This scenario for Games Workshop's "Lord of the Rings" miniatures game comes from Battle Games in Middle Earth magazine, issue #22. This is a sort of combination of the Escape from the Dwarrowdelf and Bridge of Khazad-dum scenarios from the GW Fellowship of the Ring Journey book, recreating the (non-canon) dwarf-tossing scene from the movie and featuring the awesome Balrog.
Good wins by keeping Frodo alive and destroying the bridge before the Balrog can cross; Evil wins by thwarting either of those conditions.
So this is a "Run for it!" scenario, as so many Fellowship scenarios tend to be.
The gap presents an obstacle that must be jumped according to the Jump rules. However, a scenario special rule allow characters within 2" of the gap to use a point of Might to save any hobbits rolling a 1 on their Jump roll, which would result in a killing fall. I extended that rule to every character, as have Aragorn, Gandalf, or Boromir die from a muffed Jump roll would rather ruin the scenario, however humorous it might be to see.
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
The Fellowship starts at the top of the stairs and is trying to make for the Bridge of Khazad-dum in the foreground. There is a chasm there, but the contrast between my gray vinyl mat and the black posterboard I used for the chasm is not great. For that reason I lined the edge of the drop with some spare rocks.
Evil starts with no models on the board, but 8 Goblin archers enter on Turn 1 from underneath the main arch. On Turn 7 the main Goblin force arrives, adding 8 swordsmen and 8 spearmen. On turn 10, the Balrog joins them.
Good starts with Priority, as always.
The Fellowship runs forward, though Legolas half-moves so that he can shoot arrows at the anticipated Goblins. Gandalf casts Blinding Light to help protect the Fellowship from the arrows of the Goblin. Unfortunately for Legolas, he is outside the spell's 6" range.
(If you only count eight Fellowship members here, it's because Gimli is hiding behind Sam.)
The Goblin archers enter with a half move so that they, too, can shoot.
In this first Shooting Phase goes to the Goblins, as Legolas hits twice but fails to wound, while Legolas is hit in return by 4 arrows. Nice aim, fellows! Only one of the four wounds, but Legolas uses up both his Fate points in negating it.
Not an auspicious start for the Fellowship.
I'm so out of practice at doing this that I forgot to take any turn 2 pictures! So here's the situation at the end of turn 3.
On turn 2, Evil got priority, the Goblins moved a bit farther out to improve their line of sight to the Good guys. Then Good began crossing the chasm, with Aragorn rolling the inevitable 1 and having to spend his free Might to negate the fall. Gandalf tried to cast Sorcerous Blast during his move, but rolled a 1 and failed miserably. Some wizard!
Shooting saw 4 Goblins each aiming at Merry and Sam. The arrows missed Merry entirely but one wounded Sam, and he, like Legolas last turn, burned two Fate points to erase it.
Turn 3 saw Evil keeping priority. The Gobins inched along to keep peppering the Fellowship. Merry and Gimli crossed the chasm without incident while Legolas and Aragorn half-moved so as to fire back at the Goblins. Gandalf fires off a Sorcerous Blast of his own, but fails to kill the target Goblin by one pip. Still, that's one less Evil arrow shot this turn, since target Goblin was still knocked down.
Seven Goblins shoot at Legolas, but Gandalf's Blinding Light prevents any hits. In return, though Aragorn whiffs, Legolas hits and kills two of the enemy.
Evil Priority again. The Goblins just redress their line. Hey, why not try to look professional?
Gimli and Merry continue to advance, while Aragorn and Gandalf stay put to help the hobbits. Frodo and Pippin cross the chasm.
Ranged fire is terrible this turn, with Gandalf's Sorcerous Blast failing, the six Goblin archers rolling only 1s, 2s, and 3s (that Blinding Light must be really blinding...), Legolas scoring 3 hits but no wounds, and Aragorn hitting but failing to wound by 1 pip. Fortunately, he's got that one free Might per turn, so the near-death experience for the Goblin turns out to be a real-death experience after all.
Good Priority. Sam and Legolas cross the chasm, Legolas (naturally, being an elf and all) rolling a 6" and hence being able to continue to move, which makes room for Boromir to cross this turn also.
While Legolas's full move prevents him from shooting, Aragorn and Gandalf cover the slack and take out two Goblins. There are now only four Goblins left; they all fire at Boromir and though one hits, it fails to wound.
Evil Priority. The Goblins dress their line while the Fellowship rushes down the stairs, barring Aragorn and Legolas who half-move so as to shoot.
Again, Gandalf's Sorcerous Blast fails miserably, and only Legolas succeeds in killing an enemy.
