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

Objective of the Game

Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção.

Preparation (Setup)

New Event Cards

Remove the following Event cards from the base game Event card decks:

• FP Character Event deck: Gwaihir the Windlord (#15), The Eagles are Coming! (#18), The Ents Awake: Treebeard (#19), The Ents Awake: Huorns (#20), The Ents Awake: Entmoot (#21), Dead Men of Dunharrow (#22).
• SP Character Event deck: Shelob’s Lair (#1).
• SP Strategy Event deck: Corsairs of Umbar (#10), Rage of the Dunlendings (#11).

Add the following new cards from this expansion into the appropriate Event card decks:

• FP 6x new cards: The Western Way (C), Premonition of Danger (C), Swift Boats (C), Majesty and Glory (C), Take Someone You Can Trust (C), Long Battle (C).
• SP 3x new cards: Not on Anybody's Side (C), Strongly Guarded (A), Great Winged Creatures (M).

Faction Event Cards

The Faction Event cards deck is placed alongside the 2 base game decks (Character and Strategy). There is a Faction Event card hand limit of 4 per player (discard any excess immediately), not counted against the Event card hand limit of 6.

Call to Battle Cards

Call to Battle cards are never put into any decks or discarded. Keep all Call to Battle cards to one side.

Faction Figures Setup

Put the setup figures indicated for each Faction onto their Faction cards.

• Dead Men Setup is 2 figures.
• Eagles Setup is 2 figures.
• Ents Setup is 2 figures.
• Corsairs Setup is 3 figures.
• Dunlendings Setup is 4 figures.
• Spiders Setup is 2 figures.

Flow of the Game

At the start of every turn, in addition to drawing 1 Character + 1 Strategy Event cards as normal, also draw 1 Faction Event card every turn (even on turns when no Factions are in play). Unlike the normal Event card decks, Faction Event decks are reshuffled if they run out of cards.

Faction dice are not in play on the first turn of the game. To obtain each player's die, it must be activated by bringing a Faction into play. If 1 or more Factions are in play, add the Faction die to that player's Action dice roll at the beginning of the following turn. A player's Faction die is rolled along with his other Action dice, and the result is played as an action, or a "Pass" (discarding the Faction die as an action), or, if the SP player rolls the "Eye of Sauron", place that Faction die into the Hunt Box as an additional Eye for the Hunt.

Faction dice are only removed at the beginning of a turn, and then only if no Factions are currently in play for that player, but the die may be recovered on a later turn if a new Faction for that player enters play.

At the start of every combat round, take only the Call to Battle cards for Factions whose Call to Battle requirements are met into your hand. You may then play a Call to Battle card in that round in place of an Event card Combat effect.

Actions and How to Play

Faction Event Cards

Faction Event cards are considered to be Event cards, subject to same rules and effects as any other Event deck, so a normal Action die Event result can be used to draw or play cards from the Faction Event card deck. For example, if Gandalf the Grey is the Guide and a Faction Event card is played, then FP may draw another card from the Faction Event card deck using this Guide ability.

Each Faction card has a Muster, Army or Character symbol at the top right; Faction cards can be played either by a Play Faction card (a Faction die result) or by an Event Action result (an Action die result), or by a Muster, Army or Character result (Action die results) depending upon the symbol on the Faction Event card.

Playing a Faction Event card on a Faction not yet in play has no effect unless it allows a player to "add figures to the starting setup." In this case, the player places the recruited figures on the Faction card. These figures will enter the game when the Faction is brought in play, together with the figures indicated in the setup of that Faction. The additional figures can be placed in any starting region for that Faction.

If a player plays a Faction Event card on a Faction that has been eliminated from play, the card has no effect.

Certain Faction Event cards allow the owner to place figures on the card, then recruit figures from the card. Figures on these cards are not considered to be in play and, if the card is discarded for any reason, they are returned to the reinforcement pool.

Abilities referring to cards from a specific deck (e.g., The Witch-king, Chief of the Ringwraiths’ Spear of Terror ability, or the Event cards to be discarded to remove the FP Event card A Power Too Great) do not apply to Faction cards.

