War of the Ring — Second Edition

A C T I O N D I C E R E F E R E N C E C H A RT

Peoples, unless a Shadow Army is Shadow only

besieging it). Move other Minions — Bring one Character into play
CHARACTER according to their Level. according to the rules on his
Character card.
This die result can be used to execute
one of the following actions:
— Leader Moves/Attacks with ARMY
Armies. Move an Army with a EVENT
Leader to an adjacent region, This die result can be used to execute
which must be free for the one of the following actions: This die result can be used to execute
purposes of Army movement; one of the following actions:
— Move Armies. Move up to
or attack an enemy Army in an
two different Armies from their — Draw an Event card. Draw one
adjacent region (or conduct a sege
region(s) to adjacent region(s), Event card from an Event deck of
battle or sortie) using an Army
which must be free for the your choice.
with a Leader.
purposes of Army movement. — Play an Event card. Play any
— Play an Event card. Play a one Event card from your hand,
— Attack an Enemy Army. Attack
Character Event card from your regardless of its type.
an enemy Army in an adjacent
hand.
region with one of your Armies (or
conduct a siege battle or sortie).
Free Peoples only
— Fellowship Progress. Move the — Play an Event card. Play an MUSTER/
Fellowship Progress counter one Army Event card from your hand. ARMY
step forward on the Fellowship
Track. Resolve the Hunt for the Choose any one action from those listed
Ring, and then place the used under Muster or Army.
Action die in the Hunt Box. MUSTER
— Hide the Fellowship. If the SPECIAL
Fellowship was previously This die result can be used to execute
These die results are different on the
revealed, it becomes hidden again. one of the following actions:
Shadow dice and on the Free Peoples
— Separate Companions. Separate — Diplomatic Action. Move the dice:
one Companion or one group of Political Track of one friendly
Companions from the Fellowship. Nation one step forward (for a
The Companion figures are Free Peoples Nation, the step “At EYE OF
removed from the Fellowship Box War” can be reached only if the SAURON
and must move on the map, up Nation is active).
to a distance from the Fellowship All dice showing the Eye must be
— Play an Event card. Play a Muster
equal to the step number on the placed in the Hunt Box.
Event card from your hand.
Fellowship Track plus the highest
Companion Level. Only for Nations “At War”
— Move Companions. Move — Recruit Reinforcements. Place WILL OF
all Companions or groups of reinforcements into play: THE WEST
Companions on the map, each up — 1 Elite unit in any friendly
to a number of regions equal to and free Settlement or — Before taking an action, the Free
that of the highest Companion Peoples player may change a Will
— 2 Leaders in any two different of the West result into any other
Level in the group. friendly and free Settlements or Action die result, and use it to the
Shadow only — 2 Regular units in any two same effect as the chosen result.
— Move Minions. Move all Nazgûl different friendly and free — The Will of the West result can
(including the Witch–king) Settlements or also be used to bring into play
anywhere on the map (except — 1 Leader and 1 Regular Army Gandalf the White or Aragorn –
into a region that contains a unit in any two different Heir to Isildur according to the
Stronghold controlled by the Free friendly and free Settlements. rules on their Character cards.
 War of the Ring — Second Edition

G L O S S A RY
In this glossary, we refer to “player” for brevity instead of indicating “player (or players on the same side in a multi–player game)”.
“Card effect” refers to effects of Event, Combat, or Character cards.

