War of the Ring Campaign Rules
The Invasion of
Gondor
This is a set of campaign rules for a historical campaign of the
second
stage of the War of the Ring,
with
Mordor’s
invasion of
Gondor
.
Points were used to calculate the overall armies and are roughly
10
,000
points per side over the course of the campaign.
Although the points value are equivalent, this
campaign system is not designed to create balanced battles, but rather allow players to
make strategic
decisions that will impact the tactical battlefield.
Th
i
s is primarily a campaign
system
for Games
Workshop’s War of the Ring Mass Battles in Middle Earth game
(WOTR)
, but use
s
elements
from The
Lord of the Rings Strategy
B
attle
G
ame (SBG)
and the map fr
o
m Ares Games War of the Ring
board
game
.
Turns
The campaign lasts for
twelve
turns.
Wh
ich
ever
side meets the victory conditions below
at the end of
Turn
12
has won the campaign.
If a side’s victory conditions are met before the end of t
urn
12
, the
campaign ends.
If neither side achieves its victory conditions, the campaign is a draw.
Map
The entire map is used for the campaign, but not all areas will be effected
(See
Annex
A).
The River
Anduin can be crossed only between Osgiliath and North and South Ithilien (See Annex E).
Solid black
borders between areas are impassible terrain except
for
flying
monsters.
Forces
Good:
Gondor, Rohan and
Forgotten Kingdoms
Evil:
Mordor and
the Fallen Realms.
Objective
Evil
must hold the territories
of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith
by
the end of Turn
12
.
Good must hold Barad Dur or destroy the One Ring (see
Frodo, Sam and
Gollum
below)
.
In order to “hold” an area a side must have one formation i
n th
at
area. If the area contains a fortress,
the area must be free of enemy formations. (See Siege rules).
Initial Deployment
See
Annex B for Evil and Annex C for Good
initial deployment set up.
Campaign Turn Sequence
1.
Initiative player moves.
2.
Non
initiat
ive
player moves.
3.
Epic
H
ero
reaction
moves
4.
Battle
a.
Skirmish
b.
Field Battle
c.
Siege
1.
Retreat Move
s
2.
End
Campaign
Turn
Initiative
The Good side has the initiative for the first campaign turn.
At the beginning of each
subsequent
campaign
turn
,
each side choses a player to roll 1d6. The side with the higher roll has the initiative
and
can move first. If the die roll is tied
,
roll again until there is a side with a higher die roll. The side with
initiative has the option to pass the
initiativ
e
to the other side.
Movement
Each formation or
individual
Epic
H
ero can move one area per turn. Epic Heroes
can
move separately
from formations
or as part of one
.
The
side with initiative moves first, then the side without initiative.
A
side can move a
s many formations as they are
able
into
an
area and there is no limit to how many
formations can be in one area.
If the side with initiative moves into an area with an enemy formation,
that
enemy
formation is pinned and
cannot
move that turn.
If a formati
on is in an area with a
friendly
fortress in it, it can chose to enter the fortress
and become
besieged
or remain in the field and fight a Field battle or Skirmish
(See
Battle
rules
below)
.
Once the side with initiative move
s
, the other side moves. If the
side that does not have the
initiative
moves into an area where a friendly formation has beco
me pinned by an enemy formation, these
formations become
reinforcements
and arrive on the turn determined by rolling 1d6 (See Battle below).
Formations and Epic H
eroes
cannot
cross through areas marked with a solid black border on the map.
The exception to this is flying monsters.
Reaction
moves.
If a
n Epic Hero on the non
initiative
side finds itself in an area that the initiative side
has
moved a formation int
o, the Epic Hero can choose to
perform a reaction
move and move into an
adjacent area where there is no
enemy
formations. If all surrounding areas have enemy formations, the
Epic Hero
cannot
perform
a reaction move
. If a friendly formation is in the same area as the Epic Hero
and an
enemy
formation moves into that area and the Epic
Hero
choses to
perform
a reaction
move,
that Epic Hero is
1 to their Courage value for the remainder of the campaign. The Epic Hero n
ever
regains
their original Courage value
(Note: Th
is
effect
s
all Special Rules during a battle such as
Inspiring
leader where friendly formations use the Epic Heroes Courage value, even if it is reduced below the base
Courage value of the formation).
