Tirion's Company of Rangers:
Tirion (Faramir model) - Leader
Dringon (Damrod model) & Damdir (Madril model) - Sergeants
Helechon, Hastedir & Thangurdir - Rangers
All are armed with stout leather armour, sword and bow, with Thangurdir also carrying a spear.
Uldakh's Company of Angmar Orcs were a much less-uniform bunch and comprised;
Uldakh - Leader with two-handed axe
Augzul - Sergeant with armour, sword and shield
Draza the Red - Sergeant with armour, sword and shield
Kruddar - Angmar Orc with armour, sword and shield
Mogluf - Angmar Orc with armour and two-handed weapon
Srahash - Angmar Orc with armour and spear
Boglig - Angmar Orc with armour and spear
Uldekh - Angmar Orc with armour and Orc bow
Orgag - Angmar Orc with armour and Orc bow
The names for both Companies were generated using an online name generator for Lord of the Rings!
Table set up - the ruins of Arnor
The aim for both sides was to be in control of the central 'objective' - represented by the fallen pillars to the left of the road in the image above. Rather than each side having a set deployment area, each figure's entry point is rolled for separatly. This seemed to favour the Rangers, who were concentrated on the northern (left) and western (nearest) edges. However, Thangurdir came on via the southern edge, advancing through the Avenue of Kings' statues on the hill in the near right corner. The plan was for Tirion and Dringon to advance on the objective through the cover of the woods whilst Damdir and Hastedir headed for the northern ruin to get up high so that they could overlook the objective and use their bows to snipe at any Orcs approaching it.
Tirion and Dringon advance into the woods...
...whilst Damdir and Hastedir enter the northern ruin
Meanwhile Thangurdir comes on through the Avenue of Kings
Uldakh's Company was a little more spread out. A good deployment roll gave Uldakh the choice of where to enter and he came on from the west, aiming to cut off Tirion and Dringon. Augzul and Mogluf headed for the ruin on the south side of the road with the intention of contesting the objective. They were followed at a distance by Orgag, who stopped to draw a bead on Thangurdir. Finally, Srahash came on from the east, intending to get close to the northern ruin with the aim of disrupting the Rangers' attempts to set up a base of fire in the ruins.
Uldakh appraoches, eager to bury his axe in man-flesh!
Augzul and Mogluf head for the ruins whilst Orgag takes aim
The lone Srahash looks to cause the Rangers problems
In the Shooting Phase only Orgag could fire, as the Rangers had all made a full move. He drew his bowstring and let fly a black-feathered arrow. Not only did he hit his mark, the foul dart pierced Thangurdir's armour and he was down. To lose a man so early was a real blow for the Rangers, who were already outnumbered by Uldakh's company. With no one engaged in combat, we moved straight onto the second turn, with Tirion winning Priority.
Alarmed by the sight of the on-rushing Uldakh, Tirion and Dringon made a cautious advance across the track and took cover in the undergrowth, leaving themselves the option of opening fire on him as he closed. Hopefully, having dispatched the Orc leader, they could then continue towards the objective.
Damdir and Hastedir moved further into the ruin and it looked they would be in position overlooking the objective in the following turn, meaning that any Orcs trying to seize it would first have to run the gamut of their archery.
The final member of the Company, Helechon, came on this turn. He slowly moved towards the side of the building, halting with the intention of firing at Srahash and so preventing him from interfering with the Rangers' plans.
Having dispatched one Ranger, Orgag hurried to catch up with his fellow Orcs who were entering the southern ruin. Once in the ruin himself, he could climb up onto the remains of the first floor and cover any advance Augzul and Mogluf made and perhaps even harass the Rangers opposite with his arrows.
The cunning Uldakh then showed that he was no mindless brute. Well aware of the Rangers' prowess with the bow (and mindful that facing two Heroes meant he also had to think about Might points being used to make it even more effective), he took cover behind a statue. Hopefully, some good deployment rolls would see more of his Company arriving and they could be used to distract the Rangers.
