The Age of Decadence (based and boomer-coded)

back in 2004 it seemed the RPGs would rule the world for a thousand years in 2007 RPGs were dead Rock Paper Shotgun 2008 kieron Gillan a co-founder of the website interviews the sedon Vince D Weller of the iron Tower Studios a small Indie developer in process of making their first game the age of decadence a post-apocalyptic adventure with a Roman aesthetic Palace Intrigue flying ships ancient Egyptian power armor there was something for everyone the game was an ambassador of the philosophy of RPG design that proliferated on Old message boards rule number one of the forum's theory is that an RPG should be systems heavy with a lot of numbers formulas and abbreviations rule number two of the forum's theory is don't treat your audience like their morons yes it is a thinly veiled anti Bethesda statement but what confused iron and the audience of rock paper shotgun was the decision to make the age of decadence turn based they took their combat model from Bookworm Adventure snore isn't it weird turnbas was fine in 1998 the year of Fallout 2 turnbas is fine in 2023 the year of balers gate turnbas was embarrassing in 2018 makes you think about Society anyways the age of decadence was eventually released in 2015 and it was a weapon a weapon to stab the chief of demons in his black heart the Great War was hundreds of years ago the knowledge of the old days is forgotten the Story begins in teron a small crumbling town on the edge of the world the Noble House controlling teron has seen better days the ancient house daratan used to be one of the most powerful entities in the old Empire commanding 20 Legions thean soldiers stood their ground no matter the odds until they were destroyed in the war where Gods fought alongside men against the Cowardly foreigners the canari the first thing the game asks us to do is to pick our character's professional background the choice of the faction is effectively the choice of the main quest thieves won't get to see pror content assassins won't get to explore the thief story you'll have to replace the game as different characters to get a complete picture of what's going on my name is guos I'm a scholar or a Lore Master as the nomenclature goes an investigator a student of History ancient mantras and artifacts I am somewhat multi-disciplinary a great philosopher once told me that you can get ideas from anywhere kill 27 men says agatti of The Boatman of sticks the assassins guild then you'll know what I know each man you kill teaches you something this is a basic combat character template we are quick perceptive smart and kind of ugly this arrangement of stats makes the character good at both combat and exploration but not at conversation guus is not a dialogu ER once you picked a combat skill you'll be putting points in that and in nothing else like in most games the non- combat skills or liberal arts and crafts follow the opposite logic it pays off to double in a bunch of stuff without overc committing to anything until mid or even late game so these are the basics let's experience the adventure like no other Gus is an apprentice of one of the few learned individuals residing in teron the old Lore Master Fang remember what I taught you take a good look show some excitement tell them it's a valuable artifact that's worth a lot to the right collector wait for the word to sink in and then ask for a 100 Imperials to research it further what if it actually is a valuable artifact oh this town doesn't have anything of value which is probably the reason antias is still in charge Master Fang certainly knows much about ancient artifacts and by the looks of it he even has some in production we go to the inn and meet the client the merchant hands us an old map the seal reads Thor a goth one of the Gods of the Empire the maker of machines there are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen it's a treasure map the treasure could be an ancient weapon of mass destruction or an imperial wireless charger or anything in between the protagonists of all backgrounds will eventually be getting the McGuffin the Assassin does it by looting the corpse of the merchant they killed the prator does it by investigating the murder the Lore Master does it via their grift you see guos being a Lore Master isn't about dealing with Rarities knowing how to deal with people is equally important Lord antias invited another scholar to teron but Fang doesn't share his opinion that two heads are better than one are you asking me to kill him when you have a thorn in your side do you not remove it ah perhaps you think that a man isn't a thorn that a man's life unlike that of an insect has some value it doesn't truly I should be charged ing you for these lessons Critical Strike is a combat skill that governs critical hit chance it can also be used in dialogue if your character has a dagger in their inventory the Rival Lore Master becomes guo's first kill but not the last no now that we are finally done with the opening we are free to explore Teran when I recommend the age of decadence to other people they complete the intro Quest then they express their appreciation for how complex and Boomer coded the game is and then they quit playing forever understandable it's hard to get past the near impenetrable layer of torque 3D Jank the environment is hard to read even with the object highlight enabled the free camera is annoying to control sometimes the screen will start blinking rapidly the game is trying to kill you via epilepsy are you a bad enough individual to survive the age of decadence another problem is the structure of the teron chapter the game is famous for its difficulty the quests have high skill requirements there is no grinding in order to do sophisticated quests you need to First gain experience by doing lesser quests teron might seem like a big city type of a location but there is actually a fairly strict linear way of doing content one put a few points in sneak and lockpick Rob the blacksmith's house and then the Inn two go to the graveyard pick a rope and a grappling hook from a dead body that's hard to see three