This is a second go at a Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game scenario from the Two Towers Journeybook. You may want to read my previous attempt before going further. (I guess that playthrough is now technically "The Penultimate March of the Ents".)
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
The Evil force was just too strong as originally played. So I chopped down the Uruk-hai from 22 Warriors down to 12. To keep up the number of models I added more Orcs, though not as many as you might think at first glance because I lowered the overall points of the Evil force from 576 to 554 as well. (In the image, one of the bowmen evidentally hates the Uruks more than the Ents based on his facing. There's one in every crowd....)
It seemed to me that the my original board layout also penalized the Ents, since the large outcrop in combination with the crevice paralleling the start edge channeled the Ents too much and made Barging too hard. So I've arranged the crevices here more or less perpendicular to the Ents movement. This should help the Ents, who can easily step over the crevices, and hinder the Evil forces, which must either go around or take dangerous Jump tests.
My last change for this playthrough was to reduce the chance of Evil Warriors coming back into play from 50% to 33%. I like the uncertainty for both sides that this rule engenders, but the return rate just seemed too favorable to Evil last time out.
The Ents are, left to right, Birch, Treebeard, Linden, and Quickbeam
Good Priority
As always, Good starts a scenario with Priority.
The Ents begin within Throw Stones range of the closest scaffold, and are in fact within a couple of inches throwing range of the second as well. So what's the rush to close with the enemy? If Evil holds back, too, the resulting shooting battle is only going to go in favor of the Ents due to their higher strength and defense. So, despite being presented with Priority on a plate, the Ents anticlimatically choose to stay in place and reach for stones.
In response, Evil advances as much as possible. In the interest of speed, most of the Orcs on scaffold jump off rather than use the ladders. Only one Orc dies on each of the far scaffolds, but on the foreground scaffold an improbable four warriors fall to their doom. In retrospect, feeding the Orcs bananas was not a good idea, though you'd think they'd just throw the peels into the crevice.
In the Shooting Phase all four Ents throw their stones at the nearest scaffold. Three hit and two of those hits damage the scaffold (note the black poker chips on the platform). Evil exact their revenge, though, with a lucky Orc scoring a wound on Treebeard, which he in turn negates with a Fate point.
Evil dead: permanent 0, this turn 6.
Good Priority, 3-2
Since the closest Evil models are nearing the Ents, the Birch Ent moves to intercept them while the other three remain in place so they can throw stones.
Evil moves towards the Ents, a few warriors charging the Birch Ent. Two of the dead warriors from last turn return to play.
Good's shooting is miserable, with no one rolling higher than an two. But Evil's Shooting all whiffs as well.
The first combat of the game goes poorly for the Birch Ent, who can manage on a 4 against the Evil 5. Luckily he takes only one wound.
Evil dead: permanent 4, this turn 0.
Good Priority, 4-2.
The Evil forces are close enough that Treebeard and Quickbeam move to cut them off, too, leaving the Linden Ent to reach for a stone.
Evil swarms the Ents. The Linden Ent does indeed manage to damage the nearest scaffold through shooting, while all of the Evil shots fail to wound. In several cases this works to Evil's benefit, since a few of the shots hit friendly warriors engaged in melee rather than the enemy.
In combat, Quickbeam gets his 6 and Hurls a Berserker 8". Only three models die (the ones facing left) but the casualties include the Uruk-hai Bannerman. The Berserker ends up on the crevice. The rules do not mention what happens in this case; I decided that hurling into the crevice makes for a cool game mechanic, but gave the model being thrown a saving throw of 6 to catch hold of the edge. And indeed the Berserker gets his 6 and remains.
Treebeard gets only a 5 highest but Evil does no better and the Ent wins on Fight value. He decides to just strike normally, and kills two enemies.
The Birch Ent agains rolls a 4 highest against Evil's 6, but the Isengarders fail to wound.
Evil dead: permanent 4, this turn 5.
Evil Priority, 2-1.
Evil continues to run at the Ents, and I finally remember that the Ents cause Terror and at last make Courage tests when Evil tries to Charge. This thins the number of attackers considerably. All five models killed last turn stay dead.
By the time it's Good's turn to move, the Linden Ent is the only model that is still unengaged. He moves up to help the Birch Ent, who seems to be having a rough time.
Shooting has no effect this turn.
