War of the Ring Summary for Bree

mepbmlist
#1

OK, I haven't seen the actual set-ups, so maybe it's not really fair to be
too critical, but the first thing that strikes me is that it sounds pretty
similar to 1650 except the characters are a bit more even. If the intention
is to allow both sides to recruit many more troops then how exactly are the
DS armies supposed to outnumber the FP if the former are getting all the
major population centre increases? The Riders of Rohan get special mention
for big population centre increases, yet as I remember LOTR they were
heavilly outnumbered by Sarumans (albeit qualitatively inferior) troops. So
why does he only gets his capital upgrading to a city? How is he supposed to
field the kind of forces referred to in the books? Even allowing for the
fact that the Dunlendings swelled his armies it still seems pretty clear in
the book that his orcs alone outnumbered the Riders of Rohan.

I would have thought the best way simulate the War of The Ring battles would
be to give both sides reasonably even population centre increases and ensure
that the starting DS armies include loads of Men at Arms, Light Infantry &
Archers, whilst the FP are similar in strength (after all, they won all the
battles) but comprising mainly HI & HC, hence they will be outnumbered in
troops.

You imply that the DS will be able to raise lots of assasins quickly. Is
this because their characters have been changed from the 2950 levels to
allow this, or are they more or less as they were? Also, if we're going for
'accuracy' then wouldn't it be better to achieve balance by keeping the
ability to raise armies even rather than introducing lots of dragons, which
don't appear in War of the Ring. You mention that the DS have a potential
curse squad to even things up, but don't the FP start with one too (or near
enough) since as I remember in 2950 the Sinda get a curses artifact, or has
this been removed?

If some nations have got big increases in population centres and others
haven't, does this mean that the latter have got something to compensate?
I'm thinking here more of nations on the same side. For example, the Noldo
are generally regarded as an excellent power, since they get the best
characters. It sounds like they now get a big population increase as well,
whereas for example the Sinda, who were never as good for characters in 2950
anyway, and whose capital was more open to attack, get a smaller population
centre increase. This sounds like one nation that is already better than
another, being made relatively better still?

Having said that I approve in the improvements to the Woodmen, who have
always been one of the least desirable powers in both variants. The changes
to Witch King characters also make sense. The relatively higher population
increases for the FP also suggests that maybe the neutrals will be more
likely to go DS to ensure an even game (which is after all, what happened
'historically'.)

Sorry if I sound over critical: it's always easier to spot things that look
like they might be problems compared to seeing the improvements. You've
obviously put some time into it and to be honest I'm more interested in play
balance (which it sounds like you've thought about at length) than how
closely the game follows the book. I've signed up for it and will be very
interested to see how it works out. Once again thanks for putting the work
into it.

Regards
Adam Mitchell

ยทยทยท

-----Original Message-----
From: Harlequin Games <pbm@harlequingames.com>
To: mepbmlist@egroups.com <mepbmlist@egroups.com>
Date: 14 May 2000 22:35
Subject: [mepbmlist] War of the Ring Summary for Bree

WAR OF THE RING

War of the Ring (WotR) is a variant of GSI's 2950 scenario. Why

introduce

a

variant? Because, when I played 2950, I was disappointed to find a much
smaller economic base than in he original 1650 game. This not only made
2950 a smaller game, but made it impossible for players to field the

numbers

of troops mentioned by Tolkien.

To give just a couple of examples: in 'Lord of the Rings' South Gondor

sent

just under 3000 troops to the Siege of Minas Tirith. This was only
one-tenth of South Gondor's strength, so that nation could field close to
30,000 troops in total! In 'Unfinished Tales' it is stated that Rohan

sent

6000 Riders to the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Moreover, the Free People
were outnumbered in every battle they fought, so most if not all of

Sauron's

many armies must have been at least 10,000 strong!

WotR brings the overall number of population centres back up to the level

of

the 1650 scenario, thus creating a stronger economic base, and making it
possible to field armies closer to the size which Tolkien described.

WotR

also sees a very few adjustments to character skill levels, not only in
keeping with Tolkien but to give better game balance.

Although the number of pop centres has been brought up to the level of

the

1650 game, the distribution has changed, in some cases dramatically.
Arthedain and Cardolan have been destroyed, leaving only the Dunedan

Rangers

with a
shadow of their former power. The Eothraim have become the Riders of

Rohan

and relocated in the former Calenardhon, leaving a power vacuum in
Rhovanion. The Sinda and Silvan Elves are now two separate nations. Of

the

neutrals, the Corsairs have absorbed the Haradwaith (GSI's change not

mine),

Easterlings have split
into two separate nations, and the White Wizard has founded a totally new
nation. There are fewer changes to the Dark Servants, the most

noteworthy

being the destruction of the Witch-king's realm of Angmar and the

relocation

of his capital to Mordor. Here's a brief summary of changes, nation by
nation. Population centre increases refer to the 2950 game unless stated
otherwise.

