He was taking a wandering course with many turns and doublings, to put off any pursuit. –The Fellowship of the Ring
Limit 1 per deck.
Response: When this stage is defeated, reduce each player's threat by 5.
Reduce the cost to play Keen as Lances by 1 for each card worth no victory points in the victory display.
Action: Add Keen as Lances to the victory display. Then, choose one: add 2 resources to a hero's resource pool, draw 3 cards, or reduce your threat by 4.
Attach to a player's threat dial. Limit 1 per player.
Forced: When you would be eliminated by reaching your threat elimination level, instead discard Favor of the Valar and reduce your threat to 5 less than your threat elimination level. You are not eliminated.
"...their hearts were lifted up in such a hope as they had not known since the darkness came out of the East..."
–The Return of the King
Play only after the staging step.
Quest Action: Choose X questing Hobbit characters you control. Ready each chosen character and remove them from the quest. Then, reduce your threat by X.
"The road goes on for ever," said Pippin; "but I can't without a rest. It is high time for lunch."
–The Fellowship of the Ring
Play only if you control a unique character with the Noble trait and another unique character with the Scout trait.
Response: After a player engages an enemy, reduce his threat by X, where X is that enemy's printed
...the Captains of the West were well warned by their scouts...
–The Return of the King
Response: After Fastred defends an enemy attack, return that enemy to the staging area to reduce your threat by 2. (Limit once per phase.)
"King's man! King's man!" his heart cried within him.
–The Return of the King
Folco Boffin gets -1 threat cost for each Hobbit hero you control.
Action: Discard Folco Boffin to reduce your threat by 7. (Limit once per game for the group.)
...he had many friends, especially among the younger generation of Hobbits (descendants mostly from Old Took)
–The Fellowship of the Ring
Attach to a location. Limit 1 per location.
Response: When attached location leaves play as an explored location, the first player reduces his threat by 3.
Attach to a hero.
Each unique character you control gains +1 .
Action: Reduce your threat by 2 to attach The Arkenstone to a hero controlled by another player and raise that player's threat by 2. (Limit once per round.)
Travel Action: Choose a location in the staging area with a player card attachment and make it the active location, returning any previous active location to the staging area. Reduce each player's threat by X, where X is the number of attachments on the active location.
South away! and South away!
Seek the sunlight and the day.
–The Hobbit
Play only if each of your heroes is a Hobbit.
Action: Reduce your threat by 4.
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
–Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit
Response: After Frodo Baggins commits to the quest, spend 1 resource from his resource pool to ready another unique character committed to the quest. If you quest successfully this phase, reduce your threat by 1.
"Keep your tempers and hold your hands to the last possible moment!"
–The Return of the King
Planning Action: Search the top 5 cards of the encounter deck for an enemy. Add that enemy to the staging area to reduce the cost of the first ally you play this phase by X, where X is that enemy's Shuffle the encounter deck.
When a player card effect would reduce your threat by any amount, reduce that amount to 1.
While playing an event with the printed doomed keyword, Saruman gains the printed , , and icons.
Response: After you play a card with the doomed keyword, ready Saruman.
Setup: Attach to a hero in play.
Action: Add Three Golden Hairs to the victory display and remove it from the campaign pool, to lower each player's threat by 3. Then, each player draws 3 cards.
"...your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion." –Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring
Play only if you control the Ring-bearer.
Planning Action: Brace of Coneys to the victory display to (choose 2): heal up to 2 damage from a hero, add 2 resources to a hero's pool, draw 2 cards, or reduce a player's threat by 2.
“'Sméagol always helps,' he said. 'He has brought rabbits, nice rabbits.'”
—Gollum, The Two Towers
Setup: Reduce your threat by 3.
Action: Raise your threat by 3 to ready Éowyn. She gets +9 until the end of the phase. (Limit once per game for the group.)
"But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter."
–The Return of the King
Response: After Beregond defends an attack and takes no damage, reduce the defending player's threat by 1. (Limit once per round.)
“The Lord does not permit those who wear the black and silver to leave their post for any cause...”
–The Return of the King
Galadriel cannot quest, attack or defend. Allies you control do not exhaust to commit to the quest during the round they enter play.
Action: Exhaust Galadriel to choose a player. That player reduces his threat by 1 and draws 1 card. (Limit once per round.)