We must do something to delay the enemy first.
–Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring
Limit 1 per deck.
Battle. (Characters use their 
instead of 
when questing here.)
Response: When this stage is defeated, each player may choose and discard a non-unique enemy engaged with him.
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.
During the fight in the tavern, one of your adversaries managed to grab Alcaron's Scroll and flee outside. You chase the thief into the street where you are surrounded by a gang of his fellow brigands. You must fight your way through the mob and recover the scroll!
Battle. (Characters use their instead of when questing.)
The players cannot advance to the next stage unless Alcaron's Scroll is attached to a hero.
When Revealed: Attach Alcaron's Scroll to the highest engagement cost enemy in play, if able. Otherwise, add Alcaron's Scroll to the staging area.
You've arrived in Ithilien with a sealed message for Faramir, only to learn that he has gone north to defend Cair Andros from massing enemy forces.
Setup: Add Celador to the staging area. Search the encounter deck for a copy of Ithilien Road and make it the active location. Each player must search the encounter deck for a copy of Southron Company and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Battle. (Characters quest using instead of .)
If the players complete this stage with Celador in the staging area, advance to stage 3A (bypassing stage 2).
Faramir has left a company of rangers in Ithilien, tasked on ambushing Southrons as the march toward Cair Andros. Their captain, Celador, offers to lead you to Cair Andros after the approaching enemy is destroyed...
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!
When Revealed: Place Faramir and Lord Alcaron under Captured! (they are in play but players cannot gain control of them). Each player turns each of his hidden cards faceup.
Faramir and Lord Alcaron have been captured! Through the throng of warriors, you see their bloodied torn forms rushed eastward by a band of Uruks. You must move quickly to prevent the unthinkable! If there is to be any hope of rescuing your friends, you must fight your way out of the ambush.
At the beginning of the quest phase, each player takes 1 hidden card.
If a player has 5 hidden cards, he must turn them faceup.
If the players defeat this stage, they have won the game.
We must do something to delay the enemy first.
–Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring
Limit 1 per deck.
Battle. (Characters use their instead of when questing here.)
Response: When this stage is defeated, each player may choose and discard a non-unique enemy engaged with him.
As soon as the host of their enemies was dense in the valley, they sent against it a shower of arrows, and each flickered as it fled as if with stinging fire. Behind the arrows a thousand of their spearmen leapt down and charged. The yells were deafening. The rocks were stained black with goblin blood. –The Hobbit
Battle. (Characters may use instead of when questing here.)
Players cannot advance from this stage unless stage 2 and stage 4 are complete.
Forced: If there is no progress on this stage at the end of the round, the first player adds the topmost enemy in the discard pile to the staging area, if able.
Your adversary Thaurdir will not let you interrupt his master's ritual. Only by fighting through his ranks of Orcs can you hope to do battle with the wraith himself.
Thaurdir gets +2 
, +2 , and cannot take damage.