Chronicles of Midgard

My Midgard : Britannia campaign finished way back in January of this year but I have had thoughts bubbling away in my mind since then on what to do next with the ruleset as I really enjoyed where it led me last time.

I did start painting a few of the unfinished Celts that I used in the Britannia campaign in the hope that I may play another one-off Romans versus Britons scenario at some point soon, but my enthusiasm has dropped off for them as that campaign is in the past now. I also dug out my GW and Medbury Lord of the Rings style orcs to see if they would get my creative juices flowing again, but I am experiencing a bit of painters block at the moment - I think mostly due to my slowly diminishing eye sight; I just cannot seem to fine focus anymore even with decent glasses. 

With that avenue on hiatus at the moment, I decided to look at the system from an actual gaming perspective. I felt that the original rulebook needed just a few extra scenarios to give more options for the gamer to stop things from becoming a bit samey. I was able to write my own scenario for the final battle of my Britannia campaign, but that was hard work. Something "official" would be nice.

And, in answer to my thoughts, along comes James Morris, the Midgard rules author and of Mogsymakes fame, with a brand new supplement called Chronicles of Midgard that has arrived in the nick of time. It is choc-full of new scenarios and ideas, as well as a mini-campaign set in the period of Alfred the Great's battles against the Viking incursions of Guthrum, that will give me the impetus to get going again with this rule set.

Chronicles of Midgard

Again, like the original rulebook, the production values are extremely high; lots of lovely colour paintings and pictures of miniatures in action. The layout is easy to navigate, and the inclusion of an Index again makes things so much easier to find.

With regards the content, as mentioned above, we get 15 new scenarios with this supplement, bringing the total available for use now to 20 - a goodly amount in anyone's books. They are also written for use with a variety of geographical locations in mind, as well as a couple of them being final stand options to bring a campaign to a neat close.

There is also the inclusion of a system, as mentioned above, for running a King Alfred versus Guthrum campaign. Actually, the campaign is presented in two formats, so the campaign can be run either as a map-based set of scenarios or as a liner campaign where scenarios follow on one from the other in a set sequence. Both are well thought out and both will be very useful depending on how you want to run your gaming world.

Both of the participating armies are carefully limited in certain ways to make troop choice more "realistic". If only I had some Anglo-Saxon and Viking figures to make up the armies. However, as Midgard is so easy to manipulate into what is needed from a game system, there is nothing to stop me from using other armies as proxies for the two presented. I am itching to get my orcs sorted to fight against either my Rohan or Gondor armies. Many figures still require a fair lick of paint, but this could be my major project for this year provided my eyes are up for it. The figures can then also be used for other games system I want to get off the ground - Five Leagues from the Borderlands and Rangers of Shadowdeep for starters.

Midgard

I am a sucker for new rules sets that I am most likely never to play. Over the last year or so I have been reading the splendid Mogsymakes blog where he has reported on the progress of a new set of rules he has written for mass battles called Midgard : Heroic Battles. There are several after action reports written for games he has played in a variety of ages and settings on the blog, and they look very exciting indeed.

 Midgard rules cover - used without permission from the Mogsymakes website

Anyway, on a whim, I decided to order up the rulebook on the pre-order system from Reisswitz Press to see what it was like. I was not disappointed.

I have had a quick step through the rulebook and I am deeply impressed with the production values; it is a beautiful soft-cover, full-sized rulebook with 132 pages in full colour. There are lots of inspiring full-page images of warriors and monsters in battle to whet the appetite for a game or two (if only I had the figures to do so), and numerous pictures of nicely painted miniatures to supplement the rules images. The book is well laid out, with an Index (very rare in gaming rulebooks) and a QRS (quick reference sheet) to aid the gamer so that fewer rules look-ups are required through play. From the limited reading of them I have done, I am thoroughly looking forward to the weekend when I can really indulge myself.

The main reason I was drawn to this rules set was the grandiose sweep of the pictures on the Mogsymakes blog of Tolkien's 1st Age Middle Earth. Being drawn to anything Middle Earth related I was easily swayed to part with my hard-earned. Upon reading further and finding it is age agnostic (well, until black powder is fully involved, which suits me just fine) I was more intrigued. Then, upon my skip through the rulebook earlier I noticed within the first few pages that one of the dedications is to Pat Mills (he of Slaine from 2000AD notoriety) I was completely sold (well I had the book by then but you know what I mean). 

After my initial glance through the book, I was drawn to those half-painted orcs I have sitting on the paint station. My imagination ran over with all the things I could do with them in a mass battle game. I will most likely be all excited about these rules for the next few weeks now, so I must use the impetus to get painting some more.

Battle Systems - Northern Homestead

Good morning everybody - long time no post. This is due to a number of reasons, mostly good, but primarily because I have been working. After another long time out of work I managed to secure back-to-back contracts. I am still in the second role and it seems to be going well - hopefully at the end of this contract I will be back to where I want to be financially, so I can begin spending a little more time, effort and money on my hobby.

So, what have I been up to hobby-wise over the last few months? Due to my new work roles and various other reasons, I have not been able to see my youngest son often enough to do any actual playing, but we did do lots of sorting out and chatting about gaming. He has managed to put some paint onto some of his Ebay bought miniatures (not finished yet, but when they are I will feature them in a separate post) and also bought some new figures from a local comic and games shop. I bought a few one-off figures from the same comic/game shop (four halflings which are a bit smaller than the GW LotR ones and an Owlbear - one of my fave monsters from D&D), some Ghost Archipelago rule and scenario books, and some card-stock buildings from Battle Systems.

The card buildings are the main-stay of this post. A month or so back, out of the blue, my son sent me a few pictures on my phone and a link to a company called Battle Systems. He suggested that they might be good for our tabletop battles as they were quite cheap (relative to resin and plastic buildings they certainly are). They looked really good in the photos (not promo shots by the company but in-use shots by a gamer), so I thought I would buy a few to see how they turned out for myself.

There was a sale on at the web store (result!), so I was able to afford to buy enough buildings from my gaming budget to hopefully kit-out one of the scenarios in the Rangers of Shadowdeep rulebook. I chose three of the Northern Homesteads as my mainstay, plus a couple of outbuildings, as they could double-up for use as Rohan, D&D, Pathfinder and so on buildings for a quasi-Dark Age/Medieval setting. There are also options to buy snow effect roofs (rooves?) to allow gaming in Frostgrave or other cold-set climates (Winterfell or beyond the wall for Game of Thrones perhaps?).

The order was delivered in double-quick time and sat on my workbench (well, pile in the corner of the room) until two weekends back when my son was over and we decided to build the first homestead. Out of the box you get three sheets of card-stock building pieces (two the same plus another different one) and a small bag of plastic connection pieces.