three use it to rub one of the rich houses next to the Palace four sell everything buy or craft a passable beginner armor five practice on the bombs at the ruined guard Tower six kill the gang behind the Thieves Guild building this design is a product of the old forums culture whatever you need every Grand theory of RPGs has some sort of an ironic flaw and the flaw of the forums theory was excessive reductionism individuals would identify a quality their favorite games possess and then they would obsess over it for years at the expense of everything else if we get this crpg systems right and maybe add some choices and consequences then the rest of the game will just sort itself out well it didn't now that we got some experience it's time to join a faction this is not actually a bad idea I can only teach you so much and you need all the help you can get he says we should join the merchants and stay away from the military with Karina you might get more than you bargained for the army of the Empire still exists even though the state does not leged kinas was sent to Terron by KY Tor to quote prevent antias from doing anything stupid so the first Imperial guards Quest is insane we are the backbone of the Empire says the Centurion to the recruits we've been making Fighters out of local scum for more than a thousand years of course you boys set a new standard for local scum our job is to dress up as Wasteland Raiders and attack a trading Caravan a common advice you find in various aod guides is to prioritize defense over offense this is a good idea for most builds we occupy the attention of two of the guards as well as the crossbow armed Merchant while our boys dish out the damage good job the merchants just left They begged us to do anything in our power to protect Iran helping citizens in need is what the Imperial Guard is all about there is one problem though the merchants said that two Raiders got away so we need to produce two bodies they recognize so we can only take one of you whoever kills the other two first gets the job this is a very Vince kind of quest an over complicated multi-stage plan that goes wrong in a very specific way that ensures that most participants die well well well to be honest I thought it was going to be the other guy but I like surprises Welcome to the Imperial guards the only home you'll ever need an important aod Pro tip is to delay the second quest in a faction storyline for as long as possible because it's a point of no return we'll be doing everything else in teron before returning to the guards content so yanus is no more good riddance I say such a pompous ass that boy was I owe you a lot more than I paid you he gives us a ring it's the famous magical ring of General galbo the ring was crafted by the Council of Mai to Grant the general special powers which made him Unstoppable in battle the ring was lost for centuries it's reappearance is a great Omen what did you use zinc sulfide phosphorus so as I was saying the ring changed many hands until it was acquired by your great grandfather since you are quite obviously Unworthy of possessing such an artifact you decided to offer it to Lord antias as tribute Fang wants us to present the ring as well as the m we got from the merchant to the master of teron the problem is we are a nobody we can't just go and see him we don't have the privileges so what follows next is the teron palace infiltration sequence which is the most Vince quest of all time since the game doesn't have proper stealth mechanics the infiltration is done via dialogue basically it's a Choose Your Own Adventure kind of segment but with skill checks we sneak into various buildings in the compound steal treasure kill G guards via dialogue based Critical Strike and even increase our social skills by examining artifacts in Ana's private Chambers this stuff is elaborate here is me hiding underneath a table while the servants are clearing up a recent meal after we're done killing the guards and stealing valuables we go to the throne room face antias and show him the map we got from the merchant the Lord of teron is confused a murder hobo sneaks into his home with pockets full of stolen valuables and a trail of bodies behind them why would I spare his worthless life antias is asking himself but then he looks at our character sheet and sees that murdering the palace guards put us above the threshold where guo's murder skills are considered to be impressive welcome aboard we need people like you in our organization antias gives us a bunch of side quests and he doesn't even bother examining the map we brought or confiscating our murder loot the palace infiltration scene feels like a dream dream sequence we stole enough material to craft a reasonable suit of armor and a weapon I think it's time for us to meet the true main character of the age of decadence a moment of your time kind master I am miltiadis a merchant by trade miltiadis is a scam artist he's an operator he shapes The Narrative tips his landlord collects rare fish sells things he doesn't own he says there is free stuff in the house behind him but actually it's just two hired killers I guess the free stuff was us gu I was looking everywhere for you they could have killed me could have but didn't let's not get sidetracked by hypotheticals let's focus on what's important you made a ton of money in what 10 minutes listen let bygones be bygones look me up in Mador and partner trust me it's going to be big you'll thank me for looking after you one day time for us to do antia side quests the captain of the Guard marked two locations on our world map the game doesn't have travel mechanics per se what you see is a visualization I made in Premier Pro moving between locations takes days or weeks but from the player's point of view it's instantaneous and more importantly it feels instantaneous it doesn't feel like a journey that's the camp where a bunch of Raiders are keeping tiberious a relative of antias in a cage for ransom yes the situation can be resolved in all sorts of clever vincian ways negotiate Ford chess the various groups of Bandits against each other but remember what