About the rules...

[Zargl21]

I saw you played the game and i have some questions about the rules. Can you help me to better understand this great game ?

- Can you describe briefly the different phases, please ? I heard about "The Hunt"...

- How can i take actions ? How can i move/ attack the ennemies ?

- Are there cards to draw at every turns ? What are there utility ?

I'm interested in this game but i have no knowledges about it...

Thanks for your help !

Ludovic.

[Veldrin]

OK, here is the short version...

Can you describe briefly the different phases, please ? I heard about "The Hunt"...

The game turn consists of six phases.
I. Each player draws two cards, one from each deck.

II. The Free Peoples player have the chance to make changes to the Fellowship.

III. The Shadow player decides how much resources are to be put into the attempt to locate the Ring (In game terms this means how many dice will be put to the Hunt).

IV. Each player rolls his action dice to find out which actions he/she can take this turn.

V. The players (starting with the Free Peoples player) take turns in using their action dice results to do actions (such as moving armies or characters, fighting battles or moving the Fellowship).

VI. Finally the players check to see if any one have managed to win the game.

Then a new turn begins.

How can I take actions ? How can I move/ attack the enemy ?

By using the apropriate result on the action dice the players can move their characters or their armies or attack the enemy etc.

Are there cards to draw at every turns ? What are their use ?

There are two decks per player (Strategy and Character). The cards can be used in two ways, either as an event (the card states what happens when you play the card) or as a battle effect (the card can be played in a combat to enhance your troops' chances of success).

Each player draws one card from each deck at the beginning of each turn in the game.

I hope this clarifies it a bit.

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

[Kris]

"The Free Peoples Player can make changes to the Fellowship." What does this mean? And how do Fellowship characters get killed? (The playtest reports indicate that "Gandalf got killed leading the Fellowship into Mordor" or something like that.

Thanks for the info.

[Zargl21]

I have another question :

- Can you describe the combat between 2 armies ?
If a dice reveal a combat action, how can i resolve it ?
Do each army have a combat value ?

Thanks again,

Ludovic

[Veldrin]

"The Free Peoples Player can make changes to the Fellowship." What does this mean?

It means that the Free Peoples player can change who is guiding the Fellowship. The different Companions all have different abilities that can only be used if he is the active Guide of the Fellowship.

It also means that the Free Peoples player can declare where the Fellowship is, most often used for declaring in a friendly settlement for healing.

How do Fellowship characters get killed?

The Companions can be killed in battle (once they have left the Fellowship they can act as Leaders for the Free People's Nations) or they can become casualties due to the Hunt for the Ring. The Hunt takes place each time the Fellowship is moved and it gets more and more dangerous the more times the Fellowship moves each turn.

Can you describe the combat between two armies ?

If the player has an unused action die permitting an attack he/she can use it to attack an adjacent enemy army.
This is resolved by rolling a number of dice (the number of dice depends on how many units are participating but never more than five). In order to increase your chances or to weaken your enemy you have the option to play combat cards prior to the rolling of the dice.

Do each army have a combat value ?

All units in the game have the same offensive combat value but the Elite units are not removed once they are hit, they are reduced to regular status.

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

[deadeyethingy]

Thanks for the more in-depth coverage.


So it sounds as though there are special event dice... with unique symbols on each side, and each side determines what sort of action you can take (i.e. one symbol might indicate an attack, while another might indicate a move, and so on).... is that correct?

And then combat uses traditional d6 dice, adding up the numbers rolled plus relevant cards/abilities or what have you?

[Zargl21]

And can you tell us how long lasts a game approximately ?

I noticed that the Shadow forces are outnumbered by those of the West. Is the game well balanced ?

Are there any reinforcements during the game ?


Thank you very much Kristopher !

Ludovic.

[Veldrin]

So it sounds as though there are special event dice... with unique symbols on each side, and each side determines what sort of action you can take (i.e. one symbol might indicate an attack, while another might indicate a move, and so on).... is that correct?

