Hi all,

I was hoping you might help me with a couple things. I've searched the forums some and haven't found a good answer to this... though from what i'm gathering there may not be one to be had.

I'm relatively new to the "hobby". In the last year my fiance gifted me a Warhammer 40k starter set (the prior one... Orks and Space Marines), mostly because I love the WH40k universe/fiction, and wanted to get into the hobby. I never did end up playing a single game of it, BUT I did learn to paint on them.

I ended up discovering I had a real aptitude I hadn't expected for painting. As a guy with physical disabilities, I frankly didn't know if I could, let alone would like it. Long story short.... i've learned to love it, and find the process fun, relaxing, and personally rewarding.

What I did end up falling in love with, and playing, ended up being a little game called WarMachine. Please don't booo me out of the room... I just happened to find it more accessible as my FIRST table-top miniatures game, from a gameplay point of view. Either way, between it and my WH40k set, I have cut my teeth, and fallen madly in love with the whole hobby.

What i've yet to do is find THE GAME that would excite me as a new painter/hobbyist, and satisfy as a game to be played. I am hoping Hobbit/LotR SBG is that title.

My main question is this... I am familiar with introductory boxes coming with cut-down rules. Most i've owned seem pretty much complete, though, aside from fluff, and hobby guides....

... Like many, i've taken a plunge and ordered a Limited Edition Hobbit set. What concerns me is the size of the included rules. By page count, it seems frightfully succinct even compared to previous games starter rules. Does this speak to the game being less fiddly than WH40k, OR is it saying that the $85 hardback is essentially mandatory this time around?

Beyond that, can people tell me, in informal terms, where LotR sits as a system? Is it fun? Complex? Nuanced? Do you tend to field massive unit counts ala WH, even in the smallest of pick up games?

Likewise, where do I even begin once i've played with whatever obviously cut-down game experience I can pull from this new starter box? Will the act of play inform what I might want to purchase next, or are there a few essential boxes of units that essentially every player ends up wanting? For what it is worth, I also bought a metal Fellowship set (the nine, non-Finecast) at a discount for pure hobby sake. :-p

Thanks so much!

P.S. One thing I did love from Warmachine was stat-cards which made play less logistical IMO, do LotR minis come with any quick reference items?

Welcome to the hobby Neomaxim.

Until we get hold of the boxed set we won't know for sure but going on past experience with GW you should get the full rules with The Hobbit boxed set. What will probably be missing is profiles, scenarios and hobby sections. The profiles for models in the box will probably be included in a starter booklet along with a couple of basic scenarios, although probably won't include points.

LotR works really well for small games, it was originally mainly scenario based. We recently played Attack on Weathertop which had Aragorn and the hobbits against 4 Ringwraiths and the Witch King.

Hope that helps

Hi Neomaxim, welcome to the best lotr forum.

I have played a few different systems and always found the rules for The Lord of the rings now call the Hobbit (PRETTY MUCH THE SAME RULES) to be really easy to learn, and play.
You can start with small games with basic rules and build this to include more detailed rules as your army grows.

The Hobbit set will come with full rules, just in a smaller book with less pages, missing the pictures and things.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do

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Harfoots-The first of the Hobbit people to cross over the Misty Mountains and enter Eriador.

If GW does the same thing with the Hobbit set as they did with the Mines of Moria set, the rules in the set will be the full rules, right down to the same page number as the big book. The only difference between the LotR rule book and the Mines of Moria rule book were the profiles that were included *after* the rules...the MoM book had fewer profiles.

Just as a point of reference, the actual rules in the LotR and MoM books were only 70-some pages, the rest was hobby tips and profiles. I imagine it will be the same for the Hobbit.



LotR is not terribly complex, but it is nuanced. That's one of the things I love about it, also why I like the game of Go. The rules are simple, but allow for a wide range of tactical insight. A small game might be around 500 points, which translates to about 25-40 models per side. A large game might be over 1000 points, with maybe 60-100 models per side. Smaller than 500 is feasible but a bit harder to balance unless you stick with basic troops. Smaller games are often more enjoyable as specific scenarios (say, from the journeybooks).



Where you begin is deciding what army you want to build. Most armies can be viable, just depends what flavour you want. So the first step is decide the flavour or theme, then make an army list at say 500, 750, and 1000 points to help decide which models you'll need. Rinse and repeat for each faction you want.

Hi Neomaxim. My brother plays mainly 40K, and I play mainly Lord of the Rings: Strategy Battle Game and Warhammer Historical Legends of the High Seas (Strategy Battle Game for pirates). The thing that I love about SBG is that each character can do what you want him or her to do. Units frustrate me because there should be one guy who can sneak around and wreak havoc in my opinion. I also find swords and bows to be romantic compared to guns and artillery. It really depends on what you like.

Just a note: if you love the hobby, take a look at the historical side too. The figures tend to be significantly cheaper, and the rulesets have greater variety (Wargames Foundry has several beautiful ranges of figures). The best part about table top gaming is that you get to customize how you play.

LoTR has a reputation for being "easy to learn, hard to master". The reason I have started into LoTR is to get other people into the hobby when they view the other game styles as too daunting to learn.

I would say that all GW games play different to suit different peoples styles. Like you, I started with 40k's "Assault on Black Reach" set because I am big fan of the lore, but quickly ended up playing Warhammer Fantasy because I love the pageantry and infantry block style of play.

