Let's Play AoD #2!

A few months ago we decided to start a "Let's play AoD (The Age of Decadence)" thread. If you aren't familiar with the "let's play game X" idea, here is how it works: someone plays a game, posting screenshots documenting each step of his/her progress and letting the audience make all decisions, from the character system to quests and in-game choices. In my opinion, that's a great way to present a new game, as it's more honest and straightforward. It shows you not what developers want to show you, but what the audience wants to see. Anyway, while you're welcome to visit our forums and participate in the Let's play AoD thread, it's a 50-page long beast filled with arguments, counter-arguments, argument-busters, and tactical nuclear arguments, so if you are only interested in the screens and some commentaries, this article series, is for you.

Where were we? Our brave assassin returns to the guild and reports that the mission is completed successfully and that the late merchant Gracius is on his way to the underworld. :salute:

You ask the guildmaster about the map you took from the merchant. The guildmaster doesn't know anything about such things and suggests talking to a local loremaster.

Since you're there, the guildmaster offers you a quest to eliminate two spies and, if possible, to retrieve their reports.

Now the world is open to you. We've offered our forumites several options:

1. Deal with the spies
2. Talk to the loremaster about the map
3. Visit the marketplace
4. Visit other guilds

They decided to do some shopping first. Btw, we've adjusted the prices, which reduced our hard earned 462 imperials to 46, but the store prices were adjusted as well, so we haven't really lost anything.

So, Titus visits the merchants guild, sells some junk and buys a dagger. The merchant tries to talk Titus into buying some really awesome weapons of ultimate asskicking, but I don't think that Titus can afford designers' "made in Italy" merchandise yet.

Also, up until this moment, the forces of good were engaged in an epic battle with the sons of shaitan who demanded quotation marks in dialogues. The forces of good have lost, which is why the dialogues look different now.

Our camera doesn't go that high in-game, so here is what the merchants guild looks like:

You won't see that many options in the actual game. I've disabled the skill requirements just to illustrate the options.

Successfully passing the streetwise check takes you backstage and introduces a very interesting - in my opinion, of course - design element. It successfully alters your character's perception of what's going on. In one playthrough you are led to believe that you have a great artifact (which is a standard fare in RPGs these days, so most players will buy that story if the streetwise line isn't shown). Later on you take it to Lord Antidas where master Feng will explain the awesomeness of the artefact and will suggest that perhaps you've been chosen by fate.

If you didn't have the chat above, you'll believe that and play the game without realizing that you are being manipulated. If you did, you will understand what's going on and why.

We use that a lot in AoD. Anyway...

Here is your introduction to the complicated world of the AoD lore. When you're playing the game, you'll have many opportunities to discuss the Empire and events leading to its downfall with many characters, including scholars, generals, nobles, and even tribals. Different people will have different opinions and beliefs, and you'll have to read, understand, and compare different stories (your journal's lore section will record all lore related stories and opinions) and try to figure out what happened. It's not a mandatory part of the game, so if that doesn't sound like fun to you, don't do it. Following this path will unlock two endings (out of seven) though.

Before you leave Feng asks you to help him get rid of a rival who was invited to Teron recently. As you can see, we use pretty much everything as dialogue checks, even your faction.

Now you have 3 main options:

• do the assassins guild's quest: kill the spies
• talk to Lord Antidas
• do Feng's quest: get rid of Cassius

Not to mention exploring and checking other guilds. So, what would Jesus do?

We'll return in a few weeks with the next episode...