The 2950 ScenarioAs in the 1650 Scenario, the general rules for the Free People, Dark Servants and Neutrals are much the same. However, there are some major differences between the two scenarios. The Good SideAs in the 1650 scenario, the 10 Free People nations start with an economic advantage over the Dark Servants. This isn't as significant a benefit in this scenario because all nations starting population centres have been scaled down. The effect of scaling is more significant to the Free People so they are definitely losers when it comes to this issue. Nonetheless, they still have an economic advantage. On the other hand, in this scenario, the Free People have a new Elven nation, the Silvan Elves. The Silvan Elves as with the Noldo and Sinda, have an increased chance of stealth. In effect, the Free People have another nation that can produce great agents. The Eothraim are replaced with the Riders of Rohan, and the Arthedain by the Dunadan Ranger (Led by Aragorn II). The Dark SideThe Dark Servant position isn't much changed from the 1650 scenario. The same 10 nations are in place with (in most cases) the same characters. The economy is smaller and the starting armies are much reduced. The Witch King has his capital relocated in Mordor. This makes it an almost forgone conclusion that the holdings in Angmar, and consequently the Dragon Lords holdings in Mirkwood will fall. The NeutralsThe Neutrals have undergone some changes. Harad is no more, having been absorbed into the Corsair empire. The Easterlings are split into two nations and the White Wizard (Led by the magnificent Saruman) is included.
General PointsAll nations are starting out with few pop centres. The FP have seen a big decrease compared to the 1650 start-up. The DS have also taken a small hit as well. In 1650, the FP had a military and economic advantage, in contrast to the DS advantages in characters and geography. The economic playing field has been levelled in 2950, and this therefore levels the military field as well (in number of troops that they can afford to field). Fortunately for the FP, GSI has evened out the characters somewhat. However, the DS still have a geographical advantage. Because most nations have small economies, they can only afford to raise small armies—hundreds to a few thousand. Armies of the size seen in 1650 won’t be marching around in 2950 until the economies can grow substantially. This has made combat spells and combat artifacts much stronger than before. A 1000 HI army can effectively be defeated by 300 MA if the smaller army has a few big combat weapons and defensive combat spells. While this is true in the 1650 game as well, you seldom saw it there since armies were generally much bigger. It really screws nations that have no mages since they will have no combat spells and little chance to locate combat artifacts. Since the DS have many more quality mages, I think this factor favours them. Another problem with the smaller economies is the character distribution. Incredibly, some nations are still starting with 6-8 characters that are primarily commanders. Nobody can afford to be raising so many armies, so all these duplicate commanders are a waste. Due to the financial restraints, you can’t afford to hire too many new chars, so it would be nice if GSI at least gave you a good distribution to start with. Obviously they do for some nations, but not for all. Hiring new characters to completely fill out the ranks is just too expensive. In any event, I should point out that the pop centre limit for the 2950 game is much lower than that of the 1650 game. So the huge armies one sees in 1650 will probably rarely, if ever, be raised in 2950 - you won’t be able to put down enough camps over time to support the effort. In fact, the only way to acquire the economic fortitude for large armies is to cannibalise your neighbours.
Tactics for the '2950' GameFrom Wes FortinThe war over what to do with enemy pop centres probably won’t pop up in the 2950 game. For the most part, Tom’s favourite (slash and burn) is the best tactic. No one can afford standing armies to ensure the enemy doesn’t retake a pop centre - so burn them and make sure. Burning Camps and Villages is more important. In the new game, taxes are likely to be high, and loyalties low. The loss of each pop centre further reduces loyalties and can start the spiral to pop centre degradation and evaporation. Emmies are more important. Early creation of camps (hence sellable produce) will be a critical factor in who can sustain troops and characters early on. Don’t try to max out character builds. Build what you need/can afford. Since most nations start with little produce, a high debt, and not much in the way of stores, that agent assault on a town is real handy. It’s unlikely that any of the front line nations have enough produce to sell to offset a huge debt. (see complaining about agents above). Economic warfare in the new game is much more a reality than in the old! Especially in the first 10 turns!
Rule ChangesRules changes from 3rd edition 1650 rules to 1st edition 2950 rules:
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