The Last Homely House

Undying Lands => The Straight Road => House Rules => Topic started by: hrcho on February 04, 2011, 05:37:59 PM

Title: Unofficial Rulebook
Post by: hrcho on February 04, 2011, 05:37:59 PM

Here you can find a link to download your very own version of the "Unofficial Rulebook" (http://files.me.com/tlbiesterfeld/nlw02c) in PDF format.

I will also post that very same Rulebook here so you can read it without downloading it. I will divide it into several posts where each post will contain one section of the rulebook.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ Trading Card Game
“Unofficial” Rulebook

THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ Trading Card Game is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. This document is not endorsed by Decipher and is strictly unofficial.
 

THE LORD OF THE RINGS™
TRADING CARD GAME
“UNOFFICIAL” RULEBOOK
Version 1.0 (draft) – October 1, 2010
 
All changes from official rules are identified by a "delta" symbol.
 
It is organized in the following sections:
Section One – Overview
Section Two – Glossary
Section Three – Individual Card Rulings
Section Four – X-Lists & Restricted Lists

Note: This document is not endorsed by Decipher
and is strictly unofficial.

Title: Re: Rulebook
Post by: hrcho on February 04, 2011, 06:43:04 PM

SECTION ONE: OVERVIEW
This section of the “Unofficial” Rulebook mirrors the presentation of a Starter Rulebook. Important concepts are explained first, followed by game setup and an explanation of the turn sequence in order. This section is offered only as a chronological overview of gameplay. There are few examples of play, and few specific rulings. For such material, refer to Section Two.
 
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
KINDS OF CARDS
Most cards in The Lord of the Rings TCG are one of two basic kinds: Free Peoples or Shadow. There are also sites and The One Ring, which are neither Free Peoples cards nor Shadow cards.
 
Free Peoples cards
Free Peoples cards represent the forces of good. Each player has his own fellowship, made up of a Ring-bearer and other companions. When you take your turn, you play and use your Free Peoples cards. Free Peoples cards have a light colored circular field in the upper left corner.
 
Shadow cards
Shadow cards represent the forces of evil and corruption. When another player takes his turn, you play and use your Shadow cards to hinder that player.  Shadow cards have a dark colored diamond-shaped field in the upper left corner.
 
CARD TYPES
There are ten different card types in the game: The One Ring, site, companion, ally, minion, follower, possession, artifact, event, and condition. Companion, ally, and minion cards are also collectively referred to as character cards.
 
THE ONE RING
This card type represents the uniquely powerful item that is the focus of the story of The Lord of the Rings. In the middle of the card, The One Ring has its subtitle. It has no twilight cost. There are several versions of The One Ring, represented by different cards, but you’ll only use one version at a time. 
 
SITE
Site cards represent locations in Middle-earth, and are used to chart the progress of the game. Nine sites are placed in your adventure deck, and are kept separately from the other cards you draw and play during the game, which are placed in the draw deck. Site cards have a dark compass in the upper left corner.  This symbol is used on sites from the Shadows expansion set onward, differentiating them from sites found in previous sets (which use a different compass symbol, and may also use a block symbol).
 
COMPANION
A companion is a Free Peoples character in your fellowship.
 
ALLY
An ally is a character that helps your companions from afar but does not move with them.
 
MINION
A minion is a Shadow character that attacks other players’ fellowships.
 
FOLLOWER
A follower represents help for your fellowship that joins for a short time and then departs. 
 
POSSESSION
A possession is a weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of object used by a character. Most possessions tell you who their bearer can be, which is the kind of character you can play them on.
 
ARTIFACT
An artifact is a unique weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of special object used by a character. Though artifacts are played and used much like possessions, they are a different card type. Artifacts are not affected by cards that affect possessions.
 
EVENT
An event is a card played from your hand representing an important occurrence, which you discard after you play it.
 
CONDITION
A condition is a card representing a significant change in the world, which stays in play until discarded. Most conditions play to your support area, though some play on other cards, and tell you who or what their bearer can be.
 
CULTURE
Most cards are part of a specific culture. A card’s color, its background texture, and an icon in its upper right corner indicate its culture. Your deck may contain cards from several different cultures. Site cards and The One Ring are not part of any culture. 
 
 
Culture names and symbols
Free Peoples cards         
[Dwarf] Dwarven           
[elf] Elven                       
[gandalf] Gandalf           
[gollum] Smeagol           
[gondor] Gondor             
[rohan] Rohan                 
[shire] Shire                   

Shadow cards                                     
[Dunland] Dunland                                       
[gollum] Gollum
[isengard] Isengard
[men] Men
[moria] Moria
[orc] Orc
[raider] Raider
[Sauron] Sauron
[Uruk] Uruk-hai
[wraith] Wraith
 
VITALITY
All characters in the game have vitality. This number represents a character’s life force, stamina, sturdiness, and will to live.
 
Wounds
When a character is wounded by an enemy attack, his vitality is depleted. Place a wound token on the character to illustrate this. Glass beads (preferably blood red) make good tokens for this purpose. When you “wound a character,” you place only one wound.  Each wound a character has reduces its vitality by 1. When a character’s vitality is reduced to zero, that character is immediately killed. (Reducing a character’s strength to zero does not kill that character.)
 
Healing
When a wound is removed from a character, this represents resting or healing. When you “heal a character,” you remove one wound. Generally, your fellowship only heals at a sanctuary – that is, a site 3 or site 6 – you reach on the adventure path. At the start of your turn when your fellowship is at a sanctuary, you may heal up to 5 wounds from your companions (not allies).
 
Killed
When a character’s vitality is reduced to zero, that character is immediately killed. Place killed Free Peoples characters (companions and allies) in your dead pile. The dead pile is separate from and next to your discard pile. Place killed minions in your discard pile. When you have a unique companion or ally in your dead pile, you cannot play another copy of that card, or any other card with the same title. (You may play another copy of a non-unique card that is in your dead pile.)
 
Exert
Sometimes you may exert a character by placing a wound on that card to show that the character takes an action that depletes his vitality. Exerting a character is different from wounding a character, even though both require placement of a wound token. Cards that prevent wounds cannot prevent a wound token placed by exerting. Once a wound token is placed, whether from exerting or wounding, it can be healed by any effect that heals a wound. 
No player may exert a character who is exhausted (who has only 1 vitality). If the effect of an action says a character “must exert” and that character is exhausted, then nothing happens. To exhaust a character means to exert that character as many times as you can.
 
RESISTANCE
Companion cards have resistance. This number represents a companion’s ability to withstand the lure of The One Ring. Some characters have a ring around their resistance icon, meaning they can be chosen begin the game as your Ring-bearer. Companions preceding the Shadows expansion set (other than versions of Frodo or Sam) do not have their resistance printed on the card. These companions have a resistance of 6. Allies have a resistance of zero. 
 
Burdens
When your Ring-bearer loses will against the power of The One Ring, you place a burden token on him. Glass beads (preferably black) make good burden tokens, but anything you won’t confuse with a wound will do. There are many cards that add or remove burdens. Burdens are only placed on your Ring-bearer. Each burden on your Ring-bearer reduces the resistance of every companion in your fellowship by 1. If your Ring-bearer’s resistance is reduced to zero, he is corrupted, and you lose the game. Only your Ring-bearer can be corrupted. If the resistance of any of your other companions is reduced to zero, there is no immediate penalty, though your opponent may play Shadow cards to take advantage of this.
 
SIGNET
Some Free Peoples character cards have a signet, found in the lower left corner of the card. Cards with the same signet generally give bonuses to each other and work well in the same deck. Each signet is based around an important character in the story. The available signets are Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, and Théoden. 
 
TWILIGHT POOL
The twilight pool is an area on the table where twilight tokens are placed. The tokens in the twilight pool represent how dangerous the world is for the fellowship. Glass beads (preferably black) make good twilight tokens, but any convenient tokens will do. Keep a large reserve of twilight tokens handy.
 
Twilight Cost
In the upper left corner of each Free Peoples and Shadow card is that card’s twilight cost. This is the number of twilight tokens that must be added to or removed from the twilight pool to play that card. When you play a Free Peoples card, you must add a number of twilight tokens (from the reserve) to the twilight pool equal to that card’s twilight cost. When your opponent plays a Shadow card, he must remove a number of twilight tokens from the twilight pool equal to that card’s twilight cost. A Shadow card cannot be played if its twilight cost cannot be
met by the tokens available in the twilight pool. In game text, you will find phrases like “Add ” which means, “Add 1 twilight token to the twilight pool.” You must meet any requirements to play a card (or perform an action) before paying its costs.
 
PHASE ACTIONS
During each phase of a turn, one or more players are allowed to perform phase actions that use a word matching the name of that phase. These words are printed in boldface and followed by a colon. Each phase action lasts for the duration of the phase named in the boldface word (unless otherwise specified). The effects of a phase action with the keyword Skirmish: last only for the skirmish phase in which it is used. Each phase action must be completely performed before another phase action can be performed. Phase actions cannot be combined. An action labeled with the word “Response:” is not a phase action. Responses are explained later in this rulebook.
 
EVENTS
Most event cards have a phase action that defines when you may play that card from your hand. The game text on that event may be performed only once for each copy of that event played. You cannot play an event during a phase that does not match its phase action. Discard an event after you play it, and before the next action is taken. Even after being discarded, an event often has an ongoing or delayed effect until the end of the phase, or until a specified phase or condition is met.
 
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Besides events, other types of cards may have a phase action as a part of their game text called a special ability, which may be used only while the card is in play. (The boldfaced word defines when you may do so.) Each special ability is optional; you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. You may use each special ability as many times as you like (even repeatedly during the same phase), as long as you meet the requirements for it and pay its costs.
 
WHEN, EACH TIME, AND WHILE
A few special words or phrases you’ll see in game text govern the timing of an action, just like the names of phases that are in phase actions. These include when, each time, and while; each is described below with an example.
•When is used if an effect can happen only once. When you play this possession, you may draw a card. This game text activates only once, when this card is played.
•Each time is used if an effect can happen more than
once. Each time you play a possession or artifact
on your companion, draw a card. If you play one
possession, this game text activates once; if you
play a second possession, it activates again, and so
on.
•While is used if an effect is continuous. While
Merry bears a weapon, he is strength +2. When
you play a weapon on Merry, this game text is
activated; if that weapon is discarded, then this
game text “turns off.”
Each of these effects has a trigger describing what
makes it happen. The trigger is always described
first, and followed by a comma.
 
SETTING UP THE GAME
Players need a supply of wound tokens (preferably red) and twilight tokens (preferably black). Each player will also need a player marker (a differently-colored token) that shows where his fellowship is on the adventure path.
 
Who goes first?
In the Starter Rules, players decide randomly who goes first. Normally, however, players bid burdens to determine this. Players place secret bids for the right to determine who goes first in the game. The bidding is done with black tokens, which will become burdens on your Ring-bearer. Each player secretly places a number of burdens in his hand (you may bid zero). When all players are ready, simultaneously reveal the bids. The highest bid wins the right to choose where he goes in the turn order. Any choice is available. Next, the second highest bidder chooses from the remaining positions in the turn order, and so on. Keep track of each player’s bid, as these tokens will become burdens on his Ring-bearer. If there are any ties, then the tied players resolve randomly who chooses first among them. Tom, Chuck, Tim, and Mike are playing, and the initial bids are Tom 3, Chuck 4, Tim 3, and Mike 1. Chuck wins the right to choose, and he chooses to go first (placing 4 burdens on his Ring-bearer). Tom and Tim are tied, so they flip a coin, and Tom wins the tiebreak. He chooses second (placing 3 burdens on his Ring-bearer). Tim chooses to go fourth (3 burdens), leaving third for Mike (1 burden). The first player sits down, and the others then sit in
clockwise order around the table according to their choices.
 
Adventure Deck
Take all 9 of your site cards and place them face down in a pile on the table. This is your adventure deck.
No other player may look through your adventure deck during the game. You don’t have to keep your adventure deck in any order. Just look through it to get a card when you need to. The first player chooses any site from his adventure deck and places it on the table to begin the adventure path. This becomes site 1. Each player places his
player marker onto that site. All players use the same adventure path for their player markers. The cards that make up that path are taken from the adventure decks of the players. Place the adventure path off to the side, opposite
from the twilight pool. That leaves room in the middle of the table for minions.
 
Starting Fellowship
In the Starter Rules, players select their starting fellowships based upon which deck they have. Normally, however, players customize their starting fellowships. Your fellowship begins with a character bearing The One Ring. This can be any character with the ringed resistance icon, or any version of Frodo. That character gains the keywords Ring- bearer and Ring-bound, if he does not already have them. Place your Ring-bearer face up on the table. Place The One Ring under your Ring-bearer (so the title is showing) and place on him the burdens that you bid. You may then play other companions (not allies, possessions, artifacts, or conditions) one at a time from your draw deck, as long as the total twilight cost of these companions is 4 or less. The twilight cost of your Ring-bearer is not included in this total. Don’t place any tokens into the twilight pool for the cards in your starting fellowship. Site text is not
active when the starting fellowships are played. Select and reveal starting fellowships in player order. (In tournament play, you may change your starting fellowship from game to game.)
 
Draw deck
The rest of your cards form your draw deck. Shuffle your draw deck, give the opponent on your right the opportunity to cut it, and draw eight cards to form your starting hand. When you draw the last card from your draw deck, you don’t lose the game. Continue with the cards you have in hand and in play. In the Starter Rules, if you have no cards in your draw deck, you are allowed to reshuffle your discard pile to make a new one once per game. Normally, however, you are not allowed to do this.
 
Game Setup Summary
•Bid to determine who goes first. 
•Each player places his adventure deck on the
table. 
•First player plays a site from his adventure deck.
•Each player puts his player marker on that site.
•Each player places his starting fellowship on
the table, placing the burdens he bid on his
Ring-bearer. 
•Each player shuffles his draw deck and draws 8
cards.
 
Redrawing your hand
After all players have drawn their starting hands (before the first turn begins), each player (in player order) may shuffle his or her hand into his or her draw deck and draw 6 cards. The cards in the original hand are not revealed to anyone. This redraw may be for any reason. Each player may redraw only once per game. A player who passes on the opportunity to redraw may not change his mind. 
 
