The following article was written by Marc Lommert, creator and lead designer of the Legacy of Fëanor fan-made expansion. In this article, he will introduce his Deluxe expansion, now available to be printed or played on DragnCards if you want to try something new! As for more blog content on this, I will not be working on it for a while since I have a lot of official content to get through still, chiefly the Sagas and Nightmares. But I would like to invite anyone who likes this expansion to write scenario analyses or first impression articles. – Durin’s Father
If you’ve read the article about my storage solution, then you probably know I’m a huge Tolkien fan, but that being said: I only found out about the Lord of the Rings LCG in 2015. I was so excited I started collecting everything I could find in an instant. I played daily, and although my actual friends were not really (really not) into this kind of game, I kept playing and eventually found some new friends who actually enjoyed the game. The years that followed were filled with a lot of questing and, therefore, with a lot of joy. With my collection complete at the end of 2020, it was time for the next step: creating my own content.
Who am I?
Many of you only know me by “The Legacy of Fëanor” Facebook page, or maybe by my messages in the LotR LCG Facebook group, posted under my (real) name Marc Lommert. Well yeah, that’s me. I’m 37 years old and live with my girlfriend and my 2- and 4-year-old daughters in the center of the Netherlands. I used to compete in international Track and Field events, but since I’m almost 40 I’m too old to actually run fast and jump far, so these days I am a Track and Field trainer. In my time off-track, I started writing fantasy books; the first two (out of three) are published by a national publisher, but unfortunately for most of you, it’s only been published in Dutch. I’m also a real outdoor person: in 2015, I hiked the Via Alpina Trail (Alps) and in 2017 the John Muir Trail (US). Well, that’s (more than) enough about “the person behind,” I guess.
Why did I create “The Legacy of Fëanor”?
Well, I did not create this whole cycle in one go. Let’s first go back to the end: The Vengeance of Mordor cycle. Honestly, and with a LOT of respect for the designers, I was a little bit disappointed there… I always hoped the official content would go out with a BANG! A whole last cycle with difficulty levels up to 12, the most brutal mechanics, and so, so, so, so many lost games that the community would explode. I know not everyone will agree with me on this point, but I like a real challenge, and apart from the last 1.5 scenarios, the last cycle was not the challenge I hoped for.
That’s kind of why I started designing some of my own cards and ideas, but for a long time, it was nothing major. Then I came across the amazing A Long Extended Party, and I decided to join this project. But by the time I got in contact with Chris, I noticed there was already a whole team behind it, with real big players who were already so far and so professional that I figured I had nothing to add any more. That’s when I asked myself: “could I maybe create a quest on my own?” The answer to that was my life motto:
~I can. I will.~
That’s why, on a Friday night in December 2020, I opened an Excel file and started typing a story. This story eventually became The Legacy of Fëanor.
What is the Legacy of Fëanor about?
The story I created directly follows the story of the Vengeance of Mordor by FFG. To quote the first words of the storyline found in the Rules Sheet:
“It must have been five days ago that the heroes left Dol Rhugar, but their horses kept a pace as if they had just started the journey home. The first part, leaving the desolation of Nurn, had proved to be the hardest, but once the heroes passed the fallen gates of Morannon and crossed the Brown Lands, both their spirit and their physical health improved.
The final confrontation with Thane Ulchor was brutal and demanded a lot from the heroes. The shadow that darkened their minds since their attempt to help the people of Dorwinion had grown thicker than they ever imagined they could bear. Now, the shadow was gone, but even so, there was little talking after leaving the fallen Fortress.”
The story continues towards the point where the heroes decide to visit their Hobbit friends in the Shire. But what’s supposed to be a peaceful visit becomes a nightmare that will make you beg for the ease of the Battle of Carn Dum…
What kind of quests can you expect in the Legacy of Fëanor?
As a fantasy author, I always try to make a story as interesting as I can. But not only must the story be appealing, but gameplay is also what this game is really about, of course. So I decided to go all the way and design new characters, new keywords, new traits, new mechanics, and new game areas to make this cycle not just a copy of the original quests with different artwork, stats, and names, but a unique cycle with an insane difficulty level, a strong storyline and a truly great atmosphere in a part of Middle Earth that has not been discovered yet: Arthedain and the surrounding lands.
The DeLuxe Expansion contains a lot of the mechanics used in the original game, such as the Time keyword (Skirmish in the Shire), a variation on the Sailing Test (the Balance Test in Down the Baranduin), and a separate play area for objective allies (Dwarf Lord Battle). It also brings new features, such as the Load keyword (you have to carry a wounded friend), the Rafting keyword (stay balanced because otherwise, you’ll lose all your attachments!), and some truly heroic bosses.
It basically comes down to three very long, demanding quests. You’d better have some experience because it’s going to be a pretty rough ride.
What else can you expect, besides a lot of combat?
