Manual — War of the Ring: Kings of Middle-earth

2 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle-earth
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
For centuries, Sauron sought to exert his influence over the rulers of Middle-earth through the Rings of Power. During the War of the Ring, he continued to use his own power and that of his minions to coerce the leaders of the Free Peoples into submission, or even to join his side. In contrast, Gandalf worked tirelessly to revive hope and stir resistance among these rulers. This struggle for the hearts and minds of Middle-earth’s rulers forms the central focus of this expansion.
Kings of Middle-earth is an expansion for the War of the Ring Second Edition boardgame. It introduces Sovereigns and Dark Chieftains (collectively called Rulers), two new types of Characters which represent important personalities of Middle-earth with a vital role in the War of the Ring.
COMPONENTS
The Kings of Middle-earth expansion includes the following components:
— This rulebook
— 1 Free Peoples Ruler Special Action die (Light Blue)
— 1 Shadow Ruler Special Action die (Brown)
— 13 new plastic figures
— 5 grey Sovereign figures
(Brand, Dáin, Denethor, Théoden, Thranduil)
— 5 silver Sovereign figures
(Brand, Dáin, Denethor, Théoden, Thranduil)
— 3 Dark Chieftain figures
(The Black Serpent, The Shadow of Mirkwood, Uglúk)
— 5 Corrupted Sovereign plastic rings (Black)
— 13 new Character cards
— 5 Awakened Sovereign cards
— 5 Corrupted Sovereign cards
— 3 Dark Chieftain cards
— 2 Reference sheets
— 1 Sovereign Corruption board

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Chapter I: Introduction • 3
— 19 new Event cards
(10 for the Free Peoples, 9 for the Shadow)
— 11 replacement Event cards
— 8 new Event cards
— 14 cardboard counters, including:
— 2 Helm’s Deep Shadow Stronghold tiles (to be used when Théoden is Corrupted), in normal size and 2 in larger size (to be used with the Collector’s Edition, Anniversary Release, or Deluxe Game Mat)
— 2 Kings Hunt tiles (value of 1/Crown and 2/Crown), in normal size and 2 in larger size (to be used with the Collector’s Edition)
— 5 Ruler tokens (one for each Sovereign, two sided)
— 1 “Corruptor” token (to use in 3-4 player games)
SETTING UP THE GAME
To start the game, use the normal War of the Ring setup, with the following additions:
— Give one Reference sheet to the Free Peoples player and one to the Shadow player.
— Place the Sovereign Corruption board between the players.
— Set aside the Dark Chieftain Character cards and figures, the Sovereign Character cards, the silver Sovereign figures, and the Corrupted Sovereign plastic rings for later use.
— Place the five grey Sovereign figures on the game board (Brand in Dale, Dáin in Erebor, Denethor in Minas Tirith, Théoden in Edoras, and Thranduil in Woodland Realm).
— Remove the Event cards from each deck that are replaced by expansion cards with the same name and card number (see page 19).
— Add the expansion Event cards to the appropriate decks.
— Add the two Kings Hunt tiles to the Hunt Pool.
— Set aside the Ruler Special Action dice. They will be added to the Action Pool as explained in The Ruler Dice, page 6.
— Set aside the other tokens and tiles; they will be added to the game when necessary.

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4 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
PLASTIC FIGURES
Free Peoples Sovereign Figures (10)
Brand Dáin Denethor Théoden Thranduil
Shadow Dark Chieftain Figures (3)
The Black Serpent The Shadow of Mirkwood Uglúk
CARDS
Character Cards (13)
KM 1/10
If the North is active, you may spend a Muster Action die result, or any Ruler die result, to move Brand to an unconquered Free Peoples City or Stronghold and awaken him there.
Heir of Bard. Once per battle, if Brand and a North Army unit are in a battle, after revealing Combat cards you may forfeit the effects of your Combat card to cancel the effects of the Combat card played by the Shadow player. [0]
Call to Arms. If the North is “At War”, you may use a Muster result on the Ruler die to recruit one North Regular unit or Leader in two different free North Settlements, and one North Regular unit or Leader in the same region as Brand, if it is free.
—Brand is a Companion.
BRAND
KING OF DALE
KM 4/10
If Dáin becomes Corrupted, place him in Erebor.
Corrupted King. The Free Peoples player cannot recruit Leaders or Elite units in Erebor, except as an effect of an Event card.
Fate of the Lonely Mountain. If Erebor is under siege, you can extend a siege battle there by removing a Shadow Regular unit, instead of reducing an Elite unit, once per siege battle.
—When a Companion with a Dwarven or Free Peoples icon is in the same region as Dáin, Corrupted Ruler, the Free Peoples player may use a Character Action die result to remove Dáin from
card is discarded, and his Weaknesses immediately cease their effect.
DÁIN IRONFOOT
CORRUPTED
RULER
KM 1/3
If Gondor is “At War”, you may spend a Muster Action die result, or any Ruler die result (except an Eye), to play the Black Serpent in a region with an Army containing a Southrons & Easterlings unit.
Red Wrath. If the Black Serpent is in a battle, before revealing Combat cards you may forfeit the effects of your Combat card, and inflict and apply one hit against your units, to add 1 to all dice on your Combat roll; if the Combat card is “Relentless Assault”, add to all dice on your Combat roll instead 3.
The Black Serpent is not a Minion for the purpose of playing Gandalf the White.
THE BLACK SERPENT
CHIEFTAIN OF THE HARADRIM
Free Peoples (5)
Awakened Sovereign cards
Free Peoples (5)
Corrupted Sovereign cards
Shadow (3)
Dark Chieftain cards
Event Cards (19)
KM 25/24
4
Move any or all Companions who are not in the Fellowship. Then, choose one non-Awakened, non-Corrupted Sovereign in the same region as a Companion, and awaken him in that region.
AID IN TIME OF NEED
THE KING’S BANNER
Play if Aragorn or an Awakened Sovereign is in the battle.
Before rolling the dice for your Leader re-roll, forfeit Aragorn’s or the Sovereign’s Leadership to cancel the Leader re-roll of the Shadow player.
KM 25/24
3
YOUR WELCOME IS DOUBTFUL
Play on the table.
While this card is in play, the Free Peoples player cannot remove Corruption from a Sovereign, and can only awaken a Sovereign if his Nation is “at War”.
The Free Peoples player can force “Your Welcome Is Doubtful” to be discarded by using a Will of the West Action die result, or a Character Action die result if a non-Corrupted Sovereign and a Companion are together in the same region.
SERVANT OF THE SHADOW
Play if a Shadow Minion is in the battle.
Before the Combat roll, forfeit the Leadership of one Minion. During his Combat roll, the Free Peoples player rolls one die less (to a minimum of one) for every point of Leadership forfeited.
Free Peoples (10) Shadow (9)

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Chapter I: Introduction • 5
COUNTERS
Kings Hunt Tiles (4)
Front Back
Ruler Tokens (5) Corruptor Token
Front Back Front/Back
OTHER COMPONENTS
Corruption Board Overlay Tiles (4)
Sovereign
Corruption board
Helm’s Deep
Shadow Stronghold tiles
Ruler Special Action Dice Plastic Rings (5)
Free Peoples Shadow Corrupted Sovereign rings

