Battle Companies: Intro and first scenarios

 Hey all

The latest idea that we had for long term campaigns is a big Battle companies campaign. We have gathered five good and evil players each, who will play through the Narrative campaigns from the latest Battle companies rulebook and 'the Search for the Stone' from White Dwarf respectively. We will start with the first narrative scenario, which every company will have a 'free pass' for (no rolling for injuries or death). After that, they will be at the mercy of the dice. Between each narrative, each company will play two scenarios against other companies. I will write up a narrative for my own company's journey.

Let's meet the companies (some have added backgrounds for theirs).

Note: We are using Battle Companies Manager for this and find it an incredibly useful tool.

https://battle-companies-manager.com/

GOOD

The 2nd Battalion of the Fancy part of the Fiefdoms of the South of Gondor, of course

Player: Sam H

Faction: Fiefdoms

Leader- Ser Tiber (Knight of Dol Amroth)

Sergeant- Beady-Eyed Arvia (Blackroot Vale archer)

Sergeant- The Ungrateful Grandchild (Man-at-arms of Dol Amroth)

Other members- Dolfe (Blackroot Vale archer), Gromm (Man-at-arms of Dol Amroth) and Terrens (Man-at-arms of Dol Amroth)

Background

In the years following the destruction of Sauron, relative peace had settled over Middle-Earth. But it was not entirely untroubled. Rumours were spread about groups of orcs in the North forming and packs of beasts gathering. 

Under the instructions of the Steward, Prince Imrahil gave orders to one of his most senior Knights, Ser Tiber, to gather small party and head up to Bree. There they would make contact with a witness and make decisions on where their path should take them.

Ser Tiber chose two men to accompany him. Beady-Eyed Arvia, a renowned marksman from the Blackroot Vale who brought along his friend, Dolfe, who was showing similar prowess.

And a trusted man, who sadly had a bit of a reputation for his overdeveloped sense of entitlement, known as 'the Ungrateful Grandchild' after a loud rant in a tavern about the lack of inheritance he received compared to his brothers. Regardless of this shortcoming, he has been shown to be a brave fighter. He brought along two of his comrades, Gromm and Terrens, a gruff pair often found prowling for Hobbit Pipeweed, which had become evermore prevalent since a Halfling had taken residence in the Citadel.

With the warband created, they departed on their adventure.

The Cair Andros Garrison

Player: Josh

Faction: Minas Tirith

Leader- Turgon (WoMT w/ Shield)

Sergeant- Belecthor (WoMT w/ Bow)

Sergeant- Beregond (WoMT w/ Bow)

Other members- Egalmoth (WoMT w/ Spear and Shield), Eradan (WoMT w/ Spear and Shield), Beren (WoMT w/ Shield), 

The Saga of Erik Blunt-Axe

Player: Jason

Faction: Moria Expedition

Leader- Erik Blunt-Axe (Dwarf warrior w/ Shield)

Sergeant- Gimolas (Dwarf ranger w/ Longbow)

Sergeant- Rolof the Bear (Dwarf warrior w/ 2h)

Other members- Jark Many-Axes (Dwarf ranger w/ T. Axes), Skald the Stern (Dwarf warrior w/ Dwarf bow) and Hardlore the Wise (Dwarf ranger w/ 2h)

Pippin's Crew

Player: Will

Faction: Wanderers in the Wild

Leader- Pippin (Hobbit Militia)

Sergeant- Nearamir (Ranger of Gondor)

Sergeant- Youareamir (Ranger of Gondor)

Other members- Elfindel (Wood Elf), Halone (Wood Elf w/ Bow), Ibun (Dwarf Ranger w/ 2h) and Khim (Dwarf Ranger w/ T.Axes)

Background

It was two years to the day that Pippin’s quest had ended, and for two years Pippin dwindled in his Hobbit home built on the peak of Minas Tirith. His legs tapped restlessly as his eye’s gazed upon the bodyless corpse of Shagrat, displayed upon the mantlepiece of his lounge. Life in the Citadel grew dull. It was time for another adventure, and he knew of two Captains of Gondor to join him.

Nearamir, son of Cinatit, was the middle son of three brothers. It was he, who of the three brothers had defended the Walls of Minas Tirith during the great siege, but at great cost. His sword hand was left scarred, never again would he wield such skill. He now sought a new path.

When the White Wizard rescued him from his own elder brother, it had inspired him. He would follow Gandalf’s footsteps and become a wizard! Stealing Gandalf’s staff before the Battle of the Black Gate, Nearamir vowed only to use it, when he deemed himself worthy.

