The Fall of the Necromancer supplement for the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game is just around the corner. With that in mind, we caught up with game designer Jay Clare to give us some insight into creating a supplement worthy of the Dark Lord.
Warhammer Community: So Jay, how did the Fall of the Necromancer supplement come about?
Jay: Quite a few of the more recent supplements have focused on events in The Lord of the Rings™, so we wanted to explore something that was tied more to The Hobbit™ this time around.
Long-standing fans of the game may remember the classic supplement of the same name – one that’s fondly remembered within the community. With The Hobbit™ Motion Picture Trilogy expanding on this story, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit this classic setting, and Fall of the Necromancer was born.
WarCom: Are we right in thinking that there’s more to this story than what we see in the movies?
Jay: Absolutely! In the movies, we witness the likes of Radagast and Gandalf exploring the ruins of Dol Guldur, before Gandalf eventually uncovers the truth of what lies within – the Dark Lord himself. But there is much more to the story of the Necromancer to be told.
The supplement’s tale actually starts at the fortress of Dol Guldur’s founding, nearly 2,000 years before the events of The Hobbit™. It covers events from the darkness beginning to spread through the forest and turning from Greenwood the Great into Mirkwood and Gandalf’s first venture to the ruins. We’ve also explored the Necromancer’s flight to the east and the time of the Watchful Peace – all in more detail than ever before.
WarCom: Do you have a particular favourite Narrative Scenario?
Jay: We had a lot of fun testing the Scenarios in the supplement, and there are some absolutely cracking ones. I really like the smaller, more intricate Scenarios such as Attack on Rhosgobel or Exploration of Dol Guldur. Scenarios with a small number of models can make for a very intense game, as every model matters that little bit more.
If I had to pick just one it would be Flight to the East. This Scenario represents Gandalf’s first attempt to uncover the evil within Dol Guldur and Sauron’s escape from the fortress. The Necromancer is represented by a series of tokens – only one of them is the Dark Lord, while the others are decoys.
The Good player has to get Gandalf to reveal the Necromancer and escape to spread word of his discovery, while the Evil player needs to have the Necromancer flee the board without being revealed. It’s a tense game of cat and mouse as the Good player tries to find the Necromancer, while the Evil player uses decoys to flummox Gandalf’s investigation.
WarCom: There are four Legendary Legions in this supplement – how did each of these come about?
Jay: We wanted the Legendary Legions to focus on the factions that are vital to the story of the Necromancer, so we decided on the Dark Lord and his Nazgûl and the White Council who fought against him.
These became the two all-Hero themed Legendary Legions – The Vanquishers of the Necromancer and Rise of the Necromancer. Both of the legions include characters at the height of their power in the story.
We also wanted to have one more Legendary Legion each for the Good and Evil sides. Rangers of Mirkwood represents the skirmishing Elves that scoured the forest to drive back the growing darkness and keep the arachnid infestations at bay. This Legendary Legion features the likes of Legolas, Tauriel, and a host of Mirkwood Rangers.
Finally, Pits of Dol Guldur recreates the scene in the films where Gandalf is wandering Dol Guldur and is caught unawares by Azog and the hordes of Orcs. There is also a cool special rule that allows a Pits of Dol Guldur player to surprise their opponent in the same way.
WarCom: Which Legendary Legion are you most looking forward to getting on the tabletop?
Jay: For me, it has to be The Vanquishers of the Necromancer, as it includes so many of my favourite characters. I can’t wait to get Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Elrond, and Galadriel on the tabletop together to unleash their full power on whatever I’m up against. As we see in the movies, the White Council is a deadly foe to face when they fight together.
WarCom: Finally, what are you most proud of in Fall of the Necromancer?
Jay: Probably the Narrative Scenarios and the linked campaign. The story of the Necromancer and Dol Guldur is thrilling, and providing a series of Scenarios that link together for people to experience the narrative is wonderful. I can’t wait to see how players take to the campaign.
Cheers, Jay. Fall of the Necromancer will be available to pre-order from Saturday the 23rd of October. Will you fight to vanquish the darkness from Mirkwood or side with the Dark Lord as he vies to regain his former strength? Let us know on the Warhammer Official Facebook page.