Realms of the Elf-lords Contest #5:
Like This Would Happen!

The Contest

To see the contest puzzle, click here.

The Answers

This has been one of the most enjoyed contests that Decipher has ever done. The talk about it on the message boards and chat rooms has been overwhelming. Before we get to the solution, let me give you some statistics...

• There were just under 1,500 entries for this contest.
• Of those entries, 251 were correct.
• There were several different paths to get the correct answer, but certain things had to happen in all of them as you will see below.
• The least number of companions you could lose is three, and the most was six and still win the game.

Since there were several different ways you could order the skirmishes and come to the correct answer, we have decided to order the actions into steps that must be taken in order to get the correct solution as opposed to an order of skirmishes.

And now... the SOLUTION!!!

Step 1: Frodo's skirmish. Frodo loses his skirmish to Ulaire Otsea, taking two wounds and dying. Sam takes The One Ring, Isildur's Bane, raising his power to 6, and remaining vitality to 3.

Step 2: Gimli's skirmish. Gimli exerts twice to gain +4 strength, putting him at 12. He defeats the Orthanc Assassin. The Orthanc Assassin dies. Worry is NOT triggered. Gimli's Battle Axe triggers its ability, allowing you to wound the Goblin Scavengers. The Goblin Scavengers die. Merry is no longer assigned to a skirmish.

OR

Legolas' skirmish. Legolas wins his skirmish. Worry is NOT triggered. The Bow of the Galadhrim triggers its ability, allowing you to wound the Goblin Scavengers. The Goblin Scavengers die. Merry is no longer assigned to a skirmish.

Step 3: Sam's skirmish. Merry exerts twice to use his ability, since he's no longer assigned to a skirmish. Sam gets +3 strength from Merry. Boromir exerts to give Sam +3 strength. Sam is now at 3 (base) + 1 (Isildur's Bane) +3 (Merry) +3 (Boromir) + 2 (Hobbit Sword) -2 (facing a Troop of Uruk-hai which cancels the strength bonus given by the Hobbit Sword) = 10. The Bounder exerts to keep Sam from being overwhelmed unless his assailant's total strength is 30 (it's only 29). Sam LOSES his skirmish. Sam suffers 4 wounds from the 3 Uruk-hai he's facing. Arwen's ability is triggered, discarding the 3 cards in your hand to prevent one wound. Sam takes 2 wounds, and then is forced to put on The One Ring, Isildur's Bane. The third wound is instead converted into 2 burdens. Sam now has 4 wounds and 2 burdens. Worry IS triggered, forcing Sam to take a 3rd burden. Sam now has 4 wounds and 3 burdens.

Step 4: Boromir's Skirmish. Boromir suffers fatal wounds and is killed. Worry IS triggered, forcing Sam to take a burden. Sam now has 4 wounds and 4 burdens.

Step 5: Arwen's skirmish. If this happens after Step 3 it doesn't matter if she wins or loses.

Step 6: Pippin's skirmish. Pippin is overwhelmed... hands down.

Step 7: Gandalf's skirmish. Gandalf exerts twice with Gandalf's Staff to cancel his skirmish with the Witch-king.

Step 8: Merry's Skirmish. There is no skirmish for Merry and should not be listed.

Step 9: Gandalf vs. Witch-king part deux. Exactly like step 8 but must be the last skirmish listed since fierce skirmishes happen after all normal skirmishes. You can also chose to have the Witch-king skirmish someone other than Gandalf as long as it's not Sam.

NOTES:

1. Steps 1 and 2 may be taken in any order, but must be taken before Step 3.
2. Step 3 must be taken before Step 4
3. Arwen must be alive when Step 3 takes place, but her skirmish can happen before Step 3.
4. If steps 8, 4, or 3 are taken before Step 1, then it's an auto-loss.
5. Steps 6 and 7 may be taken in any order.

The Winners

So, there you have it! Did you figure it out? These people did and will receive some cool prizes as they are the winners!

Grand Prize:
Grant Kleinhenz
Noblesville, IN

2nd Place:
Alan McLachlan
Port Elizabeth
South Africa

Consolation Winners:
Brian Montez
Pueblo, CO

Jason Elie
East Greenville, PA

June 26, 2002