War of the Ring Solitaire

Transcription

1 War of the Ring Solitaire Version 1.2 These guidelines describe how to play a solitaire or cooperative game of War of the Ring. The Free Peoples are played as usual, either by a single player or by two players who play using the normal multiplayer rules. The game system controls the Shadow by providing an algorithm or set of instructions for how the Shadow plays. Although the algorithm has no overarching strategy and is unable to adapt to the Free Peoples moves, other aspects of the game have been modified to make up for this and provide an adequate challenge. You can adjust the difficulty level by choosing how many action dice the Shadow gets. For an easy game, allow the Shadow only 5 action dice (plus those for minions). For a moderate game, try 6 action dice, and for a difficult game, give the Shadow the full 7 action dice. Note that the actual starting dice will be one more than this since Saruman starts the game in play. 1 Definitions and General Rule Changes Agressive - a Shadow army is aggressive if it is large enough to attack. A Shadow army that contains a Minion or that is besieging an FP stronghold is aggressive if and only if it contains eight or more units. All other Shadow armies are agressive if they contain at least four units and are not in a region with an unoccupied settlement. Attacking Position - a Shadow army is in an attacking position if it is currently besieging a stronghold or if the next region in any progression line in which the army is located contains an FP army. Designated Battle Card (DBC) - a card that is set aside to be played in the next battle in which the conditions for playing the card are met (see the specific instructions for how to play that card). If in a particular battle the conditions are met for more than one DBC, then the Shadow plays the card that was set aside first. DBC s are not considered to be part of the Shadow s hand. Designated Hunt Card (DHC) - a FSP-targeting card that is set aside to be played as a character event card when the conditions for playing the card are met (see the specific instructions for how to play that card). Cards that target the FSP are set aside as DHCs if they are unplayable. Distance to Mordor - the minimum number of moves it would take the FSP to get to Mordor (i.e. to Minas Morgul or Morannon). At the beginning of the game, this is equal to 10. From Lorien or the Woodland Realm, the distance to Mordor is 6, and from Minas Tirith, the distance to mordor is 3. Note that to calculate the distance to mordor you must take into account not only the last known position of the FSP, but also the FSP progress counter. End Region - a region in a progression line that units are moved into but not out of. If an end region becomes occupied and all settlements in adjacent regions are also occupied, then the units in the end region are removed and become available for reinforcements. FP - Free Peoples FSP - The Fellowship

2 GtG - Gandalf the Grey GtW - Gandalf the White Occupied - An FP settlement is considered occupied if has a Shadow settlement control marker on it. The Shadow must forfeit units in order to occupy a settlement and place a Shadow settlement control marker. An occupied region contains a backup Shadow army that can be called up to defend it should the FP attempt to attack the settlement. Note that a control marker does not count as an army until called on, so that the marker itself does not count against the maximum of 10 units per region. Also note that an FP settlement control marker is not used in this way and has the same meaning and function as in the original War of the Ring board game. FP armies are not permitted to enter a region containing an occupied settlement, but must attack it instead. The Shadow will not move any units out of a region containing an unoccupied FP settlement. A progression line is considered occupied if every FP settlement in that line is occupied. Overflow - a region in a progression line into which units may move if the next region in the progression line is full. Priority Order (PO) - an ordering of options for the Shadow indicating which choices are most preferable. When given a choice and a PO, choose the first item on the list that you possibly can. If there are multiple choices that meet this criteria, then move to the next criteria in the list in order to break ties among the remaining options. Continue this process until a single choice is selected. If you reach the end of the list without determining which choice to make, choose arbitrarily among the remaining options. Each time an action is taken, start at the beginning of the list. Progression Line - a series of connected regions that form the route that the Shadow armies take while attempting to conquer the FP. Shadow armies can only exist in regions that are part of a progression line. If any other effect would move Shadow armies to a region that is not part of a progression line (such as retreating from a battle), the units are eliminated instead. However, it is possible for a Shadow army to move out of one progression line into a different progression line. Unit - as defined in the War of the Ring rulebook, a unit is either a regular or an elite. Leaders, Companions, Minions, and Nazgul do not count as units. For example, an army consisting of one leader, two elites, and three regulars contains five units. Unit Counter - the unit replacement counters of the original game. In the solitaire/cooperative game, unit counters are not used to replace units, but to represent them. These counters are only used for Shadow units, not ever for FP units. The Shadow does not need to set aside a figure in order to use a unit counter. This allows the Shadow to have many more units on the board than is possible in the original game. Unit counters and figures may be interchanged as needed whenever necessary in order to muster troops to the board. Unmovable - a progression line is unmovable if it is occupied or if attempting to move it would not result in actually moving any units. Unoccupied - a region with an FP settlement that is not occupied, i.e. that does not contain a Shadow settlement control marker. Note that not all unoccupied regions are free regions, as some may contain armies.

