The Lord of the Rings: Battlefields

The Lord of the Rings: Battlefields Rulebook

Table of Contents

3 double-sided Battlefield boards, 5 Fellowship pieces, 30 Enemy pieces, 20 trigger tiles, 6 Feature cards, 3 Gandalf cards, and this rulebook.

Overview

The Battlefields expansion for the Lord of the Rings board game offers the following new features:

3 double-sided Battlefield boards are added to the game, providing a total of 6 battlefields corresponding to the 6 scenario boards in the Lord of the Rings base game and the Friends & Foes expansion. In addition to guiding the Fellowship through each Scenario, the players must also hinder the advance of enemies on the battlefields.
New trigger tiles cause new Enemy pieces (which vary from Scenario to Scenario) to activate and advance on the Battlefield boards. The players must use the new Fellowship pieces – representing Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf – to combat these enemies.
6 Feature cards and 3 Gandalf cards are added to the game, providing additional help for the Fellowship.

The Battlefield Boards

Each of the 6 Battlefield boards in this expansion corresponds to a specific Scenario in the game, as listed below.

The Weathertop Battlefield board goes with the Bree Scenario board. (Friends & Foes only.)
The Chamber of Mazarbul Battlefield board goes with the Moria Scenario board.
The Amon Hen Battlefield board goes with the Isengard Scenario board. (Friends & Foes only.)
The Battle for the Hornburg Battlefield board goes with the Helm's Deep Scenario board.
The Pelennor Fields Battlefield board goes with the Shelob's Lair Scenario board.
The Battle for the Black Gate Battlefield board goes with the Mordor Scenario board.

The icon in the upper left corner of each Battlefield board also matches the icon on the back of the 5 Enemy pieces that should be used with that Battlefield board (see Setup).

If you are not playing with the Friends & Foes expansion, do not use the Weathertop or Amon Hen Battlefield boards or their corresponding Enemy pieces.

Setup

Use the same setup for each Scenario as for the original board game. In addition, do the following:

Add the new Feature cards and the new Gandalf cards to the existing cards. In Rivendell and Lothlórien, deal out all 15 cards, starting with the Ring-bearer. With two players return four of the cards to the game box without revealing them, then deal out the remaining cards.
Organize the Enemy pieces into 6 stacks, so that the pieces in each stack have the same symbol on the back.
Place the corresponding Battlefield board (see left) near the Scenario board.
Take the stack of 5 Enemy pieces whose icon (see left) corresponds to the current Battlefield board and place them faceup next to the Battlefield board.
Place the 5 Fellowship pieces faceup next to the Battlefield board.
Shuffle the trigger tiles and place them on to the Scenario board: Place one trigger tile facedown next to each space on the main Activity line except the start space; place one trigger tile facedown next to the first five Event boxes; and place all remaining trigger tiles facedown in a stack next to the last Event box.

Activating Enemies

When an Enemy is activated with a trigger tile, do the following:

If the faceup Enemy piece is not on the Battlefield board yet, place it on the numbered entry space that is indicated on the trigger tile. Each space on the Battlefield board may only contain one Enemy piece. If the indicated entry space is occupied by another Enemy, use the next-higher entry space that is empty, continuing with entry space 1 after entry space 4. If all four entry spaces are occupied by other Enemy pieces, the new Enemy is not activated.
If the Enemy is already on the Battlefield board, it advances along the red arrow to the next space unless that space is blocked. A space is blocked if it is occupied by another Enemy piece or by certain Fellowship pieces. Whether or not a Fellowship piece blocks a space depends on the special ability of the Fellowship piece (see page 6) and whether or not the Enemy piece is charging.
If the space at the end of the red arrow is blocked, the enemy will try to advance along the white arrow instead.
If the space at the end of the white arrow is also blocked, the Enemy piece does not advance.

Charging Enemies

The Charging Icon

If an activated Enemy piece bears the charging icon, or if an Enemy piece is activated by a trigger tile bearing the charging icon, then the Enemy piece is charging. Charging enemies are able to move into spaces occupied by Fellowship pieces (other than Aragorn). Exactly how charging Enemies interact with the Fellowship pieces they move on to is detailed on page 6.

