Thursday, December 13, 2018

Dux Arda: Lard of the Rings- Orcs of Mordor Force Information

(Just a preface, none of these pictures are my own)

The Orcs of Mordor are a numerous and well equipped, but brittle force. They do not suffer from
the lack of arms and armor that their cousins in the Misty Mountains and elsewhere do, and are
able to provide all necessary equipment needed to combat their enemies. The Age of Men is
over, the Age of the Orc is about to begin.





The Orc player takes the role of an Orc Captain, commanding a band of raiders, in service to the
armies of Sauron. He seeks to slaughter the Men of Gondor wherever he finds them, and in doing
so, advance his position using both loot and the favor he gains through success. Sauron is a harsh
master, but he rewards those who please him, and you aim to do so.
There are several troop types unique to the Orcs of Mordor , as follows:

SNAGA
Snaga are the smallest and weakest of the orcs serving the Dark Lord and as such, are used as
slaves by those higher in the orcish pecking order. Unskilled and under-equipped, they are mere
fodder in the armies of Mordor. Their only hope for victory is to massively overwhelm their
enemies with their numbers. To reflect this, a Group of Snaga will be twelve (12) figures,
fighting in three (3) ranks of four (4) with only the first two (2) ranks fighting and will fight as
one level below Levy in combat in regards to troop quality, but die on a 4, 5, or 6 and Shock on a
1, 2, or 3. They may not form shieldwall or Spear Hedge without being in formation with Uruks .
When shot at by Missiles or attacked by Skirmishers they are treated as Levy as well as for
Morale Changes.

Games Workshop

SOLDIER ORCS
Soldier Orcs form the vast majority of the armies of Sauron. Small and stooped in stature, they
are no match for the average human warrior in a one on one fight, but what they lack in skill,
they make up in numbers. To reflect this, a Group of Soldier Orcs will be nine (9) figures
fighting in three (3) ranks of three (3) with only the first two (2) ranks fighting and will fight as
Levy in combat, but die on a 5 or 6 and Shock on a 2, 3, or 4. They may not form shieldwall or
Spear Hedge without being in formation with Uruks . When shot at by Missiles or attacked by
Skirmishers they are treated as Levy as well as for Morale Changes.

Oathmark Goblins

URUKS
Uruks are the vilest and most fierce of orcs, fighting with ferocity and skills that nearly match
their average human foes and well equipped by the forges of Mordor. However, they are still
orcs and are prone to flight like the rest of their brethren. To reflect this, a Group of Uruks will
be six (6) figures and will fight as Warriors in combat, but die on a 6 and Shock on a 3, 4, or 5.
They may not form shieldwall, but may form a Spear Hedge defensive formation along with any
other Uruks and Soldier Orcs in Formation with them. When shot at by Missiles or attacked by
Skirmishers they are treated as Warriors as well as for Morale Changes.

Games Workshop

WARG RIDERS
Warg Riders function the same as Raider Cavalry in The Raiders supplement, but will double
any shock inflicted when they are the attacker.

Games Workshop

TROLLS
Trolls are the strongest and most powerful infantry available to the armies of Mordor. Great,
hulking beasts from the deepest caves and equipped by the forges of the Barad Dur, trolls are a
terrifying presence on the battlefield and instill doubt in even the greatest of men. To reflect this,
a Troll is one (1) figure and will fight as Elites in combat, but are wounded on a 6 and Shock on
a 5. They may not form shieldwall or Spear Hedge . When shot at by Missiles or attacked by
Skirmishers they are treated as Elites . They fight with six (6) dice in combat and have six (6)
wounds, but for every wound they reduce their attack dice by one. Unless commanded by a noble
attached to the Troll , the Troll will always move directly towards the nearest enemy Group and
attack as soon as possible. They are treated as Elites for Morale Changes.

Games Workshop

Force Rules

Out of Command: Orcs that are not in command range of a Noble’s Command Radius are
considered Out of Command . Any orc Group or Formation that are Out of Command will not
advance and will accrue one point of Shock per Group every turn that they are Out of Command .
Any Group or Formation that is Out of Command and has a number of Shock equal to or greater
than the number of miniatures in the unit, the will be treated as Misplacing their Amphora . They
can no longer be rallied and will leave the field of battle as quickly as possible. Each time the
turn ends they will move 3D6 inches towards their friendly table edge.