The second Captain and youngest of the three brothers was Youareamir. Unlike his brother, he did not fight at the great siege. His orders placed him in reserve, even as the lower walls had fallen. Youareamir had cast doubt upon himself, maybe he was not the warrior that he thought himself to be.

Desperate to prove himself a worthy Captain of Gondor, he joined Pippin’s new adventure. The three heroes of Gondor travelled to the new realm of Great Mirkwood, where man, elf and dwarf were united under the rule of King Legolas. Rumour had it that the King had work for adventures to rid the world of evil men and a new breed of cunning spider, which threatened his realm.

Black Gate Survivors

Player: Sam P

Faction: Men of the West

Leader- Merenor (Knight of Dol Amroth)

Sergeant- Caedor (Warrior of Minas Tirith w/ Shield)

Sergeant- Baralindir (Warrior of Minas Tirith w/ Spear and Shield)

Other members- Traston (Knight of Dol Amroth), Grimgel (Warrior of Rohan w/ Shield) and Heruthain (Warrior of Rohan w/ Throwing Spears and Shield)

Evil

Fangs for the Memories

Player: CJ 

Faction: Denizens of Mirkwood

Leader- Incy (Mirkwood Spider)

Sergeant- Wincy (Mirkwood Spider)

Sergeant- Gromit (Fell Warg)

Other members- Spot (Fell Warg) and Muttley (Fell Warg)

Background

Once upon a time, a little pack of beasties containing Incy, Wincy, Gromit, Spot and Muttley, did decide to fuck shit up in a quest for shiny trinkets that they couldn't use.

Aedin's Reavers

Player: Mitch

Faction: Dunland

Leader- Aedin, Son of Madrach (Dunlending warrior w/ Shield)

Sergeant- Breaval of Tunum (Dunlending warrior w/ Bow)

Sergeant- Truis the Butcher (Dunlending warrior w/ 2h)

Other members- Domnar (Dunlending warrior w/ Shield), Soroth the Thief (Wildman of Dunland), Lon the Feral (Wildman of Dunland), Vron, Brother of Lon (Wildman of Dunland) and Rurik the Unclean (Wildman of Dunland)

Prince Bangizwe's Host

Player: Jonathon

Faction: Far Harad

Leader- Prince Bangizwe (Mahud warrior)

Sergeant- Mthunzi- The Shadow (Mahud warrior w/ Blowpipe)

Sergeant- Gwazi- The Protector (Mahud warrior w/ Spear)

Other members- Gazini (Mahud warrior), Ingwe (Mahud warrior w/ Blowpipe) and Elethu (Mahud warrior w/ Spear)

Uthan's Marauders

Player: Jarnan

Faction: Harad

Leader- Uthan the Stout (Harad warrior w/ Spear)

Sergeant- Yanith the Fierce (Harad warrior w/ Spear)

Sergeant- Hufor the Keen (Harad warrior w/ Bow)

Other members- Tas'on (Harad warrior w/ Spear), Dukrar (Harad warrior w/ Spear), Ju'ni (Harad warrior w/ Bow), Murab (Harad warrior w/ Bow) and Mashil (Harad warrior w/ Bow)

The Black Sons

Player: Matt

Faction: Khand

Leader- Lee (Khandish warrior)

Sergeant- Shang (Khandish warrior)

Sergeant- Hua (Khandish warrior w/ Bow)

Other members- Chien-Po (Khandish warrior), Ling (Khandish warrior), Yao (Khandish warrior) and Cricket (Khandish warrior w/ Bow)

Narrative 1- Skirmish in Bree

The Men of the Fiefdoms see the Ruffians closing in on them from all sides. Arvia draws his bow and shoots one down as the rest start to run. Tiber leads the escape, Gromm manages to stab another Ruffian as Arvia follows on and slashes another aside. With the opening made, the company flees out the gates of the town. Only noticing after that The Ungrateful Grandchild had managed to snatch a barrel of dwarven brew and was probably the cause of the aggression.

Fiefdoms victory!

Round 1- A daring rescue (v Dunlendings (Mitch))

While camping in the woods, a Dunlending scout, Truis, was caught trying to make off with the Dwarven Brew. Not taking kindly to this, he was seized and bound. Leaving it for morning to decide his fate, the company prepared to rest for the night. But they were awoken late as Dolfe, who was on watch, spotted men sneaking through the woods towards them. Truis' friends had come to rescue him.

As Arvia and Dolfe started firing at the Dunlendings, Breaval returned fire and landed an arrow in Arvia's quiver then another in Tiber's newly acquired horse. Truis manages to crawl away as his ally Domnar shields off four of the Fief men when Tiber attempts a heroic combat to catch up.

