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Author Topic: Second Quest: The Dwellings of the Breefolk!  (Read 16899 times)

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July 07, 2018, 02:48:14 AM
Reply #15

Shapeshifter

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part Five: Stomp Having a Good Time
« Reply #15 on: July 07, 2018, 02:48:14 AM »
First try for an ally:

[3] •Old Man Willow [Sauron]
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strenght: 7
Vitality: 4
If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.
Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.
"Merry was trapped; another crack had closed about his waist..."
« Last Edit: July 07, 2018, 02:54:39 AM by Shapeshifter »

July 07, 2018, 09:56:47 AM
Reply #16

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part Five: Stomp Having a Good Time
« Reply #16 on: July 07, 2018, 09:56:47 AM »
Good choice! Old Man Willow is perfect as an ally. I'd like to go through your card and offer up my thoughts!

Quote from: Shapeshifter
First try for an ally:

There is no try!

Quote from: Shapeshifter
[3] •Old Man Willow [Sauron]

Without knowing anything else, [3] feels like the right cost. OMW certainly deserves a subtitle; I've procured a few:

Dark Heart
Heart of the Old Forest
Heart of the Withywindle

I'm not too sure if [Sauron] is the right culture for OMW but nothing's really gonna fit right. [Gandalf], [Isengard], [Sauron], [Shire], and [Wraith] all have arguments to be made for this ally, even as a Shadow card.  If I had to pick a simple answer, I'd say [Wraith]; and as a complicated answer, a [Shire]-Shadow.

Quote from: Shapeshifter
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4

Looks good, but with strength 7 it seems more like a metaphysical-strength, seeing as he himself lacks great physical prowess. I feel like that's a key insight into the card's potential mechanics!

Quote from: Shapeshifter
If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.

That's a pretty harsh built-in silver bullet, even if it's restricted to a rarely-used ally. I'd say keep it as-is and drop his twilight cost (maybe even to (0) - your call!), or think about pulling this restriction back to something less than the worst case scenario.

"While you can spot Tom Bomadil or Goldberry, Old Man Willow is strength -2 (-4 if you can spot both)."

Quote from: Shapeshifter
Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.

Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

(I mean, I like it - go trees!)

I keep coming back to the "strength 7" bit. It is odd for a stationary tree, no? But (and I don't want to feel like I'm strangling your card - I just ramble) maybe give him a strength boost for each forest you spot?

Then, if you want to keep exhausting as a flavor-staple of the card - good call! - you could have a payout like "Exhaust each character that loses a skirmish to Old Man Willow."

But that still leaves some text space left over, maybe for getting him into skirmishes beyond site 2[F]?

Quote from: Shapeshifter
"Merry was trapped; another crack had closed about his waist..."

Good succinct lore.

July 07, 2018, 12:02:12 PM
Reply #17

Shapeshifter

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part Five: Stomp Having a Good Time
« Reply #17 on: July 07, 2018, 12:02:12 PM »
Quote
Without knowing anything else, [3] feels like the right cost. OMW certainly deserves a subtitle; I've procured a few:

Dark Heart
Heart of the Old Forest
Heart of the Withywindle

Sounds good! I like the middle one. "Huorn, Dark Heart" would be a good name for a regular Tree minion.

Quote
I'm not too sure if [Sauron] is the right culture for OMW but nothing's really gonna fit right. [Gandalf], [Isengard], [Sauron], [Shire], and [Wraith] all have arguments to be made for this ally, even as a Shadow card.  If I had to pick a simple answer, I'd say [Wraith]; and as a complicated answer, a [Shire]-Shadow.

OMW doesn't seem to belong anywhere. [Wraith] seems logical though.

Quote
Quote from: Shapeshifter
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4

Looks good, but with strength 7 it seems more like a metaphysical-strength, seeing as he himself lacks great physical prowess. I feel like that's a key insight into the card's potential mechanics!

The 7 strength was more a stab in the dark so maybe I should have left that out. Am I right that you would like his strength to be higher? I wanted OMW to be a bit more sophisticated than just another minion that you fight so the ability to exert companions felt suiting with they way he kills his victims slowly. He was going to be an anti-Hobbit ally but I felt maybe that was too limited.

Quote
Quote from: Shapeshifter
If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.

That's a pretty harsh built-in silver bullet, even if it's restricted to a rarely-used ally. I'd say keep it as-is and drop his twilight cost (maybe even to (0) - your call!), or think about pulling this restriction back to something less than the worst case scenario.

