Introduction

This is an alternative set of rules for the game "War of the Ring" by Nexus Editrice, making it a totally different game.
Only some materials of the original game (board, miniatures and dice) are used.
This game tries to provide a less random experience than the original, sticking closer to Tolkien's story, while still offering a nice game.
Up to eight players can participate, each playing one or more nations, though they are divided into a blue (good) and red (evil) group.
In case of less than eight players, they should divide the nations among them with mutual consent.
Two games
This game actually consists of two separate, consequetive, but connected games.
The first is the Prologue, in which four hobbits must try to bring the ring from the Shire to Rivendell.
The second is the Main Game, in which the Quest for the Ring and fights between armies are intertwined.
The two games can be played after each other, or the first can be skipped altoghether.
Examples of play can be found at the end of this manual.
1st game: Prologue
Setup
Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin are located in the Shire; Strider in Bree; Gandalf in the Gorge of Rohan; Boromir, Legolas and Gimli in Rivendell.
Saruman in Orthanc; 4 Nazgûl in the Shire; 2 others in Buckland; 2 more and the Witch-King and in the Southern Hills; Mouth of Sauron in Barad-Dûr.
The initial distribution of armies is detailed ahead, under the section on the War of the Ring.
Though many armies are in place, no nation has yet mobilized and no unit or leader may move, fight, or hunt for the ring.
Effectively, they are dummies.
Neither are nations allowed to recruit new units.
During the prologue, all action is limited to the hobbits, the Nazgûl and (after a while) Strider.
Flow of the game
Each turn except for the first, the Nazgûl move first, then the four hobbits, then Strider, if he is ready and not yet joined with the hobbits.
After that, if the hobbits are in the same area as one or more Nazgûl, the Witch-king or red units, they are hunted.
Thus, the red side must try to anticipate the moves of the hobbits.
In the last part of the turn the ringbearer gains one point of ring corruption.
See the section on the Quest of the Ring for details on this.
As long as the ringbearer manages to elude his hunters and stay below maximum corruption, he can continue.
During the first turn the red side may not move, but all other turn phases take place as described above.
In the second and subsequent turns there are no anomalies.
End of the game
The prologue can end in three different ways:
-
When the the ringbearer safely arrives in Rivendell, the Council of Elrond takes place.
All ring corruption is cleansed and the hobbits and Strider are joined by Gandalf, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli.
If Merry and or Pepin have been separated from Frodo and Sam but have not been killed, they are re-united too.
The Fellowship of the Ring is now complete and in the next turn can set off on a journey to Mount Doom.
At this point the main game starts and the turn count is reset to 1. Also, Saruman and Sauron start to mobilize and can initiate the War of the Ring. - The ring is captured by red heroes or units. This event triggers the immediate start of the main game, though not with its default setup. The effects are the same as when a red nation captures the ring during the main game. See the section the Quest of the Ring for details.
- The ringbearer accumulates 12 points of ring corruption and falls under the power of the ring. This too triggers the main game, again with a non-default setup. Again see the section the Quest of the Ring for details.
2nd game: Main Game
Setup
Frodo and Sam, Strider, Gandalf, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli in are located in Rivendell and form the Fellowship of the Ring. If the prologue was played and Merry and Pippin have survived, or if the prologue was skipped, they are included too. Saruman resides in Orthanc and the Mouth of Sauron in Barad-Dûr. The Nazgûl and the Witch-king are removed from play / not yet introduced; they return / enter later in the game. The initial distribution of armies is detailed ahead, under the section on the War of the Ring.
Flow of the game
Turns and nation order
The game runs in a series of turns.
Each turn, each nation can execute its actions.
Nations act in a fixed order, which is as follows:
Saruman
- Rohan
- Sauron
- South and East
- Gondor
- North
- Elves
- Dwarves.
Phases
Every turn is divided into a number of phases, again in a fixed order. In most phases the player can take a actions of a certain type.
- Move armies: Army units already on the map can be moved to other areas. This can only be done once the nation is mobilized.
- Ring corruption: This is not an action that can be taken, but an effect that befalls the ringbearer.
- Fight battles: Any armies that end up in an area that is occupied by an enemy army, must fight a battle against these.
- Hunt for the ring: If the ring is in an area with red army units or characters, they can try to capture it.
- Recruit units: Reinforcements can be recruited from areas within the nation's territory. Again, this can only be done once the nation is mobilized. For all blue nations this is a one-time action, but red nations get more reinforcements over time. If an area has been conquered by an enemy, any reserves or reinforcements are postponed until and if the area has been reconquered.
A player can assign some of his units to an army of a different nation (of the same color). The receiving nation must come later in the nation order than the offering nation and accept the offer. If agreed, the units move and fight during the receiving nation's turn. This assignment lasts but one turn, but can be renewed again and again if the player wishes.
The Quest of the Ring
Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring acts each turn, before all nations.
It is directed by one of the five blue players.
Each takes one turn, in the following order: Elves - Gondor - North - Dwarves - Rohan.
Once the cycle is complete, it begins anew.
Initially the ring resides with Frodo and Sam.
As explained earlier, at the start of the game they are supported by Merry and Pippin,
later they can be joined by Strider and after the Council of Elrond also by the other heroes.
Every turn after the Council of Elrond, each blue player can decide to split off heroes from the Fellowship of the Ring,
to use them as leaders in the war.
This must be done before the fellowship makes its move for that turn.
A player can only split off heroes that belong to his own nation.
See ahead for a list of all heroes, that shows which hero belongs to whom.
If a party member is split off, he may not travel with the party and must wait until it is his nation's turn,
though he may then travel to the same area as the party if desired.
Party members that have been split off cannot rejoin the Fellowship of the ring,
except when both sides meet in a major stronghold that is occupied by the blue side.
