Scenario - February 2014

Western(esse) Martial Arts / Numenorean Martial Arts....

Combat and self-defense in Middle-earth

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Chris Russo
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Re: Scenario - February 2014

Post by Chris Russo »

Here's mine.

First of all, as a tactician, I really dislike this village. As one of the guys in the 13th Warrior said, "You couldn't keep a cow out of this place." No fence, no wall, no river... My first inclination is pure flight, and if we had a few horses, or if we didn't have so many children here, I would gather all the townsfolk and head out for the nearest steading with halfway decent defenses.

Since that option is impractical, we must improvise.

With four combatants, six buildings are too many to defend. I would gather all the vulnerable townspeople into the lower two buildings. Why the lower two? Because I don't want the orcs gaining the advantages of urban combat, buildings to hide behind, etc. Splitting my forces means that the entire orc party cannot focus on one building without being attacked from behind, and if the orcs split into two groups, that's less orcs that any one good-guy has to deal with at one given moment.

Fire is a concern. Thatched roofs in dry weather can easily make our defenses into a pyre. So we spend the half-hour we have taking buckets of water from the nearby well or spring (wasn't mentioned, but the village couldn't be here without one) and soaking the roofs of our two refuges, making them as fireproof as possible. On the other hand, we don't want the nearby buildings to become orc strongholds, so we go the opposite route: we FILL those buildings with broken furniture, firewood, and hay, and we keep a pair of torches or lamps handy.

The old man is given the hayfork. The Man's knife is given to any Eowyn-like woman or

The battle plan is as follows: while the orcs enter the village, the Man and the Dwarf charge out from their respective posts to hit them in a pincer attack, while the Elf tries to pick off the orc archer. This is a brief skirmish, hopefully taking out two or three orcs, followed by an IMMEDIATE fall-back to the doorways, using them as choke-points to keep from being surrounded. The Man will be supported by the Elf on the roof, while the Dwarf will be supported by the old man with the hayfork.

From there, it depends. If the orcs try to enter the other buildings for use as cover, we toss a torch or lamp on the roof, and burn it down. If the orcs knot up and try to force their way into one building, the other building's defenders emerge and hit them from behind. If the orcs split up and try to force their way in, we hold position. If the orcs try to circle around and come from a new angle, we emerge and try to pick them off while they do so.

I don't expect us all to survive this one. There's no good solution: even the Seven Samurai were down to three by the time they had taken out all the bandits. But with a little luck, we can keep the townspeople safe.

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Eärendur
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Re: Scenario - February 2014

Post by Eärendur »

As always with this kind of scenario, there are many variables not really covered:
How close is the next nearest Rohan village? How far away are the men? Does the old man still have any of his weapons or gear? You are half-hour ahead of the orcs, but they will not move till it's dark - what time is it now?

Assuming it's still earlier in the day (early evening at the latest), and that the nearest village is within a few hours walk, leave the animals at the stable, load the youguns on the hay cart, and high-tail it to the next nearest village, where you have the advantages of more manpower (womanpower?) and possibly greater resources, as well as buying time as the orcs enjoy the sheep and goat.

If the distance to the next village is such that the orcs would overtake you during your flight, but you still have a few hours of daylight to prepare, you might try bluffing out of the situation by creating a large fire in the center of the village and disguise everyone tall enough so that they look like riders and warriors from their silhouettes. I don't think 11 orcs would dare attack 5 riders and 10 foot soldiers.


However, if we go for the worst possible combination of scenarios (which I think is the spirit of this scenario), where you arrive in the village half an hour before the orcs will arrive, here is what I would do.

In the absence of specific mentions, I'm going to assume the existence of:

-Metal cookware
-Knives for food preparation and general purpose
-At least 3 axes for chopping wood
-Rope
It's possible there would also be:
-Spare weapons
-Spare arrows
-Spare armor
But in the absence of specific mentions, and in the spirit of this response, I will assume there are none of these.

