This looks like it might be a fun game to try out some time. Small skirmish game related to the fight in Balin's Tomb of Moria. I wish I had more initiative and interest in painting minis, I think getting into the LotR table top skirmish system might be fun.
Battle In Balin's Tomb
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Necron 99
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“He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.” - Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
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Ancalagon
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We could do this ourselves with B/X D&D or AD&D or C&C. We know how arcs and goblins are set up in the monster books. All we'd need to do is agree on levels of Fellowship members, create the pre-gens, draw up the tomb on a battle mat and play it out with dice.... :wink: 
EDIT: Think I'll reread that portion of Fellowship of the Ring and rewatch that portion of the Bakshi version of LotR.
EDIT Again: I don't think B/X will work so well since Legolas is an elf. The B/X rules have elves functioning as Ftr/MUs. Legolas was not a wizard type so that won't work so well for a Balin's tomb scenario.
EDIT: Think I'll reread that portion of Fellowship of the Ring and rewatch that portion of the Bakshi version of LotR.
EDIT Again: I don't think B/X will work so well since Legolas is an elf. The B/X rules have elves functioning as Ftr/MUs. Legolas was not a wizard type so that won't work so well for a Balin's tomb scenario.
“Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” - Carl Sagan
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Necron 99
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Haha true, just about any system could probably emulate this scenario. Might be something to try out down the road.
“He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.” - Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
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Ancalagon
- Level 8: Noble
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- Joined: December 5th, 2018, 5:42 pm
- Location: Bellevue, NE
After rereading The Bridge of Khazad-Dum chapter in Fellowship, it got me thinking about using C&C for the scenario.
IMO, Frodo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin started out as 0-level types and by the time of Balin's Tomb, are most likely 1st level. None of them pick pockets, open locks with tools, find & remove (or set) traps so I'd lean towards giving them the fighter class as opposed to rogue. None of them are great warriors so assigning them 1st level seems appropriate to me.
WRT Gimli and Legolas In the batlle, as written by JRRT, "Legolas shot two through the throat. Gimli hewed the legs from under another that had sprung up on Balin's tomb."
WRT Aragorn and Boromir, JRRT wrote, "Boromir and Aragorn slew many." (underline added for emphasis by me).
Gandalf was not specifically mentioned in the battle with the orcs.
IMO, Legolas is, without doubt, the archer class from the Adventuruers Backpack (ABP). I recommend he be 4th level to reflect his age and possess the DUAL SHOTS class ability.
IMO, Gimli is a fighter specialized with the battle axe. IIRC, Gimli is a bit on the young side for a dwarf. When combined with what JRRT wrote about Gimli hewing the legs from under another (singular), I suggest Gimli be 3rd level so as to not yet possess the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability for extra attacks in a round v multiple opponents of 1 HD or less which includes the standard orcs.
IMO, since JRRT wrote that Boromir slew many, I suggest he be a 4th level fighter specialized with a sword so as to have the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability to reflect his status as a mighty warrior who slew many.
IMO, since JRRT also wrote that Aragorn slew many, I suggest he be a 5th level ranger to reflect his COMBAT MARAUDER ability for extra damage v humanoid critters to compensate for not having the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability of fighters and his greater age as a Dunedain.
Gandalf is another matter...
At the beginning JRRT wrote, "How many there were the Company could not count." Later he followed with, "When thirteen had fallen the rest fled shrieking [...]" This is a clear case of the orcs' morale failing. I suggest having twenty-four standard orcs plus the "huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot" for a total of twenty-five orcs. Not all of them will fit in the Chamber of Mazarbul but some can enter as others fall. When the orcs casualties reach 13, just over half, a morale check can be made for them. I think that number is a good matchup for the Fellowship members and higher levels, abilities, etc.
N.B. Some classes and abilities assigned above would change with different game systems like AD&D and AD&D2e.
What say you?
IMO, Frodo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin started out as 0-level types and by the time of Balin's Tomb, are most likely 1st level. None of them pick pockets, open locks with tools, find & remove (or set) traps so I'd lean towards giving them the fighter class as opposed to rogue. None of them are great warriors so assigning them 1st level seems appropriate to me.
WRT Gimli and Legolas In the batlle, as written by JRRT, "Legolas shot two through the throat. Gimli hewed the legs from under another that had sprung up on Balin's tomb."
WRT Aragorn and Boromir, JRRT wrote, "Boromir and Aragorn slew many." (underline added for emphasis by me).
Gandalf was not specifically mentioned in the battle with the orcs.
IMO, Legolas is, without doubt, the archer class from the Adventuruers Backpack (ABP). I recommend he be 4th level to reflect his age and possess the DUAL SHOTS class ability.
IMO, Gimli is a fighter specialized with the battle axe. IIRC, Gimli is a bit on the young side for a dwarf. When combined with what JRRT wrote about Gimli hewing the legs from under another (singular), I suggest Gimli be 3rd level so as to not yet possess the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability for extra attacks in a round v multiple opponents of 1 HD or less which includes the standard orcs.
IMO, since JRRT wrote that Boromir slew many, I suggest he be a 4th level fighter specialized with a sword so as to have the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability to reflect his status as a mighty warrior who slew many.
IMO, since JRRT also wrote that Aragorn slew many, I suggest he be a 5th level ranger to reflect his COMBAT MARAUDER ability for extra damage v humanoid critters to compensate for not having the COMBAT DOMINANCE ability of fighters and his greater age as a Dunedain.
Gandalf is another matter...
At the beginning JRRT wrote, "How many there were the Company could not count." Later he followed with, "When thirteen had fallen the rest fled shrieking [...]" This is a clear case of the orcs' morale failing. I suggest having twenty-four standard orcs plus the "huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot" for a total of twenty-five orcs. Not all of them will fit in the Chamber of Mazarbul but some can enter as others fall. When the orcs casualties reach 13, just over half, a morale check can be made for them. I think that number is a good matchup for the Fellowship members and higher levels, abilities, etc.
N.B. Some classes and abilities assigned above would change with different game systems like AD&D and AD&D2e.
What say you?
“Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” - Carl Sagan