Action dice pool City Field battle

Set of Action dice a player rolls at the A Settlement which is more A battle in which the defender is
start of a turn. defensible: the attacker only hits on not under siege. It ends with the
Active (Nation) a ‘6’ in the first combat round (and destruction of one or both Armies,
Political status of a Nation which can on a ‘5’ afterward). Worth 1 Victory or when either the attacker ceases
move to “At War” step. point. the attack or the defender retreats.
Activating (a Nation) Coastal region Forfeit (Leadership)
Changing the political status of a A region adjacent to the sea on the Act of willingly considering the
Nation from passive to active (see left side of the board. Leadership of your Characters,
page 34, or Activating Free Peoples Combat roll Nazgûl or Leaders to be ‘0’, to
Nations in the last page of this Player Initial roll of 6–sided dice in a achieve some card effect.
Aid). Combat round. Number of dice is Fortification
Advance/Advancing (an Army) equal to the Combat Strength, with A region which is more defensible:
Moving an attacking Army, at the a maximum of 5. the attacker only hits on a ‘6’ in the
end of a successful battle, to the Combat Strength first combat round (and on a ‘5’
region where the defender was, Strength of an Army in battle, afterward). A Fortification is not a
possibly after splitting it. normally equal to the number of its Settlement.
Army units. Free
Group of units (possibly Companion A region is free for a player when it
accompanied by Leaders and A Character controlled by the Free does not contain an enemy Army or
Characters), controlled by the same Peoples player. an enemy–controlled Settlement; or
player, in the same region. if the player has an Army there, in a
Control (Settlement) siege against a besieged opponent.
Army unit A player takes control of an
See Unit. unoccupied enemy–controlled Free (for the purpose of movement)
Settlement when one of his Armies A region where your Armies may
At War move into without attacking, because
Political status of a Nation whose enters, or ends an action in, the
region containing it. it is free or includes an enemy–
units a player can recruit, move into controlled settlement without an
other Nations, and use to attack. Declare enemy Army.
Battle During the Fellowship phase, the
voluntary act of the Free Peoples Guide (of the Fellowship)
Combat between two Armies of One of the Companions in the
opposing sides — either a field player to move the Fellowship figure
and reset to ‘0’ the Fellowship Track. Fellowship with the highest Level.
battle, siege, or sortie. He may use a “Guide” special ability
Besieged (Army) Entering Mordor and can be taken as a casualty during
Army inside a stronghold, when an The act of moving the Fellowship, Hunt resolution.
Army of the opposite player is in a from Minas Morgul or Morannon,
onto the first step of the Mordor Hand limit
siege in the same region. Stacking Maximum number of cards a player
limit is reduced to 5. Track (see page 39).
may hold (6, or 4 in multi–player
Border Extend/Extending (a siege) games when a side has two players).
Line dividing two regions. May be Increasing the length of a siege
battle by an additional round, Hidden (Fellowship)
white (normal), colored (identifying Status of the Fellowship until
a Nation), or black (impassable). reducing an Elite unit.
the Shadow player reveals it. The
Cease (an attack) Fellowship Fellowship can only move if it is
Decision of an attacking Army, at (1) Set of companions who are hidden.
the end a combat round, to end together with the Ring–bearers, with
cards and figures in the Fellowship Hunt damage
the battle, remaining in the region Consequence of a successful
where it currently is. box.
(2) Figure representing the Hunt (or similar card effect),
Character Ring–bearers on the game board, usually provoking either the loss of
A personality, represented by one indicating the last known position of Companions, or Corruption to the
figure and one card, with Level, the Fellowship. Ring–bearers (see page 42).
Leadership and special abilities.May
be either a Companion or a Minion.
 War of the Ring — Second Edition

Hunt pool Level (of a Character) Separate/Separating (Companions)

Set of Hunt tiles players can draw Number indicating the movement Act of moving one or more
from to determine the effect of a capability of a Character, also used Companions out of the Fellowship,
successful Hunt or a card effect. when dealing with Hunt damage and onto the game board map,
Hunt re–roll and to resolve card effects. willingly or not (see page 39).
New roll of a number of dice which Merging (Armies) Settlement
failed to hit in the Hunt roll (see Forming one Army, from two Feature in a region indicating
page 41). Armies controlled by the same player recruitment is normally possible
Hunt roll in the same region. there: either a Town, City, or
Rolling a number of 6–sided dice, Minion Stronghold.
equal to the number of “Eye” dice A Character controlled by the Siege
in the Hunt box (with a maximum Shadow player. Situation where an Army is in the
of 5), to determine if the Hunt is Nazgûl same region as an enemy besieged
successful. Type of personality of the Shadow Army.
Hunt (successful) Army, with Leadership and special Siege Battle
Consequence of a successful Hunt abilities. Nazgûl are not minions. Battle fought against a besieged
roll by the Shadow player, or similar Occupied Army, by an attacking Army in the
card effect, which requires the draw A region is occupied by a player same region. Normally lasts one
of a Hunt tile to determine effects when his units are present there. combat round, unless the attacker
such as Hunt damage and Reveal. extends it. Attacker only hits on a
Passive (Nation) ‘6.’
Hunt tile (standard) Political status of a Nation which
Beige–colored Hunt tile. These tiles cannot move to the “At War” step. Sortie
are in the Hunt pool at the start of Special field battle where the
the game, and reinserted into the Play on the table (card) attacker is a besieged Army.
pool if it becomes empty. Card that, once played, remains in
play with a prolonged effect. Splitting (an Army)
Hunt tile (special) Separating one Army in two Armies,
Blue– or red–colored Hunt tile. A Pre–Combat attack to keep one in the current region
special tile is placed in the Hunt A dice roll, called upon by a card and move (or attack) with the other
pool if it is in play when the effect, done before the combat roll. one, as a part of an action or before
Fellowship enters or is in Mordor, Reduce/Reducing (an Elite unit) an advance.
and never reinserted into the pool Replacing an Elite unit with a Stacking limit
after being drawn. Regular unit of the same Nation, to Maximum number of units on the
Initiative (number) extend a siege or resolve casualties. same side together in a region (10,
Number (in the bottom left corner Region or 5 if the Army is besieged in a
of an Event card) indicating exactly Portion of the game board stronghold).
when the Combat effect takes place surrounded by borders, used to Stronghold
in a Combat round, to help the regulate movement and combat. A Settlement which is conquered
resolution of conflicting effects. Retreat (to an adjacent region) using a siege; worth 2 Victory points.
In Play Act of moving a defending Army to a Town
(1) A card played on the table and free adjacent region to end a battle. A Settlement which is not more
not yet discarded. Retreat (into a siege) defensible than a normal region.
(2) A figure which is on the game Act of moving a defending Army
board (and not in the Fellowship). Unconquered
into a Stronghold in the same A Settlement controlled by its
Leader region, to avoid or end a field original owner; or a Stronghold
Personality with Leadership that is battle. This Army becomes besieged. where the besieged Army belongs to
not a Character or Nazgûl. Leaders Reveal its original owner.
must always be with an Army. Effect of drawing a Hunt tile with Under siege
Leader re–roll a “Reveal” icon (or similar card See Besieged.
New roll of a number of dice (up to effect): the Fellowship is moved on
the Leadership in the Army) which the board and revealed, and the Unit
failed to hit in the Combat roll. Fellowship track is reset to 0. Also called Army unit. A figure
representing a number of warriors
Leadership (value) Revealed (Fellowship) of a specific Nation. A unit may be
Number of Leaders (or Nazgûl) in Status of the Fellowship after either Regular or Elite.
an Army, plus the Leadership ratings an effect reveals it. A revealed
of all Characters in that Army, Fellowship may not move again, and
determining the maximum number it is vulnerable to some card effects,
of dice in a Leader re–roll. until it beomes hidden again.
 War of the Ring — Second Edition

