Post by genoah77 on Dec 30, 2014 23:29:10 GMT 1
I think it would be really interesting to have a scenario where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin begin the game in the Shire. The Fellowship at this point only includes the four Hobbits.
Legolas starts in the Woodland Realm, Boromir in Minas Tirith, Gimli in Erebor, Strider in Bree (or somewhere in the North), and Gandalf in Orthanc. In this scenario, Gandalf is trapped by Saruman (as in the books). To have Gandalf escape, the Free Peoples player must play a Will of the West die. Gandalf may move four spaces (to represent the rescue by the eagle, Gwaihir). After this, the goal is to get all of the characters to Rivendell in order to form the Fellowship. The Fellowship cannot include more than the ring bearers, Merry, and Pippin until they reach Rivendell. The exception to this is Strider and Gandalf, who may join the Fellowship at any time before Rivendell. The Free Peoples player may, however, choose to use some or all of the characters as military leaders instead (as in the Lords of Middle Earth expansion, with the alternate companions). If this option is chosen, the ring bearers do not have to travel to Rivendell.
So then it is a toss up: the shortest route to Mordor is now straight south through Rohan (11 spaces to Minas Morgul), but with less companions for fodder (only Merry and Pippin, and possibly Strider and Gandalf); or the other option is to go to Rivendell and add characters into the Fellowship, but travelling a longer distance (14 spaces minimum to Morannon).
It might be interesting to add a rule that introduces the possibility of Gandalf being trapped in Orthanc for a period of time. If Saruman is brought into play before a Will of the West die is played to free Gandalf, then Gandalf must remain in captivity until either an Ents Awake card demolishes Orthanc, or the card Gwaihir the Windlord is played (which can be used to free Gandalf and move him OR fulfill the original card description).
When the ring bearers and all characters the Free Peoples player wants in the Fellowship arrive in Rivendell, all characters in Rivendell join the Fellowship (except Elrond), and the War of the Ring proceeds as per the normal rules.
To balance the new starting positions of the Free Peoples player (they will have to use lots of dice to move characters), the Shadow Player needs to have less military units on the board. Not sure how much less yet. Sauron, Saruman, and the Southrons should also probably be put one step back on the political track.
Another idea I am playing with is having the Nazgul on horseback, like in The Fellowship of the Ring. They would be called Black Riders. Some could start in or near the Shire, Buckland, and/or Bree (although in the books I believe some start in Dol Guldur). They harass the ringbearers and Merry and Pippin as they move to Rivendell (or can be used for military purposes). Because they ride horses, they have limited movement (3 or 4). They will eventually need to be replaced with their winged mounts to allow infinite movement. This could be accomplished in several ways. One might be that they can move to a Shadow stronghold and be replaced with a winged mount, but only after the ring bearers have reached Rivendell or are five spaces away from the Shire. An alternative is to have them be temporarily eliminated. I think a new Free Peoples Character event card (like The Fords of Bruinen, where the Nazgul and their horses are drowned) would be cool to see. It might look something like this:
Any Black Riders (NOT Nazgul with winged mounts) that are in the Fords of Bruinen region are immediately removed from play. If any Black Riders are in a region or regions adjacent to the Fords of Bruinen, roll a die for each Black Rider in those regions. Each result of 4 or less removes a Black Rider from play. Any Black Riders eliminated in this way cannot be mustered on winged mounts until next round.
In addition, the corruption the ring bearers are likely to receive on the way to Rivendell should be balanced somehow.
In the unlikely event that Rivendell is taken by the Shadow before the Ringbearers arrive, then no more characters may join the fellowship, but the ring bearers must continue on towards Mordor with their current companions.
I believe that this scenario would bring a lot more action to the NW corner of the board that often seems to be fairly vacant and relatively untouched (this is not always the case). This would make cards like The Power of Tom Bombadil and Monsters Roused much more potent and viable.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas!
Legolas starts in the Woodland Realm, Boromir in Minas Tirith, Gimli in Erebor, Strider in Bree (or somewhere in the North), and Gandalf in Orthanc. In this scenario, Gandalf is trapped by Saruman (as in the books). To have Gandalf escape, the Free Peoples player must play a Will of the West die. Gandalf may move four spaces (to represent the rescue by the eagle, Gwaihir). After this, the goal is to get all of the characters to Rivendell in order to form the Fellowship. The Fellowship cannot include more than the ring bearers, Merry, and Pippin until they reach Rivendell. The exception to this is Strider and Gandalf, who may join the Fellowship at any time before Rivendell. The Free Peoples player may, however, choose to use some or all of the characters as military leaders instead (as in the Lords of Middle Earth expansion, with the alternate companions). If this option is chosen, the ring bearers do not have to travel to Rivendell.
So then it is a toss up: the shortest route to Mordor is now straight south through Rohan (11 spaces to Minas Morgul), but with less companions for fodder (only Merry and Pippin, and possibly Strider and Gandalf); or the other option is to go to Rivendell and add characters into the Fellowship, but travelling a longer distance (14 spaces minimum to Morannon).
It might be interesting to add a rule that introduces the possibility of Gandalf being trapped in Orthanc for a period of time. If Saruman is brought into play before a Will of the West die is played to free Gandalf, then Gandalf must remain in captivity until either an Ents Awake card demolishes Orthanc, or the card Gwaihir the Windlord is played (which can be used to free Gandalf and move him OR fulfill the original card description).
When the ring bearers and all characters the Free Peoples player wants in the Fellowship arrive in Rivendell, all characters in Rivendell join the Fellowship (except Elrond), and the War of the Ring proceeds as per the normal rules.
To balance the new starting positions of the Free Peoples player (they will have to use lots of dice to move characters), the Shadow Player needs to have less military units on the board. Not sure how much less yet. Sauron, Saruman, and the Southrons should also probably be put one step back on the political track.
Another idea I am playing with is having the Nazgul on horseback, like in The Fellowship of the Ring. They would be called Black Riders. Some could start in or near the Shire, Buckland, and/or Bree (although in the books I believe some start in Dol Guldur). They harass the ringbearers and Merry and Pippin as they move to Rivendell (or can be used for military purposes). Because they ride horses, they have limited movement (3 or 4). They will eventually need to be replaced with their winged mounts to allow infinite movement. This could be accomplished in several ways. One might be that they can move to a Shadow stronghold and be replaced with a winged mount, but only after the ring bearers have reached Rivendell or are five spaces away from the Shire. An alternative is to have them be temporarily eliminated. I think a new Free Peoples Character event card (like The Fords of Bruinen, where the Nazgul and their horses are drowned) would be cool to see. It might look something like this:
Any Black Riders (NOT Nazgul with winged mounts) that are in the Fords of Bruinen region are immediately removed from play. If any Black Riders are in a region or regions adjacent to the Fords of Bruinen, roll a die for each Black Rider in those regions. Each result of 4 or less removes a Black Rider from play. Any Black Riders eliminated in this way cannot be mustered on winged mounts until next round.
In addition, the corruption the ring bearers are likely to receive on the way to Rivendell should be balanced somehow.
In the unlikely event that Rivendell is taken by the Shadow before the Ringbearers arrive, then no more characters may join the fellowship, but the ring bearers must continue on towards Mordor with their current companions.
I believe that this scenario would bring a lot more action to the NW corner of the board that often seems to be fairly vacant and relatively untouched (this is not always the case). This would make cards like The Power of Tom Bombadil and Monsters Roused much more potent and viable.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas!