SBG

New Rules
& Scenario

Battle
Report

Painting
Masterclass

Issue 4
Autumn 2016
A Middle-earth fanzine by the fans - for the fans

The Istari
Tactical tips for
Middle-earth’s
three wizards

The Hunt
for Thrain
Gandalf explores
the dungeons of
The Necromancer

I T 'S
UNDOUBTEDLY The dark denizens of Dol

!
Guldur have awoken to

A TR A P defend their master’s lair

from an elven ambush!
 EDITORIAL
SBG
“It was a tale that grew in the telling...”

These words, originally by Tolkien himself,

were borrowed by Peter Jackson to
A Middle-earth fanzine by the fans - for the fans
describe how The Hobbit films unexpectedly
grew into a trilogy during production - and
Issue 4 this quote has proved to be just as apt for
Autumn 2016 our own adventure to Dol Guldur!

The wealth of material created for Issue 3 quickly exceeded our modest
Created and Edited by:
Tom Harrison page count and we had little choice but to spread the content over two
Damian O’Byrne issues to do justice to all the incredible work of our contributors. The two
issues have been conceived in tandem and we think of Issues 3 and 4 as
Layout & Design: two parts of one huge Dol Guldur issue - hopefully one you will enjoy!
Damian O’Byrne

Copy Editor: Whilst there is no new theme for you, we hope that you can see exactly
Tom Harrison why we decided to spread our Hill of Sorcery content over two issues;
Barry O'Neill has finally been given the space he deserves to show off how
Principal Photography: he built the amazing Dol Guldur board and Steve Crowe explains how he
Jim Muller
made the Gandalf and spider conversions that featured in Issue 3’s Battle
Article Contributors: Report. Matt Davies also got in on the Gandalf fun and shows us how he
Steve Crowe, Matt Davies, Barry made his wonderful new conversion, as well as explaining how he used
O'Neill, Jamie Giblin non-metallic metal techniques to paint the Nazgûl that graced the pages
of Issue 3. We’ve also found space for Jamie Giblin to write an intriguing
All images reproduced with
Tactica that focuses on the mighty Istari. Expanding to this second issue has
the kind permission of the
photographers: also allowed us to try some new ideas that we simply wouldn’t have had
Louis Aplin, Adam (Marcel) space for in a single issue - inspired by Barry’s breath-taking terrain, we’ve
Chandler, Steve Crowe, Matt created a new mini-scenario set in Dol Guldur’s dungeons and we’ve also
Davies, Jamie Giblin, Peter come up with new rules for playing games set inside the Hill of Sorcery.
Middleton, Jim Muller, Barry
O'Neill
It goes without saying that this issue would not have been possible without
the help of some fantastic people and, whilst we don’t have space to thank
everybody, a special mention must once again go to Jim Muller for taking
Contact us:
SBGmagazine@gmail.com the majority of this issue’s incredible photographs and, of course, to Emma
and Lily for allowing us to continue with our little project.

We’d also like to thank you, the readers, for all of the amazing feedback
that you provided for Issue 3, we really hope that you enjoy this latest issue
even half as much as you seemed to enjoy our first foray into Dol Guldur.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, so as we write this Editorial we
finally say goodbye to Dol Guldur after 20 months imprisoned in the Hill of
Sorcery. But fear not, Dol Guldur will be making way for something awfully
exciting in the next magazine. Indeed, nine days before we went to print on
this issue, we received pictures of the finished terrain board for Issue 5 and
believe us, you ain’t seen nothing yet...
Enjoy the issue,
Damian & Tom
CONTENTS
SBG Towers 2
Tom and Damian take a look behind the scenes of the production of

3
SBG with some news snippets and our Hunt for Thrain competition!

Scenario - The Hunt for Thrain 3

Damian presents a new mini-scenario in which Gandalf explores the
dungeons of Dol Guldur in an attempt to save Thrain
The Doctor’s Corner 8
Damian returns, pondering exactly why society at large looks down
on our favourite hobby - can he pinpoint quite what makes it so ‘sad’?
Tactica - The Istari 12
Jamie Giblin divulges his long-gathered wisdom on how best to utilise

12
Middle-earth’s three wizards in your battles against the Dark Lord
Ruling Dol Guldur 16
Tom presents a new set of rules for playing games set in the
crumbling and mystifying fortress of Dol Guldur
Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur 18
Damian leads the forces of Mirkwood back into Dol Guldur to rescue
the White Council from Jamie Giblin’s legion of The Necromancer
Army List - The Garrison of Dol Guldur 29

18
A brand new army list that allows you to field all the Warriors and
Heroes that inhabit Dol Guldur during The Hobbit trilogy in one force
Building Middle-earth - Dol Guldur 30
Barry O'Neill offers an in-depth look at how he built the breathtaking
Dol Guldur board featured in this issue’s Battle Report
Hobby Corner 37
Matt Davies divulges how he painted our custom Ringwraiths, Steve
Crowe explains how he converted our spiders and much more!
Hobby BLOG, Supporting SBG & Competition 44
We explain how you can support future issues of SBG and win
Gandalf and a box of Hunter Orcs in the process! 30
Even Gandalf wants to make sure he
gets all the back issues of SBG! A
limited number of physical copies of
Issues 1, 2 and 3 are still available - see
page 45 for how to get yours!

Thanks to Chris Young for making us

the beautiful SBG objective markers -
fine work and very much appreciated!

2016 Issue 4 SBG 1

 SBG owers
SBG SBG

Behind the scenes news snippets from SBG

1000
COPIES OF SBG!
Shortly before we went to print with Issue 4, we
celebrated a huge milestone here at SBG Towers
Pos.
1 UK
Andrew Brock picked up
copy of SBG at the NO
Country #copies
661
the 1000th
VA Open!
England 582
as we gave away our 1000th physical copy of Scotland 40
2 United States 99
SBG! We were understandably delighted with Wales 18
3 Canada 46
this milestone and want to say a huge thanks 4
Northern Ireland 13
Germany 37
to anyone out there who has donated to the 5 Ireland
Chan nel Islands 3
25
project over the last two years and for all your 6 Netherlands
Shetland Islands 3
22
support. We held a competition for whoever 7 Australia
Isle of Skye 2
19
picked up the 1000th copy of SBG to win a box
=
8 Denmark 13
of Grim Hammers and we were happy to award Sweden The Rest of the World
13
the prize to Canadian Andrew Brock at the pips non-UK Europe
10 Norway 11
NOVA Open. Bereft of a Tom’s Top 10 article to by 170 copies to 169!
funnel his need for stats in this issue, Tom has produced a table that
REFRIGERATE Y
shows just where in the world our dear magazine has gone and that OU FOOLS!
reveals the Top 10 Countries! Here’s to the next 1000 copies!

NOVA-WORKED!
Damian: There truly is no rest
for the wicked! As Tom and I made
our second annual trip to the NOVA
Open in Washington DC with James
and Jamie, the deadline for Issue 4 was
looming - so here we are, high over the
Atlantic, working away on this issue’s
Battle Report! We’d like to thank
Devin Moreno, Walker Cluff, Rob
Kron and the rest of the DCHL for
welcoming us and for putting on
Tom: What do yo
another fantastic event. We were u get for The
Hobbit: Strategy Ba
thrilled to defend our Singles and ttle Game fan
who has everything
Doubles titles - until next year! ? Why, his own
custom GenerationS
hift Gandalf
Where’s Thrain? Thrain is always lurking in the fridge magnet of co
urse! For more
dungeons of Dol Guldur but how many times does the details on how Mat
t Davies made
Thrain the Broken model appear in this issue of SBG? this cool piece, turn
to page 43.
Email us with the correct answer and the correct page
numbers (to prove you haven’t simply guessed it!) and the first person to submit
the correct answer will win a brand new Mahud King on camel (long out of production!),
courtesy of Christian Sørup Jensen - we’ll announce the lucky winner in Issue 5. Good luck!
2 SBG Issue 4 2016
 The Hunt for Thrain

The Hunt for Thrain

In this brand new mini-scenario, Gandalf
attempts to discover the nature of the
evil concealed within the dungeons of
Dol Guldur - can he save an old friend
from the clutches of The Necromancer?

Damian: Way back in early 2015, Barry O'Neill

started sending us work-in-progress pictures of
what would become our spectacular Dol Guldur
board. We were absolutely blown away and
immediately started thinking of how we could
best use the board to create some iconic gaming
moments. Obviously, a lot of our time and energy
went into writing and play-testing the custom
scenario that was ultimately used in Issue 3’s
Battle Report; however, this was only the start of Layout
our wild ideas! Tom busied himself with writing
a selection of rules for playing games within the The battle takes place on a 2'x2' board set inside the
Hill of Sorcery (see page 16) whilst I turned my dungeon labyrinth beneath Dol Guldur. The board
attentions to the dungeons of Dol Guldur! should consist of a series of tunnels that interlink
with each other in multiple configurations to allow
Barry created a wonderfully intricate dungeon the models to move around the board in a variety of
maze on one of the baseboards and I could different ways. There should be five objectives placed
immediately picture Gandalf and Thrain running on the board, one within 3" of the centre and the
through the passages, trying to ambush one other four placed roughly 6" from each table corner -
another. Unfortunately, the courtyard sat directly these are the objectives that Gandalf must disarm.
on top of this maze meaning that the dungeons
did not appear in Issue 3 at all! When we made
the decision to also theme Issue 4 around Dol
Guldur, we had the perfect excuse to dive back
into the dungeons and create a fun mini-scenario
representing Gandalf’s search of Dol Guldur.

My primary aim when writing this scenario was to

move the focus of The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game
away from killing. I wanted to create a scenario
that allowed Gandalf to stealthily explore the
dungeon maze, avoiding the orcs rather than
trying to kill them. After lots of fun play-testing
(thanks Sam Page!), we settled on a set of rules
that encourage Gandalf to sneak from wall to
wall, Immobilising Thrain and Commanding orcs
out of the way as he attempts to uncover the
secrets of Dol Guldur. It’s loads of fun and only
takes about half an hour to play so can easily be
replayed, swapping sides to see who can get the
best result.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 3
 The Hunt for Thrain

Starting positions

Place Gandalf in the centre of the northern table

edge, Thrain within 1" of the central objective and
one Hunter Orc within 1" of each objective.

The Good side has Priority in the first turn.

Neither force can be Broken in this scenario.

Objectives

Good: Gandalf must successfully disarm each of the

five objectives to reveal their secrets. Once this has
been done, he must subdue Thrain.

Evil: The Evil force must kill Gandalf.

Participants

Good: Gandalf the Grey
Evil: Thrain the Broken, 5 Hunter Orcs
Special Rules
Sentries: The Hunter Orcs are unaware of
Gandalf’s presence and will remain so as long as the
wizard can keep to the shadows. Instead of moving
normally, at the start of each Hunter Orc’s Move,
roll a dice and consult the table below:
The model may not move that turn
1
The model is moved that number of
2-5 inches by the player with Priority
6 The model moves as normal
If a Hunter Orc ends its Move within 3" of Gandalf,
it spots him and is no longer classed as a Sentry (and
may act normally for the rest of the game).
The Wizard Has Come: Gandalf has woven an
intricate web of spells to protect him and confuse
the enemy. If any Evil model wishes to charge
Gandalf, they must first pass a Courage Test.
You Shall Not Blast: Gandalf is keen to avoid
detection and will not risk casting Sorcerous Blast as
the spell will cause far too much noise.
4 SBG Issue 4 2016
Thrain the Broken: At this point in time, Thrain
has completely and utterly lost his mind and has no
hope of coming to his senses. As such, Thrain does
not roll for his Shattered Spirit rule and instead acts
like any normal Evil model (although he is not a
Sentry).
Gandalf can charge Thrain as normal but if he wins
the Duel he will strike no blows against the crazed
dwarf unless he has disarmed all five objectives.
A Spell of Concealment: Gandalf is exploring
Dol Guldur and attempting to disarm the spells
of illusion that are protecting the fortress of The
Necromancer - these are represented by the five
objectives. To disarm an objective, Gandalf must be
within 1" of it and successfully cast Command.
Once Gandalf has disarmed all of the objectives, he
may then attempt to subdue Thrain by defeating the
dwarf in a Duel and successfully rolling To Wound.
Of course, Gandalf is not actually striking Thrain,
rather, this represents him overpowering the dwarf
and purging the evil from his mind.
There is no light, wizard: A lucky spate of Courage
Tests can spell doom for Gandalf in this scenario! If
you find that Gandalf is struggling to win the game,
try making the Hunter Orcs and Thrain roll three dice
for their Courage Tests to charge him and discard the
highest result to give the Grey Pilgrim a boost!
 The Hunt for Thrain

After countless play-tests, Damian and

Tom couldn’t resist giving the scenario
a go, so Damian took control of Gandalf
whilst Tom led Thrain and the orcs to see
who was the true master of Dol Guldur!

