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THE LORD OF THE RINGS -- SOLO PLAYER RULES COMPULSORY OPTIONAL ACTION WINDOW

SET-UP Choose 1-3 heroes and set your starting threat. Decks must contain at least 50 cards, with no more than 3 of each. Treasure cards do
not count towards the 50, but can only be used by the same set of Heroes who found them. Player cards or encounter cards that contain the
Setup keyword should be obeyed now. Then draw 6 cards into your hand, repeating once if you dont like them. Read Quest card 1A. If any of
the encounter cards contain When revealed, Doomed, Surge, Ambush or Guarded effects then they should be obeyed now. You can use a
Heros Response to counter them, but not an Action. If any of the cards contain a When revealed effect which lasts until the end of the
phase, then it lasts until the end of phase 1. Effects that last until the end of the round last until the end of phase 7
CAMPAIGN MODE If you have any Boon cards, then they should be shuffled into your player deck (except Permanent cards, which should
be attached to the same Hero that obtained them). Burden cards should be shuffled into the encounter deck (except Permanent cards). For
each Hero you replace at the beginning of a quest, you must take a permanent +1 penalty to your starting threat. If a hero dies, then he cannot be

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used for the rest of the campaign. Each quest must be won before you can continue onto the next.

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1. RESOURCE PHASE COLLECT TOKENS

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Add 1 resource token to each of your Heroes pools
Draw 1 card from the player deck and add it to your hand Action window after If the deck is exhausted, you cannot draw. The discard pile
! cannot be reshuffled (except through card effects)
Note that some Actions can only be used during a particular phase (e.g. Quest Action during the Quest phase). Exhausted cards can still
play Actions, provided you dont need to exhaust the card. When exhausting attachments you dont have to exhaust the character. Exhausting
an attachment does not cancel any stat bonuses that it confers. If an Action returns an ally to your hand, wounds and attachments should be
!!discarded. If an Action retrieves a card from your discard pile, then you cannot retrieve a dead Hero (unless it specifically refers to Heroes)
Event cards should be discarded as soon as they are used
Responses are always optional (except Forced Responses), and can be played at any stage of the game as soon as their trigger applies. If

!by playing a Response you gain another playable Response, then you can play that Response also, before play moves on

! 2. PLANNING PHASE PLAY CARDS FROM YOUR HAND

Buy cards from your hand, and put them into play Action window before, during and after Cards in your hand must be paid for before putting
them into play, by using tokens from a Hero (or Heroes) in a matching sphere. Exhausted Heroes can still spend their tokens. Neutral cards can
be bought using any tokens. For zero cost cards you only need to have a Hero in the same sphere. If your threat is 20 or less then you can buy
cards marked with Secrecy X at a discount of X. If a card has a cost of X, and the text doesnt specify what X is, then X is the amount of
tokens that you are willing to pay. You cannot have more than one of each Unique card in play at any one time (although you can have more
than one in your hand). Characters can only use two Restricted attachments at once, but you can discard one and replace it with another.
Note that allies and attachments are different to events. Allies and attachments can only be paid for and played during the Planning phase, whilst
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event cards can be paid for and played during any Action window
Note: If a card is put into play by another card effect, then that is not the same as playing it from your hand, and it will not trigger any effects that

! refer to it being played. It will, however, trigger effects that refer to it entering play

3. QUEST PHASE
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Resolve any At the beginning of the quest phase effects
Commit as many characters as you like to the quest (exhausting them) Action window before, during and after ...remembering that even if you

