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Character Creation (p.

33)
1. Pick a Culture (p. 37): note fixed blessing, starting skill list (favoured skills are underlined), choose weapon skills
(individual or cultural (denoted by brackets), p. 91+), select two specialities (traits, p. 94)), select a name and age.
Roll or choose a Background: note fixed basic attributes, fixed favoured skill, select two distinctive features
(traits, p.94).
2. Pick a Calling (p. 73): select two favoured skills from one or both of the mentioned skill groups, note fixed trait,
note fixed shadow weakness.
3. Create Favoured Attributes (p. 76): +3/+2/+1 to basic attribute level (choose combination).
4. Previous Experience (p. 76): 10 XP to spend. Normal skills cost 1 per new level (cumulative, max level 5).
Weapon skills cost double (max level 3). Able to buy new skill, but not Cultural Weapon (group) skill.
5. Calculate Endurance and Hope (p. 76): Basic Heart rating + cultural bonus (table p. 76).
6. Shadow (p. 128) starts at 0/0 (keep track of temporary and permanent score).
7. Note starting Gear and Fatigue score (p. 77): Get 1 weapon (p. 126) per weapon skill (also for cultural weapon
skill groups. Heed weapon size limitations for Hobbits and Dwarves!), get 1 armor (p. 123), 1 head piece, and 1
shield (p. 124). Write down Protection rating from armor (dice) and head gear (numerical bonus). War gear
(weapons and armor) has individual Encumbrance scores, record its sum as Fatigue. Everything else is regarded
as travelling gear (see Encumbrance and Journey). Get free musical instrument if Song skill at least 1.
8. Note character's Damage score (p. 78): equal to basic Body score modified by abilities and items (might differ
between melee and ranged). This may be added to weapon damage during combat (see Combat).
9. Parry score (p. 78): equal to basic Wits score plus bonus from shields.
10. Choose Valour or Wisdom (p. 79): one starts with rank 1, the other with 2. Gain special benefit for each rank
over 1. Valour grants Rewards (p. 113), Wisdom grants Virtues (p. 103).

Company Creation (p. 80)


Everyone picks another player character as Fellowship Focus (p. 133).
Fill pool of Fellowship Points (p. 132): one per character (two per Hobbit). Refreshes every game session.

Journey (p. 153)


Decide on route: declare destination and set route to be taken. Decide on mode of travel: foot, ponies, boat (p.
160). Count hexes on Loremaster map (p. 157. 1 hex = 10 miles). Multiply distance in miles by terrain type
modifier (p. 156), may use type of longest part for all. Divide total distance by speed (p. 158) to get expected
journey length in days (round half up).
Assign roles: every companion picks a group role (p. 154. One per player. Exactly one Guide, any number of
other roles): Guide is in charge of route, rest and supplies (Travel). Scout sets camps and finds trails (Explore).
Huntsman provides food (Hunting). Look-out man keeps watch (Awareness).
Journey Advantage (p. 151): before the group embarks, all players roll a Lore task (TN 14). Each success level
grants one bonus Success die to be used on any rolls (mostly Travel tests). Can be shared by the company. Add
maximum one such die per roll.
Fatigue Test (p. 145/158): roll a Travel skill test every couple of days of the journey based on season (p. 158): in
winter every 3 days, spring 5, summer 6, autumn 4 days. Test TN based on safety of region (p. 158): free lands
(12), border lands (14), wild lands (16), shadow lands (18), dark lands (20). For each failed roll increase Fatigue
score by encumbrance of travelling gear (p. 77/159: 2 in spring/summer, 3 in autumn/winter. 1 less if travelling by
boat or pony). For each EyeOfSauron rolled by group (regardless of success) a Hazard sequence happens.
Resolve Hazard Episodes: for each episode: roll which target role is affected (p. 160) and what skill is tested.
Roll what consequence (p. 161, EyeOfSauron in description refers to skill roll) the hazard might have on the
target when her test fails. Describe the hazard (examples on p. 161). Now the target makes the indicated skill
test. If more than one player assigned to role, all may roll. Others may spend 1 Hope to voluntarily participate in
the test. If target role not assigned and no volunteer, fail automatically (apply consequence to all). Only one
success (by anyone rolling) necessary to overcome hazard. TN either 14 or based on region safety (see Fatigue
Test above).