 
PLAYING THE GAME
Each player, going clockwise around the table, takes
turns according to the following turn sequence.
 
1. Fellowship Phase 
2. Shadow Phase(s) 
3. Maneuver Phase 
4. Archery Phase
5. Assignment Phase 
6. Skirmish Phase(s) 
7. Regroup Phase
 
When one player finishes his turn, the next player in clockwise rotation (to his left) takes a turn and so on. Although the turn order rotates to the left (clockwise), note that many other procedures in the game actually rotate to the right (counter-clockwise).
 
START OF TURN
When your turn begins, remove all tokens from the twilight pool. (The pool begins the game empty, so this is not necessary on the first turn of the game.) Then you complete any “at the start of each turn” (or “at the start of each of your turns”) actions. Each of these actions may be performed only once per turn.
 
1. FELLOWSHIP PHASE
During your fellowship phase, you may perform fellowship actions, including playing most Free Peoples cards. Finally, move your fellowship forward along the adventure path.
 
Perform fellowship actions
If you are the Free Peoples player, you may perform fellowship actions during this phase, in any order. Two fellowship actions are always available:
•Play a Free Peoples companion, ally, follower, possession, artifact, or condition from your hand to the table.
?These card types may be played during other phases only if a card says to.
•“Discard to heal.” Spot a unique companion or unique ally with at least one wound and discard a card from your hand with the same card title (it may have a different subtitle) to heal that character. You may find other fellowship actions on events in your hand, or as special abilities on cards you already have in play. Some card effects allow you to draw cards in the fellowship phase. You cannot draw (or take into hand) more than 4 cards during your fellowship phase. This is referred to as The Rule of 4.
 
Playing companions
Play companion cards in a row, near the other members of your fellowship already in play. You cannot have more than nine total companions in play and in your dead pile at any time. (Each copy of a companion in play or in your dead pile counts as a separate companion, whether it is unique or non-unique.) This is referred to as The Rule of 9.
 
Playing allies
Allies are characters that do not count as members of your fellowship. Play them to your support area (a row of cards behind your fellowship). There is no limit to the number of allies you may have in play. Ally cards have a home site number indicated just after the card’s type, on the same line (such as Ally • Home 3 • Elf). These home site numbers all refer to adventure paths from the Fellowship block, Tower block, and King block. Allies have no home sites on adventure paths from the Shadows expansion set onward. Each ally in your support area is considered
to be at his home site.
 
Playing followers
A follower is played to your support area.
 
Playing possessions
Play Free Peoples possessions under a character, with the left edge of the card visible for its card title and attribute bonuses (positive modifiers for the character’s strength, vitality, and/or resistance, written with a plus sign like "+2”). Some possessions play to your support area.
 
Playing artifacts
Play Free Peoples artifacts just as you play Free Peoples possessions.
 
Class
Each character may bear one possession or artifact of each class at one time. For example, a character may bear only one hand weapon, only one ranged weapon, only one armor, only one cloak, and only one staff. Some possessions and artifacts do not have a class. There is no limit to the number of cards without a class that a character may bear.
 
Playing conditions
Play Free Peoples conditions either under a character (like a possession, if the card says, “Bearer must be...”) or to your support area, as indicated by the condition card. Free Peoples conditions are played during the fellowship phase, even if they provide a special ability that is performed during a different phase.
 
Moving your fellowship
During each of your fellowship phases, when you are finished performing fellowship actions, your fellowship must move forward to the next site on the adventure path. Place your player marker on the next site on the adventure path. If there is no site there yet (as is the case for the first player in the first turn), then a new site must be played from one of the Shadow players’ adventure decks, as described below under “playing sites.” When you move your player marker to the next site, first perform any actions triggered by leaving the old site. Then perform actions that say, “When the fellowship moves...” Then, perform actions that occur when moving to the new site. Finally, add
tokens to the twilight pool, as described below under “adding twilight tokens for movement.” Note that when you are playing using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block formats, the playing of sites and adding of twilight tokens works differently than what is explained below. Refer to “Formats,” later in Section One under “Building
Your Deck,” for an explanation of these differences.
 
Playing sites
If your fellowship moves to a site that has not been played yet, one of the Shadow players must place a new site on the adventure path. To determine which player, look at the site you are moving from. Each site has an arrow at the bottom center of the card. This indicates who is to play the new site, with   
----------> meaning the Shadow player to your right
and <---------- meaning the Shadow player to your
left. (In a two-player game, there is only one Shadow player at a time, so that player always plays the new site.) 
That player looks through his adventure deck and chooses any site to play as the next site. It takes on the next consecutive number on the adventure path as its site number. It also takes on a region number: sites 1-3 are in region 1, sites 4-6 are in region 2, and sites 7-9 are in region 3. The first time the first player moves during the game, a Shadow player looks through his adventure deck and chooses the next site to place on the adventure
path. It becomes site 2. The next time a site is added after that, it will be site 3. Both of those sites are in
region 1. You may play a copy of a site on the adventure path even if an opponent’s copy was already played as an
earlier site. The copies are treated as different sites, with each given a different site number. Adding twilight tokens for movement Each time your fellowship moves to a new site, you must add twilight tokens to the twilight pool for each of the following: 
•Add the number of twilight tokens indicated by the
Shadow number of the site you’re moving to. 
•Add 3 twilight tokens if you are in region 2, or 6
twilight tokens if you are in region 3. (You may
find it easier to remember this: add 3 if you’ve
passed the sanctuary at site 3, or add 6 if you’ve
passed the sanctuary at site 6).
•Add 1 twilight token for each companion in your
fellowship.
You move a fellowship of four companions to a site 5
that has a Shadow number of 2. You add 2 twilight
tokens for the Shadow number, 3 tokens for the
region (region 2), and 4 tokens for your companions,
for a total of 9 twilight tokens added to the twilight
pool.
 
Movement Summary
•A Shadow player places the next site card, if
needed.
•Move your player marker to the next site. 
•Perform “When you move from...” actions.
•Perform “When the fellowship moves...”
 actions. 
•Perform “When you move to...” actions. 
•Add twilight tokens equal to the new site’s Shadow
number. 
•Add 3 twilight tokens if the new site is in region 2;
or 6 if it is in region 3. 
•Add 1 twilight token for each companion. 
 
2. SHADOW PHASE(S)
Each other player in the game, starting with the player immediately to your right, has one Shadow phase. During each player’s Shadow phase, that player may perform Shadow actions in any order, including playing most Shadow cards.
 
Perform Shadow actions
One Shadow action is always available: 
•Play a Shadow minion, possession, artifact, follower or condition from your hand to the table. ? These card types may be played during other phases only if a card says to. A Shadow player may find other Shadow actions on events in his hand, or as special abilities on cards he already has in play. When one Shadow player has completed all of the Shadow actions he wishes to perform, the next Shadow player to his right (if any) then performs a
Shadow phase. All Shadow players pay for cards by using the same twilight pool. The second Shadow player uses
twilight tokens left over from the first Shadow player, and so on. You may use (and exert) another player’s character to pay a cost for your Shadow card or special ability.
 
Playing Shadow cards
A minion is played to the center of the table, across from the active fellowship. ? A follower is played to your support area. Artifacts, possessions, and conditions state in their game text where they play. Each minion is normally played to a certain range of sites beginning with the minion’s site number. If the minion is played to (or is currently at) a site that has a lower site number, that minion is roaming. The player must pay a roaming penalty by removing an additional two twilight tokens when playing that minion. A Shadow player cannot play a Shadow artifact, condition, or possession on another Shadow player’s minion ? or follower, or to another player’s support
area. However, Shadow cards may give bonuses or other game effects to other players’ Shadow cards, and Shadow players may play events for other players’ Shadow cards as appropriate. When all Shadow players have each completed a Shadow phase, proceed to the maneuver phase. If there are no minions in play at the end of the final Shadow phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
 
3. MANEUVER PHASE
 
Perform maneuver actions 
During this phase, players may perform maneuver actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Maneuver:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. 
 
Action Procedure
As the Free Peoples player, you get the first opportunity to perform an action, and then the player on your right gets an opportunity, and so on counter-clockwise around the table. If a player does not wish to perform an action, he may simply pass. Passing does not prevent a player from performing an action later in the same phase. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to the archery phase. If there are no minions left after the maneuver phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
 
4. ARCHERY PHASE 
 
Perform archery actions
During this phase, players may perform archery actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Archery:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, conduct archery fire.
 
Archery fire
All Shadow players count the number of all their minions with the keyword archer to determine the “minion archery total.” No matter how many Shadow players there are, there is only one minion archery total. As the Free Peoples player, you also count the number of your Free Peoples archer companions to determine the “fellowship archery total.”  The Free Peoples player then assigns a number of wounds equal to the minion archery total to his companions (and participating allies), in any way he wishes. He then chooses one Shadow player who must assign a number of wounds equal to the fellowship archery total to his minions, in any way he wishes. There is always a “default” archery total of zero for each side. A card may add to your archery total even though you have no archers in play at that time. When the fellowship is at an ally’s home site (or a card has allowed them to participate in archery fire), you may count archer allies for the fellowship archery total, and assign archery wounds to them.
When all archery wounds have been assigned, proceed to the assignment phase. If there are no minions left after the archery phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase. 
 
Archery Phase Summary
•Perform archery actions 
•Determine archery totals for each side. 
•Free Peoples player assigns archery wounds to his
companions (and participating allies). 
•Free Peoples player chooses one Shadow player.
•That Shadow player assigns archery wounds to his
minions. 
 
5. ASSIGNMENT PHASE
 
Perform assignment actions 
During the assignment phase, players may perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play with Assignment:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. Many assignment actions assign a minion to a companion. You cannot do this unless both of them are unassigned. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to assign defenders. 
 
Assign defenders 
During your assignment phase, you may assign companions to defend against attacking minions. A player cannot assign more than one companion to the same minion. Inform the Shadow players when you are done making assignments. All assignments of characters are on a one-to-one basis, with the following two exceptions:
•If your assigned companion has the keyword defender +1, you may assign that character at this time to one additional unassigned minion. Defender +2 allows that companion to defend against two additional unassigned minions, and so on. A character with defender +2 (or greater) satisfies any requirement for defender +1.
•When you have informed the Shadow players that you are done making assignments, they may assign any leftover unassigned minions to any companions (even if those companions are already assigned). The first Shadow player on your right may assign any of his unassigned minions, and so on, counter-clockwise around the table.
When the fellowship is at an ally’s home site (or if a card effect has allowed an ally to participate in skirmishes), that ally may be assigned to a skirmish in the same way that companions are assigned to skirmishes. When the assignment phase is complete, each companion being attacked will lead to a separate skirmish phase.
 
Assignment Phase Summary
•Perform assignment actions 
•Free Peoples player may assign defending
companions to minions. 
•Shadow players may assign leftover unassigned
minions to any companions.
 
6. SKIRMISH PHASE(S)
When the assignment phase is complete, each defending character will fight in a separate skirmish phase. In an order decided by the Free Peoples player, skirmishes are resolved one at a time by conducting a skirmish phase for each. Once a skirmish phase has finished, the Free Peoples player must select another defending companion (one who is still assigned to a minion), and perform another skirmish phase.
 
Perform skirmish actions
During each skirmish phase, players may perform skirmish actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Skirmish:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. Each skirmish action lasts only for a single skirmish. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to resolve that skirmish.
 
Resolve that skirmish
? Resolving a skirmish means to determine a winning side and losing side (and also determine whether the losing side is overwhelmed) by comparing the strength totals of each side. If the total strength of one side is more than the strength of the other side (but less than double), the side with the most strength wins that skirmish. (If
there is a tie, the Shadow side wins.) Place one wound on each character on the losing side. When the winning side has one or more characters with the keyword damage +1, then each losing character takes one additional wound for each damage +1. (Damage +2 adds two wounds, and so on.) This is called a damage bonus, which may be added to or removed by various effects.  If the total strength of one side is at least double the total strength of the other side, all the characters on the losing side are overwhelmed and killed (regardless of how many wounds or how much vitality each has). When a character is overwhelmed, that character does not take any more wounds — he simply dies. A skirmish phase ends after all actions triggered by winning or losing that skirmish have resolved. 
A surviving minion or companion may skirmish again this turn if the fellowship makes another move (or if the minion has the keyword fierce). 

Skirmish Phase Summary 
•Free Peoples player chooses a skirmish. 
•Players perform skirmish actions. 
•Resolve that skirmish and assign wounds. 
•If any skirmishes are unresolved, repeat this
procedure.
 
FIERCE
After all normal skirmishes are resolved, surviving minions with the keyword fierce must be defended against a second time. Players perform another assignment phase and then complete a separate skirmish phase for each fierce skirmish.
 
Assignment Phase (Fierce)
Players may again perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Assignment:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. The Free Peoples player then assigns defenders just as during the regular assignment phase, and then Shadow players assign any fierce minions that remain unassigned.
 
Skirmish Phase(s) (Fierce)
Then each defending companion fights in a separate skirmish phase, just as during the regular skirmish phases, in an order decided by the Free Peoples player. When all skirmishes (both normal and fierce) have been resolved, proceed to the regroup phase.
 
7. REGROUP PHASE
During the regroup phase, players may perform regroup actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Regroup:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to reconcile the Shadow players’ hands.
 
Shadow players reconcile
Each Shadow player must reconcile his hand to eight cards, as follows: 
•He may first discard one card from his hand. 
•If he then has less than eight cards in his hand, he
must draw cards until he has eight. 
•Otherwise (when he has more than eight cards in
his hand), he must discard from his hand until he
has only eight.
 
Free Peoples player chooses
At the end of the regroup phase, if you are the Free Peoples player, you must select one of the following two choices: 
•Move the fellowship to the next site (allowing the proper Shadow player to place a new site if needed), add tokens to the twilight pool (for the Shadow number of the new site, the region of that site, and the number of companions in the fellowship), and return to the Shadow phase(s).
•Or, reconcile your hand (just as the Shadow players did above). Then the Shadow players discard all minions in play (and cards borne by them; ? except followers, which are returned to the owner Shadow player’s support area), and your turn ends.
 