Party members can also be split off by an attack from the red side.
For game purposes this has the same effects as a deliberate split.
The journey
The ringbearer travels at a speed of one area per turn. East of the Anduin they need someone to guide them. Aragorn, Gandalf, Gollem or a blue army can fulfill this role. If none of these is available, there is a 2/6 chance each turn that the party will not be able to find a proper path and thus not manage to leave their current area in that turn. When travelling through the Morannon or Minas Morgul, the chance is 3/6, even with a guide, unless the acting blue player decides to instate Gollem as guide - if he is with them. In that case Gollem will lead them through the hidden pass at Minas Morgul, where the party will be attacked by Shelob.
Corruption

While carrying the ring, Frodo and Sam gain corruption points at the rate of one per turn, during the turn of the player who controls them.
If they reach twelve or more points they will succumb to the ring and split off from the others.
They are placed under the control of red player, who can then order them around, instead of the blue side.
The red side then direct him to his armies to get the ring to his headquarters.
At the council of Elrond all corruption points are cleansed away and the ringbearer starts with a clean slate.
But as soon as they leave the Elven sanctuary, the corruption process begins anew.
Ring corruption can be healed in major blue strongholds (if still held by blue forces)
at the rate of one point for each corrupted person per turn - no new corruption is gained during such a stay.
When the ringbearer arrives in a blue stronghold, no corruption occurs during that turn, but healing starts the turn after.
Other members of the Fellowship of the Ring can also carry the ring and this can help to distribute corruption points among different people.
But there are two drawbacks.
The first is that other people have less resistance to the ring and gain corruption points faster.
See the table on heroes ahead for details.
The second problem is that the ringbearer will not willingly relinguish the ring to another party member.
If a party member tries to take it from him, he must fight and overcome any other party members that disagree.
If successful, the new ringbearer immediately gains six corruption points!
If the ringbearer is killed, another hero can take up the ring without internal fight or starting corruption penalty.
If all heroes that can carry the ring are killed off or moved into other areas, a blue army or commander can take over.
Like ringbearing heroes, it is not willing to give up the ring and can fall under Sauron's control if corruption is complete.
A ringbearing army or commander gains 4 corruption points per turn.
If any ringbearing hero, leader or ordinary commander gains a total of 12 corruption, he is enslaved by Sauron.
The Sauron player can move him around and will probably steer him towards one of his citadels to end the game.
Hunt for the Ring
Each turn, immediately after the ringbearer has moved, if he is in an area occupied by units, Nazgûl or heroes of the red side, they can hunt for the ring. This happens during the turn of the Fellowship of the Ring, not during the turn(s) of the red nation(s). Each red nation that has units or characters present organises its own hunt. The chance of finding the ringbearer increases with the number of enemies present, but not in a linear fashion: 1 - 2 enemies: 1/6; 3 - 5 enemies: 2/6; 6 - 9 enemies: 3/6; 10 - 14 enemies: 4/6; 15 or more enemies: 5/6. If the ring is found, a fight erupts between the hunters and the Fellowship of the Ring. Not all hunters may participate in this. If units are present, exactly one will fight. Red heroes have 2/6 chance of arriving in time to fight. On the blue side, all heroes take part.
The fight is resolved in rounds.
Each round each participant rolls a d6.
If the result is greater than [6 - strength], the participant defeats an enemy character,
but results are not applied until each character has made his attack, i.e. at the end of the round.
See ahead for the strength of each hero character.
If any red units of the same nation are present in the area, only one can participate in the fight.
That unit attacks at strength 5, but cannot be beaten by characters.
In case of casualties, victims are chosen at random, using dice.
For each beaten character a d6 is rolled to determine his fate:
1 - 3 = killed; 4 - 5 = wounded; 6 = fled.
Ringwraiths are an exception: if beaten, they are always killed.
Of course beaten characters cannot participate in further rounds of the fight.
If there are more casualties than victims, the surplus is wasted; victims can be beaten only once per fight.
After each round, both parties must decide either to keep on fighting, or to flee.
The player in control of the fellowship must decide first, then the red player decides.
As an optional rule, if one side flees and the other does not, the victorious side can be given a single extra round of attack, in which the fleeing side cannot counterattack.
This makes the hunt significantly more dangerous to the Fellowship of the ring.
The ringbearer has an option to use the ring to make himself invisible.
This means that he can neither attack nor be attacked.
If the blue side loses, it allows him to escape without running the risk of capture.
But the ring can only be used at the end of each round, so at least one round of fighting will take place.
Also, using the ring adds two corruption points to the ringbearer's total.
When the fight is over, all wounded characters on the losing side are killed.
Wounded characters on the victorious side are patched up.
If characters and/or units of multiple red nations are present in the area where the Fellowship of the Ring move into, multiple hunts are organized. The order in which they hunt is determined at random. If one red nation captures the ring and another also manages to find it, a fight breaks out between the two nations. This is resolved using the normal combat rules as described above. The winner gains the ring. It is possible for all three different nations to find the ring in the same turn and area and then two battles will have to be fought.
The ring does not change hands unless the ringbearer is killed. If any blue characters have managed to flee, one of them takes the ring, but otherwise it falls into the hands of the red player. If the ring is captured by any red player, all nations immediately mobilize.
If the red side captures the ring, the game is not yet over.
The victorious heroes, leaders or units must carry it back to their master in order to ensure victory.
Targets are Saruman at Orthanc, Sauron at the Barad-Dûr or a khan in any village, town, fort or major stronghold in the South or East.
Red nations transport the ring during their own turn.
If another character or army unit is in the same area as the evil ringbearer at the start of that turn,
the ring may be transferred to it to ensure better protection or greater speed.
