In each game of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, players begin by choosing a scenario, and then work together in an attempt to complete it. A scenario is completed by successfully moving through all stages of the quest deck. During a scenario, the encounter deck aims to harm the heroes and to raise each player's threat level. A player is eliminated from the game if all of his heroes are destroyed, or if his threat level reaches 50. If all players are eliminated from the game, the players have lost. If at least one player survives and completes the final stage of the quest deck, all players are victorious. Some victory or defeat conditions can be added by a scenario.
In order to play a The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, you'll need the following components:
If the game text of a card contradicts the text of this rulebook, the text on the card takes precedence.
The rulebook reads: "Any progress tokens that would be placed on a quest card are instead placed on the active location." Legolas (CORE 5) has an effect that reads, "...place 2 progress tokens on the current quest." Legolas' effect would place 2 progress tokens on the quest; the core rule from page 15 instead places those tokens on the active location. Thus, the Legolas ability can successfully resolve, and the core rule can be observed, without creating a golden rule situation.
The Golden Rule applies when there is a direct contradiction between card text and rules text. If it is possible to observe both card text and the text of the rulebook, both are observed.
There are three different types of decks in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game: the quest deck, the encounter deck, and the player deck. There are also hero cards, which do not belong to any deck. Each deck has its own function and its own set of card types, as described below. In the game, each player plays one player deck, and the players work together to move through a fixed quest deck. A randomized encounter deck operates in conjunction with the quest deck in each scenario to challenge the players as they play against the game.
Each scenario represents a quest that the players are attempting to complete. At the beginning of a game, the players must choose which scenario they wish to play against for that game. A scenario consists of a sequential deck of quest cards (referred to as "the quest deck") and a randomized encounter deck of enemy, location, treachery, and objective cards.
Each quest card represents one of the various stages of the quest the players are pursuing in a scenario. Each quest card is a numbered step in a fixed, sequential order. These cards have their sequential information printed on both sides, so they can be placed in then correct order without spoiling the contents of the latter stages in the scenario. Side A is the back of the card, and provides story and setup information. After reading and following any instructions on Side A, players flip the card to Side B. Side B contains the information necessary to move to the next stage of the quest.
The encounter deck represents the villains, hazards, places, and circumstances that stand between the players and the successful completion of their quest. An encounter deck consists of enemy, location, treachery, and objective cards. The contents of the encounter deck are determined by the scenario the players are attempting. The encounter deck is shuffled at the beginning of the game.
Enemy cards represent the villains, creatures, monsters, and minions that attempt to capture, destroy, or mislead the heroes as they pursue their quest. Enemy cards engage individual players and remain in play until they are defeated.
Location cards represent the perilous places to which the players may travel during a scenario. They are a distant threat to the players from the staging area, and during the course of the quest players may opt to travel to a location to confront its threat.
Treachery cards represent traps, curses, maneuvers, pitfalls, and other surprises the players might confront during a scenario. When a treachery card is revealed from the encounter deck, its text effects are resolved immediately, and it is then placed in the encounter discard pile.
Depending on the scenario, objective cards can represent a number of different elements, ranging from the goals of a scenario, to allies who assist the players, to keys that allow the players to advance to the next stage of a quest, to artefacts that are necessary to defeat a difficult enemy or overcome a particular challenge. Unless otherwise specified, objective cards are shuffled into the encounter deck when setting up a scenario.
An objective-ally card is considered to be both an objective and an ally. The text effects of each of these cards commits it to the quest when it is in the staging area. This means that these cards count their stats and assist the players when resolving a quest. Any card effect that affects characters committed to the quest can also affect these objective-ally cards. If an effect allows the players to take control of any of these objective-ally cards, it is moved into the controlling player's play area. Once there, they can use it the same as any other ally. When this occurs, the card is no longer considered to be in the staging area, and is no longer committed to the quest (unless its controller commits it during the quest phase).
The player deck includes a combination of ally, attachment, and event cards shuffled into a deck from which a player draws his cards throughout the game. No more than three copies of any ally, attachment, or event card, by title, can be included in a player's deck. A tournament deck must contain a minimum of 50 cards. Within these guidelines any combination of allies, attachments, and events can be used in the player deck.
Q: Can a player have cards in his player deck from a sphere that doesn't match the sphere of one of his heroes?
A: There is nothing in the rules that disallows this, although a player will need to find clever card interactions to make use of such cards.
Hero cards represent the main characters a player controls in an attempt to complete a scenario. Heroes start in play, and they provide the resources that are used to pay for the cards (allies, attachments, and events) in a player's deck. Heroes can also commit to quests, attack, defend, and in many cases they bring their own card abilities to the game. Each player, chooses 1-3 hero cards and starts the game with them in play. Hero Cards does not count toward the 50-cards minimum of a legal tournament deck.
Sméagol / Gollum is a double-sided hero / enemy card.
Each side of this card represents a different aspect of this iconic character. Sméagol is a hero who wants the see Sauron defeated, but Gollum is an enemy who seeks revenge against those who stole his "precious". Sméagol cannot be chosen as a starting hero when playing saga expansions or the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle.
When a player selects Sméagol as a starting hero, he must shuffle two copies of "Stinker" into the encounter deck. The "when revealed" effect on Stinker will cause Sméagol to be flipped to Gollum. When this happens, the Sméagol hero leaves play and the Gollum enemy enters play engaged with its owner in the ready position.
When Gollum is in play, he engages the first player. When Gollum is defeated, he is flipped to Sméagol. When this happens, Gollum leaves play and the Sméagol hero enters play under its owner's control in the exhausted position.
Attachment cards represent weapons, armor, artefacts, equipment, skills, and conditions. When played, they are always attached to (placed slightly under) another card, and they tend to modify or influence the activity of the card to which they are attached. If the card to which an attachment is attached leaves play, the attachment card is discarded.
Ally cards represent characters (friends, followers, creatures, and hirelings) that assist a player's heroes on the quest. Ally cards are played from a player's hand, and they remain in play until they are destroyed or removed from play by a card effect.
Event cards represent maneuvers, actions, tactics, spells, and other instantaneous effects at a player's disposal. An event card is played from a player's hand, its text effects are resolved, and the card is then placed in its owner's discard pile.
Contracts count as player cards, but they are never included in a player's deck and don't count towards a player's minimum deck size. Instead, each player may choose one contract to put into play along with his heroes at the beginning of the game with the "A" side faceup. If a contract places restrictions on the content of a player's deck, those restrictions must be met in order to choose the contract.
The One Ring is a player card with its own unique card frame and its own special rules.
The One Ring has a Setup text that instructs you to attach it to a hero you control. This is done immediately after placing your heroes in your play area. If two or more players have The One Ring in their decks, the first player decides which player will put his copy of The One Ring into play. Each other copy is removed from the game.
The One Ring is immune to non-Master card effects. Cards with the Master trait represent the power of the Master Ring, and can only be used by the player who controls The One Ring. Cards with the Master trait cannot be used when playing the saga expansions.
Player objective is a new player card type introduced in The Shire's Reckoning expansion. They represent additional priorities or optional goals that heroes may be pursuing during the game. They are considered to be both player cards and objective cards.
At the end of Setup (see the online ALeP FAQ for more details), the players as a group may put into play one (and only one) player objective from their collection(s). Add it to the staging area with Side A faceup and trigger its Setup effect. The Setup effect on Side A allows players to "opt in" to the objective before it flips to Side B. During the game, a player may trigger the effects on a player objective if, and only if, they opted in to it.
Some effects on a player objective may require exhausting it (which an opted-in player can do even though they don't control it). Exhausted player objectives ready at the beginning of the refresh phase, at the same time as all other player cards in play.
Q: What happens to a player objective when players do not share the same staging area?
A: At any point of a game, if the players do not share a common staging area, remove any player objective from the game.
Q: Are player objectives considered unclaimed or unguarded objectives for quests like Escape from Dol Guldur or The Storm on Cobas Haven?
A: Yes, though keep in mind they are immune to encounter and quest card effects. For example, while a player objective would cause Spider of Dol Guldur to surge, it could not become guarded by a Siege Ship.
The sphere of Leadership emphasizes the charismatic and inspirational influence of a hero, and that hero's potential to lead, inspire, and command both allies and other heroes alike.
The sphere of Lore emphasizes the potential of a hero's mind. Intellect, wisdom, experience, and specialized knowledge are all under the domain of this sphere.
The sphere of Spirit emphasizes the strength of a hero's will. Determination, resilience, courage, loyalty, and heart are all aspects of this sphere.
The sphere of Tactics emphasizes a hero's martial prowess, particularly as it relates to combat and to overcoming other tactical challenges that might confront the players during a quest.
Some cards in this game represent specific, formally named characters, locations, and items from the Middle-earth setting. These cards are referred to in the game as "unique." They are marked with a symbol before their card title to indicate their uniqueness. If any player has a unique card in play, no player can play or put into play another card with the same title. Any attempt to do so will fail to the extent that the card attempting to enter play remains in its current location (hand, deck, discard pile) and does not enter play. This rule applies to all unique hero, ally, attachment, and event cards that might enter play. Note that a unique card is eligible to enter play if another card with the same title is in a player's discard pile but not currently in play. Multiple copies of the same non-unique card can be in play simultaneously.
If any player has a unique card in play, no player can play or put into play another card with the same title. So if a player uses a unique hero, then an ally with the same title cannot enter play. If a unique hero leaves play for any reason, players can play or put into play other cards that share the same title as that hero. That hero is then ineligible to re-enter play until there is no card with the same title in play.
A unique encounter card cannot enter play if there is another copy of that card already in play. If this is the case, the card's effects are ignored and the encounter card is placed in the encounter discard pile.
Sometimes, game or rules text will refer to "character" cards. Both heroes and allies are considered to be "characters." Card text that says "choose a character" allows a player to choose either a hero or an ally card as the target of the effect.
"Character" refers to both hero and ally cards. Enemy cards are not considered characters.
There are several kinds of card effects in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.
On the hero and player cards, card effects fall into one of 7 categories: passive effects, actions, responses, valour trigger, forced effects, setup effects and keywords.
On the cards found in the quest and encounter decks, card effects fall into one of 7 categories: passive effects, actions, responses, forced effects, when revealed effects, shadow effects, travel effects, and keywords. Each of these card effect types is explained below.
Constant (or passive) effects continually affect the game state as long as the card is in play and any other specified conditions are met. These effects have no bold trigger, as they are always active.
Actions are denoted by a bold "Action:" trigger on a card. Actions are always optional, and can be triggered by their controller during any action window in the game sequence. In order to trigger an action on a hero, ally, or attachment card, the card on which the action is printed must be in play, unless the action specifies that it can be triggered from an out of play state. Event cards are actions that are played directly from a player's hand.
Some action triggers are preceded by a specific phase of the game. This type of trigger means that the following action can only be triggered during the specified phase. For example, an effect with the trigger "Quest Action:" can only be triggered during an action window of the quest phase. Actions without a specified phase can be triggered during any action window throughout the round.
An "Action:" on an encounter card in play can be triggered by any player, following normal restrictions on triggering abilities.
Protector of Lorien (CORE 70) reads, "Action: Discard a card from your hand to...." This action may be triggered three times per phase, as long as the card's controller has cards in hand to discard.
Actions are only limited by whether or not a player can pay the cost of the action, or by built in limitations on the card itself, such as "limit once per round."
Responses are denoted by a bold "Response:" trigger on a card. Responses are always optional, and can be triggered by their controller in response to (i.e. immediately after) a specified game occurrence. In order to trigger a response on a hero, ally, or attachment card, the card on which the response is printed must be in play, unless the response specifies that it can be triggered from an out of play state. Event cards with "Response:" effects are responses that are played from a player's hand
Theodred (CORE 2) reads, "Response: After Theodred commits to a quest...." This effect can only be triggered once each time Theodred commits to a quest.
If a response or forced response is triggered, the effect can only occur once per trigger.
Forced effects are initiated by specific occurrences throughout a game, and they occur automatically, whether the card's controller wants them to or not. They are denoted by a bold "Forced:" trigger on a card. These effects initiate and resolve immediately, whenever their specified prerequisite occurs.
Tower Gate (CORE 107) reads, "Forced: After travelling to Tower Gate...." If a player wishes to play a response such as Strength of Will (CORE 47) after the players travel to Tower Gate, he must wait until after the forced response resolves.
Forced responses resolve immediately when their specified prerequisite occurs, and before any response effects that also can be triggered off the same prerequisite.
A Forced effect must be in play and active at the time its trigger occurs in order to resolve its effect. If the resolution of another effect causes a Forced effect to enter play or become active after its triggered has occurred, that Forced effect is not resolved.
When revealed effects are a special case of forced effects, that occur automatically as soon as the encounter card is revealed. They are denoted by a bold "When Revealed:" trigger on a card. When revealed effects do not resolve when the card is revealed as a shadow effect.
If the players use the Stage 3b "Don't Leave the Path!" (CORE 121) quest card effect to search for a King Spider and put it into play, the "When Revealed" effect on the King Spider will not trigger, since the effect on "Don't Leave the Path!" does not specifically use a form of the word "reveal."
A card is only considered to be revealed if the card or game effect causing the card to enter play specifically uses a form of the word "reveal".
Some location cards have travel effects, which are denoted by a bold "Travel:" trigger on a card. Travel effects are costs or restrictions that some or all players must pay or meet in order to travel to that location. If the players cannot fulfill the requirement of a location's travel effect, the players cannot travel to that location.
Some of the cards in the encounter deck have a secondary effect that is known as a shadow effect. These effects are offset from a card's non-shadow game effects by , and they are formatted in italic type. Shadow effects are also denoted by a bold and italic "Shadow:" trigger on the card. Shadow effects only resolve when the card is dealt to an attacking enemy during combat.
Q: Is a shadow card effect considered an encounter card effect?
A: Yes. Cards that prevent characters from cancelling encounter card effects also prevent players from cancelling shadow card effects.
Actions and Responses with the Valour trigger, presented as "Valour Action" or "Valour Response," can only be triggered by a player whose threat is 40 or higher.
If an event card has two effects, one with the Valour trigger and one without, you may only choose one of these two effects to trigger when you play the card. You may still only choose the effect with the Valour trigger if your threat is 40 or higher
If a player card with Setup instructions is in a player's deck at the beginning of a game, that player searches his deck for that card and follows its instructions before drawing his first hand.
Similarly, Setup instructions on heroes trigger at the beginning of the game.
Similarly, if an encounter card card with Setup is in the encounter deck at the beginning of a game, search the encounter deck for that card and follow its instructions before resolving the Setup instructions on the quest.
Keywords are used as shorthand for common game effects that appear on a number of cards. The keywords and their role in the game are explained below. Keywords are denoted textually, usually at the beginning of a card's rules text. Many keywords are specific to a scenario and one should refer to the instructions given on the quest sheet. Below are listed the generic keywords.
FAQ (1.01) Surge, Doomed, and Guarded keywords should be resolved any time the card on which they occur is revealed from the encounter deck, including during setup.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
If a player card with the Doomed X keyword is played or put into play, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfill the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Q: Does the Guarded keyword trigger when the encounter card it's on is "added" to the staging area (and not "revealed")?
A: No. In order for the Guarded keyword to trigger, the encounter card it appears on must be "revealed" from the encounter deck.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
A character with the ranged keyword can be declared by its controller as an attacker against enemies that are engaged with other players. A character can declare ranged attacks against these targets while its owner is declaring attacks, or it can participate in attacks that are declared by other players. In either case, the character must exhaust and meet any other requirements necessary to make the attack.
Q: What counts as a "ranged" attack?
A: A ranged attack is an attack made by a character with the ranged keyword against an enemy engaged with another player.
Q: Can a character with the Ranged keyword join an attack against an enemy in the staging area?
A: No. The Ranged keyword only gives characters with that keyword the ability to attack enemies engaged with another player.
Some attachments have the restricted keyword. A character can never have more than two attachments with the restricted keyword attached. If a third restricted attachment is ever attached to a character, one of the restricted attachments must immediately be moved to its owner's discard pile.
Secrecy lowers the cost to play the card by the specified value, provided the threat of the player who is playing the card is 20 or below. Secrecy only applies when the card is played from hand, and never modifies the printed cost of the card.
A character with the sentinel keyword can be declared by its controller as a defender during enemy attacks that are made against other players. A character can declare sentinel defense after the player engaged with the enemy making the attack declares "no defenders." The defending sentinel character must exhaust and meet any other requirements necessary to defend the attack.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
Some enemy and location cards award victory points when they are defeated. When such a card leaves play, one player should place it near his threat dial to remind the players of the victory points when they are scoring at the end of the game. It is recommended that one player collects all the victory cards the players earn during the scenario, as victory points are applied to the score of the entire group.
While each non-, non- hero you control shares at least one trait with a card with the Devoted keyword, that card does not require a resource match. The trait that is shared does not need to be the same for each hero.
For example, an ally with the Devoted keyword and the Gondor and Scout traits may be played without a resource match if all of your heroes have the Gondor trait, all of your heroes have the Scout trait, or some of your heroes have the Gondor trait and the remainder have the Scout trait.
When resolving multiple effects with a shared condition, players should use this order of resolution: passive abilities first, Forced effects second, Response actions third. When determining the order of effect resolution among abilities within those categories, players should first resolve abilities that use the word "when" and then resolve abilities with the word "after". A player card effect that cancels an encounter card effect interrupts this timing structure. A cancel effect must be triggered immediately after the encounter card effect that it cancels.
Tom plays Sneak Attack (CORE 23) to put Beorn (CORE 31) into play during the combat phase. Sneak Effect has the condition, "At the end of the phase, if that ally is still in play, return it to your hand." During combat, Tom uses Beorn's triggered effect, which has the condition, "At the end of the phase in which you trigger this effect, shuffle Beorn back into your deck." At the end of the phase, a situation arises in which two conflicting effects are attempting to resolve simultaneously on Beorn. The first player determines which of the two effects resolves first. (The second effect no longer applies when Beorn leaves play.)
If two or more conflicting effects would occur simultaneously, the first player decides the order in which the effects resolve.
When a card with a triggered effect has a limit on the number of times that effect can be triggered (i.e. "Once per round," "Limit 3 times per phase," etc.), the limit is specific to that card. However, if a card has a limit of "once per game," that limitation is specific to the player who triggered it.
The card Caught in a Web (CORE 80) has an effect that reads, "The player with the highest threat level attaches this card to one of his heroes." Tom and Kris are tied for the highest threat level when Caught in a Web is revealed, so the first player determines whether the card affects Tom or Kris.
If an encounter or quest effect attempts to target a single player or card, and there are multiple eligible targets, the first player selects the target of the effect from among the eligible options.
If a player plays A Test of Will (CORE 50) to cancel the "when revealed' effect of Dark Sorcery (TLR 65), each player must still raise his threat by 2 for the Doomed 2 keyword on Dark Sorcery. Additionally, any effects that triggers after a card with the Sorcery trait is revealed will still trigger because Dark Sorcery has the Sorcery trait, and even though its "when revealed' effect was canceled, the card itself was still revealed.
When an encounter card effect is canceled, the game proceeds as if that encounter effect was never triggered.
The rest of the encounter card is resolved as normal.
If a player plays The Door is Closed (AA 92) to cancel Dark Sorcery (TLR 65), the Doomed 2 keyword on Dark Sorcery will not trigger, nor will any effects that trigger after a card with the Sorcery trait is revealed, because the entire encounter card was canceled.
When an encounter card is canceled, the game proceeds as if that encounter card was never revealed, except for it still fulfills that encounter card reveal. Effects that would have triggered in response to the canceled encounter card being revealed cannot be triggered.
Many effects last only for the duration of one action (immediately after being triggered), but some effects last for a set period of time, or even indefinitely. Effects that last for longer than a single action are called lasting effects.
Multiple lasting effects may affect the same card at the same time. The order in which the lasting effects take place is irrelevant, since the net sum of all lasting effects is applied to the card.
If one of a hero's, ally's, enemy's, or location's statistics (, , , or ) is ever lower than 0 after all effects are applied, that statistic is rounded up to 0. Any time a new effect is applied to a card, the net sum of all active effects should be recalculated.
If one of a hero's, ally's, enemy's Hits Points is ever lower than 0 after all effects are applied, the character or enemy is immediately discarded.
There are two classes of lasting effects in the game: those created by player cards and those created by encounter cards. Each class is handled differently as follows:
If a player triggers the Quest Action on Nenya (RM 121) to add Galadriel's (RM 112) 4 willpower to another hero until the end of the phase, that +4 willpower bonus will not be recalculated if Galadriel's willpower is increased later that phase
A lasting effect created by a player card ability must be calculated at the time that the ability is triggered, and that effect is not recalculated if the game state changes.
Part of the "when revealed' ability on Poisoned Vapour (ToS 61) reads: "Until the end of the combat phase, treat each damaged character's text box as if it were blank (except for Traits)." If Aragorn (ToS 1) had 1 damage at the time Poisoned Vapour was revealed, his text box would be treated as if it were blank. However, if that damage was healed, his text box would no longer be considered blank. If he was damaged again, his text box would be treated as if it were blank until the end of the combat phase.
A lasting effect created by an encounter card ability, is recalculated if the game state changes.
Ancient Forest reads: "While Ancient Forest is in the staging area each Forest location in the staging area gets +1 and +3 quest points. This ability does not stack with other copies of Ancient Forest." This means that even if there are 2 copies of Ancient Forest in the staging area, each Forest location in the staging area will only get +1 and +3 quest points total.
Some cards have passive abilities with the text "This ability does not stack with..." While two or more effects that do not stack with one another are active, only one of them will affect the game state.
The game state constantly checks and (if necessary) updates the count of any variable quantity that is being modified. Any time a new modifier is applied, the entire quantity is recalculated, considering all active modifiers. A quantity cannot be reduced below zero: a card cannot have "negative" cost, stats, keywords, etc.
Some encounter cards have the text, "Immune to card effects." This means that the encounter card cannot be selected as the target of any card effect, and it ignores the effect of any card that would directly interact with it.
Some encounter cards have the text "Immune to player card effects". This text means that player cannot select the encounter card as the target of any card effect and it ignores the effect of any player card that would directly interact with it.
Cards with the text "Immune to player card effects" ignore the effects of all player cards. This means that player card effects cannot directly influence or interact with a card that is immune to player card effects. Examples include dealing damage to an enemy, placing progress on a location, altering a card's text or statistics, moving a card, engaging an enemy, traveling to a location, or discarding a card.
Pippin's (TBR 4) passive ability cannot increase the engagement cost of an enemy that is immune to player card effects, because that enemy will ignore Pippin's effect. However, if you engage an enemy who is immune to player card effects and has an engagement cost higher than your threat, you may still use Pippin's Response to draw a card, because this response is not affecting the enemy in any way.
However, a card that is immune to player card effects can still be affected by normal framework effects such as placing progress from questing successfully, engaging an enemy during the encounter phase, or dealing damage through an attack made by a character.
Hands Upon the Bow (D 131) cannot be used to attack an enemy that is immune to player card effects, because it clearly indicates that the player must pick an enemy in the staging area to attack. This is different from Quick Strike (Core 35), which targets a character and allows them to perform a normal attack, which is a framework effect.
Additionally, cards that are immune to player card effects cannot be chosen as targets of player card effects. This means that any player card that uses a form of the words "target" or "choose" cannot choose a card that is immune to player card effects as its target. This includes the "attach to..." text of any player attachment. Player cards that do not use the word "target" or "choose" but force the player to choose a specific card cannot choose a card that is immune to player card effects.
Q: Can I play an attachment on an enemy or location that is immune to player card effects?
A: No. Playing an attachment on a card is a form of targeting, and cards with "immune to player card effects" cannot be targeted by player cards.
If a card effect uses the word "cannot", then it is an absolute: that effect cannot be overridden by other effects.
In order for a switch to occur, switched items must exist on both sides of the switch.
If a card effect uses the word "then," then the preceding effect must resolve successfully for the subsequent dependent effect to resolve.
The quest Through the Caverns (CORE 124) has the text, "The players, as a group, cannot play more than one ally card each round." While this quest is active, a player can put an ally into play with Stand and Fight (CORE 51), even if an ally has already been played this round.
If a card effect uses the phrase "put into play," it means that the card enters play through a card effect instead of through the normal process of paying resources and playing the card from hand. "Put into play" effects are not considered to be playing the card, and will not trigger any effects that refer to a card being played. "Put into play" will, however, trigger any effects that occur when a card "enters play".
Whenever a player searches through a deck, that player shuffles the deck after searching it unless a card effect says otherwise. Players do not shuffle or change the order of a discard pile after searching it.
If a card refers to its own title in its text it should be read as referring only to that copy of the card. A card that refers to other copies of itself will use the language "any copy of..." or "another copy of..." or "a card with the title..."
Triggered abilities are abilities on cards that have a bold trigger word such as Action or Response. These abilities are only applied when they are triggered. Constant abilities are abilities on cards that have an ongoing effect without a bold trigger word. Because passive abilities don't have a trigger they are always active and cannot be "triggered".
If a card instructs a player to perform one task or perform a second task using the structure "... must X or Y..." then the player must attempt to perform the first task, and performs the second task instead only if the first task cannot be performed.
If a card instead uses the structure "... must either X or Y..." then the player may choose which task to perform, although one of them must be performed in full, if able.
The text "cannot have attachments" is absolute. It is possible to play attachments on a card with this text while its text box is considered to be blank, but any attachments on that card must be discarded immediately the moment its text is active again.
Q: Can a player's threat be reduced below 0?
A: No. The threat dial does not allow negative values.
Collecting resources refers to both collecting resources during the resource phase and gaining resources through other card effects. An effect that prevents a hero from collecting resources prevents both methods of acquiring new resources.
Adding a resource to a hero's pool is the act of taking a resource from the token bank and placing it in that hero's pool. Adding a resource always results in the total number of resources controlled by the players being increased.
Moving a resource is the act of taking a resource from one hero's pool and placing it in another hero's pool. This does not count as "adding' a resource because it did not take a new resource from the token bank and the total number of resources controlled by the players did not increase.
Gaining a resource is a blanket term that includes collecting, adding and moving. Any time the number of resources in a hero's pool is increased, that hero has gained one or more resources.
In order for a player to play a card from his hand (or to activate certain card effects), he must pay for it by spending resource tokens from the resource pool of a hero who has a resource icon that matches the card's sphere of influence. This is called a resource match. Resources that are spent to pay for cards or card effects are taken from their hero's resource pool and placed in the general token bank.
Cards with a cost of zero do not require a resource to be spent in order to pay their cost, but they do require at least one hero under that player's control to have a resource icon that matches the card's sphere.
If a player has multiple heroes with similar resource icons, he may use resources from multiple pools of the same sphere to pay for a single card or effect.
Unless specified by a card effect, or granted player choice, the letter "X" is equal to 0.
Neutral cards, which belong to no sphere of influence, require no resource match to play. This means that they can be paid for with resources from any hero's pool. Also, when paying for a neutral card, a player may combine resources from heroes with different resource icons.
Some cards have abilities that can be triggered from play, but still require the triggering player to pay resources. Triggering a card ability from a card already in play requires no resource match, unless otherwise, specified by the ability.
A player "owns" his heroes and the cards that he has chosen for the player deck he is playing. A player "controls" all cards that he owns, unless another player or the encounter deck takes control of the card through a game effect. Any time a card leaves play, it reverts its owner's hand, deck, or discard pile (as directed by the effect forcing the card out of play).
When a player plays an ally card, it comes into play under his control and is placed in his play area. If another player takes control of that ally, it is moved to the controlling player's play area. Ally cards cannot be played under the control of another player, they can only change control through card effects.
Players do not gain control of encounter cards unless control of the card is explicitly granted by a card effect. When an encounter card becomes an attachment and attaches to a character, that character's controller does not gain control of the attachment.
When a player claims an objective card, he gains control of that card unless otherwise directed by a card effect.
An unclaimed objective is one that is not currently claimed and under the control of a player. An unclaimed objective can be guarded or unguarded. A guarded objective is treated like an attachment if guarded by an enemy or location, and remains attached to that card until it leaves play, at which point it will return to the staging area. Any unclaimed objective in the staging area that is not attached to a card is considered to be unguarded. If an objective is claimed at one point, and then returns to the staging area, it regains the status of unclaimed.
Any objective card that attaches to another card is treated as an attachment in addition to its other card types.
Any non-objective card that attaches to another card loses its original card type and gains the attachment card type.
The "Attach to..." rules text on an attachment is only a play restriction, and is not taken into account after the card is already attached.
When a player plays an attachment on a character controlled by another player, that character's controller gains control of the attachment. When a player plays an attachment into the staging area, or on an enemy or location, that player retains control of that attachment.
Characters and attachment cards enter the game in then "ready" position"that is, face up on the playing surface in front of their controller.
When a card has been "used" for some purpose, such as to commit to a quest, to attack, to defend, or to use a character ability that requires the card to exhaust, it is turned 90 degrees sideways and considered "exhausted." An exhausted card cannot exhaust again (and therefore cannot partake in any action that requires exhaustion) until it has been readied once more. When a player is instructed by the game or by a card effect to ready a card, he moves that card to its normal upright position.
Q: If an attachment gives a permanent stat bonus, does that bonus still apply when the attachment is exhausted?
A: Yes. Exhausting an attachment does not negate any permanent bonus that attachment grants to the attached character.
Steward of Gondor (CORE 26) reads, "Action: Exhaust Steward of Gondor to...." Using this action only exhausts the Steward of Gondor card, not the hero to which it is attached. Additionally, exhausting the hero to which Steward of Gondor is attached does not exhaust the Steward of Gondor card.
Attachments and the card to which they are attached exhaust and ready independent of one another.
"In play" refers to cards that have been played or put into play (in a player's play area), to cards that are waiting in the staging area, to the currently revealed quest card, and to encounter cards that are engaged with that player.
"Out of play" states are "in a player's hand," "in a deck," or "in a discard pile." Card effects do not interact with cards in an out of play state unless the effect specifically refers to that state.
Players may be instructed to remove cards from the game. When a card is removed from the game, it should be set aside and ignored for the rest of the game. Do not place any "removed from game" cards in the discard pile, as effects that bring cards back from the discard pile no longer interact with these cards.
There is no limit to the amount of cards a player can have in his hand.
The staging area is a unique element of the game's playing field. It represents the potential dangers the players might face as they progress on their quest.
During the quest phase, enemy and location cards are revealed from the encounter deck and placed in the staging area. Cards in the staging area are imminent threats to the players, including enemies that need to be defeated and locations that need to be explored. While a location is in the staging area, the players are not considered at that location; instead it represents a distant threat. Players have the option of traveling to a location during the travel phase. Similarly, enemies in the staging area are not yet engaged with any of the players. Enemies engage players when a player's threat level is high enough to draw out that enemy. Players also have the option to voluntarily engage enemies during the encounter phase.
Q: What is the difference between "adding" a card to the staging area versus "placing" a card in the staging area?
A: There is no difference between "adding" a card to the staging area versus "placing" a card in the staging area. These words are used interchangeably and mean the same thing in all instances.
Enters the staging area is a term that applies to a card (enemy, location, objective, etc.) that is placed in the staging area. This term applies whether the card in question has been revealed from the encounter deck, placed in the staging area from out of play, returned from the discard pile or from engaged with a player, or by other means.
When a player reveals an objective from the encounter deck, he adds it to the staging area unless that objective instructs the player to do something different.
Any time encounter cards are "revealed" from the encounter deck, the players should follow the rules for staging. If a card effect uses the phase "Reveal and add to the staging area", it means the same as simply using the word "reveal", and the above steps should still be followed (i.e. treachery cards should still be discarded after resolving its effects, unless otherwise indicated by the card's text).
Each player has his own discard pile, and the encounter deck also has its own discard pile. Whenever a card is discarded, it goes to the discard pile belonging to the card's originating deck.
When a character is destroyed, or an event card is played, it is placed in the discard pile. This is not the same as being "discarded." Cards are only discarded when a card effect instructs a player to discard a card.
If a player runs out of cards in his player deck, he continues to play the game with the cards he has in play and in his hand. He does not reshuffle his discard pile. If the encounter deck is ever out of cards during the quest phase, the encounter discard pile is shuffled and reset back into the encounter deck.
The victory display is a game area where victory points are tracked. Cards in the victory display are considered to be out of play, but are not considered to be a part of the encounter discard pile. Cards in the victory display are not considered "removed from game," and some card effects may still interact with them.
The player side quest, The Storm Comes, has the text: "Limit 1 copy of The Storm Comes in the victory display." This text prevents more than 1 copy of The Storm Comes from entering the victory display. If the players defeat The Storm Comes, and there is already a copy of that side quest in the victory display, then the copy that was just defeated is placed in its owner's discard pile.
The players determine a first player based on a majority group decision during step 4 of setting up the game. At the end of each round, the first player passes the first player token to the next player clockwise on his left. That player becomes the new first player.
If the player with the first player token is eliminated, the first player token immediately passes clockwise to the next eligible player.
Some cards refer to the "last player." The last player is considered to be the player sitting directly to the right of the first player. If there is only one player playing, then that player is considered to be both the first and last player.
The shadow effect of Pathless Country (TBR 72) reads: "Shadow: After this attack, the attacking enemy engages the next player then makes an immediate attack." If there is only one player in the game, there is no next player to engage. The word "then" indicates that the immediate attack is conditional on the attacking enemy engaging the next player, so the enemy will not make an immediate attack.
The next player is the player sitting directly to the left of the player referenced by the card effect. If there are no other players in the game, there is no next player.
If there is only one player in the game, there is no next player. Card effects that target the "next" player will not trigger if there is only one player in the game.
Players are permitted and encouraged to talk to one another during play, and to work as a team to plan and execute the best course of action. Players can discuss anything they would like, but they cannot name or read out loud directly from cards in their hand, or from cards that they have seen but the rest of the players have not.
Standard Mode is the default difficulty for a given scenario. Players who wish can continue to play their games in Standard Mode, following all of a scenario's normal setup instructions.
Easy Mode is an alternative mode of play, ideal for new players and for players who prefer the narrative and cooperative aspects of the game with less challenge.
To play a scenario in Easy Mode, simply take the following steps during setup of any scenario:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool.
When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
In Standard Mode, you include all cards marked with the appropriate encounter set icons when you build your encounter deck.
In Easy Mode, when you build the encounter deck, you remove all encounter cards designated as "difficult." These encounter cards are marked with the "difficulty" indicator (a gold border) around their encounter set icons.
Some older scenarios (including those in early printings of the core game) do not have the above mentioned "difficulty" indicator icon on relevant cards in their encounter decks.
You will find the appropriate list of cards to take off the encounter deck in the rulesheet dedicated to each scenario.
