In my previous posts I outlined the structure of the MESBG Ultimate Campaign and made a list of (house)rule changes I intent to implement. In this post I’ll delve a bit further in campaign specific rules such as for Recovery Rolls, Rest Points, different Locations, et cetera.
Recovery rolls
After a scenario, roll a D3 for every Hero that participated in the battle for determining the amount of points M/W/F/Wounds that will be recovered. This can be freely mixed and matched between Might, Will, Fate and Wounds. This is skipped for Heroes for which it will take a long time to re-appear in the campaign (and who thus would have had ample time to recover), as they recover fully.
Winning the scenario
The side that won the scenario may re-roll any Recovery Rolls for their Heroes (up to one time per Hero), but the re-rolled result will be final, even if it is worse than the original roll.
MVP’s and MDP’s
After any game, nominate an MVP (most valuable player (read: character); the ‘Bravest Companion’) and a MDP (most disappointing player (read: character); the ‘Fool of a Took’) for both the Good side and the Evil side. It is possible that no model is eligible for this title, because none performed exceptionally well or badly.
For an MVP:
They’ll regain D6 M/W/F/Wounds instead of D3.
For an MDP:
They’ll not regain any M/W/F/Wounds as part of their Recovery Roll.
Warriors being promoted to Heroes
Furthermore, a Warrior model on either side that performed exceptionally Heroic, can be promoted to a Hero. This means they’ll get a name and 1 M/W/F and, if suitable, can be used in further scenarios instead of a regular Warrior. This promotion will be a rare occurrence, intended only for those models that really turn the tide of battle.
They can be part of multiple scenarios if they survive and it makes sense for them to be there. But if they die, they die. They are not eligible for the campaign injury roll as described below.
Heroes being slain
For any slain Hero, determine if the Hero would historically be dead at this point in the campaign. If not, roll a D6 on the ‘Campaign Injury Table’ below. If yes, they automatically count as having rolled a 1 on the below table. Don’t roll for Warriors that have been upgraded to Heroes. When they die, they die.
Campaign Injury Table:
1 Dead – This Hero is permanently killed.
2-3 Wounded – This Hero regains 1 Wound, but otherwise may not regain any other characteristics, unless they are chosen as the MVP.
4+ Recovered – This Hero regains 1 Wound and then may recover as normal.
Character special Recovery Rolls:
Before making Recovery Rolls, roll any dice as part of the additional character special rules as described below.
Certain characters have additional special rules interfering with Recovery Rolls. These Special Rules are only active if the Character granting the Special Rule is alive and in the party at the end of the scenario. The order below lists the order in which these rolls are made:
Morgul Blade (additional effect):
In addition to their standard abilities, a Wound from a Morgul Blade not prevented by Fate will have longer implications than just immediate death. If it hit a Hero, and that Hero survives following the Campaign Injury Table, the Hero slowly becomes a (lesser) wraith. That Hero is marked ‘wounded by a Morgul Blade’.
After each scenario (including the one just played), roll a D3* for each Hero marked ‘wounded by a Morgul Blade’. Might can be used to influence this roll. On a 1 or 2, that Hero has become a wraith.
This means it becomes an Evil model and they change their Race to ‘Spirit’. Additionally, they permanently increase their profile Will points by D3 for the remainder of the Campaign. They also gain the ‘Will of Evil’ special rule.
A Hero that has turned into a wraith in this way no longer rolls for Recovery, and instead slowly diminishes. They only recover D3 Will points after each scenario.
For each subsequent scenario in which a Hero is still ‘wounded by a Morgul Blade’, the odds of becoming a wraith increase. After the second scenario, the Hero becomes a wraith on a roll of a 1-4, and on the third scenario, a Hero marked ‘wounded by a Morgul Blade’ will automatically turn into a wraith.
This can only be prevented if the Hero receives proper healing before turning into a wraith, which can only be performed by a successful healing of Elrond or Radagast, as part of their character special recovery rules (see below).
* Hobbits and Wizards are especially resilient against Morgul Blades. They roll a D6 instead of a D3 and only succumb on a 1 for the first scenario, then a 1-2 for the second scenario, etc., up until the sixth scenario for which they will automatically succumb.
