Hey everybody,

I recently watched the Two Towers, again. I am an avid player of both Warhammer and Warhammer 40k, so I decided why not play LOTR SBG also. I got some friends on board, but they do not have the experience in a modelling and painting hobby like I do. They have expressed interested after I linked them to the GW LOTR site and they have picked out which armies they'd like to collect.

So, my question, how do I help them?

Well a good begin would be to get the Mines of Moria... Expect if you have the rulebook...
Mines of Moria is a good way to start althought it can cover a little of time before the ones on the evil side get bored of losing... So you must start by taking "usual warriors". In the begin is better to take warriors only, but if you want a hero is better to start with unamed heroes like captains.
Now what are usual warriors? Plastic boxes includes them like Minas tirith warriors and orcs, Rohan warriors and Uruk-hai etc.
More you play more experienced you will get and so you may want then to add named heroes like Aragorn, the Witch-king of Anmar and others.
Hope I helped

How about tell them about ebay? They could buy more for less money if they dont have anything will be hard to start...

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Want to see all my work and my collection of mini's? Check here http://bloodiest-frodo.blogspot.com/

I already have the big rulebook and understand the basic rules (it'll take a couple of play throughs to really get them down cold).I decided not to get MoM because I, personally, had no use for it.

As far as models go... I already have 36 Uruk Hai Scouts and 40 Uruk Hai Warriors also Lurtz, Mauhur, Vrasku and Ugluk. Through random giveaways and GW trading days, I wound up with some LOTR stuff I didn't need so I handed them out to my buddies who also wanted to start.

1st buddy: about 30 Warriors of Minas Tireth, 3 rangers, Faramir and Damrod, and a Knight of Minas Tireth Standard Bearer.

2nd buddy: Rohan Outrider on ft. and mounted, and Gamling mounted.

3rd buddy: Sulladin or Serpent King (not sure) mounted and on foot and 1 Serpent Knight mounted.

I also have 3 Ruffians, 3 Morannon Orcs and a Mordor Catapult.

Is this enough to start messing around with them and getting their feet wet? We are going to the local Rogue Trader but their selection is very limited so I don't really count on them having many basic warrior boxes.

Go look for some basic warriors on ebay. there are a lot of minas tirith, elfs and uruk hai mainly, but there is a lot of stuff there...take a look yourself http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Lord-of-the-R ... p=10&_sc=1

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Want to see all my work and my collection of mini's? Check here http://bloodiest-frodo.blogspot.com/

You: More than enough for a starting Isengard army
1st: More than enough for a starting Gondor Army
2nd: Needs at least a box of Rohirrim on foot and a box of Riders of Rohan and an extra hero would go a long way, like Erkenbrand
3rd: At least a box of Haradrim Warriors, and maybe some Serpant Guards on foot in case his Guards horse dies. A box of Raiders (cavalry) wouldn't hurt either

In all, you have enough between you and your first buddy to play a decent sized game, even if you split them up with your other buddies.

Amazon and Ebay are great ways to get basic warriors for pretty cheap, and Amazon usually has Heros for half price.

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"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

Thanks a bunch guys, you've all been really helpful. Now it's off to eBay, Amazon and our local Rogue Trader. If I have more questions I'll be sure to ask the forum.

As Chris suggested, get some basic warriors from ebay for cheap and perhaps some command models since with the new armybuilding rules you 're probably gonna need them.
The most important thing is that you should firstly play a few more games with the minis you already have in order to spice up their excitement and get more familiar with the rules.
After that it should be easier for them to see what they like and continue to build up their armies slowly.
Also don't forget to check out for other gaming groups in your vicinity.
By the way where are you located?

Why not start of playing Battle Companies, you'll only need less than a dozen models to get going and it's really good fun until you start to build your armies

Oh, I'm, how do you say it, across the pond. Yeah that's it.

And I like the idea of maybe having a big battle where we all just bring what we have and play, just so everyone can figure out the rules.

Instead of investing in a game you may not end up liking, why not hop over to your local GW and see if you can join in with some existing SBG group to try out a few games first. There are plenty of SBG groups that are very nice with veteran players who do not mind letting you play with their figures during their game. SBG is a huge financial investment unless you don't care and have money to burn.

I wouldn't say "huge investment" at all, especially compared to other tabletop wargames. It's only huge if you buy huge armies. It's perfectly possible to play SBG with a handful of heroes and 24 warriors and maybe one monster, and have a great time. You can find great deals on eBay too, especially plastics.

Having said that, I do agree with your main point: it's worth trying some practice games to get a feel for it before you commit.

The money was never an issue. I was just asking for advice on starting them up.