Campaign Events
Not every gaming event has to be a winner-takes-all tournament, pitting players against one another in order to find out which of them is the best on that particular day. Sometimes, it is nice to run a different type of event where players can try out new armies or play as part of a larger team.
Campaign events are another way for a group of gamers to play games together over a weekend, and have always proved to be pretty popular among fans of the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. Grouping players into factions allows them to battle over key areas of Middle-earth in order to try to conquer it for their faction, adding that extra layer of depth to your weekend as it is not just your results that matter, but those of your entire team.
Over the next few pages we are going to present you with the structure for running your own Campaign events, providing you with guidelines for selecting factions, special rules for fighting in different areas of Middle-earth, how to work out which faction controls each area and, most importantly, a campaign map for the players to fight over.
A Campaign event can last a single day, a whole weekend, or even be played across multiple evenings at your local gaming group.
As such, a Campaign event should be a much more relaxed type of event where players can simply enjoy the games they play and record their results as a team rather than as individuals.
FACTIONS
When starting a Campaign event, the players will need to be split into equal sized factions if possible. This could be as simple as having all the players with Good armies on one faction, and all the players with Evil armies on the other. You could split the factions up by races such as Men, Orcs, Elves or Dwarves, or split up the players by any other manner you see fit.
It is likely that you may not be able to split all the players as evenly as you wish; there may be more Good armies than Evil armies, for example. In these situations it is best to find a few willing players on the larger faction to move over to balance the numbers equally.
If an event has an odd number of players then a spare player will be required to ensure all players have an opponent. When organising a spare player, bear in mind that they will not know which faction they will be playing until the day so they will need to have access to an army for every available faction on the day depending on which side has the least number of players.
PAIRINGS
A Campaign event should have a total of six rounds, each one played in one of the six different regions of Middle-earth (as explained later). When determining pairings, players are randomly matched up against other players from different factions, ensuring that no player is paired against the same opponent as previously, or any players from their own faction. If this happens, simply swap one of the two players with a player from a nearby table so that all players have an opponent they have not yet played.
After players have been paired up, and any re-pairings sorted out, the Region that is being fought over and the Scenario to be played need to be decided. The Scenarios will be chosen from the 18 Matched Play Scenarios listed previously in this supplement. To decide which of the Scenarios will be played, follow the same process for determining a Scenario for a Matched Play event as found on page 8.
To decide on which Region all players will be fighting over, roll a D6 and consult the chart below. Once a Region has been fought over once it cannot be fought over again — its fate will already have been decided. This way, each Region will be fought over once in an event.
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Eriador |
| 2 | Rohan |
| 3 | Rhovanion |
| 4 | Mordor |
| 5 | Haradwaith |
| 6 | Gondor |
WINNING THE CAMPAIGN
At the end of each round, count the number of wins each faction has achieved whilst fighting in the selected Region. Whichever faction has the most wins will gain control of that Region for the remainder of the campaign.
At the end of the campaign, whichever faction controls the most Regions will be declared the winner!
If both factions control the same number of regions then the campaign is a draw.
Example: In round one, the Good and Evil factions are fighting over Mordor. After collecting all of the results from round one, it is determined that the Good side won 43 games, whilst the Evil side won 57. Because of this, the Evil side now controls Mordor and gains the benefits associated with it.
After all six rounds have been played, the Good side controls Rohan, Eriador, Rhovanion and Haradwaith, whilst the Evil side controls Mordor and Gondor. As the Good side holds the most Regions, they are declared the overall winners!
REGIONS
Each of the Regions that can be fought over has its own special rules that apply whilst fighting in that Region, and its own Campaign Bonus that whoever controls that Region will benefit from for the remainder of the campaign.
ERIADOR
The Elvish name for the lands in between the Misty Mountains to the west and the Blue Mountains to the east, also known as the Lone-lands. It is here that the likes of Rivendell, Arnor and the Shire can be found.
SPECIAL RULE
Protection of the Elves: Whilst fighting a battle in Eriador, all models gain the Resistant to Magic special rule.
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Eriador, then Hero models in your army may re-roll results of a 1 when making Fate rolls.
ROHAN
Originally the Gondorian province of Calenardhon, Rohan was gifted to the Horse-lords by the steward Cirion in the year 2510 of the Third Age. Ever since then, the Rohirrim have ever been the allies of Gondor.
SPECIAL RULE
Home of the Horse-lords: Whilst fighting a battle in Rohan, all Hero models gain the Horse Lord special rule.
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Rohan, then whenever a mount in your army suffers a Wound, roll a D6. On a 5+ that wound is ignored exactly as if a point of Fate had been spent.
RHOVANION
The wide lands between the Misty Mountains in the west, and the River Celduin in the east. They contain many great kingdoms and settlements such as Mirkwood, Lothlórien, Erebor, and Dale.
SPECIAL RULE
Stand and Fight: Whilst fighting a battle in Rhovanion, all models must re-roll failed Courage tests for being Broken.
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Rhovanion, your leader gains the Fearless special rule.
MORDOR
The black lands of Sauron; Mordor is a region of evil and darkness. Surrounded by the Ash Mountains to the north and the Mountains of Shadow to the west and south, Mordor has been the dwelling place of Sauron since the Second Age.
SPECIAL RULE
Eye of Sauron: Whilst fighting a battle in Mordor, the Eye of Sauron will be watching. At the start of the game, place a 25mm marker in the centre of the board; this is where the Eye of Sauron is focused. During the Priority phase, after Priority has been determined, the player with Priority may move the marker up to 6". Good models within 3" of the marker suffer a -1 penalty to their Courage value. Evil models within 3" of the marker may re-roll 1s To Wound when making Strikes.
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Mordor, then Hero models in your army gain the Terror special rule.
HARADWAITH
To the south of Gondor and Mordor lies the vast desert region of Haradwaith. These arid and desolate lands play home to the hardy and ruthless 'south-folk' who have ever sought to wage war on the lands of Gondor to their north.
SPECIAL RULE
Desolate Land: Whilst fighting a battle in Haradwaith, the great heat of the desert lands will have an effect on those fighting. Models with Heavy armour, Dwarf armour, or Heavy Dwarf armour reduce their Move allowance by 1".
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Haradwaith then Hero models in your army gain the Poisoned Weapons special rule for all of their weapons.
GONDOR
The southern kingdom of Men formed by the high king Elendil upon his arrival in Middle-earth, Gondor is a great realm that has ever been a bastion against the Evil of Mordor to the east; protecting the free lands against Sauron's forces.
SPECIAL RULE
City of Númenor: Whilst fighting a battle in Gondor, all models add 1 to their Courage value.
Campaign Bonus: If your faction controls Gondor then the range of banners in your army is increased to 6".