"While you can spot Tom Bomadil or Goldberry, Old Man Willow is strength -2 (-4 if you can spot both)."

Note taken!

Quote
Quote from: Shapeshifter
Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.

Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

Ooops..I didn't know that. His ability was meant to be a one-time thing only. So "Exert twice" would be better?

Thanks for the input! I'll digest it all for a potential second version :)
« Last Edit: July 07, 2018, 12:14:21 PM by Shapeshifter »

July 09, 2018, 06:00:42 AM
Reply #18

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part Six: Encounter in the Old Forest.
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2018, 06:00:42 AM »
Today, inspired by Shapeshifter's card, we're spending some more time at site 2[F], in and around the borders of The Old Forest.

---------

[3] •Old Man Willow, Darkroot [Wraith]
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Enduring. While the fellowship is at a forest site adjacent to a forest or a river site, Old Man Willow participates in skirmishes here.
Old Man Willow is strength +1 for each forest site you spot.
Response: If Old Man Willow is about to take a wound during a skirmish, exert an unwounded companion to prevent that.
"The leaves seemed to hiss above their heads... a loud scream came from Merry, and far from inside the tree they heard Pippin give a muffled yell."

This is basically a reprint/contortion of Huorn; I figured I'd borrow a couple elements from it but ended up using pretty much the whole thing, swapping Damage +1 for Enduring and then laying in the rest.

Old Man Willow can skirmish under certain site-adjacency scenarios (typically forest-forest but river-forest works too), evoking the feel of always finding yourself back in his clutches. He gets stronger the more forests you can spot, and he uses a bastardized version of Huorn's wound prevention to suck the life from his victims.

I've omitted any cultural enforcement in exchange for requiring considerable site manipulation to use optimally, a quirk carried through to Old Man Willow's second iteration.

---------

[3] •Old Man Willow, Heart of the Withywindle [Wraith]
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Enduring. When you play Old Man Willow, play the fellowship's next site (if that site is a forest).
Shadow: Exert Old Man Willow to stack him on a forest site.
When the fellowship moves from a site Old Man Willow is stacked on, each unmounted companion must exert.
"'We don't want to go that way! The Withywindle valley is said to be the queerest part of the whole wood—the centre from which all the queerness comes, as it were.'"

And here's another shot, pushing his mechanics in a different direction. Same stats, still Enduring, but now he gets you a forest for free.

His Shadow ability allows him to bounce to any forest site, from either your support area or another forest site on the adventure path. And if the fellowship crosses paths with this tree, they're in for a hurtin' should they try to leave without the ponies!

This OMW requires support in the form of supplying additional forests: he gives you one for free, ensuring a big exert against ill-equipped fellowships, but I don't see him doing much else on his own.

---------

(0) You Should Not Be Waking [Shire]
Event • Maneuver or Regroup
Spell.
If the fellowship is at a forest site in Eriador, exert Tom Bombadil to discard a Shadow ally.
"'Old Man Willow! Naught worse than that, eh? That can soon be mended. I know the tune for him. Old grey Willow-man! I'll freeze his marrow cold... I'll sing his roots off.'"

As you might expect, Tom is a natural andidote to Old Man Willow and any other Shadow ally on his doorstep.

As for the bit about "a forest site in Eriador,"  well, to keep it brief I want to rename each site path's region to the corresponding in-Arda name. Many reasons for this...

---------

[1] •Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Clay [Shire]
Ally • Home 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Fellowship: Exert Farmer Maggot to play an ally whose home site is 2[F] from your draw deck.
"...but he made no secret that he owed his recent knowledge largely to Farmer Maggot, whom he seemed to regard as a person of more importance than they had imagined. 'There's earth under his old feet, and clay on his fingers; wisdom in his bones, and both his eyes are open,' said Tom."

I've been a fan of Farmer Maggot since the very beginning. Chaser of Rascals was my favorite card in FotR: I would go on to collect the card like a dog with fleas. I thought it was so cool that he became a companion in Shadows (and a pretty good one!), but today I wanted to return Maggot to his original form: ally, and possibly more than that.

This Farmer Maggot can pull Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Bounder, and a whole bunch of site-2 allies I've written in this thread, including Aragorn and his rangers, making him a sorta-central component in this emergent site-2 subculture.

