The Lore of the Rings - V2 (DC Contest)

[DáinIronfoot]

I'll try, but things have been absolutely nuts for me lately. I'm behind on Realms of Middle-earth, my DCs, and am STILL trying to get my own contest going again.

But I'm in. Just no guarantees at this resulting in some of my best work.

[Elf_Lvr]

Okay, guys, I think its high time we began! Let's look at our contestants:

-drum roll-

The Master of Twilight, Menace64!

The Fiendish Guardian of Mordor, Gate Troll!

The Esteemed King of the Woodland Realm, Thranduil!

The Protector of Truth and Justice, GarrisonofGondor!

The Shameless Overlord of Spam, sickofpalantirs!

The Slayer-of-Boromir, Mr. Lurtzy!

The Sour Spawn of Britain, lem0nhead!

The Agent of the Law, NappyKorn!

And, of course, our Metal-Soled King Under the Mountain, DainIronfoot!

Everybody take a bow! 

Anyways, long-winded introductions aside, I've come bearing your first challenge, and it's one you old CC vets should recognize. It's one of my favorite quotes in the entire trilogy, and it was also a part of the previous Lore of the Rings contest. There's no way to start something new like starting it with something old. So, heeeeeeeeeeeeere's your lore!

"'But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

HOLY EPIC BACKSTORY! 

Yeah, you don't have to use all of that. You may trim it as you will but the last sentence is required.

The phrase is from Gandalf's confrontation with Denethor just after he arrives in Minas Tirith. For those who couldn't guess, Gandalf is the one speaking.

Alright. PM me your entry by... say, this Sunday. That's plenty of time, don't you agree?

Now get creating! Hyah!

[Thranduil]

Alright. PM me your entry by... say, this Sunday. That's plenty of time, don't you agree?

Is it? Unless I do it now (which is a little unlikely because it's late in England) I won't be able to get it in on time!

EDIT: That said, I think I just did it now!

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

Got no time to do it 2day really busy at work and dont have the time to constantly access TLHH all day like i used to, plus i dont come on at weekends. Need more time Mr Lover of Elves please.

Thanks

[DáinIronfoot]

Yeah, Monday would probably be better for me as well. May not have time to get to it today, and weekends are tied up with baby prep these days, so....

[Elf_Lvr]

Well, alright. Consider the deadline extended.

[lem0nhead]

I actually get mine in on time then YOU miss the deadline EL! How ironic! Im assuming yesterday was the deadline? It wasnt stated. You got all the entries?

[sickofpalantirs]

not mine...I'm sending pronto.

[DáinIronfoot]

Yay! I wasn't last, for once!

[menace64]

Man guys, I'm sorry! I completely forgot about this one; I promise to get it in tonight!

[Elf_Lvr]

Alright - I've got 7 entries. That means that there are 2 left. Get 'em in, guys, so we can get started.

[Elf_Lvr]

Got Menace's. That leaves NK.

[lem0nhead]

Hey El, just to say the last access ill have to TLHH for a week is today. Im on holiday til next friday as of tomorrow so if theyre not up within 7 hours i cant vote in this round sorry!

[Elf_Lvr]

Well, it looks like we have our first no-show. 

That changes the rules of the game a bit. Since he didn't submit his card, NK is disqualified. True, I didn't set a specific deadline, but I had hoped that he would have got it in ASAP, and I did PM him, so I guess we can assume it's not coming.

However, we're still gonna post the cards and vote on them. I may decide to eliminate a second member this round. Oooh! Plot twist!

Anyways, here are the cards!

•Gandalf, Steward
 Companion • Wizard
 Strength: 9
 Vitality: 4
 Resistance: 7
 While you can spot Denethor, Gandalf is Strength -3.
 Gandalf is strength +1 for each Man you can spot. (Except Denethor)(Limit +4)
"For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•Gandalf, Steward of Middle-Earth
Companion • Wizard
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. Defender +1. Fellowship:  Gandalf may be spotted as a member of the culture.
Response: Each time a companion heals you may add and exert Gandalf to remove a burden.
"'But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•Gandalf, Hope of Middle Earth
Companion • Wizard
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 8
Each unwounded companion is strength +1.
Fellowship or Manuever: Exert Gandalf three times to make another companion gain defender +1.
Regroup: Discard Gandalf to heal every companion twice.
"'But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•Gandalf, Steward of Middle Earth
Companion • Wizard
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Defender +1.
Response: If a Free Peoples card with twilight cost X is about to be discarded by an opponent, add X and exert Gandalf to take that card into hand instead.
"And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•Gandalf, Grey Wanderer
Companion • Wizard
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
While you can spot 3 knights (or Denethor), Gandalf is also a companion.
Each time you lose initiative, you may exert Gandalf to heal another companion (twice if Gandalf is a companion) or liberate a site.
"‘But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care....For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•Gandalf, Steward of Minas Tirith
Companion • Wizard
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
To play, spot two knights (or exert a man).
Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to make a knight strength +x, where X is the number of fortifications you can spot (limit +4). Then, if you can spot X knights, you may shuffle a or event from your discard pile into your draw deck.
"For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

Call of Stewardship
Event • Response
If a Shadow event is played, exert Gandalf to cancel it. That event's owner may remove 2 burdens or 2 threats to prevent this.
"'But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

•My Task
Condition • Support Area
At the start of each turn, you may exert Gandalf to add a token here.
Each time Gandalf wins a skirmish, you may exert him to add a token here.
Regroup: Spot Gandalf and 8 tokens here to choose one: heal each companion; remove 5 threats; remove 3 burdens; or discard each Shadow condition. Remove this condition from the game.
"'But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?'"

And so voting begins. Vote for your favorite three, in order. First will receive 3 points, second 2 points, third 1 point. The person with the lowest points this round will be eliminated. However, points don't carry over to the next round, unlike my last contest.

Contestants are reminded that they are required to vote. Not for yourself. I will know.

Some cards came to me without culture, or uniqueness (on companions!), or other things like that. Please proof your cards before sending.

I also made a few format changes to all of them (i.e. bold card titles, ":" after strength and vitality, "•" used to show uniqueness, etc.). This is to prevent people from guessing whose card is whose (although it may not be that difficult anyway). In the future, try and format stuff the same way, but I'll still be looking over the card formatting before posting 'em.

I also didn't include author's notes, for the same reason. If you want me to include those too, just go ahead and say so and I probably will. Because of that, I encourage you to read the cards thoroughly before voting. Note, for example, that some Gandalfs have the culture.

I'll end the voting on Tuesday, October 28. Unless anyone needs more time to vote, which you probably shouldn't unless you just don't have access to a computer. I'm gonna be gone all weekend (it's my fall break) so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while.

Happy Hunting!

[Gate Troll]

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