While the ring has not yet reached a master, the blue side can try to wrest it back from the red side.
Also, other red nations can try to take it.
Red units cannot hide, so no searching is necessary.
If the blue side manages to get the ring to Mount Doom, the game may end. First the rest of the turn is played out, possibly including a last hunt for the ring in Gorgoroth. If the blue side still retains the ring after that, they can destroy it in the fire at the start of the next turn, at which point the game is ended immediately.
War of the Ring
Armies
Armies are made up from units, leaders and heroes. All units and leaders of the same nation in an area combined form an army. During the movement phase, units can split off armies and join others. Hero characters can join armies to act as leaders, or act as individuals in the Quest of / Hunt for the Ring.
Units
Armies are made up of regular units, elite units, leaders and heroes. Regular units have a strength of two, elite units three. The latter also move at double speed and have a special ability, see below.
Nation | Regular | Elite | Special power |
Dwarfs | Warriors | Axemen | Strength +1 in hills or mountains |
Elves | Bowmen | Mounted bowmen | Strength +1 in forest |
North | Warriors | Knights | Strength +1 when attacking |
Rohan | Warriors | Knights | Strength +1 in plains |
Gondor | Warriors | Knights | Strength +1 when attacking |
Saruman | Orcs | Wolf-riders | Strength +1 when attacking |
South and East | Warriors | Mumâkil | Strength +1 in plains |
Sauron | Uruk-hai | Trolls | Strength +1 in hills or mountains |
Leaders and heroes
Leaders do not fight themselves, but each allows one unit to reroll is attack roll every combat round if that unit failed the first time. Some heroes have a leadership ability of more than one, which means they can direct multiple units. A unit can only be "helped" once every combat round, so having a leadership ability total higher than the number of units does not work.
Army movement
Land movement
Regular army units move at one area per turn, elite and leaders at two per turn. If an army of both regulars and elite / leaders wants to stay together, the faster units must slow down to half speed. Elite unit / leader movement is ended when it moves into rough terrain, whether in its first or second movement area. As the recruitment phase comes after the movement phase, a unit that has been recruited cannot move in the same turn; it must wait one turn to move.
Sea movement
South and East, Gondor and the Elves each have a harbor with a fleet.
The fleet is not represented by a figure and does not engage in battle.
The fleets can each transport a maximum of 3 friendly army units, plus an unlimited number of leaders and heroes,
across the sea during the owning nation's movement phase and land them in a coastal area.
The units and characters being transported must be located in the harbor at the start of the movement phase
and must wait one turn after disembarking to move, i.e. the transport takes up all of their movement for one turn.
The harbors are Umbar for South and East, Dol Amroth for Gondor and the Gray Harbor for the Elves.
If a harbor is conquered by an enemy, the fleet is unavailable for as long as the occupation lasts.
Army battles
Field battles
When armies clash, combat is resolved in rounds.
Each round each unit rolls a d6.
If the result is greater than [6 - strength], it unit kills an enemy unit, but kills are not applied until each unit has made its attack,
i.e. at the end of the round.
In case of casualties, both attacker and defender may choose which of their units are removed from play.
If all units on one side are eliminated, any accompanying leaders and/or heroes are also killed.
If the attacker suffers too many losses, he may retreat to the area where he came from at the end of each round.
The defender cam retreat to an adjacent area that is not occupied by an enemy army.
The decision to retreat can be made after each combat round, but not at the start of the battle - at least one round of combat must be fought.
The defender must first decide whether to retreat or not, the attacker decides next.
The base strength of a regular unit is two, that of an elite unit is three.
Rough terrain (hills / mountains / forest / swamp) gives a +1 bonus to defending units.
River crossings do the same, but this advantage lasts for only one combat round.
Elite units get a +1 bonus to strength in certain types of terrain.
Structures give important advantages to the defender, see below.
Sieges
Structures give a bonus to strength for defending units and a penalty to attack for attacking units.
These modifiers overrule any applicable terrain modifiers, unless the defender decides the disdain the structure
and fight outside the walls instead.
Also, structures limit the number of attack routes and thus the number of units that can attack during a round.
Other attackers must stand aside and wait until one or more engaging attackers are eliminated.
The next round any vacancies in the attack "channel" can be filled by any "spare" attacking units.
If the attacker suffers losses, these are taken from the attacking units, never from the spares.
Within that selection, the player can still choose which units are eliminated.
These defensive advantages are partly compensated by the fact that the capacity of the structure for defending units is also limited.
If there are more defenders than fit into the structure, the remainder must without defensive structure bonus,
though terrain bonuses may apply instead.
Any such defenders left out in the cold can be attacked by all spare attacking units.
The attacker can throw his entire force at these defenders and wait to engage the fortified defenders only when the others are dealt with.
In this situation the defender may opt to retreat his surplus defenders to an adjacent area, if a suitable retreat is available.
The attacker must then decide to engage the remaining defenders, or lay siege.
If there are no surplus defenders at all, the attacker may opt for a siege at the end of every round.
Contrary to field battles, he may even do so at the start of the first round, thus not fighting at all.
During a siege the defenders are locked up in the structure and suffer attrition of one unit per turn during the recruitment action,
starting in the round after the siege starts.
In later turns, both attacker and defender can receive reinforcements from adjacent areas.
Units for the attacker join the besieging army without trouble,
but any reinforcements for the defender must fight their way through the entire attacking army in order to lift the siege.
The defending army can assist by sallying forth, but then they become attackers and lose their defensive bonus.
In this case the former attacker may even receive a terrain bonus.
Defenders can decide to stay inside or break out at every turn and the attacker can likewise change his tactic at every turn.
