Hello all ye Bagginses and Boffins!
I am finally ready to submit my (almost) final version of War of the Ring campaign
, spanning from the White Council's assualt on Dol Guldur to the Ring of Power being cast into Mount Doom.
I hope this is as interesting to someone as it has been to me to make. It has been a long time since I began and has endured a great deal of changes along the way, and although it needs some artwork, I think it is finally ready to be critiqued.
I was hoping to attach the file as a Word Document, as that is the format I've been working in. Sorry for the long post, it is much easier to read in Word. If someone knows how to attach files I would love to learn. First I will post the Rulebook, and if enough people are interested I'll post the card decks associated with the game. Without further adu, here it is- One Campaign to Rule them All!
[spoiler]Required Contents
• Lord of the Rings RISK® board
• 4 different-colored Armies
• 64 Territory cards
• 4 decks of 150 cards for each faction
• The One Ring pewter piece
• A collection of Games Workshop Lord of the Rings miniatures
• Lots of 6-sided dice (1d6)
Introduction
This game is a campaign meant to reenact the Lord of the Rings trilogy (in 9mm scale). Players control their forces in a strategic setting by positioning their armies on the RISK® board. When forces clash in this mode the game shifts to tactical warfare and battles are played out with the Strategy Battle Game. Cards unique to this campaign fill in the rules not mentioned in this manual and allow Players to alter the course of the war. As One Campaign to Rule them All is a campaign in which these other games are linked, it is recommended Players have at least a quick working knowledge of the games before reading this manual.
Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Many years ago, in the fires of Mount Doom, the One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron to control all others. With this terrible power, the Dark Lord seeks to destroy his enemies and dominate Middle-Earth. For thousands of years the Ring has remained hidden, and now its awesome power to destroy is being ferociously hunted by his minions. The Forces of Good must unite despite their differences and fight to hold back this dark tide. The War of the Ring is coming- which side will you choose?
This is the first of many choices a Player must make during our campaign. A Player first chooses to represent Good or Evil. The two sides are divided, making controlling forces easier on the Players, or allowing more than two Players to play the campaign. These divisions will be referred to as factions. There are 4 factions available to play as- Good is divided between ‘The Race of Men’ and ‘The Elder Races’, while Evil is divided between ‘Minions of the Dark Lord’ and ‘Dark Forces Rising’. Each faction could actually be divided even further to allow for more Players if desired. Each faction has their own advantages, and strategies for each will be discussed later.
While the learning curve will be more than a normal board game, this campaign will be time-intensive but for any board gamer and is truly the One to Rule them All.
A Look at the Board & Battalions
The Board represents Middle-Earth in all of its wonder. Will you defend the peaceful inhabitants of the Free lands? Or will you trample them beneath your iron-shod boot?
Before we begin any other aspect, we must establish how the board is set up. Remove all territory cards that represent a Site of Power and/or Stronghold. Battalion pieces stationed in these Sites of Power are placed on top of the card rather than on the board to avoid confusion with those deployed in the territories around them.
Line these cards up along the outside of the game board as closely as possible to the game space they represent. We suggest placing the cards in the following fashion:
• From top to bottom on the Western board edge; the Grey Havens, Hobbiton, Harlindon, Gates of Moria, Mines of Moria, Tharbad, Isengard, Helm’s Deep, and Edoras.
• From top to bottom on the Eastern board edge; Erebor, Dol Guldûr, Lothloríen, Falls of Rauros, Easterling Encampment, Dagorlad, the Black Gate, Barad-dûr, Minas Morgûl, and the Haradrim Encampment.
• From left to right across the Southern board edge; Erech, Dol Amroth, Pelargir, City of the Corsairs, Minas Tirith, and Osgiliath.
• From left to right across the Northern board edge; Annuminas, Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell, Carn Dûm, Mt. Gundabâd, and the Elven Halls of Mirkwood.
There several different types of spaces on the board. Starting from the largest division of land on down are Regions, Territories, Sites of Power, and Strongholds.