! choose to commit no one, you must still continue with the rest of the phase
Add 1 card from the encounter deck to the staging area Action window after If the encounter deck is empty, reshuffle the discard pile now.
Resolve any Doomed X effects (by raising your threat by X). Resolve any Prowl X effects (by discarding X number of resource tokens from
a Hero or Heroes of your choice). Resolve any Surge effects (by drawing 1 additional card). Resolve any Ambush effects (by making an
immediate engagement check. If the enemy doesnt engage with you, then it goes into the staging area). Resolve any Guarded effects (by
drawing 1 extra card and attaching it to the Guarded card. The attached card must either be defeated [for an enemy] explored [for a location] or
resolved [for a treachery], before the guarded card can be claimed). Forced Responses should be resolved immediately after their trigger
applies (and prior to any Responses that could also apply). Note: If an encounter card attempts to target one of your cards and there is more
than one eligible target, then you can choose which card will be affected. Resolve any When revealed effects (if an enemy makes an attack
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due to a When revealed effect, it doesnt enter the staging area until after the attack is over).
Note: Encounter cards can only be interrupted by using a Response (Actions can only be played after they have already taken effect)

If two or more card effects would occur simultaneously, then apply passive abilities first (ongoing effects that dont use a bold trigger word like

! Action or Response), then keywords (like Doomed, Surge or Guarded), then Forced effects, and finally When Revealed effects
Compare your stats to the combined threat in the staging area If the quest card or active location has the Battle keyword, then the threat
should be compared against your combined attack. If the card has the Siege keyword then it should be compared against your combined
defence. And if the card has neither, then it should be compared against your combined will. If the two numbers are equal, nothing

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happens. If your stats are higher, then you have quested successfully. If your stats are lower, then you have quested unsuccessfully
Remember: Active locations and engaged enemies are not considered to be in the staging area, and therefore do not contribute their threat

Resolve any After resolving a quest, After quest successful or After quest unsuccessful effects
Advance the quest (or active location) Action window after If you quested unsuccessfully, then you must add the difference to your threat
tracker. If you quested successfully then you can place the difference, in progress tokens, on the quest card (or active location). If there are two
active locations (due to card effects) then you can divide the tokens amongst them however you choose. If an active location has accumulated
enough tokens then it is considered explored, so discard it, and place any left-over tokens on the quest card. If a quest card has accumulated
enough tokens then you must immediately progress to the next stage of the quest, discarding any left-over tokens. Note: If a card rule prevents
you from advancing to the next stage of the quest, then you should continue placing extra progress tokens on the quest card. Note: If a card
effect tells you to remove progress tokens from the Quest card then it applies specifically to the Quest card, and never to an active location
Note: If an explored location (or defeated enemy) is marked with Victory points do not put it in the discard pile, but place it in your Victory
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Display until the end of the game

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Resolve any At the end of the quest phase effects

! 4. TRAVEL PHASE MAKE A LOCATION ACTIVE?

 Choose whether to make a location in the staging area active Active locations act as a buffer to the quest card, and any progress tokens won
during the quest phase will now be placed on the active location instead. Only one location can be active at a time, and it cannot be discarded
until it is fully explored. If a location card ever obtains enough progress tokens whilst it is still sitting in the staging area (due to card effects), then
!!you should discard it immediately, without travelling there
Resolve any Travel effects Action window after If you cant fulfil the requirements of the Travel effect, then you cannot travel there

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Note: If there are two active locations (due to card effects) and a card targets the active location, then you can choose which location is affected

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5. ENCOUNTER PHASE MAKE ENGAGEMENT CHECKS

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Resolve any At the beginning of the encounter phase effects
You can choose to engage one enemy in the staging area Action window after remembering that you dont actually attack it yet
Check whether any of the remaining enemies engage with you Action window after Enemies will engage you if their engagement cost is equal
to or lower than the number on your threat tracker. Start with the enemy with the highest engagement cost first. At this stage, the enemies are

! engaging your entire group, so you dont have to assign them to a character yet

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6. COMBAT PHASE DEFEND FIRST, THEN ATTACK

