Battle Companies: Kill the Messenger - The Last Alliance vs Mirkwood Denizens

Third of the three games we played two weeks ago, finally getting around to getting it typed.

Still somewhere south of Imladris, the Heralds of the West and the Denizens of Mirkwood are now each attempting to get word of the others presence back to their respective masters. The Denizens ranks have been swelled by the arrival of another Fell Warg, and the Heralds have been bolstered by the arrival of Anarmegil, a Warrior of Numenor and the return of Isilmacar. The two companies face each other, ready for the next stage of the struggle. The Denizens deploy right up along the dividing line of the board, with the Heralds deploying slightly farther back. For the Heralds, Cumeren was designated as the messenger and Warg 3 for the Denizens.

Turn 1 - Good

The Heralds get priority first, and fall back to the shore of a small swampy pool attempting to shield their flanks. Durandir on the extreme left and Limthol on the far right.

The Denizens charge forward with no delay. Spider 1 engages Durandir, and Spider 2 attacks Isilmacar. Spider 1 fails his shot to web Durandir, but Spider 2 is successful and Isilmacar is forced to spend a point of Fate to avoid being entangled.

Wargs 3, 4 and 5 skirt a small wood, but come up short of being able to charge the Heralds right.

Here is the overall state following the Move phase.

Cumeren fires an arrow and hits Warg 2, but the arrow fails to penetrate its hide. Despite avoiding the webbing, Isilmacar falls to Spider 2, the creatures fangs crunching into his arm.

Turn 2 - Evil

Evil takes priority this turn, and continues to push their assault. Spider 1 engages Durandir, while Warg 2 attacks Anarmegil. With control zones removed, Spider 2 charges Cumeren.

On the right, Wargs 1, 5 and 4 engage Naethlang, Alaglang and Limthol respectively. Warg 3 hangs back slightly, out of melee range.

Following movement, here is an overall shot of the action.

Combat again goes poorly for the Heralds, Limthol falls to Warg 4, and Naethlang needing to spend a Fate point to avoid injury from Warg 1. Spider 1 spends one Might point to defeat Durandir, and the Lieutenant goes down. Alaglang defeats Warg 4, but is unable to mark the beast. Cumeren defeats Spider 2, but the creatures bloated body absorbs the wound with no lasting effects.

Turn 3 - Good

Priority returns to the Heralds this turn, and they resignedly throw themselves at the enemy. Cumeren easily passes his Courage check and charges Spider 1. Anarmegil does the same vs Spider 2. Naethlang charges Warg 2, and Alaglang attacks Warg 5.

In turn, Warg 4 skirts the shore of the swamp and engages Naethlang while Warg 3 remains in the back.

Combat this turn goes resoundingly in Evil's favor, with all of the Heralds but Naethlang falling, and he needing to expend a Fate point to survive. With this, the casualty threshold is reached, and the match comes to an end.

Now for post-battle rolls:

Injuries -
Durandir Full Recovery
Isilmacar Arm Wound
Cumeren Full Recovery
Alaglang Full Recovery
Limthol Full Recovery
Anarmegil Full Recovery

XP -
Durandir - 1                                 Spider 1 - 4
Isilmacar - 1                                Spider 2 - 4
Naethlang - 1                               Warg 1 - 3
Cumeren - 1                                Warg 2 - 2
Alaglang - 1                                Warg 3 - 2
Limthol - 1                                  Warg 4 - 4
WoN - 1                                      Warg 5 - 3

Influence -
Good - 4
Evil - 4

Advancements -
Warg 3 rolls A Hero in the Making
Warg 1 gains +1 Courage
Spider 2 gains +1 Might
Spider 1 gains Bloated Creature

Reinforcements -
Evil gains a Fell Warg
Good gains a High Elf Warrior /w Elf Bow

Post-battle Thoughts
The close of our first session of Battle Companies matches left me feeling slightly disheartened. In three games, my company had managed to only cause two non-Fate saved casualties, and both of those were actually due to archery. Conversely, almost my entire company was wiped out twice. Strength 4 and 5 is just brutal on the wargs and spiders. I'm sure I could have made some better tactical choices, but seeing my guys drop like flies while struggling to hit back was discouraging. I had been spending Influence to try and get more numbers, but maybe I need to start purchasing shields and better armor... I do like the system though, and I'm looking forward to the next match. I do like the rules for imbalances in company ratings, since I feel like it will help getting to parity much faster, even with losses. One thing that does hurt however, is the slower XP gain. After this last game, I finally have one character who can roll on the advancement chart. I do wish there were more advancement options for some of the troops in the companies.