Magic items
Magic items are a reality in Middle-earth. Bilbo’s ring is merely the most obvious example whilst the swords Sting, Glamdring and Orcrist all have a subtler power. Rather than try to devise rules for these famous and named examples, the following items are broadly representative of weapons, armour and other devices that have magical qualities.
Each character can have one magical item. Every item has an associated points value and, if a character takes the item, this is added to his own value. Not only does this increase the character’s cost, and therefore reduce the points available for troops, but also, if the character is slain, it increases his Victory Points value as well (see the rules for The End of The Battle).
No character can carry more than one magical item and no characters on the same side can carry the same magical item. For example, if Gandalf has an Enchanted Weapon he cannot have any other item and no other character in the army can have an Enchanted Weapon.
Heirloom of Kings
Cost 30 pts
The character can re-roll a failed command once in the battle. If the re-roll is successful, the command is issued and the character can continue to issue commands in the usual way. If the re-roll fails, the command is not issued. If the re-roll fails and scores equal to or more than the first roll, the character suffers a -1 Command penalty for the rest of the battle as his warriors lose faith in him.
Staff of Sorcery
Cost 30 pts
Only a Wizard can carry a Staff of Sorcery. A character that has a Staff of Sorcery can attempt to dispel one spell cast by the enemy each turn. Once the spell has been cast, but before working out its effect, the Wizard can attempt to dispel it. Roll a D6 – a score of 6 indicates the spell has been dispelled, otherwise the spell is not dispelled and takes effect as normal. However if the player wishes, he can count the failed dispel attempt as successful but the Staff of Sorcery is then exhausted and cannot be used for the rest of the battle. A dispelled spell simply doesn’t work – just as if the caster had failed the initial casting roll.
Sorcerous Weapon
Cost 20 pts
The character adds +1 to his Attack bonus. This bonus applies for the entire battle. For example, if the character has a +2 Attacks bonus he has a
3 Attacks bonus if he carries a Sorcerous Weapon.
Sorcerous Armour
Cost 10 pts
When the character fights in combat, the unit he is with can re-roll one failed Armour roll in each round of combat. This applies throughout the battle – the unit can re-roll one failed Armour roll each round. If the unit the character has joined has no Armour value then the unit takes a single roll each round with a value of 6+.
Staff of Power
Cost 10 pts
Only a Wizard can carry a staff of power. A character that has a Staff of Power can add 1 to his dice roll to cast a spell. The bonus can only be used once in the game but the player can decide to use the staff after the dice has been rolled to cast a spell. For example – the player requires a roll of 4 to cast a spell, he rolls a 3 but uses the staff to boost the score to 4 and cast the spell.
Ring of Invisiblity
Cost 10 pts
Many rings were made by the Elves in times past and a few still survive to this day – some mere trinkets and others dangerous weapons for good or evil.
A character with a Ring of Invisibility can use it to disappear and reappear elsewhere, thereby escaping from danger. The ring can used at any time, even in the opponent’s turn, but only once in any battle. The character can immediately move from wherever he is to anywhere else on the battlefield, even out of or into combat if he wishes. The character can even move through enemy units – invisibility allows him to sneak his way past his foes without being spotted.
Enchanted Weapon
Cost 10 pts
The first time the character fights in combat he adds an extra +1 to his Attack bonus. This extra bonus only works in the first Combat phase – so it applies for each round of the combat engagement and during any further engagements resulting from an advance. For example, a character with 2 Attack value will have 3 Attacks throughout the first Combat phase of fighting, and 2 Attacks in subsequent turns.
Mystical Weapon
Cost 5 pts
The first time the character fights in combat, he adds an extra +1 to his Attack bonus. This extra bonus only works in the first Combat round – it is a single +1 bonus that applies only once in the entire game. For example, a character with 2 Attack value will have 3 Attacks in the first round of the first Combat phase, and 2 Attacks in subsequent rounds of that Combat phase and in all future turns.
Enchanted Armour
Cost 5 pts
When the character fights in combat, the unit he is with can re-roll one failed Armour roll in the first round that a hit is scored. This applies only once in the entire game and automatically applies the first time such a unit takes a hit. If the unit the character has joined has no Armour value then the unit takes a single roll with a value of 6+.