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6 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
CHAPTER II: NEW RULES
THE RULER DICE
When playing Kings of Middle-earth, each player receives a Ruler Special Action die. There is one Free Peoples Ruler die (light blue color) and one Shadow Ruler die (brown color).
Ruler dice have the same symbols as normal Action dice but, when using them, you must use the following rules:
1. The Free Peoples player adds the Free Peoples Ruler die to their dice pool in the turn after the first Sovereign is awakened (see Awakening a Sovereign, page 10); the Shadow player adds the Shadow Ruler die to their dice pool in the turn after the first Dark Chieftain enters play (see Dark Chieftains in Play, page 14).
2. The Shadow Ruler die cannot be allocated directly to the Hunt and must always be rolled.
3. If a player’s dice pool includes the Ruler die, that player must choose and discard one Action die at the end of the Action Roll phase — either one Standard Action die, or the Ruler die.
a. First, the Shadow player must choose to either discard the Ruler die (even if it shows an Eye), or a Standard Action die that does not show an Eye. Then, they add the remaining rolled Eye results to the Hunt box.
b. Then, the Free Peoples player chooses which one of their Action dice to discard.
4. If a player’s Ruler die is not discarded after the Action Roll, that player can use its result as a normal Action die, or as indicated in the sections Free Peoples Ruler Die, page 9, and Shadow Ruler Die, page 15.
5. It is possible to change the result of a Ruler die using an Elven Ring.
Note: If, during the Recover Action Dice and Draw Event Cards phase, the Free Peoples player has no Awakened Sovereigns in play, they must remove the Free Peoples Ruler die from their Action Dice Pool. Similarly, if the Shadow player has no Dark Chieftains in play at that point, they must remove the Shadow Ruler die from their Action Dice Pool. The die may be recovered if a new Sovereign is awakened, or a new Dark Chieftain enters play.

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Chapter II: New Rules • 7
KINGS HUNT TILES
Two new Hunt tiles are included in Kings of Middle-earth.
These tiles are added to the Hunt Pool at the beginning of the game. If these tiles are drawn during the Hunt, their numerical value is applied normally.
Their numerical value is also used when determining the effect of Event cards which use the value of the tile for some specific purpose (for example, “The Breaking of the Fellowship”, using the value to determine the number of Companions to separate).
These tiles, however, have a specific effect when attempting to corrupt a Sovereign (see page 11).
RULERS’ COMBAT
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Brand, Théoden, and each of the Dark Chieftains have one Special Ability that can be used in battle. Most of these abilities require the player to forfeit the effects of a Combat card to be activated (the Combat card must still be eligible to be played). Pay close attention to the timing of the activation, as it is different for different Characters.
A Combat card whose effects have been so forfeited is still considered to be “played” for the purpose of other effects (for example, the Witch-king’s “Sorcerer” ability), but its effects are replaced by the effects indicated. Likewise, the replacement effects of Combat Special Abilities are still considered to be Combat card effects for the purpose of other effects (for example, a Dark Chieftain’s ability can be cancelled by the Free Peoples player using the Combat card “Daring Defiance”). The initiative number of the effects is indicated as a number in square brackets (for example, “[4]”) in the text.

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8 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle-earth
CHAPTER III: SOVEREIGNS OF THE FREE PEOPLES
From the king’s hand the black staff fell clattering on the stones. He drew himself up, slowly, as a man that is stiff from long bending over some dull toil. Now tall and straight he stood, and his eyes were blue as he looked into the opening sky. ‘Dark have been my dreams of late,’ he said, ‘but I feel as one new-awakened.’.
The Two Towers, Book III, Chapter 6: The King of the Golden Hall
The Sovereigns of the Free Peoples (not all of whom were literally “kings”) were targeted by Sauron’s attempts to bend the will of the Free Peoples — using the palantíri (the seeing stones), through emissaries, like Gríma, and possibly with other subtle and deceitful means. At the same time, it was crucial for the morale of the Free Peoples to rally around these charismatic figures to fight against the Shadow. This is represented in the game by the following rules.
SOVEREIGNS IN PLAY
During the game, the Shadow player will try to corrupt the Sovereigns, while the Free Peoples player will try to awaken them before they are corrupted.
— At the start of the game, all Sovereigns are considered Free Peoples Leaders. They are considered neither “Awakened” nor “Corrupted”.
If a non-Awakened, non-Corrupted Sovereign is eliminated, any Corruption tiles on him are returned to the Hunt Pool.
— Corrupted Sovereigns are considered to have Level 0 and no Leadership. They cannot move and have unique Weaknesses affecting the Free Peoples player, as indicated by their cards.
— Awakened Sovereigns are considered Companions (with the Level and Leadership indicated by their cards) and have unique Special Abilities, including Combat Special Abilities (see Rulers’ Combat Special Abilities, page 7) for Brand and Théoden.