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Resolve any At the beginning of the combat phase effects
Apply Archery damage If there are any cards in play with the Archery keyword on them, then you must apply all of the damage to your
! character cards, dividing up the total however you choose. Archery damage cannot be blocked by defence points
Deal a shadow card to each of the engaged enemies, face down Action window after If the encounter deck is empty, ignore this step. Do not
reshuffle yet. Start dealing to the enemy with the highest engagement cost first. If an engaged enemy is unable to attack (due to card effects),
! then it should still be dealt a shadow card

!! 6a. DEFENDING
Choose one of the enemies that you are engaged with All of the engaged enemies must attack you, one at a time, in any order you like
! Resolve any When XYZ attacks effects Action window after
Declare a defender (exhausting him) Action window after You can only declare one defender against each enemy, or you can leave the
! attack undefended
Reveal the enemys shadow card and resolve the effect, if any Action window after If the defending character dies at this step, the attack
becomes undefended. If the shadow card damages the defender, and you have multiple defenders (due to card effects), then you must apply
all of the damage to a single defender of your choice. Shadow cards are not considered to be in play, so a Response which triggers when
a particular card comes into play cannot be used against shadow cards (unless the shadow effect itself brings it into play). If a card in play
!!prevents you from canceling encounter card effects, then it also prevents you from canceling shadow cards
Note: Shadow cards can only be interrupted by using a Response (Actions can only be played after they have already taken effect)
Determine your damage Subtract your defence strength from the enemys attack strength, and deal that amount of damage to your
defender. If you have multiple defenders (due to card effects), then you must apply all of the damage to a single defender of your choice. For
undefended attacks, deal the damage to one of your Heroes instead. If your characters wounds equal their hit points, the character dies, and
! must be discarded along with all of their resources and attachments. If this is your last Hero, then you have lost the game.
Every time an enemy with the Venom keyword manages to damage a character, you must give the character one point of poison by placing
the top card of your player deck face down under it. If the amount of poison equals their hit points, the character becomes unconcious and
can no longer ready, quest, attack, defend, collect resources or trigger abilities. If you manage to remove some poison or ready an unconcious
!! character (due to card effects), then the face down cards should be placed in your discard pile
Resolve any After XYZ attacks, After attack resolves, After XYZ leaves play or After damage dealt effects Action window after
Note: If an enemy is able to make an extra attack (due to card effects) then you should discard its shadow card now, and deal a new one
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Note: If an enemy ever attacks you outside of the combat phase (e.g. due to a When revealed effect), then it should still be dealt a shadow card,
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and you can still declare a defender. The shadow card should be discarded immediately after the end of the attack

! 6b. ATTACKING
Choose one of the engaged enemies, and declare your attackers (exhausting them) Action window after You can attack each of the
engaged enemies one at a time, in any order you like, but you can only attack each enemy once per combat phase. Unlike defending, you are
allowed to use as many attackers as you like against each enemy, pooling their attack strength. Note: You can make as many attacks as you
! like before or after the combat phase
Determine the enemys damage Subtract the enemys defence strength from your combined attack strength. Deal that amount of
damage to the enemy. If the enemys wounds equals its hit points, the enemy dies, and can be discarded from play. If the enemys card has
! the Indestructable keyword then you should still place wounds on it, but it cannot be destroyed (even if its wounds equal its hit points)
Resolve any After XYZ attacks effects Action window after
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After all the combat has ended, discard any remaining shadow cards Any enemies left alive will stay engaged with your group

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Resolve any At the end of the combat phase or After combat effects

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7. REFRESH PHASE

!! Refresh all of your exhausted cards

Raise your threat by 1 Note: If your threat reaches 50 at any stage of the game, then you have lost

!! Resolve any During the refresh phase effects

If any of the enemy cards include the Regenerate keyword, heal that amount of damage on them now
! Action window

!Resolve any At the end of the round effects

SCORING If you beat the quest then add together your final threat level, the threat level of each dead hero, the number of damage tokens on
each surviving hero, 10 points for each round you completed, and then subtract any victory points. The lower your final score, the better you did