1
Basics
Languages (p. 36): Dalish (Bardings, Dwarves), Vale of Anduin tongue (Beornings, Woodmen), Dwarvish (Dwarves),
Sindarin (Elves), Woodland Elvish (Elves or Mirkwood), Common Speech (Hobbits). Understand more with Lore.
Standard of Living (p. 120): Poor, Frugal, Martial, Prosperous, Rich.
Treasure (p. 134): 1 point resembles standard of living prosperous for one month and has Encumbrance 1 when carried.
Standing (p. 135): Rating 0 (homeless) to 6 (king) in home culture (may be expanded to cover other cultures too, p. 199).
Encumbrance (p. 119): sum of encumbrance of war gear (weapons (p. 126), armor (p. 123), shields (p. 124)) comprises
minimum Fatigue score. Encumbrance of travelling gear (everything else, p. 77) is added repeatedly only during journeys.
Adjust downwards only after prolonged rest, even if war gear is removed. Exception: removing a Helm (see Recovery).

Actions/Tasks/Tests (p. 138): Roll Feat die (D12) plus number of Success dice (D6) equal to skill rank (0-6) against
difficulty target number (TN, p. 215): range from 10 (very easy) to 20 (Daunting) or higher, with default 14 being moderate.
Before roll: apply Trait or Virtue. Roll (p. 27): sum up all dice, if equal or greater to TN then success. GandalfRune on Feat
die means always success regardless of TN, EyeOfSauron counts as 0 and may add negative consequences (Symbol
meaning swapped if Loremaster rolls for enemies). For Tasks (p. 139) after the roll, for Tests before (p. 144): spend 1
Hope to boost action by adding Attribute score (corresponding to skill category, p. 86+) to roll result (if skill is favoured,
add favoured attribute score instead of basic). Success levels: Successful roll result with 1 TengwarRune (6 on Success
die) counts as Great Success, with 2 or more as Extraordinary Success, else as normal success.
Epic Feat (p. 147): Succeed by rolling the GandalfRune and at least one TengwarRune on an impossibly difficult skill roll.
Opposed Roll (p. 148): both opponents make normal Task rolls against TN. If both succeed, compare success levels:
whoever got more TengwarRunes wins. Ties broken by better Feat die result.
Prolonged Actions (p. 149+): between 3 (moderate) and 9 (difficult) successes needed to finish, several characters may
cooperate. Great success counts for 2, extraordinary for 3 successes. Reduce TN of normal task to create prolonged
action: 1 TN level (=2 points) less converts to 3 successes needed, 2 levels less to 4-5, 3 levels less to 6+ successes.
Traits (p. 92): Invoke to get one of: Automatic Action (pass common skill roll successfully without roll), Unforeseen Action
(act when normally not allowed to), Advancement Point (after successfully skill roll, check 1 advancement point if trait is
relevant, p. 212).
Flaw (p. 226): negative Traits are called Flaws. Invoked by Loremaster to get one of: Feat re-roll (roll Feat die twice and
take lower result), Failure Aggravation (failed roll becomes even worse), or other (role-play!).
Advancement Points (p. 194): Gain (p. 212) up to 3 per skill group. First one for a successful roll. Second for a
great/extraordinary skill roll or a trait invocation. Third for a great/extraordinary skill test plus trait invocation. On average 4
per session. Spent during Fellowship Phase to increate common skills (p. 195).
Fellowship Focus (p. 132): Anytime: if character spends Hope for an action to protect or favour her focus and succeeds,
immediately recover that spent point. At end of session: recover 1 Hope if focus didn't become wounded, poisoned,
miserable or otherwise harmed (e.g. imprisoned) and is in same location with character. Or gain 1 temporary Shadow if
focus was wounded, or 3 if focus was killed.

Corruption (p. 145): Test for Anguish, Blighted Places, Tainted Treasure (no roll for Misdeeds). Roll Feat plus success
dice equal to Wisdom (boost with Heart). Gain Shadow when failed (p. 222).
Fear (p. 146): Test for fear. roll Feat plus success dice equal to Valour (boost with Heart). If failed, cannot spend Hope
until source of fear is gone.
Experience (p. 212): Award 1 per game session, 1 for company objective progress, and (no. of sessions)/2 at end of
adventuring phase. Spent during Fellowship Phase to increase Wisdom, Valour, or weapon skills (p. 196).

Encounters (p. 185)


1. Set Tolerance (p. 188): secretly set tolerance of the encounter (minimum 1). Basic rating is highest Valour (if
encounter prizes courage, renown, prowess) or Wisdom (peace-loving, learned, logical) of the company. Add
highest Standing rating of characters with the same culture. Subtract 1 for each prejudice met (Beornings dislike
Dwarves, Elves and Dwarves dislike each other). Add additional modifiers -3 to +3 (p. 189). If number of all failed
rolls in the Introduction and Interaction stage exceeds tolerance the encounter is over.
2. Encounter Advantage (p. 151): at the beginning of an encounter, all players roll an Insight task (TN 14). Each
success level grants one bonus Success die to be used on any roll during the encounter. Can be shared by the
company. Maximum one such die can be added per roll.
3. Introduction (p. 186): make Lore roll to divine best approach: single spokesman presents company or individuals
introduce themselves. Awe to impress, revealing a lot. Courtesy to ask for support and be nice. Riddle to hide true
intentions while gaining information. A failed roll may prevent participation of that character in Interaction stage.
4. Interaction (p. 187): Insight to observe and evaluate, Inspire to address crowds, Persuade to make a point,
Riddle to gather information, Song to garner approval.
5. Evaluate Outcome (p. 189): Count all success levels: 1 narrow, 2-4 success, 5-6 great, 7+ extraordinary.