Turns 1-8 Turns 9-16

Things started well for Tom as Thrain and the
Hunter Orcs quickly closed in around Gandalf and
one orc got close enough to spot the sneaking
wizard as Damian sent him towards the northwest
objective. However, Gandalf had a trick up sleeve
- he Commanded the orc before charging it and,
despite Thrain also charging in, won the Fight and
slew the orc! Gandalf was then able to escape
towards the objective when Thrain failed a Courage
Test on the following turn.
Gandalf Commanded the northwest objective
successfully on two dice to disarm the first of the
five objectives. However, moving to the objective
had allowed the orcs to close in and two more
became aware of Gandalf. Damian was looking a
little worried at his wizard’s plight and was forced
to expend Gandalf’s first Might point on a Heroic
Move to escape towards the central objective.
Unfortunately for Damian, Gandalf failed to cast
Immobilise on one of the orcs and as a consequence
the orc was alerted to his presence - now just one
orc Sentry remained! Damian didn’t seem overly
concerned as, on the next turn, the Grey Pilgrim
was able to repeat his earlier trick - Commanding
an orc and killing it! This time Damian had to use a
Might point to ensure the manoeuvre worked but it
was definitely well worth it to give the wizard some
breathing space.
Gandalf continued to build momentum as he was
able to successfully disarm the central objective
at the first time of asking using two Will points.
Before Tom could surround Gandalf in the centre,
the Grey Pilgrim managed to Immobilise one of the
orcs who could do nothing except block the path
of his comrades as the wizard rushed towards the
southeast objective. Things were looking good for
Gandalf as he arrived at the southeast objective but,
just as Damian started to relax, the wizard failed to
disarm the objective - rolling a double 1! Fortunately
for Damian, Gandalf still had time to escape if he
could secure the objective in the following turn -
however, the wizard fluffed his lines again, this time
rolling a 1 and a 2! Damian cursed his bad luck as
Tom rubbed his hands in glee - Gandalf was now
surrounded and the objective still wasn’t disarmed.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 5
 The Hunt for Thrain
After a calamitous couple of turns, Damian was
forced to spend Gandalf’s final Might point to call
a Heroic Move and escape. This allowed Gandalf
to flee away from the cursed southeast objective
and towards the southwest one. However,
Gandalf’s poor spell-casting continued as he failed
to Command Thrain who was blocking his path to
safety, forcing the wizard to charge into the crazed
dwarf in an attempt to move him out of the way!
Damian’s bad luck showed no sign of stopping as
Thrain won the Fight and took one Wound and two
Fate points off the wizard, leaving Damian wondering
whether Gandalf had forgotten to pack the correct
elven ring... As a result, Gandalf still couldn’t escape
past Thrain, so instead he Commanded an orc and
fled back towards the southeast objective, hoping
that a combination of winning Priority and failed
orc Courage Tests would help him escape. Luckily
for Damian, the gamble paid off and Gandalf finally
managed to disarm the southeast objective.
6 SBG Issue 4 2016
Turns 17-24
The orcs were in hot pursuit and things were
looking bleak for Damian and the Might-less wizard;
whilst only two objectives now remained, they were
in opposite corners of the dungeons! With the orcs
blocking his way to the southwest objective, Gandalf
had no choice but to dash towards the northeast
objective! As Gandalf fled, the final Sentry managed
to get close enough to the wizard to spot him and,
finally, all of Tom’s orcs were free of the Sentry rule.
In the next turn, Gandalf was able to Command
an orc out of his way and continue towards the
objective as the game of cat and mouse continued!
Tom finally managed to charge a Hunter Orc into
Gandalf but was left frustrated when, despite
winning the Fight, the orc failed to wound. Gandalf
was trapped in a corner and Damian sighed in relief
as all three chasing orcs failed to charge him. Gandalf
was still forced to charge one orc to break out
of the trap and, after failing to Immobilise him, the
wizard lost the Duel and spent his final Fate point.
Still, Gandalf was right by the northeast objective
and could now attempt to disarm it; however, he
again failed for two turns in a row to disarm the
objective - meaning that not only was the objective
not secured, but the Grey Pilgrim was now out of
Will and relying on his Staff of Power! Tom chortled
away as Damian gave his wizard a quick pep talk.
Damian gave a sarcastic cheer as Gandalf finally
succeeded in disarming the northeast objective.
However, the wizard was then promptly charged
by a Hunter Orc and, even though the orc failed to
wound Gandalf, the signs were worrying - Gandalf
would need to kill off some orcs quickly or face
being cut down through weight of numbers. Still,
Damian had one more sneaky plan - Gandalf
Commanded an orc around the corner of a nearby
passageway and then charged into it, meaning that

the other orcs no longer had Line of Sight to charge
the Grey Pilgrim! Tom moved Thrain down another
passageway in an attempt to cut off Gandalf’s escape
route and Damian was left frustrated once again as
Gandalf rolled poorly, losing the Fight against the
confused orc. This allowed a second orc to catch up
with Gandalf and charge the wizard; the orc failed
to wound but Tom seemed confident that Gandalf
wouldn’t be so lucky if he could just get two models
to charge the wizard. Sure enough, his wish came
true on the next turn as both an orc and Thrain
managed to charge in and inflict two wounds!
Gandalf was trapped and would need some serious
luck to get out of this...
Turns 25-28
Damian sighed as Gandalf’s poor spell-casting
continued - another failed Command left Gandalf
exposed but Tom couldn’t take advantage as the orc
who charged in lost the Fight. Damian slumped in
his chair as the wizard again failed to kill - another
chance had gone begging and it looked bleak for
Gandalf. Sure enough, the following turn Gandalf was
charged by both Thrain and an orc and they were
able to land the fatal blows to finish off the wizard.
Damian had managed to disarm four of the five
objectives but his inability to kill the orcs when he
had the chance proved his undoing - the dungeon
guards had caught and killed the meddling wizard
and Tom was victorious!
The Hunt for Thrain
The Rematch
Jamie Giblin was watching Tom and Damian
play the scenario and claimed he could do a
better job as Gandalf, so we asked him to put
his money where his mouth was and step into
the dark dungeons of The Necromancer!
Damian made a great start with the orcs,
rolling a 6 for four of his five Sentry rolls on
Turn 1 - meaning that two orcs stopped being
Sentries immediately! Despite this ferocious
start, the game was much cagier than the first
battle as Jamie chose to focus his efforts on
killing orcs rather than going straight for the
objectives. However, horrendous luck plagued
Jamie as Gandalf seemed incapable of rolling
higher than a 2 for anything important!
Before long, things were looking bleak for Jamie
as Gandalf was down to 1 Wound and 1 Fate,
having killed no orcs and only disarmed one
objective! Jamie finally made a breakthrough
as the first orc fell to Glamdring, giving him
renewed hope as he started to use a sneaky
tactic of Commanding an orc into the corner
of a passageway to trap and kill it before
moving onto the next one - all the while
hoping that failed Courage Tests would prevent
Gandalf from being surrounded. This tactic
was extremely effective and helped Jamie to
kill three orcs in three consecutive turns! The
game was once again poised on the edge of
a knife. Soon, the final orc died - Gandalf just
had to disarm the remaining four objectives
and subdue Thrain before the dwarf could
bring him down. Unfortunately, Jamie’s bad luck
returned when it took Gandalf four attempts
to disarm the second objective, allowing Thrain
to catch up and Damian was mightily relieved
when the dwarf finally managed to take down
the wizard.
In the end, Jamie had only managed to disarm
two objectives but that didn’t tell the whole
story - by killing all five orcs, he had come
incredibly close to victory and just the slightest
bit of good fortune would have seen him win it!
2016 Issue 4 SBG 7
 The Dr’s Corner
C The Dr’s
orner
Dr Grant is a wargaming enigma, a mysterious scoundrel
with an unhealthy passion for Feral Uruk-hai and dinosaurs.
In this article, he ponders why so many people view the
wonderful world of wargaming with scorn and derision.
Back in issue 1 of SBG, I
discussed how I gradually learned
to ignore the negative stigma that
surrounds our hobby and ‘out’
myself as a wargamer for all to
see. Whilst writing the article, I
began to question exactly what
it was about wargaming that
contributed to this prevailing
attitude and that question forms
the basis of my latest article.
So, first things first, does this
stigma actually exist on a wide
scale or is it just my own personal
experience? Well, I had more than
enough feedback from people
who identified with my first
article to persuade me that I was
not alone and that there certainly
was a commonly held feeling
of derision towards wargaming
lurking out there in the zeitgeist.
Numerous conversations with
fellow hobbyists have convinced
me that, at some point, most of
us have dialled down the extent
of our love for the hobby, or even
denied it entirely, because of what
other people might think.
You can occasionally catch a
glimpse of this attitude within
the media; a recent article on the
satirical news website The Daily
Mash was entitled Man Almost
Goes into Games Workshop and
recounted the story of how a
“31 year-old man almost went
into a branch of Games Workshop
8 SBG Issue 4 2016
but was worried that somebody
might see”. In fact, The Daily Mash
clearly views our hobby as a
rich mine for comedy as a quick
search of the website reveals four
more articles poking light-hearted
fun at our favourite past time.
Whilst very funny, these articles
betray the existence of a wider
consensus, The Daily Mash is not
a wargaming website and so the
articles only work if its readership
(i.e. the average person on the
street) understands that going
into a Games Workshop store is an
embarrassing thing to do.
“At some point, most of us have dialled
down the extent of our love for the
hobby or even denied it entirely”
The existence of this widespread
attitude was further confirmed
recently when I was invited
to give a guest lecture on fan
cultures, in which I discussed
wargaming and revealed my
not-so-secret mega-hobby. The
students were all twenty year-olds
(i.e. relatively mature), so I was
interested to see what they would
make of the hobby and I am happy
to report that they largely took
a ‘do whatever makes you happy’
approach. However, when I asked
them to be utterly honest, most
of them had the integrity to admit
that, without really understanding
what the hobby was, they all had
some deep, unshakable feeling
that the frequenters of a Games
Workshop store were ‘sad’ - used
in this case as a derogatory term
to mean unfashionable - even if
they didn’t know quite why. So,
what exactly is it about our hobby
that makes it ‘sad’?
I think a major contributing
factor is that the hobby fails to
fall into traditional or fashionable
patterns of behaviour and this
certainly rings true with my own
childhood experiences. When I
was at school, playing with toy
soldiers certainly didn’t fit into
the ‘cool’ activities such as playing
sports, hanging out at shopping
centres and…well to be honest I
don’t know what the other cool
activities were, I was too busy
playing with toy soldiers…
In fact, I think the concept of
‘playing with toy soldiers’ might
well be at the heart of the issue; it
must seem strange to an outsider
to see adults spending their
time and money on what appear
to be toy soldiers. A common
defence from wargamers is that

they are not ‘toy soldiers’ but
rather ‘highly detailed miniatures’
- a distinction somewhat too
pedantic to convert most people
I fear. However, there seems to
have been a relatively recent
trend for us wargamers to ‘take
back’ this phrase, affectionately
referring to ourselves as ‘nerds
playing with toy soldiers’. Using
the terms that our detractors
have traditionally used to hurt us
robs the scoundrels of the ability
to use them against us - take that!
Indeed, in the current social
climate, it is far more acceptable
to be a nerd than it used to be,
there’s no doubt that TV shows
such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(nerds save the world!) and The
Big Bang Theory (nerds are human
too!) have done wonders for
making the concept of being a
nerd more acceptable in modern
society, whilst the phenomenal
success of Game of Thrones means
that an epic fantasy show is now
the most popular programme on
TV - a concept unimaginable as
recently as the '90s.
So, why then, in a world where
fantasy has been broadly
accepted by the mainstream,
does wargaming still generate
such a negative stigma from
those looking in? As I mentioned,
I think it could be that we are
perceived to be grown men
(and women!) playing with toys
and toys are, first and foremost,
aimed at children. Of course,
there are some things that are
aimed at children that adults
can enjoy without judgement;
the Harry Potter series is an
obvious example of a brand that
has escaped any bounds of age
restriction. But perhaps literature
is a beast of its own - after all,
our very own The Hobbit is a
The Dr’s Corner
Why does our Middle-earth game attract such derision when The
Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit and many other games do not?
“The common notion that we are adults
playing with toy soldiers plays a large part
in the negative perception of the hobby”
children’s book that 99% of adults that people think they are toys
reading this article will have read and that colours their opinion
and greatly enjoyed. However, of whether or not grown adults
whilst books might transcend age should be ‘playing’ with them.
boundaries, an adult playing with Indeed, I think that there is an
what appears to be a child’s toy implicit connotation within the
simply feels different. term ‘playing’ that makes our
hobby seem childish. After all,
So, are our miniatures toys? The children ‘play’ with their ‘toys’ in
Oxford English Dictionary claims the sense of sitting cross-legged
that a toy is ‘an object for a child on a carpet waving action figures
to play with, typically a model or around and making excited noises;
miniature replica of something’. thus, when we tell people about
However, despite the somewhat how we ‘play with toy soldiers’, I
surprising inclusion of the words think a similar picture of what our
‘model’ and ‘miniature’ in the hobby entails is created.
definition, I’m not at all convinced
that our miniatures are toys. The It surely goes without saying that
Games Workshop website makes ‘playing’ is far from childish, adults
no mention of the word ‘toy’ nor play sports and adults play board
does a lengthy trawl through their games but I think the combination
‘Investor Relations’ pages give of miniature figures and playing
any clue to the age of their target games makes for a combination
demographic. It would seem that which many people find inherently
Games Workshop itself considers childish; a combination only
its miniatures to be for people of exacerbated by the fact that those
all ages. Of course, whether or games are set inside a fantasy
not our models actually are toys world like Middle-earth which is
is largely irrelevant, the point is traditionally thought of as nerdy.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 9
 The Dr’s Corner