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Chapter III: Sovereigns of the Free Peoples • 9
FREE PEOPLES RULER DIE
The Free Peoples Ruler die enters play after the first Sovereign is Awakened by the Free Peoples player, and will be added to the Action Dice Pool in the following turn.
It remains in (or returns to) play as long as at least one Awakened Sovereign is in play.
When the Ruler die is in play, one Action die (either the Ruler die or another Action die) must be discarded after the Action Roll.
The Ruler die can be used:
— as a normal Action die;
— to awaken a Sovereign, as indicated on his Awakened card;
— to activate an Awakened Sovereign’s Special Ability.
Each Awakened Sovereign has two Special Abilities. The first can be activated with any Action die showing the appropriate result (unless it is a Combat Special Ability, see page 7). The second requires a specific result on the Ruler die; a Will of the West result on the Ruler die can be used to activate any such ability.

SOVEREIGNS OF THE FREE PEOPLES
KM 1/10
If the North is active, you may spend a Muster Action die result, or any Ruler die result, to move Brand to an unconquered Free Peoples City or Stronghold and awaken him there.
Heir of Bard. Once per battle, if Brand and a North Army unit are in a battle, after revealing Combat cards you may forfeit the effects of your Combat card to cancel the effects of the Combat card played by the Shadow player. [0]
Call to Arms. If the North is “At War”, you may use a Muster result on the Ruler die to recruit one North Regular unit or Leader in two different free North Settlements, and one North Regular unit or Leader in the same region as Brand, if it is free.
— Brand is a Companion.

BRAND
KING OF DALE
9
2
3
4
1
6
7
8
5
1
Portrait
2
Name
3
Condition to Awaken
4
First Special Ability
(with initiative number, if applicable)
5
Second Special Ability
6
Level
7
Leadership
8
Shadow Resistance
9
Nation

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10 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
RULER TOKENS
There are 5 Ruler tokens, one for each Sovereign.
— When the Free Peoples player awakens a Sovereign, they get his unique Ruler token.
— Each Ruler token can be used once per game, immediately before the Free Peoples player takes an action with the Ruler die. The Free Peoples player can use the token to change the Ruler die to the result which activates the Sovereign’s second Special Ability and use it immediately to activate that ability.
— The Free Peoples player cannot use both a Ruler token and an Elven Ring in the same turn.
Ruler Tokens
Brand Dáin Denethor Théoden Thranduil
AWAKENING A SOVEREIGN
The Free Peoples player can take the action indicated on the Awakened version of the card of a non-Awakened, non-Corrupted Sovereign (normally the use of a Muster die result, or any result on the Ruler die) to awaken the Sovereign, replacing the non-Awakened, non-Corrupted version with the Awakened one.
If movement of the Sovereign is required prior to his awakening, this movement follows the same rules as the movement of Companions outside the Fellowship, using the Sovereign’s Level when Awakened.
If this movement cannot legally end in the indicated region, the Free Peoples player cannot awaken that Sovereign.
When a Sovereign becomes Awakened, immediately return to the Hunt Pool any Corruption tiles placed on his space on the Sovereign Corruption board, replace the grey figure of the Sovereign with the corresponding silver one, and add the Free Peoples Ruler die to the Free Peoples dice pool (if it was not already in the pool) during the Recover Action Dice and Draw Event Cards phase of the following turn.
Note: If a Sovereign is awakened by an Event or Combat card effect (for example, the Combat card effect “There Is Hope for Victory”), just follow the normal rules for awakening indicated above.

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Chapter III: Sovereigns of the Free Peoples • 11
The Free Peoples player takes the Awakened Sovereign card. From this moment on, the Awakened abilities of the Sovereign are in effect.
— An Awakened Sovereign cannot be corrupted.
— An Awakened Sovereign is considered to be a Companion.
Note: Some of the Special Abilities of Awakened Sovereigns allow a Regular unit to be replaced with an Elite unit of the same Nation. If such an ability is used, the Regular unit is returned to the reinforcements pool. The ability cannot be used if there is no Elite unit in the reinforcements pool.

