My playthrough of the Scouring of the Shire (2019) continues here with The Bounders Strike Back. I've had to skip ahead (again) four scenarios due to missing heros or missing scenery bits. Fortunately, at the time of this writing a new batch of models are up for pre-ordering and I should be able to go back and fill in the gaps soon.
This a reworking of the Beating the Bounds scenario from the older Scouring of the Shire book. I didn't think that one worked too well (judge for yourself here) but some adjustments have been made in this version. Specifically:
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
This is a fairly small scenario, five hobbit archers facing a dozen Ruffians. If the latter look familiar, it's because they are the exact same crew from the previous scenario, less Sid Briarthorn.
Notable here is the complete lack of heroes. So neither side has any Might points, or models which could possibly sustain more than one Wound.
The board is 4'x2' with dense woods in the middle. The hobbits begin 12" in from the western edge (bottom of the first image) while the Ruffians start 12" in from the eastern edge.
The archers set up to take advantage of the big clump of trees bordering their deployment zone. The Ruffians do a quick check of the objectives and realize that by splitting into two groups, they put the hobbits on the horns of a dilemma. Either group is large enough to win on its own, so the slow-moving hobbits can't ignore either of them and must find a way to deal with two widely separated groups. So the Ruffians deploy in two groups, one in the north and one in the south.
The hobbits then set their traps (the black bases), generally trying to put them where the Ruffians must pass if they wish to avoid being slowed by the trees.
Good starts with Priority as always in narrative play. It doesn't matter much with the forces so far apart, though.
The hobbits move through the woods to their firing positions. The Ruffians also move out.
Good Priority, 3-1.
The hobbits are now in their final shooting positions. The Ruffians advance, except the bowmen who take only a half move so that they can return fire.
Good draws first blood, as the hobbit archery takes out a Ruffian. Evil's shooting manages to hit a hobbit despite needing a '6' (because they moved) and the In the Way roll (because woods) but then disappointingly fails to Wound. Well, disappointing from Evil's viewpoint, anyway.
Casualties: Good 0, Evil 1
Good Priority, 4-2.
The hobbits stand pat, as do the Ruffian archers. The other Evil models surge forward. And the carnage begins in earnest, as two of the Ruffians set off traps. In the south, the unlucky victim falls over a tripwire and the injury is mostly to his ego, but in the north the victim is even unluckier and a snare trap kills him!
Worse for Evil, hobbit archery slays two more Ruffians. It's only slight consolation that the Evil archers have found their range, too, and a hobbit archer goes down as well.
Casualties: Good 1, Evil 4
Good Priority, 6-1.
The hobbits and Ruffian bowmen stay put again, while the others advance on the hobbits.
Traps claim another victim as the whipman in the north steps on a tripwire and dies. The nearby hobbit archer shoots down his companion as well, but now the Ruffian bowmen in the north match the feat of their southern compatriots and they take out the pesky hobbit.
Casualties: Good 2, Evil 6
Good Priority, 6-5.
The hobbits are just out of Charge range, so they continue to stand pat. The Ruffian bowmen in the north get smart and get into the nearby trees (they are just out of the camera shot to the right of the first image). The bowmen in the south stand pat while the remaining Ruffians start legging it for the western board edge; one guy (at the back of the first image) sets off a trap, but it turns out to be a dummy.
Hobbit archery is effective enough to take out a Ruffian bowman; his buddy's attempt at revenge comes to naught.
Things are looking pretty bad for Evil at this point, as if he loses one more model then it's a Good victory. But there are so few Good models that every loss is keenly felt, and Good has taken 40% casualties so far.
Casualties: Good 2, Evil 7
Evil Priority, 3-3.
This is the first time Evil's had Priority all game. Here it matters mostly for who gets to shoot first, since any casualties don't get to shoot back.
The regular Ruffians high-tail it towards the board edge, while the archers get behind trees. The hobbits continue to stay put.
The Ruffians' luck holds as their Ruffian bows take out another hobbit (60% casualties!) while taking no casualties themselves.
Casualties: Good 3, Evil 7
Good Priority, 2-1.
All the archers of both sides are happy in their firing positions. The non-archer Ruffians run for the edge, getting pretty close (first image).
But during the Shooting phase the hobbit archery is unusually accurate and both remaining hobbits kill their target, resulting in a Good victory!
Casualties: Good 3, Evil 9
That seemed like a huge improvement over the original scenario. This particular playthrough was perhaps a little Agincourt-y, but (unlike the old version) it seems like either side could win here.
Evil should have been better at using cover. It would have been nice to have won Priority more than once, too. Consider: on Turn 4, had the Ruffians shot first then the clubman would have been spared because the hobbit archer would have died before getting his shot off.
The traps were disproportionately deadly here, too, which helped the hobbits a lot.
I'm still not sure I understand the idea behind the trap setup rules. Since they have to be at least 3" apart and only trigger in a 1" radius, the Ruffians can always avoid them if they wish. That seems undesirable. Given that 25% of the traps are dummies and most types are removed after one use anyway, I don't see any particular reason for the restriction.
Not that it came up much in this particular playthrough, but I still think the hobbits should get the Woodland Creature special rule in this scenario.
The board layout has a huge effect on the game. It would probably have been better to have had more trees on the board. That would make taking pictures even more difficult, though.
Based on the last outing, I was dreading trying this. But it was surprisingly fun, especially so for a scenario with no heroes.