Tale

From LOTR-TCG Wiki

Tales are unloaded keywords appearing only on Free Peoples cards. It primarily appears on conditions, also it also appears on artifacts, events, and possessions, but never characters or followers. Tale chiefly appears cards in Fellowship Block, although it does occasionally appear in later sets. Many tale cards are named after songs or poems from Lord of the Rings, or named after chapters or books of that trilogy.

While Tales appear in multiple Free Peoples cultures -- Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven, Culture Elven.svg Elven, Culture Gondor.svg Gondor, and Culture Shire.svg Shire -- the keyword is particularly important to Culture Shire.svg Shire culture. Bilbo, Well-spoken Gentlehobbit (2U96) and Red Book of Westmarch (2R113) are common Culture Shire.svg Shire tools in every format where they are available.


List of Cards with the Tale Keyword[edit]

Portrait Card Name Culture Card Type Game Text
Greatest Kingdom of My People (1R16) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Exert a Dwarf to play this condition.

Each time your opponent plays an Orc, that player discards the top card of his or her draw deck.

Stairs of Khazad-dûm (1C24) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale.

While a Dwarf skirmishes a Culture Moria.svg minion, that Dwarf is strength +1.

Beneath the Mountains (2R1) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

Fellowship: Discard the top 3 cards from your draw deck to play a Culture Dwarven.svg weapon from your discard pile.

Great Works Begun There (2C9) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

Each time you play a Dwarf, you may discard the top 2 cards from your draw deck to take a Culture Dwarven.svg event into hand from your discard pile.

Till Durin Wakes Again (2C14) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

Each time a Dwarf companion moves from an underground site, you may heal that Dwarf.

Book of Mazarbul (3R1) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Possession Tale. Bearer must be a Dwarf.

At the start of each fellowship phase when the fellowship is at site 4 or higher, you may draw a card for each Dwarf companion.

Song of Durin (3U5) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. To play, exert a Dwarf.

The twilight cost of each Culture Moria.svg weapon is +2.

Fellowship: Discard this condition to discard up to 2 Culture Moria.svg conditions.

Ever My Heart Rises (4R46) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

When you play this condition, reveal the top 6 cards of your draw deck and stack them here.

Fellowship: Spot a Dwarf and discard the top card of your draw deck to take a Free Peoples card stacked here into hand.

Here Is Good Rock (4C50) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

Skirmish: Stack a Free Peoples card from hand here to make a Dwarf damage +1.

Thorin's Harp (18C3) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition • Support Area Tale.

Maneuver: Exert a Culture Dwarven.svg companion to make the fellowship's current site gain mountain until the regroup phase.

The Last Alliance of Elves and Men (1R49) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale. Bearer must be a Culture Gondor.svg Man. Limit 1 per bearer.

Bearer is strength +1 for each Elf you can spot (limit +3).

The Splendor of Their Banners (1R62) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale. Bearer must be an Elf companion.

Archery: If bearer is an archer, exert bearer to make the fellowship archery total +1.

The Tale of Gil-galad (1R66) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale. Bearer must be an Elf.

Skirmish: Discard this condition to make bearer strength +2.

The White Arrows of Lórien (1C68) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale. Bearer must be an Elf companion.

Archery: If bearer is an archer, exert bearer to make an opponent discard 2 cards at random from hand.

Hosts of the Last Alliance (2U18) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale. Plays to your support area.

While you can spot an Elf companion, the minion archery total is -1.

Response: If an Elf is about to take a wound, discard this condition to prevent that wound.

Beren and Lúthien (3U9) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale.

Skirmish: Exert an Culture Elven.svg ally to discard the bottom card of your draw deck. If that card is an Culture Elven.svg card, make a minion skirmishing an Elf strength -1.

Voice of Nimrodel (3C28) Culture Elven.svg Elven Event Tale.

Skirmish: Exert an Elf at a river or forest to cancel a skirmish involving that Elf.

Alliance Reforged (4R58) Culture Elven.svg Elven Event Tale.

Fellowship: Draw a card for each Elf companion you spot.

I Was There (V1_7) Culture Elven.svg Elven Event • Skirmish Tale.

