Started?

[Elvenrider]

Can anybody help me get started just give me some tips and, I see the little place and it looks all wierd but I know it has to be more than just having a bunch of little LOTR figures and pushing them together and saying their fighting.

Can anybody just tell me a quick review of how you ACTUALLY play? Roll dice, draw cards or what?
Oh and I went to the site, I saw Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, and LOTR tabletop series or whatever and I've decided I want LOTR of course, but that's pretty much it.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

Hm...it has been a while since I did any tabletop battling, but it basically goes as follows: each figure you have and play has its own value,a little series of stats based on its race, abilites, etc; for example, a Moria orc has different stats than, say, a Mordor one. The game itself is played by a series of dice throws and results that allow you to move different troops along your space-the scenery you have made for your battle!According to the 'terrain' you are on, different types of creatures will have different advantages and disadvantages, as well!For example, on rocky ground, Dunedain and orcs will be faster, Rohirrim will be slower!But the course of the game is basically determined by dice throws!

I'll look for the offical site-they have a great online table top gaming guide, that I think will help you a lot!;)

[Elvenrider]

Ok thank you, and a hope to see the link as soon as you can find it. Oh and when you roll your dice can it only ove a certain amount of people or everybody.

EDIT: Oh and could you just tell me like the basics if possible, or even a link basic because I've looked through the GamesWorkshop site of Lord of the Rings and you have to buy a $50 booklet for the rules. I'd rather not get that and just have a general overview or tutorial with some good details, of how to build your army, terrains, points (I don't have even the sightest idea about this just saw it on the site), and captains, and leaders please.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

Well, the basics are a bit much to explin-and can promptly confuse you all said together in a single post!:blush:I'll start with how you make an army, since it is the first thing you have to do and the easiestpart of the game!;)So, before you start anything, you are called upon to make yourself an army. What this army will be is up to you,and there are quite a few races/creatures to choose from!Many players make a good guys' army and a bad guys 'one, at least where I am!:pThat way, you can play in more games and have more options!;)So, once you decide what your army will consist of, you can select your leaders, as well. They can be members of the Fellowship, or creatures like the Witch King!When it comes to miniatures, a simple trick a friend has told me-he works in a place selling figures and the like-is that all metal miniatures are "Leader" types; simple army miniatures are usually plastic.Choosing a leader is up to you entirely, and what kind of army you are going for, as each one has its own special skills-that's where that rulebook you mentioned comes handy, as it is technically impossible to remember by heart who does what!

Anyway, once the army is selected and your miniatures in your hands, you go through the process of painting them; many people spend weeks doing that, working on details meticulously. There are many techniques for achieving good colouring and if you are good with your hands you should have no problem. A small trick here:pass a black paint coat over all miniatures before proceeding with the painting; it steadies all other colours!;)

Once that is done, you can play. The terrain is usually something both you and your opponent can make together, if you feel up to it, but it is not necessary to have one!You can play on any table surface, and use everyday objects as landmarks, if you wish to!;)A pencil case, for example, can be Weathertop, if you want it to be!;)Many players spend a lot of time modelling out complex terrains, but they are not easy to move if, say, you want to go over to a friend's house to play!:pSo, a simple table works better!;)

As for points and the like...I don't have the booklet(it cost 70 euro here:elfeek: ), but we got a nice magazine series here a while back, which was basically the book itself in small parts and some good miniatures, as well!!I can try and translate those one at a time and they would be a good tutorial to show you the basic rules!;)Once tohse are out of the way, you can play the game and work out the more complex things as you go!

[Elvenrider]

OK, thank you so much. I look forward for you telling me about the points and how that stuff works and how dice rolls play into affect, but this is a good start for me, thank you.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

You're most welcome!:)I'll try to start translating over the weekend!;)

[Elvenrider]

I went to the site and found a lot of info and it told me a lot of info that I need to know but I do have some more questions.

What kind of glue do I need to use to attach the stuff together? Regular sqeeze out of bottle glue, super glue, roll on? Or what?

Oh and should I put a black coat of paint on before I start painting (I've heard this before.)