The maximum number of assaulting attackers and fortified defenders depends on the type of structure, as follows:
Structure | Max. defenders | Defense bonus | Max. attackers | Attack penalty |
Village | 4 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
Town | 6 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
Fort | 3 | +1 | 3 | -1 |
Citadel | 5 | +1 | 2 | -1 |
Nations
All eight nations have a standing army that is present on the map at the start of the war
and can also recruit levies from their home territory as shown on the map, but they do so in different ways.
Strength and distribution of both the standing armies and levies are shown below.
When attacked, in some areas they get defensive bonuses from terrain or structures.
The details of attack and defense are explained ahead,
but the tables below give a quick overview of available defensive positions.
Saruman
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Dunland North | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Dunland South | hills | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Gap of Rohan | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Orthanc | hills | citadel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ++ |
total | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2++ |
In turn 1 Saruman mobilizes and gets some reinforcements, as listed above. Starting from the next turn he also recruits one regular unit per turn, or one elite per two turns in Orthanc. Recruitment is blocked if Orthanc is besieged, but resumes if the siege is lifted. The recruitment only goes on while the Saruman hero character remains in Orthanc. If he leaves, recruitment stops until he returns. Otherwise, unit recruitment continues until Saruman runs out of unit figures to place on the map, but it can resume if one or more units are killed and their figures are removed.
Rohan
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Anoríen | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Edoras | plains | town | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
East Emnet | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
West Emnet | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Helmsdeep | plains | citadel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fords of the Isen | plains | fort | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
total | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
The leader characters of Rohan are: Edoras standing - Éomer; Edoras reserve: Théoden; Fords of the Isen: Erkenbrand.
Rohan mobilizes in the turn that a red nation attacks them or invades their territory, or Gandalf cures Théoden. However if left in their pre-war state, with Théoden still bewitched, they mobilize at half speed, i.e. half their units (round fractions down) in the first turn and the other half one turn later. The Rohan player chooses which units mobilize first. Théoden, the reserve leader in Edoras, will not mobilize at all. If Gandalf visits Edoras, he cures Théoden, which makes his character available as a leader and also restores the mobilization process to full speed. If Saruman is killed, Théoden is also cured. But if a red player conquers Edoras before Gandalf either of these two events happen, Théoden is killed.
South and East
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Rhûn East | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rhûn North | plains | town | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Rhûn South | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Khand | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Far Harad | plains | town | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Near Harad | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Umbar | plains | citadel | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Harondor West | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Harador East | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
total | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
The South and East mobilize in turn 7, when it is attacked or invaded, or new enemy units appear in any area that borders its territory. Next to their mobilization reserves they receive extra reinforcements in the four turns after that:
Area | turn 8 | turn 9 | turn 10 | turn 11 | ||||
elite | regular | elite | regular | elite | regular | elite | regular | |
Rhûn East | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Rhûn South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Khand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Far Harad | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Near Harad | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Umbar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
total | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Like normal mobilized units, these cannot move until one turn after their arrival.
Sauron
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Barad-Dûr | hills | citadel | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Morannon | mountains | citadel | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minas Morgul | mountains | citadel | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gorgoroth | hills | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nurn | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dol Guldur | forest | citadel | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mirkwood South | forest | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Moria | mountains | citadel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goblin Gate | mountains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Misty Mountains | mountains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mountain Gundabad | mountains | citadel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mountain Gram | mountains | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Angmar | hills | town | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
total | 8 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In turn 1 Sauron mobilizes and gets some reinforcements, as listed above. The nation has has three heroes. The Sauron character himself has no figure, because he is permanently stationed at the Barad-Dûr. The Mouth of Sauron is initially also based there, but can move after the Council of Elrond has taken place.
Sauron recruits one regular unit per turn, or one elite per two turns, in any citadel of his choosing that he owns and that has not been conquered or is being besieged by blue armies. If Sauron these conditions are lifted, he can again recruit from there. He cannot recruit from conquered blue citadels. Recruitment starts in turn 1 and continues until Sauron runs out of unit figures to place on the map, but it can resume if one or more units are killed and their figures are removed.
For a description of the Witch-king hero and the eight Nazgûl leaders, see ahead.
Gondor
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Minas Tirith | plains | citadel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Drúadan Forest | forest | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lossarnach | plains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Pelargir | plains | town | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Lamedon | hills | village | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Dol Amroth | hills | citadel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Erech | plains | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Anfalas | hills | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Osgiliath | plains | fort | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
total | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
The leader characters of Gondor are: Pelargir - Gondor noble; Dol Amroth: prince Imrahil; Osgiliath: Faramir.
Gondor mobilizes in the turn that it is attacked or invaded, or new enemy units appear in any area that borders its territory, i.e. units already present there at the start of the game do not count. Another trigger is when Boromir or Aragorn (not Strider!) reaches Minas Tirith, though that comes a one turn delay, i.e. Gondor mobilizes the turn after the arrival. For purposes of mobilization, the Osgiliath area is considered to be still part of Gondor.
North
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Shire | hills | town | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Buckland | plains | town | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bree | hills | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
North Downs | hills | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Carrock | plains | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rhosgobel | plains | fort | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Old Forest road | forest | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Dal | plains | town | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
total | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
The leader characters of the North are: North Downs: Halbarad the ranger; Carrock: Beorning leader; Dal: king Brand.
The North mobilizes in the turn that it is attacked or invaded, new enemy units appear in any area that borders its territory, one turn after the Elves or Dwarves are attacked, two turns after the Elves or Dwarves mobilize without being attacked, or one turn after Strider/Aragorn reaches Dal.
