The Way Into Mordor - Shire (9/30: Well-earned Comfort & Wonderful Folk)

[DáinIronfoot]

What's become of lem0nhead? Hmmm.

Okay, well, I can't keep waiting, so here are more possessions for our wayward little travelers. Enjoy!

•Sam's Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer).
The twilight cost of each and stealth event is -1.
"‘It is hard even for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot see you in the shadow even at a few paces.'"

•Sam's Pack, Large and Heavy
Possession
Bearer must be Sam.
At the start of each turn, you may discard a card from your hand to heal a Ring-bound companion (or 2 Ring-bound companions if at a sanctuary).
"He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed...."

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

And a card to get them all going....

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

And because I can't wait to spoil it, a card from my next set, The End Of All Things, that ties in so nicely here that I can't help but post it now.

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer) strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he is also damage +1.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

[FM]

•Sam's Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer).
The twilight cost of each and stealth event is -1.
"‘It is hard even for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot see you in the shadow even at a few paces.'"

Nice enough.

•Sam's Pack, Large and Heavy
Possession
Bearer must be Sam.
At the start of each turn, you may discard a card from your hand to heal a Ring-bound companion (or 2 Ring-bound companions if at a sanctuary).
"He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed...."

Loved it.

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

This one I see no reason to limit being borne by the ring-bearer. And wth does "capture" mean?

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

This seems like it could become a bit overpowered, specially with a RB Sam, but I'm not entirely sure. It IS a one-time shot anyway.

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he also gains hunter 2.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

Seems REALLY good, perhaps it'd make it nearly impossible to overwhelm the Ring-bearer, so you might want to keep it in check, otherwise, it's ONE card they have to save to pretty much guarantee Frodo survives. Can you imagine holding two at site 9?!?

[DáinIronfoot]

And wth does "capture" mean?

A brief review of capturing and rescuing:

You may capture an opponent's character much like controlling an opponent's site. Captured characters go in your support area. Captured characters cannot be used by their owner, and the player who captured them can get some benefits from them. Companions, allies, and minions can all be captured, though it usually isn't terribly easy to do so, especially for Shadow players.

Captured characters can become "un-captured" when their owner rescues them somehow, but that's not the only way to get them back....

Captured companions/allies remain captured ONLY while there are minions in play. As soon as the last minion is killed or discarded, all captured companions/allies are automatically rescued...which makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Captured minions, however, remain captured indefinately...which also makes sense, since there are obviously always companions in play to keep those minions captured. If the fellowship chooses to end their turn, they may hold onto captured minions or choose for them to be discarded (as any minions in play would be) on a case-by-case basis.

However, each time the fellowship moves, each player must pay twilight equal to the total printed cost of all characters they have captured. Any character NOT paid for in this way is automatically rescued.

Rescued companions/allies are automatically returned to the fellowship (or support area...wherever they were before), and rescued minions return to play, free to harass the fellowship again. This is true whether automatically rescued as described above, or if some other type of card is played or effect takes place that rescues a character.

I have it sprinkled throughout my sets, but it is most prevalent in my first set (based on The Hobbit, which contains the Three Trolls, Spiders, and Wood-elves capturing the Dwarves of Thorin's Company and Bilbo rescuing them) and my next set (based on Return of the King; capturing here revolving around Shelob and the Orcs/Uruks of Cirith Ungol). Most of its appearances in my Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers sets are in the culture (Saruman capturing Gandalf, Uruk trackers capturing Merry and Pippin), but it gets little token appearances here and there with others. This is one such example.

Make-a sense-a?

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he also gains hunter 2.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

Seems REALLY good, perhaps it'd make it nearly impossible to overwhelm the Ring-bearer, so you might want to keep it in check, otherwise, it's ONE card they have to save to pretty much guarantee Frodo survives. Can you imagine holding two at site 9?!?

A very good point. I'll exclude the RB here, since I didn't really intend for this to include the RB anyway. That alright? Should I perhaps raise the cost to as well? I had strongly considered doing so, since it's uncapped....

[sickofpalantirs]

What's become of lem0nhead? Hmmm.

Okay, well, I can't keep waiting, so here are more possessions for our wayward little travelers. Enjoy!

•Sam's Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer).
The twilight cost of each and stealth event is -1.
"‘It is hard even for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot see you in the shadow even at a few paces.'"
fine.

•Sam's Pack, Large and Heavy
Possession
Bearer must be Sam.
At the start of each turn, you may discard a card from your hand to heal a Ring-bound companion (or 2 Ring-bound companions if at a sanctuary).
"He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed...."
fine.

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"
capturing...I remember capturing...kinda...refresher course?

And a card to get them all going....

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."
fine

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer) strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he also gains hunter 2.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

again hunter? damage seems more appropriate, or maybe remove a burden.

