From: GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullys Maze)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: comments on rules changes to War of the Ring
Date: 25 Jan 1993 15:53:29 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
NNTP-Posting-Host: morrow.stanford.edu

I'm a big Tolkien fan, needless to say, I've played the trilogy
of SPI's Tolkien games a number of times and have done some work
years ago (not lately) to spiff them up a little.

in WAR OF THE RING:

I've only been interested in the Campaign game.  The biggest problem
here is the Combat table, and the simplistic character duels.
Unlike what the rules say, the West can and has many times won
military victories over Sauron, which in the book is an improbable
hopeless event(unless a powerful character takes the ring and
wields it).  The reason this is is that the combat tables allow you
to isolate massive Sauron armies and slaughter them at very
unfavorable odds.  As the Sauron player, I've learned how to avoid
some of this (by delaying reinforcement arrivals from the Haradrim
and Easterlings), still it is a problem.  The combat tables demand
that you make your attacks at 1/2 or even 1/3 odds to get your best
results, (I've even retreated forces from battles as I was defeating
enemy in order to keep my losses down as I slaughtered leaderless
foe.) I adapted the tables so losses are taken as a percentage of
the attacking army, as opposed to the defending army.  This is more
realistic.

I used the Melee and Wizard individual combat method for character
battles.  I fixed the problem of the Nazgul being such pussies by
giving them a powerful fear spell to affect Fellowship dexterity
(no other magic), though as warriors were not very powerful.  The
Melee rules allow the characters to take advantage of numerical
advantage, something absent in the SPI duel type setup.

GONDOR:

I changed the rules so that Gondor defenders could disengage
from an enemy assaulting from a lower level.

SAURON:

Got rid of the non-historical figures:  Beast of Morder, and Gorgol.
Added some Nazgul and gave them the ability to rally troops.  Gave
Sauron a fire spell that gave him the similar ability to the Beast
to destroy opponents.  Gandalf had the ability later to conjure
fire, there's no reason that Sauron, being enamored of it, and being
of a greater order of Maia could not also, and being at the peak of
his power, could certainly do some hurt.

I changed the appearances and locations of the Scenario.
Historically, this was the Last Alliance of Men and Elves.  I have
to think that in some way, this was a surprise to Sauron.
Historically they fought a battle on Dagorlad plain in front of the
gates of Mordor, where Sauron's forces were routed, he then
retreated to Barad-dur where there was a costly, woeful 7 year
seige.

The scenario I constructed has Elendil and Gil-Galad lined up for
battle with Sauron's complete army in the north of the plain.  On
turn 2, Isildur arrives with a force of Calvary from the west to
cut off Sauron's retreat to the Black Gate.  That force included the
company of dwarves who were outfitted with dragon masks- resistant
to fire.  The victory conditions are simple.  If Sauron makes it
through the black gate, he wins.  If not, the Last Alliance has
avoided the awful long seige that eventually led to the deaths of
Gil-Galad, Elendil, and Anarion, and Isildur's ill fated decision.

Mike