The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – A Shadow in the East
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – A Shadow in the East Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Component Overview
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – A Shadow in the East expansion includes the following components:
- This rules insert
- 156 cards, consisting of:
- 2 Hero Cards (1 is double-sided)
- 29 Player Cards (1 is double-sided)
- 115 Encounter Cards
- 10 Quest Cards
Expansion Symbol
The cards in the A Shadow in the East expansion can be identified by this symbol before each card’s collector number.
Rules & New Terms
"Immune to player card effects"
Cards with the text “Immune to player card effects” ignore the effects of all player cards. Additionally, cards that are immune to player card effects cannot be chosen as targets of player card effects.
Contracts
Contract is a new player card type introduced in the A Shadow in the East expansion. Contract cards can represent a literal contract like the one Bilbo signed with the Dwarves before joining their quest for Erebor, or they can represent a social contract like the bond of trust shared by all nine members of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Contracts count as player cards, but they are never included in a player’s deck and do not count towards a player’s minimum deck size. Instead, each player may choose one contract to put into play along with his heroes at the beginning of the game with its “A” side faceup. If a contract places restrictions on the contents of a player’s deck, those restrictions must be met in order to choose that contract.
Example: the Fellowship contract, side A, reads: “You cannot have non-unique allies or put non-unique allies into play. Forced: When you control exactly 9 unique characters, flip this card over.”
Sméagol / Gollum
Included in A Shadow in the East is a unique, double-sided hero / enemy card: Sméagol / Gollum. Each side of this card represents a different aspect of the iconic character: Sméagol is a hero who wants to see Sauron defeated, but Gollum is an enemy who seeks revenge against those who stole his “precious”. Sméagol cannot be chosen as a starting hero when playing saga expansions or the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle.
When a player selects Sméagol as a starting hero, he must shuffle two copies of the treachery card “Stinker” into the encounter deck. The “when revealed” effect on Stinker will cause Sméagol to be flipped over to Gollum. When this happens, the Sméagol hero leaves play and the Gollum enemy enters play engaged with its owner in the ready position.
While Gollum is in play, he engages the first player. When Gollum is defeated, he is flipped to Sméagol. When this happens, the Gollum enemy leaves play and the Sméagol hero enters play under its owner’s control in the exhausted position.
The One Ring & The “Master” Trait
A Shadow in the East includes a single copy of The One Ring. The One Ring is a player card attachment with its own unique card frame and its own special rules.
The One Ring has Setup text that instructs you to attach it to a hero you control. This is done immediately after placing your starting heroes in your play area. If two or more players have The One Ring in their decks, the first player decides which player will put his copy of The One Ring into play. Each other copy is removed from the game.
The One Ring is immune to non-Master card effects. Cards with the Master trait represent the power of The Master Ring, and can only be used by the player who controls The One Ring. Cards with the Master trait cannot be used when playing saga expansions.
Indestructible
An enemy with the indestructible keyword cannot be destroyed by damage, even when it has damage on it equal to its hit points.
Archery X
While a card with the archery keyword is in play, players must assign damage to characters in play equal to the specified archery value at the beginning of each combat phase. This damage can be dealt to characters under any player’s control, and it can be divided among characters as the players see fit. If there is a disagreement as to where to assign archery damage, the first player makes the final decision. If multiple cards with the archery keyword are in play, the effects are cumulative.
Remember that defense does not block archery damage.
Note: the printed insert's archery sentence uses the shield icon in place of the word "defense"; the icon is rendered here as "defense".
Guarded (X)
Guarded (X) is an alternate version of the guarded keyword, where X is one or more card types (such as enemy or location). When a card with guarded (X) enters play, discard cards from the encounter deck until an encounter card with the matching type is discarded. Then, add that card to the staging area and attach the guarded (X) card to it as a guarded objective. Once attached, an objective with guarded (X) works just like an objective with the original guarded keyword. If the encounter deck is empty while resolving the guarded (X) keyword, shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and finish resolving the guarded (X) keyword.
Example: During the quest phase, Stephen reveals Evidence of the Cult (#36). It has the guarded (enemy) keyword, so Stephen places it in the staging area and discards cards from the top of the encounter deck until an enemy is discarded. Then, he adds that enemy to the staging area and attaches Evidence of the Cult to that enemy as a guarded objective.
Side Quests
Side quests represent secondary adventures that the heroes may undertake while pursuing the main goals of the quest deck. Side quests are never considered to be a part of the quest deck. The top card of the quest deck is called the “main quest.”