2
Combat (p. 166)
1. Resolve Ambush: if company is ambushed (p. 167), everyone tests Awareness (or Battle or Hunting), TN based
on alertness (p. 168). On great success character can warn (=compensate for failure) 1 other, on extraordinary
success 2 others. If test fails and not warned, character is surprised. If more than half of the company is
surprised, then company loses Initiative. If company ambushes enemy, roll Stealth (or Battle or Hunting) against
TN based on enemy alertness (p. 168). Greater success levels compensate for failures of others. Only if all
succeed then enemy is surprised and player's have Initiative, else enemy holds Initiative.
2. Determine Initiative (p. 170): if one side was ambushed then Initiative is already assigned. Else: the defender
holds the Initiative. If there is no clear attacker/defender make opposed Battle (enemy: Vocation) roll, winner
holds Initiative.
3. Combat Advantage (p. 151): before combat is joined, all non-surprised players roll a Battle task. TN 14 if holding
the Initiative, else TN 18. Each success level grants one bonus Success die during combat (for attack or
protection rolls) to be shared by the company. Maximum one such die can be added per roll.
4. Opening Volleys (p. 171): all non-surprised combatants simultaneously may make one ranged attack (more if
distance between opponents is larger and equipped with bows) against TN of 12 + Parry of the target. If target is
not surprised, then shield bonus is doubled when calculating Parry here.
5. Normal Combat starts (p. 171): combat is resolved in rounds (~30s). At beginning of each round heroes declare
Stance and engage opponents. Then resolve actions in order of stance, the side that holds Initiative acts first.

Stance (p. 172): Hero selects at beginning of combat round (enemies just declare engagement but don't select choose
stances). Actions are resolved in order of stance (front to rear). The stance defines the basic TN to hit and be hit: Forward
(6), Open (9), Defensive (12), Rearward (12). First three stances are close combat, Rearward is ranged combat only. For
every character that wants to fight in Rearward stance (p. 173) at least 2 others have to fight in a close combat stance,
and the enemy host must not be more than twice as large as the company.
Engagement (p. 174): pair each hero in close combat with at least one unengaged enemy (Loremaster chooses if more
enemies than heroes, else vice versa). If there are heroes left, assign them at will. If there are enemies left, either assign
them at will or keep back for ranged combat (stance restrictions do not apply for NPCs). Up to 3 human-sized or 2 larger
(Troll+) adversaries can engage a hero. Up to 5 companions can engage a large creature.
Attack (p. 175): in close combat roll weapon skill against the basic TN of heroes stance + target's Parry score. In ranged
combat the TN is always 12 + target's Parry. Characters in Rearward stance can only attack and be attacked in ranged
combat. Boost attacks with Body. If player rolls EyeOfSauron on attack roll then the target enemy will attempt a Called
Shot with its next action.
Complications (p. 181): modify TN to hit or be hit by situation. Moderately hindered: +/-2, Severely hindered: +/-4.
Called Shot (p. 178): declare before attack. Roll has to achieve at least a great success to hit else fails. If TN not reached
and EyeOfSauron rolled, fumble: next time this character is attacked difficulty to hit her is the basic combat TN. Effect of
successful called shot depends on weapon used: break shield (axe, mattock), piercing blow (bow, spear), disarm (sword).
Damage (p. 176): Inflict Endurance loss equal to weapon's damage rating (p. 126). On great success of attack roll:
additionally inflict character's damage rating. On extraordinary success: add double character's damage rating. On a hit
compare the Feat die result to the Edge rating of the weapon. If greater or equal, score piercing blow (see Injury). Player
my opt for Knockback to reduce Endurance loss.
Knockback (p. 177): player's choice: character side-steps and is knocked back to suffer only half (round up) the
Endurance loss of a hit. May not change stance next round and forfeits her next action.
Injury and Protection: If attacker scores a piercing blow (p. 178), target must make a Protection Test (Feat plus
protection dice and bonus; boost with Body) against the Injury rating of the attacker's weapon as TN. On failure receive a
wound (see Wounded).
Tasks in Combat (p. 179+): Based on stance may execute special action: Intimidate Foe (Forward), Rally Comrades
(Open), Protect Companion (Defensive), Prepare Shot (Rearward), Escape Combat (any).