If an Enemy piece with the charging icon is activated by a trigger tile with the charging icon, it is still just "charging"; there is no cumulative effect.

Trigger Tiles

Collecting Trigger Tiles

Play progresses as in the original board game. When you advance the Event marker or the marker on the main Activity line on your turn, collect the trigger tiles that the marker passes over and the one that it stops on and place them facedown in front of you.

Important: You do not collect trigger tiles that you pass over or land on when the marker advances as a consequence of putting on the Ring.

Resolving Trigger Tiles

At the end of your turn, after resolving the revealed Event tiles and any cards played faceup on to their respective discard piles, you must resolve the trigger tiles in front of you. Turn up the first trigger tile. Unless you are lucky to have an empty tile, it will show one or more colored swords. In the order of the colored swords, from top to bottom, activate the corresponding color Enemy pieces, as described below. Discard the trigger tile facedown, then turn up the next one and progress in the same manner until you have resolved all of the trigger tiles you collected during your turn. The Ring-bearer cannot put on the Ring while resolving the trigger tiles.

Important: Once an Enemy is defeated (see page 6), it is removed from the game and can no longer be activated by trigger tiles.

Enemy Piece Movement

The following examples show how an Enemy piece moves when activated by a trigger tile.

The black Enemy piece cannot move along the red arrow, since it is blocked by another Enemy piece. It moves along the white arrow instead.
The black Enemy piece cannot move along the red arrow, since it is blocked by Gimli. It moves along the white arrow instead.
This blue Enemy piece has a charging icon, meaning it is not blocked by any Fellowship piece except Aragorn. It moves on to Gimli's space, and Gimli is removed from the board.

Damage Caused by Advancing Enemies

When you advance an Enemy piece on the Battlefield board during your turn, you suffer the damage indicated on each space that the Enemy piece passes over or ends its movement on. If the damage is encircled by the Ring, the Ring-bearer suffers the consequences instead of you:

Move your Hobbit one step into the darkness on the Corruption line.
Place any two of the cards in your hand faceup on to the discard pile. (In the Friends & Foes expansion, 2 Foes appear instead.) If you do not possess the required cards, you must discard all your cards and you are eliminated from the game.
Sauron moves one step toward the Hobbits on the Corruption line.
The Ring Is Mine! – Sauron takes the Ring and the game is over. You may still play Feature cards and spend shields to call Gandalf before you move an Enemy to this space. The only Battlefield board that features this icon is the center space on the Black Gate Battlefield board.
Roll the die and suffer the consequences.
You lose all your shields.
Take one of the facedown trigger tiles from the last Event box, if still available, and place it facedown in front of you.
Move the marker on the main Activity line back by two spaces, if possible.

When the marker on the main Activity line is moved back, the players do not encounter the space again (i.e., they do not collect the related benefits or suffer penalties for the space the marker is moved back to). However, after the marker is moved back, it is possible that when the marker is moved forward again, the players will encounter a space they have already encountered. If this occurs, the players do resolve the spaces normally, receiving bonuses, suffering penalties, and collecting trigger tiles as normal.

However, note that the number of "Ring" Life tokens that the players may have at any given time is limited by the components provided in the original game. If all the "Ring" Life tokens are held by the players and the marker is moved to a space that would allow them to collect more, they may not be collected at that time.

Double Damage

The Double Damage Icon

Some of the Enemy pieces depict the double damage icon, indicating that they inflict the damage indicated on the spaces on the Battlefield board twice.

The Vanish Icon

Some of the spaces on the board show the Vanish icon. If an Enemy piece moves on to a space with a Vanish icon, it inflicts the damage indicated by the other icons on that space and is then removed from the board. However, the players do not receive rewards for defeating the Enemy piece.

Fellowship Pieces

At any time during your turn, particularly after turning up a trigger tile and before activating an Enemy piece, you may discard cards with the required number of fighting or star symbols to place a Fellowship piece on to the Battlefield board. A Fellowship piece may not be placed on to a space already occupied by an Enemy piece or another Fellowship piece. A Fellowship piece may not be placed on to any gray shaded spaces.

Fellowship pieces may not be placed on shaded spaces.

