Grand Campaign 3: Battle of Caras Galadhon

An army of orcs from Dol Guldur and goblins from Moria converge on the forests of Lothlorien. Can the Galadhrim prevail against superior numbers?

A special thanks to Ben, Aaron, and Duncan for guest writing this batrep as our usual narrator was lost somewhere in the Golden Wood and failed to witness the battle with his own eyes.

The Story Up To Now

Moving north from the ongoing bloodshed in Rohan following an inconclusive draw at Helm’s Deep,  the War of the Ring’s first clash between elves and orcs takes place beneath the trees of Lothlorien. With the forces of evil seizing the initiative again, a small orc army from Dol Guldur led by the War Leader of the North, Razgush, crosses the Anduin and joins up with a goblin army led by a fearsome Dragon out of the depths of Moria. 

Determined to defend their forest realm, Galadriel and Celeborn muster their personal guard and most trusted retainers to meet the oncoming horde. The two armies meet at a crossing of the Nimrodel just outside of Caras Galadhon. 

Armies Involved

Forces of Good

Within the magical borders of Caras Galadhon, the forces of Galadriel are thin in number but powerful in total. Assisting her in defending the Nimrodel is her husband, Celeborn, and three brothers of great renown - Haldir, Rumil, and Orophin. Assisted by only a few Galadhrim Warriors and Wood Elf bowmen, the heroes of the Golden Wood and their elite Guards of the Galadhrim Court will need to carry their weight.

Forces of Evil

The Forces of Evil combine for a total of 1197 points, and outnumber the elven defenders by more than a 2-1 ratio, giving them a significant on-paper advantage.

From the depths of Moria pours comes Durburz, the Goblin King of Moria, leading his goblin warriors and flanked by fluttering bat swarms. Alongside him a fearsome Dragon roars into battle, with two cave troll lieutenants to back him up.

Allying with the goblin hordes on their conquest of the Golden Wood, elf-hating Orc leader Razgush marches forward wielding his vicious Bone-breaker mace. He is accompanied by a Captain of Dol Guldur on warg, and his fell shaman; Muzgur. They bring with them a ragged band of orcs, and beasts that typically lurk in the shadows of Mirkwood.

The Scenario

The Battle of Caras Galadhon will be fought using an adapted version of the rules for the 'Burning of the Westfold' scenario from the War in Rohan expansion book. In place of burning down buildings, the goal of the forces of evil is to burn down copses of Lorien's sacred trees. Of the six forests on the board, team evil must burn down four for victory, or three for a draw. Team Good wins if less than three forests are on fire by the end of the game. Good models can roll to put out fires started by Evil models. Prior to the battle, it was agreed that wargs, spiders, and bats, and Dragons lacking fiery breath could not set fire to the forests. The game lasts ten turns. 

For deployment, Evil deploys their entire force first, within 12” of their battlefield edge, as the elves having the advantage of ambushing the invading forces marching through the protected lands of Lorien. Team Good deploys within the bend of the Nimrodel. The river is treated as deep water, with a ford directly in front of where the elves deployed the majority of their forces, and a second one off towards the second grouping of ruined walls. 

The Battle

With the onus on team evil to pillage and burn, Sauron’s minions surge forward to bring battle to the Galadhrim.

The Captain of Dol Guldur calls a march to lead his Wargs and Spiders on a flanking maneuver to the undefended ford, while the goblins and trolls surge across the ford, eager to clash with the elves. The Galadhrim bowmen manage to shoot out the warg from under the bold Captain, bringing him crashing to the forest floor, unharmed.

Hoping to protect her people, Galadriel attempts to command the Dragon to flee away from the battle, but the lizard resists, rolling a 6 on his resistant to magic dice. The fearsome monster swoops across the river to engage Galadriel, though with the help of Fate she survives the encounter without a wound.

Not content to wait for the goblins and trolls to crash into their lines, the elves seize the initiative with Haldir calling for a Heroic Move, bringing the troops alongside him into the fray. The Lorien Captain and his brothers effortlessly dispatch a swath of goblins, though this now leaves room for the trolls to join the fray. Bravely striving forward to rescue his wife, Celeborn manages to drive off the Dragon after it again resists Galariel’s magic with another 6!

After calling for his retinue to march at speed and finish the flanking manuever, the Captain of Dol Guldur comes close to joining his dead mount along the banks of the river, as elven arrows rain down on the Orc, causing a wound and taking his fate. Razgush, leader of the Dol Guldur forces, arrives with a warband of orcs and enters into battle wielding his fierce mace.