The pieces push out very easily, with no cutting required. The only thing you don't get is a set of assembly instructions. Now, I have made many kits over the years so thought I would be able to construct these easily, but I went about these in completely the wrong way. I tried to put the connectors at the bottom of the walls etc. thinking they would be least visible there. However, after my son looked up an online tutorial and we found out that they should be joined by slots in the middle of the walls, the building went together in seconds. We literally built it in under two minutes. Once constructed, they are very sturdy.

There are three choices for the doors, two singles and a double. We decided on a simple single door for this building. As these kits are multi-purpose; they will fit in with all the other kits for completely customisable building construction, so many of the pieces can be used on other buildings. We will look at the watch towers and mead hall next so the double-doors can be used there (Meduseld anyone?) - they do look impressive.

The entry way - the door is off to one side with a porch to cover the entrance for times of inclement weather. You may also notice some holes in the thatch and flooring. There are pushout pieces to give buildings a more run-down look if required. We decided to go full-out on this building. The good thing is, the little bits that get pushed out can be used for scatter terrain later on too!

The front view - with attendant horse-head posts. Perfect for a Rohan setting.

The rear of the building has a platform upon which your archers can stand to defend their homes from marauding uruk-hai.

The side opposite the entrance shows the horse-head posts in better detail.

And finally an internal shot. With the kit you get internal flooring, beds, bed rolls, weapon racks and weapons; in fact all sorts of paraphernalia to sprinkle around the table top when gaming to add flavour. The weapons are a little over-sized, so I won't use them, but plenty of the other bits will be very useful as scatter.

Next time my son is over we will construct a few more of these buildings, most likely in different formats to make up a small hamlet. We can then fight over it with his Rohan (once re-painted) and orc miniatures before moving onto rangers of Shadowdeep once he has figures for his small warband for that game.

The system also features more medieval style buildings that would suit D&D and Pathfiner more, but they could also double-up as buildings from places like Bree or towns around Gondor and the fiefdoms in Lord of the Rings.

Overall, I am happy with my purchases. I will most likely try to find suitable basing material to put these on so they become even more sturdy and hard-wearing, and it will stop the flooring falling away from the buildings too when they are moved. The rest will hopefully be built in a few weeks' time, so I can photograph them all together to see how a hamlet or small village would look.

Rangers of Shadow Deep

Well, I finally saved up the pennies and ordered the Rangers of Shadow Deep rulebook from Modiphius. At the same time I also purchased a few packs of the official range of, erm, rangers from North Star. I will try to grab a few more miniatures from other manufacturers over the coming months to add to them to provide a bit of variety.

Anyway, here is my little haul that arrived during the week...

I will be reading through the rule book over the next week or so, so when my son is over again we can both stat up a ranger and their companions. I am hoping to give my son that sense of wonder that I had when I first started tabletop gaming back in the early days of Basic D&D. Unfortunately we do not have the time at the moment to play as often as I did back then, so I need a set of rules that will take me at least part of the way there.

This new version of the rulebook is nicely presented with plenty of beautifully drawn incidental pictures that add atmosphere to the book, as well as lots of tables and diagrams to make things easier to understand. There are plenty of scenarios to start a ranger off on their adventures, so I am hoping that this book will give my son and I several sessions of gaming in which to get used to the rules and mechanisms.

There are many supplemental PDF adventure packs available to download too, so I can add these to the missions my son can adventure on. I have read a few other blogs of people who have played through the available scenarios and all their takes are different, with some gamers adding in their own linking aventures too. From what I have seen and heard so far, this is quite a flexible game, and should provide hours of enjoyment for us. I will write another blog entry once I have read and digested the rules.

Frostgrave: The Red King

A quick break from re-paints with a product review. Last night, and a part of this afternoon, I managed to read through a Frostgrave supplement I bought a few months back when it was first released.

This is the first supplement for the new Second Edition of Frostgrave. I bought the new rules when they were released and have actually done something with them this time (see the posts on the Adventures of Balthazar Blimp), rather than just reading them through, putting them on the shelf for later use, and then forgetting about them as either something new comes along or real life gets in the way.

With the release of The Red King rulebook supplement, there is a price rise to £20.00, but the page count has remained the same at 96 pages plus the card cover. I am currently between jobs (yet again!) and, as a consequence, the gaming budget is very limited, so I looked around for a cheaper way of buying it. Amazon was the retailer this time, and I got it for a few quid off. I don't usually like to buy wargames stuff from Amazon, preferring local gaming shops or independent online retailers, but this time I have had to due to my current circumstances.

In this supplement we see a new campaign game that could see the gaming world of Frostgrave brought to its knees with an incursion of demonic beings.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

The Invasion - This chapter sets out some campaign specific rules and details of the cracks that occur in reality. There are also some extra rules on warbands that have to continue fighting with the loss of their home base

The Red King: Act One - Three scenarios are presented here to get the campaign off to a start. They are all presented in the usual format of; a brief introduction to the secnario, the set up, special rules, and finally the treasure and experience section

The Red King: Act Two - Three more scenarios set in the campaign

The Red King: Act Three - Six more scenarios to complete the campaign

The Red King: Epilogue - A summary of what would be the likely outcome if the warbands fail at stopping the Red King

Treasure- A couple of new tables featuring new treasures and artifacts found in Felstad during the time of the Red King

Bestiary - The final part of the book is a listing of all the new monsters encountered within the Red King campaign: Blood-Marked Berserkers, Burning Man, Foulhorn, Herald of the Red King, Hrut, Key-Master of the Red King, Mindshrike, and Nullman

Again we have a very full supplement. It is nice that the game is still getting lots of support in its second edition - this will hopefully encourage me, and others, to keep going with planning and building items for Frostgrave. I want to carry on gaming with my test warband to learn and get used to the rules, and then build a new warband using newly painted miniatures to run through the various supplements in order to build a kind of narrative for the heroes. I am also hoping to begin building some scenery for this game too, which can double-up for use in Middle-earth. Like the previous games, I will most likely play these solo, or maybe refereeing my youngest son if he fancies a turn.

Felt Battlemats

After the loss of so much of my scenery a few years back, I thought I would look at purchasing some stop-gap items to make the table look a little better for forthcoming games. After looking back at the last couple of battle reports, I thought that the first thing I needed to get was a battlemat.

With a battlemat as a purchase in mind I perused the websites of all the main suppliers of tailor-made solutions. There are some really lovely pieces out there, but they are well out of my price range as I am currently on a very limited budget.

So, I thought to look at haberdashery stores for my inspiration. For a mere £6.71 or so per item (plus £7.95 postage, which was actually very reasonable coming to the UK from Europe), I managed to find a German company online ( https://www.myfabrics.co.uk/felt.html ) that supplies 3mm thick felt that is 90mm wide but can be cut to size in 10mm measurements (minimum of 50mm). Thus, I was able to buy three 90mm x 90mm sheets of fairly sturdy felt that fit almost exactly onto my dining table (when not extended out). I decided to go for Dark Green, Grass Green and Slate Grey...