ATTEMPTING TO CORRUPT A SOVEREIGN
If the Free Peoples player has at least one unused Action die, and there is more than one Eye die in the Hunt Box, instead of using an Action die to take an action, the Shadow player can remove one Eye die from the Hunt Box to attempt to corrupt a Sovereign.
When this happens, follow these steps:
1. The Shadow player chooses a Sovereign not yet Awakened or Corrupted, and removes an Eye from the Hunt Box to initiate the corruption attempt.
2. The Shadow player draws a number of Hunt tiles equal to the number of Eye dice remaining in the Hunt Box, one at a time, up to a maximum of 3.
3. The Shadow player places one of the drawn Hunt tiles of his choice, face down, on the appropriate space of the Sovereign Corruption board. Then, the Shadow player returns any remaining tiles to the Hunt Pool, after showing them to the Free Peoples player. Hunt tiles placed on a Sovereign are called Corruption tiles.
4. The Shadow player places the Eye die with their used Action dice.
As the value of Corruption tiles must remain hidden, the Free Peoples player is never allowed to inspect the content of the Hunt Pool during the game.
Note: Dice not showing an Eye added to the Hunt Box, such as Character dice due to moving the Fellowship, are not counted as Eyes for the purpose of Sovereign corruption.

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12 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
SPECIAL CASE: EYE AND SPECIAL HUNT TILES
If a Standard Eye tile or a Special tile is drawn during a corruption
attempt, the Shadow player must reveal it, and draw a new tile in its
place. All such unused tiles are returned to the Hunt Pool, without
effect.
SPECIAL CASE: KINGS HUNT TILES
If a Kings Hunt tile is drawn during a corruption attempt, it is
immediately revealed and added to the Sovereign; no further tiles
are drawn by the Shadow player, and any other tile drawn in this
corruption attempt is returned to the Hunt Pool. A Kings Hunt
tile counts as “0” Corruption when added to a Sovereign. If the
Sovereign becomes Awakened or Corrupted, any Kings Hunt tiles on
him are returned to the Hunt Pool.
CARD EFFECTS MANIPULATING HUNT TILES
Corruption attempts cannot be influenced by the effect of a card
or ability that allows a player to influence or prevent the drawing or
redrawing of Hunt tiles (for example, “Mithril Coat and Sting” does
not allow redrawing a tile during a corruption attempt).
CORRUPTION LEVEL AND
CORRUPTION OF A SOVEREIGN
The Corruption Level of a Sovereign is equal to the total numerical
value of all tiles placed on his space on the Sovereign Corruption
board (with Kings Hunt tiles counting as 0). Since the tiles are placed
face down, the Corruption Level of a Sovereign is hidden from the
Free Peoples player (they only know the number of tiles) but can be
checked by the Shadow player at any time.
The same Sovereign may not be targeted by a corruption attempt
twice in the same turn except when using an Event card.
A Sovereign becomes Corrupted when his Corruption Level equals
or exceeds his Shadow Resistance. When this happens, the Shadow
player must reveal all tiles on the Sovereign’s space on the Sovereign
Corruption board, discard the highest numbered Standard tile, and
return the other tiles (including any Kings tiles) to the Hunt Pool.
Note: In case of a tie, a tile with a Reveal icon is considered
to be higher numbered than a tile without one.
Remove the grey figure of the Sovereign from the game board, then
take the corresponding silver one, add a Corrupted Sovereign ring
around its base to mark his status, and place it in the region indicated