Turn 7: Good Priority. The Fellowship continues to run downstairs as the Goblin swordsmen and spearmen arrive.
There are no casualties this turn and Gandalf's Sorcerous Blast again fails, and although a Goblin succeeds at hitting the wizard, the to-wound roll is a '1'. An arrow in the hat?
Turn 8 (no picture): Evil priority. Both sides are racing for the bridge. Gimli is the first of the Fellowship to reach the bottom of the stairs. Must be that natural sprinting ability....
Sorcerous Blast and bowfire continue to be ineffective.
Evil Priority. Two of the remaining the Goblin bowmen switch tactics and rush Gimli to pin him. A swordsman and a spearmen break away from the pack to help the bowmen while the remaining troops move to get between the Good characters and the bridge.
Gandalf's Sorcerous Blast works for a change and kills a bowman, while Gimli chops down one of his attackers.
Evil Priority. The Balrog enters. The Goblins near the stairs rush the Fellowship to pin them in place, while the remaining Goblins continue to head for the bridge.
Aragorn moves up to help Merry and Boromir and calls for a Heroic Combat with his free Might point. Legolas takes three shots at the Balrog, but his single shot bounces off the Balrog's tough hide. Or perhaps just goes right through his smoky essence without hitting anything vital.
The Combat Phase sees Aragorn, Merry, and Boromir rolling seven dice against a lone Goblin, and yet losing on the raw roll 5 vs 6! Boromir spends a Might point to achieve the tie (won by the Fellowship based on Fight values) and the valiant Goblin is chopped down.
The Heroic Move lets Aragorn, Boromir, and Merry move to join Gimli and Gandalf in their fight. Perhaps dismayed by the fall of their best guy, these last two bowmen don't put up much of a fight.
Good Priority. Boromir and Gimli charge forward to keep the Goblins away from the rest of Fellowship, especially the hobbits who are struggling to keep up with the party. Aragorn and Legolas hang back to shoot.
Gandalf switches tactics and tries to Command the Balrog. The change pays off as he rolls a '5'. The Balrog has 10 Will to play with, uses 2, and gets the needed '5' to negate the spell. Gandalf must be wondering what's wrong with his magic today.
The Goblins are well in the way of the Fellowship, so when they get to move they switch from manuevering to combat and swarm the Fellowship.
In the Shoot Phase, Aragorn hits but rolls a disappointing '1' for wounds. Legolas hits with two of his three shots. For the first wound roll, they both get '6's, and the second wound rolls are '1' and '5', the latter scoring highly enough to actually wound the Balrog. Nice work, elf!
In Melee, Boromir blows his horn and the Goblins fail their Courage check, so Boromir wins. His wound rolls are '4', '4', and '6', needing '5's to kill. The Fellowship needs to get to the bridge, and Goblin bodies are a life-threatening impediment with the Balrog on the way, so he uses 2 Might points to kill three enemies.
Gimli also rolls well and kills two of his attackers.
Evil Priority. The Balrog is just out of reach of the Good characters, so moves towards the bridge where he (she? it?) knows they are going to go. The Goblins rush the Fellowship again.
The Good guys can't afford to get stuck into the back-and-forth shuffle of melee, so everyone within reach, including brave Merry, charges into combat. On his way Gandalf tries Commanding the Balrog again, but the '2' dieroll fails pathetically.
Melee goes the Fellowship's way. Legolas has to use a Might point to win. But win he does, as do Gimli, Boromir, Gandalf, and Aragorn, taking down six Goblins between them.
Good Priority. With the Balrog in charge range, Gandalf desperately tries another Command, but the dieroll '1' perhaps indicates that he's forgetting some of the words in the spell.
To protect the hobbits, who continue to race for the bridge, the big warriors set up a screen while Legolas moves a half move, which will let him use his Guaranteed Hit ability to shoot at the Balrog even in melee.
Naturally the Evil models rush the warriors. Gimli and Boromir call Heroic Combats, hoping to kill their enemies and move to help out Aragorn, facing the Balrog by himself. The tactic works, as all three remaining Goblins die. Boromir just barely passes his Courage test, but he overcomes his doubts and leaps into the fray.
The Balrog's four attack dice manage to get only a '5', and in the barrage of Fellowship dice they actually get the needed '6'. On the wound rolls, Boromir whiffs entirely, but sturdy Gimli scores one hit and Aragorn rolls '4', '4', '4', which, because of his sword Anduril's special ability, scores three hits. The Balrog is halfway dead!
