Sunday 19 September 2021 – This is it. Everything in this campaign has led to this one moment in time. The end of all things, the fate of Middle-earth will be decided on this day. Aragorn has been slain and Rohan hasn’t been able to join forces with Gondor, so now it is up to Gandalf and the surviving members of the Fellowship, together with a loyal band of Gondorians, to make a last desperate stand against the forces of Sauron. By stalling for time and attention, they hope to give the Ringbearer enough time to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom and unmake the Evil that has corrupted Middle-earth.
This scenario is found in BGiME magazine #77 and is played as described, except I’m using the new 2018 profiles and the troops have been changed to accommodate a 1200 point list on both sides (as this is required for the campaign).
Special rules
This scenario is played on two boards, one 4 ft by 4 ft (120 x 120 cm) that represents the front part of the Black Gate. The other board is 2 ft by 2 ft (60 x 60 cm) and represents a section of Mount Doom.
Frodo and Sam start at the foot of Mount Doom. On the Black Gate board, the Good forces are centered in the middle of the board, in a circle spanning 6″ in diameter. The Evil forces can start anywhere that is at least 10″ away from any Good model. Gollum and the Eagles enter the scenario at a later point.
The special rules are:
- Every round, a full turn is first played on the Black Gate board and then a full turn is played on the Mount Doom board. This continues until one of the victory conditions is achieved.
- Endless horde: all unnamed Evil models (excluding the Ringwraiths) return on the board at the Black Gate in the turn after they are slain.
- In turn 5, during the Good player’s Move phase, the Eagles may be placed anywhere on the board, including in combats.
- Power of the Ring: The One Ring has 3 Magic Spells it can cast and it has 1 Will point every turn to cast one of these:
- Exhaustion (3+): Frodo has to take a Courage test for every 1″ he wants to move. If he succeeds, he may move 1″ and then needs to perform another Courage test for the next 1″ of movement. If he fails, Frodo is knocked Prone and may no longer move further that round.
- Weakness (4+): The Evil player rolls a dice and compares it with Frodo’s Courage value at that moment. If the dice roll is equal to or higher, Frodo gets a permanent -1 Courage value for the rest of the game. This effect can be repeated multiple times. If Frodo’s Courage value drops to 0, the game ends.
- Temptation of the Ring (5+): Gollum charges Frodo. In the Fight phase all models fight as normal, but at the end of the turn, Gollum goes back into hiding and disappears. If Gollum gets killed, the Ring can no longer use this spell.
- To destroy the One Ring, the Ringbearer must make base contact with the edge of the rocky ledge and enter a Willpower duel with the One Ring. Both players roll a dice, the highest result wins the duel that turn. If it’s a draw, the dice get re-rolled until there is a winner. Frodo may use Might to influence this roll. If the Good player wins this duel three times in a row, the Ring gets thrown into the lava and is destroyed. If Evil wins this duel three times in a row, the game ends.
- The Good player wins if Frodo successfully throws the Ring into the lava (by winning the ‘Will off’ three times in a row).
- The Evil player wins if any of the following situations occur:
- All Good Heroes at the Black Gate (excluding Gwaihir) are killed.
- Frodo gets killed by Gollum.
- Frodo’s Courage value gets reduced to 0.
- Frodo loses the Will duel roll against the One Ring three times in a row.
Participants
| Good (1200 points; 28 models) | Evil (1200points; 40 models) |
| Gandalf the White | 2 Ringwraith with 2/14/2 M/W/F on Fell Beast |
| Pippin, Guard of the Citadel with Elven Cloak | 1 Mordor Troll Chieftain |
| Faramir with Heavy Armour and Shield | 2 Mordor Troll |
| Beregond | 2 Morannon Orc Captain with Shield |
| Irolas, Captain of the Guard | 12 Morannon Orcs with Spear and Shield |
| 1 Captain of Minas Tirith with Shield | 8 Morannon Orcs with Shield |
| 8 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Shield | Mouth of Sauron on Armoured Horse |
| 8 Warriors of Minas Tirith with Spear and Shield | 1 Easterling Chieftain with Shield |
| 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with Banner | 1 Easterling with Banner |
| 1 Warrior of Minas Tirith with War Horn | 4 Easterlings with Shield |
| Legolas with Bow of the Galadhrim, Armour and Elven Cloak | 8 Easterlings with Pike & Shield |
| Gimli with Durin’s Axe and Elven Cloak | |
| Gwaihir | |
| 1 Great Eagle | |
| Frodo | Gollum |
| Sam |
List of all participants.