soldiers. Society at large doesn’t

like us playing with little plastic
figures. Unless they’re Lego…

Despite the fact that it is quite

clearly a toy, Lego is loved by
people of all ages and, despite
former CEO Kjeld Kirk
Kristiansen’s assertion that Lego
“cannot come to life without the
vital spark of a child’s creativity
and imagination”, buying a set and
building it at home now seems to
be just as acceptable for adults as
it does for children. Even more
People seem far more accepting of these small, plastic Middle-earth pertinently, Lego is a toy that is
figures than of our beloved miniatures, are they really that different? sold as a series of small, plastic
parts that the user must first
However, playing games themed not what makes our hobby ‘sad’, assemble before the finished
around Middle-earth is perhaps perhaps it is the fact that we paint product can be played with or
not quite as nerdy as it once was; our models? displayed. Sound familiar? So if it is
the phenomenal success of The acceptable, or even ‘cool’, to buy
Lord of the Rings films catapulted In The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Steve unassembled plastic figures and
fantasy into public consciousness Carell’s eponymous character carefully assemble them, to paint
faster than a severed head over describes how he has a very impressive artistic pieces and to
the walls of Minas Tirith and fulfilling life before being shown play tabletop games, all themed
ensured that names like Gandalf, painting a miniature solider - the around Tolkien’s world, why
Frodo and Legolas are now message is clear, painting toy does our hobby, essentially the
recognised by most people. soldiers is the province of nerds combination of all of these things,
get such a negative press?
“Wargaming can appear impossibly Two thousand words in and I
complicated when compared to the board honestly don’t have an answer;
games with which most people grew up” I can’t shake the feeling that the
common notion that we are
adults ‘playing with toy soldiers’
Indeed, there is a wide variety of and social outcasts. Of course, plays a large part in the negative
classic games like Trivial Pursuit, in a broader sense, painting is perception of the hobby. I also
Monopoly and Scene It that have hardly ‘sad’; a few years ago, a think the unique level of time
a The Lord of the Rings edition, friend painted a canvas print of required to build and paint the
putting Tolkien’s world alongside Legolas for my birthday that is models before you play is a road-
such other cultural behemoths as now proudly mounted on the block to the average person that
Harry Potter, Star Wars and Disney. wall of my games room (the same prevents them from picking up
These special editions mean that friend who painted the picture the game as they would a themed
it is not uncommon for a non- of Dr Alan Grant at the front of version of Trivial Pursuit. When I
wargaming family or group to this article). Whenever we have tell my non-wargaming friends
spend an evening lost in Middle- guests, they will invariably say how that each of my twenty-four
earth answering The Lord of the cool the painting is, demonstrating Mirkwood Elves took four hours
Rings trivia questions and moving that non-hobbyists don’t look to clean-up, assemble and paint,
Gandalf and Aragorn around the down on all Middle-earth themed I can instantly see them thinking:
board. So, if simply playing games artistic endeavours. So it’s the toy “I don’t have ninety-six hours to
themed around Middle-earth is soldiers then, it must be the toy spare painting tiny little elves”.
10 SBG Issue 4 2016

I wonder if our game would be
more popular if it was a Lego
product - the scale’s not too far
off, there’s already a great range
of Middle-earth mini-figs and
there would be no modelling or
painting time, just an hour or
two of Lego-building fun! Imagine
walking into your local Lego store
and picking up the Mines of Moria
starter set with the Fellowship,
Cave Troll and twenty-four Lego
goblins alongside some dice and a
rulebook! You’d need some subtle
changes to the standard rules for
The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game to
account for the fact that the mini-
figs don’t have bases but, overall,
it would map across rather nicely,
as Jamie Giblin and I discovered
when we gave it a go!
Lego have already demonstrated
their willingness to jump into
the games market with a hugely
successful series of computer
games, in addition to some
surprisingly challenging tabletop
games. If you haven’t tried it, get
your hands on Lego’s The Battle
for Helm’s Deep, it’s a wonderfully
simple yet tactical game which
one could argue represents Lego’s
first forays into strategy battle
gaming - there’s even an element
of army selection! Obviously, it’s
all but certain that this crossover
will never happen but I honestly
believe that if Lego were to launch
such a range, using the rules from
The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game,
far more people would be willing
to give it a go; in other words, it’s
not our game that puts people
off, it’s the all-encompassing
hobby that surrounds the game.
After all, to someone who has
never experienced wargaming,
the idea of having to spend
countless hours building and
painting your army and writing
your army list alone must seem
Jamie and Damian try playing the Mines of Moria scenario with Lego
figures - would more people play our game if it had a Lego licence?
like a very strange concept, and
one that is utterly at odds with
the traditional idea of a ‘social’
game. Of course, it is precisely
this all-encompassing hobby that
us gamers enjoy so much; distilling
the game down to a simplified
Lego expansion would no doubt
send many existing gamers
running to other systems.
Sadly, as a species we’ve long
suffered from a fundamental
mistrust of that which we don’t
understand and the world of
wargaming can appear impossibly
complicated when compared
to the board games with which
most people grew up. By way of
example, the current rulebook
and sourcebooks for The Hobbit:
Strategy Battle Game total
some 449 pages that need to
be digested should one wish
to understand the game in its
entirety - a rather intimidating
starting point for an evening’s
entertainment.
However, there is hope! These
days I’m more commonly greeted
by good-natured confusion rather
than mean-spirited jibes when I
explain what I do at the weekend.
Similarly, the recent rise of board
The Dr’s Corner
game culture has introduced a
far wider group of people to the
‘next level’ of games and titles like
Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan and
Ticket to Ride seem to be replacing
Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary and Cluedo
in family gaming nights around the
world. We now live in a world in
which Games Workshop replaced
the 528 page Warhammer
rulebook with a 4 page PDF for
Age of Sigmar and in which a wide
range of strategy board games
are available in every high street
branch of Waterstones. With
increased visibility and simplified
rule-sets acting as gateway drugs,
we might be witnessing the dawn
of a new day in which wargaming
enters the mainstream and leaves
the sneers and ridicule behind -
and when the sun shines it will
shine out the clearer.
The Doctor is in...
So what do you think? What is it
about wargaming that makes it so
uniquely derided? Or is Damian
simply chasing shadows and
looking for a consensus that does
not, and perhaps never did, exist?
Contact us at:
SBGmagazine@gmail.com
2016 Issue 4 SBG 11
 Tactica - The Istari

TACTICA
Jamie Giblin is the founder of the GBHL Podcast YouTube Channel and has won five
Great British Hobbit League tournaments. Such notoriety led to him writing half
of the first ever Tactica article back in Issue 1 and he’s been pestering us to write
another article ever since. Following Issue 3’s Nazgûl Tactica, we asked Jamie to focus
on Good magic in the form of the White Council, starting with the mighty Istari!
Of course, there is more to The White Council than just the Istari, so look out for part two of this article
in Issue 5 where Jamie will discuss what Galadriel, Elrond and the rest of the elves can bring to the table.

upon his Staff of Power, he still has Saruman the Wise also has access

The Istari a 75% chance of success which is

Jamie: When I think of Good
magic in The Lord of the Rings, you
can’t get much more iconic than
the three wizards. In this article,
I’ll be examining my favourite
version of each wizard, as well as
examining what their alternative
profiles have to offer. I’ll then
finish by discussing how you could
best fit each wizard into an army.
Saruman the Wise
“Aggressive board control”
Saruman the Wise is probably the
most efficient spell-caster in the
game - as one might expect from
the head of the White Council!
As the Lord of the Istari, Saruman
can re-roll one dice whilst casting
(or resisting) spells and his spells
are generally easier to cast versus
other spell-casters. This makes
Sorcerous Blast a doddle to cast
- even in the end-game when
Saruman is out of Will and relying
12 SBG Issue 4 2016
incredibly useful as you’re going to
be getting your blasts to come off
most turns you try. Since blasts
are easier to cast, you can not
only use them to disrupt battle
lines but also reliably attempt
some more tricksy manoeuvres
(see picture) without having to
use up too much Will and Might.
However, as much as blasting
every turn is tempting, Saruman
has other tricks up his sleeve:
his Immobilise (on a 2+!) and
Command (3+) spells are unique
in that they have a range of 18",
meaning that no-one is safe from
the White Wizard! Use this to
your advantage by controlling
your opponent’s monsters and
Heroes before the lines clash with
almost guaranteed success.You
will delay their arrival to the fight
or they will be forced to spend
precious Will, making them easier
to subdue later in the game.
Immobilise and Command may
not seem as ‘cool’ as blasting the
enemy all over the place but they
may well win you more games.
to the relatively rare Aura of
Command spell; it’s often best to
cast this on Turn 1 so it’s in play
before more tempting targets
start to appear. Make use of
Aura of Command to ensure your
lower Courage models are able
to charge that Terror-causing
monster that you just Immobilised
(or, better still, Commanded
towards them) so that they can
finish the job in a single turn!
Unfortunately, Saruman the
Wise doesn’t have Terrifying Aura
(unlike other Saruman variants),
so make sure you shield him with
your troops as his 1 Attack and
Defence 5 makes him vulnerable
to attack; however tempting it
may be to move him into the
open to cast that perfect blast,
it’s often more important to keep
him protected. Still, Saruman
makes up for this vulnerability
with his magical defence - his
Resistant to Magic and free re-roll
every turn make him a very hardy
defender, so you don’t really have
to worry about Saruman being
targeted by enemy spells!

Bolg has deployed behind the onrushing Fell Warg Riders to protect his mount from the elven bow-fire.
However, Saruman can now Sorcerous Blast the Fell Warg Rider in front of Bolg, who is powerless to
resist! The resulting blast will instantly dismount Bolg, vastly reducing his threat for the rest of the game
Saruman the White: This
version of Saruman is slightly
cheaper and has the option
of a horse, which serves to
further increase his threat range.
However, he doesn’t have the
Lord of the Istari rule, making the
decision between the two profiles
difficult and it really comes down
to personal choice. Top Tip: use his
mount to bring him forward into
range of the enemy, cast a spell,
then retreat behind cover and
always take the horse…
Gandalf the Grey
“Jack of all trades”
Gandalf can do it all: he can
aggressively attack your opponent
with Sorcerous Blast, control the
enemy with Immobilise/Command
and protect your force with
Blinding Light, which is well worth
Channelling against bow-heavy
armies. He can even Strengthen
Will your own Heroes if needs be;
however, it’s rarely worth it in my
opinion and no, I won’t discuss his
combination with Alfrid here…
Whilst Gandalf’s casting values
are average, he’s bound to be
useful in any Good army thanks
to his expansive toolkit. Given
Gandalf casts Sorcerous Blast on a
5+, I’d recommend only using this
spell when you really need it and
throw three dice at it (something
you’ll be able to do three times
per game maximum). For the
rest of the game, single dice
Immobilises should suffice.
“Saruman the Wise is the most efficient spell-caster
in the game - no-one is safe from the White Wizard!”
It is also worth mentioning that
Gandalf can be mounted on a
horse, Shadowfax or his cart.
Shadowfax is often my go-to
option as the increased Defence
and mobility compared to the
horse is great; however, there
is an argument to be made for
the cart as the slightly slower
movement is compensated
for by having 3 Wounds, which
effectively stops his mount from
being sniped from beneath him. It
Tactica - The Istari
also has the sneaky side-effect of
increasing the range of his aura
for Blinding Light and Stand Fast!
Whilst you’ll probably want to
keep Gandalf hidden, if the worst
comes to worst he is also handy
in a fight (at least compared to
Saruman) thanks to the Strength
5 of Glamdring, which also ignores
the Goblin King’s Blubbery
Mass which can be particularly
important in UK tournaments!
Finally, Gandalf also has Narya, one
of the three elven rings, which
allows him to re-roll his Fate and
makes Gandalf a great choice
for an army Leader. He is even
tougher to take down since he
can cast Terrifying Aura to decrease
his chances of being swamped by
enemies; this can be made even
more effective in its Channelled
form and may well be worth the
Might point if you are facing low
Courage armies.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 13
 Tactica - The Istari
Gandalf the White: Similar to
his grey incarnation but with
improved casting values to match
that of Saruman the Wise, this
profile is arguably the most
powerful wizard in the game!
He is the ultimate multi-purpose
Hero and is even anti-wizard
since the spell Your Staff is Broken!
can rob other wizards of their
Staff of Power. His very expensive
point cost and his inability to lead
troops often means you’ll only
see him in scenarios and themed
armies. Top Tip: don’t forget his
12" Stand Fast! (now, if only he
could ride the cart…)
Radagast the Brown
“Support caster”
Radagast’s spells point him
towards a more supportive role
when compared to Saruman and
Gandalf. Aura of Dismay allows
Radagast to keep your troops
safe through Terror and he is able
to heal your expensive monsters
and Heroes via Renew - a spell
that is often underestimated. The
unique spell in Radagast’s arsenal
is actually an aggressive one in
How different would things have been had Gandalf the Grey made it to Amon Hen with his Blinding Light?
14 SBG Issue 4 2016
the form of Panic Steed, which can
be brilliant as it can dismount a
cavalry unit with ease or force
Heroes to spend Will to keep
their mount - amazing for a spell
that casts on a 2+. Use this spell
to pressurise mounted enemy
Heroes - particularly if they’re
atop a Fell Beast!
So is it worth Channelling
Radagast’s spells? I’d say yes for
Panic Steed against cavalry armies
and Aura of Dismay if facing a low
Courage army - the 12" range can
easily win a game as it lets you
pick and choose where to fight
even when you move second.
Radagast is also armed with the
ever-potent Immobilise allowing
him to maintain an element of
control over the board.
Where Radagast shines for me
is through his Special Rules. He
counts as wearing an Elven Cloak
when on foot and can draw Line
of Sight around corners, plus
“Radagast on Eagle is possibly the single
best Hero-killer in the game”
he is a Woodland Creature. This
means you can have him hiding
anywhere (preferably in a wood)
and still contribute to the battle.
Radagast’s mobility and killing
potential can be increased by
mounting him on horse or Sleigh
and by taking Sebastian for an
additional Attack, but be careful
not to over-commit as he can go
down quickly when outnumbered.
Radagast the Brown riding
Great Eagle: A combat wizard!
Radagast on Eagle is possibly the
single best Hero-killer in the game
as he has the ability to Immobilise
his prey before charging in. The
brown wizard’s threat is increased
by the fact that he can Fly and
doesn’t need Line of Sight to
charge enemies. His Staff of Power
has been given to Gandalf, which
means that Radagast has a limited
magical effect on the game but
he can still cast a timely Nature’s
Wrath or two to devastate enemy
battle lines when he charges in!