Evil Priority. Aragorn uses his free Might point to call a Heroic move, so the Fellowship (all within his 6" range) can get a move on before the Balrog can charge them. Even the slow-moving hobbits have the bridge in sight now. Gandalf again tries to Command the Balrog, and again fails (dieroll '3'). Since the Balrog can reach them anyway, Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli try to charge it first. Perhaps still shaken from last turn, Boromir fails his Courage test, leaving his two compatriots to face the beast themselves.
This time the combat rolls are reversed, with the Fellowship managing a '5' but the Balrog pulling out the '6'. The Balrog has a tremendous Fight value which means it wins ties against any Good character, so there's no point in spending any Might here. Luckily for Aragorn, only two of the four rolls wound him, though all three of his Fate rolls fail to negate the wounds. Aragorn is hanging on with but one wound left!
Good Priority. Gandalf finally successfully casts Command, only to have the Balrog use 3 Will and get the '6' needed to cancel it. Aragorn, Gimli, and Boromir rush the Balrog while the others continue to move to the bridge.
In Melee, the Fellowship gets their '6' but so does the Balrog and it wins the tie. With four rolls to Wound, the first two miss, but the third kills Aragorn, and the last wounds Boromir.
A sad turn for Good, no doubt!
Good Priority. Gandalf tries Command again, only to roll a '1'! Boromir and Gimli continue to delay the Balrog while the hobbits finally reach the bridge. Gandalf and Legolas stay out of next turn's charge range.
Again the Balrog wins the melee, '6' vs '6', and manages to kill Boromir outright, though Gimli is unharmed.
Turn 17: Good Priority. Gandalf again Commands, and doubles his dieroll. Unfortunately for him, a '2' doesn't work, either. Gimli charges the Balrog all by himself while the hobbits ascend the bridge.
The Balrog wins the melee, though by burning 1 Might and both Fate points Gimli manages to survive. Bruised and battered, but alive.
Turn 18: Evil Priority, so Gandalf calls a Heroic Move. Gimli charges again, while the wizard's Command finally succeeds with a '4'. Since the game end is near, the Balrog burns 3 Will, and rolls ... a '4'. Spell resisted.
In melee, the Balrog wins again, and though he only manages to inflict one wound, that's all it takes to kill Gimli. The Fellowship has nothing left now but soft, crunchy targets.
Evil Priority. Not much for the Balrog to do other than try to catch up to the remnants of the Fellowship, who continue fleeing across the chasm. Gandalf finally gets a '6' for his Command, but it's too near the end for the Balrog to fool around, so he/she/it expends its last four Will points to maximize the chances of resistance. Which pays off will the needed '6'. Gandalf just cannot win.
Gandalf does need to destroy the bridge, but he doesn't want to do that until his cohorts are safe on the other side.
Good Priority. Gandalf finally succeeds with a Command spell, knocking the Balrog back a half move. That sure would have been handy five turns ago, sir.
The hobbits reach safety. The photographer clearly needs to work on his depth of field, although it is historically accurate to have the Balrog a little indistinct!
Good Priority. It's back to Sorcerous Blasts for Gandalf, but against the bridge, not against the Balrog. He needs to successfully cast the spell, which then delivers half a die's worth of damage on the bridge. When the bridge takes three points of damage, it collapses, killing everyone on it. But, alas, Gandalf's poor performance continues and he fails to cast the spell successfully.
Evil Priority. Here comes the Balrog! Gandalf frantically tries another Sorcerous Blasts and rolls a '3'. Not good. He expends his last two Might points to turn that into a '5', which is a success. The damage roll is '4', so two hits on the bridge out of the three needed.
Good Priority. Gandalf's last chance, and he's out of Might. But, perhaps spurred on by taking on a more dynamic pose, he succeeds in casting Sorcerous Blast, and destroying the bridge. He and the Balrog begin a long trip to the roots of the mountain. But that's a tale for another day.
By the scenario rules, the Fellowship has won. But with only Legolas to lead the hobbits, have they any real hope of victory?
That was a lot of fun to play. I doubt it's infinitely replayable, but it's probably worth another go through.
Gandalf seemed to have little luck in his spells, although he came through in the end. It was pretty impressive that the Fellowship got the Balrog knocked down to five wounds, although the chances of them actually killing it outright are slim indeed given how tough it is.
It's probably worth coming up with some rules to randomize the Goblin bow targets a bit. If one were playing strictly by the rules, rather than in the spirit of the game, there's no reason for the Evil side to ever attack anyone besides Frodo and Gandalf. But that doesn't seem realistic at all. The nice thing about solo play is that my opponent is very understanding of my point of view on this idea.