How to Play War of the Ring: Kings of Middle-earth

Game Objective

In Kings of Middle-earth, an expansion for War of the Ring Second Edition, the central focus is the struggle for the hearts and minds of the rulers of Middle-earth. Sauron seeks to exert his influence over the leaders of the Free Peoples through the Rings of Power and his minions, coercing them into submission or to join his side. In contrast, Gandalf works to rekindle hope and incite resistance among these rulers.

The game introduces Sovereigns and Shadow Chieftains (collectively called Rulers), new types of Characters with a vital role in the War of the Ring. The Shadow player will attempt to corrupt the Sovereigns, while the Free Peoples player will attempt to awaken them before they are corrupted.

Refer to the base rulebook of War of the Ring Second Edition for the general victory and defeat conditions of the game, as this expansion does not directly alter them, but adds new strategic layers to them.

Setup

To begin the game, use the normal setup for War of the Ring, 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.
• Separate the Shadow Chieftain Character Cards and their 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 of the rulebook).
• Add the expansion Event Cards to the appropriate decks.
• Add the two Kings Hunt Tiles to the Hunt Pool.
• Separate the Ruler Special Action Dice. They will be added to the Action Pool as explained in "The Ruler Dice", page 6 of the rulebook.
• Separate the other tokens and tiles; they will be added to the game when needed.

Game Flow

The game follows the normal flow of War of the Ring Second Edition, with the following modifications and additions related to the Ruler Dice:

Action Roll Phase

• The Free Peoples player adds the Free Peoples Ruler Die (light blue) to their dice pool in the turn following the first Sovereign being awakened.
• The Shadow player adds the Shadow Ruler Die (brown) to their dice pool in the turn following the first Shadow Chieftain entering play.
• The Shadow Ruler Die cannot be directly allocated to the Hunt and must always be rolled.
• 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 a Standard Action Die, or the Ruler Die.
  • First, the Shadow player must choose to discard the Ruler Die (even if it shows an Eye), or a Standard Action Die that does not show an Eye. Then, they add any remaining Eye results rolled to the Hunt box.
  • Then, the Free Peoples player chooses which of their Action Dice to discard.
• If a player's Ruler Die is not discarded after the Action Roll, that player may use its result as a normal Action Die, or as indicated in the specific sections for the Free Peoples Ruler Die and the Shadow Ruler Die.
• It is possible to change the result of a Ruler Die using an Elven Ring.

Recover Action Dice and Draw Event Cards Phase

• If, during this 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 Shadow Chieftains in play at this point, they must remove the Shadow Ruler Die from their Action Dice Pool.
• The die can be recovered if a new Sovereign is awakened, or a new Shadow Chieftain enters play.

Actions and How to Play

The Kings of Middle-earth expansion introduces new actions and modifications to existing rules, focusing on Sovereigns and Shadow Chieftains.

Free Peoples Sovereigns

Sovereigns are important leaders who can be awakened by the Free Peoples or corrupted by the Shadow.

• At the start of the game, all Sovereigns are considered Free Peoples Leaders. They are not considered "Awakened" nor "Corrupted".
• If an un-Awakened and un-Corrupted Sovereign is eliminated, any Corruption Tiles on them are returned to the Hunt Pool.
• Corrupted Sovereigns are considered Level 0 and without Leadership. They cannot move and possess unique Weaknesses that affect the Free Peoples player, as indicated on their cards.
• Awakened Sovereigns are considered Companions (with the Level and Leadership indicated on their cards) and possess unique Special Abilities, including Combat Special Abilities for Brand and Théoden.

Awakening a Sovereign

The Free Peoples player can perform the action indicated on the Awakened version of an un-Awakened and un-Corrupted Sovereign's card (normally the use of a Muster die result, or any result on the Ruler Die) to awaken the Sovereign, replacing the un-Awakened and un-Corrupted version with the Awakened version.

• If the Sovereign's movement is required before their awakening, this movement follows the same movement rules as 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 in their space on the Sovereign Corruption Board, replace the grey Sovereign figure with the corresponding silver figure, and add the Free Peoples Ruler Die to the Free Peoples' dice pool (if not already in the pool) during the Recover Action Dice and Draw Event Cards phase of the next turn.
• An Awakened Sovereign cannot be corrupted and is considered a Companion.

Free Peoples Ruler Die

The Free Peoples Ruler Die enters play after the first Sovereign is Awakened by the Free Peoples player. It remains in play as long as there is at least one Awakened Sovereign.

The Ruler Die can be used:

• As a normal Action Die.
• To awaken a Sovereign, as indicated on their Awakened card.
• To activate a Special Ability of an Awakened Sovereign. 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). 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 of these abilities.

Ruler Tokens

There are 5 Ruler Tokens, one for each Sovereign.

• When the Free Peoples player awakens a Sovereign, they receive their unique Ruler Token.
• Each Ruler Token can be used once per game, immediately before the Free Peoples player performs an action with the Ruler Die. The Free Peoples player can use the token to change the Ruler Die to the result that activates the Sovereign's second Special Ability and immediately use it to activate that ability.
• The Free Peoples player cannot use a Ruler Token and an Elven Ring in the same turn.

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 perform an action, the Shadow player can remove an 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 remaining Eye dice 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 their choice, face down, in the appropriate space on the Sovereign Corruption Board. Then, the Shadow player returns any remaining tiles to the Hunt Pool, after showing them to the Free Peoples player. The Hunt Tiles placed on a Sovereign are called Corruption Tiles.
4. The Shadow player places the Eye die with their used Action Dice.

The value of the Corruption Tiles must remain hidden; the Free Peoples player is never allowed to inspect the contents of the Hunt Pool during the game.

Special Cases for 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, with no effect.
• If a Kings Hunt Tile is drawn during a corruption attempt, it is immediately revealed and added to the Sovereign; no other tiles are drawn by the Shadow player, and any other tiles drawn in this corruption attempt are 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 them are returned to the Hunt Pool.

Corruption Level and Corruption of a Sovereign:

• The Corruption Level of a Sovereign is equal to the total numerical value of all tiles placed in their space on the Sovereign Corruption Board (with Kings Hunt Tiles counting as 0). As 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 cannot be targeted by a corruption attempt twice in the same turn, except when using an Event Card.
• A Sovereign becomes Corrupted when their Corruption Level equals or exceeds their Shadow Resistance. When this happens, the Shadow player must reveal all tiles in 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.
• Remove the grey Sovereign figure from the game board, then take the corresponding silver figure, add a Corrupted Sovereign Ring to its base to mark its status, and place it in the region indicated on the Corrupted version of its card. The Shadow player takes the Corrupted Sovereign card. From this moment, the Corrupted Sovereign's Weaknesses are in effect.
• A Corrupted Sovereign cannot be awakened and is no longer considered a Free Peoples Leader. Its effect on the game is limited to the Weaknesses indicated on its card, and its influence on cards that refer to "Sovereigns" and "Corrupted Sovereigns". It cannot be used to activate any effect or satisfy any requirement that refers to "Companions", "Characters", or "Minions".

Removing Corruption from a Sovereign

If a Nation is activated or its Political Track advances, and an appropriate Companion (i.e., a Companion with that Nation's icon, or the Free Peoples icon) is in the same region as that Nation's un-Awakened and un-Corrupted Sovereign, the Free Peoples player can discard a hidden, randomly chosen Corruption Tile 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 the Game

When an appropriate Companion (i.e., a Companion with the icon