The Ents and Fangorn

[Skanvak]

In the game the Ents are represneted by events cards. That is a good idea but leave a loophole in my opinion. The Forest of Fangorn in the book seem to be a place where the orks cannot go. I mean the ent defend their forest. So I suggest to make an houserule that forbid (or give a free 3D/4+ attack) a Shadow army to enter Fangorn. Actually that might apply to FP army not lead by Gandalf or an Elven leader.
Any reaction?

[Veldrin]

The Rule itself will probably not affect the game so much since the Fangorn Region is hardly ever entered by Armies. At least not in my experience.

But the rule has a nice "in the spirit of the book" feeling to it.

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

[Malacandra]

Actually, prior to Merry, Pippin and Gandalf the White (mostly the hobbits) yanking Treebeard's chain, the Orcs of Isengard can and do go into the forest, despite Treebeard's claim that he'd have squashed the two little hobbits in mistake for Orcs had he not heard them first.

As the Uruk-Hai near the forest, still carrying Pippin and Merry and with their footsteps dogged by Eomer's Rohirrim, Ugluk remarks that "Mauhur and his lads are in the forest, and they should turn up any time now" - so obviously it's not that unsafe for Orcs unless they bump into Treebeard himself.

As to the FP, it's worth noting that the Rohirrim dared to gather firewood from the forest for their funeral pyres and garbage disposal after annihilating the Urik-Hai, even to the felling of trees; but Aragorn remarks that the Riders were numerous, and clearly it is a different matter for lone travellers.

[nigel]

Malacandra said:

Actually, prior to Merry, Pippin and Gandalf the White (mostly the hobbits) yanking Treebeard's chain, the Orcs of Isengard can and do go into the forest, despite Treebeard's claim that he'd have squashed the two little hobbits in mistake for Orcs had he not heard them first.

As the Uruk-Hai near the forest, still carrying Pippin and Merry and with their footsteps dogged by Eomer's Rohirrim, Ugluk remarks that "Mauhur and his lads are in the forest, and they should turn up any time now" - so obviously it's not that unsafe for Orcs unless they bump into Treebeard himself.

As to the FP, it's worth noting that the Rohirrim dared to gather firewood from the forest for their funeral pyres and garbage disposal after annihilating the Urik-Hai, even to the felling of trees; but Aragorn remarks that the Riders were numerous, and clearly it is a different matter for lone travellers.

Quite and elsewhere in the book Treebeard reports to the hobbits that Saruman's orcs have been felling trees from Fangorn - so orcs in numbers certainly entered Fangorn.

Nigel

[Marc Grad]

I've only played a half dozen games, but I've yet to see anyone enter the forest yet with an army. I have seen Gandalf moved there when the FP player wanted to play the Ent cards.

I was thinking that Fangorn might be a good move for the Isengard player to make if he is trying to outflank the Fords of Isen. This might only make sense though if the Shadow Player had one of those nice move cards in his hand that lets him move an army 2 or 3 spots, and maybe a Sauron army had already broken into Rohan from the East.

[darkman]

I was thinking that Fangorn might be a good move for the Isengard player to make if he is trying to outflank the Fords of Isen.

I believe there is an impassable mountain border between Orthanc and Fangorn, so you can't get to Fangorn from Isengard without going thru the FoI.