In combat, Quickbeam match Evil's 4 and Hurls an Orc 6". He knocks down a lot, but everyone survives. It looks more impressive than it really is.
The Birch Ent finally wins 5-4, and Hurls an opponent into the scaffold. Neither the hurled Orc nor the scaffold he hits are wounded, but the Berserker he passes through on the way is killed.
The Linden Ent beats his brave lone attacker easily and Hurls him at the Uruk Captain. The thrown Orc and an Orc in between both die, but the Captain is unscathed.
Treebeard barely wins, 4-4, and attempts to Barge to get at the Orc Banner Bearer. But he rolls a miserable 1 and can't reach anyone at all!
Evil dead: permanent 9, this turn 4.
Evil Priority, 6-5.
Evil charges, but suffers a great number of Courage Test failures and when the dust settles the Linden Ent is still free to move. He moves up to block the gap between Birch and Quickbeam. Two dead Orcs come back.
Shooting's only casualty is one of the Orcs engaging Quickbeam, hit by friendly fire.
In combat, Quickbeam's 4 loses to Evil's 6. With an already-large number of strikes doubled due to being trapped, and the +1 Wound modifier for two-handed weapons, Evil manages to inflict three wounds and kills the Ent!
The Linden Ent's opponents get a 6 but so does the Ent. He Hurls his opponent 8" through the line of troops rushing him and manages to kill five(!) of them.
The Birch Ent likewise matches the Evil roll of 6. He Barges 3" to attack a prone Orc and the Orc Banner Bearer, and though his followup attack only gets a 5 that still beat's Evil's 4 highest and the Ent kills them both.
Treebeard's 4 matches Evil's 4 highest and he Barges into the Orc behind him in order to prevent being trapped next turn. The Orc rolls a 6 but his two-handed weapon reduces that to a 5 which Treebeard matches, and Treebeard takes him out.
Evil dead: permanent 11, this turn 10.
Evil Priority, 6-4.
Again the Orcs and Uruks charge and all the Ents are pinned. All Shooting is ineffective.
The Linden Ent wins his combat with a 6 and uses all three strikes on the Uruk-hai Captain. They all succeed in wounding, and the Uruk-hai Captain goes down, taking his two unused points of Might with him.
The Birch Ent loses 5-6 and narrowly escapes wounding, one of the attacking Orcs getting a 6/3 when needing a 6/4. Birch has now lost 50% of his combats, which seems pretty weak for an Ent.
Treebeard and his enemies tie again 6-6. Since Good is trying to thin down the hoard of Evil forces, and Treebeard has only a single model in base contact, he forgoes regular strikes and Barges 6" into two others. His luck holds and kills them both.
Evil dead: permanent 16 (plus the Uruk Captain), this turn 2.
Evil Priority, 6-1.
Evil charges again but there are many Courage Test failures. One dead Orc returns. Shooting is again ineffective.
The Linden Ent's string of victories comes to an end as his combat roll comes up with the dreaded 1,1,1. The Orcs easily win and he is lucky to escape with only two wounds.
The Birch Ent's luck is little better -- he scores 1,2,3 -- and the Berserker attacking him easily wins despite the two-handed weapon penalty. But no wounds are inflicted.
Good's poor luck continues as Treebeard also loses 5-6 against two measly Orcs. Being pretty fed up with losing this turn, he spends a Might point to win and easily slays the Orcs using regular strikes.
Evil dead: permanent 17 (plus Captain), this turn 2.
Evil Priority, 5-1.
Things don't change much. Evil charges, none of the dead revive, and shooting is ineffective.
The Linden Ent gets his 6 and kills three enemies using normal strikes.
The Birch Ent loses yet again, 4-6, but Evil only manages to inflict one wound.
Treebeard again loses 4-5 and uses a Might point to force the win and kill two enemies.
Evil dead: permanent 19 (plus Captain), this turn 5.
Evil Priority, 2-1.
Evil's had Priority six turns in a row now, which seems to be seriously impeding the progress of the Ents. They are almost as far away from the nearest scaffold as ever, with the only ray of hope being that the Evil ranks have been pretty seriously thinned out.
Evil charges, of course, but the Courage Test results are tragic (from Evil's point of view, anyway). Only the Orc Captain is willing to attack the Linden Ent, and just two Orcs are willing to face Treebeard. A miserly one dead model returns, and shooting remains as ineffective as ever.
