SCENARIO 4: THE HUNT FOR THE SCAVENGER KING

very village within striking distance of Azghûr's lair has borne the brunt of his greed. Such a state of affairs can no longer persist. Seeking aid from any who will lend it, the villagers send a force up into the Misty Mountains, searching for the Goblin King's lair.

After many days of wearying and frustrating traipsing through the cold and uninviting mountains, a sign of Azghûr's passing finally comes to light – a trail scuffed and worn by many feet that leads into a great cave. Within the dank cavern dwell the Goblins that have brought such misery to the surrounding area for so long. Being the brave soul that he is, Azghûr scurries for safety at the sight of deserved vengeance, sending his troops to confront the vengeful villagers. Can the forces of Good find Azghûr before they are overwhelmed?

FORCES

FORCES OF GOOD

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FORCES OF EVIL

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Points Match. This is a highly specialised scenario and, as such, does not lend itself easily to a points match. However, if you wish to play this game with other forces, agree upon the combatants with your opponent.

Layout. This scenario is played on a 48"/112cm x 72"/180cm table. Scatter the board with as much suitable terrain as possible, focusing on rocky outcrops and so on – if you've made the Dwarrowdelf terrain set featured in The Fellowship of The Ring and elsewhere in this issue, then this is ideal to represent Azghûr's lair.

Starting Positions. Starting with the Evil player and then alternating, the players place a total of eight counters to represent the possible hiding places of the Scavenger King. Counters can be placed anywhere on the board provided that no counter is within 6"/14cm of another or 6"/14cm of a board edge. When this has been done, the Evil player splits his force into six numerically equal groups and deploys them anywhere on the board – different groups may not be deployed within 12"/28cm of another. The Good force enters the board from an edge of the Good player's choice at the start of the first turn – they may not charge in the turn they arrive, but may otherwise act normally.

OBJECTIVES

The game continues until Azghûr has been killed or the Good side wiped out. If it is the former, the Good player wins; the latter is an Evil victory. In the unlikely event that both sides meet their objectives in the same turn, the game is a draw.

SPECIAL RULES

Wandering Hero. The villagers have petitioned their allies to join them in this final battle. The Good player can choose a Hero from the following list, but there are disadvantages that balance out simply selecting the most powerful Hero.

Radagast the Brown or Gandalf the Grey or Glorfindel or Elladan and Elrohir. Bold champions of the Free Peoples, any of these Heroes will readily come to the aid of your villagers, but will allow the Evil player to field an extra Cave Troll. Elladan and Elrohir count as one choice.

Dúnedain. There is no disadvantage to selecting these skilled warriors, and you may include three.

Gildor. There is no disadvantage to selecting Gildor.

Arwen. Like her brothers, Arwen often travels the wild outside Rivendell. There is no disadvantage to selecting Arwen.

Aragorn. A masterful ranger, Aragorn may re-roll the dice when searching for Azghûr. However, he seems to draw foul creatures to him – the Evil player may field two additional Cave Trolls.

Arwen	Elladan	Elrohir	Gildor	Glorfindel
Radagast the Brown	Gandalf the Grey	Aragorn	Armoured and unarmoured Dúnedain

Hired Warriors. Azghûr knows that this battle will determine whether he lives or dies, so has been expending his ill-gotten gains to lure more warriors to his side. For each Loot point the Evil player has amassed at the end of the campaign, he may add 15 points of Warriors to his force. These may be chosen from Moria Goblins, Orcs, Uruk-hai or any kind of Troll.

Finding the Goblin King. The Good player may search for Azghûr at any of the counters by moving one of their models into base contact. They then roll a D6 – on a 6, Azghûr is there and the Evil player places him within 6"/14cm of the counter (Might may not be used to modify this roll). If he has not already been placed, Azghûr will always be under the last counter to be searched. Azghûr may not leave the table in this scenario.

Previous: Scenario 3 - Plunder!

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Build a Rohan Watchtower | Moria Goblin Tactics | Painting the Goblin King

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