defeat Suladan himself.

On the bridge, another Grim Hammer is crushed by a Half Troll's club.


Turn 3 - Evil
Here is the board at the start of the turn:


Evil won Priority this turn, though Balin attempted to change the result with a Will point, but failed. With the failure to take Priority, Balin calls a Heroic Move, which Suladan contests and wins. The evil horsemen again charge into the dwarves, most still struggling to rise.

A small detachment of Serpent Riders now reaches the Northern ford and begins their crossing.

An Evil tide sweeps across the bridge, Black Numenoreans following the Half Trolls, one of them engaging Thror.

The Betrayer and his warband stays in place, and he again spends three Will points to Black Dart Thorin, and this time is successful after the dwarf prince fails his remaining Will and Fate rolls.

Undeterred, Thorin urges his dwarves forward and two warriors are able to bring a pair of Abrakhan warriors to battle.


The dwarves respond to the evil horde at the bridge as best they can, Dale spearmen moving to support the Grim Hammers. Other Grim Hammers move just South of the bridge, gripping their throwing axes.

Seeing the horsemen crossing the river to their North, Agnarr and several warriors fall back toward the North-West objective.

Here is the state of the board following movement:

Shooting this turn is an even exchange, one of the Dale archers falling to the Hasharin's blowpipe, and a Black Numenorean to an axe thrown by a Grim Hammer just South of the bridge.


Evil continues to have success in combat this turn with a few exceptions. A Warrior of Erebor of Thorin's warband kills a Warrior of Abrakhan.

On the bridge, Thror cuts down a Black Numenorean. In return, two Grim Hammers are smashed by the Half Trolls.

At the South-East objective, two Warriors of Erebor are lanced by the Serpent Riders, and Suladan slays a third.

Turn 4 - Evil
With Evil retaining Priority this turn, Balin spends a Will point, but is unable to change the outcome. Here is the board at the opening of the turn:

The Southron cavalry charges back into combat with Balin's battered warband, with Balin himself nearly helpless on the ground.

At the bridge, Evil continues their slow grind, pushing the dwarves and Dale men West.

Further North, the Serpent Riders complete their crossing of the river.

Thorin's warband rushes to engage the Haradrim on the hill, the first rank of dwarves successfully charging several of the men, while the remaining dwarves struggle to catch up.

Agnarr and his Warriors of Dale continue their march to cut off the Serpent Riders from the North-West objective, while two Grim Hammers remain to guard the South-West.


More Grim Hammers gather just South of the bridge, looking for more opportunities for throwing axes.

Shooting opens with one of the Grim Hammers falling, pierced by a Haradrim arrow. In response, a Black Numenorean on the bridge is brained by a flying axe, and one of the Serpent Riders to the north is knocked flying after a Dale archers arrow slays his horse.




At the hill, one Warrior of Erebor is killed in exchange for three Warriors of Abrakhan, their collective blood staining the grass.

At the bridge, Thror slays a Black Numenorean, while a Half Troll clubs a Warrior of Dale to death.

In the South-East, the battle continues to go poorly for the dwarves. While Balin wins his fight and is able to stand up, three more of his followers fall to the Serpent Riders.

Turn 5 - Good
Here is the board at the beginning of turn five:

Priority returns to the Good army, and Suladan declares a Heroic Move, which Balin is unable to contest. Balin and his remaining warriors once again find themselves on the receiving end of southern lances.

Thorin's warband continues their pursuit of the Haradrim archers, bringing more to battle. One doughty dwarf even manages to charge the Betrayer astride his Fell Beast.

Agnarr and his troops continue their advance, and manage to halt the advance of one of the Serpent Riders.

Thror leads a charge back onto the bridge, attempting to thrust the evil force back and claim the objective. A Grim Hammer manages to wound one of the Half Trolls with a throwing axe before charging the beast.



The un-engaged Serpent Riders charge into Agnarr, lances gleaming cruelly in the sun.


Two Watchers of Karna and a Warrior of Abrakhan pull back slightly from the dwarves, keeping their bows at the ready.

The only casualty from shooting this turn is a Black Numenorean, struck by an arrow from one of the Warriors of Dale, perched atop the ruined tower.


Balin is absolutely destroyed by Suladan and the Riders, vanishing in a puff of pink mist (there were so many wounds, there was no point in even rolling for Fate...).

Another Warrior of Erebor falls to a Rider, leaving only two dwarves remaining from the warband.

At the hill, Thorin strikes down an Abrakhan warrior and a Watcher of Karna collapses with a dwarven axe embedded in his chest.

