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Arnor: the Southern Front



It is the year 1312 of the Third Age, and the realms of Arnor are in danger. A new power has risen in the North, orcs and men marching together from the fastness of Carn Dum. Already they have overrun half Rhudaur, in many cases welcomed by the local wildmen. In response Argeleb of Arthedain has claimed lordship of all splintered Arnor, hoping to unite against the encroaching threat. The prince of Cardolan has acceded to his pretentions, for now, but the southernmost realm is not without its own difficulties. Orcs from the north, wildmen from the hills, and pirates from the ruins of Lond Daer all converge on Tharbad, eager to loot what little is left of the once prosperous trade city. While these are mere stings compared to the threats growing in the north, an answer is required if Argeleb is to cement his legitimacy. And so warriors converge on the crossing of the Gwathlo, the site of Sauron’s ancient defeat soon to be whet with new blood...



"Hail all, and welcome to Tharbad! Gem of Cardolan, center of trade, haven of the Greyflood. From here vessels plied the waves as far as Pelargir and Umbar, Forachel and lost Andunie! The mighty bridge connected the great roads of the Kingdoms, causeways and dykes raised from the marshes so one could travel with ease from Fornost to distant Osgiliath and beyond. She may be fallen from her days of greatness, but such days may come again! We, the people of this city, thank you for coming to her defense.

Many are the foes that now beset us. From the north bands of orcs and evil men who bear the iron and ice banner of Carn Dum, come to pillage and raid. So far from the northern conflict they do not try to hold land, merely despoil so that our strength may not be joined to the battles in Rhudaur and beyond. No, the land seekers come from the east, wildmen out of the foothills. Seeking better farms than their rocky wastes their warbands come, attempting to push into Cardolan proper or the old Elf realm of Hollin. From south and west come the clansmen of Enedwaith and Minhiriath to raid us, river pirates and forest bandits seeking wealth and glory, or revenge for remembered slights. They squat in the ruins of Lond Daer, feeding on what trade the river still supports.

It is a war with little glory, I warn, but one that needs to be fought. If the raiders can be turned back and the old frontier secured our strength may be turned northward. Moreover, if the river is made safe gold and goods will once again flow into the city, enriching all the lands behind us. So come, lets get you settled in barracks! Your first patrol is on the morrow, and you will need to be sharp lest the marshes claim you…"



Purpose and Intent

I’ve always loved the thematic potential of SBG in its several iterations, the capacity for storytelling the grand battles and heroic combats of Tolkien’s world. One of my first exposures to the hobby was the Fall of Gondolin, an excellent and professionally laid out book of house rules for battles from the Silmarillion. This project proposes a similar, if perhaps less ambitious, goal for the wars surrounding the decline and fall of Arnor. While its final collapse was covered by GW, the kingdom’s death was a slow one, over the course of centuries, and there is much potential for storytelling here. This also gives my hobby efforts something to focus on, as well as an opportunity to decrease the pile of shame! This is of course not a unique idea, many wargamers have taken a stab at the conflict in the North, in army and terrain format, so I thought I would start somewhere a little different. Tharbard and its environs are much different from Angmar and northern Arnor, allowing fresh terrain ideas and bringing new potential armies into the fray.



The Armies

While house ruled army lists are a guilty pleasure of mine, being able to take these forces to the LGS and playing a pick up game would be ideal, so each force needs to be playable as an official list. Which lists are the question! Here are my thoughts on what models and rules to use, your comments and advice are welcome.


Cardolan

These lads are the ‘home team’ for Tharbad and its environs. Of the Arnorian successor kingdoms they’ve got the best trade connections, so a well-equipped and fairly uniform force is what I’d like to go for. They’ve also got what looks like should be good cavalry country west of Tharbad and in what would become the Barrow-downs, so I would like to represent them with someone who has access to cavalry. For the models I hope to put my supply of Fireforge Games Men-at-arms to good use, replacing some of the shields and heads with Warriors of Gondor, representing their trade links abroad. The scale may be a little off, but its workable. Another option I’m considering is Gripping Beast Late Romans, again with some head and shield swaps. These bodies would be a bit more uniform at the cost of fewer poses (5 versus 8). For rules, I was thinking of going with either Minas Tirith force (representing a better equipped force with heavy armor) or a Rohan Theodred’s Guard force (representing a more lightly equipped force led by an impetuous Prince of Cardolan/Theodred and Knights of Cardolan/mounted Rohan Royal Guard).


