(Disclaimer-ish) This is not a review, it's me getting to know the game and writting my thoughts down. As I'm still taking it all in I may sound like the blabbering fan boy that I am.
I'm really late to the party on this game. Not just did I miss the kickstarter I missed the retail release as well. I had seen it, even folks raving about it. I didn't think I needed another fantasy game. Come to find out, Shadow of the demon Lord is not just another fantasy system.
Of all the things I find appealing about Shadow of the demon lord, The things I feel most fitting to my taste is the quick playing core rules mixed with the huge amount of character opinions.
Shadow of the demon Lord is definitely geared tword fast play, one might even call it 'casual play'. Seems like a game you can just sit down, roll up a character, and play. The system has enough depth to not seem boring or limited, but not so much to it as to overwhelm new players.
On the subject of character options I'm still stunned at the number of options available to players. Players start as 0 level and earn (through survival) the ability to choose one of 4 novice classes at level 1. If they live long enough they will be able to pick one of 16 expert classes. Then again later one of 64 master classes. I'm not sure how many possible combinations that is......I know it's a lot though.
The ancestries (races) are very interesting. Human, Changeling, Clockwork, Dwarf, Goblin and Orc. Each ancestry has 5-7 charts to roll on to make totally unique example. Not even getting into random profession tables. Again, players have a lot to work with here. All without even mentioning (even though I'm going to) 30 tradions of magic....
Some games go their whole lives (edition cycle) without having this many options spread out over many splat books. So for Shadow to feel 'easy to run' or even rules lite is a real feat.
The setting of the game is grim, with rules for both sanity and corruption. With a lot of wiggle room as to how dark, grim, and grindhouse you want to run your game. Even the exact nature of the 'demon Lord' seems to be left purposeful vague to GMs to fill in the blank.
I've got so many ideas floating between my ears right now I'm filling up a notebook already. My players are in for a bumpy (and probably gruesome) ride.
Rob has found a way to put everything I love about D&D and Warhammer Fantasy Role Play into a game AND improve on both of it's sources. Damn, damn fine game.
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