---------

My work in [Moria] has been stymied by the overhaul of the adventure path. I'm close to something fitting, I feel, and a couple odds and ends are likely to start creeping into my cards moving forward.

July 09, 2018, 07:23:27 AM
Reply #19

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part VI: Encounter in the Old Forest.
« Reply #19 on: July 09, 2018, 07:23:27 AM »
[1] Old Forest Grove [Wraith]
Condition • Tree
To play, spot 3 [Wraith] cards. Plays on a non-underground site.
This site gains forest.
Regroup: If the fellowship is at this site, exert a [Wraith] ally whose home site is 2 and discard this condition to divert the fellowship.
"Just behind them a large branch fell from an old overhanging tree with a crash into the path. The trees seemed to close in before them."

In brief, diverting is the fresh name for a concept I've been kicking around, mainly my wish for a form of slowing a fellowship without outright halting movement. When a fellowship is diverted, it moves to a site chosen by the diverting Shadow player (restricted only to choosing a site in the same region). A turn at a diverted site wouldn't be a full turn - think of it more like 1/2, although I haven't bothered drawing hard conceptual lines around this mechanic. You could take it many ways, from restricting the turn to only the FP player and the DS (Diverting Shadow) player, preventing multiplayer games from spiraling too far out of control; you could skip entire phases, like Fellowship and Archery; you could prevent certain types of cards from being played, such as companions, minions (probably not), and possessions. Whatever makes diverting a fellowship a moderately powerful tool of the shadow, but not as devastating a weapon as forcing a second move.

Is it possible to divert a diverted fellowship? Maybe. I dunno.

(Site 2[F]) •Bonfire Glade [2]
Site • Eriador
Forest. Ruin.
<---
Each Tree character is damage +1 for each Tree in each player's discard pile (limit damage +2).

So a site like this doesn't have much power, and only the Huorn and Old Man Willow care about Trees (for now).

You'll see I've added a Region type to the site, and I've separated the keywords from the game text. I want to maximize the game text space on sites - I'd actually prefer site keywords to become icons instead, but I'm presently limited by my means. In time!
« Last Edit: July 09, 2018, 10:30:11 AM by menace64 »

July 10, 2018, 09:49:16 AM
Reply #20

Phallen Cassidy

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part VI: Encounter in the Old Forest.
« Reply #20 on: July 10, 2018, 09:49:16 AM »
Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

Chiming in for a minute: sorry menace, but this is wrong. Exhaust means to "exert as many times as you can," and since an exhausted character cannot be exerted there's no harm there. However, supposing duplicate copies of allies will heal them (for free), this ally can be expected to use his ability 4 times in a game. Not game breaking, but still perhaps stronger than intended.

I just skulk around looking for opportunities to correct people who plan to have fun.

July 10, 2018, 11:26:10 AM
Reply #21

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part VII: The Choices of Mister Frodo.
« Reply #21 on: July 10, 2018, 11:26:10 AM »
Happy to be wrong! From wrong comes right as my old gaffer used to say.

I'm starting to draw-together some more outlandish ideas, hopefully culminating with a brand new long-form format I plan to call something like Quest format. I don't know how many of the cards I'm working on right now are going to roll forward (although I love the thought of allies making a comeback in a big way) so for now let's just see where this goes...

---------

I had a thought: Could I conceive of an enjoyable set in which none of its cards were Companions? Would that be fun to open packs, pulling "only Allies"? Surely not! So I had a subsequent question: What's the minimum attention I could give to Companions that still relies on Allies?

Easy!

(0) •Frodo, Fleeing the Shire [Shire]
Companion • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bearer (resistance 10).
Fellowship: Add [1] to make an ally at this site (except Tom Bombadil or Goldberry) become a companion until the end of the quest.
"'But I do not think you need go alone. Not if you know of anyone you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side—and that you would be willing to take into unknown perils.'"

Now every ally can be a companion! I have no idea how this might affect the Open cardpool, but in my hypothetical Second Edition this Frodo could call upon any of the allies I've written thus far, plus a whole slew of Classic reprints. Finally, Hobbit Farmer can go to Mount Doom!

---------

(0) No Day Unguarded [Gondor]
Condition • Support Area
Stealth.
Response: If an ally whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F] is about to take a wound, exert a ranger (or spot a ranger and discard a stealth card from hand) to prevent that wound.
"'...though even when I was far away there has never been a day when the Shire has not been guarded by watchful eyes.'"

