The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Voice of Isengard
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Voice of Isengard Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Component Overview
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Voice of Isengard expansion includes the following components:
- This rules insert
- 156 cards, consisting of:
- 2 Hero Cards
- 39 Player Cards
- 106 Encounter Cards
- 9 Quest Cards
Web Resources
There is an online tutorial for the game available at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/lotr-tutorial
You can enter and track your plays and scores of these scenarios and others online through The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Quest Log at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/lotr-questlog
Expansion Symbol
The cards in The Voice of Isengard expansion can be identified by this symbol before each card's collector number. (The symbol is shown in the insert as an icon and is not reproduced here.)
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.
Time X
Time X is a new keyword that represents the urgency of the heroes' quest. When a card with the Time X keyword is revealed, the players put X resource tokens on that card. These tokens are called "time counters." At the end of each refresh phase, remove 1 time counter from each card with the Time X keyword, if able. When the last time counter is removed, there will be a triggered effect that resolves on that card. Some encounter cards will also remove time counters, making it more difficult for the players to predict when they will run out of time.
"Does not stack"
Some cards in The Voice of Isengard expansion have passive abilities with the text "This ability does not stack with..." While two or more effects that do not stack with one another are active, only one of them will affect the game state.
For example: Ancient Forest reads: "While Ancient Forest is in the staging area each Forest location in the staging area gets +1 $ and +3 quest points. This ability does not stack with other copies of Ancient Forest." This means that even if there are 2 copies of Ancient Forest in the staging area, each Forest location in the staging area will only get +1 $ and +3 quest points total.
Player cards with Doomed X
If a player card with the Doomed X keyword is played or put into play, each player must raise his threat level by the specified value.
The Fords of Isen
Difficulty level = 5.
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes the heroes arriving at the Fords of Isen, where a band of Rohan knights is attacked by Wild Men from Dunland, and their rescue of the Rohirrim and of the emissary Gríma.)
The Fords of Isen encounter deck is built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: The Fords of Isen, Dunland Raiders, and Dunland Warriors. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (three encounter-set icons, not reproduced here)
Gríma Objective-Ally
When setting up The Fords of Isen scenario, the players are instructed to attach the Gríma objective-ally card to the location, The Islet. An objective-ally card is considered to be both an objective and an ally. If an effect allows the players to take control of the Gríma objective-ally, it is moved into the controlling player's play area. Once there, Gríma can be used the same as any other ally.
Because the Gríma objective-ally is a unique character, no player can use the Gríma hero card when playing The Fords of Isen scenario.
(Continuing narrative omitted: the heroes accept Gríma's invitation to Isengard, where the adventure continues in "To Catch an Orc".)
To Catch an Orc
Difficulty level = 4.
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes the heroes' audience with Saruman in Orthanc, where he asks them to capture the Orc chieftain Mugash rather than kill him.)
The To Catch an Orc encounter deck is built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: To Catch an Orc, Misty Mountain Orcs, and Broken Lands. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (three encounter-set icons, not reproduced here)
The Out-of-Play Deck
When setting up To Catch an Orc, each player is instructed to set the top 20 cards of his deck aside, out of play. Those 20 cards become that player's out-of-play deck.
Mugash
There are 4 enemy cards in The Voice of Isengard that have player card backs: 1 copy of Mugash and 3 copies of Mugash's Guard. These are encounter cards, not player cards, and cannot be included in any player's deck. The reason Mugash and his guard have player card backs is because they are meant to be shuffled into the players' out-of-play decks when setting up To Catch an Orc.
Searches X
The Searches X keyword represents the heroes search for the Orc captain, Mugash. When a location with the Searches X keyword leaves play, the player (or players) identified by that location reveals the top X cards of his out-of-play deck. Players who reveal cards this way add each revealed enemy to the staging area, choose 1 player card to take into their hand, and discard the rest.
(Continuing narrative omitted: the heroes return Mugash to Isengard, and the adventure continues in "Into Fangorn".)
Into Fangorn
Difficulty level = 6.
(The adventure's narrative introduction is omitted here. It describes Mugash escaping from his captors and the heroes pursuing him into the forest of Fangorn.)
The Into Fangorn encounter deck is built with all the cards from the following encounter sets: Into Fangorn, Ancient Forest, and Weary Travellers. These sets are indicated by the following icons: (three encounter-set icons, not reproduced here)
Hinder
The Hinder keyword appears on the Huorn enemies in this scenario. While engaged with a player, an enemy with the Hinder keyword is not dealt a shadow card and does not make an attack during the combat phase.
Instead of making attacks, enemies with the Hinder keyword force players to remove progress from the current quest or active location. At the beginning of the combat phase, each player removes one progress from the current quest for each enemy with Hinder engaged with him. When there is no progress remaining on the current quest, players remove progress from the active location instead. If there is no progress on either the quest or active location, there is no effect.
(Continuing narrative omitted: the heroes return to Isengard, and the adventure continues in "The Dunland Trap", the first adventure of "The Ring-maker" cycle.)
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:
- Add one resource to each hero's resource pool.
- Remove any card with the "difficulty" indicator around its encounter set icon (a gold border) from the current scenario's encounter deck.
Some older scenarios (including those in early printings of the core game) do not have the "difficulty" indicator icon on relevant cards in 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.