Fate of the Fellowship: Episode II (Turns 3 - 8)

---

Onwards to turn 3. Haven’t played this for a few days now, but blogging about it is helping me stay engaged with it. Also it’s a really useful reminder as to where I’ve got - which is nowhere.

Turn 3 Actions (Frodo, Sam, Legolas)

I am looking at the Shire and see that there are two Nazgûl hovering around, and Frodo and Sam only have one stealth card. I could move once, creeping towards Rivendell, and bring Merry and Pippin along, then hopefully on their turn they can haul Frodo and Sam along too.

Maybe I should try and hold off the advance of these shadow troops from Moria. Though they are still a few spaces away. If I had some Friendship cards I would muster some dwarves instead. I am already feeling hard-done by with the initial shadow cards. Not sure how best to get down to North Ithilien and Challenge Sauron when I also need to fend off attacks on the Woodland Realm and Erebor.

Ok so Legolas has a couple of Valor cards which should help with battles, so that seems like the most appropriate use of his turns. Gather the troops and march on the enemy.

Again I think I’ll do one action for the hobbits and four for Legolas.

Legolas’ actions:

• Walk Silently (Gain a Stealth token)
• Prepare (Swap my Haradwaith card for a Stealth token¹). I also look at the top card of the shadow deck. It is going to be an Advance: Umbar -> Grey Havens action².
• Travel from Erebor to Woodland Realm, taking two dwarven troops with me.
• Travel from Woodland Realm to Old Forest Road

Frodo and Sam’s actions:

• Travel Bree to Weather Hills, discarding a stealth token to avoid a search roll, and bringing Merry and Pippin along too

Turn 3 Player Cards

• Haradwaith
• Mordor

Turn 3 Shadow Cards

Advance Umbar to Grey Havens

• There is one shadow troop in Pelargir, that pillaging one from earlier. It now moves from Pelargir to Dol Amroth

• There are two Gondor troops stationed in Dol Amroth already so a battle takes place

• Rolling one die for the shadow troop: Exchange result.

• Remove one shadow troop and one Gondor troop.

Reinforce: Moria

• +1 shadow troop in Moria

• Shift the Eye to Frodo’s region. As it is already there, roll a search

• Two Nazgûl are in Eriador with Frodo, so two Search dice are rolled

• Search results are Recall and Weary

• One Nazgûl returns to Mordor, and we lose one hope³

Turn 4 Actions (Merry, Pippin, Éowyn)

Ok so that last turn could have gone better. I wasn’t expecting to lose a hope so early. Now it’s time to get Frodo away from the Eye and towards completing our first objective.

Merry and Pippin’s actions:

• Travel from Weather Hills to Rivendell
• Loyal Friend (Gain Friendship token)
• Attain the Blessing of the Elves, spend Dale, Enedwaith, Gondor cards. Add the three elven troops to the supply. Players 1 and 2 gain a Friendship token. Gain one hope
• Fellowship Give Rhudaur to Frodo and Sam

Éowyn’s action:

• Travel from Helm's Deep to Fords of Isen, taking five Rohirrim troops with her

Turn 4 Player Cards

• Enedwaith
• Skies Darken
  1. Increase Threat by 1
  2. Move the Eye to Rhudaur
  3. Add three shadow troops to Southern Mirkwood⁴
  4. Shuffle shadow discard pile and replace on top of shadow deck

Turn 4 Shadow Cards

• Reinforce: Moria
  • +1 shadow troop in Moria
  • Deploy 3 Nazgûl from Mordor to the Eye (Rhudaur)
• Advance Dol Guldur to Minas Tirith
  • Move 3 shadow troops from Southern Mirkwood to Dagorlad
  • Move 3 shadow troops from Dol Guldur to Southern Mirkwood

End of Turn 4

I managed to successfully complete an objective: Attain the Blessing of the Elves and kept the hope level at six. I was concerned that Erebor and Woodland Realm were about to be overrun, but that last shadow card surprisingly turned the armies away from their northern march and they are instead heading towards Minas Tirith. This is also bad.

I also drew my first Skies Darken card, which is never nice to see.

I think the plan now is for Legolas to make a start killing these encroaching troops arond Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. The next objective I will attempt is going to be Saruman, your staff is broken. I may get the hobbits to start mustering in Rivendell to use those new elven support troops to support this offensive. I could also do with Éowyn killing off some Nazgûl as there are loads of them flying over Frodo’s region.

