Author Topic: GW LOTR, what is the deal? (Read 5463 times)

Jorny · « **on:** February 17, 2014, 09:56:52 PM »

So. I have been eyeing some of the really nice GW LotR projects here on LAF and other places on the internetz. This combined that odd pieces of the range quite often turn up in the bargain bins of the gaming shops here at really good prices has tickled my curiosity and made me think, maybe I should get in to this?

There are a few questions though before getting in to a game like this. And maybe someone here could help me out with their opinions on the game.

First of all, how is the game? I've heard good things about the system, but how is the game? Is it fun with all factions? Should it be played only with scenarios? Are there a lot of broken combos or units?

Secondly, how do I get in to it? What should I get first, is there a good starting point? It is a bit confusing with all the different books, and with the new Hobbit releases.

Thirdly, I like that the miniatures are true scale but how do they scale compared to other manufacturers of more true scale minis, for instance Red Box Games? Right now I wouldn't get in to a game like LotR without feeling I could have second use for some of the minis and combine them with other manufacturers. Some of the Rohirrim would look really good in this pseudo iron age setting I have somewhere in the back of my head...

So what do you think about the game? Shoot away!

Doomhippie · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2014, 11:00:07 PM »

The early miniatures should fit well with Red Box models. The usual scale creep has changed the true 25mm models to true 28mm models. Still on the smaller size of the 28s I would say. I don't like all of the range but that's partly due to the design in the movies.

The game mechanics are relatively simple but due to special rules for some heroes you can have a fairly wide variety of effects. I think the rules work best in skirmish games (30 models a side but also as few as 2 models). That is saying I use the "Return of the King" rulebook. The Hobbit rules are not that different from what I have seen. Of course you can just play straight encounter battles with a fixed number of points per side. I personally enjoy specific scenarios with a lot of background story more.

This is a typical skirmish game I played a long time ago and it is rather cool to play with the rules:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=7846.0

This is another one I played:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=21691.0

Both scenarios focus on narrating a story rather than just being battles.
What you can actually do is to really tell a tale set in Middle-Earth. The "Voyage of Glaurung"-thread is heading in that direction and I'm really interested to see it grow.

I myself have been working on a fairly long Ithilien campaign which still is high on my agenda - as soon as I get over my tabletop block or painting block which has kept me paralyzed hobbywise for the better part of last year...

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41188.0

Jorny · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2014, 10:24:00 PM »

Quote from: Doomhippie on February 17, 2014, 11:00:07 PM

The early miniatures should fit well with Red Box models. The usual scale creep has changed the true 25mm models to true 28mm models. Still on the smaller size of the 28s I would say. I don't like all of the range but that's partly due to the design in the movies.

The game mechanics are relatively simple but due to special rules for some heroes you can have a fairly wide variety of effects. I think the rules work best in skirmish games (30 models a side but also as few as 2 models). That is saying I use the "Return of the King" rulebook. The Hobbit rules are not that different from what I have seen. Of course you can just play straight encounter battles with a fixed number of points per side. I personally enjoy specific scenarios with a lot of background story more.

This is a typical skirmish game I played a long time ago and it is rather cool to play with the rules:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=7846.0

This is another one I played:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=21691.0

Both scenarios focus on narrating a story rather than just being battles.
What you can actually do is to really tell a tale set in Middle-Earth. The "Voyage of Glaurung"-thread is heading in that direction and I'm really interested to see it grow.

I myself have been working on a fairly long Ithilien campaign which still is high on my agenda - as soon as I get over my tabletop block or painting block which has kept me paralyzed hobbywise for the better part of last year...

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41188.0

Thanks for the comments! I agree on that not the whole range being great is a result of the design in the movies. The Rohirrim is pretty much spot on though in my opinion. The Gondorian army is much less to my liking. The only characters I am really interested in getting as miniatures is Theoden and Bilbo. Are there generic heroes or a way to create your own from characters in the book?

Doomhippie · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2014, 10:37:10 PM »

You have all the heroes of the book in the rules. I personally like to come up with my own heroes since it looks kind of stupid if Aragorn or whoever accidently dies before his time.

