INTRODUCTION Battle Companies is a fast paced, immersive series of linked scenarios for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. Driven by an extraordinary narrative that is unique to every player that sets foot on the battlefield, this Battle Companies event allows your unique group of warriors to develop and grow in experience as the day carries on over the course of six games. There are few finer moments than watching your Battle Company evolve after each battle glorious heroes of good create fresh tales of daring and valour, as fell champions of the The Dark Lord rise up in darkened pits beneath the lands. Lament the passing of those who fall to ruinous injuries and revel in the glory of the few who ascend to the ranks of mighty heroes of Middle-earth as the campaign progresses. What follows is what you need to know to take part in this exciting event at Warhammer Fest this May 2018. If you do have any questions after reading this document through, then feel free to get in touch with us using the contact details at the end of the pack. EVENT ESSENTIALS System: Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game Battle Companies Army Size: Choose a starting Battle Company using the normal rules. You must choose one of the pre-made Battle Companies from the publications listed below. Missions: See below for the full list of missions we will be using, in order on the day. Number of games: 6. Army Selection: Choose a Battle Company using the normal rules presented in the Battle Companies publication. Note you are welcome (indeed encouraged!) to bring extra models to represent upgrades as necessary. In addition you must have your own copy of the Battle Companies publication to play in this event. You may also choose Battle Companies from White Dwarf. Publications in use: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Rules Manual, The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy : There and Back Again The Lord of the Rings Kingdoms of Men The Lord of the Rings The Free Peoples The Lord of the Rings Moria & Angmar The Lord of the Rings Mordor The Lord of the Rings The Fallen Realms You will need to bring a copy of both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey rules manual as well as all additional source books and rules you need for your armies to play in this event.
SCHEDULE REGISTRATION Saturday When you arrive at Warhammer Fest we will need to register you for the event. Simply present yourself at our registration desk, and we will take your name and get you a table number to start playing games at. 10:00am Warhammer Fest Opens and Registration for Battle Companies begins. 10:00am 12:00am Registration. 12:00am 12:40pm Game 1 Chance Encounter. 12:40pm-1:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company Once you have your table number simply make your way to the clearly marked area for the Battle Companies event and get ready for your first game which will be Chance Encounter. YOUR BATTLE COMPANY ROSTER 1:00pm 1:40pm Game 2 Recovery. 1:40pm-2:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company Every Battle Company at the event needs to have a Battle Company Roster. You will need to keep this updated throughout the event. 2:00pm-4:00pm Lunch for two hours (note you may wish to attend the seminar being hosted by the Middle-earth Team with one of these two hours...!). You must use the Battle Companies Roster found in the back of the book, and all upgrades and reinforcement rolls must be witnessed by the opponent from the game in which they were gained. You can also use the free download from the Forge World website here. 4:00pm 4:40pm Game 3 Plunder the Camp. 4:40pm-5:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company Simply record what changes occurred to Battle Company after the game, and have your opponent sign beside it. Warhammer Fest closes for the day - get ready for day two! EXAMPLE Sunday 11:00am 11:40am Game 4 Seize Ground. 11:40am-12:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company 12:00pm 12:40pm Game 5 Tame the Beast. 12:40pm-1:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company 1:00pm 2:40pm Game 6 Show of Strength. 2:40pm-3:00pm New Table Allocations and Battle Company 3:00pm 3:40pm The end of all things (tallying the final results). 3.40pm - 4.00pm The Awards Jay and Edd play a game. As a result one of Edd adds one Mordor Orc with shield to his Battle Company, and decides to spend an influence point to purchase a whip. Edd records these exact changes on the back of his roster (like below) and has Jay countersign it. Edd is now ready to play his next exciting game of Battle Companies. Jay then goes through the same process. All other information (experience and influence) will be recorded on the front of the roster in the usual place. Game 1: Chance Encounter Reinforcement: Mordor Orc with Shield Upgrade: Whip (the name of the warrior carrying the upgrade should be named here too). Note that any deaths in the warbands must also be countersigned. If you cannot find your opponent or forget to do it then find an events staff member and they will witness your rolls and countersign your roster.