The Dunlending chief, Aedin, slaps Arvia's sword aside before bringing his axe down and landing a deep wound in his bow arm. Tiber slashes Domnar, injuring him and forcing a retreat and slams his shield into Rurik's nose, breaking it. They see Truis escaping with his brethren and hear a cry. Turning too late, they see Soroth the Thief pulling his dagger from Dolfe's back and watch their archer fall and die. The Dunlendings win and the Fiefs mourn their first loss. To further their misery, they realise that the Dunlendings had also stolen a large portion of their supplies. 

Dunlending victory!

The Fiefdoms Battalion are attacked by Aedin's Reavers on their rescue mission

Round 2- Plunder the Camp (v Moria Expedition (Jason))

After days of wandering and supplies running low, Arvia scouts ahead and discovers a dwarf camp. While they have no bad blood with the dwarves, desperation is forcing them to raid for food. They sneak their way over under the cover of the trees and then rush into the camp.

Hardlore is the first to react and he throws an axe, which embeds itself in Tiber's shield. Erik Blunt-Axe then leaps onto his horse and charges the Ungrateful Grandchild (UGG) and Gromm but the men of the Fiefs manage to knock him from his horse as the mount panics before the pikes. Gromm and Arvia rush past the dwarves and start stealing supplies as Tiber knocks Hardlore unconscious before charging into Jark and wounding him too. Stroll, Rollof and Erik try to fight the superior numbers but are beaten back and soon Erik is the only one left. Though he manages to knock Arvia down and slash Gromm across his flank. Seeing that all is lost, Erik grabs Hardlore and carries him away.

Fiefdoms victory!

As their travels continue, they come across a brawny warrior named Fregar (Clansman of Lamedon), who joins them.

The Black Sons push their way through the Dwarf ranger blockade

Narrative 2- Ruins of Annuminas

With their supplies now restocked, the company makes their way north and eventually comes to some old ruins by the shore. They make camp and celebrate the recovery of Arvia's bow arm and their victory, as well as the fact that they did it without having to kill any of the dwarves, by drinking the dwarven brew from Bree. As they enjoy their rewards, they notice a chill in the air and the shrieks of orcs...they are not alone.

The company arms themselves and starts to patrol the ruins. Before long the UGG, Gromm and Terrens find some orcs. As Terrens and Gromm slay one in a doorway, UGG impales another through a window and climbs in. In the centre, Tiber runs down and lances two orcs. Arvia is failing to kill with his bow as he must be out of practice.

Tiber leads the way further in and clears another ruin as Fregar joins the others and cleaves an orc spear. Things start to take a turn as Tiber charges into a group of orcs but his horse stumbles and he is beaten and clubbed into submission. Gromm and Fregar are caught off guard as the group redirects into the rest of the company. The UGG takes the lead and slays another orc, breaking them and causing many to flee, while those who stay are slain by the remaining company.

The orcs are all gone but a haunting voice goads them deeper into the ruins, as they enter the last ruin a Barrow-Wight unveils itself. The UGG, Arvia and Terrens, spurred on by the dwarven brew, rush and attack their foe. As Terrens and Arvia distract the ethereal being, the UGG takes an almighty swing of his sword and destroys it. A small shard of pure black stone clatters to the floor at Arvia's feet....could it be a piece of a palantir? Arvia takes a liking to it and stows it in his pocket.

Fiefdoms victory!

In the ruins, they find two prisoners of the orcs, who had been captured while hunting. These men are called Mr Farley the Dentist and Chuck Norris. They agree to join the company and are equipped with armour and swords from the dead orcs as well as pikes found in an almost empty armoury.

Pippin's Crew faces the orcs of Annuminas

Companies post-narrative 2

Good

The 2nd Battalion of the Fancy part of the Fiefdoms of the South of Gondor, of course

Rating: 194

The Cair Andros Garrison

Rating: 132

The Saga of Erik Blunt-Axe

Rating: 172

Pippin's Crew

Rating: 284

Black Gate Survivors

Rating: 159*

*A couple of mistakes noticed after taking screenshots

Evil

Fangs for the Memories

Rating: 196

Aedin's Reavers

Rating: 167

Prince Bangizwe's Host

Rating: 174

Uthan's Marauders

Rating: 172

The Black Sons

Rating: 203

I'll update after the next narrative scenarios have been played in roughly a month.