Ever the friend of beasts and birds, Radagast’s Renew can greatly increase the effectiveness of Great Eagles
The Istari Go To War
“We now have but one choice...”
Every wizard has their place in an
army but it is imperative that you
consider what your wizard does
for the force when trying to build
a competitive list. For example,
taking Gandalf in a dwarven force
may be redundant because their
high Defence will protect them
from shooting; as such Saruman
or Radagast may prove better
choices even if they are less
themed options!
Saruman the Wise works well
in low Courage armies such
as Arnor, Lake-town and even
Rohan, as his Aura of Command
allows them to stick around
when Broken and automatically
charge Terror-causing foes. His
reliable Sorcerous Blast can help
to give additional ranged threat
to armies that want the enemy
to advance upon them (i.e. elves).
However, such forces would also
benefit from Blinding Light, making
Saruman the more aggressive
choice when compared to
Gandalf’s defensive boons.
Tactica - The Istari
In addition, Saruman’s reliable Radagast works well in a monster-
blast combines well with forces heavy force, as he can keep them
that traditionally struggle to kill healthy with Renew and Immobilise
high Defence models, i.e. any lists enemy threats. Monstrous Heroes
that can’t take axes, two-handed such as Gwaihir, Treebeard
weapons or cavalry, as the knock- and Beorn all suddenly become
down helps their killing power - extremely hard to kill as Radagast
this could apply to less commonly almost forces your opponent to
seen armies such as the Garrison kill them in one round of combat!
of Dale and Númenor. The same applies to the hardier
dwarf Heroes (e.g. Dáin, Durin)
Whilst Gandalf works well in as your leader is very unlikely to
almost any force, I get good value fall if Radagast is by their side.
from him in a hobbit force who Radagast is also very useful in
rely on shooting and need to keep small, elite forces (or cavalry
themselves safe from enemy bow- armies) where his Aura of Dismay
fire (Blinding Light) and enemy can help prevent your force from
Heroes (Immobilise), plus it’s also being outnumbered or counter-
nicely thematic! Of course, any charged and swing the odds back
low Defence shooting force will in your favour.
benefit hugely from his presence
(The Grey Company, Lothlórien All in all, the profiles of the three
and Mirkwood etc.). Gandalf also wizards are great fun to use and
works well in armies that don’t I’m sure that you will find a use
have naturally hardy leaders for them in your favourite army -
such as Rohan or an Arnor army the decision is yours!
without Aragorn.You do pay
‘extra’ if you compare Gandalf Do you agree with
to the base profiles of Saruman my assessment? Let
and Radagast, so be sure that you me know over on
want an all-rounder for your list the GBHL Podcast
rather than a focused school of YouTube Channel.
magic before choosing him.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 15
 Ruling Dol Guldur

RulING DOL GULDUR

Tom: Barry O'Neill's fabulous Dol Guldur terrain
inspired us to create some rules for playing games
within the Hill of Sorcery. Of course, most players
won’t have access to a gaming board with the same
level of depth and detail as that seen in Barry's
incredible work but, with a few homemade pieces, it
should be easy enough to replicate the spooky feel of
Dol Guldur. The rules have been designed to create fun
and thematic situations that bring the scenery to life
because, as we all know, interacting with the terrain in
this way makes games even more enjoyable than usual!

We have deliberately made the rules very hazardous to

the armies that invade (and defend!) Dol Guldur. As a
result, if you use these rules, you may well find that the
fortress inflicts more casualties than your opponent!
We suggest that you use as many or as few of the rules
on these pages as you wish and, ultimately, we hope
that they provide some inspiration to bring your own
scenery to life by making some cool rules of your own.
The Hill of Sorcery
Dol Guldur is full of dark magic and there are
many perils associated with exploring the haunted
ruin. All models must take a Hill of Sorcery Test at
the start their move (even if they want to stand
still): roll a D6, on the roll of a 1, the model has
failed the Test (this roll can be influenced by
Might) and must roll on the table below.

Tricked! The Hill of Sorcery is full of illusions to trick those who wander within its ruined walls and
the model has been led astray - roll a Scatter Dice, the model must move its full movement in the
1 direction dictated by the Scatter Dice and will climb and/or fall over any obstacles in the way. If the
Scatter Dice does not show an arrow, the model stands still. Models can enter combat in this way.

Lost! Dol Guldur is a treacherous maze with myriad passageways and the unwary model has taken
2 a wrong turn - the model is moved by the opposing player exactly as if they were controlled by a
Spectre’s A Fell Light Is In Them.

Spiked! Dol Guldur’s ruined walls are adorned with shards of razor sharp metal, twisted with
3 malice and the model has been cut as it rushes past - the model immediately takes a Strength 4 hit.

Ensnared! The vines of Dol Guldur are under a dark spell and the model has been caught by their
grasping thorns - the model cannot move and counts as being trapped if it fights in combat that
4 turn. At the start of the next turn, roll a D6, on the roll of a 2+ the model escapes the vines (and
must then take another Hill of Sorcery Test as normal) otherwise it is still Ensnared!

Ambushed! The spawn of Ungoliant lurk in the shadows of Dol Guldur and the unlucky model has
5 disturbed a spider’s lair - place a Mirkwood Spider in combat with the model (move other models if
necessary). For the rest of the game, the Mirkwood Spider is controlled by the player with Priority.

Trapped! The spiders of Dol Guldur have covered the Hill of Sorcery with their webs and the
6 model has blindly wandered into one - the model counts as being under the effect of the Paralyse
magical power until it can recover in the normal manner.

16 SBG Issue 4 2016


Crumbling Ruins
The stairways and walkways of Dol Guldur have
become treacherous as the fortress has fallen
into ruin. After taking its Hill of Sorcery Test, any
model that begins its Move phase within 1" of a
ledge must also take a Crumbling Ruins Test before
it moves: roll a D6 and consult the table below.
Collapses Underfoot! The rock under the
1 model’s feet crumbles away - the model
falls off the ledge and takes falling damage.
Narrow Escape! The model nearly falls
2 but just about keeps its footing - the
model may not move this turn.
Swift Progress! The rock beneath the
3+ model’s feet holds true - the model may
move as normal.
In addition, models backing away from combat to
within 1" of a ledge must also take this Test. Note
that the Collapses Underfoot! result occurs before
the attacker makes strikes and models that roll
the Narrow Escape result count as being trapped.
The Lost Dwarf
At the start of the game, place Thrain the Broken
in the centre of the table. For the duration of
the game, Thrain is controlled by the player with
Priority. Neither Good nor Evil models will strike
blows against Thrain if they beat him in a Duel
(nor may they purposefully harm him in any way),
Good models hope Thrain can be saved whilst
Evil models won’t risk their master’s wrath by
killing such a valuable hostage. In addition, inside
Dol Guldur, Thrain’s wits are utterly lost, so
players do not roll for his Shattered Spirit rule.
Ruling Dol Guldur
Leaps of Faith
The ruins of Dol Guldur have many chasms and
dizzying walkways that can be jumped by those
brave enough to try. Any model jumping a gap must
make a Leap of Faith Test. Consult the table below
to determine the roll required to make a successful
leap of a given distance - failure results in the model
tumbling to the pits below and taking falling damage.
Models that make a successful leap can continue to
move if they have movement remaining.
Leap Distance 0-2" 2-3" 3-4" 4-5" 5-6"
Roll required 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6
The Courtyard
The centre of the courtyard of Dol Guldur is home
to one of the Palantíri. All models within 6" of the
Palantír may roll a D6 every time they take a wound,
on the roll of a 6, the wound is ignored.
The Stronghold of The Necromancer
Dol Guldur is the home of The Necromancer and
under his baleful gaze the servants of the Dark
Lord find a renewed courage, as do the forces of
good when the Lady of Light goes to war. If The
Necromancer is present, all Evil Warriors re-roll
failed Courage Tests and if Galadriel is present, all
Good Warriors re-roll failed Courage Tests.
Tom: These are just a few of the ideas that we had
when discussing what it might be like to fight within
the fortress of Dol Guldur. Turn the page to see
the rules in action in this issue’s Battle Report!
2016 Issue 4 SBG 17
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur

BATTLE
A
REPORT
second issue focused on Dol Guldur could mean only one thing - another
battle report on Barry O'Neill’s incredible terrain! Given that we had
already written and played a custom scenario for Issue 3, we thought this
would be a good opportunity to try out our first ever points match battle report!
However, we were keen to develop the narrative of Issue 3’s bat-rep, so we put
our thinking caps on. Warning - Issue 3 Battle Report spoilers lie ahead...
And so we had our theme! After being revived
Domination in Dol Guldur by Galadriel, Gandalf fled Dol Guldur and raced
to Thranduil’s Halls to call upon Legolas to raise
a host of elves to save his father and the rest
of the White Council. As for which scenario
Gandalf clutched the back of the eagle’s neck as the
to play, we quickly decided on Domination as
Mirkwood canopy shot past below, the sounds of battle
the five White Council Heroes who died in last
from the Hill of Sorcery long having faded to silence
issue’s Battle Report would work perfectly as the
behind him. As his senses returned, he recalled the events
five objectives.
of the previous night when he had awoken to Galadriel’s
touch, calling him back from the void. All around them
After Steve Crowe made a magnificent (and
a storm had raged, the White Council duelling with The
very last minute!) job of creating cages that
Necromancer and his most deadly servants. Gandalf had
would fit over our hostages, we just needed
seen several of the spirits banished back to the darkness
two generals. We decided that Damian would
but Thranduil, Elrond, Radagast and even Saruman had
control the Good force to see if he would have
all fallen in battle, captured by the enemy. Gandalf had
better luck than Tom had in the last issue, but
been too weak to help and Galadriel stood alone against
who could take him on? We knew we needed
Sauron and the horror of the Nazgûl as the eagle had
to find a suitably devious villain to take control
carried him to safety. Now though, Gandalf ’s strength
of the Garrison of Dol Guldur and attempt to
was returning; the White Council had saved him and he
put paid to Gandalf’s schemes - a quick search
would not abandon them to torture and death, nor, he
of the dungeons here at SBG Towers revealed
knew, would Legolas abandon his father when he learned
Jamie Giblin working on this issue’s Tactica, so
of his fate. His face grim, Gandalf turned the eagle
we unlocked his gibbet, cast off his chains and
towards the Woodland Realm and flew into the night.
set him loose...

Our five objectives for this game of Domination - the White Council Heroes who fell in Issue 3’s Battle
Report! The cages were made by Steve Crowe, developing the technique he describes on page 38