• Regions are collections of all these other terrain features. If Good or Evil controls every territory in a region they receive extra battalions to add to the board. If more than one faction within Good control an entire region, the Good Player(s) must decide how these extra battalions are divided. Evil has no such option. If Evil controls a region, the faction with the most territories in the region receives all the additional battalions. The Evil factions- unlike their Good counterparts- are allowed to war between themselves, and this is one of the most likely reasons they will do so! There are nine regions, some with more territories than others, making them worth more extra battalions than another. Each denoted by separate colors. Refer to the following table as to how many bonus battalions the various Regions are worth:
Region Mordor Haradwaith Rhovannion Rhûn Mirkwood Arnor Eriador Rohan Gondor
# Battalions 2 4 5 2 4 7 3 4 7
• Territories are essentially the default unit of land on the RISK® board. These include Sites of Power, Strongholds, and any other territory that fits no other category. Some territories are connected by bridges, but the bridge itself is considered separate and not a territory itself. Each territory has a card to represent it, each Player should keep the territory cards of all those their faction controls.
There are also spaces known as Naval territories. These do not have territory cards, but follow similar rules as other territories. When controlling two connected naval spaces, a Player may then move battalions to or attack any territories between the two. (For more rules for naval battles, see LotR: All at Sea).
• Sites of Power are counted as separate from the territory that surrounds them. These are the strategically important sites of Middle-Earth, granting several bonuses to those who control them. Any battle occurring in a Site of Power grants the defender 100 free points to their force list. Conquering a Site of Power allows the conquering faction to make one extra action on their turn. More on actions will be discussed in this manual’s next section.
• Strongholds follow all the same rules as Sites of Power, being the strongest and most important. They grant 250 points to defenders’ force lists, and conquering a Stronghold allows an attacker 2 extra actions at the end of their turn. This is enough reason to make them important, but Strongholds also grant the faction controlling it 1 free battalion during the Reinforcement phase of every game turn (more on that in the next section). Last and most importantly, conquering Strongholds can grant victory to any faction powerful-or lucky- enough to do so. Lose enough of these vital locations, and lose the campaign.
Battalions are pieces used to represent the forces moved around to defend or capture these terrain features on the Middle Earth map. They are used when resolving battles (in this campaign, 1 battalion on the strategic board is worth 50 points to spend during Strategy Battle Game). At least 1 Battalion must be left behind when a Player chooses to move battalions out of a territory to attack and/or fortify another. Battalions can never traverse between territories separated by mountains, and can only cross rivers when a bridge territory spaces connects the two.
Bridges are treated as individual spaces on the board, requiring part of a battalion’s movement to move across and can be fought over, but are not treated exactly like territories. They are not required to control an entire region, a Player is not required to leave a single battalion behind when moving battalions through, and bridge spaces do not count towards a Player’s territory count when determining reinforcements.
If a faction controls a Site of Power with a port territory, they begin the game in control of that as well. If a faction controls two territories connected by a bridge, they also begin the game in control of the bridge.