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Chapter III: Sovereigns of the Free Peoples • 13
on the Corrupted version of his card. The Shadow player takes the
Corrupted Sovereign’s card. From this moment on, the Weaknesses
of the Corrupted Sovereign are in effect.
—A Corrupted Sovereign cannot be awakened.
—A Corrupted Sovereign is no longer considered to be a
Free Peoples Leader. His effect in the game is limited to
the Weaknesses indicated on his card, and to his influence
on cards referring to “Sovereigns” and “Corrupted
Sovereigns”. He cannot be used to activate any effect
or satisfy any requirement referring to “Companions”,
“Characters”, or “Minions”.
—A Corrupted Sovereign is eliminated only according to
the rules in Removing a Corrupted Sovereign from Play (see
below). The Weaknesses of a Corrupted Sovereign cease to
have effect if he is eliminated.
REMOVING CORRUPTION
FROM A SOVEREIGN
If a Nation is activated or its Political Track advances, and an
appropriate Companion (that is, a Companion with the icon of
that Nation, or the Free Peoples icon) is in the same region as the
non-Awakened, non-Corrupted Sovereign of that Nation, the Free
Peoples player can discard one hidden Corruption tile, randomly
chosen, from that Sovereign’s space on the Sovereign Corruption
board, returning the tile to the Hunt Pool. Certain Event cards also
allow the removal of Corruption tiles.
REMOVING A CORRUPTED
SOVEREIGN FROM PLAY
When an appropriate Companion (that is, a Companion with the icon
of the same Nation, or the Free Peoples icon) is in the same region as
a Corrupted Sovereign, the Free Peoples player can use a Character
Action die to remove that Sovereign from play.
When this happens, the Sovereign’s figure is removed, his card is
discarded, and his Weaknesses immediately cease their effects.
This is the only way to remove a Corrupted Sovereign from play,
except through the use of Event cards. A Corrupted Sovereign is not
affected by the outcome of a battle in his region — so, for example,
he remains in play even if a Free Peoples Army in the same region is
completely eliminated in battle.

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14 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
CHAPTER IV: DARK CHIEFTAINS
Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths! There are orcs and trolls, there are wargs and werewolves; and there have been and still are many Men, warriors and kings, that walk alive under the Sun, and yet are under his sway. And their number is growing daily.’
The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 1: Many Meetings
This expansion adds new characters, the Dark Chieftains, to the Shadow hosts. Unlike the Ringwraiths, who were fully controlled by the One Ring, these powerful leaders of the Shadow Armies had distinct personalities, but ultimately all were subject to the commands of Sauron or Saruman.
DARK CHIEFTAINS IN PLAY
— Each Dark Chieftain belongs to a different Shadow Nation: The Shadow of Mirkwood to Sauron, Uglúk to Isengard, and The Black Serpent to the Southrons & Easterlings. They are considered Non-Flying Minions (see definition in the sidebar on page 15).
— The Shadow player can take the action indicated on the card of a Dark Chieftain (normally, the use of a Muster die result, or of any result on Ruler die, except an Eye result) to bring him into play.
— Follow the instructions on the Dark Chieftain’s card to place him on the board. The Shadow player can now start to use the Character’s abilities.
— Dark Chieftains add to the Leadership of Shadow Armies they are in, and they each also have one unique Combat Special Ability (see Rulers’ Combat Special Abilities, page 7), applied only to the Army they are in. Uglúk has an additional Special Ability that applies to the Hunt.
— Free Peoples and Shadow cards referring to “Minions” affect and are affected by Dark Chieftains; however, these characters are not considered Minions for the purpose of playing Gandalf the White.

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Chapter IV: Dark Chieftains • 15
SHADOW RULER DIE
The Shadow Ruler die enters play after the first Dark Chieftain enters play, and will be added to the Action Dice Pool in the following turn. It remains in (or returns to) play as long as at least one Dark Chieftain is in play.
The Shadow Ruler die cannot be allocated directly to the Hunt Box and must always be rolled during the Action Roll phase.
When the Ruler die is in play, one Action die (either the Ruler die or another Action die) must be discarded after the Action Roll. The Shadow player may always choose their Ruler die as the die to be discarded, even if it shows an Eye result.
The Shadow Ruler die can be used:
— as a normal Action die;
— to play a Dark Chieftain, as indicated on his card.
NON-FLYING MINIONS
The Dark Chieftains are not able to fly like the Nazgûl (and the Witch-king), and for this reason they are considered as Non-flying Minions. They are of a different, and lower, status in comparison to normal Minions (included in War of the Ring) and lesser Minions (included in Lords of Middle-earth) because they do not add an Action die (however, the Shadow Ruler die is used when they are in play). These characters move with the same limitations as the Mouth of Sauron, the only Minion of this type in War of the Ring, which are repeated here.
A Non-flying Minion:
— If moving without an Army, can move a number of regions up to his Level, and ignores any enemy Army;
— Cannot cross impassable terrain;
— Cannot leave or enter a region that contains a friendly Stronghold besieged by an enemy Army;
— If moving without an Army, cannot be moved into a Stronghold controlled by the Free Peoples, unless it is besieged by a Shadow Army.