If
the same Epic Hero does another evade move and abandons a
friendly pinned formation, the Epic
Hero
loses another point of Courage
and can be reduced below zero
(i.e.
1 Courage value)
. Note that this rule only applies if there is a friendly formation in t
he area that
has become pinned.
Epic Heroes perform
reaction
moves at no penalty to their Courage if there are no
friendly formations in the area.
Retreat Moves. A retreat move is performed immediately after a battle is fought. The side that lost the
ba
ttle must move to an adjacent area where there are no enemy formations. The formations may move
normally the next campaign turn. If
the retreating force lost the battle because it was reduced to 30%
starting companies and there
are no adjacent areas free
of enemy formations, the entire force and all
Epic Heroes immediately surrender and are removed from the campaign.
Battle
After both sides have moved,
in
all areas that have both enemy and friendly formations in the same
area, a battle is fought.
The tab
le on which the engagement will be fought is set up using that area’s
terrain
features
indicated on the
map
in Annex
D
. The side that
originally occupied that area is the
defender and sets up
first and
the side that moved into the area is the attacker
and
sets up second.
The
defender
sets up
12”
in from the edge of the board opposite where the initiative player is entering
unless otherwise noted on the map
s in Annex D
. The
attacking side
can then set up one foot in from the
side they have entered from ac
cording to the maps in Annex D
unless otherwise noted
.
The attacking
side does not have to set up their entire force and can bring formations on the board from the edge they
set up in at the start of any turn, but must have the entire force on the table b
y the start of Turn 8.
If
the
defender
has
reinforcements
arriving
, they roll 1d6 at the start of
every turn
.
If t
he number rolled is
th
at
turn
or lower, t
he reinforcements arrive
and move as normal
. Reinforcements arrive
on the edge of
the board from
the area they are entering from as
shown
on the maps in
Annex D
.
There are three types of battles that can be fought; Skirmish,
Field
Battle, and Siege.
The defending side
can surrender in lieu of fighting a battle, but all friendly formations and Epic
Heroes are removed from
the campaign and are counted as casualties.
Skirmish
If there are
less than 1,000 points
on either side in an area a Skirmish is fought. Skirmishes in the
campaign are fought using The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game 2005 ed
ition rules and profiles
from the 2012 “army books”.
This also applies to area with fortresses and thus the Strategy Battle Game
siege rules will apply to the skirmish.
Each model that fails its courage test once a side reaches its break
point
(50% of it
s starting models)
must move into an adjacent area with no enemy formations. If there
are no areas to retreat into, the models are permanently removed from the campaign.
Once a side
reaches
30% of its starting models
,
it has lost the Skirmish and
perform
s a Retreat Move
.
All
models
that retreated out of the area must then form a legal formation.
If
the remaining
cannot be formed
into
a
legal
formation, such as having only one company with 50% or less models,
the models
are
removed
from the campaign.
Fie
ld Battle
If there are two formations or mo
r
e on each side
,
a
Field
Battle will be fought. A Field Battle uses the
War of the Ring Mass Battles in
Middle
Earth rules. Each game last eight turns. If at the start of any turn
one side has
reached
30
% or le
ss
companies
, that game ends and that side must
perform a Retreat
M
ove
moving
all formations into an adjacent area where there are no enemy formations.
If all areas
contain enemy formations, all formations surrender and are counted as casualties for purposes of the
campaign. If at the end of Turn 8 the
defending side
is not re
duced to
30
%, the
attacking
side
that
moved into that area
must
perform a retre
at move
back into
an adjacent area
.
If there are enemy in
that area,
another battle is fought immediately.
Dismounting cavalry.
At the beginning of a battle, a side has the option to dismount any cavalry unit at
the cost of two cavalry companies for on
e infantry company
with the same wargear
.
The mounts are
discarded for the
current
game, including wargs.
