Misty Mountain Hop

Game two using Dragon Rampant for Middle Earth.  The goblins push on and invade the Elven lands as Fenmenor gathers new forces to throw them out.

The battle takes place near a mill, pool and and river crossing that have not seen such evil for an age.

 

The main Elfish line hold the far bank of the river while Fenmenor leads an attack across the bridge on their left flank.

The Orcs had their fast moving wolf riders on their left with goblin archers in support.  They couldn't sweep round the mill though,  They instead became embrolied in a lengthy shooting match with the Elven scouts in the woods, to little effect.

 

 

The main fighting was on the other side of the field. Fenmenor's Elite companions and a unit of Elven swordsmen charged down the flank to get to grips with the Orcish foot troops.

Dragon Rampant is certainly brutal.  Fenmenor and the Tarkrip's Orc warriors wiped each other out until the Elven hero stood alone surrounded by bodies as the goblin chief fled back to Angmar.

 

The orcs tried to bring over some troops from their left but it was too late.  The Elven archers had crossed the river by this time and poured their deadly arrows into the remaining goblins until they were dead or running away.

 

A fun game again.  This time we didn't use the double numbers for the orcs.  I prefer the masses I think but it makes them easier to move.  Next time we plan to try a bigger game. 

 

 

To finish, here are a few very quickly taken shots from some other games the guys at SSWG were playing on Wednesday.  I grabbed them in between turns of DR.  

 

American Civil War, not sure what rules, maybe Picket's Charge.

 

Star Wars: Clone War Era

A 1980s Game of Cold War Commander

And this was left up from earlier in the week.  Maybe a Skirmish Sangin game?

 

A nice variety I thought.

The fall of the Elves

This is our first try at using Dragon Rampant for larger Middle Earth skirmishes. Many years ago the forces of the Dark Lord swept down from the north to assault the Elven homelands.  

The battle was fought amdist the ruins of a long lost city now barely remembered by men.  

Elven Forces

The elves were one strength point per figure as normal.

Fenmenor, Prince of Harlond and his retainers (Elite Riders, Level Headed, Fear) - 10pts

Elves of Harlord (Heavy Foot) - 4 pts

Elves of Forlond (Heavy Foot) - 4 pts

Elves of Mithlond (Light Missiles) - 4pts

Marchwardens (Scouts) - 2 pts

Total: 24pts

Forces of the Dark Lord

All the orcs are half a strength point per figure to give them the hordes that look right.

Tarkrip, a great orc chieftain, and his largest Uruks (Heavy Foot) - 4pts

Warg Riders of Angmar (Light Riders) - 4 pts

Warg Riders of Gundabad (Light Riders) - 4 pts

Uruks of Angmar (Bellicose Foot) - 4pts

Uruks of Gundabad (Bellicose Foot) - 4pts

Misty Mountains Goblin Archers (Light Missiles) - 4pts

Total: 24pts

By the dark lord's will the orcs massed their snarling warg riders on their left and their uruks on their right.  In the centre came their chieftain and his bodgyguards proceeded by many goblin archers, come down from the misty mountains.

The prince placed his brightest spears against the Uruks facing his left wing and the Marchwardens scouted before them.  The archers of Mithlond watched the right flank warily while Fenmenor and his household waited in the centre to strike.

The Orcs rush forward to meet their foes at close quarters.  Hopping over broken stones and across cobbles worn by the ages of the world.

Fenmenor leads forward his most trusted companions and drives Tarkrip and his great Uruks into panicked flight.

The Dark Lord's will is still strong and his forces are far from beaten as the battlelines redraw.  

The Orcs come on for a second attack and sweep in from both flanks as the Elves fall back.

  

With his lines overrun Fenmenor tries desperately to win the battle with only a handful of his trusty companions.

As the stars fade, the battlefield lies strewn with the corpses of fair elves and foul goblins.  Fenmenor unable to break the Orcs with so few remainly soldiers falls back to regroup.  

The Orcs hold the field this time.  Can the Elven homeland be saved from a terrible fate?

We made some msitakes with the rules but the game went pretty well.  We may try some games using Fistful of Lead Bigger Battles as these rules are quite generic and little different from Lion Rampant but I think they will be needed for very large games as they are not card based.  We have a lot more troops we could add.

Alexander keeps riding

This was from a couple of weeks back but life has been too busy for posting.  Alexander tries again to vanquish his Persian nemesis.

The details of the battle are hazy now but it was very close run thing with a few morale rolls deciding the day for Darius.  Alexander's charge was glorius but ultimately futile.

After two defeats and one costly victory Alexander slinks back to Macedonia to lick his wounds.

The invincible King of Kings rests easily in his bed while the young barbarian plots his revenge, and probably fights off a coup attempt.

Alexander will return...