Rohan Spearmen

 After the absolute debacle painting wise that april was, it's time to get some figures done again this month.

So I am forcing myself a bit to at least finish all the models still left unfinished from the past AHPC, starting out with these five guys.

Some more Rohan foot soldiers, this time all with throwing spears, to bulk out the force if not in points, at least in numbers.  because let's face it, the average rohirrim isn`t a force to write home about in the MESBG game, but if you bring enough of them to the party...

The throwing spear also is a handy weapon that can do some serious ravaging to the enemy battleline before you engage, but at the cost it cannot be used as a supporting weapon.  This means that even on foot, the rohan force is all about taking the fight to the enemy more then taking on a defensive posture.

 

 

And this batch also includes my favorite model of all the "first generation" plastic LOTR models.  There is something about the defiance yet arrogance in this models pose, as well as the sculpting of the flowing cloak, that always made this guy look like he will become one of those unsung heroes in the background...

Now to get a few Riders going...

Warriors of Rohan

 Following hot on the heels of the archers earlier this week, I also completed some hand weapon and shield warriors.

Perhaps the most important, yet venerable, models for a Rohan force, as you will need heaps of them not only for regular infantry, but also for all those dismounted riders...

The sculpts by nowadays standards are ancient, released back in 2002 with The Two Towers edition of the game, yet still stand up nicely in quality.  Except they tend to be a bit small, being "pure" 28mm models.

But that means while adding a modest 28 points to the army tally, they can be usefull on the battlefield none the less, as Rohan is a force of mass cavalry boosted by cheap-ish heroes to swamp your enemies where you want to on the battlefield.

Now to work a bit more on their throwing spear companions...

Paladin Took

 Some small progress (pun intended) was made on the Scouring of the Shire project for 2021, as venerable Paladin Took joins the forces of the Shire.

Father of Pippin, he was one of the key figures in organising the resistance of the Shire against the Chief's Men, as as Thain of the Shire he resisted the machinations of Saruman through Lotho.

The model itself is from Games Workshop, and was in all honesty quite a simple paintjob, even at "three tones" as I usually do for character models.

Dressed in a large black trenchcoat, pants and tophat, and considering his diminutive size, he only has three colours if you look at the model objectively, so he was finished within a day of starting painting on him.

As with all Hobbits, he isn`t a great hero at all in game terms, but quantity is a quality in itself and that is definitly the case for a Hobbit force... and a 25pts Hero of Fortitude is always handy to have.

Now to start painting up some militia!

Bowmen of Rohan

 Oh my!

The month runs near it's end, and I finally finished something!

Nothing to spectacular, 5 Rohan archers join the force, as I got round doing these who where hopefully going to be in last month's AHPC.

But that didn`t happen, as you could read last week, I haven`t touched a brush for figures near a long shot.  But this weekend I literally forced myself back in action, the result being the first of some warriors getting rounded out.

 

So that adds a modest 35 points to the total of this year's goal, but it is better then nothing...

I hopefully will get the rest of them done as well in the foreseeable future as well, but that is at the moment a bit of wait and see on how it goes, and how or if I keep the motivation going...

Middle-Earth Hobby Bingo update 1

The AHPC has ended for once again another year, but during the course of the three month challenge, I managed to get some MESBG done in as well.

 

To that end, I managed to scratch off some squares:

 

Paint a model for an army you don`t currently play: one of the early entries in the AHPC where these Hobbit archers, a force I haven`t fielded yet as I will need to paint a lot of the little guys still.

Finish a model that has been in your to-do pile for over a year: well, loyal fatty Bolger has actually been in that limbo for no less then 4...

Not to bad for a year in which I used the challenge mostly for all sorts of different ranges and projects, and once I (finally) get going at the Easterlings, some more squares should be able to be scratched off...

Though my first target is going to be the Battle Companies one I reckon...

Scouring of the Shire checklist: update 1

 In between the two mass army expansions detailing Gondor and Rohan, sits the Scouring of the Shire.

This expansion book details the famous last chapter of the War of the Ring (and ommited from the movies) as Saruman lays siege to the lands of the Hobbits, aided by a force of rabble.

Add to that that some scenarios include strengthened (or weakened) forces from the previous ones, and you will only need to paint certain models once, making it not a totally insane thing to do...

As with the Battle Companies checklist of the previous years, I will be placing pictures next to every scenario of what is already done, and the key remains the same: P means I have the model but still need to paint it, B means I need to buy it.