Dismounting occurs during setup up and once
dismounted, the formation must remain dismounted for the entire battle. The formation can only
remount
at the start of the next campaign turn.
Siege
If
a side is attacked in an area with a fortress, they have the option to fight a Field Battle as above, or
move into the fortress in which a
Siege will ensue.
(
If a Field Battle is fought use the same map set
up,
but remove the fortress. If the defending side loses the Field Battle, they can retreat into the fortress
instead of retreating into an adjacent area).
If a
S
iege ensues, t
he side
that moved into the area
is the
attacking side and
has the choice to e
ither
maintain
the Siege or assault the fortress. If the
attacking
side maintains the Siege, no battle will be fought
that campaign turn
in the area
unless the
defending
side
has reinforcements arriving. If this is the case, a fie
l
d battle will be fought
, but the fortress is kept
on the game table
.
A
1d6 will be rolled
at the start of each turn
and
reinforcements
will arrive
if
the
turn number
or lower is
rolled. Formations inside the fortress can
conduct shooting attacks and also
“sally forth”
out of t
he fortress
at any time during the
F
ield
B
attle.
If
attacking
side decides to assault the fortress,
the formations
inside
the formation
will
be the garrison
force and any
reinforcements
will be
known
as the relief fo
r
ce. The assaulting force must try and
breach
the
fortress
and occupy the “keep” as noted on the map in Annex D
;
if not
successful
by turn 8, the
assaulting force
remains in the area and does not
perform a Retreat Move
that campaign turn
, but
instead the S
iege continues the following campaign turn
. If the assaulting
force
is successful at
capturing the keep
(occupying the keep with a formation that is not disordered)
, the defending force
and any relief force must
reduce
the assaulting force to 30% companie
s
by the end of Turn 8
to force
them to
perform a Retreat Move
out of the area
.
If
not,
the garrison
surrenders
and all
companies
and
Epic Heroes inside the
garrison
force
surrender
s and all formations and Epic Heroes
are removed from
the campaign
.
If th
ere is a
relief
force
, it
must
perform a Retreat Move
out of the area to an adjacent
area with no
enemy
. If the relief force is unable to do this, they also surrender.
For sieges, the
War of the Ring
r
ules will be used with the following modifications.
Rams
.
The
attacking side
automatically get
s
a
ladder for free
for each infantry formation to maximum of
four ladders
and
also
one ram at the cost of one company.
That company is removed and a ram model
is put in its place.
If the ram is destroyed during
the game
,
it
cannot
be picked up by another formation
and has been rendered useless.
A ram costs one company at the start of the Siege during set up and is
Strength 4, with 3 Attacks. It is considered a monster for determining striking order.
A ram is
able to
conduct its number of attacks at the fortress gate or door during the Fight Phase using its Strength
against the door’s Defense. If a “wound’ is caused consult the SGB Battering Chart to determine how
many Batter Points are inflicted.
Stone Wa
lls.
Each section of a
fortress
that has a stone wall is considered a stone building
giving a +3 to
a formation’s Defense value
and can hold as many formation
s
as is listed on the map
s
in Annex
D
.
A
stone wall can be breached
by a
demolition charge
place
d by a
Sapper company
or destroyed by a siege
engine with Strength 10 or greater
(Note: This includes ents throw stone special rule)
. A formation can
only enter a wall from an adjacent wall or from a wall section with stairs
and is considered difficult
te
rrain. If a formation is fighting an enemy formation in an adjacent wall, one company can fight
as if
fighting to its flank (
3 dice combat modifier)
and receives no bonuses for companies in support.
Wooden Walls
.
Each section of a
fortress
that has a wo
oden wall is considers a wooden building
giving a
+2 to a formation’s Defense value
and can hold as many formation as is listed on the map in Annex B.
A
formation can only enter a wall from an adjacent wall or from a wall section with stairs and is
consid
ered difficult terrain. If a formation is fighting an enemy formation in an adjacent wall, one
company can fight
as if fighting to its flank (
3 dice combat modifier)
and receives no bonuses for
companies in support.
