Council of Elrond

Hello,
We are play testing Dark Arda and it has already brought up quite a few rules questions that I've never had to deal with before.
First, is it true that starting companies all start in Minas Morgul? Lidless Eye Companion says this, but I believe challenge decks let you play at Dol Goldur as well. It also says your Ringwraith can only enter play at either Minas Morgul or its homesite.

Agents: We are using agents as minions only, not as hazards. It looks like Open to the Summons is the only way to play a Minion Agent in a starting company at the beginning of the game, correct?

I'm confused by trophy rules. My reading of the companion is that the level of bonus generated by a given trophy is determined by the printed number of Marshaling Points on the card, not by adding all the trophies carried by one character. Example, a character with 2 Beorning Toll cards a trophies still only gets +1 D.I. and +1 prowess. The only trophies that award +2 DI and +2 prowess are things like dragons and dead wizards. Is this correct?

Finally, the whole Ringwraith follower thing is really confusing if you are traveling to a non-haven location. For example, if the Witch King has two ringwraith followers and he's at Care Dum and wants to go down to Bag End, he has to assume a mode. Are the followers in that mode as well or can they not go with him?
There are some strange errata with the Ally Black Horse that basically says every Ringwraith and Ringwraith follower has to get a Black Horse before the whole party are in Black Rider mode. Is that the case? Does that mean the Witch King can only fly solo in Fell Rider mode?
Any help you can offer will be great.

Since you're asking about a variant, this might better be asked there.

For official games,

1) Minion companies may choose either Dol Guldur or Minas Morgul to start at. Likewise, a RW may choose to come into play at either site.

2) You may play agents as hazards. If they are played as minions, they must be brought into play at their home site. Open to the Summons does allow a minion to be played in a starting company.

3) The bonuses from trophies are based on the combined total of all trophies borne by the character.

4) To move to a non-Darkhaven site, a RW company must be in a mode. This applies whether the company consists of one RW or multiple RWs. If the conditions for a given mode are not fulfilled, then the company is not in that mode (this applies to the two allies from AS). Note that the three mode cards from LE are played on a company.

Thanks Mr. Took!
Since I'm trying to make a variant follow as many of the actual rules, I was asking here.
I'm glad that's the way trophies works. The other way is much too hard to explain to players.
I think I figured out the mode card issue by reading the rules AND the cards more closely. The Black Rider mode card and the Heralded Lord mode card both say on the card that the mode applies to the Ringwraith's entire company, so that a Ringwraith traveling with followers has followers in that mode as well. Meanwhile, the Fell Rider mode card says specifically that the Ringwraith discards all followers to enter that mode.
What this means for Black Horse from AS is that 1) it allows a Ringwraith who can't normally have a Ringwraith follower to get one. 2) it provides an ally so your opponent won't double on ally points 3) your Ringwraith follower costs zero DI instead of 1 DI and finally, 4) If you draw two copies of Black Horse, you can put both your Ringwraith and your Ringwraith follower into Black Rider mode without having to play a Black Rider mode card.

Correct, except a Black Horse ally is not a source of MPs.

Here's another one, in the official game, would it be possible for a Ringwraith at a non-Darkhaven site to bring a Minion Agent into play as a minion?
(Assuming the player has enough General Influence available to control the character and that the Ringwraith is at the Minion Agent's home site or at Bree.)
Or is this also made an illegal move by the restrictions to any Ringwraith company?

It is also illegal. They cannot at any time be in a company together outside a Darkhaven.

It would be legal if the agent is an Orc or Troll per minion Urlurtsu Nurn, right?

I can't remember where, but I believe I read that Urlurtsu Nurn's ability can only be used so long as at least one company moves away from the site.

that is not only true for UN

a RW can bring in a character at his non haven HS, but one company must move away of course

I have moved this topic from the Rules & Errata forum to the Rules Questions forum since it does not seem to be a relevant Rules & Errata discussion topic.