Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Commander Carnage on June 19, 2018, 03:21:55 AM
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I ran across a bunch of used LOTR Battle Stategy game books at the local game store. I have quite a few models for it but I'm not sure which version of the game to pick up. I would like to play some large skirmish games with 20-40 minis per side. Any help would be appreciated.
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Hi Commander,
If i were you, i'd be waiting because there is a new rulebook (with streamlining, changes, nobody knows for now) about to be launched with also a new box set :"Battle of the pelennor Fields".
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...on the other hand, the new book will cost quite a lot, and hopefully, they won't change much, because LotR is still one of the best and most playable games in the GW portfolio.
IMO the best buy is the hardcover book. It's 95% complete (Afaik only dragons and chariots and some minor stuff they produced after the end of the 3rd movie is missing here) and has points values and everything, you would want.
Here is a pic. You need to look for that book (though I guess, you can find it cheaper than on Amazon):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-Strategy-Battle-Game/dp/1841546607/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1529387666&sr=8-9&keywords=games+workshop+lord+of+the+rings+book
The various softcover books are nice, but usually only feature a few pages of units and new scenarios. If you can get them cheap (about €5-7.50 cheap) they are well worth to get for completeness sake. Otherwise, you go better with the hardcover. The only softcover which is not included in the hardcover is Fall of the Necromancer.
There are some more books, which you should know about:
- War of the Ring (+ its supplement Legions of Middle Earth): IMO pretty cool, but unsupported mass combat rules. They work much better in 10/15mm because you need lots of minis (LOTS!).
- The Hobbit: There is a hc book, that is similar to the LotR hc. If you can get this cheap, it might be even better. I don't have it, but it should include all LotR profiles plus the new ones from the first hobbit movie.
Downloads:
- GW offered downloads for the new profiles from the Hobbit movies 2 & 3 for free. Grab them if they are still online.
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Yeah if the big blue book is there and cheap I'd recommend that too. A perfectly playable game amd its pretty comprehensive. You could use that with the recent Battle companies book too.
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Depends largely who you want to play with. Local players are likely to use the latest version of the rules - that's currently the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey rulebook. The hardback version of it contains profiles for figures of that movie, the small softcover version from the starterbox doesn't, but the profiles are available for download from the GW website. Profiles for the second two films are in There and Back Again (outdated versions in older Desolation of Smaug/Battle of the Five Armies books), while the LotR era figures can be found in 5 books (Kingdoms of Men etc.). As said, a new edition is due to be released very soon however. A new rulebook and probable revisions of some or all profiles will be coming.. later this summer? So best to hold off for a bit if you want the latest (and given the quality of the last books in terms of overall clarity and balance, I think they'll be worth the price and wait). Of course, a new edition will mean the current edition will probably be available cheaply second hand...
If on the other hand you want to introduce people to the game and keep it in a small group, you can pick up whatever edition you desire. The original rulebooks (accompanying the three LotR films) are of limited use, as the system was very much developing and growing (e.g. the first book had no real rules for cavalry I think). The big LotR book is a reasonable source for a complete game experience and most profiles all in one. The various supplements from around this time contain some further profiles, but mainly narrative scenarios. The Hobbit edition of the rules is quite different though, with the same basics, but special abilties for monsters, special attacks and additional options for heroes. A few things to iron out in the new edition, but overall more tactically interesting in my view.
There are some more books, which you should know about:
- War of the Ring (+ its supplement Legions of Middle Earth): IMO pretty cool, but unsupported mass combat rules. They work much better in 10/15mm because you need lots of minis (LOTS!).
Legions was a SBG supplement, and is completely and entirely pointless at this time; the WotR supplement is Battlehosts. Agreed that this book (to the OP: a completely different game) is better for smaller scales, or when getting some collections together.
- The Hobbit: There is a hc book, that is similar to the LotR hc. If you can get this cheap, it might be even better. I don't have it, but it should include all LotR profiles plus the new ones from the first hobbit movie.
Also softcover from the starter box. As aforementioned, no LotR profiles here, those are in the 5 sourcebooks (released prior to the Hobbit, and still relevant for the next.. months.)
Anyway, it's a great system and I'd certainly recommend giving it a go. Works for games from a dozen to (if you have the time) hundreds of figures a side, but best at the lower end. A poster above mentioned Battle Companies, a variant of the game where you track experience over a campaign for a small band of warriors (starting around 7, up to 15 for most gangs), Necromunda/Mordheim-esque. Unlike Necro/Mordheim, the games will follow the normal SBG rules and profiles, you just keep track of experience and injuries during a game, and have a post-game sequence with promotions and newly acquired skills and recruits. Probably my favourite way of playing. (Note that you thus need a separate book with base rules and the profiles to play Battle Companies.)
Here's a graph for the most up-to-date books:
(https://scontent.fhel1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16114328_207711253032789_17033352174452194_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=cdbe6672eff98ef391110be47bc751e1&oe=5BADFE16)
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If you can pick up a copy of the blue book cheap it's probably worth it. The game does work reasonably well with small numbers, though it is a bit clunky at times. It's not great for large combats. I would say your numbers of 20 per side would work fine, moving up to 40 you might find it laborious - it depends on how fast paced you like your gaming.
Worth viewing games on youtube to get a taste of how the game plays.
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Thank you all for the excellent advice.
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Slightly off-topic and I apologize if it’s been mentioned elsewhere, but is there any news whether GW has the license to the upcoming Amazon tv series?
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Slightly off-topic and I apologize if it’s been mentioned elsewhere, but is there any news whether GW has the license to the upcoming Amazon tv series?
They're certainly keeping an eye on things, but nothing offical yet that I know of - bit early for that I imagine.
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I will echo that the blue hardcover ("The One Rule Book" or "ORB") is the best current choice, if you can get a copy for a reasonable price. The only rules mechanics you're missing out on are the special attacks for monstrous creatures and different hand weapon types, which are in the Hobbit rules. It's hardly worth dropping $80 or whatever for those and the first Hobbit movie profiles.
If you can't get the ORB affordably, you might consider the Mines of Moria rule booklet as a stop-gap solution until the new rules are released. While by no means comprehensive, it's got more than enough to get you going, much better than the Escape from Goblin Town booklet which really only covers the models from that set.
The only softcover which is not included in the hardcover is Fall of the Necromancer.
There are quite a few profiles that came out after the ORB, actually. Your best bet for any profiles not in the ORB is to get the current LOTR sourcebooks, because to my knowledge some were only released in print in those books or in White Dwarf magazine.
Hardcover still covers a lot, though, definitely your best choice for rules for the time being.
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You can get an army builder which has all the stats and special rules of the modells from here: LK's files (http://www.lonelyknight.0fees.net/?i=1)
Only the actual spell descriptions are not in it.
With this, one of the small booklets is enough to play.