[War of the Ring] The Lord of the Rings: The Board Game

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Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

War of the Ring, first published in 2004, is a two player wargame that attempts to recreate the Lord of the Rings. Players will struggle over the One Ring and the Strongholds of Middle-Earth using their Armies and Characters. This is the most epic, thematic game I�ve ever played, and I wish I could play it more. It�s also a bit of dice-fest. Hence this thread. I�ll be using the War of the Ring Java App to run the game.

Rulebook
Summary and Reference

I�ll need two players with PMs. If you�d prefer a particular side, please post your preference as well.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 01:46

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 20:15

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Card List

Companions:

Gimli
Boromir
Legolas
Gandalf
Strider
Pippin
Merry
Gandalf the White
Aragorn
Gollum
The Ring-Bearers

Minions

Saruman
The Mouth of Sauron
The Witch-King

Reinforcements

x13

x15

Taran_Wanderer fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Sep 18, 2014

# ? Aug 16, 2014 01:48

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

I'd be happy to give it a try, but I have no background and will need to go over the rulebooks later tonight! No preference as to the side

# ? Aug 16, 2014 02:49

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

I would like to play. Good guys, please.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 04:44

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Alrighty, ConorT will be the Free Peoples Player (FP), and Gravy Train Robber will be the Shadow Player (SP). Here's the starting board:

I'll be sending your starting hands shortly. Once you've confirmed your cards, I need to know if ConorT would like to change the Guide of the Fellowship to Strider, and how many (if any) dice Gravy Train Robber would like to allocate to the Hunt for the Ring. Good Luck, gentlemen!

# ? Aug 16, 2014 14:26

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Some advice.

Free Peoples Player:

You want to try to move the Fellowship at least once per turn. The faster you can get to Mordor, the less time the SP has to win by VPs. Here's a nice map of the mains paths you might want the Fellowship to take.
Keep in mind that when the SP attacks, the nation attacked moves up the Political track. This can be extremely useful for bringing Gondor and Rohan to At War.
Gandalf is the only character that can come back from the dead. This makes him very useful as a sacrifice if a bad Hunt Tile is drawn.

Shadow Player:

Don't neglect the Hunt. If there are no Eyes in the Hunt Box, the Fellowship can move with impunity, and they can move very, very quickly.
You want to win quickly, but don't forget to build up your forces before sending them to Siege Strongholds. There's nothing worse then having the FP break your Seige.
The biggest danger from the FP's decks are the three Ent Attack cards. Once Gandalf the White is in play, if one of the Companions is in Fangorn, he can play those cards to attack your armies in Orthanc. If all your units are eliminated, or there are none there to begin with, Saruman is eliminated. Keep this in mind when attacking Rohan with Isengard.

Both Players:

Try to get your extra characters on the board as quickly as possible, as each of them provides an extra Action Die for you to roll.
There are always things that need doing on the board, even if they're not the ones you were planning on doing. Maybe you were really looking forward to attacking with all of your armies this turn, but the Action Dice came up with nothing but Musters and Events. Since the Elven Rings are so limited, they should be used sparingly.
Don't be afraid to throw events into combat. Many of them are really powerful, but also highly situational.
Ares Games has some nice Strategy Articles up here, if you want to know more.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 15:39

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Confirming that I've received my hand. I'm still making sense of the rules, and will have my turn up a bit later. I think I'll check out those strategy guides you mentioned on Ares games too before I commit to anything!

# ? Aug 16, 2014 16:24

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

I've received my hand. I will let Gandalf remain as the fellowship's guide. Let's rock.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 16:29

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Sorry for the delay, lets go with Two Dice on the Hunt.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 17:10

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Let's get to it!

FP Roll:

SP Roll:

ConorT, would you like to pass or take an action?

# ? Aug 16, 2014 17:35

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

Gravy Train Robber posted:

Sorry for the delay, lets go with Two Dice on the Hunt.

If that's even 1/10 of the longest delay we get, I'm happy. There's no rush.

Pass.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 17:49

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

ConorT posted:

If that's even 1/10 of the longest delay we get, I'm happy. There's no rush.

Pass.

I'm in Asia at the moment so if I didn't post it quick it would have been another eight hours! I was just rushing since it seems like we're all online at the moment.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:10

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Gravy Train Robber posted:

I'm in Asia at the moment so if I didn't post it quick it would have been another eight hours! I was just rushing since it seems like we're all online at the moment.

It's cool. I'm happy as long as people check in daily, though more often is better.

It's also your move, SP, if you think you can squeeze another in.

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:21

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Taran_Wanderer posted:

It's cool. I'm happy as long as people check in daily, though more often is better.

It's also your move, SP, if you think you can squeeze another in.

Use 1 Muster Die to Advance Mordor to "At War"

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:26

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

SP uses a Muster Die to advance Sauron to At War! (I assume you meant Sauron by Mordor, at least)

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

Action, ConorT?

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:33

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

Okay, enough lollygagging, let's take a trip to mt. doom.

Move the fellowship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r51LzwLCzBg

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:48

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

FP uses a Character Die to Move the Fellowship!