3 Unplayable - a card is unplayable if the requirements for playing it are not met, or if the instructions for playing the card indicate that it should be treated as unplayable. Unplayable cards are set aside as DHCs if they target the FSP. Otherwise, they are put face-up on the bottom of the deck to be shuffled back in when the face-down cards run out. Victory Conditions - The victory conditions remain unchanged except for the FP military victory. An FP military victory now requires 6 Victory Points, two of which must come from Barad-dur. WK - the Witch-King. 2 Setup Set up the game as normal, but do not use the political markers for the Shadow nations. All shadow nations are considered to be at war. Also, Saruman starts the game in play at Orthanc, and the Shadow begins the game with the extra die associated with Saruman. 3 The Draw Phase If the Shadow has 4 or fewer cards, draw one of each for the shadow player. If the Shadow has 5 cards, draw one card of the type that the shadow player currently has the least of. If the Shadow has 6 cards, do not draw. Keep all cards face down until played. 4 Hunt Allocation Each turn the Shadow places two dice in the hunt box, or three if the FSP progress marker is at 2 or more. However, as usual, the Shadow does not allocate more dice than there are companions in the fellowship. If the FSP is in Mordor, then the Shadow allocates the maximum number of allowed dice to the hunt box. If the Shadow has an elven ring available, put it in the hunt box. Elven rings in the hunt box add one to rolls for the hunt outside of Mordor and add one to hunt damage from eye tiles while in Mordor. Elven rings in the hunt box are removed and discarded at the end of the turn. Also at this stage, check to see if either the Witch King or the Mouth of Sauron should be brought into play (if they haven t already). Note that the Shadow does not spend a muster die when bringing a minion into play. If the Witch King has not yet been brought into play, and the distance to mordor is six or less, roll two combat dice, plus one additional die each if GtW and/or Aragorn are in play. If result of any of the dice equals or exceeds the distance to mordor, then bring the Witch King into play at Minas Morgul. Also bring the Witch-king into play if all of the FP nations are active. If the requirements for bringing the Mouth of Sauron into play are met at this time, then immediately bring the Mouth of Sauron into play at Barad-dur. Finally, if any of the original Shadow strongholds are under siege at this time, add as many regular units as necessary to the Shadow armies defending them in order to bring the Shadow army up to the maximum five units.