Sure enough, three more Orcs arrived this turn. Two of them - Uldekh the archer and Draza the Red - both rolled 6s for their deployment, meaning they could arrive on a board edge of their choosing. Characters cannot charge in the turn they deploy in this scenario, but can otherwise act as normal. With this in mind Uldekh came on from the western edge to support Uldakh (bit confusing having two Orcs with only one letter difference in their names!) by targeting either Tirion and Dringon. Draza the Red came on to reinforce the effort directed against the Rangers in the northern ruin, where his point of Might would come in handy. He and Srahash looked to to get in close to the building before the Rangers would be in position to fire at them. Pretty soon the Rangers would be facing five Orcs coming from two different directions - would three of them be enough to hold out?
To make matters worse, Boglig deployed from the northern edge, putting him behind the Rangers in the building. Again, he looked to get into cover as rapidly as possible in an effort to minimise the impact of the Rangers' missile fire.
In the Firing phase, Helechon had three targets to choose from, all Orcs closing in on the ruins. Tempting as it was to try and take out Draza the Red, the latter's Defence of 5 (thanks to his shield's +1) meant it was very unlikely that the Ranger's Strength 2 bow would have any impact. That meant the choice was between Boglig and Srahash; the former was closer to the ruin and so Helechon let fly an arrow against him. His aim was true and revenge for the earlier loss of Thangundir was exacted as Srahash fell to the ground. At the same time, Tirion drew back his bow and loosed an arrow against the newly arrived Uldekh. However, his shot glanced off the Orc's armour, meaning the threat remained. More importantly, both he and Dringon had been delayed from making any progress towards the objective.
Again, there was no close combat and so Priority was rolled for and things got worse for the Rangers as this time it was a tie, meaning Priority passed to Uldakh's Company. This swing in initiative made it very likely that Tirion and Dringon would be engaged in combat, delaying them even further, even if they won the fight.
First, the three Orcs in the centre moved in and further in to the southern ruin, meaning they would now be at least partially obscured from Ranger fire. On the eastern flank, Draza the Red dashed forward, making it to the corner of the building and out of Helechon's line-of-sight. At the same time, Boglig approached the diagonally opposite corner, trying to force the Rangers in the ruin to split their force to deal with the threat. Uldakh left the cover of the statue and ran towards the two Ranger heroes, taking cover behind a pile of rubble in an effort to make any missile fire as difficult as possible. Finally, the last Orc in the Company - Kruddar - deployed from the northern edge and headed straight for Dringon. Although he could not charge into close combat, Kruddar could get close enough to force Dringon to either charge him or fall back. With Uldakh getting closer, Uldekh able to shoot at them from a distance, and now Kruddar to contend with, the two Rangers had a tough choice to make. Did they dash towards the objective, with three Orcs in hot pursuit, or did they stay and try to thin out the Orcs' numbers? Given that there were already five Orcs clsoing in on the centre ground, Tirion and Dringon decided to stay and fight, charging into combat with the two nearest Orcs, Uldekh and Kruddar.
Uldakh and his axe get closer!
Tirion and Dringon charge into combat
In the northern ruin, Hastedir clambered up onto the upper floor, but doing so meant he would not be able to fire in the following phase. Damdir decided to take care of the threat posed by Boglig and Helechon took position in one of the building's arches; expecting Draza to enter the building the following turn, he readied himself to open fire. With a bit of luck, the following Combat phase would see the Rangers, with all three Heroes in combat, reduce Uldakh's company by a third!
Draza the Red takes shelter in the lee of the wall, whilst above him Hastedir scrambles into position
Damdir confronts Boglig
Helechon readies himself.
The first Combat phase of the game started well for the Rangers. Both Damdir and Tirion won their fights, forcing their opponents back. However, neither of them were able to finish off their opponents; they needed 5s to inflict Wounds, but both rolled a 4. Sensing that it was vital to wrest momentum away from Uldakh, both heroes used their single point of Might to increase their Wound rolls and dispatch their opponents. This was a risk but it meant the Rangers in the northern ruin would not have to split their force to face multiple threats and offered the prospect of Tirion and Dringon being able to resume their delayed march on the objective.
Damdir vanquishes his opponent...