Faction Dice

Use of a Faction die is an action, but Faction dice are not normal Action die (so Events requiring "Any Action Die" cannot be achieved using a Faction die, and Faction dice are not influenced by Elven rings). However, the "Pass" rule (use a Faction die but perform no action with it) is valid. Faction die results can only be used on Faction cards and figures; the result cannot be used for any other function (with the exception of the "Eye of Sauron" result, which is placed into the Hunt Box in the same way as a normal Action die). If more than one Faction is in play, the player chooses the Faction that will be affected by the action allowed by the Faction die when he uses that die.

Faction Die Results

• FP Die: Recruit, Recruit, Play / Draw, Play / Draw, Play / Recruit, Draw / Recruit.
• SP Die: Recruit, Recruit / Play / Draw, Eye of Sauron, Play / Draw, Play / Recruit, Draw / Recruit.

Note: Play/Draw only apply to Faction Event decks (and not base game decks).

The Muster result on an Action die can bring Factions into play, but cannot recruit additional Faction figures into play; to do that requires either a Recruit result on a Faction die, or playing a Faction Event card effect that causes figures to be recruited (which could be achieved with a normal Event Action die or a normal Action die that matches the symbol at the top right as in the Faction Event card deck notes above).

Faction Figures

Faction figures are not normal units most of the time (some card effects change that). Faction figures have unique stacking limitations, and enemy Army units can move through them. Normal Action dice cannot be applied to Faction figures, to recruit or move them (but can be used to draw and play Faction Event cards that may cause a recruit, as described above).

Faction figures do not give control of regions to a player or affect the Political Track at all (Factions may cross borders without effect).

Faction Movement

• FP Faction movement is by Faction Event cards only. They cannot move along with Army units in the same region.
• SP Faction movement is by Faction Event cards and also by moving along with a Shadow Army.
• Army units / Faction figures can always move into or through other Faction figures standing alone.
• Dunlendings / Spiders cannot move through empty enemy unconquered Strongholds.
• Dunlendings can enter empty enemy unconquered Settlements (City / Town), but Spiders cannot.
• Only Eagles and Nazgûl can cross impassable borders.

Specific Faction Movement Rules

• Dead Men: Must all be in 1 region. Must be accompanied by Strider/Aragorn. Companions with the Dead Men are not considered to be with an FP Army in the same region. Companions may not join/leave the Army of the Dead without Strider/Aragorn leaving/joining at the same time. Strider can still be crowned Aragorn without leaving the Dead Men (at Minas Tirith, Dol Amroth or Pelargir, if that region is unconquered). Wraiths of Fear cannot move to a region containing SP Army units (though may attack).
• Eagles: May be split up anywhere on map. May stand in any region with no restrictions.
• Ents: March of the Ents cannot move to a region containing SP Army units (though may attack).
• Corsairs: Allowed regions: any coastal, any Gondor excluding Erech, and Osgiliath. Moving alone (with Faction cards): Can move up to 4 regions, individually or together; can move through or stop at regions that contain enemy units. May move along with Shadow Army in same region and may (optionally) advance or retreat with a Shadow Army to any Allowed region. Cannot cross impassable borders (which includes Forlindon / North Ered Luin). Corsairs are never considered to be inside a besieged Stronghold. Transport: Corsairs can carry up to 2 Army units (plus unlimited Minions and Nazgûl) per Corsairs figure, and can move them up to 4 regions, or 2 regions if attacking. Transport movement must end in a free region or unoccupied enemy-controlled Settlement but cannot move into or through an enemy Army (Corsairs alone can move through occupied enemy occupied regions, but transporting must also observe normal Army movement rules). The Shadow Army may merge with the destination Army before attacking.
• Dunlendings/Spiders: Move alone (by cards) up to 2 regions, individually or together. May be moved or advanced along with a Shadow Army in the same region. Cannot cross impassable borders. If a Shadow Army containing Dunlendings / Spiders retreats, these Faction figures must also retreat with that Shadow Army. If a Shadow Army containing Dunlendings / Spiders is eliminated, any figures of these F