Forest and wildlands (Dark Green)...

This sheet will be used for battles in the wilderness; the dark forests of the Great Weald of Doggerland, the grasslands of Rohan and many others.

Cultivated and grasslands (Grass Green)...

This sheet will be used for battles in more cultivated areas; The Shire, parts of Gondor and more civilised areas on habitation.

Hills, mountains and cold wastelands (Slate Grey)...

This sheet will be used for battles in Frostgrave or hilly/mountainous regions.

All three are actually very nice colours in the flesh and work well for what I need them for.

I will hopefully be playing a game or two this coming weekend, so will let you know how well the different mats fare.

SBG Magazine - Issue 10

Due to the lockdown, it took a lot longer for this magazine to be released than originally anticipated by the owners. This issue has been deemed a celebratory issue as the 10th edition milestone has been reached. Congratulations to the team! This time, SBG sees us return to the Pelennor Fields of Gondor, and the great battle held upon the plains outside the city of Minas Tirith.

SBG Magazine - Issue 10

 SBG - Issue 10 - Winter 2020

After the initial Editorial, Contents, SBG Towers news and Hobby Blog catch-up pages we are into the magazine proper...

The Dr's Corner - Celebrating 10 issues of SBG - A six page article summarising how and why the magazine came together and includes details of many of those involved in its birth and evolution

Painting Masterclass - The Witch-king. A quick one page article explaining how to paint The Witch-king in this season's latest fashion

Middle-earth's Most Valuable Profile - Carrying on from last issue's article that ran through The Hobbit film trilogy and works out who, in SBG terms, was the most cost-effective character from the films, this issue sees the turn of The Lord of the Rings Special Edition trilogy (4 pages)

The Mumak Man - A 3 page conversation with Dan Entwisle, one of the founding members of the Great British Hobbit League Facebook page, detailing his love for Mumaks and how to field them, including his experiences with using them in competitions

My Favourite Character - Aragorn (in this series, different authors explore their favourite characters - 4 pages)

Battle Report - The Battle of Pelennor Fields  (22 page report) - after a double-page spread showing a very impressive ten mumaks versus a massive mounted Rohan army, this battle report documents the battle outside the gates of Minas Tirith and the Docks of Harlond. It was a four player game that pitted on one side of the board (Pelennor Fields) Theoden's riders (147 miniatures) against a Grand Army of the South (ten mumaks plus their crew), and on the other side (Docks of Harlond) Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli alongside the Army of the Dead (174 miniatures) against the Army of Gothmog (266 miniatures). If Aragorn's forces penetrated Gothmog's army, then they were allowed to join with the Riders of Rohan against the mumak enemy. The points tallies were 6375 for Good and 6452 for Evil, so it was weighted slightly in favour of the evil side winning.

This issue was taken up primarily by a massive battle report and a lot of chit-chat, but there were few actual hobby-related articles. This was because it was a celebratory issue and they wanted to show the hobby off in style, and also, due to the effect the virus has had on being able to meet up for photoshoots and gaming opportunities, lots that was planned for this issue had to be pushed back to a future issue when people could get together.

So, when will we get the next issue of SBG Magazine? Apparently there are two in the offing for release over the course of the next few months; Issue 11 should be a lockdown inspired issue, and Issue 12 should be Rohan themed.

Tales of the Frozen City

After running through all of the rulebooks and supplements over the last week or so, I thought that I should mention the one work of fiction I have from the Frostgrave collection. I received this book as part of the "Nickstarter" I invested in way back when Frostgrave first came out. There are several novels written too, but this book is slightly different in that it offers eleven short stories. I may look into purchasing the novels for my Kindle (if available) in the not too distant future.

Whilst searching the net for a suitable picture of the book cover, I noticed several images showed the tag line "ten authors present ten stories" instead of the eleven stories which my version has. I thought this intriguing but have yet to explore whether this earlier version was actually released (not that I would buy it as I already have the eleven story version, but just for finding out the story).

I have literally just re-read "Tales" (Thursday and Friday evening after work), and feel that I can now start my own adventures in Felstad using the tome as inspiration. I will try to write the weird tales of my own wizard/apprentice and their hardy warband in a similar format so that it doesn't just sound like a write-up of a game session. I kind of tried that with my DnD sessions a few years back and was partially successful (for me anyway), but I have a lot to learn about writing fiction; especially how to write dialogue - hence why I have avoided writing any up until now.

I am hoping that my next post will detail my own warband made up from my very old fantasy figures collection that I used to use back in the day for playing a variety of RPGs. I have plenty of wizard miniatures, as well as thieves, fighters and barbarians, so should have enough choice to make up a decent looking bunch. My issue, as mentioned previously, is a lack of painted adversaries.

Anyway, I digress. This post is about the eleven story collection book and what it offers as a "supplement" to the game.

I was thinking, when I first picked up the book, that each story would be centred around a particular kind of wizard, taking each school in turn, but that does not seem to be the case (or maybe it was and I was just too dense to realise?). Many of the wizardly types are covered (not that I paid too close attention to numbers of each type, because I read the tales for the stories and ideas) but some seem to appear more than others; especially chronomancers.

Each tale is only about 5-10 pages long, so the book can be read in short bursts with each session allowing one to read a complete story or two if so desired. The different writing styles add to the mystique of the stories, and as each author has their own wizardly story to tell there is a lot of variety in the types of story told.

The book is a little pricey (£6.99) for only eleven short stories, but the quality is what we have come to expect from Osprey, so I can overlook that minor point. The only main quibble I have though is that there are no colour plates within the covers; just a small pencil sketch of a wizard at the beginning of each story. These are all very nice, but I would have preferred a few more big pictures in order to fuel my imagination. That said, production costs of a book like this are probably high enough already.

Frostgrave: Second Edition

Frostgrave was released around 5 or 6 years ago and has been extensively play-tested since then by a wide-ranging audience (in both gaming styles and location - there are non-English translations available), which attests to the system's popularity world-wide. Working with that time-frame and fan feedback in mind, the author decided to create a more up-to-date version of the game with rules errata, amendments and new additions pulled together behind a new cover.

Thus, Frostgrave: Second Edition was born - a 222 page hard-backed rulebook which collates and expands upon rules that were presented in some of the previous supplements and magazine articles. These additions, according to the author, pull the game into a more coherent system that fits his original vision. They certainly do seem more rounded and comprehensive. The book retails at £25.00 but can be bought cheaper at places like Amazon and so on.

This book is a heftier tome than the previous edition and will most likely be the go-to edition that I will use for gaming. In this post, I will not do a direct comparison with the first edition as there are many places on the web that do this alreday. In keeping with the previous Frostgrave articles, I will just run through what is included in the book.

