The Wargate Presents
Dragon Sword
2012 Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Campaign
It is the waning years of the Third Age of Middle Earth, and Sauron knows he must do all that he can to ensure his armies will utterly destroy the free peoples. There are many monstrous beasts under his sway - but some are powerful enough not to kneel before him. Creatures made by his long fallen master, Morgoth. Creatures such as balrogs, werewolves, vampires...and dragons. Now, the Black Enemy means to subdue as many of these powerful monsters as he can before his war can take place.
The dragon Arthax lives in the Ered Mithrin. He has openly defied Sauron by eating every emissary that is sent to his lofty lair. However, Sauron has servants who are skilled in the arts of slaying monsters...and with a little help could perhaps subdue many dragons and drakes to his will. It is to that end he sends forth his mightiest warriors to search the Rhovanion for an artifact of his master's power.
It is called simply the Dragon Sword. Some say it was forged by Morgoth himself during the First Age, and gifted to a favored general. Even the Wise cannot say for certain, but it is indisputable that it harbors a terrible power within its shining steel. Both the Wise and the Enemy have ascertained it's location to be somewhere near the Iron Mountains, in the fork between the River Running and Redwater.
The enemy have made many lairs here in their search for the sword. It is now up to the forces of good, as led by the White Council, to destroy these lairs and end the search for the tainted sword.
Campaign RulesDragon Sword is the Wargate's 2012 campaign for Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game! The campaign runs the months of April, May and June ending on July 1st!
The rules for this campaign are simple. The Forces of Good have 20 expeditions to mount into the Rhovanion to do battle with the Forces of Evil. The Forces of Evil have 20 lairs in the Wilderlands as well.
Each Good player may pick and choose his battles against the Forces of Evil, pursuing leads where ever they wish to combat their hated enemies. Each Evil player has five lairs that can be destroyed, and games can be played whenever time is available.
Any scenario can be selected, as long as a campaign narrative is discussed! Whenever a Good warband wins a scenario, the lowest lair is marked destroyed and counts as a Destroyed Lair. If an Evil warband wins, there is no change. In the unlikely event of a draw, the side that has destroyed more points has won, with all the consequences thereof.
At the end of the campaign when the Forces of Good exhaust their expeditions, warband Influence (Win / Loss ratio) is applied to the team score for each team. Forces of Evil use the number of remaining lairs, while the Forces of Good use the number of Destroyed lairs. Each player will have a different influence rating depending on the number of games played and how well they did in each of them. Individual Scores will be calculated this way, and the Team Score will be the total number of final Individual Scores added together.
Armies
The following armies are doing battle in the Wilderlands.
Forces of Evil
- Raiders of the Ruthless East - Mordor Orcs led by fierce Orc Captains and Shamans! They will stop at nothing to carry out the will of the Eye!
- Dragon Warriors - Powerful warriors from far away, the Easterlings have arrived to sway the dragon to join their conquest of the Free Peoples.
- Minions of Mordor - The orc rabble of Mordor, and a few other interesting servants of darkness.
- The Goblin King - A nazgul operating in the Misty Mountains, the nefarious Goblin King has been sowing discord for years around the Mirkwood.
Forces of Good
- Riders of Rohan - Warriors from the noble houses of the Horselords of Rohan, these mighty warriors follow the tales of the Wise looking for enemies to destroy!
- The Grey Company - Battle hardened men and elves from the North, the Grey Company wishes to keep the dragons in the mountains where they cause relatively little harm.
- The Fellowship - Heroes committed to the cause of the Wise.
- Dol Amroth - From Gondor hails the Swan Knights, who have traveled far to heed the wisdom of the Wise and stop a greater evil from occurring.
Campaign
Campaign ended July 1st, 2012!
The Black Gate has won the campaign!
Rivendell has been defeated!
Updates
- (4/2/2012) - Campaign page posted. Will update the following as they occur:
- (4/22/2012) - The Dark Lord Sauron manifests partially in Middle-Earth with the full power of the One Ring, but only briefly.
- 3 Expeditions exhausted.
- 3 Lairs wiped out.
- (5/6/2012) - The Forces of Good surge forth for weeks, breaking lairs where they find them.
- 8 Expeditions exhausted
- 5 Lairs wiped out.
- (7/1/2012) - After the initial surge, the armies of evil routinely pushed ever forward, and the forces of good can do little to stop them.
- 18 Expeditions exhausted.
- 7 Lairs wiped out.
Evil has won the campaign!
Tales of the Dragon Sword
- They say that the dragon Arthax has a strong dislike of orcs.
- The Dragon Sword contains a portion of Morgoth's power, and that power has sway over dragons themselves.
- Nazgul are coming closer every day...
- It seems the Dark Lord can manifest in Middle-Earth, but only briefly...and the more powerful his form, the shorter the amount of time spent in the material world. However, he can now influence events with a much firmer hand than the Eye of Mordor...
- It seems the Dragon Sword has been found. Large warbands of orcs have carried it to the Black Gate itself...
Darkness gathered in the ruined tower where the orcs gathered to meet their master, the nazgul. The assembled orcs groveled as the wraith manifested, a cold chill heralding its' presence to the devoted followers of the Eye. With a wicked hiss, the shadowy form stretched out it's hand to Snurkh, captain of the Red Fangs.
The orc warrior proudly hefted the Dragon Sword, Inilrach. The eldritch weapon was snaked with runes of dark power, and had a strangely organic texture about the hilt and pommel. He reverently placed the sword in the wraith's outstretched hands, and was rewarded with an even louder, more triumphant shriek from the being.
Khamul the Easterling, second among the Nazgul, held Inilrach and communed with his master. Now, as Saurons' captain at Dol-Guldur, he would have the resources he needed to crush this council of the 'Wise'. Even now, fanatic Easterlings and droves of orcs marshalled to march toward Mirkwood. Soon, they would all be at his disposal to destroy the free peoples.
His castellans drew around him, and the wraith of Khamul was gone from the tower in a swift rush of whirling darkness.
And the shadow crept further across Middle-Earth.