Enemy at the Gates

THE SHORT VERSION

Mat Ward adds priced defensive equipment to make siege play more varied. Pitch ditches can ignite under attackers, rallying points improve courage and act as banners, and spiked barricades punish crossings or misplaced blows. Gibbets cause terror while hardening the enemy’s resolve, rocks and boiling oil turn battlements into lethal firing positions, burning carcases reveal night attackers and removable access platforms connect layered defences.

The guide explains placement, destruction and carrying rules, alongside simple modelling examples made from dowel, plasticard, pebbles and balsa. It warns against spending so much on traps that too few troops remain to hold the walls. These options supplement existing siege rules and are demonstrated in the following defence of Minas Sirion.

AT THE PAINTING DESK

Paints in this article

Every named colour below is searchable across the archive.

Codex Grey↗

Codex Grey is explicitly named for the rock-pile model; no full equipment painting recipe is given.

Back to the original

Find this article in White Dwarf 307, pp. 112–115.

This is an original summary. Refer to your magazine for the complete article, rules, images and painting steps.