Foreword - In contrast to all of the other supplements, this foreword is written by one of the author's colleagues from when he worked on the Savage Worlds rules system

Wizards and Warbands - This section starts off with an introduction to what Frostgrave is and then sets about detailing what is needed to play a game. There is then the rules for creating a wizard, listing out all types/schools available, followed by a part about assembling a warband. From a cursory glance through this section, it can be seen that not many of the additional choices from the supplements have been duplicated, so the supplements are still a good option to buy; this second edition is a rules update not a collation of the extra soldier and treasure types and spells

Playing the Game - This part of the rule book runs through how to set up the gaming table and then follows how a game turn plays out. It then runs through activation, movement, combat, shooting, damage, then the all-important spell casting, before rounding off with using potions, collecting treasure, creature actions and finally how to end the game

The Campaign - Anything outside of the tabletop part of the game is included here; including how to deal with injury and death, out of game spells, experience and level, and how to count and spend treasure

Spells - Frostgrave would be nothing without its wizarding and spellcasting. Spell descriptions and optional rules are included here

Scenarios - No fewer than twenty scenarios are listed here for you to get your teeth into. Not all of them are repeats from the first edition

Bestiary - Treaure needs to be guarded and the wizards need adversaries other than each other, so where better to turn than the bestiary? Included here are sections on animals, constructs, demons, undead and a variety of miscellaneous beasts

Appendices - The final section details previous Frostgrave supplements and the minor changes that need to be taken into consideration when using them with this new edition of the rules, plus all of the spells listed as cards and a character/warband sheet to use for recording your wizard and their warband

The production values of this book, again, are second to none, being printed in full-colour with lots of original artwork and pictures of miniatures in action on the tabletop. I have spent ages drooling over the amazing artwork and imagining adventurers in the frozen city. I think it is now time to immerse myself into the (sometimes not so) tall stories that are told around the warm fires in the snugs of taverns in less dangerous environs, where the ale flows freely, the cold winds are kept at bay, and bellies are full of hot food.

Frostgrave: Perilous Dark

Perilous Dark takes the Frostgrave game into the realms of solo and co-operative adventures. A few online digital supplements had already explored this idea before being pulled into a printed format, for example Dark Alchemy in the Frostgrave Folio supplement, but this one goes into a lot more detail and is more rules heavy than previous supplements.

This full-colour book has the increased page count of 96 pages again, plus the usual card cover. It also retails at £14.99, which seems to be the new price bracket for these books.

In this supplement...

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of the author's thinking process when it comes to creating new supplements, and moves onto what ideas can be found in this particular tome

The Basics - This section explores the basics of the game as a solo event and as a co-operative venture; there are specific rules depending upon how the game is to be run as each mode of play has distinct advantages and disadvantages. It then runs through how to set objectives and the level of difficulty before summarising how to apply spells and monsters. It finishes up with a short recap

Limited Time, Unlimited Monsters - One major challenge in playing solo is how to create a challenging encounter. The author runs through some basics for this before introducing a couple of additional rules for time limitation and ruminating on treasure carrying capacity for soldiers. This section is then rounded off with three new scenarios that link into a mini-campaign. The scenario descriptions follow the usual Frostgrave scenario layout but with an additonal section that describes changes that can be made for playing co-operatively rather than solo. Each scenario has nods towards what has been learned (rules and ideas wise) in the section just completed

Traps and Obstacles - After a brief run through of how traps and obstacles work in solo gaming, three more scenarios are presented. These form a continuation of the narrative from the previous section and build on the knowledge gained in the rules part of the section

The Unknown - Frostgrave is all about exploring the unknown. This part of the book runs through ideas on how to create clue markers and room cards for those exploratory adventures where wizard versus wizard combat isn't the aim. This chapter continues the scenario narrative with two more challenges for solo wizards

Dungeon Crawls - This is mainly what draws me to solo gaming; the ubiquitous dungeon crawl. I have played Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D 1st edition) using the random dungeon generator and then played my own made up games, but want to try something slightly fresher. This section details two ways of achieving dungeon crawling in Frostgrave; room cards and random generation. The two scenarios, again linked to the previous growing campaign, utilise the latest rules mastered in this section

New Treasure - a set of alternative tables that can be rolled on to replace one or two treasure items gained in the Perilous Dark scenarios

Bestiary - This final section lists and stats all of the new monsters encountered in this supplement; Ballista II, Borock, Chronohound, Hellcrow, Magmite, Manaworm, Matriarch, Planar Lurker, Reaver Wight and Vapour Snake

I really enjoyed my run through of this supplement. I really hope that I am able to capitalise on this and play a few solo games in the very near future. I think I will create a warband or two in a few days time and see if I have some miniatures to match. However, the problem I will have gaming in the Frozen City is a severe lack of scenery items. I may start off just using random boxes and pieces of "stuff" I have laying around the house just to get a feel for the game and then begin to create ruins and so on when I can get the raw materials for them (I will most likely use the methods detailed in the Battle Games in Middle-earth magazines so my creations can be used in at least two settings).

Frostgrave: The Wizards' Conclave

This supplement is a little different to those that have preceded it; each scenario is written by a different games designer but the author/editor of the book gives them the Frostgrave treatment so that they are all in a very similar format. I think it is a good idea to have multiple designers working on something at the same time, as the scenario plots go off in all sorts of directions and are not limited to just one person's imagination. It took me back a little to the good old days of the early (pre-issue 90) White Dwarf magazines before it became a showcase for painted Games Workshop miniatures (not that there is anything wrong with that).

The Wizards' Conclave is an 88 page full-colour, card-covered book that is priced at £14.99. Again, the production values are as fantastic as we have come to expect from Osprey with plenty of original artwork as well as many pictures of miniatures in action.

In this supplement you will find 16 scenarios and campaigns written by a variety of wargames authors. Full rules, treasuries and bestiaries are included within each of the encounters and situations that are listed.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement and summarises how Joe brought his vision of a collaborative expansion supplement to fruition

Scenarios - There are sixteen scenarios in this section, with two of them being three-part campaigns. All are set out in the standard scenario format of Introduction, Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure & Experience, but, in this supplement, these ones also have a short couple of paragraphs About the Author

This supplement summary is a little shorter than usual as I do not deem it right to go into too much detail about each scenario in the book; these are all individual scenarios with their own twists and I don't wish to give anything away. Also, just doing a repetitive list would be, quite frankly, very boring to read

The next supplement is also very different in its construction, as it features an exciting way to play Frostgrave: Solo gaming. This is the one I am looking forward to putting into use very soon as I can only really game on my own at the moment due to the lockdown and so forth.

