The Fellowship of the Kings: The Long Dark of Moria

The Fellowship of the Kings in all its glory

This week we're back with our Fantasy Fellowship playthrough. Last week Frodo, Aragorn, Haleth, Éowen and Maggot had just made it to Rivendell. There they met up with Círdan, who had travelled from the Grey Havens to guide them to Mordor. From the North had come the two Kings of Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain (and Dori), come to repay their debt to Frodo's uncle. However, in the vale of Eregion, the band is ambushed at night by Wargs. Will they survive the attack, or the perils that lurk in Moria beyond? Read on to find out...

Wargs in the Night

I definitely wish that Gandalf had more flame-related spells. That's meant to be his whole thing! (Hildebrandt)

As howls fill the air, the Fellowship Marched for the cover of a rock formation, anchoring a loose semi-circle on it. In the centre of the circle were the Hobbits and Círdan, while Dori, Aragorn, Éowen, Thandruil and Thorin did their best to hold the pack at bay. The first few turns involved the slaughter of over a dozen Wargs, with only Aragorn botching and being Wounded twice. The Chieftain dove into the fight against the weakest link of Dori, but was beaten off. Over the space of the next three turns, Aragorn and Thandruil took turns hacking at the Chieftain, before at last the Ranger was able to get the right angle and lop off its head. From there it was just a matter of hanging on grimly until the pack retreated, with only Thorin suffering another Wound by the time a double is rolled on turn 15.

Bravest: Aragorn

Thorin left on 2 Might, Aragorn on 2 Wounds

 

Balin’s Tomb

This scene (and scenario) is such an absolute classic

This battle was tense and exciting from the very start. The Fellowship formed up on the left side of the tomb, using it to guard their flank, and with the three Kings facing towards the horde. The Goblins crashed into combat with them and a swirling melee erupted, with the Fellowship slaughtering many Goblins but losing Wounds off both Círdan and Frodo to the crackshot Goblin archers. A Captain pounced on Haleth and Trapped him, and though Aragorn Heroic Combatted over to peel off two Goblins, the Rohirrim boy was reduced to a single Wound and no Fate. Backed up by Thorin, Aragorn then chained Heroic Combats through the swarm of Goblins, killing both Captains and a swathe of foes. Thandruil, meanwhile, had charged headfirst into the Goblins by the door and sliced his way through to the Cave Troll. Taking it on alongside another Goblin for the fifth dice, he displayed his martial mastery by slicing it up in a single brutal turn. Alas, pride cameth before the fall and he was badly Wounded by the Goblins surrounding him before he eventually hacked his way out. Meanwhile, Frodo helped Maggot and his Dogs to clear out the Fellowship’s right flank, allowing the whole battered group to fall back into a tight formation and weather out the last few turns.

Bravest: Aragorn

No Fool of a Took, Haleth and Círdan managed to redeem themselves from their earlier mishaps.

Thandruil left on 2 Might, everyone else recovered.

 

 

Escape from Dwarrowdelf

There are some great maps available on Tabletop Simulator

After the excitement of Balin’s Tomb, Dwarrowdelf felt a little anticlimactic. Aragorn and Thorin strode forward as the Ranger called Heroic Marches, while Thandruil guarded the rear and the others hurried along in between. Not even the Cave Troll was able to slow Thorin or Aragorn for more than a turn, and the only real hiccup was Thandruil botching and being Wounded twice by some lowly Goblins. Otherwise though, it was hard to imagine that the Goblins were really trying.

Bravest: Aragorn

Fool: Thandruil

 

The Bridge of Khazad-dum

Imagine this scene, but Gandalf repeatedly fails to break the bridge. It's a sad time (Kuliszu)

It seemed that all of the Fellowship’s bad luck had been saved up for this mission, as the Balrog arrived on the very first turn. That immediately put the pressure on as the Fellowship raced forward and began smashing through the Goblin hordes. With the Balrog looming, Aragorn led Frodo, Haleth, Éowyn and Maggot Marching across the bridge, while Thorin, Thandruil and Dori did their best to hold back the tide. Círdan begins blasting the bridge, but Morgoth was looking down greedily and his first two rolls on the table were both 1’s! Thandruil was charged by the Balrog but Heroic Struck up to F10, winning the roll-off and fighting off his foe. Alas, that was his last Might point, and the Balrog knocked him out of the fight in the next round before turning and utterly destroying poor Grip (who rolled a 1 and was permanently killed). Círdan cast twice more but failed one cast and could only manage a 2 with the other, barely shaking the bridge. A Heroic Move from Thorin let Círdan cast one last time, but it was yet another 1 (boosted to a 2), and in the Shoot phase the Balrog lashes the aged Elf into combat with him. That… goes about how one would expect, and Thorin was forced to flee across the bridge to safety as Dori valiantly held the Balrog off. The aged Dwarf actually managed to win a fight against the Balrog and slay the last three Goblins, before the ancient evil knocked him out of the fight. It is, alas, a loss for the Fellowship, although six members escape.

Turns out that this doesn't work quite as well in-game as it does in the movie (Dave Townsend)

While this scenario ended up coming down to bad luck on Good’s part (5 attempts to bring down the bridge and it was barely shaken!), my repeated experiences playing it have convinced me that it’s actually a little too easy for Evil to win. Out of my four attempts with three different Fellowships (two of which were extremely strong), the only time Good has won was when they broke the bridge on their very first attempt. The scenario itself is basically exactly the same as previous iterations, except that there is no way for Good to destroy the bridge without Gandalf or eek out a draw. Moreover, the Balrog itself is vastly improved and now a bit too much of a threat. Free Heroic Combats mean it’s very hard to slow down, and more worryingly, it can use its whip to yank Gandalf over the heads of the Fellowship and kill him. That means that you basically need to be able to cast Blinding Light to have a chance of victory (and not roll double ones when channelling it at the start of the game, as happened here…), or just hope your opponent misses. Next time I play this I’m going to implement a rule that Gandalf cannot be whipped while he is standing on the bridge thanks to the mystical shield he is seen to conjure. That way the Balrog can actually be held off by heroic sacrifices, giving Good a way to interact with the game more.

Bravest: Thandruil

Fool: Círdan

Grieving the loss of Círdan (and Grip), the Fellowship were forced to run on to Lothlorien, where their wounds were tended to and their minds given solace. But alas, from the moment they rowed on from its borders they were being watched. Something was lurking in the forest, growing closer by the day. Soon it would be ready to strike...

I hope you enjoyed this installment of my Fantasy Fellowship's playthrough. How have you found the new Bridge of Khazad-dum scenario? Is there some secret strategy for Good I've not realised, or is the scenario just a bit imbalanced? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time, may your Gandalf always break the bridge first time!