Bill flees in desperation from the Wild Wargs.

When the members of The Fellowship made the fateful decision to enter the long dark of Moria, one of the hard choices that they were forced to make was the fate of Bill, the faithful pony who had served as the Hobbits' beast of burden. Purchased from the foul Bill Ferny (and named for him, thereafter), the pony was a half-starved and poorly kept creature paid for by kind innkeeper Barliman Butterbur. As the Hobbits, led by Strider, marched toward Rivendell, Bill had something of a miraculous recovery.

Bill was equally well-treated in Rivendell where he recovered fully. By the time The Fellowship set out on its quest, Bill was strong and healthy enough to bear the weight of a Dwarf in all his traveling attire, which he did through the snow of Caradhras. Bill's greatest test came, however, once he was released from The Fellowship. Unable to travel the dark passages and steep stairways of Moria, Gandalf told Sam to set him free.

Unlike their cousins in the lands to the south, the wild Wargs have never been broken to the service of Orcs and exist solely to roam the plains and hills of northern Eriador, slaking their hunger where they can.

With a heavy heart, the Hobbit did so, reluctantly setting the horse loose to whatever fate awaited him. Bill the Pony was released into the wilderness with the howling of wolves all around but somehow made it safely to Bree. This mini-game re-creates one of the possible adventures that Bill experienced on his perilous journey.

A pack of Wargs, in alliance with a small band of Goblins, has been traveling the wilds searching for easy prey. Until now, unwary animals and lone travellers have formed the mainstay of their prey, but now, Bill the Pony has become their next target. With sinister howls informing the rest of the hunting pack of the new quarry, the Wargs give chase to poor Bill, who must flee or die.

FORCES

Good	Evil
Bill the Pony	4 Wild Wargs
	4 Moria Goblins with Orc Bows

LAYOUT

This game is played down the length of a table at least 60"/150 cm long. You must decide in which direction the chase is moving. One of the short table edges is designated the leading table edge, which is the way to Bree. The chase will take place in this direction. Put as much woodland terrain – especially trees, areas of difficult terrain, and rocky outcroppings – on the board as possible.

STARTING POSITIONS

Bill is set up first on the table at least 48"/112 cm from the leading table edge and pointing in its direction. The Wargs can then be set up anywhere that is more than 48"/112 cm from the leading table edge and at least 12"/28 cm from Bill.

The numbers indicate the order in which the terrain and models move. The terrain will travel in the direction of the arrow and eventually leave the table. The models, however, can keep up with the chase or slow down while avoiding the terrain.

OBJECTIVES

• The Good side wins the game if all the Wargs are slain.
• If Bill can get within 12"/28 cm of the leading table edge and survives to the end of the Movement Phase, he shakes off the Wargs' pursuit and can gallop away to safety – a victory for the Good side.
• The Evil side wins if Bill is killed in any way.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

1. Chase Phase
2. Movement Phase
3. Shoot Phase

A model may move only in the direction it is facing.

Models can move through Difficult Terrain but risk injury or death if they try it.

A model can attempt to jump an obstacle; however, failure will come with a painful price.

Models that fail to move around obstacles like this one risk death.

As this mini-game is a chase, movement works differently than it does in a regular game of The Lord of The Rings. The illusion of speed is created in the Chase Phase. During this phase, the players work out the effects of racing along at full gallop. Do so by moving everything on the table away from the leading edge. Pieces of terrain always move back, while models can either remain where they are (keeping up with the chase) or move away from the leading table edge by reining in.

Pieces of terrain and models are moved in a strict order, from the one closest to the end of the table first, to the one closest to the leading table edge last, as shown in the diagram. If it is difficult to decide which one among several models or pieces of terrain is closest to the leading table edge, simply leave the decision to a die roll.

Move each piece of terrain 12"/28 cm directly backward (i.e., away from the leading edge of the table). If any part of a piece of terrain is moved off of the end of the table, the piece is “recycled” and immediately placed back on at the front of the chase.

Players take turns placing pieces of recycled terrain, always start with the Evil side. Players can place the terrain anywhere within 2D6"/4D6 cm of the leading edge but not within 2"/4 cm of another piece of terrain or model.

A single Moria Goblin may be placed touching any piece of terrain moved back onto the board in this way each turn. These Goblins may not move in the Movement Phase but will be moved along in the Chase Phase along with the rest of the terrain.

When it is a model's turn to move, the controlling player must decide if the model is keeping up the chase or is going to drop back. The table moves “backward” 12"/28 cm per turn. Thus, if a model does keep up the chase, it stays in place. If a model drops back, then the player must declare how much he is slowing down. A model can drop back 1D6", 2D6", or 3D6" (all of these scores should be multiplied by 2 for cm). A model at more than 45° from the direction of the chase cannot keep up and automatically drops back 12"/28 cm, along with all the terrain. The most a model can drop back is 12"/28 cm in a single turn, never more.