a wise man said every kill teaches you something we can learn a lot from these people I won't forget it tiberious Whispers from his cage the second Quest is about dealing with the aurelian legionaires who constructed an outpost around an old mine uncomfortably close to Teran house selan controls the city of madoran it's the most powerful of the great houses and a rival of house daratan after the guards are dealt with we have to pacify the mining Personnel it's a swarm type of encounter the workers attacks are weak and inaccurate but there are a lot of them and they do occasionally crit kill count 41 with effort the ancient machines can be reactivated to make advanced weapons and armors for house theen but is it really in our best interest to do that I feel Master Fang would advise against attaching ourselves to an idiot like antias do you believe in destiny guos I have wasted a fortune and lost more man than I dare to admit and just when I've decided to give up you show up with a map the treasure map from the prologue the Empire conquered the known world the era of peace and prosperity was about to begin when the accursed canari came we fought the de Devil's tooth and nail but when the victory was at hand they called forth their gods the Empire had to summon Divine allies to even the odds but in the end everyone lost antias lectures us on ancient history I thought it was my job he believes that somewhere in the Wasteland is the Lost Temple of Thor goth full of ancient weapons of war the Lord of Teran sends us on an expedition promising status and riches should we find it sure thing anman I'll get right on that we have received a formal complaint from the merchants Guild it appears the local militia is no longer able to protect the town the recent events have practically forced Karina hand while antias is daydreaming the Imperial guards are taking over Teran here is the situation house daratan is a dying house the charter allows us to step in temporarily and defend Imperial property and so commences the bloodiest battle of the chapter and Tas is the weakest link the toughest opponent in this fight and possibly the toughest bastard in teron is delar the captain of the Guard we soften him up with explosives and then kite delar around the arena by throwing Nets with him out of the way our boys soon get the upper hand house daratan is no more you're good in a fight guos but where we're going you'd have to be better than most for the next several days while Karina sorts out the governance Rel Rel ated issues we train with the best instructors of the guard for major bonuses to every combat skill destroying a thousand-year-old house is an extraordinary event lord galus of House aelion demands we are brought to him in Chains this is the end of chapter 1 teron is under martial law the undesirable elements are crucified as a warning to others a week ago house aelan was the greatest power in the Empire now it's it's not that clear concerned with the State of Affairs Lord galus sends secret Messengers to the U the powerful Army of Step Warriors he intends to invite them to madoran and use the horde as his private fighting force hoping they'll keep the Imperial guards at Bay once the duwel of the Empire madoran is now a city of crumbling ruins and forgotten Glory the rivers that fed it dry the fertile fields are now Barren Rock and drifting sand a very poetic description of the biggest city in the game we are brought before Galas Lord antias has been slain in his own Palace slain not by the outside forces but by the enemies within the Imperial guards he is speaking like a politician an orator working his audience one of the murderers is here today to plead his innocence and try to convince us that the attack was somehow Justified speak villain we can argue our case but that requires social skills guus does not possess we are about to get executed I demand trial by combat and they do accommodate us yeah malnourished bums on death row my only weakness well what do you know looks like you are innocent of all charges madoran city of light city of magic the Imperial guards occupy a fort not far from the big gate legatos pavala should have our things karinas that son of a [ __ ] could never get along with anyone they thought they got rid of him when they sent him to teron he sure showed them here is our character page at the start of chapter 2 infiltrator Terminator King Slayer Centurion guos is an 80s metal band in a trench coat look what crawled out of some [ __ ] hole and made it way to to our glorious City how about a job in the entertainment industry the master of the Arena gives us the most convincing fake smile you've ever seen your first opponent is a newcomer like you fancies himself a thief poor bastard thinks we live like animals without rules and laws he doesn't look like a fighting sword but claims he killed a man or two I know I know just enter the arena got him like a fish and we'll continue this conversation your next victim is a zeelot an old man but there is plenty of fire in him claimed that voices told him to spread the Divine word and bring Salvation people laughed at him told him to [ __ ] off he snapped and isatis the crossbow kid is not much of a challenge either fighting the king Slayer Centurion isn't quite the same as shooting drunk merchants in the back I'll set you up on a date with Papa Johan the man's a legend his word was the law on the streets if he was 10 years years younger you wouldn't lost more than a few heartbeats I'll be damned there goes a piece of the neighborhood's history nothing lasts in this house we love RPG fighting Arenas and the age of decadence features a strong candidate for the title of the best RPG Arena of all time each battle consists of a mechanical concept a story and a funny oneliner from the arena man there is a ranking system you get paid for every fight but you won't actually be making any money because it will all be spent on the healers and the blacksmith Services the game is rigged you see it's still worth doing of course it's like agatti said each man you kill teaches you something furthermore becoming a gladiator