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War of the Ring: Second Edition
#8BGG8.6RATING
Consulted 1 times·Updated Jul 27
2–4
PLAYERS
2.5–4h
MINUTES
2
BEST WITH
4.2
EXPERT
ERRATA1
Leader re-rolls are mandatory, not optionalcommunity high-engagement
- RULING
- The current Rulebook wording reads: "After the Combat roll, both players re-roll a number of failed die rolls equal to their Leadership (up to a maximum of five dice)." This is mandatory, not optional — older print runs used the word "can," which was changed for clarity. If your copy still says "can," follow the current mandatory wording.
AUTHOR: Krieghund (Kevin Chapman, longtime WotR rules developer/FAQ contact)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2026-06-19
DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS1
Advancing after a won battle requires at least one Army unitdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players disagreed on whether a Leader or Character could advance alone into a region after winning a battle there, without any Army unit accompanying them.
- RULING
- "The attacker cannot advance with ONLY a Character/Nazgûl... Roberto confirmed the possibility to advance only Army units even if a Character die was used to initiate the attack." If an advance is made, at least one Army unit must advance; Characters and Leaders may tag along or be left behind, per Rulebook p.31.
AUTHOR: Kristofer Bengtsson (@Veldrin), relaying confirmation from Roberto Di Meglio (designer)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(relayed)DATE: 2014-07-09
Q&A16
Mumakil vs. No Quarter hit timingcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If Free Peoples plays No Quarter (scoring a hit after the Leader re-roll) while Shadow plays Mumakil (bonus hit if Shadow scored more hits "including hits from any Free Peoples pre-Combat attack"), does the No Quarter hit count toward triggering Mumakil's bonus?
- ANSWER
- No. "After the Leader re-roll" means only hits scored up to that point count for Mumakil. No Quarter's hit is applied after the Leader re-roll, so it is not counted, regardless of who is defending.
Can a Companion stay out of a battle while remaining in the same region as the Army?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Must a Companion always join a battle involving the Army in their region, or can they choose to sit it out?
- ANSWER
- When defending, Companions must join the defending Army, including if it retreats into a siege. When attacking, the Army may be split before combat begins (leaving a "rearguard"), but at least one Army unit must be left behind to form that rearguard if a Companion is left out. Rulebook p.28: "It is not mandatory for all figures composing an Army chosen to attack to participate in the battle... Each of the two newly-created Armies must contain at least one Army unit, while Leaders, Companions, or Minions can be distributed among the two Armies as the player sees fit." Separately, if a Companion who chose to stay separate ends up alone with the Army mid-battle (e.g., after casualties), Chapman confirmed with the designers that the Companion joins the Army mid-battle.
AUTHOR: Krieghund (Kevin Chapman), confirming Kristofer Bengtsson's (designer-labeled community member) detailed answerSOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2016-12-09Palantir of Orthanc redraw timing when the played card triggers a battlecommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If Palantir of Orthanc is in play and a Palantir die is used to play an event card that triggers a battle (e.g., Black Captain, Grond), is the Palantir replacement card drawn before or after the card text/battle resolves?
- ANSWER
- "Draw after all card text and all battles have been resolved."
Must an attacker fight a round before a stronghold defender can retreat into siege?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If an army attacks a defending army in a region with a Stronghold, can the defender retreat into the siege immediately, or must at least one round of combat happen first?
- ANSWER
- The defending army can retreat into Siege immediately, without fighting a round of combat; the attack initiated by that die ends. The attacker needs a separate die to actually attack the besieged stronghold. This is stated on Rulebook p.31.
AUTHOR: Zaccheu (Ville Veijalainen), citing the RulebookSOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(21 replies)DATE: 2022-09-14Can you muster via an Event card in a region with a besieged stronghold?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- The rules say "You cannot muster troops in a Stronghold besieged by the enemy" using a Muster Action die — does the same restriction apply to recruiting via an Event card?
- ANSWER
- No. You cannot muster using a Muster Action die result in a besieged Stronghold, but per Rulebook p.27 you can still recruit there using an Event card, regardless of which side of the siege you're on (unless the specific card says otherwise).
Return to Valinor: must hits eliminate Elven units specifically?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- The Return to Valinor card scores one hit per die rolled for each Elven unit in a Stronghold, against "that Army" — if the Army also contains non-Elven units, can the hits eliminate those instead?
- ANSWER
- No. The hits must be applied to Elven units specifically, and (separately) Army units may not leave a besieged Stronghold — both restrictions are for thematic reasons (the casualties represent Elves departing for the West).
Moving 10 units into a besieged stronghold, then 10 different units out, in the same actioncommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Can an Army action die move a 10-unit army into a region with a besieged Stronghold, and then move a different 10-unit army out of that same region, without breaking stacking limits?
- ANSWER
- Yes. Stacking limits are not checked until the end of the action, after both armies have moved — you can move 10 units in, then move 10 different units out.
