STARTER RULES TURN SEQUENCE Reset the twilight pool Perform any “at the start of each of your turns” actions 1. Fellowship Phase Perform fellowship actions Move to the next site 2. Shadow Phase(s) – one for each Shadow player Perform shadow actions 3. Maneuver Phase Perform maneuver actions 4. Archery Phase Perform archery actions 5. Assignment Phase Assign defenders 6. Skirmish Phase(s) – one for each skirmish Perform skirmish actions Resolve that skirmish 7. Regroup Phase Perform regroup actions Reconcile Shadow players’ hands Either the Free Peoples player moves to the next site (return to Shadow phase) — or the Free Peoples player reconciles and Shadow players discard all minions in play STARTER RULEBOOK STARTER RULEBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ Preface . .1 Starter Rulebook . .2 TRADING CARD GAME Comprehensive Rulebook . .2 ™ Introduction . .3 MOUNT DOOM Important Concepts . .4 STARTER RULEBOOK Kinds of Cards . .4 Signet . .9 If you have never played a trading card game... Vitality . .9 The best way to learn is from a friend who already knows Twilight Pool . .12 how to play. If your friends aren’t players yet, we’ve Phase Actions . .13 designed this rulebook to get you started... then you can Events . .14 show them how to play! Special Abilities . .14 This Starter Rulebook and its 60-card fixed pack are When, Each Time, and While . .14 designed for new players just like you. It has examples of Setting Up the Game . .15 basic rules to help players new to TCGs learn how to play. Playing the Game . .17 Fellowship Phase . .18 If you have played another trading card game... Table Layout . .20-21 Play a game or two with just the Starter Rulebook and Shadow Phase(s) . .23 the cards in your 60-card fixed pack, as if you were new to Maneuver Phase . .25 TCGs. Then download the Comprehensive Rulebook Action Procedure . .25 and get some booster packs to find all the depth and Archery Phase . .26 strategy of the full game. Assignment Phase . .26 Skirmish Phase(s) . .28 If you have played this game before... Fierce . .30 This Starter Rulebook describes a simplified game for new Regroup Phase . .31 players. Don’t panic if you don’t see a rule or two in here... Winning the Game . .32 they’re still in the game! There’s not much new for you Other Important Rules . .33 here if you already know how to play, although this is a Index . .41 great rulebook to get a friend started with the game. Check Contacting Decipher . .40 out page 39 for the new rules on initiative, threats, and the © MMIV New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “The Lord of the Rings” and names of the characters, items, new keyword — Enduring. events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. Decipher Inc. Authorized User. TM, ®, & © 2004 Decipher Inc., P.O. Box 56, Norfolk, Virginia U.S.A. 23501. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. MOUNT DOOM Starter Rulebook 1 STARTER RULEBOOK INTRODUCTION The Starter Rulebook is in every Mount Doom starter Most card games have just one deck of cards that never deck. The 60 cards in the fixed portion of your starter deck changes, but a trading card game (or TCG) works are designed to work with this rulebook, but the three rare differently. In a TCG, you personalize your play-deck using cards in your starter deck might have game text that is not cards from your collection. explained in this Starter Rulebook. The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game provides two or If this is your first experience with this trading card game, more players with the same challenges that Frodo, bearer of you should set your rare cards aside. Rare cards have an “R” the One Ring, faced on his fateful journey from Hobbiton in their collector’s info in the lower right corner. to Mount Doom to destroy The One Ring. The Starter Rulebook describes how to play a game Each player’s cards include his own fellowship — a group between two or more players who each have a of companions, each represented by a different card. Other Mount Doom starter deck. (Other Lord of the Rings TCG cards represent allies, possessions, artifacts, events, and starter decks might have game text that is not explained in conditions that support and defend the fellowship. this rulebook.) On each player’s turn, a marker representing that player’s COMPREHENSIVE RULEBOOK fellowship advances along the adventure path — a sequence Many other concepts are explained in the Comprehensive of site cards, each representing the scene of an episode in Rulebook. If you’ve played The Lord of the Rings Trading Card the adventure. All players share the same adventure path, Game before, you should