SBG

Te r r a i n
Tu t o r i a l

Battle
Report

Painting
Masterclass

Issue 5
Summer 2017
A Middle-earth fanzine by the fans - for the fans

The Battle of Dale

Bard rallies the survivors of Lake-town against legions
of orcs in a desperate defence of the ruined city of men
 EDITORIAL
SBG
Welcome to Dale! Regular readers will
remember that, in Issue 4’s Editorial, we
said we had just seen pictures of the
finished scenery for Issue 5 and now,
A Middle-earth fanzine by the fans - for the fans
nearly a year later, here it is! We’re
delighted to finally reveal Rick Fryer’s
Issue 5 latest masterpiece and we’ve tried to
Summer 2017 cram the issue with gorgeous pictures that
showcase the city in all its glory. It must
rank as one of the greatest gaming boards we’ve ever seen and Rick has
Created and Edited by:
Tom Harrison kindly divulged some of the secrets of its creation later in the issue.
Damian O’Byrne
Knowing that we had a stunning recreation of Dale to fight over, we quickly
Layout & Design: decided to theme the issue around the desperate conflict seen in The
Damian O’Byrne
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Unfortunately, this required a selection
Copy Editor: of Lake-town Heroes that were yet to be released - step forward Dave
Tom Harrison Fredericks who scratch-sculpted five models for us in just two weeks!
Full details of how he achieved this remarkable feat can be found in Dave’s
Principal Photography: Speed Sculpting article later in the issue. Dave also joined James Long and
Jim Muller
Steve Crowe in taking part in this issue’s battle report, a spectacular game
Article Contributors: featuring five-hundred models! Elsewhere in the issue, Jamie Giblin returns
Steve Crowe, Dave Fredericks, with part two of his White Council Tactica and Kev Lawrence is back with
Rick Fryer, Jamie Giblin, Kev another Painting Masterclass, focusing on everyone’s favourite disturber of
Lawrence, James Long, Joseph A. the peace, Gandalf the Grey. Finally, Frostgrave author Joseph A. McCullough
McCullough
has written a fascinating article about his thirty years of gaming in Middle-
All images reproduced with earth. In another example of the bizarre publishing schedule of SBG,
the kind permission of the Joseph actually finished this article in March 2016 - nearly eighteen months
photographers: ago - so we’re delighted to finally be able to share it with you all!
Matt Davies, Dave Fredericks,
Rick Fryer, Kev Lawrence, Joseph
As always, Jim Muller has ensured that the magazine is full of incredible
A. McCullough, Jim Muller
photographs and we couldn’t be more grateful for his continued aid and
expertise. Perhaps more than ever, Lily and Emma deserve our thanks
for their unwavering support during a production process that was
Contact us:
SBGmagazine@gmail.com occasionally interrupted by some very pressing real-life demands! Damian’s
daughter was born nearly four weeks early - four days before the battle
report was played! Thankfully, Damian got his priorities right and so was on
‘Daddy duty’ as The Battle of Dale raged - the first time one of us has been
absent from the battle report. In addition, towards the end of production,
Tom was seemingly working every hour of the day, meaning that this issue
was produced almost exclusively remotely via phone calls and email. This is
a highly unusual arrangement for us and there were times where we were
genuinely concerned that we’d never finish the issue. However, the support
and encouragement from the community was incredible and we somehow
managed to struggle through and produce another issue that we’re very
proud of. You’ll be pleased to hear that we haven’t learnt our lesson and
plans are already being formulated for Issues 6 to 9! However, that’s a story
for another day, until then, have fun in Dale!
Enjoy the issue,
Damian & Tom
CONTENTS
SBG Towers 2
We reveal the winner of Issue 4’s The Hunt for Thrain competition as

7
well as announcing another ‘hunt’ for this issue and much more
Of Dice and Men - Part 1 3
Tom returns with the first of two articles examining how best to use
probability to increase your chances of success on the tabletop
Cubes of Woe 7
Tom takes a look back at some of the most infamous dice disasters in
the history of the Great British Hobbit League... and laughs
A Lifetime of Tolkien Gaming 8
Frostgrave author Joseph A. McCullough discusses the wide variety of

12
Middle-earth games that have inspired him over the last thirty years
Tactica - Elven Spell-casters 12
In part two of his exploration of the most effective applications of
Good magic, Jamie Giblin examines the elves of the White Council
Battle Report - The Battle of Dale 16
4 players, 6000 points, 500 models and Rick Fryer’s incredible Dale
board all help to make this our most spectacular bat-rep yet
Building Middle-earth - Dale House 36

16
Rick Fryer explains how he built one of the many houses that
populate his latest stunning scenery project - the ruined city of Dale
Speed Sculpting - Heroes of the Lake 40
Dave Fredericks reveals how he was able to sculpt Hilda, Percy, Bain,
Sigrid and Tilda for this issue’s battle report in just two weeks
Painting Masterclass - Gandalf the Grey 42
Kev Lawrence returns with a detailed tutorial on how best to achieve
a fantastic finish on everyone’s favourite wizard - the Grey Pilgrim
Hobby BLOG, Supporting SBG & Competition 44
We explain how you can support future issues of SBG and win
enough GenerationShift bases for a 500 point army in the process! 40
Even Gandalf wants to make sure he
gets all the back issues of SBG! A
limited number of physical copies of
Issues 1, 2, 3 and 4 are still available -
see page 45 for how to get yours!

Thanks to Chris Young for making us

the beautiful SBG objective markers -
fine work and very much appreciated!

2017 Issue 5 SBG 1

 SBG owers
SBG SBG

Behind the scenes news snippets from SBG

The hunt for thrain

In Issue 4, we ran a competition to see if anyone could
Page Location
spot all the Thrain the Brokens [Ed - Broki?] lurking inside
the pages of the magazine. Thrain is a sneaky dwarf and 1
* Facing Gandalf in the box out
* On the cover of Issue 3
we were pleased to see that the puzzle proved so devious
2
* On the cover of Issue 3 (x3)
that the correct answer was not submitted until February * In the ‘Where’s Thrain’ competition
2017 - some four months after we launched! Of all his 3 * Out of focus at the front of the picture
sneaky antics, the one that most people missed was the fact that 4 * Jumping on Gandalf
Thrain features on the cover of SBG Issue 3 which accounted for an * Directly where Damian is pointing
5
additional five appearances (see right). We would like to congratulate * Lurking behind Gandalf in the lower picture
David Shirra on being the first person to correctly spot all twenty- 6 * Fighting Gandalf in the picture
three of the Thrains on the correct pages, winning a long out-of- 13
* In the ruins just above the Mirkwood
Rangers (x2)
production Mahud King on Camel - courtesy of Christian Sørup
17 * Facing The Necromancer
Jensen - in the process. We are excited to see if Dave can repeat his
20 * At the back left of the army picture
success by being the first to find all the hidden Alfrids in this issue!
* Under the bridge in the middle of the

I AM NO MAN!
21
deployment picture
22 * Underneath Legolas
Damian: Emma and I are delighted to announce 23 * Next to Beorn
that Charlotte Arwen O’Byrne was born at 9:30pm 26 * Fighting a Hunter Orc
on 14th March 2017 - three weeks and four days * In the centre of the page
29
early (although she claims that she arrived precisely * Above the Bat Swarm in the army picture
when she meant to). As you can see from the 44 * On the cover of Issue 3 in Barry’s picture
picture, Charlotte’s Middle-earth/wargaming career 45 * To the right of Gandalf in the prize picture
is already well underway - although let’s face it,
with a name like that, she never stood a chance! Where’s Alfrid?
Here we go again!
Once we have set our how’s
Alfrid spends most of
stat?
the Battle of the Five
final print deadline
Armies cowering, out
for an issue, there’s
of sight, in the ruins of
no rest here at SBG
Dale. But how many
Towers, even if you
times does Damian’s
have ace Centre
Alfrid Lickspittle model appear
Court tickets for
in this issue of SBG? Email
Wimbledon! Here’s
the correct answer to us
Damian smashing
(along with the page numbers
out some proof- Tom: Lily was br
ought in to help to prove you have not just
reading (he’s loving Tom’s Of Dice and with
some of the stats guessed) and the first person
Men article if you can’t see) whilst for my Of
Dice and Men artic to send in the correct answer
waiting for Andy Murray to take to le in this issue.
Here she is worki will win a brand new version
the court! [Ed - that’s FOUR tennis ng ou t the obscure
probability that an of the Warhammer World
puns there, you’re SO welcome]. yone would be
able to put up with exclusive miniature!
me for a lifetime.
We want to say a huge thanks to James Long for stepping up and writing this issue’s Battle Report and helping
us to get the issue finished on time! It’s the first time that an SBG Battle Report hasn’t been written by Tom or
Damian and we’re sure you’ll agree that James did a great job - turn to page 16 to get stuck in and find out!
2 SBG Issue 5 2017
 Of Dice and Men - Part 1

OF DICE AND MEN Part 1

Tom didn’t write an article for Issue 4, which means advantage in a game. Of course,
it’s been well over a year since he last blessed the there’s so much complexity at
magazine with his peculiar blend of charm, tactics work in our wonderful game
and extreme maths. In this first part of a nerd-tastic that it is simply not possible
to discuss all of the beautifully
probability investigation, he attempts to ruin the fun
interesting probabilities and
of rolling dice for everyone. You’ve been warned... possibilities in one article - so
this is only the beginning! In this
The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game Battle Game; the simple reality issue, I will be concentrating on
is a wonderfully tactical game is that this group of players are a few basic concepts that may
in which players can develop extremely skilled at the game. help you on your way to winning
tactics and strategies to enhance Part of this ‘skill’ comes down future games (or at least doing
their chances of success, just to these players’ ability to slightly better - there’s only
like chess. However, unlike chess, build an ‘efficient’ army list - a so much I can do for some of
our game also introduces an topic which I’ve explored in my you...). Look out for Part 2 in
element of luck in the form of previous SBG articles - while the next issue, where I’ll start
rolling dice, which makes things another part of this puzzle is to look at some more specific
altogether more interesting, as their ability to use probability to examples.
this can bring both glorious joy their advantage within a game.
and devastating pain to players So, is it even worth going to the
within a matter of minutes. Ah,
the humble six-sided dice - the
“I’m a geologist, laborious effort of calculating
statistics to help win games? At
perfect scapegoat for when not a statistician” present, I imagine that the bulk
things don’t go our way. How of readers would answer with
often have we cursed our luck It goes without saying that you a resounding ‘no’, but let’s see
and shouted at the Dice Gods need the right scenarios against if I can convince you otherwise
for abandoning us and snatching the right opponents and at the over the next few pages...
victory from our grasp? [Ed - right time during a tournament
see page 7 for some particularly to improve your chances of Disclaimer: if some of the
unfortunate examples]. winning but, in this article, I’ll probabilities in this article aren’t
concentrate specifically on the correct, it’s because I’m a geologist,
However, can we really blame fickle winds of fate associated not a statistician - SBG Towers
our losses on dice? Despite the with rolling dice and how you cannot afford a supercomputer* to
element of luck that dice bring can learn to use this to your run millions of simulations.
to the tabletop, the same group
of players always seem to find
their way to the top spots at
tournaments. Is this because
they’re luckier than everyone
else? General Eisenhower
once said that “Lucky generals
win battles, and they make me
lucky”, but while the World War
Two General would have you
think so, luck is not the major Who would you bet on to win this match-up? Turn the page to
factor in The Hobbit: Strategy discover the most sensible answer, the result may surprise you...

*OK, an average laptop and a person with far too much spare time could perform these calculations…
2017 Issue 5 SBG 3
 Of Dice and Men - Part 1

As a first step in exploring how an understanding of

probability can help within the game, let’s assess the
importance of Fight value, Strength and Defence in
relation to survivability versus killing ability. After all,
I’m sure you’d want to know whether you were more
likely to kill your opponent than they you - if you could
ensure a favourable match-up in every Fight on the
board, you’d win every game, right?

Wood Elf vs. Moria Goblin

As a simple example, let’s start by imagining that a Wood 1 If all three elves fight:
Elf Warrior with a wood elf spear and a Moria Goblin 50% chance of one or more elves dying
Warrior with a shield are facing each other. The elf has 48% chance of one or more goblins dying
the Fight value advantage so you may well back it in this
match-up. And why not? The elf should win the Fight
58% of the time.

However, with a lowly Defence of 3, the elf dies on a 4+,

while only killing the goblin on a 5+ so, if the elf wins the
Fight, it has a 33% chance of killing the goblin, while the
goblin (who can Feint) has a whopping 58% chance of
killing should it win! What this leads to (look away now
if you backed the elf) is a 19% pre-Fight probability of
the elf killing the goblin but also a 24% of the elf dying -

2a If the elf on the far right fights:

not the best of odds for the skilful elf who costs more
points than the goblin.
51% chance of one or more elves dying
The key point is that having a better chance of winning 50% chance of one or more goblins dying

2b If the elf on the far right Parries:

the Fight can be less important than having better odds
of killing your opponent.You are probably intuitively
aware of this, even if you don’t think about the exact 38% chance of one or more elves dying
percentages every time you roll your dice because 41% chance of one or more goblins dying
you’re too busy shouting ‘DU BEKÂR!’, ‘BOSH!’ or
something equally useful...

So, clearly, the tactic for an elf player is to avoid 1v1

Fights if possible, right? Well, not so fast - for those who
love a bit of statistics, let’s see what the best option is
when there are more models in play [Ed - and for those
who don’t love statistics, it’s probably best to turn to page 8].

