This scenario for Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game covers Eomer's destruction of the warband that kidnapped Merry and Pippin.
This scenario has been published in at least three different versions by GW. In this particular game, I've used a modified version of that published in the recent The Two Towers journey book; Merry and Pippin here are autonomous individuals, not just cargo.
I had to scale down the numbers because I do not have enough horsemen. So what you see here is about 2/3 of what the scenario actually calls for.
To win, Evil has to have control of the hobbits and reduce the Rohirrim to 25%. Good needs to prevent Evil control of the hobbits and eliminate all of the Evil models.
(Click on any image to see an enlargement.)
Fifteen Uruk Scouts (the figures themselves are mostly Warriors rather than Scouts, but close enough) set up in the center around their campfire. Ugluk (in the center, holding aloft the severed head) backs them up; behind him are 12 Orcs, with Grishnakh -- the only figure allowed to harm the hobbits -- near the Fangorn edge.
The formation looks a bit more football than military, doesn't it?
Merry and Pippin split up as far as possible. Grishnakh can't watch them both!
Twelve riders of Rohan split up into two squadrons, the eastern (right) led by Eomer (on the gray horse) and the western (left) by a Captain of Rohan (represented here by Theodred, the figure without a helmet).
Good always begins with Priority. The riders advance at half pace so they can use their bows. Evil moves so as to be out of charge range next turn, while keeping the hobbits surrounded.
Missile fire sees three Orcs go down, while the arrows of the Evil models fall wide of the mark.
Dead models: Evil 3, Good 0
Evil gets Priority. The horsemen are too far away for the Orcs to charge, but the reverse is not true. So Evil withdraws again, their formation getting rather compact at this point.
The riders advance a half move again. Missile fire is a repeat of last turn, with 3 Orcs going down and the Evil arrows missing their targets.
Dead models: Evil 6, Good 0
Good priority. The riders continue their envelopment, again at half movement so as to allow bowfire and still stay out of Evil's charge range.
Evil has a problem. The Orcs are getting the worst of the missile exchange, so unless they get into contact with the Rohirrim they will lose for sure. So they have to take a chance of exposure to a horse charge. But rather than trying to engage everywhere, they concentrate on the eastern flank while leaving a screening force (mostly bowmen) in the west. Grishnaskh gets up in Merry's face to prevent any thoughts of a dash for the trees.
The generally low-quality shooting continues, with only a single hit (against an Orc) killing its target.
Dead models: Evil 7, Good 0
Evil wins priority. To get the charge in first, Eomer calls a Heroic move, and Ugluk also calls a Heroic Move to counter Eomer's. Eomer wins the roll off and his squadron charges the Orc line.
The refuse defense and half advance continue on the western flank.
Missile fire continues to stink, with a single Orc going down.
Combat sees Ugluk, charged by Eomer and another rider, winning his combat! (Evil rolled 4, Good 3; I randomly determined that each spent 1 Might point.) Ugluk inflicts one wound on Eomer, who resists with a Fate point. In other fights, one rider is lost but two more Orcs go down.
Dead models: Evil 10, Good 1
Evil gets Priority again. The question of who gets to charge is so important that all four heroes call Heroic Moves. Evil wins the rolloff, meaning Evil can pick one leader, then Good, and so on. So Evil can negate the Rohan charge bonus on one flank, but not both. Which to pick? After some thought, Eomer is seen as the biggest threat and so Ugluk gets the nod, and his group charges the riders
With Eomer's Heroic Move now negated, the Rohan Captain is next up, and his squadron rides down the bowmen.
All bowmen miss this turn, along with all the throwing spears.
In the Fight phase, Eomer wounds Ugluk but 4 riders fall to the Uruks.
Dead models: Evil 13, Good 5
Good gets Priority back. Ugluk and Eomer are out of Might, but Grishnakh and the Captain reprise their duelling Heroic Move calls (using the last of their Might, too). Good wins the tiebreaker, and in go the Rohirrim again.
Good gets the upper hand in the Fight Phase, killing Ugluk, wounding Grishnakh, and killing four other Orcs at the cost of two more riders.
Dead models: Evil 18, Good 7. Both sides are now broken.
Evil Priority. At this point, as is not rare, having Priority is actually a disadvantage. Why? Because broken forces have to take Courage tests before moving each model, and if they fail the model is removed. However, models in combat need not make this test. So since Evil will rush the Good warriors, the Evil models will have to test, but the Good models won't.
To make things worse for Evil, with Ugluk's death the Orcish force is down to one leader, to the Rohirrim's two. Leaders are crucial in a broken force because of their "Stand Fast!" ability, meaning if they pass their Courage test, then all friendly figures within range are considered to pass their tests, as well.
Unfortunately for Evil, Grishnakh muffs his roll, along with 5 other Evil warriors, which pretty much seals the game for Good.
Two more Evil models fall in the Fight phase with no losses to the riders.
Evil Priority. But it makes no difference; the last Uruk is ridden down and the game ends, as Merry and Pippin sneak off to meet Treebeard.
A fun scenario. Large enough that although the dice favored Good, there seemed to be no one dieroll on which the game hinged. Scaled down as it was, this all went pretty quickly, too.
It would have been nice to have an Evil bowmen inflict at least one kill, though!