Now, the great benefit of this book is the forces are small (no pun intended) as it features mostly small skirmishes between militia and ruffians near famous landmarks in the Shire.

 

And with the AHPC behind us now, I made some good progress on some of the scenarios, even completing a small force left and right.  The next update I aim to have at least about half of the required models needed finished, so wish me luck!

Skirmish in Bree

Good: (B) 8 Bree Villagers, (P) 4 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Bill Ferny, 1 Ruffians with whip, 1 Ruffians with bow

The Ruffians Arrive

Good: (P) Holfoot Bracegirdle, Robin Smallburrow, 8 Hobbit Shiriffs, 4 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Bill Ferny, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

Maggot's Farm

Good: 

 

Evil: (P) 1 Ruffians with bow

The Old Mill

Good: (P) 12 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (B) 1 Ruffians with Whip, (P) Ted Sandyman, 4 Ruffians, 2 Ruffians with whip

The Mayor's Arrest

Good: (P) Will Whitfoot, 12 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Sid Briarthorn, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

The Death of Lotho

Good: (P) Lotho Sackville-Baggins, 8 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Worm, 2 Ruffians, 2 Ruffians with whip

The Burning of Woody End

Good: (P) Baldo Tulpenny, 12 Hobbit Militia, 3 Hobbit Archers

Evil: (B) 1 Ruffians with whip, (P) Rowan Thistlewood, 8 Ruffians, 2 Ruffians with whip, 4 Ruffians with bow

Uprooting of Bagshot Row

Good: (P) Gaffer Gamgee, 12 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Bill Ferny, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

Arrest of Folco Boffin

Good: (P) Folco Boffin, 8 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (B) 4 Hobbit Shiriffs (P) Holfoot Bracegirdle, Robin Smallburrow, 8 Hobbit Shiriffs

The Old Storehouse

Good: (P) Baldo Tulpenny, 8 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Rowan Thistlewood, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

The Bounders Strike Back

Good:

 

Evil: (P) 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

Brokenborings

Good: (P) 8 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Bill Ferny, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

The Lockholes

Good: (P) Paladin Took, Baldo Tulpenny, 12 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Rowan Thistlewood, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

Attack on Tuckborough

Good: (P) Paladin Took, Baldo Tulpenny, 12 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Sid Briarthorn, 3 Ruffians, 2 Ruffians with whip, 3 Ruffians with bow

Old Cotton's Farm

Good: (P) Tolman Cotton, Gaffer Gamgee, Merry, Frodo, Samwise, 6 Hobbit Militia

Evil: (P) Rowan Thistlefoot, 2 Ruffians, 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow

The Battle of Bywater

Good: (P) Holfoot Bracegirdle, Robin Smallburrow, Tolman Cotton, Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, 8 Battlin' Brandybucks, 3 Tookish Hunters, 8 Hobbit Shiriffs

Evil: (B) 1 Ruffians with whip, 2 Ruffians with bow, (P) Sharkey, Worm, Sid Briarthorn, Bill Ferny, 8 Ruffians, 2 Ruffians with whip, 4 Ruffians with bow

Battle of Greenfields

Good: (P) Bandobaras Took, 8 Hobbit Militia, 4 Hobbit Shiriffs, 3 Rangers of the North

Evil: (B) Golfimbul, 2 Warg Riders with shield, (P) 2 Warg Riders with shield, 4 Warg Riders with throwing spear, 4 Warg riders with bow

The Wolves of Winter

Good: (P) 8 Hobbit Militia, 4 Hobbit Shiriffs

Evil: (B) Wild Warg Chieftain, 2 Wild Wargs (P) 4 Wild Wargs

The Road to Rivendell

Good: (P) Aragorn, 3 Rangers of the North

Evil: (P) 4 Warg Riders with shield, 1 Warg Riders with throwing spear, 2 Warg riders with bow

And once completed, I am aiming to play through the scenario's solo game style in the coming year, so we will see where this leads us!

There we have it as such, the checklists for all 19 scenario's in the book with what I need to paint, and what I`ll be buying hopefully over the year.

Check back at the end of march to see how I`m progressing on these scenario forces!

2.11.0.0

AHPC11: Hall of Heroes: Fatty Bolger

 As I slowly and steadily, like a true Hobbit, will be painting up models for the Scouring campaign book, I arrived at the Hall of Heroes.

