Hello all,

I posted a few weeks ago over on DakkaDakka, and someone directed me here. It's taken me a while to sign up as I haven't had access to a computer and the spam filter thing didn't work on my iPad, but I'm here now.

This is what I posted on DD:

I love the LotR setting. It's one of my favourite things ever, since I saw the films as a kid. (I haven't actually read the books saying that...I've read most of the first one about three times...I will persevere and read them when I find my copy of fellowship). I'm quite annoyed with myself that I never got into the miniatures game when it was supported. It's pretty obvious that LotR/the Hobbit is dying a slow, painful death where GW is concerned, and my question I guess is; is it in anyway worth getting into this late in the game? Feels like if I did, the rug would just be pulled out from under me shortly anyway.

This is mainly hypothetical, I don't know anyone that plays or anything. Guess it's just curiosity mixed with regret that I left it so long.

I was wondering if any of you here had any kind of feedback/response? I saw the last Hobbit at the weekend, and it made me quite sad; those films were pretty much my childhood, I was 6 when Fellowship was released and I've loved them since then, and now they're done, and I regret even more Thanet I never jumped into the miniatures game while it was more active.

Thanks for reading my pointless babble guys.

Well first off, welcome to the The One Ring! This site is the most active for LOTR players. ..... Now regarding your late arrival to the game, its no secret that the next couple releases over this coming year of 2015 may be the last we get, but this is not necessarily a reason to not play. The range is quite full of options that should keep you satisfied for a long time to come. Many of us have played for 10+ years on these models and we still love the game today. The game is incredibly balanced and therefore we dont need the frequent updates like 40k and fantasy get.

The real question is where do you live. There are many active communities spread out throughout the world, but you have to find them. I myself live in the Washington D.C. Area, so I would love to help you out if your around here.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm glad I found you haha.

I have heard that LotR is a very balanced game, so I guess the support doesn't reallyyyy need to be there. But the last point is the biggest problem; I live in a tiny little town in the south of England, and as far as I know, it's basically barren gaming wise around here, let alone basically unsupported ones...

The beauty of lotr is that the main range is available second hand quite cheap. If you want to get into it then do it

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Instagram @abbmodels

Welcome.

Normally I wouldn't recommend the GW hobby to anyone, unless you are a Die Hard Middle-Earth fan & love to paint or love table top wargames. So here's my list of questions to you to see if you should get into this at this late of a stage.

We already know you're a big fan of Middle-Earth so that's a plus!
Do you or your parents have a big account to be spending on expensive miniatures?
Are you in this to game or paint?
Do you have basic painting skills?
Do you have patience to assemble and paint miniatures? (This is important, many people dropped this hobby because it took too long, or they realized they had no time.)
If you're in this strictly for gaming, then painted miniatures don't matter though it would be nice.
Do you have friends or family members that can play with you?
Or a gaming community dedicated to the Middle-Earth genre near by?
Are you familiar with any type of wargaming?

It's better to start off slow to see if this is something you enjoy. Decide on a rulebook to get, The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game or Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (actually this one could be out of production). Get yourself two opposing warbands. A warband consist of 10 soldiers I believe and a couple of heroes. Choose wisely what sort of warband(s) you want to start (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, etc.) because if you enjoy the hobby you're going to want to expand into a full armada with the two years that are left in the Hobbit gaming license and 4 years (I think) left in LotR. Good luck and enjoy!

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My Lotr backlog: 305/952[][][][][][][][][][]32% completed
Painting Lineup: Mumakil x2, Rohan Heroes x8, Haradrim, SKoDA

This game can be played on almost any budget. If you can afford only $20 a month, then you can play this game. Buying a blister here and there or sabing up to get a set or two, if you make the commitment and save that budget allowance then you can make it happen (except where smaug is concerned, that is beyond a budget and into sacrifice territory).

You don't need to be a great painter. And models can be used unpainted. Also you can repaint the models a few years later as you become better at it.

If you can sneak past the guys that buy hordes of LOTr stuff on Ebay in order to re-sell it in smaller chunks, then you may be able to get a good deal. If not you can still get some of the seller-re-sellers deals on some of the stuff (but they will always hike up the metal models making it hard to know the supply/demand on any such model.)

If you stick with Hobbit releases you will be able to get quite a bit of the models for those films/books. They are more expensive than LOTR kits, but they currently have the most support.

