The Silmarillion: Driving out the Orcs in the First Age of Middle Earth

Today I should have been helping James out at Partizan, but real world events have put a stop to that.
However as part of Partizan in the Cloud James has written up a version of what would have been happening.
If you want to see more and ask James some questions he'll be live on the Partizan in the Cloud Facebook page at 1pm (BST) today.
Over to James....

Background

Following the Fourth Battle (The Battle of Sudden Flame), which ended with the breaking of the siege of Angband, Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor died in single combat with Morgoth.  Tolkien tells us that the dragon Glaurung ‘passed through Maglor’s Gap, and destroyed all the land between the arms of Gelion.’ Orcs then ‘passed over Gelion with fire and terror and came far into East Beleriand.’
Our scenario is based on just a single line from The Silmarillion: ‘Maedhros made trial of his strength…and…the Orcs were driven out of all the northward regions of Beleriand.’  Prior to the great but ruinous Fifth Battle (‘The Battle of Unnumbered Tears’), Maedhros and his human and dwarven allies cleared the north of Beleriand (lands that had been his but were overrun by orcs), and this scenario represents just such a situation.  Near the Little Gelion river, Maedhros’s troops have to storm an elven watch tower that has long been in the Orcs’ hands and then push their way across a ford stoutly defended by Orcs and a werewolf.  Not an easy task!

Scenario and Rules

The plan was to have a two-part battle occurring across a 12 x 5 ‘ table, with the Noldor and their allies assaulting a Orc-held elven watchtower and clearing a ford.  Due to lack of space at home I’ve had to photograph the different scenarios in two parts but hopefully you get the idea!  The rules we use are my own home-brewed ones going under the name of Midgard.  I wanted a fast-playing narrative battle game with plenty of heroic action and single combats, but nothing out there was quite right so I ended up writing my own.  Midgard combines the speed of units mounted on sabot bases with individually-based heroes; historical tactics with mighty deeds.  It started life as a set for Celtic mythic battles but seems to work well for Middle Earth and will probably do well for the Dark Ages and the Trojan War as well. Anyway, we’re still playtesting right now.

 Set up in the loft!  Not my usual gaming space and a bit tight.  Wish I was at the Newark Showground.

 Orc captain and his guards prepare to hold the tower against its previous owners.  Probably need to clean up a bit first anyway.

Orc’s eye view from the tower gallery.

 The elven battleline advances.

 Noldor heavy cavalry give the orcs something to think about and the survivors are driven towards the ford.

 Cavalry close up.  These are converted plastic figures – mostly Gripping Beast and Conquest Minis with Oathmark elf parts from the waist up.

 A unit of elf archers prepare to storm the tower.

 Unharmed by a storm of arrows, the orc leader has to be taken down by some of the pluckier Noldor.

 Evicting the tenants: the battle for the tower concludes with a last stand by a handful of Orcs in the lookout gallery.

 Victory!  The tower is returned to its original owners.

 Part 2: the ford.  Having taken the tower, the victorious if slightly-bloodied Noldor advance to the ford to clear the main Orc force.  

 The Naugrim (allied dwarves) take the front of the line.  These are Vendel (now Thistle & Rose) and Conqueror Minis dwarves, sculpted by Colin Patten.

 Orc bowmen exchange fire with Noldor horse archers across the river.

 A steady stream of arrows from the Naugrim and Noldor thins the ranks of the Orcs lining the river.

 Single combat!  The werewolf captain challenges the Dwarf leader and tears him to pieces in the ford.

 Gwindor of Nargothrond charges in to finish the job as the Naugrim falter.

 With the werewolf down, the victorious dwarves and elves surge into the ford, driving the surviving Orcs before them.

Wargaming in Middle Earth Facebook Group

The Wargaming in Middle Earth Facebook group really fired my enthusiasm for this project (along with the Oathmark plastic models from Northstar). With nearly 3,000 members across the globe, the group exists to explore gaming in Tolkien’s world using a wide variety of miniatures and rules.  Many of the gamers are inspired by the huge body of art and literature around Tolkien rather than the Peter Jackson movies and the Games Workshop game.  The group showcases discussions of rules, scenarios, terrain and especially painting and conversions of miniatures to fit into Middle Earth.  Well worth a look.

If that's whetted your appetite and like to know more James will be live on Facebook this afternoon at 1pm showing off some of the game and answering any questions you may have.