Post by Lynx on Nov 12, 2004 19:30:31 GMT 1
”What about Rivendell and the Elves? Is Rivendell safe?’
’Yes, at present, until all else is conquered. …here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ring-wraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.”
Gandalf explains Elven powers to Frodo.
”No blame to you, and no harm done to me. Indeed my friends, none of you have a weapon that could hurt me.”
Gandalf to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli after they tried in vain to attack him, believing he was Saruman when he appeared in Fangorn after falling with the Balrog in Moria.
”Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!’
’ But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn am I, Eomund’s daughter. … Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you…”
the Witch King and Eowyn on the Pelennor Fields.
”… when the Shadow passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lorien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Goldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.”
Galadriel uses her Noldorin powers.
Just starting to play this great boardgame, I was struck by the fact that some of my favourite moments in the saga could not be reenacted. Specifically, the magic power of certain prominent individuals does not come into play, notably Elrond, Galadriel and some of Gandalf’s powers. Granted, the awesome Ent cards means Gandalf can use the Ents to destroy Orthanc’s fortress and then riding there to break Saruman’s staff, but otherwise he seemed to be less important than in the books. The Witch King and Saruman were not all of what they should be either, I felt. And Eowyn’s power of being able to slay the Witch King was absent.
So I have some ideas of simple house rules. This depends on marking FP leaders with leader banners, to keep track of some key figures, as suggested on the ”Geek” earlier.
*Gandalf the White: May only be eliminated if a Minion is present in the combat (if ”Devilry of Orthanc” was played during the combat, Saruman is considered to be present for this purpose). If Gandalf’s Army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he may be put back into play by using a character die as if he moved from the site of combat. His special ability of negating Nazgul may only be negated by an event card (i.e. ”Words of Power”) if a Minion is present in the combat.
*The Witch King and Saruman: May only be eliminated in combat if Gandalf the White is present, or if attacked by the use of an Elven ring (”Blade of Westernesse” or the rule for Eowyn (see below) are the only exceptions). If Saruman’s army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he remains in Orthanc. If the Witch King’s army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he may be remustered as noted on his character card.
*Eowyn: the last Rohan leader to be mustered is Eowyn. When playing an event card that may eliminate a Minion, her presence in the battle can allow for the killing of the Witch King (i.e. ”Fateful strike” without GtW or ”Blade of Westernesse” without a Hobbit).
*Using elven rings in combat: Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf are the bearers of the elven rings. Galadriel is always considered to accompany Celeborn. Gandalf can only use the ring in this way when turned into ”the White”. An elven ring for each of the bearers may be used if they are present in a battle (declared as a battle card), this allows three attack rolls which hit on a ’4’ or more.
So what would this mean for the game? The power of the elven ring bearers may give an emergency defence of elven strongholds, which some have been complaining falls to easily (”A power too great” can be discarded by a determined Shadow player). The use of an eleven ring is costly, of course, so this wouldn’t be a tremendous advantage for the FP player. The killing of key characters (and removal of their crucial die) would be harder to accomplish, less the result of lucky die-rolls than a strategic plan to deploy the right ”countermeasure”. Also, hopefully the fantasy element would be stronger and the game more fun!
’Yes, at present, until all else is conquered. …here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ring-wraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.”
Gandalf explains Elven powers to Frodo.
”No blame to you, and no harm done to me. Indeed my friends, none of you have a weapon that could hurt me.”
Gandalf to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli after they tried in vain to attack him, believing he was Saruman when he appeared in Fangorn after falling with the Balrog in Moria.
”Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!’
’ But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn am I, Eomund’s daughter. … Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you…”
the Witch King and Eowyn on the Pelennor Fields.
”… when the Shadow passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lorien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Goldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.”
Galadriel uses her Noldorin powers.
Just starting to play this great boardgame, I was struck by the fact that some of my favourite moments in the saga could not be reenacted. Specifically, the magic power of certain prominent individuals does not come into play, notably Elrond, Galadriel and some of Gandalf’s powers. Granted, the awesome Ent cards means Gandalf can use the Ents to destroy Orthanc’s fortress and then riding there to break Saruman’s staff, but otherwise he seemed to be less important than in the books. The Witch King and Saruman were not all of what they should be either, I felt. And Eowyn’s power of being able to slay the Witch King was absent.
So I have some ideas of simple house rules. This depends on marking FP leaders with leader banners, to keep track of some key figures, as suggested on the ”Geek” earlier.
*Gandalf the White: May only be eliminated if a Minion is present in the combat (if ”Devilry of Orthanc” was played during the combat, Saruman is considered to be present for this purpose). If Gandalf’s Army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he may be put back into play by using a character die as if he moved from the site of combat. His special ability of negating Nazgul may only be negated by an event card (i.e. ”Words of Power”) if a Minion is present in the combat.
*The Witch King and Saruman: May only be eliminated in combat if Gandalf the White is present, or if attacked by the use of an Elven ring (”Blade of Westernesse” or the rule for Eowyn (see below) are the only exceptions). If Saruman’s army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he remains in Orthanc. If the Witch King’s army is eliminated when this condition is not met, he may be remustered as noted on his character card.
*Eowyn: the last Rohan leader to be mustered is Eowyn. When playing an event card that may eliminate a Minion, her presence in the battle can allow for the killing of the Witch King (i.e. ”Fateful strike” without GtW or ”Blade of Westernesse” without a Hobbit).
*Using elven rings in combat: Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf are the bearers of the elven rings. Galadriel is always considered to accompany Celeborn. Gandalf can only use the ring in this way when turned into ”the White”. An elven ring for each of the bearers may be used if they are present in a battle (declared as a battle card), this allows three attack rolls which hit on a ’4’ or more.
So what would this mean for the game? The power of the elven ring bearers may give an emergency defence of elven strongholds, which some have been complaining falls to easily (”A power too great” can be discarded by a determined Shadow player). The use of an eleven ring is costly, of course, so this wouldn’t be a tremendous advantage for the FP player. The killing of key characters (and removal of their crucial die) would be harder to accomplish, less the result of lucky die-rolls than a strategic plan to deploy the right ”countermeasure”. Also, hopefully the fantasy element would be stronger and the game more fun!