4 5 Action Roll The Shadow rolls all available dice. Include the extra die for Minions even if they were brought into play this turn. Move eye dice into the hunt box as normal. 5.1 Action Resolution If a DHC is now playable, and a character or event die is available, then use the event die (use a character die if both are available) to play the DHC. (If more than one DHC is playable, choose the one that was set aside first.) Otherwise, the Shadow plays action dice in the following PO: 1. Character Dice 2. Muster/Army Dice 3. Muster Dice 4. Event (Palantir) Dice 5. Army Dice Note that all of the dice of a particular type are used before moving onto the next die type. The Shadow does not pass/defer to the FP player(s), even if the Shadow has fewer dice than the FP player(s). If at the end of the turn, the FSP did not attempt to move or hide, the Shadow gets a bonus action, which is played as an army die. However, if the FP also used an elven ring during the turn, then play the action as a muster die followed by an army die. This is in addition to the corruption gained while in Mordor. The following sections describe how to resolve the Shadow s action dice. When the instructions say to do one of the following, choose the first item in the list that you can. If the instructions say to roll a die to determine the action, then do the item on the list that matches the result of the die roll (i.e. if you roll a four, do item number four on the list). 5.2 Character Dice First move all of the Nazgul and the Mouth of Sauron (see below). Then do one of the following: 1. Attempt to play a character card. 2. Make an attack with an agressive Shadow army in an attacking position that contains a leader. 3. If there are any Nazgul available to recruit, muster one each in Minas Morgul, Morannon, Barad-Dur, and Dol-guldur (in that order). 4. Move the die to the hunt box. 5.3 Muster/Army Dice If the Mouth of Sauron is in play, follow the instructions for a normal muster die, and then follow the instructions for a normal army die. If the Mouth of Sauron is not in play, then just follow the instructions for a normal Army Die.

5 5.4 Muster Die Roll one die to choose the type of muster and follow the instructions according to the number rolled. Any time two points are specified, muster them as an elite if the region already contains at least five units, otherwise muster as two regular units. When mustering to a particular nation, always use units from that nation type. If the region is full, or if there are no more units or unit counters available, then do not muster to that region. Always muster in the order listed. When mustering to an army in the field, use any nation represented in the army. Mustering to a Shadow army in a stronghold under siege is permitted. 1. On a roll of one, muster two points of units each to Minas Morgul, Morannon, and Barad-Dur, and one regular unit to Nurn. 2. On a roll of two, muster two points of units each to Dol Guldur, Moria, and Mount Gundabad, and one regular unit to Angmar. 3. On a roll of three, muster two points of units each to Umbar and South Rhun and one regular unit each to Far Harad, Near Harad, and North Rhun. 4. On a roll of four, muster one regular unit and two points of units to Orthanc, and two points of units each to North Dunland and South Dunland. Then, if Saruman is in play, convert one regular unit in Orthanc to an elite unit, if available. 5. On a roll of five, muster one regular unit to each Shadow stronghold, or two points of units if the stronghold is either under siege or adjacent to a region containing an FP army. Each nation musters units of its own type. In the Sauron nation, muster in the following order: Minas Morgul, Dol-Guldur, Morannon, Mount Gundabad, Moria, and Barad-Dur. 6. On a roll of six, muster one Nazgul each to Minas Morgul, Morannon, Barad-Dur, and Dolguldur. Then muster one regular unit to each region that is part of a progression line and that contains a Nazgul or Minion (regardless of whether the region contains a Shadow settlement or not), in the following PO: the Witch King, Saruman, the Mouth of Sauron, and then to the armies with the fewest units. 5.5 Event (Palantir) Die Do one of the following: 1. If the Shadow has three or fewer cards, draw one card of the type the Shadow has the least of. In case of a tie, draw a character card. 2. Attempt to play a character card. 3. Attempt to play a strategy card. 4. Move the die to the hunt box.