unlocks side quests fighting men are in demand protect Basil's establishment from thieves and then protect quinto's broel from armed thugs madoran many factions of cops yet no law and these guys are preachers from gitar crowd of intolerant locals is about to tear them apart much of the content in aod is politically themed but that's the extent of it it's a motif nothing else there is a religion but there is no church doctrine there are political factions but all the leaders have the same views more power for me and [ __ ] you unlike New Vegas or Dex the age of decadence is not about a political debate it's about attaching yourself to someone with power like a remor fish attaches itself to a shark do you think it will ever get better what a foolish question life is never easy it wasn't easy 100 years ago it's not easy today and I can guarantee you 100 years from now it still won't be easy anyway you have plenty of food on your table and gold in your pockets life isn't so bad is it now I came to teron with nothing I could have joined the beggar and complained all day long but I didn't don't waste your time think thinking about tomorrow focus on the task at hand you were lucky Master if you didn't find those datan relics or if the old Lore Master didn't die you might have ended up with a beggar whether you wanted to or not luck says Fang had nothing to do with it I have something special for you three barbery a lot of Gladiators wanted in on this action but I decided to give them to you happy birthday kid hit their hands with aimed strikes to lower their accuracy and reduce incoming damage the UI doesn't make it obvious but every weapon class has a library of different attack types and most of them are useful much of the game's tactical depth comes from this your next opponent is nikander he's a free man like yourself he paid me to fight you nikander is a Spearman my favorite play style a trident light armor stay mobile and evade blows the special feature of a two-handed spear is that it can proc extra attacks when someone gets in range which also pushes the target back and wastes their action points unfortunately two-handed weapons are incompatible with a certain item I will be getting later I'm running out of people here guos how about bendy Doros big tra bastard but on the plus side he'll be really hard to miss stay away from his broadsword he calls it the bringer of storms some of the best items in this game are craftable and really everyone should be getting into crafting because it's one of the skills that are both useful in dialogue and in combat but if for some reason you don't want to weirdo well the game has a rich selection of unique named weapons and armors the next battle is against a Duo of Step Warriors hit the big guy in the arms to lower his attack rating and then finish him off with power attacks while tanking the Archer who will run out of Arrow s pretty quickly not the best showing from the Oro but they got one thing right and that is the armor choice I craft a lamel or do armor with Mobility upgrades and crit resistance there are very few fighters of your caliber guos and things are about to get interesting our next opponent the butcher was once a real butcher but I guess chopping up cows can eventually get boring so he started chopping up people hence the name a Dodge two-hander build hit him once in the arms and then spam fast attacks to proc bleed I can't believe it you killed the butcher I didn't think the bastard would live forever but Mac the knife all Mac killed all kinds he killed axemen he killed Swordsmen he killed sparen Max an artist and his art is gutting people like pigs disregard what he said the fight is very easy for spare man if you are lucky with procs he won't even make it to melee range but but if he does you are dead all right enough arena for now let's explore the rest of the city Leon here offers a guided tour of the slums for 100 coins we agree it's an arer so I'm assuming this will lead to interesting Quest content Leon takes us to an abandoned alley and suddenly we are surrounded by armed men the picturesque view completes the tour it's going to be your resting place so I hope you like it I can't help but admire this man's arrogance I mean we just killed the bringer of storms but now it's a bunch of piig pockets who will be our end welcome to the club the club of 83 the slums is an open air maze despite appearances it's not a social area Gus yells miltiadis you have no idea how happy I am to see you miltiadis is in debt to 40 thieves who are the Thieves Guild of the Empire and he still owes us some money from the teron scam guus I love you like a brother but if I had any money don't you think I would have given it to the 40 thieves you don't mess around with these guys he leads us to a house in the trade District claiming the person inside screwed him over is this an ambush you know guys you definitely have trust issues one thing leads to another and now where madora Noble and his two sons lie dead at our feet so what did you get out of it a title you are looking at lord miltiades of the Cor nelli I'll send for you once I've settled and got the Affairs of my house in order I'll be needing your services again very soon one of the merchants in the district sells an ancient power cell a good way of spending some of the gold we just made anyways we're still an Imperial Guard and legatus pavala has orders for us when the Nobles and the commercial interests of madoran learned of Galos plan to bring an army of Ordu into the Empire they plotted a coup but things didn't work out the boat Boatman got involved and now strabos the head of the merchants is hiding in his Palace [ __ ] and pissing himself strabos wants pavala to protect him what I asked for 20 men I thought they would surround the building and you have nothing to worry about so you are one of those individuals worth at least 20 men the kind whose sword is a natural extension of their arm that sort of thing that's me straw boss is expecting at least two te team of Assassins Hamza a guild veteran shows up by himself the fight is very similar to that versus Mack the