Refer to the following table for the game’s initial set-up:
Dark Forces Rising
City of the Corsairs**
Isengard**
Mines of Moria**
Easterling Encampment*
Gates of Moria*
Haradrim Encampment*
Mt. Gundabâd*
The Brown Lands
Deep Harad
Dunland
East Angmar
Eregion
Forodwaith
Khand
Moria
Near Harad
Rhûn Hills
Umbar
Withered Heath
Elder Races
Annuminas**
Rivendell**
Elven Halls*
Erebor*
Grey Havens*
Harlond*
Hobbiton*
Lothloríen*
Buckland
Esgaroth
Evendûm Hills
Fangorn
Forlindon
Harlindon
Loríen
Lune Valley
Mithlond
North Mirkwood
Rhudaur
The Shire
Dark Lord’s Minions
Barad-dûr**
The Black Gate**
Dol Guldûr**
Minas Morgûl**
Carn Dûm*
Dagorlad*
Angmar
Barad-dûr
Dead Marshes
East Mirkwood
Gorgoroth
Forodwaith
Mount Doom
Morgûl Vale
Nûrn
The Old Forest
South Mirkwood
Ûdun Vale
Race of Men
Minas Tirith**
Helm’s Deep**
Dol Amroth*
Edoras*
Erech*
Falls of Rauros*
Osgiliath*
Pelargir*
Anfalas
Belfalas
Gap of Rohan
Harondor
Ithilien
Lamedon
Lebennin
Pelennor Fields
South Ithilien
Vale of Erech
West Rohan
The Wold
Objectives
One Campaign to Rule them All is a campaign that cannot be won in a single battle. Victory can only be achieved through a succession of military and/or great individual feats. Good and Evil are both striving for victory in different ways. The Forces of Evil may achieve victory in several different ways, and only a well-rounded approach can guarantee victory. The Player(s) controlling the Evil factions must balance their strategies to achieve one of the following options. The Forces of Good, facing overwhelming odds, have fewer options for victory. Some options are unlikely-perhaps even impossible.
Evil Victory Conditions
• Recapture the Ring of Power and bring it back to Isengard or Barad-dûr.
• Control any 2 Good Strongholds at the beginning of your turn, while holding those you began the game with.
• Fulfill the requirements of any of their cards that otherwise allow for an Evil victory (in effect by either causing the Ringbearer to turn away from his quest or killing certain Good heroes).
Good Victory Conditions
• Destroy the One Ring while preventing Evil from achieving any of their victory conditions.
• Control any 2 Evil Strongholds at the beginning of any turn, while holding those you began the game with.
• Kill the Dark Lord Sauron in combat.
Once any faction(s) have achieved their victory conditions the campaign ends. In the somewhat unlikely event that both an Evil faction and a Good faction achieve these conditions on the same turn, the campaign ends in a draw. If a Good faction achieves victory, both Good Players are considered to have won the game. However, only one Evil Player can be victorious- if one Evil faction achieves a Victory condition, the other does not share in their victory.
Game Turns
Each turn has steps, or Phases, that must be done sequentially every turn. The 4 Factions take their turns in a predetermined order. Each faction proceeds through their turns, taking 3 actions. By following the following description of the Phases, the process should be evident enough.
1. Dark Forces Rising
2. The Elder Races
3. Minions of the Dark Lord
4. The Race of Men
• Reinforcement Phase: During this phase, new battalions are placed on the board. Each Player proceeds in the order listed in Chart A, following the steps as stated below.
All Strongholds receive an extra battalion during this phase, as are extra battalions earned by controlling an entire region. Any cards granting additional reinforcements must also be played during this phase of your turn. Finally, add up your total number of territories, Sites of Power, and Strongholds under your control and divide this number by 3. Drop any remainder. You may add this many battalions in any combination to any Site(s) of Power and Strongholds under your control.
• Action Phase. This is the most active phase of any game turn and actually encompasses several different options a Player can make. Players alternate in the order from Chart A taking one action each at a time. A Player may make up to 3 Actions per turn, choosing from the following options in any way they see fit.
• Play Cards. During any and every turn a Player may play up to 3 cards for free. However, during some pivotal turns they may feel the need to play more. By expending one of their actions during this Phase, a Player may play as many cards as they wish or their decks allow. In order to play a card the Hero and/or Site of Power must be alive or under your control, respectively. There are several types of cards and we will now discuss when and how these cards are played.
• Reinforcements. These cards add additional battalions to the game board and are unique, in that they are played during the Reinforcement Phase. However, these cards still count towards a Player’s limit of 3 free cards per turn.
• Force Lists. Each Site of Power and/or Stronghold has a Force List associated with it. These lists represent the miniatures available to choose from prior to a battle.
