Return to the Paths of the Dead - Abandoning All Reason

[Elf_Lvr]

Maybe add strength at resistance 3, and then the damage at resistance 0, just to make the card more useful.

[lem0nhead]

Easterling Halberd
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or an Easterling.
While skirmishing a companion with resistance 0, bearer is strength +2 and damage +1.

Fine.

Weight of History
Condition
Resistance: -1
To play, spot a minion.
Bearer must be an unbound companion.
Bearer is resistance -1 for each Free Peoples card in the dead pile.
"The same blood flows through my veins, the same weakness."

Wow cool. Awesome flavour.

[Anvar]

My cards have been relatively uncontroversial so far, which is, I suppose, a good thing. Time for a few more, perhaps more difficult cards. I didn't give Easterling Halberd a bonus except at 0 resistance to distinguish it from another possession which is below. The third card is part of a cycle that goes across all cultures, and all scour 3 cards (scour a card means discard the top card of your draw deck).

Muster of Easterlings
Minion • Man
Strength: 20
Vitality: 3
Site: 4
Easterling.
This minion is strength -X where X is the resistance of the character he is skirmishing.
Skirmish: If you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, exert this minion to make it fierce until the regroup phase.

Raider Poleaxe
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or Easterling.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 4 or less, bearer is fierce.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, bearer cannot take wounds.

Ride Out of the East
Condition • Support Area
Each the time the fellowship moves you may spot 3 cards to scour 3 cards. Add a burden for each card or twilight card you scour. Remove a burden for each Free Peoples card you scour.
Heavily armored kataphracts rode out of the east to join Sauron's armies.

[Thranduil]

Muster of Easterlings
Minion • Man
Strength: 20
Vitality: 3
Site: 4
Easterling.
This minion is strength -X where X is the highest resistance of the characters he is skirmishing.
Skirmish: If you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, exert this minion to make it fierce until the regroup phase.

I'm a bit confused. Can he skirmish more than 1 character?

Raider Poleaxe
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or Easterling.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 4 or less, bearer is fierce.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, bearer cannot take wounds.

Awesome, no problem.

Ride of the Easterlings
Condition • Support Area
Each the time the fellowship moves you may spot 4 cards to scour 3 cards. Add a burden for each card or twilight card you scour. Remove a burden for each Free Peoples card you scour.
Heavily armored kataphracts rode out of the east to join Sauron's armies.

Perhaps 2 minions instead?

Thranduil

[Anvar]

Muster of Easterlings cannot skirmish more than one character, but just in case there would be some way of assigning more than one companion, I thought I'd phrase it a way that can deal with it. I'm sure that there are dream cards allowing team ups...

Ride of the Easterlings spots cards so that it works both times the FP players moves. I thought that seemed more fun to me but I'm open to changing it if you think it overpowered.

[Thranduil]

Ride of the Easterlings spots cards so that it works both times the FP players moves. I thought that seemed more fun to me but I'm open to changing it if you think it overpowered.

Ah, no that wasn't my opinion - by suggesting what I did I was trying to make it easier, not harder, but I forgot about the fellowship move thing...

Might even work at 3 cards.

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

Muster of Easterlings
Minion • Man
Strength: 20
Vitality: 3
Site: 4
Easterling.
This minion is strength -X where X is the highest resistance of the characters he is skirmishing.
Skirmish: If you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, exert this minion to make it fierce until the regroup phase.

You cant skirmish more than 1 companion at a time so id phrase it where x is the resistance of the character he is skirmishing. Ignore double team DC's for the sake of common sense!

Raider Poleaxe
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or Easterling.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 4 or less, bearer is fierce.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, bearer cannot take wounds.

4 or less for fierce is quite strong, but its a cool weapon.

Ride of the Easterlings
Condition • Support Area
Each the time the fellowship moves you may spot 4 cards to scour 3 cards. Add a burden for each card or twilight card you scour. Remove a burden for each Free Peoples card you scour.
Heavily armored kataphracts rode out of the east to join Sauron's armies.

Really not worth using you lose 3 cards and you might end up with a net burden removal.

[Thranduil]

Really not worth using you lose 3 cards and you might end up with a net burden removal.

Remember Desperation! This Ride cycle is built to help you reach desperation (ie. when you have no cards in your draw deck).

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

Im still bearing desperation in mind, i still think its even riskier than hidden knowldege and its still 3 cards you cant use cos youve discarded em. Sorry dont rate it.

[Anvar]

Ok, Muster of Easterlings has been altered.

Ride of the easterlings has a new name, and has been reduced to and spot 3 cards. I understand that one might not use it, but I think that the cycle is entertaining and could be built around.

[DáinIronfoot]

Muster of Easterlings
Minion • Man
Strength: 20
Vitality: 3
Site: 4
Easterling.
This minion is strength -X where X is the resistance of the character he is skirmishing.
Skirmish: If you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, exert this minion to make it fierce until the regroup phase.

Cool. Mean, but cool.

Raider Poleaxe
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or Easterling.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 4 or less, bearer is fierce.
While you can spot a companion with resistance 2 or less, bearer cannot take wounds.

Harsh, but probably balanced enough.

Ride Out of the East
Condition • Support Area
Each the time the fellowship moves you may spot 3 cards to scour 3 cards. Add a burden for each card or twilight card you scour. Remove a burden for each Free Peoples card you scour.
Heavily armored kataphracts rode out of the east to join Sauron's armies.

I think it's fine, and especially cool if you have a way to return some or cards to the top of your deck. Might want to make it unique, though.

[Anvar]

Some more easterling support cards. I seem to be a bit short of minions at the moment, which I shall try to redress next week, but for now you can see another easterling possession, and a maneuver event which is part of a cycle of shadow cards that work in a single culture, but work better if you can spot Nazgul as well.

Easterling Steed
Possession • Mount
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or an Easterling.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer, exert the character he is skirmishing if they have resistance 0 or less.
Skirmish: Exert this minion and spot a companion with resistance 2 to play a possession on bearer from your discard pile as if from hand.
Heavily armoured and with evil tempers, the mounts of the easterlings rivalled those of Rohan on the battlefield.

Serving Khamul
Event • Maneuver
Spot a minion to add (or spot a minion and a twilight minion to add for each burden you can spot).
The men of the east obeyed Khamul as their lord and master.

[Elf_Lvr]

Easterling Steed
Possession • Mount
Strength: +2
Bearer must be a minion or an Easterling.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer, exert the character he is skirmishing if they have resistance 2 or less.
Skirmish: Spot a companion with resistance 0 to play a possession on bearer from your discard pile as if from hand.
Heavily armoured and with evil tempers, the mounts of the easterlings rivalled those of Rohan on the battlefield.

I think the "As if from hand" is extraneous, unless you have some cards that only work on cards played from hand. I also think it's too strong for its cost. Maybe make it cost .

Serving Khamul
Event • Maneuver
Spot a minion to add (or spot a minion and a twilight minion to add for each burden you can spot).
The men of the east obeyed Khamul as their lord and master.

Nice.

[DáinIronfoot]

I second EL's comments.

[Thranduil]

Don't make a cost Shadow possession to be borne by minions - it's simply not ever worth it. I actually think the steed is fine, though perhaps you could switch around the required resistance.

Thranduil