CJ's "More will come" Profiles: Goblin Town

 

Goblins have been my favourite faction since I rejoined playing in tournaments a few years ago and settled into a mixed grill of Moria, Gundabad, and Goblin Town goblins before Jay and his meddling Alliance Matrix came into effect! Nowadays I look at both factions and it's always an easy choice for me as to which to take: Moria by far and away has the most model choices, available tactics, and intra-faction synergy. Though despite that, Goblin Town has had far greater success in tournaments around the world simply due to the number of bodies it can put down, and then call even more. But for me, it's just a very 1-Dimensional and boring faction to play (King+Gollum, otherwise numbers, Mercs/Scribe to grab objectives). So I had a look back at the film, and even picked up the book for the first time in years, to see if there was any untapped profile potential. Turns out, there's a reasonable number of things you could add to a Goblin Town list if they were to be revisited in a future Sourcebook!

 

However, being very aware that GT are already a strong faction, these profiles are written with an intention of giving more options and fun synergies rather than powercreeping the faction, which is a difficult line to tread! But largely GT struggles where an opponent can camp between terrain in order to force waves of goblins to die against a shieldwall. Some of these options have the intention of providing just a little (or in one case, a lot) of hesitance to blindly trust in the security of the impasse... But at the same time, every single one of these options would make a list writer think "oh, but that's X many goblins, is it worth it?", in an Army where having an astronomically high Break Point is key to success. Maybe these would only be seen at 700pt+ where scaling up becomes less and less helpful, but hopefully there'd be some interesting choices at the list building stage. See what you think?

Goblin town profiles

WARRIORS

Goblin Town Band 100pts

Counts as 5 models and can be included in any warband as normal. The Band is made up of Goblin warriors carting with them roughly hewn, improvised, or scavenged instruments. When played together, the racket can have a profound impact on the organisation of their enemies…

Warhorn: 1 Goblin warrior with Warhorn.

Alphorn: 2 Goblin warriors carrying the Bullhorn (Golden King style). Goblin models who have charged that turn are treated as being in range of a banner (1 per combat). Heavy Object D6 2 Wounds.

Drums: 1 Goblin warrior with Drums. Goblin King can call a Heroic March each turn without expending Might. D6 3Wounds.

Gong: 1 Goblin warrior with Gong. The Stand Fast! Of Goblin Heroes is extended by 3”. Heavy Object D6 2 Wounds.

Cacophonous din: Whilst the Goblin King remains on the table, and the Instruments are within 3” of each other, for every Instrument playing after the first, reduce the range of enemy Heroic Actions and Stand Fasts! by 1 inch.

Musicians: Instruments may only be played in a turn in which the models assigned to play them perform no other action that turn (with the exception of the Warhorn player who can move as normal). If a Gong or Drum player is slain, their drumsticks may be passed to a friendly Goblin within 1”. If a Warhorn or Alphorn player is slain, they may pass their instrument (or end of it!) to a friendly Goblin within 1”.

 

King’s Lackeys 6pts

Mv5 F2/5+ S3 D4 A1 W1 C2

Spear and Shield

Cave Dweller

Yes, your Malevolence: King’s Lackeys may only be included in the Goblin King's Warband. King's Lackeys increase their Fight Value and Courage by 1 each whilst within 6” of the Goblin King.

 

EQUIPMENT

The Bone Breaker 50pts  

The Bone Breaker is moved in the same manner as a Siege Tower as outlined in War in Rohan, requiring a minimum of 4 rather than 6. The Bone Breaker has a Defence of 7, 3 Wounds, and, on turns that it has not been moved, counts as a Battlefield target.

 

Instead of making strikes, Goblin models may attempt to carry a man-sized or smaller model to a Rack within 2” of that victim. All goblins involved in the fight, including those supporting, can roll a D6 to drag the enemy model away, which is successful on the roll of a 6.

When on The Bone Breaker, the enemy model counts as Paralysed. During the end phase, if two goblin models are in base contact with The Bone Breaker and have taken no further action that turn, The Bone Breaker inflicts 2 S6 hits on the Paralysed model. This is rolled against the model’s Strength rather than Defence, exactly as if subjected to the Rend BPA. The Strength of The Bone Breaker can be increased to a maximum of 10 by increasing the number of goblins operating The Bone Breaker, with each additional Goblin adding an additional point of Strength to The Bone Breaker. 

 

Victims on The Bone Breaker may not otherwise be targeted for Shooting or have Strikes made against them- the Goblins prefer to watch them suffer! They may, however, be released from The Bone Breaker by one Goblin model ending its movement in base contact with The Bone Breaker, if it would be to the Goblin player’s tactical advantage…

 

Victims may roll additional dice for their End Phase paralyse rolls by having friendly models in base contact in the usual manner for the Paralyse rule. Alternatively, The Bone Breaker can be disabled by a model spending an entire turn of inaction in base contact with it. Heroes may use Heroic Strength or Heroic Resolve whilst on The Bone Breaker in order to negate the hits from The Bone Breaker for that turn, in an exception to the normal rules for being able to call Heroics whilst Paralysed.

