Another Wednesday and the members are getting the year off to a good start.
First up Mark J has been painting up some of the new models for Legion Imperialis.
Next up Marcus has primed some pulp miniatures for an up coming adventure.
Now we have Andy who has progressed his Arab light horse.
And had to do a repair job on a Mexican infantryman who took a damaging tumble off the table.
And lastly for this week I managed to put together a homemade turn counter for my Sci-Fi games using a few round bases and a bit of scenery for the top.
Tony F reports on the beginnings of an epic journey.
About four years ago, Games Workshop released The Quest of the Ringbearer, the latest source book in their Middle Earth Strategy Battle series. This is centred around a series of 28 scenarios which, if played in succession, tell the story of Frodo’s journey across Middle Earth to destroy the One Ring. It’s a bit of a mash-up between the story as told in the book, and the slightly different version in Peter Jackson’s films.
Phil and I have finally managed to get ourselves into gear and started on our Quest at the first meeting of the year. The initial scenarios are quite short, so we managed to race through the first four, even with the club AGM being held during the meeting ! Aiding us were Andy, who joined Phil on the Evil side, while Jon R played with me on the side of all that is Good. This report will cover the first two scenarios, with the next two in a separate post.
Scenario 1 – Farmer Maggot’s Crop “The hounds of love are hunting”
Farmer Maggot’s cottage
This was a simple starter scenario, with the four hobbits (Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin) being on the evil side for once, trying to steal cabbages from Farmer Maggot’s field. Defending the brassicas were Maggot along with his three dogs, Grip, Wolf and Fang. The hobbits had to steal five cabbages from the field and get it back to their stash, while the dogs had to inflict sufficient bites on the backsides of the thieving hobbits to drive them away. Because this was nothing more than a scrumping mission, no-one could ‘die’ – when the dogs took a wound they ran back to their kennel until the Farmer sent them back again, while a hobbit that lost all of their wounds would run away and abandon the expedition.
Starting positions for scenario 1. The hobbits by their stash (giant tomato), Grip, Fang and Wolf by the kennel and Farmer Maggot asleep in his cottage.
In our playthrough, the hobbits got off to a good start, stealing their first cabbage and sending two of the dogs back to the kennel almost immediately. However, Wolf showed early form by biting Sam – in fact Wolf would be responsible for most of the wounds we inflicted. As soon as one of the dogs took a wound it woke Farmer Maggot, and as the mechanics of the scenario meant that the Farmer had to be touching the kennel in order to release any hound that had slunk back to it, Jon and I decided that our best course of action was simply to leave him there so that the dogs would be immediately be back into the fray.
Sam fends off Fang while the others gather cabbages
With two of the dogs temporarily out of action, the hobbits managed to grab a further three cabbages before they returned. When a hobbit was charged it had to drop its plunder, so not all of the cabbages made it back to the stash point when the dogs returned. As all three dogs got into action we started whittling the hobbits’ numbers down, with Wolf playing a starring role, until there was only one left facing all three dogs, with two plunder tokens still needed – a couple of good bites and it was all over.
The scenario was pretty well balanced, we felt – the hobbits managed to make it off with three of the required five cabbages, and could easily have made it further had Jon not rolled something like four successive sixes towards the end of the game.
Scenario 2 – Short Cuts Make Long Delays “It’s in the trees – it’s coming !”
This scenario saw three of the four hobbits lost in the forest on the way to Crickhollow (Merry has already gone ahead). Three Ringwraiths are closing in on them, and only the intervention of Gildor Inglorion can save them. The hobbits started in the lee of a large hedge which runs through the forest; the Ringwraiths started in the centre of three of the board edges, while Gildor was on the fourth, Eastern edge (he got to start 3″ in because the Good side won the previous scenario). The objective was to get Frodo off the Eastern side of the table.
The Ringwraiths are in ‘Sentry’ mode – each turn they must roll a dice and depending on the result they could either move normally, at half speed, stay still or even in some cases be moved by the Good side. Conversely, the hobbits are all petrified of what could be in the woods so they each had to make a Courage test every turn – pass and they could move normally, fail and the Evil side got to move them. Once a Ringwraith spotted a hobbit (which was only at 3″ range in the woods) the alarm was raised and everyone could move normally. So these rolls would be crucial to the outcome – if the hobbits could evade detection for long enough then Frodo could escape.
Sam and Frodo make for the eastern table edge, but Pippin has been spooked by noises in the forest and has fallen behind.
The Ringwraiths pottered around pretty randomly – the one on the Southern edge came up with several 1s on his movement rolls, allowing the Good side to move him away, and he gained the nickname ‘Sh*t Ringwraith’ from has master which stuck for the rest of the day. The Western ‘wraith quickly moved up to the hedge with a decent couple of rolls. Pippin then failed a courage test and the Evil side moved him back towards the hedge and things looked dicey – one more dodgy roll and the alarm would be raised, which would allow the Ringwraiths to quickly close in with their superior speed. But the Western ‘wraith twice failed his rolls to cross the hedge, and spent two turns untangling his cloak from the branches, allowing Pippin to get away. Pippin did fail at least one more courage test but the Good side, being somewhat more decorous, decided not to christen him the ‘Sh*t Hobbit’.
Pippin on his lonesome, waiting for a Black Rider to find him…… but the Ringwraith in question has snagged his cloak on the hedge and spends several turns trying to cross !
This left just the Northern Ringwraith as a threat – but by this time Gildor had moved up to meet the hobbits and was shielding Frodo. Since the scenario only required Frodo to escape, we decided we’d sacrifice the other two if necessary to get him away. So Sam and Pippin moved into blocking positions and Gildor hurried the Ringbearer off the table. Pippin was struck down in the last turn, but it was nevertheless a victory for the Good side again (rolling after the game, Pippin was determined to not be entirely dead, so his sacrifice was worth it).
Sam and Frodo make for the eastern table edge, but Pippin has been spooked by noises in the forest and has fallen behind.
The scenario was tricky for the Evil side, but depending on the random movement rolls for the Ringwraiths it could have gone entirely differently – and getting stuck on the hedge for two turns (only a 1-in-6 chance) effectively took one of them out of the game. What was key for the Good side was that Frodo, with his higher courage value, didn’t fail a single test and so could move towards the edge of the table at full speed every turn, making it in the minimum possible time.
‘Come on if you think you’re hard enough !’ – Gildor shepherds Frodo and Sam to safety ahead of other wraith.
We have a slight change to our Work in Progress post this week, but we thought we’d do a review of the retro painting challenge society members have been engaged in.
The idea was to paint up some old Games Workshop miniatures in that classic 1990’s style. We will be auctioning off these miniatures at a later date for charity.
First up we have Stephen’s effort with a chaos thug and a classic plastic Space Marine.
Next Pete went for another Space Marine and also a mean looking Minotaur.
Now we have Eric who’s played a lot of Warhammer 40K in his time. Eric went for a Space Ork and a Chaos Thug.
For my miniatures I ended up with what I thought were two Chaos Warriors but they turned out to be Evil Fighters from the GW D&D range.
We had a late entry from Tony F (that’s why they didn’t make the group shot)., Tony went for an ogre looking warrior (no idea on that one) and what I believe is a miniature from the Paranoia range GW produced.
This was a fun challenge and a wonderful nostalgia trip for us all.
We’ll post news of the charity auction once we’ve worked out how to run it.
A good turn out for the Society’s first meeting of 2024, which included the Annual General Meeting, as well as half a dozen games.
The games staged were representative of the many periods and genes covered at the Society, consisting of historical, fictional, fantasy and sci-fi games.
Tony and Phil made a start with their “Quest of the Ringbearer” Middle-Earth campaign, playing out 4 scenarios of the journey from the Shire to Mount Doom.
