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Narrative Campaign

Over the course of the next few pages, we are going to present you with a Narrative Campaign to use with your Battle Company. This follows a similar principle to previous Battle Companies campaigns, so those of you that have played through other campaigns will have some idea as to how the campaign will work.

This campaign is designed for you to take a starting Battle Company and embark on a narratively driven story, where your company will grow and improve as they face all manner of foes. In the Narrative Scenarios, your Battle Company will face a pre-determined force that will provide the essence of the campaign, and each one will be slightly harder than the last to ensure that your company is always challenged, even as they progress.

The campaign has been written with Good Battle Companies in mind; however, this does not mean you cannot use an Evil Battle Company instead. Each Scenario will have a "What if I'm using an Evil Battle Company?" section at the end of it to account for this. For all of you out there who are champions of darkness, fear not! Keep an eye out for an Evil themed campaign in a future publication.

Once you have gathered together your group of friends to play the campaign, and all chosen your respective Battle Companies (it works best if everyone has a different one), you can all begin the campaign. The first Scenario you will all need to play is Skirmish in Bree; this is designed to be played with a starting Battle Company and will provide the beginning of the story your Battle Companies will be taking part in.

Each player should play this as their first game to give everyone the same opportunities to gather extra Equipment for their company. It is also a good idea to get another player to use the opposing force in each of the Narrative Scenarios, which will make the games far more interesting. The best way to go about this is for everyone to pair up with a partner and play two games; one player using the company whilst the other uses the opposing force, and then swapping over.

After this we recommend playing at least one, but up to three, Battle Companies games between the members of your group before moving on to the second Narrative Scenario. As the Narrative Scenarios get progressively harder, this will allow you to progress the members of your company enough to successfully undertake each Scenario in turn — and as the Scenarios do get harder, this is rather sensible to do! This will mean that by the time you have reached the final Narrative Scenario, you will have played four other narrative Scenarios and as many as 12 other games of Battle Companies as shown in the chart below:

  • Skirmish in Bree

  • 1-3 games of Battle Companies

  • The Ruins of Annúminas

  • 1-3 games of Battle Companies

  • Ambush in the Hills

  • 1-3 games of Battle Companies

  • Ice Bay of Forochel

  • 1-3 games of Battle Companies

  • The Drake's Treasure

Each of these scenarios features a special Rewards table that Battle Companies may roll on if they are victorious in the Scenario in question. These feature a selection of interesting and unusual rewards that cannot usually be obtained — and many are entirely unique to the campaign. Should your company be victorious in the final Scenario, the Drake's Treasure, the rewards will be substantially better!

JOURNEY TO THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

Your company's most recent exploits have taken them towards the north of Middle-earth, and after wandering the wilderness for a few days, they have reached the village of Bree. Weary from their travels, the company decides to pay a visit to the Prancing Pony in order to rest, restock their supplies, and enjoy good food and ale (all good stories begin in the pub, after all). The company are met with strange glances and muttering under breath; those within the tavern are unused to strangers in their lands and are suspicious of the group.

Not wanting to draw too much attention, the company finds a quiet corner of the Pony to sit down in and begin to talk amongst themselves about their finds from their most recent outing. As the hours go by, the spirits of the company rise; the warmth of the fire and the plentiful spread contributing greatly. Soon the company is singing songs from their lands, and telling stories of their past adventures. Whilst many of the Breelanders ignore the company, the odd one or two listen intently, hanging on every word.

Amid the raucous singing and tales of grandeur, the leader of your company is approached by an old man leaning heavily upon his walking stick. The man's face is mostly concealed by a long grey beard and faint blue hood that matched the robes he is clothed in. Though he appears frail, the man speaks with authority; his voice commanding great respect. He speaks to the company's leader at length, regaling stories and myths of a beast that roamed the lands near the northern-most peak of the Blue Mountains, and the treasure that lies within its lair, before leaving the company's leader to his own thoughts.

With stories of treasure at the forefront of his mind, the company's leader gathers his companions, informing them of what he has just learned from the mysterious old man. The company engages in much discussion about the likelihood of this story being true, and if so, what they should do. In the end, they decide that if the treasure is even half of what the tales say, then it is simply too much to ignore and leave in the northern mountains. They decide to venture north and lay claim to the treasure for their masters, and the glories that go with it.

Sending a message home to their lord, the company orders another round of ale, from a now very tired Barliman Butterbur, and begin laying the plans for their long journey to the very north of the Blue Mountains...