1) Woodmen: pop centres similar to 1650. In the Battle of Five Armies,
Beorn cut his way thru the goblin army to slay their leader Bolg. Prior

to

that, Beorn conjured up food and mounts for Thorin and company. In

keeping

with this, Beorn is now a seriously powerful character with access to
Conjuring spells. As it is highly unlikely that Beorn was unique, a

second

Woodie character has received a more modest boost. These changes should
also make this unfancied nation more fun to play!

2) Northmen: pop levels similar to 1650. The Northmen have lost a little
ground to the Easterlings, but have strengthened their grip on central
Rhovanion which was abandoned by the Eothraim.

3) Riders of Rohan: get a major increase in pop numbers. How else are

they

going to field 6000 cavalry? Also, they need a major reinforcement as

they

have active and/or potential enemies both east and west.

4) Dunadan Rangers: get a very modest increase of small pops, but still

have

only one major town, to reflect the difficulty of recruiting troops from
such a small and scattered population.

5) Silvan Elves: get a considerable increase in pops. They could and did
send big armies to fight against Sauron's minions, notably during the

Last

Alliance, and had plenty of time for the population to grow since then.

6) and 7) Northern and Southern Gondor: each gets a major increase in

pops.

Gondor was still far and away the most powerful Mannish nation in
Middle-earth. Also, Gondor has to fight most of the Mordor nations
single-handed early on, and who knows which side the powerful Corsairs

will

join?

8) Dwarves have lost Khazad-dum to the Balrog, and no new colonies were
founded. Therefore, pops are simply restored to 1650 level except the

new

capital is upgraded to a major town.

9) Sinda Elves: the least numerous Elven nation but with some of the most
powerful characters gets only a marginal increase in pops.

10) Noldo Elves: the most powerful Elven nation. Despite westbound
emigrations, the Noldo population was able to grow peacefully following

the

fall of Angmar, and was reinforced by refugees from the east fleeing the
wrath of Sauron. Pops restored to 1650 level.

11) Witch-king: his realm of Angmar in the northern Misty Mts having been
destroyed, Murazor relocated his capital to Mordor. He never ceased

efforts

to regain his former kingdom, and a constant stream of troops and

emissaries

made their way north along the mountain chain establishing bases on the

way.

He gets a fair-sized increase in pops.

The Witch-king commanders in the north have had their ranks reduced, as

it

is quite clear that they were no match for Beorn (see comments on 1)
Woodmen). However, Bolg as Murazor's viceroy in the north gets emissary
skill as one of his major tasks is to create new pops, and one of his

mages

gets command skill; this is actually pretty good compensation for two of

his

characters having comm skill ranks lowered.

12) Dragon lord gets a modest increase in pops, including a new backup
capital virtually inaccessible to armies.

13) Dog lord gets a modest increase, including a couple of camps in the
Brown Lands, to reflect the fact that these were continually patrolled by
forces from Mordor.

14, 15, &16) Cloud lord, Blind Sorceror and Ice King: small increases to
restore pops to 1650 level.

17) Quiet Avenger: receives a modest increase in pops as she is one of

the

few Dark Servants with room to expand; also to go some way to matching

South

Gondor and/or Corsairs and/or Khand Easterlings should they turn hostile.

18 & 19) Fire King and Long Rider both receive a small increase in pops.

20) Dark lieutenants get a modest increase in pops as the nation most
directly connected with Sauron.

21) Corsairs: now include Harad as well, so get significant and

appropriate

pop increases.

22) Rhun Easterlings: firstly, the capital has been moved further east,

and

the pop next door to the Northmen capital downgraded. No nation would
permit another to build a fortified capital so close, and no nation would
build its capital so close to that of a potential enemy for fear of

getting

it trashed. Rhun Easterlings have received a modest pop increase.
Generally their bigger pops are furthest east, the smaller ones in
Rhovanion, reflecting the pattern of migration/invasion.

23) Dunlendings get a modest but scattered pop increase in line with

their

culture (or lack of it!).

24) White Wizard: the only change here is to upgrade his capital to a

city.

Tolkien's description justifies this, and in terms of game balance, the
White Wizard needs it as there is no justification for giving him any

more

pops. But Saruman is a powerful emissary so will have no problem

expanding

his realm!

25) Khand Easterlings: modest increase in pops.

Final word: the FP have received the lion's share of new/upgraded pops,

but

I have done my best to keep things in proportion. Remember the DS will

soon

be able to recruit dragons and start a conveyor belt of assassins AND

they

have at least one Curse squad just waiting to learn the spells. So, any
perceived military advantage enjoyed by the FP had best be exploited as
quickly as possible..... and the best-laid plans can go adrift if the
neutral nations turn against you. Enjoy!

Richard Devereux.

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