Frostgrave: The Maze of Malcor

In the foreword, the author mentions this supplement as the sixth expansion that has been released for Frostgrave. I can only count five books (other than the original rule book which is obviously not an expansion) released so far, but what was the other one mentioned? Perhaps he means the 40 card deck called Frostgrave: Ulterior Motives? I do not own this set, but it does appear useful - 40 new secret and side missions would make for a nice diversion between campaigns.

With the release of The Maze of Malcor rulebook supplement, there is a price rise to £14.99, but the page count has now increased to 96 pages plus the card cover.

In this supplement, there is a rules update section, taking Frostgrave a little more in the direction that some players and the author have been wanting to do for a short while. This supplement takes us to the Collegium of Artistry, a labyrinthine location within a mountainside that a fortuitous calving from the local glacier exposed. A dozen new scenarios make up the new campaign, and full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, as well as an aftermath to allow adventures in this setting to be continued.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Rules Update - This section details the new rules updates that the author deemed were necessary to make Frostgrave a fresher game. New ways of setting up treasure tokens on the board, Stat rolls, Experience, Scrolls, Uncontrolled Creature Actions, purchasing magic items and how to create experienced wizards

The Campaign - Twelve linked scenarios make up this campaign, with the latter half allowing for the "monsters" to be controlled by another player to add to the complexity and difficulty of the scenarios. Once the campaign has been completed, there are options to continue on with games set within the Collegium if Malcor is still "alive" at the end of things

The Schools of the Pentangle - This part of the supplement collates details of the five newly discovered schools of magic from Felstad's past. The wizard types are: Astromancer, Distortionist, Fatecaster, Sonancer and Spiritualists. They are ideally intended for non-player gaming (in that scrolls can be found with spells from these schools and players pit themselves against members of these schools) but rules are included to enable use of these new wizardly types in future games. Six spells for each school are featured in the supplement

New Treasure - A couple of new tables are featured for alternative treasures that are only to be found in the Collegium

Bestiary - The final part of the book is a listing of all the new monsters encountered within the Collegium: Acrisbird, Advisory Council, Banshee, Bloodwave, Bog Man, Coal Man, Collegium Porter, Glass Spider, Mantodeus, Phase Cat, Shrieking Wolf, Starfire Elemental, the 5 Wizard Shades from the campaign (one from each new class of magic), and finally the Wraith of Malcor

Again we have a very full supplement this time. We are introduced to yet another new quarter of the city of Felstad and its denizens. New ways of playing are introduced with this book, so we can now play standard games of wizard versus wizard, co-operative games, and, with this supplement, games that kind of have a referee controlled (where a player can take the part of the encounters rather than another set of wizards) feel to them. The number of spells available has increased with these five new schools of magic, thus increasing the choices available to our wizards.

Frostgrave: The Frostgrave Folio

The Frostgrave Folio, the fourth supplement for Frostgrave, is an amalgamation of several previously released online/downloadable digital supplements. It has the slightly higher count of 72 full-colour pages again, as well as the usual card cover, but still with the same price tag of £9.99.

In this supplement, the author compiles four of the mini-expansions for the game that were released as digital supplements, and adds a brand new mini-campaign set of scenarios to offer something new to others who may have already got the downloads of the previous four.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement, and a mini-history of how Frostgrave was released and how the unanticipated high demand for the system led to some quick thinking by the publishers and author.

Each of the following sections of the rule book comprise a foreword and/or introduction by the author, a 3 part scenario campaign that follows the standard process of Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure and experience for each one, a mini-bestiary and spell section if appropriate...

The Hunt for the Golem - This mini-campaign involves the wizards in a hunt, study and capture/destroy story arc for a new monster called a Granite Golem. There are six new magical treasures to be found that can be rolled for on a special scenario specific table. There is also an aftermath section that allows for the continuation of the adventure if the wizards fail to capture or destroy the golem

Sellsword - A new soldier type is detailed in this section of the supplement; The Captain. This soldier is the only hireling (other than the apprentice) that can gain experience and improve stats as adventures go by. Full details of a captain's capabilities are given, including a table for equipment, skills and experience, as well as a full stat line. Following this section are three new scenarios with a new magic item and new monster for the Bestiary: The Nullmen

Dark Alchemy - What this mini-campaign brings is a set of three solo or co-op play scenarios plus the rules on how to accomplish this different form of gaming. There is a special tresure table that can be rolled on specifically for this campaign and there are a few new monsters for the Bestiary; The Alchemical Monstrosity, Fire-flingers and Burning Skeletons. This is followed by a section devoted to potions and their utilisation in Frostgrave

Arcane Locations - Frostgrave allows for a player's imagination to run wild when thinking of strange locations for them to be set, and the three un-linked scenarios in this section show just how wild adventure locations can be. All three scenarios take the usual format of Set-up, Special Rules and Treasure & Experience, and these are followed up by a mini-Bestiary (Foulhorn and Starfire Elemental), a new treasure, and a new spell (Shape Starfire Elemental). Finally there is a table that adds new Wizards' Base resources

The Ravages of Time -The last mini-campaign is the only original work in this volume. It is a semi-cooperative adventure in three parts, with each part building and being dependent upon the results of the adventure prior to it, culminating in facing down Lourrent, Vampiric Chronomancer (full stats featured in the Bestiary for this campaign alongside Dying Construct)

This supplement pulls together a wide variety of scenarios, campaigns, and additional and alternative rules for Frostgrave from the already existing digital versions, so that everyone now has a chance to purchase them in physical format (so few companies do this and that makes it difficult to be a completist when trying to collect together all rules, addenda etc. for a particular game system).

I am not a great lover of digital versions, as I find them more difficult to navigate and they do not offer me the same sensory experience when reading them. There is most definitely a place for digital versions though, especially if you want to lug all of your game specific rule books to a friend's house or the local gaming club. Those short on physical space both at home and in their travel bags will find them a boon.

Frostgrave: Forgotten Pacts

The third of the Frostgrave supplements followed very quickly after the second - just a four month interval this time. Thaw of the Lich Lord was published in November 2015, Into the Breeding Pits in July 2016, and Forgotten Pacts in the November of the same year.

Forgotten Pacts was written in 2016, again by the author of the original rules set, Joe McCullough, but this time the full-colour page count has increased to 72 pages (plus the card jacket) in the soft-cover book...