Scenario 1 Farmer Maggot’s Crop
Farmer Maggot’s cottageStarting positions for scenario 1. The hobbits by their stash (giant tomato), Grip, Fang and Wolf by the kennel and Farmer Maggot asleep in his cottage.One of the Hobbits fends off Fang while the others gather cabbages
Scenario 2 – Short cuts make long delays
Pippin gets left behind as Frodo and Sam head for Gildor Inglorion. The Nazgul blunder their way through the woodsSam has three Nazgul to face, Pippin has fallen and Frodo is nowhere to be seen.
Scenario 3 – Buckleberry Ferry
Starting positions for Scenario three, Three Nazgul spread out near the ferry, the Hobbits are in the trees near the top of the picture.Stalemate, the sole surviving Nazgul (with 5 points of Will left) has crossed the Brandywine tying the ferry on the far side of the river. The four Hobbits have taken some damage and can’t face swimming the river with a Nazgul waiting for them.
A more detailed report on these scenarios will appear in due course.
Stephen staged a 15mm American Civil War game using Brigade Fire & Fury, ‘The Battle of Mansfield April 1864’
Union defenders on the hillUnion fall back as the Confederates take the hillLast ditch Union defenceConfederates turn the flank
Alan put on a Pulp Alley game “The Castle of Terror”, teams from the Intelligence Agencies of various countries have been dispatched to investigate secret German activity at Schloß Weidergänger.
The teams approach the castle through the woodsThe enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friendRussians investigate one of the hutsSentries patrol, “Hast du etwas gehört, Fritz?”
Jeremey and Eric tried out –“Grimdark Future” from One Hour Wargames using their Space Marines and Robot collections.
Space Marines attack!Part of the robot hordeSpace Marines with air supportSpace Marines take a beating
John staged a FoG Renaissance 15mm ECW game pitching Royalists vs Covenanters
Scots Covenanters defend the hillPush of PikeCavalry clash on the wingsKings’s Lifeguard of Foot supported by cavalry attack the Covenanters
And finally, David put on a 28mm Napoleonic Corps game, Russians vs Prussians using General d’Armee rules
Battle lines are formedCavalry clash while infantry hide in the woods.Russian foot attack the Prussians in the woodsAttack on the Cross Roads
Well, that’s it for the round up of our first meeting.
The Society meets on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month at Linton Village Hall. You can find our diary of games here.
For new members/visitors, we will always endeavour to find you a spot in a game if we can.
It’s 2024 and our first Work in Progress Wednesday of the year.
We start this week with some Arab light horse from Andy. These plastic kits take a bit of assembly and we can see below Andy is building a fair number.
Next up and Phil continues on the construction of this years show game with a splendid manor house. The grid layout is apparently going to be part of the game.
We move on to David P with some additions to the growing corps of Russian and French troops.
Moving on and I’ve put the finishing touches to my miniatures for the retro paint challenge we are currently running. We will be putting up a separate page of the miniatures painted soon.
Sticking with the retro challenge and Tony F presents his work so far.
He has also been busy on some scenery projects, we have a small garden
and a farmhouse building with courtyard.
Finally for this week Tony F has also started work on some fantasy scenery pieces with the fountain.
That’s it for our first work in progress post of 2024, let’s hope it’s a productive year!
Club member Marcus reports on another solo game of 5 Parsecs from Home.
The crew of the “Pi” have had some scares so far but come out about as far ahead as an independent crew of scoundrels starting out in a big universe can expect so far. Turn 3 starts with payment of upkeep and debt on the ship. San and Nira trade for some contraband. There is a risk that they could acquire a rival as a result (law enforcement perhaps or a rival gang?) but they get away with it and gain 3 CR. Kel and Wellington explore and pick up a shotgun. Always handy! More importantly they gain a rumour “Meet someone interesting…” In a darkened corner of a relic emporium a wizened alien gives them a strange token following a curious discussion over purchasing some old charts. It’s handed over with the words “Perhaps you can make use of this too…key to the temple, or so they say…” Wellington looks at the ancient looking etched cube in his hand with a curious look. “I have seen something like this before, but I can’t remember where…” perhaps it is just what it looks like, a curious old piece of junk. Perhaps not.