THE GAMES HEROIC ACTS Each game will take place in sequence as described above. Once you have finished the game simply bring your results card for that round to the main gaming reception and registration area where your result will be recorded. So over the day you are going to see your Battle Companies engaging in running battles against all manner of foes. These battles will be tense and exciting as every arrow fired and blow struck can seriously affect the final outcome. During these tense moments you can expect to see certain warriors fall by wayside, struck down by a lucky arrow through the eye, or heroes falling foul of mobs of lesser foes. The first round will have randomly allocated opponents, each round after that will see those with the same number of victories under their belts play each other, and with Battle Company Rating used a second sorter. This is often referred to as a Swiss Ranking system. This means that players will face off against Battle Companies that are doing at least as well as they are, if not better! Though no two Battle Companies will ever be truly identical (at least not after one game) we hope to place players on as level a playing field as possible to ensure exciting and enjoyable games. To the Rescue! If you get the Lost in Battle result for your hero after a game, the next game you play must be Rescue, regardless of the schedule. If you end up playing against this more than once over the weekend, speak to the staff and we will swap you over (unless you want to play the game in which case what a story to tell!) Equally likely are those destined few who, through sheer dogged determination or outrageous luck, defy all the odds and overcome unimaginable difficulties and emerge from the fires of war triumphant! These might acts are the very stuff of legend and we wish to make sure they are recorded and rewarded as such. We also believe that this will encourage everyone to play in the spirit of the game as it is intended where reckless heroism and a devil-may-care attitude will achieve far more than careful planning or pre-prepared strategy (not that those are bad things at all). When this kind of act happens write it down on the slips provided and hand it in. We will choose the greatest of these and the winner shall the recipient of one of our greatest awards from the event the Most Heroic Act. Tame the Beast For this scenario you will need to bring a Cave Troll with you. If you don t have one, or can t get one painted on time, feel free to bring a suitable replacement, of the same base size and rough dimensions. It will use the exact rules presented for a Cave Troll however fighting against something much more powerful is the domain of mightier heroes than might be present on the day. If both players agree to take on a more powerful challenge however well, who are we to say no?
MODEL REQUIREMENTS BATTLE COMPANIES SCORES Are you planning on using converted models in your army? After each game you will need to record the result. On your round result slips, record the win/loss/draw and attribute the scores to the relevant player. The round result slip is then handed in to the Events Team and is used to determine the allocations for the next round. YES: Contact us at whworldevents@gwplc.com or call us 0115 900 4994 and check to make sure your conversion is appropriate for our events. You only need to get in touch with us about conversions that go above and beyond what is normally required for a battle company adding a whip or a pair of shackles to a model doesn t need our permission, but turning Galadriel into a Mirkwood Ranger would.* NO: Carry on. There s nothing to worry about except getting it painted on time! Playing exciting, atmospheric games with painted miniatures is a big part of Games Workshop events. With this in mind, all miniatures in your collection must be Citadel or Forge World miniatures, and be fully assembled, painted and based. Each model must completely and accurately represent its entry on your army roster (including all weapons and equipment). This is especially important with Battle Companies as equipment can change throughout the weekend. If you think you will get a spear, then make sure to have the correct model to hand! Furthermore, you need to contact us to let us know about any conversions you are planning on using, and provide us with photos of the models in question where possible. Don t worry we fully appreciate spectacular modelling skills, but we just want to make sure everything is super clear for your opponent so that no confusion can arise during games. To protect everyone s experience, we will politely ask you to remove any models that don t meet these standards. Then record that on your Event Score Card as well. This will give you a running total for the day. After the final game is finished, tally your results on the Event Score Card and hand that in to the Events Team so we can check your scores and get the awards ready for the winners! Your results are recorded as follows: Win - 4 Points Draw - 2 Points Loss - 0 Points In addition you will need to record the total Experience gained by your Battle Company, as well as your total Influence gained. Note that even if you spend these points, we will need to see the total gained over the event, not your current total, to determine the victors at the end of the day. * This only applies to games held at Warhammer Fest. Your local Games Workshop, independent stockist or gaming club may do things differently. Get in touch to see what their standards are concerning conversions, if they have any! If you contact us, please include pictures of the models in question. And don t panic! We re very friendly and we love creativity in modelling.
CODE OF CONDUCT AND SUDDEN DEATH At the weekend, we place great emphasis on playing excellent games with like-minded people at one of our largest events. Therefore we expect players to play each game with a certain code of conduct to support this. When you arrive at your table for a game, greet your opponent, introduce yourself, offer them a copy of your army roster and start the game promptly. We then expect players to treat each other positively and demonstrate good sportsmanship. After all, part of your final score is based on doing just this! With regards to conceding, we expect all players to see the game through to the very end and not concede, as doing so can impact tiebreakers and, ultimately, the final rankings. In the unlikely event that a player does concede before the game has reached its natural conclusion, then the conceding player earns a loss and gains no influence from the game. The winning player records a victory and all of their models make a Full Recovery the rout of the enemy was so total that there is ample time to see to the wounded. In addition each warrior and hero gains a minimum of 1 Experience Point. THE AWARDS First Place - The player who finished the day with the highest gaming score, with Battle Company Rating as a second sort. Second Place - The player who finished the day with the second highest gaming score, with Battle Company Rating as a second sort. Third Place - The player who finished the day with the third highest gaming score, with Battle Company Rating as a second sort. Most Heroic Act We will award one player the Most Heroic Act award. This award is based purely on the Heroic Act the Events Team deems to be the most heroic from those handed in over the day. Favourite Player This will be the player with the greatest amount of Favourite Game Votes from the day. If there is a tie, we will use gaming score followed by Battle Company Ratings as a second sort. For the player with the most Favourite Game votes in each heat and the grand final, with highest overall ranking as the tiebreaker. CONTACT US If you wish to ask any questions, discuss any conversions or to find out more about our events, please feel free to get in touch with us: Phone: 0115 900 4994 Email: whworldevents@gwplc.com Write: Warhammer World Events Team, Games Workshop, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS Catch up on all the latest Warhammer World news by finding us on at Games Workshop: Warhammer World