In this supplement, the players explore the northern reaches of the city; a place called The Hallowed. Here they encounter barbarian tribes and a plethora of demons to vanquish. Full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, including new rules for summoning and forging pacts with demons.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Forging Pacts - This section introduces new rules for binding demons using their true names. It also lists the costs in terms of Sacrifices the wizard has to make, but Boons are granted in return. Like with previous supplements, these rules are optional but they do add more depth to the game

Advanced Summoning - These optional rules allow for demons to be summoned out of game. A couple of tables of minor and major demonic attributes list appearances, traits and skills summoned demons can possess

New Magic - Only two new spells in this section this time around, linked to demon summoning (Demonic Servant) and introducing the use of magical tattoos (Mystic Brand). They are additions to two of the already established schools of magic, so can be used outside of this supplement, but both are out of game spells

New Soldiers - There are five new soldier-types documented in this supplement; Assassin, Demon Hunter, Demonic Servant, Monk and Mystic Warrior. Each is accompanied by a brief description of what their role in a warband is and their stat line

Scenarios - There are eight new scenarios listed that take place in the area of Felstad called The Hallowed; the first six are two sets of three mini-campaigns followed by two very challenging sceanrios. Each scenario description, again, has the same layout as per those in previous supplements; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up, special rules and a final section on treasure and experience awards

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to vary the treasure gained by a wizard's warband in The Hallowed area of Felstad

Bestiary - This section starts with two random encounter tables specific to The Hallowed setting and then describes and stats many new monsters that can be encountered there: Ambronnax - Endower of Senescence, Balkren - Barbarian Summoner, Barbarians, Bile Hound, Chilopendra, Failing Wretch, Grakyura, Kaylakid, Kornovik - Barbarian Outcast, Toravor and TiszirainViolent Fungus

This supplement sets out more adventures and encounters within the vast city environs of Felstad. This time the action takes place in the northern reaches and we have had underground settings explained in Into the Breeding Pits. Future supplements take the narrative to other major parts of the city.

I am kind of hoping that one day there will be an official map of the city of Felstad that outlines, in general, these adventuring areas, but not in too much detail as I am sure players would want to map out their own adventure paths too. An online supplement could probably do the trick as it could then be updated and modified as new supplements are released - if a nominal charge was made for downloading a decent sized version of the map then most players would, I am sure, keep their adventure sheets up to date with each new amendment that is released.

Frostgrave: Into the Breeding Pits

The second of the Frostgrave supplements followed hot on the heels of the first. Thaw of the Lich Lord was published in November 2015 and Into the Breeding Pits was released the following July. The popularity of the system has proven itself with the busy release schedule of supplements and miniatures.

Into the Breeding Pits was written in 2016, again by the author of the original rules set, Joe McCullough, and is another full-colour 64 page (plus the card jacket) soft-cover book. Each supplement has great production values and are, in my humble opinion, good value for money at £9.99, even if only used as a source of ideas and reading material...

In this supplement, the players delve into the underground catacombs of Felstad. Here they encounter the results of the experimentation of the city's Beastcrafters. Full rules are included for all the encounters and situations that may arise in this adventure setting, including new rules for traps and secret passages.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

Underground Exploration - This section introduces new rules for playing Frostgrave underground. It details new options like dungeon settings and which spells are limited by the confines of being underground, doorways, lighting, random encounters, traps (both magical and mundane), and secret passageways. Like with all supplements, these rules are optional but do add to the flavour and complexity of the game.

New Magic - This section introduces a new "school" of magic; the Beastcrafter. It details what a Beastcrafter is/was and how to inherit the traits of one. There are two specific Beastcrafter spells presented; Animal Manipulation and Animal Mutation. After the Beastcrafter section, the book moves onto a new type of spell casting, the Reaction spell. It describes what they are and gives a few examples; Capture Incantation, Deflect, Elemental Lash, Flash, Slowfall and a "lost" spell called Nightmare.

New Soldiers - We are presented with two new soldier-types in this supplement; Trap Expert and Tunnel Fighter, each with a brief description of what their role in a warband is as well as their stat line

Scenarios - Five new underground specific scenarios are offered up in this section. Each scenario description has basically the same layout; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up the table, any special rules for this particular scenario and a final section on treasure and experience awards. It finishes with a brief description on how to extend the campaign when completed

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to vary the treasure gained by a wizard's warband in the world beneath Felstad

Bestiary - This section starts with a random encounter table specific to the Breeding Pits setting and then goes on to describe and stat line several new monsters that can be encountered below ground: Amplipede, Basilisk, Devourer, Giant Worm, Gnoll, Hydra, Hyena, Minotaur, Sewer Slime, Two-headed Troll, Vaplorhine and Violent Fungus

Again we have a very packed supplement with lots of useful information and stats. There is no actual cohesive campaign here, but the scenarios can be adapted into one. The new monsters, magic, soldiers and treasure all add to the core rules in a positive way by enabling those dungeon-stye adventures we all know and love.

Frostgrave: Thaw of the Lichlord

There have been a number of supplements released for Frostgrave so far, and most feature some kind of campaign game (a series of scenarios that can be run back to back to form a full storyboard of adventure in the frozen city) with new monsters, treasures and spells.

This new run of posts (for the next week and a half or so) will feature each of the supplements in turn, detailing their contents and giving a brief overview of what can be seen in the books.

Thaw of the Lich Lord is the first of several supplements written for the wizard vs wizard tabletop battle game, Frostgrave. It was penned, back in 2015, by the author of the original rules set, and is a full-colour 64 page (plus the card jacket) soft-cover book...

In this supplement, the players race against each other and the Lich Lord's minions to sieze possession of various treasures and use their skills and experience to overcome the latest threat to Felstad. That said, not all will want to stop him and may want to join him in Lichdom - full rules are included for this outcome too.

Introduction - The Introduction gives a brief overview of what can be found between the covers of this supplement

The Campaign - This section introduces what the campaign is about and then sets out to detail the ten scenarios contained within. Each scenario description has basically the same layout; a brief guide to what it is about, how to set up the table, any special rules for this particular scenario and a final section on treasure and experience awards. It finishes with a brief description on how to extend the campaign when completed

New Soldiers - Four new soldier-types are detailed; Bard, Crow-master, Javelineer and Pack Mules, each with a brief description of what their role in a warband is as well as their stat line

New Spells - Three new spells are introduced in this campaign; Homunculus, Lichdom and Revenant. These are all out-of-game spells that only occur when playing this particular campaign

New Treasure - A special table that can be rolled on to varify the treasure gained by a wizard's warband

Bestiary - This section starts with random encounter table specific to the Lich Lord setting and then goes on to describe and stat line several new monsters that can be encountered in Felstad: Banshee, Blood Crow, Death Cultists, Frost Wraith, The Ghoul King, Rangifer, Spectre, Wraith Knight, Zombie Troll and the Lichlord himself

This is an interesting campaign that allows for a variety of after-campaign directions too. The out-of-game spells are a good addition to the flavour of Frostgrave, allowing one's wizard to follow the dark paths as well as the light. The new followers, treaures and creatures in the bestiary flesh out the great frozen city in even more detail.

Frostgrave: An Overview

Way back in July 2015 I mentioned that I had bought into a "Nickstarter" to grab a whole bunch of Frostgrave goodies. I must admit that I did not do a lot with them except read through the books that came with the package, give the miniatures a once over and then put it all away for later use. As time went on, more supplements were released for the rules system (which I bought and read) but still I did not get a game in. What prompted me to write this post is that there is a new edition of Frostgrave out now and my interest in the game has grown as a result.