Let’s extend our example and imagine a scenario in

which three Wood Elf Warriors with wood elf spears are
up against three Moria Goblin Warriors with spears (be
thankful that I’ve not included any shield-armed goblins
3a If the elf on the far left fights:
43% chance of one or more elves dying
as the various permutations would fill the next forty-
48% chance of one or more goblins dying
two pages...). As the elf player, if you win Priority, what
should you do? Assuming you’re actually trying to win
the battle by killing the opposition, rather than trying to
3b If the elf on the far left Parries:
38% chance of one or more elves dying
Parry to stay alive, there are five main options available 34% chance of one or more goblins dying
to you, all of which are shown in the picture to the right.
4 SBG Issue 5 2017

As you may have guessed from
earlier in the article, three
1v1 Fights (example 1) is not
a favourable option for the elf
player. However, whilst this may
encourage the elf player to avoid
1v1 Fights, it might surprise
you to learn that the most
favourable option (example 3a)
actually includes a 1v1 Fight.
I deliberately chose a three-on-
three scenario to demonstrate
that there are times when the
elf player should choose 1v1
Fights, however unfavourable
they are individually. Of course,
if this scenario was extended
to four elves and four goblins,
then the elf player would be far
better off making two identical
2v2 Fights in which one wood
elf with a spear-supporting
friend charges two goblins.
However, the elf player will not
always have this luxury and so
the three-on-three setup makes
for a more interesting example.
The reason option 3a is the
most preferable is because it
gives you the opportunity to kill
three goblins (unlike example
3b), while the most you can lose
is two elves. In addition, the 2v2
Fight is more heavily weighted in
the elves’ favour, as Fight value
becomes more important when
you increase the number of dice
you’re rolling in a Duel.
However, there is another viable
option available to the elf player:
to have one outnumbered elf
Parry alongside a favourable
2v1 Fight (example 2b). This
setup means that, across the
two Fights, the elf player is
more likely to kill at least one
goblin than lose at least one
elf. However, because of the
Parrying, there is no way for the
elf player to kill multiple goblins
in this scenario and there is
almost a 4% chance of two of
your precious elves dying.
Both option 2b and 3a have
their merits and it really comes
down to your objective - if you
need to break your opponent
quickly, then option 3a is best, as
you’re more likely to kill more
goblins. However, in option 3a,
you’re more likely to die faster
too, so option 2b could be
used if you need to break your
opponent whilst also trying to
avoid breaking yourself! If you’re
feeling particularly reckless,
there is a way of increasing
your odds of killing at least one
goblin (example 2a), but this is a
risky strategy as you’re actually
more likely to lose one of your
models than your opponent.
What this simple example
hopefully shows [Ed - Simple?
You lost me at ‘As you may have
guessed...’] is that it can be
useful to have an idea of what
combinations will produce the
best outcome for you across
all of your Fights, rather than
just thinking about each Fight in
isolation, which would have led
Ever needed to roll ten 6s in a single throw? Good luck with that,
your odds are about 1-in-60 million - you’ve got more chance of
winning The National Lottery! Assuming you buy a ticket of course...
Of Dice and Men - Part 1
us down the ‘1v1 Fights is a bad
tactical move’ route.
Another key point to
understand from this scenario
is that if your Warriors have a
lower Fight value (and especially
if you have better killing power),
then reducing your opponent to
only one dice is usually the best
option. Of course, the battlefield
is unlikely to be staged in such
a way where you can engineer
a simple set of 1v1 Fights, so it’s
up to you to employ flanking
tactics etc. to make this happen.
The more complex tactic
outlined in this scenario is the
use of Parrying (or, for anyone
else who isn’t a wood elf,
Shielding) to potentially give you
better killing power elsewhere
and swing the odds in your
favour - a tactic more often
employed by players whose
Warriors have a higher Defence
than our poorly armoured elf.
So, now we’ve thought about
favourable Fight combinations,
perhaps it’s worth taking a
closer look at another one of
the critical pieces in the jigsaw -
the To Wound chart.
2017 Issue 5 SBG 5
 Of Dice and Men - Part 1
The To Wound Chart
The To Wound chart in The
Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game is a
statistician’s delight and learning
to use it to your advantage can
make a huge difference to your
odds of winning a game. One
quirk of the To Wound chart is
that it makes certain Strength
and Defence values particularly
appealing, as they can really
swing the balance of probability
in your favour when it comes
to wounding or being wounded.
Most Warriors in the game are
Strength 3 or 4, so Defence 7 is
extremely useful as, most of the
time, your opponent will require
6s To Wound you in combat.
Cheaper Defence 6 troops do
the same job if your opponent
only has Strength 3 Warriors.
But why is needing 6s To Wound
such a big deal? Well, if you’re
trying to score at least one
wound against your opponent,
then having four dice needing
a 6 is comparable to having
two dice needing a 5+, or just
a single dice needing a 4+! So,
if you can make your opponent
require a 6 when rolling To
6 SBG Issue 5 2017
Wound instead of a 4+, then
they effectively need three extra
dice in the Fight. If you can get
to Defence 8 (*cough* Iron
Hills Dwarves *cough*), then
your odds of survival improve
further still, as an opponent
needing a 6x4+ would require
a whopping eight dice to match
the probability of rolling a single
4+. Just look at the snazzy graph
above if you don’t believe me.
So, other than picking higher
Defence models, how can we
use this information to our
advantage in a game? Well, it
may seem obvious, but when
charging Warriors into one
another, it’s important to think
about what your opponent will
need to roll when wounding
you and similarly what you need
to roll To Wound against them.
You may even need to position
your models a turn in advance
to ensure that you can have
the appropriate match-ups - as
outlined above, it can make all
the difference if your opponent
needs a 6 To Wound instead of
a 5+ - simply charging into the
closest model is often not the
best thing to do!
Don’t Be Hasty...
In conclusion, it’s obvious that
nobody is going to sit down
mid-game and work out every
single permutation across the
battlefield (at least you’d hope
not...) and, in the elf-goblin
example, other variables such
as Fury and Nature’s Wrath could
make things exponentially more
complicated. However, I’d still
argue that taking your time to
assess which permutations are
most favourable can help you to
make better decisions, which can
go on to have a dramatic effect
on the outcome of the game.
Ultimately, it’s about recognising
that the combined probability
across all of your Fights is more
important than the probability
of any individual Fight, however
favourable (or not) it appears.
I hope that this article has
made you think about how
an understanding of statistics
can help you on the tabletop.
Of course, there’s room for a
little more, so I’ll be back in the
next issue with Part 2 of my
probability adventure and more
head-scratching fun - until then!
Cubes After spending so long investigating probability for this issue,
Tom thought it would be fun to delve back into the archives to

of Woe
examine some of the most infamous dice rolls in the history of
the Great British Hobbit League and discover just how unlikely
they really were - you may be surprised by the results!

Who? Ed Ball What? In a tournament-deciding game,

#BO
three of Ed’s Nazgûl on Fell Beasts are dismounted by a
Nature’s Wrath from Jamie Giblin’s Thranduil, despite Ed
resisting with 4 Will and having 2 Might remaining.
SH!
How bad? 1-in-16 chance - about the same chance
as Ed slipping on a banana skin and handing the
tournament to Jamie. No… wait.

Who? Jamie Giblin What? The infamous ‘#Bosh’ triple

1 roll - Jamie charges in with Éomer, crying ‘BOSH’ as
he rolls his three dice confidently and, well, the rest is
history... we even have #Bosh dice now!
How bad? 1-in-216 chance - apparently about the
same chance as you being a direct descendent of
Genghis Khan if you’re a man… 2
Who? Damian What? Damian can only manage a 3
highest on nine dice when a 4+ would win him the
Fight and almost certainly kill David Reid’s Fell Beast.
How bad? 1-in-512 chance - the same chance as
getting nine heads in a row when flipping a coin. Or,
more interestingly, as Charlotte being born with eleven
fingers or toes. I haven’t dared to ask Damian yet…
Who? Chris Middleton What? Chris brings his Cave
Troll into battle only for my Legolas to kill the beast in a
single round of shooting using no Might (that’s triple 6 To
Wound after three successful hits) and win the game.
How Bad? 1-in-729 chance - about the same chance
as having a fictional middle name like Arwen. OK, I’m
making this up but it seems about right, poor Charlotte... 3
Who? Larry Miller & George Tysoe What? Some of
the members of Thorin’s Company are fighting a Cave
Drake - thirteen Duel rolls lead to a 3 highest.
How Bad? 1-in-8,192 chance - about the same
chance as you being born with a first name of Arwen if
you’re a girl in the U.K. (and I’m not joking this time -
just check the Office for National Statistics 2015 stats!)
Who? Kamil Domanski What? A charging Elendil on
horse fails to score a single 4+ when rolling To Wound
for two turns in a row against Lucas Whitcroft White’s
Hunter Orcs - that’s sixteen dice in total!
How bad? 1-in-65,536 chance - the same chance as
being randomly selected to win a prize when the entire
population of Andorra has entered the competition. 4
2017 Issue 5 SBG 7
 A Lifetime of Tolkien Gaming
A
L of
ifetime Gaming
Joseph A. McCullough is the author of the wildly
successful Frostgrave and has been playing games set
olkien
in Middle-earth for over thirty years. In this article,
he discusses the various titles that captivated him as
a child and an adult alike, and explores quite where
our very own The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game fits in!
The release of Peter Jackson’s The wall of my mother’s study - it
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship contained a picture of a man
of the Ring in 2001 sent shock- lying on the ground, pierced with
waves through the geek world as arrows whilst another man leaned
millions of people, young and old, over him, preparing to kiss his
were introduced to the world of forehead. It was such a sad scene
J.R.R. Tolkien for the first time. that I wondered why my mother
Understandably, many of those kept it on her wall - I probably
new fans felt such a connection asked, and she probably answered,
to Middle-earth that they needed but I don’t remember. It is no
a way to continue to immerse longer a question I need to ask.
themselves in this mythical realm.
Many made this connection
through a wonderful game played “What on Middle-earth
with beautiful little miniatures was a Balrog doing at
that you might have heard of - Mount Doom?”
The Fellowship of the Ring: Strategy
Battle Game. I had the pleasure
of watching this great movement I can’t say exactly when my
from the front row whilst I was parents introduced me to Tolkien,
working in a gaming store - I had but by the time I was 10, they had
been playing Games Workshop already read The Hobbit to me
games for years and, for me, the several times and The Lord of the
arrival of the The Fellowship of the Rings once. I cried the first time I
Ring: Strategy Battle Game was not heard Gandalf fall from the Bridge
so much a beginning as a climax of Khazad Dûm. It was soon
to years of Tolkien gaming. after that first reading of The
Lord of the Rings that I brought
I am a rare breed of geek: a home a Dungeons & Dragons box
second-generation Tolkien fan. set from a yard sale. When my
My parents discovered The Lord father saw me struggling with the
of the Rings when they were in game, he did something rather
college and both became lifelong extraordinary: he went out and
fans. One of my earliest memories bought a copy of Middle-earth Role
is of a calendar that hung on the Playing by Iron Crown Enterprises.
8 SBG Issue 5 2017
He learnt how to play the game
himself, taught it to me, and
became my first ‘games master’.
I can still clearly remember
my first character, a Beorning
ranger named Bondag. My father
ran adventures for me and my
school friends and even painted
some miniatures to help to bring
the game to life. My father had
never played an RPG or painted
a miniature before and, as far as
I know, he’s never done either
since, but he had always enjoyed
telling stories and maybe he
relished the chance to tell some
stories based in Middle-earth.
For those who have never come
across Middle-earth Role Playing,
you are missing out. Apart from
the works of Tolkien, it is probably
the greatest collection of creative
fiction set in Middle-earth. Over
the years, Iron Crown Enterprises
produced dozens of books filled
with adventures and detailed
information about Tolkien’s world.
Many of these books featured
stunning cover artwork and none
were so glorious as those painted
by Angus McBride. Before Peter
Jackson’s films came along, Angus
McBride was the largest influence
on how I visualised The Lord of the
Rings and it is from him that I still
get my personal vision of hobbits
and orcs. Just run an internet
search for ‘Angus McBride
Middle-earth’ and you’ll begin to
understand why I regard him as
such a wonderful artist.

