DC Expansions: a short overview

Moderators: Thorsten the Traveller, Vastor Peredhil

Post Reply
User avatar
Thorsten the Traveller
Ex Council Chairman
Posts: 1764
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:44 pm
Location: Tilburg, Netherlands

below the structure of DC expansions that we've set up over the past 15 years, with a rough estimate of the nr. of cards they might contain.

they are in alphabetical order, though the ones mentioned in the poll are listed first.


ME: The Great Wyrms (240).
  • Thematic expansion: Dragons in Wilderland, their twisted nature, and their adversaries.
  • Main novelties: introduces Dragon-lord avatars - these come with their own set of rules!
  • Main alignment: minion.
  • Based on: MERP The Grey Mountains.

ME: The Northern Waste (240).
  • Territorial expansion: 15 new regions, 33 new sites, loads of characters, factions and beasties to populate them.
  • Main theme: battle between forces of good and evil for control over Northern Middle-earth, to respawn the days of Morgoth or revive the designs of Yavanna.
  • Main novelties: a new Balrog avatar (Durlach), new races (Umit, Ice-orcs).
  • Main alignment: something for all.
  • Based on: MERP The Northern Waste.

ME: Nine for Mortal Men (50).
  • Thematic expansion: ruling as a ringlord, either by claiming one of the Nine Rings, or by using the One Ring.
  • Main novelty: stature cards, giving abilities to ringbearers according to their level of character.
  • Main alignment: something for all.
  • Based on: Tolkien lore and creative powers of imagination.

ME: Return of the Shadow (120).
  • Miscellaneous expansion: set of ideas centered around peoples and places in Eriador, leaving home, and journeying in Middle-earth.
  • Main alignment: hero.
  • Based on: The Fellowship of the Ring, MERP Unexpected Party

ME: Treason of Isengard (140).
  • Thematic expansion: rousing friends in and around Rohan to war.
  • Main novelties: an Atani-lord avatar (Théoden King), Ent allies and quests, upgrading Fallen-Saruman.
  • Main alignments: hero & Fallen-wizard.
  • Based on: The Two Towers.

ME: War of the Ring (200).
  • Thematic expansion: prepare for the Great Battle of Our Time, representing ancient kingdoms of Gondor, or Mordor.
  • Main novelties: Atani-lords (Denethor, Elessar, Imrahil).
  • Main alignments: hero & Lords.
  • Based on: Return of the King.


Others:
ME: Bay of Ormal (140).
  • Territorial expansion: discover people and place in the south-east of Middle-earth, gathering support from Númenorean colonists or operating on behalf of a Sauronic cult of assassins.
  • Main novelties: new regions (16) and sites (29).
  • Based on: fan-based RP-modules.

ME: Court of Ardor (180).
  • Thematic expansion: plot as agent of the Court to destroy the sun, or work to prevent this.
  • Territorial expansion: new regions (18), sites (22) and peoples in the Utter-south.
  • Main novelty: evil stage-elves.
  • Main alignment: dual resources and characters.
  • Based on: MERP The Court of Ardor (partly fan-based).

ME: Dominion of the Seven (140).
  • Territorial expansion: discover people and places in the south, fighting for (former) Númenorean colonies or Akhorahil the Storm-king.
  • Main novelty: new regions (14) and sites (27).
  • Based on: MERP A Shadow in the South

ME: The Great Central Plains (140).
  • Territorial expansion: discover people and place in the east, questing with wandering wizards or creating your domain as a Ringwraith Warlord.
  • Main novelties: new regions (9) and sites (25).
  • Based on: fan-based RP-modules.

ME: Kingdom of the North (80).
  • Thematic expansion: restore the ancient Dúnadan kingdom of Arnor, or trample its last remnants underfoot.
  • Main novelty: play as Troll War-lord (Aradagor).
  • Main alignment: minion.
  • Based on: various MERP Lost Realm of Cardolan, and other modules in Eriador.