One more thing: How long does it normally take to fully put together, paint etc. one miniature? Oh and how does terrain effect the outcome of some warriors.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

Let me start with the last questions!!;)Putting together a miniature is not very difficult-as for glue,I usually prefer superglue, because it is less sloppy and doesn't melt plastic; the last thing you want is bits of dried glue messing up your painting!!:oAs for the painting itself...it depends on the amount of detail you want on your miniatures. With that in mind, you can take as much time as you want!I know people who took 3 months to paint one single dwarf-but he looked almost real when he was finished!!!-painting and repainting till they had just the right effect even on the tiniest folds of his cloak's collar!It took me 30 minutes to paint my first miniatures-and they were just Moria orcs,so I used them to learn how to do it!:pI then painted some more and it took me a full 3 weeks to get Elladan and Elrohir done, till I was happy with the way they looked!!So....that's up to you!;)

As for the terrain...ome types of warriors-or even some characters singularly-have certain effects triggered by the agreed type of terrain they're on;if he is on , say, grasslands, an orc has a disadvantage,sure, but he might also have another effect-perhaps be able to move more slowly or lose some attack points!;)

[Elvenrider]

Ok, thanks that oughta do it as of now.

And I've decided I'll just by the Moria box set and maybe a month later buy the colors I should ned because $45 dollars is pretty high for me and paying another 25 dollars to add to that at a time, that's a lotta dough.

Thank you very much though.

Sorry for the last message, and I couldn't edit this last one or the either one for some reason so that's why I'm rereposting .

Also, can you just, snap the miniatures together? I thought I read it on the website. (the arms, legs, etc.)

Edit:Went ahead and merged your posts!;)

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

I know, it takes a lot of money to get started...it is actually a minus to the fun of the game, I think, having to put in so much time and money;it is worth it once you can play, though!:)

And, yes, you can just snap miniatures together for the most part-you do need some glue for many of the bases, though...they tend to snap off when they shouldn't sometimes!!

[Elvenrider]

What does the courage thing do? And does the fight value do anything except to determine who wins a tie in a roll?

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

I think fight value has another use, but I think its primary one is to determine a winner in a tie!!And courage is what would otherwise be considered strength-in the tcg and the like- it decides how much power a character/ soldier has in a given situation!;)

[Elvenrider]

Ok, thanks, oh and I got it! I got the Mines of Moria box set. A few days afterwards 1 or 2...I bought some paint from them and I test painted a goblin with a bow, he turned out ok but I didn't have enough colors because I bought for Legolas mostly and so I tried it and I didn't surpisingly well for my first full model. I'm gonna try to get my friends into it and then if they like it enough to go out and buy it then I'll start collecting an army, probably the Lothlorien bowmen (not the ones in gold armor but in green and eventually get Haldir.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

That's wonderful!!!veryhappyThe good things with Moria orcs is you don't need too many colours and they're perfect to practice painting-you can make mistakes relatively fearlessly, since they are easily covered up!;)

I have Haldir!!;)Took me 3 weeks to paint, though...I wanted to get him and Legolas just right, so I just kept at it!:p

[Elvenrider]

Cool, I think I will start with the Lothlorien Bowman (in green) and eventually get Haldir, you think that's a good idea? or would you suggest others, I just want to get some knowledge. What you collect what armie(s) you get...?

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

I have a few of everything, though I favour elves!;)I have got Last Alliance warriors and a few Lothlorien Bowmen and Uruks and Moria orcs as a 'bad guy' army!;)What manner of army you make is totally up to you, you decide what you want!;)

[Elvenrider]

Oh, I just remembered, I read about the pounts but there wasn't much detail...What (when you play) do you normally set as a Point Value Limit: I was thinking for a medium size battle (2-3 heroes, 10 infantry 1-3 captains, and plus the items) would be around 650-700.

But on a smaller one with maybe (22 Regular goblins, 2 captains, 1 Cave Troll) (Coming from the Mines of Moria box) (and maybe 3-4 heroes with items around 350..?)

