I do not own any of the other AGE system lines, so it is a happy addition to the core book and the bestiary.
There are loads of goodies here to enhance your game and to ultimately spoil your players - these are the highlights for ME:
First: Arcana was expanded to include seven new options - for instance Death, Illusion and Spychic. Existing arcana got added spells - which was of a concern to some players. Option to add Minor Arcana (essentially a few minimal cantrips that is not tied to any particular Arcana), I really enjoy these as a story element. The second option is to add Divine magic to your game - I personally prefer my FAGE not to resemble another well known fantasy game, so I wont use this at my table, BUT this treatment of divine magic is really interesting and comes with a "Crisis of Faith" mechanic that could add interesting consequences in your game.
Second: Talents. A few new ones and guidelines how to create or re-skin existing ones, excellent ideas.
**Third**: Specialisations: A lovely number of new options that fit in perfectly with the feel of FAGE (23 in total) - my favourites being Diplomat, Gunfighter, Gangster and Razor. Oh yes and Arcane Dabbler if you want your Warrior or Rogue to have a bit of magical backup.
Fourth: Advanced Rewards: This chapter is a treat, it covers giving characters additional rewards beyond the regular level advancements: Honorifics, Titles and Memberships to organizations.
Fifth: Artefacts. These are not just magical items, they are much more. They have the ability grow with a character. Two types of artefacts are described: Tiered and Locked. Further more rules are given how to create these. This is one of my favourite chapters.
Sixth: Ways to deal with the Hitpoint bloat of FAGE, from increasing damage to decreasing hitpoints gained per level, and suffering wound penalties. I was personally hoping for an option similar to what True20 used, but these are a great starting point. Some of the options, or similar, have been dabbled at by the G+ community.
Lastly: There are a huge number of things that I skipped over - Mass Combat Rules, Realms and Organisation, Stunt Packages, Vehicle Rules etc...
Is there negative feedback? Yes, nothing is perfect. Those that own other AGE system products might feel this is redundant - As I mentioned before this product is very much for people like myself that are only interested in FAGE.
Grab it, grab it now!
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