ME: Morgoth's Legacy (100).
  • Thematic expansion: awaken the slumbering spawn of Morgoth in the frozen North and the bowels of Endor.
  • Territorial expansion: discover new regions (9) and sites (15) in the North-east.
  • Main novelty: play as avatarless Balrog (i.e. Balrog-specific Warlord).
  • Main alignment: minion.
  • Based on: Tolkien lore and fan-based RP-modules.

ME: Red Nightfall (80).
  • Strategic expansion: create leaders and get your factions moving to engage in battle with opponent's factions - comes with additional rules for faction battles!
  • Main novelty: mustering cards, allowing your factions to move and do battle.
  • Main alignment: something for all.
  • Based on: Tolkien lore and creative powers of imagination.

ME: The Sun-lands (300).
  • Territorial expansion: discover people and places in near and far Harad, revive the arid lands with hidden waters, or scourge the earth as cult-member of Vatra.
  • Main novelty: new regions (29), sites (52), Desert regions and Desert movement.
  • Main alignment: something for all.
  • Based on: MERP modules of Harad.
Stone-age did not end because man ran out of rocks.
Kjeld
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:40 pm

Thank you!
Yangtze2000
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 5:46 pm

This looks amazing! There may be one or two expansions here that are of interest to me. Are they available POD? Or is it only when they are printed/ re-printed traditionally?
Vastor Peredhil
Council Member
Posts: 1321
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:46 am
Location: Kempen (Niederrhein) Germany

not sure what POD is, but all these can be seen and playtested on www.cardnum.net

yours Nicolai
Yangtze2000
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 5:46 pm

Vastor Peredhil wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 12:01 pm...not sure what POD is...
Print On Demand. Yes, I fully intend to explore and play on Cardnum, but I just wondered if they were available POD, or by some other means, as ready-made hard copy :)
Vastor Peredhil
Council Member
Posts: 1321
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:46 am
Location: Kempen (Niederrhein) Germany

so if you decide to print the cards for yourself - please do - is what many players do - but please do not stage any kind of print offense to print more than you need - this is why we had print runs in the paste and will again in the future

your DC Team
Yangtze2000
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 5:46 pm

Vastor Peredhil wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:29 pmSo if you decide to print the cards for yourself - please do - is what many players do - but please do not stage any kind of print offense to print more than you need.
If you're concerned that I will print cards and sell them to the unwary rest assured, I would never do that! I am Yangtze2000 on BGG and a man of good standing with many in the games industry that would vouch for my integrity :)

I would like to have good quality print copies of some of the fan made cards, but what might be the easiest way for me to do that?
User avatar
Mornedhel
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 3:24 pm

Good afternoon fellow

I will print the Great Wyrms DC (1 each unique and 3 for non unique) by a professional service.

It's stated : ME: The Great Wyrms (240).
However on Cardum "only" 213 are available (214-1 empty card). Is it correct?

440 cards in total (98 unique including the flip on the quest and 342 - 114x3 )

Thanks
User avatar
Thorsten the Traveller
Ex Council Chairman
Posts: 1764
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:44 pm
Location: Tilburg, Netherlands

The DC cards on cardnum will be of a quality sufficient for printing (400dpi and Indesign templates). Be aware though:

1) aside from the officially released sets (MEFB, MEDF, MENE), all DC sets are still in development and subject to change. And I mean serious change. That's what play testing is for.
One of the main reasons to do a joint printrun, aside from unparalleled quality and lower cost, is to celebrate the official release and hammer the cards in stone (minor corrections aside).

2) only the released sets, MENW and MEML are currently on cardnum prepared via Indesign in 400pdi. The rest is in the making, but right now they are MSE-based files, which offer less quality.

Great if people want to print and test the cards at home, we're all for it, give us some feedback!

@Mornedhel. Not sure where you are referring to, but the number given in this thread for MEGW is an estimated number for the set once it's finished.
as you can also see, for MENW we have already gone over the 240 by now, so it's an estimate ;-)
Stone-age did not end because man ran out of rocks.
Yangtze2000
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 5:46 pm

Thorsten that's great info, thanks! :)
User avatar
Mornedhel
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 3:24 pm

Thanks. Playing Dragons will be funny
Post Reply

Return to “News, Issues, Questions”