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

Well, you usually start off with a small army...as a beginner it is impossible to juggle too many powerful warriors/creatures and it does take a while to get used to it!;)With that in mind, you adjust your start off points accordingly, according to what you feel more comfortable with...and expand from there!:)

[Elvenrider]

Ok thanks. I had a friend over last Friday and we played it and he loved it and is thinking about buying a box set so and I'm thinking about buying like a warg or uruk-hai set...or maybe even the last alliance which comes with 18 highelves and 12 men of numenor (I think)

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

OHH!I like the Last Alliance set, you can literally expand it to no end-basically, you can get so many elves in there, after you have the starter set...imagination is the limit!;)

[Elvenrider]

Last thursday I bought a set of three Lothlorien elf bowmen for $10..pretty expensive but that's ok, and then, yesterday I bought Haldir on foot with bow for $5!!! That was really cool so I was happy about that and bought a few paints and another brush.

With my new paints last bight I painted a Lorien bowmen and he looks really good, maybe I can get a pic up when I have time, well see ya.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

That's nice!!veryhappyMy most expensive miniatures are Elladan and Elrohir, that cost me about 25 euro-around 35$, I think-but they were well worth it!!;)

[Elvenrider]

Aren't those the two twins of Elrond and his spouse...what was her name?

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

Celebrian...and yup, they're the ones!veryhappyI was browsing for colours when I saw them...and I had to have them!;) They're really beautifully made, very detailed!

[Elvenrider]

Yes, well...do you have Haldir on foot with bow from Lothlorien, not when he has his armor at helm's deep, but just in his Lorien clithes? Because I bought him an I'm not sure which colors to get or to put on him...if you do have him could you have a tutorial on here...or if you don't have him take a look at this link I'm gonna give you and tell me which colors I should probly get...well here it is:

http://us.games-workshop.com/games/lotr/catalog/woodlandrealm/haldir_bow.htm

If this link doesn't work then copy and paste it. This is the link I just got and it will take you to the actual place where Haldir is so...well here ya go.

[Elvenrider]

I went to the forums on games-workshop.com and I asked what color schemes I should use for Haldir, and they were pretty much useless except for one guy he gave me this site called www.thelastalliance.com and it has all sorts of people who put tutorials or walkthroughs on all sorts of races and people.

You can pick your poison: Go to the elves section, men, orcs (which include Uruks), and all other sorts of races. It's really cool and I would go back there any time if I need help on a certain model (for LOTR at least). Oh and when you pick your race it includes the heroes that are within that race, oh there ia also maia, which has Gandalf, Saruman, and Sauron, and there are thee drawves. The site also tells you how to make like Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith...if you had the time and the money, the Helm's deep one looks awesome, expensive, and time consuming lol. Well just take a quick visit and you can probly find anything concerning LOTR paintings, or buildings there.

[Ithildiel Noldoran]

OHH!This sounds awesome!!!:thumbs: I'll be sure to check it out, I used photos from the movies as reference for painting my characters!!

And it is a great thing to start making a set of your own,but yes, it is money and time-consuming, indeed!!:elfeek:

[Elvenrider]

Ya..I know, it's like the Helm's deep is humongous, and it looks like an exact model of Helm's Deep, and would love to have it, but just don't have enough money or supplies or time to do it.

[Elvenrider]

Hey can you make it where say an elf (he comes originally unarmed) can you buy wit points a shield, elven blade (used of course just one handed), AND a bow? So again: Can you buy with points a bow, shield, and elven blade and the elven warrior be able to use all of them?

[Elvenrider]

Sorry for triple posting but your not replying.
I found out on GW you can but it would be a waste of points. But, how do you make siege ladders...like Uruk-Hai siege ladders?

[Gil Galad]

seige ladders are easily enough made, just get two bits of dowel(about 5mm) and glue something like cocktail sticks(or half cocktails sticks depending on how wide you want the ladder)between them, then you can add pike heads(or anything) to the top for some character


you can arm someone with as many things as you want but the different weapons have different roles so it depends on how your going to fight.
the only time i would kit someone out like that would be in a defensive position, when they can use the bow as the enemy closes and then fight with sword and shield in close (when bow fire is impractical), as this would be cheaper then having one armed with bow and another for close combat. in an attacking force this would not be good as the warrior would only move at half speed(so he can fire his bow) or would get know use out of the bow