Meanwhile Pascal does some schmoozing and finds a new patron with an offer of a job which must be completed this turn or the next. Your patron has been double crossed in a shady information bartering transaction. The perpetrator has however crashed on a shuttle in the southern forests. Eliminate him and the knowledge he carries. It has the benefit of giving access to the company stores for supply purposes. Ultimately this produces a roll which generates 1 CR of scrap! “I told you that was a load of rubbish Pascal!” Very disappointing. This job also a significant hazard. The crew will face veteran opposition at -1 to panic.
They don’t yet know it but they will face the threat of the “Converted” infiltrators. Their opponents appear normal (as normal as anyone looks in this galaxy of diverse lifeforms!) but are part of the cyborg hive mind advance party…there’s a threat of invasion and galactic war!
You can see the Converted moving in from the north-west quite apparently quite close to the wrecked stealth shuttle. The crew can be seen at the south centre. The yellow counter is a randomly generated “curious item”, worth 1 CR if picked up)
The first couple of turns are spent moving in on the location of the crash. Despite the initial proximity of the converted to the site both crews converge at the location almost simultaneously with San and Kel spotting their opponents.
Rolling a 12355, Kel and Nira act. Kell moves and shoots against an opponent in the open rolling a 6! However, a damage roll of 2 leaves the opponent stunned (yellow counter). Nira moves and shoots the leader in the open with a 5. A damage roll of 4 equals the leader’s toughness for a kill (red token)! The enemy return fire, mainly at Nira, but fortunately they all miss. Just. San now opens up with his plasma rifle and hits. His plasma rifle does +1 damage and the resulting 6 kills another converted. Veyon and Wellington search the shuttle but don’t locate the target, who has taken cover near a bulbous headed insanity plant.
In turn 4 a bad roll means that the crew all move after the converted, who don’t panic because they are (veteran) cold, calculating cyborgs. However, a volley of fire yields no results for the converted as they target San and Nira. Veyon in stealth gear (-1 to enemy shooting) moves into position. She also uses a sonic emitter which impacts enemy rolls with 5” by -1. Veyon shoots with no damage but gets two stuns on her target. Neither San nor Kel can get a hit. Nira rashly charges into close combat trusting in her lethal boarding sabre. Amid the melee of flailing sharp blades perhaps it is the cybernetics that give her opponent the edge, but Nira goes down. She survives the toxic effects of the planet but is a casualty and out of the action.
Turn 5 and having seen Nira go down an angry Kell blasts away at the remaining enemy but misses. They respond by firing at Veyon. She seems certain to be killed but somehow dives to safety (a luck point used, otherwise she would have been toast!) Wellington meanwhile has tracked the target who has moved some way from the shuttle. He shoots but misses. Veyon now return fire at the last of the e. A 5 hit and 5 damage see the last of them go down.
Wellington ultimately brawls with the target and brings the filthy traitor down too.
Far from an easy mission, both Nira and Kel nearly “bought it” (I used a story point to save Nira from a gruesome death). The crew pick up an extra 2 CR danger pay and 8 CR for completing the job. With the infiltrator converted wiped out, there is no evidence of the crew’s involvement and the Converted do not become rivals as a result. The crew also picked up something on the battlefield, a “personal item”. Perhaps representing a time before one of the enemy was converted. There is a chance this can be returned to a relative on visiting a future world, which would be worth a roll on the loot table. In addition the crew gather some loot – Damaged weapons: a ripper sword and 3 frak grenades.
Experience; Everyone gains +3 except Nira who gets +5. Level-up: Nira, Kell and Veyon get +1 combat and Wellington +1 tough. They purchase a military rifle for 3 CR. Finally there is another chance meeting in a bar…(where else?). Could be an addition to the crew perhaps?
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