Fairly simple card, easy to cycle and keep around. I'm not a huge fan of Faramir & Company having access to this, but I don't think there's an easy way to exclude them... and it probably doesn't matter, since this card is only good if you've got a lot of early allies.

---------

[2] •Faramir, Captain of Henneth Annûn [Gondor]
Ally • Home 2[K] & 4[R] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Ranger.
While roaming, Faramir is damage +1.
Response: If Faramir wins a skirmish, exert him to make him a Ring-bound companion until the end of the quest.
"'So that is the answer to all the riddles! The One Ring that was thought to have perished from the world... And here in the wild I have you: two halflings, and a host of men at my call, and the Ring of Rings.'"

You may question the need for such a card - "why not just run Faramir as a companion?" Fair point. And I'll admit this is a convoluted way to get a character into the fellowship. But if the Shire-to-Doom game format I'm developing actually works, it'll be in a player's interest to get some of these characters setup before they're needed!

Home 2[K] is for the outskirts of Minas Tirith, and 4[R] is the Ithilien wilderness along the Ring Site Path. Denethor's signet is back again, perhaps hinting at a bit more going on in Gondor than we've seen previously. As an ally Faramir can be recruited by Frodo FtS at site 4[R].

Now, Faramir requires himself to be roaming in order to get his damage bonus. I'm pulling an element straight out of Star Trek by adding culture icons onto sites, to signify any cards that are automatically roaming or not roaming, as well as adding additional spotability to the adventure path.

So, as a quick-and-dirty example:

(4[R]) Fence of Mordor [4]
Site • Ithilien • [Raider], [Sauron], [Wraith], [Gollum]
Exterior. Forest. Mountain.
<---
Skirmish: Discard a stealth card from hand to make your character strength +2.

This site is only playable along the Ring site path, and the native cultures are all Shadow (except [Gollum], which generally has access to everywhere). Anybody else here is considered to be roaming, on both sides. So this is naturally where Faramir wants to be, himself roaming and likely preparing for an ambush.

---------

I've dolled this post up as much as I have time for at the moment. I feel like all these cards are beginning to pivot into something... bigger.

I may need another thread.

July 13, 2018, 08:18:48 AM
Reply #22

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part VIII: The Realm of Denethor.
« Reply #22 on: July 13, 2018, 08:18:48 AM »
Today we're dipping our toes into some of the new [Gondor] mechanics incoming, mainly the Denethor signet and the revitalized Ally card type.

[4] •Denethor, Sitting Steward [Gondor]
Ally • Home 3[K] & 4[K] • Man
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Denethor Signet
Each companion and ally here without the Denethor signet is strength -1.
Skirmish: Discard a card with the Denethor signet from hand to make an unbound companion (except Aragorn) strength +2.
"...upon the lowest step which was broad and deep, there was a stone chair, black and unadorned, and on it sat an old man gazing at his lap."

I wrote the [4] twilight cost and knew I'd need to write something powerful and Denethorific to go along with it. So, signets. Signets by all rights should've been Denethor's biggest tool, and frankly I love how freely he is about flinging his people away in pursuit of winning the war. And of course Denethor doesn't have to exert to do any of this: just sit, and order.

I've set all Minas Tirith Allies as "3[K] & 6[K]" but, well, since Denethor doesn't exactly make it through the battle, I thought moving him to 3 & 4 a little pinch of flavor. I did consider having a line like "After site 5[K], discard Denethor." but I think he's enough of a painted-target as it is, and there will be plenty of [Sauron] ally hate in the posts to come.

---------

[1] Fountain Guard [Gondor]
Ally • Home 3[K] & 6[K] • Man
Strength 9
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Knight. Damage +1. To play, spot 3 [Gondor] fortifications.
This ally may not roam.
"...and above the cheek-guards were set the white wings of sea-birds; but the helms gleamed with a flame of silver, for they were indeed wrought of mithril, heirlooms from the glory of old days."

Really super good at the two [K] sanctuaries, but these allies can't roam (meaning they're unable to leave their home sites). Cheap though, and a bonus to any fortification-heavy decks.

I really didn't want to stick the Denethor signet onto Fountain Guard (for reasons way too dependent on lore to apply functionally, for once) but I needed a good strong ally to showcase some of what's going on in Gondor. There are going to be much better fodder for Sitting Steward to abuse, but this would do in a pinch since he's only actually useful in skirmishes at two sites.

---------

(0) Sword of the Citadel [Gondor]
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be a knight ally.
This artifact may be spotted as a possession.
Skirmish: Spot a [Gondor] fortification here and exert bearer to make him or her strength +2.
"...and none wore it now in all Gondor, save the Guards of the Citadel before the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree once had grown."

An option for a player willing to go all-in on the Minas Tirith culture (knights + [Gondor] allies + fortifications, basically), able to be borne by an as-yet-undetermined number of characters. There could be a unique Fountain Guard, and I imagine Imrahil would be a decent candidate. But there's bound to be a few knights represented as allies to represent the defense of the city. Characters we haven't seen before...

It's a great weapon but generally ceremonial, so its effectiveness comes with exertion. I had an effect just like that planned for the Fountain Guard, but decided to offload it onto the weapon itself.

I wanted this sword to be an Artifact but also be as vulnerable-to-discard as a possession. So, there.

---------

[3] •By Our Valour [Gondor]
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert a [Gondor] ally.
Each time a [Gondor] character is killed or discarded, add a [Gondor] token here.
Regroup: Remove X [Gondor] tokens here to reveal X cards at random from a Shadow player's hand. That Shadow player shuffles any revealed minions into his or her draw deck.
"'By our valour the wild folk of the East are stil restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained...'"

I don't feel like this card is quite finished but I mostly like the idea, and it synergizes well with Sitting Steward.

---------

[2] Secret Soldiers [Gondor]
Event • Maneuver
Stealth.
Exert a ranger ally to wound a minion (or 2 minions if that ranger ally is roaming).
"He could see them stealing up the slopes, singly or in long files, keeping always to the shade of grove of thicket, or crawling, hardly visible in their brown and green raiment, through grass and brake."

This card might look familiar.

I had the name before I had the idea of screenshotting Secret Sentinels and simply putting a ranger twist on it; but that's what I ended up doing since the parallels between what each card is attempting to "say" are fairly apparent.

The wording is a little fine and relies on a concept which exists currently only in my brain: Roaming Freeps. Companions, Minions, and Allies each now have different rules for whether or not they're roaming:

Allies are roaming anytime they participate in any phase at a site other than those listed as their home sites. Elrond, a Site 3[F] Ally, is roaming if he does anything at literally any site except 3[F]. (OWMWF makes the ally it targets roaming.)

Companions are roaming anytime the fellowship occupies a site lacking their culture icon. Chamber of Mazarbul might be reprinted with [Dwarven] and [Moria] icons, meaning Gimli wouldn't be roaming here, but Legolas would be.

Minions work in nearly the same way as Companions, in that they're roaming at any site lacking their culture icon. However, this only applies until the current site matches the minion's site number, at which point normal non-roaming rules are in effect.

When extended to a 30-site game, there is one additional rule for roaming: if a [F], [T], [K], or [R] card appears outside of its matching site path, it's roaming. A [Moria] minion with a site number of 4[F] is roaming at any non-[F] site, in addition to the parameters detailed above.

Sooo, with all of that in mind, Secret Soldiers gets pretty good as you rally your ranger allies into skirmishes, since skirmishing away from their home site triggers their status as roaming. Of course, Shadow players can potentially use this against you, but in [Gondor]'s case roaming happens to be a thing of a specialty...
« Last Edit: July 13, 2018, 09:40:16 AM by menace64 »

July 15, 2018, 11:33:31 PM
Reply #23

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part IX: Dunland Funland.
« Reply #23 on: July 15, 2018, 11:33:31 PM »
We're in my favorite Shadow culture a bit today, but let's begin with a revision:

[1] Enslaved [Dunland]
Condition • Support Area
At the end of each of your shadow phases, you may spot a unique [Dunland] Man to wound a non-unique ally.
Response: If you take control of a site, exert a [Dunland] Man to discard an ally at that site (or up to 2 villagers at that site). Discard this condition.
"Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king."

I've massively-simplified Enslaved's mechanics, removing the cumbersome ally-stacking without much hesitation. As this becomes less about random cards and more about reestablishing an entire environment, I'm toning-down some ideas as more iterable mechanics present themselves.

In the contest of the Response ability, 'at' refers to any ally whose home site matches the site-in-question, or any ally shifted to a dwelling at that site.

---------

[4]Saruman, Rabble-rouser (V) [Dunland]
Ally • Home 4[F] & 8[T] • Wizard
Strength 7
Vitality 4
To play, wound 2 [Dunland] Men.
At the start of each phase, you may exert Saruman and discard a Shadow card from hand to make each [Dunland] Man vitality +1 until the start of the next phase.

Of course a new Saruman would be an Ally. (Ignore the weird home sites for now.) But what's up with that To Play requirement? It's vicious! Wound two Dunlendings? Most of 'em don't even have any more than one vitality! And Saruman seems to be trying to help with [Dunland]'s vitality deficiency but that still comes with some hefty upkeep.

...What is this card??

---------

Well here's two reasons maybe-why I think the new Saruman is pretty good:

[1] Hill Brute [Dunland]
Minion • Man
Strength 6
Vitality 2
Site Number 2[T]
Enduring.
Lore TBD.

(Yes, site 2[T]. [Dunland] is now never-roaming on the [T] site path.)

[2] Hill Warrior [Dunland]
Minion • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 2
Site Number 2[T]
Enduring.
Response:
If a [Dunland] Man wins a skirmish, exert this minion to take control of a plains site.
"‘They will not give way now for dusk or dawn...'"

The revamped faces of the [Dunland] rabble are threefold: Enduring, site control, and ally hate (specifically villagers). I realize the Warrior's Response effect doesn't technically jive with the official rules; please work off the assumption that this card exists in a format where Shadow players take control of sites adhering to rules allowing for the capturing of selected sites instead of "lowest to highest". And you can take control of a site even if there's a fellowship there.

But yeah! Enduring! It won't swing things much but I think it mixes really well into the culture: after all, these hillfolk have been nursing their grudges for a long, long time. So now, taking a cue from Hill Chief, I want [Dunland] Men to want to exert, and I want each of those exertions to matter, even if it's only to make them physically stronger.

You'll want Rabble-rouser(V) to drop his wounds off on some of the less-useful minions (like the Brute). Choosing when to start the phase-to-phase vitality buff could be difficult since it can quickly become a crutch, extending the range and intensity of your Dunlending's enduring fury at the expense of your hand. (Saruman will be able to help with that.)

---------

(0) Hill Club [Dunland]
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a [Dunland] Man.
While wounded, bearer is damage +1.
"‘...and Saruman has armed the wild hillmen and herdfolk of Dunland beyond the rivers...'"

It's no War Club, but that's okay. Hill Club serves to bolster some of the damage dealt by your Enduring Dunlendings.

---------

[2]Fram's Plate, Plunder of Ered Mithrin [Dunland]
Artifact • Shield
Vitality +2
Bearer must be a [Dunland] Man. He is unique.
The fellowship archery total is -2.
Each minion skirmishing this [Dunland] Man does not gain strength bonuses from weapons and loses all damage bonuses.
The legends of Fram's victory over Scatha, the great dragon of Ered Mithrin, were well-known even to the sparse hillfolk now roving the region.

Every culture deserves artifacts, so when I set out to make a badass artifact for [Dunland] I went looking for some old Rohirric or Dunlending legend or hero to build a non-canon very-Decipher-like card around. I landed on the passage mentioning Fram's slaying of Scatha and the gift of dragon-teeth he made into a necklace. What else might Fram have made, to be lost in ruins for centuries until happened upon by hiillfolk?

A dragonshield, no less. Why not? Combination Mithril-coat, Great Shield, and some Seasoned Leader, and you end up with a God Tier magical item in the hand of a buncha hobos.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2018, 11:35:46 PM by menace64 »

July 17, 2018, 05:18:55 AM
Reply #24

Shapeshifter

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part IX: Dunland Funland.
« Reply #24 on: July 17, 2018, 05:18:55 AM »
Considering how the Eagles are up in the air watching Sauron's armies; how about something similar to Treachery Deeper than You Know?

[1] The Eyes of Manwe
Event • Fellowship
Spot an Eagle ally to reveal an opponent's hand.
You may shuffle 1 of those cards back into his or her draw deck.
"And the Eagles of the Mountains went far and wide, and they saw many things:
the gathering of wolves and the mustering of Orcs..."