[DáinIronfoot]

capturing...I remember capturing...kinda...refresher course?

Look one post above yours, skippy.

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer) strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he also gains hunter 2.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

again hunter? damage seems more appropriate, or maybe remove a burden.

Ooooo...I like damage. Excellent idea! I shall do that.

[Thranduil]

•Sam's Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer).
The twilight cost of each and stealth event is -1.
"‘It is hard even for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot see you in the shadow even at a few paces.'"

Yeah, fair enough. I might just go all the way and say "Bearer must be Sam" given that it's his cloak and all.

•Sam's Pack, Large and Heavy
Possession
Bearer must be Sam.
At the start of each turn, you may discard a card from your hand to heal a Ring-bound companion (or 2 Ring-bound companions if at a sanctuary).
"He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed...."

Hmmm... Not a fan of the subtitle, but the card seems fairly solid. How about "discard a or card"?

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

Weird possession to be unique in the first place, weirder still to have a subtitle. I might just make a new card called "Rope of Lothlórien" and make it non-unique or something.

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

Yep, I see nothing wrong with this.

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer) strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he is also damage +1.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

Seems a little sub-par. It could be I reckon, or strength +2 for each.

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

•Sam's Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer).
The twilight cost of each and stealth event is -1.
"‘It is hard even for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot see you in the shadow even at a few paces.'"

Quite good, bout time there was a cloak worth using.

•Sam's Pack, Large and Heavy
Possession
Bearer must be Sam.
At the start of each turn, you may discard a card from your hand to heal a Ring-bound companion (or 2 Ring-bound companions if at a sanctuary).
"He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed...."

Meh, not bad.

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

Nice enough. Nice flavour on the capture, odd burden flavour though.

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

Trying to decide if it should be one.

Armed with Little Teeth
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit (except the Ring-bearer) strength +1 for each possession and artifact that Hobbit bears. If that Hobbit is Sam, he is also damage +1.
"He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged."

Not bad pump.

What's become of lem0nhead? Hmmm.

Im just having less and less time to using TLHH matey, some stuff has changed a bit at work and im on even less. Some days i get to read DC's but not really to quote, take some time to think about them, and review them. Some days i dont even get chance to read them!

Like i said earlier, get used to it, Come mid July i dont know if youll see me again!

[DáinIronfoot]

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

Nice enough. Nice flavour on the capture, odd burden flavour though.

Yeah, I was kind of meh on the burden thing myself, but I couldn't think of anything better. Got any suggestions?

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

Trying to decide if it should be one.

You mean for the cost?

What's become of lem0nhead? Hmmm.

Im just having less and less time to using TLHH matey, some stuff has changed a bit at work and im on even less. Some days i get to read DC's but not really to quote, take some time to think about them, and review them. Some days i dont even get chance to read them!

Like i said earlier, get used to it, Come mid July i dont know if youll see me again!

Awwww man. You just ruined my summer.

Well hopefully you'll at least have time to make it through this culture (and this set). Speaking of which, let's move things along with some more possession stuff. Enjoy!

•Frodo's Cloak, Grey Elven-cloak
Possession • Cloak
Bearer must be Frodo.
Response: If the fellowship is in region 1 or region 2 and Frodo is about to be assigned to a minion by a Shadow card, add a burden and discard a stealth card from hand or from play to prevent that and assign that minion.
Skirmish: Discard this possession to remove a burden and heal a Ring-bound companion.
"...his grey elven-cloak had melted into the twilight."

The original Frodo's Cloak was always one of my favorites, even long after the skirmish canceling ability was rendered moot. There's just something fun about healing and removing a burden all at the same time. It makes for excellent Frodo-as-bearer protection. So I brought that part of the skirmish ability back...but it's really only likely to be used once you're in region 3, because the protection this offers before that is quite, quite good. Yes, it requires bringing along some stealth cards, but there are plenty of those to go around in this set anyway.

Hobbit Sword (reprint)
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Hobbit.
"‘No orc-tools these!'"

Yeah, yeah...I had to. Partly because I wanted to properly set up this card:

Let Go!
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit bearing a hand weapon strength +3 (or +4 if that weapon is Sting).
"‘This is Sting. You have seen it before once upon a time. Let go, or you'll feel it this time! I'll cut your throat.'"

Always wanted a Sting-centric skirmish event like this. Of course, it's plenty good even with, say, a Hobbit Sword too.

[sickofpalantirs]

cloaks is good, sword is OP  +2 for any hobbit? thats craziness.

as for the pump, I'd be more in favor of +2 or +4.  though 3 is a very hobbity number IMSO.

[lem0nhead]

•Elven Rope, Silken-Grey
Possession
To play, spot an card. Bearer must be an Elf or Ring-bound companion (except the Ring-bearer).
Maneuver: Reveal the top card of your draw deck. If that card is of bearer's culture, you may choose one: capture a minion with strength 6 or less; or remove a burden.
"‘It looks a bit thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the hand. Packs close too, and as light as light.'"