Knife if you get lucky with the first few rolls you'll be fine so much for peace and quiet the Ordo will be coming through the mountain pass to the north pavala gives us a squad of troops and orders to head to the pass immediately and hold it against the hord no matter the cost they'll be here soon says boss the Centurion in charge of the fort you and I have a lot of work to do you and I the last best hope of the Southern cities do you have any loved ones guos no me neither boss already sent a letter to caror but it will take a while for them to get here our job is to head out to the Ordo encampment and attempt to talk some sense into them but before we go it's important to have a chart with this legionaire here who sells rare trinkets l Master sometimes bring wonders from Beyond the Wall like this heavy Gauntlet we read about devices like this in ancient texts it's called ghost hand maybe the Magi used it to shoot Fireballs at each other or maybe they used it to wipe the emperor's ass by the way it's rare and valuable it takes 2 weeks to reach the Oro a bunch of tents and horses you'll only get to visit this location once so make sure to do everything there is to do here which ain't much I asked for steal yet galus sends me more greetings is this the way of the Southern cons guus ain't exactly a master orator but maybe we can do something to disrupt this Alliance who are you to question Lord galus you'll do wise to remember your place I am puzzled the other emissaries carried a very different message the KH suspects Foul Play and orders his bondsman to take us to the prison tent I mean I get it that guos isn't good at diplomacy but since it took us so long to reach the camp maybe he should have thought of a better rhetorical strategy than just calling the Conor [ __ ] two weeks to get there two weeks to get [Music] back the fort at haren's pass is a different place now drilled them every day I told them that Ordo will bugger them first and only then kill them them how was your trip I did the best I could so what's the plan the defense of the pass Against The Horde is one of the most memorable battles in the game the barricades don't prevent our archers and Spearman from hitting the Ordo from the side the only problem is this guy belai one of their best warriors so it's fitting that he becomes our kill number 100 and the con is the next to fall Unfortunately The Horde seems endless got to give them one thing they are persistent calm gas don't tell me you wanted to live forever suddenly the Ordo stop they stand there for a moment and then turn around and run the Imperial guards have arrived good show says their Commander Lord gallia's plan has failed no pet or do army for him after the empire fell we were kept outside like a dog that guards the Master's house but is never allowed in at first when there were seven on houses we didn't have a choice now it's Galos who doesn't have a choice the next month brings hundreds of new recruits eager to join the outfit as well as an offer from Lord meu of gitar the guards are to provide security for an archaeological Expedition into an ancient ruin you have a gift guos says paulus the duk which is Latin for leader or general some are born to plow soil some are born to kill paus doesn't prove of what karinas did at Teran doesn't like emotional decisions we are in Kor the headquarters of the Imperial guards somewhere in the Wasteland west of madoran most protagonists will never get to visit cartor it's their loss these training facilities are not just for show Pao sends us to gitar we are to assume control of the local Garrison and help Maru with whatever it is he wanted but this will wait we have unfinished business in mad Doran and now that guus received guard's training I feel confident about taking on harder challenges like the final fight in the slums most battles in this District are hard but fair but this one is twice as difficult than the rest of them for seemingly no reason I guess the devs wanted to show us that 40 thieves can actually fight like miltiades said you don't mess around with these guys but nothing about their equipment or the way they behave communicates that this will be one of the hardest fights in the chapter feels like someone put a wrong number in the database defeating the gang opens the way into the temple District it's a bizaar and the Thieves Guild HQ the reason we're here is to acquire this thing a cybernetic eye implant sold by one of the Traders naturally it's a Vince game so we proceed to do the most insane thing possible and that is pay a local medicine man we just met to to replace one of our human eyes with this thing the doctor looks at you and smiles fatherly before asking his assistant to sedate the patient we take the Blow To The Head and pass out the surgeon isn't qualified to work with ancient Prosthetics fortunately for us the eye artifact came to life and implanted itself it is unclear what special function the device is supposed to serve but we can see just fine there is no St penalty and we got a new perk far sight my vision is augmented at this stage the player should have a bunch of new locations marked on the world map so let's go explore the secret Monastery in the mountains the most picturesque place in the age of decadence no doubt the prettiest location in any game on the torque 3D engine a group of Raiders made Camp outside the monastery we are honest Travelers we sought a Shelter From The Storm but were denied Hospitality what is this world coming to such un civilized Behavior should not be tolerated are you with us I'll give you a tenth of everything we take together with our new friends we battle the monastery guards while being bombarded by projectiles from the wall after the melee opponents are dealt with the Raiders climb the fortification and take the fight to the archers who appear to be civilian militia this is the entire population of the settlement if we sided with the locals this would have been a social location with a bunch of people to talk to the monastery was built around an ancient but still functioning Hydroponics facility that's how the community managed to survive in isolation and then there is this big ass vault door it cannot be opened from this side there must be another way in we're done here for now ganita are a city on the hill the third and final big Urban location in the age of decadence do you get to the Cloud District very often oh what am I saying of course you don't the purpose of our visit is to talk to this guy who is responsible for advancing the power armor Quest this is it right there I found the best strategy for this fight is to move to the western side of the Arena which will force one of the combatants to use a one-handed crossbow I don't think he managed to land a hit once the statistics of the pre-war armor are unimpressive but that's because the power armor is not powered we insert one of the energy cells we've been collecting and the suit comes back to life the power armor has a built-in energy Shield which also acts as a control system allowing you to switch between different modes there are three Horus provides a bonus to dexterity Anubis has a passive Health regeneration never visit the Healer again and AIS makes you physically stronger you can tell what mode is currently enabled by what the helmet looks like it's a projection there is a conflict in gitar a battle for the soul of the city between the old nobility and the underclass empowered by religion a local Noble hires us to protect the jubil merchant from non-consensual wealth redistribution they come after dark the woman collects tribute from the Traders for the benefit of the poor from the low Town lost your guards berengarius got yourself a killer instead she sees it coming but doesn't move away her eyes full of contempt are locked with yours until the very end it showed me life for what it was a daily struggle to survive no cost is too great if it buys you yet another day there is more to life than this is there and how would you know Master guus it has to be we we can't show these animals any pity if they have their way we'll be hanging from the crosses tomorrow did we pick the wrong side don't worry about it everyone will get what's coming to them some sooner than later you are from madoran aren't you what do you know about lord miltiades of House varus is he a man of quality a man of principles the quest continues in the next chapter until then we'll explore the Wasteland some more the remote Village of inferior has a well a flattering concept art certainly it actually looks like this a bunch of Huts circling your stone construction well well well so what am I supposed to do with you azra the witch knows much of the Wasteland lore the place antias was searching for the Temple of Thor goth the artificer she has been there I've looked down at the sleeping God that lies there and wondered if a kiss of a fair Maiden don't look at me I wasn't born old would have the power to wake him what if the God can make things better fix all this what if he makes things worse when we try to take a look at the gaping hole in the middle of the village one of the guards gives us a push we land on a pile of rotten corpses and we are not alone a for armed ancient stone demon the guardian appears to be heavily damaged it strikes with four weapons at the same time a cool trick but guos is a power armored veteran of the Guard it's the construct who should be afraid we take the heart of the demon as a trophy deeper in the facility there is a still operational power plant curiously the ancient machine speaks of some kind of defense mode activating it th everything above ground with an energy burst The Village smells of ozone hot copper and burned hair from what I can tell this used to be a Maji Tower nuked during the war between the Empire and the canari but the machines in the basement survived mostly intact there is some sort of a Portal Device we are in madorin I can see the arena from here an ancient corpse this person wrote something on the wall before he died balar attacked he's coming for you don't hesitate the price we have already paid is too great balzar is known to us the chief of demons a living God the first to be welcomed the first to bite the hand that fed him we remove the power source from the portal and take the elevator down the ancient teleportation device is in one of the minates in the merchant District remember the quests we did for Basil protecting the inn and the tavern from Mador and gangsters that story continues in this chapter the 4 thieves will keep sending assassination squads and we keep murdering them So eventually they come to Parlay if it was up to me I would have you killed no matter the cost lucky for you lavier thinks you can be an asset to our organization lavier isn't as clever as he thinks he is he doesn't understand guus at all few people do I met an Oru philosopher once he said you kill a man you get XP here is our character sheet the next person we take out will be number 150 the arena Champion ala here will have the honor an excellent swordsman and a master Alchemist his weapons dipped in Lethal poison this is a difficulty Spike you'll probably have to reload a bunch of times this reminds me back when the game was still in beta one of the iron Tower forums posters an individual from Kazakhstan used to run a spare build that was carefully constructed to be good at basically everything at the expens of constitution a smart charismatic glass Cannon I remember him saying that in the early game he had to reload 25 30 times per battle on average I think that guy's posting gave me mental illness [ __ ] me you killed Elsa here the arena Quest chain is not over now we'll have to defend the title officially and unofficially the best fights are still ahead the zedi tower standing in the middle of a long dead ancient city the building is seemingly unaffected by time the entrance is blocked by a forest field the heart of the demon we killed in the Wasteland Village unlocks the way in the first thing we see is another Stone demon reading a book I do believe we have a visitor unfortunately it appears where closed to the moment and I've been instructed to depose of all visitors the stone guardian was created by the