The twenty-two card Nightmare Decks increase the challenge levels of the scenarios they modify, and Nightmare Mode appeals most to those skilled veterans who hunt for new challenges, deadlier enemies, and taller mountains to scale. Nightmare Decks can be purchased via Print On Demand.
There are two kinds of ship cards: Ship-Enemies and Ship-Objectives. Both ship-enemies and ship-objectives count as ship cards, but have different rules associated with them.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives are encounter cards (not player cards) which function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-Ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-Ship non-unique enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate facedown pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. The other non-unique enemies and ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through encounter card effects, such as the Boarding keyword.
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non-Ship Corsair enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead.
When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the unique ship-objectives included in the encounter sets.
The Heading card attached to the Dream-chaser represents the fleet's current ability to navigate their ships with the wind and through the many hazards that may appear at sea. A bad heading represents sailing poorly, into hazards such as enemies or foul weather.
The symbol shown on the Heading card is called "your current heading." All players share the same heading. Some cards will have additional or different effects depending on the current heading. The possible headings are described below:
If you are instructed to shift your heading off-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° counterclockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to the worst setting (). If it is already at the worst setting (), it cannot shift off-course.
If you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° clockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to on-course (). If it is already at on-course (), it cannot shift on-course.
Note: When you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, it does not shift all the way to the on-course () setting; it only shifts one step closer to the on-course () setting.
Sailing is a keyword that represents that the players are currently traveling across the sea on their ships. At the beginning of each quest phase (before committing characters to the quest), if the main quest has the Sailing keyword, the first player must perform a Sailing test.
Sailing tests represent the players' ability to change their course or alter their sails and riggings in such a way as to adapt to the changing winds.
In order to perform a Sailing test, you must first shift your heading off-course. This represents the shifting of the winds, and the difficulty of navigating at sea. (If it is already at , it does not change.)
Then, the player performing the Sailing test exhausts any number of characters he controls, committing them to the Sailing test. After choosing which characters to commit to the Sailing test, that player looks at a number of cards from the top of the encounter deck equal to the total number of characters committed to the Sailing test. If the encounter deck does not contain enough cards to look at, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck first.
Some encounter cards have a symbol on the bottom left corner of their text box. This symbol represents a success when performing a Sailing test. For each symbol found on the looked at encounter cards, you may shift your heading on-course. If no symbols are found, your heading stays the same. Then, discard all of the looked at cards.
symbols have no effect other than representing success during a Sailing test.
Players have the opportunity to use Action effects before and after a Sailing test, but not during.
A player is permitted to add a treasure card to his player deck before the game begins if both of the following conditions are met:
Any treasure card that meets the above conditions can be added to a player's deck during the setup of a scenario. No more than 1 copy of any treasure card, by title, can be added to a player's deck. Treasure cards added to a deck do not count towards that deck's 50 card minimum.
The Hobbit Saga Expansions feature Bilbo Baggins, a new hero card with a special set of rules.
This version of Bilbo must be used when playing the scenarios in this set. The Bilbo Baggins hero card included in this box belongs to a unique sphere of influence, the Baggins sphere, denoted by the symbol. As Thorin and his companions came to rely on the unlikely hero, players will need Bilbo's help to defeat each scenario in this deluxe expansion.
The cards (including Bilbo Baggins) and the treasure cards are intended for use only when playing the scenarios included in The Hobbit Saga Expansion boxes.
In The Hobbit Saga Expansions, the version of Bilbo Baggins has the text: "The first player gains control of Bilbo Baggins." When the first player token passes during the refresh phase, the first player gains control of Bilbo Baggins, all resources in his pool, and all cards attached to him. If Bilbo Baggins is the last hero under a player's control, and he then leaves that player's control, that player is immediately eliminated from the game.
As a hero, Bilbo Baggins collects 1 resource during the resource phase.
Therefore, managing a limited number of resources becomes an important part of each scenario. In addition to paying for cards that match Bilbo Baggins's sphere (as well as neutral cards), there are numerous situations in these scenarios in which resources can be used to assist the players.
The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions feature The One Ring, an objective card that the players must use when playing the scenarios in this set.
When setting up the scenarios in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions boxes, the first player must attach The One Ring to a Ring-bearer he controls.
While attached to a hero, The One Ring has the text: "Attached hero does not count against the hero limit." Therefore, it is possible for the first player to begin the game with up to 4 heroes under his control if one of those heroes is a Ring-bearer with The One Ring attached.
The One Ring has the text: "The first player gains control of attached hero." When the first player token passes during the refresh phase, the first player gains control of the attached Ring-bearer, all resources in that hero's resource pool, and all cards attached to that hero. If the hero with The One Ring attached is the last hero under a player's control, and that hero leaves that player's control, then that player is immediately eliminated from the game.
The One Ring also has the text: "If The One Ring leaves play, the players lose the game." Just like in the books, the players will need to carefully guard the Ring-bearer because if the attached hero leaves play, then The One Ring is also discarded and the players lose the game.
Included in The Land of Shadow is a unique, double-sided encounter card: Gollum / Sméagol. Each side of this card represents a different aspect of the iconic character: Gollum is an enemy card while Sméagol is an objective-ally. Just as in the books, Gollum will stop at nothing to reclaim his "Precious" while Sméagol wishes to aid his "nice Master."
Because the Gollum / Sméagol card does not have an encounter card back, it can never be shuffled into the encounter deck. Instead, a scenario featuring Gollum / Sméagol will instruct the players to put him into play during setup, and identify which side to put faceup.
While his enemy side is faceup, Gollum looks like this:
When the players defeat Gollum, discard all damage tokens from him and turn him Sméagol side faceup. When that happens, the Gollum enemy leaves play and the Sméagol objective-ally enters play.
While his objective-ally side is faceup, Sméagol looks like this:
The last line of Sméagol's text box cannot be affected by card text, including encounter card and quest card effects. If Sméagol takes damage equal to his hit points, the players immediately lose the game.
If an effect causes Sméagol is to be flipped to Gollum, discard all damage tokens from Sméagol. When Sméagol flips to Gollum, the Sméagol objective-ally leaves play, and the Gollum enemy enters play. Gollum always enters play in the "ready" position, regardless of whether Sméagol was ready or exhausted when he was flipped to Gollum.
The Fellowship sphere, denoted by the icon, is a sphere of influence in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game with its own set of rules.
The Fellowship sphere emphasizes the sacrifice and determination of the valiant heroes who took up the burden of carrying The One Ring in the fight against Sauron. The Fellowship sphere cards are only intended to be used when playing the scenarios presented in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions.
Heroes belonging to the Fellowship sphere can only be used when playing the scenarios in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions. Also, only 1 hero from the Fellowship sphere can be played at a time. Therefore, it is not possible for there to be more than 1 hero belonging to the Fellowship sphere in play at any time.
The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions features Frodo Baggins and other heroes who belong to the Fellowship sphere. When using these versions of those heroes, players cannot start with any other version(s) of these heroes as a starting hero or include any other version(s) of these heroes in their decks.
As a hero, a Fellowship sphere hero collects 1 resource during the resource phase. In addition to paying for cards that match the Fellowship sphere, resources from a Fellowship sphere hero pool may be spent to pay for neutral cards as well.
A hero from the Fellowship sphere cannot be used as a hero when playing any scenario from a product other than The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions.
The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions feature Frodo Baggins, a hero who belongs to the Fellowship sphere.
When using this version, players cannot start with any other version(s) of Frodo Baggins as a starting hero or include any other version(s) of Frodo Baggins in their decks.
As a hero, this version of Frodo Baggins collects 1 resource during the resource phase. In addition to paying for cards that match the Fellowship sphere, resources from Frodo Baggins' pool may be spent to pay for neutral cards as well.
When setting up any scenario in The Black Riders, The Road Darkens or The Land of Shadow expansion, the first player must take control of a hero from the Fellowship sphere with the Ring-bearer trait at the beginning of each game and attach The One Ring to that hero.
Because this version of Frodo Baggins belongs to the Fellowship sphere, he cannot be used as a hero when playing any scenario from a product other than The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions.
Q: When playing a scenario in The Road Darkens saga expansion in Campaign Mode, can I use the Fellowship sphere Frodo Baggins from The Black Riders box as my Ring-bearer?
A: Yes. When setting up the game in Campaign Mode you must choose a hero from the Fellowship sphere with the Ring-bearer trait and attach The One Ring to that hero. Any hero that meets these qualifications is a legal choice.
The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions features Aragorn, a hero who belongs to the Fellowship sphere.
When using this version, players cannot start with any other version(s) of Aragorn as a starting hero or include any other version(s) of Aragorn in their decks.
As a hero, this version of Aragorn collects 1 resource during the resource phase. In addition to paying for cards that match the Fellowship sphere, resources from Aragorn's pool may be spent to pay for neutral cards as well.
Aragorn has the text: "The first player gains control of Aragorn." When the first player token passes during the refresh phase, the first player gains control of Aragorn, all resources in Aragorn's resource pool, and all cards attached to Aragorn. If Aragorn is the last hero under a player's control, and he leaves that player's control, then that player is immediately eliminated from the game.
Aragorn also has the text: "If Aragorn leaves play, the players lose the game." This text cannot be modified by player card effects or encounter card effects.
Because this version of Aragorn belongs to the Fellowship sphere, he cannot be used as a hero when playing any scenario from a product other than The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions.
When setting up any scenario in The Treason of Saruman or The Flame of the West Saga Expansions, the first player must take control of Aragorn from the Fellowship sphere at the beginning of each game.
When playing the scenarios in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions, players reveal encounter cards individually in player order during the Staging step of the Quest phase. Beginning with the first player, each player reveals 1 encounter card and resolves its staging before the next player reveals a card. If an encounter card has an effect that uses the word "you" then the encounter card is referring to the player who revealed the card. If the revealed encounter has the Surge keyword, the player who revealed that card reveals an additional encounter card. Encounter cards with the Doomed X keyword still affect each player.
Peril is a keyword in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions. When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
Q: If an encounter card effect with the Peril keyword causes an enemy to make an attack against me, can my friend use his character with the Sentinel keyword to defend the attack?
A: Yes. Once the enemy attack is initiated, it should follow each step of "resolving enemy attacks,' and the action windows in-between each step are open to all players.
Campaign mode is an exciting way of playing The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game that combines all the scenarios from the The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions into one epic adventure! To play campaign mode, the players play through each scenario in order. Players only advance to the next scenario after they have defeated the current scenario. If the players lose a scenario, there is no penalty but they must play it again in order to defeat it before they can advance to the next scenario.
Q: In Campaign Mode, if I used one version of a hero in a previous scenario and I wish to use a different version of that hero for next scenario, do I incur a +1 threat penalty?
A: No. As long as the new hero shares the same title as the previous hero, there is no penalty.
Q: When playing Campaign Mode as a group, if we wish to trade control of heroes within the group, do we incur a +1 threat penalty for each hero who traded control?
A: No. As long as no heroes were removed from the game and replaced with a different hero, the players do not incur a +1 threat penalty for trading heroes within the group.
Q: If I began my campaign with only 2 heroes, do I incur a +1 threat penalty if I add a third hero during the setup for a scenario?
A: No. As long as no heroes were removed from the game and replaced with a different hero, the players do not incur a +1 threat penalty for adding a new hero.
Q: If I began my campaign with 3 heroes, can I choose not to use 1 or 2 of those heroes when setting up a scenario in order to lower my starting threat?
A: No. Each player must use each of his heroes as recorded in the Campaign Log when setting up a scenario in Campaign Mode.
Q: If a hero's name is on the list of Fallen Heroes, can I play the ally version of that hero?
A: No. When a hero's name is added to the list of Fallen Heroes, that character is considered to be incapacitated for the duration of that campaign. Therefore, each version of that character, hero or ally, cannot be used.
Q: If a hero is destroyed during a scenario in Campaign Mode and I choose to replay the scenario, is that hero's name still added to the list of Fallen Heroes?
A: No. Players should only record their results in the Campaign Log after successfully defeating a scenario. Furthermore, if the players defeat the scenario but are still unhappy with the result, they may choose not to record their results and try again.
The Campaign Log is used to track the course and development of the entire campaign. At the end of each scenario, the players record their results by entering all of the relevant information in the Campaign Log.
When setting up a scenario in campaign mode, the players refer back to the Campaign Log to make sure they are using all of the correct cards. In this way the results of each scenario can affect the outcome of the next one, and the decisions players make in the first adventure may determine their success on future scenarios.
When playing campaign mode, players must record the names of their heroes in the Campaign Log at the beginning of the first scenario. If a hero is in a player's discard pile at the end of the game, that hero's name is added to the list of Fallen Heroes in the Campaign Log. A hero whose name appears on the list of Fallen Heroes cannot be used by any player when playing future scenarios in that campaign.
While playing campaign mode, players may change the cards in their decks between games, but they must use the same heroes for each scenario with two exceptions:
When playing the scenarios in The Treason of Saruman or The Flame of the West in campaign mode, players cannot use any card titled "Frodo Baggins."
When setting up a scenario in campaign mode, if a player had previously recorded Aragorn as one of his heroes in the campaign log, that player loses control of that version of Aragorn. That player may choose a different hero to replace Aragorn without incurring the +1 threat penalty. Record the new hero in the campaign log. Any cards with the permanent keyword that were attached to the previous version of Aragorn are transferred to the Fellowship sphere Aragorn.
If Aragorn had previously been added to the list of fallen heroes, remove his name from the list and each player incurs a permanent +1 threat penalty.
When playing the scenarios in The Land of Shadow in campaign mode, players cannot use any card with the title "Aragorn."
When playing the scenarios in The Treason of Saruman, the players cannot use any ally or hero card with the title "Saruman" or "Gríma."
The list of boons and burdens that the players earn as they play through The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions in Campaign Mode is called the Campaign Pool. After the players defeat a scenario and record their results in the Campaign Log, they must add any boons and/or burdens earned to the Campaign Pool.
Boons are neutral player cards that must be earned by playing through a scenario in campaign mode in order to be used. Players are not allowed to include these cards in a game until after they are earned, unless a scenario directs them to do otherwise. When the players earn a boon card, they enter that boon's title in the Campaign Pool. If a boon card has the Permanent keyword, the players record which hero it is attached to in the Notes section. When setting up future scenarios in the current campaign, the players may include any boon cards as recorded in the Campaign Pool in their decks. These cards do not count against their deck minimum. If a boon with the Permanent keyword was recorded as being attached to a specific hero, that boon must be attached to the specified hero at the start of the game. If a boon card has an encounter card back, that card must shuffled into the encounter deck when setting up the game.
Burdens are encounter cards that can be earned when playing through a scenario in campaign mode and subsequently included in the encounter deck. Instead of an encounter set icon, burdens have a "burden set icon" used to identify what burden set they belong to. Because burdens don't belong to an encounter set, they should not be included in an encounter deck until the players are instructed to include them (even if the burden set icon is the same as an encounter set icon used for the scenario). When a player earns a burden card, he enters that burden's title in the Campaign Pool. If a burden card has the Permanent keyword, the players record which hero it is attached to in the Notes section. When setting up a scenario in the current campaign, the players must refer to their Campaign Log and include each burden card listed in the Campaign Pool in the encounter deck. If a player has earned a burden card with a player card back, that card is shuffled into his deck after he has drawn his starting hand. If a hero is added to the list of fallen heroes, then all boons and burdens with the Permanent keyword attached to that hero are removed from the Campaign Pool.
Q: If I use the ability on Leaf-wrapped Lembas ("Add Leaf-wrapped Lembas to the victory display, and remove it from the campaign pool, to ready all heroes in play.") but I lose the scenario and have to play it again, do I still remove Leaf-wrapped Lembas from the campaign pool?
A: No. While removing the boon from the campaign pool is part of the cost to trigger the Action on each of the Gift attachments (Phial of Galadriel, Three Golden Hairs, Lórien Rope, or Leaf-wrapped Lembas), that decision should not be recorded until after the scenario is defeated. Even then, if the players are unhappy with the result, they may still choose not to record their results and try again.
Permanent is a keyword found on some boons and burdens. Once a boon or burden with the permanent keyword is earned, it is attached to a hero and that choice is recorded in the Campaign Log. A card with the permanent keyword can only be attached to one hero for the duration of a campaign. Attachments with the permanent keyword cannot be discarded from the attached hero while that hero is in play. If a hero leaves play, attachments with the permanent keyword attached to that hero are removed from the game.
"Functions like a player card" is a term that appears on some burdens (like The Searching Eye or Poisoned Councils), which is a burden treachery card with a player card back. Those cards are encounter cards, but they have a player card back because it is meant to be shuffled into a player's deck. The term "functions like a player card" is on those cards clarify that it should not be placed in the encounter discard pile after resolving its effect. Instead, the player who drew one of those cards holds that card in his hand like a regular player card. If one of those cards is discarded from a player's hand, it is placed in that player's discard pile.
The campaign card is a card type that serves to place a scenario within the larger campaign. When setting up a scenario in campaign mode, the players must place the campaign card for that scenario next to the quest deck and follow any additional setup instructions on the card. After the players defeat that scenario, they turn over the campaign card and follow any resolution instructions, updating their Campaign Log accordingly.
As with a deck of playing cards, shuffle all player decks separately until they are randomized. Do not shuffle the hero cards into the player decks.
Build the encounter deck from the encounter sets indicated on the quest cards.
Follow the instructions on the "Setup" face of the Nightmare Mode card. Remove all indicated cards and shuffle the Nightmare Deck in the encounter deck.
Don't forget to remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck. Some older scenarios (including those in early printings of the core game) do not have the above mentioned "difficulty" indicator icon on relevant cards in their encounter decks.
Shuffle the encounter deck. Do not shuffle the quest cards into the encounter deck.
Each player places his heroes in front of him, adds up the threat cost of the heroes he controls, and sets his threat tracker at the same value. This value is that player's starting threat level for the game.
The players must record the names of their heroes in the Campaign Log at the beginning of the first scenario. If a player changed heroes between two scenarios or if one of his previous heroes has been added to the Fallen Heroes list and been replaced by another hero, the player receives a permanent +1 starting threat penalty for each hero change. Follow any Setup instruction on Boons & Burdens from the Campaign Pool. Permanent Boons or Burdens must be attached to the heroes who earned them, according to what was recorded in the Campaign Log. If a player card with Setup instructions is in a player's deck at the beginning of a game, that player searches his deck for that card and follows its instructions before drawing his first hand. Similarly, if an encounter card with Setup is in the encounter deck at the beginning of a game, search the encounter deck for that card and follow its instructions before resolving the Setup instructions on the quest.
When setting up any scenario in The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions, the first player must take control of a hero from a Hero with the Ring-bearer trait with The One Ring attached to that hero or Aragorn at the beginning of each game.
When playing any scenario in The Hobbit Saga Expansions, the first player must take control of Bilbo Baggins.
Add one resource to each hero's resource pool.
Place the damage tokens, progress tokens, and resource tokens in a pile next to the encounter deck. All players take tokens from this bank as needed throughout the game.
The players determine a first player based on a majority group decision. If this proves impossible, determine a first player at random. Once determined, the first player takes the first player token and places it in front of him as reference.
Each player draws 6 cards from the top of his player deck. If a player does not wish to keep his starting hand, he may take a single mulligan, by shuffling these 6 cards back into his deck and drawing 6 new cards. A player who takes a mulligan must keep his second hand.
Arrange the quest cards in sequential order, based off the numbers on the back of each card. Stage 1A should be on top, with the numbers increasing in sequence moving down the stack. Place the quest deck near the encounter deck, in the center of the play area.
The back of the first quest card sometimes provides setup instructions for a scenario. Follow these instructions before flipping the quest card.
Flip the Nightmare Mode card from the "Setup" face to the "Nightmare Mode" face and follow any additional instruction.
Place the Campaign Card next to the quest card and follow any additional instruction.
Surge, Doomed, and Guarded keywords should be resolved any time the card on which they occur is revealed from the encounter deck, including during setup.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is played over a series of rounds. Each round is divided into 7 phases. Some phases are played simultaneously by all players, while in other phases the players act separately, with the first player acting first and play proceeding clockwise around the table.
The 7 phases are, in order:
Once all 7 phases are complete, the round is over, and play proceeds to the resource phase of the next round.
Each player simultaneously adds 1 resource token to each of his heroes' resource pools. A resource pool is a collection of resource tokens stored near a hero card. These tokens belong to that hero's pool, and can be used to pay for cards that belong to that hero's sphere of influence. Each hero has 1 resource pool.
After collecting resources, each player draws 1 card from his player deck and adds it to his hand.
When a player is instructed to draw one or more cards, he always draws those cards from the top of his own player deck. If a player has no cards remaining in his player deck, he does not draw.
This is the only phase in which a player can play ally and attachment cards from his hand. The first player plays any and all ally and attachment cards he wishes to play first. The opportunity to play cards then proceeds clockwise around the table.
If a hero is exhausted, resources may still be spent from that hero's resource pool.
After a player plays an ally or attachment card from his hand, he places it face-up and ready in his play area. Attachment cards should be placed partially overlapping, either above or below, the card to which they are attached.
In the quest phase, the players attempt to make progress on the current stage of their quest. This phase is broken into three steps:
Players have the opportunity to take actions and play event cards at the beginning and ending of each step.
Each player may commit characters to the current quest card. Characters are exhausted when they commit to a quest. Players commit characters to the quest as a team, starting with the first player, and then proceeding clockwise around the table. Each player may commit as many of his characters to the quest as he would like.
Q: Does a player commit his characters to a quest at once, or one character at a time? When can a player trigger responses to committing his characters to a quest?
A: A player commits all characters he wishes to commit to a quest at once. Responses to the characters committing (such as those on Aragorn and Théodred) can then be triggered in the order of that player's choice. After a player has committed his characters (and triggered any responses to those characters committing), the next player has the opportunity to commit his characters to the quest.
After each player has had the opportunity to commit characters to the quest, the encounter deck reveals one card per player. This is known in the game as staging. These encounter cards are revealed one at a time, with any "when revealed" effects being resolved before the next card is revealed. Enemy and location cards revealed in this manner are placed in the staging area, treachery cards are resolved and (unless otherwise indicated by the card text) placed in the discard pile. If the encounter deck is ever empty during the quest phase, the encounter discard pile is shuffled and reset back into the encounter deck.
Q: When I reveal the last card of the encounter deck, do I immediately reset the quest deck before resolving the staging of the revealed card?
A: No. Resolve the staging of the revealed card, including any "When Revealed' effects, before resetting the quest deck, if able. If you are unable to completely resolve the staging of the card because it instructs you to interact with the encounter deck in some manner, then reset the quest deck and finish resolving the effect.
Q: If a player is eliminated during the staging step of the quest phase, before all encounter cards are revealed, does the elimination reduce the number of cards that should be revealed for staging?
A: The base number of cards to be revealed is determined at the beginning of the staging step, and does not change if a player is eliminated during staging.
Finally, the players compare the combined willpower strength () of all committed characters against the combined threat strength () of all cards in the staging area.
If the is higher, the players have successfully quested, and they make progress on the quest. A number of progress tokens equal to the amount by which their overcame the are placed on the current quest card. Note that if there is an active location, progress tokens are placed on that location until it is explored, and the remainder are then placed on the current quest.
If the is higher, the players have unsuccessfully quested, and they are driven back by the encounter deck. Each player must raise his threat dial by the amount by which the was higher than the combined of all committed characters.
If the combined committed score is equal to the combined score in the staging area: no progress tokens are placed, and the players do not increase their threat dials.
Characters committed to a quest are considered committed to that quest through the end of the quest phase, unless removed from the quest by a card effect. They do remain exhausted once this step is complete.
Q: If the players do not commit any characters to a quest, does the staging area still count its threat against them?
A: Yes, the threat in the staging area still counts against the players, who have a combined committed willpower of 0.
Players immediately advance to the next stage of a quest as soon as they place a number of progress tokens equal to or greater than the number of quest points the current quest card has. Additional progress tokens earned against the quest do not carry over to the next stage. All progress tokens on the quest are returned to the token bank when players advance to the next stage. Players follow any instructions on the newly revealed quest card as it is revealed.
The game state of other cards does not change; cards in the staging area remain in the staging area, cards engaged with players remain engaged, exhausted characters remain exhausted, damage tokens and resources remain as they are placed, and the round sequence is not interrupted.
Q: If players have placed progress tokens on a quest equal to its quest points, but a game effect prevents them from advancing, can they continue to place progress tokens on the quest?
A: Yes. There is no upper limit to how many progress tokens may be placed on a quest.
Q: If there is an active location with a Response effect that triggers when it is explored and the players make enough progress to explore the location and advance to the next stage, when do the players resolve the location's Response effect?
A: The players should advance to the next stage immediately and resolve any "when revealed' effects on the next stage, then resolve the Response effect on the active location.
When a card effect removes progress tokens from a quest or quest card, the effect applies specifically to the quest card, and never to the active location.
During the quest phase, engaged enemies do not count their threat for the staging area.
An enemy remains engaged with a player until it is defeated or until a card effect returns it to the staging area, engages it to another player, or removes it from play.
Tom has just successfully quested during stage 1B of The Hunt Begins (SoM 11), and he will be placing enough progress to advance to the next stage. However, he must first resolve the Forced effect (which resolves immediately upon the occurence of "questing succesfully") before placing progress tokens on the quest.
Questing successfully and the physical placement of progress tokens are two separate game occurrences that happen in sequence during the Quest Resolution step. As soon as the players determine that the total committed Willpower is greater than the total Threat in the staging area, they are considered to have quested successfully. Any Forced or passive effects initiated by questing successfully resolve before physically placing progress tokens.
Side quests represent secondary adventures that the heroes may undertake while pursuing the main goals of the quest deck. There are two kinds of side quests: those with encounter card backs and those with player card backs. Side quests are never considered to be a part of the quest deck. The top card of the quest deck is called the "main quest."
A side quest with an encounter card back is called an "encounter side quest." An encounter side quest is both a quest card and an encounter card. Each encounter side quest is part of an encounter set and it is shuffled into the encounter deck when setting up a scenario that uses its encounter set. When an encounter side quest is revealed from the encounter deck, it is added to the staging area. Because side quests are quest cards as well as encounter cards, the "when revealed" effects of side quests cannot be cancelled by player card effects. If a side quest is dealt to an enemy as a shadow card, it functions as any other encounter card without shadow text.
A side quest with a player card back is called a "player side quest." A player side quest is both a quest card and a player card, and can be included in player decks. A player side quest can be played from a player's hand during the planning phase by paying its cost. When a player side quest is played or enters play, it is placed in the staging area.
While any side quest is in the staging area, it functions like a quest card with the following exception: when a side quest is defeated, the players do not advance to the next stage of the quest deck. Instead, the side quest is added the victory display.
At the beginning of each quest phase, if there are one or more side quests in the staging area, the first player may choose one to be the "current quest" until the end of the phase instead of the quest card that is currently active via the quest deck. While a side quest is the current quest, any progress that the players make is placed onto that side quest and any card effects that target the "current quest" target that side quest. Progress must still be placed on the active location before it can be placed on a side quest. Any progress that is made beyond the current quest's total quest points is discarded; do not place progress on any other quest card in play.
While each quest card is in play, its game text is active.
Q: If a side quest is the "current" quest, is the text on the main quest still active?
A: Yes. The text on each quest card in play is active.
During the travel phase, the players may travel as a group to any one location in the staging area by moving it from the staging area and placing it alongside the current quest card, causing it to become the active location. The players can only travel to one location at a time. The first player makes the final decision on whether and where to travel.
While in the staging area, location cards add to the encounter deck's . Once the players have traveled to a location, that location no longer contributes its , as the players are considered to have traveled to the location and are confronting its threat. Instead, an active location acts as a buffer for the currently revealed quest card. Any progress tokens that would be placed on a quest card are instead placed on the active location. If a location ever has as many progress tokens as it has quest points, that location is considered explored and is discarded from play.
Players cannot travel to a new location if another location card is active; the players must explore the active location before traveling elsewhere. Some locations have a travel effect, which is an additional cost that must be paid when the players travel there.
A location card is immediately discarded from play any time it has as many progress tokens as it has quest points, whether it is active or not.
The only time an active location does not act as a buffer for progress to be placed on a quest is when card text specifically instructs the players to "bypass" the active location.
If a card effect causes two locations to be active at the same time, they are both considered to be the active location. However, when a card effect targets "the active location," it does not target both active locations at the same time. The first player must choose which of the active locations the effect will target. Both active locations serve as buffers for the quest stage and when placing progress on the active location, the players may divide that progress among both active locations however they choose.
The encounter phase consists of two steps: player engagement, and engagement checks.
First, each player has the option to engage one enemy in the staging area. This is done by moving the enemy from the staging area and placing it in front of the engaging player.
Each player has one chance to optionally engage one enemy during this step, and an enemy's engagement cost has no bearing on this procedure.
Q: In what order is players' optional engagement handled?
A: The first player has the first opportunity to optionally engage an enemy, or pass. After that, each player, moving clockwise, has the option to engage one enemy. Once each player has had this opportunity, this step is complete.
The first player, Tom, has a threat level of 24. The second player, Kris, has a threat level of 35. There are 4 enemies in the staging area: a King Spider (engagement cost of 20), a Forest Spider (engagement cost of 25), Ungoliant's Spawn (engagement cost of 32), and Hummerhorns (engagement cost of 40).
Tom and Kris both pass during the player engagement step, declining their opportunity to optionally engage enemies.
Since he is the first player, Tom makes the first engagement check. Tom's threat level of 24 is compared against each enemy in the staging area. The Hummerhorns (40), Ungoliant's Spawn (32), and the Forest Spider (25) each have an engagement cost that is higher than Tom's threat level, so none of these enemies engage Tom. The King Spider (20), however, has an engagement cost that is equal to or lower than Tom's threat level, so the King Spider engages Tom. This card is moved out of the staging area and placed in front of Tom's play area.
Next, Kris makes an engagement check, comparing his threat level of 34 against the remaining enemies in the staging area. The Hummerhorns (40) do not engage Kris. Ungoliant's Spawn, with an engagement cost of 32, is the enemy with the highest cost that is equal to or below Kris's threat level, so this card engages Kris.
Tom then makes another engagement check, and since his threat level and the enemies in the staging area have not changed, no further enemies engage him. Kris makes another engagement check, and this time the Forest Spider (25) engages him. Tom's next engagement check passes, and then Kris makes a final engagement check, in which nothing engages him.
The end result, then, leaves Tom engaged with the King Spider and Kris engaged with both Ungoliant's Spawn and the Forest Spider. The Hummerhorns remain in the staging area.
Second, the players must make a series of engagement checks, to see if any of the enemies remaining in the staging area engage them. The first player compares his threat level against the engagement cost of each of the enemy cards in the staging area. The enemy with the highest engagement cost that is equal to or lower than this player's threat level engages this player, and moves from the staging area to the space in front of him. This is called making an engagement check. After the first player makes an engagement check, the player to his left makes his own engagement check. This player compares his threat level against the engagement cost of each of the remaining enemy cards in the staging area, and engages the enemy with the highest engagement cost that is equal to or lower than his own threat level.
This process continues through all the players, proceeding clockwise around the table. Once all players have made an engagement check, the first player makes a second engagement check. Players continue making engagement checks in this manner until there are no enemies remaining in the staging area that can engage any of the players.
Whether an enemy is engaged through an engagement check, through a card effect, or through a player's choice, the end result is the same, with the enemy and the player engaging one another. In all cases, the player is considered to have engaged the enemy and the enemy is considered to have engaged the player. Note that during this phase enemies do not attack players, they merely engage players. Enemies attack the players with whom they are engaged during the combat phase.
When a player engages an enemy, that enemy has also engaged him, and when an enemy engages a player, that player has also engaged that enemy. There is no difference between engaging an enemy and being engaged by an enemy. Effects that trigger "after an enemy engages you" will trigger at the same time as effects that trigger "after you engage an enemy."
Q: If an enemy is put into play directly engaged with me, has that enemy "engaged" me for the purposes Forced effects or Responses that trigger from engaging an enemy?
A: Yes. An enemy that enters play directly engaged with a player has engaged that player.
Durin's Bane (D 150) cannot leave the staging area and is considered to be engaged with two players. Player 1 has Mablung (RM 84) and wishes to trigger his Response effect, but he cannot because he has not actually engaged Durin's Bane. Player 2 wishes to play Feint (CORE 34) to prevent Durin's Bane from attacking him. He can, because Durin's Bane is considered to be engaged with him.
An enemy that does not leave the staging area but is considered to be engaged with a player does not actually engage that player, nor does that player engage it. In order for a player to engage an enemy, the enemy card must physically enter his play area.
In the combat phase, enemies attack first. All enemies that are engaged with the players attack each round, and the players resolve those attacks one at a time. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players deal 1 shadow card to each engaged enemy. Deal the top card of the encounter deck, face down, to each engaged enemy. When dealing cards to a single player's enemies, always deal to the enemy with the highest engagement cost first. Cards should first be dealt to the enemies attacking the first player, and then proceed around the board until all enemies have 1 card.
If the encounter deck runs out of cards, any enemies that have not been dealt shadow cards are not dealt shadow cards this round. An empty encounter deck only resets during the quest phase.
Kris is engaged with 2 enemies, the Forest Spider and Ungoliant's Spawn. One card from the encounter deck is dealt face down to each engaged enemy, first to Ungoliant's Spawn and second to the Forest Spider, as Ungoliant's Spawn has a higher engagement cost. These cards determine any shadow effects that might affect the resolution of the attack. Kris can resolve the attacks against him in any order; he decides to resolve the attack made by Ungoliant's Spawn first.
Kris first declares a defender for this attack. Kris exhausts his Silverlode Archer, declaring it as a defender against Ungoliant's Spawn. To resolve this attack, Kris flips the shadow card that was dealt to Ungoliant's Spawn faceup. The card is the East Bight Patrol, which has the shadow effect "Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 . (If this attack was undefended, also raise your threat by 3.)" Kris resolves this shadow effect first, increasing Ungoliant's Spawn's by 1. He then determines the attacking enemy's total (6) and subtracts the defender's (0), and the result is the number of damage tokens he must deal to the defender (6). Since the Silverlode Archer only has 1 hit point, it is immediately destroyed.
Kris now resolves the other attack being made against him. He declares this attack undefended. He flips the shadow card that was dealt to the Forest Spider faceup. This card is the Enchanted Stream, which does not have a shadow effect. The attack resolves normally, with no additional modifications or effects. Kris determines the attacking enemy's total (2), and since there is no defender, he must deal this much damage to one of his heroes. Kris's only hero is Aragorn, who has 5 hit points. Kris places 2 damage tokens on Aragorn, who survives the attack with 3 hit points remaining.
