Mat Ward

Mat: Following on from the previous scenario, 'Faramir's Escape', I've written 'Damrod's Gambit' which continues to follow Faramir's attempt to aid his countrymen against the encroaching Orcs. As promised, the mini-campaign concludes with the final conflict, 'In the Shadow of Osgiliath' where we'll get to see if Faramir's and Damrod's efforts will ultimately pay off.

In the meantime, following on from the Creating Your Own Scenarios article, I'd just like to talk for a moment about the use of special rules in Damrod's Gambit: Stealth Attack and No Discipline. Both of these rules play to the background of the scenario, each rule dealing with one of the two forces.

STEALTH ATTACK

The 'Stealth Attack' rule helps to represent the forestry and ambush skills of the Rangers of Gondor. By allowing them to take a free shot at the start of the game it really highlights their attack on the Orc force. As a special rule, Stealth Attack would be equally suited to a scenario with an attack by Wood Elves, or perhaps even Moria Goblins if the locale is suitable.

UNDISCIPLINED

Orcs are often described as being an ill-organised rabble. The No Discipline rule represents this in two ways. The first is by forcing them to take 'On their Own' tests in a wider range of circumstances – if the Evil player doesn't keep his forces together they will likely decide to run away. The second (and more influential) effect breaks the approaching Orcs into what are effectively three separate groups, offsetting their numerical advantage for a time. This is entirely consistent with a riotous Orc force moving through 'safe' territory (it's also a good trick to keep the numbers of models needed for a scenario down to a minimum).

Anyway, that's enough from me – on with the scenario. It's time to take Gondor steel to those foul Orcs!

DESCRIPTION

Faramir and his Rangers have spotted a large Orc force some miles north of Osgiliath. The Orcs are moving south to intercept a column of Gondor soldiers who are returning to Minas Tirith.

Faramir decides to take a group of Men south to attempt to warn or assist the column, while Damrod remains behind to harass the Orc advance. At first, the attack goes well and many Orcs are scattered and slain. Unfortunately, a substantial number of Orcs had fallen behind the main force. They arrive on Damrod's flank during the closing stages, throwing his plans into jeopardising.

PARTICIPANTS

The Good side consists of Damrod and 15 Rangers of Gondor armed with bows and hand weapons.

The Evil side has 2 Orc Captains (riding Wargs), 8 Warg Riders armed with Orc bows, 8 Warg Riders with shields and throwing spears, 12 Orcs armed with hand weapons and carrying shields, and 6 Orcs armed with Orc bows.

POINTS MATCH

If you want to play this game with other forces, choose at least 200 points of troops for the Good side and at least 400 points of troops for the Evil side.

LAYOUT

Scenario map - click to enlarge.

The scenario is played on a board 48"/120cm by 72"/180cm. A road runs centrally, parallel to the long board edges with at least one hill to either side. The remainder of the board should be covered with several small woods and scattered with rocky outcrops.

STARTING POSITIONS

The Evil player splits his force into four groups, each as near as possible composed of equal numbers. The Good player then chooses two groups that the Evil player then deploys within 6" of the centre of the board. The remaining forces are available as reinforcements later on in the game.

The Good player then deploys Damrod and the Rangers of Gondor anywhere on the board but at least 12" from an Evil model.

OBJECTIVES

The Evil side wins if it manages to get 50% of its starting force off the southern board edge.

The Good force wins if the Evil side does not meet its objectives.

The Orc column is caught in the open as Damrod and his Rangers open fire.

SPECIAL RULES

Stealth Attack. To represent the surprise attack made by the Rangers, after both sides have deployed, but before the first turn, each Ranger may take a free shot at a single target. The normal rules for Shooting attacks apply.

No Discipline. Travelling as a semi-organised rabble, the Evil force is quite strung out and vulnerable to attack. To represent this, only two groups of Orcs are deployed at the start of the game, as detailed above.

From the fourth turn on, at the end of the Evil player's movement he may roll to see if another group has caught up. The Evil player rolls a D6. On the roll of a 4+, he may choose one group and move them on from the north table edge. This group may not charge on the turn it enters the board but may otherwise act normally.

In addition, because of the startling nature of the attack, Evil models that start their turn more than 6" away from a friend always count as being 'On their own' regardless of the number of visible enemies within 6"/15cm.

Campaign. This scenario can be played in a mini-campaign with 'Faramir's Escape' and 'In the Shadow of Osgiliath'. If you choose to do this, at the end of the game make a note of how many Orcs and Rangers have survived, how much Might, Will, and Fate the Heroes have used and how many wounds they have lost.

Related Articles:
Creating Your Own Scenarios
Faramir's Escape | In The Shadow of Osgiliath

Online Store:
Faramir & Damrod | Faramir's Rangers of Gondor | Mordor Orcs | Warg Riders