custom adversaries

Come forth thou coward king, and fight with thine own hand! Thou den dweller, wielder
of thralls, liar and lurker. Come foe of Gods and Elves, for I would see thy craven face!
SET ATTRIBUTE LEVEL DETERMINE MIGHT

1 The attribute level of the custom adversary is a

general estimation of their power level. It is also
a key number for determining other important
attributes of the adversary. Attribute Level is chosen
depending upon how powerful you want the adversary to
be.
To determine the attribute level of a custom adversary,
use the following ranges as a guide:
 MOOK/MINION: Attribute Level 1-4. Fights may
include 1-2 of these per player-hero.
 ELITE ENEMY/LEADER: Attribute Level 5-7. Fights
have 1 of these per player-hero max or less.
 BOSS/ICONIC ENEMY: Attribute Level 8-11. These
adversaries can handle an entire company alone or
with minimal minion support. These are probably
the end fight of a small arc or the hardest fight in an
adventure phase.
 END BOSS/IMPOSSIBLE FIGHT: Level 12+. These
adversaries can easily handle an entire company.
They almost always require the company to
specifically prepare for the fight. They are either not
meant to be killed, or are the capstone fight of a
campaign.
DETERMINE ENDURANCE
The next step is to determine the endurance
2 pool of the adversary. Endurance is determined
based upon the general size of the enemy and
their Attribute Rating. Leaders or elite variants of
3 The next step is to determine the Might of the
enemy. A Might of 2 or more is extremely
powerful; A single extra point of Might can turn
a mediocre enemy into a powerful adversary.
 NORMAL: Might 1
 HUGE OR POWERFUL: Might 2
 GIGANTIC OR VERY POWERFUL: Might 3
DETERMINE HATE/RESOLVE POOL
4 The hate pool of a creature is the power-source
for their special abilities and a measure of the
adversary’s determination. Resolve is an
alternative for adversaries that do not willfully serve evil.
An adversary that does evil things may still have Resolve as
long as they do not knowingly advance the agenda of
Sauron and the forces of shadow.
The Hate/Resolve pool of an adversary is equal to
their Attribute Level.
SET PARRY RATING
5 The Parry rating of an adversary is a function of
how well they are trained, but is also modified by
their size. This does not necessarily mean that
the enemy is dangerous or not, only that they are highly
skilled in combat. A dangerous enemy may have no parry
rating simply because they are powerful without skill. If
multiple of the following categories apply to the adversary,
take the lowest parry rating of all categories listed.

a common enemy type may be given +10 or +20 Endurance Enemy Type Parry Rating
to make them tougher.
Peasant/Commoner —
Untrained/Unskilled —
Attribute Level Small Adversary Huge Adversary
Practiced/Trained/Regular Soldier +1
1 4 25
Veteran/Skilled/Elite Combatant +2
2 8 30
Leader/Master Combatant +3
3 12 35
Dedicated Ranged Combatant —
4 16 40
Huge Enemy —
5 20 45
Common Animal —
6 24 50
Magically Enhanced Animal/Monster +1
7 28 55
8 32 60
9 36 70
10 40 80
+1 +5 +10