When resolving enemy attacks, the players follow these 4 steps, in order. Players may play event cards and take actions at the end of each step.
If an attack is undefended, all damage from the attack must be assigned to a single hero controlled by the active player. Allies cannot take damage from undefended attacks. If a defending character leaves play or is removed from combat before damage is assigned, the attack is considered undefended. A character's does not absorb damage from undefended attacks or from card effects.
The first player then repeats these 4 steps for each enemy that he is engaged with. After the first player has resolved all enemy attacks against himself, the player to his left resolves the attacks his enemies are making against him, following steps 1-4 in turn for each enemy. If playing with more than 2 players, proceed clockwise around the table with each player resolving all of his enemies' attacks.
Characters that are declared as defenders are only considered to be defending through the resolution of the attack. Once an attack has resolved, the characters are no longer considered "defenders," but they do remain exhausted.
When an enemy makes an attack against a player, or a character controlled by a player, that player is "the defending player" regardless of whose character is declared as a defender. Card effects, including shadow card effects, that target "the defending player" or "you" still target the player who the enemy is attacking even if another player declares one of his characters as a defender for that attack.
Q: If a player does not declare any defenders against an attack, is he still considered the defending player?
A: Yes, the player an enemy is attacking is considered to be the defending player. Whether or not he declares defenders, and whether or not any other player declares defenders for him, does not change his status as the defending player for the attack.
If a player uses card effects to declare multiple defenders against a single enemy attack, the defending player must assign all damage from that attack to a single defending character.
Some of the cards in the encounter deck have a secondary effect that is known as a shadow effect. Shadow effects only resolve when the card is dealt to an attacking enemy during combat.
Q: If an enemy does not attack or its attack is cancelled, what happens to its shadow card(s)?
A: At the end of the combat phase, discard each unresolved shadow card in play. (Do not resolve the effects on these shadow cards).
Shadow cards remain on the enemy to which they were dealt throughout the combat phase. If that enemy leaves play, discard its shadow card from play. At the end of the combat phase, discard all shadow cards that were dealt this round.
Enemies that are dealt as shadow cards are not considered to be revealed from the encounter deck.
If an enemy attacks outside of the combat phase, it is still dealt a shadow card at the beginning of the attack. Then follow the 4 steps under Phase 6 "Combat" in the rules. There is an action window after each step. Any shadow cards dealt to the attacking enemy are discarded after the attack resolves.
When an enemy attacks a player, that player may declare 1 defender whether the enemy is engaged with him or not. Sentinel may also be used to defend against such attacks.
Q: When an enemy makes an attack against me from the staging area, can I declare a defender?
A: Yes. If an enemy attacks you, you can exhaust 1 character you control to declare it as a defender against that attack, whether that enemy is engaged with you or not.
Q: When an enemy makes an attack as part of its "when revealed" effect, is that enemy in the staging area?
A: No. Enemies are added to the staging after resolving their "when revealed" effects. An enemy that makes an attack as part of its "when revealed" effect, is not in the staging area or engaged with the defending player unless a card effect says it is.
If a card involved in combat changes control, is returned to the staging area, or engages another player during the resolution of an attack, that attack still resolves with the card still participating from its new state.
Q: When an enemy that has already made an attack engages a new player during the combat phase, does it make another attack?
A: Not unless it is directed to by card effect.
Bilbo Baggins (OtD 1) has the most poison attached when Crazy Cob (OtD 29) is revealed from the encounter deck and its "When Revealed" effect triggers an attack against the character with the most poison attached. Even though the first player controls 3 other heroes, any undefended damage from this attack must be applied to Bilbo Baggins. Because Bilbo is already exhausted from committing to the quest, he cannot exhaust to defend himself and will be killed if the attack is undefended. Knowing this, the first player chooses to exhaust one of his ready characters, Bombur, to declare him as the defender for this attack. At this point, the attack resolves as normal and any damage from the attack is applied to Bombur.
An attack made against a character works the same as an attack made against a player with one exception: undefended damage from an attack against a character must be assigned to that character.
When an enemy makes an additional attack, discard all of its previously dealt shadow cards before dealing it a new shadow card.
Once all players have resolved enemy attacks, each player (starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise) has the opportunity to strike back and declare attacks against his enemies.
Tom is engaged with two enemies, the Dol Guldur Beastmaster and the Dol Guldur Orcs. He can declare one attack against each of these enemies this round, but he must declare and resolve these attacks one at a time.
Tom declares his first attack against the Dol Guldur Orcs, and exhausts Glorfindel to declare him as an attacker. Tom determines Glorfindel's (3) and then subtracts from it the Dol Guldur Orcs' (0), and gets a result of 3. Tom places 3 damage tokens from the token bank on the Dol Guldur Orcs. Since the Dol Guldur Orcs only have 3 hit points, they are destroyed, and the Dol Guldur Orcs card is placed in the encounter discard pile.
Next, Tom declares Legolas and the Gondorian Spearman as attackers against the Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Legolas (3 ) and the Gondorian Spearman (1 ) pool their attack strength together, for a total of 4. The Dol Guldur Beastmaster has a of 1, so 3 points of the attack are dealt as damage. Tom places 3 damage tokens from the token bank on the Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Since this enemy started with 5 hit points, it survives the attack with 2 hit points remaining. The damage tokens remain on the Dol Guldur Beastmaster to indicate that it is damaged.
In order to declare an attack, a player must exhaust at least 1 ready character. A character must exhaust to be declared as an attacker. When declaring an attack, a - 40 - player must also declare which enemy is the target of the attack. A player may declare multiple characters as attackers against a single enemy, pooling their attack strength into a single value. A player has the opportunity to declare 1 attack against each enemy with which he is engaged.
To resolve an attack against an enemy, a player follows these 3 steps, in order. Players may play event cards and take actions at the end of each step.
Characters that are declared as attackers are only considered to be attacking through the resolution of the attack. Once an attack has resolved, the characters are no longer considered "attackers," but they do remain exhausted.
After a player's first attack has resolved, he can declare another attack against any eligible enemy target that he has not yet attacked this round. Each player can declare an attack (with any number of eligible attackers he controls) against each enemy with which he is engaged once each round. Once all of a player's attacks resolve, play proceeds clockwise from the first player until all players have resolved all of their attacks.
Q: Are there any player cards that allow me to attack an enemy in the staging area if it is immune to player card effects?
A: No. None.
When a player is the active attacker during the combat phase, the game rules grant him the option to declare 1 attack against each enemy with which he is engaged. If, through card effects such as ranged, a player is able to declare attacks against enemies with which he is not engaged, the game rules still only provide for a single attack against each of these enemies.
However, if a player makes an attack against an enemy by a card effect such as Quick Strike (CS 35) or Hands Upon the Bow (D 131), that is an extra attack and does not count against the limit of 1 attack.
For each point of damage dealt to a character or enemy, one damage token is placed on the character or enemy card. Each damage token on a hero, ally, or enemy card reduces that card's hit points by 1. Damage tokens remain on a card until another effect heals or moves the damage off of the card, or until the card leaves play.
Any time one of these cards has 0 hit points, it is immediately defeated. Defeated characters are placed in their owner's discard pile, and defeated enemies are placed in the encounter discard pile. Note that hero cards that are defeated are placed in their owner's discard pile. When resolving effects that move cards from a player's discard pile to his hand or deck, hero cards in the discard pile are ignored, as hero cards cannot move to a player's hand or deck.
Any enemy cards that are not defeated remain engaged with a player until they are defeated or removed by a card effect, or until that player is eliminated from the game.
Q: What happens if an attacking enemy is destroyed before its attack resolves?
A: When resolving an enemy attack, the defending player should check the status of the attacking enemy at end of each step: is there still an attacking enemy? If yes, proceed to next step. If no, end the attack.
Q: When an enemy with the text "cannot leave play" has damage equal to or in excess of its hit points, what happens?
A: Nothing. The enemy cannot leave play, and therefore will continue to function as an enemy in play
"Immune to ranged damage" means that characters participating in an attack via the ranged keyword are not able to deal damage to that enemy. (If a ranged character participates in an attack against such an enemy through another means than the ranged keyword, then it is able to damage it and will count its .)
During the refresh phase, all exhausted cards ready, each player increases his threat by 1, and the first player passes the first player token to the next player clockwise on his left. That player becomes the new first player. Play then proceeds to the resource phase of the next round.
The game ends in one of two ways, with the players either winning or losing as a team. The players are considered to have lost if all players are eliminated before the completion of the final stage of the scenario deck. The players are considered to have won if at least one player survives through the completion of the final stage of the scenario.
Turn over the campaign card and follow any resolution instructions. The players then record their results by entering all of the relevant information in the Campaign Log. After the players defeat a scenario and record their results in the Campaign Log, they must add any boons and/or burdens earned to the Campaign Pool.
A player is eliminated from the game if all of his heroes are killed, if his threat level reaches 50, or if a card effect forces his elimination.
When a player is eliminated, his hand, all of the cards he controls, and his deck are placed in their owners' discard piles. Any encounter cards with which that player was engaged are returned to the staging area, retaining any wound tokens that have been placed on them. The remaining players continue to play the game. Note that after a player is eliminated, one less card is revealed from the encounter deck during the staging step of the quest phase, as there is now one less player involved in the game.
If all players are eliminated, the game ends in a loss for the players.
As players make their way through the scenarios in The Hobbit Saga Expansions, Bilbo Baggins will assist them in many ways, but the players must also take care to protect him. If Bilbo Baggins leaves play, for any reason, the players immediately lose the game.
When playing The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions, if the Ring-bearer or Aragorn leaves play, for any reason, the players immediately lose the game.
A player is immediately eliminated from the game the moment his threat reaches his threat elimination level regardless of card effects in play.
If at least one player survives through the completion of the final stage of the scenario, the game ends in a victory for the players.
Newer players or players who want a more basic experience can play and enjoy the game by not dealing shadow cards during the combat phase. This eliminates an element of surprise that could make the game too challenging for a beginner. Once players are comfortable with this experience, they can then add the shadow effects to make combat less predictable and more exciting.
For an expert level challenge, players can attempt to defeat all 3 scenarios using the same combination of players, decks, and heroes. The score from each scenario can then be added together to get a single score measuring overall success on the entire campaign. For a "nightmare" level challenge, do not reset threat, hit points, or player decks at the beginning of each scenario. When playing such a campaign, the players should start with the "Passage through Mirkwood" scenario, follow with the "Journey Down the Anduin" scenario, and finish with the "Escape from Dol Guldur" scenario.
When playing the "expert game" variant each player's threat, wounds, and discard pile do not reset when setting up a new scenario.
To reset the other game elements at the beginning of a new "expert game" scenario, perform the following steps in order:
All non-hero cards in play and in hand are shuffled into their owner's decks. All encounter cards are returned to their encounter sets so they are available for the next scenario, if needed. This includes cards in players' victory display.
In a Race Against the Shadow tournament, teams race one another and the clock to win a scenario. Two teams play simultaneously, switching off at set points in the round, and the team that finishes the scenario first within the allotted time wins the match.
Each table will need a two-player game clock with pause functionality, for example, a chess clock. There are several free clock apps that would also be appropriate.
The Tournament Organizer (TO) may choose any set of scenarios, but due to their difficulty, Escape from Dol Guldur, The Battle of Laketown, The Massing at Osgiliath and Nightmare Decks are not recommended. The TO will advertise the selected pool of scenarios in advance of the event. Players are expected to provide their own quest and encounter cards.
Each player brings a legal The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game deck to the event. Legal decks contain a minimum of 50 cards and a maximum of 3 heroes. Players must select their heroes according to one of the following two formats.
In the limited format, a player uses these same heroes each match. Limited format events place high emphasis on building a tight but balanced deck that can handle any challenge.
In the extended format, at the beginning of each match each player may select his 3 heroes from a sideboard consisting of all heroes. Extended format events are slightly more casual, and allow players a chance to better adapt to the various scenarios with their selection of heroes.
Each match, each team will be paired against one other team. Each team will provide its own copy of the announced scenario, and their opponents may check the encounter deck for completeness. Randomly determine which team goes first.
Each team will begin with 45 minutes on the clock for a match length of 90 minutes. At the TO's discretion, depending on the general amount of time it takes to complete a scenario, this number can be adjusted up to 60 minutes or down to 30 minutes. Any adjustment to the time controls should be announced when pairings are posted.
In a Race Against the Shadow match, each round is broken into three phase groups. Teams alternate play through these phase groups, playing their cards and advancing through their quests, then observing their opponents' phase groups. The phase groups are:
The first team will begin by playing their Resource and Planning phases. Then they will start the other team's clock, and the second team will play its Resource and Planning phases. This process continues through the other two phase groups until the second team finishes its Refresh phase and the first team starts a new round.
Example round: Team 1 plays first. Team 1's players complete their Resource and Planning phases, then hit the clock. Team 2 then plays its Resource and Planning phases while Team 1 observes. After Team 2 hits the clock, Team 1 plays its Quest and Travel phases and hits the clock again. Team 2 then plays its Quest and Travel phases and hits the clock. Team 1 then plays its Encounter, Combat, and Refresh phases and hits the clock. Team 2 plays its Encounter, Combat, and Refresh phases, and the round is over. When Team 2 hits the clock again, Team 1 will begin the next round with its Resource and Planning phases.
When they are not on the clock, players on one team should observe their opponents' turns to ensure that all rules and encounter cards are followed correctly. Additionally, players may discuss the actions of their next turn during their opponents' turn, so long as they do not distract their opponents in the process. If a player has a question or rules dispute, he pauses the clock while he interrupts the other team. When the issue has been resolved, the active team restarts the clock, and play continues.
The team that finishes the scenario without the other team finishing in the same Phase Group is awarded a Match Win and 5 points.
If the team that played first completes the scenario first, the other team has their next phase group to attempt to complete the scenario.
If both teams complete the scenario in the same phase group, the team with the lower score wins. If the scores are also the same, the match is a Draw and each team is awarded 2 points.
If both teams are eliminated in the same round, or if neither team completes the scenario, the match is a Modified Loss and each team is awarded 1 point.
If a single team is eliminated, the other team is awarded a Match Win and 5 points.
If a team exhausts its allotted time, it is eliminated and the opposing team is awarded a Match Win and 5 points.
Standard Swiss Pairings are used. Random pairings are allowed for the first match. For future pairings, pair teams within the same score group as per Swiss style pairings. As teams are paired, the Tournament Organizer will announce the next scenario to be used.
Tournament organizers should always pair teams within score groups. Rather than pairing randomly, sort the teams in each score group by team number, then pair the top number to the bottom, the second to the second to last and so on. This allows for the subtle adjustment of teams if one team has already played another and has the same effect as using brackets so that the top 2 teams do not meet until the last match. The "odd" team of a score group will be paired down to the next score group, playing the highest ranked team of that score group.
If there is an odd number of teams in the tournament, the lowest-ranked team receives a bye, counting as a Match Win. When there is more than one lowest-ranked team, the lowest-ranked team with the lowest team number receives a bye. The team with the most points at the end of the Swiss rounds is the tournament champion.
A tournament deck must contain a minimum of 50 cards. Additionally, no more than three copies of any card, by title, can be included in a player's deck. Within these guidelines any combination of allies, attachments, and events can be used in the player deck.
Each player also starts the game with 1-3 heroes. Players may confer together before each game to select the heroes they would each like to use during that game. If more than one player desires to use the same hero, they must decide among themselves before the game begins, and the other player(s) must choose different heroes. In such situations, if the players cannot decide who will control a certain hero, a random method should be used to determine control of that hero.
When building a deck, it is important for a player to consider how he intends to pay for the cards he is including in his deck. It may be tempting to use the most powerful trio of heroes available, but is it worth starting the game with the high threat level those heroes would bring? Similarly, a deck full of high cost cards and effects might look powerful on paper, but the time it takes to build up the resources to play those cards could become rather problematic as the enemies mount their assault. A player should also make sure that all the cards in his deck belong to a sphere that matches at least one of his heroes' resource icons, lest he find himself with a dead card he cannot hope to play. Each sphere of influence has a distinct flavor, which can be used to a player's advantage when building a deck around that sphere. For instance, a deck could be built around the sphere of tactics to support its heroes with an impressive array of armor and weaponry, and then take the fight directly to the enemies that emerge from the encounter deck. As the card pool grows with Adventure Pack expansions, each of the four basic starter decks in this core set can be developed into fully playable tournament decks.
It is also possible to focus on multiple spheres when building a deck. A deck built around both the sphere of spirit and around the sphere of lore could focus on self-preservation, with numerous effects that heal hit points and reduce threat. The trick to building around multiple spheres is resource management; having the right type of resource available at the right time becomes more difficult when a deck is built around two or three different spheres.
Another useful approach when building decks is to follow the cohesion that can be discovered by building around a trait. For instance, if a player wants to run a deck built around three different spheres, it might make sense to use Dwarf cards from all three spheres to take advantage of Dwarf synergies and card interactions.
The following is an alphabetical list of entries for game rules, terms, and situations that may occur during play.
(Entries are drawn from the Rules Reference v1.0.)
An ability is the special game text that a card contributes to the game. Card abilities fall into one of the following types: action, forced, keyword, constant ability, response, or when revealed ability.
Some abilities are labeled by the word "Action"followed by ability text. These abilities can only initiated by a player during an action window. Some action abilities have a phase name as a precursor to the word "Action." Such abilities are still considered action abilities, with the restriction that they can only be initiated during an action window in the specified phase. An action must be resolved as completely as possible before the next action can be initiated. A player may initiate an action ability from:
When the players travel to a location, it is removed from the staging area and placed next to the quest deck, causing it to become the active location.
The phrase "active player" is used to refer to a player who is obligated to perform (or granted the option to perform) a specific game function during a framework step or special action window.
Ally cards represent characters (friends, followers, creatures, and hirelings) that assist a player's heroes on the quest. Ally cards are played from a player's hand, and they remain in play until they are destroyed.
Attachment cards represent weapons, armor, artifacts, equipment, skills, and conditions. When played, they are attached to (placed slightly overlapped by) another card or game element, and they tend to modify or influence the activity of the card or game element to which they are attached.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: If a location is revealed after Treacherous Fog (CORE 118) was revealed during the same quest phase, does the revealed location get +1 from the "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog?
A: Yes. The "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog creates a lasting effect until the end of the phase that affects each location in the staging area. This is different from Driven by Shadow (CORE 92) which uses the language "currently in the staging area" when it is revealed and only affects enemies and locations in the staging area at the time it is revealed.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: What happens to Banks of the Anduin (CORE 113) if it is drawn as a Shadow card?
A: It will be discarded from play at the end of the combat phase, like other Shadow cards. When a card is drawn as a Shadow card, only its Shadow text is considered to be active.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
Q: Does Dungeon Jailer (CORE 101) shuffle guarded objectives back into the encounter deck?
A: Yes. Dungeon Jailer will shuffle any unclaimed objective, whether or not it is guarded.
Should have the text: "No attachments can be played on Nazgúl of Dol Guldur."
Q: If I cancel the Shadow effect on a card dealt to the Nazgúl of Dol Guldur (CORE 102), is the effect still considered to have resolved, making me discard a character?
A: No. Resolving an effect means that the effect triggered and resolved to the fullest extent possible. Canceling the effect will prevent the Nazgúl of Dol Guldur's ability from triggering, just as if the card had no Shadow effect to begin with.
Q: Do the Orc Guards generated by the effects of the Tower Gate location card and the Out of the Dungeons quest card have the Orc Trait?
A: No. Face down cards do not have traits unless the trait is gained through a card effect.
Q. Does a player with the Dungeon Torch (CORE 109) raise his threat by 2 or 3 during the refresh phase?
A: Dungeon Torch's effect does not replace the regular 1 threat raise, but adds to it. So the player with the Dungeon Torch raises his threat by 3.
Should read: "... reveal and place them in the staging area."
Q: During the Setup for stage 1A of The Necromancer's Tower (Core 123), should each objective have one encounter card attached to it, or two?
A: One. When you reveal a Guarded objective, you must reveal the top card of the encounter deck and attach it to that objective, guarding it. The additional instruction on The Necromancer's Tower to "... attach 1 encounter to each objective card" is there as a reminder, so that players know to attach 1 encounter card to each Guarded objective.
If a facedown Orc Guard would be returned to the staging area, it is instead placed in its owner's discard pile.
Q: If all of a player's heroes (except for the captured hero) are destroyed during the Escape from Dol Guldur scenario, is that player eliminated from the game?
A: Yes, the player is eliminated, and the players (as a group) have lost.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
In this scenario, players are searching for Clue objective cards titled "Signs of Gollum." There are four copies of this card in the encounter deck; players should try to fin d and claim as many copies of this card as they can while playing the scenario. When one of these cards is claimed, its card text transforms it into a Condition attachment, and it is attached to a hero committed to the quest, with text that returns the card to the top of the encounter deck if the attached hero is damaged. Additionally, if the attached hero is destroyed or leaves play for any other reason, the Signs of Gollum objective card is returned to the top of the encounter deck.
While playing this scenario, players might be instructed to "reset the quest deck to stage 2B." To do this, the players take the previously defeated stage 2 quest card, and return it to the quest deck as if they are just beginning that stage. Any progress tokens that were on the current quest are removed before the quest deck resets. Progress tokens that were on the active location, however, remain on that location. All other cards , including those in the staging area, remain unchanged.
Q: If a location is revealed after Treacherous Fog (CORE 118) was revealed during the same quest phase, does the revealed location get +1 from the "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog?
A: Yes. The "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog creates a lasting effect until the end of the phase that affects each location in the staging area. This is different from Driven by Shadow (CORE 92) which uses the language "currently in the staging area" when it is revealed and only affects enemies and locations in the staging area at the time it is revealed.
Q: What happens to Banks of the Anduin (CORE 113) if it is drawn as a Shadow card?
A: It will be discarded from play at the end of the combat phase, like other Shadow cards. When a card is drawn as a Shadow card, only its Shadow text is considered to be active.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When setting up Conflict at the Carrock, players are instructed to remove some cards from the encounter deck, and set them aside, out of play.
These cards are placed away from the playing area and do not interact with the game until instructed
by the cards of the scenario.
After removing these cards, players are also instructed to immediately shuffle some of them back into the encounter deck. This may seem confusing at first; it is simply to ensure the proper number of cards are in the encounter deck for the number of players in the game.
After being instructed to remove 4 copies of the 'Sacked!' card from the encounter deck, players are asked to shuffle 1 copy of the
'Sacked!' card per player back into the deck. Since there are 5 total copies of 'Sacked!' in the deck, the end result of this is that the
game begins with 1 more 'Sacked!' card in the encounter deck than the number of players in the game.
The Carrock, a location card in the encounter deck, has the text "Immune to player card effects." This text means that players cannot
select The Carrock as the target of any card effect, and that The Carrock ignores the effect of any player card that would directly interact with it.
In this scenario, players may encounter an "ally objective" card, Grimbeorn the Old. If Grimbeorn is revealed from the encounter deck during the quest phase, he enters the staging area as an objective. If the players claim Grimbeorn the Old (as instructed by his card text), he becomes an ally under the control of the first player. The first player may then use Grimbeorn in the same manner he would use any ally he controls. If Grimbeorn the Old leaves play for any reason, the card is placed in the encounter discard pile.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: What happens to Banks of the Anduin (CORE 113) if it is drawn as a Shadow card?
A: It will be discarded from play at the end of the combat phase, like other Shadow cards. When a card is drawn as a Shadow card, only its Shadow text is considered to be active.
Q: Is Against the Trolls (SoM 32) the final stage of Conflict at the Carrock?
A: Yes.
Q: If a Sacked! (SoM 48) card is placed on a hero while that hero is questing is that hero removed from the quest?
A: No. Sacked! specifies only that the hero cannot commit to the quest, and the hero is already committed. However, the hero cannot commit to quests on future rounds while Sacked! is attached.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
In this scenario, the players encounter an "ally objective" card, Wilyador, the Eagle. This card has a constant effect that reads, "The first player gains control of Wilyador, as an ally." This means that the first player takes control of Wilyador, and can use him in the same manner he would use any ally he controls. At the end of each round, when the first player token passes to a new player, the new first player also gains control of Wilyador. Wilyador also has the text "no attachments." This means that players cannot play or move attachment cards onto Wilyador. If Wilyador leaves play for any reason, the players have lost the game. Additionally, if the player who controls Wilyador is eliminated, the players have lost the game.
Players may be instructed to remove cards from the game during this scenario. When a card is removed from the game, it should be set aside and ignored for the rest of the game. Do not place any "removed from game" cards in the discard pile, as effects that bring cards back from the discard pile no longer interact with these cards.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
Q: Wilyador (SoM 64) cannot be healed of more than 5 wounds by a single effect, so how do I resolve the "when revealed" text on Return to Rhosgobel 3B (SoM62)?
A: Heal 5 wounds from Wilyador for each Athelas objective card as its own separate action.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Hills of Emyn Muil is played with an extremely location heavy encounter deck, and its single quest card reads "Players cannot defeat this stage unless there are no Emyn Muil locations in play, and they have collected at least 20 victory points." This means that both of these conditions must be met before the players can win the game. (They must also place the single progress token on the quest card itself to do so.)
This may seem to be an impossible task for some players, but the Emyn Muil locations in the encounter deck have victory points, and this allows the players to collect these locations as they are explored. Because of this, the locations will not be going to the encounter discard pile, from which they might resurface later in the game. So remember to collect the victory points, and eventually, the entire Emyn Muil region can be explored!
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: If a location is revealed after Treacherous Fog (CORE 118) was revealed during the same quest phase, does the revealed location get +1 from the "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog?
A: Yes. The "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog creates a lasting effect until the end of the phase that affects each location in the staging area. This is different from Driven by Shadow (CORE 92) which uses the language "currently in the staging area" when it is revealed and only affects enemies and locations in the staging area at the time it is revealed.
Q: Are attachments already in play discarded when Amon Lhaw (SoM 84) becomes the active location?
A: No. Attachments only check play restrictions when entering play. Attachments already in play will stay attached.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The card "Nightfall" reads: "When Revealed: The first player makes an escape test, dealing 2 cards from the encounter deck. If this test is failed, place 1 resource token on Gollum and raise each player's threat by 2."
When this card is revealed, Tom, the first player, decides to commit Éowyn (4 ) to the escape test. Tom has the option of committing more than 1 character, but he does not wish to do so. After committing Éowyn, Tom deals 2 cards from the top of the encounter deck. These cards are the Giant Marsh Worm (which has an escape score of 2, and Through the Mist, which has an escape score of 3). Since the committed of 4 is lower than the total escape score of 5, Tom has failed this escape test. He follows the instructions on the Nightfall card, and places 1 resource token on Gollum and each player's threat raises by 2. Finally, the cards dealt for the escape test are placed in the encounter discard pile.
To make an escape test, a player first commits characters to the test. A character must exhaust to commit to an escape test. Each committed character counts its strength for the test. After committing characters to the test, the players may take actions or play event cards. If a single player is required to make an escape test, only that player may commit characters he controls to the test. If the party is required to make an escape test, all players have the option of committing characters they control to the test. Once the characters are committed, a number of cards (as instructed by the card text dictating the escape test) are dealt from the encounter deck. Many of the cards in this encounter deck have a bold Escape value. Any card that does not have a printed escape value is considered to have a base escape value of zero. When dealing cards for an escape test, ignore all other effects on the dealt cards. Once these cards are dealt, the total committed is compared to the total dealt escape value to determine if the escape test is passed or failed. If the total committed is higher than the total dealt escape value, the escape test is passed, and nothing happens. If the total committed is equal to or lower than the total dealt escape value, the escape test is failed, and the players follow the instructions for failing the escape test from the card that required the test be made. After an escape test, all cards dealt for that test are placed in the encounter discard pile.
While playing this scenario, players might be instructed to "reset the quest deck to stage 1B." To do this, the players take the previously defeated stage 1 quest card, and return it to the quest deck as if they are just beginning that stage. Since the quest deck is resetting to stage 1B, the setup instructions on side 1A should not be followed again. Any progress tokens that were on the current quest are removed before the quest deck resets. Progress tokens that were on the active location, however, remain on that location. All other cards, including those in the staging area, remain unchanged.
Q: If a location is revealed after Treacherous Fog (CORE 118) was revealed during the same quest phase, does the revealed location get +1 from the "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog?
A: Yes. The "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog creates a lasting effect until the end of the phase that affects each location in the staging area. This is different from Driven by Shadow (CORE 92) which uses the language "currently in the staging area" when it is revealed and only affects enemies and locations in the staging area at the time it is revealed.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
During this quest, players are instructed to guard the Gollum objective card. At the beginning of the game, the players choose one player to guard Gollum. This player places the Gollum objective card in front of him to represent that he is guarding it. Various effects in the encounter and quest deck, as well as the effect on Gollum itself, interact with the player who is guarding Gollum.
Once a player is guarding Gollum, that player cannot relinquish the responsibility to another player unless card text allows, or" in some cases" mandates a change. The text on the Gollum objective itself allows the players to choose a new guard at the end of each game round.
The Gollum objective has hit points, and it is possible that he will be destroyed during the quest. If Gollum is destroyed, or leaves play for any reason, the players have lost the game. Gollum cannot be used to attack, defend, or commit to a quest. Otherwise, Gollum is considered an ally character under the control of the player guarding him. Card effects that affect allies do affect him, and any attachment that can be played on an ally can be played on Gollum.
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When setting up "Into the Pit," players are instructed to remove First Hall and Bridge of Khazad-dúm from the encounter deck, and set them aside, out of play. These cards are placed away from the playing area and do not interact with the game until East-gate is explored, which will add First Hall to the staging area. Exploring First Hall will then add Bridge of Khazad-dúm to the staging area.
This scenario uses the Cave Torch objective card. The first player selects any hero to attach it to, and that hero will bear the Cave Torch for the rest of the game. If Cave Torch would leave play, either through a card effect or due to the hero it is attached to leaving play itself, then it is removed from the game. When a card is removed from the game, it should be set aside and ignored for the rest of the game. Do not place any "removed from game" cards in the discard pile, as effects that bring cards back from the discard pile no longer interact with these cards.
The location East-gate has the text, "Immune to card effects." This means that East-gate cannot be selected as the target of any card effect, and it ignores the effect of any card that would directlyinteract with it. The only way to place progress tokens on it is by questing, and once East-gate is the active location it remains the active location until it is fully explored (even cards like Dreadful Gap or Strider's Path would not be able to move it to the staging area).
Enemies that are dealt as shadow cards are not considered to be revealed from the encounter deck, and do not trigger the forced response on side 2B of the quest card The Fate of Balin.
An "Action:" on an encounter card in play can be triggered by any player, following normal restrictions on triggering abilities.
Some cards refer to the "last player." The last player is considered to be the player sitting directly to the right of the first player. If there is only one player playing, then that player is considered to be both the first and last player.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
This scenario uses the Book of Mazarbul objective card. If Book of Mazarbul is detached from a hero, either through a card effect or due to the hero it is attached to leaving play, then it returns to the staging area, and can be claimed by any player who triggers its action. A hero can also exhaust to claim Book of Mazarbul even if it is attached to another hero. If Book of Mazarbul is removed from the game, it should be set aside and ignored for the rest of the game.
Some cards refer to the "last player." The last player is considered to be the player sitting directly to the right of the first player. If there is only one player playing, then that player is considered to be both the first and last player.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
This scenario uses multiple stage 2 quest cards. When setup instructs players to "Prepare the quest deck," players must shuffle all stage 2 quest cards together randomly, with side 2A face-up, and place them beneath stage 1. These shuffled stage 2 quest cards are considered to be the "quest deck". Players will progress through stage 2 quest cards until they have won the game; there is no stage 3. Quest cards are not flipped to side B immediately when revealed. Rather, the current quest card is revealed only at the beginning of the staging step of the quest phase. The only exception to this are card effects that reveal and flip a new quest card, such as on Hasty Council.
Players are given the option to bypass some of the quest cards at the end of the combat phase. Bypassing the current quest removes all progress tokens on it, and moves it to the bottom of the quest deck with side 2B face down. Bypassing a quest is optional, and players may choose to stay on each quest card instead of bypassing it.When a quest is completed, players will either add it to their victory display or win the game.
The Nameless Fear is an enemy that cannot engage or be engaged by players. The Nameless Fear is also immune to card effects, which means that it cannot be selected as the target of any card effect, and ignores the effect of any card that would directly interact with it. The value "X" as its , and is a constant variable that is immediately recalculated whenever victory points are added or removed from the players' victory display.
Some cards refer to the "last player." The last player is considered to be the player sitting directly to the right of the first player. If there is only one player playing, then that player is considered to be both the first and last player.
Great Cave-troll has the text, "Immune to ranged damage." "Immune to ranged damage" means that characters participating in an attack via the ranged keyword are not able to deal damage to that enemy. (If a ranged character participates in an attack against Great Cave-troll through another means than the ranged keyword, then it is able to damage it and will count its .)
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When setting up "The Redhorn Gate," remove all copies of Snowstorm from the encounter deck, and set them aside, out of play. These cards are placed away from the playing area and do not interact with the game until instructed by the cards of the scenario.
In this scenario, the players must guard an "ally objective" card, Arwen Undómiel. This card has a constant effect that reads, "The first player gains control of Arwen Undómiel, as an ally." This means that the first player takes control of Arwen Undómiel, and can use her in the same manner he would use any ally he controls. Other copies of a card titled Arwen Undómiel cannot enter play by any means. At the end of each round, when the first player token passes to a new player, the new first player takes control of Arwen Undómiel.If Arwen Undómiel leaves play for any reason, the players have lost the game. Additionally, if the player who controls Arwen Undómiel is eliminated, the players have lost the game.
Caradhras has the text, "Players cannot travel to Caradhras except by quest card effects." This means that no card effect, other than one on a quest card, can make Caradhras the active location.
Q: If I can't discard 3 resources from all of my heroes due to Bitter Wind (KD 56), do I have to partially fulfill the effect?
A: Yes, players should resolve as much of any "discard" effect as they are able to.
Q: If Caradhras (DD 15) is in my victory display when I complete stage 2 of The Redhorn Gate, will it become the active location even though it is not in play?
A: Yes. You will remove Caradhras from your victory display and put it back into play as the active location. Cards in the victory display are not removed from the game and can still be referenced by effects. If players get too far ahead of themselves via card effects, they'll find a return journey is necessary!
Should read: "Forced: After a character is declared as a defender against Snow Warg..."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When an enemy with the ambush keyword enters play, each player, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, must make an engagement check. The engagement check is only made against the enemy that just entered play, and not other enemies that are in the staging area. If the enemy engages a player as the result of this effect, then no further engagement checks are made against it.