Elves
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Grey Harbors | plains | citadel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Rivendell | hills | citadel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mirkwood Mountains | forest | citadel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Mirkwood West | forest | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Lôrien | forest | citadel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
total | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
The leader characters of the Elves are: Grey Harbors: Cìrdan; Rivendell: Elrond the half-elf; Mirkwood mountains: king Thranduil; Lôrien: king Celeborn.
The Elves mobilize in the turn that they are attacked or invaded, new enemy units appear in any area that border their territory, one turn after the North or Dwarves are attacked, two turns after the North or Dwarves mobilize without being attacked, or one turn after Legolas reaches the Mirkwood Mountains.
Dwarves
Area | Terrain | Structure | Standing | Reserve | ||||
leader | elite | regular | leader | elite | regular | |||
Ered Luin | mountains | village | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Northern Blue Mountains | mountains | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Erebor | hills | citadel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Iron Hills | hills | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
total | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
The leader characters of the Dwarves are: Erebor: king Dain Ironfoot; Iron Hills: dwarven leader.
The Dwarves mobilize in the turn that they are attacked or invaded, enemy units appear in any area that border their territory (excluding reserves and reinforcements in Rhûn East), one turn after the North or Elves are attacked, two turns after the North or Elves mobilize without being attacked, or one turn after Gimli reaches Erebor.
Early mobilization
If the ring is taken by a red nation before all nations have mobilized, any that have not yet done so do so immediately. The rates of mobilization remain the same, but all mobilization events are shifted forward.
Heroes
Heroes are unique characters. Each one, except Sauron, is represented by a special figure on the map. Red heroes can act as army leaders and have special abilities. Blue heroes can act as leaders or as members of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Hero | Nation | Speed | Strength | Leadership | Ring corruption |
Frodo and Sam | North | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Pippin | North | 1 | 1 | 1 once enlisted | 2 |
Merry | North | 1 | 2 | 1 once enlisted | 2 |
Strider | North | 2 | 4 | 2 (3 with Northern units) | 3 |
Aragorn | North | 2 | 4 | 3 (4 with Northern or Gondor units) | 3 |
Gandalf the Grey | Elves | 2 | 4 | 1 (2 with Elven units) | n.a. |
Gandalf the White | Elves | 3 | 4 | 3 | n.a. |
Gimli | Dwarves | 2 | 3 | 2 (3 with Dwarven units) | 2 |
Legolas | Elves | 2 | 3 | 2 (3 with Elven units) | 2 |
Boromir | Gondor | 2 | 4 | 2 (3 with Gondor units) | 4 |
Gollem | (none) | 1 | 1 | 0 | complete |
Saruman | Saruman | 2 | 4 | 2 (x3 with Saruman units) | n.a. |
Mounted Nazgûl | Sauron | 2 | 3 | 1 | complete |
Flying Nazgûl | Sauron | 3 | 3 | 1 | complete |
Witch-king | Sauron | 3 | 4 | 3 (x4 with Sauron units) | complete |
Mouth of Sauron | Sauron | 2 | 3 | 2 (x3 with Sauron units) | complete |
Frodo and Sam
Frodo and Sam are inseparable and are represented by a single figure. Frodo is the initial ringbearer.
Pippin and Merry
These two hobbits can be enlisted by either Rohan (in Edoras) or Gondor (in Minas Tirith), as long as these towns are in the hands of a blue nation. The enlistment needs the mutual agreement of the North player and either the Rohan player or Gondor player. Each nation can enlist only one hobbit. Once enlisted, they can act as military leaders.
Strider / Aragorn
Strider plays a role in the initial game.
At the start of the game, he resides in Bree.
When the ringbearer arrives there, he joins the hobbits, before the Nazgûl can act.
Should the small folk take another path, Strider will wait in Bree up to and including turn three.
After that he can start looking for them.
Like other characters, Strider can act as either member of the Fellowship of the Ring or as military leader.
If he passes from Helmsdeep to Erech, he is promoted to Aragorn and his leadership ability improves.
Also, he gains an undead army of three units.
These are elite and cannot be killed, but have no terrain bonus and can be used in one offensive battle only,
though they may be used in defense multiple times.
Also, they cannot enter Mordor.
The king does not have to use these undead in the offensive first battle that he fights after recruiting them; he can keep them in reserve.
But once the undead are committed, they all fight together and are released immediately after the battle.
Gandalf
When Gandalf the Grey is killed, he will be brought to Lórien where Galadriel will resurrect him to Gandalf the White.
The whole process takes two turns, during which Gandalf is not available.
Resurrection can only take place if Lórien remains in the hands of a blue nation
during the turn of Gandalf's death and the two subsequent turns.
Gandalf the White travels on the back of Shadowfax, giving him increased speed.
He can take a maximum of one hobbit with him this way.
Gandalf (both grey and white) also carries Narya, the elven ring of fire.
This gives all blue units fighting with him a +1 bonus to strength.
Gollem
Gollem is not represented by a figure. Initially he resides in Moria. If the Fellowship of the Ring passes through there, he will start tracking them. Once all humans, Legolas and Gimli are for one reason of another removed from the Fellowship of the Ring, Gollem can act as a guide in the rough lands east of the Anduin and into Mordor. If Gollem is guiding the ringbearer and they try to enter Mordor, he will always lead them through Minas Morgul, past Shelob. Every turn that Gollem is guide there is a 1/6 chance that he will seize the ring. If he succeeds in doing so, he will be under the control of Sauron, who will likely use him to get the ring to the Barad-Dûr.
Nazgûl and Witch-king
In the initial game, the Witch-king hero and the eight Nazg\FBl leaders are mounted on black horses
and can move around during Sauron's turn to hunt for the ring, but may not engage in battles against armies.
On horesback they can move two areas per turn; normal terrain penalties apply.
They can cross rivers only with the Witch-king in their party and this takes them a full turn.
