Special Event: Battle for Middle Earth, Historicon 2023

[David Kuijt]

Looks really great so far - please consider taking a lot of pictures, videos and maybe a complete campaign report!!!
Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase nice little hobizze

See what we can do.

Here's the map, as a teaser.

[Spencer]

Witch King of Angmar WIP

[Brummbär]

A nice looking start...

[chriscoz]

The Mordor: Dol Guldur list has the possibility of "Subject Men:" both Bad Horse and Heavy Foot. I decided to add them, what kind of figures would make the most sense? Arab Conquest-type was my first thought. Thanks.

[Rod]

Hmmm, I have to admit I am somewhat stumped on that question would ask the keeper of the historical record ( David Kuijt ) what his thought was on that.

Dol Guldur I thought was at one point under the "Easterling King" Nazgul - but the troops types listed would not necessarily fit Easterlings specifically unless they were Easterlings not up to snuff or less well equipped.

[David Kuijt]

The Mordor: Dol Guldur list has the possibility of "Subject Men:" both Bad Horse and Heavy Foot. I decided to add them, what kind of figures would make the most sense? Arab Conquest-type was my first thought. Thanks.

Hey Chris,

Sorry, just digging out from the end of the semester (Friday just gone by).

Dol Guldur is the farthest west of the Mordor locations. It's been there for a long time -- it was re-inhabited by the spirit of Sauron (masquerading as the Necromancer of Dol Guldur) from maybe T.A. 1000 or so. Under the Necromancer it gradually spread its influence over much of the southern part of Mirkwood until by the end of the Third Age it became a locus of malice and evil directly opposing Galadriel in Lorien and Thranduil in the north of Mirkwood.

Most of the "subject men" it had available would be denizens of Rhovanion and Mirkwood that had fallen under Sauron's influence, so their arms and equipment would look quite similar to the forces of Rhovanion, Dale, and Rohan. With different heraldry, of course. Possibly mixed with mercenaries from the East -- Khand, in particular, is quite close. Southrons would be reasonable for that as well.

For Khand I tend to use Mongol type foot, or Khazars if you can find them. I've got a mix of GW Khand, Early Russians, and Mongols in my Khand developing army. Southrons I tend to use Arab-type figures, Crusade era or earlier (Arab-Conquest type would be perfect). Rhovanion and Mirkwood and Dale I tend to use Goths, Saxons, early Vikings -- Dark Ages types. Rod has some really nice figs he's using for Dale, I think?

Based upon thoughts triggered by this discussion I've modified your list slightly -- Dol Guldur now has an option of 0-2 Light Foot representing forces of the towns of Southern Mirkwood who have fallen under the influence of Sauron. Similar small towns supply Rhovanion Woodsmen to the Kingdom of Dale. I've also given you an Ally option for Khandish troops. For troops solely from Khand I recommend a mix of the GW Khandish foot and historical Mongols. I'm painting up an army of those myself, just for fun.

You would also have an option of allied forces from the Goblins of the Misty Mountains, but those would be subsumed within your own Goblin forces -- many of which would have started out as Misty Mountain goblin tribes brought over hundreds (or even thousands) of years earlier. So I didn't write those in as an Ally force, because they are not particularly different from your own Goblin forces.

[David Kuijt]

Hmmm, I have to admit I am somewhat stumped on that question would ask the keeper of the historical record ( David Kuijt ) what his thought was on that.

Dol Guldur I thought was at one point under the "Easterling King" Nazgul - but the troops types listed would not necessarily fit Easterlings specifically unless they were Easterlings not up to snuff or less well equipped.

I'm sure Khamul (the ex-Easterling Nazgul) was in charge at some point, as were many of the Nazgul. But as you say, I wouldn't put a pure Easterling force in there. It wouldn't be wrong to put a mixture of armor (Easterling, Khand, Rhovanion) representing mercenary forces. Or see my earlier response -- Rhovanion forces fallen under the Shadow, which is basically Dark Ages Western Europe with darker clothing, less washed, more shields with the Eye on them. As if you took Goths, Vandals, Franks, Vikings, Saxons, and the like and gave them lessons in "how to dress like an Orc".

The Bad Horse could be lots of things. Mercenary forces brought from Harad or other Southron realms (Arab looking Cavalry) would be fine. Rhohan-style Dark Ages mounted would be fine. Mixture would be fine. Dol Guldur doesn't have a lot of plains well suited to raising and training horsemen, so their horse wouldn't be as good as Rohan's or Gondor's or those of Khand or Harad.

[chriscoz]

New question on Woodland Elves (Mirkwood)
4-8 Archers Sylvan Elven Light Archers Fast

I based these as regular archers, will that work? Or should they have been 3 to a base?

Thanks

[David Kuijt]

New question on Woodland Elves (Mirkwood)
4-8 Archers Sylvan Elven Light Archers Fast

I based these as regular archers, will that work? Or should they have been 3 to a base?

Thanks

As long as they are on an open-order foot base (40mm x 80mm) you're good. All my Elven Archers are 4 to a base -- the light archers are unarmored and more open-order-ish, the armored archers are (obviously) armored and in a single line.

[David Kuijt]

Some rough-draft heraldry for factions in the campaign: