Learning to play - Spotting and Threat questions

[Lach]

Hi there,

Totally newbie here. I'm jumping in with some starter decks I found cheap as chips.

I've got two questions that don't seem totally clear to me, would someone be able to help me out?

1- When you 'spot' a card, are you required to spot your own cards, or can you spot other player's cards? Does this apply to 'threat' as well, can you spot 'threat' on other player's cards?

2- Do you ever add/subtract threat from other players? Or do you just add/subtract threat from yourself?

Any clarification here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

Lach

[menace64]

Hi there,

Totally newbie here. I'm jumping in with some starter decks I found cheap as chips.

Well met! The Last Homely House is open to all the children of Arda!

1- When you 'spot' a card, are you required to spot your own cards, or can you spot other player's cards? Does this apply to 'threat' as well, can you spot 'threat' on other player's cards?

You can always spot any cards that are active. Each card will determine the boundaries of what you spot. Some cards will say "spot your Hobbit ally" while others say "for each Man you can spot". In the first instance you are restricted to your own cards, while in the second you can spot active characters anywhere on the table.

2- Do you ever add/subtract threat from other players? Or do you just add/subtract threat from yourself?

On your turn, only your own dead pile is active. When you're the Free Peoples player, the dead piles (and thus threats) of your opponents aren't active and are thus immune to manipulation. When you're the Shadow player, only your opponent's dead pile is active.

Any clarification here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

Hope I was helpful. Do you have a favorite culture or deck so far?

[Lach]

Woah, didn't expect a reply so quickly, thanks for the warm welcome!

1- That clears it all up for me, thanks.

2- Oh, that's interesting.
So that means that all the Raider cards in the Aragorn Return of the King starter set (e.g- Southron Bandit, Desert Fighter, etc.) are actually spotting and modifying the threat on the Free Peoples player? Nasty!

Haven't really played yet, but I'm liking the look of the Aragorn starter and Sam starter - hobbits seem fun, and Aragorn is Aragorn!

[menace64]

So that means that all the Raider cards in the Aragorn Return of the King starter set (e.g- Southron Bandit, Desert Fighter, etc.) are actually spotting and modifying the threat on the Free Peoples player? Nasty!

Yup! There are Free Peoples strategies that focus pretty heavily on adding threats to their own dead pile in order to get a payoff for putting themselves in danger (see: King of the Dead, At His Command).

Haven't really played yet, but I'm liking the look of the Aragorn starter and Sam starter - hobbits seem fun, and Aragorn is Aragorn!

Hop into GEMP and watch a game or two - that's a great way to start dissecting how the game flows.