Aragorn

Long before he is crowned, Aragorn is Strider — a weather-worn ranger of the North who knows every hidden path in Eriador. He begins at the Weather Hills, the lonely highland of Amon Sûl that sits squarely across Frodo's earliest road out of the Shire. No hero is better placed to meet the Ring-bearer on that first perilous stretch and shepherd him toward safety.

As the story unfolds, Strider becomes the returning king: a rallying figure who draws the scattered armies of the Free Peoples together and leads them into battle. On the board he is your all-rounder — mobile enough to escort Frodo, martial enough to break shadow troops, and inspiring enough to hold the line where hope is thinnest.

There is only one victory, and the whole table shares it: complete every Objective card, then let Frodo cast the Ring into Mount Doom last. Aragorn wins the game not by scoring but by keeping Frodo alive and the road ahead clear.

Your contribution is protection and momentum. Early on you meet Frodo near the Weather Hills and travel alongside him, spending Stealth so his movement doesn't trigger a dangerous search. As the map heats up you become the team's battle answer — clearing shadow troops that threaten havens and Frodo's path, shifting the Eye of Sauron off the Ring-bearer every time you Attack, and standing where the pressure is greatest so your more fragile allies can do their work. Every point of hope the Fellowship loses is a step toward defeat; Aragorn's job is to make sure that step never comes.

Aragorn leans on two of the six actions above all — Travel and Attack — backed by the Stealth and Valor symbols the team draws on constantly.

• Travel is his signature. He moves well and brings friendly troops and characters along with him, which makes him the ideal escort: pair up with Frodo and cover the Ring-bearer's move with Stealth instead of risking a search.
• Attack is where he shines when swords are needed. Fight where friendly and shadow troops share a location — this shifts the Eye onto that region and off Frodo, then you roll a battle. Aragorn is a hero you're happy to send into that fight.
• Fellowship and Prepare round him out: Prepare at a haven, discarding a region card to bank a Stealth, Valor, or Friendship token for the escorting, capturing, and rallying ahead — and use Fellowship to pass a region-matching card to the teammate who needs it most.

Think of him as the connective tissue of the team — the character who can be wherever the crisis is this turn, because he can get there and win the fight when he arrives.