To summarize the game styles:

Warhammer = Large scale strategy. (Doesn't scale down well at all points wise, lots of random instances (rolls) that can ruin your day. Tactics can be hard to learn. Nothing is more immpressive than 2 fully painted WF armies riding to war)

Warhammer 40k = Squad tatics. (Again doesn't scale all that well, more custom kitting individual squads in a paper rock scissors sort of challenge. Not my style of game at all, heard good things about the new rule but can't be bothered to check it out)

LotR = Skirmish Game. (I haven't got to playing yet, but I know the rules and from what I have read... Scales down to fun smaller games with less models. Very hard to master, quick to pick up and learn. Looks crazy fun and fast, I can't wait to get my starter set and start playing)

I still love WF and will play whenever I can, but I am looking forward to having a game that doesn't take a 3 hour commitment and require a hundred models or more (I have sickness that doesn't let me field unpainted models, which means my newly started Vampire Counts army wont see a game for at least another year or more )

I hope that helps a little, welcome to the forums. The WF starter set if great also especially if you love painting

Thank you so much for the welcome, and the sage advice. All of you have been incredibly helpful, and have really made me feel like i've made a good choice in buying into this game.

"Skirmish" style game is perhaps the most relevant way i've heard this game described, based on my interests. I think this game might indeed be the fit for me.

So I suppose my question of what to buy next is slightly complicated by the rules-book answers provided...

... if the cut-down rules only feature stats/special rules for included characters, how do you begin to figure out what you'll want next? I know GW has a reputation for being rather... militant with their IP and information, and as such, i'm sure I can't go wiki character profiles. As such, how do you know what you'll build, if you can't "browse"? I assume, the de-facto reality is that you do need to buy a full rules book as a next-step from a starter box.

Does anyone know if GW has a precedent for including all profiles for old units in new books? IE, can it be assumes the Hobbit full rules would have profiles for say Boromir, etc... from LotR? I mean, if the units will still be for sale, certainly there stats need to be available in something which remains in print, and I know they pulled the older rule books once Hobbit sets were announced.

Meanwhile, I noticed in the leaked production schedule that there seems to be many "Adventure" packs. Was there an equivalent product for LotR SBG? Based on the name, it sounds like no fuss/no muss boxes with perhaps a pre-set scenario and models? Those would be a delicious, and easy bunch of purchases for me.

Thanks again all!


Oh, one more quick item (Sorry, i'm full of questions, and enthusiasm right now)... Are there any fun, small, scenarios I might want to build using that Fellowship of the Ring box I snagged? Maybe a small-scale Fellowship vs. some random horde scenario.

Ignore that list, it has long been declared fake/ unofficial.

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12th GBHL 2013.
13th GBHL 2014
9th GBHL 2015


Mid Sussex Wargamers

IMHO this is more about aesthetics of the models than profiles. All the pictures should be available on the website, and many of the basic profile lines are also there (though any special rules are not). This should at least help you decide whether you want, say, Mordor or Rohan. Then you can buy the sourcebook for Mordor or Kings of Men and take it from there.



I'm not sure I'd bother. The current sourcebooks are all up to date as far as their relative factions go. As more Hobbit material is released, it's likely GW will produce a sourcebook...one for each movie might be a reasonable guess. All the current sourcebooks are here:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catal ... Style=lotr

Think of the source books, the same as Codex's or Army books. You really only need to get the book for the army that you want to play. If you are curious about the other books then head down to you local GW store, they always have public books for you to browse through.

While you are there you can also ask them to put on a demo game...

Just to give you some specifics about the 'One Ring' manual from the Mines of Moria set and the large hardback version:
Pp 1-75 virtually identical in both
Pp 76-112 (MoM: model stats and info)
Pp113 (MoM: chart reference page)
Pp 76-159 (Hardcover: model stats and info)
Pp 160-237 (Hardcover: hobby section)
Pp 238-239 (Hardcover: chart reference pages)

The new hardcover Rulebook is 288 pages. I believe the mini book is 112, but don't quote me on that number. If that's the case the ratio of rules to stats to hobby section may be about the same.

There is little to no 'fluff' in the MoM book, while the hardcover has several pages of 'fluff' at the beginning of each army section, as well as the hobby section.

As has been mentioned previously, some of the models differ between the books as they were released at different times.

If you are starting out playing the game, you will be able to make do with the small book in the starter box. If you are keen on the painting and collecting aspects of the hobby, you may find the latter half of the large book of interest. I'm a collector as much as I am a gamer, so I enjoy the 'fluff' too.

Keep an eye out for content in White Dwarf. Not every magazine will have information worth having, so have a look before you buy.

Good luck with the starter set. You'll have an interesting variety of models to paint. If you have questions, chime in here, I'm sure somebody will come onboard with an answer for you.

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Cheers
Athelas

Well, the problem is, as an American, the number of Game's Workshop stores available is paltry. I'm from upstate New York, and if I want to go to a GW store I literally need to drive two-hours to go the New York City.

This problem, mind you, effects miniature war games for me in general. I end up needing to play with friends, or else I don't play at all.

If you're interested in a model but want to be sure it's competitive, you can always ask if it's "any good" here. Most models are about right for their points, but some take more finesse than others.

In saying that Whafrog there is a new rulebook, maybe things might adjust a little.

Im looking forward to new rules should be interesting