AUTHOR: Craig S. (@csouth154), confirmed by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2018-05-30Can you move into an enemy settlement that has been left undefended?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If an army leaves a city, town, or Stronghold undefended, can an enemy army simply move in and take control without a fight?
- ANSWER
- Yes, provided the region is "free for the purpose of Army movement" as defined on Rulebook p.27: any region entered by a moving Army must be either a free region or an enemy-controlled Settlement free of enemy Army units. It is not possible for Shadow and Free Peoples army units to coexist in a city or town outside of a siege.
Moria tile Hobbit casualty: where does the separated Hobbit go?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If a Hobbit is chosen as the casualty from the Moria hunt tile, does he separate at Moria, at the Fellowship's starting position, or at the Fellowship's eventual declared position?
- ANSWER
- The Hobbit separates from the current position of the Fellowship, since the Moria Hunt draw is resolved after the event that caused it.
Are Companions/Minions barred from entering or leaving a besieged region?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Can a Companion or Minion enter or leave a region where a siege is in progress separately from the Army?
- ANSWER
- No. Rulebook p.31: "If the defending player chooses to retreat, however, his entire Army must immediately retreat to an adjacent free region." Characters and Leaders are part of the Army for this purpose and must retreat with it; they cannot be left behind or brought in separately during an ongoing siege.
Palantir of Orthanc + Orc Patrol: replacement card draw timingcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Palantir of Orthanc is in play; Shadow plays Orc Patrol using a Palantir die. Is the replacement card for Palantir of Orthanc drawn before or after Orc Patrol's effects (drawing the tile, seeing the Fellowship's response) resolve?
- ANSWER
- After. The replacement card is drawn only once the played card's full effect has resolved.
AUTHOR: ira212 (Ira Fay), confirmed unchallenged by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman) in the same threadSOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2016-06-03Palantir of Orthanc + Grond: replacement card draw timing when a battle startscommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Same as Q11, but the Palantir die is used to play Grond, Hammer of the Underworld, which starts a battle. Is the card drawn before or after the resulting combat?
- ANSWER
- After the whole combat. The action die is not considered "used" until it is set aside for the next turn.
AUTHOR: ira212 (Ira Fay), confirmed unchallenged by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman) in the same threadSOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2016-06-03Gandalf the Grey's Guide-ability card draw timingcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Gandalf the Grey is guiding the Fellowship. The Free Peoples player uses a Palantir die to play an event card. When is the card drawn for Gandalf's Guide ability — before or after the event card resolves?
- ANSWER
- After, by the same logic as the Palantir of Orthanc timing rulings above (Q11/Q12): the die isn't "used" until the played card's effects have fully resolved.
AUTHOR: ira212 (Ira Fay), confirmed unchallenged by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman) in the same threadSOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2016-06-03Does discarding Balrog of Moria trigger the Witch-king's Sorcerer ability?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- The Witch-king is fighting in a battle where the Balrog of Moria card is in play; Shadow discards it to use its combat effect. Does that count as "playing a combat card" for purposes of the Witch-king's Sorcerer ability?
- ANSWER
- Yes, confirmed.
Can a second Elven Ring change an Action die's value later the same round?community high-engagement
- QUESTION
- The Free Peoples player uses an Action die plus an Elven Ring to discard Palantir of Orthanc. Later that same round, can they use another Elven Ring to change a different Action die's value?
- ANSWER
- No, confirmed.
Eagles are Coming! dice count when the Witch-king is present with one other Nazgûlcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- The Free Peoples player plays "The Eagles are Coming!" in a region containing the Witch-king and one other Nazgûl. The Witch-king cannot be killed or moved by the card — does he still count toward the number of dice rolled ("one die for each Nazgûl present")?
- ANSWER
- One die, confirmed. The Witch-king does not count as a Nazgûl for this purpose.
EDGE CASES8
Full Hunt procedure, step by stepcommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- New players frequently lose track of the exact order of operations for resolving a Hunt for the Ring.
- RULING
- In chronological order: (1) The Free Peoples player uses a Character/Ring die to move the Fellowship; the progress counter advances one space. (2) The Shadow player rolls a number of dice equal to the RED action dice in the Hunt box (max 5). (3) Normally each 6 is a success; each BLUE die in the Hunt box adds +1 to every die's result. (4) Re-roll one miss for each of the following present in the Fellowship's region: an SP Army, an SP-controlled Stronghold, at least one Nazgûl. (5) If any successes are rolled, the Hunt succeeds and a Hunt tile is drawn; on an eye tile, damage equals the number of successes. (6) Handle the resulting damage per the tile drawn.
AUTHOR: Anfauglir ("Some dude"), correction by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(corrected 2013-06-23)DATE: 2013-06-21Separating Merry then Pippin across a single Hunt-tile drawcommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- The Fellowship is guided by Merry, with Pippin also present. A single Hunt tile draw with Reveal is resolved: Merry's Guide ability separates him to reduce Hunt damage, making Pippin the new Guide within that same resolution.
