|
Post by Kris on Jan 19, 2005 18:05:19 GMT 1
Shadow army card: CORSAIRS SAIL NORTH
Play only if the Southron and Easterling nation is at war. Move one army from Umbar to Miniriath, South Ered Luin, or Harlindon. Roll one die for each unit to see if it has been destroyed by storms. Units that land in Miniriath are destroyed on a roll of 6. Units that land in South Ered Luin are destroyed on a roll of 5 or 6. Units that land in Harlindon are destroyed on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. Minions and Nazgul with the army always survive.
Battle Effect: ARROWS OF THE EASTERLINGS
All the Southron and Easterling units conduct their combat rolls and leader re-rolls before the Free Peoples’ player. The Free Peoples Player must remove his casualties before conducting his own combat rolls and leader re-rolls. All Sauron and Isengard units fight simultaneously with the Free Peoples units.
|
|
|
Post by Speed Racer on Jan 19, 2005 20:44:47 GMT 1
Great card 'Snow Closes the Pass' ! I definitely think there should be a card that forces the Fellowship into Moria or there will be consequences if they do not.
There first choice of routes was south along the mountains to the Gap of Rohan.
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 20, 2005 16:10:16 GMT 1
Some cards dealing with the Fellowship’s last known position and modifiers for the Hunt.
Free Peoples character card: THREE HUNTERS
Play if any three companions are together in the same region has the Fellowship’s last known position, and this position is not in a friendly stronghold. Remove one die from the hunt box for the rest of the turn.
Battle Effect: HEROIC DEFENSE
If there are at least two companions in the battle, cancel one casualty. If there are four or more companions, cancel two casualties.
Free Peoples character card: WHITE MAGIC
Play this card if Gandalf the White is in the same region as a Nazgul and the Fellowship’s last known position. The Shadow Player is forced to move the Nazgul to a friendly stronghold. The Nazgul does not have to move if there are any Shadow combat units in the region.
Battle Effect: COURAGE AND CARNAGE
The Shadow units receive as many casualties as they inflict on the Free People’s units during both combat rolls and leadership re-rolls.
Shadow character card: THE WITCH-KING HUNTS
If the Witch-King and any other Nazgul are in the same region as the Fellowship’s last known position, and this region does not contain a stronghold under siege, then the Shadow Player may add 2 to all hunt die rolls this turn. (The presence of Shadow combat units would add an additional modifier as usual).
Battle Effect: WITCH KING’S SORCERY
If the Witch King leads the Shadow forces, and the Shadow combat units score at least one casualty, then add one additional casualty.
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 24, 2005 15:36:52 GMT 1
Shadow character card: BARROW WIGHT
Play only if the Fellowship’s last known position is in a Region that does not contain a Free Peoples Settlement.
The Free Peoples Player selects either the Guide or a random companion to face the barrow wight. Draw a Hunt Tile. If the Tile shows an Eye or is a Fellowship Special Tile, discard it without effect. If the tile is numbered (including Shadow Special Tiles without an Eye) and the number is greater than the companion’s level, the companion is killed. If the companion’s level is equal or greater than the tile number, the barrow wight has no effect.
If Gollum is the Guide, add one point of corruption instead.
Battle Effect: TERROR OF THE NINE
If there are at least three Nazgul in the battle, subtract two from the Free People’s leadership.
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 25, 2005 15:08:31 GMT 1
Saruman is second only to Sauron as a powerful in villain in LOTR, and I was a little surprised to see that the Isengard nation had smaller armies than the Southrons and Easterlings in the game (who don’t have nearly as big a presence in the books). I would like to see more Saruman cards just to add more Saruman flavor to the game. Here’s one possible:
Shadow character card: SARUMAN SEARCHES
Eliminate one Isengard elite unit or two Isengard regular units within three regions of the Fellowship’s last known position. Add one to every Hunt die roll for the rest of the turn.
Battle Effect: THE WARGS OF WAR
If there are at least three elite Isengard units in the battle, add one to all Shadow combat rolls.
Free People’s army card: THE EYE BLINDED
If a Free People’s army attacks any army of Sauron, then all Hunt die rolls only succeed on a roll of six for the rest of the turn.
