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Hi, so I'm trying to get my friend into wargaming and he expressed interest in the LOTR/Hobbit range of GW (which I never played). I just wanted to know a couple of things about this game:

1-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the pace of the game and price
2-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the price to make a standard army and how much point is such an army ?
3-There ain't really no starter forces, so is it necessary to absolutly buy the army book to make a list before buying things ?
4-What are the style of each armies ? Are the armies of LoTR compatible with the Hobbit game, or are they only for they own game ?

Thank you for your time !

I can only really answer your third question because I've got no experience with Warhammer 40k and Fantasy and the Hobbit game but I can tell you about the price of the game.

The Lotr can be very affordable if you know were to look, with a lot of very very good quality stuff on ebay, or alternatively at a discounted sites.

You can probably get the rulebook of the web for pennies on ebay, and then to get started a few boxes of miniatures is probably about another £40-50.

So all in all it's not to expensive to get into if you know were to look.

Hope I Helped, I am sure other people will be able to tell you more about the comparison to the other GW games and the style of each force

Its also going to depend on what you want to play. There are basically three 'games' in LOTR right now:

LOTR Strategy Battle Game - these are the Lord of the Rings/Two Towers/Return of the King based rules. The games tend to be capped at 50 models, with limits on bow equipped troops (and the 50 model limit usually only really applies to goblins, other armies are much more expensive points wise). Elves = elite, Goblins = fodder). The rules can be found second hand very inexpensively since this was superceded by the LOTR Mass Battle Game, and Hobbit. Most of the points values you need for games are in the main rulebook(s) for these, so you can have plenty of options with just those. And the sourcebooks are still available from GW.

The LOTR Mass Battle (War of the Ring?) was GWs attempt to push more models, where instead of skirmish (above), models are put in units, and it plays more like a mass battle game like WHFB (although superior in play but with some bad balance issues).

Finally, the Hobbit. They apparently updated the first (LOTR SBG) rules mentioned above, and added some new skills/weapons/etc. They charge for the rulebook (very expensive) and there are no points values. You'll have to buy the add-on books for points for your forces, though I understand you can use the old points values just as easily. I believe this is 'skirmish' as well.

For my money, I'd go with the original Blue Rulebook for Lord of the Rings SBG. Its skirmish 10-50 models depending on faction, and a lot of replayability with the various force options. Given the rising costs of models in the LOTR range, I'd be looking second hand/ebay, or limit my forces to reasonable size. One word of caution, the SBG rules play better in scenario based games rather than straight up points values, since they can get repetitive quick if its just 'kill the other guy'.

I'm sure I got some details wrong, but I'm sure someone else can correct/add on.

I really like the original LOTR SBG for what its worth and what I'll be sticking with.

 Cruentus wrote:
They charge for the rulebook (very expensive) and there are no points values.

The Points value ARE in the Rulebook. however you still need the sourcebooks (arnor ect) if the price is an issue dont buy directly.

Thx for all your answers !

 Khornate25 wrote:
Hi, so I'm trying to get my friend into wargaming and he expressed interest in the LOTR/Hobbit range of GW (which I never played). I just wanted to know a couple of things about this game:

1-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the pace of the game and price

Fast paced and actually quite cheap - you may need about 4 sets of 12 minis for a standard hordy army.

2-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the price to make a standard army and how much point is such an army ?

For my 500 point Mordor army (500 points is probably like the 1500 points of 40k - it's quite a large game, but not massive) this is the current equivalent price:
Winged Nazgul - 74.50
Witch King of Angmar (you need versions of the model mounted and on foot) - 43.50
3x Mordor Orcs - 89.25
2x Morannon Orcs - 59.50
Warg Riders - 35.75

This is a large horde army. It's not a legal tournament list, but it reflects what I wanted to do with the army beautifully - have the force used by the Witch-King in the battle of Minas Tirith.

3-There ain't really no starter forces, so is it necessary to absolutly buy the army book to make a list before buying things ?

If you can find the old One Rulebook on eBay then you don't really need the rulebook. However, if you want to play with newer models, then the army book is a useful purchase. I do not use the Mordor Sourcebook for my Mordor army.

4-What are the style of each armies ? Are the armies of LoTR compatible with the Hobbit game, or are they only for they own game ?

Think of the Hobbit as 5th Edition LOTR - it's the same game but updated. So yes, the armies for both the Hobbit and LOTR are compatible, no problems with that!
For your armies, I did a thread about it here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/495538.page
But generally, the "Good" armies (as in alignment) are more elite and the "Evil" armies are horde-y - but that's not always the case!

 Khornate25 wrote:
Hi, so I'm trying to get my friend into wargaming and he expressed interest in the LOTR/Hobbit range of GW (which I never played). I just wanted to know a couple of things about this game:

1-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the pace of the game and price
2-Compared to W40k/WHFB and Warmahordes, what is the price to make a standard army and how much point is such an army ?
3-There ain't really no starter forces, so is it necessary to absolutly buy the army book to make a list before buying things ?
4-What are the style of each armies ? Are the armies of LoTR compatible with the Hobbit game, or are they only for they own game ?

Thank you for your time !

1- pace is slower (average game is around 500-800, an 800 point game lasts around 2-3 hours)
2- depending on the units of course, but can be as cheap as £50 for 300 points (kinda like the equivalent of 1000pts of 40k- small-sized but playable).
3- yup, the army books are the codexes of LotR.
4- they are fully compatible with one another, but the new hobbit stuff can't be in the same warband as LotR stuff (though they can fight side-by-side as seperate warbands)

If you want to create an elite army it will cost a lot depending on which army you are going to play with. But if you want a nice army in which you can play with and enjoy your game it would probably cost you £50-£60.

If you are happy to convert or proxy heroes, the SBG can be pretty cheaply done by using the plastic kits. I'd steer away from any finecast or metal though- it tends to be very over priced.

I concur, but the Finecast Commander kits aren't that bad value - I've seen better, but they aren't the worst.

Suggest you grab the Mines of Moria Boxed Set. It includes the rules for most all models plus plenty of fun with The Fellowship to get you started.

And yes, you can definitely get whichever models you want - and work them into a scenario later - or come up with your own scenarios.

Mines of Moria IS balanced toward the Good Side for sure. So take turns playing Good! But as you gain experience, you could always toss in a little something extra on the Evil side in the given scenarios to balance it out.

The games are quick! If you decide to play WOTR down the line then that game does take longer to play - more like 40K or Fantasy. Most LOTR battles are quick skirmishes - which are no less fun.