A side quest with an encounter card back is called an “encounter side quest.” An encounter side quest is both a quest card and an encounter card. When an encounter side quest is revealed, it is added to the staging area. Because side quests are quest cards as well as encounter cards, the “when revealed” effects of side quests cannot be canceled by player card effects.
Example encounter side quest: “Lost in the Dark.” Printed text: “It’s nearly impossible to find your way through this maze of dark tunnels. When Revealed: Each player places the top ten cards of his deck facedown under his threat dial (without looking at them). When this stage is defeated, each player shuffles all cards under his threat dial back into his deck. Forced: After a player raises his threat by any amount, he discards the top card from under his threat dial.”
Side Quests in Play
While any side quest is in the staging area, it functions like a quest card with the following exception: when a side quest is defeated, the players do not advance to the next stage of the quest deck. Instead, the side quest is added the victory display.
Note: the printed insert reads "the side quest is added the victory display"; the word "to" appears to be missing from the printed text and is transcribed as printed.
At the beginning of each quest phase, if there are one or more side quests in the staging area, the first player may choose one to be the “current quest” until the end of the phase instead of the quest card that is currently active via the quest deck. While a side quest is the current quest, any progress that the players make is placed onto that side quest and any card effects that target the “current quest” target that side quest. Progress must still be placed on the active location before it can be placed on a side quest. Any progress that is made beyond the current quest’s total quest points is discarded; do not place progress on any other quest card in play.
The River Running
Difficulty level = 6
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes the heroes receiving King Brand's blessing at Dale, travelling down the River Running with the oarsman Rutland, and being attacked by Easterling warriors at the merchants' camp.)
"The River Running" is played with an encounter deck built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: The River Running, Riders of Rhûn, Easterling Raiders, and Rolling Plains. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (icons not reproduced)
(The post-victory text, to be read only once the heroes have won this quest, is omitted here. It describes the heroes escaping the Easterling warriors' pursuit and carrying the injured Rutland to Dorwinion.)
Danger in Dorwinion
Difficulty level = 5
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes the heroes arriving in a fearful Dorwinion, meeting Niena, and learning of the abductions and of a cult said to be working in secret.)
"Danger in Dorwinion" is played with an encounter deck built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: Danger in Dorwinion, Servants of Sauron, City of Rhûn, and Under Guard. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (icons not reproduced)
(The post-victory text, to be read only once the heroes have won this quest, is omitted here. It describes the heroes' defeat of the cult leader and their decision to search the Hills of Rhûn for the temple where the captives were taken.)
The Temple of Doom
Difficulty level = 7
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes the heroes finding a temple of Sauron in the Hills of Rhûn, entering through a hidden cave, and descending into the tunnels beneath it.)
"The Temple of Doom" is played with an encounter deck built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: The Temple of Doom, Ulchor’s Guard, Twisted Tunnels, Easterling Raiders, and The Power of Mordor. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (icons not reproduced)
The Power of Mordor Deck
The Power of Mordor deck represents Sauron’s expanding influence over Middle-earth. To build The Power of Mordor deck when setting up The Temple of Doom, take each card from “The Power of Mordor” encounter set and shuffle them together. This is The Power of Mordor deck.
Quest Stages vs. Side Quests
Some cards in The Temple of Doom reference the number of quest stages in the victory display. Quest stage refers only to the double-sided quest cards that come from the quest deck. Therefore, when calculating the number of quest stages in the victory display count each individual double-sided quest card found there, but do not count side quests in the victory display.
(The post-victory text, to be read only once the heroes have won this quest, is omitted here. It describes the heroes rescuing the captives, including Niena's husband Torwald, and the escape of Ulchor, which leads into the next adventure pack, "Wrath and Ruin".)
Game Modes
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is intended for both casual players and dedicated enthusiasts. To accommodate different play styles, three modes of play are available: Easy, Standard, and Nightmare.
Easy Mode
Easy mode is ideal for new players and for players who prefer the narrative and cooperative aspects of the game with less challenge. To play a scenario in Easy mode, simply take the following steps during setup of any scenario:
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Add one resource to each hero’s resource pool.
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Remove any card with the “difficulty” indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario’s encounter deck.
(The printed example of a difficulty indicator on an encounter set icon is not reproduced.)
Some older scenarios (including those in early printings of the core game) do not have the “difficulty” indicator icon on relevant cards their encounter decks. Please visit www.fantasyflightgames.com to see which cards should be removed in those scenarios.
Standard Mode
To play a scenario in Standard mode, simply follow the normal setup instructions for that scenario.
Nightmare Mode
Players who desire a truly difficult challenge should consider using the supplemental “Nightmare Decks” (sold separately) for each scenario. More information about Nightmare Decks for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game can be found at www.fantasyflightgames.com.