lessio: Greetings, fellow players of The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game. We are now entering a new stage in the life of our game – you could say that the game has come out of its adventurous youth and has now entered its full maturity to establish itself as one of Games Workshop's core game systems alongside its two older siblings: Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. The worldwide community of hobbyists who share a passion for this game is constantly growing, as are the number of independent web sites, gaming events, and clubs that focus on The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game. Basically, there are more and more people out there who share our love for J. R. R. Tolkien's novels, Peter Jackson's films, and our game!

Spurred on by all this enthusiasm, Games Workshop will continue to give The Lord of The Rings hobbyists all the support and attention they deserve.

SETTING THE SCENE

This month, we're launching a new rules manual collating all the rules material from the previous manuals (The Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of The King) and supplements (Shadow & Flame, The Siege of Gondor, The Battle of Pelennor Fields, and The Scouring of the Shire). The new rulebook brings everything together in one place. In addition to the rules, this precious tome contains the profiles of all the models currently in our range, making it a must-have for any The Lord of The Rings hobbyist. Following the rules section, the book includes a useful hobby section that collects ideas, advice, and expert tips about all aspects of the game: collecting, modelling, painting, building terrain, as well as extra rules and other ways of playing with your collection of models. These alternative gaming ideas include Coastal Raids and Battle Scenarios. Unlike its predecessors, this rules manual does not include any regular scenarios. The plan is to make them available in dedicated supplements and set them neatly within an exciting campaign.

The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game.

TELLING THE STORY

The first example of such a campaign supplement will be released the same month as the SBG rulebook – The Fellowship of The Ring. It will re-create the journey of Frodo from the Shire to the breaking of the Fellowship at Amon Hen, with many new scenarios based on both the film and the book. The supplement will also be crammed with loads of painting, modelling, and scenery-building advice. We will, of course, follow this book with supplements for The Two Towers and The Return of The King at some point in the future. For more information about The Fellowship of The Ring book, see Adam Troke's designer notes.

The Fellowship of The Ring supplement.

And don't worry, we will also continue to explore Middle-earth with a series of supplements very similar in format to Shadow & Flame or The Scouring of the Shire. They will allow us to keep expanding the choices for veteran players. The first two, to be released in 2006, will focus on the Easterlings and the Fall of the Necromancer. The Dwarves, the Ents, the Corsairs of Umbar, and the Last Alliance are only some of the subjects we'd love to cover at some point in the future with these supplements.

Next: So, What's Changed?