Note on fortress walls:
Only formation
s
with a ladder
,
an ent
, or a flying monster
can attack a
n enemy
formation on a wall
in the Fight Phase
.
Since a fortress wall is defensible terrain, only infantry and
monsters (not flying monsters) can occupy the terrain piece.
Ladders.
Formations carry
ing ladders must have their flank as their front facing when they come into
contact with a wall in order to raise a ladder.
Once
the
formation with a ladder has come into contact
with a
wall during
the move phase, the ladder is automatically raised. If a
n enemy
formation
occupies
the
wall it can attempt to push the ladder down on a 4+ on the roll of 1d6.
If an enemy model is on the
ladder
,a
5+ is needed to push down the ladder
(see below)
.
If the formation
on the wall
contains a hero,
Might can be used
to adjust the die roll. If the ladder is pushed down, the enemy formation
with the
ladder
suffers 1 Strength 3 automatic
hits
for each inch the
formation on the
wall is off the ground.
Every turn after the ladder has been place
d
, the formation in contac
t with the wall can move one
company up the ladder. The company moves up the ladder at its normal movement rate.
Physically
move one model up the ladder to
indicate
its location.
In order to fight the formation
defending
the
wall during the Fight Phase
,
a Charge Move must be made. The role of a 1 is an unsuccessful charge and
if successful,
the charging company does not receive any charge bonus
modifiers
in the Fight Phase per
normal WOTR rules
since the wall is defensible terrain
. In addition, the com
pany on the ladder will fight
in the Fight phase as if it is fight
ing
in the
flank
(
3 combat modifier)
. The company on the ladder does
not receive any modifiers for hav
ing
other companies in the formation in support.
Unlike a ram, ladders can be picked u
p by another formation
i
f the formation with the ladder is
destroyed.
Assault Ballista
.
In addition to its normal
profile
,
an
assault ballista
gets a special 12” ladder that can be
given to any friendly
formation
. At least two companies are needed to move a 12”
ladder
. A 12” ladder
needs the assault ballista
to have line of sight
to the wall in order for the ladder
to be raised. During the
Shoot Phase a 4+
on a 1d6
is needed to raise the ladder. The assault ba
llista needs to have line of sight
in order to the wall section in order to raise the ladder.
(Note: Assault ballistae
cannot
destroy a stone
wall as a siege target since they are Strength 9; see below).
Gates
.
Each
Fortress
gate has a Defense value of 1
0 and 3 Batter points (SBG
Siege
rules).
Doors
.
Each door
inside
the fortress to an
internal
keep or tower is
considered
an
Armored
Door with a
Defense Value of 8 and 2 Batter Points.
(See SBG Siege rules).
Knocking Down Walls
.
Only formations with a St
rength 10
or more
can harm a stone wall.
The
formation rolls to attack as normal versus the walls Defense and for each hit
, roll on the SBG
Battering
Chart.
Demolition Charges
.
One
Sapper
company carries two demolition charges. Once
a Sapper
company is in
contact
with a wooden wall or a stone wall with a “weakness”
indicated
on the map
(See Annex D)
, it
can emplace a charge.
Once emplaced,
a sapper company
can attempt to detonate the charge. The
Sapper
company takes a Courage test during th
e Fight Phase and if it passes
,
it rolls
on the SBG
Detonation Chart for each charge that has been
detonated
. If
successful
,
the wall suffer
s
1d
6
wounds
for each charge. Roll on the
SBG
Battering Chart for each wound inflicted.
Siege Target vs.
Battlefiel
d
Target
.
During the Shoot Phase, siege engines can shoot at either a
battlefield target or a siege target. A battlefield target is an enemy formation in the open, woods, or a
building. A siege
target
is a
fortress wall section or a fortress gate. The
siege engine
cannot
target an
enemy formation who occupies a wall section of a fortress, but rather must target the wall instead. If
the siege engine does not have the minimum strength
value
to target the wall section, it will not
affect
the wall or the e
nemy formation occupying
it
(the siege engine
cannot
target an
enemy
formation
occupying the
wall
as a
battlefield
target).
If a wall with a formation is destroyed, the formation is also
destroyed.