Turn 5 Actions (Frodo, Sam, Legolas)

Frodo and Sam’s action:

• Travel to Carrock, discard Mordor

Legolas’ actions:

• Walk Silently, gain 1 Stealth token
• Sure Shot, remove 1 shadow troop from Southern Mirkwood, spend Stealth token
• Travel from Old Forest Road to Southern Mirkwood, bringing 2 elven troops and 2 dwarven troops
• Attack in Southern Mirkwood
  • Shift the Eye to Mirkwood
  • Roll two dice, results: Exchange and Rout
  • Remove 1 dwarven troop and 2 shadow troops⁵

Turn 5 Player Cards

• Enedwaith
• Eriador

Turn 5 Shadow Cards

• Reinforce Isengard
  • +1 shadow troop in Isengard
  • Move 2 Nazgûl closer to Frodo (Two move from Rhudaur to Misty Mountains)
• Reinforce Dunland
  • +1 shadow troop in Dunland
  • Move 2 Nazgûl closer to Frodo (One moves from Rhudaur to Misty Mountains, another moves from Enedwaith to Misty Mountains)

Turn 6 Actions (Merry, Pippin, Éowyn)

Merry and Pippin’s action:

• Give us a song. Spend 3 friendship tokens to increase hope by 2⁶

Éowyn’s actions:

• Muster in Fords of Isen, +1 Rohirrim troop
• Travel from Fords of Isen to Isengard with six Rohirrim troops
• Attack Isengard
  • Move the Eye to Misty Mountains⁷
  • Roll three dice, results: Nazgûl!, Nazgûl!, Exchange⁸
  • Remove two Nazgûl from the game (!)
  • Remove 1 shadow troop and 1 Rohirrim troop
• Attack Isengard
  • Roll three dice, results: Exchange, Exchange, Overrun
  • Remove 3 Rohirrim and 2 shadow troops

Turn 6 Player Cards

• Rohan
• Rhovanion

Nice, this Rohan Valour card helps get closer towards the three Valor symbols required to capture Isengard, and its always nice to see these resistance cards floating about. I should give this to Player 1 as soon as I can.

Turn 6 Shadow Cards

• Advance: Isengard -> Helm's Deep
  • 2 shadow troops move from Isengard to Ford of Isen
• Advance: Dunland -> Rivendell
  • 3 shadow troops move from Dunland to Hollin

End of Turn 6

It feels like some things started going my way, but now the shadow troops have slipped out of Isengard and are heading towards Helm’s Deep. There are only two of them so I should be ok to catch them, but its pretty annoying that I now have to go on a chase.

However getting rid of those two Nazgûl permanently was awesome.

I think in my next round I am looking at capturing some Shadow Strongholds. Dol Guldur is undefended right now and Legolas is right next to it with a ton of Valor cards.

Isengard may also fall from an attack from Fangorn Forest rather than from across the Fords of Isen.

Turn 7 Actions (Frodo, Sam, Legolas)

Legolas’ actions:

• Travel from Southern Mirkwood to Dol Guldur, bringing 2 elven troops and 1 dwarven troops
• Capture Dol Guldur
  • Spend Eriador, Haradwaith, Gondor
  • Turn Dol Guldur in a haven
  • Gain 2 hope (wasted as I am maxed out)
• Sure Shot - Spend one stealth token and remove one shadow troop from Gladden Fields
• Walk Silently - Gain one stealth token

Frodo and Sam’s action:

• Prepare in Rivendell - Discard Rhudaur to gain a valor token.
  • Also gain a friendship token for Elrond’s Support

Turn 7 Player Cards

• Gifts from the Elves
• Ithilien

Turn 7 Shadow Cards

• Advance: Rhun -> Woodland Realm
  • 4 shadow troops move from Rhûn to Dorwindion
• The Drums of War
  • +1 shadow troop to Udûn, Barad-dûr, and Minas Morgul

Turn 8 Actions (Merry, Pippin, Éowyn)

Éowyn’s actions:

• Travel from Isengard to Fords of Isen
• Muster in Fords of Isen, +1 Rohirrim troop
• Attack in Fords of Isen
  • Move Eye to Rohan
  • Roll two dice, results: Exchange and Overrun
  • Remove 1 shadow troop and 2 Rohirrim troops
• Travel from Fords of Isen to Helm's Deep⁹

Merry and Pippin’s action:

• Travel from Carrock to Gladden Fields, taking Frodo and Sam along, and spending Enedwaith to avoid a search roll¹⁰

Turn 8 Player Cards

• Gaze into a Palantir

• Skies Darken¹¹

  • Shadow grows, +1 threat
  • Move Eye to Misty Mountains
  • +3 shadow troops to Druwaith Iaur
  • Shuffle and place shadow discard pile on top of shadow deck

Turn 8 Shadow Cards

• Advance Dunland to Helm's Deep
  • Move 1 shadow troop from Fords of Isen to Helm's Deep¹²
  • Roll for battle, one die, result: Overrun. No troops removed as the battle is in a haven.
  • Move 3 shadow troops from Druwaith Iaur to Fords of Isen
• The Drums of War
  • +1 shadow troop to Udûn, Barad-dûr, and Minas Morgul
• Reinforce Isengard
  • +1 shadow troop in Isengard
  • Move 2 Nazgûl closer to Frodo (Gondor to Rohan, Eriador to Rhudaur)

« Part I | Part II | » Part III

17th August 2025