SP rolls for the Hunt: 1,3
The Hunt is unsuccessful!

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

SP Action?

# ? Aug 16, 2014 18:59

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Spend Muster Die to Advance Southrons & Easterlings closer to War

# ? Aug 17, 2014 02:54

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

SP uses an Army/Muster die to Advance the Southrons & Easterlings on the Political Track!

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

FP Action!

# ? Aug 17, 2014 03:06

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

Hmm I should prep for war too, which seems the smart thing to do in a game with "war" in the title.

Use an army/muster die to bump Gondor down the political track.

ConorT fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Aug 17, 2014

# ? Aug 17, 2014 03:56

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

FP uses an Army/Muster die to move Advance Gondor on the Political Track!

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

SP Action?

# ? Aug 17, 2014 04:26

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

I need to think this over, but I'm also looking to find a clearer map. I'm having trouble seeing the names of some of the provinces. I.E. what is the name of the province between Umbar and Far Harad? or the province west of East Rhul (West Rhul, I would assume?)

# ? Aug 17, 2014 05:02

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Gravy Train Robber posted:

I need to think this over, but I'm also looking to find a clearer map. I'm having trouble seeing the names of some of the provinces. I.E. what is the name of the province between Umbar and Far Harad? or the province west of East Rhul (West Rhul, I would assume?)

Here's a good one for you. If you guys ever want to see certain parts of the map up close, feel free to ask.

Edit: Like this.

Taran_Wanderer fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Aug 17, 2014

# ? Aug 17, 2014 05:13

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Taran_Wanderer posted:

Here's a good one for you. If you guys ever want to see certain parts of the map up close, feel free to ask.

That helps a lot, cheers!

Move Far Harad units to Near Harad, combining armies

Edit: I can't escape the feeling I'm completely bungling this first turn, but at least I know I'm canonically supposed to lose!

Gravy Train Robber fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Aug 17, 2014

# ? Aug 17, 2014 05:26

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Gravy Train Robber posted:

That helps a lot, cheers!

Move Far Harad units to Near Harad, combining armies

Edit: I can't escape the feeling I'm completely bungling this first turn, but at least I know I'm canonically supposed to lose!

Nah, you're doing fine. You get to move two armies with an Army Die, so what would you like your second move to be?

# ? Aug 17, 2014 05:36

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Taran_Wanderer posted:

Nah, you're doing fine. You get to move two armies with an Army Die, so what would you like your second move to be?

Wow, somehow I completely missed that. South Rhun to East Rhun

# ? Aug 17, 2014 05:51

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

SP uses an Army die to move an Army from Far Harad to Near Harad and an Army from South Rhun to East Rhun

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

I've already received the FP's action, so that will follow shortly.

# ? Aug 17, 2014 06:03

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

FP uses a Character die to move the Fellowship!

SP rolls for the Hunt with a +1: 3,5
The Hunt is Successful!

SP draws

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

FP, would you like to take a casualty or corruption?

# ? Aug 17, 2014 06:12

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

Kill Gandalf

Edit: Strider's the new guide.

ConorT fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Aug 17, 2014

# ? Aug 17, 2014 06:15

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

FP takes Gandalf as a casualty. Strider becomes the Guide of the Fellowship.

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

SP Action?

# ? Aug 17, 2014 06:20

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Move Dol Guldur army to Eastern Mirkwood, Move North Rhul army to East Rhul and combine

# ? Aug 17, 2014 14:18

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

SP uses an Army die to move an Army from Dol Guldor to Eastern Mirkwood, and an Army from North Rhun to East Rhun.

FP Action Dice:

SP Action Dice:

FP Action?

Taran_Wanderer fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Aug 17, 2014

# ? Aug 17, 2014 14:30

ConorT: Sep 24, 2007

Use an army/muster die to move Dwarves down the political track.

# ? Aug 17, 2014 15:34

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Use Character Die to move 1 Nazgul from Barad Dur to East Rhun

Where did the FP get an extra die from?

# ? Aug 17, 2014 15:38

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

Gravy Train Robber posted:

Use Character Die to move 1 Nazgul from Barad Dur to East Rhun

Where did the FP get an extra die from?

Whoops. Fixed now. Also, you can move all the Nazgul when you use a Character die, if you want to move any of the other ones now.

# ? Aug 17, 2014 15:49

Gravy Train Robber: Sep 15, 2007; by zen death robot

Taran_Wanderer posted:

Whoops. Fixed now. Also, you can move all the Nazgul when you use a Character die, if you want to move any of the other ones now.

I think just the one for now.

# ? Aug 17, 2014 16:00

Taran_Wanderer: Nov 4, 2013

FP uses an Army/Muster Die to Advance the Dwarves on the Political Track.
SP uses a Character die to move a Nazgul from Barad-Dur to East Rh�n.

Victory Check: Neither player has enough VPs to win.

Each player draws a card from each of their decks. Hands will be sent shortly.

FP would you like to declare the Fellowship?
SP how many dice would you like to allocate to the Hunt? Since the Fellowship moved last turn, you must allocate at least one.

# ? Aug 17, 2014 16:09