6
 SET ARMOR RATING
Short Spear 3 14
6 The armor rating of an enemy is a function of
how hard they are to seriously damage. Armor is
a generic term that doesn’t just mean actual suits
Spear (1H/2H)
Stone Spear (1H/2H)
4
4
14/16
12/14
Pierce
Pierce
of armor. Monsters may have high armor due to thick skin Sword 4 16
while humanoids wear suits of actual armor.
 UNARMORED/UNPROTECTED/CLOTH: Armor 1  NATURAL WEAPONS: Use the following table of
natural weapons for animalistic adversaries or those
 LIGHT ARMOR/THICK SKIN: Armor 2
adversaries that cannot hold weapons. Adversaries
 MEDIUM ARMOR/VERY THICK SKIN: Armor 3 that can use weapons may also have a natural
 HEAVY ARMOR/HARDENED SKIN: Armor 4 weapon attack in addition to a weapon attack.
 MAGICAL OR CUSTOM PROTECTION: Armor 5+  The damage and injury rating of a natural
weapon are based on the Attribute Level.
 Some attacks have more than one special
SET ATTACKS entry, in which case choose one.
7 The next step is to set the attacks or weaponry of
the adversary. Most humanoid or intelligent
adversaries will use weapons, but natural
 The names below are generic, rename them
to flavor the adversary.
weapons are more common among undead and  If you want the adversary to be a little weaker
animalistic adversaries. Most adversaries don’t have more without changing the Attribute Level subtract
than 2 attacks, but may have 3 if they are particularly (-1 Damage)/(-2 Injury Rating). To make it
dangerous. stronger, add (+1 Damage)/(+2 Injury
Rating).
 WEAPONRY: Use the following table of weapons for
humanoid adversaries or any adversary that can use
Weapon AL 1-5 AL 6-10 AL 11+ Special
tools. Many adversaries that can use weapons will
have a regular weapon and a backup weapon. Bite 4/14 6/14 8/18 Pierce/Seize
Chilling Touch 3/12 6/12 9/14 Pierce/Seize
Weapon Damage Injury Rating Special Claws 3/14 5/16 7/18 Pierce/Seize
Ancient Sword 6 16 Pierce Crush 4/12 6/12 8/14 Seize/Break Shield
Axe 5 18 Break Shield Sting 3/12 4/16 5/20 Pierce
Bent-Sword 5 14 Tail Lash 10/14 14/16 20/18 Break Shield
Bow/Bow of Horn (2H) 3 14 Pierce
Broad-Bladed Sword 5 18  WEAPON SKILL: For each attack, the enemy must be
Broad-Headed Spear (2H) 5 16 Pierce
given a skill rating to use when rolling attacks. The
number depends entirely on choice. Usually
Club (Troll) 6 16 Break Shield enemies will have a higher skill rating in their main
Cudgel 3 12 attack and a lower rating in their secondary or
Dagger 2 14 backup attack.
Great Axe (2H) 7 20  UNTRAINED/IMPROVISED: Skill 1
Great Spear (2H) 5 16 Pierce  UNSKILLED/BARELY PROFICIENT: Skill 2
Heavy Scimitar (2H) 5 18 Break Shield  SKILLED/PRACTICED: Skill 3
Jagged Knife 2 14 Pierce  HIGHLY SKILLED/DANGEROUS: Skill 4
Long-hafted Axe (1H/2H) 6 18/20 Break Shield  MASTERED/HIGHLY DANGEROUS: Skill 5
Long Sword (1H/2H) 5 16/18
Mattock (2H) 7 18
Morgul Knife 4 20 Pierce
Notched Sword (Troll) (2H) 7 16 Pierce
Orc-Axe 3 18 Break Shield
Orc-Whip 3 10 Seize
Pitted Blade 4 12
Scimitar 3 16
Short Sword 3 16

