The Rescue of Thrár

Scenario 3 - The Rescue of Thrár

In the aftermath of the assault on the Second Hall, Balin's scouting parties come under attack. Balin must mount a daring rescue...

Forces

Good

Balin

Dwarf Captain

8 Khazad Guard

2 Dwarf Warriors with shields

Evil

Goblin Captain

6 Moria Goblins with shields

6 Moria Goblins with spears

6 Moria Goblins with bows

Goblin Drum

Deployment

Thrár and the two Dwarf Warriors begin the game in hiding; the Good player takes three pieces of paper and writes Thrár's name on one of them. He then passes the folded pieces of paper to the Evil player, who places each piece next to some rubble or another suitable terrain feature further than 6" away from each other. This way, neither player knows exactly where Thrár is hiding, but each has a rough idea. Paul placed the pieces of paper at locations 1, 2 and 3 on the map.

Once the papers are placed, the Evil player deploys his force within the Goblin deployment area (as shown on the map, in red). Finally, the Good player deploys Balin and the Khazad Guard within their deployment area (as shown on the map, in white).

The Dwarf deployment zone in white, the Goblin deployment zone in red
and the three possible locations of Thrár's hiding place

Special Rules

Thrár

The hidden Dwarves are not deployed at the start of the game. When a model from either force comes within 6" of a piece of paper is is turned over. If Thrár's name is on the paper then the Good player may place Thrár and the two Dwarves with shields within 1" of the piece of paper. If the paper is blank, simply remove it from the game - Thrár is elsewhere.

Victory

The Good side wins if it manages to kill all of the Evil force or drive them form the field. If Balin or Thrár is slain, the Evil side wins. If both sides meet their victory conditions in the same turn, the game is a draw. 

Paul's deployed his forces with the bow-armed Goblins positioned on the hill to pepper the Dwarf advance and the remainder of his forces in the centre ready to make a dash for the nearest piece of paper. Gary stuck all his Dwarves far out on the right flank, which was the only real option if he wanted to avoid getting swamped early.

Deployment

As usual, the Good side had priority in the first turn and Gary wasted no time in rushing as far forwards as he could, as quickly as he could, all the time peppered by the Goblin archers on the hill. The main Goblin force matched the Dwarves step for step, advancing as quickly as possible towards the central hill (location 2) with the majority of their troops but sending a small party across to head off the Dwarfs.

Balin and his Khazad Guard slice their way through the few Goblins
 in their way, as Thrár and his warriors are revealed.

It wasn't long before the Goblins approached the central hill, and were close enough to reveal the paper bearing the name of Thrár. The Dwarf captain and his warriors were placed on top of the plateau, and the Goblins wasted no time in attempting the scale the slopes. With three doughty Dwarf warriors defending the slopes, it proved difficult work as the Goblins struggled to gain a foothold at the top of the climb, with the Dwarves making the most of the narrow heights to limit the number of Goblins who could make it into combat.

Thrár and his warriors fight off the swarm of Goblins at the top of the plateau

With Thrár and his warriors doing a sterling job of holding off the Goblins on the plateau, Balin and his Khazad Guard had plenty of time to cut their way through those Goblins still left on the ground., including the Drum which turned the tide of the battle once and for all.

With the Drum dead, the upper hand goes to the Dwarves

With only the Goblin bowmen left on the ground, it didn't take long for the Dwarves to begin climbing the plateau to fight alongside Thrár. 

The dwarves continue to cut their way through the Goblins on the plateau

It wasn't long before the Goblins reached breaking point, and as had happened in the previous two games, the Goblin courage didn't last long and the Dwarves quickly swarmed up onto the plateau to deliver the coup de grace to the few Goblins that remained.

Not many left now...

The Dwarves swarm over the remaining Goblins, and quickly put them out of their misery.

So we reach the halfway point of the campaign and the Dwarves are 3-0 up; the best Paul can hope for now is a draw, but he'll have to pull out all the stops to get one! Luckily, the second half of the campaign gets harder for the Dwarves. We'll resume the campaign in Scenario 4 - Kill the Goblin King