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Part I: Introduction

Keep in mind, again, that this is brainstorming. It's just a bunch of ideas I thought up, many of them not fully developed.

Many of my ideas are based on "mixing things around". I don't necessarily want to introduce a bunch of new mechanics or game elements, just design things that fit in with the old.

Mixing things around means taking attributes of one thing and extending them to others. Native spell casters are a perfect example; you take an attribute that only monsters currently have (attacking with a spell type instead of a harm letter) and give it to some natives, too. If you have them come on the board only when the native leader of a particular group is already there, and give them treasures or spells of their own to sell, then you have given them an attribute of visitor/mission chits.

My original idea for an expansion was as part of a complete rules rewrite (which is fun to think about, in and of itself). As I envisioned it, this would consist of a base game plus a number of expansions. Things like hiring natives, along with native friendly characters like the Black Knight and Captain, would be relegated to an expansion. Magic of types V, VI, VII, and VIII would be relegated to another expansion, along with all characters that use that type of magic. Most of the complicated spells are type V and greater--those that transmorphize, allow flight, and control monsters, for instance--and the characters that use them are by and large more complicated to play (Witch King anyone?). Another expansion would deal with character development, and have tiles, creatures, and treasures of less power, so those first and second level characters have something fun to do. Yet another expansion would have rules for high level characters, along with "places of power", tiles with special rules, monsters, and treasures. This idea comes mostly from seeing Robin's incredibly evocative Volcano tile.