www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp

"After Frodo Baggings is damaged, cancel the damage..."

FFG says he can be used to receive undefended damage, but with a resistance of 2 and only 2 life points.... if he receives an "undefended" damage of 2 or more (shadow effects can be harmful), can we still cancel the damage or Frodo is destroyed?

Yes, it looks like Frodo can. His power is a response which cancels damage, rather than an action which heals it, so it should work fine.

Ya know, I'm not nearly as well versed in Tolkien lore as many of the posters here, but I think its interesting to note that in the new article FFG more or less explains Frodo's ability as him putting on the One ring. It makes perfect sense, of course, but isn't this game supposed to be taking place before the Lord of the Rings novels? Perhaps this means that we could eventually see content from the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings books... or maybe even the Silmarillion? Here's hoping.

i thought the exact same thing, lightdarker.

i'm pretty sure i read somewhere this takes place between The Hobbit and LOTR...and not between when Gandalf visit for the birthday party and the years it takes him to come back to tell Frodo to leave the Shire (the movie makes it seem like a much shorter period of time, but it was years).

Found it, from the very first article that initially announced the game's existence:

"In The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, players take on the roles of heroes attempting to complete dangerous quests. These quests take place during a broad span, beginning near the end of The Hobbit, and culminating near the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring. Instead of directly retelling the classic stories that have previously been narrated, this game provides players with a variety of elements--characters, settings, enemies, events, items, artifacts, scenarios--that allow them to embark upon new adventures and share new experiences with these beloved characters during this ominous period of Middle-earth history."

Hmm. After reading that again, I would imagine they're probably just more interested in bringing us popular characters, artifacts, etc from the books than remaining dedicated to a specific timeline in sync with the canon, which is fine by me. If such is the case, it should leave the game designers plenty of material to draw from.

Therefore, within Frodo's lifetime before leaving the Shire with the ring on the fellowship's mission, he has many oppotunities to come in contact with the ring. However, I would not actually look upon him as much of a hero before his mission. But what is to stop him from taking the ring into his own hands through good or bad means and embarking earlier on a side mission of sorts.

Note that the rulebook contradicts what that announcement post says; to quote: "These quests take place during a timespan of 17 years: from when Bilbo celebrates his 111th birthday to days just prior to Frodo's leaving the Shire."

that was the quote i was thinking of! i knew 17 was in there somewhere...so the One Ring does make sense...

I did a thread a while a go giving the background info to the Hunt for Gollum, since "historically" Aragorn and Gandalf led that particular Hunt and all the locations visited in the LOTR LCG were mentioned in Tolkien's texts describing the Hunt.

The thread is here (I'll bump it since it's relevant again) - Lore of the Ring - The time period and events during the game setting

I think what you are getting mixed up with is the time between Bilbo completing 'The Hobbit' when he returns to the Shire and the time of 'A Long-expected party' (Chapter 1 of the 'Fellowship of the Ring') when he heads off to live in Rivendell. Frodo then gets the Ring and at that point Gandalf asks Aragorn to search for signs of Gollum.

Key days -

• T.A. 3001............ Bilbo's farewell feast. Gandalf suspects his ring to be the One Ring. The guard on the Shire is doubled. Gandalf seeks for news of Gollum and calls on the help of Aragorn.
• T.A. 3009............ Gandalf and Aragorn renew their hunt for Gollum at intervals during the next eight years, searching in the vales of Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion to the confines of Mordor. At some point during these years Gollum himself ventured into Mordor, and was captured by Sauron. Elrond sends for Arwen, and she returns to Imladris; the Mountains and all the lands eastward are becoming dangerous.
• T.A. 3017............ Gollum is released from Mordor. He is taken by Aragorn in the Dead Marshes, and brought to Thranduil in Mirkwood. Gandalf visits Minas Tirith and reads the scroll of Isildur.

So it's not too much of a jump Frodo being around in terms of being a card, but all through the "historical" Hunt for Gollum, Frodo is happily living in the Shire and does not go on adventures. But I think we can forgive FFG for a little creative licence?

T.A. is Third Age (of Middle Earth) btw, just in case anyone was unsure...

Ah, thanks for reposting that, timbolton. I remember reading that back when you first made that thread, but as I mentioned, I'm not nearly as up on Tolkien lore as some other folks (and I haven't given the game's timeline an ounce of thought since it was released).

I know there's another thread kicking around on this topic way back there somewhere, but this makes me very curious again as to what FFG is going to do for their first Deluxe Expansion.

I think they will wait a bit more until releasing real evil places (like Gorgoroth, Morannon, Cirith Ungol, Minas Morgul or Shelobs Lair). I guess something like Fangorn/Isengard/Dunland will be next (more Rohirim and Gondorians, Ents, Uruk-Hai, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Saruman, Dunledings etc). Maybe Rhudaur/Moria/Goblin Gate afterwards.

timbolton said:

Agreed! Also guys, I was thinking that the "17 years before... " time setting only relates to the core set. I don't think at all that the whole game including all the future expansions is meant to play only at the exact point of time. Doesn't make sense to me at all.

I guess in the end we will continue our journey through all the major and minor events of the "Lord of the Rings" books until the very end.

yeah i cant wait for "The Ring" attachment and its ability, or maybe make it a condition card in an encounter deck.

if it is an attachment i would guess it would be something like "attached hero cannot attack and -1 willpower. Response: Exhaust hero to evade attack and receive no undefended damage."

if it is a condition, "Attached hero cannot attack and takes no damage while defending. At end of turn add 1 damage token to attached hero."

Another interesting dynamic would be for the condition text to read "Attached hero cannot attack and takes no damage while defending. At end of turn add 1 damage token to attached hero. If attached hero dies, "The Ring" becomes an attachment in players hand. Attachment: Attached hero cannot attack and -1 willpower. Response: Exhaust hero to evade attack and receive no undefended damage. Forced: Discard "The Ring" if attached hero is the only hero in play"

This would sorta follow the theme of the ring in that the user slowly "degenerates" but cannot be harmed directly.

reno1051 said:

I can also see "The Ring" forcing the player to raise their threat every turn instead of damaging their hero, or raising the threat every time the card is exhausted to use its power. Very similar to the way the Frodo Baggins will work.