...as does Tirion
However, the final combat between Dringon and Kruddar did not go the way of the Ranger. Although he won the Duel, he only rolled a 1 to Wound.
Now the Rangers had a real dilemma on their hands. If they stayed to finish off Kruddar, it would allow Uldakh to get perilously close to the Rangers, and neither wanted to be on the receiving end of a blow from his two-handed axe! If they tried to use their bows, their reduced movement would allow them to be charged by Kruddar. Finally, Uldakh lay across the most direct route to the objective, meaning they would have to take a more circuitous path, all the time pursued by the two Orcs. As a result, the two heroes decided to gamble. Dringon's next move would be a short enough distance to allow him to still use his bow if Uldakh closed in, whilst Tirion would engage Kruddar in combat, hopefully finishing him off before Uldakh arrived. For the plan to work, the Rangers also needed to win Priority over the next two turns.
The first part of the gamble paid off, with the Rangers winning Priority, with Tirion charging into Combat with Kruddar. Having eliminated the threat of Bolgig, Damdir moved up to the corner of the ruin, intending to engage the three Orcs approaching the objective. In the Orc Movement phase, Kruddar charged towards the engaged pair of Tirion and Kruddar, cunningly using them as a shield to prevent Dringon firing at him. But now things started to unravel for the Rangers. Whilst Orgag took up a firing position in the southern ruin, Augzul and Mogluf charged out of the building, looking to take possession of the objective. In doing so they were partially obscured by the ruined pillars themselves, making Damdir's shot all the harder. Then Draza the Red took the Rangers by surprise - rather than entering the ruin, he clambered up the wall to face Hastedir on the roof. It also meant Helechon was unable to aid his comrade as he didn't have a clear line-of-sight to the Orc.
In the Shoot phase, Damdir was unable to get past the rubble to hit Augzul. Simlarly, Hastedir's hurried shoot failed to harm Draza (the boost in Defence provided by the Orcs' shields was proving invaluable). Worse was to come in the Combat phase as Tirion failed to wound Kruddar despite winning the fight - again, the boost in Defence given by the shield making a real difference.
Damdir positions himself to fire upon the advancing Orcs...
...rushing towards the objective
Tirion charges Kruddar; Uldakh hurtles towards the combat...
Draza the Red swarms up and over the ruined wall to confront Hastedir, whose hurried shot misses...
Tirion wins the combat but fails to dispatch Kruddar...
Things were looking grim for the Rangers, but there was still a chance if they could keep Priority. Both sides watched anxiously as the dice rolled, but when they came to a stop it was the worst possible outcome for Tirion's men - the Orcs had won Priority for the turn and Uldakh's Company decisively seized the initiative from the beleaguered Rangers. The end wasn't long in coming...
Firstly, Augzul and Mogluf took control of the objective
Then Draza the Red charged into combat with Hastedir. Damdir rushed to his aid but was too far away...
... as was Helechon
Finally Uldakh made it into combat, engaging Tirion alongside Kruddar
Tirion put up a brave fight but Uldakh used his point of Might to win the fight. With a mighty heave of his axe, Tirion was felled
And it was similar story in the ruin. Staying stationary to shoot at Draza proved to be a serious tactical error as Hastedir was unable to retreat after losing the fight to Draza and so suffered additional damage. His comrades could only look on helplessly as he fell from the roof
With only three Rangers left standing and the Orcs in control of the objective, the remains of Tirion's company decided nothing stood to be gained from continuing the fight and so withdrew to lick their wounds, leaving Uldakh victorious.
Postscript
With the end of the game, the post-game sequence needed to be completed. As well as awarding Experience and Influence Points, the most important aspect was to see how seriously injured different characters had been. At the end of it all, Uldekh and Thangurdir would both miss the next game as they recovered from injuries sustained in the battle. More seriously, Tirion suffered a serious injury to his and can no longer throw missile weapons or use a bow - a pretty serious drawback for a Ranger. Obviously Uldakh's axe bit deep!
A thoroughly enjoyable first outing with Battle Companies and I look forward to the next game, not least to put right the numerous errors I undoubtedly made!