No other areas can be crossed in such a turn.
Once the Council of Elrond takes place they either fall in fall in a fight against the blue heroes or withdraw back to Mordor.
For game purposes they disappear from the game for a couple of turns.
In the sixth turn after the council they reappear in Sauron's citadels: two in Dol Guldur, two in Barad-D\FBr, two in Morannon and two + the Witch-King in Minas Morgul.
Now they are mounted on flying monsters, can move at three areas per turn, even accross heavy terrain or rivers,
and can both hunt for the ring and act as military leaders.
If one or more of these fortreses are in enemy hands, relocate the Nazgûl from that place to another Sauron fortress.
When a flying Nazgûl is killed, Sauron can resurrect him, but this costs him his normal unit recruitment in that turn.
The Witch-King counts as an elite unit, taking two turns to resurrect.
Again, a resurrected Nazgûl or Witch-king is put in an unconquered Sauron fortress.
Map changes and special areas

Rough terrain
Some areas are mostly rough terrain. This slows movement of elite army units, leaders and heroes and gives a bonus to defending armies. Rough areas are categorized by terrain type and include the following:
- Mountains: Northern Blue Mountains; Ered Luin; Mountain Gram; Mountain Gundabad; Misty Mountains; High Pass; Goblin Gate; Old Ford; Moria; Andrast; Morannon; Minas Morgul.
- Hills: Southern Blue Mountains; Hills of Evendim; North Downs; Tower Hills; Shire; Bree; Weather Hills; South Downs; Angmar; Rivendell; Erebor; Iron Hills; Dimrill Valley; Dunharg South; Orthanc; Anfalas; Lamedon; Dol Amroth; Emyn Muil West; Emyn Muil East; Barad-Dûr; Gorgoroth.
- Forest: Old Forest; Trollshaws; Mirkwood North; Mirkwood West; Mirkwood Mountains; Old Forest Road; Forest Narrows; Mirkwood East; Dol Guldur; Mirkwood South; Lórien; Fangorn; Drúadan Forest.
- Swamp: Gladden Fields; Dead Marshes.
Grey Harbors
As long as this port is held by the blue side, the Elves have a fleet which can transport two army units.
Rivendell
The elven leader here is Elrond, who carries Nenya, the elven sapphire ring of water. The ring gives elven units fighting with Elrond a +1 bonus to strength.
Old Forest
The power of Tom Bombadil bars all red heroes, armies and leaders (both red and blue), except hobbits, from entering this area. If the ringbearer moves into the area, his companions have a 1/6 chance each of being killed by the Old Man of the Forest. Bombadil can heal all ring corruption, like other allies in blue citadels.
High Pass
Neither armies nor Nazgûl can move into this area. Characters can, but when trying to cross to the Misty Mountains or Goblin Gate, suffer a 4 in 6 chance of being forced back by snow and heavy weather each turn, which means they stay in the High Pass area for that turn.
Moria
If the Fellowship of the Ring passes through Moria while it is in the hands of the red side, The narrow passages of Moria increase the chance of any hunters finding the ringbearer by 1/6, regardless of their number. If they survive, they will be tracked by Gollem, who will find them even if they elude the orcs and the balrog.
Dol Amroth and Pelargir
As long as any of these ports are held by the blue side, Gondor has a fleet which can transport two army units.
Umbar
As long as this port is held by the red side, South and East have a fleet which can transport three army units.
Gladden Fields
On the map these border the High Pass in the North, Moria in the south and Fords of the Bruinen and Hollin in the west. This is changed as follows: The High Pass borders Moria and the Gladden fields no longer border the Fords of the Bruinen and Hollin. Moria still does not border the Fords of the Bruinen.
Lórien
If the Fellowship of the Ring visits this forest while it is still in Elven hands,
Galadriel will equip the party with boats that allow them to travel three areas per turn,
as long as they follow the Anduin downstream.
If they encounter enemies there, they may be hunted, but only once, not twice or thrice.
The red player decides in which area the hunt takes place.
She will also give Frodo a magic bottle of light, which can help in a fight against Shelob.
This bottle must be assigned to a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
If he is separated from the party, they don't have access to it and if he is killed, it is lost.
Finally, Galadriel carries Vilya, the elven diamond ring of air.
The ring gives elven units fighting with Galadriel a +1 bonus to strength.
Galadriel, unlike her husband Celeborn, does not leave Lórien.
Fangorn
Treebeard and the Ents deny access to any army here, annihilating any invaders. Leaders and heroes can enter without risk. Blue units may enter after a blue hero has visited the forest to negotiate an agreement. Also, one turn later the ents mobilize two elite units consisting of Ents and Huorns. These units receive a +1 attack bonus when fighting in forest terrain and move two areas per turn, even through rough terrain or across rivers. The turn after mobilization they are available for use by the blue side. The Ents are controlled by the same blue player that controls the Fellowship of the Ring in the turn, but come after all normal nations in the nation order.
Drúadan Forest
This forest is guarded by the Wild Men.
They can hide themselves and guide blue armies, so that these can move through this area without doing battle,
even if it is occupied by a red army.
The Wild Men can also raise an army consisting of one elite unit that has a +1 bonus fighting in the forest.
This army only fights in the Drúadan Forest and does not venture out.
This army is visible to enemies and must do battle if they invade the forest.
If it is beaten, the Wild Men can no longer guide allies.
Mordor border
The two mountain ranges that form the border of Mordor, the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Duath, are so high and forbidding that neither units nor characters cannot cross them, except in the two passes that are guarded by the citadels of Minas Morgul and the Morannon.
Minas Morgul
Any blue armies attacking red forces here are partly paralyzed with fear.
