I finally completed my Weathertop scenery after many months and am pleased with how it turned out, so I decided to solo this scenario (for Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game). The hobbit models are still not detailed, but principal painting is finished so they're good enough for gaming.
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
Sam, Merry, and Pippin begin around the fire, cooking their evening meal. Frodo goes off to the corner to hide, or perhaps he's coping with a weak bladder. Aragorn is off to the north waiting to be summoned should trouble appear.
And speaking of trouble, the Witch King and four Ringwraiths approach the ruined circle from the south.
Good is hampered by being unaware of the Ringwraiths until they approach within 6" of the tower or use a magic power, or Good succeeds on a 50-50 dieroll at the beginning of every turn. I didn't roll on turn 1, just to be perverse.
Either side wins if the other abandons the circle (once the Ringwraiths have entered), or (as usual) the Evil side can win by killing Frodo, or wounding him with the Morgul Blade. (So the "historical" result was an Evil win!) If the Good side loses a hero but banishes the Ringwraiths, it's a draw.
The ringwraiths creep up the hill, getting into position. The hobbits remain oblivious for two turns.
The hobbits finally feel the presence of the ringwraiths on turn 3. Getting priority, Merry, Sam, and Pippin grab flaming brands and fan out to protect Frodo, who is still doing whatever it is he's doing in the corner.
After movement, the Ringwraiths peer through the arches and see the "minor" hobbits, but decline to use their magic powers.
Evil wins priority and continues to manuever the ringwraiths to the edge of the archway. No point in entering it until all can go in at once! One wraith catches sight of Frodo (though the camera doesn't) and attempts to Compel him into putting on the ring, but rolls a '1' and Frodo shakes off the compulsion.
The hobbits close up a bit for protection, while Aragorn continues to run up the hill.
Good gets priority, but the hobbits, declining to charge the wraiths, have nothing to do but gulp and await Aragorn's arrival.
The ringwraiths arrange themselves in the archways in preparation for entry next turn. Two wraiths try to Compel Frodo, and despite expending 2 Will to resist he succumbs to the command, puts on the ring, and advances towards the enemy!
Evil wins this important priority roll. Two wraiths charge Pippin, another goes for Sam. The Witch King tries to Compel Merry out of the way (if the wraiths can get to Frodo, they can win the game this turn) but fails, so he and the last wraith charge Merry instead.
With the hobbits engaged, Good has little to do. Aragorn reaches the top of the hill. Frodo tries to take off the ring and succeeds; he then gulps heavily and charges one of the wraiths attacking Pippin, hoping to help all the hobbits to survive this turn.
Under the fearsome assault of two wraiths, Merry dies. Sam loses his combat, too, but remains unwounded. It turns out Pippin didn't need the help, because he wins his combat and uses his brand to chase his opponent out of the circle. Frodo wins his combat and rolls a 6,6 to wound; with a piercing shriek, the nazgul disintegrates!
Good wins priority and tries to run with the momentum. Aragorn enters the circle. Sam and Pippin try to charge the wraiths to prevent them from getting to Frodo, but both fail their courage checks and run out of the ruins, leaving only Aragorn and Frodo between the wraiths and victory.
Trying to clear the circle, the Witch King attempts to Compel Aragorn and succeeds, but Aragorn spends 2 Will to resist and shakes off the command. The Witch King then charges Frodo. Another wraith Transfixes Aragorn and charges him. A third wraith charges Frodo, and the remaining wraith tries to Compel Frodo, fails, and remains out of combat to preserve Will.
Aragorn is wounded but recovers using 2 Fate. Mighty Frodo beats his two opponents, though he fails to wound.
Evil wins priority on the tie, but Aragorn uses his free Might point to call a Heroic Action and shouts "With Me!" to rally the hobbits. Pippin fails another courage check and continues running away; Frodo cowers, while stout Sam and Aragorn charge three of the wraiths.
Only one ringwraith is available to move. It attempts to Compel Frodo but yet again rolls a '1'. It charges Sam in hopes that two wraiths can take him out. Sam does lose, but remains unscratched. Aragorn wins, and uses a Might point to kill both of his opponents.
With but two wraiths left, Evil has almost no chance of winning and the following turns bear this out. No Compel spell against Frodo succeeds, and Sam and Aragorn mop up the wraiths.
However, since Merry was killed, the game is a draw.
Much more interesting than the Ferry scenario. Evil took a bad hit losing a Ringwraith on the first turn of combat, as the 5 lost Will points could well have been the difference between victory and defeat.
Aragorn seems to be crucial to Good victory. I'm wondering now if Evil should hold off until he arrives, drain his courage down to 2 or less, and only then enter the circle?
Conversely, Good seems to have a hard time pulling out the win because it's pretty easy to lose Merry and Pippin in combat. In the early turns, you've only got Sam to protect them. So I think a draw is probably the most common result of this scenario.