Only the active player may discard cards to place the Fellowship pieces. The number of symbols that must be discarded to place a particular Fellowship piece is shown on the Fellowship piece itself.

During each Scenario, each Fellowship piece may only be placed once on to the Battlefield board. If a Fellowship piece is discarded, place it facedown next to the Battlefield board. Any facedown Fellowship pieces may not be placed again during the current Scenario.

At the start of each Scenario, flip any facedown Fellowship pieces faceup.

New Turn Option: Place a Fellowship Piece

If you choose not to play cards on your turn, the original board game rules allow you to either draw two Hobbit cards or to move your Hobbit on the Corruption line backwards by one step. Now you have an additional option: You may choose any one of the faceup Fellowship pieces and place it on to the Battlefield board following the normal placement rules.

Fellowship Special Abilities

Each Fellowship piece has a special ability, listed below:

Gandalf

Gandalf does not block Enemy pieces. When an Enemy piece moves on to Gandalf's space, the Enemy is defeated, and Gandalf is discarded facedown.

Aragorn

Aragorn blocks the space he is on, even against charging Enemy pieces.

Legolas

Legolas blocks the space he is on from normal Enemy pieces. When a charging Enemy moves on to Legolas's space, Legolas is discarded facedown, but the Enemy does not inflict the damage indicated on the space.

Gimli

Gimli blocks the space he is on from normal Enemy pieces. When a charging Enemy moves on to Gimli's space, Gimli is discarded facedown, but the Enemy does not inflict the damage indicated on the space.

Boromir

Boromir does not block the space he is on. When an Enemy piece moves on to Boromir's space, Boromir is discarded facedown, but the Enemy does not inflict the damage indicated on the space.

Defeating Enemy Pieces

There are several ways to defeat an Enemy piece on the Battlefield board:

When an Enemy piece occupies a square space on the battlefield board, the active player may discard two stars to defeat the Enemy. These spaces are called attack spaces.
The Enemy piece advances on to the space with the Gandalf piece – as described by Gandalf's special ability.
Any one Enemy on the Battlefield board may be defeated with the new Gandalf card "Onslaught."

When an enemy is defeated, the Enemy is removed from the game (place it aside or back in the box).

Rewards for Defeating Enemies

When an Enemy is defeated, the active player immediately receives the reward indicated on the Enemy piece:

Move your Hobbit one step toward the light on the Corruption line, if possible.
Choose any one of the unused Fellowship pieces and place it on to the Battlefield board.
Sauron moves one step away from the Hobbits on the Corruption line.
Draw the indicated number of cards from the facedown deck.
Take the indicated number of shields and place them in front of you.
Defeat the two leftmost Foes.

Remember that when an Enemy advances on to a space on the Battlefield board that is marked with the Vanish icon, the Enemy is discarded facedown; however, the players do not receive the rewards indicated on the Enemy piece.

Scenario End

The Scenario ends when a marker reaches the last space on the main Activity line or the last Event box, after resolving trigger tiles. If during the course of resolving trigger tiles an enemy inflicts damage that moves the marker back on the main Activity line, then the Scenario does not end.

At the end of each Scenario, return any Enemy pieces from the just-completed Scenario to the game box. Connect the appropriate Battlefield board to the new Scenario board, then place the appropriate Enemy pieces and all of the Fellowship pieces faceup next to the new Battlefield board.

Player Elimination

If a player is eliminated from the game while resolving a trigger tile, the current trigger tile is discarded and any further trigger tiles are transferred to the Ring-bearer, who must then resolve these as the active player before normal play resumes.

Summary of Icons

Special

Charging: Indicates a charging enemy.
Double Damage: The enemy will inflict damage twice.
Vanish: The enemy is removed from the board after inflicting damage.

Damage

Move your Hobbit toward Sauron.
Discard 2 cards (or add 2 Foes in the Friends & Foes expansion).
Move Sauron toward the Hobbits.
Sauron immediately wins the game!
Roll the die.
Lose all your shields.
Move the main Activity line marker back 2 spaces.
Draw a trigger tile.

Rewards

Move your Hobbit toward the light.
Place a Fellowship piece.
Move Sauron away from the Hobbits.
Draw cards.
Gain shields.
Defeat the 2 leftmost Foes (Friends & Foes only).