Times have been hard. To save money, you've moved out of your old castle, and into a luxurious ravine. In your free time you've taken up begging. Begging is brilliant conceptually, but tricky in practice, since no-one has any money. That's just how life is sometimes. You're quietly conquering people, minding your own business, when suddenly there's a plague, or barbarians, or everyone's illiterate, and it's all you can do to cling to some wreckage as the storm passes through. The Dark Ages expansion introduces 500 cards to Dominion, including 35 new Kingdom cards, plus new troublesome cards you pass onto other players (Ruins), new cards to replace starting Estates (Shelters), and cards you can only get via other cards.