The Fell Beast swats aside the dwarf that had charged it, a contemptuous look on the Betrayer's unseen face.


Yet another Grim Hammer is felled by a savage blow from a Half Troll club, while Thror spends one Might point to defeat and then kill the Black Numenorean banner bearer.

Agnarr cuts a Serpent Rider out of his saddle while the other riders and Warriors of Dale are unharmed.


Turn 6 - Evil
At the beginning of turn six, here is the board:

Priority switches back to Evil this turn, and right on cue, the Heroic Moves fly back and forth. Thorin declares a Heroic Move, hoping to tie up the remaining Haradrim and the Nazgul, but the Betrayer contests it and wins. Thror also calls a Heroic Move, which the Hasharin attempts to contest. This time however, Thror wins the roll off and the Good army acts first. Agnarr, not to be outdone, also calls a Heroic Move and leads his followers against the Serpent Riders.

Two Warriors of Dale fail to charge a Half Troll before a Grim Hammer summons the necessary courage. Thror charges the other Half Troll, supported by a Warrior of Dale.

In the east, the survivors of Balin's warband are surrounded and charged by Suladan and his riders.

Thorin pursues the withdrawing Haradrim, and detaches several warriors to try and rescue Balin's warband.

With his warriors falling back to the north, toward the bridge, the Betrayer spends three Will points in an attempt to Transfix Thror, though the dwarven king is able to resist with the expenditure of all three of his own Will points. Cheated out of this, the wraith put spurs to his beast and attacks some of the troops near the bridge.

The dismounted Serpent Rider, not wanting to leave his comrades rushes over and draws off one of the Warriors of Dale.

Suladan chortles evilly as his cavalry ride down the last two Warriors of Erebor of Balin's ill fated band.

Agnarr kills one of the Serpent Riders, though the others avoid harm.

Combat goes in Evil's favor at the bridge, the Betrayer and the Hasharin each killing a Warrior of Dale.



Turn 7 - Good
Here is the board at the beginning of turn seven:

Priority swaps back to Good this turn, and the Betrayer declares a Heroic Move. Thror attempts to stop him, but loses the roll-off. Moving alone, the wraith flies to the top of the ruined tower to attack the archers perched there.

Thror continues to push onto the bridge, striving against a tall Black Numenorean.

Agnarr and his warriors engage the last two Serpent Riders.

Thorin and his dwarves continue their attack on the Haradrim, while his detachment continues on toward Suladan.

One of the riders who had diverted around a small wood charged into one of Thorin's warriors, while the other Serpent Riders smashed into the dwarves advancing on them. Suladan himself remained behind to guard the objective.


Two of the dwarves are spitted on Southron lances, and Thorin finds the tables turned as no less than three of his warriors fall to the Hardrim with no casualties in return.


Two Grim Hammers are slain, one by the Hasharin and the other by a Half Troll. Thror continues his success against the fallen of Numenor, killing another warrior.

Atop the tower, both archers are killed by the Betrayer and his Fell Beast.

The turn ends, and the Good army is now broken!

Turn 8 - Evil
Here is the board at the beginning of the turn:

Priority returns to Evil this turn, and the Serpent Riders re-engage the hapless Warriors of Erebor.

One Serpent Rider and the Watchers rush Thorin and his warriors.

The meatgrinder at the bridge starts to slow due to the lack of fodder, but Thror and the Hasharin resolve to fight to the end.

The Betrayer winged over to the North-West objective, attacking the Warrior of Dale guarding it.

In desperation, the two Serpent Riders throw themselves at Agnarr and his fellows.

Unsurprisingly, the Warrior of Dale falls to the Betrayer, leaving the objective in evil hands.

At the bridge, a Grim Hammer is crushed by a Half Troll and the Hasharin stabs a Warrior of Dale. Thror spent one Might point to kill one of the last Black Numenoreans.

By the small wood, two of the three Warriors of Erebor are ridden down by the Serpent Riders.

The last two northern Serpent Riders fall to Agnarr, and the turn ends.

With this, Good drops to the 25% threshold and the game comes to an end. The victory point breakdown follows:

Good-                                                           Evil-
Uncontested Objectives -    1 (3pts)            3 (9pts)
Contested Objectives -        0 (0pts)            1 (1pt)
Wounds to Enemy Leader - 0 (0pts)           0 (0pts)
Army Broken -                    (0pts)              (3pts)
Totals -                                 3pts                 13pts

Result: Clear victory for Evil.

1 comment:

  1. Love these hobby blogs. The models look great and the description of the battle is awesome! Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete