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I have just got back into warhammer, I used to do lotrs alot. I see theres 2 different modes of play. First question is whats the differences between the 2? And I want to start a new army up, what do you guys think I should collect?

Cheers

Ok, there are 2 main branches of LotR:

1) LotR Strategy Battle Game - It's a skirmish game where each model acts independently, unlike Warhammer or 40k. Each game has a set point limit and players can build forces from either good units or evil ones.

2) WotR (War of the Ring) - Like 40k's Apoc, but for Middle Earth. This requires lots of models and the rules are out of date, I don't recommend getting into this, at least not right away. Option 1 is your best bet.

Now, for things you'll need:

1) A rulebook - You can buy the big expensive one from GW (it's hardcover and has a nice gallery, IIRC, but again, it's expensive) or get the paperback one from the Mines of Moria set (a great way to start), or pick one up on ebay (probably about 10 USD, which is like 8 GBP).

2) Somebody to play with - This is key, but I'm assuming you've got this covered.

3) Terrain, a gaming space, dice, and a measuring stick/tape - Some terrain, dice, and a measuring stick can be found in the Mines of Moria set, though getting some more is a very good idea. Like Warhammer or 40k, you'll want plenty of terrain (and a good variety too) and dice (LotR only uses d6, so you don't need any special dice).

4) An army - Here's the big one. The average LotR game is around 500 points and takes about 1 hour once you're familiar with the rules. I recommend starting with 100 points and building up. The standard rulebook (either the big one or the paperback) has some units to play, but many more have been introduced since then. It would be a very good idea to pick up the sourcebook for whichever army you pick, as it will have updated rules and more models for you to use.

Instead of typing out a summary of each army available, I'll ask you some questions, then help you from there.

1) Good or Evil?

2) Do you like calvary?

3) Do you like running a horde of units or do you prefer a smaller number of elite units?

4) Do you want to use large monstrous creatures?

5) Do you want magic?

WOTR is really good and hardly 'out of date'. Although it's extremely expensive to build up even a small army so you might as well start with SBG and then once you've built up a collection/expanded your original collection maybe have a go at wotr.

WOTR has a seperate rulebook from the SBG.

I infinitly prefer the SBG. WOTR is just a LotR version of Fantesy.


The SBG scales well too so you can do larger battles(although keeping track of M,W, F, and wounds for characters can be a hassle)