I can only hope this is true.

I prefer War of the Ring to SBG and have armies for Isengard, Rohan, Mordor, and Gondor. I have a blog and youtube channel to support the system and am just kicking off a six player campaign.

But having said that, a mass battles game for The Hobbit is now cost prohibitive in either plastic or resin and I will not be collecting any armies for a Hobbit mass battles game. If the second book is a revision of the War of the Ring system, I'll probably buy the rulebook and that's about it. Nobody would be able to collect an army and even I wouldn't shell out the cash for one, let alone two for a casual opponent.

I do not have to buy anything new or from GW for that matter to Play TBFA. I have been doing it for years.
See link
http://larsen-family.us/~1066/5armies.html

I also will buy a WOTR style book for TBFA.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

At least I hope -in the event the rumours are true- that the massed battles will be an upgrade of the War of the Ring rules.

I Bring sad news possibly on Games workshop Carmarthen Facebook page it details that we will be getting a free 32 page rules pack/supplement with new profiles in on the issue 46 of white dwarf. It does look as if there will not be an actual sourcebook now

White Dwarf today also mentions the 32 page supplement. I hope it’s separate to the magazine and not part of it.

I don’t think it rules out getting a new source book, but it does make it look less likely.

On the plus side it means more money to spend on models. We can always create a collection of community scenarios with more sane participants than 18 Mirkwood Spiders.

Not just a bad sign in terms of GW's willingness to invest in the game, but very difficult in the long run due to the limited availability of the rules.

On the other hand, 32 pages is quite decent (the sourcebooks are only 48 - aside from Free Peoples, which is 64), and while I still haven't picked up Desolation (in part due to in being €26), I'll definitely get this one (costing €3.20).

Sad news but not surprised, just hope its a good supplement

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Harfoots-The first of the Hobbit people to cross over the Misty Mountains and enter Eriador.

Well that will be the first White Dwarf I've bought in years (well current editions any way). What week is it due out and are they only available in GW stores and online now?

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My Miniatures Blog (covering LOTR/Terminator/Doctor Who/Warpath and more!):
http://cruciumgiger.blogspot.co.uk/

The White Dwarf should be out on 13th December, available online, in GW stores and independent stockists.

Apparently worldwide sales of the DoS sourcebook only numbered in the hundreds. So it looks like no sourcebook, just the WD supplement.

Surely they will either make a sourcebook or publish the supplement online for once the White Dwarf has sold out? Otherwise they are literally stating they don't care? What about people who take up the game after the White Dwarf has sold out? Also, I previously assumed they'd do an overall book for all miniature profiles produced in a years time or so. If not then are they 'admitting' the game is at its end?

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Inspiration: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p4gaq4nesnbf ... i1f8a?dl=0

Where did you get this figure?

On the GBHL page on Facebook group, directly from a member of the GW design studio.

So, that means the vast majority of people on this very site didn't bother to buy the DoS sourcebook. No wonder GW is giving up on this game. It's hypocritical to say GW doesn't care but then show no support for their products. This is a sad day, if true, that there will be no sourcebook for BoFA.

I bought it, and so did one of my mates

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Harfoots-The first of the Hobbit people to cross over the Misty Mountains and enter Eriador.

Such pessimistic conversation. Sorry to say it in such way but why there is so bad view over GW releasing another sourcebook?
Its really to early for this and actualy releasing the first profiles with WD is the best strategy for now. The reasons? :
1-We have only seen a handfull of elves so far and nothing more untill the film is actualy released.
2-If GW is to release another sourcebook it will surely be to contain much more profiles for future models that have not yet been published.
3-A sourcebook may contain a lot of spoilers for their future releases.
4-There will surely be a sourcebook to contain all profiles for their releases for BOTFA as using WD as permanent source of profiles will cause all kind of problems to the hobbit.
No need to panic

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We shall not be forgotten, from the ashes we shall rise to become immortals in history!

Armies:Fiefdoms, Eastern Kingdoms

I think all we will see now are a few weeks more of finecast waves with all the profiles in WD. And then that will be it.

I think no more plastics for SBG. Within a year you won't be able to any LotR/Hobbit stuff (except perhaps remaining goblin town starter boxes) in their shops.

It isn't the fault of the customers. To be honest it has been an appalling debacle from the get go, lack of market research or customer insight/understanding, poor product placement, lack of marketing, disastrous pricing structure and a refusal to make the changes that could have made this a success.

To me it highlights just how far down their own rabbit hole games workshop are. They are institutionalised and blind. The whole table top gaming world has expanded in an astonishing way in the last 5 years, with fabulous systems, an amazing variety of absorbing games and beautiful miniatures, amazing scenery all at affordable prices. It is those kinds of gamers GW could have appealed to... But asking them to buy plastic elves at £2.50 a shot, when they can buy a plethora of other miniature between 50p and £1 each

I hope I am wrong, but fear I'm right. I shall be buying very little Hobbit this time round sadly.

It's a "32 page supplement", not 4-8 pages which the rules might otherwise take.

From their last annual report the only reference to the SBG:

"With the sole, and rapidly declining, exception of products from Tolkien's books we use only our own imaginary worlds."

As opposed to "we have some really amazing products on the horizon to be released concurrent with the final movie of the Hobbit triology which will capitalise on our investment on the hobbit licence"

TBH I'd be prepared for much worse - I wouldn't be surprised if GW doesn't release a Smaug model at all at this point.






^This.

(Actually IMO ditching the printed rules in favour of making them freely available should have been something they did a long time ago - to reduce start up costs, and improve quality to get and keep more people in the hobby.)

(And yes I did buy DoS)



Edit - if I was truly optimistic I might believe that this was a last ditch effort to save the Hobbit - rather than print the rules in sourcebooks which only fans of the game will buy - instead they're being distributed to every white dwarf subscriber (not that there's likely many of them left) which will belatedly raise the profile of the game. But even if that were the case since it's not accompanied by a massive price reduction - $240 CDN for Thorin's Co??? ROFL - the whole fellowship was only $60 - it would be a case of too little too late.