7

FELL ABILITIES
8 The final part of adversary creation is to design
their list of fell abilities. An adversary gets a
number of “Ability Points” equal to (Attribute
Level - 3). You spend these Ability Points to give the
adversary their Fell Abilities, to a minimum of 0. The cost
of each ability is listed after the name in brackets.
 You are not required to spend down to 0. Many
adversaries will have a net 1 unspent Ability Point.
 Some abilities are weaknesses, and have a positive
cost entry to balance out other expensive abilities.
 Abilities not listed in the following section are
considered custom abilities. Each custom abilities
costs [-1].
 Any ability with multiple effects will be listed with a
bullet for each possible effect. Each effect counts as
a separate ability, thus each costing [-1].
 Abiliies marked with a (+) are limited to magical
enemies only. Abilities marked with a (*) are
limited to undead enemies only.
 Certain enemies have more Ability Points to spend
because of their status or power. Modify the starting
Ability Point pool of the adversary based upon these
following criteria. Mark the adversary with a letter
code to identify if it is affected by any of these
special statuses.
Special Adversary Status Point Bonus
Elite variant or leader among equivalents. +2
Empowered by Sauron or other dark magics. +3
Physical body but unable to physically attack. +2
Mindless, thoughtless, or utterly dominated. +2
 BEWILDER+. [-1] Spend 1 Hate to reduce the Parry
score of a player-hero by –2 for one turn.
 BLACK DREAD+. [-3] All Shadow Tests made against
this creatures abilities are Ill-Favoured.
 COWARDLY [+1]. At the start of the round, the
adversary flees the battlefield if at zero Hate and is
unengaged.
 CRAVEN. [+2] When affected by the Intimidate Foe
combat task, the creature also loses 1 Hate.
 CRUEL STROKE. [-4] When this creatures scores a
Piercing Blow, spend 1 Hate to raise the Injury
Rating of the weapon by 5.
 DARKER THAN THE DARKNESS. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to
force all player-heroes to succeed on a Shadow Test
(Sorcery) or lose (-2d) on all attack rolls and suffer -
2 Parry for the rest of the combat.
 DEADLY ELUSIVENESS. [-2] This creature can only
be attacked in Close Combat by a character in
Forward Stance.
 DEADLY WOUND. [-1] Wounded targets make an Ill-
favoured Feat die roll to determine the severity of
their injury.
 DEATHLESS*. [-1] Spend 1 Hate to cancel a Wound.
When an attack inflicts damage to the creature that
would cause it to go to zero Endurance, spend 1
Hate to bring the creatures back to full Endurance
instead. This ability is ineffective against Player-
heroes wielding a magical weapon enchanted with
spells for the Bane of the Undead.
 DENIZEN OF THE DARK. [-1] All attack rolls are
Favoured while in darkness.
 DREADFUL SPELLS+. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to make one
Player-hero gain 2-3 Shadow points (Sorcery).
Targets who fail their Shadow Test suffer the special
effects of this spell.
 DULL-WITTED. [+2] Player-heroes can attempt a
special combat task against the creature while in
Forward stance. The acting player makes a RIDDLE
roll as the main action for the round: on a success,
the creature loses 1 point of Hate, plus 1 point for
each rolled.
 (REGION) DWELLER. [-1] When inside (Region),
this creature gains +2 Parry.
 FEAR OF FIRE. [+3] The creature loses 1 Hate at the
start of each round it is engaged in close combat
with an adversary wielding a torch or other burning
item.
 FEAST ON SUFFERING. [-2] Whenever a player-hero
is Wounded or is reduced to 0 Endurance, this
creature gains 1 Hate.
Code  FELL SPEED. [-2] At the beginning of each turn, this
E creature can choose which hero it engages
D
regardless of restrictions, or it can abandon combat
entirely.
M
 FIERCE FOLK. [-1] Spend 1 Hate point to gain (1d)
M
on an attack and to make the roll Favoured.
 FOUL REEK. [-3] If any hero engaged in close
combat with this creature wishes to take any action
other than attacking, they must spend 1 point of
Hope (including Combat Tasks).
 GHOST FORM*. [+3] The creature is incorporeal
and partially, if not completely, invisible. It cannot
normally harm nor can be harmed physically by the
living. When this creatures Hate score is reduced to
0, it disappears and reappears the next night with its
hate score refilled. Weapons that do not possess
Enchanted qualities cannot affect this creature.
 GREAT LEAP. [-1] Spend 1 Hate to attack any Player-
hero, in any combat stance, including Rearward.
 HATE SUNLIGHT. [+1] The creature loses 1 Hate for
each round it is exposed to the full light of the sun.
 HATRED (SUBJECT). [-1] When targeting the
subject of their hate, all attacks are Favoured.
 HEARTLESS+. [-1] The creature is not affected by
the Intimidate Foe combat task, unless a Magical
success is obtained.
8
  HIDEOUS TOUGHNESS. [-2] When an attack inflicts  WORDS OF POWER AND TERROR+. [-4] Whenever a
damage to the creature that would cause it to go to player-hero spends a point of Hope to gain dice or
zero Endurance, it causes a Piercing Blow instead. invoke a virtue, spend 1 Hate to negate it.
Then, if the creature is still alive, it returns to full  WRAITH-LIKE. [-1] The creature can be Wounded
Endurance. only by weapons possessing Enchanted Qualities.
 HORRIBLE STRENGTH. [-2] If the creature scored a  YELL OF TRIUMPH. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to restore 1
Piercing Blow with a close combat attack, spend 1 Hate to all other (Adversary Type) in the fight.
Hate to make the target’s Protection roll Ill-
Favoured.
 POISON. [-1] If an attack results in a Wound, the
target is also poisoned.
 RECKLESS HATE. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to recover
(Attribute Level) Endurance points.
 SAVAGE ASSAULT. [-2] When this creature produces
at least on a successful attack roll, they may
immediately make a second attack. This can only
occur once per round.
 SNAKE-LIKE SPEED. [-2] When targeted by an attack,
spend 1 Hate to make the attack roll Ill-Favoured.
 STRIKE FEAR. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to make all Player-
heroes in sight gain 3 Shadow points (Dread).
Those who fail their Shadow test are daunted and
cannot spend Hope for the rest of the fight.
 THICK HIDE. [-3] Spend 1 Hate point to gain (2d)
on a Protection roll.
 THING OF TERROR. [-5] Every turn, all Player
Heroes must make a Shadow Test to resist 3 points
of Shadow (Dread). If a character fails their Shadow
Test, they are daunted and cannot spend Hope for
the rest of the fight. If a hero fails a test, they no
longer roll Shadow tests.. This ability is considered
inactive if this creature is reduced to 0 Hate.
 THRALL (SUBJECT). [+2] This creature is a thrall of
another. When its master is on the field, this
creature may spend 1 Hate point to sacrifice itself to
absorb an attack for its master. If its master is not on
the field this creature loses 1 Hate and becomes
Cowardly.
 VISIONS OF TORMENT+. [-2] Spend 1 Hate to force a
player-hero to gain 1 point of Shadow (Dread). If
the hero fails their Shadow Test, they lose a number
of Endurance points equal to twice their current
Shadow score.
 WEAK SPOT. [+1] Whenever the dragon spends a
point of Hate, he exposes a weak spot on his
underbelly for the duration of a single attack. When
a player-hero scores a Piercing Blow on the dragons
weak spot, the dragon’s Armor is reduced to 1 for
the Protection Test.
 WEB. [-1] If and attack with the Web quality
successfully hits a target, that target is webbed and
unable to move. The webbed target cannot change
stance and suffers –4 to their Parry rating. The
webbed target may free themselves by succeeding on
an ATHLETICS roll.