This game was set up by Jim Sparkes and Scott Baltes. Variants include:
- no +20 K/A
- no Stealth
- only 3 nations per team with A40’s
A Regional Setup Map was provided by Jim’s team:
Jim’s Team is Blue and FP with 6 players.
Scott’s Team is Red and DS with 10 players.
Setting up the game took a long time, months in fact. We also spent several more weeks to actually submit Nation Setups. Today, we just submitted orders for turn 4.
Turn 1 saw the two FP Dwarves in Mirkwood (?) launch their starting army at Lorien. But the FP surely saw that Rhudaur/Angmar/Wastes all sent their starting cav toward them. In the south, Harondor,SMordor, and SK actually made it south over the bridge with superior forces. Of course, Umbar went to the Havens. All of the action was going to be in Mirkwood and Harad. We saw some movement in the Gap, but nothing yet in Angmar/Rhudaur.
Turn 2 must have been a shock to the FP in Harad; we wiped out their army and leveled their Mtown/castle to the ground. The FP were also dismayed to fail Threatening Umbar, see more DS reinforcements cross the bridge, and new DS cav show up on the desert road toward Umbar. At the same time, the “Dwarves in Mirkwood” (DiM from now on!) blocked out the DS cav from the northwest and succeeded in crossing the Anduin. They were blocked out of Lorien, but the Gap movement described above ended up being the Enedwaith starting cav and it skirted Fangorn to encroach on Lorien. Furthermore, FP armies showed up in Fangorn (devoid of pcs) apparently “trolling” for Ents. I wonder what kind of bait the FP use to catch an Ent? Rhudaur blocks out the anticipated NK starting cav.
Turn 3 saw more FP from the Gap moving north through Fangorn. Lorien continues to block out DiM. DiM continues to block out DS armies from the north and now east. Even more troops cross the Harad bridge. Two DS armies make it to Near Harad’s capital. And now there’s going to be some action in Rhudaur. The victorious NK starting army is now joined by two other FP armies. We’re ‘blind’ in the West.
Orders for turn 4 sent off today.
One comment, or whine if you prefer…
Apparently, the FP started with the number for RoWind. They successfully cast LAT on turn 1, sent a character on turn 2 that found the encounter, then just investigated turn 3. We’ll see how long they keep it?
Will the DS ‘roll up’ the south?
Will the DiM be able to hold on until the western FP can rescue them?
Ents don’t like fire. What happens when the DS use their napalm?
Stay tuned for the next episode of “The blind and the DiM”.
Scott