Frostgrave 1st Edition

The new version is compatible with all of the old supplements (give or take a few minor items) that have been released, which is a relief, and has a heftier feel to it (more pages and info contained within the covers). I will run a short series of posts on the rulebooks and supplements over the coming days, and write a comparison of the first and second editions towards the end.

The author, Joe McCullough, has been quite busy with his output for this ruleset and he has expanded it in a couple of new directions too:

Ghost Archipelago moves the adventures to a different setting with a more pirates/Lost World feel (although I do not have any rule books or supplements for this game so I may be completely wrong here)

Rangers of Shadowdeep appears to be a co-op or solo game that uses the same engine but allows players to collaborate against the grim-dark world setting rather than each other - again, I do not have any rules or supplements to corroborate this

Oathmark seems to also be set in the same vein but is aimed at mass-battles rather than skirmish gaming

All of the above games are getting full support from the author along with Osprey and North Star Miniatures who published the books and miniatures ranges, which is good to see as I want to immerse myself a little more into the setting and see where it takes me.

The next few posts will contain summaries of the Frostgrave rulebooks, supplements and miniatures that I have to date, and then maybe afterwards I will look at getting onto painting/assembling some warbands to play. My games will most likely need to be solo affairs and, in order to speed things up, I may even sort out some warbands from my existing fantasy minis collection, which is what these games were aimed at doing from the get go.

An idea that popped into my head recently whilst re-reading the main rules and supplements was how it could be adapted to fit into the Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth universe. Magic in LotR is not very prevalent, but the Games Workshop Strategy Battle Game allows for a little more to be used, so maybe I can see how the two systems could be made to overlap - I may need to drop a lot of the magic (I know that is the main premise of Frostgrave) and see where the creation of a not-Fellowship warband would lead. Perhaps I can run a few solo adventures for a mini LotR camapign? Perhaps utilise some of my GW LotR minis for my band of warriors versus a variety of baddies (elf or human warband versus orc warband with a shaman?).

BGiMe Magazine - Special Editions

Throughout the run of the magazine, the publishers decided to lavish the reader with free gifts and magazine inserts. They also added three movie tie-in special editions, named after the actual films. The first to be released was The Two Towers, then The Return of the King, followed by a return to the beginning of the story-arc with The Fellowship of the Ring.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any front-page pictures of these magaizines on the net, so a cover I used earlier will have to do...

These magazines are more battle reports than anything else, but the minatures that come with them make up for the cover price (£5.99 rather than the usual £3.99, except for The Fellowship of the Ring Edition)...

The Two Towers Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - Gandalf the White (1 page)

Battle Game - Battle for Helm's Deep - Gandalf the White, Aragorn, Theoden, Eomer, Gamling, Legolas 6 Royal Guard, 16 Riders of Rohan versus 36 Uruk-hai, 6 Uruk-hai Berserkers, 2 Uruk-hai captains (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Gandalf the White and Shadowfax (4 pages)

The Two Towers Special Edition was released between issues 15 and 16 of the main magazine.

 

The Return of the King Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - The Return of the King (1 page)

Battle Game - Assault on Minas Tirith - Points Match : 1000 pts (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Aragorn Elessar (4 pages)

 

The Return of the King Special Edition was released between issues 47 and 48 of the main magazine.

The Fellowship of the Ring Edition

Guide to Middle-earth - Journey to Rivendell (1 page)

Battle Game - The Road to Rivendell - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Arwen versus Witch-king and 8 Ringwraiths (16 pages)

Painting Workshop - Arwen Evenstar (4 pages)

The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition was released between issues 73 and 74 of the main magazine.

So, that brings us to the end of this magazine run-through. I hope you found it informative and that it sparked an interest in Lord of the Rings Middle-earth gaming for you.

I am not sure where the muse will take me now, but I will take a look at what gaming I am currently interested in and take it from there. I am hoping that I should be able to get the paints and miniatures out again soon; just as soon as I get the garage sorted out and I can move stuff within the house into their permanent storage places to create the room for me to get other stuff into view - it is a bit like a 3d version of Tetris at home at the moment, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Why are house moves such a complex mix of jobs to do?

BGiMe Magazine - Issues 79-91

And so we come to the final thirteen issues of the main run of the Battle Games in Middle-earth magazine. No longer do we have photographs/stills taken from the trilogy of films on the front covers; these have been replaced by some really nice drawings/paintings of characters from the books. They all fit the same artistic style, so I imagine that they are painted by the same person. I must admit, that I have not looked into this yet, so may do at a later date if the fancy takes me.

Issue 79

Guide to Middle-earth - Wizards of Middle-earth (1 page)

Playing the Game - Master of the Wild (4 pages)

Battle Game - Kill the Wizard - Radagast, Gwaihir, Ent, Treebeard versus 2 Uruk-hai captains, 20 Uruk-hai, 5 Warg Riders (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Brown Wizard (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Radagast's Cabin (6 pages)

Issue 80

Guide to Middle-earth - Tom Bombadil (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Barrow-downs (4 pages)

Battle Game - Fog on the Downs - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Tom Bombadil versus 4 Barrow-wights (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Tom Bombadil (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Ancient Tombs (4 pages)

Issue 81

Guide to Middle-earth - The Long Retreat (1 page)

Playing the Game - Defenders of Rivendell (4 pages)

Battle Game - Surrounded! - Glorfindel, Elladan & Elrohir, Gildor, 24 Elves versus 2 Orc captains, 18 Orcs, 6 Warg Riders, 24 Goblins, Cave Troll, Goblin captain (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Glorfindel (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Rivendell Hall (6 pages)

Issue 82

Guide to Middle-earth - The Eye of Sauron (1 page)

Playing the Game - Shamans of Darkness (4 pages)

Battle Game - Rivendell Campaign - 3 scenarios (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Orc Shaman (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Desecrated Statue (4 pages)

Issue 83

Guide to Middle-earth - The Long Decline (1 page)

Playing the Game - Forces of the Dwarves (6 pages)

Battle Game - Into the Depths - Dwarven Battle Company versus 24 Goblins, Cave Troll (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Dwarf Captain (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Moria Ruins (6 pages)

Issue 84

Guide to Middle-earth - The Invasion of Moria (1 page)

Playing the Game - Drums in the Deep (2 pages)

Battle Game - Balin's Campaign - 3 scenarios (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Goblin King (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Goblin King's Lair (6 pages)

Issue 85

Guide to Middle-earth - Balin, Lord of Moria (1 page)

Playing the Game - Armies of the Dwarves (4 pages)

Battle Game - The Balrog Unleashed - Balin, all of the Dwarf card figures supplied so far versus Balrog and all of the Goblin miniatures released so far (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Balin (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Balrog's Lair (6 pages)