be familiar with most of them. even though it is made up of cards from all the players in These include: allies, artifacts, deckbuilding rules, bidding the game. to go first, the Rule of 4, the Rule of 9, archery phase, Each time a fellowship moves, minions played by one assignment actions, regroup actions, site control, and or more opponents may attack it; these minions may be transfer. supported by possessions, artifacts, events, and conditions However, there are additional rules that can be found only of their own. The attacks will succeed or fail depending on in the Comprehensive Rulebook. These include more rules the relative strengths of the companions and minions. for the adventure deck, the adventure path, and keywords. The minions of evil become more numerous as the You can download a PDF version of the Comprehensive fellowship moves farther into Middle-earth, resulting in Rulebook v3.0 for free from our website at decipher.com. greater risks to the fellowship and the Ring-bearer. In great need, the Ring-bearer can save himself or herself by putting 2THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trading Card Game MOUNT DOOM Starter Rulebook 3 on the Ring — but this puts him or her in greater peril of Shadow cards succumbing to the burden of the Ring, and losing the game. Shadow cards represent the forces of evil and If your fellowship survives its adventures to reach the final corruption. When another player takes his site first, you are the winner! turn, you play and use your Shadow cards to hinder that player. IMPORTANT CONCEPTS Shadow cards have a dark colored diamond-shaped field in the upper left corner. INDS OF ARDS K C The One Ring The Lord of the Rings TCG has three basic kinds of cards: This card represents the uniquely powerful item that is the site, Free Peoples, and Shadow. There is also The One focus of the story of The Lord of the Rings. In the middle of Ring, which is different from all other cards. the card, The One Ring has its subtitle. It has no twilight Site cards cost, and its card type is “The One Ring.” Each player has an adventure deck that consists of only The One Ring is not a Free Peoples card and it is not a nine site cards. These cards are used to chart the progress of Shadow card. the game. The adventure deck is separate from the cards drawn and played during the game, which are placed in the draw deck. The site numbers on your site cards have a special site identifier called the king symbol (±) to differentiate them from the sites in previous sets. Free Peoples cards Free Peoples cards represent the forces of good. Each player has his own fellowship, made up of a Ring-bearer and other companions. When you take your turn, you play and use your Free Peoples cards. Free Peoples cards have a light colored circular field in the upper left corner. 4THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trading Card Game MOUNT DOOM Starter Rulebook 5 CHARACTER (COMPANION, MINION, ALLY) POSSESSION, EVENT, CONDITION, ARTIFACT CARD TITLE TWILIGHT TWILIGHT CULTURE COST CULTURE COST CARD TITLE CARD TYPE RACE CARD TYPE CLASS STRENGTH STRENGTH GAME TEXT GAME TEXT BONUS VITALITY LORE SITE NUMBER COLLECTOR’S COLLECTOR’S (OR SIGNET) INFO INFO All characters use the same basic card layout. A possession is a weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of A companion is a Free Peoples character in your fellowship. object used by a character. (Some companions have a signet where the site number is An event is a card played from your hand representing an shown above.) important occurrence, which you discard after you play it. A minion is a Shadow character that attacks other players’ A condition is a card representing a significant change in fellowships. the world, which stays in play until something discards it. An ally is a Free Peoples character helping your fellowship Some conditions are played on characters or sites. (you may find an ally in your starter deck rare cards). An artifact is a card representing a special, powerful object (you may find an artifact in your starter deck rare cards). 6THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trading Card Game MOUNT DOOM Starter Rulebook 7 SITE Culture names and symbols SITE NUMBER CARD TITLE SHADOW NUMBER Free Peoples cards Shadow cards ∂ Dwarven ≤ Dunland π Elven ◊ Gollum ∑ Gandalf Ω Isengard ◊ Gollum ∆ Moria µ Gondor ∞ Raider ≥ Rohan ≈ Ringwraith ∫ Shire √ Sauron COLLECTOR You don’t have to memorize these names, since cultures are always referred to with icons in game text. GAME IGNET ’ S SINFO TEXT Some of the Free Peoples character cards have ARROW a signet, found in the lower left corner of the card.