Games?
O h We LO
Iron Crown Enterprises produced
Middle-earth Role Playing for
fifteen years from 1984 (when I
was 8) to 1999, when they lost
the licence. I was such a big fan
of the game and such a devotee
to Tolkien that I convinced my
mother, who was a freelance
writer, that we should write our
own supplement. She got in touch
with Iron Crown, one thing led to
another and a book entitled The
Grey Mountains was published in
1992 with my name in the credits!
In truth, my mom did most of the
work; I just came up with a few
of the ideas and worked out the
stats for monsters. Still, it was a
proud moment for me and my
first professional publication.
Along with being a writer, my
mother was a first generation
computer programmer and, as
a result, I played a lot of the
Joe’s first publication, The Grey Mountains - co-authored by his mother - hit gaming stores back in 1992!
♥ ES games
early computer games. The first
one I really loved was a 1988
game called War in Middle-earth,
where you controlled the forces
of good during the War of the
Ring and played over a huge map
of Middle-earth.Your main task
was to destroy the One Ring,
but you could also move all of
the armies of the Free Peoples.
I don’t know how long I played
that game, surely many weeks, but
I remember the day I stopped.
I was close - Frodo and Sam
had trudged across the plains
of Gorgoroth and they had just
reached the base of Mount Doom
when the game beeped and said
that they had encountered a
Balrog! What on Middle-earth was
a Balrog doing at Mount Doom?
Anyway, Frodo and Sam were
killed. I never played the game
again and, in truth, I’ve not been a
big fan of video games ever since.
A Lifetime of Tolkien Gaming
Precious!
By the time I went to university,
I was pretty deep into the world
of gaming - I even took a job at
my local gaming store. Those
were the days when Magic: The
Gathering was in the ascendancy.
Not only did it dominate the
gaming scene, it spawned a huge
host of imitators hoping to cash
in on the collectable card game
craze. One of these games was
the Middle-earth Collectable Card
Game put out by Iron Crown
Enterprises. The initial set for the
game was called The Wizards,
where each player took on the
role of one of the five wizards,
gathered a group of followers
and attempted to rally the forces
of Middle-earth against Sauron,
or collect powerful magic items
that could be used in the War
of the Ring. Alternatively, players
could go for the ‘insta-win’ by
destroying the One Ring.
2017 Issue 5 SBG 9
 A Lifetime of Tolkien Gaming
Joe’s favourite Middle-earth
themed dice from the Middle-
earth Collectable Card Game
It wasn’t a bad game by any
stretch, but it was a bit slow and
never really achieved the quick
‘fencing-match’ style of back-
and-forth that makes Magic: The
Gathering such an enduring game.
Still, it survived for five years and
even spawned several expansions
which allowed you to play as
Nazgûl, ‘Fallen’ Wizards and even
the Balrog.
From my point of view, two great
things came out of this card game
- the first being the production
of loads of new Tolkien artwork,
some of which was released as
limited-edition prints (I managed
to get a really cool print of
the Palantír of Orthanc - it’s
probably lost in my parents’ attic
somewhere...). The second thing
The remnants of Joe’s once proud Mithril Miniatures Angmar army -
not quite as menacing now that they’re missing a few limbs!
10 SBG Issue 5 2017
was dice - unlike most collectable
card games, the Middle-earth
variant required a pair of six-sided
dice, so a special set of dice was
created that featured the flaming
eye on one side. I can’t remember
exactly how one acquired these
dice but each pair consisted of a
black one with red characters and
red one with black characters.
Somehow, I managed to get my
hands on three of the black ones
and these remain my favourite
Middle-earth dice of all time.
Then came 2001 and the release
of the greatest film of all time! I
took half a day off work in order
to see it for the first time and
went on to see it four more times
at the cinema. Given that I was
such a huge fan of both The Lord
of the Rings and Games Workshop,
it may come as a surprise that
I did not get into The Fellowship
of the Ring: Strategy Battle Game
when it was first released, so let
me explain my reasoning. Firstly,
I was put-off by the first box set
released for the game as I had
no real interest in the battles of
the Second Age and I couldn’t
understand why Games Workshop
had only included Second Age
forces in the box. Additionally, I
was frustrated with the scale of
the figures - all of my life, I had
been painting 28mm ‘heroic scale’
figures, but the first miniatures
in the range were closer to true
25mm and I found this smaller
size extremely difficult to paint.
The final reason, and one I’m
slightly embarrassed to admit, was
snobbery, as I was initially put off
by the huge influx of new Tolkien
fans who had swarmed into the
store after seeing the movie.
They hadn’t even read the books
and they certainly hadn’t loved
Tolkien like I had! At the time that
The Fellowship of the Ring: Strategy
Battle Game was released, there
were also many who scoffed at
it, calling it a kids’ game when
compared to the complexity of
Warhammer 40,000 and other
similar wargames. And so, for
several years, I paid little attention
to the game, although I must
admit that I did pick up the odd
miniature here and there.
Then, sometime between the
release of The Two Towers and The
Return of the King, I made a pivotal
life decision - I quit my job and
went to do a one year Master’s
Degree in Creative Writing at
Bangor University in North Wales.
I had been trying to write fiction
for several years and decided
that what I really needed was
to go someplace new, inspiring,
and a little bit wild. Well, Bangor
was all of those things... I never
completed the course, but I did
meet a very nice young woman
who I ended up marrying!
We spent the first few months of
our marriage living in a grubby flat
in Bangor while I was unable to
work due to visa issues; while this
was, in many ways, a rather grey,
depressing time, it was also when
 A Lifetime of Tolkien Gaming

I discovered my love for The Lord
of the Rings: Strategy Battle Game.
Like so many good things in
my life, my new-found love of
the game was really down to
my wife; she was a big fan of
The Lord of the Rings movies
herself and wondered how I
could love Tolkien and painting
figures so much, yet not paint
the figures that went with the
films. She bought me a couple
of figures, then a couple more,
then she bought me the ‘Big Blue
Rulebook’ for Christmas. Quickly,
all of the reasons I had for not
playing the game seemed a bit silly
and I recognised my snobbery for
what it was. I got used to painting
the smaller figures (although
by then they had started to get
bigger anyway) and with the
release of Gondorians - well, I
was hooked!
When my wife graduated from
university, we were both at loose
ends - I had even unsuccessfully
applied for a job at Games
Workshop. But then something
happened that I did not intend,
the spirit of Tolkien came to me.
I have already mentioned that
I was big fan of the paintings of
Angus McBride and, as a result, I
followed his career with interest.
As well as his work on Middle-
earth, McBride was also famous
for painting for a publisher called
Osprey Publishing that produced
highly-illustrated military history
books. Thanks to McBride, I had
been a fan of Osprey for years and
when I saw a job vacancy on their
website, I jumped on it.
Tolkien led me to live in the city
with which he is most associated
and I can proudly say that I have
had more than one happy drink at
The Eagle and Child!
Working for Osprey has given
me numerous wonderful
opportunities - one of the best
was meeting Alessio Cavatore,
the principle designer behind The
“The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game is the best
game that Games Workshop has ever produced”
Two Towers: Strategy Battle Game
and getting the chance to talk
game-design philosophy and hear
a few insider stories about the
creation of the game. I’ve also had
the chance to work professionally
with Mark Latham, one of the
editors of De Agostini’s Battle
Games in Middle-earth magazine
and Matthew Ward who designed
Games Workshop’s War of the Ring.
As one might expect, meeting
and talking to such big names in
the history of The Hobbit: Strategy
Battle Game has done nothing but
increase my love for the game. Far
from being the kids’ game I once
thought it was, I now believe that
it is the best game that Games
Workshop has ever produced.
There are many reasons for this,
but I think the true stroke of
innovative genius is Might, which
means Heroes can be played
as either killing machines or as
battlefield leaders. I think it is this
element, more than any other,
that has seen the game endure for
a decade and a half.
These days, with the birth of
my children and the release and
success of my own wargame,
Frostgrave, I only play The Hobbit:
Strategy Battle Game occasionally.
That said, it’s a great way to relax.
I still paint the figures when I can
and in the years to come, who
knows what new games will be
created based on the imaginary
world of Tolkien. I’ll be surprised
if we ever see another that is as
well-developed, as comprehensive,
and as well-supported as The
Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game but, of
course, there’s always room for
a little more and, hopefully, there
will be many more wonderful
Middle-earth titles in the future.

Long story short, I got the job,

my wife and I moved to Oxford
and I have been here working
for Osprey ever since, over ten
years now! Indirectly, my love for
Some of Joe’s earliest books from Middle-earth Role Playing - the first
steps on the road to his career and a lifetime of Tolkien gaming
2017 Issue 5 SBG 11
 Tactica - Elven Spell-casters

TACTICA
In Issue 4, Jamie Giblin began to discuss how best to utilise the White Council - the most
powerful collective of Good magic in the game. Having previously examined the mighty
Istari, Jamie now turns his attention to the elves, who have a soft spot in his heart
since they have helped him to victory in many tournaments. Once again, Jamie will be
picking his favourite version of each White Council Hero, examining their battlefield
role and then analysing what their other profiles have to offer - over to Jamie!

Elven Spell-casters reliably use her free Will point to

launch attacks on enemy spirits
being Transfixed! So, give Galadriel
some exercise at the start of the
and put them under pressure game by making her run from
Galadriel, Lady of Light from the outset. Hero to Hero, Fortifying them
before the lines clash.
“Counter to Magic, Spirit Bane” In contrast to Banishment,
Galadriel’s Fortify Spirit is an In addition to these two spells,
Galadriel, Lady of Light’s spells exclusively supportive spell; when Galadriel has two incredibly useful
are unique to her profile, which cast successfully on herself or a Special Rules. The Light of Eärendil
makes playing with her an friendly model, that model gets means that Galadriel effectively
interesting experience. Banishment two free dice to resist spells. counts as having cast Channelled
is undoubtedly the greatest spell If Channelled, the model also Blinding Light but without having
in the Good magic arsenal for receives +1 to their resist rolls, to expend any Might or Will to
dealing with spirits, as it instantly so you’ll never need to roll higher do so. In addition, as the effect
inflicts a wound on these foul than a 5 with your two free is automatic, Galadriel does not
beings (namely The Necromancer dice to resist any spell. To make need to waste a turn casting the
and his Nazgûl, but don’t forget things even better, Galadriel casts spell when she could be casting
Shades, Barrow-Wights, Castellans Fortify Spirit on a 2+! This allows a crucial Fortify Spirit on another
of Dol Guldur and even The Galadriel to make your Heroes Hero, a huge boon which gives
Balrog!). Given that Galadriel and monsters effectively immune her the edge over Gandalf and
casts this spell on a 3+, you can to what they fear the most - Círdan (see box out).

If you choose to take to the table with a fully assembled White Council army, then you can expect to
devastate the enemy with your magical onslaught - good luck tracking all of those Will points though!

12 SBG Issue 5 2017


Banish That! Whilst Galadriel’s Banishment might make her the best anti-spirit model in the game, even
she will find it tough to deal with The Necromancer, The Nazgûl and eight Castellans of Dol Guldur!
Galadriel’s second Special Rule,
War Aspect, gives enemy models
within 6" a -1 penalty to their
Courage. Use this to your
advantage by positioning Galadriel
in such a way that makes it
difficult for enemies to charge
Terror-causing models (particularly
useful given that several members
of the White Council cause
Terror).You can also use her to put
pressure on low Courage enemy
Heroes once you have Broken
your opponent - it’s always great
when a Hero runs away because
of the -1 modifier!
“Galadriel, Lady of Light is clearly the most
effective counter to Evil spell-casters in the game”
Galadriel, Lady of Light also has
excellent magical synergy with
all other member of the White
Council. When Galadriel casts
Channelled Fortify Spirit on a
White Council member, the One
of Purpose army list Special Rule
stacks with the bonus granted by
Channelling the spell to give an
amazing +2 to resist on two free
dice - giving these Heroes a 75%
chance of resisting at worst, even
before Might is used [Ed - enough
of that Jamie, there’s more than
enough probability nonsense in Tom’s
article for one issue].
With the combination of
Banishment to destroy spirits and
Fortify Spirit to protect your own
Heroes, Galadriel, Lady of Light is
clearly the most effective counter
to Evil spell-casters in the game.
Galadriel: Despite not having
Fortify Spirit, Galadriel is still
effective against enemy spell-
casters thanks to her free Will
point not being attached to a
staff that can be broken. Keep it
simple - use her to protect your
army from shooting with Blinding
Light, then focus on shutting down
enemy Heroes and monsters with
her copious amount of Will and
3+ Immobilise. Top Tip: keep her as
far away from combat as possible!
Galadriel, Protectress of
Lothlórien: A worse version of
Galadriel, Lady of Light. Top Tip:
leave her in the display cabinet.
Tactica - Elven Spell-casters
WHAT ABOUT...
Círdan? The Shipwright
has fallen on hard times
and it’s difficult to justify his
inclusion as he is competing
directly with Galadriel to
provide protection from
shooting via Blinding Light.
While he does have the
fantastic Aura of Dismay spell,
Thranduil also has this and
is a much stronger choice.
Worst of all is Círdan’s
complete disregard for his
own safety - turning up to
every battle unarmed, un-
armoured and with 1 measly
Might makes him completely
useless in a Fight. Maybe it’s
time for Círdan to sail off
into the sunset…
2017 Issue 5 SBG 13
 Tactica - Elven Spell-casters
WHAT ABOUT...
Celeborn? Celeborn is a
Hero who sits in an odd
place in The Hobbit: Strategy
Battle Game. He has strong
base stats, with 3 Attacks,
Wounds, Might and Fate;
however, his standard profile
leaves him both unarmed
and without armour, so you
have to pay a ‘tax’ to get the
most out of these great stats
- making it hard to justify
his inclusion over Elrond or
Thranduil in a White Council
army. His Immobilise and Aura
of Command spells are a nice
bonus, but with only 3 Will
I’d stick to Immobilising big
threats at key moments. Pair
him up with Galadriel for a
match made in Aman.
1 2
Having lost the Heroic Move roll-off, the Rivendell Knights have been charged by Hunter Orcs and will
likely suffer heavy losses. Thankfully, Elrond’s Terror Special Rule has prevented him from being charged,
allowing him to cast a timely Nature’s Wrath in a move that should help to devastate the Evil line instead.
14 SBG Issue 5 2017
Elrond, Lord of the West
“Combat Hero, Support Caster”
At first glance, it is evident
that Elrond is not on par with
Galadriel or the Istari in terms of
Magical Powers. He only boasts
two spells and 3 Will points,
hardly earth-shaking stuff and
barely worth including in the
article, right? Wrong! Elrond
comes with Nature’s Wrath,
which is literally earth-shaking
[Ed - HA!] and knocks all enemy
models within 6" Prone - this
can be invaluable when you find
yourself outnumbered and need
to either escape or get some
“Elrond’s true strength lies in his combat potential”
killing done. Nature’s Wrath also
offers a much needed boost to
forces - like elves - that struggle
to wound high Defence models,
as the double strikes when rolling
To Wound against Prone models
dramatically improves their killing
power. However, Arwen (see box
out), Stormcallers and Thranduil
are cheaper alternatives that
provide the same ability. Elrond
also has the spell Renew, which
can help to keep your slightly
squishier Heroes (or even Elrond
himself!) in the fight for longer
- we’ve all had that moment
where a stray arrow has wounded
Saruman or Galadriel early in the
game only for it to prove to be
their eventual downfall.
However, Elrond’s true strength
lies in his combat potential: 3
Attacks, an elven blade and the
ability to Heroic Strike for free
(via Champion of the Free Peoples)
allow Elrond to go toe-to-toe
with any foe. My recommendation
would be to use Elrond to
charge the big gribbly thing you
Immobilised with Celeborn (see
box out), especially since Elrond’s
defensive stats of Defence 7, 3
Wounds and 3 re-rollable Fate
(thanks to Vilya) mean he should
survive a round of combat with
most beasts in Middle-earth even
if the Immobilise was unsuccessful.
Besides, even if Elrond is
wounded, he can just heal it next
turn with a timely Renew!