Adversaries (p. 230)


Attribute Level: automatically added to all favoured skill rolls and Protection tests (if Armour is underlined) for free. Also
added as damage bonus when achieving a great success, or twice on an extraordinary success of attack rolls.
Endurance loss and Wounds: Creatures are out of combat if reduced to 0 Endurance and killed if wounded once.
Hate: Spend to fuel special abilities. When creature starts a round with 0 Hate it is considered Weary.
Called Shot: creature always attempts a called shot with the next action after a hero rolled an EyeOfSauron in an attack
against it. Use normally rules for resolving called shots and see creature weapon description for effect.

3
Loss of Health and Hope
Endurance Loss (p. 127): when Endurance equal to or lower than Fatigue score, hero is Weary (check box on sheet).
When already weary, no additional effect. When Endurance reduced to 0, character is Exhausted.
Weary (p. 128): due to Fatigue (ends when character rested) or as temporary effect (even with full Endurance. Effect
ends automatically after event). While weary all Success dice (D6) that show 1, 2, or 3 count as 0.
Exhausted (p. 128): when Endurance drops to 0, character is automatically Weary and falls Unconscious. Enemies are
out of the combat.
Wounded (p. 129): gained through Injury in combat or for any other reason (check box on sheet). No immediate effect. If
a second wound is received, character falls unconscious (second wound is not recorded). Enemies are killed outright
when wounded once.
Poisoned (p. 130): a poisoned character is considered Wounded in all respects and additionally suffers poison effect until
remedy is applied or poison wears off after some time.
Unconscious (p. 129): due to exhaustion or second wound. Wakes up as soon as 1 Endurance is gained (even when
wounded). Can be killed with Coup de Grace in one combat round without roll.
Dying (p. 129): a Wounded character with 0 Endurance is dying unless helped (see Treat Wound).
Killing Blow (p. 130): a character that is already wounded and receives a second wound with the same blow that
reduces Endurance to 0 is killed instantly.

Hope (p. 128): spend 1 hope point to add Attribute bonus to skills rolls (see Actions) or trigger Cultural Virtue (described
there). When hope equal or lower than Shadow rating (and Shadow at least 1), character becomes Miserable (check box
on sheet). When already miserable, no additional effect. When hope reaches 0, then character is Spent.
Miserable (p. 129): due to low Hope (until higher than Shadow again) or temporary (until end of event). As long as
miserable: whenever Feat die during any roll shows EyeOfSauron, character suffers a bout of Madness (p. 225). During
that character losses control to Lore Master for short time with consequence: Rage, Depression, Desperation, or Lust. At
the end of the bout of madness, remove all temporary Shadow points but gain 1 permanent one and additionally gain one
new Degeneration/Flaw (p. 226+, negative distinctive feature) based on Shadow Weakness (up to 4, see p. 229).
Spent (p. 129): when Hope drops to 0, character is spiritually drained and will flee from any danger or stress (regardless
of miserable).
Shadow (p. 128): write down temporary (gained through Corruption, p. 222) and permanent points (gained through bouts
of madness when miserable; can never be healed). Sum up both scores to calculate Miserable. Temporary corruption can
be healed in Fellowship phase (p. 198).
Fellowship Points (p. 132): at any time: spent 1 point to gain 1 Hope. Requires permission from at least half of the
company. If permission denied, may spend anyway but gain temporary Shadow for each point. Pool refreshes at
beginning of each game session.

Recovery
Catch breath (p. 130): after combat rest for half an hour. If character is not Wounded, recover Endurance equal to basic
Heart score (even unconscious characters who then wake up). Wounded characters cannot recover.
Treat Wound (p. 131): anybody can treat an untreated wound with a Healing roll against TN14. If successful, underline
Wounded on sheet to mark as treated (failed roll can be repeated after a day). No Endurance is recovered that way. The
wound of Dying characters has to be treated within 12 hours to stabilize them.
Prolonged Rest (p. 131+): a night's sleep in a safe place. Healing on the road is reduced (p.163). Recover Endurance
based on condition:
Uninjured (not wounded): 2 points + basic Heart rating (travelling: 2 points)
Treated wound: 2 points (travelling: 1 point)
Untreated wound (or still poisoned): 1 point (travelling: no recovery)
After prolonged rest: After a journey when not on the road anymore, decrease Fatigue gained due to travelling by 1. If war
gear was lightened, calculate new Encumbrance and adjust Fatigue score (exception: Helm can be removed during
combat to instantly lower Fatigue by 3). If Endurance is higher than Fatigue now, remove Weary. If Endurance is full,
remove Wounded (regardless of treatment).

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