Consistent success with the Battle Companies rules could make your heroes as mighty as the members of the fabled Fellowship.

So, I hear you asking, "Why do the Battle Companies rules all over again?" Well, the reason is simple. I have received a ton of messages with suggestions on how to improve and expand the Battle Companies system (and yes, Elves are on their way, I promise). One of the recurring themes in the awesome feedback I have received is that Heroes don't get to play as big a role in the games as many people would like. The reason for this apparent problem is that companies seldom get more than one Hero. Often, during the course of play, he is slain or incapacitated due to injury. Well, I will change that rule first of all by giving every starting Battle Company not one Hero but three. Two of these Heroes are small fries, but the other starts with not only a Fate point but also a point each of Might and Will as well! It seems more appropriate to have a Hero who is capable of some heroics, even one leading a force that's just starting out.

Another thing I've tinkered with is the limit on bows in any given Battle Company. Previously, players have been free to buy bow weapons without restraint – something that has left my desk buried under a mountain of letters complaining about Haradrim companies with more bows than a Robin Hood convention! Under the new rules, no company can recruit models armed with bows or buy bows for existing models if doing so means that more than 33% of the models in the company are armed with bows. This limit is the accepted standard for The Lord of The Rings tournaments and seems to have curbed the worst of the bow-tastic companies, around here at least

FEEDBACK If you want to give the The Lord of The Rings team feedback on the Battle Companies rules, please get in touch by writing to the following address: Adam Troke Games Development LOTR Battle Companies Games Workshop Willow Road Lenton, Nottingham United Kingdom NG7 2WS

Special rules were the next thing on my list. I wanted to create more and provide players with more choices. Now, when a Hero gets a roll on a special rule table, the controlling player must first choose whether he wishes to roll on a table relating to Fighting, Shooting, or Leadership. Thus, there are a total of 15 skills that Heroes can learn, and each Battle Company will have its own race-specific special rule that its Heroes can choose to take instead.

Finally, I've come up with lots of cool new ways to spend your hard-earned Influence points. We'll publish these rules in an upcoming article. For now, suffice it to say that there will be wargear, equipment, and other rarer items too. These additional rules will suggest a raft of conversion and painting opportunities, and enhance your games even further.

The Battle Company rules on this very website have been updated and the rest of the existing companies will have any obvious creases ironed out and brought in line with the rules as they stand. If you've got an existing Battle Company, don't worry. The updated rules won't ruin your force; they just add to the game. Make sure you stick to these rules from here on in, and you shouldn't get any complaints from your opponents. Of course, you could always start a new company if you want. The extra Heroes are incentive enough. As I've said before – the Battle Companies concept is a work in progress, and it's quickly becoming the work of more than one man. Some of the cool input and advice I've received has been invaluable for moulding the game and pushing it to the place it is now. Thanks for your input. Please keep it coming!

Next: Step 1 - Gather Your Force