While Rocky Outcrop is in the staging area, characters cannot be readied by player card effects.
Travel: The first player exhausts a hero he controls.
While Hillside Manor is in the staging area, each player's threat cannot be reduced by more than 1 each round by player card effects.
Travel: Each player discards 1 random card from his hand.
The wine of Dorwinion brings deep and pleasant dreams.
–The Hobbit
City Forum gets +1 for each resource here.
While City Forum is in the staging area, it gains:"Forced: After a location is explored, place 1 resource here."
Travel: Each player raises his threat by 1 for each resource here.
Immune to player card effects.
Forced: When Seedy Travern is explored, reveal each facedown card under it.
Travel: Look at the top 5 cards of the encounter deck. Put one of those cards facedown under Seedy Tavern and shuffle the rest back into the encounter deck.
While Side Street is in the staging area, progress cannot be placed on other locations in the staging area.
Travel: Shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and discard cards until a location is discarded. Add that location to the staging area.
While Catacombs is in the staging area, enemies in the staging area cannot take damage.
Travel: Each player discards the top card of the encounter deck. If a player discards an enemy this way, he puts it into play engaged with him.
Forced: When Temple of Sauron leaves play, place 1 damage token on Tribute to Mordor.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 for each quest stage in the victory display.
X is 1 more than the number of quest stages in the victory display.
Forced: When Hall of Horrors leaves play, each player deals X damage to a character he controls.
...they had worshipped Sauron in the Dark Years.
–The Return of the King
When Revealed: Discard cards from the top of the encounter deck until an enemy is discarded. Add that enemy to the staging area.
Shadow: Discard the top card of the encounter deck. If that card is an enemy, add it to the staging area.
While Narrow Opening is the active location, each player cannot play more than 1 card each round.
Forced: When Narrow Opening leaves play, each player discards 1 random card from his hand.
"I got stuck in the door, which was only open a crack, and I lost lots of buttons..."
–Bilbo, The Hobbit
When Revealed: Make Crumbling Passage the active location, returning any previously active location to the staging area.
Forced: When Crumbling Passage leaves play, deal 1 damage to each exhausted character.
...at that moment a stone hurtling from above smote heavily on his helm, and he fell with a crash and knew no more.
–The Hobbit
Forced: After an enemy is defeated, place 1 progress on Contested Square if it is in the staging area.
While you control Contested Square, it gains:"Forced: After a character you control is destroyed, if you control Contested Square, returns Contested Square to the staging area."
Encounter Action: Put the topmost enemy in the encounter discard pile into play engaged with you to take control of Ransacked House.
While you control Ransacked House, it gains:"Forced: After the player who controls Ransacked House loses control of a location, return Ransacked House to the staging area."
While Makeshift Fortification is the active location, it gains archery 3.
Forced: After a player takes control of Makeshift Fortification return the topmost enemy in the encounter discard pile to the staging area.
While Captured Tower is the active location, encounter card effects cannot be canceled.
Forced: After a player takes control of Captured Tower, he shuffles the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and discards cards from the top until he discards an enemy and puts that enemy into play engaged with him.
While The King's Lawn is in the staging area, each player must raise his threat by 1 additional point during the refresh phase.
Travel: Place 1 resource on the main quest.
While Guarded Archway is in the staging area, each player engaged with City Guard cannot reduce his threat.
Travel: City Guard makes an attack against the first player.
While Crowded Market is the active location, City Guard gets +20 engagement cost.
Travel: Shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck and discard cards from the top until an enemy is discarded. Add that enemy to the staging area.
X is 1 more than the number of resources on the main quest.
Travel: Raise each player's threat by X.
Shadow: Return attacking enemy to the staging area after this attack.
while Narrow Pass is the active location, it gains:"Response: When damage would be placed on Wainrider Champion remove an equal amount of damage from The Wainriders' stage instead."
Perhaps they were waiting to make some ambush in a narrow place?
–The Fellowship of the Ring
Crowded Track gets +1 for each character controlled by the first player.
Forced: After Crowded Track becomes the active location, each player searches the encounter deck and discard pile for an enemy and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
While Ravine Ledge is in the staging area, each racing test requires 1 additional matching result.
Travel: The first player makes a racing test. To pass requires 1 TURN result. If the players pass the test, each player draws 1 card. If the players faill the test, each player discards 1 random card from his hand.
X is 1 more than the number of quest cards in play.
Forced: When Fiery Chasm is explored, discard the top X cards of your deck.
...its floor and walls on either side were cloven by a great fissure, out of which the red glare came, now leaping up, now dying down into darkness...
–The Return of the King
When Revealed: Each player places the top 3 cards of his deck facedown under Hideous Deeps.
Forced: When Hideous Deeps is explored as the active location, shuffle each facedown card under it into its owner's deck.
