General Update: More LOTR Models

A quick post today.

While I've been hard at work on finishing my AWI stuff (very close now), the glorious Steve Dake finished up the last of my Rohan, Isengard and Dunland forces.

They arrived in todays post and I promptly unpacked the models.  Christmas again already?  I snapped a few pictures.

As you can see above this batch is large, clocking in at around 270 miniatures, all stunningly painted by master Dake.

I've decided to abandon the clear basing as it is just too brittle for regular handling of the miniatures.  Also, I'll be able to add secondary pins for those ever fragile plastic GW horses once I get them on mdf bases (with glue, sand, static grass and tufts).

So once I finish up the AWI basing I'll have more basing to do.  I shant complain though as having a backlog of painted miniatures to put on bases is better than a backlog of unpainted miniatures (ha, I have that problem as well, but one thing at a time).

Thanksgiving & Middle Earth Game

Not a long post today.  Just want to say happy thanksgiving to those of you who are US based.  I'll be stuffing my face shortly.  I'm thankful or all the excellent wargaming that I've been able to play with excellent friends this year.

I ran another playtest of my Middle Earth Battles rules this past Tuesday.  I have some minor updates to make but overall the game was good.

Played an Isengard force against a Rohan force.  The terrain was a little restrictive in the center which led to some tough decisions for the Rohirrum.  A Uruk-hai scout unit ambushed from one of the forests to complicate things.

In the end Isengard came out victorious.

I did nap a few pictures from my SLR camera ...

There you have it.  Of course more to come over the next few weeks as I get in some good holiday gaming.  I hope you are all staying safe and healthy out there!

Middle Earth Battles: Basing Progress

Don't recall if I shared this part --- I received my customer markers for the game.  I'll be getting some more, but for now they cover Rohan, Gondor, Isengard and Mordor.  Each marker is double-sided and tracks from 1-10 and 11-20.  These are from the very excellent Historique shop.

I've made good progress on getting my Isengard army onto the bases for Middle Earth Battles.  Still lots more to do.  Man I hate metal Wargs ... they are the worst (heavy model + 1 paw contacting the base).  The combination of super glue and Testors plastic cement continues to be excellent at securing the models to the bases.

His excellency Mr. Dake of the Steve has absolutely blown through painting a bunch of Uruk-hai troops and sent me a "first wave" which I jumped on basing.  I have also rebased some of the units I had painted earlier.

I still have many units to do (more warriors, pikes, scouts, siege troops, feral Uruk-hai, etc.).  Also, the most excellent Steve Dake is hard at work on the Dunlending units :-)

Managed to stick the fellowship on a base as well ...

Here is some crappy pictures of the growing horde ...

That's it for now - still alternating between LOTR and AWI basing.

Middle Earth Battles: The (Beta) Rules

Well, here you go, the beta for my Middle Earth Battles rules.  After a very successful playtest last weekend I incorporated many updates and got the Rohan and Isengard army lists into a playable state.

You can download the rules in PDF format here (v1.6)

To be clear on a few things:

• I'm sharing these so that other wargamers may enjoy them, but the primary purpose of these rules is to serve my own purposes with my group. They are a work of fan fiction and in no way meant to replace any official rules offered by Games Workshop.
• I've only just started playtesting the rules.  While many elements are based on my Empires at War (Napoleonic's) and This Hallowed Ground (ACW) rules, this represents a major shift in the core game away from a "shooting focused" game system for horse and musket periods to a "melee" focused game that I intend to use for not just Middle Earth, but for other historical periods such as the 100 Years War and War of the Roses.
• I'm absolutely all ears on any feedback you wish to provide, simply just pass it along.  Also happy to answer questions as time permits.  However, please do realize that I have a full time and very demanding job - so any "rules support" is strictly as time permits.

Finally, I'm not saying these are the best fit for everyone - they are very much written and presented for those who are experienced wargamers and have some background in historical wargame rules. If you are a Games Workshop pure-blood wargamer, these may not be for you.

I'm very focused here on mass battles - hence many granular aspects of the field of battle or units/heroes are intentionally abstracted into units/special rules.

Screenshots of the pages are below.  There are 10 total pages at the moment.  8 pages cover the rules and everything after is just army lists.

And that is it - hopefully you can find some enjoyment out of the rules.

Middle Earth Battles: Battle Report (Playtest)

Ran the first playtest of my new Middle Earth Battles rules today.  Dan Kerrick and Roy Scaife joined me for the action.  Turned out to be fairly hot outside so I didn't open up the garage door - which meant it was a little darker for taking pictures.

The purpose of this game was to get a lot of different/mixed units on the table to see how most of the different unit types and heroes influenced and interacted with the game system.

For the "bad guys" I had Uruk-hai Assault Ballistas, Uruk-hai Phalanx (pikes), Morannon Orcs, Isengard and Mordor Trolls, Wild Wargs, 2 x Warg Riders (with Sharku in one of the units), and 3 x War Mûmaks.

The good guys had Haldir's Elves, 2 x Oathsworn Bowmen, Oathsworn Warriors, Riders of Rohan Éoreds (2 with no heroes, and three with - Eomer, Erkenbrand and Elfhelm), and a Royal Guard Éored (with Théoden, Gamling and Déorwine).

There was a good mix of small (2 bases), standard (4 bases), large (6 bases) and very large (8 bases) units.  I essentially put out everything I managed to get based so far - which heavily favored the good side.

The game actually went very well.  I kept the table very basic. It is a melee/close combat heavy system as it should be - with a special new phase I added called the Impact Phase.  The impact phase represents the favor of charging troops into melee - with the initial impact of the charge being the damage done by say cavalry horses crashing into a unit, infantry bracing for the impact, the inertia/physical momentum of the charge.  This essentially has charging units deal hits before the actual melee is fought.

I have several notes and some clean up to do but will be posting the rules for anyone who is interested very soon (on the blog).  I'm VERY happy with the look and functionality of the clear basing here - it really makes the units blend into the tabletop.

Until then, enjoy some pictures of the game below ... first up the "fancy" camera ... then after that the phone pictures ...

Phone pictures below ...

Lots more to come on this front.