The Zara Hai
Fleeing from the forest of the Spider Queen, the Uruks are
pleased that the land begins to climb and the vegetation thins and soon they
are padding across a cold, bleak, featureless, desolate rocky plain which rises
ahead of them to a horizon of stark, grey, forbidding mountains. Their spirits
rise, this place is like home!
They have only to climb to the pass ahead of them to see the
Withered Heath and beyond that the Grey Mountains where the dragon was last
rumoured to dwell. The pass is high on the Eastern flank of the dark, dull grey
mountain known as the Mountain of Lead. Local legend has it that no one has
ever successfully conquered the Lead Mountain. Some say that the Mountain is
unbeatable and that it actually gets higher with the passage of time.
At the foot of the mountain, on its lower slopes dwell the
Forgotten Ones, the Old Ones, the Zara Hai. The ones whose names, once famous,
have become lost in the fog of time. How they came to be there or how long they
have dwelt there is not known. They have grown strong. They are the forgotten
Yrrch, the Neglected Kinfolk. They have dwelt in seclusion for years and their
hatred of all other things has grown in proportion. They have only recently
become aware of events unfolding in the wider world and the Cult of Sauron. Crudely
daubed symbols on body and shield declare their newly found beliefs. They are
mustering, preparing to march South to re-join the war on men.
The Uruks take a rest on a small bare mound. Uruks are
strong, but even they cannot run forever. Gorluk sniffs the air, he has been
aware that the Battle Company has been followed to this place. Now he smells
Orc, but not a breed he recognises. In the gloom, he sees movement on the three
nearest mounds. They are surrounded. The Zara Hai, have come to fight!!
For this scenario I used the “Stand Your Ground” Scenario
from the Battle Companies book as a basis and changed it to accommodate my
figures and terrain. I rolled up some stats for the Zara Hai as below
Ralpartha Boss
Orc 90 points
MV F S D A W C Might
Will Fate
6 5/4+ 6 7 3 3 4 2/2//2
Grendel Shar-Hai Orc Brute1- 25 points
MV F S D A W C Special
6 5/6+ 5 6/7 2 2 2 Terror
Ahketon Shar-Hai Orc Brute 2 25 points
MV F S D A W C Special
6 5/6+ 5 6/7 2 2 2 Terror
Lund Shar-Hai Orc Brute 3 25 points
MV F S D A W C Special
6 5/6+ 5 6/7 2 2 2 Terror
Zara-Hai Orc Thugs 12
points There
are 7 of these
MV F S D A W C
6 4/4+ 5 5/6 1 1 3 Poisoned
blades
Zara-Hai Orc Grunts 6
points There
are 22 of these
MV F S D A W C
6 3/5+ 3 4 1 1 2 Poisoned
blades
For Ralpartha I used the stats for the Black Orc Guard
captain with beefed up Attacks, Wounds and Strength. For the Brutes I used the stats
for the Half trolls from the ME SBG Army book. The Thugs use the stats for the
Black Guard Orcs and the Grunts are just common or garden Orcs
They are old and wise, these Orcs, and have discovered how
to create a toxic substance with which they coat their weapons, any roll of 1
to wound can be rerolled.
The Battle Company deploy on the central hill, the Zara Hai
deploy in three equal groups on the other three hills. I ran two play tests of
this scenario, I tried various different starting line ups for the Zara Hai, I
tried staggered entry d-6 enter each turn, but they got decimated each time. I
also beefed up Ralpatha from a standard Captain of the Black Guard.
The
Zara Hai will have to roll for break tests when they are down to 25% of their
initial force. The Finger are desperate and have nowhere to run and do not roll
for break tests. They have a warrior missing through injury and are outnumbered
by over two to one.
Apart from the cloth none of this terrain existed two days
before, its mostly smashed up rocks from the garden. I found some black
emulsion in the shed and a dried-up tube of white acrylic which painted the MDF
board in the middle and the horrible polystyrene hills.
But for now, it’s the valley at the foot of the Lead
Mountain and its about to get hot
The White Finger, they have come a long way and they have
learned a thing or two.
Except for Brak, the Feral Uruk Hai. He's not learnt a thing.He gets injured in
every fight.
They look like they are chanting.
Screaming in their strange , archaic tongue, whooping and roaring, leaping down the rock face ,The Zara Hai launch into the attack.
The Right flank of the Finger are the first to get hit. Ugbad
is here with his Great Bow. By the end of turn two, he has already killed 4
orcs with his archery. He’s become a killing machine; he’s gained every advance
on the Ranger pathway.
The assault hits home on the other flank. The Zara Hai orcs
score an early success by taking down Skaga but the line holds
Ralpatha
and the main group reach the foot of the slope …
…and
charge up it
Its
orc on orc action in the gloom at the foot of a grey, dark mountain in the
Winter, its grim and is probably symbolic of RL events or something
The Finger are getting pushed back on each flank and are
beginning to take casualties.
Brak the Feral and Gaakh the berserker are chopped down on
the left
The Old Ones push hard in the centre, spurred on by their
boss Ralpartha
..and break the line. Orcs surge through the gap and come
behind the Uruks defending on the right of the hill
It’s looking desperate for the Finger
Ogzul calls a heroic combat, calling “with me” to Arakh he hacks down the orc nearest him…
..and runs into the fray in the centre, Arakh having
despatched his opponent is hot on his
heels. Together , they take out 5 of the Ancient Ones.
Ogzul is another Finger success story. He sustained a
serious arm injury in his first ever battle, but has gone from strength to
strength. Fight skill, might 3, 3
attacks, he has the Parry and Blade Master skills.
In the centre Gargul is holding the top of the slope. He
has 3 attacks and 3 might,he has become a stone killer. The strongest of the Zara Hai charge into him, he
takes two out and…
pitches
into Ralpartha and his last brute.
He dispatches the brute and pushes Ralpartha to the foot of the slope. The chief of the Zara Hai is old and cunning in the way of battle, he is desperate and he gets two telling blows in on the Uruk Champion, fate fails, and Gargul is down to one wound.
Putting all his failing strength into one last blow Gargul takes the
Ancient Chief Orc out
The
three eyed snake! Even the mightiest
veteran warrior cannot beat this scaly jinx
Seeing their boss hacked down is the final straw for the Old
Ones, they fail their break test and take to the hills.
“Come on” growls Gorluk ”we still have to find this pushdug
ring!”
I enjoyed this game although, retrospectively, this scenario
could have maybe been a little harder. I may have underestimated how far my
warband has progressed, with 7 heroes, and quite a few skills between them,
there are a few 3 attack,3 might monsters in there too.
Ralpartha should maybe have had fight 6, the Orcs could have
kept coming “Endless Hordes” maybe. The Brutes could perhaps have had low status
M/W/F factors, I thought that as Black Orc Guard they would be much tougher
than they are. Its difficult to strike the right balance and at times the Finger
were hard pressed, a different roll of the dice and things may have ended in
disaster.
Onward, in search of the Dragon and the final scenario-
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