Lord of Rings Game (Six Player) in 15mm
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 7:24 pm
This game is an adaption of Grand Triumph! for six players that expands the playing area to 6' by 7' in order to include the journey of the Fellowship from the Shire to Mount Doom and the lesser powers involved in the war. The overall concept came from the old "Ringbearer" miniatures rules from the mid-70s. This is a work in progress and I welcome any feedback!
The core of the game is the conflict between the four major powers - Gondor and Rohan, Mordor and Saruman. Each army is 51 points per the rules.
The minor powers of both sides, controlled by the fifth and sixth players, start deployed on the map but don't activate until enemy combat units get close or until an event card is played. There are a lot of troops - about 96 points worth for each side. Moria is full of goblins and a Balrog, the Shire and Bree both have militia, the interior of Mordor has mobs of Goblin Rabble, there is a unit of Dwarf Elite foot at the Lonely Mountain, etc. There is a band of Ruffian Rabble in Tharbad, giving the minor powers player the ability to engage the troops in Bree and the Shire.
THE MAP
This is my first rough sketch of the layout. Some liberties were taken in order to make the terrain suitable for a Triumph! game. The distance between Mordor and Gondor was stretched quite a bit in order to put the opposing armies about two feet apart as in a regular Triumph! game.
The map has been designed so that the main combatants are set up about two feet apart, much as they would be in a regular Triumph! game. The Mordor troops would deploy to the west of the mountains and east of the Anduin river; the others deploy in front of their respective camps.
The terrain is also simplified in order to avoid a lot of special rules. The rivers are treated as streams and can be crossed anywhere; places like Moria, the Black Gate, and similar places are just gaps in the mountains wide enough for several units to fit side by side; Gondor and Orthanc are camps with the heavily fortified rules, etc.
EVENT CARDS
This game will feature 60+ Event Cards, much like the old SPI "War of the Ring" game from 1977. These reflect special events and the activation of reinforcements. For example, there is a "Shadowfax" card. Playing it allows the Gandalf (A Hero in the rules) to make a free second move for the remainder of the game. Another is "Haradrim Reinforcements Arrive", which allows the Haradrim deployed on the south edge of the map near Mordor to start maneuvering.
Most if not all event cards will be represented on the playing area by a miniature. A campfire for "Second Breakfast". Denethor peering into a palantir. They may only be on the board for a single turn, but hey this is a miniatures game and I think it will look good!
THE RING
The movement of the Fellowship is represented by a stand (Frodo and Sam) that moves automatically each turn. They must go from the Shire to Rivendell then are free to choose a path. They cannot be engaged in combat, but if a Dark Power stand or Hero ends in contact with them they are captured on a roll of "12" on 2d6, giving the Dark Powers a substantial number of victory points. There are multiple cards that cause the Fellowship to stay in place for a turn, like "Gollum Attempts to Seize the Ring", "Second Breakfast", etc. This would be useful for the Dark Power player to play while the Fellowship is near Dark Power forces, for example. This mechanism was borrowed from the Lord of the Rings risk game.
WINNING the GAME
Points are gained by destroying enemy units and the four main camps as per the regular rules. Lesser areas, like the Shire, Dol Guldur, and Lorien, have lesser points values. Destroying the ring gives a substantial number of points to the forces of Good and ends the game. Likewise, capturing the ring gives the Dark Power players a lot of points. This is a departure from the books, but I think the focus has to be on playing a game of Grand Triumph! and winning militarily.
The core of the game is the conflict between the four major powers - Gondor and Rohan, Mordor and Saruman. Each army is 51 points per the rules.
The minor powers of both sides, controlled by the fifth and sixth players, start deployed on the map but don't activate until enemy combat units get close or until an event card is played. There are a lot of troops - about 96 points worth for each side. Moria is full of goblins and a Balrog, the Shire and Bree both have militia, the interior of Mordor has mobs of Goblin Rabble, there is a unit of Dwarf Elite foot at the Lonely Mountain, etc. There is a band of Ruffian Rabble in Tharbad, giving the minor powers player the ability to engage the troops in Bree and the Shire.
THE MAP
This is my first rough sketch of the layout. Some liberties were taken in order to make the terrain suitable for a Triumph! game. The distance between Mordor and Gondor was stretched quite a bit in order to put the opposing armies about two feet apart as in a regular Triumph! game.
The map has been designed so that the main combatants are set up about two feet apart, much as they would be in a regular Triumph! game. The Mordor troops would deploy to the west of the mountains and east of the Anduin river; the others deploy in front of their respective camps.
The terrain is also simplified in order to avoid a lot of special rules. The rivers are treated as streams and can be crossed anywhere; places like Moria, the Black Gate, and similar places are just gaps in the mountains wide enough for several units to fit side by side; Gondor and Orthanc are camps with the heavily fortified rules, etc.
EVENT CARDS
This game will feature 60+ Event Cards, much like the old SPI "War of the Ring" game from 1977. These reflect special events and the activation of reinforcements. For example, there is a "Shadowfax" card. Playing it allows the Gandalf (A Hero in the rules) to make a free second move for the remainder of the game. Another is "Haradrim Reinforcements Arrive", which allows the Haradrim deployed on the south edge of the map near Mordor to start maneuvering.
Most if not all event cards will be represented on the playing area by a miniature. A campfire for "Second Breakfast". Denethor peering into a palantir. They may only be on the board for a single turn, but hey this is a miniatures game and I think it will look good!
THE RING
The movement of the Fellowship is represented by a stand (Frodo and Sam) that moves automatically each turn. They must go from the Shire to Rivendell then are free to choose a path. They cannot be engaged in combat, but if a Dark Power stand or Hero ends in contact with them they are captured on a roll of "12" on 2d6, giving the Dark Powers a substantial number of victory points. There are multiple cards that cause the Fellowship to stay in place for a turn, like "Gollum Attempts to Seize the Ring", "Second Breakfast", etc. This would be useful for the Dark Power player to play while the Fellowship is near Dark Power forces, for example. This mechanism was borrowed from the Lord of the Rings risk game.
WINNING the GAME
Points are gained by destroying enemy units and the four main camps as per the regular rules. Lesser areas, like the Shire, Dol Guldur, and Lorien, have lesser points values. Destroying the ring gives a substantial number of points to the forces of Good and ends the game. Likewise, capturing the ring gives the Dark Power players a lot of points. This is a departure from the books, but I think the focus has to be on playing a game of Grand Triumph! and winning militarily.
