Setup: Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of the Forest Spider and 1 copy of the Old Forest Road, and add them to the staging area. Then, shuffle the encounter deck.
You are traveling through Mirkwood forest, carrying an urgent message from King Thanduil to the Lady Galadriel of Lorien. As you move along the dark trail, the spiders gather around you...
The nastiest things they saw were the cobwebs; dark dense cobwebs, with threads extradionairly thick, often stretched from tree to tree, or tangled in the lower branches on either side of them. There were none stretched across the path, but whether because some magic kept it clear, or for what other reasons they could not guess. - The Hobbit
The trail winds into one of the darkest, most tangled parts of the forest...
You sense that foul, dark presence is hunting you, and you move quickly in an attempt to avoid its evil.
Players cannot defeat this stage while Ungoliant's Spawn is in play. If players defeat this stage, they have won the game.
You attempt to follow a secret, hidden trail to avoid the enemy...
The Lady Galadriel of Lórien has asked you to investigate the area in the vicinity of Dol Guldar. While doing so, one of your allies was ambushed by Orcs, captured, and is now held in a dungeon cell...
Setup: Search the encounter deck for the 3 objective cards, reveal and place them in the staging area. Also, place the Nazgûl of Dol Guldur face up but out of play, alongside the quest deck. Then, shuffle the encounter deck, and attach 1 encounter to each objective card.
When Revealed: Randomly select 1 hero card (among all the heroes controlled by the players) and turn it facedown. The hero is now considered a "prisoner", cannot be used, cannot be damaged, and does not collect resources, until it is "rescued" (as instructed by card effects) later in this quest.
The players, as a group, cannot play more than 1 ally card each round.
Players cannot advance to the next stage of this quest unless they have at least 1 objective card.
Following a thread of sunlight, you discover a cavern opening leading out through the side of the hill. Stationed outside the cave–mouth, however, is a large group of Orcs.
Forced: At the beginning of each quest phase, each player places the top card of his deck, face down in front of him as if it just engaged him from the staging area. These cards are called "Orc Guard" and act as enemies with: 1 hit point, 1 
and 1 
Players cannot defeat this stage while Nazgûl of Dol Guldur is in play. If this stage is defeated and Nazgûl of Dol Guldur is not in play, the players have won the game.
Setup: Each player reveals 1 card from the top of the encounter deck, and adds it to the staging area.
Emerging from Mirkwood Forest with an urgent message from Lady Galadriel, you must make your way south along the Anduin River in order to reach the forst of Lórien. As you leave the forest behind, you notice that you are being pursued, and thus quicken your pace...
When Revealed: Search the encounter deck for 1 Hill Troll is one is not already in play, and place it in the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Players cannot defeat this stage while any Hill Troll cards are in play.
As you approach the location of a small raft stashed on the riverbank, a fearsome Hill Troll emerges from behind a grouping of rocks, and attacks!
Marauding Goblins have raided a woodman village on the eaves of Mirkwood forest. The Goblins killed the guards and took many of the villages captive. Those left behind beg you to rescue their loved ones.
Setup: Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of The Eaves of Mirkwood and Goblin Troop. Add The Eaves of Mirkwood to the staging area and set Goblin Troop aside, out of play. Shuffle of the encounter deck.
You swear an oath to the survivors that you will rescue the captured woodmen and bring justice to the Goblins who attacked them, then you enter Mirkwood forest to find their trail.
When Revealed: The first player adds the set-aside Goblin Troop to the staging area. Each other player searches the encounter deck and discard pile for a Goblin enemy and adds it to the staging area.
The Goblins are aware of your pursuit and form a rearguard to confront you while the others retreat to their secret hideaway. You must defeat this troop before you can continue your chanse.
This stage cannot be defeated while Goblin Troop is in play. When this stage is defeated, the heroes discover the trail to the Goblins' secret lair and the players win the game.
You have pursued the Goblins that attacked a woodman village to the mountains of Mirkwood. The trail leads over a steep ridge where you discover the forgotten Dwarf home of Nibin–D–m. You light a torch and enter in.
Setup: Search the encounter deck for Goblin Chieftain, Cracked Pillar, and Cave Torch. Set Goblin Chieftain and Cracked Pillar aside, out of play. The first player attached Cave Torch to one of his heroes. Shuffle the encounter deck.
The Dwarves abandonded Nibin–D–m after an earthquake collapsed part of the mine, but it seems these Goblins have since adopted it as their home. The flickering light of your torch reveals a network of dark passages and you set about searching for signs of the enemy.
When Revealed: Each player searches the encounter deck for a different location and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
You've made it across the chasm and resumed the chase. The Goblins rally around their chieftain outside the dungeons where the woodmen villagers are being held. You must defeat the big Goblin if you are to fulfill your oath and rescue the captives.
When Revealed: Add Goblin Chieftain to the staging area.
While there are at least 8 progress tokens on this stage, Goblin Chieftain loses the text: "Cannot take damage."
This stage cannot be defeated while Goblin Chieftain is in play. When this stage is defeated, the heroes rescue the captives, fulfilling their oaths, and the players win the game!
Setup: Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of the Forest Spider and 1 copy of the Old Forest Road, and add them to the staging area. Then, shuffle the encounter deck.
You are traveling through Mirkwood forest, carrying an urgent message from King Thanduil to the Lady Galadriel of Lorien. As you move along the dark trail, the spiders gather around you...
The nastiest things they saw were the cobwebs; dark dense cobwebs, with threads extradionairly thick, often stretched from tree to tree, or tangled in the lower branches on either side of them. There were none stretched across the path, but whether because some magic kept it clear, or for what other reasons they could not guess. - The Hobbit
The trail winds into one of the darkest, most tangled parts of the forest...
You sense that foul, dark presence is hunting you, and you move quickly in an attempt to avoid its evil.
Players cannot defeat this stage while Ungoliant's Spawn is in play. If players defeat this stage, they have won the game.
You attempt to follow a secret, hidden trail to avoid the enemy...
The Lady Galadriel of Lórien has asked you to investigate the area in the vicinity of Dol Guldar. While doing so, one of your allies was ambushed by Orcs, captured, and is now held in a dungeon cell...
Setup: Search the encounter deck for the 3 objective cards, reveal and place them in the staging area. Also, place the Nazgûl of Dol Guldur face up but out of play, alongside the quest deck. Then, shuffle the encounter deck, and attach 1 encounter to each objective card.
When Revealed: Randomly select 1 hero card (among all the heroes controlled by the players) and turn it facedown. The hero is now considered a "prisoner", cannot be used, cannot be damaged, and does not collect resources, until it is "rescued" (as instructed by card effects) later in this quest.
The players, as a group, cannot play more than 1 ally card each round.
Players cannot advance to the next stage of this quest unless they have at least 1 objective card.
Following a thread of sunlight, you discover a cavern opening leading out through the side of the hill. Stationed outside the cave–mouth, however, is a large group of Orcs.
Forced: At the beginning of each quest phase, each player places the top card of his deck, face down in front of him as if it just engaged him from the staging area. These cards are called "Orc Guard" and act as enemies with: 1 hit point, 1 and 1
Players cannot defeat this stage while Nazgûl of Dol Guldur is in play. If this stage is defeated and Nazgûl of Dol Guldur is not in play, the players have won the game.
Setup: Each player reveals 1 card from the top of the encounter deck, and adds it to the staging area.
Emerging from Mirkwood Forest with an urgent message from Lady Galadriel, you must make your way south along the Anduin River in order to reach the forst of Lórien. As you leave the forest behind, you notice that you are being pursued, and thus quicken your pace...
When Revealed: Search the encounter deck for 1 Hill Troll is one is not already in play, and place it in the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Players cannot defeat this stage while any Hill Troll cards are in play.
As you approach the location of a small raft stashed on the riverbank, a fearsome Hill Troll emerges from behind a grouping of rocks, and attacks!
Setup: Reveal 1 card per player from the encounter deck, and add it to the staging area.
Gandalf has requested your assistance in the search for the elusive creature known as Gollum. Your search begins in the Anduin Valley between Mirkwood Forest and the Misty Mountains
Forced: After the players quest successfully, the first player looks at the top 3 card fo the encounter deck. Reveal and add 1 of those cards to the staging area, and discard the other 2 cards.
You make your way along the banks of the Anduin River, a likely place for Gollum to find food.
The wood was full of the rumor of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds. The Woodmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. –The Fellowship of the Ring
Forced: At the beginning of the quest phase, the first player looks at the top 2 cards of the encounter deck. Reveal and add 1 of those cards to the staging area, and discard the other.
Rumors have led you to the eaves of Mirkwood Forest, where the Woodmen whisper of a new terror in the night...
"But at the western edge of Mirkwood the trail turned away. It wandered off southwards and passed out of the Wood–elves' ken, and was lost." –Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring
Any player who does not control a hero with at least 1 Clue objective attached cannot commit characters to this quest. If there are ever no heroes with Clue objectives attached in play, reset the quest deck to stage 2B.
If the players defeat this stage, the players have once again found a true sign of Gollum's passing, and have won the game.
Setup: Add The Carrock to the staging area. Remove 4 unique Troll cards and 4 copies of the “Sacked!” card from the encounter deck and set them aside, out of play. Then shuffle 1 “Sacked!” card per player back into the encounter deck.
While searching for Gollum in the Anduin valley, you recieve word that a group of Trolls have come to the Carrock.
Forced: After placing the 7th progress token on Grimbeorn's Quest, The Carrock becomes the active location. Discard the previous active location from play.
As this area is under the watch of the Beornings, you seek out their leader, Grimbeorn the Old, and discover he has already set out in a rage. You follow, hoping to find him before he confronts the Trolls.
The Eagle's wounds cannot be tended in the wilderness, so you attempt to bring the creature to Rhosgobel, where the wisdom of Radagast the Brown may be its only hope.
Having thwarted Gollum's escape attempt, you tighten his rope and push on through Mirkwood, to Thranduil's palace.
The player guarding Gollum cannot play cards from his hand.
Setup: Search the encounter deck for East-gate and Cave Torch. Put East-gate into play as the active location, and have the first player attach Cave Torch to a hero of his choice. Set First Hall and Bridge of Khazad-dûm aside, out of play. Shuffle the encounter deck.
You have been sent by the White Council to Moria, to deliver a message to Balin and his Dwarven colony. No one has heard from him in a while.
When Revealed: Reveal 1 encounter card per player, and add it to the staging area.
Player cannot advance to the next stage of the scenario unless Bridge of Khazad-dûm is in their victory display.
The doors of the East–gate hang crooked on their henges. The darkness inside the doorway is still and impenetrable, shutting out the last beams of a sinking sun.
As the presence draws near, doubt and fear surround you like a vast shadow. You must find daylight, you must escape from the Black Pit...
While Search for an Exit is the active quest card, only flip it to side 2B at the beginning of the staging step.
Perhaps if you climbed this pile of rocks, there would be a way out...
Forced: If Heading Down is in the player's victory display at the end of any quest phase, shuffle Heading Down back into the quest deck.
Players may bypass this quest card at the end of the combat phase.
As the presence draws near, doubt and fear surround you like a vast shadow. You must find daylight, you must escape from the Black Pit...
While Search for an Exit is the active quest card, only flip it to side 2B at the beginning of the staging step.
When Revealed: The first player chooses 1 of the following:
- • Each player discards 1 card from the top of the encounter deck. If the card is a treachery card, the discarding player is eliminated from the game.
- • Reveals the next quest card, putting Blocked by Shadow on the bottom of the quest deck.
Players may bypass this quest card at the end of the combat phase. If the players defeat this stage, they escape and win the game.
Celeborn has bid you to visit her father in Rivendell. Your journey takes you though the Redhorn Gate...
Setup: Add Caradhras to the staging area. Remove all copies of Snowstorm from the encounter deck and set them aside, out of play. Put Arwen Undómiel into play under the control of the first player.
When Revealed: Reveal 1 card from the encounter deck per player, and add it to the staging area.
Heavy rain drives you to seek shelter among the caves of the mountains. They are dry, and the fire you start seeps into your bones and restores your spirit. Your eyes are heavy when teh soft clatter of falling pebbles reaches your ears. Perhaps you are not alone.
When Revealed: Search the encounter deck and discard pile for Goblin Gate and add it to the staging area, if able. Then, if there is no active location, Goblin Gate becomes the active location.
Your journey has led to a decrepit portion of the mines, untouched by Dwarven pick for many a year. The air grows thick with moisture, and the walls almost appear to be weeping.
Setup: Place the Foundations of Stone encounter set aside, out of play. The first player attaches Cave Torch to a hero of his choice.
A low rumble sounds from below. There are a variety of underground waterways in Moria, but they should not be disturbed.
When Revealed: Reveal 1 card from the encounter deck per player, and add it to the staging area.
The river has deposited you at...
When Revealed: Create your own staging area. Discard your hand. Reveal 2 cards from the encounter deck and add them to your staging area.
Forced: After the 7th progress token is placed on Below the Mines, join another player at the beginning of the travel phase. If you cannot join another player, all players continue on to stage 5 together.
As you reach the eastern realm of Darrowdelf the craftsmanship of the Dwarves is proudly displayed. But the sound of drums sound in the deep, and it appears that these halls are infested with Orcs.
Setup: Remove Dark Pit from the encounter deck and place it aside, out of play. Add Durin's Bane to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
A crack like lightning sounds before you, and a creature of shadow and flame blocks your way. It is an ancient demon of Morgoth, and its presence explains the massing in Moria.
When Revealed: Reduce each player's threat to 0. Reveal X cards from the encounter deck, where X is one less than the number of players in the game, and add them to the staging area.
The White Council has sent you by ship to Gondor to help fight the threat of Mordor. Upon arrival in the port city of Pelargir, you are greeted by Lord Alcaron who takes you to The Leaping Fish where you can speak privately.
Setup: Search the encounter deck for The Leaping Fish and Alcaron’s Scroll. Make The Leaping Fish the active location and attach Alcaron's Scroll to a hero.
Inside the tavern, Lord Alcaron looks nervously toward the door as he hands you a scroll bearing the seal of Gondor. He asks that you deliver it to Faramir in Ithilen, but the brigands who just entered look intent on taking it from you
Battle. (Characters use their instead of 
when questing.)
When Revealed: Each player must search the encounter deck for a copy of Harbor Thug and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
The Southron army was larger and better prepared than the rangers anticipated, and now your dwindling company is painfully overmatched. Your only option is a disciplined withdrawl to Cair Andros, before being overwhelmed by the enemy reinforcements hurrying up the road to join the fight.
The island fortress of Cair Andros, which guards Gondor's northernmost causeways over the river Anduin, is under siege! Battering rams rumble up the eastern causeway and rafts filled with Orcs float across the river toward the lightly defended northern banks.
Setup: Add The Approach, The Citadel, and The Banks to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Siege. (Characters quest using instead of .)
Players must deal damage from undefended attacks to the lowest 
Battleground location in play. If there are no Battleground locations in play, immediate advance to the next stage.
The assault is relentless, and the defenders grow weary. The tide is slowly but surely turning against you...
As smoke and rending cries fill the air, rafts of Orcs beach their crafts all along the northern banks. You must reach the shore and drive them back into the river before a solid foothold can be established.
Reveal 1 additional card from the encounter deck and add it to the staging area during the staging step each round.
With a crashing boom the eastern gate shatters. A ram has broken through, and the pressing host of Orcs pour into the courtyard beyond. Engage them in hand–to–hand combat and secure the gate!
Riding north to the Gap of Rohan, you come upon a battle at the Fords of Isen. A Small number of Rohirrim have taken a defensive position, on the islet in the river's center where a large force of wild Dunlending assails them. You must move swifty lest the river run red with blood of Rohan...
Setup: Add The Islet to the staging area and attach Gríma to that location. Each player searches the encounter deck for 1 different Dunland enemy and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
You've captured the Orc captain, Mugash, in the mountains above Isengard. But as you make your way down Methedras, your captive escaped and flees east into Fangorn.
Setup: Add Edge of Fangorn to the staging area and attach Mugash to that location. Shuffle the encounter deck. Reveal X additional encounter cards where X equals the number of players in the game minus 1.
Forced: After the last time counter is removed from this stage, shuffle Mugash into the encounter deck and advance to stage 3.
The players cannot advance to stage 2 unless Mugash is attached to a hero.
You pursue Mugash into the ancient forest to find that the trees themselves seems to be attacking him. Without thinking, your at the tree branches to rescue your captive. That is when you first sense your own peril...
Setup: The first player takes control of Chief Turch. Set Raven Chief and Raven Chief’s Camp aside, out of play. Reveal 1 copy of Dunland Battlefield and make it the active location. Reveal 1 copy of Raven War-camp and add it to the staging area. Create the Raven deck (see insert) and set it next to the quest deck. Each player chooses 1 different enemy from the Raven deck and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck and Raven deck.
