“For Bree stood at an old meeting of ways; another ancient road crossed the East Road just outside the dike at the western end of the village, and in former days Men and other folk of various sorts had travelled much on it. Strange as News from Bree was still a saying in the East Farthing, descending from those days, when news from North, South, and East could be heard in the inn…” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Having just survived a harrowing journey through the Old Forest and its dark secrets with the help of Tom Bombadil, your heroes arrive in the town of Bree hoping to find a nice bed and a good meal at the famous Prancing Pony inn. However, upon arrival, you quickly discover that something is amiss in Bree as a group of cultists worshiping a mysterious figure known only as Gaur have set several schemes in motion to extend their influence throughout the local populace. 

What are these cultists seeking? Who is this Gaur they speak of? You must leave behind the comforts of the Prancing Pony to investigate further, but beware!, the cultists and their young leader Orc-Eyes don’t take kindly to those who interfere with their plans.

A Long-extended Party is pleased to announce Strange News in Bree, the first adventure pack in the Fell Summer cycle, scheduled for release in late January 2025. To play this scenario, you will also need a copy of The Shire’s Reckoning Deluxe Expansion.

Where the Stars are Strange

“…they were messengers sent to contest the power of Sauron, and to unite all those who had the will to resist him; but they were forbidden to match his power with power, or to seek to dominate Elves or Men by force and fear.” – The Return of the King

And speaking of strangeness, there are many strange and little-known places in Middle-earth, often heard of in tall-tales, but that have been seldom visited by our heroes before.

The distant, vast lands of Rhûn and Harad account for a large portion of the landmass of Middle-earth, but have not played a direct part in many of the great tales of the Third Age, except for their military support to Sauron’s forces. But both Tolkien’s texts and The Sands of Harad and The Haradrim Cycle made us wonder about their actual absolute devotion to the Dark Lord’s cause. 

And there were actually a couple of wandering Istari, whose names have been forgotten long ago by many (but not by us!), who traveled to those distant eastern countries, in the hope of countering the Shadow’s nefarious influence.

That’s why we are proud to announce for this Adventure Pack a couple of highly anticipated heroes: Alatar [FS 1] and Pallando [FS 2], the two Blue Wizards. In their arduous journey among these wild and strange lands, they will have their trusted Blue Staff [FS 7] to help them, as well as many Easterling allies from various regions, ready to support them in various ways.

True to their reclusive nature, Alatar and Pallando shine when journeying alone without a third hero, gaining additional sphere icons as well as the ability to equip their staffs in Setup. Alatar allows players to easily wander off course and complete a few side quests while still on their main journey since he allows you to place progress directly on player side quests. This can help improve your board state early on in a scenario while still letting you concentrate on advancing or it can help using side quests in adventures that normally would make such lengthy diversions a costly affair. Pallando is a master spell caster, able to ready himself (or another Istari) once a round after you play a Spell (and he can use his Blue Staff to ensure you always have a Spell on hand!). 

Another option of the Blue Staff enables an untraditional approach to the quest phase, allowing players to alleviate the penalty for questing unsuccessfully. Despite this, the Easterling allies that follow the Blue Wizards can still help in making the scenario progress, for example through the Action of Variag Recluse [FS 5] that allows you to directly place 1 progress on the current quest (though note you cannot use it to actually defeat a quest). Emissary for the East [FS 8], which is a key card for an Easterling deck, boosts this peculiar approach even further and also extends it to Harad allies such as the Southron Refugee [TH 90]. 

Take a journey off the beaten path as you discover what Strange News is in story for this next adventure pack in the Fell Summer cycle!

A Long-extended Party is a fan-made expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and is not endorsed, supported, or affiliated by Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.  The copyrightable portions of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and its expansions are © 2011 – 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. The Lord of the Rings, and the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises and are used, under license, by Fantasy Flight Games. Living Card Game, LCG, LCG logo and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.