In this scenario, the players must guard an "ally objective" card, Arwen Undómiel. This card has a constant effect that reads, "The first player gains control of Arwen Undómiel, as an ally." This means that the first player takes control of Arwen Undómiel, and can use her in the same manner he would use any ally he controls. Other copies of a card titled Arwen Undómiel cannot enter play by any means. At the end of each round, when the first player token passes to a new player, the new first player also gains control of Arwen Undómiel.If Arwen Undómiel leaves play for any reason, the players have lost the game. Additionally, if the player who controls Arwen Undómiel is eliminated, the players have lost the game.
Q: If I can't discard 3 resources from all of my heroes due to Bitter Wind (KD 56), do I have to partially fulfill the effect?
A: Yes, players should resolve as much of any "discard" effect as they are able to.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Regenerate keyword heals damage from itself equal to the specified amount each round. This takes place immediately following the passing of the first player token during the Refresh Phase, and occurs before player actions.
When setting up "The Watcher in the Water," remove The Watcher in the Water and Doors of Durin from the en-counter deck, and set them aside, out of play. These cards are placed away from the playing area and do not interact with the game until instructed by the cards of the scenario.
Doors of Durin has the text, "Progress tokens that would be placed on Doors of Durin are instead placed on the current quest card." This means that Doors of Durin can never leave play as an explored location, and in order to collect its victory points players must fulfill the requirement on the card itself.
Q: If I can't discard 3 resources from all of my heroes due to Bitter Wind (KD 56), do I have to partially fulfill the effect?
A: Yes, players should resolve as much of any "discard" effect as they are able to.
Q: Can I use Son of Arnor (SoM 15) to engage The Watcher (DD 72), even though The Watcher reads "...cannot be optionally engaged"?
A: Yes. The ability on Son of Arnor does not count as optionally engaging The Watcher. Optional engagement only occurs during step 1 of the Encounter phase
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The card "Vast and Intricate" reads: " When Revealed: The first player makes a locate test. If this test is failed, raise each player's threat by 7, remove all progress tokens from play, and trigger all "Lost:" effects in play."
When this card is revealed, Eric, the first player, must make a locate test. He can choose to fail the test immediately by not discarding any cards from his hand, but decides to try and beat it. He discards 1 card from his hand and discards the top card of the encounter deck. It did not have a bold " PASS " printed in its text box, and so he did not pass the locate test. He decides to try again, discarding another card from his hand. This time the discarded encounter card does have " PASS "printed in its text box, and so Eric has passed the test. He ignores the "If" statement on "Vast and Intricate" and the card is discarded with no further effect.
While playing this scenario, players are at times instructed to make a "Locate Test". These tests represent the heroes' attempts to maintain a sense of direction in the mines. A locate test is made by a single player, as specified by the card initiating the test. The player making the locate test may choose and discard 1 card from his hand to discard the top card of the encounter deck. Many of the cards in The Long Dark encounter deck have a bold "PASS" printed in the bottom right hand corner of their text box. If the discarded encounter card has "PASS" printed in its text box, then the test succeeds, and no ill effects trigger. If the card does not have "PASS" printed in its text box, then the player has not succeeded, but may attempt the test again, repeating this action until either the test is successful or he no longer wishes (or is able to) discard more cards. If a player runs out of cards or declares that he is not willing to discard any more cards to the test, then the test is considered a failure, and players should follow the rest of the instructions on the card that initiated the test.
This scenario uses the Cave Torch objective card. During setup the first player selects any hero to attach it to, and that hero bears the Cave Torch for the rest of the game. If Cave Torch would leave play, then it is removed from the game. Do not place any "removed from game" cards in the discard pile, as effects that bring cards back from the discard pile no longer interact with these cards.
The next player is the player sitting directly to the left of the player referenced by the card effect. If there are no other players in the game, there is no next player.
Some cards have "Lost:" effects on them. These effects are only triggered by other card effects, and are not tied to any timing structure or phase of the game.
Great Cave-troll has the text, "Immune to ranged damage." "Immune to ranged damage" means that characters participating in an attack via the ranged keyword are not able to deal damage to that enemy. (If a ranged character participates in an attack against Great Cave-troll through another means than the ranged keyword, then it is able to damage it and will count its .)
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
This scenario uses the Cave Torch objective card. During setup the first player selects any hero to attach it to, and that hero bears the Cave Torch for the rest of the game. If the Cave Torch would leave play, then it is removed from the game. During setup players should not shuffle the Foundations of Stone encounter set into the encounter deck, but set it aside, out of play. This encounter set will be shuffled into the encounter deck at a later point in the scenario.
When instructed to "Create your own staging area," each player sets aside an area in front of himself to serve as his own private staging area. Only players that share a common staging area can interact with each other in any way. Players continue to resolve each phase of the game in turn order, starting with the First Player (which continues to move), but the resolution of each phase occurs as if only the player or players that share any given staging area are currently present in the game.
On stage 4B players are instructed to "join another player" after completing their current quest card. Joining another player happens at the beginning of the travel phase. The joining player(s) must add any encounter cards in his own staging area to the staging area of the player(s) he is joining with, keeping any enemies engaged with him and discarding any active location in the staging area being left. If multiple players complete their current quest card during the same phase, they join quests starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise around the table. If there is no player to join, then players must continue to stage 5.
An "Action:" on an encounter card in play can be triggered by any player, following normal restrictions on triggering abilities.
Q: When players have separate staging areas at stage 4 of Foundations of Stone, can there be multiple copies of unique cards in play?
A: No. Players must still respect the rules for playing unique cards when they are split up. For example, if a player has Gandalf (CORE 73) in play, then no other player can play Gandalf.
Q: How does the card Lost and Alone (DD 124) work? What if the hero gets attached to a Nameless Thing (DD 125) or was my last hero in play?
A: You only put the lost hero back into play if you draw the hero, whether during the resource phase or through a card effect. If the hero is discarded or attached to a card like a Nameless Thing, then treat it like any other card. In the latter situation, the value of the hero would be null, since it has no printed cost. If your last hero gets shuffled into your deck you are not eliminated from the game; heroes are not considered to be killed unless they are in your discard pile. You will continue playing until you either draw the hero, are eliminated through other means, or the game ends.
Q: If a card is attached to Nameless Thing (D 125) as part of the resolution of its Forced effect, is that card's game text active?
A: No. Cards that are attached to Nameless Thing (or Elder Nameless Thing) as a result of triggering its Forced effect are considered attachments with no card title or game text. The only active part of the attached card is its cost.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Durin's Bane stays in the staging area and is considered to be engaged with all players whose threat is 1 or greater, allowing it to both add its threat to the staging area and attack. Durin's Bane attacks each player it is engaged with once during that player's normal enemy attack resolution step. (One shadow card per engaged player should be dealt to Durin's Bane at the beginning of combat.) Each shadow card is only be used once, and is immediately discarded after that attack is completed (so Durin's Bane does not receive benefits from more than one shadow card at a time). If a player whose threat is not 1 or greater has his threat raised during combat, then Durin's Bane attacks him if he has not completed the attack resolution step (but Durin's Bane is not dealt a shadow card).Players can attack Durin's Bane following the normal combat rules. Players cannot pool their attacks together against Durin's Bane without the use of the ranged keyword or a similar card effect.
A unique encounter card (such as "Fiery Sword" and "Whip of Many Thongs") cannot enter play if there is another copy of that card already in play. If this is the case, the card's effects are ignored and the encounter card is placed in the encounter discard pile.
Great Cave-troll has the text, "Immune to ranged damage." "Immune to ranged damage" means that characters participating in an attack via the ranged keyword are not able to deal damage to that enemy. (If a ranged character participates in an attack against Great Cave-troll through another means than the ranged keyword, then it is able to damage it and will count its .)
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
Players may encounter up to 3 ally objective cards in this scenario, Celador and the 2 copies of Ithilien Guardian. An ally objective card is considered to be both an objective and an ally. The text effects of each of these cards commits it to the quest when it is in the staging area. This means that these cards count their stats and assist the players when resolving a quest. Any card effect that affects characters committed to the quest can also affect these ally objective cards.If an effect allows the players to take control of any of these objective ally cards, it is moved into the controlling player's play area. Once there, they can use it the same as any other ally. When this occurs, the card is no longer considered to be in the staging area, and is no longer committed to the quest (unless its controller commits it during the quest phase).
Should read: "Surge. When Revealed: Deal 1 damage to each character committed to the quest."
Omit the parenthetical.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
Some effects in this scenario instruct players to place damage on specific locations. Such damage is separate from any progress placed on the location, and does not count toward the amount of progress necessary to explore the location. (Likewise, progress placed on a location is not considered damage.) The damage does nothing in and of itself, but is referenced by card effects. When quest stage 1, The Defense, is active, damage dealt to the lowest threat location from an undefended attack does not carry-over to the next Battleground location.
Tom and Kris have just defeated stage 2, Reinforcing the Banks. Stage 3, Breakthrough at the Approach, has previously been removed from the quest deck. Tom and Kris advance to stage 4, Breakthrough at the Citadel.
In this scenario, players may be instructed to remove a stage from the quest deck. This is done by taking the stage out of the quest deck and setting it aside, away from the play area. The removed stage is no longer considered a part of the scenario deck, and the players are that much closer to completing the scenario. If the players defeat a stage of the quest and the following stage has been removed, they advance to the next numerically sequential stage that remains in the quest deck.
Should read: "...Reveal an equal number of cards from the encounter deck..." Omit the word "Then"
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Jennifer has just engaged the enemy card, Bert, triggering its Sack 1 keyword. She draws the top card of the sack deck and reveals A Strong Sack. Its text reads:
"When Sacked: Attach to the character (excluding Gandalf) with the highest printed without a Sack attached."
The character with the highest is Beorn. However, Beorn's game text says: "Cannot have attachments." Therefore, he is not an eligible target. So Jennifer must find an eligible target.
The next highest printed is a tie between Gimli and Thalin who both have 2 . Because Jennifer is the first player, she must decide which character to be the target. So she chooses to attach A Strong Sack to Thalin.
The keyword "Sack X" is a new keyword in this quest that instructs the players to draw cards from the sack deck. When the keyword Sack Xis triggered by the encounter deck, the first player draws the top X cards from the sack deck and resolves the "When Sacked" effects on those cards. If players are instructed to draw multiple cards from the sack deck, those cards are drawn and resolved one at a time.
If the Sack X keyword is triggered and there are no cards remaining in the sack deck, the Sack X effect is ignored. If a Sack card leaves play for any reason, shuffle it back into the sack deck.When resolving the "when sacked" text on a sack card, if there are two or more eligible targets for that card the first player must choose one.
If a sack card instructs players to select a target that is not eligible, the first player must choose an eligible target. If there are no eligible targets, shuffle the Sack card back into the sack deck.
This scenario is played with a separate deck called the "sack deck." During setup, remove the seven Sack objectives (card numbers 44-50) from the encounter deck and shuffle them to create this deck.
Should read: "If Troll Purse is discarded, add it to the staging area. If Troll Purse is unattached and in the staging area, attach it to a Troll enemy, if able."
Should read: "If Troll Key is discarded, add it to the staging area. If Troll Key is unattached and in the staging area, attach it to a Troll enemy, if able."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Unlike most scenarios that use a single encounter deck, this scenario uses twoencounter decks. At the beginning of the game, players shuffle the Over the Misty Mountains Grim and Western Lands cards into one deck and the Misty Mountain Goblins andThe Great Goblin cards into a second deck. This second deck is set aside, inactive. Players cannot interact with the inactive encounter deck unless they are instructed to make it the active encounter deck by a quest effect. The active encounter deck is the encounter deck that is in play. Cards and game effects that interact with the encounter deck only affect the active encounter deck.If a quest card effect causes the second encounter deck to become the active encounter deck, all encounter cards currently in play and in the encounter discard pile are also removed from the game along with the first encounter deck. These cards have become inactive and are set aside.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
At the beginning of the Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dimscenario, players are instructed to create a "riddle area" with stage 2A of the quest deck. Both quest cards are in play simultaneously as explained below.
Stage 1A instructs players to create a riddle area. The riddle area is a play area, separate from the staging area, that represents Bilbo's riddling contest against Gollum. The riddle area consists of stage 2 of the quest deck, Riddles in the Dark, as well as the Gollum enemy card and the Bilbo's Magic Ring objective card. Bilbo Baggins is also placed in the riddle area when setting up this scenario.
Cards in the riddle area (including Bilbo Baggins) are immune to player card effects and cannot leave the riddle area except through specific quest card effects. While Gollum is in the riddle area, he does not contribute his threat during the quest phase and cannot be engaged by the players. While Bilbo Baggins is in the riddle area, the first player still controls him; however, he cannot quest, attack, take damage from cards other than Gollum, have attachments played on him by the players, or defend (except against Gollum).
Tom has committed his heroes to the quest Out of the Frying Pan. The first encounter card he reveals is Wild Wargs which has a riddle effect. Tom is the first player so he has to choose between adding Wild Wargs to the staging area or answering the riddle on the card. He chooses to answer the riddle which reads: "Riddle: The first player names a card type, shuffles his deck, and discards the top 2 cards. For each of those cards that matches, place 1 progress on stage 2."
Tom names the ally card type, shuffles his deck, and discards 2 cards from the top of his deck. He discards the cards: Sneak Attack (event) and Cram (attachment). Since he did not discard an ally card, he does not have any matches. This would trigger Gollum's game text which reads:"Forced: After the first player answers a riddle and fails to find at least 1 match, Gollum attacks Bilbo Baggins."However, Tom decides to use the text on Bilbo's Magic Ring, which reads: "Action: When attempting to answer a riddle, spend 1 resource to discard an additional card."
Bilbo Baggins has 2 resources in his resource pool, so Tom spends 1 to discard an additional card from his deck, which is A Test of Will (event). Tom still has not met the requirements of the riddle, so he spends the last resource from Bilbo Baggins' resource pool to discard yet another card from his deck, which is Erebor Hammersmith (ally). Now Tom has 1 match, so he places 1 progress token on Riddles in the Dark. After answering the riddle, Tom places the Wild Wargs card in the encounter discard pile. Since Tom did find a match, Gollum does not attack Bilbo Baggins at this time.
"Riddle" is a new game effect featured on some encounter cards. When an encounter card with a riddle effect is revealed from the encounter deck, the first player must choose between resolving that card normally or answering the riddle on that card. The first player can only choose to answer a riddle if it is revealed from the encounter deck. If a card with riddle is dealt as a shadow card, the first player cannot choose to answer it at that time.
To answer a riddle,the first player must follow the directions printed on the riddle, in the following steps:
Step 1- Each riddle effect begins with the text, "The first player names a ___." The first player makes a guess based on the item(s) he is instructed (by the riddle) to name: card type, sphere, or cost. Card types that can be named are ally, event, attachment, or treasure. The spheres that can be named are leadership, spirit, lore, tactics, and Baggins. Cost can be any number.
Step 2- The second part of a riddle is presented by the text, "shuffles his deck and discards the top X cards of his deck." The first player shuffles his deck and then discards X cards from the top of his deck, as determined by the riddle.
Step 3- The final part of a riddle effect is presented by the text, "For each of those cards that matches, place 1 progress on stage 2." The first player places 1 progress on stage 2 for each card discarded by the riddle effect that matches the named card type / sphere / cost from step 1. When instructed to name multiple items, a "match" is defined by a card that features each of the named items.
Q: While attempting to answer a Riddle in the scenario Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim, when can players take actions?
A: Players can take actions after step 2, before step 3.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Bombur already has 4 poison cards attached when he is exhausted to defend the Wicked Spider, and takes 1 damage. Because Wicked Spider has the Venom keyword, Bombur's controller must give him 1 poison. Bombur now has 5 poison which is equal to his printed hit points. So, his controller rotates Bombur 180 degrees and places all 5 poison cards that were attached to him face-up in his discard pile.
When an enemy with the Venom keyword damages a character, that character's controller must give it 1 poison. This is done by taking the top card of his deck and attaching it facedown to that character. Facedown cards attached to characters are considered "poison." Poison cards are Condition attachments, and characters with any number of poison attached are considered "poisoned."
In this scenario, when a character has a number of poison attached equal to its printed hit points, that character is immediately made unconscious. This is done by rotating the character card 180 degrees. After a character is made unconscious, the attached poison cards are placed in their owner's discard pile. Each stage of the Flies and Spiders scenario includes the following game text: "Unconscious characters cannot quest, attack, defend, collect resources, trigger abilities, be poisoned, or ready (except by effects that target unconscious characters)." These characters have been incapacitated by the spiders.
If any number of poison is removed from a character, or that character leaves play, then those poison cards are placed in their owner's discard pile.
When a card effect instructs a player to "ready an unconscious character," that player chooses an unconscious character and rotates that character 180 degrees so that it appears in its ready position. That character is now ready and is no longer considered to be unconscious.
On stage 2B the players are instructed to "Reveal stage 3 and create a separate staging area for the first player using that stage." To do this the first player sets aside an area in front of himself to serve as his own private staging area. The rest of the players continue to share the original staging area. Only players that share a common staging area can interact with each other in any way. Players continue to resolve each phase of the game in turn order, starting with the first player, but the resolution of each phase occurs as if only the player or players that share any given staging area are currently present in the game.
Stage 3B reads: "When this stage is complete, do not advance to stage 4 until the end of the quest phase. (Combine staging areas if necessary.)" When the first player places the final progress on this stage he must wait until the end of the quest phase to advance in order to allow the other players to resolve their quest phase. Then, the first player joins the other players at stage 4. Any enemy or location cards in the first player's staging area are added to the original staging area. Any enemies engaged with the first player remain engaged with that player when the staging areas are combined.
Q: If there are no characters with poison attached when Crazy Cob (OtD 29) is revealed from the encounter deck, does it still make an attack?
A: Yes. Since each character has 0 poison, the first player will choose which character Crazy Cob attacks.
Should read: "When Revealed: Reveal stage 3 and create a separate staging area for the first player using that stage. If there are no other players in the game, discard this stage and each card in its staging area. All other players advance to stage 4."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Karl is first player when he quests successfully at stage 2B, whcih reads: "Forced: After questing successfully, place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden. Then, the first player makes a burgle attempt. If successful, the first player takes the top treasure card from under The Lonely Mountain into his hand. Then, the players may advance to stage 3." So, Karl discards the top card of the encounter deck: Dark Bats. It has no burgle effect, so again he discards the top card of the encounter deck: Desolation of Smaug. It has a burgle effect that reads: "Burgle: The first player shuffles his deck and reveals the top card. He may discard 2 cards from his hand that match the revealed card's cost." Karl reveals Great Yew Bow, with a cost of 2. He only has 1 card in his hand with a cost of 2, so he decides to use the text on The Lonely Mountain: " Action: When making a burgle attempt, the first player may spend 2 resources to take the revealed card into hand and reveal the next card." Karl removes 2 resources from Bilbo Baggins' resource pool to take Great Yew Bow into his hand and reveals the next card of his deck: King Under the Mountain, with cost of 2. (This is now the revealed card.) He now has 2 cards in his hand that match the revealed card's cost, so he discards them both to burgle successfully and take the topmost treasure card from under The Lonely Mountain into his hand.
"Burgle" is a new game effect featured on some encounter cards in The Lonely Mountain. Burgle effects are ignored except while making a "burgle attempt." Burgle attempts represent Bilbo Baggins' efforts to sneak past Smaug in order to steal treasure from the dragon's lair without waking him. To make a burgle attempt, the first player must follow these steps:
Step 1 - When a card instructs the first player to make a burgle attempt, he must discard cards from the top of the encounter deck until a card with a burgle effect is discarded. Read and resolve the burgle effect as outlined in steps 2 and 3.
Step 2 - The first player shuffles his deck and reveals the top card. If the first player has no cards left in his deck, then the burgle attempt automatically fails.
Step 3 - Each burgle effect instructs the first player to discard a number of cards that match either the revealed card's sphere, type, cost, or a combination of those things. If the first player discards the required cards from his hand, the burgle attempt is successful. If he cannot, the burgle attempt fails.
Should read: "Then, look at the top card of the encounter deck. If the looked at card is not..."
Q: While making a Burgle attempt in The Lonely Mountain scenario, when can players take actions?
A: Players can take actions after step 2, before step 3.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
When playing The Battle of Five Armies, stages 2, 3, and 4 will be in play at the same time. While each stage is in play, its game text is active.
At the beginning of each round, before players have collected resources, the first player must decide which stage will be the current quest stage for that round. Progress cannot be placed on any quest stage except for the current quest stage, and any card effects that affect the current quest can only affect the quest stage chosen for that round.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Some cards refer to crossing the Anduin. Players are not considered to have crossed the Anduin until they reach stage 4 of the scenario.
Q: If there are two copies of Pelennor Fields (MaO 10) in the staging area and I travel to one of them, do I still have to raise my threat by 3? What if I have the opportunity to travel and travel to neither of them?
A: If a card is self-referential, it refers only to that copy of itself. So if you travel to one copy of the pelennor Fields, the other copy will raise your threat by 3 because it only takes into account whether you traveled to that particular copy of the Pelennor Fields. So if you travel to neither copy, they both resolve and you must raise your threat by 6.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Burn X keyword represents Smaug's devastating attack against Lake-town. When instructed to resolve Burn damage, total the amount of all Burn X on locations in play and assign it to the Lake-town objective. When assigning Burn damage, each player may exhaust any number of his characters to assign any number of Burn damage to those characters (up to their remaining hit points). Any damage not assigned to characters must be assigned to Lake-town.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
During setup, stage 1A instructs players to build a Smaug deck. The Smaug deck includes all copies of Smaug and has its own discard pile. Effects that interact with the encounter deck/discard pile do not interact with the Smaug deck/discard pile. When Smaug is discarded, place it in the Smaug discard pile. If the Smaug deck is empty, shuffle the Smaug discard pile back into the Smaug deck.
At the beginning of each Quest phase, the first player must choose either his play area or the staging area as a destination for Smaug. He then reveals the top card of the Smaug deck, and puts it into play int the chosen area. If he chooses his play area, he immediately engages Smaug. If another version of the Smaug was already in play, move all damage tokens on that version to the new Smaug as it is revealed and discard the previous Smaug. Smaug is only defeated when he has 0 hit points remaining.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
When a location with the underworld keyword enters play, take cards from the top underworld deck equal to the specified value and stack them facedown underneath that location. When a location leaves play, any facedown cards stacked underneath that location are revealed one at a time, and added to the staging area. If a card from the underworld deck would be discarded, it is placed in the encounter deck discard pile. If a location with underworld is revealed from the encounter deck and there are no cards left in the underworld deck, then the underworld keyword has no effect.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When setting up "The Steward's Fear," remove all the enemy cards from the Streets of Gondor and Brigands encounter sets, along with the 3 Clue objective cards found in The Steward's Fear encounter set, and shuffle them into a separate deck. This is the "Underworld" deck and it should be set apart from the encounter deck. Next, remove the 3 Villain enemy cards and the 3 Plot objective cards from the encounter deck. Shuffle the Villain enemy cards together and randomly choose one of them to set aside facedown. This is the "hidden" enemy card. Remove the other 2 Villain cards from the game (without looking at the cards). Repeat this process with the Plot cards. The set aside Plot is the "hidden" plot card.
Q: After False Lead (SF 25) is revealed and its effect resolves, do the players continue staging?
A: No. The quest phase ends immediately and the players do not continue staging.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
Druadan Elite is revealed from the encounter deck with Prowl X. Its game text reads: "X is equal to the number of players in the game." There are 3 players in the game, so the players (as a group) must discard a total of 3 resources from their heroes' resource pools. Player 1 decides to discard 1 resource from Aragorn's resource pool, Player 2 decides not to discard any resources, so Player 3 discards 2 resource from Gimli's pool for a total of 3.
When an encounter card with the prowl keyword is revealed from the encounter deck, the players (as a group) must discard the specified number of resources from their heroes' resource pools. If the players do not have enough resources to match the specified value, then they must discard as many resources as they can.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Burning Farmhouse is revealed from the encounter deck with Villager 4 so the first player adds it to the staging area with 4 resource tokens on it.
When a location with the villagers keyword enters play, or a quest card with villagers is revealed, place resource tokens on it equal to the specified value. Resource tokens placed on a location or quest this way are villager tokens. Villager tokens do not count as resources. When a villager token is discarded, return that token to the token bank.
When setting up the Encounter at Amon Dín scenario, stage 1A instructs the players to put both the Rescued Villagers and Dead Villagers objective cards into the staging area. These cards represent the ultimate fate of the villagers being attacked by Ghulat and his orcs. During the game scenario effects will place villager tokens on Rescued Villagers and damage tokens on Dead Villagers. In order to win the game, the players will need to collect more villager tokens on Rescued Villagers than damage tokens on Dead Villagers.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
The Assault on Osgiliath is a battle to liberate the ancient capital of Gondor from the forces of Mordor. To represent Gondor's struggle to drive the enemy from every last corner of the ruined city, the players are instructed to take control of Osgiliath locations when they leave play.
Stage 1B reads: "Forced: When an Osgiliath location leaves play as an explored location, the first player takes control of that location." To take control of a location, the first player removes all progress from the just explored location and places it in front of him in his play area instead of discarding it. Locations under any player's control are still in play. Their game text is active and they can be affected by card effects.
Should read: "...Reveal an equal number of cards from the encounter deck..." Omit the word "Then"
Should read: "When Revealed: Each player must either return the location he controls..."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
If a quest card has the siege keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
The Blood of Gondor is a two stage scenario that puts the players in the middle of an ambush at the Crossroads of Ithilien. Hidden cards are encounter cards placed facedown in a player's play area that represent the forces of Mordor waiting to attack the heroes. To this effect, both stage 1B and 2B have the same line of text: "At the beginning of the quest phase, each player takes 1 hidden card."
When a player is instructed to take 1 hidden card, he takes the top card of the encounter deck and places it facedown in his play area without looking at it. If there are no cards in the encounter deck when a player is instructed to take 1 hidden card, then he must shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck and place the top card of the encounter deck facedown in his play area.
If a player is eliminated, any hidden cards in his play area are discarded.
When a player is instructed to turn his hidden cards faceup, he turns each hidden card in his play area faceup one at a time. If a player turns a hidden card faceup and it is an enemy, he immediately engages that enemy. If a player turns a hidden card faceup and it is a treachery or a location, he immediately discards that card.
Should read: "At the beginning of the combat phase, each player must either turn each of his hidden cards faceup, or take 1 hidden card."
Q: When playing The Blood of Gondor, if a card effect such as stage 1b of The Ambush (AtS 117) or Lying in Wait (AtS 129) turns each of my hidden cards faceup, and one of those cards forces me to take another hidden card, do I have to turn that card faceup as well?
A: No. When you are instructed to turn each of your hidden cards faceup, only the hidden cards that are currently in front of you at that time are turned faceup; any hidden cards you are forced to take as part of that effect, such as from Evil Crow (AtS 122), remain facedown in front of you.
Should read: "The current quest card gains siege (and loses battle)."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
While questing for the first time at stage 1B, Three is Company, Tristan reveals Crawling Towards Him which reads: "Peril. Hide 2. When Revealed: If you have failed a Hide test this phase, remove each character you control from the quest." He exhausts Merry to commit him to the Hide test for a total of 2 . Then, he discards the top 2 cards of the encounter deck: Hunting for the Ring and The Marish for a total of 3 . At that moment he is about fail the hide test because the total of the discarded cards is greater than the total of the characters committed to the test. If he fails the test, the "When Revealed" effect on Crawling Towards Him will force him to remove his committed characters from the quest. Furthermore, there is a Black Rider in the staging area which reads: "Forced: After engaged player fails a Hide test, Black Rider makes an immediate attack." At first Tristan isn't concerned, but then he reads the text on stage 1B: "When a player fails a Hide test, each Nazgúl enemy in the staging area engages that player."This effect will cause the Black Rider to engage him, and then its "Forced" effect will trigger an attack. Tristan doesn't want that to happen, so he plays Halfling Determination from his hand to give Merry a +2 for a total of 4 . As a result, the total committed to the test is greater than the total and Tristan succeeds at the hide test.
Hide X is a new keyword in this scenario. When an encounter card with the Hide X keyword is revealed, the player who revealed the card must make a Hide test. If the encounter card with the Hide X keyword also has a "When Revealed" or "Forced" effect, the Hide test must be resolved before resolving the rest of the card.
When a player is instructed to make a Hide test, that player may exhaust any number of characters he controls to commit those characters to the Hide test. Then, that player discards the top X cards of the encounter deck where X is equal to the Hide X value. Add the total of the discarded cards and compare it to the total of the characters committed to the Hide test. If the total of the discarded cards is greater than the total of all characters committed to the Hide test, then that player fails the Hide test. If the total of the characters committed to the Hide test is greater than or equal to the total of the discarded cards, then the Hide test is successful. After the Hide test resolves, characters are no longer committed to the test.
Hide tests interrupt the regular turn sequence and create a new action window. After the total of the discarded cards has been determined, players are allowed to take actions. Once the Hide test is resolved, play continues as normal and player actions are restricted to regular action windows.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When setting up The Morgul Vale, stage 1A instructs the players to search the encounter deck for the To the Tower objective card and add it to the staging area. This card represents the Mordor troop escorting Faramir to the tower of Minas Morgul. Since the players are trying to rescue Faramir in this scenario, the objective reads: "Remove Faramir from the game." This means that no version of Faramir can be used by the players when playing this scenario.
The Morgul Vale scenario has 3 stages, and a corresponding Captain enemy for each stage: Murzag, Lord Alcaron, and Nazgúl of Minas Morgul. To advance from each stage and win the game, the players must defeat each Captain. These tenacious enemies will stop at nothing to prevent the heroes from rescuing Faramir, and to that end each stage includes a line of text that prevents that stage's Captain from leaving play unless it is destroyed. This means that card effects that would otherwise shuffle that enemy into the encounter deck or remove it from play will have no effect on the Captain at that stage.
Should read: "...Reveal an equal number of cards from the encounter deck..." Omit the word "Then"
Should read: "When Revealed: The first player either places 3 progress tokens on To the Tower, or..."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
When setting up Flight to the Ford, players are instructed to create a "Burden deck." To do this, take each of the burden cards with the Flight to the Ford burden set icon and shuffle them into a deck, then set that deck next to the quest deck.
When a burden card is discarded from play, place it into the encounter deck discard pile. After the players defeat the scenario, any burden cards in the encounter deck and encounter deck discard pile are added to the players' campaign pool.
When setting up Flight to the Ford, players are instructed to set the Ring-bearer's life at 15. To do this, the players place a threat tracker by the quest deck and set it at 15. This threat tracker is now a "life tracker" and is used to track the Ring-bearer's life.
When the players are instructed to reduce the Ring-bearer's life by any amount, they reduce the number on the life tracker by that amount. Cards that remove damage from characters cannot increase the number on the Ring-bearer's life tracker. If the Ring-bearer's life reaches 0, the players lose the game.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
The Spectral keyword represents ghostly enemies who cannot be harmed without the courage and force of will to stand up to their horrifying presence. When characters attack an enemy with the Spectral keyword, they must use their instead of their to determine their attack strength.
Enemies still substract their from your attack strength to determine how much damage is dealt. Effects that deal direct damage will still affect an enemy with the Spectral keyword.
During setup, stage 1A of the quest instructs players to set aside the 3 Night objectives (Eventide, Dusk and Midnight). The players then put Eventide into play, next to the current quest. These objectives cannot be claimed by the players, and only one will be in play at a time (next to the current quest).
The Night objective that is currently in play is the "current" Night objective, and shows the time of night from the heroes' perspective. Many encounter cards in this scenario have additional or different effects that are active only during the specified time of night, as follows:
While Dusk is in play, the Dusk effects of all encounter cards are active.
While Midnight is in play, the Midnight effects of all encounter cards are active.
Q: If I am engaged with The Lord of the Dead (SoE 5) when I play Saruman (VoI 3), do I still have to raise each player's threat for his Doomed 3?
A: No. The moment Saruman enters play under your control, the passive effect on The Lord of the Dead causes you to treat his text box as blank, before the Doomed keyword can trigger.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
When setting up The Fords of Isen scenario, the players are instructed to attach the Gríma objective-ally card to the location, The Islet. An objective-ally card is considered to be both an objective and an ally. If an effect allows the players to take control of the Gríma objective-ally, it is moved into the controlling player's play area. Once there, Gríma can be used the same as any other ally.
Because the Gríma objective-ally is a unique character, no player can use the Gríma hero card when playing The Fords of Isen scenario.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Searches X keyword represents the heroes search for the Orc captain, Mugash. When a location with the Searches X keyword leaves play, the player (or players) identified by that location reveals the top X cards of his out-of-play deck. Players who reveal cards this way add each revealed enemy to the staging area, choose 1 player card to take into their hand, and discard the rest.
When setting up To Catch an Orc, each player is instructed to set the top 20 cards of his deck aside, out of play. Those 20 cards become that player's out-of-play deck.
There are 4 enemy cards in The Voice of Isengard that have player card backs: 1 copy of Mugash and 3 copies of Mugash's Guard. These are encounter cards, not player cards, and cannot be included in any player's deck. The reason Mugash and his guard have player card backs is because they are meant to be shuffled into the players' out-of-play decks when setting up To Catch an Orc.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Hinder keyword appears on the Huorn enemies in this scenario.
While engaged with a player, an enemy with the Hinder keyword is not dealt a shadow card and does not make an attack during the combat phase. Instead of making attacks, enemies with the Hinder keyword force players to remove progress from the current quest or active location. At the beginning of the combat phase, each player removes one progress from the current quest for each enemy with Hinder engaged with him. When there is no progress remaining on the current quest, players remove progress from the active location instead. If there is no progress on either the quest or active location, there is no effect.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
There are a number of effects in The Dunland Trap that trigger after a player draws a card. If several of these effects are in play at the same time, it can be difficult to keep track of the m all. In order to manage multiple effects that share the same trigger, it can be helpful to keep this strategy in mind:
After a player draws a card, check each encounter card in play for a Forced effect that triggers at that time. Then, resolve each effect before moving on.
This may cause the scenario to progress slowly at first, but as the players become familiar with the various Forced effects, the game will advance more quicklyDuring step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
David is playing The Three Trials and has just revealed stage 2A: "The Trial of Strength." It reads: "When Revealed: Randomly choose 1 of the remaining set aside Guardian enemies and 1 of the remaining set aside Barrow locations, reveal them, and add them to the staging area. Find the set aside Key objective that shares a Trait with the just revealed Guardian enemy and attach it to that enemy." David randomly chooses Wolf's Guardian and Stone Barrow, revealing them and adding them to the staging area. He then finds the set aside Key objective that shares a Trait with Wolf 's Guardian - Key of the Wolf - and attaches it to Wolf 's Guardian. Key of the Wolf is the current trial's Key objective. Once David claims Key of the Wolf, he will proceed to the next trial, or advance to stage 3 if he has completed all three trials.