The Birch Ent finally gets his six; given his wounds and being trapped, this was an important one to win. He easily squashes the Berserker but his other two strikes have no effect.
The Orc Captain had called a Heroic Strike and gets the 6 dieroll to get F10 for the combat versus the Linden Ent. The Ent gets his 6 to the Captain's 5, but the Orc uses his last Might point to force the tie and then wins on Fight value! He elects to Piercing Strike but gets only 3,5 on his Wound rolls and, with no Might remaining, can't scratch the Ent. Disappointing for Evil; still, the Orc Captain showed that namby-pamby Uruk-hai Captain how it's done, right?
Treebeard manages just a 3 highest against the Orc with two-handed weapon's adjusted roll of 5. There's not enough Might here to fix that, so Treebeard has to take his licks, in this case a single Wound which is negated by 2 Fate points.
Evil dead: permanent 23 (plus Captain), this turn 1.
Good Priority, 4-2.
The Ents back up to engage the models that are trapping them. Evil charges where Courage Tests let him. The dead Berserker from last turn stays dead, and shooting continues to be a lot of die rolling without any effect.
The Linden Ent gets his 6 and inflicts 2 wounds on the Orc Captain, whose only Fate point saves him.
The Birch Ent gets his 6 and scores two more kills. He's now clawed his way back up to winning half of his combats, which is still not very impressive.
Treebeard completes the trifecta of wins by also rolling 6, then muffs the wound rolls by getting 1,2,1. Sad.
Evil dead: permanent 24 (plus Captain), this turn 2.
Good Priority, 5-1.
The Ents charge, shifting to the right where Evil is thinner on the ground. Evil countercharges and though the Linden and Birch Ents aren't facing many opponents, Treebeard gets swarmed. Neither dead model returns.
Pippin scores the first hobbit victory by knocking out a two-handed weapon Orc with a rock. This seems to wake up the Evil shooters, which kill one in-the-way Orc attacking Treebeard but also inflict a wound on the always struggling Birch Ent. That's his third, and down he goes!
The Linden Ent gets his 6 against the Orc Captain, who was Piercing Striking. The Captain goes down to D4; since he has only one Wound and no Fate remaining, the odds look about the same whether Linden uses strikes or Hurls him. But the latter gives the opportunity to take out some other enemies as well, so Hurl it is. Luck is with the Ent and the Captain and two warriors passed through all die.
Treebeard's 4 loses to Evil's 6 and again his single remaining Might point isn't enough to affect the result. He endures a fair number of strikes, but S3 Orcs have a hard time against the thick-barked Ent and he only ends up with 1 wound.
Evil dead: permanent 26 (plus both Captains), this turn 4.
Evil Priority, 3-2.
Evil charges. Three of the four dead come back. Friendly fire takes down an engaged Orc.
The Linden Ent wins 5-5 and kills all three of his attackers.
Treebeard loses 4-6 but the Orcs again fail to wound.
Evil dead: permanent 27 (plus both Captains), this turn 4.
Good Priority, 3-2.
Sorry, no picture. The Ents charge and Evil countercharges. One of the four dead returns. Shooting goes back to ineffective.
The Linden Ent gets a 3 high and loses, but miraculously survives the numerous Evil strikes.
Treebeard gets his 6 and kills three opponents.
Evil dead: permanent 30 (plus both Captains), this turn 3.
Good Priority, 3-1.
The Ents close for mutual support in the direction of the scaffold. Evil moves in. Two of last turn's dead return.
The crossbows take out the wounded Linden Ent.
Treebeard gets his 6 in combat and kills two of his attackers.
Evil dead: permanent 31 (plus both Captains), this turn 2.
Good Priority, 5-3.
Treebeard runs toward the scaffold, while Evil charges Treebeard where Courage Tests allow it. Neither of last turn's casualties return, and shooting again has no effect.
Treebeard gets his 6 and decides to Barge, hoping to engage the scaffold. Naturally he rolls a 1 and can't reach it.
Evil dead: permanent 33 (plus both Captains), this turn 0(!).
Good Priority, 6-1.
Treebeard at last reaches the scaffold. There are only two Orcs in charge range and both fail their Courage Test. Shooting has no effect.