When defending a Site of Power and/or Stronghold, a Player must select from their corresponding force list. In any other battle, a Player may select from the force list of the nearest Site of Power with a ‘line of supply’ (an uninterrupted chain of territories under that faction’s control leading back to that Site of Power). If two Sites of Power are equally close, a Player may choose to select forces from both lists. Each list chosen must have a hero to act as the leader of that portion of the force, described in Legions of Middle Earth Sourcebook.
• Scenarios. Some Sites of Power have predetermined layouts to the battlefield and specific objectives that must be achieved to win battles there. Usually both of these play to the advantage of the defender. Play these cards prior to any battle in these territories.
• Epic Heroes. Epic Heroes are one of the key elements to the War of the Ring. They represent the 3 primary heroes leading each faction and are represented by the 3 Leader pieces from each faction’s army pieces. Each Epic hero has a unique effect on the game, as described on their card. However, all must adhere to the following rules:
Epic heroes are always deployed for free at least at their base M/W/F value.
Epic heroes may move up to 2 spaces per game turn. Epic heroes can be moved freely without expending any actions.
No faction may ever deploy more than 3 Epic heroes- if you have 3 currently in play one must be removed as the new hero is added.
• Legendary Formations. Legendary Formations are collections of Epic Heroes who follow most of those rules with several important exceptions. Even if it contains more than one Epic Hero, a Legendary Formation is represented by the Leader piece and though it allows for additional Epic Heroes in play counts as only 1 towards the limit of 3 Epic heroes.
All Heroes within the formation are deployed for free at their base M/W/F value.
All Legendary formations may only move 2 spaces per turn, but may move freely without spending actions. Some Legendary Formations move with battalions connected to them, in which case these battalions may also be moved freely without using an action to do so.
Most uniquely, Legendary Formations are permitted to move into enemy-held territories without bringing the defending enemy forces to battle, unless the Player controlling the formation chooses to do so or the Player controlling the territory uses an action to attack the invading formation.
• Heroic Events. These cards are one-time bonuses for a hero to use during a battle or during a game turn. Play these at the point stated on the card.
• Fortunes & Fates. These are re-usable bonuses that heroes allow a Player the option to purchase during the time stated on the card-usually during a battle.
• Claim Territory. As the name suggests, a Player may move up to 10 battalions into an unclaimed territory and claim it for his/her own by expending a single action. A Player may choose to move more than 10 battalions into the territory, expending an additional action for every 10 moved.
• Attack Enemy-held Territory. As this is a game set to recreate a war of massive scale, it would be incomplete without battles. By expending an action, Players can move up to 10 battalions from a territory they control and attack any territories within two spaces. A Player may choose to move more than 10 battalions into the territory, expending an additional action for every 10 moved, or even attack from multiple territories (again, by spending an extra action for each separate territory joining in the attack).
Prior to resolving an attack, each side involved selects the forces they will bring into the battle. Each Player receives 50 points per battalion and selects forces from the force list card from the corresponding Site of Power.
Once forces have been selected it is time to choose the battle’s layout and scenario rules. Some territories have scenario cards with a predetermined layout and rules for battles fought there. Any battles fought in a territory without a scenario card randomly determine layout (LoME pgs. 117-123) and objectives (LoME pg. 100) using the charts for objectives and layouts in the Legions of Middle Earth Sourcebook. The battle is fought until these conditions are met or one side retreats. Any model(s) that move off the board edge in which they were deployed count as having retreated, and lived to fight another day.
Once a battle is finished, each side counts up the point value of all warriors and heroes remaining and/or that have retreated off their starting board edge. This number of points will determine how many battalions each side should place back on the RISK® board.
When calculating the remaining points, a hero is always worth their base point value regardless of any remaining M/W/F or additional wargear they were upgraded with. Once you have determined your side’s points remaining, divide by that number by 50 to find the number of battalions to go back onto the RISK® board. (When dealing with remainders round up if you are 25 points or less to the next battalion).
