I've just started playing the game for the first time today and ran into a bit of a question regarding the Quest Phase.

If I was to send out characters who had a combined total of 3 willpower and they faced 4 threat, I would end up failing the quest and gaining one threat. However, what if I simply sent no one to quest? Is it:

1. My willpower total is 0 and the threat in the staging area is 4 so I gain 4 threat

or

2. I did not quest, therefore I gain no threat at all.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, it seems that (besides cards that specifically say they add threat) the only ways you add threat in the game are:

1. Your starting heroes

2. Failing quests during the quest phase

3. The mandatory 1 threat added during the refresh phase.

Is this correct?

Thanks for any and all help!!

17th Knight said:

no characters questing = all enemy threat added to tracker

no- some enemy damage is converted to threat such as the hill troll, also frodo can convert his damage taken to threat

rich

Thanks for the help Rich

I recently ran into this same question (I had understood the rules to mean that the quest phase was optional, so I was only counting threat against myself if I committed characters; only discovered my error when I needed to look up something unrelated in the errata and found discovered this ruling in the FAQ).

So does this mean that we also add a card to the engagement area, even if we do not participate in the quest?

Honestly, I really hope not. I have been playing single player, and the introductory "into Mirkwood" scenario has been brutally difficult for me even though I was making the quest phase optional. If I have to add a card to the staging area every turn and count threat against myself every turn I'm not sure how I will ever win (much less bother attempting one of the more difficult scenarios).

No part of the quest phase framework is optional. This includes adding cards to the staging area and comparing your willpower to the total threat. (If you commit no characters, you still add a card to the staging area, and then raise your threat by the total combined threat of the cards there.)

If you're having trouble with the first quest and the preconstructed Core Set decks, the very first piece of advice I would give - don't play Tactics solo. That is just asking for trouble.

Skaak said:

While Passage begins with 4 threat in the staging area and you draw one card that first turn, you can also remove at least four threat from the staging is you wish. Forest Spider engages most decks automatically, so that's two threat that doesn't count and you can also travel to Forest Gate, making it the active location (readying a character to boot) and get its two threat out of the staging area. If the card you revealed was a treachery, you can end turn 1 with 0 threat in the staging area.

Dam said:

Good example Dam.

Just to clarify, that scenario would help set things up nicely for turn two, but during turn one, the 4 or 5 threat at the end of the Quest Phase would still have to be dealt with at that time. So, any committed questing character's willpower would be subtracted from the total threat in the staging area, and then either any excess remaining threat would be added to the threat tracker or any excess willpower would be added to the active quest card as progress.

Keep trying Skaak, it's worth it!

No part of the quest phase framework is optional.

Ouch. I was afraid of this. I'll try playing the game correctly, but I am not looking forward to it. I was really excited about a single player card game, but it has been so punishingly difficult with the scenario that is supposed to ease me into it that I'm having a hard time finding how it could be fun.

If you're having trouble with the first quest and the preconstructed Core Set decks, the very first piece of advice I would give - don't play Tactics solo

I looked through the starting decks before my first game, and figured that one out on my own. The number of cards in Tactics that required multiple players, the focus on ranged characters (not so useful for one player), and the lack of any way to effectively quest aside from Legolas' ability convinced me to look elsewhere. So far I've been using the Spirit preconstructed, and then a Spirit/Tactics custom deck I made myself (Eleanor + Eowyn + Gimli). I might have to switch to trying one player with two decks, but the amount of card management seems like a bad idea for someone who is still struggling with getting the basic phases down.

Skaak said:

The game is tricky but a well constructed deck (especially if made for the scenario) should get you through most scenarios EfDG being the notable exception really. If you have time it might be worth jotting down a few rounds into a thread as it is always possible you are doing something else wrong that makes the game more difficult- still counting the threat of engaged foes or moving engaged enemies back to staging area at the end of the round are two common errors some people made at the start

Stick with it, if you are playing correctly then it probably just a case of poor tactics - you are packing 3 gandalfs, and using him to keep threat down for example?

If Spirit isn't working for you, I'd suggest Leadership. It's probably the most well-rounded of the Core Set decks, so it should give you more of a chance to explore the mechanics of the game without getting annihilated. Beyond the introductory scenario, though, you'll almost definitely need to combine spheres or play with two decks.

starhawk77 said:

I'm strongly seconding this, as I was able to win all of my early games that I used only-core sets using leadership.

17th Knight said:

I'll give that a shot; Leadership is the only sphere now that I haven't played with. I tried Passage Through Mirkwood with the core Lore deck earlier today, and did a lot better (Denethor is a freaking TANK). Came down to the final turn, 48 threat, and the capability to kill the Spawn of Ungolith by attacking with everything and discarding six cards to pump Denethor's attack via Protector of Lorien...except that Hummerhorns landed as a shadow card on the enemy I had to leave undefended and wiped everything out during the enemies' attack phase. GRAH! Same thing happened my first playthrough with the Spirit deck. I really hate Hummerhorns.

Skaak said:

youll like infighting then- lets you take damage from an enemy and dump it on another, great for hummerhorns and snipers