He could see nothing but the dim flame of the torches; but if the company halted, there seemed an endless whisper of voices all about him, a murmur of words in no tongue that he had ever heard before. –The Return of the King

When Revealed: Each player searches the encounter deck for a different location and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.

...there could be no turning back; all the paths behind were thronged by an unseen host that followed in the dark. –The Return of the King

X is the threat of the player with the highest threat.

Each player cannot reduce his threat below his initial threat level.

Forced: At the beginning of the planning phase each player must choose: either raise your threat by 1, or you cannot play cards this phase.