Assault Ballista and Avenger Bolt Throwers.
Can only attack attack Battlefield Targets
.
Siege Towers.
Up to infantry four companies can occupy a siege tower. A siege tower can be moved 6”
by one infantry company or one troll/ent. Formations occupying a siege tower
cannot
push the siege
tower
an
d must exit the tower in order to push it
. A siege tower counts as a siege target with Defense
10 and Batter points 4. If a siege tower is destroyed, all units occupying it are destroyed. Formations
pushing a siege tower count as battlefield targets and
receive +2 to their
front
Defense value.
Shooting
attacks fr
o
m formations inside the siege tower are the same as from Defensible terrain with two
companies in the formation eligible to shoot.
Movement does not
affect
formations inside the siege
tower du
ring the Shoot Phase.
Once a siege tower touches a fortress wall, formations inside can charge
enemy units on the wall
that turn
. Only one company in the formation can attack directly and receives
no charge bonuses and no support from other companies in
the formation.
Towers and Keeps.
Formations can occupy a tower or keep
either from the inside
or up on the ramparts.
Formation
s
on the ramparts can only
shoot and be shot at in
the
S
hoot
P
hase.
Formations inside can do
nothing unless they move up on t
he ramparts or exit the structure in a Move Phase.
In order to charge a
formation in a keep or tower, the door first must be knocked down.
A keep or tower door is considered
an armored door with a Defense value of 8 and 2 Batter points. (See SBG siege ru
les). Once the door is
knocked down, the keep or tower is treated as defensible terrain with +3 Defense modifier
and is
eligible to be occupied by the attacking force if applicable
.
Breaching the Fortress
.
Once a fortress walls or gate has been “breache
d”,
the attacker must occupy the
keep at the end of Turn 8
in order to win the Siege
. In addition,
all forces on the
defending
side
(defending and reinforcing)
must be reduced
to a
combined
30% strength. If the attacker meets these
conditions
all
defendi
ng
formations and Epic Heroe
s inside the fortress surrender
and
are removed as
casualties for purposes of the campaign.
(Note: this does not apply to formations as part of the
relief
force
who must perform a Retreat Move).
If the attacking force is unable
to occupy the keep and reduce
the defender to 30% strength by the end of Turn 8, the assault ends with the attacking force leaving the
fortress and the Siege continues into the next campaign turn setting up as normal.
Special Rules
Task Organizing
.
Infa
ntry formations in the campaign are limited to four
companies
per formation.
Cavalry formations in the campaign are limited to six companies per formation.
At the beginning of any turn, if like companies with the same wargear are in the same area at the s
tart
of the turn, a side can organize the companies into any
common
formation desired barring the
formation does not exceed the limit.
(Note: Legendary and Rare formations cannot task organize).
Command companies
can
combine with a formation that also ha
s a command company
, but one of the
command companies become a regular company and lose all upgrades
.
(Ex. A formation
of orcs with
four companies
with shield and a captain can task organize to two formations of two
companies
.
Another orc formation has t
wo companies with two handed weapons and a captain. The formation
cannot
combine with a
formation
that has
shield
s
since they have different wargea
r
,
but
could combine
with another orc formation that has two
handed weapon, but the command company loses th
e captain
for the campaign
).
Replacements
.
If at the end of a campaign turn a company is in a
home
area and no enemy are in the
area, the company (not formation) return
s
to full strength.
Home area for each faction are marked by
colored borders on the
campaign map.
Capital Areas
.
An area listed as a Capital Area in Annex D,
must keep at least one Epic Hero and one
formation
or
must keep one
Legendary Formation
in their capital throughout the campaign.
(Note:
R
ingwraiths are counted as Epic Heroes for
this purpose).
These
formations
can be moved and replaced
with other formations as long as they are Legendary Formations or have an Epic Hero.
Fortunes and Fates.
For Field Battles or Sieges using the War of the Ring rules, o
ne Fortune or Fate can
be use
d by a side during a battle regardless of cost. Once that Fortune or
F
ate is used, it cannot be used
again during the campaign.