Battle Effect: LAST STAND
After taking casualties, each Free Peoples’ unit eliminated makes one last combat attack.
|
|
|
Post by Dietrich on Jan 25, 2005 19:52:24 GMT 1
Gormonghast, what ever happened to your 30 card deck list you were going to post on bgg? I liked your map though I was unclear if the northern orcs, etc are to be a seperate player in your variant and what additional units, if any they would have, ie great goblin, balrog, wolves, spiders, etc..
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 26, 2005 15:03:40 GMT 1
A few more ideas:
Shadow muster card: SPIDERS OF MIRKWOOD
Muster two Sauron regular units in each of the following regions: Southern Mirkwood, Eastern Mirkwood, and the Narrows of the Forest. No units may be mustered in a region that contains Free Peoples units.
Battle Effect: SCALING LADDERS
If the Shadow army is laying siege to a stronghold, add one to all combat die rolls.
Free Peoples army card: ELVISH OFFENSIVE
If any companion is present in the Woodland Realm or Rivendell, and the Elves are at war, then move an army with the companion up to three regions.
Battle Effect: FIGHTING WITHDRAWAL
The Free Peoples conducts one combat roll, and then withdraws to any adjoining region without the Shadow Player being able to inflict casualties.
Shadow Player Muster card: NAZGUL IN THE NORTH
Muster one Sauron regular unit in Moria, Mount Gundabad, or Angmar for every point of Nazgul leadership there.
Battle Effect: CRACK TROOPS
The Shadow Player may sacrifice his leadership roll in order to obtain a special die roll for his elite troops. After casualties have been taken, roll one die for every Shadow elite unit. The Free Peoples must take a casualty for every roll of five or six.
Shadow Army Card: THE WHIPS OF SAURON
Move one army one region for every point of leadership with the army. If the army arrives in an enemy region, conduct an attack.
Battle Effect: SWARMS OF ORCS
If there are at least seven Sauron or Saruman regular troops in the battle, add one to all Shadow combat rolls.
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 26, 2005 17:11:09 GMT 1
I’ve proposed a lot of cards in this forum, and I think its time to take stock. If I was to design an enlarged deck of cards for the game for my personal use, I would probably add six cards to each deck as follows (all cards can be found on earlier entries in this forum):
FREE PEOPLES CHARACTER CARDS
The Ring Sails South The Return of the King The Will of the Elves White Magic The Counsel of Gandalf Evil Destroyed
FREE PEOPLES ARMY CARDS The Riders of Rohan Evil Assaulted Friends from Afar Forced March Elvish Offensive The Eye Blinded
SHADOW CHARACTER CARDS
His Arm is Long
All His Thought is Bent on It
The Witch King Hunts
Saruman Searches
Sauron’s Viceroy
In Terror Before Him
SHADOW ARMY CARDS
The Scales of His Malice
Corsairs Sail North
Spiders of Mirkwood
Duplicity and Deception
Nazgul in the North
The Whips of Sauron
There is a method in my madness.
Some cards are designed to increase activity in the North: Corsairs Sail North, Spiders of Mirkwood, Nazgul in the North, Elvish Offensive.
Some cards are designed to shake up the game so things may play a little differently once in a while: The Ring Sails South, The Return of the King.
Some cards are designed to make is easier and more rewarding for the Free Peoples to go on the offensive: The Return of the King, Elvish Offensive, Evil Assaulted, the Eye Blinded, the Riders of Rohan, Forced March.
Several cards increase movement allowances which I hope will increase the number of dramatic punches and counter-punches in the game: Elvish Offensive, The Riders of Rohan, Forced March, In Terror Before Him, The Whips of Sauron.
Some cards are designed to increase the importance of the major characters or add some additional Tolkien flavor: The Return of the King, The Counsel of Gandalf, The Riders of Rohan, His Arm is Long, The Witch King Hunts, Saruman Searches, Sauron’s Viceroy, In Terror Before Him.
Some cards are designed to increase the interaction between the units and events on the board and the hunt for the Ring: White Magic, Evil Destroyed, Evil Assaulted, The Eye Blinded, The Witch King Hunts.
And some cards are designed to give players additional options in quirky ways: The Will of the Elves, Duplicity and Deception, The Scales of His Malice, Saruman Searches.