Elven spell-casters can be very useful outside of a pure White Council army - Celeborn and Galadriel
make effective and thematic leaders around which to build an army based on the defence of Lothlórien
Elrond works well in an all-Hero
force where Might is a precious
commodity and having a Fight
value of 7 or higher every turn
is key. In higher points games,
Gandalf is a thematic and
effective partner to Elrond, as his
Strengthen Will can keep Elrond’s
Nature’s Wrath a constant threat
or provide potentially infinite
healing through Renew!
Elrond (from House of Elrond):
Although he does not have the
Champion of the Free Peoples
Special Rule, this version of
Elrond has the advantage of being
able to take a horse and lead one
of the game’s most competitive
troop types: Rivendell Knights.
The extra mobility, killing power
and increased Nature’s Wrath
range that come with having a
mount are viewed by many as
more valuable than a free Heroic
Strike, making this the ‘best’
Elrond for some players.
Elrond (from Eregion and
Rivendell): Elrond can lead
High Elf troops in this form but
is otherwise identical to his
Lord of the West profile with
WHAT ABOUT...
Arwen? Arwen is one
of the few Heroes in the
White Council who can be
mounted on a horse. This is
a crucial bit of wargear that
can also increase the killing
potential of other members
of the White Council; charge
Arwen and Galadriel, Lady of
Light into an infantry model
and they’ll prove that girl
power is alive and kicking in
Middle-earth! Just like Elrond,
Arwen can cast Nature’s
Wrath and by using Arwen to
provide the magical support,
Elrond can preserve his Will
for resisting those pesky
Transfixes, making for an
effective and thematic father-
daughter partnership.
Tactica - Elven Spell-casters
the exception of not having the
Champion of the Free Peoples
Special Rule. The loss of this
fantastic bonus, coupled with the
inability to take a horse, means
than this version of Elrond is only
worth including if you need to
bolster your numbers.
Elrond, Master of Rivendell:
In this guise, Elrond wears no
armour but costs more points
than any other Elrond profile.
His selling points are Foresight of
the Eldar, which allows Elrond to
influence your Priority roll up or
down a limited number of times,
and the Wrath of Bruinen, which is
a slightly more powerful version
of Nature’s Wrath (or a super-
powerful version if cast in water).
However, these two bonuses are
simply not worth the additional
point cost and loss of armour. Top
Tip: don’t pick him unless you’re
playing in Lake-town or the
middle of the Sundering Seas...
Do you agree with
my assessment? Let
me know over on
the GBHL Podcast
YouTube Channel.
2017 Issue 5 SBG 15
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

BATTLE
W
REPORT
hen we first set eyes on Rick Fryer’s magnificent Dale board back in
September 2016, we knew that we had to put together something truly
spectacular for this issue’s Battle Report. James Long, Steve Crowe and
Dave Fredericks jumped at the chance to join in, but first there was the small
matter of figuring out what we were going to do with almost five-hundred models...

The Battle of Dale

Damian: And so we come to it at last - the great
battle of our time! It’s safe to say that Tom and I
had been waiting to play this battle report for a very
long time. Rick started work on the Dale board in
July 2015 (just after Issue 2 was published for those
keeping track) and was sending through work-
in-progress pictures throughout the design and
production of Issues 3 and 4! This meant that, even
during the eighteen months we spent trapped in Dol
Guldur, Dale was always there in the back of our
minds and we had lots of time to plan something
truly exceptional. Our goal was simple in theory,
but ambitious in practice - to gather enough models
to fill the board and accurately recreate the epic
fight scenes from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five
Armies in the largest SBG battle report yet! This
undertaking would require us to source hundreds
of Gundabad orcs, Lake-town Militia and Mirkwood
Elves and somehow bring them all to the SBG
Towers photo studio [Copy Ed - Lily’s parents’ house in
Aynho…] over the same weekend.
So, to boost our own modest armies, Tom and I
got in touch with players whose collections fit the
bill. Before long, Dave Fredericks, Steve Crowe and
James Long were all signed up and so it was that we
descended on the studio in Aynho for one heck of
a game! With such a unique game ahead, we knew
we’d have to create a scenario ourselves, so we
decided to use the following three Special Rules:
Azog’s Orders: The Gundabad Orc Captains in this
battle are the most cunning of Azog’s commanders -
they gain the Master of Battle Special Rule.
16 SBG Issue 5 2017
You’re Not a Man, You’re a Weasel: Alfrid’s true
nature has been well and truly exposed by this point
in the story and he is not above hurting his fellow
Lake-towners to ensure his own survival. In this
battle, Alfrid’s Dubious Council has no effect and he
is controlled by the player with Priority. If the Evil
player charges him into a Good model, then the
Good model will fight him as normal and attempt
to ‘knock him out’ - if Alfrid is wounded by a Good
model, rather than removing him or using his Fate
point, place him Prone.
Reinforcements: Despite the huge scale of the
scenario, this is still only a small part of the battle
raging throughout Dale and more warriors are
arriving all the time. At the end of the Good player’s
Move phase, roll a dice for any Lake-town Militia
killed earlier in the battle, on a 5+ they may re-enter
from any table edge. Similarly, at the end of the Evil
player’s Move phase, roll a dice for every Gundabad
Orc Warrior killed earlier in the battle, on a 5+ they
may re-enter from any table edge.
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

Victory Conditions With the scenario written, we were all

eagerly awaiting the day of the battle.
With such a unique game involving so many models and However, as explained in the Editorial, life
such an intricate gaming board, we knew we’d need to sometimes finds a way to destroy the
keep the victory conditions simple. After watching the best laid plans and I was delighted to be
scene from the film several times, we realised that the unexpectedly called away from attending the
Battle of Dale was primarily about controlling the city as battle report by Charlotte’s early arrival. With
a strategic asset, so we decided that controlling buildings that, I had no choice but to hand over the
at the end of the game should be an important factor in reigns to Tom. Oh dear...
deciding the winner. In addition, the actions of the Good
Heroes and the Evil monsters clearly had a huge impact in Tom: And so it fell to me to deploy the
the film, so we decided that each army should be rewarded models! We took our cues from the films and
for neutralising such threats. This led us to the following: simply set everything up as cinematically as
possible. Hilda was leading a large contingent
Evil: 2 Victory Points for killing each of the following: Alfrid, of Lake-towners by the Great Hall, Gandalf
Bain, Bard, Bilbo, Gandalf, Hilda, Percy, Thranduil, Sigrid and and Bilbo were on the bridge, Percy was
Tilda (with the girls only being worth 1 Victory Point each). on the city walls alongside the archers and
Bard was deployed in the backstreets, 24"
Good: 2 Victory Points for every Gundabad Ogre and away from his children. The legions of orcs
Gundabad Troll killed. were spread throughout the city, attacking
the Lake-towners from all sides. Finally, we
In addition, we marked twenty buildings throughout the decided that Thranduil’s elven army would
city as objectives. Whichever side had more models within not arrive until Turn 3, at which point they
3" of each of these buildings at the end of the game would would enter through the main gate as they
gain 1 Victory Point. do in the film. The board was set and a lot of
pieces were about to start moving! James was
We decided to play for eight turns, at the end of which we so excited about getting started that I left our
would tally the Victory Points to see who was victorious! strategic thoughts to him…

17 SBG Issue 5 2017

 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
James: I’ve really enjoyed the previous four issues of
SBG, it’s a fantastic resource for The Hobbit: Strategy
Battle Game, the like of which had been missing from
our hobby for quite a while [Ed - Oh you *blushes*].
So, imagine my excitement when I got a message
from SBG Towers asking me when I would next be
down in the Oxford area, as they would like my help
with something. Then, imagine my excitement when
this ‘something’ turns out to be nothing other than
the battle report for Issue 5! The only caveat that
accompanied this invitation was that I needed to get
my hands on as many Survivors of Lake-town and
Azog’s Legion models as possible - ‘no problem’ I
thought, how many models could they really need?
Quite a few as it turned out…
18 SBG Issue 5 2017
As I arrived at SBG Towers, precisely when I meant
to, I found that the wonderful Steve Crowe and
Dave Fredericks had been given the same task and
I began to understand that we would be playing
a game on a truly gargantuan scale. After staring
in awe at the Dale board for quite some time, I
realised I’d have to take a moment to comment on
what an outstanding effort Rick Fryer has done with
paint, foam and what I can only assume was a little
bit of magic - pure brilliance! After pulling myself
together, I discovered that I was to be partnered
with Tom [Ed - Sorry about that] and, after going
through the rules of the scenario, the strategic cogs
in my brain started to whir as I contemplated the
areas in which our army could be strong.
Perhaps most importantly, we will have some
fantastic new Heroes from the There and Back Again
supplement and all the Special Rules which they
bring to the table. In particular, Bard and his family
are incredible when fighting as a unit, so we will have
to make getting them together a priority. However,
we also have some serious weaknesses in this
match-up; firstly, we are really not looking forward
to the number of monsters we will be up against
(eight ogres and two trolls - that’s potentially ten
Hurls per turn!).

The Armies
Secondly, the Strength and Defence match-ups between
our core troops are not favourable for us, as Evil’s Strength
4 and Defence 6 completely trumps our Strength 3 and
Defence 5 - Dave and Steve will often be wounding on a 5+
whilst we will need 6s! To help mitigate against this, Hilda
will need to lead as many charges as possible, as her +1
To Wound bubble from the Stand by our Men! Special Rule
will really help our Lake-town Militia to carve through the
hordes of orcs.
“How many models could they need?
Quite a few as it turned out...”
James
Having to endure two turns of combat before the
Mirkwood reinforcements arrive will be agonising, as the
aforementioned Strength and Defence match-up will surely
swing the momentum heavily in Dave and Steve’s favour.
However, if we can hold off the orcs for those first couple
of turns through a judicious use of Shielding, Bard’s Saviour
of Lake-town banner effect, and a good performance from
our Heroes, then the arrival of Thranduil and his elves
should be enough to turn the tide in our favour - allowing
us to then push for the building objectives and ultimately
carry the day for us. Any man who wants to give their last -
FOLLOW ME!
Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
The Armies
Tom: Rather than working out armies in
the normal manner, we simply decided
to grab every Survivors of Lake-town,
Thranduil’s Halls, and Azog’s Legion
model that we could get our hands on
and throw them onto Rick’s incredible
board! In total, there were nearly five-
hundred models and over 6000 points
on the table for what promised to be a
truly spectacular battle!
The Good army included: Thranduil,
Bard, Bain, Sigrid, Tilda, Alfrid, Percy,
Hilda, Gandalf, Bilbo, 200 Lake-town
Guard/Militia and 50 Mirkwood
Elves, plus a handful of Palace Guard,
Mirkwood Knights and captains.
The Evil army included: 8 Gundabad
Orc Captains, 8 Gundabad Ogres, 2
Gundabad Trolls, 150 Gundabad Orc
Warriors and 40 Gundabad Berserkers.
2017 Issue 5 SBG 19
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Dave and Steve: When we got the invitation to
take part in this bat-rep, the only clue we were
given was to bring along as many Survivors of
Lake-town and Azog’s Legion models as we could
get our grubby mitts on! Given that it was a battle
report for SBG, we were confident that there’d be
some beautiful terrain involved but even we weren’t
prepared for what we saw upon our arrival - Rick’s
Dale board looked like it had come straight out
of the film! Having great scenery really does add
a unique dimension to games and we knew that
playing on this amazingly intricate board with so
many models was going to be a fun challenge!
It was quickly decided that we would take command
of Azog’s Legion, while Tom and James would control
the forces of Good. This suited us down to the
ground, as we’ve both played with Azog’s Legion
a few times and we actually partnered-up at the
Ardacon International: 2016 doubles tournament so
we already have a bit of chemistry!
20 SBG Issue 5 2017
With no named Heroes, we will have to use our
captains wisely and utilise our monsters’ Brutal
Power Attacks to full effect. Alfrid could become a
useful ally on the turns in which we’ve won Priority,
as we could move him to tie up another Good
model or two in order to nullify Control Zones and
allow our harder hitting troops to move past freely.
As for our target priority, Bard’s children will surely
provide us with some easy Victory Points, although
getting to them might not be so simple.
“Rick’s Dale board looked like it
had come straight out of the film!”
Dave & Steve
Our cunning plan is to use the ogres and trolls
to Hurl Lake-towners down the tightly-packed
alleyways, clearing a path for our fast-moving
berserkers to catch the girls before Thranduil and
his gang turn up to ruin our day. Bilbo is also a
potentially soft target, but The One Ring might make
things more difficult. This is particularly true given
that his travelling companion is that pesky grey
wizard and, annoyingly, those narrow battlements
and bridges will limit our ability to avoid lining up for
a devastating Sorcerous Blast as we attempt to chase
them down. Still, there is no point in worrying about
it and we are feeling fairly confident that we can
easily smash through the men of Lake-town before
the elves arrive. Attack the city!
 Objective - Keep your orcs alive do it! However, if you’re one
model away from breaking and
Charge in a shield-armed orc want to minimise the chance
supported by a spear-armed of dying while also trying to
friend as, in this situation, only finish off the pesky elf, then one
one orc can die (although, with shield-armed orc with a spear-
a 68% chance of death, the odds supporting friend offers a 13%
are not good for that poor sod!). chance of wounding Thranduil
If you can’t do this, you can and a 32% chance of not dying
always Shield - it’s better having (better than the 21% chance of
two Shielding models than one, not dying in the scenario that
as the chance of at least one I first suggested). Pretty awful
orc dying is 69% instead of 75%. odds regardless... try not to get
However, you open yourself up yourself into this position in the
Fighting Thranduil to a 48% chance of two orcs first place!
dying, so you may not think it’s
As Thranduil rode up the worth it and just chuck in one Objective - Stop Thranduil from
causeway to Dale, how could unfortunate soul to die. Heroic Combatting
Azog’s legions possibly stand
against such a powerful foe? Objective - Cause a single If you have five models at your
wound on Thranduil disposal, the best thing to do is to
Tom: Even with Rick’s amazing charge all five into base contact
Dale board as a distraction, If you really need to finish off with Thranduil to give him only a
all I could really think about Thranduil and don’t care how 10% chance of succeeding (even
was probability. This led me many casualties you take in with his eight dice!). Sadly, the
to offer Dave and Steve some the process, you should trap Elven King will kill at least three
[Ed - unasked for...] tips on how Thranduil with either three or of your orcs over 50% of the
best to use their Gundabad Orc four orcs - both options offer time in this setup. Probably easier
Warriors to deal with Thranduil a 16% chance of killing the to just block his path to anything
and his infuriating Bladelord mighty elf (so charging in three you don’t want him to slingshot
Special Rule. Should they throw is probably slightly better, as you into rather than throw so many
loads of models into combat, then don’t need to worry about models away!
or just hope that a plucky orc more orcs dying). Of course, if
or two get lucky? Well, it all you can get spear-armed orcs Conclusion: Thranduil is a beast
depends on their objective… to support in this scenario, then and you’ll almost certainly lose.