I will assume that between having elf-eyes and hundreds (or thousands) of years of practice, the elf rarely misses (maybe 90+% kill rate)

If the old man has a weapon, let him use that. Otherwise, lash a large utility or cooking knife to the end of the shaft of the hay-fork for a makeshift pike (probably remove the fork part).
Axes are distributed to those most able to use them. The other adults, and the teens, get knives (as much as are available).

Areas between the houses that are close together are barricaded as best possible with rubbish or any miscellany from inside the houses, firewood, etc. This should be done in a way that is not immediately noticeable by the orcs.

Prepare a large fire in the center of the village. Use fenceposts from the animal pen - it needs to be a spectacular fire. Tie the animals to a stake in the ground at a safe distance from the fire (in the direction the orcs are coming from). If I had more time, I would probably put the animals on spits over the fire to make them more attractive, but leaving them live will have to do.

The kids are given smaller pots and pans and utensils, and placed behind some of the houses towards the back of the village.

The Dwarf takes the oxcart and drives it towards the lower left of your diagram, not far away but far enough the orcs won't notice upon arrival.

The elf takes position where he finds most convenient, possibly on a roof or along side of a house.

The man takes position inside the house that is furthest back.

The old man and women with axes are in position, but out of sight, between houses that could not have the area between them blockaded.

The teens are on rooftops, with as many rocks as they could get their hands on.

When the orcs arrive, they come towards the center of the village, see the animals and fire, and wonder what's going on. As they are exposed, the elf has the chance to fire off a few shots - priority #1 is the archer, #2 is the commander (if there is one) and #3 is the pole-orcs.

As soon as the realization begins to dawn on the orcs that they are being attacked (and after the archer is down), the dwarf drives the cart forward to cut off the orcs' escape, blocking the entrance to the village. He hops down and faces them from that side, the man faces them from the other side, the armed villagers step out of the shadows, and once the elf is out of arrows he jumps down to fight with his knife. The kids start yelling and banging their pans from all sides of the village. Being surrounded by elf, man, dwarf, and armed villagers, while having their commander and archer dead (and hopefully their pike-orc and a few others), with the added yells and noise, causes the psychological victory.

Confused, they fight in any direction that seems likely. Some try to escape between houses and find it blocked, getting a rock on their head for their trouble. As they are divided, they are easier to pick off in on-on-one fights.

Final tally:
Elf - Archer, commander, two pole-orcs killed by bow. 5th arrow wounded a pole-orc, 6th arrow fatally wounded a scimitar orc. Finished a scimitar orc with his knife that was knocked back by the dwarf.
Man - Two scimitar orcs killed by sword, one knocked on the ground, and finished by a woman with an ax
Dwarf - Two scimitar orcs killed by ax, another knocked to the ground.
Old man - Pole-orc finished with makeshift pike, received wound to shoulder.
Kids - One scimitar-orc fatally wounded by a rock to the head.
The two fatally wounded orcs were quickly finished off after the battle was won.
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Greg
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Re: Scenario - February 2014

Post by Greg »

Nice analysis. I like that the final tally sounds an awful lot like the description of the programmed fight results from "Deadliest Warrior". That's a fun take on it.

The "psychological win" as you so put it, is a really effective tool in many situations...I like its use here. Really making use of the women and children there.

Digging back further...Pete's Right. You're all a bunch of pyros. I mentioned the dryness so you would have a factor to consider: Orc's strange tendencies to light things on fire in and around Rohan...wasn't expecting it to be used as a tool, but hey, I'm all for it.

I'm loving the myriad ways the oxcart has been used...a fake escape to draw fire/attention, a palisade/bunker, a last-ditch escape, and a first-move get out of dodge. Nicely done, and all plans have merit. Very fun indeed.

I have two scenarios in their infant stage, and I'm having trouble deciding which one will turn into the situation for March, but if this has been any indication, we'll have a good time with it for sure.
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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