You only need 1 army to enjoy the game , and you can take you time building other forces as you see deals. There is no reason to pay too much. AS the years progress, more collections will go to ebay as a less popular game the ebay resellers will not be watching (hopefully they will have moved on to pillage the 40K'ers instead of us).

You can also just paint and make dioramas like Gandalfthegrey does and others, there is no pressure to build an army for a game that is not supported as you said.

And last but not least, GW still own the rights at this point, so they could restart the entire series with non-film models or do something that none of us can predict, or somebody else could get the rights and make models and a new game so there is no reason to not get interested and adapt when the time comes.


Welcome aboard.

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http://www.sithious.webs.com

Oh I'm not new to Wargaming haha. I play fantasy and 40k (well 30k), and dabble in Warmahordes, Infinity and Malifaux. So I guess on the one hand, I'm not exactly lacking in projects.

Is there much difference between the Hobbit sbg and the LotR sbg? Can you play both with one book? I could probably get a couple of warbands (Orcs and Gondor or something) quite cheap, trouble is (as mentioned in my last post (this whole 'moderator has to check your post when you're new' is annoying...understandable but now I'm behind haha)) my area is a nightmare gaming wise. The only person I might be able to convince to play it with me atm is my girlfriend and while she likes the modelling/painting side of these games she's never been keen to actually play...

It's bloody annoying because half the week I'm at home and half the week im at my girlfriends and both areas have like no gaming scene at all. That's one of the biggest issues for me to consider. If there was a ready made gaming group that played LotR I'd buy in straight away but it's more of a risk as it is now. But then the longer I leave it...

And sithious, thanks, some good points there. LotR always seemed a lot cheaper (I guess because the plastics weren't customisable like the fantasy and 40k stuff, that used to put me off a bit but building models has become a bit of a chore now, I'd rather paint, and especially rather play these days), so now it can probably be even cheaper than then if I'm careful. But then the Hobbit stuff was the complete opposite of that haha, it was almost laughably priced, some of it.

And good point on the dioramas. I'd not even considered that, in terms of like WHF I always thought if I wasn't using them to play I wouldn't be getting the full value (that's why I have so many damn armies in various stages of completion, I buy an awesome model and then have to have an army to use it...), but I guess with LotR being what it is, it almost lends itself to that kind of display piece. People would know what it was if they saw it in my house, people worth knowing anyway, and there's plenty of inspiration and source material. I would rather play but I guess if I never find anyone to play with that is always an option.

Thanks again guys.

I'll keep it shorter than everyone. The game is at its tail end. If you don't enjoy painting hobbying enough alone, don't waste your time.

If you can't find at least one person to play with every two weeks its going to waste your money and time.

Unless you love lord of the rings enough to absolutely be satisfied going at this alone, do not do it.

I'm guessing you're from the US....its hard to find any community here.

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BLACKHAWK 2010 2013 2015 DYNASTY

Welcome aboard. I wish you all the best in getting into the game. I don't really have much to add to the above. I suspect the range will be available on eBay for a long time to come yet.
However:
"I was 6 when Fellowship was released" has just made me a feel about a squillion years old. I was just leaving Uni when the first film came out. I can't quite believe an entire generation has grown to adulthood since the films were released. They still feel "new" to me.
(and on a related note, when did Peter Jackson go so grey!!!)

Nah I'm from the UK but it's a tiny little town in the south of England, basically barren gaming wise. I don't drive either so I don't really have the means to travel far.

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are the same game. The hobbit is just an updated version of Lord of the Rings and renamed purely for marketing purposes. Essentially its like saying would you rather play 40K 5th edition or 40K 6th edition...There are a few people who still prefer the old game because it is simpler. It's up to your gaming community which one you might play, but most communities prefer the updated Hobbit rules.

Welcome to One Ring!

If you already are an experienced gamer, I see no reason not to jump in. It's a great game. The models are fantastic! Basic models are easy to get on eBay, and if you are patient you can get great deals.

I would recommend collecting and painting 2 forces so you can supply both sides of a fight to get others involved.

Lastly and most importantly, in 5 years will you kick yourself for not getting in now?

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Xintao

^This, can't play a chess game with visitors in the near or distant future if all you have are white pieces.

Another thing to keep in mind, you can totally have good versus good, evil vs evil. So for example you can get Lothlorien vs Mirkwood, a warband each, then when it comes time to game against an opponent that has his own army you simply ally the two and you have a nice elven army.

