by tiagoVIP
Hello!
This is the recollection of how the game came to be:
It was a three players game (Alexandre, Andre and me), so Frodo, Sam and Pippin were the ones in charge to destroy the ring. Both Alexandre and Andre played the game once, so hardly this was a veterans table.
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Frodo gained 2 cards from Fatty in the dice. A good preparation. The Nazgûl appeared but everyone was properly hidden.
In Rivendell, Elrond gave us plenty of useful items. He is a nice man - elf - when you get to know him. The Council went through with many arguments about rings, Mordor, what goes to who, gray and brown cards. In the end, we seal the Felloship deal with songs and friendship cards, rolled with longbottom leaves.
Next, after Caradhras sayed Ni to us and we do not have enough shrubbery for all of us, we needed to turn back and pass through Moria. Some say it is a mine, others laugh at this assumption. After we speaked friend to a door, we found out that it is indeed a mine. It might double as a home, though. Since the events seemed to be, now, on our side, we quietly advanced. Until Pippin dropped a rock into the well. We were worried for a while, but then we found out that the well hid a pipe. We could always use a pipe, yes, sir.
We fled Moria in a bit of a haste, since we didn't wanted to be trapped nor be attacked by the orcs that lived there. We tried to convince Gandalf to come with us, but he called us fools. So we just left him to deal with the Balrog and went to Lothlórien. Sam now carried the Ring. I gave it to him because he was felling sad because we left Bill behind. I'm that good of a friend.
Galadriel gave us a bunch of things and we felt as if the corruption of the Ring took a step back from us. She then tested us. I got a B+ (couldn´t by the life of me remember the name of the Blue Wizards), Pippin an A- and Sam a C, but with a + for effort. We all passed. Them was Helm's Deep.
Having a lot of friendship in our hearts and hands, we helped king Théoden like, a lot. He, in return, gave is Shadowfax and the help of Éomer. Then we called Wormtongue as a servant of Saruman and, surely, he was. This sealed the deal: the Riders of Rohan would be on our side when the time comes. However he have a problem: Saruman attacked and send his Uruk-hai. We made our stand at Helm's Deep. The Orcs attacked the gate and even brought the fire of Orthanc to bring the walls down (and, briefly, also up). But the rohirrim arrived and also the Ents. So we resisted and, in the end, the day was ours. The ring remained with Sam.
In our long march we met Faramir at Henneth Annun and Gollum became our guide. Pippin really liked Gollum, keeping him by his hand. We were going fast and we passed the time talking about our mutual hatred against Rhosgobel rabbits and that they make a good stew. They aren't easy to catch, though. This all changed when Shelob attacked us. The battle took us into a forbidden pool of foul waters and attracted the attention of the Lord of the Nazgûl. Luckly, Gandalf, now cleaner and a thousand miles away, was able to sense our problems and helped by doing something, probably in Minas Tirith, that made the search of the Nazgûl turn away from us.
So, finally, after many events, the cards in our hands were few and our sleeves were rolled all the way up and nothing. The Nazgûl Lord attacked, but Éowyn was there to proove that boobs rule all, and put him down for good. The Battle of Pellenor Fields was raging and not even the Armies of the Dead and Ghân could stopped it. When Aragorn and the others brought the fight to the gates of Mordor, the Mouth of Sauron told some lies, because Frodo was still alive, even if barely - some could say he was only one step away from fall into the hands - eye? - of Sauron. Sam, like always, was one step behind Frodo and Pippin, way over there. After the dark forces surrounded the army of men (and one dwarf and one elf) the destiny of Middle-Earth was hanging in the draw bag (it was an old saying later changed for "balance"). But luck was with us and we reached the Mount of Doom.
The dice of Fate were rolled. Pippin failed and was corrupted in the end. Frodo, sensing the Eye on him, jumped into the lava. But Sam, the great Sam, remained and destroyed the Ring! Victory!
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After the first scenario, when the Ring went to Sam, it never leave again. Sam's player - Alexandre - choose almost all the time to roll the dice rather than loose cards or shields. It paid of quite nicely. Until Shelob's lair, we were going really well, even using some turns in a row to get cards. Then things went south and events came to hammer us. In the Mordor scenario we used a Gandalf to take the next three tiles. It was: Advance two or Sauron advance one, Event and Out of Options.
In the last turn, if we pulled out another Event - of any type - we would lose. It didn't happened. In the final rolls, Frodo ran to Sauron, Pippin die without cards and Sam was the sole survivor, just beside Sauron.
This was, indeed, a great game.
Regards,