And so it is only fitting to paint up one of the most unsung heroes in the Lord of the Rings: brave Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger.

 

 

Best friend to Frodo, it was Fatty who in the end stayed behind at Bag's End, to keep the appearance up of the place being inhabited.  And had to ran for his life when the Black Rider came knocking down the door.

Fatty was also instrumental in the uprising against Sharkey and Worm in the scouring of the Shire, and all these heroic deeds resulted in... no screentime booh hiss.  Luckily, GW did a model of the brave little guy years ago, and I selected him to be my hero to feast in the hall.  

 

 

Because after all, feasting is even more suited to a Hobbit then heroics...

AHPC11: Knight's Solar: Knights of Gondor

 Ride for wrath, for ruin!  Ride for Ro.... errrrrr... GONDOORR!

As I enter the Knight's Solar on the third level, ever drawing closer to the Altar of the Snowlord, the next entry required a knightly theme.

So what better to finally finish the unit of 6 Gondor knights, of which the first two where painted... 2 editions ago.  What do you mean, slacking?

But now I got round to painting the other 4 of the armed lancers, to storm across the fields and drive forth bloody retribution against the foes of the White City.

To add some more Might points to my Gondorian force, I also painted up a captain on foot, to lead the ranks of warriors on the battlefield.

So even though a bit overdue, they can finally be fielded... should Covid-19 finally stop ruining all the gaming plans this year.

So that means 4 cavalry and 1 infantry for this entry, totalling 45 points.  Together with the room bonus, that makes as such 65 points to the tally, woohoo!

AHPC11: The Orc's Pit: Mordor Orcs

 A project originally planned for the past Orktober, time restrictions made it so that it didn`t materialise so I moved it to the AHPC instead.

From the Lord of the Rings range, I own a LOT of models and ever since returning to the hobby a few years ago, I have been steadily painting up the collection.

For this entry, it is the venerable plastic orc that takes the spotlight, as I painted up another 18 of them to the already decent sized bunch I have.  Not only, as a rabble force, do you need a fair share, there are also a lot of other game systems where the orc is your line antagonist.  In this batch as such, I had 2 armed with double handed weapons, 7 spearmen and 9 with hand weapons and shields.

But those aren`t the only ones painted up, as I also finished two Mordor Trackers to stalk on the edges of the force.

And in a game of heroes, I of course needed a "Hero" to lead all these monsters, and my eye fell on Gorbag.  Not the greatest hero or so in the game, mid tier at best, but what can one expect for an army of expendables.

So that makes a lovely 21 infantry models to add to the tally and the collection of painted forces, good for 105 points, and 20 points bonus for the location, tallying up to 125 points.

AHPC11: Lady Sarah: Goldberry

 After having braved the Armoury, I invoke the powers of the mighty sorceress Lady Sarah once again and have me teleported to the Orc Pit, a place of filth and despair.

And in order to do so, I grant this offering of Goldberry, companion to the mysterious Tom Bombadil.

Produced by Games Workshop in their excellent Middle-earth line, this model was released in the early nillies as part of the very first expansion for the game, Shadow and Flame.  Yet, she perfectly stood the test of time as a sculpt for sure.

And she is not only a girl using mafic, no, the daughter of the river IS a being of the purest magic, so I guess that should be okay for the additional bonus points of using the service.

To that end, she yield me 5 points for a 28mm figure, an additional 5 for being a magic user, and 20 points for the teleportation, topping off at 30 points as such.

AHPC11: Ruffians

 Not every entry in the AHPC is for the Chambers of Challenge, as the objective of this bloggers community event is still to reduce Lead Mountain.

 And this is one such entry, not attached to any location, just some nice little pile of figures reduced from the unpainted stack.

The models are Games Workshop ruffians for the Middle-earth setting, and part of my grand plan for 2021 to paint all the needed models for the scenarios in the Scouring of the Shire campaign book.  A good little rulebook that makes fantastic introductory scenarios to real new players into the game, with it's small tables and not to fancy rules laden characters.

Armed with a variety of weapons, these 7 guys are there to bully around some poor hobbits.  The two archers provide some long range support, while the guy with the whip is there to put the p into pain on those he manages to catch.

So that makes a little entry of 7 models removed from the to do pile, and a small step closer to my target for this year!