6 5.6 Army Die First check to see if any Shadow armies are adjacent to an empty region containing an FP-controlled city or stronghold (i.e. the Shadow could gain Victory Points by moving the army to the adjacent region). If so, move all such Shadow armies into these regions. Then do one of the following: 1. If A Power Too Great is in play, and the Shadow has an aggressive army in position to attack an FP army in Lorien, Rivendell, or the Grey Havens, and if the Shadow has the required event cards, then discard them (choose randomly) in order to discard A Power Too Great. 2. If The Power of Tom Bombadil is in play, and the Shadow has an aggressive army in position to attack an FP army in The Shire, and if the Shadow has the required event cards, then discard them (choose randomly) in order to discard A Power Too Great. 3. If an agressive Shadow army is in an attacking position, then make an attack. 4. Roll two dice to determine which progression lines to move. Move the lower numbered progression line first. If a progression line is unmovable or was already moved with this action die then instead try the next progression line in the list, looping back to the first progression line if necessary. Then move all armies in the chosen progression lines, in order, one space each along those progression lines. 5. In the unlikely event that every progression line is unmovable, play the action die as it if were a muster die. 5.7 Attacking Shadow armies that are besieging a stronghold can only attack the stronghold. All other Shadow armies can only attack FP armies that are in the next listed region of any progression line the Shadow army is in. Passive Shadow armies cannot attack. If required to make an attack and more than one attack is possible, choose one according to the following PO: 1. Attack an FP army in a region containing a stronghold that is not under siege. 2. Attack an FP army in a region containing a city. 3. Attack an FP army in a besieged stronghold. 4. Attack with the largest Shadow army available. 5. Attack the smallest FP army available. 5.8 Progression Lines When moving a progression line, always move the armies in order. Nazgul (except the Witch-king) that are part of an army move with the army. Nazgul that are not part of an army are ignored when moving the progression line. If the Witch-king is part of an army in a progression line that is being moved, then move the Witch-king according to the normal instructions (see below). Normally, all the units in each region move to the next region. However, if the region contains an unoccupied settlement, then do not move any units out of that region. If at any time (except during a battle)

7 a region contains enough Shadow units to occupy the settlement (and the region contains no FP units), remove those units from the board (they now become available for reinforcements) and place a Shadow settlement control marker on the settlement. To occupy a town, forfeit two regular units. To occupy a city, forfeit three regular units. To occupy a stronghold, forfeit five regular units or (only if five regulars are not available) three regular units and an elite. These units can be recalled if the FP attacks the region containing the occupied settlement. If at any time a progression line becomes occupied, remove all units remaining in the line in any regions outside Shadow nations. These units then become available for reinforcements elsewhere on the board. Also remove units from an end region (these are marked with a * in the progression lines) in this way if it becomes occupied and if it is not adjacent to an unoccupied FP settlement. No attacks take place while moving a progression line (except to take empty FP settlements). If a move cannot be made because the destination region contains an FP army, then skip that particular move. Usually such a situation arises because the Shadow army is too small to be aggressive, and this will leave the passive army in place until reinforcements arrive. No region may exceed the standard 10 unit limit at any time, unless the extra units will be immediately removed in order to occupy a settlement. Some moves have overflow options. This means that if you can t move all of the units into the indicated region because it is full, then move as many as possible there and move the remainder to the overflow region. If no overflow is listed, then move as many as possible and leave the remainder in the original region. Also note that a progression line does not care what nations the units in its regions are from. It is possible for progression lines to mix with one another, and this can result in mixed armies. In any case, when an army is moved, the entire army is moved regardless of the nations represented in the army. 1. On a roll of one, move the Mordor Line. If Minas Tirith and Lossarnach are occupied, use the overflow path to Pelargir. (a) Lamedon to Dol Amroth* (b) Pelargir to Lamedon (c) Lossarnach to Pelargir (d) Minas Tirith to Lossarnach (e) Osgiliath to Minas Tirith (overflow to Pelargir) (f) North Ithilian to Osgiliath (g) South Ithilian to Osgiliath (h) Minas Morgul to South Ithilien (overflow to North Ithilien) (i) Gorgoroth to Minas Morgul (j) Nurn to Gorgoroth (k) Barad-dur to Gorgoroth (l) Morannon to Gorgoroth 2. On a roll of two, move the Central Sauron Line. (a) Parth Celebrant to Lorien* (b) Dimril Dale to Lorien (overflow to Parth Celebrant)