On your return journey to Isengard, you find war in Dunland. The Raven Clan has refused the Boar's claim to The Antlered Crown, and chief Turch asks you to join his Clan as they march to battle. Seeing an opportunity to earn Saruman the friendship of a unified Dunland, you agree to join forces and fight...
Forced: After the last time counter is removed from this stage, remove 1 time counter from each location in play. Place 3 time counters on this stage.
Setup: Set aside each of the 3 Across the Enttenmoors side quests and each of the 4 locations with the safe keyword. Reveal 1 of those side quests at random and 1 of those safe locations at random, adding them to the staging area with the safe location guarded by the side quest. Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of Savage Trollspawn per player and add them to the staging area. Shuffle the remaining side quests and safe locations back into the encounter deck. The first player gains control of Amarthiúl.
You have escaped from the prisons of Mount Gram, but you are not safe yet.
Forced: At the beginning of the quest phase, if there are no encounter side quests in play, discard cards from the top of the encounter deck until a side quest is discarded, reveal it, and add it to the staging area.
Forced: When a side quest is defeated, place progress tokens on Into the Ettenmoors equal to that side quest's quest points.
The Dream-chaser and her fleet depart from the Grey Havens, in search of the island from Calphon's dreams. Only a week out from the coast, the black sails of Corsair can be seen in pursuit!
Setup: Prepare the Corsair deck. Players prepare their fleet. Shuffle each stage 2 card in the quest deck so that their order is random, leaving stage 3 on the bottom. Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of Rolling Seas and 1 copy of Scouting Ship, and add them to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
While you are on-course (
), each Ship objective gets +2 .
When this stage is defeated, if you are on course (), look at the top 2 stages of the quest deck and advance to one of your choice, placing the other on the bottom of the quest deck. Otherwise, advance to the top state of the quest deck.
After days of aimless travel at sea, a dark mist settles along the ocean's surface, obscuring your visibility and frightening your ships’ crew. "Wait," Calphon says, "this happened in my dream, too... I think if we find a way through this mist, we shall be one step closer to the island."
When Revealed: Search the encounter deck and discard pile for 1 copy of Fog Bank and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
While you are off-course (
, 
, or 
), each non-Ship ally gets –2 .
When this stage is defeated, if you are on-course (), look at the top 2 stages of the quest deck and advance to one of your choice, placing the other on the bottom of the quest deck. Otherwise, advance to the top stage of the quest deck.
Calphon insists you are very close to finding the island, but Corsairs still shadow your fleet. You must either fight them or outpace them before you can reach the island and weigh anchor.
When Revealed: Search the encounter deck or discard pile for the Ship enemy with the highest and add it to the staging area (the 2 Ship enemies with the highest instead if there are 3 or more players in the game). Shuffle the encounter deck.
Corsairs led by the treacherous Captain Sahír have stolen the black key you recovered in the ruins of Númenor. You must get it back!
Setup: Prepare the Corsair deck. Players prepare their fleet. Prepare the Stormcaller's area with a second quest deck consisting of only stages 2C, 3C, and 4C, as well as the Stormcaller (see insert). Search the encounter deck for 1 copy of Rolling Seas, and add it to the staging area (2 copies instead if there are 3 or more players in the game). Shuffle the encounter deck.
The Stormcaller has a considerable lead on your fleet, but with good fortune and skilled sailing, perhaps you can catch up to it.
Forced: At the end of the quest phase, if you are off-course (, , or ), move 2 progress from Swift Departure to the Stormcaller's quest stage.
Corsairs are attacking Dol Amroth to cover Sahír's escape to Umbar!
Setup: Prepare the Corsair deck. Players prepare their fleet. Set each copy of Dol Amroth Warship aside, out of play. Search the encounter deck for Raider Flagship and 1 copy of Scouting Ship and add them to the staging area. Search the encounter deck for a Dol Amroth objective of your choice and add it to the staging area. Then, shuffle the encounter deck and resolve the Guarded keyword on that objective.
Forced: When a Ship enemy engages you, if you are off-course (Cloudy, Rainy or Stormy), deal 2 damage to a Ship objective you control. If you are on-course (Sunny), deal 2 damage to that Ship enemy instead.
If your current heading is at the worst setting (Stormy), Raider Flagship gets -50 engagement cost.
You have escaped from Umbar and thrown off your pursuers by fleeing into the desert, but many barren miles lie between you and the other side. To turn back is to walk into the arms of the Haradrim, so you set out on a dangerous desert crossing.