18 SBG Issue 4 2016


The Good force - Gandalf has rallied the forces of Mirkwood to save the White Council; Legolas and
Tauriel lead a host of elves whilst Beorn and a Great Eagle have also answered the Grey Pilgrim’s call!
Damian: So it seems that
the job falls to me to lead
the renewed assault on Dol
Guldur and attempt to do
what Tom, my SBG brother-in-
arms, could not quite manage
in Issue 3 and oust The
Necromancer from his hole!
I must confess to being jealous of Tom and Matt
battling over the intricate ruins in the last Battle
Report, so I was champing at the bit to lead my
forces over Barry O'Neill’s awesome scenery. All
that remained was to select the perfect force to
march against The Necromancer, seize the five
objectives and rescue the White Council!
My choices were in part dictated by the theme
of our ongoing narrative, therefore, I started
by selecting Gandalf the Grey as my leader. I
immediately decided to put him on a horse to give
him an increased threat range with his spells and
a bit of extra punch in combat; this also gave me
a long overdue excuse to paint up the fantastic
Gandalf the Grey on horse miniature - there’s
nothing like a deadline to motivate the paintbrush!
Thematically, we’d decided that Gandalf would ask
Legolas for aid so the Prince of Mirkwood profile
mounted on a horse was next on my list. I hope
that his 3 Attacks and Orcrist will help me to carve
through the orcish ranks, while his Fight value 7 will
allow me to match The Necromancer’s high Fight
value and also give me an edge over the Spider
Queen (should Jamie choose to bring her along). I
gave Legolas two Mirkwood Knights as a bodyguard
- to be honest I’m not expecting much of these guys
Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
but I included them as I’d recently painted them up
and was keen to get them on the table! I finished
off Legolas’ warband with nine Mirkwood Elves
and a Palace Guard with a banner - we would be
playing Domination after all so I knew I’d need some
numbers to claim the various objectives.
The next choice was a no-brainer for me, Tauriel
leading a warband of eight Mirkwood Rangers and
three Mirkwood Elves. Anyone who knows me
knows how much I love Tauriel (both in the film and
on the table) and I am keen to see her using her
Blade Mistress rule to tear through the ranks of orcs!
This left me with about 300 points, I debated
including another warband of elves to increase
my numbers but in the end I went with the cool
factor and added in Beorn and a Great Eagle - these
thematic allies should add some heavy punch to the
force and ensure that Jamie has four or five scary
threats to worry about and deal with every turn.
As for tactics, everything goes out the window on
a board like this, I’d like to say that I will be calm,
collected and play for a clever win but I’m almost
certain that I’ll just send everything racing over the
coolest parts of the terrain I can find! We have but
one question to answer - how shall this day end?
Dol Ruledur! We decided to incorporate all of
our Dol Guldur themed content from this issue
into the Battle Report; as such, the Evil army is
drawn from the Garrison of Dol Guldur army
list (see page 29) and we chose to use all of
Tom’s rules for fighting within Dol Guldur (see
page 16) - the board was set!
2016 Issue 4 SBG 19
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
The Evil force - with the Ringwraiths banished in Issue 3, The Necromancer has called upon the Spider
Queen and Golb to lead a host of orcs, spiders, bats and wargs in defence of the Hill of Sorcery
Jamie: Wahoo - I finally
get to be in an SBG battle
report! Hopefully I’ll be able
to continue Matt Davies’
fine work in Issue 3 by
maintaining control over Dol
Guldur - I want to keep the
Dark Lord happy after all!
Tom and Damian instructed me to write a 1000
point list from their Garrison of Dol Guldur
army list [Ed - see page 29] and, whilst I’ve tried
to be relatively competitive, I wrote a list based
on the narrative of this battle report. This meant
that I couldn’t select any Ringwraiths since they
were all destroyed by Tom in the previous bat-
rep - which is a shame as Matt’s models look
absolutely stunning.
Choosing my leader was the easiest decision I
had to make - The Necromancer will once again
be commanding the forces of Evil and I’m hoping
that his magical prowess can prevent the forces
of Good from rescuing the imprisoned members
of the White Council. With only 1 Attack, The
Necromancer isn’t the greatest fighter but his
Fight value 7 will be useful against elven Heroes
and his Drain Soul ability will be handy for taking
out big threats in a single turn. Of course, I
don’t want to waste his Will on unnecessary
combats so I’ll only fight when it suits me. I
selected twelve Hunter Orcs to accompany The
Necromancer - the combination of having 2
Attacks and being relatively cheap is a good one
as ultimately this is a game of Domination and
numbers are important.
20 SBG Issue 4 2016
The Hero to lead my second warband was also a very
simple decision - Golb will be making yet another
appearance in an SBG battle report. Hopefully, I will
give him the game he deserves and smash through
the pansy elves who held him at bay in the last issue. I
love Golb and if you were present at the SBG Issue 3
launch event in Stockport, then you will have likely seen
me running over to the participation games to roll the
dice for his Fights whilst screaming “GOLB!” Alongside
him will be five Hunter Orcs mounted on Fell Wargs
- my plan for these troops is to put early pressure on
the Good force’s home objectives to keep Damian on
the back foot, although it may be hard to manoeuvre
within the tightly-packed fortress walls. I also decided
to include a Bat Swarm - I’m hoping its Blinding Swarm
ability will help me to take down one or two of the
high Fight value Heroes Damian is bound to bring along.
Next up, I wanted a Hero who could strike fear into
even the best Heroes Damian could muster and, after
a little deliberation, I settled on the Spider Queen.
I’ve been a fan of her profile since the days of the ‘Big
Blue Rulebook’ and she can reliably kill any Hero on a
turn that she charges and that’s exactly what I intend
to do! Skirting the terrain alongside her will be eight
Giant Spiders, whom I will use to harass and threaten
Damian’s army with their manoeuvrability.
For my final warband, I decided to include twelve
Gundabad Orc Warriors led by a Gundabad Orc
Captain. They may not be flashy, but I’m confident that
these high Defence troops can help me to hold my
home objectives and free up the rest of my army to
take the fight to Damian! There is no light that can
defeat darkness, the Dark Lord will triumph and the
history of Middle-earth will be rewritten.
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur

Deployment
Barry’s incredible Dol Guldur
board can be assembled
in any number of
configurations. This
allowed us to move
everything around
and make the
board look
entirely different
to our Issue 3
layout, representing a
different part of Dol Guldur.

opportunity, Jamie used The Necromancer to cast

Turn 1
Good won Priority in the first turn and Damian
started defensively by casting a Channelled Terrifying
Aura on Gandalf the Grey - with Jamie only having
low Courage models in his army, Damian hoped that
this would keep his leader safe from being swarmed.
However, Jamie would have the advantage of being
able to re-roll all of his Warriors’ Courage Tests
thanks to The Stronghold of The Necromancer rule.
Gandalf crept forward, expecting the eagle that had
borne him to safety to flash past and attack the orcs
ahead. However, the eagle headed in the opposite
direction - it was Tricked! after failing its Hill of
Sorcery Test. Little did Damian and Jamie know, this
was just the first in a series of crazy Hill of Sorcery
Test-related events (see box-out). Over towards the
dungeon, Damian moved Legolas forward so that
he could charge the orcs next turn whilst remaining
outside their charge range and, more importantly,
out of range of the Spider Queen - or so he
thought, Jamie had a trick up his sleeve! Spotting an
Compel on Legolas in an attempt to bring him into
range of the deadly Spider Queen! The spell cast on
a 5 and Damian, knowing that there would inevitably
be a future barrage of magical attacks, decided to
resist with one dice; this proved to be a mistake, as
Legolas only rolled a 2 - meaning that Damian was
faced with the unenviable decision of either losing
all 3 of Legolas’ Might or being dragged towards a
raging Spider Queen. Deciding that discretion was
the better part of valour, Damian crossed 3 Might
from his record sheet with a sigh. In the Shoot
phase, a keen-eyed Mirkwood Ranger wounded the
Spider Queen; however, it would not be enough to
stop the beast from attacking Legolas next turn. In
the Fight phase, the Gundabad Orc Captain and two
Gundabad orcs killed the first Mirkwood Spider that
had ambushed them, however another Gundabad
Orc Warrior was not so lucky and tumbled off a
high ledge after being forced to back away from
the other beast. The forces hadn’t met yet but the
dangers of Dol Guldur were causing the casualties
to pile up on both sides.

Hill of Sorcery madness! We used all of Tom’s Ruling Dol

Guldur rules in this game (see page 16). In Turn 1 alone,
four Mirkwood Spiders leapt from their hiding places,
forcing Damian towards the edges of the scenery which
meant additional Crumbling Ruins and Leap of Faith Tests!
From these, a Mirkwood Knight and Mirkwood Ranger
slipped to their deaths, leaving Damian cursing; however,
things were worse for Jamie as two Gundabad orcs and
two Hunter Orcs on Fell Warg also fell into the pits
below the crumbling fortress, whilst the Gundabad Orc
Captain had to use a Might point to avoid a similar fate.

2016 Issue 4 SBG 21

 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
Turn 2
Evil won Priority but Damian was quick to call a
Heroic Move with Tauriel to allow Legolas to get the
jump on the Spider Queen. Tauriel leapt down off
a ledge to take on the spiders below [Ed - just like
her entrance in the film!] then tripped and fell, taking
a wound from falling damage [Ed - OK, perhaps not
like the film…]. Jamie then Immobilised Tauriel with
The Necromancer before charging Thrain into the
Prone elf; fortunately for Damian, Tauriel escaped
the combat unharmed. Legolas charged the Spider
Queen as part of Tauriel’s Heroic Move but was
counter-charged by a Bat Swarm - Damian looked a
little worried at the prospect but was at least given
some hope when Beorn transformed into a bear!
Gandalf attempted to Immobilise the Spider Queen,
and used a point of Might to boost the roll but
Jamie was still able to resist the spell, leaving Legolas
in need of some serious good luck! In the combat,
Legolas lost the Fight and together the Bat Swarm
and the Spider Queen inflicted three wounds;
Damian was hugely relieved as he rolled Legolas’
Fate and managed to survive, albeit with just 1
Wound and 0 Fate remaining. Elsewhere, Damian’s
Mirkwood Elves were struggling, with four falling to
Jamie’s Giant Spiders and the Mirkwood Spiders that
had been awoken by Hill of Sorcery Tests.
Early in the game, Legolas finds himself beset by
the foulest denizens of the pits of Dol Guldur
22 SBG Issue 4 2016
Turn 3
Evil won Priority again and once more Damian
was forced to call a Heroic Move with Tauriel.
The she-elf then charged a Giant Spider, whilst a
nearby Mirkwood Ranger charged the Bat Swarm
near Legolas. Gandalf cast a Sorcerous Blast at the
Spider Queen on a 6, but Jamie resisted on a 5 and
used a Might point to foil the Grey Pilgrim! Legolas
then charged into the Spider Queen, with Damian
hoping for a final heroic act from the elven prince.
However, Jamie was determined not to give him the
opportunity and gleefully cast Chill Soul on Legolas
with The Necromancer - the spell was cast on a 5
but Jamie bumped it to a 6 to leave Damian needing
a 6 from his one remaining Will point to keep the
Prince of Mirkwood alive. The dice bounced across
the table and when it landed Damian let out an
anguished cry - Legolas was dead!
Damian was further frustrated as his eagle failed yet
another Hill of Sorcery Test, becoming Trapped! by a
spider’s web! Damian’s banner bearer also became
Ensnared! by the vines; Damian’s plans were going
badly enough as it was without the need for Dol
Guldur itself to contribute. In an attempt to bring
himself back into the game, Damian charged Beorn
into a Giant Spider and called a Heroic Combat,
with The Necromancer firmly in his sights. Jamie
set the bar and managed to come up with a 6 but
Damian was not unduly worried given he had a
giant bear with Might remaining - until he rolled
a 4 highest - disaster! It wasn’t worth two extra
Might points, so the Giant Spider had won. To add
insult to injury, Beorn had to expend a Fate point
to save a wound! Beorn’s attempt to get into The
Necromancer had been thwarted and Jamie taunted
Damian with a series of bear-related puns - could a
turn go more wrong?
Over near the Saruman objective in the courtyard,
a Gundabad Orc Warrior rushed towards Gandalf
but was promptly shot down by a Mirkwood Ranger.
Elsewhere, the Crumbling Ruins were still taking
their toll on Jamie’s minions, with two more Hunter
Orcs and two Gundabad orcs falling to their deaths.
Naturally, things continued to go badly for Damian
as two Mirkwood Elves and a Mirkwood Knight
fell to Jamie’s spiders… However, there was one
small piece of good luck for Damian as the eagle
recovered from being Trapped! in the spider’s web -
perhaps there was some hope after all?
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur

Turn 4
Good won Priority but Jamie used the Spider Queen’s
final Might point to call a Heroic Move and charged
her straight into Beorn along with the Bat Swarm
and a Giant Spider! The Necromancer used 3 Will to
Immobilise Gandalf and Damian was forced to spend
the wizard’s final Might point to resist the spell, as he
knew he’d need Gandalf to come to the aid of Beorn.

However, this was all in vain as Gandalf then failed his

Hill of Sorcery Test and was Trapped! in a spider’s web
and subsequently thrown from his horse - Damian
cursed his terrible luck, which it would seem had not
abated from the previous turn after all. In retaliation,
a plucky Mirkwood Ranger charged the Bat Swarm
after a Leap of Faith down from the walkway above
to restore Beorn’s Fight value advantage against the
Spider Queen, whilst Damian was also able to use
Thrain to charge the Giant Spider up against Beorn,
leaving the bear one-on-one with the Spider Queen!

Following this shift in the balance of the Fight, Damian

chanced his luck and called a Heroic Combat with
Beorn. It was a bold move and this time Beorn did
not disappoint as the bear tore through the Spider
Queen and charged straight into The Necromancer.
As Damian screamed ‘BEAR’ at the top of his
voice multiple times, it was now Jamie’s turn to be Damian can only stare in abject horror as
unimpressed by the bear-related antics. In the ensuing Gandalf fails his crucial Hill of Sorcery Test,
combat, Beorn won the Duel and inflicted two whilst Jamie reacts with admirable restraint
wounds on The Necromancer, who survived by using
his Will as Fate but was left with just 12 Will remaining
- Jamie’s leader was now under serious pressure!

