This was another attempt at the Kingslayer scenario as per my previous report. I realized then that I had forgotten about the Witch King's Fate points, which give him (on average) 2.5 Wounds instead of just one. He's much more powerful this way!
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
Same setup as before.
Good always begins with Priority. As last time, they advance 3" so as to stay just out of charge range (12") of the Fell Beast.
Evil uses different tactics this time. The Witch King advances to get Theoden in range of a Compel spell, Theoden beings the tastiest target because he has no Will with which to resist the magic. The spell is cast successfully, Theoden is forced 5" forward, and the Fell Beast then continues its move and charges Theoden.
The boldness pays off as Evil wins the combat (6 v 3, so no point in Theoden using his Might) and then inflicts 3 Wounds. Theoden has two Fate points, but only one of them succeeds and so, with two Wounds still inflicted, Theoden dies.
One down, four to go for Evil.
Evil Priority. Hoping to charge the Witch King, Eowyn calls for a Heroic Move, which the Witch King attempts to counter by spending a Might point of his own. Good wins the tie, and so, calling "With me!", Eowyn charges the Witch King. Unfortunately, Merry (dropped from the saddle at the beginning of the move) is too far away to reach the Combat, and both Royal Guardsmen, perhaps dismayed at the death of their liege, fail their Courage test and so stay in place.
In the subsequent Combat, Evil wins. The Witch King aims for Eowyn's horse, killing it, and also inflicts a Wound on Eowyn herself, who must use up both her Fate points to survive.
Evil gets priority for Turn 3. Merry calls a Heroic move and the Witch King counters, for identical reasons as last turn. But this time Good wins the rolloff. Eowyn, Merry, and one Royal Guard charge the Witch King, while the other Royal Guard cowers in fear.
Combat goes Good's way, too, with the rolls tied at 6 and Good wins the rolloff. But the Rohirrim's strikes go terribly awry, with the Royal Guard landing a wound on the Fell Beast but Eowyn and Merry, who by scenario special rule only need a 4+ to hit, both miss!
Evil gets priority again for Turn 4. Eowyn uses her last Might point (and the last in the game) to call another Heroic Move. In go the Rohirrim again, less the one Royal Guard that can't seem to pull himself together.
Good wins the combat again, and gets 1 Wound on the Witch King. But the expenditure of 2 Fate points (1 remaining) saves him.
Evil Priority. With Eowyn and Merry now on foot, the Witch King decides to use his superior mobility to better advantage. But before he moves away, he hurls a Black Dart at Eowyn, hoping to take her out. He casts the spell successfully but Eowyn resists by using both of her Will points. Frustrated, the Nazgul moves to attack the still-cowering Royal Guardsman, out of range of the Rohan heroes.
If the footmen are too far away, the remaining Royal Guardsman isn't. He passes his Courage test and tries to help his comrade. Good even wins the combat, surprisingly, but the Fell Beast's hide is evidently too tough for the Guardsmen to puncture.
Good Priority. Eowyn, Merry, and the braver of the Guardsmen charge the Witch King, while the cowering chap, having fought the Nazgul away already, decides to take a breather.
Unfortunately for the Rohirrim, Evil wins the combat. Both strikes hit, one killing Eowyn and the other forcing Merry to use up one of his Fate points. Two down, three to go.
Evil Priority. With both F5 Rohan fighters (Eowyn and Theoden) out, Evil will win all tied Combat rolls; between that and the regular charge bonus there's not much need for finesse now. The Witch King charges Merry and the brave Guard, while needless to say the other Guard fails his Courage test and remains out of the melee.
Evil wins the combat roll, and Merry is slain in the subsequent combat. Three down, and the two weakest to go.
Good Priority. For a change of pace, Guardsman Knockknees passes his Courage test and charges the Witch King, while the now-footman takes a turn to dust himself off before getting back into combat.
And when Knockknees decides to commit, he really makes it count, as he wins the battle and puts a second Wound on the Fell Beast. One more will "unhorse" the Witch King and remove his huge charging advantage!
But it was not to be. The Witch King slew a guardsman on Turn 9 and the last one on Turn 10, winning the game.
This was much less anticlimactic than the last outing. I was happy to see a few more opportunities for tactics than I thought at first there would be. But ultimately this scenario comes down to die rolling, because the figure statistics essentially guarantee that there will be lots of 50%-50% tie-breaker dierolls between the combatants.
Still, the journey was fun.
After completing my notes and pictures for this Battle Report, I decided to play one more time (without recording the game) just for fun. Naturally it was a more exciting contest than the playthroughs that I documented. The Witch King managed to kill all the Rohirrim bar Theoden. But even though knocked to the ground, Theoden managed to slay the Fell Beast, making the match a footman to footman duel. By then the Witch King was running low on Will, and could not kill Theoden before expending his last Will point and forcing his own dissolution. A Might-less, Fate-less, half wounded, on-foot Theoden managed to win!