The supplement is available for free to download NOW from Black Library. If you buy the eBook version of WD 246 you don't get the supplement, it only comes with the physical copy.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Home/free-to-download.html

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Cheers
Athelas

Great find! Looks good so far

thanks for the link
does raise the question...where are the iron hill profiles and modells..
new rules for the white council..nice touch
i do hope there are more modells on theyre way

Yeah, it strikes me as unfinished. It is an awesome thing for them to release it for free though. I have to credit GW for that.
I'm a little disappointed that everything from what we've seen in the trailers so far hasn't been included in the booklet.
Perhaps they might do a part 2 after the movie's release if there are other models still to come.

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Cheers
Athelas

Thanks, Athelas! I cannot deny that my heart has long desired this...

I have been a long time lurker on these forums, and I thought I would throw in my two cents on this supplement. Overall, I feel pretty happy with what Games Workshop did with this supplement. The fact that I can get it for free was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. The profiles, while I'm not sure I can say are the most balanced, are at least very interesting. Smaug and Legolas stand out in my mind as particularly cool profiles. The fact that Legolas is even more powerful now is kind of ridiculous though.

I am a little disappointed with Games workshop's scenarios and terrain though. On what I would guess if the inside cover is a cinematic picture of Smaug attacking Laketown. It even looks like those mysterious Laketown building are present in the periphery of the picture. However, the picture doesn't even remotely look like Laketown due to the board they are using. Even in the Fire and Water scenario, there isn't even a shot of a laketown board A small gripe, but it definitely seems like a lost opportunity for an awesome looking scenario on GW's part. Perhaps they are trying to keep the laketown scenery secret...

Also, does anybody else find the idea of Radagast riding a Giant Eagle into combat hilarious?

I suspect we'll see a second wave (and supplement) in a few months time, perhaps. They've gone all out on the releases that they've done so far - Mirkwood covered everything, and Laketown got loads, including something not in the film. They even did new White Council profiles. Why even bother, unless they're there for a reason (or we might see new minis for them in the next couple of weeks, perhaps).

I feel that if GW was in the position where they had a stop of point for the range, they'd just do a tiny release for each faction - that way the Dwarf guys buy several things, the elf guys several things, etc. Going all out on two factions but not touching others makes no real sense. Right now we have no digital creations from BOFA in miniature form (and the only evil minis were from last years movie) - and with Dain having a heavy CG element, perhaps there were some last minute digital 'things' (the technical term, I believe) done to the dwarves, so GW held back all the digital stuff - which would include Elk, Trolls, Dwarves, Orcs, Armoured Azog, Nazgul - until they knew what it'd look like.

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Check out my wip thread!
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=29907

the white council got update cause we actually see them in action at Dol Guldur and for long they had the powers on the rulebook without any owner, now we do...

And Galadriel is an awesome combination between the normal Galadriel and the Protectress of Lothlorien profiles!

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You... will get... Coal!!!!!

Wow Smaug with 20!!! Wounds...

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My WIP topic! Erebor & Moria!
http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=27620

For me its only deeply dissapointing that the mirkwood elves do not have heavy armour... just look at their multi layered armor and tell me it gives the same defence as lake town militia !!!!

What is to point for elves to be clad in armor if it make no difference against al those str 4 orcs... REALY

even the almost naked bolg gets heavy armor. I think I will just house rule that the mirkwood elves get heavy armor for +1 pts because i find this absurd! would def. have bought less of them knowing their stats

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Iron sharpens iron
So a friend sharpens his friend.
prov. 27:17

Since we have all the profiles from the first AND third film, are we allowed to discuss them in complete detail?

Azog looks pretty dang good. 2 more fate AND an excellent (for the bad guys) special rule for 25 points is pretty amazing. Hopefully we'll get another book in January with the dwarves and bad guys.

The armor is just to keep with the theme for the elves and his original profile for Bolg.

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"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

cause those are wood elves, they will never get toe to toe with high elves, those are known for heavy armour users, mirk elves are like galadhrim, palace guard is exception and they are mention as having the best armour and weapons avail for the mirk elves, others all goes under it...

also text say these elves are hand pick civilians that had to go to war, dunno why youre so disappointed

on the other hand youre all seem like smaug, so greedy at 1st to get it all the spoils to find it later its not as a good idea as it seemed to be lol

And Smaug is actually worth 700 pts! He can shoot fire each turn, and he can barge AND kill people at the same time AND he has 20 wounds. He would be nearly invulnerable if it weren't for that missing scale, which means that goblin archers are just about as likely to kill him as elves! Dang, why is he 500 bucks? I WANT HIM.

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"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

bettewn old vs new:

Azog: +2 Fate, 12" stand fast that affect other heroes...

seems decent by itself, more beast on the white warg (still does not show the exact nature whats coming on the movie) still suffer a bit from same weakness (defence 5) although 2 extra fate points kinda mitigate that.

Bolg: +2 Fate, ancient enemies, warg

pretty darn good, overall better than azog to hold up damage, get a funny tricky rule with re.roll 1s and now can get mounted which potencially can speed up his bringer of death rule.

About Smaug keep in mind elves are still better, they dont need as much good rolls to wound him, also the bow will wound the dragon more than orc bow as well as having more range than the dragon.

nice idea to pin point this dragon, dwarven ballistas with captains, wanna tailor a list to take him out? he wont survive a round to tailor list to hunt down dragons...

Mostly glad to see they didn't once again make a bunch of new armylists you have to ally with, instead expanding various existing lists where logical.

The new profiles do seem somewhat strange occasionally, such as Mirkwood Knights only properly protecting Thranduil #2, or Azog and Bolg, both supposed to die, having 3 Fate all of a sudden.
Smaug is somewhat massively over-the-top, but in line with his film portrayal I suppose. Galadriel is cool, should buy a new figure and paint it up all ghostly.

You can have twice the number of goblin archers as elf archers, so you'll have twice as many 6s, and the extra hits that the elves get for being more accurate wouldn't wound anywhere near enough to make up for the difference.

_________________
"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

Azog is still only useful on the White Warg, but also much better than before.

_________________
"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

I have to agree that goblins with bows are likely the best way to go as the volume of shots would make up for the lack of damage compared to elven bows.

I'm not sure how I feel about his Missing Scale rule. On one hand it makes archery actually viable against Smaug like it should be. On the other hand, it does seem to make him very easy to kill. It is a very thematic rule though, which I personally really enjoy, as I prefer more narrative games. It's a real shame that I'd have to sell all my other forms of entertainment in order to afford him.