Follow Up: All Orcs of Mordor Groups and Formations must follow up after winning a combat
unless the Noble makes his follow up test.
Weak Willed: Any orc Group or Formation that is passed through by withdrawing units will
suffer the full effects of their routing allies. Any friendly Groups withdrawn through will suffer
one point of Shock for each point of Shock on the retiring Group . If there is a difference in troop
quality, they will add or subtract Shock depending on their level.

For example: A group of six Snaga have eight points of Shock and are obliged to withdraw eight
inches (4 inches for each excess point of Shock ). They must withdraw through a Group of Uruks
to do so. The Snaga have eight points of Shock , so the Uruks should suffer eight points of Shock
when interpenetrated. However, this number is reduced by two as the Uruks are two levels of
quality greater than the Snaga , leaving the Uruks to take six Shock . Had the roles been reversed,
the Snaga would have taken eight points of Shock , plus another two points as the Uruks are two
quality levels higher, for a total of ten points.

Missiles: All orc Groups carry bows and may elect to function as Missile Troops during the turn.
If they choose to do so, they’re unit size does not change, but they will function as a Group of
four (4) Missiles until their next activation. If they are attacked, they may attempt to Evade like
Missile Troops , but may only evade 2D6 inches. If they are contacted, they will receive double
Shock for the first two (2) rounds of combat, and will fight as one (1) level lower in troop
quality. For example: If a Group of Uruks is contacted while acting as Missiles they will fight as
Levy and receive double Shock and if a Group of Soldier Orcs is contacted while acting as
Missiles they will fight as one level below Levy in regards to troop quality and receive double
Shock . Any Group of Snaga that is unable to evade will be dispersed, like standard Missiles . As
long as all Groups in a Formation are within two inches on each other, they remain in
Formation . However, if any Group is further than this distance, they are no longer in the
Formation and must be reattached.The Evade may be stopped if the attacker uses a Carpe Diem
card, the same as in the standard rules. If acting as Missile Troops during the turn, the Fleet of
Foot card may be used on the Group .

(Author’s Note: The reason that the penalties are so great for being unable to evade are to both reflect the poor
quality and morale of orcs as well as to prevent this ability to be used for too many shenanigans. This has the effect
of allowing all orcs to use bows, which Tolkien described nearly all of them carrying, as well as being relatively
accurate to what would actually occur if orcs were forced to drop their bows and fight unprepared.)

Oathmark Goblins

Starting Forces

The starting forces for the Orcs of Mordor are as follows: One Captain (Status III Lord), two
Lieutenants (One Status II Noble and One Status I Noble), and a Champion.

Led by these Nobles, you will have four Groups of Snaga , four Groups of Soldier Orcs , and
three Groups of Uruks .

Reinforcements for the Orcs of Mordor are gained the same way as the Saxons in the main game.

Reinforcements which arrive using the reinforcements table will be as below.

Reinforcements arrive in the order shown, from 1 to 5. The first time a force receives
reinforcements it will gain the Group indicated in row 1, the second time the Group
shown in row 2, and so on up to row 5 after which no further reinforcements are
available. However, at any time a player may choose to take the Group from the row
numbered higher, but this will mean that will never receive the Group he passes over.

Order Orcs of Mordor
1 Nine Soldier Orcs
2 Nine Soldier Orcs and twelve Snaga
3 Four Warg Riders
4 Four Warg Riders with a Status I Noble
5 One Troll and a Status I Noble

Orcs of Mordor Cards

The Orcs of Mordor begin the game with one Aggressive Charge card and one Rage card. The
balance of their hands are dealt at random from the Fate Deck. The remainder of their cards
added to the Fate Deck are as follows:

Carpe Diem x 3
Bounding Move x 1
Spear Hedge x 1
Aggressive Charge x 2
The Eye is Watching x 2

The Eye is Watching: This card must be used on a Group or Formation within the command
radius of the Orc Lord. When played, the Lord uses the threat of Sauron’s displeasure to rally his
troops. For the first two rounds of combat for these units this turn, they will receive no Shock .
This is a Pursuit Card in Post-Game Phase. (Use unused Saxon or Raider cards to Represent this
card, or make your own!)

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