Move limit
During each of your turns, your fellowship must move once, and may move a number of times up to your move limit. 
In a two- or three-player game, your move limit is two. In a game with four or more players, your move limit is equal to the number of your opponents when the game begins. During your regroup phase, you may decide to move your fellowship again, subject to this move limit.
 
Regroup Phase Summary
•Players perform regroup actions. 
•Shadow players reconcile. 
•The Free Peoples player chooses to move again if
his move limit allows (returning to the Shadow
phase), or to reconcile and end his turn.
 
WINNING THE GAME
A player wins the game when his fellowship is at a site 9 and his Ring-bearer survives all skirmish phases. The game ends, and there is no regroup phase on the last turn. A player may also win the game if he becomes the
last player left in the game (see below).
 
Losing the Game
A player loses the game if his Ring-bearer is killed, unless he uses game text allowing another character to carry on as Ring-bearer. A player also loses the game if his Ring-bearer becomes corrupted by having burdens reduce his
resistance to zero. There are cards that can corrupt the Ring-bearer, regardless of how many burdens he might have. If a player loses a game and there are at least two other players remaining, remove his player marker
and all of his cards from play (and discard any opponent’s cards that were on them). Remove his sites on the adventure path in numerical order, then each opponent, starting to the player’s right and proceeding counter- clockwise, chooses a site from his adventure deck to replace each one removed. The other players complete the losing player’s turn.
 
BUILDING YOUR DECK
Each player brings to the game at least 71 cards: 
• a Ring-bearer, bearing The One Ring (2 cards), 
• a draw deck of at least 60 cards, and 
• a 9-card adventure deck. 
 
Formats 
Each game has one of the following formats:
•Fellowship block – only cards from sets 1, 2, and 3, 
•Tower block – only cards from sets 4, 5, and 6,
•King block – only cards from sets 7, 8, and 10,
•War of the Ring block – only cards from sets 11, 12, and 13, 
•Open – all cards allowed, including set 9 (Reflections), using only sites from set 11 onward (Shadows). 
•Standard – a tournament format similar to Open, but including the X-List (see Section 4).
You and your opponents must each have a deck built for the same format. 
When you play a game using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block format, you cannot choose any site from your adventure deck when it is time to play a new site on the adventure path. Instead, the site which has the next consecutive site number must be played. When you play a game using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block format, you do not add pool for the fellowship’s region number when you are moving your fellowship.
 
Ring-bearer and The One Ring
You may choose any character with the ringed resistance icon, or any version of Frodo, to be your Ring-bearer. You may choose any version of The One Ring. These two cards are not part of your draw deck (they do not count against your total of Free Peoples cards).
 
Draw Deck
Your draw deck must have at least 60 cards and must have an equal number of Shadow cards and Free Peoples cards, shuffled together. You cannot have any copies of The One Ring or sites in your draw deck. You may have up to four copies of each card title (ignoring subtitles) in your draw deck. Exception: Since one copy of your Ring-bearer is always part of your starting fellowship, you may have only three copies of that character in your draw deck.
 
Adventure Deck
Your adventure deck must have exactly nine site cards in it. Each site must be different. The contents of your adventure deck depends on which format you are playing. In the Open format and War of the Ring block, your adventure deck may include no more than three sites that have the same given Shadow number. In the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block, sites are numbered, and you must include one for each of the nine site numbers.

Title: Re: Rulebook
Post by: hrcho on February 06, 2011, 01:58:19 PM

SECTION TWO: GLOSSARY
This section of the “Unofficial” Rulebook provides complete rules to the game, organized alphabetically by topic. All material in Section One is duplicated in this section under its appropriate heading, accompanied by rulings that cover less frequent gameplay situations and by more specific examples. Cross-references from one topic to others that provide additional rules on the same topic are listed in bold type. For entries on individual cards, refer to Section Three.
 
action
Nearly everything that occurs during the game is some kind of action. Players perform actions to play cards, use special abilities, move their fellowships, reconcile, and so on. Every action is either optional or required. An optional action is defined as: an action that uses the word “may,” an event, or a special ability. All other actions are required actions. If two or more required actions are occurring at the same time (for example, more than one “start of turn” action), the Free Peoples player decides in which order they occur. All required actions responding to a particular trigger are performed before any optional actions. After all such required actions have resolved, players may perform optional actions responding to that same trigger using the action procedure. (See response.)
See also cost, effect, loops.
 
action procedure
As the Free Peoples player, you get the first opportunity to perform an action, and then the player on your right gets an opportunity, and so on counter-clockwise around the table. If a player does not wish to perform an action, he may simply pass. Passing does not prevent a player from performing an action later in the same phase.
 
active
During your turn, only these cards in play are active:
• sites on the adventure path,
• sites in any player’s support area,
• your Free Peoples cards,
• your copy of The One Ring, and
• your opponents’ Shadow cards.
All other cards in play are inactive. Inactive cards are not affected by the game and do not affect the game. Any tokens on them are ignored (such as burdens, culture tokens, threats, and wounds). (See also stack.) Your companions and your opponent’s minions are active. Your opponents’ companions are not. Exception: Any cards that are borne by inactive cards are also inactive. An opponent’s Shadow condition on another opponent’s companion is not active because that companion is not. Sites are always active. A site’s game text cannot be used unless the fellowship is there, although some cards may copy and use that game text. If the game text of a site has a Shadow special ability, you may use that special ability only when the active fellowship is at that site and you are a Shadow player. Exception: Site text is not active when the starting fellowships are played. Occasionally in a multiplayer game, two copies of the same unique Shadow condition may be in play at the same time. Only the first copy of a unique Shadow condition (or the first 4 copies of a non-unique Shadow condition) closest to the right of the Free Peoples player are in effect at any time. All other copies are also active, but their game text is ignored.
 
adventure deck
Your adventure deck is kept separately from your draw deck during the game. No other player may look through your adventure deck during the game. You don’t have to keep your adventure deck in any order. Just look through it to get a card when you need to. Sites in your adventure deck do not have a site number until they are played on the adventure path. Exception: See format.  
See also building your deck, moving your fellowship, setting up the game, site.
 
adventure path
All players use the same adventure path for their player markers. The cards that make up that path are taken from the adventure decks of the players.
See also moving your fellowship, setting up the game, site.
 
ahead
A player is ahead on the adventure path when his or her site marker is at a higher site number than all other players’ site markers.  
 
? aid
This keyword has the form of “aid – X,” where “X” is the cost to use the aid keyword. You use the aid keyword as a maneuver action. At the start of the maneuver phase, you may pay the aid cost to transfer that follower from your support area to your companion (or minion for a Shadow follower). Place it beneath the card, just like a possession or condition borne by that companion (or minion). The follower is borne by the companion (or minion) for the rest of the turn, no matter how often your fellowship moves. You don’t have to pay the aid cost again for a follower borne by a companion (or minion) in a subsequent maneuver phase.
See also follower.
 
ally
An ally is a character that helps your companions from afar but does not move with them. Allies do not count as members of your fellowship. Play them to your support area. There is no limit to the number of allies you may have in play. Ally cards have a home site number indicated just after the card’s type, on the same line (such as Ally • Home 3 • Elf). These home site numbers all refer to adventure paths from the!Fellowship block, Tower block, and King block. Allies have no home sites on adventure paths from the Shadows expansion set onward. (See format.)!
Block symbol is a factor in determining an ally’s home site. An ally with a home site of 2 [Towers] has a home site only on the Tower block adventure path. You may play an ally during any of your fellowship phases. You do not have to wait until your fellowship is at the ally’s home site. Each ally in your support area is considered to be at his home site. When your fellowship is at your ally’s home site, that ally is considered to be at the same site as the fellowship. Allies normally do not participate in archery fire and skirmishes. Special abilities on allies (such as archery actions or skirmish actions) may be used as normal. During the archery phase, if the fellowship is at an ally’s home site (or a card has allowed them to participate in archery fire), you may count archer allies for the fellowship archery total, and assign archery wounds to them. During the assignment phase, if the fellowship is at an ally’s home site (or if a card effect has allowed an ally to participate in skirmishes), that ally may be assigned to a skirmish in the same way that companions are assigned to skirmishes. This doesn’t mean that such an ally must take an archery wound or be assigned by the Free Peoples player to defend a skirmish, but that character is eligible to do so if the Free Peoples player so chooses. The Shadow player may assign an unassigned minion to an ally when the fellowship is at that ally’s home site. An ally that was able to be assigned to a normal skirmish is also able to be assigned to a fierce skirmish.  
See also resistance, Ring-bound, sanctuary, unbound.
 
ambush
When the Free Peoples player assigns one of his characters to skirmish a minion with the keyword “ambush ,” the Shadow player who owns that minion may add . (See assignment phase.) If your minion with ambush  is assigned by the Free Peoples player, you may add two tokens to the twilight pool. The Free Peoples player may decide not to assign any characters to your minion with ambush, allowing you to assign it later in the assignment phase. When a minion with the keyword ambush  is given the keyword ambush  by another card or special ability, each of those instances of ambush is resolved separately. When that minion is assigned to a skirmish by the Free Peoples player, the Shadow player has the option to add pool for each instance in the minion’s text. Desert Scout (“Ambush .”) is equipped with Raider Bow (“Bearer is ... ambush  .”). When it is assigned to a skirmish by the Free Peoples player, the Shadow player may add , , neither, or both (as separate actions).
 
archery phase
During this phase, players may perform archery actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Archery:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, conduct archery fire. All shadow players count the number of all their minions with the keyword archer to determine the “minion archery total.” No matter how many Shadow players there are, there is only one minion archery total. As the Free Peoples player, you also count the number of your Free Peoples archer companions to determine the “fellowship archery total.” (See ally.) The Free Peoples player then assigns a number of wounds equal to the minion archery total to his companions (and participating allies), in any way he wishes. He then chooses one Shadow player who must assign a number of wounds equal to the fellowship archery total to his minions, in any way he wishes. Since these tokens are assigned as wounds and not from exertion, any player may assign enough wounds to kill his own minion or companion. The wounds are assigned one at a time, so a character cannot have more wounds assigned than its vitality. Ignore any leftover wounds that cannot be assigned. There is always a “default” archery total of zero for each side. A card may add to your archery total even though you have no archers in play at that time. When all archery wounds have been assigned, proceed to the assignment phase. If there are no minions left after the archery phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
See also ally.
 
artifact
An artifact is a unique weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of special object used by a character. Most artifacts tell you who their bearer can be. Other artifacts play to your support area. Though artifacts are played and used much like possessions, they are a different card type. Artifacts are not affected by cards that affect possessions.  
See also transfer.
 
assignment phase
During the assignment phase, players may perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Assignment:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. Many assignment actions assign a minion to a companion. You cannot do this unless both of them are unassigned. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to assign defenders. During your assignment phase, you may assign companions to defend against attacking minions. A player cannot assign more than one companion to the same minion.
Frodo and Aragorn face a single Uruk-hai. The Free Peoples player assigns Aragorn to the Uruk-hai, protecting Frodo from harm. He cannot assign both companions to the Uruk-hai.  
Inform the Shadow players when you are done making assignments. All assignments of characters are on a one-to-one basis, with the following two exceptions:
•Companions who have the defender +X keyword.  
•When you have informed the Shadow players that you are done making assignments, they may assign any leftover unassigned minions to any companions (even if those companions are already assigned). The first Shadow player on your right may assign any of his unassigned minions, and so on, counter-clockwise around the table.
Frodo and Aragorn face three Uruk-hai. The Free Peoples player assigns Aragorn to defend against one, and Frodo to another. This leaves one unassigned Uruk-hai, so the Shadow player assigns it, choosing to assign it to Frodo.
The creation of leftover minions happens only when the Free Peoples player is done making assignments. If an assigned minion subsequently becomes unassigned as a result of a card’s game text (e.g. a triggered ability), it is not a leftover minion and is not eligible to be assigned by the Shadow player. A card which cannot participate in skirmishes:  
• cannot be assigned to a skirmish,
• cannot be affected by assignment actions (except an assignment action that would allow such a card to skirmish), and
• cannot be assigned leftover minions by a Shadow player.
Once all assignments have been made, they take effect simultaneously. (See action.) When the assignment phase is complete, each companion being attacked will lead to a separate skirmish phase.
See also ally, ambush, fierce, unhasty.  
 
attribute bonus
An attribute bonus is a positive modifier for a character’s strength, vitality, and/or resistance, written with a plus sign (like “+2”).
 
bearer
Most possessions and artifacts, and some conditions, tell you who or what their bearer can be, which is the sort of card you can play them on. Each character may bear one possession or artifact of each class at one time. (See mounted.) A character may bear only one hand weapon, only one ranged weapon, only one armor, only one cloak, and only one staff. Some possessions and artifacts do not have a class. There is no limit to the number of cards without a class that a character may bear. When you play a card on a bearer, put it beneath the bearer with the left edge of the card visible, for its card title and any attribute bonuses it has. You cannot voluntarily discard a card borne by your character.
See also killed, leaving play, Man, Shadow cards, transfer.
 
bid
Players place secret bids for the right to determine who goes first in the game. (See setting up the game.) The bidding is done with black tokens, which will become burdens on your Ring-bearer. Each player secretly places a number of burdens in his hand (you may bid zero). When all players are ready, simultaneously reveal the bids. The highest bid wins the right to choose where he goes in the turn order. Any choice is available. Next, the second highest bidder chooses from the remaining positions in the turn order, and so on. Keep track of each player’s bid, as these tokens will become burdens on his Ring-bearer. If there are any ties, then the tied players resolve randomly who chooses first among them.  
Tom, Chuck, Tim, and Mike are playing, and the initial bids are Tom 3, Chuck 4, Tim 3, and Mike 1. Chuck wins the right to choose, and he chooses to go first (placing 4 burdens on his Ring-bearer). Tom and Tim are tied, so they flip a coin, and Tom wins the tiebreak. He chooses second (placing 3 burdens on his Ring-bearer). Tim chooses to go fourth (3 burdens), leaving third for Mike (1 burden).  
The first player sits down, and the others then sit in clockwise order around the table according to their choices.  
If you bid a number of burdens equal to or higher than your Ring-bearer’s resistance, your Ring-bearer becomes corrupted before the game starts and you lose the game.
 