The three stage 2 quests in this scenario (The Trial of Strength, The Trial of Perseverance, and The Trial of Intuition) represent three different trials that the heroes must complete in order to reach stage 3. The current stage 2 quest is referred to as the "current trial".
Each trial has a different Key objective that must be claimed, which is chosen randomly during each stage 2A's "when revealed" effect. The Key objective that is chosen during each stage is referred to as "the current trial's Key objective".During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
Stage 1B of this scenario reads: "Time 4. Forced : After the last time counter is removed from this quest, lower each player's threat elimination level by 10 for the remainder of the game. Then, place 4 time counters on this stage."
A player's "threat elimination level" is the amount of threat at which a player is eliminated. This number is typically 50. However, in this scenario, a player's threat elimination level may be lower than 50. If a player's threat is ever equal to or higher than their current threat elimination level, they are eliminated from the game.
Nalir is an objective-ally in Trouble in Tharbad. An attack made against Nalir works the same as an attack made against the player who controls Nalir, with one exception: undefended damage from an attack made against Nalir must be assigned to Nalir.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
To simulate the experience of getting lost in an endless, shifting swamp, each stage 2B has the text:
"Forced : After the last time counter is removed from this stage, advance to a different stage 2A at random."
When the players are instructed to do this, the first player shuffles each stage 2 (except for the one currently in play) together and chooses one of them at random for the players to advance to, replacing the current stage 2. Then, the previous stage 2 is placed back in the quest deck with the other unused stage 2 cards. Any progress that was on that stage is lost. When the players are instructed to advance to a different random stage 3A, follow the same steps
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Two players are at stage 2B, The Enemy's Servant, when they remove the last time counter at the end of the refresh phase. The Enemy's Servant has the text: "Forced: After the last time counter is removed from this stage, trigger each Scour effect currently in play." So the players examine each encounter card in play and discover that there are 2 cards with the Scour keyword in play: Bellach and Collapsed Tower.
Bellach reads: "Scour: Each player must search the encounter deck and discard pile for an Orc enemy and add it to the staging area." Collapsed Tower reads: "Scour: Return this location to the staging area and place 2 damage here." Player 1 is the first player, so he decides to resolve the scour effect on Collapsed Tower and places 2 damage on it. Then, player 1 and 2 resolve the scour effect on Bellach. They each search the encounter deck and discard pile for an Orc enemy, add them to the staging area, and shuffle the encounter deck
Scour is a new keyword that represents the efforts of Bellach and his minions to discover Celebrimbor's hidden forge and the heroes who seek it. The scour keyword does nothing by itself, but when the players are instructed by quest card or encounter card text to trigger a scour effect they must resolve the effect that follows the scour keyword on that card. The effect that follows the scour keyword on a card is called the "scour effect."
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
The Orcs' Search is an objective that represents the efforts of Bellach and his servants to discover Celebrimbor's hidden forge and the heroes who search for it. As the agents of Mordor scour the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil, certain encounter card effects place damage on locations to represent their progress. This is significant because The Orcs' Search reads: "When a location has damage equal to its printed quest points, place it facedown underneath The Orcs' Search." When a location is placed facedown underneath The Orcs' Search, it means that Bellach and his minions have searched that location, bringing them one step closer to finding the knowledge they seek and leaving the heroes fewer places to hide.
Other cards besides locations can also be placed facedown underneath The Orcs' Search by various encounter card effects. When the players are instructed to place a card facedown underneath The Orcs' Search, they must first discard any tokens on that card and any attachments attached to that card. Facedown cards underneath The Orcs' Search are not in play and only interact with card effects that specifically reference cards underneath The Orcs' Search.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
To defeat The Ring Goes South, the Company of the Ring must escape the wargs that hunt them through Hollin by escaping into the Mines of Moria. Unfortunately, the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold is hidden by a magic spell and guarded by a dangerous creature that grabs hold of Frodo.
To help bring the Company's dilemma to life, stage 4A reads: "When Revealed: Make Doors of Durin the active location. Add Watcher in the Water to the staging area. Then, discard all tokens from the Ring-bearer and place it (and each card attached to it) face down under Watcher in the Water." While Frodo is face down and under the Watcher, he is still in play and so is each card attached to him. However, no player controls Frodo or any cards attached to him while he is face down.
Then, stage 4B reads: "There can be 2 active locations. During the travel phase, the players must travel to a location, if able." This represents the Company's search for the Doors and their effort to gain entrance while fighting off the many tentacles of the Watcher in the Water. Since there can be 2 active locations, if Doors of Durin is the only active location during the travel phase and there is at least 1 location in the staging area, the players must travel to a location. This is done by making the chosen location the active location in addition to Doors of Durin. Place the new active location next to Doors of Durin.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
Q: How many keywords does The Balrog (RD 44) have?
A: One. Indestructible is the only keyword on The Balrog.
Q: If Mines of Moria (TRD 52) is in the staging area and there is an active location, where is progress placed first?
A: Progress must be placed on the Mines of Moria in the staging area before it can be placed on the active location because the game text on Mines of Moria overrides the game rules via the Golden Rule.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
An enemy with the toughness keyword reduces the amount of damage it takes by X each time it is assigned any amount of damage.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When playing The Breaking of the Fellowship, the players are instructed by stage 2B to create their own staging areas. To do this, each player sets aside an area in front of himself to serve as his own staging area and places his quest stage 3 there. Players continue to resolve each phase of the game in player order, starting with the first player.
After a player commits characters to the quest at his stage, he reveals his encounter card. Then, he compares the total willpower of his characters committed to the total threat strength of encounter cards in his staging area. If the total willpower is greater, he places progress on his quest stage. If the total threat strength is greater, he raises his threat by the difference. Other players do not raise their threat when a different player quests unsuccessfully.
During the encounter phase, players only make engagement checks against enemies in their staging area. Effects that target enemies or locations "at this stage" do not affect encounter cards in another player's staging area. Archery damage is calculated separately at each stage, and only the player at that stage can assign that damage to characters he controls.
Unlike previous scenarios with separate staging areas, players may continue to interact with each other through the normal rules of the game. However, cards that reference "the staging area"only apply to your staging area, and cards that reference "the quest" only apply to your quest stage. If a player is eliminated while at a separate stage, that stage is discarded along with all encounter cards at that stage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
When setting up The Antlered Crown, the players are instructed to create the "Raven deck." To do this, remove each enemy card in both the Dunlending Warriors and Dunlending Raiders from the encounter deck. Shuffle the removed enemy cards into a deck. This is the Raven deck.
When a player is instructed to reveal a card from the Raven deck, resolve the staging of that card as if it was just revealed from the encounter deck. If a card with surge is revealed from the Raven deck, the players must reveal the top card of the encounter deck for the surge effect.
Whenever an enemy would leave play, it should be placed in the discard pile of the deck that it originated from: An enemy from the encounter deck should be placed in the encounter deck discard pile. An enemy from the Raven deck should be placed in the Raven deck discard pile. If the Raven deck is empty at any time, shuffle the Raven deck discard pile back into the Raven deck.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
When Stage 2B instructs the players to advance to a different random stage 2A, the first player shuffles each stage 2 (except for the one currently in play) together and chooses one of them at random. Then, he replaced the current stage 2 with the chosen one. The previous stage 2 is placed back in the quest deck with the other unused stage 2 cards. Discard any progress or attachments that were on the previous stage 2.
Cards with the text 'Immune to player card effects' ignore the effects of all player cards. Additionally, cards that are immune to player card effects cannot be chosen as targets of player card effects.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
When a player is instructed to create his own staging area, he sets aside an area in front of himself to serve as his own separate staging area. Players continue to resolve each phase of the game in turn order, starting with the first player, but the resolution of each phase occurs as if only the player or players that share any given staging area are present in the game. Players cannot affect players or cards that do not share a common staging area. The players as a group still cannot have more than 1 copy of a unique card in play. During the encounter phase, players only reveal 1 card per player that shares their staging area. Encounter card effects are limited to players and cards at that stage. Effects that reference 'each player' only affect each player at that staging area.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
The objective-ally, Iârion, has the text: "If Iârion leaves play, the players lose the game." This text cannot be modified by card effects.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When setting up The Weather Hills, the players are instructed to create the "Orc deck." The Orc deck represents the scattered Orcs hiding among the Weather Hills that the heroes must find and destroy. To create the Orc deck, remove each enemy card with the Angmar Orcs encounter set icon, as well as all copies of Concealed Orc-camp, from the encounter deck and shuffle them into a separate deck. This is the Orc deck. When a card from the Orc deck leaves play, it is placed in the encounter deck discard pile. If the Orc deck runs out of cards, ignore any effects that refer to the Orc deck.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
The dire keyword represents the world-changing endeavors that the heroes of Middle-Earth undertook in the final book of The Lord of the Rings. While the main quest has the dire keyword, each player's threat elimination level is increased to 99 and each player's threat cannot be reduced by more than 1 each round by non-boon player card effects. Boon card effects that reduce player's threat are not affected by the dire keyword. Additionally, the threat value for triggering Valour effects is changed from 40 threat to 80.
Fortitude tests represent the Ring-bearer's courage and determination to complete the quest for Mount Doom in the face of overwhelming adversity. When a player is instructed to make a Fortitude test, he may exhaust any number of heroes he controls to commit them to the test. Then, he must discard the top X cards of the encounter deck, where X is the tens digit of his threat dial. If the total willpower of the heroes committed to the test is greater than the number of Sauron's Eye icons on the encounter cards discarded for the test, that player successfully passes the Fortitude test. If the number of Sauron's Eye icons is equal to or greater than the total willpower of the committed heroes, that player fails the Fortitude test. If the encounter deck is ever empty during a Fortitude test, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck.
Fortitude tests interrupt the regular turn sequence and create a new action window. After the total number of Sauron's Eye icons on the discarded encounter cards has been determined, players are allowed to take actions. Once the Fortitude test is resolved, play continues as normal and player actions are restricted to regular action windows.
The Black Gate Opens and Mount Doom, can be played simultaneously by 2-8 players in epic multiplayer mode. Epic multiplayer mode divides a group of players into 2 teams: one team plays The Black Gate Opens and on team plays Mount Doom. Each scenario is its own game with its own staging area and requires its own encounter deck to play, but the teams at each scenario must work together in order to defeat Sauron and win each game.
To play in epic multiplayer mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Epic Multiplayer Mode".
The Setup instructions on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card directs the players to create 2 separate staging areas: one for The Black Gate Opens and one for Mount Doom. To do this, choose a play area large enough for both scenarios and follow the Setup instructions on each scenario as normal.
Next, the players divide themselves into 2 teams, one team for each scenario. At least 1 player must be assigned to each scenario, and no more than 4 players can be assigned to either. Furthermore, the number of players assigned to Mount Doom cannot exceed the number of players assigned to The Black Gate Opens.
Note: Both Aragorn and the Ring-bearer are used when playing epic multiplayer mode. The first player at The Black Gate Opens takes controls of Aragorn during setup, and the first player at Mount Doom takes control of the Ring-bearer.
After completing the Setup instructions, flip over the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and place it next to the Mount Doom quest deck.
Encounter cards that are only used in epic multiplayer mode are indicated by the following icon:
The players at each scenario are the only players in the game at that scenario. That means it is possible for two players at different scenarios to use the same hero. However, players at the same scenario must observe the game restrictions on unique cards. Player cards cannot target or affect cards at a different scenario. When a team ends a round at their stage they do not advance the next round of play until each other team in that group is ready to advance.
Before the teams advance to the next round, there are Forced effects on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and The Eye of Sauron objective card that must be resolved. The teams are encouraged to discuss these effects to determine what is the best option for the group. The Eye of Sauron may move from one scenario to another as a result.
The Black Gate Opens and Mount Doom can be played by 2-4 players in epic multiplayer mode as the grand finale to your saga campaign. Simply follow the Setup instructions on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and on each of the corresponding campaign cards.
Be sure to include all of the appropriate boons and burdens at each stage. If a boon or burden is included as part of the Setup for both scenarios, the player who controls the Ring-bearer decides which scenario receives that boon or burden.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
An enemy with the toughness keyword reduces the amount of damage it takes by X each time it is assigned any amount of damage.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When setting up The Uruk-hai, players are instructed to set the pursuit value to 10. This is done by taking an extra threat tracker and setting it next to the quest deck. That threat tracker is now the pursuit tracker, and it tracks the pursuit value. The pursuit value represents the Uruk-hai's progress as they race towards Isengard with their prisoners. As the pursuit value increases, so does the amount of progress that the players must place on the current quest in order to defeat that stage. At the end of the round, if the pursuit value is 30, then the Uruk-hai have reached Isengard and delivered their prisoners to Saruman. If this happens, the players have failed to rescue their companions and they lose the game.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the toughness keyword reduces the amount of damage it takes by X each time it is assigned any amount of damage.
Defense is a keyword that represents the army of Saruman laying siege to Helm's Deep and their efforts to capture the fortress. While the current quest has the defense keyword, players cannot place progress on the quest (or active location) by questing successfully. Instead, the encounter deck tries to place progress on the current quest. If the encounter deck defeats stage 4B, the army of Saruman captures Helm's Deep, and the players lose the game.
During quest resolution, if the total in the staging area is greater than the total of characters committed to the quest, players do not raise their threat by the difference. Instead, the first player places progress on the current quest equal to the difference.
The active location still acts as a buffer to the quest, so progress made by the encounter deck or encounter card effect must be placed on the active location first before it is placed on the quest (unless a card effect bypasses the active location). When a quest has progress equal to its quest points, that stage is defeated and the players should advance to the next stage as usual.
Should read: "When Revealed: Place 3 progress on the main quest..."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Wizardry is a new timing trigger in The Road to Isengard scenario that represents the various spells and machinations that Saruman used to defend Isengard from attack. When a location with the Wizardry trigger leaves play as an explored location, trigger its Wizardry effect (even if it is not the active location).
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
This scenario includes a double-sided objective, Daybreak / Nightfall. The Daybreak side of this objective has the text "It is Day" and the Nightfall side of this objective has the text "It is Night." In and of itself, the condition of "Day" or "Night" has no inherent effect. However, many encounter cards in this scenario (including Daybreak and Nightfall) have additional or different effects, depending on whether it is currently Day or Night.
Amarthiúl is an objective-ally in this scenario. During setup, the first player takes control of Amarthiúl. Amarthiúl has the text: "Response : After an enemy engages a player, give control of Amarthiúl to that player." This response is optional, and allows you to give control of Amarthiúl to another player after an enemy engages that player. Amarthiúl does not pass from one player to another when you pass the first player token.
Amarthiúl also has the text: "If Amarthiúl leaves play, the players lose the game." This text cannot be modified by card effects.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Capture is a keyword that represents locations or enemies that guard one or more captured cards. When an encounter card or quest card with the capture X keyword enters play, before resolving that card's "when revealed" effects, each player takes the top X cards of his or her captured deck and captures them by placing them facedown underneath that card. (If the players are at different stages of the quest, only the players at that stage perform this act.)
When setting up Escape from Mount Gram, stage 1A instructs each player to prepare a separate captured deck. A captured deck represents the allies, heroes and equipment taken from each player's party that he or she must find and recover before they can be played.
To prepare a captured deck, remove all allies, Item attachments, Mount attachments, and Artifact attachments from the player deck, and shuffle them together. This pile is now referred to as your captured deck. A captured deck does not have its own discard pile; any cards that are discarded from a captured deck are placed in its owner's discard pile.
After preparing his or her captured deck, each player chooses only 1 hero to be his or her starting hero. Then, each player randomly sets aside 1 of his or her other heroes, facedown. Shuffle any remaining heroes into their owner's captured decks, then place each facedown set aside hero on top of its owner's captured deck.
When cards are captured facedown underneath an encounter card, those cards are called " captured cards," and are considered to be out of play, under no player's control. This can occur from the capture X keyword, or from encounter card effects that instruct a player to capture 1 or more cards underneath a specified card. If a card is captured from play, all tokens on that card and attachments on that card are discarded.
When an encounter card or quest card with 1 or more captured cards underneath it leaves play, all of the captured cards underneath it are "rescued" by their owners. Rescued cards are placed in their owners' hands. If a hero card is rescued, immediately put it into play under its owner's control.
When each player is instructed to "create his own staging area, " each player sets aside an area in front of himself to serve as his own private staging area. Only players that share a common staging area can interact with each other in any way. Players continue to resolve each phase of the game in turn order, starting with the First Player (which continues to move), but the resolution of each phase occurs as if only the player or players that share any given staging area are currently in the game.
On stage 2B players are instructed to "join another player" if there are no captured cards underneath it. Joining another player happens at the beginning of the travel phase. The joining player(s) must add any encounter cards in his own staging area to the staging area of the player(s) he is joining with, keeping any enemies engaged with him and discarding any active location in the staging area being left. If multiple players have no captured cards underneath stage 2B during the same phase, they join quests starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise around the table. If there is no player to join, then players must continue to stage 3.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
Mire is a new keyword that represents the shifting, sinking nature of the Dead Marshes. At the end of the refresh phase, place 1 resource token on each location in the staging area. Resource tokens placed on locations with the mire keyword are called "mire tokens." When a location with the mire keyword has mire tokens equal to its mire X value, it is immediately discarded.
Each location with the mire keyword also has a Forced effect that triggers when it is discarded from play by the mire keyword. These Forced effects do not trigger when a location is discarded by any other effect, or when a location is placed in the discard pile after being explored.
Since mire tokens are only placed on locations in the staging area during the refresh phase, the players should pay close attention to the number of mire tokens on each location, and any Forced effects that may trigger that round, when deciding which location to travel to during the travel phase
Should read: "Setup: Each player may change hero cards he controls without incurring the +1 threat penalty. Each player shuffles 1 copy..."
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Discover keyword represents the heroes' search for lost treasure, as well as the unexpected dangers they encounter as they travel to the different locations in the scenario. When a location with the Discover keyword becomes the active location, the first player resolves the following steps in order:
If there are less than X cards remaining in the encounter deck when resolving the Discover keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and continue resolving the Discover keyword.
Objectives with the Loot keyword are valuable treasures that can only be discovered by exploring the different locations of the scenario. A Loot card can only enter play by resolving the Discover keyword on a location.
If a card with the Loot keyword is revealed from the encounter deck, discard it and reveal another card from the top of the encounter deck.
When the encounter card guarding a Loot objective leaves play, the first player must immediately attach that Loot objective to a hero he controls. If a Loot objective is attached to the active location when the players make enough progress to explore the active location and advance to the next stage, the first player takes control of the Loot objective before advancing to the next stage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Safe is a keyword in the Across the Ettenmoors scenario, representing havens in which the players can take refuge from the harsh weather and vicious Trolls of the Ettenmoors.
When players travel to a location with the safe keyword, immediately return all engaged enemies to the staging area.
While a location with the safe keyword is the active location, ignore the "when revealed"effects of all treachery cards, treat the printed text box of all encounter side quests as if they were blank, and enemies do not make engagement checks. At the end of the quest phase, if a safe location is the active location, add it to the victory display.
In this scenario, there are four objective-location cards: Patch of Woods, Secluded Cave, Abandoned Camp, and The Hoarwell. These cards are objectives that are also considered to be locations for all purposes, except they do not have , and can have the guarded keyword, like other objectives.
While an objective-location is guarded by another encounter card (including side quests), it cannot be the active location. Like other guarded objectives, once the attached encounter is dealt with, the objective-location returns to the staging area. Only then may the players travel to it. (If an objective-location is guarded by a location, traveling to the location guarding the objectivelocation does not count as traveling to the objective-location.)
Amarthiúl is an objective-ally in this scenario. During setup, the first player takes control of Amarthiúl. Amarthiúl has the text: "Response: After an enemy engages a player, give control of Amarthiúl to that player." This response is optional, and allows you to give control of Amarthiúl to another player after an enemy engages that player. Amarthiúl does not pass from one player to another when you pass the first player token.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
This scenario includes 3 side quests which are added to the staging area during setup, "quest side faceup". The cards are double-sided, with a side quest on one side and a Clue objective on the other side. While they are quest side faceup, they function as an encounter side quest. Each of these quests has the text, "When this quest is defeated, flip it over". This means you turn it so that it is objective side faceup. As an objective, each of these cards has text that allows the players to claim the objective and attach it to Amarthiúl, or to a hero. Therefore, by completing each of these side quests, the players are able to claim objectives that aid them in their quest.
Amarthiúl is an objective-ally in this scenario. During setup, the first player takes control of Amarthiúl. Amarthiúl has the text: "Response: After an enemy engages a player, give control of Amarthiúl to that player." This response is optional, and allows you to give control of Amarthiúl to another player after an enemy engages that player. Amarthiúl does not pass from one player to another when you pass the first player token.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom has committed the characters Gandalf and an Ithilien Tracker to the quest card Ambush in Ithilien (1B), which has the battle keyword. When resolving this quest, instead of using his characters' , Tom counts their total . Gandalf has an of 4, and the Ithilien Tracker has an of 1, for a total of 5. Tom compares this total against the in the staging area, which is currently a 3. Tom therefore quests successfully, and makes 2 progress on the quest.
If a quest card has the battle keyword, when characters are committed to that quest, they count their total instead of their total when resolving the quest. Enemies and locations in the staging area still use their in opposition to this quest attempt.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
The players are on stage 1B and Thaurdir is Captain side faceup. The players reveal the treachery card "Daechanar's Will," which causes the players to flip Thaurdir to his Champion side. Once flipped, he triggers his new Forced effect, which reads: "Forced: After Thaurdir is flipped or a treachery card with the Sorcery trait is revealed, Thaurdir heals 3 damage and makes an attack against the first player." Thaurdir will heal 3 damage and make an attack against the first player, and remain Champion side face-up.
At the end of that round, if Thaurdir is still Champion side faceup, the players will have to flip him back to his Captain side, because of the text on stage 1B, which reads: "At the end of the round, if Thaurdir is Champion side face-up, flip him."Once flipped he will trigger his new Forced effect again, which reads: "Forced: After Thaurdir is flipped or a treachery card with the Sorcery trait is revealed, deal 1 shadow card to each enemy in play."
Thaurdir is a double-sided enemy card who is added to the staging area when setting up The Battle of Carn-Dúm. One side has the Captain trait, and the other side has the Champion trait. Each of his side has a Forced effect that triggers after a Sorcery card is reavealed, or after he is "flipped". Whenever an effect flips Thaurdir from one side to another, after he is flipped to his new side, trigger his new Forced effect.
Whenever Thaurdir flips from one side to another, keep all tokens and attachments that were one him. He does not leave play during this transition.
Because Thaurdir has no encounter card back, he cannot be placed or shuffled into the encounter deck for any reason.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Many encounter cards in The Dread Realm scenario instruct players to "reanimate" a card. When a player is instructed to reanimate a card, place that card facedown in front of that player, as if it had just engaged that player from the staging area. Facedown cards that have been reanimated are called "Reanimated Dead" and act as if they are Undead enemy cards with 0 engagement cost, 2 , 2 , 2 , and 2 hit points. As a reminder, each quest card has the text: "Reanimated Dead are Undead enemies with 2 , 2 , 2 and 2 hit points." If a Reanimated Dead is destroyed or leaves play for any other reason, it is placed in its owner's discard pile.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Investigate is a new keyword the represents the heroes' efforts to solve the crime. When an active location with the Investigage keyword is explored, the first player shuffles the Investigation deck and looks at the top X cards. Then, he placed those cards back on top of the Investigation deck in the same order.
While the players are at stage 2B, the Investigate keyword on the active location is resolved before the second Forced effect on that stage.
Begin the game by following the Setup instructions on stage 1A. When the players are instructed to "build the investigation deck," do the following: take the 4 remaining Suspect enemies and the 4 remaining Hideout locations, plus each copy of Taken By Surprise, and shuffle them together without looking at them. This is the Investigation deck.
The players are not allowed to look at cards in the Investigation deck except when resolving the Investigation keyword or instructed by a card effect.
The Investigation List has the name of all 5 Suspect enemies and all 5 Hideout locations. During the game, players should check enemies and locations off of their Investigation list in order to help them determine the correct Suspect and Hideout by process of elimination.
In order to advance from stage 2B to 3A, the players must "make an accusation." To make the accusation, the first player names 1 Suspect and 1 Hideout. Then, he reveals the facedown, out of play Suspect and Hideout cards and adds them to the staging area.
If the revealed Suspect and Hideout are the same as those named by the first player, the accusation is correct and the players have successfully identified the killer and the outlaw's secret hideout.
If the out of play cards are not the same as the ones named by the first player, then the accusation is not correct, and the heroes have embroiled themselves in a deeper plot by pursuing the wrong the wrong Suspect or investigating the wrong Hideout. If the accusation is not correct, search the Investigation deck for each just named card that is not already in play and add it to the staging area. Then, raise each player's threat by 3.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Boarding is a keyword that appears on many ship-enemies. When a ship-enemy with the Boarding keyword engages a player from the staging area, reveal the top X cards from the Corsair Deck and put the revealed enemies into play, engaged with that player. Note that the Boarding keyword does not resolve if the ship-enemy engages a player from another player's play area, or from the encounter deck or discard pile.
Sailing is a keyword that represents that the players are currently traveling across the sea on their ships. At the beginning of each quest phase (before committing characters to the quest), if the main quest has the Sailing keyword, the first player must perform a Sailing test.
Brandon and Brian are playing a scenario and the main quest has the Sailing keyword. Their heading is not looking too good (), but a good Sailing test could get it back on course ().
1. At the beginning of the quest phase, the first player, Brandon, must perform a Sailing test. First, he shifts his heading off" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees counter " clockwise. This sets their heading to .
2. He then commits CiÂrdan the Shipwright and 2 Sailors of Lune to the Sailing test. Since he committed 3 characters to the Sailing test, he looks at the top 3 cards of the encounter deck and counts the number of symbols found on those cards.
3. Brandon spots no symbols on the first card, but one on each of the other two cards. He therefore shifts his heading two steps towards on" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees clockwise twice. This puts the fleet back on" course ()!
Sailing tests represent the players' ability to change their course or alter their sails and riggings in such a way as to adapt to the changing winds.
In order to perform a Sailing test, you must first shift your heading off-course. This represents the shifting of the winds, and the difficulty of navigating at sea. (If it is already at , it does not change.)
Then, the player performing the Sailing test exhausts any number of characters he controls, committing them to the Sailing test. After choosing which characters to commit to the Sailing test, that player looks at a number of cards from the top of the encounter deck equal to the total number of characters committed to the Sailing test. If the encounter deck does not contain enough cards to look at, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck first.
Some encounter cards have a symbol on the bottom left corner of their text box. This symbol represents a success when performing a Sailing test. For each symbol found on the looked at encounter cards, you may shift your heading on-course. If no symbols are found, your heading stays the same. Then, discard all of the looked at cards.
symbols have no effect other than representing success during a Sailing test.
Players have the opportunity to use Action effects before and after a Sailing test, but not during.
There are two kinds of ship cards: Ship-Enemies and Ship-Objectives. Both ship-enemies and ship-objectives count as ship cards, but have different rules associated with them.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships in the encounter deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-ship enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. Ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through card abilities, such as the Boarding keyword (see below).
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non- ship enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead. When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the four unique ship-objectives included in The Dream-chaser 's Fleet encounter set: the Dream-chaser, the Dawn Star, the Nárelenya, or the Silver Wing. One of the players must choose the Dream-chaser. In a game with only one player, that player takes control of the Dream-chaser and one other ship-objective of his or her choice. Each ship-objective that is not used is then removed from the game.
Finally, the player who controls the Dream-chaser attaches the Heading card to the Dream-chaser and sets it to .
The Heading card attached to the Dream-chaser represents the fleet's current ability to navigate their ships with the wind and through the many hazards that may appear at sea. A bad heading represents sailing poorly, into hazards such as enemies or foul weather.
The symbol shown on the Heading card is called "your current heading." All players share the same heading. Some cards will have additional or different effects depending on the current heading. The possible headings are described below:
: This is the only heading that is considered to be "on-course," and is the best possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further on-course than this. You are traveling windward, with maximum maneuverability.
/: These headings are considered "off-course." You are struggling against the elements and are not navigating properly.
: This heading is considered "off-course," and is the worst possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further off-course than this. You are traveling against the wind, and are completely at the mercy of the sea.
If you are instructed to shift your heading off-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° counterclockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to the worst setting (). If it is already at the worst setting (), it cannot shift off-course.
If you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° clockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to on-course (). If it is already at on-course (), it cannot shift on-course.
Note: When you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, it does not shift all the way to the on-course () setting; it only shifts one step closer to the on-course () setting.
The setup for this scenario instructs the players to "Prepare the Stormcaller's area." To prepare the Stormcaller's area, the players must prepare a second quest deck consisting of stage 2C, stage 3C, and stage 4C, in that order. (The quest stages labeled stage 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A are used in the player's quest deck, as normal.) Then, in an area next to the Stormcaller's quest deck, place the Stormcaller enemy card.
The Stormcaller's area is a play area, separate from the staging area, that represents the Stormcaller's journey in its attempt to flee from the players. As the players advance through their quest deck, the Stormcaller also advances through its quest deck, attempting to reach and defeat stage 4 before the players do. The quest stage on top of the Stormcaller's quest deck is called "the Stormcaller's current quest stage." Each of these quest stages has the following text: "Forced : At the end of the round, discard the top card of the encounter deck. The Stormcaller places progress on this stage equal to its plus the of the discarded card." Every round, this effect causes the Stormcaller to make progress on its stage, just as the players try to make progress on their quest stage. If the Stormcaller's current quest stage has progress on it equal to or above its quest points, it advances to the next quest stage in the same way players would, first advancing to the "C" side of the next stage, resolving its effects, and then advancing to the "D" side.
While the Stormcaller is at a different quest stage than the players, cards in the Stormcaller's area are immune to player card effects, cannot leave the Stormcaller's area, and are not considered to be in the staging area (and thus do not contribute their to the total in the staging area). Players are considered to be at "the same stage"as the Stormcaller if their main quest stage's name and number match the Stormcaller's current quest stage ("2B" Full Sail Ahead!" and "2D" Full Sail Ahead!", for example).
When the players and the Stormcaller are at the same quest stage, cards in the Stormcaller's area are no longer immune to player card effects, can leave the Stormcaller's area, and are considered to be in the staging area (and thus do contribute their to the total in the staging area). Thus, by catching up to the same quest stage as the Stormcaller, the players can travel to locations in the Stormcaller's area and engage ships in the Stormcaller's area, including the Stormcaller itself.During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Grapple is a keyword that represents the many tentacles of the sea" beast grasping onto different parts of the Stormcaller , threatening to pull the ship underwater. When an enemy with the Grapple keyword is revealed, or when you are instructed to resolve an enemy's Grapple keyword, immediately attach that enemy facedown to the location in the staging area specified in parentheses (for example, the location with the highest , or the highest quest points). If more than one location meets the specified criteria, the first player may choose which of those locations the enemy grapples. If there are no locations in the staging area, add the enemy to the staging area without attaching it to any location. While attached to a location by the Grapple keyword, an enemy is "grappled with" that location.
While grappled with a location, an enemy is not considered to be in the staging area, cannot be engaged, and is immune to player card effects. Instead, it adds 2 to the of the location it is grappled with.
When a location becomes the active location, or when a location in the staging area is explored, any enemies grappled with that location are detached, flipped faceup, and added to the staging area as normal enemies. Thus, by traveling to a location, the players can engage and attack the tentacles grappled with that location, freeing the Stormcaller from the creature's grasp!
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
This Adventure Pack includes two separate encounter sets: The Stormcaller encounter set and The Thing in the Depths encounter set. The setup instructions for this scenario instructs the players to "Build the encounter deck using only The Stormcaller and Corsair Raiders encounter sets, setting The Thing in the Depths and The Stormcaller Elite encounter sets aside, out of play." When setting up this scenario, players should set the entire The Thing in the Depths encounter set aside for the time being, shuffling together only the Corsair Raiders and The Stormcaller encounter sets. When the players advance to stage 2, the "When Revealed" effect of that stage will remove the Corsair Raiders encounter set from the game and shuffle The Thing in the Depths encounter set into the encounter deck, completely changing the nature of the scenario!
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Uncharted locations represent unknown areas of Middle-earth, untouched and unexplored during this age of the world. As such, the players do not know what to expect when traveling to them.
These locations are double-sided. One side is called "Lost Island," and has the Uncharted keyword. Uncharted locations are always added to the staging area with the "Lost Island" side faceup, without looking at the other side of the card. Locations with the Uncharted keyword do not have quest points and cannot be explored by placing progress on them, although progress may still be placed on them (in order to trigger their Action ability).
Each copy of Lost Island has the following text: "Forced: After Lost Island becomes the active location, flip it over." Thus, by traveling to an Uncharted location, the players can discover what kind of location it really is, flipping it over to its other side. Flipping over an Uncharted location removes all progress from it. Once flipped, it functions as a normal location, with the following exceptions: Double-sided locations cannot enter the encounter deck. If a double-sided location would enter the discard pile, it is instead shuffled back into the Uncharted deck, Lost Island side faceup.
Each copy of Lost Island also has the following text: "Action: Remove 4 progress from Lost Island to look at its facedown side." Thus, by placing progress on a Lost Island card in the staging area, the players may look at its facedown side in order to gain information about where to travel.
Many locations on the other side of an Uncharted location have Forced effects that trigger after they are flipped. After flipping an Uncharted location, make sure to check the newly flipped location for any such effects. Note that "looking" at the facedown side of an Uncharted location does not trigger any of these effects.
Note that all copies of Lost Island have the Ruins of Númenor encounter set icon on their Lost Island side, even though some of these cards may actually belong to different encounter sets.
The Exploration keyword on the main quest represents the player's ability to traverse the Island Map prepared during the setup of the scenario. In this scenario, locations are not revealed from the encounter deck, and the entire island is laid out for the players to explore, one location at a time.
Locations in the Island Map cannot leave the Island Map for any reason, nor can they leave their individual positions within the island (for example, an effect that would switch two locations does not work in this scenario). The Island Map is not the same as the staging area and does not function in the same way. Note that there is still a staging area, which is used for enemies and other cards that would be placed into the staging area.
During this scenario, the active location is represented through the use of an "active location marker," which can be a resource token or a pawn/figurine of the players' choice. The active location is not moved out of its place in the island map when the players travel to it. The locations adjacent (orthogonally, not diagonally) to the active location are considered to be in the staging area. All of the other locations on the Island Map are not considered to be in the staging area.