8 (c) South Anduin Vale to Dimril Dale (overflow to Parth Celebrant) (d) Dol Guldur to South Anduin Vale (e) Fords of Bruinen to Rivendell* (f) Trollshaws to Rivendell (overflow to Fords of Bruinin) (g) Hollin to Trollshaws (overflow to Fords of Bruinin) (h) Moria to Hollin 3. On a roll of three, move the North Sauron Line. (a) Dale to Erebor* (b) Woodland Realm to Dale (c) Old Forest Road to Woodland Realm (d) Carrock to Old Forest Road (e) Eagles Eyrie to Carrock (f) Mount Gundabad to Eagles Eyrie (g) Grey Havens to Ered Luin* (h) Tower Hills to Grey Havens (i) The Shire to Tower Hills (j) Evendim to The Shire (overflow to Tower Hills) (k) Arnor to Evendim (l) Angmar to Arnor 4. On a roll of four, move the Southron Line. If Minas Tirith and Lossarnach are occupied, then use the overflow paths to Pelargir. (a) Lamedon to Dol Amroth* (b) Pelargir to Lamedon (c) Lossarnach to Pelargir (d) Minas Tirith to Lossarnach (e) Osgiliath to Minas Tirith (overflow to Pelargir) (f) West Harondor to Osgiliath (overflow to Pelargir) (g) Near Harad to West Harondor (h) Umbar to West Harondor (i) Far Harad to Near Harad 5. On a roll of five, move the Easterling Line. Note that the Shadow does not move any units into Erebor if it is occupied. (a) Dale to Woodland Realm* (b) Erebor to Dale (c) Dale to Erebor (if Erebor is unoccupied)

9 (d) Vale of the Carnen to Dale (e) East Rhun to Vale of the Carnen (f) South Rhun to East Rhun (g) North Rhun to Vale of the Carnen 6. On a roll of six, move the Isengard Line. (a) Grey Havens to Ered Luin* (b) Tower Hills to Grey Havens (c) The Shire to Tower Hills (d) South Ered Luin to The Shire (overflow to Tower Hills) (e) Cardolan to South Ered Luin (f) North Dunland to Cardolan (g) Edoras to Anorien* (h) Westemnet to Edoras (i) Helm s Deep to Westemnet (j) Fords of Isen to Helm s Deep (k) Orthanc to Fords of Isen (l) Gap of Rohan to Orthanc (overflow to Fords of Isen) (m) South Dunland to Gap of Rohan 5.9 Moving the Nazgul and the Mouth of Sauron When moving the Nazgul and Minions, follow the normal rules and restrictions regarding where they may be placed Moving the Standard Nazgul Move the standard Nazgul (not the Witch-king) according to the following PO: 1. If one or more of the original Shadow Strongholds are under siege, then divide the Nazgul evenly among them. However, do not place more than five Nazgul in any stronghold. 2. If there are no Nazgul in the region containing the FSP, and if such a move is allowed, place a single Nazgul in the region containing the FSP. Note that this step is skipped once the FSP has been declared in Mordor since the FSP is no longer considered to be in a region. 3. If Shadow armies are besieging Free Peoples Strongholds, place one Nazgul in each of the besieging armies, starting with the largest Shadow armies. 4. If any Shadow armies are besieging a stronghold or in an attacking position, then place one Nazgul in each such army, in order of the largest to the smallest of these Shadow armies. Repeat this step up to four additional times if there are Nazgul remaining. 5. Place any remaining Nazgul in Minas Morgul.

