Book & Paints

So, I got the "Blood for the Blood God" paint and I got my first box of Easterling Commanders, and my first two Easterling War Priest cavalrymen.

However, I did not get the Desolation of Smaug strategy battle game expansion book, which was my #1 desired Games Workshop product this year. But I will not give up on having them. Luckily, I also got more than enough gift money to get this book myself. But I also have paint related obligations for my army that I almost forgot about:

I need to restock on the blackest black, which in my case is Abaddon Black. I also need to add the Base Paints Screaming Bell and Leadbelcher to my stock in order to implement the painting method I have finalized based on the current Citadel Paint System. This means undercoating with Base Paints, "washing" with Shade ones, highlighting with Layer ones, and finishing with Glaze Paints.

I am extremely thankful for what I have received, but I am also lucky to be able to compensate for what I have not received...

A Nostalgic Reflection

Why this post?

Because I wanted to reflect on the fact that Games Workshop's original Easterling army list was in 2003, when Return of the King was in Theaters. I want to disprove all so-called "justifications" that may exist of the original Easterling army being pitifully weak.

Why Return of the King heyday?

Because they may have been more prominent in Two Towers than in Return of the King, but in the latter the Easterlings actually do their fighting, they can be undeniably spotted in the "Breaking of the Great Gates" scene. That I am writing these rules as something GW should have done right off the bat makes them completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by today's Games Workshop. Granted, they may seem similar to current rules, but what this post is implying is that most of today's rules are massively overdue.

Heroes

Khamûl the Easterling (Ringwraith) = 120 points

Fight (F) = 5/-, Strength (S) = 4, Defense (D) = 8, Attacks (A) = 1, Wounds (W) = 1, Courage (C) = 6, Might_Will_Fate (M_W_F) = 2_14_2

War-gear = Heavy Armor and Sword. Can ride the following at extra cost:

Horse = 10 points

Armored Horse = 15 points

Fell Beast = 50 points

Special Rules: Harbinger of Evil, Will of Evil, Terror.

Essence Leech: Khamûl can regain one lost Will point to every wound he causes on any enemies, to a maximum of 14. He can also spend one Will point per turn on increasing his F, S, or A value by 1.

Central Monarch of Rhûn: Easterlings within 18" of Khamûl can benefit from his "Stand Fast!" usage.

Magical Powers:

Black Dart = 12" range, dice score 6+ to use

Drain Courage = 12" range, dice score 4+ to use

Compel = 12" range, dice score 5+ to use

Transfix = 12" range, dice score 5+ to use

Sap Will = 12" range, dice score 3+ to use

Malik Al-Na'mah (Human man) = 100 points

F = 6/-, S = 4, D = 6, A = 3, W = 3, C = 5, M_W_F = 3_3_1

War-gear = Heavy Armor and Easterling falchion (elven blade). Can take the following at additional cost:

Shield = 5 points

Armored Horse = 15 points

Easterling Chariot = 30 points

Special Rules:

King of the Blood: Malik regains one lost might point for every one wound inflicted on enemies, to a maximum of 3.

Brutal Footing: Whenever an Easterling is "Knocked To The Ground" for any reason, roll a D6. On a 4 or more the Easterling stays upright.

Master of Battle Tactics: Easterlings within 12" of Malik use him as a banner

Easterling King (Human man) = 70 points

F = 6/4+, S = 4, D = 6, A = 2, W = 2, C = 5, M_W_F = 2_2_1

War-gear = Heavy Armor and Easterling falchion. Can take the following at additional cost:

Halberd (replaces falchion) = free

Bow = 5 points

Shield = 5 points

Armored Horse = 15 points

Easterling Chariot = 30 points

Special Rules: Brutal Footing

Easterling Chariot (Monstrous Mount)

F = 0, S = 3, D = 8, A = 0, W = 3, C = 0

Special Rules: Easterling chariot drivers receive the Extra Attack and Knock To The Ground bonuses against enemy cavalry and enemy infantry, but they have rules of their own to follow:

Clunky Jumping: A chariot driver can only use jump tests to cross flat and concave obstacles like bogs and rivers, and cannot cross convex ones like fences or rocks this way. Furthermore, if a 1 is rolled on the Jump table, the chariot is destroyed and the driver is thrown

Stable Platform: A chariot driver can move the chariot's full 10-inch distance and still shoot bow, and can use an elven blade-like weapon with both hands even if he used his bow, and can carry a shield and bow at the same time and still use elven blade-like weapon with both hands. But if the driver becomes dismounted, he loses all of these abilities.