This means that in every combat round there is a 2/6 chance that they will fail to attack, though they can be counterattacked by the garrison.
This chance is checked independently for each attacking unit.
If the Fellowship of the Ring is guided by Gollem here, he will lead them into Shelob's lair.
On entry she will attack them, fighting at strength 5.
If one of the party members carries Galadriel's bottle of light, her strength is reduced to 2.
Gollem will not join this fight, keeping aside.
Winning the main game
Goals
In order to win, the blue nations must make sure that the ring is destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom.
The red nations must work to have one of them capture it.
Once victory is achieved, rank amongst the winners is determined by how many points they have gathered.
If any blue nation destroyes the one ring in MountDoom, all gain 4 points.
If a red nation manages to bring it to to its headquarters, it gains 7 points, but the other red nations gain nothing.
Sauron gains 1 bonus point for every elven ring that he manages to capture, bring to one of his citadels and keep it safe.
Saurons heroes and units cannot make use of these rings, but they can carry them.
Extra points can be gained by conquest.
Each enemy village or fort conquered is worth 1 point, each town 2, each citadel 3.
Conquered areas can be lost to the enemy and reconquered, re-lost several times.
Victory points are lost and regained accordingly.
If an area is lost that was in possession of a nation at the start of the game, victory points are lost too.
Thus a nation may possibly end up with a negative total of victory points.
Each nation has one or more special areas that yield 1 bonus point on top of normal points when conquered:
- Dwarves: Moria
- Elves: Dol Guldur
- North: Angmar; Mountain Gundabad
- Rohan: Orthanc
- Gondor: Minas Morgul
- Saruman: The Shire; Helmsdeep; Edoras
- South and East: Dal; Dol Amroth; Minas Tirith
Strategy guide
At the start of the main game, red and blue forces are roughly equal in power.
Citadels and lesser fortifications give important advantages to the defender, so attacking is not an attractive option for either side.
Saruman and Sauron slowly but steadily build up strength, while South and East awaken late, to become very powerful in a couple of turns.
The blue nations can mobilize much more quickly, roughly doubling their strength, but gain no further reinforcements after that.
So from a military standpoint it is wise for red nations to bide their time and strike only when they are ready;
for the blue ones to attack as soon as possible.
Two things distort this picture.
The first is that blue nations can only mobilize and start fighting once they are provoked.
The second is the one ring.
The earlier the reds start hunting for it, the greater the chance that they capture it or manage to weaken the fellowship.
Meanwhile the blue nations must decide to stick with the ringbearer, keeping the party strong,
or split heroes off to rally the blue armies and act as military commanders.
As for the ring itself, it can take multiple routes towards Mount Doom.
There are several passes accross the Misty Mountains.
The classic route accross the High Pass is difficult; an alternative to is go east right away and run the gauntlet of the Misty Mountain goblins.
Moria can yield Gollum, who can be very useful (though treacherous) as a guide in Mordor, but holds even more enemies.
A westerly route is also a possibility, if fellowship is not too afraid of Saruman.
An exotic alternative is to travel back west to the grey Harbors, take ship and sail south to Gondor, which is safe but slow.
The ringbearer must balance safety against speed.
Ring corruption is a lurking danger and pausing in citadels is but a partial solution.
Examples
Prologue
An example of a full prologue, turn by turn:
- Seeing Nazgûl in Buckland and mistrusting the Old Forest, the ringbearer moves to the Hills of EvenDim. No hunt takes place; ring corruption goes from 0 to 1.
- Now Sauron may move first. The rough terrain prevents the ringwraiths from moving at full speed of 2 areas per turn; the Brandywine river (without the Witch-king) and the Old Forest block them completely. The Sauron player lets 2 Shire-based Nazgûl follow the hobbits into the Hills of EvenDim; moves the 2 others to the Southern Blue Mountains; 1 from Buckland to the North Downs; the Witch-king and his helpers to the Weather Hills. There is a northern army unit in the North Downs, but during the prologue it will not help the hobbits. Frightened, they move to empty Arnor. Again no hunt takes place; ring corruption goes from 1 to 2.
- The red player has the ring cornered and in some places can use full black horse speed. He moves 2 more Nazgûl to the North Downs; 3 plus the Witch-king to the Ettenmoors and races the 2 remaining ones east to the South Downs. The ringbearer opts for the direct route, moves to the Ettenmoors and is hunted. The Witch-king and 2 Nazgûl have a 2/6 chance of finding him, but a 4 is rolled, so the hobbits are still safe. Ring corruption goes from 2 to 3.
- The Sauron player knows that the final barrier is the Trollshaws. He lets the Witch-king and his 3 lackeys cross the Hoarwell to this area. The 3 Nazgûl reach the Trollshaws, but need a full turn to cross, so are stranded west of the river. The 2 from the south get no further than the Weather Hills. As it is turn 4 and Strider still has received no sign of the hobbits, he leaves Bree. The Northern player moves him to the Weather Hills too. The ringbearer travels to the Trollshaws and is hunted for the second time, again with a 2/6 chance. A 5 is rolled and again he escapes. Ring corruption goes from 3 to 4.
- The ringwraiths and Strider may move first, but there actions are pointless, as the hobbits can now reach Rivendell in one turn and that area is barred for red units. Ring corruption is still well below 12, so the prologue is concluded with success for the blue player and the main game can be set up.