10 5.9.2 Moving the Witch-king Place the Witch-king according to the following PO: 1. If no Shadow army contains at least eight units, place the Witch-king in an unbesieged Shadow stronghold. 2. Place the Witch-king in a besieging army. 3. Place the Witch-king in an army in an attacking position. 4. Place the Witch-king in the largest Shadow army available Moving the Mouth of Sauron The Mouth of Sauron is not moved as normal. He stays in Barad-dur and can only be eliminated by the FP capturing Barad-dur. However, he can come out to participate in field battles in Minas Morgul or Morannon. If Minas Morgul or Morannon are attacked by the FP from a region outside of Mordor, place the Mouth of Sauron in the defending army. At the end of the field battle, return the Mouth of Sauron to Barad-dur (regardless of the outcome of the battle) Playing Event Cards Randomly choose a card in the Shadow s hand of the appropriate type and check the instructions in the following tables. If the DBC conditions are met, set the card aside as a DBC and continue with the same action die. If the card targets the FSP and is unplayable (either due to the conditions described in the table or because the conditions printed on the card are not met) then set the card aside as a DHC and continue with the same action die. If the card does not target the FSP and is unplayable then put the card face up on the bottom of the appropriate event card deck and continue with the same action die. At the end of the action die, for each card placed on the bottom of the event decks with that action die, draw an equal number of the same type to replace them in the Shadow s hand. If at any time all of the face down shadow cards in a pile have been drawn, shuffle any face-up cards in the pile and place them face down to form a new draw pile.

11 Character Cards Card Name DBC Unplayable To Play Balrog of Moria FSP is beyond Moria Use as soon as possible to draw an extra hunt tile. Use as battle card at first opportunity if FSP gets beyond Moria. The Black Captain WK has been removed Playing would not re- Move the Nazgul. Then recruit up to two Nazgul in the Commands from play sult in an attack region containing the WK. Then attack if the WK is in an aggressive army in an attacking position. Cruel Weather FSP in Mordor PO: maximize the distance to mordor; maximize hunt rerolls; move the FSP as far from any FP city or stronghold as possible. Dreadful Spells PO: army with the most Nazgul; FP army in a city or stronghold; largest FP army. Flocks of Crebain FSP in Mordor Use on the first possible hunt roll. Grond, Hammer of the Underworld The Lidless Eye WK has been removed from play WK is not in an agressive besieging army FSP has no unused Character or Will of the West action dice Nazgul Search FSP in Mordor Playing would not reveal the FSP The Nazgul Strike FSP in Mordor Playing would not result in a roll for the hunt The Palantir of Orthanmoved Saruman has been re- from play The Ringwraiths Are Abroad Wormtongue Worn with Sorrow and Toil WK has already been brought into play Saruman has been removed from play or Rohan is active Gollum is leading the FSP Battle only lasts one round but gives Shadow army +2 to combat roll and leader re-rolls Move a number of dice to the hunt box equal to the number of unused FP Character and Will of the West action dice (up to three). Action Die PO: Event (Palantir), Character, Muster, Army, Muster/Army. Always choose to roll for the hunt Draw a card of the type that you have the least of, or a character card in the case of a tie. Bring WK and all remaining Nazgul into play. Then move the Nazgul. Then attack with an aggressive army containing Nazgul. Discard PO: Mithril Coat and Sting, A Power Too Great, The Power of Tom Bombadil, a random card from the FP hand (if there are two FP players, then choose the hand that gives the highest probability of discarding a character card).

