Faramir

Faramir, second son of the Steward, is the ranger-captain who patrols Ithilien and guards the eastern approaches to Gondor. Where his brother Boromir craved glory, Faramir keeps the quiet discipline of a woodland ranger — patient, watchful, and unwilling to touch the Ring even when it lies within his reach. That restraint is his strength on the board.

You begin at Minas Tirith, the White City and the last great fortress standing between Sauron's armies and the free lands of the West. It is the anvil on which the Shadow will break — or the haven that falls and drags the team's hope down with it. As Faramir you stand watch over Gondor's blue army, ready to blunt every Orc host that marches out of Mordor while the Ring-bearer creeps toward Mount Doom far to the east.

There is only one shared victory: complete every Objective, with Destroy the One Ring finished last. Faramir wins the game by making sure Gondor never breaks. If Minas Tirith or another southern haven falls, the whole team bleeds hope — and hope is the life total you are all defending.

Your contribution is defensive stability. You hold the line in the south so the rest of the party can push objectives elsewhere and so Frodo's slow march east is never overtaken by a collapse behind him. Keep Gondor's strongholds standing, thin the Orc hosts before they reach a haven, and every turn you buy the team is a turn closer to the Cracks of Doom.

Faramir is a frontline defender who leans on the six actions built for war and supply. His core loop is Muster and Attack: at Gondor's blue locations you spend Friendship to add fresh troops, then throw them at the shadow troops pressing your havens. When you Attack, remember it also shifts the Eye of Sauron onto your region — a welcome side effect, because every turn the Eye lingers on Gondor is a turn its gaze is off Frodo.

As a ranger-captain he also values the quieter actions. Prepare at a haven to bank Valor and Stealth tokens — Valor lets you 'Show Valor' to sweep extra Orcs off the field after a battle roll, and it fuels Capture: spend 3 Valor to seize a nearby shadow stronghold that one of your troops holds with no shadow troops on it, turning that fortress into a haven and gaining the team 2 hope. Use Travel to shuttle Gondorian troops along the battle lines to wherever the wall is thinnest, and if a teammate shares your location, Fellowship to hand off a region card matching the south. Think of yourself as the team's shield: absorb the Shadow's blows so the sword-arms elsewhere stay free.