master of the tower who appears to be long gone now the guardian is trapped here he can't even go upstairs can't use the elevator but guus can perhaps we should work together at the top of the tower is my master study there you'll find a triple flax rotter EST steel ring with multiple bands bring it to me and our business is concluded upstairs is a perfectly preserved Maji library and here is the ring we've read about items such as this it's a remote control for the demon probably he wants his own remote control so that he could be free the cleverest thing about the aod World building is that it's all literal ancient Romans with advanced technology I get it they didn't actually resemble ancient Romans what's happening is that the power havers of this world want you to think that the people always lived like this in order to preserve of their legitimacy this style is called reverse retrofuturistic Rome Punk ray gun but no the empire was exactly like ancient Rome except with nuclear missiles robots and force fields we give the demon the remote control as promised thank you are you ready for your reward it's possible to befriend the guardian but we are not skilled enough at the art of speechcraft the zedi demon is significantly more dangerous than the defender of the Village we fought previously he wields Sky metal weapons the highest tier in the game from now on we are known as demon Bane Legends say the gods revealed much to the oracles at the place called the arch these days it seems to be a site of religious tourism with our mechanical eye we can see what it truly is a small part of a colossal structure that only only partially exists in our world the mai build machines that required different laws of physics in order to function thus the Mai had built them in Realms that Exist Elsewhere in order to interact with such machines they constructed devices like this one the ghost hand the gods are returning screams one of the cultists that made the arch their home send in one of your men of course of course a cultist touches the surface suddenly he's brutally yed forward his scream severed a few minutes later his face emerges from the portal the unblinking eyes fix on you ask it says I seek an ancient Temple yes Al Akia says the face and disappears we need another volunteer another one but the stories say nothing stories are for children the gods are here now and they are hungry ask says the face once it emerges again what is Al AIA it's the place where it began it's the place where it will end the path must be opened a vessel must be provided the compact must be honored gitar Lord meu there are no Lords here brother we are all equal in the God's eyes he has no guards except for the strange man standing behind him who appears to be unarmed they say failen can kill a man just by looking at him it took all my strength when I did it for the first time I was exhausted and drained of energy for days now I can stop your heart from beating as easily as swatting a fly well it's a good thing that he is on our side now for the mission the gods have revealed the location of Al AIA to me the place where the gods stood when they descended from their Heavenly abod and took on Mortal form to walk with us we journey to the birthplace of the Gods in company of four Lord Masters lost for centuries alakia is the black Mesa of the decadence Universe most of the complex is buried Excavating it would take decades fortunately there does appear to be a way in Via what I assume is an ancient ventilation system the machines are running on emergency power and this is where it happened this is where the entities from the plane Beyond were bonded with human hosts creating the high Lords the god chamber seems to be perfectly preserved seven pods three of them sighted with the Empire four with the canari while we were exploring the facility the Expedition Camp was discovered by aurelan legionnaires the lore Masters are dead Galos has no respect for Academia and it looks like our problems have only just begun gitar is under siege by by the aurelian Army we get into the city via a hidden hatch used by the 40 thieves the noise and the screaming got the attention of a local crime boss in his Entourage and guess what the man says that despite the circumstances we can work together for Mutual benefit how many times do I have to teach them this lesson 40 thieves I killed way more than 40 thieves so uh where were we oh yes meu tell paulus if he breaks The Siege he can name his price if the Imperial guards save meu he'll promised he'll name them the Protectors of the Creed the Templars their power will grow as the Creed grows Maru will oversee the matters of faith paus will oversee the rest what the [ __ ] happened guos I sent you on a picnic Mission and you start a goddamn War don't unpack you're going back in Galos made a counter offer we help him take ganit are he unites the land becomes Emperor the Imperial guards become the army of the Empire like in the old times paulus considers both options and ultimately chooses to side with galus he's harder to deal with but easier to understand I disagree all that work we did to undermine the power of house aelion was it all for nothing if paus doesn't see it perhaps karinas will we are going back to teron this place sure has changed in our absence guard towers crucifixes clean streets new buildings being constructed here is our old house Master Fang fled after the guards took over probably for the best the changes to the city are dictated by the choices we made in act one in my test playthrough I joined the Boatman and saved antias the city became a giant mercenary Camp I didn't think paulos had it in him it changes a lot of things you know what they say the more things change the more they stay the same get to the point gas karinas is a man of action if he can use his troops to lift The Siege we wouldn't have to get in bed with Galas I'll pretend that you came to me not to incite a rebellion but to ask for advice and my advice to you is simple you have your order Soldier quit your scheming and carry them out ah damn it the aurelians welcome Pao Legion with wild