1 Scenario, 2 Sets of Rules

I set up a solo Middle Earth game at the end of June to give my new Rohirrim and my new magnetic bases a spin. The scenario: a village in the East March is under attack from a strong raiding force that has crossed the Anduin. The local Eorl rides to the rescue. I played it with Dragon Rampant using the "Sausages and Mustard" scenario from Lion Rampant. Victory points would be allocated to the orcs for each cottage looted and burned, and VPs to the Rohirrim for each cottage left standing. 25% of the Rohirrim got to start in the village as defenders, while the rest had to activate to march onto the table from the far corner. The orcs started with their whole force on table.

To Arms! Villagers defend the hedge.

Defenders. One unit of light foot with javelins and 2 units of scouts

Orcs advancing

I gave the orc archers +1 to armour for being in the standing grain. Villagers got +1 armour for the hedge too. Orcs and goblins are keeping out of javelin range and peppering the village with arrows.

The first of some bad Courage tests

"Forth Eorl.... oh never mind." Making the Riders Elite made them very hard to activate, and they got left behind. Which isn't very dashing at all.

Rohan foot secure flank. They form a shieldwall and drive back the orcs

The orcs at the top are getting pelted with javelins fromt he shieldwall and enfiladed by archers behind the hedge! They don't stick around long.

The game ended with a pretty easy victory for Rohan, making me think that maybe I should have given the orcs more troops to compensate for the armour bonus the villagers got from the hedge. I also decided that making the Rohirrim cavalry and the Eorl all Elite Riders, with a move activation of 7+, made them very hard to get going. I fought the entire battle with my foot as the cavalry and the Big Damn Hero all lagged far behind.

I then decided to refight the game using Oathmark. After sorting the army lists, I determined that the orcs needed two units of trolls to even up the points. I started it last Sunday, playing a few turns, but then there they sat all week and long weekend, waiting for me. One advantage to playing solo during a global pandemic is that no one is wanting to come set up a game. I had booked this Monday off as a holiday, so after a hot shower to clear my sinus headache I decended to the Basement o' Rabbits with a mug of tea to play out the game.

Orcs and Goblins put more pressure on the defenses. I like how the Disordered markers ride along on the movement tray.

Goblins get over the hedge and there is sword work in the gardens! Untidy ranks, everything is a jumble, but I knew how the units were supposed to be when calculating target numbers for combat dice.

"Forth Eorlingas!" The Eorl used his Command ability to order a series of devastating concentrated cavalry charges. With 2 combat dice per figure the Riders had a lot going for them, rolling the full 5 dice with only a frontage of three figures, plus the Eorl's champion dice and +1 sword, which meant in one combat he killed 4 orcs plus the kills inflicted by the others. The other unit in the back is crashing into the flank of the trolls. They rolled well, causing the 6 hits needed to kill both trolls.

Fighting in village is tense!

Trolls are at the gates! Archers lose 3 of their number and fall back, but it's too late for Mordor.

Smash! Riders deliver a third charge into disordered orcs, having already wiped out one unit of trolls. The orcs and goblins are destroyed like summer grass in a fire.

The Oathmark game was much more tense and dramatic, playing out the way I had hoped. I like the activation and the Command ability for leaders in Oathmark, but I suppose one could just remove the rule in Dragon Rampant that a failed activation ends your turn. The way champions work in Oathmark is nice too. They are part of units, but using a different coloured die means you can see what the champion is adding to the fight. The trolls were scary but not overpowering. Hitting them in the flank with heavy cavalry was devastating, but they still had 3 combat dice in defense and killed a rider. 

So I think I'm coming around to Oathmark, at least for solo play. I kept my orcs and goblins in 3 ranks of 4 with spearmen in front and archers behind. So units had fewer shooting dice and slightly higher target numbers than if I had maximised the full multiple ranks of 5 in homogenous units as set out in the rules. But the Rohirrim also weren't maximised. The Riders only had 3 or 4 figure frontages. But with a Fight 3 and Charge 3 versus Defense 8 or 9 they didn't really need any rank bonuses.

I will continue my experiments with the Elves next and see how elite 6 figure units do against the 12 figure mobs of orcs.