Objective - Win the Fight

Easier said than done, but the

best thing to do is charge in two
shield-armed models and Shield
(this gives you a 25% chance of
winning). It’s pretty much the
same odds if you put in a third
Shielding model so don’t bother
as, let’s face it, you’d rather not
lose more orcs for no reason
(even if you are acting on behalf
of the ruthless Azog).
22 SBG Issue 5 2017
2017 Issue 5 SBG 23
 The battle
be
stone bloc gan as a Gundaba
ko d Tr
of Dale a n its head charged oll with a colossal
nd smash
stonework ed a huge towards the outer
hole in th w
armies cla
. Azog’s fo
rces rushe e dilapida alls
shed and d into the c te d
blurred u so ity, the
ntil it was on the battle lines
to discern almost im
friend fro possible
m foe!

Turn 1 Under the shadow of the bell tower, Bard called a

With the armies beginning the game so close
together, Dave took advantage by charging a
Gundabad Berserker into both Sigrid and Tilda but,
thankfully for James and Tom, Bain was on hand to
counter-charge the opportunistic orc and trap it in
place. Jumping at the chance to put some distance
between the children and the enemy, James gleefully
called a free Heroic Combat with Bain. Tom feared
the worst as the berserker rolled a 6 in the Duel
but James, who had no such concerns, nonchalantly
rolled a 6 and won the roll-off before proceeding to
inflict two wounds on the berserker!
James had already started to plan the next step of
the Heroic Combat when, with a grin, Steve picked
up two dice to roll for the berserker’s Oblivious to
Pain Special Rule. A look of concern flashed over
James’ face as Steve passed the first test, but audible
sighs of relief came from both Tom and James as
Steve narrowly failed the second, allowing the
children to sprint away and put some space between
themselves and the pursuing orcs.
24 SBG Issue 5 2017
successful Heroic Combat, killing his adversary with
ease before racing after his fleeing children. Tom and
James reasoned that Heroic Combats were the best
use of Bard’s Might, as the sooner Bard reached his
kids, the sooner he started to get Might for free!
Elsewhere on the battlefield, a Lake-town Militia
Captain used both of his Might points to inflict a
wound on a Gundabad Ogre - James and Tom were
desperate to bring down these intimidating foes as
quickly as possible. Elsewhere, Gandalf killed an orc
blocking his way with a Sorcerous Blast as he and
Bilbo rushed onto the bridge above the gatehouse,
whilst Percy slew another on the outer wall with a
well-placed arrow. Alfrid was not so heroic and fled
from an orc towards the northern city walls.
Further fights had raged across the city and, after
only one turn of fighting, Dave and Steve’s forces
had the upper hand with eighteen Lake-towners
falling for the loss of only thirteen orcs. With the
armies already spread over the battlefield, all of
the objectives were claimed one way or the other,
leaving the score at 10 Victory Points each.

Turn 2
Both sides received five reinforcements to swell
their numbers as Good won Priority; however,
despite getting to move first, two failed Courage
Tests from James left a Gundabad Troll unengaged,
meaning that Steve could choose who and where it
should fight and, importantly, where it could Hurl.
With an amusingly reckless and thematic attitude,
Steve and Dave gave no thought to the lives of
their own troops as they turned the courtyard
into a bowling alley - Tom and James’ fears about
the devastating potential of the Evil monsters were
coming true already.
Bain and his sisters continued to sprint through the
protective lines of defending militia while a group of
orcs followed in close pursuit. Bilbo put on The One
Ring as he and Gandalf tried to block the progress of
a warband of Gundabad orcs; the wizard successfully
cast Sorcerous Blast again but this time failed to cause
any wounds, leading Tom to mutter something about
the unreliability of Radagast’s dodgy staff. Seeing that
Gandalf and Bilbo were under threat, Percy rallied
his archers, sending half of his cohort charging to
the aid of the Grey Pilgrim, with the other half
raining arrows down upon the unsuspecting spear-
armed orcs below. Alfrid continued to flee from the
orc chasing him, but was taken aback as a second
orc now blocked his path at the opposite end of the
wall - the noose was tightening...
Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Bard continued his Heroic Combat-fuelled rampage,
killing another two orcs before taking a slight detour
through the backstreets after his intended route
was entirely blocked by other Fights! However, it
wasn’t all plain sailing for the Lake-towners [Ed -
you’re welcome] - despite a Lake-town Militia Captain
rolling a double 6 for his Courage Test to charge a
Gundabad Troll, the plucky fisherman was promptly
battered [Ed - you’re so welcome] as the troll’s
Crushing Club came thundering down.
James and Tom had racked up fifteen kills this turn;
however, thanks to the damage from the Hurls in
the courtyard, Steve and Dave had managed twenty-
eight kills and had also moved ahead in the building
objective count - the score was now 12-8 to Evil.
Tom’s Probability Intrusion! Tom was clearly in
the mood for stats after writing his Of Dice and
Men article and got very excited when, in the
early stages of the game, five Gundabad orcs
and a Gundabad Orc Captain lost a Fight to a
single Lake-town Militia. To make matters worse,
the Lake-towner then managed to wound the
captain despite the orc using his Fate point! Tom
was eager to point out that, assuming Dave and
Steve had no interest in ‘wasting’ Might, there
was only a 1-in-208 chance of this happening
which was almost as bad as the infamous #Bosh
roll (see page 7)! As always, no-one had asked...
2017 Issue 5 SBG 25
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
As the third turn began, Thranduil lead his elves up the causeway and into Dale - could he turn the tide?
Turn 3
Evil were clearly in the ascendency as Priority swung
back to Dave and Steve and ten Evil and fourteen
Good reinforcements joined the fray. However,
the arrival of this small Lake-town contingent was
overshadowed by a rush of red and gold in the
courtyard - the elves had arrived! Thranduil set
an example for his warriors as he charged two
Gundabad Berserkers and two Gundabad Orc
Warriors and, at the expense of only a single Might
point, killed all four in a swirl of blades! Knowing
that the elves would quickly overpower the orcs in
this area by sheer weight of numbers, Dave sent a
Gundabad Troll and a Gundabad Ogre to provide
a more substantial roadblock for them to fight
through next turn.
Nearby, the ground by the fountain in the courtyard
was strewn with so many Prone models that it
actually made it hard for the Gundabad Ogres and
Trolls to capitalise on their earlier achievements
and charge any significant targets; nonetheless, the
26 SBG Issue 5 2017
Evil forces continued to press their advantage as the
shattered survivors of the Lake-town Militia in the
courtyard fell back towards Hilda by the Great Hall.
At the beginning of the Fight phase, Bard used his
final Might point to call his third consecutive Heroic
Combat to further close the distance to his children.
However, this was immediately countered by a
nearby Gundabad Orc Captain thanks to the Azog’s
Orders Special Rule; if the Evil players won the roll-
off and killed the solitary Lake-town Militia fighting
the captain, then Bard’s chances of ever getting to
his children would be all but extinguished! Once
again, the Dice Gods smiled on Tom and James as
they won the roll-off - Bard killed the berserker he
was fighting and escaped the orcish trap!
Tom’s Probability Intrusion! Bard rolled a 6, 6, 6
to win the Fight and 6, 6, 5 To Wound against the
berserker in his bid to reach his children. Almost
immediately, Tom had answered the question no-
one had asked by explaining the odds of rolling
five 6s in a row are a staggering 1 in 7,776!

In the backstreets, Bain and
the Lake-towners continued to
attempt to stem the tide of evil
crashing down upon them. Bain’s
free Heroic Combat allowed him
to kill the Gundabad Berserker he
and his sisters were fighting and
sprint off again, weaving in and out
of the congested alley that ran
parallel to the one their father
was fighting his way through!
Elsewhere, Gandalf called a
Heroic Move to ensure that he
was getting the most out of his
magic and successfully Sorcerous
Blasted the tightly packed orcs
again, with this attempt proving
more successful than the last
as two orcs were killed. Percy
once again led his archers into
combat in an attempt to ease the
pressure on Gandalf and Bilbo
and spent a Might point to kill his
foe. The net around Alfrid was
growing ever tighter as he was
charged by one of his pursuing
orcs but, somewhat unexpectedly,
the unarmed councillor managed
to win the combat and kill the
orc! Tom and James threw a
couple of jests towards Steve
and Dave who scowled and
responded with a couple of
gestures of their own…
After resolving the rest of the
Fights raging across the city, the
Good side had taken thirty-five
casualties to Evil’s thirty-three
and Dave and Steve continued to
sneak ahead in the Victory Point
count - the score now stood at
13-7 to Evil.
James and Tom celebrate
Alfrid’s unexpected success
Bard fights his way through
the streets to reach his kids
Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Turn 4
The pressure on the Good side
was further increased as Dave and
Steve maintained Priority - although
Tom and James did receive twelve
reinforcements, whilst only nine
orcs joined the Evil side.
After Thranduil called a Heroic
Move to push his elves further into
the courtyard, James dismounted
the Elven King and charged him
into two Gundabad Orc Warriors
(we all agreed that the elk had
been shot down like in the film!).
Dave threw caution to the wind
and counter-charged Thranduil with
another four orcs which, whilst
giving Dave six dice in the Fight,
took Thranduil up to a whopping 9
Attacks [Copy Ed - he clearly hadn’t
listened to my advice on page 21]!
Sadly for James, Thranduil only
scored a 5 highest on his nine dice
and was left with no choice but
to use his final Might point [Ed -
it’s not bad, but it’s no ‘nine dice, 3
highest’… see page 7]. However,
James’ frustration turned to joy as,
in a blur of furious swordsmanship,
Thranduil cut down all six of the
orcs, causing James to do a little
victory dance and scream “JUST
LIKE IN THE FILM!”. On the
opposite side of the courtyard, the
Evil forces had gained even more
ground, although it did come at the
cost of an ogre, who was brought
down by a couple of (clearly angry)
Lake-town Militia - Tom and James
celebrated gaining some much-
needed Victory Points!
2017 Issue 5 SBG 27
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Bain valiantly defends his sisters from the hordes of orcs and
looming shadow of an ogre - would Bard reach them in time?
After some careful manoeuvring in the backstreets,
Steve managed to get an orc into combat with
Sigrid, before then moving an ogre between Bard
and his children, posing a serious threat to the kids
in the next few turns. Despite this, Tom was able to
move Bard so that he was within 6" of Sigrid for the
first time and, as a result, could call a free Heroic
Combat against the plucky orc who charged him.
As expected, the orc was easily slain but, with so
many Evil warriors blocking the way to the children,
including the ogre, Tom was forced to divert Bard
around a building.
On the bridge, Gandalf was charged by two orcs
and forced to expend a Fate point after losing the
Fight. Even worse, Percy’s attempt to assist the Grey
Pilgrim faltered as, despite using a Fate point, he was
wounded by one of Dave’s berserkers. Luckily for
James and Tom, Bilbo at least stayed out of trouble -
the magical power of The One Ring kept a Gundabad
Orc Captain rooted to the spot despite it being only
1" away from the invisible hobbit!
After getting a taste for blood in the previous
turn, Alfrid, under the control of a delighted Steve,
decided to attack a nearby Lake-town Militia.
However, the militiaman was clearly one of the many
Lake-towners who had been wronged by Alfrid’s
schemes and swiftly rendered the treacherous
councillor unconscious. Across the city, the fighting
consolidated what had been a pretty good turn for
Tom and James - they had killed twenty-nine Evil
models for the loss of only sixteen of their own;
however, they still trailed 10-12 in Victory Points.
28 SBG Issue 5 2017
Tom and Dave react slightly differently
to James’ ‘misguided’ roll for Thranduil
Turn 5
Dave and Steve rubbed their hands together as
twelve more orcs joined the fray compared to
only six Lake-town Militia. However, Good did
win Priority so Hilda was able to lead her defiant
followers back into the packed ranks of the enemy
with renewed heart and, between them, they were
able to bring down a hulking ogre! Not only that,
Hilda’s +1 To Wound bonus allowed the Lake-town
Militia to make light work of the orcs, but Tom and
James’ joy was short-lived as a devastating Hurl from
a Gundabad Troll undid all their hard work, killing a
number of Lake-town Militia, a captain and, worst of
all, leaving Hilda with only 1 Wound remaining.
On the opposite side of the courtyard, another
ogre was brought down, this time by a volley of
elven arrows - killing two ogres in one turn had
added some much-needed Victory Points to Tom
and James’ tally. Nearby, Thranduil continued to cut
down orcs but several nearby elves were killed by a
Gundabad Troll - a face-off seemed inevitable.
On the bridge, Bilbo’s luck ran out as the Gundabad
Orc Captain finally spotted him (with the help of a
Will point) and, after charging and overpowering
the hobbit, forced him to use all of his Fate points!
For the second time, Radagast’s staff confounded
Gandalf as the wizard failed to cast Sorcerous Blast,
drawing murmured curses from James and Tom. Even
worse, the Grey Pilgrim then lost his last two Fate
points after being charged by two orcs who were