12 Strategy Cards Card Name DBC Unplayable To Play Corsairs of Umbar Pelargir, Dol Amroth, and Lamedon five units. Attack the smallest FP army or the one worth Recruit regular units to Umbar until it contains at least are all controlled by the most victory points in case of a tie. the Shadow Dawnless Day FP has no unused Will of the West action dice Denethor s Folly Minas Tirith is controlled by the Shadow The Fighting Uruk-Hai Half-Orcs and Goblin- Men Hill Trolls Horde From the East Many Kings to the Service of Mordor Monsters Roused Saruman has been removed from play no agressive army meets the listed conditions playing would not result in recruiting both units playing would not result in two replacements playing would not result in full recruitment A New Power is Rising Saruman has been removed from play Olag-Hai playing would not result in recruiting both units Pits of Mordor Rage of the Dunlendings Return of the Witchking The Shadow is Moving The Shadow Lenghtens Shadows Gather Shadows on the Misty Mountains Stormcrow Threats and Promises WK has been removed from play All FP nations are at war All FP nations are active 5.11 Playing Battle Cards Choose among possible attacks according to the standard PO. Choose the largest Shadow army with eight or fewer units that is in a attacking position. Recruit both a regular and an elite Isengard unit to that army. Choose the first unoccupied progression line from the Mordor, Central Sauron, and North Sauron lines. Then choose the Shadow army that is furthest along that progression line with at least two regular units. PO: East Rhun, Far Harad, South Rhun. Do not recruit as listed. Instead, recruit two regular units to each of the five Southron & Easterling settlements, with PO: Umbar, Far Harad, North Rhun, South Rhun, Near Harad. Do not recruit as listed. Instead, recruit one regular and one elite to Angmar, then one regular and one elite to Trollshaws. Recruit three units in each area instead of two. Choose elites in Orthanc Choose the largest Shadow army with eight or fewer units that is in an attacking position. Recruit both a regular and an elite Sauron unit to that army. Do not recruit as listed. Instead, recruit two regular units in each Shadow stronghold. Play as an Isengard muster (roll of 4) followed by moving the Isengard progression line. Do not move as listed. progression line. Instead, move every unoccupied Do not recruit as listed. Instead recruit four points of units (elites if possible) in Moria and three regular units in Mount Gundabad. The Shadow attempts to play a battle card during the first round only of any battle in a region containing an FP city or stronghold. If the WK is in the battle, the Shadow chooses to draw a card of the type it has the least of (a character card in the case of a tie). Like and event card, a battle card is unplayable either if the conditions listed on the card are not met, or if the specific instructions given below designate the card as unplayable. When choosing a battle card, try the DBCs first. Play the first DBC that is not unplayable. If all of the DBCs are unplayable, randomly select a strategy card from the Shadow s hand and try to play that. If a randomly selected strategy card is unplayable, put it face up on the bottom of the Shadow strategy deck, and try a different strategy card from the Shadow s hand. If no strategy cards from the

13 Shadow s hand are playable as battle cards, then the Shadow does not play a battle card during this battle. Once a battle card is selected, or if the Shadow runs out of strategy cards from its hand, replace any cards that were put back in the strategy deck with new strategy cards. As usual, if at any time the face-down cards in an event card pile run out, shuffle any face up cards in that pile to form a new draw pile Battle Cards Card Name Unplayable To Play Black Breath leader/companion elimination PO: GtW, Aragorn/Strider, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas, GtG, Merry, not possible (assume GtW Pippin, any FP leader negates Nazgul leadership if present) Cruel as Death GtW in battle Dread and Despair GtW in battle Forfeit up to the combat strength of FP army Foul Stench GtW in battle OR Shadow leadership less than FP leadership They are Terrible GtW in battle Words of Power playing would neither deny 2+ PO: GtW, Aragorn, GtG, Strider, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas dice (combat/leadership) to FP army nor save 2+ nazgul leadership if GtW is in battle Deadly Strife FP army is not in a besieged stronghold Desperate Battle FP army is not in a besieged stronghold Great Host number of Shadow units number of FP units Onslaught FP army is not in a besieged stronghold OR number of Shadow units number of FP units OR Minion in Shadow army Relentless Assault FP army is not in a besieged stronghold During battle, downgrade all elites before eliminating any regulars. When using card, eliminate only regulars, up to the number of units in FP army, but leave at least two Shadow units. PO: 2 regulars, 1 regular, 1 elite. Do not reduce Shadow army below 4 units We Come to Kill less than 2 elites in Shadow army During battle, eliminate all regulars before downgrading any elites Fighting Battles Use the following guidelines when fighting battles. When attacking, the Shadow continues the battle until it becomes passive, at which point it will choose to break off the attack as soon as possible. If at any time an FP army is attacking (with an army or with cards such as the Dead Men of Dunharrow) a region containing an occupied settlement, and the region contains five or fewer Shadow units, then remove the Shadow settlement control marker and replace it with a number of regular units equal to the number required to occupy the settlement (two for a town, three for a city, five for a stronghold). These may be represented by replacement markers even if there are not enough Shadow units set aside to do so. The settlement is no longer considered occupied, though it may be reoccupied at the end of the battle if the Shadow has enough units to do so. Any time the FP attempts to use an action die to move into or attack one of the original Shadow cities, immediately place up to five regular units in that city as a defensive force. If the FP wins a field battle in a region containing an original Shadow stronghold, do NOT eliminate any Nazgul or minions in the battle. Instead, retreat them into the stronghold.

