MASTER SHOWMAN DUKE SEIFRIED BRINGS LORD OF THE RINGS TO LIFE WITH HIS MINIATURE EXTRAVAGANZA Duke Seifried has been dazzling gamers at conventions for years with his spectacular miniatures games and splendid diorama scenery. In 2004, as the film Lord of The Rings: Return of the King swept the Oscars, Duke brings out his own masterpiece, the cumulative result of a lifetime's achievement in Adventure Gaming. This summer Duke will present his stunning Lord of the Rings gaming scenarios to both ORIGINS and GENCON conventions. This is something Tolkien fans will not want to miss. With a cast of five thousand 25mm miniature figurines, over 40 feet of terrain features Volcanoes, Helm's Deep, Minas Tirith, The Lonely Mountain, and The Black Gate. Each of these Tolkien fantasy "landmarks" has been carefully recreated and represented in exquisite detail. The terrain displayed also includes some Osgiliath ruins, the landing Quay for Aaragorn and room for the Black Ships to land. And each of these dioramas has special effects, including animation, smoke, flashes and special lighting. However, this array is not just for looking at. Duke has taken all of the most awe inspiring battles of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings (LotR) trilogy and bought them to life into exciting gaming scenarios for everyone's enjoyment. Duke and team of LotR Game Masters will lead gamers though the epic battles for Middle Earth with thousands of 25mm figures. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch or play in this event (Especially since Duke will be selling off the dioramas and figures after GENCON.)  "Uncle Duke" is an "original pioneer" of the Adventure Gaming hobby. He served as CEO during the grass roots days for some of the gaming industry's groundbreaking companies, such as Heritage USA, Der Kriegspielers, Custom Cast, and the EVP TSR, Inc., the makers of the famous Dungeons & DragonsŪ game. Duke's many awards and credits come from years of innovation in designing, sculpturing and producing figurines, scenics, paints, displays, and even miniatures packaging. Duke is a recipient of the "Jack Scruby Award" and the "Legion of Honor" from the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS), and a frequent Guest of Honor at ORIGINS, GENCON, and HMGS Historicon. In the early days of GAMA, Duke was the foremost promoter and salesman for getting "Adventure Gaming" products in retailers, distributors and mass merchandisers. Duke has built a number of museum displays, and still serves a significant number of patrons in the construction of ScenicSquares. Lately, Duke has become the "Grandmaster of Gaming Extravaganzas" and a true "Master Game Master" of our generation, perhaps the diorama builder most-photographed in magazines. Duke Seifried is truly one of the "pillars" of the gaming hobby, and certainly cast from the same mold as wargaming grandfathers Jack Scruby and Donald Featherstone. Much of Duke's skill and experience will be evident in his Lord of the Rings events at ORIGINS 2004. Four major Tolkien campaigns and Battles will be fought and re-fought this summer. In his "Defense of Helm's Deep" Thousand of Orcs and Goblins will assault the Homburg, which is a foot high fortress defending the Rohirrim position at Helm's Deep. In three simultaneous games, Duke's assistant Game Masters will conduct the intriguing battles of "Dol Guldur in the North" "Loth Lorien," and "The Greenwood Pits & Erebor." All three of these battles were fought the same day as Pelennor Fields. At "Loth Lorien" gamers will defend the legendary city of trees with Galadriel's and Celeborn's Grey Elves, Galahdrim, and Rivendell High Elves, against Orcs and Trolls, led by one of the terrible Nazgul. Tolkien readers will recognize "The Greenwood" where Thranduil, the Elven King (Legolas' father) will fight a host of Goblins, Orcs, Warg Riders and Trolls, led by one of the terrible Nazgul. This battle will feature the Greenwood Forest and Thranduil's defense line of watchtowers, caves and fences at the edge of the desolation of Mirkwood and the remains of the original Greenwood. The "Erebor" scenario will be in the shadow of the massive Erebor Mountain. Dain Ironfoot's Dwarves of Erebor and Brand, son of Bard the bowman of the Lake People, will be reinforced by Beorn the shapechanger. They will defend the great mountain fortress of Erebor against an assault by Easterlings, Men of Rhun and Wainriders with chariots, also led by one of the terrible Nazgul. Representing the pivotal and decisive battles of the Lord of the Rings books and the recent movie, Duke will produce the massive battle of Pelennor Fields. "This is no trivial game." Duke reminds us. "It requires 8 hours to complete this one, with a total of 28 players!" Approaching the great city of Minas Tirith the onslaught of Sauron's massive army will advance from the ruins of Osgiliath. Numbered in its ranks are Orcs, Trolls, Goblins, scarlet-clad Haradrim with their great Mamakil, and great evil beasts drawing the siege equipment. While overhead their leaders, the fearful Nazgul will pass on flying beasts. Angmar, the Witch-King will command them all. Duke adds "The Goodly forces have Gandalf in command with 10 other players, and the Evil forces are led by Angmar, the Witch King and followed by 16 other evil Army players." Gandalf will lead the desperate defense, but when and where will Aragorn, the Black Ships, or the Cavalry of Rohirrim arrive to fight? Duke says "I will introduce The Shadow Host (Dead Men of Dunharrow) -as in the movieto enhance balance in the scenario, but without them being quite so all-powerful. At the final and climactic battle of "The Black Gates" gamers will stand in the shadow of the animated smoking Oridruin Volcano and Barad Dur (evil-eye) Tower, which are surrounded by the Ephal Duath and Erid Luin Mountain ranges. Aragom, Gandalf and the 6,000 brave men of the Army of Good, will advance to the Morannan, the "Three Black Gates." The 9 Nazguls and an Evil Host will come out to meet them. They will try to endure long enough for Frodo to climb the Oridruin and finally "Chuck that darn Ring!" As a skilled Game Master, Duke always demonstrates his wisdom and expertise by explaining the campaign, the layout, the game rules, and the story behind the battle to avid gamers and onlookers of all ages. The gaming rules used for all games will be a "Lord of the Rings" special edition of Dwarf Wars by Duke's Chief Game Master Frank Chadwick. Frank has played an essential role with Duke in the entire Lord of the Rings production. Duke and Frank have been close gaming friends for decades. They, along with a team of dedicated game masters, have worked hard to produce a playable and exciting game for the many fans of Tolkien and the Trilogy of the Ring. Back to MWAN # 129 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