relieved to find themselves still standing.
Percy led his band of archers in another
charge and this time they were able to
clear the Gatehouse tower of orcs, with
Percy leading by example, killing the orc
he faced with another Might point.
In the backstreets, Bain had to throw
himself in front of an orc to protect his
sisters and, despite his best efforts, was
beaten back and took a wound. Things
began to look even grimmer for Tom and
James as the hulking form of the ogre was
within Barging distance of the children;
however, the tide of the battle turned
once more when the petrified Lake-
towner facing the huge beast managed
to fend it off with his shield! In addition,
James’ Lake-town Militia prevented
many of Steve’s Gundabad orcs from
advancing and, in the process, formed a
channel that enabled Bard to race closer
to his children. The bowman killed two
orcs as he sped through the streets and
approached a rickety looking cart.
In total, Turn 5 saw twenty-four Good and
twenty-eight Evil models fall - the scores
were now even at 13 Victory Points each!
The vicious fighting raged inside and outside the ruined buildings and burnt out houses of Dale
Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Turn 6
As the scenario neared its climax, the pressure to claim
objectives and kill Heroes and monsters increased. Once
again, Priority went to Good and fifteen Lake-town Militia
appeared by the Great Hall to reinforce Hilda’s followers,
as Tom and James attempted to repeat the success of the
previous turn’s charge. In response, Dave and Steve brought
their thirteen reinforcements on the opposite side of the
courtyard by the fountain to challenge Thranduil’s elves.
After being knocked Prone in the previous turn, Hilda
rose to her feet and led the charge against the remaining
orcs. James arranged his Lake-towners in such a way as
to minimise the damage from any potential Hurls, but this
cunning plot was foiled when Steve made good use of the
8" move of a Gundabad Ogre to charge into the side of
Hilda’s resistance force. Unfortunately for Steve, another
Lake-towner cowering behind a flimsy wicker shield
somehow managed to defeat the hulking beast!
Thranduil gave no heed to the orc reinforcements,
instead charging and trapping the Gundabad Troll, who
had been striking down his kin, with the help of his most
courageous warriors. Thanks to his twin elven blades,
Thranduil won the roll-off (on a 3 of course!) and, to Tom’s
delight, inflicted three wounds on the troll. However, Tom’s
celebrations were cut short as Steve pointed out that the
2017 Issue 5 SBG 29
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale
Steve halts Tom’s celebrations by tactfully
pointing out that the trolls have 4 Wounds...
new Gundabad Trolls have 4 Wounds each and
offered a few words of thanks to the Games
Workshop Middle-earth team.
Giving up on his staff, Gandalf was pleased that
at least Glamdring found its mark this turn -
killing the orc who had wounded him in the
previous round of combat, whilst Bilbo again
evaded the Gundabad Orc Captain thanks to
The One Ring. Alfrid’s manic flight continued
as he scurried down the staircase he had only
recently ascended and hid behind by a low wall.
However, Dave found that his ogre was just
within range and promptly charged the beast
headlong into the cowering weasel. Tom and
James hoped that the combination of a Fate
point and the In The Way tests provided by the
wall might save Alfrid’s life, but they were sorely
mistaken as Alfrid was torn limb from limb.
Things continued to go well for Dave and
Steve on the walls of the city, as Percy was
killed by a single orc, handing them some more
crucial Victory Points. In the heavily congested
backstreets, the forces of Evil were starting
30 SBG Issue 5 2017
Whilst the Lake-towners fight for their lives, Alfrid
cowers from an approaching ogre in the backstreets
to significantly outnumber the hard-pressed Lake-
towners and Bain was forced to charge one of the
hideous ogres in an attempt to protect his sisters.
However, James and Tom need not have worried
as Bard moved into contact with the cart and was
unengaged (see the ‘What a Cartastrophe’ box out).
Everyone waited with baited breath as Tom launched a
single dice into the air to see if Bard could activate the
cart - the dice fell through the air, bounced around and
finally settled… against a piece of scenery! Cocked!
Cries of anguish filled the studio as Tom chuckled,
picked up the same dice and rolled again and this time
it landed on a 5! The rubble by the base of the cart
gave way and Bard bounced down the stairs, flattening
several orcs before smashing into the ogre fighting
Bain and inflicting two wounds on the beast on impact!
As his father leapt from the wreckage to join the
combat against the Prone ogre, Bain called his free
Heroic Combat which was immediately countered
by a nearby Gundabad Orc Captain thanks to the
scenario-specific Azog’s Orders Special Rule. Evil won
the roll-off and the orc captain made mincemeat of his
opposition and charged straight into Sigrid and Tilda!
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

Tom and James now needed everything to go their way for Bard
and Bain in their Fight against the ogre to rescue Sigrid and What a Cartastrophe!
Tilda from the Gundabad Orc Captain. Both the ogre and Bard
managed to roll a 6 but Bard won because of his increased Fight
value brought about by the “Da! Down Here!” Special Rule and,
after easily dispatching the Prone ogre, Bard and Bain hurtled
into the Gundabad Orc Captain! This time, both sides could
only manage a 5 highest in the Duel and Bard (who had rolled
the 5) was out of Might, so Dave used a Might point to bump
his captain’s score to a 6. Things were looking grim for the girls
until James remembered that Bard’s Saviour of Lake-town Special
Rule applies to Bain and casually roll a 6 with the re-roll! Cue
celebrations the like of which had not been seen for an age from
James, whilst Dave could only weep into his pocket handkerchief. When Rick delivered the Dale
The orc captain was cut down, saving the girls and scoring James board, it was full of little details
and Tom some much needed Victory Points in epic style! that we had no idea were
going to be included. Perhaps
In total, fourteen Good and twenty-six Evil models died this turn; the coolest of these was an
the Victory Point score now stood at 17-15 to Evil as, despite the innocuous looking cart lurking
death of the ogre, the forces of Evil controlled thirteen of the at the top of a staircase near the
objective buildings compared to Good’s seven. back of the board. As luck - or
perhaps fate - would have it,
during the battle Bard was forced
Turn 7 to head towards the cart on the
way to his children. Thankfully,
all four players were in instant
The beginning of the penultimate turn saw Good receive eight agreement that Bard should be
reinforcements as they won Priority for the third turn in a row. able to jump in and ride it down
A frustrated Dave and Steve did at least gain twelve orcs, which the stairs like he does in the film.
they spread around the board in a bid to secure more objectives.
So, we decided that if Bard was
A makeshift defensive wall was formed by the remaining Lake- unengaged in the Move phase,
towners in the backstreets in a desperate effort to protect Sigrid he could ‘activate’ the cart
and Tilda. However, due to the lack of Good models left alive, on the roll of a 4+ and ride it
the wall had one weak spot and a Gundabad Berserker slipped down the hill! If he managed
through a gap between two archers and into base contact with this, every model it hit would
the youngest of Bard’s children! After failing to find a way for suffer three Strength 8 hits and
Bard or Bain to join the combat, Tom and James could only it wouldn’t stop until it failed to
watch in horror as Tilda was brutally cut down by the berserker! kill something or exploded into
Dave and Steve’s roars of laughter were only curtailed when Lily, a wall. We all agreed that Bard
who was watching the unfolding battle with interest, pointed out should probably survive…
that they were celebrating the death of a small girl…

2017 Issue 5 SBG 31

 James celebrates Bain and Bard’s heroics as they save Sigrid and
Tilda, but could they hang on and survive to the end of the game?

On the bridge, Bilbo dived under the swinging blade of the

increasingly frustrated Gundabad Orc Captain and, with the help of a
Might point, took both a wound and a Fate point from the incensed
orc. Gandalf successfully Sorcerous Blasted the last remaining orc from
a section of wall, claiming an objective for the forces of Good.

In the courtyard below, Hilda led her third charge in as many turns
and another swathe of orcs fell to the courageous fishermen. A
Gundabad Orc Captain fell to the blade of a Mirkwood Captain but,
not to be outdone, Thranduil dealt the final wound to the Gundabad
Troll, closing the Victory Point gap to 18-17 to Evil! The death toll
was fairly even in Turn 7, with Good losing eighteen models and Evil
losing twenty and it could not have been much closer as the final
turn began...

Turn 8
Dave rolled higher than James to win the final Priority roll for Evil
and repeated the tactic of the previous turn by dropping the eleven
Evil reinforcements all over the board for some last-ditch objective
grabbing. Tom and James followed suit by deploying their last nine
Lake-towners under the shadow of the bell tower, where the extra
numbers could really help in their push to claim back some of the
buildings.

In the backstreets, Steve piled his orcs into the few remaining
militiamen and tried to gang up on the Good Heroes in such a way
that would maximise his odds of killing as many as possible. Bain
managed to win his Fight and slay his adversary but the Heroic
Combatting Bard was less fortunate, losing a Fight to two Gundabad
Berserkers and leaving Sigrid horribly exposed against some orcs!
Dave and Steve’s delight quickly turned to despair as their two orcs
lost the Fight against the unarmed girl - perhaps it wasn’t going to be
their day after all.
32 SBG Issue 5 2017
 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

A Gundabad orc charged into Gandalf and James buildings, the score currently stood at 19-18 to
was delighted when Glamdring again found its James and Tom - the Good players were ahead for
mark, meaning that the bridge objective would go the first time in the game, could they snatch victory
to the forces of Good unless Bilbo was killed. The from the jaws of defeat?
Gundabad Orc Captain who had been duelling with
the hobbit for most of the game managed to win Suddenly, the final Fight became absolutely vital - if
their final Fight by using two points of Might. Bilbo Thranduil won the Duel, Tom and James would win
had only 2 Wounds remaining, so a double 5 from the game; however, should Dave and Steve slay the
the captain would kill him - unfortunately for Dave Elven King, then they would be victorious! Tom and
and Steve, fortune did not favour them and the James had been confident earlier in the turn when,
plucky hobbit survived. in an attempt to rush to Thranduil’s aid, they had
called a Heroic Combat with a Mirkwood Captain
Hilda led the Lake-towners by the Great Hall in a who, along with two Lake-town Militia, was fighting
courageous final stand before the last remaining troll a single orc. However, the orc somehow managed
flung her to her death, finally ridding Steve and Dave to win the Duel meaning that Thranduil was now on
of the nuisance and awarding precious Victory Points his own in this game-deciding face-off! Both sides’
in the process! The countless fights in the courtyard dice bounced across the table and four pairs of eyes
between unnamed warriors were becoming ever- frantically tried to assess the rolls. Groans of dismay
more significant as both sides were desperate to from Tom and James betrayed the result, Thranduil,
claim the objective buildings; perhaps the most who had no Might points left, had only rolled a 5
dramatic of these was a one-on-one fight between highest whilst the ogre had rolled a 6!
a Gundabad orc and a Mirkwood Elf in which the elf
won the fight, killed the orc and claimed the fountain However, Tom and James hadn’t given up hope just
objective in the process! The game was clearly going yet, as Thranduil still had all of his Wounds and Fate
to be decided by the tightest of margins. remaining. Dave rolled for the berserker’s strikes
first and wiped clean the Elven King’s 3 Fate points,
In the final Duel of the game, Thranduil was fighting before Steve picked up six dice knowing that he
for his life, trapped by a Gundabad Berserker and a only needed an average roll to slay Thranduil and
monstrous ogre. Before resolving this dramatic Fight, win the game! He needn’t have worried - as the dice
the players took a brief pause to assess the state of landed, every single one of the ogre’s strikes caused
the battlefield. As the Victory Points were tallied up, a wound, splitting Thranduil’s pretty head open and
Dave and Steve could only look on in horror as they handing a hard-earned victory to Dave and Steve
realised that, having lost control of two objective with a final Victory Point tally of 20-19!