Setup: Each player searches the encounter deck for a copy of Burnt Sands and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck. Place the heat tracker next to the quest deck and set the temperature to 10.
As the sun climbs into the sky, you can feel the rising heat begin to take its toll on you...
Forced: After an ally enters play, either exhaust it, or deal 1 damage to it.
Forced: At the end of the round, increase the temperature by 4.
If the temperature is 60 or higher, the players lose the game.
Orcs have seized your friends and are now dragging them away as captives.
When Revealed: Each player searches the encounter deck and discard pile for an Orc enemy and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck. Attach each hero in the staging area to a different Orc enemy in the staging area. Each hero attached to an enemy is guarded by that enemy. Guarded heroes are under no player's control, immune to player card effects, and their text boxes are considered to be blank.
While an enemy is guarding a hero it gets +1 +1 +1 and is immune to player card effects.
Forced: When the enemy guarding a hero is defeated, that hero's owner takes control of that hero and exhausts it.
This stage cannot be defeated while an enemy is guarding a hero.
You've tracked the Mûmakil through miles of dense jungle and battled with the creatures that dwell therein, but now comes the hard part: you must actually capture the Oliphaunts alive.
When Revealed: Starting with the first player, each player attaches 1 random set-aside Capture objective to a Wild Mûmak in play.
Forced: At the beginning of the quest phase, if there is no active location, reveal an additional encounter card this phase.
This stage cannot be defeated while there are any Capture objectives in play. If the players defeat this stage, they win the game.
The Orcs that attacked Kahliel's village patrol the desert in search of survivors.
Uruk Chieftain cannot leave the Orc's area.
Forced: At the end of the quest phase, discard the top card of the encounter deck. Place X progress on this stage, where X is the discarded card's plus the total in the Orc's area.
The Black Serpent's caravan has taken shelter in a dilapidated desert fortress on their way to Mordor. Their wagons are loaded with tribute for the Dark Lord. Your plan is to seize the wagons and use the caravan to infiltrate Cirith Gurat.
Setup: Set each Harad objective aside, out of play. Add The Black Serpent to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck. The first player randomly selects 1 set aside Harad objective, reveals it, and adds it to the staging area.
In order for your plan to work, you must capture several important tokens from the Serpent's Camp.
If a Harad objective is not attached, the first player claims it and attaches it to a hero he controls.
This stage cannot be defeated unless each Harad objective in play is attached to a hero.
Your initial attack was a success, but the enemy has been alerted to your presence and the whole camp is astir. The fighting soon spills into every corner of the crossroads fort.
When Revealed: Shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck. The first player randomly selects 1 set aside Harad objective, reveals it, and adds it to the staging area.
If a Harad objective is not attached, the first player claims it and attaches it to a hero he controls.
The Black Serpent is considered to be engaged with each player who controls a Harad objective.
This stage cannot be defeated unless each Harad objective in play is attached to a hero.
Your plan is working. You've nearly succeeded in capturing the Southron caravan, but The Black Serpent himself holds the last token you need to infiltrate Cirith Gurat. He will not surrender it willingly...
When Revealed: Randomly select 1 set aside Harad objective and attach it to The Black Serpent. Shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and reveal 1 encounter card per player.
If a Harad objective is not attached, the first player claims it and attaches it to a hero he controls.
While there are at least 6 progress tokens on this stage, the Black Serpent loses the text: "Cannot leave the staging area or take damage."
This stage cannot be defeated unless each Harad objective in play is attached to a hero. If the players defeat this stage, they win the game.
Setup: Set Uruk Chieftain aside, out of play. Add The Captives of Cirith Gurat and 1 copy of Dungeon Cell to the staging area. Attach Abaan to Dungeon Cell. Each player searches the encounter deck for a different Orc enemy and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck. Starting with the first player, each player discards cards from the top of his deck until an ally that is not in play is discarded and attaches that ally to an unattached enemy in the staging area.
Posing as The Black Serpent's men, you have infiltrated the Orc stronghold of Cirith Gurat in order to rescue the prisoners there.
Each enemy and location in the staging area that is guarding an objective is immune to player card effects.
Forced: After any number of characters are rescued, reveal an encounter card.
This stage cannot be defeated while a guarded objective is in play.