Spot a minion skirmishing an Elf and discard your Culture Elven.svg tale to wound that minion.

Let Fly the Darts of Lindon (V1_10) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Tale.

Bearer must be a unique Culture Elven.svg companion.

Archery: Exert bearer to make all Free Peoples archers lose archer and gain damage +1 until the regroup phase.

Three for the Elven-Kings (V1_12) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition • Support Area Tale.

Each time the fellowship moves, you may spot an Culture Elven.svg or Culture Gandalf.svg ring to place a card from hand beneath your draw deck and draw a card (and heal a companion if you can spot 3 Culture Elven.svg or Culture Gandalf.svg rings).

The Choice of Lúthien (1R100) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Condition Tale.

Maneuver: Exert Aragorn to heal Arwen, or exert Arwen to heal Aragorn.

The Saga of Elendil (1R114) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Condition Tale. Bearer must be a Culture Gondor.svg companion.

Skirmish: Discard this condition to make bearer strength +2.

Banner of the White Tree (3R39) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Event Tale.

Maneuver: Exert a Culture Gondor.svg companion to make that companion strength +3 and defender +1 until the regroup phase.

Gondor Bowmen (3R41) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Condition Tale.

Archery: Exert a Culture Gondor.svg companion and discard this condition to make the fellowship archery total +2.

Might of Númenor (3C43) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Event Tale.

Maneuver: Spot a Culture Gondor.svg companion to reveal a card at random from an opponent’s hand. Heal X companions, where X is the twilight cost of the card revealed.

Some Who Resisted (3U45) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Event Tale.

Maneuver: Spot a Culture Gondor.svg companion to make the twilight cost of each maneuver event +2.

Scroll of Isildur (9R36) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Artifact • Support Area Tale. To play, spot a Culture Gondor.svg Man.

The Ring-bearer is resistance +1 for each Culture Gondor.svg artifact you can spot (limit +3).

Fellowship: Discard this artifact to play a ring from your discard pile.

The Faithful Stone (18R50) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Condition • Support Area Tale.

Each time a non-Culture Ringwraith.svg minion is played, you may spot a Man to put a Culture Gondor.svg token here.

Maneuver: Remove 3 Culture Gondor.svg tokens from here to spot a minion. That minion cannot be assigned to a skirmish until the regroup phase.

Stone Trolls (1R314) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition Tale. To play, spot Bilbo. Plays on any character. Limit 1 per character.

Each time bearer skirmishes a Troll or Uruk-hai, bearer is strength +3.

There and Back Again (1C317) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition Tale. Bearer must be a Hobbit companion.

Maneuver: Discard this condition to make each Hobbit companion strength +2 until the regroup phase.

Consorting With Wizards (2R97) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition Tale. Bearer must be Bilbo.

Bilbo may not take wounds (except during the archery phase).

Fellowship or Regroup: Exert Bilbo or discard this condition to remove Twilight 1.svg.

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! (2R108) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition Tale. Bearer must be the Ring-bearer.

Skirmish: Discard this condition to take off The One Ring or to cancel a skirmish involving the Ring-bearer and a Nazgûl.

Red Book of Westmarch (2R113) Culture Shire.svg Shire Possession Tale.

Each time you play a tale, you may spot Bilbo to draw a card.

Three Monstrous Trolls (3C114) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition Tale.

Response: If a Shadow card is about to add any number of twilight tokens, exert a Hobbit ally to prevent this.

Everyone Knows (9R50) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition • Support Area Tale. Each unbound Hobbit is strength +1 for each vitality over 3 he or she has.

Skirmish: Prevent an unbound Hobbit from being overwhelmed unless his or her strength is tripled. Discard this condition.

Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom (10C112) Culture Shire.svg Shire Event • Skirmish Tale.

Exert a Culture Shire.svg character to remove a burden or 2 threats.

The Tale of the Great Ring (10U116) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition • Support Area Tale.

Skirmish: Prevent a Hobbit from being overwhelmed unless a Shadow event is (or was) played during this skirmish. Discard this condition.