Jamie knew the game was back in the balance and

started by contemptuously killing off the heroic
Mirkwood Ranger who had saved Beorn from the Bat
Swarm - a valiant sacrifice! Tauriel was then forced
to use her last point of Might to fight off two Hunter
Orcs and a Giant Spider, but Damian whooped with
delight when the Silvan elf cut down both orcs and
wounded the spider! In the courtyard, Damian’s Great
Eagle finally charged into combat against two of Jamie’s
Hunter Orcs on Fell Warg (who were sneaking up on
the Saruman objective) and killed both a warg and a
rider. Golb had to use both of his Might points to jump
a chasm in his pursuit of the Trapped! Gandalf - the
near death experience would be worth it if he could
catch the wizard in such a vulnerable state; however, It’s a monster mash as Beorn charges the
Damian revived Gandalf at the end of the turn - Golb Spider Queen and calls a Heroic Combat...
would have to do things the hard way.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 23
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
Turn 5
Damian punched the air in delight as Good won
Priority for the second turn in a row. However, Jamie
used The Necromancer’s penultimate Might point to
call a Heroic Move and Damian was forced to counter
with Beorn’s last Might point. Damian won the roll
off and Beorn charged into The Necromancer once
more, this time ensuring that the bear was in range
of the Radagast objective. Despite Jamie counter-
charging Beorn with a Hunter Orc, Beorn won the
combat and Damian screamed ‘BEAR’ in delight once
again as Beorn managed to score two wounds on The
Necromancer. Not overly concerned, Jamie rolled his
first (Will as) Fate. Then another as he failed again.
Then another - he was now getting worried... In the
end it took eight Will points to save the two wounds!
This left The Necromancer with just 3 Will remaining!
Jamie was aghast and Damian was ecstatic.
...and successfully catapults into The Necromancer
as 25% of the points on the table go toe-to-toe!
24 SBG Issue 4 2016
Elsewhere, Gandalf attempted to Immobilise the
onrushing Golb but failed to cast, allowing Golb
to charge the wizard despite the Channelled
Terrifying Aura. Fortunately for Damian, Jamie
could only manage a 3 highest with the piercing
striking Golb and, whilst Gandalf couldn’t
wound the hulking orc, Damian was happy with
the result. Nearby, the Great Eagle killed the
remaining Hunter Orc and Fell Warg to quell
Jamie’s push for the Saruman objective. In fact, it
was Damian who was reinforcing this objective,
with a brave Mirkwood Ranger making a Leap
of Faith from a distant tower to home in on the
white wizard trapped in his cage.
Towards the centre of the board, Jamie flew the
fast moving Bat Swarm up towards the Galadriel
objective at the top of the tower, charging a
Mirkwood Ranger - Damian hadn’t seen an
attack on this objective coming this turn but with
both forces being almost Broken, Jamie knew he
would have to rush for the objectives sooner
rather than later! Despite the Bat Swarm taking a
wound, the pressure was now on Damian to hold
onto the objective.
High up on the walkway nearby, a Mirkwood
Elf beat the Gundabad Orc Warrior that it had
been duelling with since the first turn of the
game by pushing it over the edge of the walkway
- somehow the orc survived the fall but at least
the way was finally clear for Damian’s elves to
push towards the Thranduil objective. Near the
dungeon, the fighting was ferocious and Tauriel
showed her prowess once again by felling two
Giant Spiders in one round of combat. However,
she remained outnumbered as yet another elf
fell to a Hunter Orc - Damian’s numbers were
dwindling in the dungeon area.
Jamie began to make a push for the Elrond
objective by sending a few orcs and spiders
towards the ruined tower in which the Elf Lord
was imprisoned. Spotting the danger, a Mirkwood
Ranger expertly shot down one of the onrushing
Hunter Orcs but could not save one of Damian’s
rear-guard elves from being slaughtered by a
Giant Spider. The way was now open to the
objective but, more importantly, the Good army
was now Broken!
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur

Turn 6
Damian won Priority for a third turn in a row but
Jamie used The Necromancer’s final Might point to
call a Heroic Move - the Gundabad Orc Captain’s
single Might point was now the only one left! The
Necromancer then Immobilised Beorn with a single
Will (leaving him with just 2 Will remaining!) and
Jamie was delighted when the bear failed to resist
despite Damian using all 3 Will; this could prove to
be game-winning - Damian was only two kills away
from Breaking Jamie’s army and Beorn was crucial
to those plans. Could Damian Break the Evil force Gandalf fights to defend the head of his Order
before losing the five models that would reduce from the relentless assault of the mighty Golb!
the Good force to 25% and end the game?
A Mirkwood Ranger fled the battlefield after failing
Two of Damian’s precious Mirkwood Elves closing a Courage Test, leaving the Bat Swarm free to charge
in on the Radagast objective were Ensnared! by into a Mirkwood Elf guarding the Galadriel objective.
vines and couldn’t back up Beorn who was charged With the help of a Gundabad Orc Warrior, the
by two Hunter Orcs - Damian was not happy, elf was cut down and another objective that had
the Hill of Sorcery Tests had ruined his plans again! seemed secure for Damian was now in grave danger
Things went from bad to worse for Damian as the of being stolen by Jamie! In the courtyard, Gandalf
sole elf guarding Elrond’s objective became Trapped! Commanded Golb away from the Saruman objective
in a spider’s web, making him an easy kill for a whilst a Mirkwood Ranger nearby passed both his
Giant Spider. This unlikely turn of events meant Courage and Hill of Sorcery Tests to get to within an
that Jamie had claimed the objective that had been inch of claiming the objective for Damian. However, a
defended by Damian since the start of the game. Gundabad Orc Warrior was hot on his heels...

High above the battlefield, the Great Eagle swoops down upon the Gundabad Orc Captain in an attempt
to wrestle Thranduil’s objective from the forces of Evil and turn the tide of battle in Damian’s favour!

2016 Issue 4 SBG 25

 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
The Great Eagle flew up to the top of the tower
housing the Thranduil objective and charged the
Gundabad Orc Captain. After much deliberation,
Jamie decided to Heroic Strike with the Captain but
only rolled a 1, leaving Damian laughing at Jamie’s
bad luck. However, Damian should have kept quiet
as the eagle promptly fluffed the combat and took a
wound from the Gundabad Orc Captain!
Over in the dungeon, a Giant Spider killed the elven
banner bearer meaning that Jamie only needed to
kill three more models to end the game - Damian
was running out of time to break the Evil army...
Damian expressed his concern to Tauriel and she
heeded her general’s plea for help by killing the
Hunter Orc she faced, which left Jamie just one
model away from being Broken! Damian then turned
to Thrain’s combat - surely Thrain, under Damian’s
control thanks to it being his Priority, couldn’t
Break the Evil army? Jamie could only watch on in
amazement as the crazed dwarf struck down the
Hunter Orc he was fighting - “THRAIN THE YOU’RE
BROKEN” screamed Damian! Who needs a bear
when you have a confused and angry dwarf?! After
Damian’s excitement had died down, everyone’s
attention turned to Beorn - if the two Hunter Orcs
could defy the odds and kill Beorn this turn then
they’d end the game and win it for Jamie! Sadly
for Jamie, the 100-1 shot didn’t come off; although
Beorn did lose his remaining 2 Fate, he was alive
with 2 Wounds remaining. Surely the next turn
would be the last one!
Thrain the Broken earns his title, killing an orc to
Break the Evil army and give Damian fresh hope!
26 SBG Issue 4 2016
Turn 7
The final turn began with Jamie winning back
Priority but he couldn’t celebrate too soon as his
Broken force would have to take Courage Tests...
Things started badly when Jamie had to spend the
Gundabad Orc Captain’s only Will point to keep the
cowardly orc in the game! Crucially, the Captain’s
Stand Fast! prevented three more orcs by the
Thranduil objective from running, leaving Damian’s
eagle with an uphill battle to claim that objective.
Both the Bat Swarm and a nearby Gundabad Orc
Warrior passed their Courage Tests, giving Jamie a
good chance of stealing the Galadriel objective from
Damian. Jamie consolidated the Elrond objective
with an extra spider meaning that Damian now
had no way to contest the objective, handing Jamie
a guaranteed 3 Victory Points and leaving just the
other four objectives up for grabs.
Things were looking good for Jamie as he casually
rolled The Necromancer’s Courage Test but, when
the dice fell, the room was left stunned - The
Necromancer had rolled a Double 1 and fled the
battlefield! This was a huge swing, The Necromancer
had been defending the Radagast objective from
Beorn and Jamie would no longer be able to re-roll
his Courage Tests thanks to The Stronghold of The
Necromancer rule. Not only that, Jamie’s leader was
dead, handing 3 crucial Victory Points to Damian to
draw the scores level again! In a panic, two nearby
Giant Spiders and two Hunter Orcs fled. The game
was delicately poised but time was running out
and when a Mirkwood Elf failed its Courage Test
and reduced the Good force to 25%, the game was
guaranteed to end this turn!

Jamie stares in horror at his failed Courage Test
as Damian photobombs with admirable restraint
Knowing how tight things were, Damian was
determined to try to secure (or at least contest)
the Thranduil objective. With that in mind, he
chose to move Gandalf towards that objective and
Immobilise the Gundabad Orc Captain rather than
move onto the Saruman objective, as the latter
move would have left him too far away to Immobilise
the orc. However, Damian still had that objective
firmly under control as he carefully kept Gandalf
within 6" of Mirkwood Ranger who was just 1" from
the objective so that the elf wouldn’t have to take
a Courage Test for being Broken. However, disaster
struck for Damian - the elf still had to take a Hill
As Gandalf and Golb duel in the courtyard, the fighting around the Galadriel objective intensifies!
Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
of Sorcery Test and Damian was distraught when
his heroic elf fell at the final hurdle, rolling a 1 and
becoming Trapped! in a spider’s web an agonising
1" short of the objective - the Saruman objective
would end the game unclaimed!
The Mirkwood Elf’s misfortune meant that the
scores were level with just three objectives
remaining. After the Saruman objective disaster,
Damian was desperate for his Great Eagle to
swing the game back in his favour but, despite the
eagle winning the combat and killing an orc, there
were two orcs left alive to narrowly claim the
objective for Evil! It was now 5-4 to Jamie and just
2 objectives remained... Over in the dungeon, Beorn
was fighting a Hunter Orc but Jamie had cleverly
hidden a second orc in a passageway out of Beorn’s
reach - the best Damian could do was draw this
objective. Of course, Beorn killed the orc, tossing its
body away defiantly to level the objective.
It all came down to the Galadriel objective - perhaps
it was meant to be following the end of Issue 3’s
Battle Report? Damian needed his Mirkwood Ranger
to kill both a Bat Swarm and a Gundabad Orc
Warrior in one fell swoop to claim the objective
outright and win the game. There never was much
hope and the brave elf fell to the claws of the bats
to hand Jamie the objective and the game. After a
crazy final turn, Jamie had emerged the victor, but it
could have been so different!
2016 Issue 4 SBG 27
 Battle Report - Domination in Dol Guldur
Jamie ensures that, for the second Battle Report
running, the Hill of Sorcery remains unconquered
Jamie: Phew! Well, that was certainly a narrow
escape for the forces of Evil. I thought I had it in the
bag but when The Necromancer fled the battlefield,
things became incredibly tense. Despite his
calamitous exit from the game, The Necromancer
did some great work early on, killing Legolas with a
Chill Soul and Transfixing Beorn on a 6 when rolling
just one dice! However, taking two wounds from
Beorn and spending 8 Will to save both of them
was soul-destroying, as it sapped his spell-casting
prowess and eventually led to his demise.
The Hill of Sorcery Tests were great fun to play but
the Crumbling Ruins… oh the Crumbling Ruins - I
think they did more damage to my force than the
entire Good army! Sadly, Golb underperformed for
much of the game, I honestly believe he’s camera-
shy. He did end up getting to grips with Gandalf and
drew his focus away from The Necromancer on
a couple of key turns but I would have loved him
to have made at least one kill - zero kills over two
bat-reps is frankly embarrassing - no wonder Bolg
replaced him in the films!
The Spider Queen performed admirably for me,
forcing Legolas to waste 3 Might to stop being
Compelled into her. Her spider-kin also held their
own by killing elves all over the dungeon and
eventually claiming the Elrond objective - their
ability to scale any surface meant they were fantastic
on the terrain-heavy board and Damian had no
real way to counter them. However, my model of
the match has to be the Bat Swarm, whose Fly rule
proved to be invaluable for jumping between levels -
being able to threaten Heroes below and objectives
up high was great and, again, Damian really struggled
to counter this. The Bat Swarm ultimately won me
28 SBG Issue 4 2016
the game by flying up and securing the Galadriel
objective. Good job bats, good job. I was sad to
hear that I didn’t win the Dol Guldur board as a
prize for beating Damian - ah well, I’ll just sneak The
Necromancer home with me instead…
Damian: Ouch! What a brutal game - after a
disastrous start I’d pretty much resigned myself to
a crushing defeat but in the last few turns I really
thought I might pull it back - alas it was not to be.
In retrospect, my hopes that Legolas would “carve
through the orcish ranks” and “give me an edge over
the Spider Queen” proved rather unfounded given
his spectacularly hapless performance. Similarly, I
couldn’t help but laugh at the woeful performance
of my Mirkwood Knights, I know I said that I wasn't
“expecting much of these guys” but I didn’t quite
expect one to tumble off a ledge and one get eaten
by a spider in the first few turns!
Beorn nearly turned things around single-handedly,
avenging Legolas by squishing the Spider Queen and
almost destroying The Necromancer in combat!
Even though he didn’t kill the foul spirit, Beorn still
managed to draw 12 Will over the course of two
turns, dramatically reducing The Necromancer’s
spell-casting abilities and meaning he was powerless
to resist when Jamie rolled the dreaded double 1!
“It felt like Dol Guldur had it
in for me from the start”
Damian
It was fantastic fun playing across Barry’s terrain
and Tom’s Ruling Dol Guldur rules really brought the
scenery to life. Normally you can count on a few
safe objectives in Domination but the fact that my
models could stagger off walkways or get ambushed
by spiders added a fresh tactical challenge. I have
to admit, it felt like Dol Guldur had it in for me
from the start, Paralysing Gandalf at a key moment,
keeping my Great Eagle out of the game for the first
two turns and, perhaps worst of all, trapping my
Mirkwood Ranger in a spider’s web on the final turn
and denying me 3 Victory Points. Still, I suppose it’s
only right that Dol Guldur itself seemed to favour
the forces of darkness and contribute to my defeat!
So, as Gandalf, Beorn, Legolas and Tauriel join
Saruman, Elrond, Galadriel, Radagast and Thranduil as
captives in Dol Guldur, the question becomes - who
on Middle-earth do we send in to rescue them?!
The Garrison of Dol Guldur
We thought it would be fun to create an army list that allows players to create forces featuring all
of the creatures and characters that are seen residing in Dol Guldur throughout The Hobbit trilogy.

This army list will obviously not be accepted at most tournaments but should allow players to create some
wonderfully themed forces for friendly games. The profiles and point values for all of these troop types can
be found in The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game sourcebooks and the Mordor and Moria & Angmar sourcebooks.