The Mangler 50pts

The Mangler functions the same as The Bone Breaker with one exception:

The Mangler inflicts 1 hit per turn, but successful To Wound rolls cause D3 Wounds.

 

Goblin Town Rudimentary Explosives 

25pts each, up to 3.

These are placed before the game begins anywhere on the board, at least 12” apart, and count as immovable objects (they could be moved in theory, but nobody is willing to take the risk!). A goblin in base contact with one of these during the move phase may light the fuse of the explosive on a roll of a 6 (Might may be used). 

The next turn, at the end of the movement phase, the Explosive will detonate. Models within 6” are showered with shrapnel and suffer D3 S5 hits. Models within 1” will be Set Ablaze on the roll of a 6.

For every Explosive included in your army, up to two Goblins may be equipped with Flaming Torches. These models will automatically light a fuse, no need to roll for it.

 

Goblin Warriors
Wargear: Orc bow 1pt

Scarce resource: Goblin Town Armies have a bow limit of 1/6 rather than 1/3.

 

Rigged Terrain 

25pts (Once)

This may not be a safe place to sleep after all!

Before the game, make a note of one terrain piece on the board. At the start of any priority phase, you may reveal to your opponent which terrain piece was selected. Remove the terrain piece from the board and any models within it are knocked prone. This may even inadvertently be used to remove a terrain piece your opponent had selected for an objective in Fog of War, denying them VPs! 

 

Hobbying around the Community

With the news that hobbyists might hopefully be able to get back together and play some games again in the near future, we thought it would be fun to showcase some of the hobbying members of the East Anglia Hobbit Community have been up to over the past year. And there has been some impressive work done!

First up, we have Richard Smith's beautifully painted Dol Guldur force, consisting of The Nazgul of Dol Guldur, The Keeper of the Dungeons and of course The Necromancer himself. 

Richard has done a great job with these models, particularly with the cool blue highlights and bases tying the whole force together nicely. 

James Richardson is a prolific painter in the EAHC - he's been busy working on his Rohan and Dunland forces - here we have the Heroes of Dunland set:

Rohan however is not defenceless - James has also been working on Eomer, Eowyn and Deorwine:

In addition to models, James has also painted up some terrain - these two Rohan Houses have been combined from multiple kits, and he's built the Palisade kit too

Dunland has been quite popular of late in the Community - Dimitris Voulgarelis painted up these gorgeous looking Dunlendings, led by Gorulf Ironskin:

And Dan Reah has painted up Thrydan Wolfsbane, the leader of the Dunlendings himself:

Tom Hawker has also been working on his Lurtz' Scouts Legendary Legion - whilst he's not been able to get much paint on the models (it's a bit difficult finding hobbying time when you've got six month old twins!), they're well on their way to looking great - Tom says that his next step will be to get Lurtz repainted as a reward for fighting alongside his fellow Uruk-Hai.

 

We've not all been painting evil armies however - Sam Palmer has been hard at work, painting arguably the most definitively good army in the game - The Fellowship of the Ring:

Fans of the old Battle Games in Middle Earth magazine series might recognise the Balin's Tomb display base - a lovely piece that helps show off the Fellowship from some of the best scenes in the movie. Sam hasn't just been working on the Fellowship though - check out his stunning Fiefdom's of Gondor warbands, each led by their respective heroes: 

And Kieran Hatton, the original creator of the EAHC blog, has been hard at work on his dwarf army - Kieran has a unique take on his dwarves, as he's used mostly Contrast paints for a great looking effect:

Speaking of Contrast paints, our resident Legendary Legion expert CJ Millar has been working on something quite... unique. Inspired by a popular Disney film, he chose to paint his Mumakil in a rather striking paint scheme - if the Mumakil didn't stand out enough on the tabletop already, then this one certainly will!

And speaking of monsters, our other regular contributor Sam Huddy has also been at work on his Balrog, which he deceided to paint as a first ever attempt at Object Source Lighting - he spent plenty of time working on this model since there were no tournaments keeping his paint queue full, and it's very rare you'll paint more than one Balrog. Durin's Bane indeed - the glowing effect on the back of the Balrog looks great. 

  

Lastly, a couple of photos from me - I've been busy working on my own Fellowship of the Ring, as well as some Hobbit Heroes for my growing Shire force!

We hope you've enjoyed our hobbying showcase - hopefully we'll be able to bring you some more hobby content in the future!

Until next time, stay safe and happy hobbying!

James.