When the players quest successfully, progress is still placed on the active location before it is placed on the current quest, up to that location's quest points, as normal. However, if progress is placed on any location equal to its quest points, it is not immediately explored. Instead, it remains in play.
During the Travel phase, if the active location has progress on it equal to its quest points, the players have the option to travel to a location in the staging area (i.e. an adjacent location). If the active location does not have enough progress on it, they cannot travel from it. If the players travel to another location, all progress is removed from the active location, and their active location marker is moved to the new location. At this point, the formerly active location is considered "explored," although it is not discarded or flipped over, and remains in place. Because players always travel from one location directly to another in this scenario, there is always an active location at any given moment in time. Remember that flipping an Uncharted location also removes all progress from it.
Players can freely travel around the Island Map using the above rules, and may return to locations they have already explored. Your goal is to find the entrance to the underwater Grotto which is somewhere inside the grand temple" the three locations on the rightmost side of the Island Map. But, in order to enter the Temple, you must find the Gate Key somewhere on the island.
The setup for this scenario instructs the players to "Prepare the Island Map." This is done by separating all 15 of the double-sided Uncharted locations in the encounter deck and laying them out in a three by five grid as shown below, with each "Lost Island" card in the first four columns, and the three "Temple of the Deceived" cards in the rightmost column. This should be done without looking at the facedown side of any of these locations, so that the map is randomly generated.
Any card effects that reference a direction (left, right, above or below) should be interpreted from the perspective of the diagram below ("to the right," for example, would mean in the direction towards the three Temple of the Deceived locations).
Remember you always have an active location, you track your progress along the
map with a token, the only locations considered to be "in the staging
area" are those orthogonally adjacent to your active location, and all
the locations in the Island Map enter place facedown, only to be turned
faceup once you travel to them, as shown on the example below:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Attack on Dol Guldur can be played in one of two game modes: standard game mode and epic multiplayer mode. Standard game mode supports 1-4 players and requires only 1 copy of Attack on Dol Guldur. Epic multiplayer mode supports 3-12 players and requires 3 copies of Attack on Dol Guldur. To play in standard game mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Standard Game Mode." To play in epic multiplayer mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Epic Multiplayer Mode".
Epic multiplayer mode divides a group of 3-12 players into 3 teams who play at 3 different stages simultaneously. Each stage is its own game and requires its own encounter deck to play. The teams at each stage must work together in order to defeat the scenario.
The Setup instructions on the epic multiplayer mode setup card instruct the player to create 3 separate staging areas with 3 different quest decks. Each quest deck is built with 6 quest cards included in a single copy of Attack on Dol Guldur.
Next, the players divide themselves into 3 teams, one team for each stage. At least 1 player must be assigned to each stage, and no more than 4 players can be assigned to a single stage.
Only 1 copy of the epic multiplayer mode setup card should be used by the group while setting up the game. After completing the Setup instructions, flip over all 3 setup cards and place 1 next to each quest deck.
The players at each stage are the only players in the game at that stage. That means it is possible for two players at the same stage must observe the game restrictions on unique cards. Player cards cannot target or affect cards at different stage.
When a team ends a round at their stage they do not advance to the next round of play unit each other team in that group is ready to advance. Furthermore, abilities that trigger at the end of the round resolve in alphabetical stage order. (Resolve end of round effects at stage 3B before resolving end of round effects at stage 3D, etc.)
Cards with the text "Immune to player card effects" ignore the effects of all player cards. Additionally, cards that are immune to player card effects cannot be chosen as targets of player card effects.
"City Strength" represents the amount of damage that must be dealt to Dol Guldur in order to capture the fortress. To set the city strength of Dol Guldur during setup, take a threat tracker, place it next to Dol Guldur and set its value to the amount determined by the setup card. That threat tracker is the "siege tracker" for the rest of the game.
Siege is a value that appears on the lower right corner of many enemies and locations in this scenario. While the players are at stage 3, Dol Guldur's city strength is reduced by the siege value of each location explored and each enemy defeated at each stage at the end of the round.
What is the difference between a "group" and a "team"?
"Group" refers to the 3-12 players who are participating in the event together. "Team" refers to the 1-4 players at the same stage.
What does it mean for a card to be "in a victory display"?
A card is in a victory display if it is in the victory display of any team in your group.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Sailing is a keyword that represents that the players are currently traveling across the sea on their ships. At the beginning of each quest phase (before committing characters to the quest), if the main quest has the Sailing keyword, the first player must perform a Sailing test.
Brandon and Brian are playing a scenario and the main quest has the Sailing keyword. Their heading is not looking too good (), but a good Sailing test could get it back on course ().
1. At the beginning of the quest phase, the first player, Brandon, must perform a Sailing test. First, he shifts his heading off" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees counter " clockwise. This sets their heading to .
2. He then commits CiÂrdan the Shipwright and 2 Sailors of Lune to the Sailing test. Since he committed 3 characters to the Sailing test, he looks at the top 3 cards of the encounter deck and counts the number of symbols found on those cards.
3. Brandon spots no symbols on the first card, but one on each of the other two cards. He therefore shifts his heading two steps towards on" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees clockwise twice. This puts the fleet back on" course ()!
Sailing tests represent the players' ability to change their course or alter their sails and riggings in such a way as to adapt to the changing winds.
In order to perform a Sailing test, you must first shift your heading off-course. This represents the shifting of the winds, and the difficulty of navigating at sea. (If it is already at , it does not change.)
Then, the player performing the Sailing test exhausts any number of characters he controls, committing them to the Sailing test. After choosing which characters to commit to the Sailing test, that player looks at a number of cards from the top of the encounter deck equal to the total number of characters committed to the Sailing test. If the encounter deck does not contain enough cards to look at, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck first.
Some encounter cards have a symbol on the bottom left corner of their text box. This symbol represents a success when performing a Sailing test. For each symbol found on the looked at encounter cards, you may shift your heading on-course. If no symbols are found, your heading stays the same. Then, discard all of the looked at cards.
symbols have no effect other than representing success during a Sailing test.
Players have the opportunity to use Action effects before and after a Sailing test, but not during.
Boarding is a keyword that appears on many ship-enemies. When a ship-enemy with the Boarding keyword engages a player from the staging area, reveal the top X cards from the Corsair Deck and put the revealed enemies into play, engaged with that player. Note that the Boarding keyword does not resolve if the ship-enemy engages a player from another player's play area, or from the encounter deck or discard pile.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
There are two kinds of ship cards: Ship-Enemies and Ship-Objectives. Both ship-enemies and ship-objectives count as ship cards, but have different rules associated with them.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships in the encounter deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-ship enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. Ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through card abilities, such as the Boarding keyword (see below).
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non- ship enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead. When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the four unique ship-objectives included in The Dream-chaser 's Fleet encounter set: the Dream-chaser, the Dawn Star, the Nárelenya, or the Silver Wing. One of the players must choose the Dream-chaser. In a game with only one player, that player takes control of the Dream-chaser and one other ship-objective of his or her choice. Each ship-objective that is not used is then removed from the game.
Finally, the player who controls the Dream-chaser attaches the Heading card to the Dream-chaser and sets it to .
The Heading card attached to the Dream-chaser represents the fleet's current ability to navigate their ships with the wind and through the many hazards that may appear at sea. A bad heading represents sailing poorly, into hazards such as enemies or foul weather.
The symbol shown on the Heading card is called "your current heading." All players share the same heading. Some cards will have additional or different effects depending on the current heading. The possible headings are described below:
: This is the only heading that is considered to be "on-course," and is the best possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further on-course than this. You are traveling windward, with maximum maneuverability.
/: These headings are considered "off-course." You are struggling against the elements and are not navigating properly.
: This heading is considered "off-course," and is the worst possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further off-course than this. You are traveling against the wind, and are completely at the mercy of the sea.
If you are instructed to shift your heading off-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° counterclockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to the worst setting (). If it is already at the worst setting (), it cannot shift off-course.
If you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° clockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to on-course (). If it is already at on-course (), it cannot shift on-course.
Note: When you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, it does not shift all the way to the on-course () setting; it only shifts one step closer to the on-course () setting.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
This scenario includes nine double-sided locations that do not have the Uncharted keyword. Instead, one has the Grotto trait, while the other side has the Underwater trait. During Setup, the players are instructed to "prepare the Grotto deck". First, the players must remove the double-sided "Shrine to Morgoth" card and set it aside (this card is put into play during stage 2). Then, turn the remained of the double-sided locations Grotto side face-up, and shuffle then together into a separate pile. This pile is referred to as "the Grotto deck."
Players may freely look at the Grotto side of the top location of the Grotto deck. However, players cannot look at the facedown Underwater sides of any location until they are instructed to flip that location. Flipping a double-sided location from one side to the another removes all progress from it.
During the game, locations will often be placed from the top of the Grotto deck into the staging area. This must be done with the location entering with its Grotto side face-up, without looking at its Underwater side (unless instructed otherwse).
Because these locations are double-sided, they cannot enter the encounter deck or discard pile for any reason. When one of these locations is explored, if its Grotto side is face-up, it is shuffled back into the Grotto deck, Grotto side face-up. If it is Underwater side face-up when it is explored, it has the victory keyword and is therefore placed in the victory display.
Note that Grotto locations do not always have the same Underwater location on its facedown side.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Many of the locations in this scenario have the Aflame X keyword. This represents ships in the Elven fleet and piers in the Grey Havens which are under attack by Corsairs and are being set on fire.
At the end of each round, the players must place 1 damage token on each Aflame location in the staging area. Many encounter card effects can also cause damage tokens to be placed on Aflame locations.
If at any point an Aflame location has damage tokens on it equal to its Aflame X value, it is destroyed, and must be placed facedown underneath The Havens Burn objective card. Cards facedown underneath The Havens Burn are considered to be out of play.
If an Aflame location is explored, it is placed in the discard pile as normal, and all damage tokens on it are also discarded.
The Stormcaller Elite is an encounter set consisting of two double- sided cards: Captain Sahír and Na'asiyah. Each of these cards has an enemy side and an objective ally side. When this encounter set is included in a scenario, the scenario will instruct the players which of these two sides should be used in that scenario. (None of the scenarios in The Grey Havens expansion use the objective ally sides, so you may ignore those sides for the time being.)
Because these cards do not have encounter card backs, they can never be added to or shuffled into the encounter deck or discard pile. If one of them leaves play as an enemy, it is added to the victory display. If one of them leaves play as an objective ally, it is simply removed from the game.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Uncharted locations represent unknown areas of Middle-earth, untouched and unexplored during this age of the world. As such, the players do not know what to expect when traveling to them.
These locations are double-sided. One side is called "Lost Island," and has the Uncharted keyword. Uncharted locations are always added to the staging area with the "Lost Island" side faceup, without looking at the other side of the card. Locations with the Uncharted keyword do not have quest points and cannot be explored by placing progress on them, although progress may still be placed on them (in order to trigger their Action ability).
Each copy of Lost Island has the following text: "Forced: After Lost Island becomes the active location, flip it over." Thus, by traveling to an Uncharted location, the players can discover what kind of location it really is, flipping it over to its other side. Flipping over an Uncharted location removes all progress from it. Once flipped, it functions as a normal location, with the following exceptions: Double-sided locations cannot enter the encounter deck. If a double-sided location would enter the discard pile, it is instead shuffled back into the Uncharted deck, Lost Island side faceup.
Each copy of Lost Island also has the following text: "Action: Remove 4 progress from Lost Island to look at its facedown side." Thus, by placing progress on a Lost Island card in the staging area, the players may look at its facedown side in order to gain information about where to travel.
Many locations on the other side of an Uncharted location have Forced effects that trigger after they are flipped. After flipping an Uncharted location, make sure to check the newly flipped location for any such effects. Note that "looking" at the facedown side of an Uncharted location does not trigger any of these effects.
Note that all copies of Lost Island have the Ruins of Númenor encounter set icon on their Lost Island side, even though some of these cards may actually belong to different encounter sets.
When Uncharted locations are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup may instruct the players to "prepare the Uncharted deck." This is done by shuffling all of the double-sided locations with the Uncharted keyword into a separate pile. This pile is referred to as the Uncharted deck. When preparing the Uncharted deck, each card in that deck should be Lost Island side faceup, so that players do not know which location is on the facedown side.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Phantom is a keyword that appears on Undead enemies. The Phantom keyword represents the mysterious and terrifying nature of the Undead oathbreakers that the Grey Company encountered on their journey through the paths of dead.
During the 'determine combat damage' step of an attack made by an enemy with Phantom, if any damage would be dealt by the attack it is canceled andthe defending player raises his threat by an equal amount instead.
Army of the Dead is a double-sided card with an enemy version on one side and an objective-ally version on the other side. When playing The Passing of the Grey Company, the Army of the Dead is added to the staging area when the players advance to stage 3A. The Army of the Dead objective-ally is a boon card that can only be earned by defeating the Army of the Dead enemy while playing in campaign mode.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Assault is a keyword that represents the army of Mordor's relentless attack on the city of Minas Tirith. While stage 3B is in play, progress cannot be placed on that stage by player card effects or by questing successfully. However, progress can still be placed on the active location as normal.
When the players quest unsuccessfully, each player does not raise his threat. Instead, the players must deal X damage to Minas Tirith. X is the amount by which the total threat in the staging area was greater than the total willpower of each character committed to the quest. (This damage is only calculated once for the group, not per player.)
Minas Tirith is an objective that is put into play when the players reach stage 3A. The objective represents the White City as it comes under attack during The Battle of the Pelennor Fields. If Minas Tirith has damage equal to its hit points at the end of a round, the White City has fallen and the players lose the game.
Several encounter card effects target Minas Tirith. If these effects trigger at stage 2B, while Minas Tirith is not in play, the players must resolve the effects as fully as possible.
When playing The Battle of the Pelennor Fields there are several triggered effects that need to be observed each round. In order to provide players with the most rewarding adventure, and avoid bogging down the game, these effects were all made to trigger at either the beginning of the quest phase or at the end of the round. For the best play experience, we recommend that the players check for triggered effects at the beginning of each quest phase, and again at the end of the round.
Cards to look for in particular are:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
The Siege of Annúminas can be played in one of two game modes: standard game mode and epic multiplayer mode. Standard game mode supports 1-4 players and requires only 1 copy of The Siege of Annúminas. Epic multiplayer supports 3-12 players and requires three copies of The Siege of Annúminas. To play standard game mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Standard Game Mode." To playing epic multiplayer mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Epic Multiplayer Mode."
Epic multiplayer mode divides a group of 3-12 players into 3 teams who play at 3 different stages simultaneously. Each stage is its own game and requires its own encounter set to play. The teams at each stage must work together in order to defeat the scenario card.
Setting Up Epic Multiplayer Mode
The Setup instructions on the epic multiplayer mode setup card instruct the players to create 3 separate staging areas with 3 different quest decks. To do this, take the quest card from a single copy of The Siege of Annúminas and arrange them into 3 separate quest decks: 1A-3A, 1C-3C, and 1E-3E. Remove the unused quest cards from the event.
Next, the players divide themselves into 3 teams, one team for each stage. At least 1 player must be assigned to each stage, and no more than 4 players can be assigned to a single stage.
Only 1 copy of the epic multiplayer mode setup card should be used by the group while setting up the game. After completing the Setup instructions, flip over all 3 Setup cards and place 1 next to each quest deck.
Playing Epic Multiplayer Mode
Players at each stage are the only players in the game at that stage. That means it is possible for two players at different stages to use the same hero. However, players at the same stage must observe the game restrictions on unique cards. Player cards cannot target or affect cards at a different stage.
When a team ends a round at their stage they do not advance to the next round of play until each other team in that group is ready to advance. Furthermore, abilities that trigger at the end of the round resolve in alphabetical stage order. (Resolve end of round effects at stage 2B before resolving end of round effects at stage 2D, etc.)
"City strength" is a value that represents the amount of damage the city of Annúminas can take before it is overrun by the enemy. To set the city strength of Annúminas during setup, take a threat tracker, place it next to Annúminas, and set its value to the correct amount. That threat tracker is the "city strength tracker" for the rest of the game. Any time Annúminas takes X damage, reduce its city strength by X. If the city strength of Annúminas reaches 0, the players lose the game.
Q: What is the difference between a 'group' and a 'team'?
A: 'Group' refers to the 3-12 players who are participating in the event together. 'Team' refers to the 1-4 players at the same stage.
Q: What does it mean for a card to be "in a victory display"?
A: A card is in a victory display if it is in the victory display of any team in your group.
Q: Does damage on an enemy remain on that enemy when it moves to a different stage?
A: Yes.
Q: When the first player takes control of a Dúnedain of Annúminas at stage 1, does he resolve its "when revealed" effect?
A: No.
Q: What happens when a Dúnedain of Annúminas is destroyed?
A: It is placed in the encounter deck discard pile.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Boarding is a keyword that appears on many ship-enemies. When a ship-enemy with the Boarding keyword engages a player from the staging area, reveal the top X cards from the Corsair Deck and put the revealed enemies into play, engaged with that player. Note that the Boarding keyword does not resolve if the ship-enemy engages a player from another player's play area, or from the encounter deck or discard pile.
Sailing is a keyword that represents that the players are currently traveling across the sea on their ships. At the beginning of each quest phase (before committing characters to the quest), if the main quest has the Sailing keyword, the first player must perform a Sailing test.
Brandon and Brian are playing a scenario and the main quest has the Sailing keyword. Their heading is not looking too good (), but a good Sailing test could get it back on course ().
1. At the beginning of the quest phase, the first player, Brandon, must perform a Sailing test. First, he shifts his heading off" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees counter " clockwise. This sets their heading to .
2. He then commits CiÂrdan the Shipwright and 2 Sailors of Lune to the Sailing test. Since he committed 3 characters to the Sailing test, he looks at the top 3 cards of the encounter deck and counts the number of symbols found on those cards.
3. Brandon spots no symbols on the first card, but one on each of the other two cards. He therefore shifts his heading two steps towards on" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees clockwise twice. This puts the fleet back on" course ()!
Sailing tests represent the players' ability to change their course or alter their sails and riggings in such a way as to adapt to the changing winds.
In order to perform a Sailing test, you must first shift your heading off-course. This represents the shifting of the winds, and the difficulty of navigating at sea. (If it is already at , it does not change.)
Then, the player performing the Sailing test exhausts any number of characters he controls, committing them to the Sailing test. After choosing which characters to commit to the Sailing test, that player looks at a number of cards from the top of the encounter deck equal to the total number of characters committed to the Sailing test. If the encounter deck does not contain enough cards to look at, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck first.
Some encounter cards have a symbol on the bottom left corner of their text box. This symbol represents a success when performing a Sailing test. For each symbol found on the looked at encounter cards, you may shift your heading on-course. If no symbols are found, your heading stays the same. Then, discard all of the looked at cards.
symbols have no effect other than representing success during a Sailing test.
Players have the opportunity to use Action effects before and after a Sailing test, but not during.
There are two kinds of ship cards: Ship-Enemies and Ship-Objectives. Both ship-enemies and ship-objectives count as ship cards, but have different rules associated with them.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships in the encounter deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-ship enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. Ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through card abilities, such as the Boarding keyword (see below).
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non- ship enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead. When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the four unique ship-objectives included in The Dream-chaser 's Fleetencounter set: the Dream-chaser, the Dawn Star, the Nárelenya, or the Silver Wing. One of the players mustchoose the Dream-chaser. In a game with only one player, that player takes control of the Dream-chaser andone other ship-objective of his or her choice. Each ship-objective that is not used is then removed from the game.
Finally, the player who controls the Dream-chaser attaches the Heading card to the Dream-chaser and sets it to .
The Heading card attached to the Dream-chaser represents the fleet's current ability to navigate their ships with the wind and through the many hazards that may appear at sea. A bad heading represents sailing poorly, into hazards such as enemies or foul weather.
The symbol shown on the Heading card is called "your current heading." All players share the same heading. Some cards will have additional or different effects depending on the current heading. The possible headings are described below:
: This is the only heading that is considered to be "on-course," and is the best possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further on-course than this. You are traveling windward, with maximum maneuverability.
/: These headings are considered "off-course." You are struggling against the elements and are not navigating properly.
: This heading is considered "off-course," and is the worst possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further off-course than this. You are traveling against the wind, and are completely at the mercy of the sea.
If you are instructed to shift your heading off-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° counterclockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to the worst setting (). If it is already at the worst setting (), it cannot shift off-course.
If you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° clockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to on-course (). If it is already at on-course (), it cannot shift on-course.
Note: When you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, it does not shift all the way to the on-course () setting; it only shifts one step closer to the on-course () setting.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Boarding is a keyword that appears on many ship-enemies. When a ship-enemy with the Boarding keyword engages a player from the staging area, reveal the top X cards from the Corsair Deck and put the revealed enemies into play, engaged with that player. Note that the Boarding keyword does not resolve if the ship-enemy engages a player from another player's play area, or from the encounter deck or discard pile.
Sailing is a keyword that represents that the players are currently traveling across the sea on their ships. At the beginning of each quest phase (before committing characters to the quest), if the main quest has the Sailing keyword, the first player must perform a Sailing test.
Brandon and Brian are playing a scenario and the main quest has the Sailing keyword. Their heading is not looking too good (), but a good Sailing test could get it back on course ().
1. At the beginning of the quest phase, the first player, Brandon, must perform a Sailing test. First, he shifts his heading off" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees counter " clockwise. This sets their heading to .
2. He then commits CiÂrdan the Shipwright and 2 Sailors of Lune to the Sailing test. Since he committed 3 characters to the Sailing test, he looks at the top 3 cards of the encounter deck and counts the number of symbols found on those cards.
3. Brandon spots no symbols on the first card, but one on each of the other two cards. He therefore shifts his heading two steps towards on" course by rotating the Heading card 90 degrees clockwise twice. This puts the fleet back on" course ()!
Sailing tests represent the players' ability to change their course or alter their sails and riggings in such a way as to adapt to the changing winds.
In order to perform a Sailing test, you must first shift your heading off-course. This represents the shifting of the winds, and the difficulty of navigating at sea. (If it is already at , it does not change.)
Then, the player performing the Sailing test exhausts any number of characters he controls, committing them to the Sailing test. After choosing which characters to commit to the Sailing test, that player looks at a number of cards from the top of the encounter deck equal to the total number of characters committed to the Sailing test. If the encounter deck does not contain enough cards to look at, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck first.
Some encounter cards have a symbol on the bottom left corner of their text box. This symbol represents a success when performing a Sailing test. For each symbol found on the looked at encounter cards, you may shift your heading on-course. If no symbols are found, your heading stays the same. Then, discard all of the looked at cards.
symbols have no effect other than representing success during a Sailing test.
Players have the opportunity to use Action effects before and after a Sailing test, but not during.
There are two kinds of ship cards: Ship-Enemies and Ship-Objectives. Both ship-enemies and ship-objectives count as ship cards, but have different rules associated with them.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships in the encounter deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-ship enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. Ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through card abilities, such as the Boarding keyword (see below).
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non- ship enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead. When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the four unique ship-objectives included in The Dream-chaser 's Fleetencounter set: the Dream-chaser, the Dawn Star, the Nárelenya, or the Silver Wing. One of the players mustchoose the Dream-chaser. In a game with only one player, that player takes control of the Dream-chaser andone other ship-objective of his or her choice. Each ship-objective that is not used is then removed from the game.
Finally, the player who controls the Dream-chaser attaches the Heading card to the Dream-chaser and sets it to .
The Heading card attached to the Dream-chaser represents the fleet's current ability to navigate their ships with the wind and through the many hazards that may appear at sea. A bad heading represents sailing poorly, into hazards such as enemies or foul weather.
The symbol shown on the Heading card is called "your current heading." All players share the same heading. Some cards will have additional or different effects depending on the current heading. The possible headings are described below:
: This is the only heading that is considered to be "on-course," and is the best possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further on-course than this. You are traveling windward, with maximum maneuverability.
/: These headings are considered "off-course." You are struggling against the elements and are not navigating properly.
: This heading is considered "off-course," and is the worst possible setting. Your heading cannot shift any further off-course than this. You are traveling against the wind, and are completely at the mercy of the sea.
If you are instructed to shift your heading off-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° counterclockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to the worst setting (). If it is already at the worst setting (), it cannot shift off-course.
If you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, you must rotate the Heading card 90° clockwise so that your current Heading is one step closer to on-course (). If it is already at on-course (), it cannot shift on-course.
Note: When you are instructed to shift your heading on-course, it does not shift all the way to the on-course () setting; it only shifts one step closer to the on-course () setting.
This adventure pack includes two different encounter sets: The City of Corsairs encounter set and The Coast of Umbar encounter set. The Setup effect for this scenario instructs the players to shuffle the Corsair Raiders, Stormy Weather, Umbar Fleet, Voyage Across Belegaer, and Coast of Umbar encounter sets into an encounter deck and make it the active encounter deck. Then, the player set The City of Corsairs encounter set aside, as an inactive second encounter deck. This second encounter deck is not used until the players finish stage 1
When the players reach stage 2B, they are instructed to shuffle the Corsair deck and Corsair discard pile into the second encounter deck. Then, they search the encounter deck and discard pile for each copy of Watch Tower and each copy of Battle-hardened, and shuffle those cards into the second encounter deck as well (copies of Watch Tower that are currently in play should remain in play). Finally, the players set the current encounter deck aside, inactive, and the second encounter deck becomes the active encounter deck. This represents the transition from sailing the seas to traveling the streets of Umbar, and the heroes must continue their journey without the use of their ships.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The setup for this scenario instructs the players to "Prepare the Orcs' area". To prepare the Orcs' area, the players must prepare a second quest deck consisting of stage 1C, stage 2C, stage 3D, and stage 4C, in that order. (The quest stages labeled stage 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A are used in the player's quest deck, as normal.)
The Orcs' area is a new play area, separate from the staging area, that represents the Orcs' pursuit as they try to overtake the players on their journey through Harad. As the players advance through their quest deck, the Orcs also advance through their quest deck, attempting to reach the same stage as the players and defeat it before they do. The quest stage on top of the Orcs' quest deck is called "the Orcs' stage." Each of these quest stages has the following text: "Forced: At the end of the quest phase, discard the top card of the encounter deck. Place X progress on this stage, where X is the discarded card's plus the total in the Orcs' area." Every round, this effect causes the Orcs to make progress on their stage, just as the players try to make progress on their quest stage. If the Orcs' quest stage has progress on it equal to or above its quest points, they advance to the next quest stage in the same way players would, first advancing to the "C" side of the next stage, resolving its effects, and then advancing to the "D" side.
While the Orcs are at a different quest stage than the players, cards in the Orcs' are immune to player card effects, cannot leave the Orcs' area, and are not considered to be in the staging area (and thus do not contribute their to the total in the staging area). Players are considered to be "at the same stage" as the Orcs if their main quest stage's name and number match the Orcs' quest stage ("2B Racing North" and "2D Racing North", for example).
When the players and the Orcs are at the same quest stage, cards in the Orcs' area are no longer immune to player card effects, can leave the Orcs' area, and are considered to be in the staging area (and thus do contribute their to the total in the staging area). Thus, when the Orcs catch up to the players, the players can engage enemies in the Orcs' area and travel to locations in the Orcs' area.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
When setting up Desert Crossing, the players are instructed to "place the heat tracker next to the quest deck and set the temperature to 10." To do this, take an unused threat tracker and place it next to the quest deck. For the rest of the game, that threat tracker is the heat tracker and the value it displays is the "temperature." If the temperature reaches 60, the players lose the game.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Objective-hero is a new card type in The Long Arm of Mordor. The four objective-heroes in this scenario represent the brave Haradrim of Kahliel's tribe who are fighting against Sauron's Orcs in order to save the heroes and escape from the oppressive rule of Mordor. An objective-hero is both an objective and a neutral hero. An objective-hero functions the same as a regular hero with the following exceptions: an objective-hero has no threat cost and does not count towards the hero limit of 3.
As a neutral hero, each objective-hero collects 1 resource at the beginning of the resource phase, and resources from its resource pool may be spent to pay for neutral player cards.
When setting up The Long Arm of Mordor, each player is instructed to take control of an objective-hero. Starting with the first player, each player should choose 1 of the available objective-heroes in turn order. Then, any unused objective-heroes are removed from the game.
Each objective-hero in The Long Arm of Mordor has the text: "If (this hero) leaves play, you are eliminated from the game." This text cannot be modified in any way.
At the beginning of The Long Arm of Mordor, the heroes are still recovering from their difficult desert crossing. To represent this in the scenario, the players are instructed to place their heroes in the staging area during setup. Stage 1A reads: "For the remainder of the game, heroes in the staging area are in play but under no player's control, immune to player card effects, and their text boxes are considered to be blank." This creates a lasting effect that applies to heroes while they are in the staging area.
When an effect causes a player to take control of a hero in the staging area, that player moves that hero from the staging area to his play area. Once that hero is no longer in the staging area, the lasting effect created by stage 1A no longer applies to it.
While a hero is under no player's control, it does not collect resources during the resource phase.
When a card effect refers to ownership of a hero, the player who owns that hero is the player who selected that hero as one of his starting heroes during the game's setup. If a hero in the staging area has its hit points reduced to 0, it is destroyed and placed in its owner's discard pile.
When the players advance to stage 3A, they are instructed to attach each hero in the staging area to a different Orc enemy in the staging area. Each hero attached to an Orc enemy is guarded by that enemy. While a hero is guarded by an enemy, it is treated like a guarded objective.
When a card refers to the "stage number" of a quest card, it is referencing the numerical value of the sequence in the upper left hand corner of that quest card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
The dire keyword represents the world-changing endeavors that the heroes of Middle-Earth undertook in the final book of The Lord of the Rings. While the main quest has the dire keyword, each player's threat elimination level is increased to 99 and each player's threat cannot be reduced by more than 1 each round by non-boon player card effects. Boon card effects that reduce player's threat are not affected by the dire keyword. Additionally, the threat value for triggering Valour effects is changed from 40 threat to 80.
The Black Gate Opens and Mount Doom, can be played simultaneously by 2-8 players in epic multiplayer mode. Epic multiplayer mode divides a group of players into 2 teams: one team plays The Black Gate Opens and on team plays Mount Doom. Each scenario is its own game with its own staging area and requires its own encounter deck to play, but the teams at each scenario must work together in order to defeat Sauron and win each game.
To play in epic multiplayer mode, follow the Setup instructions on the double-sided setup card labeled "Epic Multiplayer Mode".
The Setup instructions on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card directs the players to create 2 separate staging areas: one for The Black Gate Opens and one for Mount Doom. To do this, choose a play area large enough for both scenarios and follow the Setup instructions on each scenario as normal.
Next, the players divide themselves into 2 teams, one team for each scenario. At least 1 player must be assigned to each scenario, and no more than 4 players can be assigned to either. Furthermore, the number of players assigned to Mount Doom cannot exceed the number of players assigned to The Black Gate Opens.
Note: Both Aragorn and the Ring-bearer are used when playing epic multiplayer mode. The first player at The Black Gate Opens takes controls of Aragorn during setup, and the first player at Mount Doom takes control of the Ring-bearer.
After completing the Setup instructions, flip over the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and place it next to the Mount Doom quest deck.
Encounter cards that are only used in epic multiplayer mode are indicated by the following icon:
The players at each scenario are the only players in the game at that scenario. That means it is possible for two players at different scenarios to use the same hero. However, players at the same scenario must observe the game restrictions on unique cards. Player cards cannot target or affect cards at a different scenario. When a team ends a round at their stage they do not advance the next round of play until each other team in that group is ready to advance.
Before the teams advance to the next round, there are Forced effects on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and The Eye of Sauron objective card that must be resolved. The teams are encouraged to discuss these effects to determine what is the best option for the group. The Eye of Sauron may move from one scenario to another as a result.
The Black Gate Opens and Mount Doom can be played by 2-4 players in epic multiplayer mode as the grand finale to your saga campaign. Simply follow the Setup instructions on the Epic Multiplayer Mode card and on each of the corresponding campaign cards.
Be sure to include all of the appropriate boons and burdens at each stage. If a boon or burden is included as part of the Setup for both scenarios, the player who controls the Ring-bearer decides which scenario receives that boon or burden.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Track is a keyword that represents the heroes' efforts to locate their missing companions somewhere in the spiders' labyrinth. After the players travel to a location, if they are off track, they discard X cards from the encounter deck, where X is the active location's Track value. If any of the discarded cards has On Track printed in the lower right corner, then the players flip the Search objective to On Track. If the encounter deck is ever empty while the players are resolving the Track keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and continue resolving the Track keyword. When the Search objective is flipped from Off Track to On Track, discard all resources on it.
Included in Beneath the Sands is a double-sided Search objective: One Track / Off Track. This objective represents whether or not the heroes are heading in the right direction to find their missing companions. When setting up the scenario at the beginning of the game, the players are instructed to add the Search objective to the staging area with the Off Track side faceup. While Off Track is in play, players cannot place progress on the main quest because they are searching in the wrong direction. While On Track is in play, progress can be placed on the main quest, but the scenario becomes more challenging because the spiders grow more vicious as the heroes draw closer to their lair.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword. When a card with Guarded (X) is revealed, instead of revealing the next card from the encounter deck, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add it to the staging area and attach the just revealed objective to it. Once attached, an objective with Guarded (X) works just like and objective with the Guarded keyword.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
In "The Dungeons of Cirith Gurat", players attempt to rescue their captive friends from the fortress of the Orcs. To help represent the captives' plight, The Captives of Cirith Gurat objective is added to the staging area during setup. It reads: "While a character is attached to an encounter card, it is considered to be a guarded objective with a blank text box." This means the characters who are captured and guarded by encounter cards lose their card type, and their player card status, and gain the objective card type instead. When a guarded objective is 'rescued' and returned to its owner's control, that card regains its card type and player card status.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
"The Crossings of Poros" comes with two encounter sets: The Crossings of Poros and Mountains of Shadow. When setting up the scenario, the Mountains of Shadow encounter set is set aside along with four encounter sets. Only the Crossings of Poros set is used to create the encounter deck at the beginning of the game. Throughout the rest of the game the players are instructed to shuffle in other encounter cards from set aside encounter decks. Once a set aside encounter card is revealed, put into play, placed in the encounter discard pile, or shuffled into the encounter deck, it is considered to be part of the encounter deck for the rest of the game.
When the players advance to stage 2A, they are instructed to shuffle either the Desert Sands or Mountains of Shadow encounter set into the encounter deck and remove the other one from the game. When an encounter set is removed from the game, it should be placed back in the box and remain unused for the rest of the game. Effects that target a "set aside" encounter set cannot target an encounter set that has been removed from the game.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
To create the Evil Creatures deck, take each enemy card from the Wilderlands encounter set and shuffle them together. This is the Evil Creatures deck. Remove each location and treachery card from the Wilderlands encounter set from the game.