Designers’ notes: If you include any of the nine

Heroes
The Necromancer
The Witch King of Angmar
Khamûl, the Easterling
Golb, Gundabad Orc General*
0-7 Unnamed Ringwraiths
0-1 Spider Queen†
Azog (all profiles)
Bolg (all profiles)
Fimbul
Narzug
Yazneg
Hunter Orc Captains
Gundabad Orc Captains
Thrain the Broken‡
Warriors
Ringwraiths in your army, they may only be on
Hunter Orcs foot or on horse. The Nine only rode Fell Beasts
after their defeat at the Ford of Bruinen, so Fell
Fell Wargs
Beasts are not permitted in this army.
Gundabad Orc Warriors
Mirkwood Spiders *Golb’s profile can be found in SBG Issue 2.
Giant Spiders
Bat Swarms †
The Spider Queen is normally an Independent
Hero but, in this army list, she may lead a
warband that includes solely Giant Spiders and/
or Mirkwood Spiders. Note that she still cannot
be your leader.
‡
Whilst a prisoner in Dol Guldur, Thrain had
entirely lost his mind. He was certainly not
inherently evil but The Necromancer could
control him through fear and sorcery.

An example of a 750 point

Garrison of Dol Guldur army

2016 Issue 4 SBG 29

 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

BUILDING Dol Guldur

MIDDLE-EARTH
Barry O'Neill hails from Ireland and
has made the trip across the Sundering
Seas to attend several Great British
Hobbit League tournaments. After
seeing the incredible Weathertop
scenery piece that Barry made for
Jamie Giblin, SBG approached him
to ask if he would be willing to make
us “some scenery for the magazine”.
Things escalated quickly...
Barry: When Tom and Damian asked me to build a Dol Guldur
board for SBG, I was both excited and apprehensive. I was
relatively inexperienced at terrain building, having previously
made only a few Rohan houses and an Amon Sûl piece but, having
seen Rick Fryer’s terrain in Issue 2, I knew the standard would
have to be high! Despite this, the excitement of this challenge
spurred me on, so I began to formulate a design by pouring
over everything Dol Guldur-related that I could find. The board
contains a wide variety of different pieces and in this article I will
explain some of the techniques I used to create them.

Baseboards

1 2 3
1-4. I began by constructing the baseboards which would form the
foundation of the entire board. I cut 80mm insulation board into four 2'x2'
squares and glued them to a hardboard base. The original plan was to create
the dungeon area on one board but this developed into a vast underground
system across all four boards in which each iteration led to more
passageways. After a number of very rough design attempts (1), I settled on
the one I was happiest with. I then drew the plan directly onto the boards,
using minis to ensure that the passages were wide enough and the exits from
each board lined up to the other boards (2). The next step was to carefully
carve out the passageways and chasms before cutting stairs into each board
to provide access to the level above (3). I then carved the sides of the
passageways to resemble rock walls and etched blocks into the dungeon
walls. Everything was then coated in Polyfilla and was ready to be painted (4).
4
30 SBG Issue 4 2016
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

Painting
1-4. To start, everything was
undercoated black; this was followed
by a Codex Grey base coat (leaving
only the chasms black) and a very
dark green wash in the recesses and
corners etc. (1). Next, I irregularly
dabbed and splodged Catachan Green 1 2
all over the basecoat layer (2). Once
dry, I used a similar technique with
Steel Legion Drab - although more
sparingly this time (3). At this point,
the board might look worryingly messy
but fear not! To tie it all together, the
final step was to drybrush the entire
area with Fortress Grey to tie it all
together (4). Top Tip: buy tester paints
from a DIY store for large terrain.You
can get any shade mixed up. 3 4
1. For the majority

Dol Guldur Ruins of the large

buildings, I used
80mm insulation
board cut to the
required size.
The location of
additional features
2
were marked 2. I used 5mm foamboard for the
out and then the stairs. The steps were measured
brickwork was out with one 15mm step to every
1 etched out with a
pencil.
three 10mm steps and then cut
out with a craft knife.
5-7. The tower
was made in
the same way
as described in
Step 1 with the
addition of an
archway cut out
for access (5).
3 4 The narrow walls

3-4. The steps were then glued together using a 15mm

5 to the sides of
the archway were
piece for every fourth step to help climbing miniatures strengthened by
stay upright. The staircase was then carved out of the carefully inserting
insulation board with a craft knife (or hot wire cutter) and barbecue skewers
the steps were glued in place and secured further with through the
cocktail sticks (3). I used a hobby knife to cut notches and
cracks into the steps to evoke a ruined look (4).
6 7 bottom of the
tower (6&7).
2016 Issue 4 SBG 31
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

8-9. Repeating Step 2, I made 10. The extended

another stairway and glued it to step from Step 9
a triangular piece of insulation formed the base of
foam (8) before I glued it to the next set of stairs.
the tower (the top step should As these stairs have
extend past the tower wall) (9). no insulation foam
to support them,
I secured them to
the tower using glue
and cocktail sticks
and continued this

8 9 10 process up to the
top of the tower.

12
12-14. For the walkway, I cut a 50mm wide
strip of insulation foam and strengthened it using

11 skewers (12). I cut the pillars to have a square

40x40mm base, plus a tapered top to join to the 13
11. The tower was then glued walkway (13). I then made triangular pieces to fit
onto the base piece from between the pillars and attached foamboard to
Steps 1-4 and glued into place the insulation foam to preserve the shape (14).
on a piece of 5mm hardboard For a final touch, I used my modelling knife to nick
which was cut to size. and gouge these pieces to give a ruined feel. 14
15. The pieces of
the walkway were
then assembled.
I used a piece of
foam to fill the gap
between the pillar
and the wall of the
tower before gluing
the walkway into

15
position on the
base - see Step 17.

17
16 17. Finally, I used some watered down Polyfilla
and an old brush to coat the entire piece. Top
16. I also included the archway from the scene where Tip: it is helpful to coat hard-to-reach areas
Azog sends Bolg to hunt the dwarves. I drew the archway prior to gluing them together in previous steps.
onto two pieces of foamboard and then cut them out and I sprinkled some sand onto the wet filler and,
glued them together. Next, I coated the assembled arch in once dry, I added a some more to any areas
Polyfilla and etched in the brickwork once dry. where I felt a little extra was required.
32 SBG Issue 4 2016
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

The Courtyard
1-2. In the film, the courtyard is
triangular and relatively small in size. I
drew up a scale version of this to help get
measurements for the walls and walkways
etc. (1). However, after consultation with
my SBG overseers, we decided that a
square 2'x2' courtyard would work better
in terms of gameplay (2).
1 2
3-6. Next, I began work on the twelve sets of triangular
stairs leading down into the courtyard. I drew the steps onto
5mm foam board (3) and then cut them out individually (4).
I then glued these and added some nicks before applying a
3 Polyfilla coating (5). The structure of the stairs was created
by gluing them to a piece of insulation foam (6).

4 5 6
7-8. The archways were cut from
5mm foamboard and coated in filler
before the blockwork was etched
into the dry filler (7). The metalwork
was cut and glued in place to directly

7 8
recreate the design from the films (8)
(see ‘Metalwork’ on page 35).
9-10. There are two arched
gateways on the corners of the
courtyard. These were made
from two narrow pieces of
25mm insulation foam (9) with
45 degree angles cut to facilitate
a third arched piece (10).
These were glued together

9 10 before adding the brickwork

etching and coating in filler.
11-12. Finally,
the archways
were detailed
with metalwork
as described on
page 35 and a
jeweller’s chain
was used to
create shackles
and chains. 11 12
2016 Issue 4 SBG 33
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

15
14
15. I made the first window pillar with a wooden
13-14. For the walls, I drew out dowel with spikes glued on. I then used this piece
the design on foamboard (13) and to make a rubber mould and made the rest of the
13 cut it out, carving damage into the pillars from plaster. I glued these in place before
upper areas (14). coating the whole wall in filler.
16-18. Similarly, the spiked pillars are all plaster casts from a
mould of my original piece (16). As the spikes are difficult to
cast well, I decided to use cocktail sticks instead. Using a pin
vice, I drilled twelve holes into each pillar (17), before gluing
the pointed ends of cocktail sticks into the holes (18).

16 17 18
19-21. The courtyard floor was made from 25mm insulation
foam glued to a hardboard base. The different levels of the
central area and steps leading down from it were carved out
and a triangular plinth was placed in the centre (19). Next,
I began to assemble the walls and walkways and the stairs,
pillars, upper walls and gates were all glued and secured in
place (20). The arches above the stairs were then glued in
19 place and secured further using dress maker’s pins, before the
walkways connecting the stairs were also put in place (21).

20 21
22-23. Once everything was
assembled and in position, I
used filler to hide any gaps and
coat the courtyard floor (22).
Finally, I glued sand to the filler
to add texture (23) and, after
a lick of paint, the courtyard
was ready to become the
scene of a great battle!
22 23
34 SBG Issue 4 2016
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

3. The vines were

Vines 1
then attached to
the terrain using
PVA glue. Placing
1. The Vines were made from ProCreate putty. I started with a
two or three
large piece and rolled it into a long sausage shape, making sure it
in one area and
tapered from a thick base to a thinner tip.
having branches
2. I then rolled smaller sausages to overlap or wrap
create offshoots and bent these into around pillars etc.
various shapes. I used a needle to can give a really
2 etch grooves into the vines to give
them a more natural feel.
3 interesting and
effective result.

Metalwork
1. Dol Guldur is
covered in lots of
sinister looking
metalwork and
it was important
2
to replicate this 2. I cut the right-angled Styrene Strips to the desired length and
distinct look on
the terrain. I used
1 pointed the ends using angled cuts. I then glued these in place all over
the board, mostly focussing on doorways and archways etc.
Evergreen Styrene Strips in different

4
shapes and sizes to create this
unique metalwork effect.
3. To create 4. I created holes in the Styrene Strips by carefully drilling using a pin
spikes for the vice - these would house the spikes created in Step 3.
metal plates, I 5. I pushed the whittled
whittled the end spikes through the holes and
of a 1mm plastic glued them in place before
3 rod into a sharp
point with a knife.
5 attaching the completed
strip to the terrain.

1. I also used thin card as an alternative to

the Styrene Strips. After cutting the card to
size, I cut nicks and grooves into the edges
to give it a damaged/ruined look. 1
2. To make 3. I found that
metal rivets, I a good place for
cut thin slices these strips is
from 1mm on particularly
plastic rod and ruined or
glued them in broken down
place on the walls to give
cardboard the impression
strip, ready to that they are
2 be attached to
the scenery.
3 holding the ruin
together.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 35
 Building Middle-Earth - Dol Guldur

Thorns
To represent the spiky tangle of Mirkwood spilling
into the ruins, I collected some thorny blackberry
briars from my garden. I dried these out in the
oven before gluing them into position. Top Tip: ask
the chef’s permission first! Ivy, vines, roots etc.
could also be dried out and used to good effect to
evoke the feel of the forest invading the ruins.

2. I extended the
Dying Trees existing branches
and created
smaller ones
1. There are a few trees dotted
using thinner
around the ruins of Dol Guldur as
copper wire. I
the forest of Mirkwood invades the
then wrapped the
fortress. To create these, I took five
trunk and larger
pieces of wire of roughly equal length
and wrapped them together to create 2 branches with
masking tape.
a trunk. Next, I took longer pieces of
wire and wrapped these around the
tree, using the extra length to make
branches. I repeated this step until I
was happy with the shape. 1
3-4. I coated the entire tree
with Polyfilla, ensuring that all
the smooth wire was masked
by the filler (3). I then extended
the roots by using putty or

3 by repeating the technique

described in Step 2 (4).
4

Leaves and Foliage

For the leaf litter
around the ruin,
I used hornbeam
leaves which
were dried and
cut to size with a
knife. It’s a slow For the other scattered greenery, I used clump foliage
process but a and other Woodland Scenic products to give a little
very cost effective variety. I really enjoyed the experience of creating this
alternative to board and feel like I’ve learned an awful lot. I’ve found
buying ready made that patience is an essential virtue when building
scatter terrain. terrain but if I can make Dol Guldur then anyone can!
36 SBG Issue 4 2016
 Hobby Corner - The Spawn of Ungoliant

HOBBY CORNER
THE SPAWN OF UNGOLIANT
Over the last few years, Steve Crowe of Top Table Wargaming has developed a
reputation as the ultimate all-round hobbyist, able to convert, paint, and build
terrain in record time. In this article, Steve reveals the variety of techniques he
used to transform the static poses of our Giant Spiders and Mirkwood Spiders
into something far more interesting, exciting and intimidating.

Converting Finecast Tools required: Clippers, hobby knife, super

glue, glue activator, small bowl of hot water

1. Cut the model from the 2. Carefully lower

sprue using your clippers and the model into
clean up any mould lines with the hot water
your hobby knife before gluing for about ten
the model together. Next, use seconds with a
the base or scenery that you pair of tongs or
want the model to sit on to even your fingers
1 get a rough idea of the pose
you would like to achieve. 2 (be careful not to
burn yourself).
4. Attach the newly
positioned model
onto the base or
scenery. If there’s
something that
3 doesn’t sit right,
repeat Steps 2 and
3. Using your fingers, 3 until you have the
gently persuade the exact pose that you
now-pliable finecast to
the position you desire.
4 need - the options
are endless!
2016 Issue 4 SBG 37
 Hobby Corner - The Spawn of Ungoliant

Tools required: Clippers, pliers, hobby drill, thin metal wire, a

Dol Guldur Cages cylindrical item roughly the width of the cage you want to make
(I’m using an old syringe I used to transfer paint)

1 2
1. Drill a small hole at 2. Use the pliers to
one end of the syringe or thread one end of the
whatever item you are wire into the hole you
using as a template. drilled in Step 1.
5. Using your clippers,
cut full circles from the
spring to create rings
(as shown in picture).
You will need at least
three rings and possibly
5 more depending on the
size of your cage.
3 4
3. Once threaded, 4. Remove the wire
wrap the wire tightly from the cylinder - you
around the syringe should be left with
four or five times. what looks like a spring.
6. Next, cut a piece of wire
at least three times the
height of the cage you want
to build and bend the centre
of the wire around the
cylinder as shown.You will
6 need at least two of these,
depending on your design.