It is possible that more than one territory will attacked during a game turn. When this is the case, refer below to decide the order in which battles are resolved:
i. Battles occurring in a territory not attached to a Site of Power are resolved first. Should multiple Players make attacks on different ‘stand-alone’ territories, the attacking faction highest on Chart A chooses which battle(s) are resolved first.
ii. Next battles occurring in a territory in or attached to a Site of Power are resolved. Should multiple Players make attacks on different Sites of Power or their surrounding territories, the attacking faction highest on Chart A chooses which battle(s) are resolved first.
iii. Finally, Battles occurring in a territory attached to a Stronghold are resolved. Should multiple Players make attacks on different Strongholds or their surrounding territories, the attacking faction highest on Chart A chooses which battle(s) are resolved first.
• Send out a Relief Force. If an enemy attacks a territory under your control, Players may respond by sending battalions from nearby territories to the aid of the forces under attack. Relief forces will arrive to aid the defenders of the territory during the battle. To determine exactly when this will happen, first take the number of battalions being moved. Multiply this by the number of territories they have to travel through to reach the territory in which the battle takes place (like all battalions Relief Forces can only move 2 spaces per turn).
• Move the Ring forward. The Player in control of the Ring of Power may use an action to move the Ringbearer and the piece representing him one territory space. This action may only be chosen once per game turn.
If the Good Player is moving the Ring from a territory under Good control, move the Ring piece forward and nothing further happens. However, if Good attempts to move the Ring from a territory under control of an Evil faction, that Evil faction may make an attempt to ‘Hunt the Ring’ as described in the next section.
Once the Ring of Power has been moved into the Mount Doom territory, Good may use an action in an attempt to destroy the Ring rather than moving it forward.
Note: The RISK® board has the actual path from the books and films marked. However, this game is dependent upon the choices of the Players, and the Good Player may choose any path they see fit.
• Hunt the Ring. If the Ringbearer is located in a territory controlled by an opposing faction or if the Player controlling the Ring attempts to move the Ring from a territory under another faction’s control, that faction may use one of their actions to ‘Hunt the Ring’. Any battalions deployed in that territory may join in a scenario against the Ringbearer and any companions.
To win the scenario, the Ringbearer must move off any table edge. When he does so, the Ring piece is then moved to the RISK® territory that most closely matches the direction of the board edge (which territories each table edge represent should be decided upon before the scenario).
The Evil Player is attempting to kill the Ringbearer. Should this happen, the game then follows the rules from “Capture the Prize!” on pg. 115 of Legions of Middle Earth (with the notable exception that the Ring of Power has its own set of rules for a model attempting to carry it and can be picked up by any model). Once a model picks up the Ring, they become the new Ringbearer.
Factions, Forces & Strategies.
As stated earlier, this manual will introduce basic concepts of how each faction is designed to be played. These are by no means the only way these forces can be used, but are suggestions for Players new to the system. As a Player becomes more familiar with the game, surely they will form their own.
• The Dark Forces Rising. As the name implies, these are the Evil forces throughout Middle Earth whom have begun to stir as Sauron makes preparations for his great war. From the Haradrim and Easterling tribes in the far South and East, to the Goblin swarms of the Misty Mountains, and to the treason of Sauruman’s Isengard, the forces of this faction are spread widely across the map of Middle Earth. This makes uniting these disparate forces difficult, along with coordinating attacks across a wide front. Not meant for massive sweeping attacks, the Dark Forces Rising are still quite capable of making devastating attacks of opportunity wherever the Free Peoples can least withstand them.
The Mines of Moria is perhaps the most easily defendable stronghold this side of Barad-dûr itself, with swarms of Goblins nigh innumerable, yet likely will be tested twice by foolish Good forces (early in the game by Balin’s Expeditionaries and again by the Fellowship of the Ring). Hold off from any major attacks until the Fellowship has passed Moria in order to deal out the most damage as possible to them.
