Council of Elrond

From the URD:

If your avatar is in play, either your avatar must be at the site where the character comes into play or the character must be played as a follower [ME:TW, 54].

Does this apply when one has The Lidless Eye/Sauron in play or are these two cards not considered avatars?
With either of those two cards in play would you be restricted to only playing characters as followers given that your avatar is never at a site?

Thanks!

Oops, looks like I posted this in the wrong section. If any mod could move this to the rules questions section that would be appreciated

Muzgash wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:22 pm Does this apply when one has The Lidless Eye/Sauron in play or are these two cards not considered avatars?

URD is not precise here. Rules do not say about avatars, but only about revealed/your Wizard orf Ringwraith.
With Balrog generally counting as Ringwraith, and Fallen-Wizard generally counting as Wizard.

CRF wrote:You may access your sideboard when your opponent plays The Lidless Eye as if he
had revealed his Ringwraith.

Not an evidence*, but above statement would be unnecessary if playing as Sauron would generally count as a having your Ringwraith in play.

*) because CRF contains both some new rules and some rulings that may be inferred from existing rules. Without decided order between them.

Interesting. Sounds to me like playing Sauron is not the same as playing a Ringwraith/Wizard, and the restrictions on playing characters wouldn’t apply. I couldn’t find anything in the Lidless Eye rules that specifically mentioned playing as Sauron.

That CRF reference seems to back this understanding as well.

Thanks.

Muzgash wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 10:30 pm Interesting. Sounds to me like playing Sauron is not the same as playing a Ringwraith/Wizard, and the restrictions on playing characters wouldn’t apply. I couldn’t find anything in the Lidless Eye rules that specifically mentioned playing as Sauron.

Right. The "Part II Standard rules - characters and companies" restriction on bringing characters into play does not apply. It says: "If your Ringwraith is in play, your Ringwraith (or a character with enough direct influence to control the character to be played) must be at the site at which the character is to be played." The Lidless Eye and Sauron cards do not have "Ringwraith" as their card classification (the text in the center bar on the right) or as a keyword (the italicized text coming first in the text box). These cards are not a Ringwraith.

This can be tied together further by going back to the same section of the rules (Character and Companies - bringing characters into play) in Part I Starter Rules. There it says "You may play a Ringwraith card if you do not have one in play. This is called "Revealing Your Ringwraith." You may not reveal a Ringwraith if your opponent has already revealed that Ringwraith. You must place your Ringwraith at his home site or at Minas Morgul. You need not control a Ringwraith with influence--he represents you, the player. While revealing your Ringwraith is an advantage, it also carries with it the danger of losing the game by having your Ringwraith eliminated." From this it is clear that The Lidless Eye and Sauron are not "your Ringwraith."

So, you can play characters under GI.

Thanks for confirming!