Feel free to improve/change anything!  8-)
« Last Edit: July 17, 2018, 05:31:48 AM by Shapeshifter »

July 17, 2018, 08:00:20 PM
Reply #25

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part IX: Dunland Funland.
« Reply #25 on: July 17, 2018, 08:00:20 PM »
I love it! Anything that makes Eye of Barad-dur more interesting is a win in my book! And it's got a good blend of flavor with a solid pro for running allies.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2018, 08:02:12 PM by menace64 »

July 18, 2018, 11:59:51 AM
Reply #26

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part X: Doin' Stuff to Rohan.
« Reply #26 on: July 18, 2018, 11:59:51 AM »
[Rohan] felt pretty stale after RotK. Companions, possessions, okay. Rohan. Well, in the spirit of allies making a return, I figured I'd go for something a bit different.

[1] Horse of the Golden Hall [Rohan]
Ally • Edoras • Horse
Strength (+)3
Vitality (+)1
To play, spot a [Rohan] dwelling.
Maneuver: Exert a villager to transfer this ally from your adventure area to a Free Peoples Man, Elf, or Wizard: it becomes a Mount Possession (in addition to other keywords) until the end of this quest.
Lore TBD.

I've noticed a desire to condense Home Site mechanics on allies. Since any site or dwelling with Edoras in the title (or keywords) would count, this makes it easier to find where allies go in the adventure area. Otherwise I'd have to write "3[T] & 1[K]" and that's not even close to the most convoluted home siting I've run into.

On the real card, the "(+)" icons would be small, secondary in focus to the regular Strength and Vitality numbers. Cards with these icons are allies that can transfer to other characters (horses, Ent-bound Hobbits, Fell Beasts, etc.) and whatever their base stats are become boosts for the borne. If this sounds like Followers it's because functionally I suppose it is: but Followers were never classified as characters, so at least I've fixed that.

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[2]Éomer, Defender of Rohan [Rohan]
Ally • Rohan • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Théoden Signet
Valiant.
Response:
If Éomer bears a mount and any Shadow player takes control of a [Rohan] site, exert Éomer to prevent that.
Lore TBD.

Straightforward and potent. This ally version of Eomer will need help getting into skirmishes, but fortunately his effect doesn't require him to fight directly. Just give him a horse and let him say to the Shadow players, "Come and get me, bro."

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[2]Éowyn, Steelsheen [Rohan]
Ally • Edoras • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Théoden Signet
Valiant.
While bearing a hand weapon, Éowyn is strength +2.
Maneuver: Exert Éowyn and play a [Rohan] mount (or bearable Horse) on her from your hand to allow her to participate in archery fire and skirmishes at this site.
"...but Éowyn was slender and tall, with a grace and pride that came to her out of the South from Morwen of Lossarnach..."

Weaker base stats, but give her a sword and she's immediately a match for her brother, and more: I loved the mechanic introduced in BoHD of [Rohan] playing possessions in an ambushy fashion, so that's moving forward into whatever set this eventually becomes. In this case, Eowyn can grab a horse during the maneuver phase and go riding off into battle.

---------

One more, real quick:

[1]Güthwine [Rohan]
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be Éomer. He is damage +1.
Response: If Éomer kills a unique minion, exert him to liberate a site or discard a Shadow ally. (Limit once per skirmish.)
Lore TBD.

Not much to it, but the game is overdue for a Guthwine.

---------

So I've got material now for every culture. Any requests? I'm just writing cards across all three books, and I'll segment them into sets later on. So it's all up for request!

July 21, 2018, 03:21:10 AM
Reply #27

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part X: Doin' Stuff to Rohan!
« Reply #27 on: July 21, 2018, 03:21:10 AM »
I'm a fan of Gandalf, so let's see what you have for the [Gandalf] culture :)

July 21, 2018, 11:13:35 AM
Reply #28

menace64

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part XI: Gandalf Blows Up.
« Reply #28 on: July 21, 2018, 11:13:35 AM »
[Gandalf] has lots of new stuff in the works, but one thing I can tell you concretely about the culture is that I've taken it back to its roots: Actually Gandalf. No Bree. No Dale. No Ents. (I've kept Eagles but they are my exception that makes the rule!)

[4]Gandalf, Wielder of the Flame [Gandalf]
Companion • Wizard
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
While diverged, Gandalf is strength +4 and damage +1.
Each time Gandalf is assigned to a fierce minion, you may exert him to play a [Gandalf] weapon (or staff) onto him from your hand or discard pile.
"Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on his staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again..."