While Orc Passage is in the staging area, encounter card effects cannot be canceled.
Forced: When Orc Passage is explored, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a copy of Torech Gorgor Patrol and add it to the staging area.
While Working Fields is in the staging area, characters cannot be healed.
Travel: Each player deals 1 damage to a character he controls.
Neither he nor Frodo knew anything of the great slave–worked fields away south in this wide realm...
–The Return of the King
While Watch Tower is in the staging area, it gains archery X.
X is 1 more than the number of Captive objective allies the players control.
Travel: Reveal the top card of the encounter deck.
While Fortress Walls is in the staging area, the cost to play each ally is increased by 1.
Travel: Each player places 1 card from his hand under a Castle side quest.
While Guard Tower is in the staging area, players cannot draw cards or gain resources from player card effects.
Travel: Each player exhausts a character he controls.
X is 1 more than the number of Castle side quests in the victory display.
Travel: Each player assigns X damage characters he controls.
...nothing could waft away the glooms and the sad mists that clung about...
–The Return of the King
While Troll Camp is in the staging area, Troll enemies get +1 for each player in the game.
While Troll Camp is in play, Bilbo Baggins gains:"Action: Exhaust Bilbo Baggins and spend 1 resource to remove 1 Sack card from a character. Bilbo Baggins may trigger this effect even with a Sack card attached to him."
Response: After placing 1 or more progress tokens on Hobbit-lands, the first player draws 1 card.
Shadow: Defending player must put the top card of the encounter deck discard pile on top of the encounter deck.
Forced: After placing 1 or more progress tokens on Dreary Hills, each player must discard 1 card at random from his hand.
Response: After Dreary Hills leaves play as an explored location, Bilbo Baggins gains 1 resource.
Forced: After placing 1 or more progress tokens on Lone-Lands, each player removes 1 resource from one of his hero's resource pools, if able.
Response: After Lone-Lands leaves play as an explored location, Bilbo Baggins gains 1 resource.
While Cave Entrance is in the staging area, it gains:'Forced: At the end of the round, place the top X cards of the encounter discard pile on the bottom of the encounter deck. X is the number of players in the game.'
That, of course, is the dangerous part about caves: you don't know how far they go back. –The Hobbit
While The Goblins' Caves is the active location, Goblin enemies get +1
Shadow: Defending player raises his threat by X. X is the number of Goblin enemies engaged with him.
While Great Cavern Room is the active location, it gains: “Forced: After a player engages a Goblin enemy, he must deal 1 damage to a character he controls.”
Forced: When faced with the option to travel, if The Great Goblin is in the victory display the players must travel to Great Cavern Room if able.
While Overhanging Rock is the active location, it gains:"Action: Spend 1 resource to look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Add 1 of those to your hand and discard the other."
"This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky–high for a football." –Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit
Forced: After a character takes damage from an attack made by a Creature enemy, remove 1 progress from the current quest.
Riddle: The first player names a sphere, shuffles his deck, and discards the top card. For each of those cards that matches, place 1 progress token on stage 2.
While Giant Web is the active location, each character gets -1 -1 and -1 for each poison it has.
Response: After Giant Web leaves play as an explored location, ready an unconscious character.
While Forest Stream is the active location, poisoned characters cannot quest.
Response: After Forest Stream leaves play as an explored location, discard 4 poison.
It flowed fast and strong but not very wide right across the way, and it was black, or looked it in the gloom. –The Hobbit
While Great Hall is the active location, it gains: "Forced: Put 1 progress on Smaug the Golden at the end of each round."
Burgle: The first player shuffles his deck and reveals the top card. He may discard 3 cards from his hand that match the revealed card's type.
While Secret Entrance is the active location, The Lonely Mountain's is reduced by half (round up).
Travel: The first player must exhaust a hero and name a card type to travel here. Then, look at the top card of the encounter deck. If the looked at card is not the named type, return Secret Entrance to the staging area. (The players cannot travel again this round.)
While Desolation of Smaug is the active location, the first treachery card revealed each round gains surge.
Burgle: The first player shuffles his deck and reveals the top card. He may discard 2 cards from his hand that match the revealed card's cost.
Response: When Western Slopes leaves play as an explored location (choose one): the first player draws 2 cards, or remove 1 progress token from Smaug the Golden.
Burgle: The first player shuffles his deck and reveals the top card. He may discard 2 cards from his hand that match the revealed card's sphere.
While Northern Slopes is in the staging area, each Goblin enemy gets +1 and +1 .
While Northern Slopes is the active location, it gains: "Forced: When a character leaves play, remove 1 progress from the current quest, if able."
While Green Hill Country is the active location, characters get +1 while committed to Hide tests.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 (+2 instead if you have failed a Hide test this round)