Now just reading your reply to me Still-Young, I wouldn't recommend it on a gaming aspect unless you lived in the UK where it is majorly popular. You should only get into it for being a fan of Middle-Earth and if you enjoy the hobby for what it is; the achievement of painting an army. Just purely gaming I think you're wasting your money.

Where rulebooks are concerned I'm not sure if the latest Hobbit rulebook contains the Lotr profiles, that's something to keep in mind. It doesn't even contain all of the Hobbit profiles since most of the miniatures came after the rulebook, so you'll need to buy supplement sourcebooks to play depending on what miniatures you purchase.

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My Lotr backlog: 305/952[][][][][][][][][][]32% completed
Painting Lineup: Mumakil x2, Rohan Heroes x8, Haradrim, SKoDA

See, I am from the UK, but it's news to me that LotR is popular over here...there is no gaming scene near me at all.

And thanks for the rulebook advice, I'll bear that in mind. Profiles aside, are there any other rules differences between the Hobbit book and the LotR book? Or are the actual rules the same?

Check out this map https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zTi5PCvwVJTI.k2aLs5o8N5Uw

We've only just started it but I'm sure there'll be someone close by you can meet for a game. Don't forget to add yourself aswell so other people can find you.

The UK scene is very much alive and full of people eager to game. If you're on facebook, join this page https://www.facebook.com/groups/472128942815892/. It has all the tournament details for next year and is full of like minded people.

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


Mid Sussex Wargamers

I don't own the hobbit but supposedly there are better rules for monsters and individual weapons are more finely detailed where there's a difference in using a hammer compared to a sword. I don't know too much about the changes. The Lotr version doesn't have warbands, that was introduced through an expansion book which the Hobbit took in.

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My Lotr backlog: 305/952[][][][][][][][][][]32% completed
Painting Lineup: Mumakil x2, Rohan Heroes x8, Haradrim, SKoDA

Thanks for that map SouthernDunedain. The closest player to me is Southampton which is still like an hour away (I know that's not far for you American players, but I don't drive either...) but it could be worse. It's annoying that there's none near my girlfriend either, cos I'm there half the week but they're even further from her. I will join that Facebook group though.

And Sacrilege, cheers. So the Hobbit one is slightly different, I'll bear that in mind. It's also a lot more expensive haha.

I was looking for some of the sourcebooks on eBay and didn't find that much. When I used to get White Dwarf I rememebrr the issue with the Harad sourcebook and I remember thinking 'if I was going to play LotR I think I'd play Harad'. But you can ally pretty much anything can't you? Like as long as they're on the same side..?

Thanks for the help so far guys.

If the community keeps the game alive, there is no need for official support. Plenty of figures are available (most players have enough for several armies, so lending and trading is often an option), perhaps incorporating more proxies as time goes by. There are even some benefits: no need to buy a new core rulebook every 1-4 years.

You may want to try and find the small Hobbit rulebook (from the Goblin Town starterset) on ebay or so, should be a a fraction of the price of the big tome (while containing all the rules for the game; profiles from the large book can be downloaded from the Black Library website).

All good can indeed ally with all other good, same goes for evil. Harad can these days be found in the 'Fallen Realms' sourcebook; there is a book called 'Harad' but that's a previous edition (some profiles have changed - quite - a bit in the meantime).

I was two when the fellowship of the ring was released.

Trust to hope, it has not forsaken these lands.

There is a cluster of players towards the south west and there was talk of an event or tourney happening around Bristol I believe (could be wrong and plans may have changed).

Sometimes to play this game, you need to be willing to travel. I managed to hit every tournament on the GBHL list last year as I worked in the North and had a family home in the South. Even then this meant sharing lifts with other players, jumping onto trains ect (one day I shall fly in on a dragons )

The first GBHL tournament in the new year is in London which isn't impossible to reach from Southampton by train and can be affordable if you book in advance.
It's also a 350pt event which means that you can build an army for it relatively quickly and inexpensively. If you can make it I'd say give it a go, everyone is friendly and welcoming and there is at least one other new player who'll be taking part.

Whether to invest in Lotr or not? Starting a small army wont break the bank but will let you play the system and see how you like it. The Lotr community is one of the strongest and friendliest (possibly due to the limited numbers and the lack of support GW provides). This community will keep this game alive for as long as possible regardless of GW.

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when this system is no more. A day of boredom or of broken game mechanics or of £60 overpowered vehicle kits. But it is not this day.
THIS DAY WE PLAY SBG!!! :p