block symbol
The sites provided in sets from the Shadows expansion onward have a dark compass in the upper left corner. They have no site number. The sites provided in Fellowship block sets have no block symbol. The sites provided in Tower block sets have site numbers identified with the Tower symbol. The sites provided in King block sets have site numbers identified with the King symbol. Sites with different block symbols are alternatives to each other, not an extension of one another. When a site’s number is specifically mentioned in game text, that number uses a block symbol.  
Hobbit Stealth (“Skirmish: At sites 1 to 5, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, make a Hobbit strength +2.”) can cancel a skirmish only at a Fellowship block site. However, this card adds its strength bonus at any other site. When an effect says “site X or higher,” it applies only to sites from the Fellowship block. When game text refers to “any site X,” it applies to any adventure path, regardless of block symbol. A card which says “any site 5” works at site 5 and at site 5[Towers] .  
See also ally, format, roaming.
 
building your deck
Each player brings to the game at least 71 cards:  
• a Ring-bearer, bearing The One Ring (2 cards),  
• a draw deck of at least 60 cards, and  
• a 9-card adventure deck.  
You and your opponents must each have a deck built for the same format. You may choose any character with the ringed resistance icon, or any version of Frodo, to be your Ring-bearer. You may choose any version of The One Ring. These two cards are not part of your draw deck (they do not count against your total of Free Peoples cards). Your draw deck must have at least 60 cards and must have an equal number of Shadow cards and Free Peoples cards, shuffled together. You cannot have any copies of The One Ring or sites in your draw deck. You may have up to four copies of each card title (ignoring subtitles) in your draw deck. You may have four copies of Aragorn, King in Exile in your draw deck, or you may have two copies of that card and two copies of Aragorn, Ranger of the North. You cannot have four copies of each of those cards, since they have the same title (although they have different subtitles). Exception: Since one copy of your Ring-bearer is always part of your starting fellowship, you may have only three copies of that character in your draw deck. Your adventure deck must have exactly nine site cards in it. Each site must be different. The contents of your adventure deck depends on which format you are playing.
 
burden
When your Ring-bearer loses will against the power of The One Ring, you place a burden token on him. Glass beads (preferably black) make good burden tokens, but anything you won’t confuse with a wound will do. There are many cards that add or remove burdens. Burdens are only placed on your Ring- bearer.
See also active, corrupted, resistance.
 
cancel
When an action (such as playing an event or using a special ability) is canceled or prevented, its effects are ignored but its costs and requirements are still paid. If that action is playing an event, that event card is discarded.  
See cost, effect.  
 
card type
There are nine different card types in the game: The One Ring, site, companion, ally, minion, possession, artifact, event, and condition.
 
character
Companion, ally, and minion cards are also collectively referred to as character cards.

class
See bearer.
 
collector’s info
In the lower right corner of every card, you’ll see a code like “4 R 12.” The first number is the set number. The letter is the rarity code, with R for rare, U for uncommon, C for common, P for premium, and S for starter. Last is the number for that card in the set. The first time a card is printed, it gets a “ 1 ” first printing mark at the end of its copyright line. This mark is removed on any subsequent printings. There is no way to tell a second printing from a third, for example. When a reprint card has its wording changed, that card gets an “A” revision mark at the end of its copyright line. When an “A” card is reprinted with a change, that card gets a “B.” Cards have their wording changed for errata, clarifications, spelling errors, and game text convention changes.
 
companion  
A companion is a Free Peoples character in your fellowship. Play companion cards in a row, near the other members of your fellowship already in play.  
See also resistance, The Rule of 9.
 
condition
A condition is a card representing a significant change in the world, which stays in play until discarded. Most conditions play to your support area. Other conditions tell you who their bearer can be. A condition is always played during the fellowship phase (if it is a Free Peoples card) or the Shadow phase (if it is a Shadow card), even if it provides a special ability that is performed during a different phase.
 
control
Shadow players may use effects to take control of sites on the adventure path. When you take control of a site, place that site in your support area, lengthwise. A Shadow player may only take control of a site on the adventure path if all player markers are on sites with higher site numbers. When all player markers are at site 2 or higher, you may take control of site 1. When a Shadow player takes control of a site, the site on the adventure path with the lowest site number must be selected. An opponent controls site 1 and all player markers are at site 3 or higher, so you must take control of site 2. The game text of a controlled site cannot be used by any player. Exception: The keywords of a controlled site still apply. A player may “control a battleground.” When your opponent controls a site from your adventure deck, it’s still your site. Some cards can replace a controlled site. Move any cards stacked on the site being replaced to the new site, then return the old site to its owner’s adventure deck. A controlled site, once placed in a player’s support area, is no longer a site on the adventure path.
See also active, liberate, losing the game.
 
corrupted  
If your Ring-bearer’s resistance is reduced to zero, he is corrupted. (See losing the game.) Only your Ring-bearer can be corrupted. There are cards that can corrupt the Ring-bearer, regardless of how many burdens he might have.  
See also bid.
 
cost  
A cost of an action could be adding or removing twilight tokens, exerting a character, discarding a card, or any number of other possibilities. The costs for an action are usually listed before the word “to” (so the action takes the form of “pay X to do Y,” with X being the cost and Y the effect). If a card or special ability has a cost, you must pay that cost or you cannot use that card or special ability. (See exert, Shadow phase(s).) You must meet any requirements to play a card (or perform an action) before paying its costs. (See spot.) If a Free Peoples event requires you to spot twilight tokens, they must be there before you add tokens to pay for that card’s cost.  
Madril says, “Skirmish: If you have initiative, discard 2 cards from hand to wound a roaming minion Madril is skirmishing.” You check that you have at least four cards in hand before you discard cards to pay for that ability’s cost. When you pay the cost for an action, you cannot use that payment for more than one action. If you have two copies of Weapons of Isengard in play (“Shadow: Play an  archer to place an token on this card.”), playing a single  archer allows you to place a token on only one of those copies. If an action is prevented, its effects are ignored but
its costs and requirements are still paid. If a player is paying costs for a card and a response action occurs which modifies those costs, that player must continue to pay as many costs as he can, even if it is no longer possible to pay them all. If all the costs cannot be paid, that card has no effect. A Shadow player attempts to pay the cost for the special ability on Grishnákh, Orc Captain (A 3 vitality minion which reads: “Shadow: Exert Grishnákh twice and spot another  Orc to draw 3 cards...”). After exerting Grishnákh once, the Free Peoples player plays Unheeded to wound Grishnákh (“If a minion exerts, exert an unbound Hobbit to wound that minion.”). In this case, the Shadow player is no longer able to exert Grishnákh the second time. Therefore, the Shadow player is not able to draw 3 cards.
See also discard pile, draw deck, twilight cost.
 
culture
Most cards are part of a specific culture. A card’s color, its background texture, and an icon in its upper right corner indicate its culture. Your deck may contain cards from several different cultures. Site cards and The One Ring are not part of any culture. The culture names and icons are:

Free Peoples cards        
[Dwarf] Dwarven          
[elf] Elven                      
[Gandalf] Gandalf          
[Gollum] Smeagol          
[Gondor] Gondor            
[Rohan] Rohan                
[Shire] Shire                  

Shadow cards                                    
[Dunland] Dunland                                      
[Gollum] Gollum
[Isengard] Isengard
[Men] Men
[Moria] Moria
[Orc] Orc
[Raider] Raider
[Sauron] Sauron
[Uruk] Uruk-hai
[Wraith] Wraith
 
You don’t have to memorize these names, since cultures are always referred to with icons in game text.  
See also spot.
 
culture tokens
Some conditions tell you to “place an  token on this card” (or “a  token,” and so on). You can use any convenient markers for these tokens. They don’t have to be any particular color. You can use the same tokens you’re using for
burdens or wounds, since these tokens are not placed on a character card.
See also active, leaving play.
 
damage bonus  
When the winning side in a skirmish phase has one or more characters with the keyword damage +1, then each losing character takes one additional wound for each damage +1. (Damage +2 adds two wounds, and so on.) This is called a damage bonus, which may be added to or removed by various effects. Aragorn wins a skirmish while facing two Orcs. If Aragorn has damage +1, then each Orc takes two wounds. But if both Orcs have damage +1 and they win the skirmish, then Aragorn takes three wounds instead. When a character with a damage bonus is given an additional damage bonus by a card or special ability, the bonuses are added together. When an effect says that a character “loses all damage bonuses,” that character cannot gain a damage bonus due to some other effect.
 
damage +X
See damage bonus.
 
dead pile
Killed Free Peoples characters are placed in your dead pile. The dead pile is separate from and next to your discard pile. When you have a unique companion or ally in your dead pile, you cannot play another copy of that card, or any other card with the same title. You may play another copy of a non-unique card that is in your dead pile. If you have more than one copy of a unique companion in your dead pile, you can’t play one of them from your dead pile. When game text instructs you to place a character in the dead pile, that character has been killed.
See also discard, leaving play, The Rule of 9, threats.
 
defender +X
During the assignment phase, if your assigned companion has the keyword defender +1, you may assign that character to one additional unassigned minion. Defender +2 allows that companion to defend against two additional unassigned minions, and so on. A character with defender +2 (or greater) satisfies any requirement for defender +1. Frodo and Aragorn face two Uruk-hai. The Free Peoples player could assign Aragorn to one and Frodo to the other. However, this version of Aragorn has defender +1, so he may be assigned to defend against both minions, leaving Frodo unharmed. When a character with defender +X is given an additional defender +X by a card or special ability, the bonuses are added together.
 
discard
The default meaning of the word “discard” is “discard from play.” Discarding from other locations (such as from your hand or from the top of your draw deck) is always specified. Cards are discarded one at a time so all players can see which cards are being discarded. When you discard a companion or ally to use its game text or as a result of some other effect, place that card in your discard pile (not your dead pile). If a card is discarded when it comes into play, ignore any effects triggered when it comes into play. This includes effects from a minion’s own game text (such as “When you play this minion...”) and effects from other cards in play (such as “Each time you play...”). If Watcher in the Water is in play (“While you can spot Watcher in the Water, discard all other minions...”) and you play Goblin Runner (“When you play this minion, you may add 2.”), 2 is not added.  ?To “discard your hand” means to take all cards in your hand and discard them all at once, allowing other players to see which cards are being discarded. You can “discard your hand” even when no cards are in your hand.
See also bearer, discard to heal, killed, leaving play.
 
discard pile
Discard piles are always face-up. The order of your discard pile is irrelevant. You may look through your own discard pile at any time, but you cannot look through an opponent’s discard pile. Some cards allow you to play a card directly from your discard pile. You must still pay any costs and meet requirements necessary for playing that card.
See also discard, effect, moving cards.
 
discard to heal
As a fellowship action during your fellowship phase, you may spot a unique companion or unique ally with at least one wound and discard a card from your hand with the same card title (it may have a different subtitle) to heal that character. (See healing.)
 
draw deck
When you draw the last card from your draw deck, you don’t lose the game. Continue with the cards you have in hand and in play. Some cards allow you to play a card directly from your draw deck. You must still pay any costs and meet requirements necessary for playing that card. When you finish looking through it, reshuffle it and give the player to your right the opportunity to cut it. There is no penalty if you don’t find (or choose not to play) a card you are looking for in your draw deck. In the Starter Rules, if you have no cards in your draw deck, you are allowed to reshuffle your discard pile to make a new one once per game. Normally, however, you are not allowed to do this.
See also building your deck, moving cards.
 
each time
This phrase you’ll see in game text governs the timing of an action, just like the names of phases that are in phase actions. “Each time” is used if an effect can happen more than once. Each such effect has a trigger describing what makes it happen. The trigger is always described first, and followed by a comma. “Each time you play a possession or artifact on your companion, draw a card.” If you play one possession, this game text activates once; if you play a second possession, it activates again, and so on.
 
effect  
A effect of an action could be adding or removing twilight tokens, exerting a character, discarding a card, or any number of other possibilities. The effects of an action are usually listed after the word “to” (so the action takes the form of “pay X to do Y,” with X being the cost and Y the effect). The source of an effect is the card on which that effect is printed. Even though a card like an event may require a minion to exert to pay its cost, the source of that effect is the event card and not the minion. ? Effects are performed in the order listed in the card's game text.
Some cards have multiple effects that respond to the same kind of trigger. They count something in play, and when there is more of that thing, more effects happen. Uglúk, Servant of Saruman reads: While you can spot 2 trackers, Uglúk is strength +3. While you can spot 3  trackers, Uglúk is damage +1. You don’t have to spot 5 trackers to get both benefits. Three trackers is enough to satisfy the first requirement (if you have 3, you can spot 2) and the last requirement (spot 3). When an effect says a player should look at a card, that card is shown only to that player. When an effect says to reveal a card, that card is shown to all players. If the effect of a card or special ability requires you to perform an action and you cannot, you must perform as much as you can and ignore the rest. (See limit.) If the effect of an event requires you to discard 2 cards from your hand and you only have 1 card in hand, just discard the 1 card and ignore the rest. If the effect of a card or special ability requires you to choose one of two different actions, you must choose an action that you are fully capable of performing (if possible). If an action plays a card from your hand (or discard pile) as part of its effect, then that card must be in your hand (or discard pile) before you can begin to perform that action. The Orc you play with They Are Coming (“Shadow: Discard 3 cards from hand to play a [moria]Orc from your discard pile.”) cannot be one of the cards you discarded from your hand to pay the cost of that special ability. If you meet all the requirements and pay all the costs for playing a card, you may play that card even if the card will have no effect. Exception: If you perform an action that has playing a card from hand or discard pile as part of its effect, you must play that card. This exception applies to all kinds of actions and all the different ways you can play a card (except playing a card directly from your draw deck). If something happens to prevent one effect which in turn would have prevented a second effect, the second effect is performed.  
Morgul Destroyer is played.(“When you play this minion, you may spot a Nazgûl to add 2 threats. The Free Peoples player may wound the Ring- bearer to prevent this.”) The Free Peoples player wounds the Ring-bearer to prevent the threats from being added. The Free Peoples player then discards Sapling of the White Tree. (“Response: If a  Man is about to take a wound, discard this artifact to prevent that.”). Because Sapling has prevented the effect (a wound) that would have prevented Morgul Destroyer’s effect, the threats are now added.  
If an effect tells you to reveal or look at one or more cards from somewhere (a draw deck, a hand, etc.) and doesn’t specify what to do with them afterward, return them to where they came from, in the same order. When a card has a conditional effect in parentheses, you can’t choose which one to use. You have to use the conditional effect if the condition is met. Sharp Defense adds no strength to a Dwarf who has resistance 4 or more and no possessions. You can’t choose to use the +2 instead. When you move a card from one area to another (except when drawing a card from your draw deck), you must reveal that card to all players to verify that it is of the correct type. Exception: If an effect says you are to move “a card” with no other description, you don’t have to reveal it.
See also discard, modifier, twilight cost.
 