Easterling Chieftain (Human man) = 55 points

F = 5/4+, S = 4, D = 6, A = 2, W = 2, C = 4, M_W_F = 2_1_1

War-gear = Heavy Armor and Easterling falchion. Can take the following at additional cost:

Halberd (replaces falchion) = free

Bow = 5 points

Shield = 5 points

Armored Horse = 15 points

Easterling Chariot = 30 points

Special Rules: Brutal Footing

Warriors

Easterling Warrior (Human man) = 8 points

F = 4/4+, S = 3, D = 5, A = 1, W = 1, C = 3

War-gear = Heavy Armor and Easterling falchion. Any warrior can take the following at additional cost:

Halberd (replaces falchion) = free

Spear = 1 point

Pike = 1 point

Shield = 1 point

Bow = 1 point

Composite longbow (Elven bow) = 1 point

Drum (increases entire army's move value by 3" apiece, no matter how many drums are in use) = 20 points

Trumpet (increases entire army's Courage by 1 apiece, no matter how many trumpets are in use) = 15 points

Banner (maximum ratio of one banner to every one hero in the same force) = 25 points

Special Rules: Brutal Footing

Easterling Horse-archer (Human man) = 13 points

F = 4/4+, S = 3, D = 5, A = 1, W = 1, C = 3

War-gear: Heavy Armor, Easterling falchion, Horse, and Bow. Can take the following at additional cost:

Halberd (replaces falchion) = free

Composite shortbow (counts as Dwarven Bow and replaces regular Bow) = free

Special Rules: Brutal Footing

Bowmen upon horses: Easterling Horse-archers can move the full 10-inch distance of the horse's move and still open fire, but they may not engage in melee combat unless attacked first if he does so.

Easterling Knight (Human man) = 15 points

F = 4/-, S = 3, D = 6, A = 1, W = 1, C = 3

War-gear: Heavy Armor, Easterling falchion, Armored Horse, and shield. Can take the following at additional cost:

Halberd (replaces falchion) = free

Lance = 1 point

Banner = 25 points

Trumpet = 25 points

Special Rules: Brutal Footing

Easterling Charioteer (Human man) = 26 points

F = 4/4+, S = 3, D = 6, A = 1, W = 1, C = 3

War-gear = Heavy Armor, Easterling falchion, Bow, Shield, and Easterling chariot. Can replace his falchion with halberd at no extra cost.

Special rules: Brutal Footing

Easterling War Catapult = 100 points

Strength = 10, Defense = 10, Batter Points = 4

War-gear: Catapult with three Easterling Warrior crew with heavy armor and Easterling falchions. Can take additional crew at extra cost:

Easterling crewman = 8 points

Upgrades:

Flaming Ammunition = 15 points

Siege Veterans = 10 points

Easterling Engineer Captain = 85 points

Conclusion

This post is not meant to confuse anyone, it is just me expressing how I feel Games Workshop could have and should have written their Easterling army list in the Return of the King heyday back in 2003. They'd be a lot more public had they gone down the above road....

~KP

The Desolation of Rhûn 1 ("Desolation of Smaug" gaming-book expectations)

Given that Games Workshop has recently released the Desolation of Smaug expansion book for the main rules manual, I have no idea what special abilities this thing is going to give to the Easterlings....

...I am expecting new enemies, settings and greenlights though... like for example, I am expecting:

1. Rules for Warriors and Captains of Dale, who my men (the Easterlings) bare unequaled animosity towards
2. Rules for Lake-Town Guards (including captains)
3. Rules for Bard the Bowman, including:
1. encouragement by Games Workshop to use him to represent King Brand of Dale for the Return of the King-era scenario "Battle of Dale"
4. Lessons for me as to why not to send any of my men to take Tauriel head-on
5. Rules for "Master of Lake-Town" and for his assistant
6. Terms for gaming in Dale and Lake-town
7. Full profile for the film's version of Sauron the Necromancer (I don't expect the stat line to be any different than the old GW-speculated version's stat line from 2006's "Fall of the Necromancer")
8. Guide to gaming in Dol Guldur (which is managed by my faction's leader [Khamûl] during the era of the LotR trilogy)
9. RULES FOR SIEGE TOWERS (If they're not in this expansion they'd better be in the inevitable There and Back Again one!!!)
10. A profile for Bard's son Bain, including:
1. Games Workshop's greenlight for people to use him to represent Bard II in the "Battle of Dale" event of RotK

