Some more rule questions ...

[chulainn]

Hi veldrin and all the other folks here

these are my questions (and i hope they are not handled in the FAQ so far).

1) Retreat to stronghold

Rule:
"At the beginning of each Combat Round, each player may play one
Event Card as a Combat Card."

Rule:
"Special Exception: An Army defending a Region that contains
a friendly Stronghold may retreat to the Stronghold itself at the
beginning of any Combat Round by “Retreating into a Siege” (see
later). Also, a besieged Army cannot retreat."

So which one is first? There will be a difference, because if the combat cards for the first round will be choosen before the defender declares his retreat, he might force the attacker to waste a valuable combat card.

2) Attacking a Fortress

Rule:
"When attacking an enemy defending a Region containing a City or
Fortification, during the first round of combat only the attacker hits
on a result of 6 or higher (instead of 5 or higher). After the first Combat Round is resolved, normal rules apply."

Rule:
"During a Siege Battle, the attacker hit only on
a result of 6 or higher, while the defender hits on a result of 5 or higher as normal."

The first quotation would suggest, that possible additional combat rounds of a siege battle (because of sacrifying pieces or action cards) would be solved as any ordinary battle, the second rule would suggest that the defender still has his defense bonus on these additional combat rounds.

3) Recruiting

Rule
"All newly recruited units and Leaders are taken from the player’s available reinforcements and can only be placed in a City, Town, or Stronghold of the Nation to which the unit belongs."

Does this include a conquered city, town or stronghold?
And if yes, if this facility was conquered my a multiple army, to whom does it belong?

4) Recruiting II

If a city, town or stronghold was conquered by the enemy and and later conquered again by another nation of the alliance, to whom it does belong? To the former owner or to the one, who conquered it back?

For Example, Minas Tirith is conquered by Sauron, but Rohan could free the stronghold several turns later.
Can Rohan or Gondor now recruit in Minas Tirith?
And additional: What would happen if Gondor was wiped out completely (means they had no cities left)?

Chulainn

[andypalmer]

1) I would assume the intent would be that the retreat into stronghold would occur prior to Step 1. Play a Combat card. Veldrin will need to confirm.

2) Note that the first rule refers to Cities and Fortifications and the second rule to Strongholds. Cities and Fortifications only provide the defensive benefit on the first turn of combat, while Strongholds provide the benefit all the time.

3) You can only recruit into settlements that are part of the original territory (defined by colored bold lines) of the unit.

4) A territory is either controlled by its owner or captured by the opposing side. If captured it cannot be used for recruiting.

[Veldrin]

1) The retreat into the friendly Stronghold occurs prior to the combat, this means that before you decide wether or not to play any cards the defenders can retreat into the Stronghold.

4) Recaptured Settlements return to the ownership of the original owner. If Rohan retakes Minas Tirth it returns to Gondor's control.

And as priveously answered, you can only recruit in the Settlements you control at the beginning of the game.

[glow=green,2,300]Veldrin[/glow]

[darkman]

Q. So which one is first? There will be a difference, because if the combat cards for the first round will be choosen before the defender declares his retreat, he might force the attacker to waste a valuable combat card.

A: The retreat into the friendly Stronghold occurs prior to the combat, this means that before you decide wether or not to play any cards the defenders can retreat into the Stronghold.

Remember also that once you retreat into the Stronghold, the battle ends for that action; which may make the play of combat cards irrelevant.