enduring
For each wound on a character with the enduring keyword, that character is strength +2.
 
event
An event is a card played from your hand representing an important occurrence, which you discard after you play it.  
Most event cards have a phase action that defines when you may play that card from your hand. The game text on that event may be performed only once for each copy of that event played. You cannot play an event during a phase that does not match its phase action, ? unless allowed by the game text of that event. Discard an event after you play it, and before the next action is taken. (See spot.) Even after being discarded, an event often has an ongoing or delayed effect until the end of the phase, or until a specified phase or condition is met. Some event cards affect only cards that are currently in play, even though their effects might seem to apply to cards played later in the same turn. These events take a “snapshot” of the current game state, and only those cards are affected. Eregion’s Trails (“Maneuver: Exert a ranger to make each roaming minion strength –3 until the regroup phase.”) affects only minions that are roaming when that event is played. Deft in Their Movements (Regroup: “Spot 2 Hobbits to make each site’s Shadow number –2 until the end of the turn.”) affects only sites that are in play when it is played. Place an event in your discard pile after you have played it from hand and carried out its effects, but before the next action is taken. Final Account reads: “Discard 2 cards from hand to take a Free Peoples card and a Shadow card from your discard pile into hand.” At the time you choose which Free Peoples card to take into hand, you are still carrying out the effects of the card. Thus, Final Account has not yet been discarded, and cannot itself be the card you choose.
See also action.
 
exert
Sometimes you may exert a character by placing a wound on that card to show that the character takes an action that depletes his vitality. If the cost of an action requires a character to exert X times, then that character must have X+1 or more vitality or that action cannot be performed. Exerting a character is different from wounding a character, even though both require placement of a wound token. Cards that prevent wounds cannot prevent a wound token placed by exerting. Conceptually, wearing armor protects you from a sword strike (taking a wound token), but it won’t help you lift a heavy weight (placing an exertion token). A character cannot exert 0 times to pay the cost of a card that requires a character to exert X times. You cannot pay for the cost of They Sang As They
Slew by exerting a character zero times.
See also exhausted, for each, healing.
 
exhausted
A character who has only 1 vitality remaining is exhausted. A character with a vitality of 2 is exhausted with a single wound. A character with a vitality of 1 is always exhausted. No player may exert a character who is exhausted. If the effect of an action says a character “must exert” and that character is exhausted, then nothing happens. A mount says, “At the start of each skirmish involving bearer, each minion skirmishing bearer must exert.” If an exhausted minion is skirmishing a character bearing this mount, this exertion is ignored. To exhaust a character means to exert that character as many times as you can. If a card tells you to exhaust a character with a vitality of 3, then you must exert that character 2 times by placing 2 wound tokens.
 
fellowship phase
During your fellowship phase, you may perform fellowship actions in any order, including playing most Free Peoples cards. Finally, move your fellowship forward along the adventure path. Two fellowship actions are always available:  
•Play a Free Peoples companion, ally, possession, artifact, or condition from your hand to the table. (See The Rule of 9, unique.)  
•Discard to heal. You may find other fellowship actions on events in your hand, or as special abilities on cards you
already have in play. (See The Rule of 4.). When you have completed all of the fellowship actions you wish to perform, proceed to moving your fellowship.  
See also transfer.
 
fierce
During a turn, after all normal skirmishes are resolved, surviving minions with the keyword fierce must be defended against a second time. Players perform another assignment phase and then complete a separate skirmish phase for each fierce skirmish. Players may again perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Assignment:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure.  The Free Peoples player then assigns defenders just as during the regular assignment phase, and then Shadow players assign any fierce minions that
remain unassigned. (See ally.) Then each defending companion fights in a separate skirmish phase, just as during the regular skirmish phases, in an order decided by the Free Peoples player. Aragorn is assigned to defend against a fierce Uruk- hai. In the normal skirmish phase, Aragorn wins and the Uruk-hai takes one wound. During the following fierce skirmish phase, the Free Peoples player may once more assign a companion to defend against the Uruk-hai. This companion may be Aragorn or may be a different companion. A minion must be in play and fierce at the start of the fierce assignment phase to participate in a fierce skirmish. During the fierce assignment phase, ignore any effect that results in assignment with a minion that is not fierce. Once a minion is assigned in the fierce assignment phase, that minion’s fierce skirmish must be resolved, even if that minion somehow becomes no longer fierce.
 
? follower
A follower represents help for your fellowship that joins for a short time and then departs. Followers are not members of your fellowship. They are not allies or companions. They are not characters, although they are often named and depicted with images of people from the story. Even though a follower may seem as if it were an Elf or Hobbit or Wizard, it can’t be spotted as such because a follower doesn’t have a race on its card type line. Followers can’t bear other cards, except cards that mention a follower as being the bearer. A follower is played to your support area. While your follower is in your support area, it has no effect on the game. Each follower has the keyword “Aid” (see aid) which you can use to transfer that follower from your support area to one of your companions (or minions for a Shadow follower). When your follower is borne by a companion (or minion), that follower will provide an ongoing effect or a special ability that may then be used. A companion (or minion) may bear more than one follower. If that companion (or minion) is killed, all of its followers are discarded, just like other cards borne by that companion (or minion). During the regroup phase, when the Free Peoples player reconciles and minions are discarded, each follower is transferred back to the support area (at no cost). Follower cards have a gold circle in the upper left to remind you to return them to the support area. In later turns, that follower may again be transferred to a companion (the same one or a different one, your choice) (or minion) using the above procedure.
 
for each
When something affects a character (or characters) using the phrase “for each,” you may affect a single character more than once. This includes such things as wounding, exerting, healing, or strength modifiers. (See toil.) Aragorn, Wingfoot says, “Each time the fellowship moves, you may wound a minion for each unbound Hobbit you spot.” If you spot two unbound Hobbits, you may wound two minions each once or one minion twice. When a card says “for each companion over X,” that means the same as “do this Y times, where Y is the number of companions in the fellowship minus X.” Anduin Banks says, “For each companion in the fellowship over 4, add 2 to the minion archery total.” If there are 4 or less companions in the fellowship, nothing is added. For 5 companions, 2 is
added; for 6 companions, 4 is added; and so on.
 
format
Each game has one of the following formats:
•Fellowship block – only cards from sets 1, 2, and 3,  
•Tower block – only cards from sets 4, 5, and 6,
•King block – only cards from sets 7, 8, and 10,
•War of the Ring block – only cards from sets 11, 12, and 13,  
•Open – all cards allowed, including set 9 (Reflections) using only sites from set 11 onward (Shadows).  
•Standard – a tournament format similar to Open, but including the X-List (see the Current Rulings document, available for download). In the Open format and War of the Ring block, your adventure deck may include no more than three sites that have the same given Shadow number. In the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block, sites are numbered, and you must include one for each of the nine site numbers. (See block symbol.) When you play a game using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block format, you cannot choose any site from your adventure deck when it is time to play a new site on the adventure path. Instead, the site which has the next consecutive site number must be played. When the first player moves for the first time, place a site with the site number of 2. If he moves again, place a site with the site number of 3. When you play a game using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block format, you do not add pool for the fellowship’s region number when you are moving your fellowship. Do not add 3 twilight tokens when the fellowship moves to a site in region 2, nor 6 when the fellowship moves to a site in region 3.  
See also building your deck, losing the game.
 
 
Free Peoples cards
Free Peoples cards represent the forces of good. Each player has his own fellowship, made up of a Ring-bearer and other companions. When you take your turn, you play and use your Free Peoples cards. Free Peoples cards have a light colored circular field in the upper left corner.  
See also twilight cost.
 
Frodo
See Ring-bearer, Ring-bound.
 
game text
Game text includes all the text in the box below the card type line except for helper text, lore, collector’s info, and marketing text (such as “DGMA Premier Series – France”). On a site card, this box is located below the image (there is no card type line on a site). On The One Ring cards, there is no box around the game text, but the concept is the same. Any boldfaced keyword that appears in this box (such as Easterling, Fierce, or Defender +1) is game text. ?The Ring-bearer's Ring-bearer and Ring-bound keywords is game text that cannot be removed or made to not apply. Card titles, subtitles, and items on the card type line (card types, races, and classes) are not game text.
Exception: On an event card, the word to the right of the card type (such as MANEUVER or SKIRMISH) is game text. Sometimes game text is added to a card by an effect, even though that text is not printed on that card.  
 
Gollum/Smeagol
Character cards that represent the unique aspects of Gollum or Sméagol have no race. This does not mean that these cards have “a race of no race.” When an effect tells you to count (or choose or spot) a race, Gollum/Sméagol can’t be counted (or chosen or spotted). A Shadow player must spot a race for Argument Ready to Hand. Gollum doesn’t have a race to be spotted. Sméagol is not a companion whose race you cannot spot. When The Nine Walkers is in play, Sméagol does not have his cost reduced. When an effect tells you to do something to minions of other races, that does not work on Gollum/Sméagol. Argument Ready to Hand can’t discard Gollum, since he is not “of all other minion races” (he is not of any minion race). When an effect tells you to do something to all minions who do not belong to a particular race, that does work on Gollum/Sméagol. If an effect says, “Discard all minions not of the Orc race,” then Gollum is discarded.
 
healing
When a wound is removed from a character, this represents resting or healing. When you “heal a character,” you remove one wound.  If a card tells you to “heal 2 companions,” you must choose two different companions to heal one time each (you cannot heal one companion twice). Once a wound token is placed, whether from exerting or wounding, it can be healed by any effect that heals a wound. Generally, your fellowship only heals at a sanctuary
you reach on the adventure path.
See also discard to heal, for each.
 
helper text
Helper text is found in the box below the card type line in italics and parentheses that provides a summary of a game rule. Helper text is not game text.
See collector’s info, lore.
 
home site
See ally.
 
hunter
This keyword has the form of “Hunter X” where “X” is the strength bonus the character receives when skirmishing a character that does not have the hunter keyword.
 
initiative
At any time, either one side or the other side has nitiative. The Free Peoples player has initiative while he has four or more cards in hand.  Otherwise, the Shadow has initiative. If there is more than one Shadow player, then all of those Shadow players have initiative when the Free Peoples player does not. Besieging Pike says, “If you have initiative, bearer is strength +3.” Since this is a Shadow card, it only gets this bonus when the Free Peoples player has 3 or fewer cards in hand (the cards in the hands of the Shadow players don’t matter).  
See also cost.
 
instead
When a card uses the phrase “instead” or “instead of”, the stated effect is replaced with a different effect. This does not mean that the original effect is prevented. If the second effect cannot happen for any reason, then the original effect occurs. Sméagol, Bearer of Great Secrets is the ring-bearer and is bearing The Dead City (If Sméagol is about to be killed in a skirmish, discard him instead). If Sméagol is about to be killed and the player discards
The Dead City, Sméagol cannot be discarded, he would simply be killed.  
See response, effect.
 
 
infinite loops with no voluntary actions
When an infinite loop occurs that includes no voluntary actions, the loop ends immediately with no effect. Frodo, Weary from the Journey vs. Black Land Observer or Wandering Hillman. Neither the minions nor Frodo would get the strength bonuses.
 
is about to actions
Some actions are preformed when a described situation “is about to” happen. Typically, only one of such action can be performed in a given situation, because its effect will “prevent” that situation or replace it with another effect “instead.” Example: Isildur is wearing the One Ring, Answer to All Riddles. [While wearing the One Ring... each time he is about to take a wound in a skirmish, add a burden instead.] The Free Peoples player has Sapling of the White Tree [Response: If a Man is about to take a wound, discard this artifact to prevent that.] Isildur loses a skirmish and is about to take a wound. Because the required action of The One Ring causes a burden to be added “instead” of a wound, the optional action of Sapling of the White Tree cannot be used, as the situation it responds to no longer exists.
 
keyword
Each card has one or more keywords that identify it. Most keywords are unloaded keywords, with no special rules (although they may be referenced by other cards). Keywords with rules are called loaded keywords. Though a word which appears in the title or subtitle of a card may be the same as a keyword that exists in the game, that title or subtitle does not confer the keyword on that card. “Úlairë Attëa, The Easterling” does not have the keyword "Easterling” in his game text, so he is not an Easterling.
 
killed  
This game term is used to describe a character that has had its vitality reduced to zero or that is specifically “killed” by the game text of another card.  This is different from when a character is discarded from play. Other cards may force a character in play to be discarded. That character has not been killed, but only discarded. Cards that trigger when a character is killed will not trigger when a character is discarded, and vice-versa. When a character’s vitality is reduced to zero, that character is immediately killed. Reducing a character’s strength to zero does not kill that character. (See wound, overwhelmed.) Place killed Free Peoples characters in your dead pile. Place killed minions in your discard pile. When a card that provides a vitality bonus for its bearer is discarded, that bearer is immediately killed if his vitality is then reduced to zero.
See also leaving play, losing the game.
 
kinds of cards
Most cards in The Lord of the Rings TCG are one of two basic kinds: Free Peoples or Shadow. There are also sites and The One Ring, which are neither Free Peoples cards nor Shadow cards.
 
leaving play  
When a card (other than a site) leaves play for any reason, any cards played on that card (or borne by or stacked on that card) are discarded. Any tokens on that card are removed.
 
liberate
A Free Peoples player may have a card effect that allows him to liberate a site. Only a site that another player controls may be liberated. You cannot liberate a site on the adventure path, a site in any adventure deck, or a site you control. When you liberate a site, place it back on the adventure path. Any cards on that site are discarded. You must liberate the site with the highest site number controlled by one of your opponents first, regardless of which opponent controls that site. (If you control the site with the highest site number, you must liberate the next highest site controlled by an opponent.)
 
liberate a site to  
Liberating a site can take place during the Free Peoples player’s turn as well the Shadow player’s turn. A Shadow player that chooses to liberate a site must liberate their own controlled site. When this happens, the Shadow player returns the liberated site to the site path in its original placement.
 
limit
When a card has a limit, such as “(limit +3),” the limit applies to that card for an entire phase. Trust Me As You Once Did reads: “Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to make a companion strength +1 for each companion with the Gandalf signet you can spot (limit +3).” With one copy in play, assuming you have sufficient signets and exertions, during a single
skirmish phase:
• You may add +3 to one companion in a single action (if you can spot at least 3 signets).
• You may add +1 to three different companions in three different actions (if you can spot only 1 signet).
• You may add +2 to one companion and +1 to another in two different actions (if you can spot only 2 signets). Once the limit is reached, no more may be added, and the last +1 is ignored. A limit does not does not span multiple phases. Trust Me As You Once Did could be used for +3 in each of two or more separate skirmish phases during the same turn.  A limit does not apply to a different copy of the same card. With two copies of Trust Me As You Once Did in play, you could give up to +6 in strength bonuses during a single skirmish phase (+3 from one copy, and +3 from the other).
See also effect.
 
loaded keyword  
Card type and class (see bearer) are loaded keywords. Other loaded keywords include ambush, archer (see archery phase), damage +X (see damage bonus), defender +X, enduring, fierce, lurker, muster, Ring-bearer, sanctuary, toil, and unhasty.  
See also keyword.
 
look at
See effect.
 
loops
Occasionally, a game will reach a state in which a set of actions can be repeated forever. If a loop contains one or more optional actions and one player controls them all, that player chooses a number. The loop is treated as repeating that number of times, or until another player intervenes with his own action, whichever comes first. A player wishes to repeatedly use the ability of Sam, Faithful Companion (“Fellowship: Play Bill the Pony from your draw deck.”). He chooses a number of times this action will take place. The action is treated as repeating that number of times unless another player intervenes with a different action. If a loop contains one or more optional actions each controlled by different players and actions by both are needed to continue the loop, the Free Peoples player chooses a number. The Shadow player then has two choices:
•He or she can choose a lower number, in which case the loop continues that number of times, with a final action in that loop by the Free Peoples player.
•He or she can agree to the number chosen by the active player, in which case the loop continues that number of times, with a final action in that loop by the Shadow player.
The Free Peoples player has Sméagol, Slinker (“Skirmish: Add a burden to make Sméagol strength +2...”) kirmishing a minion at Anduin Banks (“Skirmish: Spot your minion and remove a burden to make that minion strength +2.”). The repeated adding and removing of a burden for strength bonuses creates a loop, so the Free Peoples player names a number of iterations for these actions. The Shadow player then has two choices:  
•He may name a lower number of iterations. The loop would continue for that many iterations, with the Free Peoples player taking the final action (adding one final action at the end of the loop, if necessary for the Free Peoples player to have the final action).
•He may agree with the Free Peoples player’s choice of iterations. The loop would continue for that number of iterations, with the Shadow player taking the final action (adding one final action at the end of the loop, if necessary for the Shadow player to have the final action).
 
lore
Lore is text found in the box below the card type line in italics (but not parentheses) that provides an interesting quote or fact but has no effect on play. Lore is not game text.
See collector’s info, helper text.
 
losing the game
A player loses the game if his Ring-bearer is killed (see overwhelmed), unless he uses game text allowing another character to carry on as Ring-bearer. Many versions of Sam may become the Ring-bearer if Frodo is killed. When a new character becomes your Ring- bearer, he is not wearing The One Ring, even if the old Ring-bearer was wearing it when he was killed. A player also loses the game if his Ring-bearer becomes corrupted. If a player loses a game and there are at least two other players remaining, remove his player marker and all of his cards from play (and discard any opponent’s cards that were on them). Remove his sites both on the adventure path and under another player’s control in numerical order, then each opponent, starting to the player’s right and proceeding counter-clockwise, chooses a site from his adventure deck to replace each one removed. Exception: In a game using the Fellowship block, Tower block, or King block format, instead replace each site with the corresponding number from the appropriate opponent’s deck. If a losing player has sites under his control, replace them first (using the above procedure) and then liberate them. The other players complete the losing player’s turn.
See also winning the game.
 
lurker
During the skirmish phase(s), the Free Peoples player must resolve all skirmishes involving minions who do not have the lurker keyword before he may choose to resolve any skirmishes involving one or more minions who do have it.
 
Man
The race of “Man” includes women of the appropriate culture. A possession that requires a Man bearer may be borne by a  female character who has the race of “Man.”
 
maneuver phase
During this phase, players may perform maneuver actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Maneuver:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to the archery phase. If there are no minions left after the maneuver phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
 
may not
Some older cards use the phrase “may not.” In all such cases, this means “cannot.”
 
minion  
A minion is a Shadow character that attacks other players’ fellowships. A minion is played to the center of the table, across from the active fellowship.  
See also roaming.
 
modifier
When a card specifically names itself in its game text, that card can be modified by its own game text when played. Otherwise, the modification takes effect only after the card is in play. Orc Ambusher says, “The roaming penalty for each minion you play is –1.” It does not specifically name itself, so this does not apply to Orc Ambusher when it is played. Éomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark says, “While you can spot a  Man, Éomer’s twilight cost is –1.” This specifically names Éomer himself, so it does apply to Éomer when he is played. Grishnákh, Orc Captain says, “The site number of each  Orc is –3.” This does not apply to Grishnákh when you play him, but he is himself a Orc, so his site number would be reduced after he entered play. Each time a value is used, all applicable modifiers to that value are reapplied. If the result at that point is then less than zero, that result is changed to zero. (Numbers can go below zero until the final check is made.) Frodo (strength 3) bears The One Ring, The Ruling Ring (strength +1). His strength is 4. During a skirmish, Enduring Evil is played (“Skirmish: Spot X burdens to make a character skirmishing a  Orc strength –X.”), spotting 6 burdens on Frodo.!! Frodo’s strength is 3 + 1 – 6 = –2. This is reset to zero. Hobbit Intuition is played (“Skirmish: ...make a Hobbit strength +3.”) All applicable modifiers are reapplied to Frodo’s strength. He has strength 3 (Frodo) +1 (Ring) – 6 (Enduring Evil) + 3 (Intuition) = 1.  The order of modifiers doesn’t matter, since every applicable modifier is reapplied each time a value is used. Modifiers are not recalculated when they are reapplied. The same modifiers are just applied again. Merry, Friend to Sam reads: “Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, exert him twice to add his strength to another companion.” If Merry’s strength is changed later during a skirmish after you have used this ability, the amount already added to the other companion does not change.  
See also twilight cost.
 
modifiers
Each time a card enters play, it is considered a new card for all purposes even if that card was previously in play on the same turn. If you play a second copy of Radagast in the same turn, the move limit is an additional +1. Shelob, Her Ladyship is played and prevents Gandalf from being assigned to a skirmish this turn. Shelob kills a companion in a skirmish and Gandalf dies when threat wounds are assigned. The Free Peoples player then plays Gandalf in the regroup phase with Sent Back and Gandalf is now allowed to be assigned to a skirmish.
 
mounted
A mounted character means one who is “bearing a possession with the class of mount.” (See bearer.)
 
move limit
During each of your turns, your fellowship must move once, and may move a number of times up to your move limit.  
In a two- or three-player game, your move limit is two. In a game with four or more players, your move limit is equal to the number of your opponents when the game begins. During your regroup phase, you may decide to move your fellowship again, subject to this move limit. If the move limit is modified for a turn, then that modification is in effect for the whole turn, even if the conditions for the modification change.
 
movement summary
In order to make this summary more intuitive and helpful, we have changed the order of actions, which has no effect on gameplay:  
• A Shadow player places the next site card, if needed.  
• Perform “When you move from...” actions.  
• Perform “When the fellowship moves...” actions.
• Move your player marker to the next site.
• Perform “When you move to...” actions.  
• Add twilight tokens equal to the new site’s Shadow number.  
• Add 3 twilight tokens if the new site is in region 2; or 6 if it is in region 3.  
• Add 1 twilight token for each companion.

Title: Re: Rulebook
Post by: hrcho on February 06, 2011, 02:00:12 PM

moving cards
Whenever you move a card from one pile to another (such as shuffling a card from your discard pile into your draw deck), you must reveal that card to all players so they can verify that the correct card was moved.
 
moving your fellowship
During each of your fellowship phases, when you are finished performing fellowship actions, your fellowship must move forward to the next site on the adventure path. You may also move at the end of your regroup phase, subject to the move limit. Place your player marker on the next site on the adventure path. If there is no site there yet (as is the case for the first player in the first turn), then a new site must be played from one of the Shadow players’ adventure decks. When you move your player marker to the next site, first perform any actions triggered by leaving the old site. Then perform actions that say, “When the fellowship moves...” Then, perform actions that occur when moving to the new site. Finally, you must add tokens to the twilight pool as follows:
•Add the number of twilight tokens indicated by the Shadow number of the site you’re moving to.
•Add 3 twilight tokens if you are in region 2, or 6 twilight tokens if you are in region 3. (You may find it easier to remember this: add 3 if you’ve passed the sanctuary at site 3, or add 6 if you’ve passed the sanctuary at site 6). Exception: See format.
•Add 1 twilight token for each companion in your fellowship. You move a fellowship of four companions to a site 5 that has a Shadow number of 2. You add 2 twilight tokens for the Shadow number, 3 tokens for the region (region 2), and 4 tokens for your companions, for a total of 9 twilight tokens added to the twilight pool.  After you have completed any moving actions and have added twilight tokens to the twilight pool, the fellowship has moved to the new site (and the game text there can be used).  When you have finished moving your fellowship, proceed to the Shadow phase(s).
 
muster
At the start of the regroup phase, for each of your characters who has the muster keyword, you may discard a card from hand, then draw a card. You must discard all at once. If you have two muster characters, you cannot choose to discard a card, draw a card, then discard another card and draw a card. You must instead choose to discard 0, 1, or 2 cards, then draw that same number of cards.
 
non-unique
All cards that do not have a dot (•) before their card title are non-unique. This means that all players may have multiple copies of those cards in play at one time. If you have multiple copies of a non-unique card in play, the effects of those copies are cumulative. 
See also unique.
 
The One Ring
This card type represents the uniquely powerful item that is the focus of the story of The Lord of the Rings. In the middle of the card, The One Ring has its subtitle. It has no twilight cost. There are several versions of The One Ring,
represented by different cards, but you’ll only use one version at a time.
See also building your deck, culture, kinds of cards, overwhelmed, Ring-bearer.
 
opponent
If you are the Free Peoples player, all Shadow players are your opponents. If you are a Shadow player, only the Free Peoples player is your opponent (not other Shadow players).
 
overwhelmed 
If the total strength of one side in a skirmish phase is at least double the total strength of the other side, all the characters on the losing side are overwhelmed and killed (regardless of how many wounds or how much vitality each has). When a character is overwhelmed, that character does not take any more wounds — he simply dies. A side with a total strength greater than zero will overwhelm a side whose total strength is zero. If the strength of both sides is zero, the Shadow side wins the skirmish (but does not overwhelm).  When the Ring-bearer is overwhelmed, he is killed, regardless of whether he wears the Ring. 
See also leaving play.
 
phase action
Phase actions include performing special abilities and playing event cards. During each phase of a turn, one or more players are allowed to perform phase actions that use a word matching the name of that phase. These words are printed in boldface and followed by a colon. (See condition.) Each phase action lasts for the duration of the phase named in the boldface word (unless otherwise specified). The effects of a phase action with the keyword Skirmish: last only for the skirmish phase in which it is used. Each phase action must be completely performed before another phase action can be performed. Phase actions cannot be combined. If one card says, “Fellowship: Play an Elf from your draw deck” and another card says, “Fellowship: Play an Elf to draw a card,” you cannot play one Elf from your draw deck to draw a card. You must choose one phase action or the other. If a phase action can be played in multiple phases (for example, “Maneuver or Skirmish:”), its action type is of the phase during which the action is taken.
See also action, cost, effect, response. 
 
playing a card
Following is a detailed procedure for playing a non-site card. This was prompted by questions about playing events that require initiative, but the procedure applies to other cards as well. We refer to the card you are playing as "The Card.” 
1. Reveal The Card from your hand, and it enters the void (not in your hand, not in your discard pile, not in play). You cannot count The Card for initiative. You cannot discard The Card to pay a cost. Effects that respond to The Card leaving your hand, like cards that trigger when you lose initiative, happen later (see below). Each player may examine the card at this point.
2. Meet requirements to play The Card. If you are the Free Peoples player and initiative is a requirement for playing The Card, you must have four cards in your hand not counting The Card. Checking to see that all costs can be paid is a requirement of playing a card. If you cannot meet all requirements, The Card returns to your hand. If the card returns to hand, then you do not lose initiative and skip the remaining steps.
3. Pay costs to play The Card. This includes both twilight costs and other costs included in game text. If adding or removing Twilight tokens to the pool is part of the cost, it is done first. If the card references itself by name in its game text, it may modify its own cost. If discarding cards from your hand is a cost, then you cannot discard The Card. It is possible for another card to interrupt the paying of costs so that you cannot finish paying them. If paying costs is interrupted in such a way that you cannot finish paying them all, The Card is placed in your discard pile and any costs already paid remain paid. Do not pay any further costs for that card.
4. If The Card is not an event, place it in the appropriate place. If the card you are playing is a Character, Possession, Artifact, or Condition, place it on the playing surface. The Card is now in play.
5. Respond to the playing of The Card (and to losing initiative if necessary). Responses or triggered actions that respond to the playing of The Card happen now. If The Card has game text on it that triggers “When you play...” The Card, it happens now. Other cards may respond to the card being played as well. These are handled in the manner described under actions and action procedure. If The Card was a Free People’s card and it leaving your hand causes you to lose initiative, each player may respond to you losing initiative now. 
6. Perform effects of The Card. This includes
choosing cards to be affected, if necessary. If initiative is a requirement for an effect, you cannot count The Card. If an effect takes a card into your hand from your discard pile, The Card is not there yet. 
7. The card is played. Events go to the discard pile (or where they are instructed to go if the card specifies) and other cards are in play. 
See costs, effects, initiative, void.
 
