Several games of Lord of the Rings were played at Mitcham. John brought along his first module of the Moria scenery, which is the fun Watcher in the Water scenario. The Fellowship does not always have an easy time of it in this scenario.
Click on any photo below to enlarge it.
Ruffians versus Hobbits
The scenario book about the Shire has some great scenarios for Lord of the Rings. They are all well balanced and small. This adds to the tension because every model counts when you only have a small force. It also means that you can pack several games into one night. The brave little Hobbits were no match for the Ruffians this time around. As seen in the photos, the Ruffians were very keen to keep the supplies all to themselves.
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Watcher in the Water – Game 1
As the Fellowship are about enter Moria through the Hollin Gate, Frodo is snatched by a tentacle from the Watcher in the Water. The other Hobbits rush to his aid. This is where the scenario starts; with Sam, Merry and Pippin attacking the tentacle that holds Frodo while the rest of the Fellowship are further away near the gate. The Fellowship wins if Frodo and at least half of the Fellowship make it safely into Moria.
The Hobbits forced the tentacle to drop Frodo, but he fell into the water. They could not manage to cut the tentacle. Aragorn and Legolas stopped to fire at the Watcher. The shots all hit the tentacles, wounding only some, so the others surged towards them. Sam was grabbed trying to defend Frodo from more tentacles as Boromir and Gimli waded in to help.
Sam bravely fought off the teeth of the Watcher the first time, but was eaten soon after. The rest of the Fellowship were hacking tentacle after tentacle, but more kept coming. Frodo was again grabbed. The Watcher now appeared to have gained a taste for Hobbits. Gandalf seemed to forget his spells under the pressure. Boromir and Gimli were making headway, but they arrived just too late. Frodo and the Ring were eaten by the Watcher and the quest was over.
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Watcher in the Water – Game 2
In the rematch, the Fellowship pulled off a perfect game. The Hobbits chopped down the tentacle holding Frodo, to give them breathing space and a couple of turns to run towards the Hollin Gate into Moria. The bowfire despatched the other tentacles closing in on the rest of the Fellowship, aided by Gandalf’s spells and Gimli’s throwing axe.
This gave enough time for the bigger members of the Fellowship to form a shield wall behind which the Hobbits could all run to safety. Eventually a wall of tentacles arrived at the pool edge. Attack after attack failed to make a breach. As the Hobbits ran past behind them, the members of the Fellowship carefully retreated backwards in a perfect rearguard action, never allowing the tentacles to breach their defensive line.
As the Watcher slammed the gates of Hollin shut in disgust, it was hoping that the Balrog might have better fortune.
Another fun game of this great scenario, which showed that it is possible for either side to win. I have even managed to eat the whole Fellowship on one occasion, although I think the packs full of Lembas bread gave the Watcher stomach trouble for a whole week.
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Other Figures
Some nice Haradrim figures painted by Jeremy.
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