Issue 86

Guide to Middle-earth - The Haradrim (1 page)

Playing the Game - Lords of Harad (4 pages)

Battle Game - Battle in the Desert - 24 warriors of Minas Tirith, captain versus Suladan, 24 Haradrim Warriors, Haradrim Chieftain (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Suladan (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Desert Boards (4 pages)

Issue 87

Guide to Middle-earth - Assassination and Murder (1 page)

Playing the Game - Force Strategies (4 pages)

Battle Game - Desert Siege - Points match : 500 Attack, 350 Defence (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Hasharin (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Haradrim City (8 pages)

Issue 88

Guide to Middle-earth - The Citadel of Dol Amroth (1 page)

Playing the Game - Forces of Dol Amroth (6 pages)

Battle Game - Defend the Fortress - Prince Imrahil, 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith, 5 Swan Knights, Minas Tirith captain versus Suladan, Hasharin, 12 Haradrim Warriors, Banner Bearer, Chieftain, 18 Orcs (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Prince Imrahil (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Border Fortress (8 pages)

Issue 89

Guide to Middle-earth - Woses of the Wood (1 page)

Playing the Game - Ghan-buri-Ghan (6 pages)

Battle Game - The Dangerous Journey - Ghan-buri-Ghan, Theoden, Eomer, Hama, 12 Warriors of Rohan versus 36 Orccs, Orc captain (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Ghan-buri-Ghan (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Traps (4 pages)

Issue 90

Guide to Middle-earth - The Scouring of the Shire (1 page)

Playing the Game - Hobbits of the Shire (4 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for the Shire - Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Farmer Maggot, 18 Hobbits versus Sharkey, Worm, 13 Ruffians (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Farmer Maggot (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Ravaged Shire (4 pages)

Issue 91

Guide to Middle-earth - Journey's End (1 page)

Playing the Game - Sharkey's Rogues (2 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for the Shire part 2 (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Sharkey (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Industrial Mill (8 pages)

 

So, that brings us to the end of the main run of the magazines; 91 issues in total, that gave an insight into the world of Middle-earth and its many denizens. The painting and modelling tips allowed for some great looking miniatures to be prepared to fight over some outstanding terrain. The scenario ideas can be built upon to create many more ideas for future battles using different combinations of miniatures and terrain. The introduction of Battle Companies also meant that small forces can be used to begin with and allow the battles to grow in size and complexity as player confidence and model and scenery collections grow.

The next post will conclude my run-through of these magazines.

BGiMe Magazine - Issues 66-78

The issues featured in this post are the first of a new extension run to the magazine. The extension was seamless, so the people at DeAgostini did their jobs well. The next thirteen issues filled a few gaps and allowed for big expansions in existing armies.

Again, I had to trawl the 'net to get a fitting picture. In this one you can see how the plastic miniatures were packaged with the magazine. On occasion, this led to indents on the magazine from the pastic sprue, but over time many of these flattened themselves out.

Issue 66 - (This issue contained the Middle-earth campaign map)

Guide to Middle-earth - Charge of the Rohirrim (1 page)

Playing the Game - Map Campaigns (6 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for Middle-earth - Campaign report (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Rohan Conversions (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Destroyed Cottages (4 pages)

Issue 67

Guide to Middle-earth - The Wild Men (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Two Towers (6 pages)

Battle Game - Battle for Middle-earth - Campaign report part 2 (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Horses of Middle-earth (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Dunland Hovels (6 pages)

Issue 68

Guide to Middle-earth - Creatures of Evil (1 page)

Playing the Game - The War for Rohan (6 pages)

Battle Game - Warg Hunt! - 8 Riders of Rohan, mounted captain versus 16 Wild Men of Dunland, 6 Wargs, 6 Warg Riders, Warg Rider captain (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Wargs (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Realistic Landscapes (6 pages)

Issue 69

Guide to Middle-earth - The Evil of Saruman (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Fate of Rohan (8 pages)

Battle Game - Baggage Train Raid - 10 Warriors of Rohan, captain, 8 Riders of Rohan versus 17 warg Riders, Warg Rider captain (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Warg Riders (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Baggage Train (4 pages)

Issue 70

Guide to Middle-earth - Soldiers of Sauron (1 page)

Playing the Game - Warriors of Evil (6 pages)

Battle Game - Siege of Minas Tirith - points match scenario: 2,400 pts (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Haradrim (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Pelennor Fields (2 pages)

Issue 71

Guide to Middle-earth - Oath-breakers (3 pages)

Playing the Game - Army of the Dead (2 pages)

Battle Game - Siege of Minas Tirith part 2 (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - King of the Dead (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Pelennor Details (4 pages)

Issue 72

Guide to Middle-earth - The Siege of Gondor (1 page)

Playing the Game - Towers of Mordor (2 pages)

Battle Game - Siege of Minas Tirith part 3 (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Morgul Horde (6 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Siege Towers (4 pages)

 

Issue 73

Guide to Middle-earth - Heroes of the Shire (1 page)

Playing the Game - Battle Companies (8 pages)

Battle Game - Defend the Walls - Gandalf the White, Pippin, 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith versus 36 Orcs, 2 Orc captains, Witchking on Fell Beast (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Merry and Pippin (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Modelling Details (4 pages)

Issue 74

Guide to Middle-earth - The Witch-king of Angmar (1 page)

Playing the Game - Battle Companies part 2 (8 pages)

Battle Game - King-slayer - Mounted Theoden, Eowyn, 2 Royal Guard, Merry versus Witch-king of Angmar on Fell Beast (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - The Witch-king (2 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Modelled Boards (6 pages)

Issue 75

Guide to Middle-earth - Heroes of Middle-earth (1 page)

Playing the Game - Battle Companies part 3 (6 pages)

Battle Game - Company Scenarios (6 pages)

Painting Workshop - Converting Heroes (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Dioramas (4 pages)

Issue 76

Guide to Middle-earth - Corsairs of Umbar (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Return of the King (6 pages)

Battle Game - Capture the Fleet - Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas versus 16 Corsairs, 10 Haradrim, captain (4 pages)

Painting Workshop - Legolas (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Corsair Galley (6 pages)

Issue 77

Guide to Middle-earth - The Black Gate (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Battle for Gondor (4 pages)

Battle Game - The End of All Things - too many figures to list here (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - Easterling Captain (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - The Black Gate (4 pages)

Issue 78

Guide to Middle-earth - The Final Battle (1 page)

Playing the Game - The Third Age Ends (4 pages)

Battle Game - The End of All Things part 2 (8 pages)

Painting Workshop - King Elessar (4 pages)

Modelling Workshop - Mount Doom (4 pages)

This brings us to the end of the movie tie-in versions of the magazine. The next batch of 13 in the run focus more on characters from the books. See you tomorrow for a summary of these magazines.