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The old 'Scouring of the Shire" was a fan favorite, (don't believe me, go see Lachie geeking out about it on Zorpazorp gaming on Youtube) so how does the new supplement stack up?
It's certainly much smaller than "Gondor at War". I was struck by the beautiful maps on the inside cover, a great and thematic addition. Most of the content from the original is there, just presented differently. The personalities of the shire write-ups are now included in the character profiles, as per usual. The history and timeline of the shire is again included, though this time better written to include more of the conflict that is represented in the scenarios--a delightful improvement.
There are plenty of new scenarios and almost all the original scenarios made it. Let's take a look at them, shall we? "Maggot's Farm" is an exact reprint, even using the original photos, but most of the rest of the classic scenarios have been revised and updated as promised. "The Old Storehouse" and "Battle at Bywater" see an update with new rules and characters for both sides. "Beating the Bounds" has become "Bounders Strike Back", which retains its original trap-laden flavour but has new trap rules and heroes. "Brokenborings" has new objectives and new evil combatants. "Southfarthing" becomes "Attack on Tuckborough" with new combatants, but the same basic scenario.
The appendix includes the scenarios in the history of the Shire that were not part of the epilogue of the "Return of the King". Many of the most famous events are brought over from the original. "Greenfields" is only slightly changed, probably to reflect Golfimbul's new profile. "Wolves of Winter" is almost a complete reprint, with only the evil deployment changing ever so little. "Road to Rivendell" is fittingly the last scenario in the book once again and the combatant list has been changed to reflect that wood elves are no longer Galadhrim and otherwise modernized, but this scenario is otherwise basically unchanged.
Lost scenarios include: "Founding of the Shire", which really was a simple skirmish across the river with the addition of a rogue troll; "Odovacar's Prominade", which had some really strange rules involving trees, so it makes sense it was cut; and "Whatever Happened to Halfast", which involved hobbits against the barrow wights.
Is this book essentially just a reprint then? I'm kind of on the fence about this. Yes and no. There are plenty of new scenarios to feed an appetite bigger than a gathering of hobbits at the Party Tree, and they have fun new mechanics. However, there is a big chunk of the book that is updated scenarios. The big difference is the inclusion of special characters in every scenario. Yes, really! There are more new profiles than Lobelia can shake an umbrella at, for both hobbits and ruffians. Some of the hobbits have some really quirky new rules that seem very fun and thematic. The campaign challenge seems really well thought out and a great challenge for veteran players who want to turn up the heat. So while rife with reprints, it seems more nostalgic than lazy.
The scenarios feature beautiful terrain from the pages of the last of the "Battle Games in Middle Earth" magazine, which have never before been seen outside of that magazine. (Instructions to build these can be found there.) They also show off the new hobbit house kit beautifully. I personally would rather have had more scenarios, even the redundant ones of the past, rather than the how to build hobbit holes section. This would've made a great movie instead.
Conclusion: I'm glad I bought it, but will likely proxy a good number of the unique troops.
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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers
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