Yes the action dice have different symbols which allow you to do certain things like play an event card, initiate combat or muster new troops etc.

And then combat uses traditional d6 dice, adding up the numbers rolled plus relevant cards/abilities or what have you?

Yes the combat uses D6 dice. In order to "hit" the enemy units you must roll over a specific number, this can be different because of Strongholds, Protections and the Battle Cards played prior to rolling the dice.

Can you tell us how long lasts a game approximately ?

Once you are familiar with the rules a normal session lasts about 2,5 hours.

I noticed that the Shadow forces are outnumbered by those of the West. Is the game well balanced ?

Actually the Shadow forces are outnumbering the Free Peoples' armies. It is easier for the Shadow to muster new troops and when a Shadow unit is destroyed it can be brought back into play by a Muster action. The Free Peoples' units that are destroyed are out of the game for good.

As for the balance of the game, I think that it is very well balanced. The last weeks of the play testing was dedicated to fixing this and I beleive the result is very satisfying.

Are there any reinforcements during the game ?

Besides the forces the different sides start the game with there are additional units (Regulars & Elites) and Leaders that can be brought into play by Muster actions or by playing Muster Cards.

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

[Kris]

How do characters die in Army combat? Does the character's army have to be defeated for a character to be killed? Can a character survive the defeat of an army? Can the characters fight each other one on one (Eowyn vs. Witch King for example)?

[Veldrin]

How do Characters die in Army combat?

Generic leaders as well as Companions and Minions die if the army they are with is destroyed in battle. The Shadow has an advantage as the Nazgûl can be remustered into the game even after having been defeated in a battle (this does not apply to the Witch-King though).

Can a Character survive the defeat of an army?

No, the Companions, the Leaders of the Free Peoples and the Minions of the Shadow are once dead always dead. The Nazgûl on the other hand can reenter the game later if the Shadow player uses a Muster Die result.

Gandalf the Grey is an exception since he can be brought back into play as Gandalf the White.

Can the Characters fight each other one on one (Eowyn vs. Witch King for example)?

Yes and No... several of the Combat Effects on the Event Cards can be used only if the Companions/Minions are present and if so they sometime allow one of your Characters to have the chance of eliminating the enemy's Characters (e.g. Blade of Westernesse, which can only be used if a Hobbit is participating in the battle, have a chance of killing a Minion of the Dark Lord (if present in the battle )).

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

[Kris]

Thanks for the info. How do characters affect army combat? And do the various characters have the same leadership abilities or do they vary from character to character (Gandalf being different from Aragorn and Boromir for example)?

[Veldrin]

How do characters affect army combat?

The Leaders, Nazgûl, Minions and Companions all allow the units in the Army they are in to reroll missed attacks.

Do the various characters have the same leadership abilities or do they vary from character to character

All Characters (and Leaders) have a Leadership value which tells you how many dice rerolls they generate. In addition to this the Characters have additional skills that can affect combat. These skills are different from one Character to another.

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

[deadeyethingy]

Is it possible for you to share with us, say 1 ability from two different characters? That would give us an idea of what sort of abilities and things characters/minions will have and how that will effect play.

Of course, NDA may apply - but the curiosity is high!!!

[Kris]

And who is the strongest leader? Gandalf the White? Aragorn? Or is Saruman or the Witch King their equal? In the book (and the movies), it always seemed as if Mordor had the bigger armies, but the Free Peoples had the better leaders which helped compensate.

[Zargl21]

Hi Kristopher !

- Can you tell us the location for the different armies at the beginning of the game ? Have the players
the choice ?

- How can i follow the moving of the Fellowship on the map ? It seems to be invisible for the 2 players...

- Is it a game for 2 players, or more ?

- What are the goals of the game ?
Have the 2 players objectives to carry out ? Or is it only the destruction of the opponent armies ?

Thanks,

L.