A Dragon's Tale (18C106) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition • Support Area Tale. To play, spot a Hobbit.

Maneuver: Discard a tale from play to choose a Shadow player who must exert one of his or her minions.

Scouring of the Shire (18R112) Culture Shire.svg Shire Condition • Support Area Tale.

When there are 4 Culture Shire.svg tokens here, discard this condition from play.

Response: If a Culture Shire.svg condition or Culture Shire.svg possession is about to be discarded from play by a Shadow card, add a Culture Shire.svg token here to prevent that.​


List of Cards that Interact with the Tale Keyword[edit]

Portrait Card Name Culture Card Type Game Text
Glóin, Friend to Thorin (2R7) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Companion • Dwarf For each Culture Dwarven.svg tale you can spot, Glóin is strength +1 (limit +4).
Mines of Khazad-Dûm (3R3) Culture Dwarven.svg Dwarven Condition Each time you play a Culture Dwarven.svg tale, you may heal a Dwarf companion.
The Council of Elrond (1R35) Culture Elven.svg Elven Event Fellowship: Spot an Elf to play a tale from your draw deck.
Songs of the Blessed Realm (1C61) Culture Elven.svg Elven Condition Plays to your support area.

Each time you play an Culture Elven.svg tale, you may remove a burden.

Library of Rivendell (V1_11) Culture Elven.svg Elven Artifact • Support Area Fellowship: Stack your tale or artifact from play or from hand here to draw a card.

Regroup: Exert an Culture Elven.svg ally to draw X cards, exert X minions, and remove up to X wounds from companions, where X is the number of Free Peoples cultures on cards stacked here. Discard this artifact.

Answering the Cries (3C37) Culture Gondor.svg Gondor Condition Skirmish: Discard a Culture Gondor.svg tale from hand to make a Culture Gondor.svg companion strength +2.
Bilbo's Pipe (1U285) Culture Shire.svg Shire Possession • Pipe Bearer must be a Hobbit.

Fellowship: Discard a pipeweed possession and spot X pipes to shuffle X tales from your discard pile into your draw deck.

Pippin, Friend to Frodo (1C306) Culture Shire.svg Shire Companion • Hobbit Your opponent may not discard your Culture Shire.svg tales from play.
Bilbo, Well-spoken Gentlehobbit (2U96) Culture Shire.svg Shire Ally • Home 1 • Hobbit Fellowship: Exert Bilbo and discard a tale to discard a Shadow condition from an opponent’s support area.
Frodo, Reluctant Adventurer (2C102) Culture Shire.svg Shire Companion • Hobbit Ring-bound. Ring-bearer (resistance 10).

The cost of each artifact, possession, and Culture Shire.svg tale played on Frodo is -1.

Pippin, Steadfast Friend (19P30) Culture Shire.svg Shire Companion • Hobbit Fellowship.

Pippin is strength +1 for each tale you can spot.

Frodo, Mr. Underhill (0P67) Culture Shire.svg Shire Companion • Hobbit Ring-bound. Ring-bearer (resistance 10).

The cost of each artifact, possession, and Culture Shire.svg tale played on Frodo is -1.

Stricken Dumb (2R80) Culture Ringwraith.svg Ringwraith Event Maneuver: Exert The Witch-king to discard a tale or weapon.
Balin's Tomb (1U343) Culture Site.svg Site Site Underground. Maneuver: Discard a tale from play or from hand to heal your companion.​




Unloaded Keywords
Race Decipher [Raceless] • BalrogCreatureDwarfElfEntHalf-trollHobbitMaiaManNazgûlOrcSpiderTreeTrollUruk-haiWizardWraith
Player's Council CrowEagle
Hobbit Draft Game BirdDragonEagleGiantGoblin
Site
Decipher BattlegroundDwellingForestMarshMountainPlainsRiverUnderground
General Decipher BesiegerCorsairEasterlingEngineFellowshipFortificationKnightMachinePipeweedRangerRing-boundSearchSouthronSpellStealthTaleTentacleTrackerTwilight • [Unbound] • ValiantVillagerWeatherWarg-rider
Player's Council Pony
Hobbit Draft Game BurglarCunningWise