Coming late to LotR

[ukrocky]

A reply I just got from Tim, one of my LoTR mates in America;

"Frank Brown (Multiple USGT Circuit winner), Tom Keagon, and a few other guys whose names I can't remember. The Orlando area has a lot of players relatiely speaking. Both Paladin and Rhubarb games are supporting the S.I.T.E. event and a lot of players play at those shops."

"THere is also a very popular US forum (sort of the US version of TLA) at http://adeptuswindycity.com/forums/index.php?c=6

The Florida guys post in there."

And of course there is TheLastAlliance. A great forum although we had a crash recently...

This post has been edited by ukrocky on Nov 6 2009, 08:18 PM

[Happy Scrappy Hero Pup]

Thanks for passing that along! Tom Keegan is one of my clubmates (the guy who got me into the game, as a matter of fact), and Frank I've heard of - though I haven't played him. The rest of the Florida guys who post on the Adeptus Windy City site are all regular opponents.

Rhubarb hosted the first RTT I played at, and Paladin was where I played at the last one. The Florida community is just exploding right now.

I'm going to start posting on TLA if just to share my hobby stuff. I doubt there's much I can contribute at this point as far as rules and strategy go. Unfortunately I can't hit the site from work

[The Fetid Herd]

Dag Nabbit, now I'm intrigued. After I said I will only play WFB. Thanks for the thread HSHP. I'm going to take a closer look at this on Wednesday.

[ukrocky]

Heh heh.

If you guys want I can get loads of pics from the GT in january?

[Happy Scrappy Hero Pup]

That would be great!


@Fetid Herd - Welcome to the fold! There's a certain symmetry to LotR that I've just begun to understand. GW doesn't support it or depend on it for revenue as much as WFB and 40K. As a result, they don't re-write the basic rules, re-issue new rules for old models, discontinue rules for models, or create game-breaking, faction-specific rules with anywhere near the frequency that they do for the other two systems. That, and they have zero control over the 'lore' so they can't ever re-write the background.

Its like being the ignored child in an abusive home. Yeah, it sucks to get less attention, but you don't get beat up either.

[Plaguebeast]

If I had enough cash and were able to convince my friends to buy into the game, I'd definitely give it a try, and mainly for the reasons HSHP just gave. I understand that WFB and 40K models have always been on the 'Heroic' side of things, but some of the models they have released in recent years are ridiculous, what with unwieldy-looking weapons and armour. It's nice to look at the truer-scale, yet elegant LOTR models. The lure of a balanced system is also difficult to resist. The 'biggy' for me though, is GW having no control over the background - no silly retcons, and you don't have to resort to sub-par Black Library novels to flesh out the world.

Plaguebeast

[The Fetid Herd]

Starting from scratch, is Mines of Moria a good place to start?

[ukrocky]

Yes.

[Happy Scrappy Hero Pup]

It is. You get the rulebook, the Fellowship - heroes that can ally with just bout anybody - and the beginnings of a Moria army, which may or not be your cup of tea. But regardless, you get the rules and the Fellowship

@Plaguebeast - Obviously, you know your area better than me, but sometimes it just needs two people and a store willing to support them to get the ball rolling. That's me being overly optomistic, perhaps, but that's where it started with my club and the community has responded. My buddy Tom read the rules and dug what he saw. He got another guy to try it and it took off.

Another cool thing is everybody has seen the movies at the very least and can name some faction that appealed to them. LotR is part of the greater consciousness of gamers. Its a common experience no matter where you come from. Once people overcome their prejudice against the '3rd' game, the rules and models sell themselves.

[Plaguebeast]

The cash side of things would still hold me back unfortunately. A combined Gondorian-Rohirrim army would be nice though, as would a Fallen Realms army. One can but dream...

Plaguebeast

[Happy Scrappy Hero Pup]

Oooo, Rohan has this cool model now too called an Outrider that is a great compliment to Gondor. Each one has a point of Fate, so essentially a one-time 4+ ward save. Add in the horse (another 4+ in-the-way save), and they're a really durable, mobile fire base that can pile in for the coup de grace. Good stuff!

But I understand the cost factor. I've been jettisoning old WFB stuff that I never got to to feed my hunger without pissing off my wife

[ukrocky]

LoTR is a bargain game compared to the other 2 mainstream games!

[Happy Scrappy Hero Pup]

Tru dat, but you're still on the hook for $200-$250 retail to get your first army together and get all the rules.

'Course, translate that to WFB and you're looking at $400-$500

[Plaguebeast]

No doubt it's cheaper than Warhammer, however, the costs do start to mount once you start including things like metal cavalry, which I would want to (Knights of Dol Amroth or Black Numenoreans). Purchasing them from an online discounter would be ok with the strong Aussie dollar though....

Plaguebeast