I have no idea if decks with these additional cards would create a balanced game (some day I’ll make the effort to type up all the normal cards and make an easy-to-read deck, and then add these). But I hope I’ve given players who like to tinker with their games food for thought.
Note: I believe I’ve switched some of these cards from the army deck to the character deck where I thought it was appropriate. And here are some revised versions of proposed cards:
Thanks to Nigel for suggestions for THE RETURN OF THE KING.
Free Peoples Character card: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Play on the table if Aragorn is in play and Gondor is at war.
Denethor’s Folly is discarded if in play, and cannot be played as an event.
The Shadow Player’s hand size is increased by one as long as this card is in play. The Shadow Player immediately draws an event card from the deck of his choice. Minas Tirith is now worth three victory points.
Eliminated Gondor regular and elite units can now be mustered.
Discard this card if Aragorn is eliminated.
Battle Effect: OLD ALLIANCES HONORED
Add one to all leader re-rolls for every separate Free People’s nation that has a unit or leader in the battle.
Free People’s army card: THE EYE BLINDED
If a Free People’s army attacks any army of Sauron, then Action dice used to move the Fellowship are not added to the hunt box for the rest of the turn.
Battle Effect: LAST STAND
After taking casualties, each Free Peoples’ unit to be eliminated makes one last combat attack.
Shadow character card: THE WITCH-KING HUNTS
If the Witch-King and any other Nazgul are in the same region as the Fellowship’s last known position, and this region does not contain a stronghold under siege, then the Shadow Player may re-roll two of the Hunt dice when rolling for the Hunt. (The presence of Shadow combat units or a Shadow stronghold would allow additional re-rolls as usual).
Battle Effect: WITCH KING’S SORCERY
If the Witch King is present, and the Shadow combat units score at least one casualty, then add one additional casualty.
|
|
|
Post by nigel on Jan 26, 2005 17:56:16 GMT 1
All good stuff However just adding more cards will reduce the chance of pulling any particular card - which might cause a balance problem and increase further the power of the Palantir of Orthanc. I'd like to see a card pool and each player builds their own event deck from the pool of cards - of course if some cards 'suck' and others are over powered they are going to get added (or discarded) every game. Specialist cards are okay in this enviroment, if as Shadow you're planning to take the war to the North then 'hit the North' type events you'll want to put in the deck ... I'd also like to see some card mechanics taken from CCGs (to reduce 'luck of the draw'), such as cards to draw cards (we sort of have that with the Palantir/Gandalf already), cards to discard your opponent's cards (again have it somewhat with Worn with Sorrow and also cards that hit 'cards on the table'), cards to recycle cards from the discard and also cards to search/stack your event deck. Nigel
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 26, 2005 18:16:48 GMT 1
Yes, there is certainly no reason why all the new cards need to be used in every game. Players could agree to the number of cards added to each deck ("Let's add three this game") or the number of original cards to be replaced (if they didn't want to alter the odds of drawing any particular card).
|
|
|
Post by Dietrich on Jan 26, 2005 18:47:58 GMT 1
Is the "Nazgul in the North" intended to cover raising the white wolves who were lurking around Bree at this time and had attacked in the North shortly before the war of the ring?
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Jan 26, 2005 19:52:30 GMT 1
I had not given a thought to the Tolkien background of the card. I just think the game needs additional incentives to move some of the action up north. In most games I've played, the military action centers on Gondor, Rohan, and Lorien because they are so close to Sauron and Saruman's centers of power. While it is certainly possible for either player to mount a northern offensive, there usually isn't much reason to do so. A few more North-centric cards in the deck might increase the chance that we'll see some action in the Northern half of the board.
|
|
|
Post by Dietrich on Feb 4, 2005 17:41:45 GMT 1
There are some great card ideas here. 683 views? Is there a way they can be put together and organized on the main site? Might catch the eye of the designers working on the expansion as well as be user friendly to those wanting to experiment with them.
|
|
|
Post by Kris on Feb 4, 2005 19:19:21 GMT 1
I could always make a master document of my suggestions and e-mail them to whoever is interested as a Word doc or in Rich Text format.
|
|
|
Post by Dietrich on Feb 5, 2005 14:44:05 GMT 1
That would be great, please email me a set at your convenience.
|
|