14 Any time an FP army moves into a region containing an original Shadow stronghold (it must attack to do so), immediately place four regular units and one elite unit inside the Shadow stronghold, which is now under siege. If the Mouth of Sauron has not yet been brought into play, bring him into play at Barad-dur. If the FP army besieging a Shadow stronghold is destroyed or leaves the region, remove the units inside the stronghold from the board. If the FP plays any of the Ent cards as events, and Orthanc is not under siege, immediately recruit up to three regular units in Orthanc. Only do this for the first Ent card played with any one action die. When defending in a region with an FP stronghold, the Shadow fights a field battle if it has more than five units and retreats into the siege if it has five or fewer units in the battle. When defending elsewhere, the Shadow chooses to retreat only if the Shadow army contains two or fewer units and the FP army has at least two units more than the Shadow army. In this case, or if the Shadow army is forced to retreat by other means, the Shadow retreats, if possible, along a progression line (in either direction) towards the nearest Shadow army. If the adjacent region cannot accomodate all of the Shadow units in the retreating army, then retreat the Nazgul and Minions into the adjacent region, along with as many units as the adjacent region will accomodate. If more than one retreat is possible, choose the one that will allow the most Shadow units to retreat, choosing the region furthest along the progression line in the case of a tie. Nazgul, minions, and units that are not able to retreat are eliminated. (Think of them as having been scattered and hunted down in the wilderness.) The Shadow extends a siege by downgrading an elite unit if the besieging army is aggressive. During the first round only of any battle in a region containing a stronghold or city, if there are no DBCs which can be played, and the Shadow has at least one strategy card in hand, then randomly choose a strategy card from the Shadow s hand and play it as a battle card. If the Witch King is in the battle, it uses the redraw ability to draw a card of the type it has fewest of, drawing a character card in the case of a tie. If the battle takes place in a region containing one of the original shadow strongholds, the Shadow does not play a battle card. However, the Shadow army gets a plus one bonus to its combat and leader rerolls during each round of the battle. If a combat card gives the Shadow the option to eliminate units, and the Shadow army is agressive at the time, it eliminates as many as possible, but no more than the number of units in the FP army, and not so many that the Shadow army becomes passive. When eliminating Shadow units, the shadow downgrades elites (if available) if there are five or fewer units in the Shadow army. Otherwise, the Shadow eliminates regular units. When the Shadow wins a battle in which it was attacking, it moves units into the conquered region. Note that because of the restrictions on how the Shadow attacks, such a move will always be one that is listed as part of a normal progression line (not as an overflow move). It moves as many units as possible when moving in this way.

15 6 Contact Information and Disclaimer If you have questions or comments, contact me through my boardgamegeek account, username TheMoss. If I get enough constructive feedback I will post new and improved versions. Please note that this document is not intended as a challenge to any copyright or trademark, but instead as a way to encourage people to buy the real War of the Ring board game and enjoy their legally purchased copies in new ways. Although I do not anticipate any issues, in order to insure that this does not go against the wishes of any legal copyright holders, I request that you do not copy or distribute any part of this document, though you may refer people to the file where I have posted it at the boardgamegeek website. This allows me to remove access to it should I be requested to do so. 7 Acknowledgements First of all, many thanks to the original designers of the War of the Ring board game as well as to the publishers who have made this excellent game possible! Also, a special thanks to havoc110 for his extensive playtesting of this variant and his many helpful suggestions. Finally, thanks to the boardgamegeek community for their support of this game, without which this variant never would have been written. I hope this document only adds to your enjoyment of this truly amazing game.