AHPC11: The Larder: Farmer Maggot

 As we prepare ourselves to decent towards the second level of the Chambers of Challenge, it is time to gather some supplies.

 

I had found a nice heap of crops, with pumpkins and cucumbers as big as an arm, when suddenly wild barking emerged out of the darkness...

For the next of my entries, the Larder, I painted up some more models from Games Workshop range of Hobbits.  namely Farmer Maggot and his fierce dogs Grip, Fang and Wolf.

 

In game, they are as viscious as the forces of The Shire can get, and I thought him the perfect match for this chamber as he protects his crops from wary adventurers... or pesky Hobbits setting out on one!

I also printed up a piece of crop for this entry, just to round it all out a bit better with the theme.

And now, we are going to decent into the second level of rooms for this year's challenge!

MESBG The Best of White Dwarf Magazine

 Games Workshop used to bring out these White Dwarf compendiums for the first iterations of the Middle-earth game, and now they are back it.

Best of White Dwarf features a lot of articles, some of the recent version of the game, some of the older issues of the Dwarf all the way down to the very first published battle report.

But that is the beauty of the game, even now in it's "6th edition" even though one cannot count it like that, as the first three where basically tied in with the Lord of the Rings movies when they came out originally, it still are the same rules.

No mayor overhauls compared to their regular mainstream games, just tweaks and turns in the various editions, and this allows you to use the material in this book with next to nothing of adjustments to be made.

After the introduction, we get no less then 5 Battle Reports, including the Battle Companies campaign one from this edition.

Next up is a personal favorite of mine.  A narrative campaign for Battle Companies with the focus on Evil warbands instead of the more "good centered" one from the BC rulebook.  So instead of ending up facing a dragon, your minions might have to take on no other then Boromir himself... a hard task for an army, let alone a rag tag band of adventurers.

Duel on Zirak-Zigil is another classic article, giving a mini game between Gandalf the Grey and the Balrog of Moria.

But there are also some fun scenarios in the book from ages past, like Fatty Bolger's escape or Fiends & Fireworks, both allowing for a totally different sort of game then the basic battles.  Storytelling scenarios are the forthe of the system after all.

There are also the rules for assaulting across rivers in the compendium, for those wanting to take Osgiliath, and rules for fighting over Lake Town.

The remainder of the contents are some opinion and tactica articles about the armies and magic in Middle-earth, and some hobby articles like paint splatters of the recent plastic kits of Theoden and Gandalf the White, as well as a hobby workshop on making a Mordor board.

A really great compendium I thoroughly enjoyed reading and nosing through, bringing back fond memories and a handy place to have articles combined!

2.11.0.0

Rangers of Shadow Deep batrep: Tor Varden Lower Level

 After the encounter at the bridge, you and your companions were able to slip past a couple of other gnoll patrols and reach Tor Varden.  There where no guards posted outside, and very little indication of anyone inside.  Then a muffled scream came from somewhere in the tower.  It was a sign both good and ill.  There is at least one man alive in Tor Varden, but you might already be too late to save him.  You will need to move fast!

The second scenario of the second mission from the Rangers deluxe edition rulebook, the brave party of Loraliel enters the lower level of the beacontower of Tor Varden.

Once again, I changed the gnolls with models of Mordor Orcs, to remain better in my Middle-earth atmosphere and gaming (and disfigured Gothmog makes a lovely flesh golem should he be encountered).  For the rooms, I instead opted to make the floors all grassy and green, the idea being that the floors lone have been reclaimed by nature in this ancient tower.  Here and there some stonework remains.   To "border" all the rooms, I printed about 50 wall sections, and added some dungeon tiles in corners to show some of the old floors remaining...

So the table has been set-up and now it is time to enter the perils of the tower, and discover what it still holds, or what has transpired there!

And so we set out for a new adventure of Rangers of Middle-earth!

As in the first scenario the vulture didn`t fly off the table, I was eligeble for a Stealth and a Pick Lock roll, which my ranger Loraliel himself would undertake.  He of course blundered already on the Stealth roll, so the first room would be on alarm modus... he entered together with the archer Theomir and his kinsman Iramer, a Man-at-arms, as well as the noble knight Cuchelain.

Turn 1

The first room has been revealed to be the Shaman Workshop, and a menacing Flesh Golem is lying on the table next to the orc shaman.  This shaman had performed a dark spell, meaning Theomir has to clear this room with a -2 Fight as he failed his Will test.

