Fantasy Flight Games has revealed the second part of their Hobbit related expansion to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. The Hobbit: On the Doorstep will release in the fourth quarter of this year just in time to tie into the first film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy.
From FFG:
“You must either go through or give up your quest. And I am not going to allow you to back out now, Mr Baggins.”
–Gandalf addressing Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit
Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, the second half of the epic The Hobbit Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game!
As a Saga Expansion, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep faithfully retraces the half-sized footsteps of Bilbo Baggins, Middle-earth’s most famous burglar. Three new scenarios invite you to relive the thrilling adventures that lead Bilbo, Thorin, and Company to the end of their amazing journey. Equipped with his magic ring, Bilbo helps the Dwarves through the perilous forests of Mirkwood, burgles treasures from under a dragon’s nose, and struggles to restore peace during the Battle of Five Armies.
The Lucky Number
“I have chosen Mr Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself.”
–Gandalf addressing Thorin and Company, The Hobbit
The Hobbit: On the Doorstep picks up immediately after the events of The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill, and players will find a new version of Bilbo Baggins (On the Doorstep, 1) that arrives more experienced, having gotten a few adventures under his belt. Four additional heroes allow players greater deck-building options, as do six new treasure cards and thirty-six new player cards (three copies each of thirteen different cards).
The Bilbo Baggins included in The Hobbit: On the Doorstep comes with a special set of rules and belongs to a unique sphere of influence, the Baggins sphere, denoted by the symbol. Just as Thorin and his companions came to rely on the wit and courage of the unlikely hero, players will need Bilbo’s help to defeat each the expansion’s new scenarios. Bilbo falls under the control of the first player each turn, and his resources not only allow him to play cards from the Baggins sphere (as well as neutral cards), but they can prove helpful throughout the scenarios in the numerous situations where they can be spent for unique, beneficial effects.
Known to an Ounce
Dragons may not have much real use for all their wealth, but they know it to an ounce as a rule, especially after long possession; and Smaug was no exception.
–The Hobbit
Treasures are a new type of card for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game specific to the Saga Expansion format and that first appeared in The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill. Now, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep introduces six new treasures for Bilbo to burgle.
These unique player cards are extremely powerful, but in order to include them in your deck, you must first discover them during a scenario. Thus, they help tie together the scenarios from The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, turning them into a full-fledged campaign that is greater than the sum of its parts.
To the Mountain
“To the Mountain!” called Bard. “To the Mountain! Let us take our places while there is yet time!”
–The Hobbit
After The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill took Bilbo far from his home in the Shire, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep follows the rest of his path to the Lonely Mountain, through the spider-infested forests of Mirkwood and under the nose of Smaug the Golden (On the Doorstep, 40). There, however, Bilbo’s journey doesn’t end but leads him into even deadlier situations.
The three scenarios from The Hobbit: On the Doorstep recount three classic encounters from The Hobbit. In the middle of the dark Mirkwood forests, Bilbo and the Dwarves battle a horde of giant spiders. After arriving at the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo must prove his worth as a burglar before discovering Smaug’s sole weakness. Finally, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep concludes with the fearsome Battle of Five Armies that followed upon the Dwarves’ single-minded greed.
Throughout the expansion’s scenarios, new quest and encounter mechanics greatly add to the game’s replay value as the players face outcomes more varied than just success or failure, and the strategic decisions they make may have far-reaching repercussions.
The Lord of the Rings – The Hobbit: On the Doorstep is scheduled to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2012.
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