Azog's Hunters

Azog's Hunters will inevitably make some appearance in "The Battle of Five Armies" and so I've steered clear of adding too many units to their army list. Bolg, however, was in dire need of an update after the changes made to him between the development of the first two Hobbit films.

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BOLG, HUNTER ORC CHIEFTAIN (Orc)

Points Value: 145

    Move        F        S        D        A        W        C        Might    Will    Fate
       6”         6/4+     5        6         3  3         5            3          3  1

Equipment:
Heavy armour, two-handed pick and Bolg’s Orc Bow.

Warg……………………………………..… 10 points

Burly.

Brute Strength. In combat Bolg may choose to use all of his power to best a single foe. If Bolg wins the Duel Roll, he may nominate a single enemy model in the combat. The nominated model is knocked prone, Bolg may now only attack that model for the remainder of the turn. 

Morgul Arrows. Each Wound inflicted by Bolg’s Orc Bow (after Fate rolls) causes two Wounds, instead of one. 

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Designer's Notes. I tried to stay true to "The Desolation of Smaug" by highlighting Bolg's two key moments. His "Brute Strength" special rule represents his duel with Legolas (and possibly more duels to come) and the "Morgul Arrows" rule is for teh shot fired at Kili. I though it better to just cause two Wounds than to have to keep track of an ongoing infliction for the whole game like the traditional Morgul Blade.

Suggested Model. Surely Games Workshop will release a new Bolg model soon! If not, a talented scultpure could try to copy Samoht's Bolg from over at the One Ring.

Tactics. Bolg is a hero killer first and foremost. He should prove more than a match for anyone (including Legolas) and be sure to capitalise on his "Brute Strength" special rule.

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FAQ

Goblin Town

Goblin Town is a faction that I feel we will see more of in "The Battle of Five Armies" film so I've generally steered clear of altering them for now. 

I couldn't resist adding one unit, however; the Goblin Tunnellers are shown below.

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GOBLIN TUNNELLERS (Goblin)

Points Value: 7


Move        F        S        D        A        W        C
    5”        2/5+     3        3         1         1          2     

Cave Dwellers, Chittering Horde.

Tunnellers: Goblin Tunnellers are not deployed at the start of play. Instead the controlling player announces before rolling for priority that he would like them to enter play that turn. Roll a dice for each model; on a 4+ they are deployed. They may deploy anywhere on the board in the controlling players move phase but not in an enemy control zone. They may not charge the turn they arrive but may otherwise act normally.

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Designer's Note. The Goblin Tunnellers are the joker in the Goblin Town army list; they are unpredictable for friend and foe - something I think suits the goblins well. They could prove to be a deadly counter measure to pesky elven archery (the bane of Goblin Town) or simply be lost in their own tunnels for turns on end before they eventually enter the fray.

Suggested Model. Pick up some cheap Goblins from the "Escape From Goblin Town" boxset on eBay. Snipping them in half, bending them over and repositioning the heads plus a little green stuff work should go a long way to making these models.

Tactics. Try using a few in the early turns of the game to harass enemy archers. This will allow for the main bulk of your force to advance unhindered. 

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FAQ.

Smaug the Magnificient

I created the Smaug the Magnificient profile to fill the giant dragon-shaped hole that was missing from my "Desolation of Smaug" sourcebook. 

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SMAUG THE MAGNIFICENT (Dragon, Monster)

Points Value: 500

Smaug is one of the mightiest dragons to have ever inhabited Middle Earth. His outer scales are near impenetrable and his fire has slain many foes. He desolated the city of Dale and drove the Dwarves of Erebor from their homeland. He has a love of gold stronger than any man. His vanity is his biggest weakness. 

Move        F        S        D       A       W       C    Might    Will    Fate
  12”      10/3+   10        9        4        1       7        3          8        0

Terror, Harbinger of Evil, Resistant to Magic, Fly, Fearless.

The Terrible. The first enemy of the turn that Smaug charges suffers a single Strength 10 hit.

The Magnificent. Smaug counts as a Monstrous Mount and so receives all the usual cavalry bonuses.

But One Weakness. Smaug has only one weak point in his impenetrable hide; a loose scale revealing his tough inner hide. This spot needs to be hit exactly to stand any chance of causing a Wound to Smaug. When rolling To Wound against Smaug a 6+ In the Way test must be passed; from both shooting and close combat attacks. 

Lonely Dragon. Smaug may not call ‘With Me’ or use the Stand Fast! rule.

Wrym Tongue. Any enemy model within 6” of Smaug attempting to use a point of Might must use two points instead of the usual one. If they only have one remaining Might point they may not perform the Heroic Action.

Fire Ball. In the Move phase Smaug may choose not to Move and may instead announce that he is ‘Preparing to unleash a fireball’. The fireball is used in the Shoot phase and has a range of 12”. The target and all models within 2”  suffer a Strength 6 hit.

Ancient Beast. After any Will has been used to resist spells, Smaug may roll an additional dice to resist the effects of a magical power. This means that when he has 0 Will, he is able to roll two dice with the Resistant to Magic special rule.

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Designer's Note.  tried to stay as true to his character and his story as I could. He has some mighty impressive stats and special rules but, just like in the book (and I assume film), he can be killed by a single lucky arrow. Bard in particular will have a good chance of killing him as he can re-roll In The Way Tests with his special rule.

The rest of the profile is fairly standard, with his "Wrym Tongue" special rule showing the more smooth-talking side of Smaug whilst providing a nice counter measure to the inevitable barrage of Heroic Strikes that will come his way.

Suggested Model. Wait. Hopefully Games Workshop or Forge World will release one! If not, try Forge World's Carmine Dragon.

Tactics. Smaug will most probably be the only model in your force if you choose to take him. Hit hard and fast. It will only be a matter of time before the oponent makes a lucky roll so try to end the game fast by picking off their heroes.

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FAQ.