Isengard is strategically placed in the center of the board, surrounded by Good factions. This can be both an advantage and a curse. Strike too early and Sauruman’s treason could be revealed and you’ll be facing a coalition of powerful allies. However, with clever use of reinforcement cards used to build an army of genetically perfected Uruk-Hai, placing Grima Wormtongue as one of your Epic Heroes as early as possible, and leading small jabs to a massive assault, your enemies will be unprepared for the wrath of Isengard.
The Easterlings and Haradrim are powerful in their own right, yet their real value is in bolstering the already formidable masses of Sauron’s Mordor. The Men of the East are solid troops that can still count on numbers, yet they lack a hero capable of leading them down their own path- doubtless this is partly due to Sauron’s design. Nevertheless, they must choose to aid in Sauron’s war against Gondor, or to strike out on their own path and seek glory by conquering the Dwarven riches under the Lonely Mountain.
Gondor can only keep Harad divided for so long. Once they have united and control the entirety of that region, the Serpent Lord becomes a very dangerous leader for your massive armies of cheap and expendable tribesmen. The thunder of a Harad Mûmak charge can hardly be withstood. Will they answer Mordor’s call? Or does pride drive you to win victory alone for your faction before Sauron is ready, to create a slave empire on the bones of a conquered Gondor?
• The Elder Races. The Elder Races time is fading. The times in which Elves alone determined the fates of Arda have passed, yet the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all. The Elven and Dwarven Kingdoms will struggle merely to defend themselves. Rivendell, Lothloríen, Erebor, and the Elven Halls of Mirkwood all will probably fight at least one battle near or in their Sites of Power before the campaign is finished. All three have useful cards to slow down invaders, skilled and hardened warriors that fought in battles long-forgotten, and heroes capable of winning battles singlehandedly. All have a variety of wargear options they can use to match any situation. Still they will almost always find themselves outnumbered and if one alone falls, all the others will be greatly weakened.
Forgotten by friend and enemy alike amidst the sands of time and the forests of Fangorn, the Ents are unique. While they are few, they are also powerful and largely impervious to enemy attack. That being said, beware of building too large of a force there early on, as Sauruman is able and only too willing to rip and burn the forest to the ground.
The only human forces not considered part of the Race of Men are the scattered Rangers of Arnor. The Dúnedain stronghold of Annûmminas is the most vulnerable of any on the board, and the Rangers are not at their best defending a static position. It is essential they keep the focus of the war away from Eridaor and into the lost realm of Arnor. There their ambushing tactics combined with superior mobility and ranged attacks allow them to engage and defeat much larger forces. Lead only by two named heroes and by numerous minor heroes, the Rangers must keep Halbarad and Strider safe at all costs.
Ironically, the most important of all are the Hobbits of the Shire. Hopefully they will never be asked to fight in a battle, but as the carriers of the Ring of Power, Hobbits carry the fate of all Middle Earth. Bilbo Baggins begins the game as the Ringbearer, but should be replaced before long. Frodo Baggins owns the most cards in the Elder Races’ deck, making him one of the game’s most important Epic Heroes. The Fellowship of the Ring is the game’s best Legendary Formation, a veritable “dream team” of your choosing. Moving Frodo to Mount Doom and protecting him along the way should be more important to an Elder Races Player than any large-scale military offensive.
• Minions of the Dark Lord. Quite simply, the Player acting as the Dark Lord Sauron sits high upon his throne, ruling a vast, unassailable empire. His strongholds are well defended and cannot be taken without sacrificing an unacceptable loss of Human, Elf, and Dwarven life. Heedless of his slaves’ lives, his forces are replaceable and their numbers are beyond reckoning. Thus, Reinforcement and Scenario cards make up the bulk of the Dark Lord’s deck. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that any number of losses is sustainable. Mordor can afford to trade punches with Gondor, but enough lopsided defeats will be truly devastating.
