Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game: Complete Fellowship of the Ring Campaign

I’ve been playing the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game (Originally the LOTR SBG, then Hobbit SBG) since it was released in 2000. While many of my miniatures somehow disappeared when I left for the Navy (goodbye, Riders of Rohan!), I still love the game and have continued collecting. A long time back, I had thought about putting together some rules for running your own Lord of the Rings campaign, with the actions you take affecting future scenarios. Cobbling together rules from multiple sources, including the Battle Games in Middle Earth magazines, I’ve managed to create a master list of scenarios, how they affect future games, and what all you’ll need to run it.

Today, we’ll cover everything from Fellowship of the Ring.

Any references to “Packs” refers to the Battle Games in Middle Earth magazine packs.

First, we begin with what happens when a hero dies in a scenario.

Death of a Hero

Any Good Hero who is lost in one of the games may still be able to continue the campaign. There is a chance they have only been wounded or stunned, and can still catch up with the rest of The Fellowship. At the end of the game in which a Hero died, roll a dice and consult the table.

Dice result:

1 – You must roll on the Hero’s Injury Table in Pack 73, Page 6

2-5 The Hero has been badly wounded, but is still alive. He begins the next game with no Fate points.

6 – The Hero makes a full recovery and begins the game as normal.

Next we move into each film’s scenarios. Many of the scenarios feature events which took place in the book, but not the films, and feature characters from the books.

Fellowship of the Ring

The first scenarios feature Boromir and Faramir defending Osgiliath before Boromir left for the Council of Elrond. Play both scenarios in order: Disable the Trebuchets (Pack 60) and Stem the Tide (Pack 60). Whichever of the sons of Denethor kills the most Orcs is the one sent to the Council of Elrond.

In Flight to the Ferry (Pack 27), Fatty Bolger will also accompany the four Hobbits, mostly as an additional body, as he was a small part of the group for a short time.

The Wizard’s Duel (Pack 13) is a mini-game between Gandalf and Saruman. If Saruman is defeated, things will be a bit easier on the fellowship.

Fog on the Downs (Pack 80) features Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-Wights, providing a scenario outside of the films.

In Escape from Bree (Pack 61), if Gandalf escaped Saruman’s clutches in Wizard’s Duel, Gandalf is able to make it to Bree as scheduled, and replaces Aragorn for the scenarios ahead until the Council of Elrond. Aragorn will still be at The Council, as Gandalf requests it.

If Gandalf lost in the Wizard Duel, he will attempt his escape in Escape from Orthanc (Pack 54). If he succeeds, he will confront the Ringwraiths on Weathertop in the Clash of Wills scenario, as seen in the novels. If not, he will not appear at the Council of Elrond.

In Kill the Wizard (Pack 79), Saruman’s forces arrive to take Radagast’s Staff of Power. If Evil succeeds, Radagast will not be an option at the Council of Elrond. If Good succeeds, he will be.

Here, in Clash of Wills (Pack 12), if Gandalf succeded at Escape from Orthanc, he will battle the Ringwraiths. If Good succeeds, one less Ringwraith will appear in Attack on Weathertop. If Evil succeeds, nothing changes, as Gandalf is driven off into the wilderness.

If Evil wins in Attack on Weathertop (Pack 37), the Evil player chooses one of the Good Heroes to be affected by The Shadow of the Ring special rule (Pack 60)

In Race To Bruinnen Ford (Fellowship Pack), the Good player may either have Arwen or Glorfindel fill the role that Arwen fills in this scenario.

The The Council of Elrond (Pack 60) is not an actual scenario, but serves as a place to regroup and create your Fellowship. Although the task remains the same, the Fellowship that you create may be very different from the one in the movie. The nine places within The Fellowship are split into several different roles – The Ringbearer himself, his Companion, Guide and Champion, with the remainder being made up of Warriors and Allies. You get to decide who will fill the various different roles within The Fellowship but choose wisely, for once the roles are filled you cannot change them later in the campaign. Although a character may appear as an option in several different lists you may only choose him to fill one role. Each selected character will start the campaign without having taken any of the options allowed to them, although the Safe Haven rule may change this as shown later (Pack 60)

The Ringbearer: Choose either Frodo or Bilbo to be the Ringbearer. If Frodo was killed during the previous scenarios, Bilbo will have to be chosen.

The Companion: Choose either Sam, Bilbo, Aragorn, or Frodo.

The Guide: Choose either Gandalf the Grey, Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, or Radagast

The Champion: Choose either Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Tauriel, Beorn, Glorfindel, or Gimli

The Warriors: Choose any of the three: Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, Beregond, Faramir, Elladan, Elrohir (both must be chosen together), Imrahil, Gildor, Lindir,  or Arwen.

The Allies: Choose two of the following: Frodo, Sam, Bilbo, Merry, Pippin, or Fatty.

Once the Good Player has chosen their Fellowship, they set out.

In The Watcher in the Water (Pack 19), the players will attempt to enter the Mines, but encounter the Watcher in the water. If Good fails, they are forced to retreat to The Gap of Rohan, where they will have to push their way past Saruman’s forces (see below). If Good succeeds, they move into the Mines.

As an alternative, the party may attempt to go through the Gap of Rohan rather than through the mines. If they do so, play The Gap of Rohan (Pack 15), but ratchet up the danger as they face Saruman and Uruk-Hai, adding more Uruk to make the Fellowship regret it.

In Lost in the Dark (Pack 20), the Fellowship travels the passages of Moria.

In Balin’s Tomb (Pack 21), the pressure is turned up as the Fellowship carries on through the mines.

Now is the chance for a heroic sacrifice at The Bridge of Khazad-Dum (Pack 22). The party’s Guide takes the place of Gandalf in this scenario. If the bridge is destroyed before the Balrog can set foot on it, the Guide will be able to continue on. If the Balrog gets onto the bridge, someone will need to destroy it, otherwise the Balrog will be able to appear in later scenarios as it pursues the fellowship.

In Crossing the Silverlode (Pack 35), the party flees for Lothlorien, attempting to evade the goblins of Moria who pursue them.

LOTHLORIEN (Safe Haven)

After their break in Lothlorien, the party travels down the Anduin until they arrive at the falls at Amon Hen. Here, in Hunt of the Uruk-Hai (Pack 05) Lurtz and the Uruk-Hai hunt the Ringbearer, while The Champion attempts to help him escape.

Finally, Ambush at Amon Hen (Pack 11) is a linked scenario where the players will attempt to let the ringbearer escape. The two scenarios are Scenario 1: To the Rescue! and Scenario 2: Capture the Halflings! After this is complete, you’ve finished the Fellowship of the Ring. Congrats! Next week, we’ll look at continuing on with The Two Towers.