With the trolls and Razgush threatening to pierce through the elven line, Celeborn leaves the Dragon in the capable hands of the elf queen Galadriel, and joins the Haldir and Orophin in the defense of the ford. With few warriors to spare, Orophin calls a heroic combat to propel himself and Celeborn further into the ranks of goblins. While Celeborn wins his fight, Orophin fares poorly, losing to a gang of four goblins and tragically falling to their spears! Razgush dispatches an elf, but lusts for bigger scalps to take. The marauding orcs manage to burn down the two copses of trees on their side of the Nimrodel, then proceed in the wake of the wargs and spiders moving deeper into the Golden Wood. Wood elves continue to aim for the orc captain leading the flanking party, but only manage to take down some of his minions.

With evil continuing to win the initiative and press more warriors to break through the ford, Rumil attempts to shore up the elf lines, but does not move fast enough to prevent Razgush charging him. Haldir bravely holds off a troll and the goblin Durburz. His brother Rumil deftly parries Razgush’s heavy handed strike with Bonebreaker, keeping the orc leader occupied. The Dragon, un-swayed by Galadriel’s magic, tries to claw his way through a crowd of elves with minimal success. From the depths of Moria, swarms of bats join the fray, blunting the effectiveness of the Galadhrim fighting prowess.

Frustrated by Rumil’s defenses, Razgush leaves his minions to deal with the elf, and charges after the bigger prize - Celeborn. With the flanking force of wargs and spiders now across the river, a brave wood elf charges in to hold them up, while his companions continue to whittle away at orcs moving further towards the woods. Haldir and a handful of Guards of the Galadhrim Court continue to hold the Dragon and trolls at bay. 

Brave Haldir makes one final attempt to dispatch Durburz, but can no longer hold out against superior numbers and a troll. In the center of the battlefield, Razgush and Celeborn square off, with a number of spear armed goblins to back the orc leader. This time elven bladework is not enough to hold back the war leader of the north, and with one fell strike, Celeborn falls upon the Nimrodel, fate not on his side this day. As the legendary elf falls, the misery mounts as Muzgur and his orcs begin to crack the left of the elven line.

With the fall of Celeborn and Haldir, hope begins to fade in the hearts of the elves of the Golden Wood. Rumil attempts to hold back the tide of orcs and goblins, but falls after being enveloped by the forces of evil. Spiders begin to close in from behind the elves, while the wargs go after the remaining wood elf archers, leaving the Captain of Dol Guldur and his raiders free to focus on burning the woods. Despite this, enough goblins have fallen for their morale to waver, and Durburz nearly loses his will to remain in the fight, having taken a wound from Haldir. 

With the forces of evil now pushing across the Nirmodel into Lothlorien proper, Razgush charges after Galadriel, though to his frustration finds all his blows turned back by the power of Nenya. Durburz loses his will to fight, having been driven off by Galadriel’s magic, with a troll and many of the remaining goblins taking flight with him. 

As the battle approaches the final turn, Galadriel and her two remaining guards move towards the forests and desperately try to put out the fires, now spreading across most of the forests on the board. The power of Nenya continues to keep Galadriel safe from Razgush’s blows, but she is unable to put out any of the fires. Tired of dealing with pesky elves, the Dragon crushes the mirror of Galadriel in its maw, then joins Durburz’s retreat from the battle.

After Action Report

Final Result:

At the conclusion of turn ten, with five forests on fire, and only Galadriel and a single guard of the Galadhrim court on the field, the battle was a major victory for the forces of evil. With a significant advantage in numbers, and heavy hitting power in the form of a Dragon, trolls, and Razgush, the defense of Lothlorien was always going to be a tall task. Galadriel will now gather her wounded and retreat for safer ground, while the two evil forces settle in to pillage Lothlorien. The elven alliances of old still hold strong however, and news quickly spreads of Thranduil & Elrond chasing down a force of Gundabad orcs not far away.

Amid the flames and smoke of the burning woods, the forces of Evil have gained a significant victory - but not without great cost. The goblin hordes of Moria took a number of casualties, and failed to keep a cave troll and bat swarm from disbanding back to the mountain. The forces of Gundabad fared better, but will now have to manage with a weakened allied force at their side.

Hero Attrition

With this being the first engagement for all armies involved, no hero fell permanently from their wounds in battle. 

On the good side, the three brothers Haldir, Orophin and Rumil all fall to 0 fate, having only started with one. Celeborn and Galadriel go down to two fate. 

On team evil, Durburz and the Dragon lose a point of fate having fled the field.

Thanks again to our guest authors for the fantastic pictures & write-up!

We'll be back soon with more tales from the war, as the forces of Rohan and Isengard are maneuvering to finish their existential battle over the Westfold. Rumor has arisen of forces of unspeakable evil from the fell kingdom of Angmar have used the chaos to move towards the Shire, who have mobilized a militia force to question any untoward folk they may find creeping around the borders of Bree.