At the game’s start, Sauron has taken the guise of the Necromancer in the underground fortress of Dol Guldûr. During the early times of the campaign, a bold move is needed to redirect the attention of the Good factions. Doing so will open other opportunities for the Dark Force Rising, and allow for more time to build up battalions in Mordor before any battles need to be fought there. With any luck the Necromancer could also take out a few powerful Good heroes along the way.
Sauron has little in the way of mid-level leadership when compared to other factions, but the Nine Ringwraiths more than make up for this. They are best used early in the game to scour the lands for the Shire and Baggins in an attempt to end the campaign before the war ever really begins. While this means they will be unavailable for a period of time if they fail, they should be ready long before the Dark Lord is ready to make his final hammer stroke.
When the Dark Lord unleashes his armies for this final assault with Gothmog and the Nine holding the whips, Gondor alone has almost no chance of holding back the tide.
• The Race of Men. The Race of Men will be the most difficult to play, facing insurmountable odds on every front from numerous enemies. The Race of Men cannot take on a strategy of conquest, but of simple survival. Despite these limitations there is still valour left in the World of Men, and the rumor is true- the Heir of Númenor lives.
The House of the Stewards still holds Gondor together even in the face of certain defeat. Gondor’s forces are well-equipped and varied with solid infantry and cavalry, elite units, and devastating artillery. Denethor gathers a respectable amount of reinforcements to fill in Gondor’s losses but his mental health is failing. Boromir is Gondor’s best general for large engagements and is more than a match for anything Mordor or Harad can throw at him. Faramir is capable of holding off small incursions into Ithilien and keep the region of Gondor under the Race of Men’s control. The question is which son of the Steward should be sent to Elrond’s Council in Rivendell?
Gondor’s Fiefdoms stand in reserve to defend the coastlines and come to Gondor’s aid when Mordor’s final assault is at hand. Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth stands proud amongst the game’s best heroes, with interesting options added from the card deck. The Knights under his command are unquestionably loyal, proud, and well equipped warriors able to be deployed anywhere and be effective.
To the North lie the wide rolling plains of Rohan and the Éorlingas, horsemasters beyond compare among mortal beings. Facing invasion from without and treasonous corruption from within, Rohan’s fate lies with that of Théoden their King. If and when he rises from the onset of premature old age, Théoden’s deck is stacked with cards capable of completely turning the tide of a battle. The younger members of the House Éorl are no less valiant and would be capable replacements should an evil fate befall Théoden. Rohan armies are always better when mounted, in open territory and using hit-and-run tactics. The cards in their deck focus mostly on Heroic Events that can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A Rohan Player should never lose hope even in the face of terrible odds.
Finally, the Race of Men could hardly even hope to withstand the oncoming tide without the aid of Aragorn, the Heir of Isildur, Gandalf the White and their companions from the Fellowship of the Ring. These two heroes are among the very best in the campaign. Aragorn and Gandalf are both essential to rally Rohan’s defenses against Isengard. Gandalf is best then sent to Minas Tirith to counter the Witch-King of Angmar while sending Aragorn to sweep the coasts of Gondor of any invaders from the Umbar. Remember that should both of these heroes be slain, Evil can claim victory so make sure they are well protected at all times- unless you have no other choice but to fight for the Race of Men’s survival with reckless abandon.
In Conclusion
Upon finishing this manual, you are now ready to begin your re-creation of The War of the Ring! Any rules areas that seem like they need a little filling in are likely dealt with more completely in the various cards in each faction’s decks. Of course, due to the wide range of models, terrain, and strategies being used by different Players and/or Gaming Clubs, no two campaigns will ever be identical. Every group of Players is encouraged to apply the rules of the campaign as they believe best fits their resources.
Be prepared for a campaign that could grow and seem like it has begun to take on a life of its own. It may span many months, with the excitement of massive battles, intense skirmishes, and daring strategic gambits- truly, One Campaign to Rule Them All! [/spoiler]
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Thanks for the interest in my project. It's nice to know others appreciate my work (it's been fun but hasnt been easy!)