This book may not give the Easterling army any special new abilities like the Unexpected Journey rules manual did via new rules unique to certain troop types (Monster, Hero, etc.), but I still have ideas what may be included and what the potential abilities do for my troops, including:

1. Rules for new spells and modifications to known ones, including:
1. A set of new-rules-manual style rules for Bladewrath, as would allow War Priests to do something far more metal with that particular spell
2. A re-write of the nature of Bladewrath, upgrading it to a spell that has all same-race models from the same culture (for example Easterling and Khandish are two different cultures) within 6" rolling To Wound at Strength 6 (Channeling leading to a Rend attack tacked onto the allies' To Wound rolls)
3. Gaming format versions of the various spells not seen on-screen until December 13 2013 when Desolation of Smaug came out.
2. Rules for Halberds, from declaring them to be Elven Blades that use Piercing Strike or Bash instead of using Feint (as would make sense for the Easterlings utilizing the halberd as their favorite weapon) to declaring them to be able to be used as spears or as pikes depending on the shaft length (meaning Bolg would be able to contribute an attack to a fight and help one of his fellow Gundabad Orcs win a fight, but I don't care about Orcs or about Gundabad. They are whiny run-away wimps that will NOT fight to the death like the Easterlings will)
3. Rules for skin-changers like Beorn, as in how to make them change skins, and whether the stat line is any different, and what models to use to represent the alternative form
4. Distinct rules for different kinds of arrow and blade upgrades, including:
1. Rules for Morgul Poison as used in Khamûl's blade and in that Gundabad Orc's arrow (see the Desolation of Smaug film to learn what Orc & what arrow, you'll be glad you did)
2. Rules for Snake & Scorpion Venom as used by the Haradrim
3. Rules for Great Plague Diseases as used by the Easterlings of the 19th Century of the Third Age against all of Middle-earth's northwest-continent, both as weapon upgrades and as stand-alone weapons. This kwap will be lovely for me to infect all the new Mirkwood Elf characters with, except for Tauriel, cuz I wanna keep her healtheh for non-combatant reezinnz <3
4. Rules for different kinds of Bane enchantments, though different from those of the War of the Ring game.
5. Rules for "Mithril Make" that are only available for members of the Durin's Folk, Thorin's Company, Army of Thror, and Dale & Lake-town army lists.
5. Rules for different hiding in Difficult Terrain, mostly for hiding in plant-matter such as forests (like among trees)

So as an Easterling general, I have several expectations for the Desolation of Smaug expansion book when I get it this upcoming Christmas.

That's what I have for now,

~KP

Gondorian Infidel Heroes and How I handlez themz

Hello, friend of Melkor ;-)

This time I have decided to let you guys in on Gondorian heroes (HERETICS!!!) and let you know what they can do to the Easterlings (MY CITIZENS!!!) and all the ways I can stop them in their tracks!!

First on the list is the one I can't appreciate a thing about, infidel or not: DENETHOR!!!

Here's his pic:

I guess everyone in America got sick of this squidgy freak
cuz he is no longer available to US-based GW hobbyists like
me..... LOLOLOLOL. Actor for him is quite brilliant tho :-)

Seriously, the only thing this guy hates more than Easterlings is his younger son Faramir. Great father, M-I-Right? He may have a Fight, Defense and Courage 5, an Attacks and Wounds of 2, and a Will store of 3, but he also has the element of Broken Mind, where I can somehow control him should he fail a Courage Test.

My Plan: One thing I could do is send Khamûl rocketing towards this guy on his flying steed (Tolkien says the Ringwraith's flying steeds are called the Nazgûl), spending a Will Point on racking up his melee to 6 (up from 5) and throwing a Hurl attack at him once I win the fight, sending him flying D6+3" (Horned Nazgûl Strength 7 vs Denethor Str 4) and aim him at Minas Tirith soldiers, that way he can risk their lives and I can end Faramir's misery by having Denethor suffer a Strength 6 crash-land. If this does not settle, no problem: Next turn I will cast Black Dart at this fool, causing a Strength 9 his against his Defense 5, therefore needing only a roll of 3 or higher to finish him.