When an enemy from the Evil Creatures deck leaves play, place it in a separate Evil Creatures discard pile, even if it has victory points. If the Evil Creatures deck is ever empty, shuffle the Evil Creatures discard pile back into the Evil Creatures deck.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: What happens to Banks of the Anduin (CORE 113) if it is drawn as a Shadow card?
A: It will be discarded from play at the end of the combat phase, like other Shadow cards. When a card is drawn as a Shadow card, only its Shadow text is considered to be active.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. Then remove the following cards:
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
After the players travel to a Deep location, they discard it and replace it with the top card of the Caves deck. That location then becomes the active location. If there are no cards remaining in the Caves deck, the Deep keyword is ignored.
To create the Caves deck, take each card from the Lost Caves encounter set and shuffle them together. This is the Caves deck.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
After the players travel to a Deep location, they discard it and replace it with the top card of the Caves deck. That location then becomes the active location. If there are no cards remaining in the Caves deck, the Deep keyword is ignored.
To create the Caves deck, take each card from the Lost Caves encounter set and shuffle them together. This is the Caves deck.
If a Dragon Sign replaces the active location via the deep keyword, add the Dragon Sign to the staging area and resolve its guarded keyword.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
The Wizard's Quest is a custom scenario kit. It comes with everything a player needs to construct their own adventure for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.
Included in this kit are:
Note: The encounter cards in The Wizard's Quest are fully compatible with The Woodland Realm custom scenario kit and vice versa. Additional copies of each kit may be purchased to increase your customization options when using the Advanced-build rules described on page 3. The Woodland Realm contains sets 1-14 and The Wizard's Quest contains sets 15-28. The encounter cards from both kits can be identified by the green border around the encounter set number.
There are two ways to create your own scenario: Quickbuild or Advanced-build. If this is your first time playing The Wizard's Quest, follow the Quick-build rules.
The Quick-build rules allow you to build your own adventure in minutes using only the contents of this set. To create a Quick-build custom scenario follow these 3 steps:
Note: If you wish to surprise yourself in cooperative play, you can randomly choose your encounter sets and quest cards.
The Advanced-build rules give players greater flexibility to customize a scenario. The quest deck is built using the same rules as Quick-build, but the encounter deck is built by selecting individual encounter cards instead of entire encounter sets. To create an Advanced-build custom scenario, follow these guidelines:
Note: When building a custom scenario, you can choose encounter cards from both The Wizard's Quest and The Woodland Realm, but you cannot mix quest cards.
The Wizard's Quest was designed to encourage competitive play for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. These rules are intended for games of 1v1 or 2v2. A 1v1 game allows players to test their best solo decks against their opponent-s custom scenario, and 2v2 maintains the cooperative aspect of the LCG as teammates work together to outrace the opposing team. The team that defeats their scenario first wins!
In order to play a competitive game of The Lord of the Rings LCG, each team must bring the following:
Important: Before the game begins, teams trade custom scenarios so that the adventure you play is the one your opponent created, and vice versa.
To play a competitive game using The Wizard's Quest, follow these rules:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Woodland Realm is a custom scenario kit. It comes with everything a player needs to construct their own adventure for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.
Included in this kit are:
Note: The encounter cards in The Woodland Realm are fully compatible with The Woodland Realm custom scenario kit and vice versa. Additional copies of each kit may be purchased to increase your customization options when using the Advanced-build rules. The Woodland Realm contains sets 1-14 and The Wizard's Quest contains sets 15-28. The encounter cards from both kits can be identified by the green border around the encounter set number.
There are two ways to create your own scenario: Quickbuild or Advanced-build. If this is your first time playing The Woodland Realm, follow the Quick-build rules.
The Quick-build rules allow you to build your own adventure in minutes using only the contents of this set. To create a Quick-build custom scenario follow these 3 steps:
Note: If you wish to surprise yourself in cooperative play, you can randomly choose your encounter sets and quest cards.
The Advanced-build rules give players greater flexibility to customize a scenario. The quest deck is built using the same rules as Quick-build, but the encounter deck is built by selecting individual encounter cards instead of entire encounter sets. To create an Advanced-build custom scenario, follow these guidelines:
Note: When building a custom scenario, you can choose encounter cards from both The Woodland Realm and The Wizard's Quest, but you cannot mix quest cards.
The Woodland Realm was designed to encourage competitive play for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. These rules are intended for games of 1v1 or 2v2. A 1v1 game allows players to test their best solo decks against their opponent-s custom scenario, and 2v2 maintains the cooperative aspect of the LCG as teammates work together to outrace the opposing team. The team that defeats their scenario first wins!
In order to play a competitive game of The Lord of the Rings LCG, each team must bring the following:
Important: Before the game begins, teams trade custom scenarios so that the adventure you play is the one your opponent created, and vice versa.
To play a competitive game using The Woodland Realm, follow these rules:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
The Discover keyword represents the heroes' search for lost treasure, as well as the unexpected dangers they encounter as they travel to the different locations in the scenario. When a location with the Discover keyword becomes the active location, the first player resolves the following steps in order:
If there are less than X cards remaining in the encounter deck when resolving the Discover keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and continue resolving the Discover keyword.
Objectives with the Loot keyword are valuable treasures that can only be discovered by exploring the different locations of the scenario. A Loot card can only enter play by resolving the Discover keyword on a location.
If a card with the Loot keyword is revealed from the encounter deck, discard it and reveal another card from the top of the encounter deck.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
After the players travel to a Deep location, they discard it and replace it with the top card of the Caves deck. That location then becomes the active location. If there are no cards remaining in the Caves deck, the Deep keyword is ignored.
This scenario uses multiple stage 2 quest cards. When setup instructs players to "Prepare the quest deck," players must shuffle all stage 2 quest cards together randomly, with side 2A face-up, and place them beneath stage 1. These shuffled stage 2 quest cards are considered to be the "quest deck".
Players will progress through stage 2 quest cards until they have won the game; there is no stage 3. Quest cards are not flipped to side B immediately when revealed. Rather, the current quest card is revealed only at the beginning of the quest phase. Flipping the quest card this way causes the B side to be revealed.
Players are given the option to bypass some of the quest cards at the end of the combat phase. Bypassing the current quest removes all progress tokens on it, and moves it to the bottom of the quest deck with side 2B face down. Bypassing a quest is optional, and players may choose to stay on each quest card instead of bypassing it. When a quest stage is bypassed (or defeated), it causes the next stage 2A to be revealed, triggering its 'when revealed' effect.
When a quest is completed, players will either add it to their victory display or win the game.
To create the Caves deck, take each card from the Lost Caves encounter set and shuffle them together. This is the Caves deck.
The two unique locations, Dagnir's Hoard and Throat of the Mountain, should be added to the Caves deck in addition to the cards from the Lost Caves encounter set.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
The Power of Mordor Deck represents Sauron's expanding influence over Middle-Earth. To build The Power of Mordor deck when setting up The Temple of Doom, take each card from "The Power of Mordor" encounter set and shuffle them together. This is The Power of Mordor deck.
Some cards in The Temple of Doom reference the number of quest stages in the victory display. Quest stage refers only to the double-sided quest cards that come from the quest deck. Therefore, when calculating the number of quest stages in the victory display count each individual double-sided quest card found there, but do not count side quests in the victory display.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The Mines of Moria is a custom scenario kit. It comes with everything a player needs to construct their own adventure for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.
Included in this kit are:
Note: The encounter cards in The Mines of Moria are fully compatible with the Escape from Khazad-dûm custom scenario kit and vice versa. Additional copies of each kit may be purchased to increase your customization options when using the Advanced-build rules. The Mines of Moria contains sets 1-14 and Escape from Khazad-dûm contains sets 15-28. The encounter cards from both kits can be identified by the brown border around the encounter set number.
There are two ways to create your own scenario: Quickbuild or Advanced-build. If this is your first time playing The Mines of Moria, follow the Quick-build rules.
The Quick-build rules allow you to build your own adventure in minutes using only the contents of this set. To create a Quick-build custom scenario follow these 3 steps:
Note: If you wish to surprise yourself in cooperative play, you can randomly choose your encounter sets and quest cards.
The Advanced-build rules give players greater flexibility to customize a scenario. The quest deck is built using the same rules as Quick-build, but the encounter deck is built by selecting individual encounter cards instead of entire encounter sets. To create an Advanced-build custom scenario, follow these guidelines:
Note: When building a custom scenario, you can choose encounter cards from both The Mines of Moria and Escape from Khazad-dûm, but you cannot mix quest cards.
The Mines of Moria was designed to encourage competitive play for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. These rules are intended for games of 1v1 or 2v2. A 1v1 game allows players to test their best solo decks against their opponent-s custom scenario, and 2v2 maintains the cooperative aspect of the LCG as teammates work together to outrace the opposing team. The team that defeats their scenario first wins!
In order to play a competitive game of The Lord of the Rings LCG, each team must bring the following:
Important: Before the game begins, teams trade custom scenarios so that the adventure you play is the one your opponent created, and vice versa.
To play a competitive game using The Mines of Moria, follow these rules:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
The guarded keyword is a reminder on some objective cards to reveal and attach the next card of the encounter deck to the objective when it enters the staging area from the encounter deck, and place them both in the staging area. The objective cannot be claimed as long as any encounter card is attached. Once that encounter is dealt with, the objective remains in the staging area until it is claimed. If another objective card comes up while attaching a card for the guarded keyword, place the second objective in the staging area, and use the next card of the encounter deck to fulfil the original keyword effect. Enemy and location cards attached to guarded objectives do still count their threat while the enemy or location is in the staging area. An encounter card attached to a guarded objective is dealt with in the following method, depending on its card type:
Once all encounter cards attached to a guarded objective are dealt with, the players can claim the objective in the manner specified by its card text.
Escape from Khazad-dûm is a custom scenario kit. It comes with everything a player needs to construct their own adventure for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.
Included in this kit are:
Note: The encounter cards in Escape from Khazad-dûmare fully compatible with The Mines of Moria custom scenario kit and vice versa. Additional copies of each kit may be purchased to increase your customization options when using the Advanced-build rules. The Mines of Moria contains sets 1-14 and Escape from Khazad-dûm contains sets 15-28. The encounter cards from both kits can be identified by the brown border around the encounter set number.
There are two ways to create your own scenario: Quickbuild or Advanced-build. If this is your first time playing Escape from Khazad-dûm, follow the Quick-build rules.
The Quick-build rules allow you to build your own adventure in minutes using only the contents of this set. To create a Quick-build custom scenario follow these 3 steps:
Note: If you wish to surprise yourself in cooperative play, you can randomly choose your encounter sets and quest cards.
The Advanced-build rules give players greater flexibility to customize a scenario. The quest deck is built using the same rules as Quick-build, but the encounter deck is built by selecting individual encounter cards instead of entire encounter sets. To create an Advanced-build custom scenario, follow these guidelines:
Note: When building a custom scenario, you can choose encounter cards from both Escape from Khazad-dûm and The Mines of Moria, but you cannot mix quest cards.
Escape from Khazad-dûm was designed to encourage competitive play for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. These rules are intended for games of 1v1 or 2v2. A 1v1 game allows players to test their best solo decks against their opponent-s custom scenario, and 2v2 maintains the cooperative aspect of the LCG as teammates work together to outrace the opposing team. The team that defeats their scenario first wins!
In order to play a competitive game of The Lord of the Rings LCG, each team must bring the following:
Important: Before the game begins, teams trade custom scenarios so that the adventure you play is the one your opponent created, and vice versa.
To play a competitive game using Escape from Khazad-dûm, follow these rules:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Wrath and Ruin is a battle to liberate the capital of Dorwinion from the forces of Mordor. To represent Dorwinion's struggle to drive the enemy from every last corner of the ruined city, the players are instructed to take control of locations when they leave play.
Stage 1B and 2B both read: "Forced: When a location leaves play as an explored location, the first player takes control of it." To take control of a location, the first player removes all progress from the just explored location and places it in front of him in his play area instead of discarding it. Locations under any player's control are still in play. Their game text is active and they can be affected by card effects.
There are many encounter card effects that force players to return locations they control to the staging area. Additionally, some locations have triggered effects that will cause players to return them to the staging area.
When a player returns a location he controls to the staging area, he loses control of that location and removes all progress from it. If a player is eliminated from the game, each location controlled by that player is returned to the staging area.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
While you are searching for Ulchor in the city of Ulfast, you will have to tread carefully to avoid being detected by the City Guard, an imposing enemy with 8 attack strength!
The City Guard cannot leave the staging area, but it is considered to be engaged with each player whose threat is equal to or higher than its engagement cost of 45. While that may not seem like a problem, each quest stage will reduce the City Guard's engagement cost by 5 for each round you linger there.
That means it will only take a few rounds for the City Guard's engagement cost to be reduced to a point where it ends up considered to be engaged with you When that happens, the City Guard will make attacks against you like any other enemy that is engaged with you. So manage your threat with care and move quickly to avoid being defeated.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Race is a keyword used on quest cards in Challenge of the Wainriders. It represents the players' chariot race against the Wainriders. Quest cards with the race keyword cannot be defeated outside of the quest phase, and progress cannot be placed on them by player card effects.
When a quest stage with the race keyword is defeated, it is not removed from play after it is defeated. Instead, the quest stage remains in play and all progress is removed from it at the end of the phase.
When setting up the quest deck for the Challenge of the Wainriders, arrange stages 1, 2, and 3 in a row from left to right. Then, place stages 4, 5, and 6 in a row above from right to left, so that stage 4 is positioned directly above stage 3. The two rows together make "the circuit". After creating the circuit, flip each quest stage over and place The Challengers objective and The Wainriders objective at stage 1B so that the staging area looks like this:
The Challengers objective represents the players' position in the race, and The Wainriders objective represents their opponents' position. The stage that The Challengers objective is at is considered "the Wainriders' stage". When the players defeat a quest stage, they advance The Challengers objective counterclockwise to the next stage of the circuit. The Wainriders objective will also advance around the circuit in a counterclockwise direction. If The Challengers objective has advanced through more quest stages than The Wainriders, then the players are considered to be ahead of The Wainriders. When the players defeat stage 6, they complete the circuit. In order to defeat the scenario, The Challengers objective must complete the circuit twice before The Wainriders objective completes the circuit twice.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
In this adventure, the heroes are sneaking into Mordor by way of the tunnels of Torech Gorgor - a labyrinthian cave system under the Ash Mountains. There is little chance of finding food or water during the passage, so the heroes must move quickly to reach the other side before their supplies run out.
To represent the theme of dwindling supplies, the quest stages and encounter deck will discard cards from the top of your player deck. If you have no cards in your deck at the end of the round, your characters starve to death and you?re eliminated from the game.
In order to avoid that horrible fate, players will need to more judicious than normal when it comes to triggering various card drawing abilities. Think carefully before you use these abilities as each card you take into your hand is one less card in your deck, and one step closer to being eliminated.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The Power of Mordor Deck represents Sauron's expanding influence over Middle-Earth. To build The Power of Mordor deck when setting up The Fortress of Nurn, take each card from "The Power of Mordor" encounter set and shuffle them together. This is The Power of Mordor deck.
While setting up The Fortress of Nurn, the players are instructed to add all 4 copies of the ?Storm the Castle? side quest to the staging area. Each of these side quests is double-sided, with ?Storm the Castle? on one side, and a different side quest on the reverse side. These should be randomized before adding them to the staging area so that the players do not know which side quest is on the reverse side.
When a copy of Storm the Castle is chosen as the current quest at the beginning o the quest phase, two things happen. First, the players reveal the faceup encounter card under that side quest and resolve its staging. Second, the players flip Storm the Castle over and make the side quest on the reverse side the current quest until the end of the phase. That side quest will remain in play until it is defeated.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Boarding is a keyword that appears on many ship-enemies. When a ship-enemy with the Boarding keyword engages a player from the staging area, reveal the top X cards from the Corsair Deck and put the revealed enemies into play, engaged with that player. Note that the Boarding keyword does not resolve if the ship-enemy engages a player from another player's play area, or from the encounter deck or discard pile.
An enemy with the Massive keyword cannot leave the staging area, is considered to be engaged with each player, and attacks each player in turn during the combat phase.
Pillage is a keyword that appears on some enemies. After an enemy with Pillage X attacks a player, that player discards the top X cards of their deck.
Ship-enemies function in the same way as enemies and are considered to be enemies for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
Ship-objectives are encounter cards (not player cards) which function in the same way as objective-allies and are considered to be allies (and characters) for all purposes, with the following exceptions:
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare their fleet." To prepare their fleet, each player chooses and takes control of one of the unique Basic ship-objectives included in the encounter sets. Each ship-objective (including the 4 Gondorian Warships) that is not used is then set aside.
The Corsair Deck is a separate deck made up of only non-Ship enemies, and represents the sailors, pirates and raiders players may encounter on Corsair ships.
When ships are included in a scenario's encounter deck, that scenario's Setup will instruct the players to "prepare the Corsair Deck." This is done by removing all non-Ship non-unique enemies from the encounter deck, placing them in a separate facedown pile, and shuffling it. This pile is referred to as the Corsair Deck. The other non-unique enemies and ship-enemies remain in the standard encounter deck.
The enemies in the Corsair Deck are only revealed through encounter card effects, such as the Boarding keyword.
The Corsair Deck has its own discard pile. Whenever a non-Ship Corsair enemy would be placed in the discard pile, place it in the Corsair discard pile instead.
When the Corsair Deck runs out of cards, immediately shuffle the Corsair discard pile back into the Corsair Deck.
The symbol next to a value multiplies that value by the number of players in that group who started the scenario.
Epic Multiplayer Mode is a variant in which any number of players can play The Hunt for the Dreadnaught together in multiple groups. To play in Epic Multiplayer Mode, first divide the players into separate groups. At least one player must be assigned to each group, and no more than four players may be assigned to a single group. It is recommended that players be split between groups as evenly as possible. Each group requires one copy of The Hunt for the Dreadnaught in order to play.
After dividing players into groups, designate one person to be the ?event organizer?. The event organizer is responsible for tracking the progress placed on each group?s quest stage 1B and damage placed on the Dreadnaught. During gameplay, observe the following additional rules:
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Looter is a new keyword that appears on enemies in this quest. After you engage an enemy with the Looter keyword, place a random card from your hand and the top X cards of your deck into that enemy's loot pile. This is done every time an enemy with the Looter keyword engages a player, even if there are already cards in that enemy's loot pile.
"Ambush at Erelas" sees the players set upon by brigands looting their valuable supplies and resources. Some cards and abilities refer to an enemy's or objective's loot pile. A loot pile is a faceup pile of player cards placed next to that enemy or objective. Cards in a loot pile are not in play and are under no player's control. Cards in a loot pile are considered blank, except for their cost, sphere, and card type. Note that an enemy or objective with 0 cards in its loot pile still has a loot pile.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
The Vast keyword appears on some locations in this cycle, and represents the large distances the players must travel when journeying from place to place within Rohan. Each location with the Vast keyword is considered to be a "vast location", with the following additional text:
Travel: Each player must either exhaust a Mount attachment or a hero they control.
and
Response: After placing progress on this location from questing successfully (even if this location is explored), place an additional progress on any vast location for each Mount attachment the players control.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Guarded (X) is a new version of the Guarded keyword that appears on both objective cards and some player card attachments. X is a card type: enemy or location. When a card with Guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the Guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective card with the Guarded (X) keyword works just like an objective with the original Guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the Guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the Guarded (X) keyword.
A player card attachment with the Guarded (X) keyword cannot be attached to a character until it is free of encounters. Once free of encounters, its owner gains control of it attaches it to an eligible card.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Steeds is a new keyword found on locations and quest cards in "Fire on the Eastemnet". The Steeds keyword uses resource tokens to represent the steeds roaming Rohan which are vulnerable to capture by orcs. When a card with the Steeds keyword enters play, place resource tokens on it equal to its specified value X. Resource tokens placed on a card in this way are called "steeds" and do not count as resources. When a location is explored, a quest stage is defeated, or an enemy is defeated, move all steeds from that card to the Wild Steeds objective card.
When setting up the scenario, stage 1A instructs the players to put the objective cards Wild Steeds and Captured Steeds into the staging area. These cards represent the fate of the horses of Rohan. During the game, scenario effects will add steeds to Wild Steeds and Captured Steeds. To win the game, the players will need to finish with more steeds on Wild Steeds than on Captured Steeds.
When an enemy "captures steeds", move all steeds from that enemy to Captured Steeds. Then, move one steed from Wild Steeds to that enemy.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Time X is a keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
Frostbite is a new keyword in The Gap of Rohan. The Frostbite keyword represents the effects of the worsening storm, as the heroes struggle to press onward despite lacking the proper provisions. When a card with the Frostbite keyword is in play, each player must exhaust X characters at the beginning of the round, where X is that card's Frostbite value.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
The 12 cards from the Exploring the Caves encounter set are "cave" cards, a new card type introduced in this scenario. Caves are immune to player card effects. Throughout the game, players move unique tokens representing themselves and Helm Hammerhand around a 4-by-3 grid of cave cards, called the Caves Map. When a player?s token is on a cave, that player and each character that player controls are considered to be at that cave. Travel actions on caves can only be performed by a player at that cave. Other game mechanics, like ranged and sentinel, function as normal, even while players are at different caves.
Adjacent vs. Connected Caves
Two caves are called adjacent if they occupy neighboring positions in the Caves Map. Diagonal caves are not adjacent. Two adjacent caves are also called connected if the artwork on their shared border shows a continuous path.
To move a player or Helm Hammerhand to another cave, move the corresponding unique token to that cave. Typically, when players move, they must move to a connected cave. Helm Hammerhand, being a wraith, typically moves to an adjacent cave, regardless of whether that cave happens to be connected. If Helm Hammerhand is instructed to move toward the nearest player, and there exist multiple equidistant paths toward a nearest player, the first player decides which of those paths Helm Hammerhand will take.
The text "search this cave" is found in a travel action on each cave in the Caves Map. It represents the players searching that cave for a clue to the whereabouts of Helm's Horn, so that they can find the horn and sound it in Helm's presence to quell the vengeful spirit.
To "search this cave", reveal the clue card attached to that cave as if it were revealed by the encounter deck. After resolving the staging of the clue card, add a damage token to the cave indicated in the clue card's bottom right corner. You cannot search a cave if it has no attached clue.
After all the clues have been revealed, only 1 undamaged cave will remain, corresponding to the card that was removed from the game during the Caves Map setup.
The Glittering Caves has an additional difficulty mode called hard mode. To play in hard mode, during step 1 of setting up the clues, look at the top 10 cards of the Clues Deck instead of only the top 2 cards.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
The Vast keyword appears on some locations in this cycle, and represents the large distances the players must travel when journeying from place to place within Rohan. Each location with the Vast keyword is considered to be a "vast location", with the following additional text:
Travel: Each player must either exhaust a Mount attachment or a hero they control.
and
Response: After placing progress on this location from questing successfully (even if this location is explored), place an additional progress on any vast location for each Mount attachment the players control.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
When a player reveals an encounter card with the Peril keyword, he must resolve the staging of that card on his own without conferring with the other players. The other players cannot take any actions or trigger any responses during the resolution of that card's staging.
The Sharkey deck is a separate deck that represents the dangerous powers of Sharkey. To create the Sharkey deck, take each treachery card with the Sharkey trait from the encounter deck and shuffle them together. This is the Sharkey deck.
When playing The Scouring of the Shire, follow the "New Staging Rules" found on page 3 of The Black Riders Saga expansion rulebook.
When setting up The Scouring of the Shire, the first player takes control of the Frodo Baggins included in this expansion. This version of Frodo Baggins can only be used while playing The Scouring of the Shire and cannot be used in any other quests. Players cannot use any other version(s) of Frodo Baggins or cards with the title "Saruman" when playing this quest.
New campaign and boon cards are included in The Scouring of the Shire. These cards allow the players to play The Scouring of the Shire as part of The Lord of the Rings campaign. It should be played after Mount Doom, from The Mountain of Fire Saga Expansion.
The complete rules for campaign mode can be found in The Black Riders Saga Expansion, which is required to play campaign mode.
The Scouring of the Shire includes 1 contract card, Into the West, which cannot be used until the players have earned it while playing campaign mode. Once earned, this card may be used by the players who earned it when playing any quest (not just Saga quests).
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
Arrange the 10 region cards to form a map of Middle-earth in your staging area, as show below. In this quest, some effects will tell you to place cards onto or next to certain regions. The rules for interacting with this map are found on rules card 4/8, "Exploring Middle-earth". Read those rules, then place that card faceup next to the map (also shown below).
All cards on the Middle-earth Map contribute their except for locations on your current region. Those locations are considered to be active, and progress must first be placed on them (distributed in any way) before it is placed on the current quest.
You cannot travel to locations.
During the travel phase, as an action, the first player may move the progress token marking your group's current region to a neighboring region (north, east, south, or west). The first time this action is triggered each round, there is no cost. To trigger it additional times in a round, the first player must remove 3 progress tokens from the main quest.
Only enemies that were on the same region as you at any point during the round can be optionally engaged, and only those enemies will make engagement checks. Immunity Enemies and locations that are not on your current region are immune to player card effects.
Some cards in this quest instruct your group to "investigate rumors". To investigate rumors, a player in your group must control at least 1 ready character. If no players in your group have any ready characters, your group cannot investigate rumors and this text is ignored.
To begin, any player exhausts 1 character they control and discards the top X cards from the encounter deck, where X is that character's highest attribute (, , or ). Set aside any discarded cards with a Rumor effect. The same or another player may repeat this process any number of times, with an action window occurring between discarding the cards and exhausting another character.
Once the players decide to stop exhausting characters, they must choose 1 Rumor effect among the set aside cards, if any. Then, discard those set aside cards and resolve the chosen Rumor effect. There is no penalty if no Rumor effects are found.
Rumor effects are ignored when the players are not investigating rumors.
The cost to move additional times each round is 1 instead of 3.
Forced: After a location is explored (and before triggering that location's Forced effect), each player may ready a character they control.
Each player cannot reduce their threat by more than 1 each round.
Forced: After a location is explored (and before triggering that location's Forced effect), all players must resolve the shadow effect of the bottommost Nazgûl enemy in the encounter discard pile. Then, place that enemy on the top of the discard pile.
This quest can be played by up to 9 groups of players, with 1-4 players per group. Each group must have their own copy of the quest and plays their own separate game. Unless a card effect specifically mentions the other groups, cards only affect the game in which they are played. Once the game has begun, each group can play at their own pace.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
Q: Can player card effects be used on a card that is being revealed, before it is placed on a region?
A: The passive text on enemies is active immediately and will place them on a region at the very beginning of the reveal process. So unless that region is your current region, the enemies will be immune to effects like Thalin's ability. However, the Forced effect on locations that places them on a region triggers only after the card has entered play. Therefore a card like The Door is Closed or Warden of Arnor could be used, even if that location is going to be placed on a region other than your current region.
Q: Can I play cards to the staging area?
A: Yes. When a card is added to the staging area and does not specify a region to put it on, such as a player side quest, place it next to the Middle-earth Map. You can also play attachments on cards in the staging area, such as Ancient Mathom or The Road Goes Ever On, provided their targets aren't immune to player card effects.
Q: How does the Burglar's Turn Contract work in The Nine are Abroad?
A: Since you never actually travel to locations, it will never trigger. If you wish to create a house rule, you could trigger it on a location in your current region at the end of the travel phase if you moved regions that phase.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
If an encounter card with the doomed keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
An enemy with the toughness keyword reduces the amount of damage it takes by X each time it is assigned any amount of damage.
In The Siege of Erebor, multiple stages are in play at the same time, with a main quest and staging area assigned to each. Each stage can also have a corresponding active location.
At the beginning of the round, each player, starting with the first, chooses a stage. This will be their stage until the beginning of the next round. Different players may choose the same stage. Enemies engaged with a player remain engaged with that player even when their stage changes.
When you play a card or apply the effects of a player card ability, only consider the players and cards at your stage as part of the game. This means that you cannot lower a player?s threat, play an attachment on a character, use the ranged keyword to declare or participate in an attack, etc., unless the cards or players involved share a stage with you.
The active location, staging area, engaged enemies, and play area of each player at a stage are all said to be at that stage, and any card effect that targets "the main quest" will target the main quest it shares a stage with.
After setup, the 4 stages should be arranged in a line so that The Eastern Defenses is in the rightmost ("eastmost") stage, and Erebor is in the leftmost ("westmost") stage (see below). The term "eastmost stage" will refer to different stages throughout the game as stages leave play.
Resolve each game step from west to east (whether there are players at that stage or not) before going on to the next game step. If a game step involves player order, resolve it in ascending player order of players at that stage. Note that when resolving a quest at a stage with no players, it is likely the quest will be unsuccessful; however, as there are no players at that stage, no one will increase their threat.
The phrase "moves west" or "moves east" represents forces moving from one part of the battlefield to another.
When a card moves west, it is added to the nearest staging area that is still in play to the left of its current stage, towards Erebor. Cards at the leftmost stage cannot move west.
When a card moves east, it is added to the nearest staging area that is still in play to the right of its current stage, away from Erebor. Cards at the rightmost stage cannot move east.
In The Siege of Erebor, the rules for revealing an encounter card are modified slightly. When revealing an encounter card, any player at any stage can interact with it as normal. However, after being revealed, enemies and locations are added to the staging area of the stage indicated in the bottom-right corner of their card. If the stage indicated for an enemy or a location is not in play, discard that enemy or location without resolving its effects and instead deal 2 damage to the eastmost main quest.
Staging Step:
End of the Round:
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
Q: Can player side quests be played in this quest?
A: Player side quests are played into their controller's staging area, and can be chosen as the current quest as normal by the first player in turn order at that stage.
Q: Can I travel to locations or engage enemies at other stages?
A: No, only at your stage.
Q: Why are there 2 copies of Brand son of Bain?
A: One copy uses the official card text. The other copy (identified by "FTCL" near its é text) uses modified text and {Traits} from ALeP's Free to Choose List, an optional set of rules changes found on our website. Use whichever you prefer!
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Tom and Kris are playing the scenario "Into Ithilien," and two copies of Southron Mercenaries are in play. Southron Mercenaries has the keyword archery X, where X is the number of players in the game. This gives a cumulative archery value of 4. At the beginning of the combat phase, the players decide to deal 2 damage to Kris' ally Gandalf, and 2 damage to Tom's hero Denethor.
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must deal damage to character cards in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player's control, and it can be divided among the players as they see fit. If there is disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative. Remember that does not block archery damage.
An enemy with the Indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Attribute tokens are a new class of tokens that affect a card's stats. There are different kinds of attribute tokens, such as tokens, tokens, etc. If a card has X tokens of a given attribute on it, it has +X of that attribute. For example, if an enemy has 3 tokens on it, it gets +3 . Attribute tokens are not removed from a card unless it leaves play, or you are otherwise instructed to remove them.
Last Gasp is a new timing trigger that functions as a Forced ability and appears on some enemies who are dangerous even in death. When an enemy with the Last Gasp trigger is destroyed, the engaged player (or the first player, if that enemy was not engaged with any player) must trigger that enemy's Last Gasp effect. Note that no enemy featuring this trigger appears in the scenarios of The Shire's Reckoning, but it will be used in the upcoming Fell Summer cycle.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Attribute tokens are a new class of tokens that affect a card's stats. There are different kinds of attribute tokens, such as tokens, tokens, etc. If a card has X tokens of a given attribute on it, it has +X of that attribute. For example, if an enemy has 3 tokens on it, it gets +3 . Attribute tokens are not removed from a card unless it leaves play, or you are otherwise instructed to remove them.
Last Gasp is a new timing trigger that functions as a Forced ability and appears on some enemies who are dangerous even in death. When an enemy with the Last Gasp trigger is destroyed, the engaged player (or the first player, if that enemy was not engaged with any player) must trigger that enemy's Last Gasp effect. Note that no enemy featuring this trigger appears in the scenarios of The Shire's Reckoning, but it will be used in the upcoming Fell Summer cycle.
To create the Wolf deck, remove each non-unique Wolf enemy from the encounter deck and shuffle them together into a separate deck. When a card from the Wolf deck leaves play, it is placed in a separate Wolf deck discard pile. Whenever the Wolf deck is empty, immediately shuffle the Wolf deck discard pile into the Wolf deck.
If both the Wolf deck and the Wolf deck discard pile are empty and you must reveal a card from the Wolf deck, the players as a group must discard 1 character from play instead.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
When an encounter card with the surge keyword is revealed during the staging step of the quest phase or in setup, reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck. Resolve the surge keyword immediately after resolving any when revealed effects on the card.
Attribute tokens are a new class of tokens that affect a card's stats. There are different kinds of attribute tokens, such as tokens, tokens, etc. If a card has X tokens of a given attribute on it, it has +X of that attribute. For example, if an enemy has 3 tokens on it, it gets +3 . Attribute tokens are not removed from a card unless it leaves play, or you are otherwise instructed to remove them.
Last Gasp is a new timing trigger that functions as a Forced ability and appears on some enemies who are dangerous even in death. When an enemy with the Last Gasp trigger is destroyed, the engaged player (or the first player, if that enemy was not engaged with any player) must trigger that enemy's Last Gasp effect. Note that no enemy featuring this trigger appears in the scenarios of The Shire's Reckoning, but it will be used in the upcoming Fell Summer cycle.
An unofficial fan scenario, developed by A Long-extended Party (ALeP). See https://alongextendedparty.com for details.
During step 2 of Setup, "Place Heroes and Set Initial Threat Levels", add one resource to each hero's resource pool. When building the encounter deck, remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Player Actions can be played during action windows and when their triggering conditions are met.
Red: Players cannot interrupt with Actions. Responses can still be played if their conditions are met.
Green: Any player can take actions generally, or between the game steps stated in the rules.
Responses can always be played if their triggering conditions are met.
Forced effects must always be resolved if their triggering conditions are met.
When revealed effects must be resolved as soon as the card is revealed (before any keyword).
Player actions.
Player actions.
If at least one player survives through the completion of the final stage of the scenario, the game ends in a victory for the players.
Turn over the campaign card and follow any resolution instructions. The players then record their results by entering all of the relevant information in the Campaign Log. After the players defeat a scenario and record their results in the Campaign Log, they must add any boons and/or burdens earned to the Campaign Pool.
This section provides a detailed overview of the phases and framework steps of an entire game round. The phase sequence timing chart depicts each framework step and action window that occurs throughout a game round. The "Framework Details" section explains how to handle each framework step presented in the game's flow chart, in the order that the framework steps occur throughout the round.
