Sunday, 16 August 2026

Mythical Earth - Old figures, Contemporary rules

 A recent post at The Duchy of Tradgardland has prompted me to pull my Mythical Earth figures out of storage for a little battle using Portable Wargame Fantasy rules. An additional rule was added for the Nazgul as the Ringwraithes created Fear among their foes. Units in close combat with the Nazgul must roll a d6 each turn; 456 they may fight on, 23 they must fall back a move (where possible) 1 they run away and will leave the field if not rallied by the King.

A (false) rumour suggests that a ring of power has been found and is being held in a ruined manor house. Both Gondor and Mordor send a force to recover it. The two armies arrive simultaneously and clash.

The battle in pictures




The King charges with the Knights of Dol Amroth


Men of Gondor bravely confront the Nazgul

Men of Ithilien fighting Large Goblins

Men of Dol Amroth, who had joined the fight with
the Nazgul, were overcome with fear

The King rushed back down the road in order
to rally them

They rejoin the battle




The Army of Gondor begins to get the upper hand

The Army of Mordor reaches Exhaustion Point (50% total SP)


The orcs are shown no mercy, the Nazgul vanishes
returning to its master. Gondor is victorious.

The Two Armies (mostly MiniFigs)





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14 comments:

  1. WEK 316 August 2026 at 15:12

    Nice battle report. I think I owned figures like these back when they were new. Fun to see them getting used again.

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar16 August 2026 at 16:31

      Back in the early to mid 1970s!! In the shop I used to buy mine they would sell out in no time - I guess grown-ups were buying them all...

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  2. Mark Cordone16 August 2026 at 20:31

    Very nice, were those 15mm?

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar17 August 2026 at 07:17

      25mm figures from the early 1970s and a few from about 1980!

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  3. Martin S.17 August 2026 at 06:34

    Thanks for the batrep - lovely to see the classic Mythical Earth in action (I think I had a couple of the large orc swordsmen, bought in their Southampton shop, but pocket money wouldn’t stretch to full units 😁). And also to see the PW fantasy rules in use (Swords, Sorcery and Squares? Excellent!).

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar17 August 2026 at 07:22

      Thanks Martin - I remember units of 10 being the goal. That would have cost 70p for foot and about £1.50 for mounted figures I think! Astronomic amounts for the young collector 😮

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  4. Anonymous17 August 2026 at 06:53

    Glad to be a catalyst for such fun. Looking great and fun too. Currently thinking about how l will depict dragons and balrogs under your splendid rules. Hoping to get some figures off the workbench into a game this week…
    Alan Tradgardland

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar17 August 2026 at 07:39

      Thanks Alan. I would try the following, and then change it if it makes these creatures too tough (or not tough enough!)
      Balrogs are complicated - they are highly magical, being Maia (spirits, the same as the Wizards) and immensely powerful physically. I would treat them like Anti-Heroes SP6 +1 attack but allow them to be able to counter magic aimed at them (or a unit they are with) say on the throw of 4,5,6 on a d6?
      As for Dragons, they have to be really tough and probably should count as two units in an army - SP8(?), move 3 grids on the ground, fly 6 grids. Blast of fire 2 grids distance with +1 on the hit dice. +1 in close combat? Heavily armoured so -1 on opponents dice unless against a hero with a magic weapon.

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    2. Anonymous17 August 2026 at 08:38

      A quick and helpful reply, thank you. Confirms and extends greatly my initial thoughts. I was more stumped over the Balrog l have to say!
      Alan Tradgardland

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    3. Maudlin Jack Tar17 August 2026 at 08:55

      That was all very off the cuff so I'll be interested to see how it works! I was never very impressed with the Minifigs Balrog (or Lion Man as he was affectionally known) so I never used the one I had in a game. I couldn't afford the Dragon - I think I used a plastic toy dragon occasionally.

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  5. Roger18 August 2026 at 03:44

    Excellent scenario and battle report. A very narrative game.

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar18 August 2026 at 07:41

      Thanks Roger - these games are really just me telling myself stories!

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  6. Elliesdad18 August 2026 at 08:14

    Those figures are definitely vintage - it won’t be much longer before you could class them as antiques 😉 Still, they look good and performed sterling service 👏👏
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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    1. Maudlin Jack Tar18 August 2026 at 08:30

      The MiniFigs Mythical Earth (ME) range were the first metal figures I had and have a simplicity and charm about them that I still enjoy. Gondor cavalry are MiniFigs Medievals as the ME range didn't cater for mounted Gondorians.

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