It's fairly easy to come up with stats for heroes: just decide what hero of the book you want to have as the Person your hero is supposed to be like, take those stats and put a different Name on top. That's it. Okay, maybe not Gandalf or the likes but why not use Theoden's stats for e.g. Helm Hammerhand? And once you get a feel for the rules it's absolute simple to come up with individual rules for heroes.

steharan · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2014, 02:32:17 PM »

Good to see someone else getting into the system. Its having a bit of a renaissance at our club with at least 5 players painting and playing. As to what to get in terms of rules, supplements etc I'm using the same set as Doomhippie (RoTK) however the edition that was released after it (The One rules

) were essentially just a tidying up of the previous ones and as such you can easily get by on the RoTK edition (which you can pick up cheaply second hand. You do get most of the stat lines in it so it will easily get you by in terms of getting going and it has the later scenarios, some film based and some book based.

How it plays - I've likened it to playing a typical IGOUGO skirmish game of whilst manoeuvring then once into close combat it feels more like playing chess, constantly thinking two or three turns ahead, worrying about control zones and priority etc.

The plastics are cheap and freely available second hand, although they are a little breakable, and on some the detail is a little vague, but for the price of £10 you could pick up the RoTK rules and handful of plastics to play out some small games and get a feel for it.

Elbows · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2014, 10:25:34 PM »

I like the model line okay (the Orcs I'm using as hobgoblins for my dungeon crawl are pretty...soft on the detail though!). I never took the rules though. Seemed...bland to me? I really dislike the melee combat system, so I guess that ruins it for me.

Varangian · « **Reply #6 on:** February 22, 2014, 01:46:41 AM »

Quote from: Scurv on February 21, 2014, 11:11:15 PM

I have 2 huge boxes of LOTR figs still in blister or on sprue for the most part. hundreds of the suckers.

I am having serious thoughts about getting rid of the lot so keep an eye on the marketplace. Its the hours of pic taking and uploading thats the sticking point not any emotional attachment to ditching them.

At the current prices for it even with a deep discount it should get me a holiday in NZ. Like I said huge boxes full of them.

Well, if ya give me about a month I'll be happy to get ya some of that money!

I wish I'd kept all of mine from a decade ago. I'm kicking myself.

Varangian · « **Reply #7 on:** February 22, 2014, 02:07:05 PM »

Well, I did it. I ordered a few LotR things, for the first time in about ten years. It's a little scary actually to think that I'm considering another GW game after just getting out of the last one.

Vermis · « **Reply #8 on:** February 22, 2014, 04:03:05 PM »

Argh, just bid on a pile of rohan stuff. Thanks a lot guys.

smokezombie · « **Reply #9 on:** February 22, 2014, 04:05:18 PM »

Curse you all. Just picked up a dirt cheap copy of the rules on the back of this thread.

Commander Vyper · « **Reply #10 on:** February 22, 2014, 04:39:46 PM »

Luckily I had a big purchase a few years ago before prices went silly so have my Rohan, gondor, mordor, last alliance and uruk forces sitting patiently in their boxes for my return to the king!

Varangian · « **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2014, 05:13:23 PM »

Scurv, I'm as interested in the magazines as I am the models.... I'll shoot you a PM.

Mason · « **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2014, 06:14:08 PM »

Quote from: smokezombie on February 22, 2014, 04:05:18 PM

Curse you all. Just picked up a dirt cheap copy of the rules on the back of this thread.

Use that book as inspiration and eye candy only.
Get a copy of SAGA, that's what the rest of us cool kids are doing...

Vermis · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2014, 07:32:38 PM »

Was thinking of getting the 'One Rulebook' meself, for LotR and other settings. I was under the impression it was pretty good for a 'GW core game'. How many of you would choose SAGA over it?

Gibby · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2014, 08:34:03 PM »

Not me. I kind of like Saga, but the more I played it the more I felt I was playing a board game rather than a miniatures game. Sounds weird I know, but the battle boards and the lack of morale just get in the way of the cinema for me.

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