Hobbits really are amazing creatures!
You can learn all that there is to know
about their ways in a month,
and yet after a hundred years,
they can still surprise you.

- Gandalf to Frodo
The Fellowship of The Ring

Adam Troke

Adam Troke: Unless you've been living in a hole for the past few months, you know that the fourth supplement to accompany our The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game is The Scouring of the Shire. Based on the penultimate chapter of Tolkien's masterwork, The Scouring of the Shire sees the Hobbit Travellers finally returning to the Shire only to find it under Saruman's control.

Embittered by the destruction of his army at Helm's Deep and with his power broken at Isengard, Saruman the White became a vicious shadow of his former self. Under false pretences, he gradually infiltrated the Shire with his agents, unkempt villains from the lands around Isengard. These rogues began to seize power, and by the time the White Wizard's staff was broken at Orthanc, the Shire was almost entirely under Saruman's control. Only the Tooks resisted his rule. Calling himself Sharkey, the fallen wizard sought to tighten his grip on the Shire as his final act of spite, petty revenge for his downfall.

When the Travellers finally rode back into the Shire, they were so shocked by what had come to pass that they immediately set about overthrowing the oppressors and restoring the Shire. What followed was the greatest battle ever to be fought within the bounds of the Shire and the last recorded engagement of the War of The Ring.

Hobbiton lies at the heart of The Shire.

What we wanted to do in writing this supplement was to strip the game down to its basics. We wanted exciting scenarios involving relatively few models, much like the games in The Fellowship of The Ring edition of the game. The Scouring of the Shire itself involves participants that lack the heroic abilities of the Heroes in previous supplements. Shadow & Flame had Balin and Durburz. Siege of Gondor had Boromir and Gothmog. The Battle of Pelennor Fields had a multitude of powerful Heroes and a cast of thousands! However, The Scouring of the Shire has Hobbits, a fallen Wizard, and some Ruffians! With that in mind, we quickly realised that the focus of this supplement had to be the scenarios. Each one is balanced, small, and discrete, and includes only a few protagonists. Thus, in these scenarios, with no all-powerful Heroes and battle-hardened warriors, players have to treat each model carefully. Throwing away just one or two models carelessly could cost a participant the entire scenario.

Sharkey and the Ruffians arrive at The Shire.

Essentially, the supplement is divided in two, with the main (and slightly larger portion) being dedicated to the events surrounding Sharkey's occupation and the Scouring of the Shire. Included in this section is a brief history of the Shire and some information concerning Hobbits themselves. Here, the uninitiated can get some idea of who they are fighting and what they are fighting for. Along with a gorgeously illuminated map drawn by Nuala Kinrade, these excerpts help to set the tone for the six scenarios that make up the Scouring of the Shire campaign. They can be played independently as stand-alone games or together as a linked campaign in which success or failure in one scenario can have significant effects on future games.

Mat Ward

Mat Ward: For me, the first and most important thing to occur when we began work on this book was to keep the character of the Hobbits true to Tolkien's vision. Like 'em or loathe 'em, the Shire's finest have personalities that are very distinct and not a little amusing. They aren't warriors, except in a pinch. Though they may do ridiculous things from time to time, so do we all. This trait in itself does not make the Hobbits laughable – it's all in the presentation. In our work, we were helped by the fact that Tolkien is incredibly clear about their behaviour – something I wouldn't have changed for the world. After all, if you're going to write a book about Hobbits, that's exactly what you should do – not write a book about things that look like Hobbits and fight like crazed Vikings.

Next: Characteristics, Special Rules, And Heroes