Nice enough. Nice flavour on the capture, odd burden flavour though.

Yeah, I was kind of meh on the burden thing myself, but I couldn't think of anything better. Got any suggestions?

Dunno, even healing would be better than burden. Though apart from capturing, rope isnt a very flavoury item!

A Help In Many Needs
Event • Fellowship
Spot Sam to play a possession from your draw deck on a Ring-bound companion.
"Quickly Sam unslung his pack and rummaged in it."

Trying to decide if it should be one.

You mean for the cost?

Yeah!

What's become of lem0nhead? Hmmm.

Im just having less and less time to using TLHH matey, some stuff has changed a bit at work and im on even less. Some days i get to read DC's but not really to quote, take some time to think about them, and review them. Some days i dont even get chance to read them!

Like i said earlier, get used to it, Come mid July i dont know if youll see me again!

Awwww man. You just ruined my summer.

Sorry dude, ill do my best, but you of all people know a kid is gonna dominate my time!

Well hopefully you'll at least have time to make it through this culture (and this set). Speaking of which, let's move things along with some more possession stuff. Enjoy!

•Frodo's Cloak, Grey Elven-cloak
Possession • Cloak
Bearer must be Frodo.
Response: If the fellowship is in region 1 or region 2 and Frodo is about to be assigned to a minion by any Shadow player, add a burden and discard a stealth card from hand or from play to prevent that and assign that minion.
Skirmish: Discard this possession to remove a burden and heal a Ring-bound companion.
"Not even an eagle poised against the sun would have marked the hobbits sitting there, under the weight of doom, silent: not moving, shrouded...."

Good, but im sure that this could lead to some rules confusion. If the shadow has minions left over and u stop them assigning, you shouldnt really be able to assign the minion as everyone else is assigned. Tricky.

Hobbit Sword (reprint)
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Hobbit.
"‘No orc-tools these!'"

What SoP said.

Let Go!
Event • Skirmish
Make a Hobbit bearing a hand weapon strength +3 (or +4 if that weapon is Sting).
"‘This is Sting. You have seen it before once upon a time. Let go, or you'll feel it this time! I'll cut your throat.'"

Finally a good easy use pump worth using in a hobbit deck.

[Thranduil]

•Frodo's Cloak, Grey Elven-cloak
Possession • Cloak
Bearer must be Frodo.
Response: If the fellowship is in region 1 or region 2 and Frodo is about to be assigned to a minion by any Shadow player, add a burden and discard a stealth card from hand or from play to prevent that and assign that minion.
Skirmish: Discard this possession to remove a burden and heal a Ring-bound companion.
"Not even an eagle poised against the sun would have marked the hobbits sitting there, under the weight of doom, silent: not moving, shrouded...."

Good, but im sure that this could lead to some rules confusion. If the shadow has minions left over and u stop them assigning, you shouldnt really be able to assign the minion as everyone else is assigned. Tricky.

That would be sorted by changing "by any Shadow player" to "by a Shadow card".

I didn't see any problems with this stuff. Looks all good to me!

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

Nice thought Thran. What he said DI!

[DáinIronfoot]

Done and done. Thanks, boys!

Okay, today is all about Sam. I've always viewed him as a little mini Swiss Army knife, sort of in the same vein as Gandalf. I'm trying to sprinkle a little bit of his many LOTR TCG talents into this set, since he really begins to prove his worth in The Two Towers. Sam FC and Sam FG play possessions...and I've touched on that already. Sam RH and Sam IT do some healing...check, though only through the new Sam's Pack. Sam SoH, Sam StB, and Sam NoV deal with burdens. Hmmm...nothing on that yet.

But after today, all these various sides of Sam should shine through. Enjoy!

It's Not Bad
Event • Maneuver or Regroup
Spot Sam to heal a Ring-bound companion (and remove a burden if Sam has resistance 7 or more).
"‘Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it Sam?'"

•You Have To Fight It!
Condition
Resistance +1
To play, exert Sam. Bearer must be the Ring-bearer.
Skirmish: Discard this condition to take off The One Ring.
"‘Mr. Frodo! It's alright. I'm here.'"

•Worth Fighting For
Condition • Support Area
Tale. While you can spot Sam, each companion is resistance +1.
Regroup: Exert Sam and discard this condition to remove a burden (or 3 burdens if you cannot spot a twilight token).
"‘But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when he sun shines it will shine out the clearer.'"

[Thranduil]

To be honest, I don't really have any issues here. I particularly like Worth Fighting For, but everything else seems great. Second one might have better flavour if the RB couldn't be Sam as well, but it's all good.

Thranduil

[sickofpalantirs]

its not bad is very good...but I would say they are all fine.