I think I've rambled about diverging once already, but here's a basic recap: various cards (typically during the regroup phase) can diverge your fellowship, either temporarily separating a companion to a divergent site (this can happen on The Bridge of Khazad-dum (V)) or permantently forking a fellowship, yielding an array of potentials: Ring-bound, War-bound, and Ent-bound. (But we'll come back to those another time!)

This Gandalf is ready to fight if he's put to task, spiking to 11 strength with a damage boost when diverged. And WotF carries-over from his Ally persona a buff against fierce minions, this time borrowing a bit of [Rohan]'s propensity for playing weapons irregularly. Note that this effect can trigger twice per minion, if Gandalf takes both assignments!

---------

(0)Gandalf's Cart, Bearer of Merriments [Gandalf]
Possession • Support Area
Fellowship: Stack a [Gandalf] non-Ring artifact or possession from hand (or from play) here.
Fellowship or Regroup: Play a card stacked here as if played from hand.
"Small hobbit-children ran after the cart all through Hobbiton and right up the hill. It had a cargo of fireworks, as they rightly guessed."

I almost gave Gandalf's Cart a straight reprint; it's just so cool the way it is that I was almost too afraid to touch it. Almost. Bearer of Merriments - or as I call it, the Bom - does all the collecting it used to do, but now it's limited to [Gandalf] items instead of Freeps. Kind of a bummer, but I've expanded its utility elsewhere by adding a Regroup option. Also, there's this:

[1] Dwarven Cart [Dwarven]
Possession • Support Area
To play, spot a Dwarf ally.
Felowship: Stack a Free Peoples non-Ring artifact or possession from hand here. (Limit 3 cards.)
Fellowship or Regroup: Exert a Dwarf to play a card stacked here as if played from hand.
"An odd-looking wagon laden with odd-looking packages rolled into Hobbiton one evening... It was driven by outlandish folk, singing strange songs: dwarves with long beards and deep hoods."

Nearly Gandalf's Cart, but non-unique and requiring at least 1 Dwarf ally to function. I quite prefer this utility being moved to [Dwarven]; [Gandalf] already has enough to do!

---------

...LIKE FIREWORKS!!

(0) Butterfly Fountain [Gandalf]
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top 2 cards of your draw deck. If any of the revealed cards are allies whose home site matches Gandalf's current site, you may play those allies if able (for free). Replace the revealed cards and discard this possession.
"At other times there were merely lots of people eating and drinking—continuously from elevenses until six-thirty, when the fireworks started... There were fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees..."

I want all of the fireworks to illuminate the top of draw decks in some way, potentially netting a benefit but nothing too powerful.

[1] Unfolding Spring [Gandalf]
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top 2 cards of your draw deck. If any of the revealed cards are dwellings matching Gandalf's current region, you may play those dwellings if able. Replace the revealed cards and discard this possession.
"There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers..."

Same function, just targeting dwellings instead of allies. (Dwelling is a new card type.)

(0) Silver Spears [Gandalf]
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top card of two different draw decks. If either revealed card is a Free Peoples card, draw a card. Discard this possession.
"...there was a forest of silver spears that sprang suddenly into the air with a yell like an embattled army, and came down again into the Water with a hiss like a hundred hot snakes."

Slightly different in that this firework illuminates the top card of 2 decks, netting a drawn card if either is a Freeps card.

---------

[1]They Were All Superb [Gandalf]
Condition • Support Area
Tale.
Each time you discard a firework from play, you may add a [Gandalf] token here.
Fellowship: Remove a [Gandalf] token here to heal an ally at Gandalf's current site.
"...dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps."

I don't know how many cards will care about fireworks, but here's one of them! TWAS converts used fireworks into [Gandalf] tokens you then use to heal allies close to Gandalf.

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[1]In Bilbo's Honour [Gandalf]
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. Tale. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
At the start of each of your turns, you may discard this possession and spot 3 allies at Gandalf's current site to make that site a sanctuary this turn.
"Out flew a red-golden dragon—not life-size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd."

Big Dragon Firework! Keyword extravaganza! ...sanctuary... creation? Not at all the same sort of firework as we've already seen, and you'll have to tell me if what I've written is a bad idea!  :lol:

July 23, 2018, 12:26:19 AM
Reply #29

Shapeshifter

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Re: Allies of the Ring, Part XI: Gandalf Blows Up!
« Reply #29 on: July 23, 2018, 12:26:19 AM »
I like the concept of fireworks! And the new Carts seem to make sense lorewise (I'm kind of fond of Dwarves too) :)