Good starts with Priority as it is a Narrative scenario. Gandalf casts Fortify Spirit on Legolas using his free Will and an extra Will point (he only had 3 Will remaining after the last scenario), since Legolas will be key in sniping down the not-coming-back-after-they-are-killed Ringwraiths. The rest of the force stands their ground for now.
Evil moves up. Gandalf Will needs to be reduced to 0 to make the Fortify Spirit on Legolas disappear. A Ringwraith therefore uses 4 Will points to cast a Sap Will on Gandalf. Gandalf resists with one Will point (down to just 1 now) and a Might point to resist the spell. The other Ringwraith does the same, Gandalf fails and is now down to 0 Will and Legolas is no longer protected. The Mouth of Sauron now moves in and tries to Transfix Legolas using 2 Will. Legolas spends his 2 Will to resist, but is now down to 0 Will, leaving him vulnerable in the following turns.
But, maybe one turn is enough. Legolas hits all 3 shots, targeting the 1 Wound Nazgûl. The first roll hits the Serpent and fails to wound. The second shot is the same story. The final shot hits the rider and wounds the Nazgûl. However, Fate intervenes so the Nazgûl stays on the board (but is now down to 1 Might, 10 Will and 0 Fate).
On the other board, the Hobbits move up. The Ring tries a ‘Weakness’, rolls a 6 so Frodo doesn’t bother resisting. Then a 4 is rolled, so nothing happens (a 6 was needed to take Frodo’s courage down by 1).
Evil wins Priority in the second turn. Gandalf calls a Heroic Move, hoping to get a Banishment out and send one of the Ringwraiths back to the abyss. The Ringwraith counters and wins the roll-off. He casts a Compel on Gandalf, but fails and thus wastes 2 Will points. He then charges Gandalf to shut him down from casting Magic this turn. The Mouth of Sauron Transfixes Legolas and then charges him. The other Nazgûl tries to Compel Gimli, but Gimli resists (but is now also out of Will).
Because of Gandalf’s Heroic Move, the Good troops now can still position themselves better.
Lots of fights are going down, starting with the Transfixed Legolas. Using 2 Might points, he wins the fight against the charging Mouth of Sauron. Since he is Transfixed he may make no Strikes, but his Minas Tirith supporter does and kills the Armoured Horse.
Gimli wins the Fight against the Ringwraith, but fails to wound. Gandalf uses his final Might point to Heroic Strike. With both sides rolling a 6, Gandalf wins because of his Heroic Strike. The Ringwraith only needs one more Wound, but Gandalf and Irolas both fail in their roll. Irolas, who performed so well in the last scenario, uses his final Might point to slay the Ringwraith.
In the other Fights, a Morannon Orc gets killed, a Mordor Troll wounds the Minas Tirith Captain and 3 Warriors of Minas Tirith die.
The Ring fails and the Hobbits move up.
In turn three, Good thankfully gets Priority. The Ringwraith calls a Heroic Move, but so does Gimli and Gimli wins the roll-off. Gandalf’s Banishment fails. Gimli uses a Might point and kills the second Ringwraith. The warrior supporting Gandalf lands a wound on the Mouth of Sauron. Irolas shields but still loses his Fight against 6 Easterlings. Thankfully, he isn’t hurt by them.
Faramir Heroic Strikes against a Mordor Troll, but only rolls a 1 so still has a lower Fight value than the Troll, loses the Fight and is Rended by the Troll. He is now down to 2 Might, 0 Fate and just 1 Wound. Elsewhere, two warriors of Minas Tirith die and so does the Captain.
The Ringbearer moves up, not slowed down by the Ring.
Turn 4 and it’s Evil Priority. Gandalf kills the Mouth of Sauron, Irolas stands his ground against 6 Easterlings. Legolas spends his final Might to Heroic Strike against the Mordor Troll Chieftain, wins the fight but doesn’t wound. Gimli kills a Morannon Orc.
Faramir again only rolls a 1 on his Heroic Strike, once again losing to the Mordor Troll and is (deservedly) killed. Pippin is also killed by 4 Morannon Orcs. Sadly, just before he could see the Eagles arrive. Elsewhere on the battlefield, 3 Warriors of Minas Tirith die versus 3 Morannon Orcs.
Frodo climbs up the rock, but Sam slips and falls Prone. Frodo loses a Courage to the power of the Ring.
Turn 5 and Good gets Priority. The Eagles finally have arrived.
Gandalf Sorcerous Blasts a Mordor Troll, who is then knocked Prone.
Gwaihir and the Troll Chieftain both Strike up, go to Fight 10, Gwaihir wins and Barges to charge into 2 Easterlings, but fails to do anything.