As the battle reaches its climax, Thranduil goes toe-to-toe with a Gundabad Troll - who would prevail?

2017 Issue 5 SBG 33

 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

Tom and James: What a battle - despite missing
out on the win by the narrowest of margins, it’s hard
to be annoyed when a game is that much fun! Our
‘man of the match’ has to be Bard - our plan to burn
through his Might early on to get to the kids made
winning every one of his combats absolutely vital
and he really stepped up to the plate. Ultimately,
Bard’s actions played out just like in the film, slaying
countless orcs, riding the cart into an ogre and
saving his bloodline (except for poor Tilda).
Our plan of ‘defend, defend, defend’ worked well and
when the elves turned up we genuinely believed that
we could win the day. However, it was not to be and
it was a shame that it was Thranduil who ultimately
cost us the game after his earlier heroics - cutting
swathes through the orcs and even taking down
one of the fearsome Gundabad Trolls. Unfortunately,
our fears that Hurls might lead to our defeat in the
confines of Dale’s streets turned out to be only
too true - Steve and Dave turned the alleyways
into deadly bowling alleys, with both Good and Evil
models flying all over the place! However, whilst
we were almost always trailing Dave and Steve in
Victory Points, the momentum kept swinging to-
and-fro throughout the battle and it was only after
the final Duel that victory slipped from our grasp.
“It’s hard to be annoyed when
a game is that much fun”
Tom & James
Despite having played countless games of The Hobbit:
Strategy Battle Game over the years, this was the
single-most immersive scenario either of us has ever
played. The vast number of models, combined with
the stunning board and a scenario that replicated
the film scenes perfectly, ensured that this game was
good as it gets! All that remains is to thank Dave and
Steve for a hard-fought, spectacular game played in
great spirits - we’ll get you next time!

The final reckoning

GOOD EVIL
9 Objective 11 Objective
Buildings Buildings
9vps 11vps
Monsters killed: Heroes killed:
4 Gundabad Ogres Alfrid, Percy, Hilda,
1 Gundabad Troll Thranduil, Tilda
10vps 9 vps
19vps 20vps

34 SBG Issue 5 2017

 Battle Report - The Battle of Dale

HORROR-O-METER
SBG’s patented Horror-o-meter
was turned on throughout the bat-
rep, recording the reactions of the
players when things went badly and
rating their horror levels out of 10...

Dave and Steve: Wow! What a cool, thematic game! It really

couldn’t have been much closer. Despite our confidence that
we could take down all those soft Lake-town Heroes, going
into Turn 6 we were getting really frustrated as we hadn’t
4
gained any Victory Points from killing Heroes but, thankfully, we Steve’s Gundabad Ogre loses a Fight
were ultimately able to emerge as (narrow) victors. to a fisherman with a wicker shield

“It was a very satisfying feeling to
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat”
Dave & Steve
We must concede that Bard was an absolute beast and the
cart scene in particular was a hilarious moment - even if we
were on the receiving end of the dragon slayer’s dramatic
7
Tom watches on as Hilda is hurled
rescue! Our plan to take down Sigrid and Tilda early on through nine models to her death!
quickly fell apart, as Tom and James did a great job of shielding
the girls from harm for so long in the narrow backstreets of
Dale. Thankfully, we were eventually able to catch and kill Tilda
and would have got Sigrid right at the death too if our dice
hadn’t abandoned us. Still, even if we didn’t manage to kill both
girls, our monsters may well have made the difference as they
caused Tom and James so many headaches that they didn’t
know where to focus their attention.
8
As expected, Thranduil was a constant thorn in our side but Dave fails to kill Sigrid on the final
Hilda was also surprisingly infuriating as she led wave after turn of the game, but at what cost?
wave of Lake-towners out of the Great Hall and it was a great

10
relief when she finally fell to the might of our troll! Late in
the game, as the combats thinned out, there was some real
strategic jostling for objectives with some of the troops which
was great fun. However, it all came down to Thranduil in the
end and it was a very satisfying feeling to snatch victory from
the jaws of defeat by crushing the pesky Elf King - what a
finish! We thoroughly enjoyed every second of the game, so
thanks to Tom and James, it was an absolute pleasure. The
sheer number of models combined with a table as detailed as James finds out he’s going to be
this (thanks again Rick!) was truly something unique to behold partnered with Tom for the bat-rep
and we can’t wait to relive it when the magazine is published!
2017 Issue 5 SBG 35
 Building Middle-earth - Dale House

BUILDING Dale House

MIDDLE-EARTH
SBG: Long-term readers will remember
Rick Fryer as the talented creator of Rick’s finished board is a breathtaking sight,
the amazing Azanulbizar gaming board more akin to a WETA Workshop ‘Bigature’
featured in Issue 2. Back in July 2015, than your average
Rick told us he’d be happy to build some gaming board
more terrain for the magazine and we
obviously didn’t need much convincing.
Little did we know just how spectacular
his latest project would be and, over
two years later, we are delighted that
we can finally show off his incredible city
of Dale. In this article, Rick discusses
how to build a typical Dale house. 

Rick: Throughout The Hobbit trilogy, we see two very

different sides to the city of Dale. In The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey, it is shown as vibrant and thriving,
with colourful and well-preserved houses - an aesthetic
utterly at odds with the city shown in The Hobbit: The
Battle of the Five Armies, where the houses are derelict
ruins covered in snow. Whilst a board covered in snow
would look fantastic, once you’ve put it on there’s
really no going back! So, in order to make a board that
could be used for scenarios set in both time periods, I
decided to create a version of Dale in a state of partial
destruction but without the snow, crawling vines and
twisted trees that are only seen in the final film. Over
the course of two years, I made a variety of buildings
and other features for the board, but in this article I
will show you how to make a single house - a ‘simple’
project that I hope you will want to try!

Materials Universal glue, PVA glue, spray-on PVA glue, card, plasticard, 10mm extruded
polystyrene (Styrofoam), balsa wood, aluminium mesh, Scale Link brass fittings
(hinges, keyholes etc.), Hirst Arts mold #230, Woodland Scenics Lightweight Hydrocal plaster, Woodland
Scenics Shaper Sheet plaster, Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement, Woodland Scenics scatter, Woodland Scenics
Fine-Leaf Dead Foliage, Woodland Scenics liquid pigments, NOCH 61165 Weathering Powder set, paints

36 SBG Issue 5 2017

 Building Middle-earth - Dale House

Basic Construction
I cut the house walls out of Styrofoam sheets, making
the front and back walls 130mm wide by 180mm high,
and the gable end walls 115mm wide by 180mm high at
the side eaves, rising to 205mm at the central ridge.

180mm 205mm

130mm 115mm

Details
2 3 4 5
1-5. I purchased some Thomarillion windows and doors - these can
be added in any combination to the walls. I fixed some on the face of
the Styrofoam and put some into gaps I cut into the foam.You’ll need
1 to attach these elements with PVA glue, as any solvent-based glue will
dissolve the Styrofoam.
6. I also made some larger doors from scratch using 3mm balsa
wood sheet. I cut these doors to be 20mm wide by 38mm high
(at the rounded top), with vertical lines cut into the outer face
to represent wooden planks. I used the universal glue to attach a
couple of plasticard hinge straps, before glueing on the Scale Link
brass hinges, handle and keyhole. I then glued
the door into a cut-out in the Styrofoam
with PVA glue. To represent stone blocks
around the door, I cut the Styrofoam with a
craft knife before running a pencil through
the cuts to widen them. At the same time I

6 7 cut some blockwork further up the sides of

a wall using the same method (7).

8. I made a small arched window 9. For another

(10mm wide by 20mm high) by window, I glued two
cutting it out of the Styrofoam. Thomarillion arched
Then I used PVA glue to attach windows together and
some aluminium mesh over the used universal glue
back of the opening. Again, I to bond 4mm square
formed some stone blockwork balsa rod around them,
8 around the window with the
craft knife and pencil.
9 forming a canopy for
some tiles.
2017 Issue 5 SBG 37
 Building Middle-earth - Dale House

10. I made a balcony frame using 3mm square balsa wood rod. The
base and top was formed of rectangular balsa wood sheet (100mm wide
by 30mm deep and 2mm thick). The handrail was set 28mm above the
base and I made the gap between the top and bottom to be 70mm. I
10 then added infill panels between the handrail and base using 1mm thick
balsa wood sheet and used universal glue to stick everything together.
11. I used 2mm thick extruded polystyrene to form
some 10mm high banding (which I arched around the
door) to add detail to the walls. I added patterned
lines to the banding using a craft knife, cutting lines
1mm in from the top and bottom edges, then cut
11 vertical lines 1mm apart between these lines. I then
stuck the banding to the walls using PVA glue.

Roof and Tiles

1. The roof was made from a 150mm by 150mm piece
of card. I scored the underside of the card down the
middle with a craft knife so that it could be folded to
form sloping sides at a 20° angle. 1

2 3 4
For the pantiles, I cast numerous plaster sections using the Hirst Arts mold (2-3). I used the Lightweight
Hydrocal Plaster as it sets in just a few minutes, which helps to speed up the casting process! I found
numerous air bubbles in the casts and tried several ways to stop them forming, from pre-spraying the
mould with soapy water to vibrating the mould after pouring in the plaster. Unfortunately, whatever I tried,
the air bubbles persisted, so I decided to make them a feature (if you can’t beat them, join them...) - using a
craft knife, I cut each bubble out and made it look like the tiles were naturally broken and damaged (4). To
make the tiles look more realistic at the eaves, I cut out half round notches in the bottom of the edge tiles.

I used the universal glue to bond the tiles to

the roof, window canopy and balcony. To get a
slope on the canopy and balcony roofs, I glued
a 2mm length of balsa rod on the underside
of the back edge of these tiled sections.

5. To colour the tiles, I used a 1:1:1:4 mix

of Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Troll Slayer
Orange and water. I painted this onto the
plaster and then sprayed it with Scenic
Cement to seal everything. Once dry, I added
a 1:4 wash of Raw Umber and water before
adding a second wash of 1:8 Abaddon Black
and water, before sealing this once again with
the Scenic Cement.
5
38 SBG Issue 5 2017
 Building Middle-earth - Dale House

I basecoated the timber elements with Steel

Painting Legion Drab and then drybrushed these areas with
Tallern Sand and Karak Stone, before adding an
I painted the walls with two Agrax Earthshade wash (1). The balcony timber
coats of white masonry and the window frames were then stained with
paint. For any stone
blockwork and for the
1 2 Waywatcher Green and Bloodletter to give
hints of the vibrant colours of Dale in its heyday
window reveals, I applied a (2). I basecoated the banding with a 1:1 mix of
basecoat of Zamesi Desert. Steel Legion Drab and Khorne Red. I then added
I then drybrushed over
the top of this with Balor
3 Rakarth Flesh to that mix and drybrushed over
the top, before applying a Nuln Oil wash (3). The
Brown and then again with metal hinges, handles, keyholes and aluminium
Tallern Sand. Once dry, I mesh were basecoated with Rhinox Hide, dabbed
gave the whole building a with Tin Blitz, drybrushed with Ironbreaker and
wash of Agrax Earthshade
to dirty it up.
4 5 then washed with Nuln Oil (4). The glass of the
windows was formed from pooled Nuln Oil (5).

6. I painted the walls with a 1:1 primer coat of PVA glue and
water, before using Shaper Sheet plaster to cover the walls - I
used this particular plaster as it has a twenty minute working
time. I applied the plaster in a very thin layer (less than 1mm
thick) using a plastic spatula with a 35° sloped head.

7. Once fully set, I stained the plaster a 1:1:1:8 mix of Yellow

Ochre, Burnt Umber, Tau Light Ochre and water. Whilst still
wet, I dabbed subsequent coats of paint over the top in a rather
random fashion, starting with a 1:8 mix of Yellow Ochre and
water, then a 1:8 mix of Burnt Umber and water, then a 1:8 mix
of Raw Umber and water, before finally finishing with a 1:8 mix
of Stone Grey and water. Once this had all dried, I sprayed the
6 building with Scenic Cement and, when the cement was fully set, I
washed everything using a 1:16 mix of Abaddon Black and water.

I then sprayed the house with Scenic Cement again and, whilst
the cement was still wet, I flyspecked Earth Fine Turf scatter
over the bottom of each wall and then lightly blew some over
the rest of the house. This technique can produce quite realistic
results - at this scale, the Earth Fine Turf looks like dirt towards
the bottom of the building and moss or other plant growth as
you go up the building - perfect! To add a weathered effect, I
used powders from the NOCH 6155 Weathering Powder set. I
weathered any timber elements using a mix of the Ash and Dust
powders (applying the powder lightly with a brush), and then
used a mix of the Ash and Sand powders to weather any stone
elements. I dusted a mix of the Brick Red and Soot powders on
7 random areas of the wall before finally adding Soot powder to
the roof to give the impression that fallen embers are present.

