Dusk of the Third Age

[Krieghund]

My wife prefers the base game to the expansion - she thinks the expansion is "too busy". Since I like the flexibilty that the expansion adds, I've come up with a variant that uses only some of the expansion elements. I'm trying to keep some of the flexibility without adding too much complexity. Here's what we're currently using.

1) To the base game, add the following Expansion Characters using the rules for them as they are in the Expansion:

The Balrog of Moria
Lady Galadriel
The Witch-King, Chief of the Ringwraiths


2) Replace the Balrog of Moria Shadow Character Event card with the Expansion A Balrog is Come! card.


3) Add these new Expansion Event cards with slight modifications to their Combat Effects:

Free Peoples Strategy: Rangers of the North
Combat Effect: Last Defenses
Play if a Free Peoples Elite unit is in the battle and the Free Peoples Army is besieged.
Add the number of your Elite units in the battle to your Combat Strength (up to five).

Shadow Strategy: Shadow of Dol Guldur
Combat Effect: Old Hatred
Play if any Isengard units are in the battle
Add +1 to your Combat roll.

Free Peoples Character: Wind From the West
Combat Effect: Among the Siege Engines
Play if the Free Peoples Army is besieged.
If you score at least one hit during your Leader Re-roll, you may force the Shadow player to reduce one Elite unit as one of the casualties (if one is present).

Free Peoples Character: Three Rings for the Elven-Kings
Combat Effect: Among the Siege Engines
Play if the Free Peoples Army is besieged.
If you score at least one hit during your Leader Re-roll, you may force the Shadow player to reduce one Elite unit as one of the casualties (if one is present).

Shadow Character: Captain of Despair
Combat Effect: Heads of the Fallen
Play if a Shadow Elite unit is in the battle and the Free Peoples Army is besieged.
Add +1 to your Combat roll. The Free Peoples player does not receive a Leader Re-roll.

Shadow Character: The Gates Are Closed
Combat Effect: Heads of the Fallen
Play if a Shadow Elite unit is in the battle and the Free Peoples Army is besieged.
Add +1 to your Combat roll. The Free Peoples player does not receive a Leader Re-roll.


Finally, use the base game Ent cards, but replace their text with:

Play if GANDALF THE WHITE is in play and the Ents are active.

Roll three dice and force the Shadow Player to take one casualty in the Orthanc Region for every result of 4+. If after this roll, no Shadow units remain in Orthanc, eliminate Saruman.

Then, if any Companion is in Fangorn, you may immediately play another Character Event card, using no Action Dice.

The combat effects of these cards are unchanged. The Ents are activated when Saruman is in play and any Companion is in Fangorn. Place the Treebeard figure in Fangorn to indicate the activation of the Ents. Once the Ents are activated, they remain so until either Saruman is eliminated or all three Ent cards have been played - the activating Companion need not remain in Fangorn.


This is working pretty well for us so far, so I thought I'd share it. I welcome any comments and suggestions.

[mrweasely]

I'm suprised. My wife periodically makes noises about Twilight being too cluttered, but the things that bug her don't seem to have bugged you two.

She has difficulty remembering the entry condition for Gally, often forgetting, as Sauron, to deny her.

She has a lot of trouble remembering why she might want the various combinations of 9th-die minions, and also their entry conditions.

She seldom uses factions, and never well.

She's compotent at the ring game, at siege engines, and at waging straightforward military stompings like DEW North.

[rafamir]

I like your Dusk variant (including the name) and will likely use it with a regular opponent who doesn't play often enough to keep all the expansion details straight.

An elegant solution for Ents Made Simple and incorporating the spirit of the siege-modifying combat cards looks nicely implemented. Bravo.

[Krieghund]

Thanks, Rafamir! Let me know how you like it.


MrWeasely, there aren't any particular individual elements that my wife doesn't like, aside from siege engines, which she finds counter-intuitive. She just doesn't think that the Expansion as a whole improves on the game enough to justify the added complications.

What I've attempted to do is add in only those elements that allow for the biggest increase in strategic options for both sides while shifting game balance slightly away from the Shadow. The new Ents obviously add options for the Free Peoples, but if you include them you need to also include the Dunlendings for balance. We felt that the original Ents were sufficient, with the tweak of freeing up Gandalf for other duties.

I think it's a nice compromise - adding some good strategic options with a minimum of new rules to layer on. She's quite pleased with it, and doesn't want to go back to the base game.

[Lord Aragorn]

I still don't have wife haha, so I don't know her opinion, but I like it.
I played one game using Dusk version. Worked nicely.

[genghissean]

I dont quite understand why you would put Treebeard in Fangorn, and why is it important that they are "activated", if you are not playing with the factions.