Arthedain

Another successor state, one with the greater prestige of holding the old Arnorian capitol and many major cities, Arthedain is likely to emphasize their claim as the true inheritors of Arnor. My intention is to use Conquest Games Norman infantry with Warriors of Numenor heads and shields, representing old armories being opened or treasured hand-me-downs, while the varying armor on the bodies (CG Normans come with scaled, mailed, and padded sculpts) represents their present dire straits. They have been skirmishing in the Ettenmoors and in Rhudaur already, so any bowmen will be from the Rangers of Middle Earth kit, again with Numenorean helms to tie them in with the rest of the army. For rules I would represent them with Arnor, the lower courage explained by the fact any Arthedain troops in Tharbad are probably displeased to be pulled away from the more important fighting in the north. The other option would be a Numenor army, emphasizing their connection to the old kingdoms.


Angmar

GW’s decision to make Angmar a menagerie of monsters never sat well with me. After all, this is the realm of the eponymous Witchking, where are his people? Nine rings were given to mortal men, not orcs and wights! Angmar, ‘Iron Home,’ Carn Dum, ‘Red Hall,’ these are names evocative of a hard people with influences of Sauron, yes, but also Sindarin and Dwarven. I imagine they were descendants of Uldor and the traitorous men of the First Age, fled from the destruction of Beleriand and offering their service to Sauron after Morgoth’s fall. It would give context to their enmity with Arnor, making the war an ancient feud taken up again. For models I intend to use Fireforge Games Northmen Warriors. They’ll have a cleaner look than most Evil men factions, but with suitable symbols on flag and shield to represent their true allegiance. For rules, I’m leaning toward Easterlings with Mordor orcs allied in, said orcs represented by my existing collection bashed with a few Oathmark sprues.


Rivermen

The clans of Enedwaith and Minhiriath, these are the folk who struggled with Numenor when the region was settled. Foresters, river pirates, and herdsmen, they represent an interesting opportunity model-wise. I combined Wargames Atlantic Late Romans and Goth Warriors to make the models, allowing me to represent unarmored and unhelmeted tribesmen alongside successful raiders wearing the booty of their trade in stolen mail and helm. The kits are almost entirely compatible, with only the Goth Warriors cloak giving some difficulty in fitting over a Roman body. For rules I was leaning toward Corsairs of Umbar, inspired by the plumbata in the kit to represent throwing daggers. Armored Roman torsos are Black Numenoreans, representing the elite of the clansmen, while Reavers are made by swiping some offhand weapons and wilder looking heads from a Frostgrave Berserkers sprue.


Hillmen

While Dunland doesn’t exist yet as we know it from the books and film, those people are still there, not yet moved out of Enedwaith into abandoned Calenardhon, so I think I can get away with including them. These early Dunlendings will be made from a mix of various Viking sprues and Gripping Beast Dark Age Warriors, with characters and Huscarls made from the previously mentioned Frostgrave Berserkers. Rules will be Dunland, though for flavor we’ll trade Hatred (Rohan) for Hatred (Cardolan). One assumes there has been a bit of back and forth, raid and reprisal, between the two.



Setting and Terrain

Tharbad is a city not well described by Tolkien, which means we have a wealth of information compared to the works of any other author! Built at a ford crossing the Gwathlo, the city itself includes a bridge and haven for ships. The surrounding terrain is described as marshy, with Boromir having difficulties crossing the broken causeways on his journey to Rivendell. Old Numenorean forts were constructed to support their logging operations in ancient days, and these ruins may yet serve as bases, campsites, and points of interest. While the area was noted as deforested to build the Numenorean fleets, one assumes the trees have made a comeback, and so tangled second growth woodland can be expected. I in particular look forward to the causeway project, the broken stones rising out of swampland giving a stark visual, at once reminding of the fallen glories of Numenor while providing high ground for archers and objectives in game.

This is a clever idea. While I am interested in the Fall of the North-kingdom, I have only considered the war in the North, like everyone else. Subscribed.

Wishing you the best of luck on this! Super excited to see it come about. Are you thinking of focusing on one faction at a time, or are you going to do a massive build a thon then painting time?