OBJECTIVES: The campaign is designed to provide participants with an opportunity to play meaningful battles in the context of a longer game experience. The venue for this is Risk: The Lord of the Rings; a game providing a useful fantasy map which will be used for all players to wage the campaign. Players win the campaign by accumulating more points than other participants. Points are won by achieving both military and geographic objectives: For each capital city held - 20 pts. For each other city and stronghold held - 10 pts. For each area held - 5 pts. For each victory - 3 pts. for holding a battlefield For inflicting casualties -1 point for every 100 points of enemy troops destroyed BATTLES: The purpose of the campaign is to play battles which "mean" something. A battle is fought when both sides move into an area on the campaign map. A center line is drawn for the battlefield and both sides set up their forces 18" from the center line of the playing area. Terrain can be either mutually agreed upon or set up by the Campaign Manager (CM). When one side occupies an area and does not move, there is a 50% chance of an ambush occurring. The CM rolls a D-6.and on a roll of 1-3, an ambush occurs. Ambush permits one side to deploy troops hidden from the opposing force. Troops in a campaign map which contains a city may open battle and may indicate that they wish to stand a siege. MOVEMENT: All movement is done on an area basis using the Risk: LOTR game. All map movement is simultaneous. Players write orders for each force. These orders must be given either electronically or in person to the CM by 12:01 of the mutually decided weekday. The burden is on each player to write clear and unambiguous orders. Vaguely written orders will be disposed of by the CM. Map movement is done according to the following rate: Infantry - one area per campaign turn; Cavalry - two areas per campaign turn; Mixed infantry and cavalry forces - one area per turn; Light siege train of Isengarde - one area per turn; Heavy siege train of Mordor - one area every two turns. The presence of an enemy force compels a player to stop moving and to fight a battle. SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS: Only dwarves, goblins and mountain trolls may move through mountains; Rivers are crossable at bridges and fords. Troops attempting to locate a ford roll one die. A ford is discovered on a roll of "I." Deserts - all troops move as per forced march rules. (See below.) Oceans - only players owning or borrowing ships may move in coastal waters. (To be determined.) FORCE COMPOSITION: Figures are moved as forces on the map. A force must contain at least 200 points unless it is either a reinforcing route force (see reinforcement rule) or the survivors of a battle. FORCED MARCH: Even numbered forces may attempt to move an extra area on the campaign map. The player completes the map move. He then rolls a percentile dice and divides by two. The resulting number is the percentage of the force lost to attrition. Attrition losses are always distributed along the route the troops have taken as equally as possible. Point values are always rounded up. Example: Theoden orders a 300 point force of the Riders of Rohan to make a forced march to come to the embattled army of King Brand. The Rohan player rolls a forty percent on percentile dice which is then divided by two. The twenty percent loss for the force is divided as equally as possible along the route. Since there were 24 figures in the original force, five figures have been lost in the first area, two in the second area and two in the third. This is important because it is possible in a simultaneous move game for troops on the march to be intercepted by the enemy. BATTLES: As indicated earlier the campaign is designed to promote meaningful battles. These battles are played whenever two forces enter the same area and are played to a conclusion. Troops voluntarily withdrawing without fighting at all will lose one victory point. The length of all battle days is twelve turns. Battles begin at day break and continue until - one side withdraws or one side is wiped out. There are three different types of battles: Field battles; Ambushes (described above); Sieges (see below) Troops may join a battle already raging as reinforcements in several different ways. A player may keep up to 20 % of his force off board as a reinforcement. In addition, troops in adjoining campaign areas may join an ongoing battle. Cavalry in an adjoining campaign area may enter a battle after the sixth battle turn. Infantry may enter on the first turn of the second campaign day. The location of the reinforcements follows the following chart which is based on a percentile die roll: 1-30 - to the rear of the friendly player's base line; 31-50 - on the right flank of the friendly player's base line; 51-70 - on the left flank of the friendly player's base line; 71-80 - on the left flank of the enemy's base line; 81-90 - on the right flank of the enemy's base line; 91-100 - to the rear of the enemy player's base line. This die roll is done on the turn preceding the actual entrance of the reinforcements and the opposing player is told "A cloud of dust is seen to the " In the event that reinforcements for both opposing forces appear on the same location of the battlefield, the CM will ask both players to deploy the forces and fight a separate battle. The survivors of this battle may join the ongoing battle. CASUALTIES Given the brutality of combat between