If a model drops back far enough to hit a piece of terrain that has already moved, stop the model as soon as it touches the terrain piece – there is no damage to resolve.

Any model that is moved so that it leaves the board in the Chase Phase plays no further part in the chase; it's fallen too far behind, lost interest in the pursuit, or run itself to exhaustion. Consider it slain for the purpose of the scenario.

In this phase, models may move and turn. In this mini-game, movement works differently than it does in a standard game of The Lord of The Rings. Consider the facing of Bill and the Wargs in this mini-game. A model always faces toward the direction that it is moving. Models are moved in order of closest to the leading edge first (roll a die if two models are equidistant).

Each model can move 6"/14 cm. For every full 2"/4 cm that a model moves forward, it can make one turn of up to 45°. The model must move at least 2"/4 cm before each turn (i.e., you can't move 4"/10 cm and then combine the turns into a single 90° turn). Alternatively, a model can go “flat out,” in which case it can move 12"/28 cm but may make only one 45° turn for every full 4"/10 cm of movement. Models can remain stationary in this phase.

COLLISIONS, JUMPS AND MOVING OFF THE TABLE

In the Movement Phase, if a model moves into an area of Difficult Terrain, continue to move the model as normal. However, for every 2"/4 cm (or part thereof) that the model moves through the Difficult Terrain it takes a single S2 hit.

In either the Chase or Movement Phase, if a model moves into or is touched by a moving obstacle that can be jumped, then the model must make an immediate Jump Test on the following table.

Die Roll Result
1	The model crashes into the obstacle and suffers a S6 hit. If the model survives, it must make another Jump Test the next time it attempts to cross the obstacle.
2-6	The model jumps successfully and the obstacle is ignored. Continue to move the obstacle (Chase Phase) or the model (Movement Phase) as normal.

If a model moves into any terrain piece that is not Difficult Terrain or an obstacle that cannot be jumped (or either side edge of the board) then it takes a S6 hit. If the model survives, then it is left in base contact with the terrain, facing in a direction of the controlling player's choice. If this takes place in the Chase Phase, continue to move the terrain as normal and move the model along with the scenery piece.

If either Bill or a Warg moves into base contact with a Moria Goblin, the Goblin is treated as an obstacle that cannot be jumped. Additionally, the Goblin will suffer a S6 hit.

In the Shoot Phase, any Moria Goblins are free to fire per the normal Shooting rules in The Lord of The Rings rules manual. There may be no more than four Moria Goblins in play at any one time.

ADDITIONAL RULES

Fighting

If a model moves into base contact with a friendly model (in either phase), it must stop moving immediately. If a model moves into base contact with an enemy model, it must stop immediately, and the two must fight a combat per the normal Fight rules in The Lord of The Rings rules manual. It is possible that several Wargs can fight Bill in the same turn, although each of these fights will be a separate one-on-one combat. This system represents the Wargs making swift snapping attacks at Bill and trying to bring him down as he flees.

Words of Guard and Guiding

Before turning him loose, Gandalf placed secret words of protection on Bill's head, which will help him find his destination safely. In this scenario, any time that Bill suffers a Wound, he can use a single Fate Point to try and prevent it.

Play Fast

This scenario represents a helter-skelter chase through the woods and works best if both players make decisions concerning the movement of Bill and the Wargs quickly.

BILL THE PONY IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

The Good player may use Bill the Pony in any scenario involving Samwise Gamgee that falls between the four Hobbits arriving in Bree and The Fellowship of The Ring entering Moria.

Bill the Pony Points value: 45   F S D A W C Might: 0 Will: 0 Fate: 1 Bill the Pony 1 3 4 1 1 4 Bill has a move of 8"/20 cm and may not charge any Evil model, nor may he strike blows if he wins a fight. Wargear Bill carries a great deal of baggage, which offers him a small amount of protection but is of no use whatsoever in a fight. Subsequently Bill counts as unarmed. Special Rules Protect the Baggage. Bill the Pony is carrying all the food and supplies for The Fellowship, and there is some truth in the expression that an army (especially one containing Hobbits) marches on its stomach. Any member of The Fellowship within 3"/8 cm of Bill acts as though it is within range of a banner. Recovering Reserves. If you are using Bill as part of a campaign and he is removed as a casualty, roll to see if Bill survives before rolling for any other members of The Fellowship. If Bill survives the scenario, the Good player may add one to two separate die rolls to recover a Wound or a point of Might, Will, or Fate (this bonus can be combined with Aragorn's ability for a bonus of 2). Additionally, if Bill survives and The Fellowship lost the scenario, the Good player can cancel the Evil player's reroll. If Bill is slain, however, there are dire consequences for The Fellowship (because of the loss of the pack-horse and a whole lot of supplies). In this case, the Evil player can cause the Good player to subtract 1 from the score of two separate die rolls when recovering reserves. This bonus may only be used directly after the scenario in which Bill was slain.

Related Articles:
Escape From Bree | Ambushed on the way to Weathertop | The Ford of Bruinen

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Bill the Pony