A short time has passed since their previous encounter, and the battle companies are once again out patrolling the wilderness south-east of the east gate to Khazad-dum. Happening separately across a fresh trail of destruction, both companies have tracked the trail to its source and spy a Cave Troll in a clearing.
The dwarves deploy first, Squalin and his company setting up near a fallen statue to the north of the troll.
Gracbaush is still recovering from the previous encounter, Ogzit is in temporary command. The orcs deploy in a east-west line south of the troll, with Guldursh and Auzath on the slope of a small hill.
Here is the overall board at the beginning of the game.
Turn 1 - Good
The troll spies the orcs first, and bellows with rage as it charges to attack.
The dwarves advance cautiously behind the troll, keeping their distance.
The orcs begin to split their forces, with the spears moving into supporting positions and Ogzit and Drugac moving to flank. Murog hits the troll with an arrow, but the shaft simply skates off the beast's hide.
Turn 2 - Good
The troll smashes its way into combat, charging combat with Auzbog and Uthragh.
Squalin and his dwarves continue their advance, watching warily to see what happens south of them.
Ogzit and Drugac are taken aback by the ferocity of the troll's charge, and fail to muster the nerve to charge the creature. One of the dwarves manages to hit Drugac with an arrow, but it fails to cause any harm. The orcs fire back, but score no hits.
The Cave Troll easily wins the duel, and casually smashes Uthragh into the dirt.
Turn 3 - Evil
The troll charges Auzbog, and this time Ogzit and Drugac join the melee.
Squalin and his comrades move forward, content to let the troll eliminate their competition. Arrows fly back and forth, but neither side causes any wounds.
Ogzit and Drugac's courage prove to be their undoing, as both felled by savage blows from the monster.
Turn 4 - Good
The troll turns back to Auzbog, eyes red with berzerk rage.
Squalin and his company largely hold their positions, though the archers advance to catch up slightly.
Bolgash comes to Auzbog's aid and they actually manage to defeat the troll, though none of them are able to hurt it.
Turn 5 - Good
This turn, the troll turns to Bolgash.
Squalin resumes his advance, closing in on the carnage.
Auzbog musters his courage, and re-engages the troll. Together, they are again able to defeat the troll, but have a similar lack of success in wounding it.
Turn 6 - Evil
The troll charges Bolgash again, and Auzbog expends a Will point to bolster his Courage to join the fight. Squalin leads his warriors around a small rock outcrop, closing in on the action.
Auzbog's luck runs out, as both he and Bolgash are felled by savage strikes. The Evil company is now Broken.
Turn 7 - Evil
Evil has priority this turn, but the troll leaves no time for Shuglogh to react. Auzath and Murog flee the field, leaving Guldursh on the hill.
Unsurprisingly, the troll contemptuously finishes off Shuglogh.
Turn 8 - Good
Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Guldursh wastes no time in following his fellows and fleeing the field, leaving no evil models on the board. The troll changes direction, and charges Kilur and Ziri.
Squalin and Duri easily pass their Courage checks, and move to aid their comrades. Unfortunately, they are overpowered and Duri falls.
Squalin is re-engaged by the troll. Kilur moves to help, but Ziri fails his courage and stands frozen in place. Bofin and Bifin move around a rock pile, working to come to the aid of their friends.
Squalin is defeated again, and is forced to spend a Fate point to avoid injury.
Turn 10 - troll
The troll charges into battle with Squalin again, hoping to finish off the dwarf.
Ziri again fails his courage check, though Bifin passes his and comes to Squalin and Kilur's aid.
The troll wins the duel, and Squalin falls. Bifin also takes a wound, but successfully passes his Fate check.
Turn 11 - troll
The troll opens the turn by charging Kilur, the dwarf bracing himself for the assault.
Bofin and Bifin rush to his aid, but Ziri is again unable to master his fear.
The troll will not be denied, and Kilur goes down.
Turn 12 - troll
The troll now turns his attentions to Bifin, and this time both Ziri and Bofin fail to charge the troll.
Bifin becomes the latest casualty of the troll's rage, slamming to the ground with sickening force.
Turn 13 - Troll
Ziri's time is up, as the troll turns to him. Regaining his nerve, Bofin rushes to help. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the troll finishes off them both and releases a celebratory bellow.
Aftermath
Ogzit receives the Wounds of a Hero result, and nets an additional three Influence points for the Fists. Auzbog and Uthragh both make Full Recoveries, but Drugac has breathed his last, becoming just another skull on the troll's belt. Shuglogh, Bolgash, Auzath, Guldursh and Murog all emerge no worse for wear from the encounter.
For the dwarves, Squalin receives a Just a Scratch, which is resolved to a Full Recovery. Bofin receives a Protected by the Valar result, and an aura of calm and tranquility washes over him. Bifin, Duri and Kilur make Full Recoveries, but Ziri is Injured, and must sit out the next game.
No members of the evil company have enough experience to roll on the charts this game, but Duri rolls and receives no effect. Bifin is luckier, and receives a bonus to his Shoot value, bringing it to 3+.
The evil company receives two reinforcements, Zorzagar, a Black Numenorean, and Krugac, a two-handed Orc Warrior and Drugac's nephew. He had originally come to collect money Drugac owed him, but elected to stay after learning his beloved uncle had been squashed by the troll.
The dwarves also receive a new member of their company, Twiggy, a dwarven archer.
I had been interested in playing this scenario for a while, as it looked like a fun change from the usual, so I was excited when we rolled this one for the first battle. I got the option to move the troll first, and elected to send it toward my company, hoping to risk the damage to my company but secure the kill on the troll. I had anticipated that this would not be easy, but little did I know that the troll would end up annihilating both of our forces. I thought if I could swarm it, superior numbers would help me wear it down, but the troll said "I see your numbers, and raise you a Fight 6". The couple times I did manage to win, my orcs just couldn't get a wound in. I was slightly amused to see the dwarves have similar problems, though their armor did slow the troll down slightly. Even still, it was a fun fight.
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