A few questions ...

[Yloquen]

What happens when a player selects an invalid target for certain spell or effect. Say, we have Black Breath attached, but, mistakenly, someone tries to heal the companion it's attached to. Does the spell fizzle (its effect canceled), or should the player go back or should he choose another valid target and if that is not available, only then the effect is canceled.

Second question regards East Road. Is its effect applied for the starting fellowship?

[ket_the_jet]

East Road is not applied to the starting fellowship (nice idea though).

If someone tries to heal with Black Breath, it does not happen. The spell "fizzles," like you say. If someone says, "Oops, I meant to heal someone else," it is your call. You can either be a #$&*@! and say, "A card laid is a card played" or you can let them go back and heal.
-wtk

[Yloquen]

Thanks for the clarification. If memory serves me right, in Magic when you play a spell but choose an invalid  target you are allowed to choose a valid target. If no such target is available, the spell is countered (goes to waste not back to your hand).

[Thranduil]

I don't think there's any official rule for this in LotR. Just be reasonable with your opponent.

Thranduil

[TheJord]

Choosing valid targets is part of the requirement section of playing a card. So you couldnt target someone who bears Black Breath with Have Patience, for example.

[Kralik]

Choosing valid targets is part of the requirement section of playing a card. So you couldnt target someone who bears Black Breath with Have Patience, for example.

Are you sure you cannot "heal" for no effect?

Similarly, can you spot a unique, wounded companion and discard another copy of that companion from hand to heal them at Steward's Tomb... even if wounds cannot be healed?

[TheJord]

This is true. Ignore my last statement, I'm thinking of Magic again

[Elessar's Socks]

Example of what's been bugging me: is there a difference between trying to target exhausted companions with Rout, and trying to target non-healable companions (with the Aragorn signet) with Hard Choice?

[TheJord]

The only way I can think to put it is that you must do as much as you can to fulfill a cards gametext.

[Thranduil]

The only way I can think to put it is that you must as much as you can to fulfill a cards gametext.

Yeah, this seems right. You pay the costs (adding and spotting Aragorn) and you try to fulfill as much of the effect as you can. You try and heal the companion with Black Breath, but you can't so nothing happens.

[Kralik]

And with Rout... you do as much as possible to fulfill it. So... you have to exert companions that are possible to exert first.

[Elessar's Socks]

Well, put it this way: I'm wondering why you can't choose non-exertable companions with Rout, but can choose non-healable companions with Hard Choice (to make the effect fizzle). Unless I misunderstood here, and the selection is no-go for Hard Choice too.

[Kralik]

Well, since you have paid the cost of Hard Choice (Spot Aragorn), couldn't you play it even if no companions with the Aragorn signet exist? You don't have to either spot a companion with the Aragorn signet OR a "healable" companion.

[ket_the_jet]

Kralik: Well put, exactly.
-wtk

[Elessar's Socks]

Well, since you have paid the cost of Hard Choice (Spot Aragorn), couldn't you play it even if no companions with the Aragorn signet exist? You don't have to either spot a companion with the Aragorn signet OR a "healable" companion.

Right, but the issue for me is what happens after you play it. Let's say you have two companions with the Aragorn signet, one with Black Breath and one (wounded) without. Given that you're to complete the effects as much as possible, why can you choose the companion who can't be healed?

To do this, it seems you are doing a form of targeting before "complete the effects as much as possible" kicks in. Which was the impression I had, but I'm not sure how to back that up. With Rout for example, targeting is merged with the effects--if you have a companion who is exhausted and another who isn't, you must choose to carry out the effects on the companion who isn't.