Next on the list is the Gondorian who happens to be the only epic one (in other words, this one's my favorite character in the film trilogy): BOROMIR!!

There are two versions of this character in game: Boromir
of Gondor and Boromir of the White Tower (depicted)

Ah, yes, Boromir, the only chivalrous Gondor person other than Faramir! Boromir is the bigger threat to my Confederacy of Caliphates (Rhûn) though. His Fight and Courage of 6 and his Defense is 6 as well, he even has 3 attacks and 3 wounds!! If that's not enough, then he has the biggest Might store of any sentient being in Middle earth at a Might store of SIX!!!

My plan: If Boromir is on foot, then I will make Khamûl cast Transfix on Boromir, channeling it. Then, I will send Amdûr charging into Boromir, spending one of Amdûr's Might points on adding D6 to his Fight 6 (to a maximum total sum of 10). Then, Amdûr will use his 6 dice (2 attacks on his file, 3rd from charging a model on foot, the other three being double attacks from enemy being prone) and roll for 3 or more results of 5 or 6. If Boromir is on horseback, I will do the same but instead send an Easterling King or Dragon Guard on Chariot with halberd charging into Boromir then I will have the Chariot driver unleash both a Piercing Strike and a Rend in the same dice roll, that way a maximum Strength of 6 or 7 is competing against a barrier of 4 rather than 6, therefore requiring only 3 or more results of 3+, rather than that many of 4+.

Then we come to his, in my mind, more chivalrous brother Faramir!

The guy on the left is Faramir, the guy on the right is a
mostly-useless fellow named Damrod...

Well, I am often told Faramir is a better person then Boromir. However, Faramir is also a better shooter than Boromir (24" firing range on bow and hits on dice score of 3+, while Boromir in this game can't even throw daggers like he could in the first LotR film), and Faramir has Fight, Defense and Courage 5 as well as 2 wounds, 2 attacks, equal melee strength at a 4.

My Plan: Should Faramir be on foot, um..... I think I will have Amdûr Lord of Blades charge him from his armored horse, using a Might point to rack of his (Amdûr's) Fight from a 6 to a 7, 10, or something in between. Then, once Faramir is prone, Amdûr will roll for double results of 5 or 6. However, if this Faramir guy is on Horseback, then I will instead use an Easterling King on Chariot with Easterling halberd rolling his way, NOT spending Might because Easterling Kings cannot regain might from killing enemy heroes like Amdûr can. Instead, the Easterling King will declare Piercing Strike on Faramir during the charge. This Easterling King will use his 2 in 3 chance of winning (as of the halberd letting the Easterling King win on a dice score 1-4) to win and his chariot to knock Faramir prone, then will roll D3 to see how much tougher he gets (hopefully to Strength 7) and then will unleash Rend attack.

Let's talk about an enemy champion who only appeared in the books: Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth.

He leads the Swan-Knights, a the-books-only order of
Gondorian elite soldiers.

Um.... How do I explain this guy? Been a while since I read the LotR book and therefore I cannot for the life of me what specific actions he did as an individual. However, in this battle-game, he has roughly the same Stat line as Boromir, but with a Defense of 7 and a Might-Will-Fate line of 3-3-3.

My Plan: I do not care whether this one is on foot or horseback, the take-down procedure will be the same: Send Khamûl rocketing towards him on Horned Nazgûl, spending a Might Point on Fight increase to D6 result +5 being up to but not exceeding 10, and a Will point on racking up his attacks value to 3 (up from the Horned Nazgûl's 2, cuz cavalries adopt the best of both the rider AND the mount) and then roll 4 dice (4th from charging as monstrous cavalry). Once Khamûl wins, Imrahil will be prone, allowing Khamûl to roll 8 dice at Str 7 against Imrahil's Strength 4 (Rend attack!). Imrahil won't stand a chance due to me only needing 3 or more scores of, well..... 3 or higher.

Finally, we come to the ultimate Gondor King: Aragorn Elessar!!!!!

The mighty King of Gondor. For 1075 years (by Tolkien
reckoning) Gondor has had no king because of the
Easterlings, but here comes Aragorn....