Beregond is slain and the other Eagle loses the fight. Gimli wounds a Mordor Troll. Gandalf kills an Easterling, but Good gets slaughtered everywhere else. Beregond, Irolas and 3 Warriors of Minas Tirith die.
Good Priority in turn 6. Legolas kills 1 Orc with his bow. Gwaihir spends a Might to win the fight, kills a Mordor Troll and Morannon Orc. Gimli kills an Orc. The other Mordor Troll is down to 1 Wound. Two warriors of Minas Tirith die.
Evil gets Priority in turn 7. Gimli kills an Orc, an Easterling and 2 Warriors of Mins Tirith are slain. Gwaihir is down to 0 Might and Legolas down to 1 Fate.
Evil retains Priority in turn 8. Most of the Good forces now get completely wiped out. Only Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf are now still alive, as well as the Eagles. Legolas and Gimli both take 1 Wound.
The Ring calls for Gollum who then charges Frodo. Even with Sam helping, Gollum wins the fight and wounds Frodo.
Evil again has Priority in turn 9. With no Might left on the board for Good, things are looking beyond bleak. Gimli kills an Easterling, but the Mordor Troll Chieftain kills Legolas and wounds Gandalf.
Good finally gets Priority back, allowing Gandalf to escape. He compels the Troll Chieftain, who resists the spell. The Eagles fall back and protect Gandalf.
Gimli understandably dies in battle against a great horde of foes.
Frodo once again gets attacked by Gollum, but since Good had Priority at least he could move up. Gollum inflicts a wound, which is negated by spending 2 Fate.
Regrettably, Evil takes back Priority in turn 10. Gandalf manages to win the fight and slays an Orc.
Gollum stays in hiding, so the Ringbearer can move up. Two more turns are needed for the first try of throwing the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom!
But, luck is definitely not on Good’s side, as Evil once again gets Priority. Fortunately, the Troll Chieftain fails his Courage test and so do a lot of Orcs that up until now were never terrified of the Great Eagles (despite Courage 2). This allows Gwaihir to sweep in, Barge 2 orcs, then take on the Mordor Troll assaulting Gandalf and killing said Mordor Troll. Gandalf wins the fight against the Easterling, but fails to Wound. The other Eagle wins and kills 1 Easterling, out of the 4 assaulting him.
No Gollum this turn, so Frodo has nearly made it.
Both sides roll a 6, so Good has the Priority. Gandalf makes an escape and the Eagles protect him. Gwaihir wins the fight and kills the Mordor Troll Chieftain and an Orc.
Frodo reaches the edge of the lava pit. On the duel roll with the Ring, he loses (rolling a 1 to Evil’s 3).
To make matters worse, Gollum is once again called to the Power of the Ring and fights Frodo and Sam. Fortunately, with the help of Sam’s Heroic Strike, the Hobbits manage to fend off Gollum and even Wound him before he once again slips away.
Evil gains Priority, but the Easterlings are too afraid to charge the Eagle, who can then swoop in and relieve Gandalf of two Easterlings. They are killed, and Gandalf kills his charging Easterling.
Frodo again loses his Will off with the Ring (3 to 2). Since another loss would mean automatic loss, Frodo spends 2 Might points to turn it into a win.
Good gets Priority, everything seems fine, but Frodo again loses his Will off with the Ring, resetting the streak.
By using Brutal Power Attacks (Barge in particular), the Eagles move and aid Gandalf.
At Mount Doom there is no Gollum and Frodo finally wins a Will off.
Good gets Priority, the Great Eagle kills a Mordor Troll, Morannon Orc and Orc Captain. Gwaihir wins, Barges and then swoops in towards Gandalf, where he kills 1 Orc. Things seem to be going good for Good, until the damned Will roll off that Evil once again easily wins.
Evil Priority, Gandalf kills an Orc. Frodo wins the Will off.
Good Priority. 2 Orcs are killed. Evil wins the Will off.
Evil Priority. Gandalf has not much to fear. The Evil forces courage values are too low so he is safely protected by the Eagles. Actually no combat at all this turn on this board.
On the other board, Gollum is once again spawned. Sam calls a Heroic Strike, but the Hobbits fail badly in the fight. Gollum wounds Frodo and his Fate lets him down. Frodo is slain and Evil wins the game.
Aftermath
Gollum reclaims the Ring. But since he is so corrupted, it won’t be long before Sauron reclaims it and will rule Middle-earth. The Free Peoples will be enslaved and all that was once fair will be corrupted and grow Evil.
