Fantasy Age has been my personal go to game ever since 1st Edition and I love its flexibility through the whole "buffet of rules options" the entire AGE based game bouquet offers. I highly recommend playing with the Fortune option to replace default HP. It's SO much fun!
The fact that you pronounced Green "Ronin" properly... rather than the ridiculous boutique sounding cringe Green "Roh-neen" version that so many other TH-cam people do... was very appreciated. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the AGE system (it feels a little too video gamey for my taste), but I do enjoy the comparisons of various systems and their mechanics. Great video.
Thank you! And I appreciate the additional thoughts, not every game is for everybody. I’ve personally heard good things and I’m working on putting stuff together to give the game a shot in the near future.
@@ThatGamerAjax I am all for more content on RPGs... even the ones that don't really click with me. I mean, I am certain that Fantasy Age is an amazing game, or how else would they be able to produce a 2e, let alone have all of the other variations of the Age engine. As I said, for me it feels a little too video gamey. An example would be how the spell system feels... odd... with only something like 8 spells per "arcana", but having so many different arcana. Many of which just feel like an upgrade to a previous spell, or a spell from another arcana with the serial numbers filed off and a different name applied. Why only 8 per school/arcana? It feels like a skill tree to me. Another would be how the stunt system feels a little too restricted. Why only "x" number of stunt choices (many of which feel the same, or simply don't apply to the situation), rather than an open ended question of "what cool thing did you do after rolling that stunt (or crit)?" Regardless, my opinion of the game, good, bad, or otherwise, does not detract from the fact that the game is associated with a company that clearly knows what they are doing. It just does not feel like an actual TTRPG to me. There is just something more free (again, to me) about playing an old school game like Whitebox, or Swords & Wizardry, or even something like The Black Sword Hack, where things don't feel like they are on some pre-defined rails. Have a question about something in those kinds of games? Make it up on the spot to fit the moment. Want to swing from a chandelier after cleaving 2 foes in half? Sure... Dex check... or just do it, because it just sounds cool. Even in the Whitehack (now in its 4th edition), the rule of cool is all but spelled out. Yes, there are many people that prefer rules as written, super crunchy and full of every detail and every option mapped out. Many people seem to want every class to basically be "fair" (not any one class stronger than any other class), and the DM to not throw bad guys and/or monsters at them that are OP. And, honestly, there are times when I enjoy those types of games. It's super rare that I want to play them, but I can certainly appreciate them whether or not I wish to run those games. At least for me... after playing this stuff since D&D first came out... old school games, or games that are closer to an old school feel, tend to offer more fun, freedom, options, and potential character customization. The challenge is, the table has to be willing to go with the mindset of rulings over rules for it to be that kind of experience. Annnnnnd, I wrote a wall of text. Sorry.
It has become my go to fantasy game. The OGL kerfuffle drove me away from 5E D&D and pathfinder is too rules heavy for me. This is a good, moderately complex, ttrpg.
Absolutely love this review man! I was interested in this & it was actually super helpful!
Fantasy Age has been my personal go to game ever since 1st Edition and I love its flexibility through the whole "buffet of rules options" the entire AGE based game bouquet offers.
I highly recommend playing with the Fortune option to replace default HP. It's SO much fun!
I'll get to it eventually!
Big fan of Fantasy Age I need to pick up the 2nd edition at some point! I want to convert my old 3e homebrew setting to it. :D
The fact that you pronounced Green "Ronin" properly... rather than the ridiculous boutique sounding cringe Green "Roh-neen" version that so many other TH-cam people do... was very appreciated. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the AGE system (it feels a little too video gamey for my taste), but I do enjoy the comparisons of various systems and their mechanics. Great video.
Thank you! And I appreciate the additional thoughts, not every game is for everybody. I’ve personally heard good things and I’m working on putting stuff together to give the game a shot in the near future.
@@ThatGamerAjax I am all for more content on RPGs... even the ones that don't really click with me. I mean, I am certain that Fantasy Age is an amazing game, or how else would they be able to produce a 2e, let alone have all of the other variations of the Age engine. As I said, for me it feels a little too video gamey. An example would be how the spell system feels... odd... with only something like 8 spells per "arcana", but having so many different arcana. Many of which just feel like an upgrade to a previous spell, or a spell from another arcana with the serial numbers filed off and a different name applied. Why only 8 per school/arcana? It feels like a skill tree to me. Another would be how the stunt system feels a little too restricted. Why only "x" number of stunt choices (many of which feel the same, or simply don't apply to the situation), rather than an open ended question of "what cool thing did you do after rolling that stunt (or crit)?" Regardless, my opinion of the game, good, bad, or otherwise, does not detract from the fact that the game is associated with a company that clearly knows what they are doing. It just does not feel like an actual TTRPG to me. There is just something more free (again, to me) about playing an old school game like Whitebox, or Swords & Wizardry, or even something like The Black Sword Hack, where things don't feel like they are on some pre-defined rails. Have a question about something in those kinds of games? Make it up on the spot to fit the moment. Want to swing from a chandelier after cleaving 2 foes in half? Sure... Dex check... or just do it, because it just sounds cool. Even in the Whitehack (now in its 4th edition), the rule of cool is all but spelled out. Yes, there are many people that prefer rules as written, super crunchy and full of every detail and every option mapped out. Many people seem to want every class to basically be "fair" (not any one class stronger than any other class), and the DM to not throw bad guys and/or monsters at them that are OP. And, honestly, there are times when I enjoy those types of games. It's super rare that I want to play them, but I can certainly appreciate them whether or not I wish to run those games. At least for me... after playing this stuff since D&D first came out... old school games, or games that are closer to an old school feel, tend to offer more fun, freedom, options, and potential character customization. The challenge is, the table has to be willing to go with the mindset of rulings over rules for it to be that kind of experience. Annnnnnd, I wrote a wall of text. Sorry.
Hey nothing to apologize for, I appreciate the detail and enthusiasm.
It has become my go to fantasy game. The OGL kerfuffle drove me away from 5E D&D and pathfinder is too rules heavy for me. This is a good, moderately complex, ttrpg.
That’s been what’s drawing it to me as well