How's Age of Shadow"

[VonKatzen]

About a year ago a friend of mine was planning to run an Age of Shadows campaign but he ended up having some health problems and hasn't been able to work on it since.

I have the game and a couple supplements for it, and it seems pretty straightforward in terms of the rules. I am wondering if anyone out there has much play experience with it?

As a rather Alter-Middle-earth setting how does it compare in feel with other games - actual Middle-earth properties like MERP and TOR - or Burning Wheel? Obviously the rules are way different between all of these, but would you say it gets the Middle-earth vibe better than MERP?

What kind of campaigns does it play best to? Standard scenario-based adventuring, more organized campaigns, short games? Or does it, like OpenQuest, lend itself fairly equally to any of these styles?

Edited December 15, 2018 by VonKatzen

[Marcus Bone]

On 12/15/2018 at 7:22 PM, VonKatzen said:

About a year ago a friend of mine was planning to run an Age of Shadows campaign but he ended up having some health problems and hasn't been able to work on it since.

I have the game and a couple supplements for it, and it seems pretty straightforward in terms of the rules. I am wondering if anyone out there has much play experience with it?

As a rather Alter-Middle-earth setting how does it compare in feel with other games - actual Middle-earth properties like MERP and TOR - or Burning Wheel? Obviously the rules are way different between all of these, but would you say it gets the Middle-earth vibe better than MERP?

What kind of campaigns does it play best to? Standard scenario-based adventuring, more organized campaigns, short games? Or does it, like OpenQuest, lend itself fairly equally to any of these styles?

Hey! 

I would say it best suits a slow burn, wilderness style stories. Lots of travel, discoveries and lost ruins to explore. I treat it as almost a post-apocalyptic setting, where the adventurers are visitors to locations untouched by mortals in decades or more.

OpenQuest works well as it is simple, easy to teach and learn, and is pretty brutal in combat. I've only ever run one-shot stories (with a couple of reoccurring characters). Can't add to the comparisons to MERP or TOR unfortunately, as I've not played either.

Cheers!

[jackleg2010]

Considering it's low entry point, I'm surprised more people aren't running it.

[Newt]

Its got a good rep amongst OpenQuest Fans. I heard reports of short campaigns being run.

[Stoatbringer]

I have a minor gripe about AoS. Both the dragons and demons, no matter what their type (Lesser Greater, or Common) all have an INT of 21. That's pretty high. Those pesky critters would be very clever indeed at all levels, outwitting the less intelligent PCs.  So I lowered the INT for the Lesser and Common levels of demons and dragons. 

Edited July 3 by Stoatbringer