P L AY E R A I D

THE GAME TURN R E S O LV I N G A B AT T L E

Phase 1) Recover Action Dice Phase 5) Action Resolution A battle is resolved in a series of Combat rounds. During
and Draw Event Cards This phase is the primary game each round, both players follow the steps below:
Each player recovers the phase of the War of the Ring
Action dice he used in the board game. 1) Play a Combat card (optional).
previous turn, plus any dice It is during this phase that 2) Roll the dce for the Combat roll.
which were added to the players will utilize the Action
Action Dice Pool and minus 3) Roll the dice for the Leader re-roll.
Dice results to move their
any dice which were removed Characters and Armies on the 4) Remove casualties.
from the pool. game board, or to take other 5) Choose to Cease the attack or Retreat.
Then, each player draws 2 important actions.
cards, one from each of their Each step is resolved simultaneously by the players (both
The results of the rolled Action
respective Event decks. dice dictate the actions the perform step 1, both perform step 2, etc.).
players can take during this
Phase 2) Fellowship Phase phase. Starting with the Free
The Free Peoples player may Peoples player, the two players
now declare the position of the alternate actions, each taking one
Fellowship. action by selecting and removing
If the Fellowship is declared in one of his available die results. A C T I VAT I N G
a City or Stronghold of a Free If a player has fewer unused F R E E P E O P L E S N AT I O N S
Peoples Nation, that Nation Action Dice than his opponent
is activated (if the Nation is (typically the Free Peoples player The Political counter of a Free Peoples Nation is turned to
showing “Passive” on the will have fewer Action Dice than
Political Track, flip the Nation the “Active” side (with the light blue side face up) when
the Shadow player), he can pass
to “Active”) and the Ring- any of the following events occur:
instead of taking an action, thus
bearers may be healed. allowing the opponent to take — A region of that Nation is entered by an enemy Army.
Also, during this phase, the another action.
— An Army containing units of that Nation is attacked.
Free Peoples player may If a player runs out of actions
change the Guide of the before his opponent has done
— The Fellowship of the Ring is declared in a City or
Fellowship. the same, the opponent takes Stronghold of that Nation.
all his remaining actions, one — When a Companion (capable of activating that
Phase 3) Hunt Allocation after the other. Nation) ends his movement (or enters play) in one of
The Shadow player may now
place a number of Action dice
Each time the Free Peoples its Cities or Strongholds.
player uses an Action die to
in the Hunt Box located on
move the Fellowship, he places
the game board. The Shadow
that die in the Hunt Box after
player must place at least one
completing the action. All
Action die if the Free Peoples
other used dice are set aside
player retrieved at least 1 die
until next turn. A D VA N C I N G A
from the Hunt Box during
Phase 1. He may allocate only The use of each different POLITICAL POSITION
as many dice as the number Action die is described in The
of Companions remaining in Action Dice Reference Chart.
the Fellowship. These dice are
The Political counter of a Nation is advanced (by moving
not rolled during the following Phase 6) Victory Check it down a step toward the “At War” step) on the Political
Action Roll phase. Players now check to see Track by using the Diplomatic action of a Muster die
whether either player has result or by playing certain Event cards.
Phase 4) Action Roll achieved the Military Victory
Additionally, the counter of a Nation is automatically
Players roll their Action dice Conditions. If not, a new
game turn begins.
advanced one step if any of the following events occur:
(except the dice already in the
Hunt Box). Then, the Shadow — Every time an Army containing units of that Nation
player immediately takes all the is attacked (each battle counts as one attack regardless
rolled dice showing the “Eye” Note: If a Ring-based Victory
Condition occurs at any time
of the number of rounds fought). Also, remember
result and adds them to the that when a Nation’s Army is attacked, that Nation
Hunt Box. during a turn, the game ends
immediately, without waiting becomes active.
for the Victory Check phase. — Every time a Nation’s Settlement (Town, City, or
Stronghold) is captured by the opponent.