the opposing forces, the following rule will be employed: Battle Losers - recover no casualties; Battle Winners - recover 50% of all casualties divided equally between casualties recovered at the end of battle and casualties recovered during the next campaign day. SIEGES: There are a few special rules governing sieges: Sieges measure time as per other battles; The light siege train of Isengard takes two turns to deploy. The heavy siege train of Mordor takes four turns to deploy; Siege weapons available to Isengard include explosives, battering rams, ballistae and large and small scaling ladders. The siege train of Mordor does not utilize explosives but does add siege towers and trebuchets; Besieged troops may attempt to "sally forth" to break the siege or to escape. Escaping troops reach the edge of the table with more than a movement turn between them and pursuers. These escaping troops may form a "refugee force" of less than 200 points. The controlling player must make an attempt to either reinforce or merge this force with another to bring it up to the 200 point minimum. SCOUTING: All forces move as numbered pins on a map. In general, army commanders will keep an up-dated roster of troops indicating numbers and types which may be inspected by the CM at any time. In addition to the mandated minimum forces, each player may field one dummy force for every real three forces represented by a push pin. There are several ways to achieve intelligence concerning an enemy's force composition: The Eyes of Darkness These are flocks of scavenging birds sent out by the evil Lord Sauron and Saruman. Each turn each of these players may send a flock into any adjacent area containing enemy forces. The player rolls a D-6 for each area and immediately receives the following information about the enemy: 1-2 No information is received; 3-4 50% accurate information is received. For example, a 400 point army may be revealed either as a 200 point or 600 point force; 5 100% accurate information of force size is revealed; 6 100% accurate information of force size and composition is revealed. Scout Riders of Rohan These are two elite forces assigned to enter adjacent hexes to Rohan. Information is gained in the same manner as above. Rangers of Gondor Faramir's Rangers patrol two areas adjacent to Gondor in the same manner as above. Moles of Khazad Dwarves gather information in a similar manner in any mountainous area.  Spirits of Lothlorien Any time enemy forces enter the areas held by Elvish forces an information roll is made. FORCE COMPOSITION: In general, force composition follows the broad outlines of the Lord of the Rings Strategy Game. This statement also allows for forces being added as GW adds further modules and newly released figures. There are some exceptions to this broad rule: Warriors of Southron - these may be either as the Wild Men of Duneldin or "improved" by adding bows, shields or armor all at the cost of five points. As many as ten percent of this force may be mounted at the cost of ten additional points. In general this force ought to look like a mix of Celts, Irish bonnachts and nobles, Picts, Vikings or ancient Germans. Mounted troops may come from any of these nationalities as well. The Army of Rhovannian should resemble that of Rohan with the exception that there is no royal guard. CAMPAIGN NOTES On turn 8 of the campaign, Aragorn is given the sword, Anduril (the reforged Narsil), and immediately adds 3 might points per battle; Eowyn and the halflings may be deployed wearing armor and may enter battle thus attired; Deployment in battle is done simultaneously. Figures must be deployed in units or "regiments" which are clearly listed on each player's roster. Siege trains are deployed as part of the simultaneous deployment. However, with the exception of light siege ladders and battering rams all other weapons take four turns to deploy. Forces planning to ambush an enemy do so from a concealed position (s). These are drawn on a battlefield map and the map is shown to the CM. Ambushing troops that decline battle not only lose the three points for leaving the battlefield but also lose an additional point for aggravating everyone. Figures that are currently unavailable may be replaced by similar figures. For example the Battle Troll for mordor is unavailable and may be replaced by any similar large, ugly, trolllike being. Mordor Uruk-hai may be replaced by those of Saruman. Siege weapons currently not covered by the GW system will be used following the system held in the game Siege until such time as GW decides to print their siege module. COMMENTARY: Don and I decided to use the Risk game because of the games availability and its relatively faithful depiction of the world of Middle Earth. The map is relatively simple and clear while providing enough detail to set the stage for an active campaign. The campaign accommodates a fairly substantial number of players including the leaders of the four principal countries: Denethor, Steward of Gondor Theoden, King of Rohan Saruman of Isengard Sauron of Mordor It is clear that other leaders are possible including Elrond, Galadriel & Celeborn of the Elves, Brand the Dwarf King, Wulf the High Chief of Dunelin, the Paramount Chief of the Southrons, the king of the Easterings as well as the Rhovannian King. Since Sauron's appearance seems to be made in the guise of the Witch King and Saruman does not lead his troops in battle at all, Uruk Hai generals should be available. DESIGNER NOTES: The idea