possession
A possession is a weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of object used by a character. Most possessions tell you who their bearer can be. Other possessions play to your support area. 
See also transfer.
 
prevent 
See cancel, cost, effect, preventing effects.
 
preventing effects
If something happens to prevent one effect which in turn would have prevented a second effect, the second effect is performed. Example: Morgul Destroyer is played. (“When you play this minion, you may spot a Nazgûl to add 2 threats. The Free Peoples player may wound the Ring-bearer to prevent this.”) The Free People player wounds the Ring-bearer to prevent the threats from being added. The Free Peoples player then discards Sapling of the White Tree. (Response: If a [Gondor] Man is about to take a wound, discard this artifact to prevent that.) Because Sapling has prevented the effect (a wound) that would have prevented Morgul Destroyer’s effect, the threats are now added.
 
race 
See Man, unloaded keyword, Uruk-hai.
 
reconcile
A player reconciles his hand as follows: 
•He may first discard one card from his hand. 
•If he then has less than eight cards in his hand, he must draw cards until he has eight. 
•Otherwise (when he has more than eight cards in his hand), he must discard from his hand until he has only eight. 
See also regroup phase.
 
region
Sites 1-3 are in region 1, sites 4-6 are in region 2, and sites 7-9 are in region 3.
See also moving your fellowship.
 
regroup phase
During the regroup phase, players may perform regroup actions (special abilities on cards in play with “Regroup:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, each Shadow Pplayer must reconcile his hand. Then, at the end of the regroup phase, if you are the Free Peoples player, you must select one of the following two choices: 
•Moving your fellowship to the next site, subject to the move limit, and returning to the Shadow phase(s). 
•Or, reconciling your hand. Then the Shadow players discard all minions in play (and cards borne by them; ?except followers, which are returned to the owner Shadow player’s support area), and your turn ends.
If your Ring-bearer puts on the The One Ring during the regroup phase, he then takes it off at the end of that regroup phase.
 
reinforce
This verb, used in game text, means to add a culture token to a card that already has a token of the same culture. You may choose any of your cards with the appropriate culture token if you have more than one. If an effect lets you reinforce more than one culture token, you may put them all on one card or divide them up however you choose.  Your card says, “When you play this possession, you may reinforce a  culture token.” When you play this card, you may choose any of your Dwarven cards that currently has one or more  culture tokens and add another token to that card.
 
removed from game pile
This is a pile that is separate from the game play area. Cards that have been removed from game are to go here instead of the discard or dead pile. Cards in this pile may be viewed by either player at any time.
 
replace 
A character that is replaced in a skirmish by another character is removed from that skirmish. The skirmish continues with the new character. It does not start over. ?Actions that trigger when a character is assigned to a skirmish also occur when a character replaces another character in a skirmish.  Any skirmish assignment restrictions must also be obeyed in order to replace another character in a skirmish.
See site, unique.
 
requirement
See cost.
 
resistance
Companion cards have resistance. This number represents a companion’s ability to withstand the lure of The One Ring. Some characters have a ring around their resistance icon, meaning they can be chosen to begin the game as your Ring- bearer. (See building your deck.) Companions preceding the Shadows expansion set (other than versions of Frodo or Sam) do not have their resistance printed on the card. These companions have a resistance of 6. Allies have a resistance of zero. Each burden on your Ring-bearer reduces the resistance of every companion in your fellowship by 1. If your Ring-bearer’s resistance is reduced to zero, he is corrupted, and you lose the game. If the resistance of any of your other companions is reduced to zero, there is no immediate penalty, though your opponent may play Shadow cards to take advantage of this.
 
response
A special ability or event labeled with the word “Response:” indicates that you may perform that action whenever the trigger described in its game text happens. You may respond more than once to the same situation.  A response action is not a phase action (because there is no “response phase”). Some responses are performed when a described situation is “about to” happen. Typically, only one such response can be performed in a given situation, because its effect will “prevent” that situation or replace it with another effect “instead.”Isildur is wearing The One Ring, Answer to All Riddles. (“While wearing The One Ring,... each time he is about to take a wound in a skirmish, add a burden instead.”) The Free Peoples player has Sapling of the White Tree in play. (“Response: If a [gondor] Man is about to take a wound, discard this artifact to prevent that.”) Isildur loses a skirmish and is about to take a wound. Because the required action of The One Ring causes a burden to be added “instead” of a wound, the optional action of Sapling of the White Tree cannot be used, as the situation it responds to no longer exists.
See also action procedure, cost, effect. 
 
return to hand
When an effect returns a card to a player’s hand, that card must come from in play. Exception: Events can be returned to hand, even though they are never in play. The Elf you return to your hand with Taking the High Ground must come from in play, and can’t come from your discard pile or anywhere else.
 
reveal
See effect.
 
Ring-bearer
One Free Peoples character always begins the game as your Ring-bearer. (See building your deck.) He bears The One Ring for you, much as when Frodo carried the Ring in his pocket or on a chain around his neck. If a character other than Frodo is your Ring-bearer, you cannot play any version of Frodo with the Ring-bearer keyword during the game. ?The Ring-bearer's Ring-bearer and Ring-bound keywords cannot be removed or made to not apply. While wearing The One Ring, your Ring-bearer can perform all normal actions such as moving and skirmishing. He may defend against attacking minions as usual. The Ring-bearer cannot be discarded or returned to your hand, and skirmishes involving the Ring- bearer cannot be cancelled. If Sméagol is the Ring-bearer, you cannot play Be Back Soon to discard him (“Maneuver: Discard Sméagol to discard a minion...”), or Sneaking to cancel his skirmish “...cancel Sméagol’s skirmish if he has more vitality that the minion or minions he is skirmishing.”). If Frodo is the Ring-bearer, you cannot use Frodo’s Cloak to cancel his skirmish (“...add a burden and discard Frodo’s Cloak to cancel a skirmish involving Frodo.”)
See also losing the game, overwhelmed, starting fellowship.
 
Ring-bound
Only companions can be Ring-bound (not allies or minions).  All versions of Frodo and Sam are Ring-bound.
See also starting fellowship, unbound.
 
roaming
Each minion is normally played to a certain range of sites beginning with the minion’s site number. If the minion is played to (or is currently at) a site that has a lower site number, that minion is roaming. The player must pay a roaming penalty by removing an additional two twilight tokens when playing that minion. Block symbol has no effect on whether a minion is roaming or not. A minion with a site number of 4 must remove 2 more twilight tokens to play at site 3 (or site 3 ). If that same minion plays to site 4 (or site 4 ), there is no roaming penalty. If he survives the fellowship’s first move to 3, he would no longer be roaming when the fellowship moves to site 4.

The Rule of 4 
Some card effects allow you to draw cards in the fellowship phase. You cannot draw (or take into hand) more than 4 cards during your fellowship phase. This applies to cards taken into hand by any means. This does not apply to cards drawn “at the start of each of your turns.”
 
The Rule of 9
You cannot have more than nine total companions in play and in your dead pile at any time. (Each copy of a companion in play or in your dead pile counts as a separate companion, whether it is unique or non-unique.) If you have •Merry (a unique companion) and two copies of Dwarf Guard (a non-unique companion) in your dead pile, you cannot have more than 6 companions in your fellowship.
 
Sam 
See losing the game, Ring-bound.
 
sanctuary 
A sanctuary is any site 3 or site 6 on the adventure path. Sites preceding the Shadows expansion set mark this with a keyword. At the start of your turn when your fellowship is at a sanctuary, you may heal up to 5 wounds from your companions (not allies). (See healing.) You may choose to heal 5 different companions once, or one companion twice and another three times, or any other combination. You don’t have to heal any wounds at all – you may choose any number from zero to 5.
 
setting up the game
Players need a supply of wound tokens (preferably red) and twilight tokens (preferably black). Each player will also need a player marker (a differently-colored token) that shows where his fellowship is on the adventure path. Players bid to determine who goes first. Place your adventure deck face down in a pile on the table. The first player chooses any site from his adventure deck and places it on the table to begin the adventure path. This becomes site 1. Each player places his player marker onto that site. Place the adventure path off to the side, opposite from the twilight pool. That leaves room in the middle of the table for minions. Players then select and reveal their starting fellowships in player order. (In tournament play, you may change your starting fellowship from game to game.) The rest of your cards form your draw deck. Shuffle your draw deck, give the opponent on your right the opportunity to cut it, and draw eight cards to form your starting hand.
 
Shadow cards
Shadow cards represent the forces of evil and corruption. When another player takes his turn, you play and use your Shadow cards to hinder that player. Shadow cards have a dark colored diamond- shaped field in the upper left corner. A Shadow player cannot play a Shadow artifact, condition, or possession on another Shadow player’s minion, or to another player’s support area. However, Shadow cards may give bonuses or other game effects to other players’ Shadow cards, and Shadow players may play events for other players’ Shadow cards as appropriate.
A Shadow player’s minion may receive a strength bonus from another Shadow player’s condition. 
See also twilight cost.
 
Shadow followers 
During the regroup phase, each follower is returned to its owner’s support area only after the Free Peoples player has reconciled, but before the Shadow player discards all minions in play.
 
Shadow phase(s)
After your fellowship phase, each other player in the game, starting with the player immediately to your right, has one Shadow phase. During each player’s Shadow phase, that player may perform Shadow actions in any order, including playing most Shadow cards. One Shadow action is always available: 
•Play a Shadow minion, possession, artifact, or condition from your hand to the table. (See unique.) A Shadow Player may find other Shadow actions on events in his hand, or as special abilities on cards he already has in play.
When one Shadow player has completed all of the Shadow actions he wishes to perform, the next Shadow player to his right (if any) then performs a Shadow phase. Shadow players may converse and plan among themselves. They may name cards in their hands, but they cannot actually show each other those cards. They may make agreements, but those agreements are not binding. You may use (and exert) another player’s character to pay a cost for your Shadow card or special ability. When all Shadow players have each completed a Shadow phase, proceed to the maneuver phase. If there are no minions in play at the end of the final Shadow phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase. 
See also twilight cost.
 
signet
Some Free Peoples character cards have a signet, found in the lower left corner of the card. Cards with the same signet generally give bonuses to each other and work well in the same deck. Each signet is based around an important character in the story. The available signets are Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, and Théoden.
 
site
Site cards represent locations in Middle-earth, and are used to chart the progress of the game. Nine sites are placed in your adventure deck. (See building your deck.) Site cards have a dark compass in the upper left corner. This symbol is used on sites from the Shadows expansion set onward, differentiating them from sites found in previous sets (which use a different compass symbol, and may also use a block symbol). If your fellowship moves to a site that has not been played yet, one of the Shadow players must place a new site on the adventure path. (See moving your fellowship.) To determine which player, look at the site you are moving from. Each site has an arrow at the bottom center of the card. This indicates who is to play the new site, with ----------> meaning the Shadow Player to your right and <---------- meaning the Shadow player to your left. In a two-player game, there is only one Shadow player at a time, so that player always plays the new site. That player looks through his adventure deck and chooses any site to play as the next site. It takes on the next consecutive number on the adventure path as its site number. It also takes on a region number. Exception: See format. The first time the first player moves during the game, a Shadow player looks through his adventure deck and chooses the next site to place on the adventure path. It becomes site 2. The next time a site is added after that, it will be site 3. Both of those sites are in region 1.
You may play a copy of a site on the adventure path even if an opponent’s copy was already played as an earlier site and is still active. The copies are treated as different sites, with each given a different site number. Some cards allow a player to play the next site on the adventure path at times when the fellowship is not moving. These may be used even when the next site is already there. In such cases, the new site replaces the old one; put the old site back in its owner’s adventure deck. The new site takes the same site number the old site had, so that there is always only one site 1 in play, one site 2, and so on. An effect that allows the playing of the “next site” can’t be used to play “site 10.” The adventure path is limited to only nine sites. When a site is replaced, all cards played on or stacked on the old site are moved to the new site. To replace a site, choose a new site from your adventure deck and place it on top of the site you are replacing on the adventure path. Take the old site from beneath the new site and place it in your adventure deck. You can’t replace a site card with the same site card. Shadow players may take control of sites on the adventure path and the Free Peoples player may liberate controlled sites. Various card effects refer to these controlled sites as well.
See also culture, kinds of cards.
 
skirmish phase(s) 
When the assignment phase is complete, each defending character will fight in a separate skirmish phase. In an order decided by the Free Peoples player, skirmishes are resolved one at a time by conducting a skirmish phase for each. During each skirmish phase, players may perform skirmish actions (special abilities on cards in play with "Skirmish:” and events with that keyword) using the action procedure. Each skirmish action lasts only for a single skirmish. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to resolve that skirmish. If the total strength of one side is more than the strength of the other side (but less than double), the side with the most strength wins that skirmish. (If there is a tie, the Shadow side wins.) Place one wound on each character on the losing side. (See damage bonus, killed, overwhelmed.) If Aragorn, with strength of 8, faces two Orcs, each with strength of 3 (total strength of 6), then Aragorn wins that skirmish and each losing Orc takes one wound. If all characters of one side are removed during a skirmish before strength has been totaled, the skirmish resolves and the other side wins. If all characters of one side are removed from a skirmish before that skirmish begins, that skirmish does not occur. A character is “skirmishing” or in a skirmish “involving” that character only while the skirmish phase that character is assigned to is happening. Sméagol, Slippery Sneak (“Skirmish: Add threats equal to the total vitality of minions Sméagol is skirmishing to discard Sméagol.”) and Frodo are each assigned to different skirmishes. The Free Peoples player chooses to resolve Frodo’s skirmish first. He cannot use Sméagol’s ability during Frodo’s skirmish.
A losing character is any character on the losing side when a skirmish revolves. If a character is removed from his or her skirmish and there are still one or more characters on each side of that skirmish, the removed character is neither a losing nor a winning character. A character removed from a skirmish is not wounded (or overwhelmed) when that skirmish resolves. Boromir, bearing a Blade of Gondor (“Skirmish: Exert Boromir to wound an Orc or Uruk-hai he is skirmishing.”), faces two Uruk-hai who each have only 1 vitality remaining. Boromir exerts once to use the Blade and kill one of the Uruk-hai. That Uruk-hai is a losing character. If the surviving Uruk-hai goes on to win the skirmish, Boromir will be a losing character, and that second Uruk-hai will be a winning character. If a skirmish is canceled, it ends immediately with no winner or loser.  When a skirmish resolves (or is canceled) for any
reason, no more skirmish actions may be taken. A skirmish phase ends after all actions triggered by winning or losing that skirmish have resolved. At this point, characters who were involved in that skirmish are no longer assigned. A surviving minion or companion may skirmish again this turn if the fellowship makes another move (or if the minion has the keyword fierce). Once a skirmish phase has finished, the Free Peoples player must select another defending companion (one who is still assigned to a minion), and perform another skirmish phase. When all skirmishes (both normal and fierce) have been resolved, proceed to the regroup phase.
See also enduring, lurker.
 
special ability
Besides events, other types of cards may have a phase action as a part of their game text called a special ability, which may be used only while the card is in play. The boldfaced word defines when you may do so. Each special ability is optional; you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. You may use each special ability as many times as you like (even repeatedly during the same phase), as long as you meet the requirements for it and pay its costs. ?A character uses a special ability when a special ability that is part of that character’s own game text is used.
See also action.
 
spot
The word spot sets up a requirement for playing a card or using a special ability in conjunction with a noun such as, “To play, spot an Elf.” This is equivalent to, “An Elf must be in play and active for you to play this card.” Cards in your dead pile are active during your turn, but they’re not in play. You can’t spot a card in your dead pile. 
Normally, you don’t have to spot all the cards in play that meet the requirement if you don’t want to. If a card says, “for each Elf you spot” and there are 2 Elves in play (and active), you may choose to spot 2 Elves, 1 Elf, or none. However, if a card says, “you can spot,” that means you don’t have a choice and you have to spot anything and everything that meets the requirement. “While you can spot The Balrog, skip the archery phase” means you can’t make a choice (it either works or it doesn’t). To spot a “Free Peoples culture” means to spot any Free Peoples card of that culture. You cannot spot a Gollum culture Shadow card to spot a Free Peoples culture. Events are not in play and can never be spotted.
See also stack.
 
stack
Stacking a card is not playing a card. Stacked cards are placed face up and may be looked at by any player at any time. Stacked cards are not in play and are not active. You cannot spot them. They do not count for uniqueness. A stacked unique card may be in play elsewhere. Multiple copies of the same unique card may be stacked together. 
See also leaving play, liberate, site.
 
start of turn
When your turn begins, remove all tokens from the twilight pool. (The pool begins the game empty, so this is not necessary on the first turn of the game.) Then you complete any “at the start of each turn” (or “at the start of each of your turns”) actions. Each of these actions may be performed only once per turn.
See also sanctuary.

starting fellowship
Your fellowship begins with a character bearing The One Ring. This can be any character with the ringed resistance icon, or any version of Frodo. That character gains the keywords Ring- bearer and Ring-bound, if he does not already have them. Place your Ring-bearer face up on the table. Place The One Ring under your Ring-bearer (so the title is showing) and place on him the burdens that you bid. You may then play other companions (not allies, possessions, artifacts, or conditions) one at a time from your draw deck, as long as the total twilight cost of these companions is 4 or less. The twilight cost of your Ring-bearer is not included in this total. Don’t place any tokens into the twilight pool for the cards in your starting fellowship. One companion you play may effect the play of a later companion you play. Some versions of Éomer cost 3, but read, “While you can spot a  Man, Éomer’s twilight cost is –1.” If you play another  Man who costs 2 first, you can spot him to play Éomer, as the total cost of your starting companions will be 4 instead of 5. You may use “When you play” game text on a starting companion. In the Starter Rules, players select their starting fellowships based upon which deck they have. 
See also active.
 
strength 
See killed.
 
support area
Your support area is a row of cards behind your fellowship.
See also Shadow cards.
 
threats
A threat is a token placed on the dead pile by the Free Peoples player. The same tokens that are used for wounds can be used for threats. There are many cards that add or remove threats, much in the same way that burdens are added or removed. However, threats cannot be added if the number of threats on the dead pile is equal to or greater than the number of companions in play. If the dead pile has four threats and there are four companions in play, no more threats may be added. Sometimes a companion will be discarded, and there will be more threats than companions in play. When a companion or ally is killed and that card is placed in the dead pile, the Free Peoples player counts the number of threats on the dead pile and then removes them. Then the Free Peoples player must assign a number of wounds equal to the number of threats removed to his companions in any way he wishes. If there are three threats on the dead pile when an ally is killed, the Free Peoples player must remove those tokens and assign three wounds to his companions (not allies). This may be three wounds to one companion, one wound each to three different companions, or any other possible combination.
See also active.
 
token
See burden, culture tokens, wound, threats, twilight pool.
 
toil
When you play a card that has the toil keyword, you may reduce its twilight cost by the number specified. You do this by exerting one of your characters of the same culture as that card. You may exert multiple characters of the same culture. Each different character you exert reduces the twilight cost by the number specified. You may exert a given character only once when playing a toil card.
 
transfer
You may transfer an artifact or possession between your Free Peoples characters during your fellowship phase by paying the twilight cost for that artifact or possession again. (Minions cannot transfer artifacts or possessions.) Both characters involved in the transfer must be at the same site. (See ally.) An artifact or possession may be transferred only to a character who may bear it. (See bearer.) Transferring a card is not playing that card, even though you must pay its twilight cost. “When you play” game text is not performed when transferring a card.
? Another way to transfer a card is by using a card’s game text. If an effect can transfer a card to another “eligible bearer,” you must obey that card’s requirements on both what may bear it and when it may be transferred. If an effect can transfer a card to another character, without mentioning it needing to be an “eligible bearer”, you only need to obey that card’s requirements on when, and to whom, it may be transferred. When transferring a card by using a card’s game text, you do not pay its twilight cost. You can use Strange-Looking Men to transfer Flaming Brand (“Bearer must be a Man”) to any Man, Free Peoples or Shadow, as this obeys Flaming Brand’s normal requirements on who may bear it. You cannot use Strange-Looking Men to transfer Black Breath (“Skirmish: Transfer this condition from your support area to a character skirmishing a Nazgûl.”). Black Breath’s additional requirement that it be transferred to a character skirmishing a Nazgûl cannot be met during the maneuver phase.
 
turn sequence
Each player, going clockwise around the table, takes turns according to the following turn sequence. Remove all tokens from the twilight pool. Perform any “start of turn” actions.
1. Fellowship Phase 
  Perform fellowship actions 
  Move to the next site
2. Shadow Phase(s) – one for each Shadow player
  Perform Shadow actions 
3. Maneuver Phase
  Perform maneuver actions 
4. Archery Phase
  Perform archery actions
  Conduct archery fire 
5. Assignment Phase
  Perform assignment actions
  Assign defenders 
6. Skirmish Phase(s) – one for each skirmish
  Perform skirmish actions
  Resolve that skirmish 
7. Regroup Phase
  Perform regroup actions 
  Reconcile Shadow players’ hands 
  Free Peoples player chooses:
move to the next site (return to Shadow phase)
  -or-
reconcile, and Shadow players discard all minions in play. When one player finishes his turn, the next player in clockwise rotation (to his left) takes a turn and so on. Although the turn order rotates to the left (clockwise), note that many other procedures in the game actually rotate to the right (counter-clockwise).
 
twilight cost
In the upper left corner of each Free Peoples and Shadow card is that card’s twilight cost. This is the number of twilight tokens that must be added to or removed from the twilight pool to play that card. When you play a Free Peoples card, you must add a number of twilight tokens (from the reserve) to the twilight pool equal to that card’s twilight cost. When your opponent plays a Shadow card, he must remove a number of twilight tokens from the twilight pool equal to that card’s twilight cost. A Shadow card cannot be played if its twilight cost cannot be met by the tokens available in the twilight pool. All Shadow players pay for cards by using the same twilight pool. The second Shadow player uses twilight tokens left over from the first Shadow player, and so on. Cards already in play that affect ? a card’s twilight cost have that effect only when the card to be modified is coming into play. A Free Peoples player uses the site text of Rohirrim Road (“Fellowship: Exert an Elf to make the twilight cost of each condition and possession +2 until the end of the turn.”). That player then uses Catapult during that turn (“Maneuver: Discard 2 cards from hand to reveal the top card of an opponent’s draw deck. Choose an opponent who must discard a Shadow card that has a twilight cost that is the same as the twilight cost of the revealed card.”). Catapult reveals a condition from the top of an opponent’s deck. The condition’s twilight cost is not modified by the site text of Rohirrim Road, because the condition is not coming into play.
See also cost, discard pile, draw deck.
 
twilight pool
The twilight pool is an area on the table where twilight tokens are placed. The tokens in the twilight pool represent how dangerous the world is for the fellowship. Glass beads (preferably black) make good twilight tokens, but any convenient tokens will do. Keep a large reserve of twilight tokens handy. In game text, you will find phrases like "Add ” which means, “Add 1 twilight token to the twilight pool.” 
See also start of turn, twilight cost.
 
unbound
Only companions can be unbound (not allies or minions). Any companion without the Ring-bound keyword is an unbound companion.
 
unhasty
The Free Peoples player cannot assign a character with this keyword to a skirmish unless it is at its home site (see ally) or when a  card allows it do so. Shadow players may assign any leftover unassigned minions to unhasty companions. 
See also assignment phase.
 
unique
Many character, possession, artifact, and condition cards represent a thing that there is only one of. Such a card has a dot (•) before the card title and is unique. When a unique card is in play and currently active, you cannot play another card that has the same title. You may have only one card with the card title of •Gandalf in play at one time. Other players may also have a card with the title of •Gandalf in play, but only one is allowed per player. Two cards represent the same thing if they have the same card title (even if their subtitles or collector’s info are different) or they have the same collector’s info (even if their titles and subtitles are different). Two cards can have the same card title even if they are in different languages. The cards Gandalf’s Staff, Walking Stick and Gandalf’s Staff (no subtitle) represent the same thing. You cannot play a card from your hand to replace another card in play, even if those cards have the same card title or represent the same personality.
See also dead pile, discard to heal, non-unique, stack.
 
 
? unless strength is tripled
Any game text that specifies that a character “cannot be overwhelmed unless his [or her] strength is tripled” only applies when that character’s strength is being used to resolve a skirmish. If Final Triumph or One Last Surprise is played during a skirmish involving a Man bearing Coat of Mail, then the game text of Coat of Mail that specifies “Bearer may not be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled.” does not apply during that skirmish.
 
unloaded keyword
Race (such as Man, Elf, Ent, Orc, Uruk-hai, or Wizard) is an unloaded keyword. Sites have unloaded keywords like battleground, dwelling, forest, marsh, mountain, plains, river, and underground. Other unloaded keywords include
besieger, Corsair, Easterling, engine, fortification, knight, machine, ranger, Ring-bound, search, Southron, spell, stealth, tale, tracker, valiant, villager, and warg-rider.
 
Uruk-hai
In The Lord of the Rings TCG, Uruk-hai is a different race from Orc.
 
vitality
All characters in the game have vitality. This number represents a character’s life force, stamina, sturdiness, and will to live. Each wound token on a character depletes that character’s vitality by 1.
See also exhausted, killed. 
 
void 
When a non-site card is played, it enters the void (not in your hand, not in your discard pile, and not in play) until all of its effects have resolved, and then it’s placed in the appropriate place. Events go to the discard pile and other cards are placed in play.
See playing a card.
 
when
This word you’ll see in game text governs the timing of an action, just like the names of phases that are in phase actions. “When” is used if an effect can happen only once. Each such effect has a trigger describing what makes it happen. The trigger is always described first, and followed by a comma. “When you play this possession, you may draw a card.” This game text activates only once, when this card is played.
 
while
This word you’ll see in game text governs the timing of an action, just like the names of phases that are in phase actions. “While” is used if an effect is continuous. Each such effect has a trigger describing what makes it happen. The trigger is always described first, and followed by a comma. “While Merry bears a weapon, he is strength +2.” When you play a weapon on Merry, this game text is activated; if that weapon is discarded, then this game text “turns off.”
 
who goes first?
In the Starter Rules, players decide randomly who goes first. Normally, however, players bid burdens to determine this.
 
winning the game
A player wins the game when his fellowship is at site 9 and his Ring-bearer survives all skirmish phases. The game ends, and there is no regroup phase on the last turn. A player may also win the game if he becomes the last player left in the game. (See losing the game.)
 
wound
When a character is wounded by an enemy attack, his vitality is depleted. Place a wound token on the character to illustrate this. Glass beads (preferably blood red) make good tokens for this purpose. Wounds are always placed on a character one at a time. When you “wound a character,” you place only one wound. If a card tells you to wound a number of companions, you must choose different companions to wound one time each (you cannot wound a single
companion more than once). A wounded character is a character who has at least one wound token. If a character cannot take wounds, wounds cannot be assigned to that character. However, if a card prevents wounds, wounds may still be assigned to that character. Faramir, Wizard’s Pupil reads: “Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to prevent all wounds to Faramir.” This prevents wounds as they are assigned to Faramir, not the assignments themselves.
See also active, exert, for each, killed.