This guy, this guy, this guy.... I am well aware that in the book and film he is very chivalrous but can get very aggressive when necessary. GW did a fine job reflecting that because his Fight and Courage are both friggin SIX!! At Defense 7 despite not having a shield, he is the best-protected enemy of Rhûn. What's more, he can spend one Might point per turn without reducing his Might Store!!

My Plan: Even Aragorn cannot stand up to my strategic reasoning. I have a number of ways I can think of icing him, but I am going to explain one of them: First Khamûl will channel Transfix to reduce his Fight Value and Attacks to 1, then Khamûl will slam into Aragorn, and once the Fight is won by Khamûl he will then subject Aragorn to a Rend Attack of six dice and Strength 7 (because my Khamûl's winged monster-steed, or Nazgûl, will come horned). I can come up with other ways, but this is the one I feel like sharing >:-)

Now that that's done, Great One Melkor can rest assured that his chosen ones will be seizing Gondor in his name. Next time I feel like posting anything it will be this post but pertaining to Rohan heroes instead......

~KP

Rules for Easterling Kings, Chariots, Onagers and Dragon Guards

Hi folks

Luckily, Games Workshop lets people write rules "that work for them" (GW, Legal, Page 4)

I say this because I have wanted to write rules for Easterling Kings, Dragon Guards, Easterling Onagers and Easterling Chariots.

And I read the terms of GW hobby participation and so I can!

So, here it goes, but keep in mind these write-in troop types are completely unofficial and are in no way endorsed by Games Workshop.

Easterling King (Man)..............................................................................................................60 points

Move = 6", Fight = 5/4+, Strength = 4, Defense = 6, Attacks = 2, Wounds = 2, Courage = 5

Might = 2, Will = 2, Fate = 1

Wargear:
Heavy Armor

Options:
Easterling Chariot.....30 points
Armored Horse.........15 points
Horse........................10 points
Bow............................5 points
Shield.........................5 points
Easterling Halberd.....5 points

Dragon Guard (Man)................................................................................................................11 points

Move = 6", Fight = 4/3+, Strength = 4, Defense = 6, Attacks = 1, Wounds = 1, Courage = 4

Wargear:
Heavy Armor and Great Bow

Options:
Easterling Chariot........17 points
Easterling Halberd..........1 point

Easterling Charioteer (Man, Monstrous Cavalry)...................................................................25 points

Move = 6", Fight = 3/4+, Strength = 3, Defense = 6, Attacks = 1, Wounds = 1, Courage = 3

Wargear:
Heavy Armor, Shield, Bow, and Easterling Chariot

Options:
Upgrade to Black Dragon.......2 points

Easterling Chariot (Wagon, Monstrous Mount)

Move = 10", Fight = 0, Strength = 3, Defense = 8, Attacks = 0, Wounds = 4, Courage = 0

Special Rules:

Bulky: The Chariot may not use jump tests to cross obstacles but can use leap tests to cross gaps, but if a 1 is rolled on the Leap table, the chariot is destroyed and the Easterling counts as having rolled a Knocked Flying result on the Thrown Rider chart.

Smooth Ride: An Easterling in a chariot can move full distance and still shoot bow, and can also carry several different items while ignoring the Cumbersome rule. However, if the Easterling gets dismounted, he must revert to obeying the Cumbersome rule.

Easterling Onager (Artillery).................................................................................................100 points

Strength = 10, Defense = 10, Wounds = 4

Crew:
An Easterling Onager has three Easterling warrior crew with heavy armor:

Move = 6", Fight = 3/4+, Strength = 3, Defense = 5, Attacks = 1, Wounds = 1, Courage = 3

Options
Additional Warrior Crew.....7 points each
Flaming Boulders......................10 points
Internal Organs..........................20 points
Siege Veterans...........................15 points
Easterling Engineer Captain......75 points

Wargear of the Easterlings

Easterling Halberd: this weapon works exactly like an Elven Blade, but has the option to do Piercing Strike instead of the option to do Feint.

Internal Organs: Carved out of Dalish, Rohirric and Gondorian Prisoners-of-war, these pieces of other human being work exactly like severed heads, but the following enemies take that kind of courage test with a -2 penalty to the sum: Gondorians, Rohirrim, and Dalish-men.

Now that I have written rules for new Easterling characters and did my absolute best to make these rules look purely unofficial, I can go forth with confidence that I may not even need the support of the Khandish-men!

~KP