 

 

Making use of Loraliel's group activation, the ranger, the man-at-arms and the knight all charge orc warriors opposing them.  Loraliel draws for no damage, but the other two lose their combats, Cuchelain getting wounded for 4 in the process.  The orc shaman then charges my brave ranger and overpowers the elf, but no damage is inflicted.  Theomir fails to put an arrow in one of the beastly fighters though...

 

Turn 2

Again group activating, Loraliel, Cuchelain and Iramer once again charge the orcs as Karaniok and Rachmel enter the beacon tower.  Cuchelain gravely wounds an orc, but Iramer can`t find a weak spot and suffers 5 wounds in return.  Loraliel puts his sword through the hides of the orc shaman, wounding him gravely but not fatally.  The shaman retaliates, but Loraliel dodges his clumsy staff and decapitates the shaman, preventing the flesh golem from animating.

 

 

The other orcs continue duelling, but Cuchelain strikes his opponent down, as Iramer suddenly sees an opening and slays his foe outright with a critical blow.

 

Turn 3 and 4

As Theomer opens the door to the next room, it is revealed to be The Storage Room.  Going inside, Loraliel immediatly shoots an arrow in the chest of an orc, severly wounding the beast.  Theomir follows his lead, but his shot unfortunatly goes wide.

 

 

Rachmel charges in and spears the wounded orc, but is set upon by the second orc warrior.  However, the bulky beast impales himself on the spear, suffering 4 wounds. 

 

 

The others enter and start making way to the remaining orcs and the treasure lying behind.

Turn 5

Loraliel charges the wounded orc, but wins without doing any damage.  Rachmel joins in, and scores a pure hatrick as he puts his spear through the orc's throat.  However, his luck runs out as another orc descends upon him and smashing him down to within a single tread of his life.

 

 

Iramer wounds his opponent though, as Theomir, after causing a light wound on another orc, and Karaniok move towards the treasures, while Cuchelain positions himself to come to the aid of his beleagured friends.

Turn 6

Loraliel charges the healthy orc and does 7 wounds on him, as Rachmel steps forward.  He fails to do the kill however, only knocking off a further 2 wounds, while Cuchelain locks in combat with the other orc.

 

 

Orcs charge Rachmel and Iramer, and Rachmel is cut down by his opponent, though Iramer lightly wounds the other.  Theomir shoots one down on his way to the door though as karaniok grabs a treasure token.

Turn 7

Firing at the orc, Loraliel plants an arrow through it's eye, killing it.  While Iramer grabs the second treasure token, Theomir opens the door and reveals the Armoury behind it, under the watchfull eye of my advisor and Ranger-to-be Thorin.

Turn 8

Missing his shot, Loraliel enters the armoury, closely followed by Theomir.  The archer has better aim, knocking an orc down for 8.  

 

 

The orcs engage the brave Cuchelain who has stepped forward to present himself as the closest target, but as they have no actions left the combat remains locked.

Turn 9

In an unfortunate charge, Loraliel slips and suffers 10 damage as a result of his ill-attempted charge.  Karaniok decides to be brave and runs past his companions, to present himself as the closest target for the orc archer in the back of the room.  However, he quickly regrets this as a black shafted arrow smashes into his chest, knocking him out.

 

Turn 10 and 11

Loraliel and Cuchelain are engaged in combat with their orc opponent, the brave knight critically wounding his opponent, while Loraliel first got some wounds from the beasts wild swings.  The orc archer wounds Theomir as Iramer uncovers some Golden Beer.

Final Turn

While Loraliel casts Heal on himself, Cuchelain charges and cuts down the orc beast, ending the scenario... the Lower Level has been cleared!

The aftermath

This didn`t go to bad. Surely, the Guardsman and the Arcanist have been cut down, but made Full recoveries, meaning they'll start the final scenario on 8 wounds.  All the other companions healed back to full strength, while my ranger will only be 1 down for the top of the tower.  That all could have been worse!

On an experience level, Loraliel totalled 37 XP.  The orc shaman yielded 5, with an additional 5 for preventing the Golem from animating.  For the rest, 9 orcs where cut down for 27 points.

The two treasure tokens yielded a Potion of Restoration which Iramer keeps for himself, while Loraliel gained an Amulet of Leadership.  Okay, that last one is not of much use for the moment, but it is something...

And so the second scenario of Tor Varden has been completed, onwards to the grand finale in a few weeks!