Epic Heroic Death.
Epic Heroes
can
be
killed as the result of a heroic duel
,
certain magic, or if they
remove themselves volun
tarily such as by performing an Epic Sacrifice
. If an Epic Hero’s formation is
destroyed by the Hope is Lost rule
or is in a company with more heroes and upgrades than standard
warriors,
the Epic Hero is
not killed but is
removed from the game
and
performs an
Reaction
Move to an
adjacent area on the campaign map
but
is
1 Courage for the rest of the campaign
.
(Note: This is
cumulative throughout the campaign).
If an Epic Hero is removed because of the Fielding Epic Heroes
rule
where they are in a
company with more upgrades than “normal” warriors
, that
hero
immediately
performs a Reaction Move and is
1 Resilience and
1 Might for the rest of the campaign.
(Note: This is
also cumulative).
If no Resilience is left, that hero is killed.
The Three Hu
nters:
If Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli are in the same area where a Field Battle or Siege is
fought, they have the option to field as The Three Hunters formation or as separate Epic Heroes.
Frodo, Sam, and
Gollum
:
Frodo Sam an
d
Gollum
start
the campaign i
n South Ithilien.
Their movement
is kept secret from their Evil side, but their location is revealed at the end of Turns 4, 8, and 12 after all
battles are fought.
They move just like other Epic Heroes
except they must move together and
cannot
fight in a
Field Battle or Siege and instead immediately perform a Reaction Move suffering the
1
Courage if they leave an area with a
Good
formation. They can fight in a Skirmish on the Good side. If
they enter Gorgoroth,
Gollum
will attack Frodo and Sam and a Sk
irmish will be fought.
Each model
starts 6” from each other and the center of the board.
If Frodo survives the Skirmish, he must
immediate pass a Courage test in order to destroy the One Ring. If he passes
,
the One Ring is destroyed
and the Good side wi
ns the campaign.
If
Frodo
fails
the Courage test or
is killed in a Skirmish or is
unable to perform a Reaction Move
during the campaign movement phase
,
the evil side obtains the
One
R
ing and
Sauron appears
in full form
at Barad Dur
starting
the
next
campaign
turn.
Named Ringwraiths:
In a battle, a ringwraith has the option to field as a Winged Nazgul or as an Epic
Hero. If a ringwraith is removed from a battle for any reason, it is removed from the campaign.
The Nine Are Abroad:
If all nine ringwra
iths are in an area where a battle is fought, they have the
option to form The Nine Are Abroad Legendary Formation or field as independent Epic Heroes.
Ships:
The Corsairs of Umbar have three ships at Umbar
starting
on Turn 4 that can transport four
compa
nies each.
Monsters, flying monsters, and siege engine cannot be transported on a ship.
A ship
may move one coastal area per campaign turn
(Note: Osgiliath is a coastal area on the campaign map)
.
Formation can disembark and move into that coastal area t
he turn the ship
m
oves into it, but the
formations
cannot
move out of that area on that turn.
River Assaults
:
Osgiliath and North Ithilien both have three boats that are used to cross the Anduin.
The boats are defensible terrain
providing +2 to a formati
on
’
s defense
and can move 6”
. Four
companies can occupy one boat. Boats are entered and exited
as
defensible terrain. If a boat land and
there is an enemy formation within 3” of the boat, the landing is contested. One formation can charge
the enemy for
mation from the boat, but can only fight with one company and receives no bonuses for
companies in support. If the attacker wins, any defending formation moves back 6”
regardless of the
Panic Test result
. If the defender wins, the boat and all occupying
formations remain in the boat and are
moved to the far side of the river.
Grond.
Grond is the only ram that can breach the gates of Minas Tirith. Grond must be pulled by either
two Great Beasts or two Mordor Trolls and can move 8” during the movement phase. Grond
can be
pulled by only one monster,
but
its movement is
reduced to
4”.
Gro
nd strikes one Strength 6 hit
automatically against a gate or do
o
r
during the Fight Phase and strikes the same time as monsters.
If a
hit is scored, roll on the SBG Batter Chart for damage