Mike Mayer wrote in message <3A637C01.BDE62D43@earthlink.net>... Lord of the Rings "Corrupt Hobbit Variant" version 0.2 Here's what I've come up with a smidgen of playtesting. Thanks to everyone and particularly David B. Eggleston for the suggestions. Purpose: To add a human element to the evil side of things. During the game, someone might be a Corrupt Hobbit. That player secretly works against the other players. The Corrupt Hobbit player wins if he obtains the ring and comes to occupy the same space as Sauron on the Master Board, or if "The Ring is Mine!" event box is reached and the Corrupt Hobbit is still alive. The other players win and lose as in the normal game. It's possible for the other players and the Corrupt Hobbit to all lose. Setup: Before the game begins, someone is secretly chosen to be the Corrupt Hobbit. One way of doing this is to put a black ball in a bag, put a number of white balls equal to the number of players in the bag as well, and then have each player draw out a ball, secretly look at it, and then hide it away. The player drawing the black ball is the Corrupt Hobbit. (There may not be a Corrupt Hobbit in every game. The players won't know for sure until the end). The undrawn ball is not revealed and the bag is placed aside. Play: Play as normal. If the Corrupt Hobbit reaches Sauron on the Master Board and doesn't have the ring, the Corrupt Hobbit is destroyed and is out of the game, but he doesn't reveal he was corrupt until the game is over. Between turns, players may accuse someone of being corrupt. If all players except the accused player agree on someone to accuse, that player must reveal if he's corrupt. If he is: His cards are given to the other players to divide up as they see fit; Sauron moves back one space on the Master Board; and if the Corrupt Hobbit has the ring, it's given to the person on his right. The Corrupt Hobbit is out of the game and can't win, though he may take satisfaction in seeing the others lose as well. If the player accused is not corrupt: His cards are put out of the game; Sauron moves forward one space; and the accused player is out of the game. If the accused player has the ring, it's given to the player with the hobbit currently closest to Sauron on the Master board. If there's a tie, the tied player nearest on the accused player's right gets the ring. Volcano: If the ring reaches the Volcano, no more accusations may be made. The Corrupt Hobbit reveals himself, if he exists, and the game finishes out as normal. Except, if the Corrupt Hobbit has/obtains the rings, he does not throw it into the volcano. He simply rolls the die in hopes of reaching Sauron, and then gives the ring to the next person. If there is no next person or if Sauron obtains the ring, the Corrupt Hobbit wins. If the ring is destroyed, the Corrupt Hobbit loses. Special: The Belt and Mithral may not be used on the Corrupt Hobbit while at the Volcano. If Sam is the Corrupt Hobbit, he may ignore his special power while at the volcano. However, Gandalf Healing or Elessar may be used on the Corrupt Hobbit at any time. Comment: Now keeping cards secret makes sense! And the theme of fellowship can be put to the test -- will trust outweigh suspicion??? Beware of suspicious behavior! One way for the Corrupt Hobbit to win is to obtain the ring and purposely move toward the darkness on the Master Board and reach Sauron. Another way is to often pretend he doesn't have a needed card when asked, to play cards that are designed to eat up Life Tokens and shields, or to attempt to force someone other than Sam onto the Dice spots, thus making the quest more difficult. Another way is to keep taking two cards on a given turn, but this can only be done so often before the others suspect something. -Mike