of doing fantasy gaming of any kind would, once upon a time, have been anathema. Fantasy gaming with trolls, ores and what have you had absolutely no appeal. Where were the movies that gave visual appeal to any period? Certainly some of you reading this article have been moved to start a period because of a film like Gettysburg, Waterloo, 300 Spartans or Gladiator. Not only that but where was the challenge of doing the historical research? How many hours have been spent finding the correct color for the facings of a particular regiment or whether the horses of a squadron of cavalry all matched. As Hal has related in many an editorial, these activities have their own driving force and tend to shape our collecting and related hobby pursuits. Reality also is a powerful pull - even now I can purchase two, maybe even three, mounted 25 mm figures for the price of one GW mounted character figure. And then came Peter Jackson and his vision for making the J.R.R. Tolkien masterpiece into a movie trilogy. It wasn't just that he had done a movie - he had done it beautifully. Not only does he re-tell a great story of heroism and love with a few changes to make a better movie, but he does so in a style which pays attention to both Tolkien's intent and the demands of an audience expecting great action, sacrifice, heroism and romance. But what truly has motivated me to write and begin playing a campaign, the first in about five years, was the visual side of the picture. It is simply a wargamer's delight. Consider what has been provided. Epic battles - the largest provided on screen depicting hundreds of thousands of warriors. Smaller battles such as those between the Wargs and the followers of Theoden on the retreat to Helm's Deep are well portrayed and can be played out easily. Even battles we do not see such as the fight which killed Theoden's son or the destruction of the Rohanian village can be easily surmised. Each type of warrior has been carefully outfitted and uniformed. It remained only to collect and build. Games Workshop has produced a dazzling array of figures drawn directly from the movie. Of course, they are GW - which is to say terribly overpriced - but, that criticism aside, their figures are directly drawn from the film. The colors and hues are there for anyone with a DVD to see and all of this is supported by a fairly large range of articles which can be found in White Dwarf magazine. And there are the three sets of rules, loaded with great pictures of miniatures and easily playable basic rules. Basic is the operative word because there is a rumor about that GW plans to offer a siege game supplement to enable poor folks like us to play the siege of Minas Tirith with huge siege engines and armored trolls who do not fear the daylight. The combination of visual motivation, great figures, and relatively easy battle rules led to the desire to want to play more than just a series of stand alone battles. It is eminently tiring to face an enemy willing to fight to the last figure, just to draw a game out or not be willing to admit defeat. In the real world commanders look to save their commands normally although battles like that at Thermopylae and the Alamo belie that statement as an absolute. What could force a player to act more like an army commander than the dictates of a weekly battle? Since GW hasn't designed a campaign schema yet, it seemed to be incumbent to draft a framework in which "meaningful" battles with toy soldiers could be played. Between collections privately held and a rather substantial collection `down at the shop' we could field rather large forces of all types of figures. Those figures not yet available from GW such as the Easterlings, Southrons and Corsairs, to name but a few could be substituted for with appropriate historical figures based individually for the game. But what of the arena of play? The gods - or is it Valar? - seemed to be watching over us for a colorful, simplified map of Middle Earth had already been drawn. Originally the plan was to make an 8.5" X l 1" transparency of a hex sheet, overlay it on a map of middle earth, copy that and then take the whole thing to a print shop to have a larger map made for the campaign as well as smaller versions made up for the individual players. It would have been expensive and time consuming to get what was needed but it would have had the advantage of being able to provide a game map with hex to hex movement possibilities. Players would form units, list these on a roster, and number code each unit. The units would then be moved from numbered hex to numbered hex. A compromise presented itself when a copy of the Risk: Lord of the Rings was shown to me by the owner of the shop where the game is to be played. Area movement, described in the attached rules set, was to be used. Although it generalizes different types of movement into either cavalry, infantry or siege engine movement, it did have the virtue of being done. All that needed to be done was to think about and design rules which made sense but were not too complicated. The idea of any campaign should be the achievement of objectives for everyone. Those objectives can be political, economic, or military or, hopefully, some combination of the three. Campaigns can be driven by historic imperatives such as an animosity, real or believed, between two sides or can occur simply because a variety of opposing forces want the same scarce commodities. An examination of the Risk: LOTR game provided such objectives