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16 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle-earth
CHAPTER V: VARIANTS
PLAYING WITH 3 OR 4 PLAYERS
When playing Kings of Middle-earth with 3 or 4 players, use the following rules.
FREE PEOPLES
— A Sovereign can only be awakened by the player controlling the corresponding Nation.
— The abilities of an Awakened Sovereign can only be used by the player controlling the corresponding Nation.
— Corruption can be removed by either Free Peoples player.
— A Corrupted Sovereign can be removed by either Free Peoples player.
SHADOW
— Both Shadow players can attempt to corrupt any Sovereign.
— If multiple attempts to corrupt Sovereigns are made in a turn, the Shadow players must alternate between performing the attempts. Use the Corruptor token as a reminder of the last player who performed a corruption attempt. Either player may be the first to initiate a corruption attempt in each turn, regardless of the last player to do so (if any) in the previous turn.
— Only one corruption attempt per Sovereign (except when using Event cards) may be done between the Shadow players each turn.
— A Dark Chieftain can only be played by the player controlling the corresponding Nation.

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Chapter V: Variants • 17
PLAYING WITH OTHER EXPANSIONS
You can play Kings of Middle-earth together with the base War of the Ring game using the rules explained in the previous pages. Expert players who want to combine it with other expansions can use the following rules.
DISMAY TOKENS
This rule is optional, but recommended, for use when playing Kings of Middle-earth together with Lords of Middle-earth and/or Warriors of Middle-earth.
When a Ruler token is used, or when an Awakened Sovereign who did not use his token is eliminated from play, the Shadow Player receives that Sovereign’s Ruler token, flipping it to its “Dismay” side.
After the Action Roll phase, the Shadow player can use a Dismay token to either re-roll their own Ruler die or force the Free Peoples player to re-roll their Ruler die. The token is then removed from the game.
LORDS OF MIDDLE-EARTH
— When selecting the die to discard during the Action Roll phase, a player can only discard a normal Action die, or the Ruler die. A player cannot discard a Keeper or Lesser Minion die in this way.
— Sméagol tiles are ignored and redrawn during a corruption attempt, similarly to Special tiles.
— Dice added to the Hunt Box due to the effect of the “Captain of Despair” Event card are not counted for the purpose of Sovereign corruption — they cannot be discarded to attempt the corruption of a Sovereign, and do not add to the number of tiles drawn in the attempt. To keep track of these dice, place the ones added by the “Captain of Despair” effect in the right half of the Hunt Box and the “normal” Hunt dice in the left half.
— Eye results rolled on Keeper and/or Lesser Minion dice are counted normally when making a corruption attempt. If removed from the Hunt Box to initiate an attempt, they are placed with the Free Peoples player’s used Action dice afterwards.

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18 • War of the Ring — Kings of Middle–earth
— If you use the Council of Rivendell rules:
— the Shadow player may spend an Action token together with any eligible Action die result to play one Dark Chieftain, even if his normal prerequisite has not been met;
— characters without a Nation icon cannot remove Corruption from a Sovereign, or remove a Corrupted Sovereign from play. For example, Boromir, Captain General of Gondor cannot remove Corruption from Denethor or remove Denethor, Corrupted Ruler from play.
WARRIORS OF MIDDLE-EARTH
— When selecting which die to discard during the Action Roll phase, a player can only discard a normal Action die or the Ruler die. A player cannot discard a Faction die in this way.
— You cannot forfeit the effect of a Call to Battle card to activate the Combat Special Ability of Brand or a Dark Chieftain (see Rulers’ Combat Special Abilities, page 7).
FATE OF EREBOR
Dáin and Brand are not used. There is no King under the Mountain, and Dale is in ruins. Do not replace “Dain Ironfoot’s Guard” and “King Brand’s Men” with the new Event cards included in this set.
COMPETITIVE/TOURNAMENT RULES
The following rules have been proposed as variants by experienced tournament players, and you may consider adding them to your games:
— Visible Corruption tiles. Do not place Corruption tiles on a Sovereign face down: they remain visible to all players. When using this rule, if a card effect refers to “hidden Corruption tiles”, read this as meaning “any Corruption tiles other than Kings tiles”.
— Sequential Corruption tile draw. The Shadow player can decide to stop drawing tiles in a corruption attempt when they want (up to the maximum allowed). The last tile to be drawn must be used.
— Removing Ruler tokens. When playing Kings of Middle-earth together with Lords of Middle-earth and/or Warriors of Middle-earth, do not use Ruler tokens. Dismay tokens will only be granted to the Shadow player when an Awakened Sovereign is eliminated.