For the finishing touches, I coated the bottom 2mm of the walls in PVA glue and applied Green Blend Turf
scatter. I glued a lamp over the front door using universal glue and painted it. I then added a Thomarillion
Tree Branch to the house with PVA glue and painted it with Steel Legion Drab with Tallern Sand highlights,
before washing it with Agrax Earthshade - I then stuck Fine Leaf Dead Foliage to this with PVA glue (see
the finished picture on page 36). And with that, the house was complete - only another nine to go...
2017 Issue 5 SBG 39
 Speed Sculpting - Heroes of the Lake

Speed SculptingHeroes of the Lake

with
Dave
Fredericks
When we were first preparing for
this issue’s huge battle report back in
November 2016, we realised that we
Percy, Hilda Bianca, Bain, Sigrid and Tilda
were going to need some stand-ins for
the five new Lake-town Heroes that Forgeworld had yet to release. But who could we
ask to sculpt five entirely new Heroes from scratch? Enter Dave Fredericks, stage left...

Dave: So the latest challenge from
the SBG team was to come up
with usable models for Percy, Hilda
and Bard’s children. I originally
thought about converting existing
miniatures, but the problem with
three children, a woman and an
elderly man is that they all have
frames that are smaller than usual,
so I decided to create scratch-
girls could somehow hold hands, so
I created outstretched arms on their
armatures (4), allowing for a nice
three-person vignette with Bain (5).
With the armatures built, I decided
to play the waiting game - after all, 1 2
there was no point going to the effort
of sculpting the figures if the official
models were about to be released!

3
sculpts for all of them to give me Unfortunately, it was a gamble that
more freedom with the poses. didn’t pay off and, with no sign of
any Forgeworld models two weeks
I originally began work just before the battle report, I must admit
after Christmas by making wire a sense of dread came over me.
armatures from paper clips. The Speed sculpting is not something I am
poses for Percy (1) and Hilda particularly fond of - I much prefer to
(2) were fairly simple so their take my time, getting each stage right
armatures came together easily. before moving on. However, I had
Next, I decided that I wanted Bain not afforded myself that luxury and
4
to look like he was shielding his figured I’d just cover up any errors
sisters, so I opted for a pose similar with the subsequent stages. Still, I
to that of the original Aragorn (3). reassured Tom and Damian that all
Finally, I wanted to ensure that the was well and got cracking...

6
Work-in-progress pictures
that show just how rough
the early layers were!
I began by applying a base layer of putty onto each armature to
provide a surface for the other layers to adhere to. To have any
chance of meeting the deadline, I had to sculpt a layer on one figure,
then move onto the next figure, then the next and so on. By the
time I finished a layer on the fifth model, the first model had cured,
allowing me to keep working on the ensemble continuously (6).
40 SBG Issue 5 2017
 Speed Sculpting - Heroes of the Lake

Faces are another area where I struggle, even more so if trying to capture the
likeness of an actor. Usually I will do several then pick the one that is best but
again there was no time for that, so I just gave each model a head and then
reworked them a little using a file and extra bits of putty.

If I’m being honest, a couple of the faces ended up quite rough which was perhaps to be expected given the
limited time I had - still, if I could make the characters recognisable from their clothes, hair and accessories
then I was still confident they’d be fit for battle. So, armed with screenshots from the films, I added the
detail layers as shown in the pictures of Bain’s development below. It was only three days before the battle
report that the models were ‘finished’ - I’d managed five sculpts in just eleven days! I could see lots wrong
with them that I would have liked to amend, but I couldn’t dwell on this as they still needed to be painted...

1 2 3 4
We all know that I’m not the painter
of the Shadow & Flame partnership
but, with no time to post them
to Kev for a marvellous paint job,
I reluctantly had to paint all five
models too! I painted up two figures
per day with a bit of guidance from
Kev and, in a turn up for the books, I
was ultimately more pleased with my
painting than I was with my sculpting!

In conclusion, whilst I acknowledge

that this was hardly my best work, I
do think that the characters are at
least recognisable in terms of who
they’re meant to represent. Perhaps
more importantly, I was pleasantly
surprised to learn just how much
can be achieved in a very short space
of time with a looming deadline and
some determination!

2017 Issue 5 SBG 41

 Painting Masterclass - Gandalf the Grey

PAINTING
MASTERCLASS
Gandalf the Grey
Given the vast number of Heroes present at the Battle
of the Five Armies, it took a while for us all to decide
exactly which model Kev Lawrence should paint in his
latest tutorial. In the end, we settled on an old favourite from which everyone should be able to take
a pointer or two, the Grey Pilgrim himself - Gandalf! Kev primed the model black and got stuck in!

Top Tip Shading your greys with mixes of browns, blues and even purples can help to ‘warm up’ your model

1. Basecoat the hat, 2. Add a drop of Dawnstone to

scarf and clothing the previous mix and a further
with a 50:50 mix of three drops of medium before
Abaddon Black and highlighting again. Do not highlight
The Fang. Next, add the hat with this mix as the hat
three drops of medium is blue! [Ed - Quite true, but very
and a drop of The Fang contentious...]. Then, make a 50:50
to the previous mix mix of Agrax Earthshade and
1 and highlight the same
areas of the model.
2 water and wash all the areas
you’ve worked on so far.

3. After the wash has 4. Make a 95:5 mix of medium

dried, add a drop of and Xereus Purple and glaze any
Administratum Grey and areas which would be in shade,
three drops of medium such as under the arms, under the
to your mix from Stage 2 belt and in the deepest folds in the
and highlight again. Once robes. Be careful not to overload
dry, repeat the process, as your brush at this stage as you do
the medium will make the not want the paint to run all over
paint quite thin and building the place! Note - I did not use this
3 the layers up slowly will
produce the best result.
4 glaze on Gandalf's back as I wanted
to keep this area a darker grey.

5. Make an 80:20 mix of 6. Make a 60:40 mix of water and

water and Ulthuan Grey and The Fang and glaze the hat and
highlight the robes and scarf. scarf. Paint the shoes, bag, belt
Then, make a 70:30 mix of and staff with Mournfang Brown
Agrax Earthshade and water and the belt buckle with Runefang
5 and wash all the areas you
have painted so far.
6 Steel. Once dry, wash these areas
with Agrax Earthshade.
42 SBG Issue 5 2017
 Painting Masterclass - Gandalf
7. Highlight the scarf with
a 50:50 mix of Ulthuan
Grey and The Fang plus
three drops of medium.
Highlight the uppermost
areas of the robes with
Ulthuan Grey with five
drops of medium added.
Paint the hands and face
with Ratskin Flesh, leaving
the eye sockets black.
7 Once dry, wash with
Reikland Fleshshade.
9. Wash the hair and
beard with a 60:40 mix
of water and Agrax
Earthshade before
highlighting the same
areas using Screaming
Skull with a drop of
medium added. Paint
Gandalf’s glove (see
inset) with a 50:50
mix of Dawnstone and
Abaddon Back and
9 10
then wash with Agrax
Earthshade.
11. Make a 50:50 mix
of water and Balor
Brown and highlight the
bag. Once dry, add a little
Ushabti Bone to the mix
and highlight the most
prominent areas of the
bag again. Add three drops
of medium to White Scar
and highlight the hair
and beard. Then, wash
the staff, bag and shoes
11 with a 50:50 mix of Agrax
Earthshade and water.
Head over to
www.shadowandflame.co.uk
for a view of their galleries and products,
and to receive a quote to build your
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the Grey
8. Carefully paint
two tiny dots of
Screaming Skull
into each eye
socket. Add one
drop of medium
to a 50:50 mix of
Ratskin Flesh and
Bestigor Flesh
and highlight the
flesh. Paint the hair
8 and beard with
Administratum Grey.
10. Highlight the belt, shoes and
staff with Steel Legion Drab. When
highlighting, paint long, thin lines
along the length of the staff - the
wigglier the better! The trick here is
to avoid letting any of the lines touch
each other (so the previous darker
coat can be seen in-between - see
inset). Once you are happy, add a little
Ushabti Bone and a drop of medium
to the Steel Legion Drab and highlight
the uppermost areas of the belt and
shoes, as well as the thin lines on the
front-facing part of Gandalf’s staff.
12. Paint a tiny
amount of Seraphim
Sepia onto the beard
just under Gandalf’s
lip - don’t overload
the brush here, only
a tiny amount is
required. Add three
drops of medium
to Bestigor Flesh
and highlight the
knuckles of the un-
gloved hand. Lightly
drybrush around
the bottom edge of
Gandalf’s cloak with
Steel Legion Drab to
create a weathered
effect but, again,
don’t overdo it. And
there you have it,
12 base as you choose
and he’s complete!
2017 Issue 5 SBG 43
 HOBBY BLOG
A brief look into what the SBG team have been up to during the production of this issue

Damian: I spent the second half of last year building

an Azog’s Legion army and have recently been enjoying
adding in all the cool new beasties that were included in
There and Back Again. So far, I have painted two ogres and
a troll and I’m about to start on Stumpy the Troll Brute
and another troll; hopefully they’ll all be marching to war
at Warhammer World’s Throne of Skulls in September!

Tom: After managing to paint a good number of Lake-

town Militia in time for this issue’s bat-rep, I fancy a
change of scenery. I’m not the most efficient hobbyist
at the moment, so I wonder what the probability of me
actually finishing the Forgeworld Weathertop and some
Games Workshop Lake-town houses before Issue 6 is?
Perhaps I’ll write about it in Of Dice and Men - Part 2...

James: I’ve taken a break from buying and painting

Middle-earth models over the past year. However, the
recent army list Special Rules that will be in use at
Warhammer World’s upcoming Throne of Skulls event have
reignited my interest in creating a new force and, as a
result, I’ve got hold of some classic High Elves and can’t
wait to get them painted up and on the table!

Dave: I’m currently focusing on my Armies on Parade

entry, which will include my scratch-built Stumpy the Troll
Brute (made before the Forgeworld version was released)
and a converted Gundabad Troll. If I can find room on
the board, I want to try to include a giant Wereworm as
a centrepiece as it will look very cool bursting out of the
rock! Will I complete it all in time? Who knows?!

Jamie: My ongoing hobby project is to build a Helm’s

Deep for The Two Towers journey book campaign. I need
to build a Deeping Wall to match the Games Workshop
scenery set but, sadly, life has been getting in the way
and I probably need to book some time off work to
complete it. If you have any hints and tips, or want to
build it for me, just let me know at an upcoming event!

Steve: Most of my hobby time of late has been spent

building terrain for my upcoming tournament. However,
when I’ve not been sticking my fingers to coffee stirrers,
I’ve managed to paint some of the new releases such as
the Gundabad Trolls and the Iron Hills Chariot. Next on
my to-do list is to repaint my old Gondor force and I’m
hoping to significantly improve my early painting efforts!
44 SBG Issue 5 2017
 SUPPORTING SBG
If you’ve enjoyed this issue, then read on to discover how you can ensure that there are more in the future!
Dear Readers,
The primary aim of SBG is to create an attractive
and informative hobby resource for fans of The
Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game. It is produced in our
own time and is, first and foremost, a non-profit
fanzine by the fans, for the fans. If you are reading
this, then you will be doing so in one of two ways.
The majority of you will be reading the free PDF
which is available online. Our pledge is that, as long
as we are producing SBG, it will be available for free
to anyone who wants it; we are not a business, we
are not trying to make money out of this, and we
will never charge a penny for the PDF download.
However, whilst we won’t ever charge for SBG, we
would like to give readers a way of contributing
towards the running costs of the magazine. So, once
you have finished reading the issue, if you feel that
you would like to contribute, then we would invite
you to make a donation via our PayPal account:
SBGmagazine@gmail.com
As this is a donation, please ensure that you use the
Send money to friends and family option.
We would simply ask you to donate whatever you
feel that the magazine is worth. Any contributions
would be welcome and they will help to ensure that
future issues are even better!
As a way to encourage people to donate, we have
decided to run a competition! We are delighted to
announce that GenerationShift has provided enough
of his Broken White City bases for one lucky SBG
reader to base an entire 500 point army (worth
over £30!) to help them on their way to building a
Donate £2
or more for
your chance
to win this
great prize,
courtesy
of Matt
Davies of
Generation
Shift
force that looks as though it's fighting in the ruins of
Dale! To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic
prize, all you have to do is donate £2 to our PayPal
address. Multiple entries per person are allowed, so,
for every full £2 you donate, you will receive another
entry into the competition. For example, a donation
of £6.50 would give you three chances to win.
The competition will run until 1st March 2018
at which point we will draw a winner. Please ensure
that you include your name and contact details in
the notes section of the PayPal donation so that we
can contact you should you win.
However, the original vision for SBG was to place
a physical magazine in the hands of gamers.Viewing
SBG on a computer screen or tablet should provide
a satisfactory reading experience but there is
something wonderfully comforting about turning the
pages of a physical copy. Sitting in your favourite spot
and thumbing through the pages of a glossy magazine
is an experience that is utterly lost when viewing
content on a digital screen.
Our hope is that the majority of our readers will
want to read SBG in the intended format and start
to build a collection of physical issues. Of course, the
major hurdle in this step is that we cannot give away
physical copies due to the high cost of producing a
relatively short print run. However, anyone in the
UK who donates £10 or more via PayPal will not
only get at least 5 entries into the competition, but
will also receive a full colour, A4 physical copy of
SBG. Please include the address to which you would
like us to send the magazine and we will get it out
to you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to
the increased postage costs, those with an address
within Europe will need to make a donation of £13
or more, whilst those outside of Europe will have to
donate £15 or more to receive a physical copy.
We hope that you have enjoyed this issue and would
like to make a modest donation, therefore enabling
us to produce SBG for a long time to come.
Thank-you,
Damian & Tom
2017 Issue 5 SBG 45