in the areas and cities it depicts. Since our agreement was to use the campaign to play "meaningful" battles, campaign victory points are also awarded for winning battles and killing enemy troops. The battles themselves will be either ambushes, set piece battles, or sieges. When any of these occur would be a function of the wisdom of the Campaign Manager (from now on referred to as the CM) as well as the map situation. For example, if an enemy attempts to seize an area in which there is a city, the player holding the city would be able to choose to march out and fight in the open or to stand a siege. In the case of a unit not able to spring an ambush, both sides will be asked to sketch their deployment after they see the terrain selected by the CM. Deployment will always be simultaneous although battles will follow the format provided by the GW rules set. One problem that has yet to be fully resolved is the playing out of actual sieges. What probably will happen will be as the battle at Helm's Deep - an assault rather than a lengthy siege. In the event that a siege will play out we'll use specially modified rules from the board game, Siege, until GW fully develops their siege rules. Movement will be done in the interval between our weekly meetings that will take place on Wednesday nights at the shop. Players will be asked to e-mail their moves to the CM by 9:00 PM Sunday night to allow for all moves to be made on the campaign map and for notice to be given to all the players about where and when battles are to be fought for the week. In the event that no battles are to be resolved, players will be notified that their moves are successful and that another campaign move will be made. That move will be posted by 9:00 PM Tuesday night and all players notified as to their standing in the campaign. Troop movements have been simplified for convenience. My guess is that the Rohirrim can move faster than either the Wargs or the heavily armored knights of Gondor. But in an area movement game. Movement is stylized and will be represented by numbered push pins whose numbers correspond to roster sheets provided by each player. Things like forced marches will be worked out by the CM and posted to the individual player making the forced march move. The organizational meeting will be used to determine the force each player will command. Each player is obliged to form his figures into individual regiments which can then be combined to build armies. Casualties will be taken to each individual regiment and kept track of by the players with a master list held by the CM. One thing that should be obvious in reading the rules set is that this is not designed to be an exercise in logistics although admittedly this would add a greater level of realism to the campaign. But, after all, this is a fantasy campaign and is designed to facilitate fighting table top battles. Simply put, this is a first effort at designing and playing out a campaign. It is at a level where teenagers might be inclined to play and at which the CM is currently comfortable. The former value is important because although a fantasy type campaign now, the presence of historically painted troops like the Vikings and Celts, might be an incentive for youngsters to branch out.  HISTORICAL APPLICATIONS: This campaign is actually a spin off of a campaign started many years ago and played out fitfully in a variety of venues. Don Featherstone's book, Wargame Campaigns, possesses a lovely set of chapters describing a narrative campaign. The modification I made was to draw a map of an imaginary area of western Europe. There were several large fiefdoms, a monastery, coastal villages including one protected by a fortification looking strikingly like the one in The Warlord, and forests sheltering the likes of Robin Hood and his band. Games could be and were played out as imagination dictated. There were Viking raids, attacks by Moors such as those seen in the original The Black Knight with Alan Ladd, sieges, and pitched battles. Forces were originally from the period c. 1300 CE but later acquisitions led to the building of forces from a slightly earlier period, around 1100 CE. Early battles were fought using W.R.G. 6th edition rules for large battles and homegrown skirmish rules for raids and the like. The application to the present campaign is somewhat tenuous. The time frame - both real and imaginary - is quite different. Players will be asked to move the campaign along briskly, quite a departure from the easy-going pace of a Featherstonian narrative campaign. Not only was my original campaign a pleasant mix of solo gaming and gaming with friends, the narrative was written to please only its author, its map designed to embrace the qualities deemed to be essential to an adventure mixing history with Hollywood. This new adventure is easily translated to a fully historical setting. The map from King Maker is easily substituted and the numbers available to each player easily resolved. One recommendation is to either double or triple the number of troops provided on each unit card to represent a playable unit available to each player. Events such as the plague can be built into the game and it may provide the incentive to eventually enhance this first attempt to do a LOTR campaign. Historical battles can be fought using either an adaptation of the LOTR Strategy Game or Warhammer Ancient battles using the later supplements. Back to MWAN # 128 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com