Monday 22 April 2019 – The Fellowship has rested and received gifts from the elves at Lothlórien. All members are now equipped with an Elven cloak and Legolas has received the Bow of the Galadhrim (which is Strength 4 and allows for one re-roll of a To Hit roll every turn). Boromir succumbs to the evil of the Ring and confronts Frodo when he is wandering alone in the woods. Frodo flees and Boromir comes to his senses. Lurtz and his band of Uruk-hai are searching for halflings, so Boromir protects Merry and Pippin. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli rush to Boromir, Merry and Pippin, but are delayed by a swarm of Uruk-hai. This scenario consists of two scenarios, which are found in DeAgostini magazine #11.
In the first scenario, the Three Hunters are ambushed by Uruk-hai as they try to make their way to the halflings. The strategy of the Uruk-hai captain and his warriors is to delay the Three Hunters for as long as possible, giving Lurtz and the other Uruks more time to search for the Ringbearer.
The six Uruks surrounding Aragorn all narrow in on him, while Gimli and Legolas sprint towards the opposing board edge. Being the mighty fighter he is, Aragorn has no trouble winning the fight against the six Uruk-hai, slaying three of them in one turn. The Evil side changes strategy and the Uruk captain tactically commands single Uruk fighters to delay the warriors of the Fellowship, one at a time. This way it will take the Fellowship longest to make it to the board edge.
The Uruks fail to make a dent into any member of the Fellowship and the Uruk-hai captain quickly meets his demise at the hands of Aragorn. Still, his tactics have worked as it takes the Fellowship ten turns before making it to the board edge. A single courageous Uruk-hai warrior keeps haunting Gimli, delaying him a further two turns before he can come to the aid of Boromir and Merry and Pippin.
Meanwhile, in the second scenario, Boromir faces a large force of Uruks. He has only 1 Might point left and no Fate, as he has fallen victim to the Shadow of the Ring ever since joining the Fellowship in Rivendell. The hobbits run as hard as they can, away from the Uruks. But with their short legs, it’s only a matter of time before they will be overtaken by the intimidating Uruk-hai scouts.
Boromir expends his final Might point by making a Heroic move, delaying the confrontation between Uruk and hobbit by one more turn.
Nevertheless, the confrontation is inevitable and the Three Hunters are taking their sweet time before arriving on the board. Boromir and the two hobbits are on their own. Initially, things are going well for the Fellowship. The Uruks fail to take in the hobbits and Boromir wins his fight, slaying one of his enemies. In the next turn, Pippin even manages to kill one of the Uruk-hai and Boromir is victorious once again.
But luck then leaves the Fellowship. Lurtz kills Boromir and the hobbits are taken captive. Lurtz and his Uruk scouts are successful in their quest and carry the hobbits to their starting board edge. A little late, but still in time, Aragorn and Legolas appear on this very board edge, hoping to free the halflings and avenge Boromir’s death.
However, it is a little late and with just two people the Two hunters are unable to block all of the Uruks. The Uruk-hai carrying Pippin escape, though Merry is rescued by Aragorn and eventually Gimli. Before this, Aragorn slays Lurtz.
Because one of the hobbits was taken captive, this scenario was a stalemate, meaning the Uruk-hai had enough time to make it to the Ringbearer Frodo. This resulted in Frodo having to roll on the ‘Death of a Hero’ table. Fortunately, he survived, though he did lose his Fate points.
Post-game thoughts
These were quick and tense scenarios. It felt like it took a long time before the Three Hunters finally managed to leave the board edge in the first part of the scenario. Had they made it sooner, they might have made it in time to prevent either of the hobbits to be taken captive. The Three Hunters did feel like a team of true killing machines, even the relatively strong Uruks didn’t stand a chance against them. Lurtz is quite a lot stronger in this edition than in previous editions, now having three Attack and three Wounds. But even wasn’t able to strike a single blow to Aragorn. Boromir in his weakened state was heavily outnumbered by the Uruk-hai. If he had his full store of Might, he probably would have been able to fend the Uruks off for a lot longer.
All in all the scenario felt very thematic and a true race against time. I think they are nice and short scenarios, though I did enjoy certain other scenarios in this campaign more. Maybe because the Fellowship feels so unbelievable strong and in my mind Uruk-hai should be dangerous, even for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Still, I’d recommend this scenario on its own and it’s definitely a good fit for the campaign.
The Fellowship breaks – Boromir has fallen at the hands of Lurtz, who was then killed by Aragorn. Frodo and Sam are now venturing towards Mordor, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Merry are chasing the Uruk-hai who took Pippin. The story continues in the next part of the campaign, the start of the Two Towers …