Post-game thoughts
Well, this was a pretty decent scenario until the final turns. Having the fate of Middle-earth be decided on random dice rolls that requires you to win 3 turns in a row was wholly unsatisfying. That is a 12,5% chance (without Might which is almost immediately depleted anyway) and an equal chance for Evil to win. So with some shoddy maths that should mean that you expect this to happen once over the span of approximately 8 turns. This is after Frodo made the entire climb across Mount Doom. Gollum was very effective and to be honest, I was happy that he finished this because this scenario stopped being fun a couple of turns ago.
What is even more disappointing to me is that this weird scenario special rule of 3 random dice roll offs to throw the Ring into the fire has made its way to the newest version of this scenario in the Quest of the Ringbearer book. Wouldn’t it be more fun and realistic if it wasn’t down to dumb luck but somehow tied to Sam being there or not, or having Willpower play any role in this Will off rather than just a single dumb dice repeated three times? With how things ended up it almost feels like I could have just had these random dice rolls to see if the Ring got destroyed instead of playing the scenario. In the end Gandalf stalling for time didn’t even matter that much anymore.
Even more baffling to me is the omission of the Winged Ringwraiths, Gwaihir and Great Eagles in the new version of this scenario. Why leave out something so iconic and fun? I really can’t wrap my head around it. In the end I didn’t even mind that Frodo didn’t manage to destroy the Ring, I was just happy I wouldn’t have to roll for another Will off. Such a shame, because the rest of the scenario was actually fairly fun and tense. The Ring getting to use a Magic spell each turn to represent its growing power was cool. And while the climb on Mount Doom seemed very long and slow at the start, it did make every moment where the Good forces could stall for time feel more impactful. Having the Eagles enter as reinforcements that could freely be placed anywhere on the board (including in Fights) is really cool! It seems that a lot of the scenario special rules were fairly well thought out and unique. Such a shame that the most important part of the scenario (the actual destruction of the Ring) felt so underdeveloped and random.
I would change it so that Frodo could not only use Might but also Will points to alter the roll. I found it to be pretty ridiculous that Will didn’t affect anything at all. And Sam should be more important than just adding an extra attack against Gollum. Shouldn’t he be able to contribute his Will or at the very least try and finish the job if Frodo fails? Or maybe Frodo gets a +1 on the Will off when in base contact with Sam. That would also give Gollum more reason to try and hurt Sam, because currently all his To Wound rolls will always be directed against Frodo. To compensate these buffs on the Good side maybe Frodo needs to pass a Courage test before he can do a Will off. That would also make his Courage more important and make the Ring consider the ‘Weakness’ magic spell more often. I am pretty sure these changes would both improve theme and fun factor as it reduces some of the randomness.
I also think it’s a bit of a shame that the historical outcome (and an important plot point / theme) of the source material is not possible under these rules. Gollum can in no way cause the destruction of the Ring. Maybe after Gollum causes a wound on Frodo that isn’t prevented by Fate (say he bites a finger off), Gollum needs to take a Courage test. If he fails, he becomes oblivious to his surroundings and stays on the board. He may then be charged again during the same Fight phase and if the Good player wins the fight, he may strike Gollum as normal. For every Wound inflicted on Gollum that is not prevented by Fate (never exceeding his total amount of remaining Wounds), an additional Will off is triggered that turn, provided Frodo is at the edge of the rocky outcrop. Maybe that is a bit specific, but it would feel closer to the source material and make this part of the scenario more interesting.
At any rate, I feel confident that this scenario could be significantly improved. Maybe it requires a bit more tweaking, but what’s on offer in the rules as written is definitely unsatisfying I find. Which is a shame because the rest of the scenario is quite imaginative and thematic. So there it is, a bit of an anticlimax to a very long campaign. Some games have you immediately wanting to replay it, but for me the completion of this campaign feels more like a relief that it’s over if I’m honest. Not a great sign. That could be a side-effect of playing it solo and doing all the building, painting and writing on my own, which frankly is quite exhausting. But I do think I would have felt differently if the ending had been more satisfying, even if Frodo didn’t manage to destroy the Ring.
I am interested in your thoughts, do you feel I judge the destruction of the Ring special rule too harshly? Do you have any thoughts on how to improve the scenario or maybe something I should have done differently? Please let me know in the comments, here or on the One Ring forums. If you’ve enjoyed the campaign, or enjoyed parts of it, or was just there for the ride I would also love to know! This has definitely been a long journey and I am proud on now having finished it. Thanks to everyone for their support along the way, both offline and online.
That concludes the Return of the King and the full Lord of the Rings campaign.