Bill the Pony: Well tended: As long as Sam is in Bill’s party, Bill gets an additional Recovery Point before he rolls his Recovery Roll. In turn, he gives all members of the Fellowship a +1 to their Recovery Rolls (so a 4 becomes a 5, resulting in 3 Recovery Points on a D3 scale and 5 Recovery Points on a D6 scale). This special rule is not in effect if Sam is not in Bill’s party.
Gollum: Miasmic presence: Once Gollum is in a party as a Good model, Good models get a -1 modifier to their Recovery Roll (for example: a 3 would normally result in 2 Recovery Points on a D3 scale, but now would become a 2, resulting in 1 Recovery Point).
Elrond: Expert healer: May nominate a single Hero and roll a D6. On a 1-2 the healing fails. On a 3-4, the chosen Hero recovers 1 Wound. On a 5-6 the chosen Hero recovers 2 Wounds. This is done before making the Recovery Roll.
Gandalf: Send to help Middle-earth: May nominate a single Hero to immediately restore D3 Fate points. This is chosen before making any other Recovery Rolls.
Additionally, Gandalf may nominate a single Hero to potentially restore their full Will, with the exception of Wizards. For this to work, a D6 must be rolled. On a 4+, the nominated Hero restores their Will to their starting value, before their Recovery Roll. On a 1-3, nothing happens.
Radagast: Generous healer: Every Hero in Radagast’s party may recover 1 Wound before rolling their Recovery Roll, which will trigger on a 4+ (roll separately for each Hero that makes use of this ability).
Aragorn: Skillful healer: May nominate a single Hero and roll a D6. On a 4+, the nominated Hero recovers 1 Wound. This is chosen before making any other Recovery Rolls.
Boromir: Temptation of the Ring: This rule only applies while Boromir is part of the Fellowship.
Roll a D6 before the other Recovery Rolls. On a 6, nothing happens. On a 1-5, Boromir reduces his maximum Might store by 1 for the rest of the campaign. This is cumulative with previous scenarios, meaning he could be at a maximum of 0 Might during Ambush at Amon Hen if he failed all his rolls up until that point. If Boromir survives that scenario, his maximum Might store is immediately restored to his original value. He then loses this Special Rule.
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Sauron, Necromancer, Nazgûl: Powerful Caster: Roll a D3 for recovering Will (D6 for Sauron, the Necromancer and the Witch-king), before making a normal Recovery Roll.
If the Necromancer or Nazgûl are slain, they automatically survive (unless they are historically dead), but recover the D3 Will and nothing else if they roll a 1-3 on the Campaign Injury Table.
Frodo: Strong Will: Roll a D6. Frodo will recover up to 1 Will point on a 2+, before making a Recovery Roll. Once Gollum is in Frodo’s party, he will only recover this Will Point on a 5+. This Special Rule is lost once Frodo enters Mordor.
Sam: … And I’m coming with you: If after rolling for Frodo’s recovery, Frodo has stats that are lower than their starting value, Sam gets an additional recovery point in that characteristic, up to his maximum starting value.
Example: After Frodo’s Recovery roll, he only has 1 Wound, 1 Might, 1 Will and 3 Fate (rather than his starting values 2 Wounds, 2 M, 3 W, 3 F). This means Frodo has a lower characteristic in Wounds, Might and in Will.
After Sam’s Recovery roll, he has 1 Wounds, 2 Might, 1 Will and 1 Fate (instead of his starting values 2 Wounds, 2 M 2 W 2 F). He now may receive an additional recovery point in both Wounds, Might and Will, because Frodo is lower in those. However, Sam is already at his maximum for Might and therefore only gets an additional point in Wounds and Will. So Sam would now be 2 Wounds, 2 M 2 W 1 F.
Merry & Pippin: Not without us: If after their Recovery Rolls only 1 out of Merry or Pippin is at their full starting values, the other automatically recovers his starting values to full as well. This Special Rule is lost after the Breaking of the Fellowship.
Gimli: Stubborn Dwarf: Gimli gets an additional Recovery Point, after Recovery Rolls have been made.
Legolas: Fast Recovery: Legolas gets an additional Recovery Point, after Recovery Rolls have been made.
Special appearances and following the book vs the films
I try to follow the book and films as much as possible, while also staying true to the (combative) nature of MESBG. I will generally follow the rule of cool and a maximalist approach, so for example with the Battle of Pelennor Fields I’m planning to use both the Army of the Dead (films) as the Fiefdoms (book). And with the battle for Helm’s Deep I want to use both Galadhrim Elves (film) as well as Dunlendings and Erkenbrand (books).
