Rampant Hobbits - Lion Rampant LOTR Volume 2

So onto the battles...the original plan had been for each retinue to play three battles and then an all in good versus evil finale. But as it turned out fierce competition in the first round meant we massively over ran. So it was two battles each then the decider. The scenarios were slightly cut down versions of those from the rulebook

Order of battle then

Rohan vs Isengard - Run Hobbit Run

where the Rohan retinue had to escort their Hobbit from one corner to the opposite whilst Isengard sought to stop them at all cost.

 

Gondor vs Mordor - Unexpected Party

where the two retinues seek to get across from corner to corner, meeting unexpectedly the enemy on the way.

 

Isengard vs Gondor - The Last of the Old Toby

where the Orcs seek to protect Sarumans' last stash of Old Toby Tabacco

 

Rohan vs Mordor - Mushrooms for Breakfast

where the Mordor Orcs tried to find mushrooms in a series of crates across the battlefield while Rohan try to stop then (ok this one was a bit odd!)

 

Good vs Evil - Bloodbath

48 points on each side trying to slaughter as many as possible and if possible rescue or kill as many hobbits as possible.

 

 

So how did it play.......with so much going on I can't cover it all so it will be pictures with captions, where you can see the full table it is actually split by a row of buttons so each table was about 4'x5'

 

Isengard Berserkers and Uruk hai close the gap on Rohan out of shot right, whilst in the
 distance Mordor match up against Gondor

Rohirrim cavalry ride out to meet the foe only to be cut down the all important
Hobbit is hiding at the back !

Definitely an unexpected party, the challenge with this scenarios as in the
 rule book is to get past the enemy

Finally the Uruk hai can see a Hobbit and chase through the trees to get at him

Anyone for a picnic - it all got a bit bloody

Amazingly after two really tight scenarios which took well over an hour to play we judged both to be pretty much a draw, so onto the second set of battles

Bersekers prepare to give their lives to protect Sarumans' Tobacco

In the distance you can just see the crates of food the Mordor Orcs are trying to get into !

Looks to me like the bersekers are fighting each other (good job Boromir
didn't notice we were far to close together)

Now you might like to have seen move of these excellent two battles but the best laid plans meant that both of the second games were over in less than half and hour, Gondor capturing the Tabacco easily, not sure they failed any activation rolls at all and just swept Isengard away ! In the pother battle the Mordor Orcs found the Mushrooms immediately (not unlucky there !) and ran for it before the Rohan retinue was even in the saddle ! So onto the main event.....

We have shrunk the battlefield a little Isengard as usual rushing out to their
 doom but at least keeping their captive hobbit at the back.

Mordor doing like wise....but what is that in the middle Rohan cavalry
 charging out most unlike Eomer !

That's more like it goodies skulking in the woods and shooting form a distance.

Lurtz has an uncanny knack of failing activation rolls !

Finally he gets his Uruk's moving forward, whilst the wargs head off through the woods

 Sorry readers a bit of a photo gap/time lapse here.......must have been the excitement

Rushing to near the end, Uruk's have got across the table and are chasing down one of the hobbits, they finally get him, the witch-king and his orcs have been gradually whittled down by arrow fire and the berserkers keep bouncing off the Gondor Sarjeants in Schiltron. From here with most of the Rohan cavalry slaughtered, but Mordor pretty much gone as well, the Gondorian pushed across the battlefield to even up the Hobbit scores.

 

By now it was time for the Hobbits to have second Supper so the battle was declared a victory to the good guys. All that was left was to tally up the overall scores. Overall victory to Boromir with 14 points made up of two Battle wins and four Hobbits. Closely followed by Rohan and not so closely followed by Mordor. Some where near the back was Lurtz with no wins but at least Hobbit was back on the menu.

 

What did we learn, Lion Rampant easily converts to LOTR. Berserkers nee fierce foot are rubbish, in the second scenarios the objective needed to be further away and if you keep rolling rubbish you lose whatever the game.