With no models in base contact, Treebeard is free to attack the scaffold. He gets just three hits, but in combination with the wounds inflicted in the first turns of the game, it's enough to collapse the scaffold! One down, two to go....
Evil dead: permanent 33 (plus both Captains), this turn 2 (archers on the scaffold).
Evil Priority, 4-4.
Treebeard is mobbed. One archer returns. Evil's shooting helps out Treebeard by killing the model ensuring that he was trapped.
In combat, Treebeard loses 5-6 but takes no wounds.
Evil dead: permanent 34 (plus both Captains), this turn 1.
Evil Priority, 2-1.
Treebeard is swarmed, and the dead stay dead. Shooting again scores an own goal as Evil takes out an Orc.
Treebeard again loses 4-5, and this time takes a wound. Despite the dwindling number of Evil models at this point, Treebeard does not seem to be doing well.
Evil dead: permanent 35 (plus both Captains), this turn 1.
Good Priority, 3-3.
Treebeard finally gets a change to move and crosses the rubble from the scaffold. Evil pursues but no one is in charge range. The dead continue to stay dead, and shooting continues to have no effect.
Evil dead: permanent 36 (plus both Captains), this turn 0.
Good Priority, 6-4.
Treebeard advances, trying to get behind the rock for some protection against crossbows. Evil follows. A few warriors are within Charge range but none of them pass their Courage Tests so there's no combat this turn. Shooting kills an in-the-way Orc.
Evil dead: permanent 36 (plus both Captains), this turn 0.
Evil Priority, 4-2.
Treebeard is mobbed, but it doesn't matter because the crossbows manage to hit him and inflict a third Wound to kill him. Game over.
Just looking at the number of scaffolds that were destroyed, this would seem to be a repeat of my previous attempt at this scenario. But I think this was a much closer contest. My gut feeling was the Ents didn't have very good luck during this game. So I ran some numbers to see if my gut feeling was correct.
Here is the raw data for the combats. Turns with no combat are omitted. A number indicates the highest number rolled by the given Ent that turn; cells with two numbers are where there were two combats due to Barging. The combat results are indicated by letter as to Win or Loss, and L > W indicates a Might point was used to increase the dieroll and change the raw result.
| Turn | Treebeard | Birch | Linden | Quickbeam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 L | |||
| 3 | 5 W | 4 L | 6 W | |
| 4 | 4 W | 5 W | 6 W | 4 W |
| 5 | 4,5 W | 6,5 W | 6 W | 4 L |
| 6 | 6,6 W | 5 L | 6 W | |
| 7 | 5 L>W | 3 L | 1 L | |
| 8 | 4 L>W | 4 L | 6 W | |
| 9 | 3 L | 6 W | 6 L | |
| 10 | 6 W | 6 W | 6 W | |
| 11 | 4 L | 6 W | ||
| 12 | 4 L | 5 W | ||
| 13 | 6 W | 3 L | ||
| 14 | 6 W | |||
| 15 | 6 W | |||
| 17 | 5 L | |||
| 18 | 4 L |
Boiling this down, there were 40 combats and the actual results versus the expected number of results for that number of combats is as follows:
| Roll | # Occurrences | % Occurences | Expected % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2.5% | <1% |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 3% |
| 3 | 3 | 7.5% | 8% |
| 4 | 11 | 27.5% | 17% |
| 5 | 8 | 20% | 28% |
| 6 | 17 | 42.5% | 42% |
This is actually closer than I thought. Despite the rare 1,1,1 showing up (for the Linden Ent, ironically, who was otherwise the most solidly consistent performer) the total number of 1-high, 2-high, and 3-high rolls was about as should have been expected. Likewise, the number of 6-highs was right on the money.
Now the number of 4-highests was significantly over what was expected and the number of 5-highests was significantly less. But I don't think changing three of those 4s to 5s (which would bring the actual results in line with expected results) would have significantly altered the game. A 5 doesn't guarantee a win, as Treebeard discovered on Turns 7 and 17.
At this point I am inclined to keep the lower-quality Evil roster, along with revival on a 5+ (and not 4+ as the scenario states). I think the final piece of the playbalance puzzle is adding another Ent, which I think will give the Good side enough staying power to make destroying two scaffolds probable and outright winning possible.