8. Finally, complete your

cage by trimming and
folding the bottom of the
cage as shown.You can
7 alter the design to suit
any shape or size of cage
7. Attach the rings to the frame using
super glue, as shown in the pictures.
8 and add more bars, spikes,
gates etc. for variety.

38 SBG Issue 4 2016


Dol Guldur Stone Bases
1. First, work out if you will be
applying the stone slab effect to
the whole base or just a part of
it - in this example, I will cover
the whole of the base. Roughly
flatten the Green Stuff to a
thickness of about 2mm, before
crunching up a piece of tin foil
and pressing it into the putty so
its rough texture is transferred
to the Green Stuff.
1
3 4. Once you’re happy with the vertical lines, start to
3. Mark vertical lines roughly 7-8mm apart in the
putty. I score a very narrow ‘V-shaped’ cut, as this
gives better looking joints between the flags and a
better effect than if you simply make a single cut.
All thirteen of Steve’s spider
conversions ready for battle!
Hobby Corner - The Spawn of Ungoliant
Tools required: Standard Games Workshop bases,
Green Stuff, tin foil, Vaseline, hobby knife
2. The next stage requires a very
sharp hobby knife (be careful!), a
smallish sculpting tool and some
lubricant - Vaseline is perfect
for this. Using your hobby knife,
moisten the blade with Vaseline
2
to prevent you from dragging the
putty in the next step.
4
mark horizontal lines with a gap roughly double the
distance of your vertical lines to achieve a rectangular
flagstone effect. Be sure to stagger the horizontal
lines as you move down the vertical lines to create a
more natural effect as shown in the picture.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 39
 Hobby Corner - Painting The Nazgûl

PAINTING THE NAZGÛL

We asked Matt Davies to explain the techniques he used Paints required: Abaddon Black (AB),
to achieve the ghostly aesthetic on the Ringwraiths that he Mechanicus Standard Grey (MSG),
sculpted and painted for Issue 3 - using only four paints! Dawnstone (DS), White Scar (WS)

Matt: it was
clear that the “Chainmail is very dark.
SBG team were
keen to recreate
Chainmail Painting it in a NMM scheme
requires subtle highlights”
the Ringwraiths’
aesthetic from the
films as accurately
as possible, so the question became,
“How do I paint semi-transparent
ghosts?” After much talk and a little
testing we decided that a ghostly
non-metallic metal (NMM) scheme
1 2
would be the most effective - 1. Start work on the model by lightly 2. Vertically apply lines of
essentially I would be painting in applying a 1:1 mix of AB+MSG to the MSG to the centre of the
black and white! I undercoated the raised areas of chainmail. same raised areas.
model with black and got cracking...

Top Tip: stay away from washes if

you are painting black! Washes will
often contain thinning mediums

3
that make the paint dry lighter
than the desired effect. As a result, 4
the washes will make the recesses
3. Pick out the most prominent 4. Highlight the top part of
lighter instead of darker.
links of the chainmail with DS. the links with a 1:1 mix of
DS+WS - this last highlight is

Cloth “As cloth isn’t metallic, this stage is a little crucial as it would be the top
easier but requires more blending” parts of the chainmail that will
catch light from the sun.

1 2
1. Smoothly apply a 3:1:1
mix of AB+MSG+Thinner
to all of the raised areas,
leaving just the deepest
recesses black. Then
highlight with 1:1:1 mix.
40 SBG Issue 4 2016
2. Pick out the detail of
the edges, plus any any rips
and movements of cloth
with MSG. The more you
do at this stage, the more
dynamic the cloth will look.
3
3. Add depth to these
details by applying a 5:1:2
mix of AB+MSG+Thinner
below the highlights and
into the recesses.
4
4. Highlight the
edges picked out
in Step 2 with a 2:1
mix of DS+Thinner.
 Hobby Corner - Painting The Nazgûl

“This stage is the most technical as you have to think about how
Armour light would catch and reflect off each plate of armour”

2. Think carefully about where the light reflects

off metal - it may help to use images or source
material such as pots and pans. There is often a
main streak of light that travels down vertically
but if the metal is in shadow, there is little to no
reflection. Use MSG to start these reflections,

1 2
adding some Thinner towards the edges to
create the blend.
1. Basecoat the armour 4. Highlight the light areas
with a 4:1 mix of AB+MSG, using dots and lines of
leaving only the deepest pure WS. The metal will
recesses black. look shinier and sharper
if the contrast between
3. Use a fine detail brush to
create spots of light with DS.
3 4 the basecoat and final
highlight is greater.

Axe “This stage requires a lot of blending; the blending will have to be
subtle, ending in vivid bright highlights to achieve a sharp look”

1. Apply a 1:1 mix of AB+MSG to the top 3. Use WS to further

part of the blade cutting edge (leaving the blend the edges of the
bottom part of the blade ‘shadowed’). Do blade and faces. Finally, add
the opposite for the axe face (i.e. apply the a small amount of WS to
mix to the bottom part). Repeat this using a the edges of the damaged
1:1 mix of AB+MSG to further lighten these areas (to create the look
areas - use a thinning medium here to blend of new metal showing
1 the paint into the shadows. Next, use a fine through), then apply small
detail brush to edge highlight along the lines amounts of AB directly
of the weapon with MSG, as well as further
blending the lightest areas (e.g. the top of
3 beside these highlights to
add depth to these areas.
the blade). Also apply line highlights to other
parts of the axe (e.g. damaged areas).

2. Repeat Step 1 using pure DS, this time

focusing further up the axe face and lower
2 down the blade before applying additional
edge highlights on the blade edges.

Resin bases
Miniature sculpting
Painting
www.youtube.com/user/GenerationShift92 www.facebook.com/Generationshift92
The finished wraith in all its NMM glory!

2016 Issue 4 SBG 41

"There is no light,
wizard”
 Hobby Corner - Wounding Gandalf

WOUNDING GANDALF
Whilst Steve and Matt were busy working on the spiders and Ringwraiths, they also each began to
work, in secret, on a themed Gandalf conversion. They had no idea what the other was doing [Ed -
and nor did we for a long time!] but, thankfully, when they unveiled their wounded wizards, they had
both managed to depict Gandalf at a different point in the Dol Guldur sequence in The Hobbit films!

Steve: This objective marker began life as the
Khazad-dûm Gandalf (the one with his staff raised)
and was a lot of fun to make. I started by removing
the head and cutting away some of the hair from
the back of the model, as this would later allow me
to re-position the head in a way which makes it
appear as if Gandalf looking upwards. The original
pose had Gandalf standing with his robes flowing
freely, so I cut away the front part of the robes with
a razor saw; this enabled me to create the illusion of
his body being flat on the ground once I glued the
model to the base. Luckily, the original sword arm
was in the perfect position to look as if Gandalf was
supporting himself off the floor, so, to complete the
effect, I simply sculpted a new hand with putty. I then
removed the left hand holding the staff and slightly
repositioned the left arm, before sculpting a new
outstretched hand with putty. I then re-attached the
head in the desired position and masked the joints
by sculpting more hair and beard with putty. For
a final touch, I added the staff to the base in two
parts as if it had been broken by the power of The
Necromancer! I hope you like the finished objective
marker as much as I enjoyed making it.

Matt: During the long nine months when I was In the early stages of the process, I decided I wanted
sculpting the Ringwraiths for Issue 3, I decided to include a magnet in Gandalf’s back to help attach
to create a Gandalf conversion as a therapeutic him to the scenery for the magazine photographs.
distraction! Funnily enough, I also started with the However, it wasn’t until the end of sculpting that I
Khazad-dûm Gandalf, although the final product is realised that I had done something incredible… I’d
very different to Steve’s! I was initially expecting created the first The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game
to use most of the original model - that was until I fridge magnet! [Ed - see page 2]
chopped his arms and legs off! When sculpting limbs
I often find it easier to start from scratch as it’s very
tricky to convert natural angles, especially when
creating a pose like this where Gandalf is writhing
around (although I did use an Easterling casualty
model as a base for the legs underneath the robes).

Once I had settled on the pose and sculpted the

majority of the cloth, I started thinking about details
like the bag and the scarf. As Gandalf was being held
up, I wanted the model to be as three dimensional
as possible, so I sculpted part of the scarf separately
so that it could dangle down freely in the air.
2016 Issue 4 SBG 43
 HOBBY BLOG
A brief look into what the SBG team have been up to during the production of this issue

Damian: After an 18 month delay I finally finished my

Mirkwood Knights! I then started work on my Gundabad
force and took my first 24 orcs and Bolg to the recent
Warhammer World doubles tournament where I was
delighted to get a ‘Best Army’ nomination - it’s been a
really fun project and I’m now looking forward to adding
the Berserkers and any other new goodies that appear!

Tom: Whilst I’m still working on the Lake-town models

featured in my last Hobby BLOG, I’m also looking to treat
myself with some Heroes from The Battle of the Five
Armies (which Bilbo to choose?!) including a couple of
beautifully converted figures courtesy of Shadow & Flame.
All of them will be tied together thanks to the fantastic
Raven Outpost bases courtesy of GenerationShift.

Barry: After a recent house move, my first job is to

set up a paint station and hobby space so I can make
up for the lost time! Once that’s done, I’ve acquired a
lovely new display cabinet which badly needs populating
with minis - I’ll start by completing my Fiefdoms force
whilst also starting on the same, as yet undecided, terrain
project I teased in my last Hobby BLOG!

Matt: I’ve recently finished off a Radagast on sleigh

commission and I hope to expand my GenerationShift
base range over the next few months, starting with some
exciting new releases at Ardacon. I’ve also caught the
Gundabad bug that’s been going around and, with the
upcoming release of the Gundabad Berserkers, I want to
get in on the action as soon as I can!

Jamie: I’ve been busy collecting and painting the last

few models for The Two Towers journey book scenarios.
I am currently painting some fighting uruk-hai and
seriously enjoying bringing them to life. I’ve recently
changed over to the Scale75 paint range and, along with
Citadel Paints, the variety of colours in my collection now
makes painting different shades of brown a simple task.

Steve: Lots to do, so little time as usual! I’m currently

converting some Isengard models to a Gundabad
aesthetic to add some variety to my force. Getting hobby
time at the moment is really tough with work and family
commitments but the current buzz around the hobby is
keeping me motivated as I try to finish some commission
conversions for our lovely community members.
44 SBG Issue 4 2016
 SUPPORTING SBG
If you’ve enjoyed this issue, then read on to discover how you can ensure that there are more in the future!
Dear Readers,
The primary aim of SBG is to create an attractive
and informative hobby resource for fans of The
Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game. It is produced in our
own time and is, first and foremost, a non-profit
fanzine by the fans, for the fans. If you are reading
this, then you will be doing so in one of two ways.
The majority of you will be reading the free PDF
which is available online. Our pledge is that, as long
as we are producing SBG, it will be available for free
to anyone who wants it; we are not a business, we
are not trying to make money out of this, and we
will never charge a penny for the PDF download.
However, whilst we won’t ever charge for SBG, we
would like to give readers a way of contributing
towards the running costs of the magazine. So, once
you have finished reading the issue, if you feel that
you would like to contribute, then we would invite
you to make a donation via our PayPal account:
SBGmagazine@gmail.com
As this is a donation, please ensure that you use the
Send money to friends and family option.
We would simply ask you to donate whatever you
feel that the magazine is worth. Any contributions
would be welcome and they will help to ensure that
future issues are even better!
As a way to encourage people to donate, we have
decided to run a competition! We are delighted
to announce that Old Toby Wargaming have kindly
provided a brand new box of Hunter Orcs and
a Gandalf the Grey worth £32 for one lucky
SBG reader to win and help them on their way to
Donate £2
or more
for your
chance to
win this
great prize,
courtesy of
our friends
at Old Toby
Wargaming
saving Thrain from the dungeons of Dol Guldur! To
be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize,
all you have to do is donate £2 to our PayPal address.
Multiple entries per person are allowed, so, for every
full £2 you donate, you will receive another entry into
the competition. For example, a donation of £6.50
would give you three chances to win.
The competition will run until 28th February
2017 at which point we will draw a winner. Please
ensure that you include your name and contact
details in the notes section of the PayPal donation so
that we can contact you should you win.
However, the original vision for SBG was to place
a physical magazine in the hands of gamers.Viewing
SBG on a computer screen or tablet should provide
a satisfactory reading experience but there is
something wonderfully comforting about turning the
pages of a physical copy. Sitting in your favourite spot
and thumbing through the pages of a glossy magazine
is an experience that is utterly lost when viewing
content on a digital screen.
Our hope is that the majority of our readers will
want to read SBG in the intended format and start
to build a collection of physical issues. Of course, the
major hurdle in this step is that we cannot give away
physical copies due to the high cost of producing a
relatively short print run. However, anyone in the
UK who donates £10 or more via PayPal will not
only get at least 5 entries into the competition, but
will also receive a full colour, A4 physical copy of
SBG. Please include the address to which you would
like us to send the magazine and we will get it out
to you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to
the increased postage costs, those with an address
within Europe will need to make a donation of £13
or more, whilst those outside of Europe will have to
donate £15 or more to receive a physical copy.
We hope that you have enjoyed this issue and would
like to make a modest donation, therefore enabling
us to produce SBG for a long time to come.
Thank-you,
Damian & Tom
2016 Issue 4 SBG 45