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Chapter VI: Card Replacement Reference • 19
CHAPTER VI: CARD REPLACEMENT REFERENCE
LORDS OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Title Type Number
A Balrog is Come Character 17
WARRIORS OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Title Type Number
The Western Way Character 15
Premonition of Danger Character 18
Swift Boats Character 19
Majesty and Glory Character 20
Take Someone You Can Trust Character 21
Long Battle Character 22
Not on Anybody’s Side Character 1
Strongly Guarded Strategy 10
Great Winged Creatures Strategy 11
KINGS OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Title Type Number
House of the Stewards Character 23
Wisdom of Elrond Strategy 8
Riders of Théoden Strategy 16
King Brand’s Men Strategy 19
Dáin Ironfoot’s Guard Strategy 22
Thranduil’s Archers Strategy 24
Return to Valinor Strategy 1
Denethor’s Folly Strategy 3
Threats and Promises Strategy 5
Stormcrow Strategy 6
The King is Revealed Strategy 18

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A game by ROBERTO DI MEGLIO,
MARCO MAGGI and FRANCESCO NEPITELLO
TM
Game Design ROBERTO DI MEGLIO,
MARCO MAGGI and FRANCESCO NEPITELLO
Art JOHN HOWE
Art Direction & Graphic Design FABIO MAIORANA
Sculptures BOB NAISMITH
Photos CHRISTOPH CIANCI
Production ROBERTO DI MEGLIO and FABRIZIO ROLLA
ENGLISH EDITION
Editing KEVIN CHAPMAN
Layout HONDA EIJI
Playtesting: Brad Archer, Gabriel Bengtsson, Kristofer Bengtsson, Rafael Brinner, Kevin Chapman,
Melanie Chapman, Andrea Corcella, Tim Cottrell, Caleb Dexter, Jason Dexter, Daniel Eppacher,
Ira Fay, Steve Fratt, Jean-Paul Horton, Moses Kim, Heikki Laakkonen, Maria Makhov, Jake McRae,
Bob Menkveld, Mestre James, Paul Miller, Andrei Munteanu, Gabriele Pacciani, Andrew Poulter,
Leonardo Rina, Giuseppe Rociola, Ralf Schemmann, Oliver Strycharz, Andrew Summers,
Sven Tscheppainz, Markku Utriainen, Larry Wakowenko, Roy Wiseman, and Riccardo Zerbo.
Special Thanks to Andrew Poulter and Andrei Munteaunu for their assistance to the
playtesting process, Franco Rivolli for the Corruption icon, Rafael Brinner, Andrea Corcella,
and Heikki Laakkonen for their careful revision, and to all the War of the Ring players who
patiently waited for this expansion!
A Game Created, Published and Distributed Worldwide by
ARES GAMES SRL
Via dei Metalmeccanici 16, 55041, Capezzano Pianore (LU), Italy.
www.aresgames.eu.
Version 1.0 — 2023.08.10
The War of the Ring, Kings of Middle-earth, and The Lord of the Rings and the names of the
characters, places, items and events therein are trademarks of Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC, used
under license by Sophisticated Games and its authorized sub-licensees. All
rights reserved. War of the Ring Boardgame © 2012, 2023 Ares Games Srl.
© 2012, 2023 Sophisticated Games Ltd. Warning. Not suitable for
children under three years. Small parts. Choking hazard. Made in China.
Retain this information for your records.

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