Main game
Sauron tests the waters
The Fellowship of the Ring is moving south, east of the Anduin. Sauron would like to cut them off before they can reach Lórien, but he is afraid to trigger the Elvish mobilization so soon. Instead, he recruits some regular units in Dol Guldur and moves 3 of them south to the Western Brown Lands. This provokes neither the Elves, nor Rohan, as Théoden is still under Saruman's spell. The fellowship reaches Lórien safely and rests briefly to cure some ring corruption. Then it uses Galadriel's boats to swoop down to the Western Emyn Muil in just one turn. But they pass the orcs and thus are hunted. Three units give a 2/6 chance of succcess. A 1 is rolled and the fellowship is discovered. The orcs have a 2/6 chance of hitting a party member and again succeed. The victim is chosen at random and turns out to be Merry. A die is rolled to determine his fate and comes up with a 4, a wound. The blue heroes can kill a number of orcs, but never enough to really damage the whole unit, so their kills are not counted. They flee, abandoning Merry, who is killed and removed from the game.
Saruman's gamble
In the first few turns Saruman has mobilized, moved all of his units to Orthanc and the Gap of Rohan and recruited some extra units.
He sees the Fellowship of the Ring approaching from the north.
Some heroes have split off and could possible rouse the ents against him, which he considers a minor threat.
But Gandalf may split off too, cure Théoden and mobilize Rohan.
He decides to stay one step ahead and moves his entire army of 9 regular and 2 elite unis to the Fords of Isen, leaving only himself behind in Orthanc.
The defenders retreat into the fortress, which has enough capacity (3) to hold all units (2) plus the Erkenbrand leader.
They get a +1 fortress bonus to defense, but no nation bonus as they are fighting from the fortress instead of on the open plains.
The orcs get a -1 penalty from the fortress, which for the elite units is negated by a +1 bonus because they are attacking.
Only 3 units can attack at the same time.
Saruman first sends in 3 regular units.
They roll 2, 1 and 6, scoring 1 kill.
The defending regular unit must roll 2 + 1 = 3, the elite unit 3 + 1 = 4.
They roll 5 and 3 respectively, also scoring 1 kill.
The Erkenbrand leader gives the regular unit a reroll that yields 1, so its miss becomes a second kill.
Saruman removes 2 regular units and replaces them with 2 others; Rohan removes its regular unit.
In the next combat round the orcs roll 5, 4 and 1, scoring 1 kill.
The Rohan elite unit rolls a 2, also making 1 kill.
Both sides remove a unit.
Rohan is out of units and defeated, Erkenbrand is killed and Saruman conquers the fort.
Saruman rounds off by recruiting a regular unit in Orthanc.
This attack causes Rohan to mobilize immediately after, but because Theoden is still bewitched, only at half speed.
First the Rohan player moves the 1 unit already standing in Edoras, plus the Éomer leader, to Helmsdeep.
He cannot raise the Théoden leader, as the king is still bewitched.
Instead he chooses to raise 1 elite reserve unit each in Helmsdeep, Edoras and West Emnet.
The next turn, Saruman sees that he has little chance to take Helmsdeep by storm and decides to wait.
He recruits one regular unit in Orthanc.
Rohan moves one units to West Emnet and another to Helmsdeep, and mobilizes the remaining half of its units.
The North sends Strider to Fangorn to have a little talk with Treebeard.
In the next turn Saruman, aware of the tree-threat, moves one elite unit back to Orthanc, recruites a regular one and waits.
Rohan responds by launching a counterattack on the Fords of the Isen, moving in all forces from Helmsdeep, West and East Emnet,
except 1 regular unit that stays behind to guard Helmsdeep.
Only 3 units fit into the fortress, so the 4 other red units have to fight outside on the plains without +1 fortress defense bonus.
This time the orcs are defending, so the elite unit does not get a +1 attack bonus, while the elite Rohan horsemen get a +1 plains bonus.
The rolls for Rohan are 3, 1, 4, 2 and 5 (rerolled to 1), so the horsemen score 5 kills, of which only 4 apply because there are only 4 enemy units outside the fort.
Saruman's units roll regular 5, 3, 6 and 2, for a total of 1 kill.
The troops outside the fortress are wiped out.
Content with this victory, Rohan does not press the attack, but lays siege to the fort, hoping to starve the garrison out in subsequent turns.
Hunting ground Ithilien
The ring has moved south to Minas Tirith and is now in Osgiliath.
Sauron, knowing that the only direct way into Mordor from there is through South Ithilien,
assembles a mighty army there, consisting of 7 regular units and 1 elite, 6 Nazgûl and the Witch-king, plus the Mouth of Sauron.
In the next turn, the Fellowship of the Ring, by the that consisting of Frodo and Sam, Merry, Gimli and Strider (not Aragorn), tries to break through.
The hunters are 16 in number and have a 5/6 chance of finding them.
They roll a 4 and succeed.
One orcish unit participates.
The ringwraiths and the Mouth of Sauron have a 2/6 chance of participating.
The Witch-king and 2 Nazgûl make it in time, the others miss the fun.
Die rolls for the red side are: orcs 3 (need 4, miss), Witch-king 2 (needs 2, hit), Nazgûl 3 and 4 (need 3, 1 hit), total 2 hits
and for the blue side: Frodo and Sam 2 (need 6, miss), Merry 5 (needs 5, hit), Gimli 5 (needs 4, miss) and Strider 3 (needs 3, hit), total also 2 hits.
Victims are chosen at random and turn out to be Frodo and Sam (result roll 3, killed), Gimli (result roll 4, wounded),
the Witch-king and 1 Nazgûl (both automatically killed).
With an army unit participating, the blue side has no hope of winning, so flees.
The ring is taken up by Merry, who suffers less from ring corruption than Strider, though more than Frodo and Sam.
A boon is that his ring corruption is still 0.
Because the blue side flees, Gimli is left behind and killed by the enemy.
The fellowship has become quite small, but Aragorn is still there to guide it into Mordor.
Sauron can resurrect the fallen ringwraiths, but as this takes 2 turns he has to decide if that is worth the effort.