There are a lot of cool, treacherous locations to explore, brutal side quests to defeat, and horrible treacheries to overcome. Bringing your combat A-game isn’t going to cut it – you’ll need an all-around deck to survive the quests in this DeLuxe Expansion. Taking down all three scenarios is a real accomplishment. But the absolute goal of the Legacy of Fëanor is to play Campaign Mode…
What?! There is a Campaign Mode you say?
Absolutely!! Because nothing beats playing this game as one, large story! But remember, the cost of playing Campaign Mode is that you will have to play all three very different scenarios with one lineup of heroes, so you better choose your characters carefully.
Like the original Saga Campaign, you will be rewarded with Boons and punished with Burdens. Boons can really make your life easier, but be careful with the Burdens; you don’t want to fill the staging area/encounter deck too much with these horrible effects…
Is that all you can expect from the Legacy of Fëanor DeLuxe Expansion?
Well, it’s not called a whole Deluxe Expansion without reason: just like the original FFG Deluxe Expansions, The Legacy of Fëanor contains player cards. You probably have seen some of the cards on Facebook, where I spoil them every once in a while.
It’s NOT my intention to create the best player cards in the game. There are some amazing player cards among the original material, so why would I make even better ones so that people can beat my quests even quicker? No, my goal was to make FUN cards and add a little bit of strength to some traits, styles, and contracts. Tom Bombadil is a great example: a very fun, thematic way to play the game; just keep singing Songs, and you’ll be fine. Besides that, the Scout trait will become a bit more strong (and fun), and there’s an awesome new Harad ally that will become your new Sneak Attack favorite!
Also: keep an eye out for the player cards in the next Adventure Packs. Fíli and Kíli, Tactics Galadriel and Bill the Pony as heroes! A whole new card set (hero, allies, attachments, and events) to complete your Harad deck! And a Contract called “The Last March”…
So there will be more content after the Legacy of Fëanor?
Yes, there will be a full cycle of six Adventure Packs released this year, called The Fate of the Stone. All Adventure Packs will include a brand-new scenario (to be combined with encounter sets from the DeLuxe Expansion), a set of great player cards ánd the cards needed to continue your Campaign adventure.
The first Adventure Pack will be called “Betraying the Falathrim,” and I expect this scenario to be released in March 2022. Keep an eye out for it because you don’t want to miss this! The second AP (The Forgotten King) is also as good as ready, and… well, I might as well mention this… the grand finale of the cycle (AP6) will be EPIC.
How can you learn more about the Legacy of Fëanor?
As I mentioned before: for me, this all started with an Excel file on a boring Friday evening, but it turned out to be pretty big. Suddenly there’s a whole expansion, a cycle to follow, and a crowd awaiting them. And of course, it’s impossible to please everyone in the community, but since the first combined order of The Legacy of Fëanor (with the cards printed by MB Print in Poland), a total of 75 players from 21 countries have the Deluxe Expansion at home on their table. And even though I’ve heard more stories about losses than I’ve heard about victories, people really seem to like it. How awesome is that?!
If you want to see the cards in a PDF file, download the DragnCards files to play online, read the storyline and the Rules Sheet, or print and play the cards yourself, just go to Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aurkqr8umtQA0xMb4XTpg-fQNdz46Hgp
How can I order hardcopies of the Legacy of Fëanor?
On Google Drive, there’s a Guide to print hard copies, but for European players, the easiest way to get those 224 bad boys from the Deluxe Expansion is just to order them on the MB Print website:
(Note that MB print will wait until they have 10 orders before they print and ship)
Finally, I would like to point out that I OBVIOUSLY own none of the rights that are attached to this game. The Lord of the Rings – the Card Game is designed by Fantasy Flight Games, all LotR-related stuff is owned by Middle Earth Enterprises, and last but not least, (!) none of the artwork I’ve used on my cards is mine. I’ve tried to get in touch with the artists, but it’s just not doable. That’s why I’d like to take a moment to thank all of them who (unintentionally) contributed to this amazing set of cards.
If you’ve got any questions, suggestions or something else, do not hesitate to contact me:
E-mail: legacyoffeanor@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LegacyofFeanor
Happy Questing!
Marc
Vision Of The Palantir 
Is it at all possible for you to Link alternate printing sites for your project? I’ve had good luck with MPC (www.makeplayingcards.com) I am totally inept in using the provided files to manage this. Or just, how to. Thanks. And great idea!
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I spoke with marc, it is currently not a priority of him to spend time making them available on MPC. I’m not sure what format they require, but hopefully the PDFs in the Google Drive would go a long way. Should there ever be someone who has a ready-to-print link for the expansion on MPC, then it will be added to the article. Otherwise, you can choose to just play the expansion on DragnCards first.
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Later today the individual card images (margins included) will also be available on the Google Drive. Hopefully this helps you printing hardcopies! Cheers, Marc
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