But at other times, there is only 1 option. For example, in my campaign I will let Glorfindel (book) escort Frodo to the Fords of the Bruinen instead of Arwen (film). But I will make Arwen appear at Helm’s Deep, where she joins the Galadhrim Elves, as was originally planned for the films.
I will also follow some suggestions from the DeAgostini Battle Games in Middle-earth magazines. For example, if the Balrog survives, he may later join the assault on Helm’s Deep. And if Rohan perishes in that battle, it will be the forces of Saruman that will come to the battle of the Pelennor Fields rather than the Rohirrim.
Rest Points & Locations
All Heroes present in a Rest Point (RP) completely recover their starting values of Might, Will, Fate and Wounds. There may be additional benefits depending on the Rest Point.
Crickhollow (RP)
After Buckleberry Ferry?
House of Tom Bombadil (RP):
Between The Old Forest and Fog on the Barrow-downs
Fog on the Barrow Downs:
The Hobbits find Barrow-blades. These count as hand weapons with the following additional rules:
Barrow-blades (Active): If a model with this special rule inflicts a Wound on a Spirit model, instead of doing a Wound, this model may choose to let the Spirit model immediately lose all their Fate Points and the Will of the Necromancer special rule. Additionally, the Spirit model loses D3 Will points.
Furthermore, its bearer may re-roll failed To Wound rolls of a ‘1’ against Evil models.
Rivendell (RP):
After Flight to the Ford.
Additionally, Frodo loses his Barrow-blade, but receives Sting and a Mithril Coat.
Balin’s Tomb:
Gimli gains Balin’s Axe.
Lothlórien (RP):
Each surviving member of the Fellowship gains an Elven Cloak. Additionally, the members are given gifts:
Frodo – Light of Eärendil: At the start of each of his activations, Frodo may roll a D6. On a 3+, Frodo counts as having Cast the Blinding Light Magical Power.
Sam – Elven Rope: The bearer always counts as rolling a 6 for any Climb, Jump or Leap tests that he has to make.
Merry & Pippin – Daggers of the Noldorin: These are Elven hand weapons. Whilst wielding these weapons, Merry and Pipppin may re-roll failed To Wound rolls when making strikes.
Aragorn – Elven Dagger: This is an Elven hand weapon with the Uruk-haibane special rule
Legolas – Bow of the Galadhrim: – Whilst within 3” of a friendly model, the bearer may re-roll failed To Hit rolls when making shooting attacks.
Gimli – Galadriel’s Locks: Gimli may use this Wargear to re-roll all his dice in a Duel Roll. Gimli may only use this Wargear three times during the course of the campaign.
Boromir – Golden Belt: Boromir gains the Woodland Creature special rule.
Also, the Fellowship gains Lembas bread: full recovery M/W/F (not Wounds), 1x use per member (see Battle Companies rules)
Helm’s Deep (RP):
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli all gain Armour.
Paths of the Dead / Battle of the Pelennor Fields
Aragorn gains Andúril.
Minas Tirith:
Cirith Ungol:
Frodo loses Sting, the Mithril Coat and the Phial of Galadriel.
Sam gains Sting.
The Black Gate:
Aragorn becomes King Elessar.
Locations
Some locations will have location-specific rules. For this I am mainly drawing from Battle Companies. I will look into them a bit more when I reach a scenario with one of the below locations, to see if I want to use them. They are:
Lake-Town:
Battle Companies pg. 86/87 (ver 2) / 51 (ver 1) + White Dwarf April 2017.
Forests:
Battle Companies pg. 88/89 (ver 2) / 52/53 (ver 1)
Goblin-Town
Battle Companies pg. 90 (ver 2) / 54 (ver 1)
Fallen Dwarf Holds
Battle Companies pg. 91 (ver 2) / 55 (ver 1)
Haunted Ruins
Battle Companies pg. 85 (ver 2) / 56 (ver 1)
Mordor:
All Good models receive 1 less Recovery Point after their Recovery Roll, while all Evil models receive 1 additional Recovery Point after their Recovery Rolls.
Your input
As always, more rules may be added as I find them or think of them, but this is what I have currently planned.
Once again, I’d love to read your thoughts. Do you have any suggestions of your own?
Next week, I’ll dive into some profile changes.