- RULING
- Both Merry and Pippin are placed back into play "as if [each] was just separated from the Fellowship," each at the Fellowship's current position at the moment of their own separation — using the Guide ability of a newly-appointed Guide mid-resolution is legal.
Gollum reveals the Fellowship on the final step of Mordor to win the gamecommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- The Fellowship reaches the final step before the Crack of Doom at 11 Corruption, guided by Gollum, and draws a "1, Reveal" Hunt tile as the only remaining unresolved effect.
- RULING
- This is a win for the Free Peoples. Corruption damage is not applied until all net effects are resolved; Gollum (unaffected by the Reveal icon due to his Guide ability) can choose to reveal the Fellowship, since it is not otherwise revealed, reducing Corruption by 1 to exactly 0 and destroying the Ring.
Witch-king / Black Captain placement in 3–4 player games with multiple Shadow armies in one regioncommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- The Witch-king's card says to place him "in any region with a Shadow Army that includes at least one Sauron unit." In a 3- or 4-player game, a region can contain two separate Shadow Armies, only one of which includes Sauron units.
- RULING
- It does matter which Army in the region contains Sauron units: the Witch-king must be placed in the specific Army that includes at least one Sauron unit, not simply in a region containing any Sauron units.
AUTHOR: timonkey (Timothy Adamson), confirmed by Krieghund (Kevin Chapman)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2024-09-29Fellowship entering Mordor: full procedurecommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- Players are frequently confused about the mechanical transition when the Fellowship enters Mordor.
- RULING
- During the Fellowship Phase, if the Fellowship has enough movement to declare in (or is revealed in) Minas Morgul or Morannon, it is placed on the first Mordor step (no additional tile is drawn if it was already revealed there). The Mordor Hunt Pool is then built from any blue/red tiles previously played plus any eye tiles previously drawn (ordinary beige standard tiles are not added). The Fellowship Progress tracker is from then on used only to track whether the Fellowship is revealed. While in Mordor, the Shadow player no longer rolls for the Hunt on Fellowship movement — a tile is automatically drawn; on an eye tile, damage equals the number of dice in the Hunt box (including the Fellowship's own die), excluding the die used to move.
Hobbits' Guide ability cannot split the Fellowship into different regions on one Hunt tilecommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- A single Hunt tile draw causes damage that could, in principle, be reduced by successively separating Merry (Guide) and then Pippin (new Guide) to different regions.
- RULING
- No — only one member of the Fellowship can be sacrificed/separated per Hunt tile draw; any remaining damage from that single tile is taken as Corruption. Each Hunt tile must be resolved in full, and if multiple Companions choose to separate for a single tile (e.g., via a card effect), they move together as one group rather than splitting into different regions.
AUTHOR: RichieJ (Richard) and roysubs (Roy Subs, endorsed via GeekGold thumb by Krieghund/Kevin Chapman), confirmed by ira212 (Ira Fay)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.comDATE: 2022-12-01Gandalf's Guide-ability draw timing when he becomes Guide mid-action (ruling changed over time)community high-engagement
- SITUATION
- Gandalf leaves the Fellowship during the resolution of a Palantir-played event card. A later, related case: Strider is Guide with Gandalf still in the Fellowship; a Palantir-played card separates Strider, making Gandalf the new Guide as soon as Strider leaves, within the same action.
- RULING
- For the "Gandalf leaves during event resolution" case, the ruling changed over time — the earliest official answer was Yes (you still get to use his Guide ability), but a later official clarification post reversed this to No. For the related "Gandalf becomes Guide mid-action" case, the confirmed answer is Yes — because triggers are checked at the end of the action, the die is only considered "used" at the end of the action, and Gandalf is Guide at that point. Given the conflicting history on the first case, verify against the most current official FAQ before rulings-critical play.
AUTHOR: ira212 (Ira Fay), citing two successive official BGG clarification postsSOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(later citation updated)DATE: 2016-06-03Witch-king's Sorcerer-ability card draw timing, and what happens if he dies before it resolvescommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- The Witch-king is in a battle and Shadow plays a combat card, triggering his Sorcerer ability to draw a replacement card. The Witch-king may be eliminated during the same combat round, before the card would otherwise be drawn.
- RULING
- The replacement card is drawn after the round ends (the combat card isn't considered "used" until it's discarded at the end of the round), not immediately. If the Witch-king dies in the first round of combat, Shadow does not get to draw a card at all: "the Witch-king was in the battle, otherwise he couldn't be killed. However, once he is killed, he is no longer in the battle" — and being "in the battle" at the time of the trigger is required for the ability to apply. Note: this point was contested at length by other forum members in thread 1714473; Krieghund's position is the one carried forward as the citation in the later, edited FAQ digest (thread 1585632).
Last researched: 2026-07-01
CATEGORIES
Fantasy·Fighting·Novel-based·Territory Building·Wargame
MECHANICS
Area Majority / InfluenceArea MovementCampaign / Battle Card DrivenCard Play Conflict ResolutionDice RollingEventsHand ManagementMovement PointsTeam-Based Game
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