Numbered items presented in the brown boxes are known as framework steps. Framework steps are mandatory occurrences dictated by the structure of the game. Green windows are special framework steps that indicate the possibility of the game returning to an earlier framework step in the chart. These repetitive sequences can end in various ways, such as when all players have performed the steps in a sequence, or when a player makes a specific decision. Each of these windows explains when and how the game either loops back or progresses to a later framework step.
An action ability may only be triggered during an action window. Action windows are presented in red boxes on the chart. When an action window opens, the first player has the first opportunity to initiate an action, or pass. Opportunities to initiate actions then proceed in player order until all players consecutively pass, at which point the action window closes and the game advances to the next step on the timing chart. Note that if a player passes his or her opportunity to act, but all other players do not consecutively pass in sequence, the original player may still take an action when the progression of action opportunities comes back around to that player.
Resolve each action completely before the next action opportunity.
Follow this excellent guide from Seastan (Chris Stanford)
Each of the following entries corresponds to the framework step of the same number on the Round Sequence Timing Chart.
This step formalizes the beginning of a game round.
The beginning of a round is an important game milestone that may be referenced in card text, either as a point at which an ability may or must resolve, or as a point at which a lasting effect or constant ability begins or expires.
This step formalizes the beginning of the resource phase.
The beginning of a phase is an important game milestone that may be referenced in card text, either as a point at which an ability may or must resolve, or as a point at which a lasting effect or constant ability begins or expires.
Each player simultaneously adds 1 resource to each of his or her heroes' resource pools.
Each player simultaneously draws 1 card.
This step formalizes the end of the resource phase.
The end of a phase is an important game milestone that may be referenced in card text, either as a point at which an ability may or must resolve, or as a point at which a lasting effect or constant ability expires or begins.
This step formalizes the beginning of the planning phase.
This is a special action window in which the active player (in addition to triggering standard action abilities) is permitted to play ally and attachment cards from his or her hand.
To play a card from hand, a player must pay the card's resource cost by spending resource tokens from the resource pools of one or more of his or her heroes that match the sphere of influence of the card being played. Spent resources are removed from heroes' resource pools and returned to the general token bank.
This action window remains open until all players consecutively pass, so that the active player has the opportunity to play as many ally and attachment cards as he or she desires and can afford at this time.
The next player (in player order) becomes the active player. Return to step 2.2.
If all players have been the active player this phase, proceed.
This step formalizes the end of the planning phase.
This step formalizes the beginning of the quest phase.
In player order, each player has an opportunity to commit any number of his or her characters to the quest.
To commit a character to a quest, a player must exhaust the character.
The encounter deck reveals one card per player. This is known in the game as "staging." These cards are revealed one at a time, with any when revealed abilities being resolved before the next card is revealed.
Enemy, location, and objective cards revealed in this manner are placed in the staging area.
Treachery cards are resolved and (unless otherwise indicated by the card text) placed in the discard pile.
If the encounter deck is ever empty during the quest phase, the encounter discard pile is shuffled and reset back into the encounter deck.
Compare the combined willpower strength () of all committed characters against the combined threat strength () of all cards in the staging area.
If the is higher, the players have successfully quested, and they make progress on the quest. A number of progress tokens equal to the amount by which their overcame the are placed on the current quest card. Note: If there is an active location, progress tokens are placed on that location until it is explored, and the remainder are then placed on the current quest.
If the is higher, the players have unsuccessfully quested and they are driven back by the encounter deck. Each player must raise his or her threat dial by the amount by which the was higher than the combined of all committed characters.
If the combined committed score is equal to the score in the staging area, the players have not quested successfully or unsuccessfully: no progress tokens are placed, and the players do not increase their dials.
Characters committed to a quest are considered committed to that quest through the end of the quest phase, unless a card ability removes them from the quest. Those characters do not ready at the end of this step.
This step formalizes the end of the quest phase.
This step formalizes the beginning of the travel phase.
The players (as a group) have the opportunity to travel to any one location in the staging area by removing it from the staging area and placing it alongside the current quest card. This causes the location to become the active location.
The players can only travel to one location at a time. The first player makes the final decision on whether and where to travel.
Players cannot travel to a new location if another location card is active; the players must explore the active location before traveling elsewhere.
This step formalizes the end of the travel phase.
This step formalizes the beginning of the encounter phase.
Each player (in player order) has one option to engage one enemy in the staging area. This is done by moving the enemy from the staging area and placing it in front of the engaging player, in that player's play area.
The enemy's engagement cost has no bearing on this procedure.
The players make a series of engagement checks, to determine if any of the enemies remaining in the staging area engage them.
The first player compares his or her threat level against the engagement cost of each of the enemies in the staging area. The enemy with the highest engagement cost that is equal to or lower than this player's threat level engages the player and is moved from the staging area into the space in front of the player. This is known as making an engagement check.
After the first player makes an engagement check, the next player (in player order) makes an engagement check. Once all players have made an engagement check, the first player makes second engagement check. Players continue making engagement checks in this manner until there are no enemies remaining in the staging area that can engage any of the players.
Whether an enemy is engaged through an engagement check, through a card effect, or through a player's choice, the end result is the same: the enemy is considered to have engaged the player, and the player is considered to have engaged the enemy.
This step formalizes the end of the encounter phase.
This step formalizes the beginning of the combat phase.
Deal one card from the encounter deck, facedown, to each engaged enemy. These cards are known as shadow cards.
Deal shadow cards to each player's enemies in player order.
When dealing to a single player's enemies, deal to the enemy with the highest engagement cost first, to the enemy with the next highest engagement cost second, and so forth, until each of that player's engaged enemies has been dealt a shadow card.
If the encounter deck runs out of cards, any enemies that have not been dealt shadow cards are not dealt shadow cards this round.
This step formalizes the beginning of the "enemy attacks" process.
In the steps that follow, each enemy that is engaged with a player will have one opportunity to make an attack.
The active player (starting with the first player) chooses an eligible enemy that he or she is engaged with to resolve its attack. An eligible enemy is one that has not yet attacked this round and is still able to attack.
Use the "Enemy Attack Resolution" flowchart to resolve an enemy's attack.
If no eligible enemies remain for the active player to choose, proceed to 6.5.
The next player (in player order) becomes the active player. Return to step 6.4a.
If all players have resolved enemy attacks, proceed to 6.6.
This step formalizes the end of the "enemy attacks process.
This step formalizes the beginning of the "player attacks" process. In the steps that follow, each player will have opportunities to declare attacks with his or her ready characters against enemies.
The active player (starting with the first player) may declare an attack against one of his or her enemies.
Use the "Player Attack Resolution" flowchart to resolve a player's attack.
If the active player is unable to or chooses not to declare an attack, proceed to 6.9.
The next player (in player order) becomes the active player. Return to step 6.8.
If all players have resolved player attacks, proceed to 6.10.
This step formalizes the end of the "player attacks" process.
This step formalizes the end of the combat phase. Discard all shadows cards from all enemies at this time.
This step formalizes the beginning of the refresh phase.
Simultaneously ready all exhausted cards.
Each player simultaneously increases his or her threat by 1.
The first player passes the first player token to the next player (clockwise) to his or her left. That player becomes the new first player.
This step formalizes the end of the combat phase.
This step formalizes the end of a game round.
Proceed to step 0.0 of the next game round.
The end of a round is an important game milestone that may be referenced in card text, either as a point at which an ability may or must resolve, or as a point at which a lasting effect or constant ability begins or expires.
The active player chooses which attack (among the enemies to they are engaged that has not yet attacked this round) to resolve.
The active player may choose one ready character he or she controls to declare as a defender for this attack. A character must exhaust to be declared as a defender.
The active player may instead decide to let the attack go undefended by declaring no defenders for that attack.
Unless a card ability specifies otherwise, a player can only declare defenders against enemies with whom he or she is engaged.
The active player flips the attacking enemy's shadow card faceup and resolves any shadow effect the card might have.
Combat damage is determined by subtracting the defense strength () of the defending character from the attack strength () of the attacking enemy. The remaining value is the amount of damage that must immediately be dealt to the defending character. If the is equal to or higher than the , no damage is dealt.
If an attack is undefended, all damage from the attack must be assigned to a single hero controlled by the active player. If a defending character leaves play or is removed from combat before damage is assigned, the attack is considered undefended. A character's does not absorb damage from undefended attacks.
If a character is destroyed by an attack, additional damage from the attack is not dealt to other other characters.
This step formalizes the end of the enemy's attack. Return to step 6.4a in the main flowchart.
The active player chooses 1 enemy with whom he or she is currently engaged, and exhausts any number of characters he or she controls to declare them as attackers against that enemy.
If each of the attacking characters declared during this step has ranged, the attack may be declared against any enemy that is engaged with any player.
Any number of ranged characters controlled by other players may exhaust to be declared as attackers.
Add up the total of all characters that are currently attacking.
This is done by subtracting the target enemy's from the combined of all the attacking characters. The remaining value is the amount of damage that is immediately dealt to the target enemy being attacked.
If the is equal to or higher than the , no damage is dealt.
This step formalizes the end of the attack.
Characters that were declared as attackers are only considered to be attacking through the resolution of this step (and all reactions to it).
Return to step 6.8a in the main flowchart.
Attachment
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Event
Player card
Quest
Encounter card
Location
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Location
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Hero
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Ally
Player card
Hero
Player card
Hero
Player card
Hero
Player card
Location
Encounter card
Treachery
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Treachery
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Ally
Player card
Enemy
Encounter card
Objective
Encounter card
Objective-Ally
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Hero
Player card
Event
Player card
Ally
Player card
Event
Player card
Attachment
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Ally
Player card
Event
Player card
Hero
Player card
Event
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Ally
Player card
Boon
Player card
Attachment
Encounter card
Hero
Player card
Attachment
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Ally
Player card
Location
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Enemy
Encounter card
Hero
Player card
Event
Player card
Event
Player card
Quest
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Hero
Player card
Location
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Event
Player card
Event
Player card
Ally
Player card
Attachment
Player card
Event
Player card
Quest
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Treachery
Encounter card
Hero
Player card
Ally
Player card
Location
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Ally
Player card
Event
Player card
Attachment
Player card
Hero
Player card
Quest
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Location
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Campaign
Encounter card
Treachery
Encounter card
Quest
Encounter card
Enemy
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Attachment
Player card
Location
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Treachery
Encounter card
Objective
Encounter card
Objective
Encounter card
Attachment
Player card
Ally
Player card
Enemy
Encounter card
Event
Player card
Event
Player card
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Ally
Player card
Should read: "Restricted. Response: Exhaust A Burning Brand to cancel a shadow effect just triggered during an attack that attached character is defending."
Q: Can I use A Good Harvest (AtS 10) to play a 0 cost card without a resource match?
A: No. A Good Harvest only allows you to spend resources for the named sphere, a resource match is still needed to play cards with no resource cost.
Should read: "Response: After a location worth no victory points leaves play as an explored location..."
Q: Is Against the Trolls (SoM 32) the final stage of Conflict at the Carrock?
A: Yes.
Q: Are attachments already in play discarded when Amon Lhaw (SoM 84) becomes the active location?
A: No. Attachments only check play restrictions when entering play. Attachments already in play will stay attached.
What is the difference between a "group" and a "team"?
"Group" refers to the 3-12 players who are participating in the event together. "Team" refers to the 1-4 players at the same stage.
What does it mean for a card to be "in a victory display"?
A card is in a victory display if it is in the victory display of any team in your group.
Q: What happens to Banks of the Anduin (CORE 113) if it is drawn as a Shadow card?
A: It will be discarded from play at the end of the combat phase, like other Shadow cards. When a card is drawn as a Shadow card, only its Shadow text is considered to be active.
Q: When players have separate staging areas at stage 4 of Foundations of Stone, can there be multiple copies of unique cards in play?
A: No. Players must still respect the rules for playing unique cards when they are split up. For example, if a player has Gandalf (CORE 73) in play, then no other player can play Gandalf.
Should read: "Action: Exhaust Beravor to choose a player. That player draws 2 cards. Limit once per Round."
Q: If I can't discard 3 resources from all of my heroes due to Bitter Wind (KD 56), do I have to partially fulfill the effect?
A: Yes, players should resolve as much of any "discard" effect as they are able to.
Q: If Legolas has a Blade of Gondolin (CORE 39) and destroys an enemy, can he trigger his response, finish off a quest card, and still place progress tokens on the next quest with the Blade of Gondolin's response?
A: Yes. Quest cards are immediately replaced as soon as players place enough progress on them, and this replacement does not interrupt the current round sequence. If the current quest card only needs 1 progress on it, then a player could also trigger the Blade's effect first, and then Legolas' in order to maximize the number of progress tokens placed. (There is no carry-over progress from an effect).
Should read: "Surge. When Revealed: Deal 1 damage to each character committed to the quest."
Omit the parenthetical.
Should read: "Then, that player moves 1 resource from the resource pool of a hero he controls to the resource pool of a hero you control, or Blue Mountain Trader is discarded. (Limit once per round.)"
Should read: "Raise your threat by 1 to ready Boromir. (Limit once per phase.)"
Q: Can Brand son of Bain (SoM 72) trigger his response if he participates in a ranged attack that defeats an enemy engaged with another player instead of declaring the attack himself ?
A: Yes. Declaring an attack and participating in an attack are both subsets of attacking. In both cases Brand attacks and can trigger his response if the enemy is defeated.
Q: If Caradhras (DD 15) is in my victory display when I complete stage 2 of The Redhorn Gate, will it become the active location even though it is not in play?
A: Yes. You will remove Caradhras from your victory display and put it back into play as the active location. Cards in the victory display are not removed from the game and can still be referenced by effects. If players get too far ahead of themselves via card effects, they'll find a return journey is necessary!
Q: How does a player resolve the situation in which a single hero has multiple copies of Caught in a Web (CORE 80) attached?
A: The player must pay for each copy of Caught in a Web before the hero can ready. Each copy of the card creates an independent condition that must be fulfilled before readying the attached hero, so if each condition is not fulfilled the hero cannot ready. End result, if a hero has two copies of Caught in a Web attached, the player will have to pay 4 resources from that hero's resource pool in order to ready the card.
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Should read: "When Revealed: Each player must either return the location he controls..."
Q: If there are no characters with poison attached when Crazy Cob (OtD 29) is revealed from the encounter deck, does it still make an attack?
A: Yes. Since each character has 0 poison, the first player will choose which character Crazy Cob attacks.
Q: If I give control of one of my heroes to another player with Desperate Alliance (OtD 10) and my other heroes are killed, am I eliminated from the game?
A: No. A player is not eliminated from the game unless each of his heroes is killed. The hero chosen by Desperate Alliance is still in play and will return to your control at the end of the phase.
Should read: "When Revealed: Place 3 progress on the main quest..."
Should read: "Forced: When Dol Guldur Beastmaster attacks..."
The additional shadow card is dealt when the Dol Guldur Beastmaster is chosen during step 1 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: Can I use Dori (OHUH 9) to prevent damage from being assigned to Beorn (OHUH 5), even though Beorn is immune to player card effects?
A: Yes. Dori's Response targets the damage being assigned, not the character it is being assigned to, so Beorn's immunity does not factor.
Q: Does Dungeon Jailer (CORE 101) shuffle guarded objectives back into the encounter deck?
A: Yes. Dungeon Jailer will shuffle any unclaimed objective, whether or not it is guarded.
Q. Does a player with the Dungeon Torch (CORE 109) raise his threat by 2 or 3 during the refresh phase?
A: Dungeon Torch's effect does not replace the regular 1 threat raise, but adds to it. So the player with the Dungeon Torch raises his threat by 3.
Q: When the first player takes control of a Dúnedain of Annúminas at stage 1, does he resolve its "when revealed" effect?
A: No.
Q: What happens when a Dúnedain of Annúminas is destroyed?
A: It is placed in the encounter deck discard pile.
Q: If the effect on Dwarrowdelf Axe (KD 7) destroys an enemy, can I play Foe-hammer (OHUH 15)?
A: No. In order to play Foe-hammer, the attacking character must destroy the enemy. That means dealing enough damage to it with attack strength.
The replacement card is also revealed from the encounter deck. Resolve any "When revealed" effects and keywords on the new card following the standard game rules.
Q: If Eleanor (CORE 8) is used to cancel the "when revealed" effects of a treachery card, are any surge or doomed keywords on that card also canceled?
A: No. Eleanor only cancels the "when revealed" effects of the treachery card. Any surge or doomed keywords on the card resolve before the new (replacement) card is revealed.
Q: Can I play Elevenses (DC 36) after resolving a quest
since characters are considered to be committed to the
quest until the end of the quest phase?
A: No. Elevenses says "Play only after the staging
step" which means it is only playable immediately after
the staging step ends.
Should read: "Erebor Battle Master gets +1 for each other Dwarf ally you control. (Limit +4 .)"
Q: If I play Expecting Mischief (OHUH 18) and it deals enough damage to the first enemy revealed to destroy it, do I still resolve any "when revealed" or keyword effects on that enemy?
A: No. The effect on Expecting Mischief resolves the same way as the effect on Thalin (Core 6).
Q: After False Lead (SF 25) is revealed and its effect resolves, do the players continue staging?
A: No. The quest phase ends immediately and the players do not continue staging.
Q: Can player card effects be used on a card that is being revealed, before it is placed on a region?
A: The passive text on enemies is active immediately and will place them on a region at the very beginning of the reveal process. So unless that region is your current region, the enemies will be immune to effects like Thalin's ability. However, the Forced effect on locations that places them on a region triggers only after the card has entered play. Therefore a card like The Door is Closed or Warden of Arnor could be used, even if that location is going to be placed on a region other than your current region.
Q: Can I play cards to the staging area?
A: Yes. When a card is added to the staging area and does not specify a region to put it on, such as a player side quest, place it next to the Middle-earth Map. You can also play attachments on cards in the staging area, such as Ancient Mathom or The Road Goes Ever On, provided their targets aren't immune to player card effects.
Q: How does the Burglar's Turn Contract work in The Nine are Abroad?
A: Since you never actually travel to locations, it will never trigger. If you wish to create a house rule, you could trigger it on a location in your current region at the end of the travel phase if you moved regions that phase.
Should read: "Combat Action: Choose an enemy engaged with a player. That enemy cannot attack that player this phase."
Q: When should Feint (CORE 34) be played?
A: This card should be played any time before resolving step 1 of the target enemy's attack during the combat phase. (Once the act of resolving an enemy's attack begins, it is too late to prevent it from attacking with Feint.)
Q: Can you put Fili (OHUH 6) into play for free from your hand after you play Kili (OHUH 7)?
A: No. For either character's ability to work, the other character must enter play from your hand.
Q: Can I use Fortune or Fate (CORE 54) to put Beorn (OHUH 5) into play from a player's discard pile, even though he is immune to player card effects?
A: Yes. A hero's ability is only active while it is in play. Therefore, Beorn is not immune to player card effects (such as Fortune or Fate) while he is in the discard pile.
Should read: "Swap those heroes, moving all eligible attachments to the hero from your collection."
Omit âand damage tokensâ.
Should read: "Response: After a character is destroyed, add 1 resource to attached hero's pool."
Should read: "When Revealed: The first player either places 3 progress tokens on To the Tower, or..."
Q: Can you put Fili (OHUH 6) into play for free from your hand after you play Kili (OHUH 7)?
A: No. For either character's ability to work, the other character must enter play from your hand.
Q: If I use the ability on Leaf - wrapped Lembas ("Add Leaf-wrapped Lembas to the victory display , and remove it from the campaign pool, to ready all heroes in play.") but I lose the scenario and have to play it again, do I still remove Leaf-wrapped Lembas from the campaign pool?
A: No. While removing the boon from the campaign pool is part of the cost to trigger the Action on each of the Gift attachments (Phial of Galadriel, Three Golden Hairs, Lórien Rope, or Leaf - wrapped Lembas), that decision should not be recorded until after the scenario is defeated. Even then, if the players are unhappy with the result, they may still choose not to record their results and try again.
Should read: "Response: After you play a Dwarf character from your hand, exhaust Legacy of Durin to draw 1 card."
Q: Does the effect on Legolas (CORE 5) place progress tokens on an active location, if there is one?
A: Yes. Always place progress tokens on an active location instead of the quest, unless the ability specifically states to bypass any active location.
Q: If there is an active location with the text "Immune to player card effects" when Legolas participates in an attack that destroys an enemy, do I place 2 progress on the active location or the quest?
A: No. When Legolas' ability would put progress on the current quest, if there is an active location, it puts progress on that location instead. If that location is immune to player card effects, it ignores Legolas' ability. Therefore, no progress would be placed on the active location or the current quest.
Q: If I have Light of Valinor (D 107) attached to a hero I control, can that hero commit to the quest while exhausted?
A: No. Characters must be ready and able to exhaust in order to quest, attack, or defend. Card effects that allow a character to perform any of those actions without exhausting do not allow exhausted characters to perform those actions.
Q: How does the card Lost and Alone (DD 124) work? What if the hero gets attached to a Nameless Thing (DD 125) or was my last hero in play?
A: You only put the lost hero back into play if you draw the hero, whether during the resource phase or through a card effect. If the hero is discarded or attached to a card like a Nameless Thing, then treat it like any other card. In the latter situation, the value of the hero would be null, since it has no printed cost. If your last hero gets shuffled into your deck you are not eliminated from the game; heroes are not considered to be killed unless they are in your discard pile. You will continue playing until you either draw the hero, are eliminated through other means, or the game ends.
Should read: "When Revealed: Reveal stage 3 and create a separate staging area for the first player using that stage. If there are no other players in the game, discard this stage and each card in its staging area. All other players advance to stage 4."
Should read: "Response: After a Song card is played, exhaust Love of Tales to add 1 resource..."
Should read: "Action: Exhaust Master of Lore to name a card type. Lower the cost for you to play the next card of that type by 1 until the end of the phase (to a minimum of 1)."
Q: If Mines of Moria (TRD 52) is in the staging area and there is an active location, where is progress placed first?
A: Progress must be placed on the Mines of Moria in the staging area before it can be placed on the active location because the game text on Mines of Moria overrides the game rules via the Golden Rule.
Q: If a card is attached to Nameless Thing (D 125) as part of the resolution of its Forced effect, is that card's game text active?
A: No. Cards that are attached to Nameless Thing (or Elder Nameless Thing) as a result of triggering its Forced effect are considered attachments with no card title or game text. The only active part of the attached card is its cost.
Should read: "Action: Exhaust Narvi's Belt to give attached hero a , , , or icon until the end of the Phase."
Should have the text: "No attachments can be played on Nazgúl of Dol Guldur."
Q: If I cancel the Shadow effect on a card dealt to the Nazgúl of Dol Guldur (CORE 102), is the effect still considered to have resolved, making me discard a character?
A: No. Resolving an effect means that the effect triggered and resolved to the fullest extent possible. Canceling the effect will prevent the Nazgúl of Dol Guldur's ability from triggering, just as if the card had no Shadow effect to begin with.
Should read: "Response: After you play a Dwarf character from your hand, reduce your threat by 1."
Title should read: "A Elbereth! Gilthoniel!" Should read: "Response: After a non-unique enemy attacks you..."
Should read: "Action: Enemies engaged with you cannot attack you this phase."
If a facedown Orc Guard would be returned to the staging area, it is instead placed in its owner's discard pile.
Q: If all of a player's heroes (except for the captured hero) are destroyed during the Escape from Dol Guldur scenario, is that player eliminated from the game?
A: Yes, the player is eliminated, and the players (as a group) have lost.
Should read: "Shuffle the encounter deck. Add Out of the Wild to the victory display."
Q: When Oin (OtD 4) gains the tactics resource icon from his ability, does that count as the "printed" tactics ressource icon?
A: No. The "printed" resource icon always refers to the icon that appears in the Resource Icon space.
Q: If there are two copies of Pelennor Fields (MaO 10) in the staging area and I travel to one of them, do I still have to raise my threat by 3? What if I have the opportunity to travel and travel to neither of them?
A: If a card is self-referential, it refers only to that copy of itself. So if you travel to one copy of the pelennor Fields, the other copy will raise your threat by 3 because it only takes into account whether you traveled to that particular copy of the Pelennor Fields. So if you travel to neither copy, they both resolve and you must raise your threat by 6.
Should read: "Action: Discard a card from your hand to give attached hero +1 or +1 until the end of the phase. Limit 3 times per phase."
Q: Can I use Proud Hunters (H 32) to add resources to
Beorn's (OHaUH 1) resource pool even though he is
immune to player card effects?
A: Yes. A hero's resource pool is a separate game
element from the hero card, so cards that target Beorn's
resource pool (and not Beorn) are not affected by his
immunity to player card effects.
Q: Can characters with the ranged keyword participate in an attack declared through the card Quick Strike (CORE 35)?
A: No. There is no opportunity for other characters to join a Quick Strike attack. One character is exhausted to pay for the cost of Quick Strike, and the effect is that the exhausted character is immediately declared as an attacker against the target enemy. The card's resolution does not allow for a standard declaration step in which other characters can declare.
Q: Can I use Quick Strike (Core 35) to declare an attack against an enemy that is immune to player card effects?
A: Yes. The effect of Quick Strike targets a character and allows that character to make an attack, therefore the chosen enemy's immunity does not factor.
Q: When paying for a Creature with ressources from Radagast's (SoM 59) pool, is a resource match required?
A: No. Radagast's ability breaks the need for a ressource match if the resources are coming only from his pool. (If combining his resources with resources from a hero's pool, the hero's sphere must match the sphere of the Creature being played.)
Q: If there is an unattached Ranger Spikes (HoN17) in the staging area when an enemy with the ambush keyword is revealed from the deck, what happens?
A: The Ranger Spikes will attach to that enemy, preventing the players from making the engagement checks for the ambush keyword.
Should read: "Action: Exhaust a hero you control to shuffle the encounter deck and look at its top card..."
Q: What is the difference between a 'group' and a 'team'?
A: 'Group' refers to the 3-12 players who are participating in the event together. 'Team' refers to the 1-4 players at the same stage.
Q: What does it mean for a card to be "in a victory display"?
A: A card is in a victory display if it is in the victory display of any team in your group.
Q: Does damage on an enemy remain on that enemy when it moves to a different stage?
A: Yes.
Q: Wilyador (SoM 64) cannot be healed of more than 5 wounds by a single effect, so how do I resolve the "when revealed" text on Return to Rhosgobel 3B (SoM62)?
A: Heal 5 wounds from Wilyador for each Athelas objective card as its own separate action.
Q: While attempting to answer a Riddle in the scenario Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim, when can players take actions?
A: Players can take actions after step 2, before step 3.
Q: If a Sacked! (SoM 48) card is placed on a hero while that hero is questing is that hero removed from the quest?
A: No. Sacked! specifies only that the hero cannot commit to the quest, and the hero is already committed. However, the hero cannot commit to quests on future rounds while Sacked! is attached.
Q: If I engage more than one enemy with a higher engagement cost than my threat, will the second part of Sam Gamgee's (TBR 2) ability trigger more than once, even if I cannot ready him more than once?
A: Yes. Because it does not use the word "then", Sam's bonus to , and is not dependent on him readying. His readying effect and his bonus to , and are two different effects that both have the trigger of engaging an enemy with a higher engagement cost than your threat.
Q: If I use the Response effect on Saruman (VoI 3) to treat an encounter card guarding an objective as out of play, does that mean I can claim that objective because it is free of encounters?
A: No. When a card is considered to be out of play, each card attached to it is also considered to be out of play. Because objectives with the Guarded keyword are attached to the enemy or location that is guarding it, if that enemy or location is considered to be out of play, the guarded objective is too.
Q: If I am engaged with The Lord of the Dead (SoE 5) when I play Saruman (VoI 3), do I still have to raise each player's threat for his Doomed 3?
A: No. The moment Saruman enters play under your control, the passive effect on The Lord of the Dead causes you to treat his text box as blank, before the Doomed keyword can trigger.
Should read: "Then, look at the top card of the encounter deck. If the looked at card is not..."
Should read: "Forced: After a character is declared as a defender against Snow Warg..."
Q: Can I use Son of Arnor (SoM 15) to engage The Watcher (DD 72), even though The Watcher reads "...cannot be optionally engaged"?
A: Yes. The ability on Son of Arnor does not count as optionally engaging The Watcher. Optional engagement only occurs during step 1 of the Encounter phase
Stand and Fight cannot return neutral allies from the discard pile, as neutral cards do not belong to "any Sphere."
Q: If I attach Sword-thain (AA 149) to a unique Lore ally (making that ally a hero), does the attached hero have the printed Lore icon?
A: Yes. If an ally with a printed sphere icon becomes a hero, that hero is also considered to have that printed sphere icon.
Q: If I use Sneak Attack (CORE 23) to put a unique ally into play during the planning phase and attach Sword-thain (AA 149) to that ally, is that ally returned to my hand at the end of the phase?
A: No. The ally that entered play with Sneak Attack is no longer an ally because it has Sword-thain attached, and Sneak Attack's delayed effect no longer affects it.
When an enemy card is revealed from the encounter deck, Thalin's ability resolves before any keyword or "When Revealed" card effects on the encounter card.
Q: When an encounter card effects instructs me to search the encounter deck and discard pile for an enemy, reveal it, and add it to the staging area during a quest to which Thalin (CORE 6) is committed, does he still deal 1 damage to an enemy chosen from the discard pile?
A: Yes. Enemies revealed from the encounter deck and discard pile by quest card and encounter card effects are still considered to have been revealed by the encounter deck.
Should read: "At the beginning of the combat phase, each player must either turn each of his hidden cards faceup, or take 1 hidden card."
Q: When playing The Blood of Gondor, if a card effect such as stage 1b of The Ambush (AtS 117) or Lying in Wait (AtS 129) turns each of my hidden cards faceup, and one of those cards forces me to take another hidden card, do I have to turn that card faceup as well?
A: No. When you are instructed to turn each of your hidden cards faceup, only the hidden cards that are currently in front of you at that time are turned faceup; any hidden cards you are forced to take as part of that effect, such as from Evil Crow (AtS 122), remain facedown in front of you.
Q: How many keywords does The Balrog (RD 44) have?
A: One. Indestructible is the only keyword on The Balrog.
Q: While making a Burgle attempt in The Lonely Mountain scenario, when can players take actions?
A: Players can take actions after step 2, before step 3.
Should read: "The current quest card gains siege (and loses battle)."
Q: If I am engaged with The Lord of the Dead (SoE 5) when I play Saruman (VoI 3), do I still have to raise each player's threat for his Doomed 3?
A: No. The moment Saruman enters play under your control, the passive effect on The Lord of the Dead causes you to treat his text box as blank, before the Doomed keyword can trigger.
Should read: "... reveal and place them in the staging area."
Q: During the Setup for stage 1A of The Necromancer's Tower (Core 123), should each objective have one encounter card attached to it, or two?
A: One. When you reveal a Guarded objective, you must reveal the top card of the encounter deck and attach it to that objective, guarding it. The additional instruction on The Necromancer's Tower to "... attach 1 encounter to each objective card" is there as a reminder, so that players know to attach 1 encounter card to each Guarded objective.
Should read: "Setup: Each player may change hero cards he controls without incurring the +1 threat penalty. Each player shuffles 1 copy..."
Should read: "...Reveal an equal number of cards from the encounter deck..." Omit the word "Then"
Q: Can player side quests be played in this quest?
A: Player side quests are played into their controller's staging area, and can be chosen as the current quest as normal by the first player in turn order at that stage.
Q: Can I travel to locations or engage enemies at other stages?
A: No, only at your stage.
Q: Why are there 2 copies of Brand son of Bain?
A: One copy uses the official card text. The other copy (identified by "FTCL" near its é text) uses modified text and {Traits} from ALeP's Free to Choose List, an optional set of rules changes found on our website. Use whichever you prefer!
Q: Can I use Son of Arnor (SoM 15) to engage The Watcher (DD 72), even though The Watcher reads "...cannot be optionally engaged"?
A: Yes. The ability on Son of Arnor does not count as optionally engaging The Watcher. Optional engagement only occurs during step 1 of the Encounter phase
Should read: "Action: Choose a player. That player's engaged enemies cannot attack that player this phase."
Should read: "Travel Action: Discard Thrór's Map to choose a location in the staging area."
Q: Do the Orc Guards generated by the effects of the Tower Gate location card and the Out of the Dungeons quest card have the Orc Trait?
A: No. Face down cards do not have traits unless the trait is gained through a card effect.
Should read: "Action: Until the end of the phase, if the current quest does not have siege, it gains battle."
Q: If a location is revealed after Treacherous Fog (CORE 118) was revealed during the same quest phase, does the revealed location get +1 from the "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog?
A: Yes. The "When Revealed" effect on Treacherous Fog creates a lasting effect until the end of the phase that affects each location in the staging area. This is different from Driven by Shadow (CORE 92) which uses the language "currently in the staging area" when it is revealed and only affects enemies and locations in the staging area at the time it is revealed.
Should read: "If Troll Key is discarded, add it to the staging area. If Troll Key is unattached and in the staging area, attach it to a Troll enemy, if able."
Should read: "If Troll Purse is discarded, add it to the staging area. If Troll Purse is unattached and in the staging area, attach it to a Troll enemy, if able."
Q: When I use the ability on Vilya (D 109) to play a card, do I still need a resource match?
A: No. Playing a card at "no cost" is different from playing a card for "0 cost." A 0 cost card still requires a resource match, however, playing a card at "no cost" removes the need for a resource match.
Should read: "Limit once per round."
Q: What happens if Wandering Took (CORE 43) changes control between players during combat after being declared as a defender?
A: As nothing removes Wandering Took from the combat or from play, it remains declared as a defenderagainst the attack. (The "defending player" does notchange, even though control of the defending character has changed.)
Q: When do "after this enemy attacks" Forced effects like those on Chieftan Ufthak (CORE 90) and Wargs (CORE 85) resolve?
A: These effects resolve immediately after step 4 of enemy attack resolution.
Q: When I play We Are Not Idle (D 129) and exhaust Bombur (OtD 5), do I get 2 resources?
A: No. Bombur's ability only works with cards that count the number of Dwarf characters you control. If you choose to exhaust Bombur with We Are Not Idle, you are still only exhausting 1 Dwarf character and will therefore only receive 1 resource.
Should read: "Action: Choose a player. Shuffle that player's discard pile back into his deck. Remove Will of the West from the game."
Should read: "If a card of the named type is revealed during this quest phase, exhaust Wingfoot to ready attached hero."
Should read: "Action: Exhaust Zigil Miner and name a number to discard the top 2 cards of your deck. If at least one of those cards has cost equal to the named number, choose a hero you control. For each card that matches the named number, add 1 resource to that hero's resource pool."