cheer Maru and his Cadre observe from the city wall these are the closing days of the era of decadence and the final hours of his life Just Before Sunrise completely unanticipated ladders spring up along the wall the explosion blasts a hole in the gate here is your chance to prove yourself legatus the final quest in the Imperial guards chain needs to be special and it is admittedly there is not much to to the actual battle I don't think I've even took damage the bodies of Maru and his Magus fen's eyes and fingers are missing the [ __ ] Magus worked his spells on our own men turning three of them against us complains our aurelian colleague good men too what happened to his eyes taking for trophies eyes and fingers make good talismans or so I'm told we were wrong to doubt paus the Ducks gitar will remain under control of the Imperial guards until Galos delivers on his promises we are in charge the aurelian legendaires are to be integrated into our forces I'm sure they will resist at first crucify every tenth and they'll fall in line I'm going to make you legatus not because you deserve it or because you are ready but because I trust you and your position demands it as the result of our actions house or alien becomes rnum AUM the golden Kingdom with the largest and the best equipped military force of modern time times from a lore Master's Apprentice to the governor of the second largest city in the Empire I am the shark now but that's not the end of this story far from it legatus says our assistant here is a list of people who requested an audience with you actually there is something I need to do first I need to find the Lost Temple of Thor goth the game is making fun of us the Lost Temple of Thor a goth you'll be missed legatus as a expected the siege of gitar and the death of meu didn't scare away our old friend thank you for coming to our Aid says Lord dargus it is a duty of every nobleman says miltiades demonstrating his newly acquired upper class accent if we let the Rabel have gitar without a fight tomorrow they'll take madoran later in private miltiadis reveals that he doesn't think much of the Lords of the city and their struggle we need to improve the narrative What If instead of helping duros kill some zealots we Avenged his death and prevented a much bigger Massacre friends says miltiades addressing the crowd it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that dargus a man I love like a brother was cowardly killed when he tried to protect you and this great City but his sacrifice was not in vain I will honor my dying friend's wish and defend you until it is safe once again the game has a special miltiadis ending unfortunately it requires Maru to be alive we have business elsewhere real reactivity hours our reputation with the Thieves Guild is so critically low we are being hunted by their SEAL Team Six they didn't offer us a job this time they are learning I too am learning body count 189 remember the monastery in the mountains how do we get into the sealed chamber we get there through this well in the madoran slums remove your clothes dive into the well discover an ancient underground facility activate the portal with a special power cell we got from the minat the sealed chamber is a medical lab set up to treat injured Gods it saw frequent use during the war this is a healing machine we can use it to improve a physical attribute of our choice I pick constit ution you'll see why shortly Where Have You Been are you ready to fight the Challenger battles begin with a short banter session have you made peace with the gods asks hamul I'm not here to talk I know you are here to die but your soul can still be saved you see this it's galo's ring as long as I wear it I cannot be beaten in battle what a Dodge build we are good at dealing with those vulnerable to fast attacks yeah he really did have the ring created by Master Fang to scam money out of antias it is Bel dear rval belief can change the nature of a man I am plaus over a 100 men died by my hand I killed more almost twice as much in fact a heavily armored two-hander user hit him in the arms once and then spam fast attacks you saved bast for lost you bet your ass I did the Widow maker they say he killed more than 300 men hiding inside a metal suit you are wise to fear the Widow Maker but it won't help you he's right it won't I've never managed to survive more than two turns against this guy possibly the deadliest combatant in the game a clever solution must be found and I know where to look Hellgate an imperial Command Center the ancient stru structure is nicely preserved and this is why our combat stats are basically maxed out so the spider constructs ain't much of a threat banag Bal is a Lore Master our colleague from a far away place he arrived to halgate 37 days ago how did he survive rats they don't taste as bad as you think definitely sustainable banag bal's mission is to obtain this thing it's the strangest weapon you've ever seen says the game only a giant would be able to hurl this at his enemies that's because it's a nuke a nuclear tipped ballista Arrow it is beautiful I have no idea what he wants to do with the nuke but it's none of our business we actually came here to get this an ancient grenade a unique consumable we only get one we only need one the final preparations the power armor is a gift of the artificer to man now for a suit is running on two energy cells but there is a slot for a third guus recalls an old story a wounded warrior charged with defending the temple offered his life force to the gods they accepted his sacrifice and channeled his life force into the armor thus allowing him to defeat his enemies ra the ultimate power armor form combines bonuses from all three modes and has a unique look fire in the hole the Widow May is our kill number [Music] 200 with the arena story and the faction quest line finished I think it's time we see the endings most lore Masters agree that the high Lords were Supernatural entities but that is not true the Imperial library of SOS was actually built after the fall of the empire in an attempt to preserve knowledge for future Generations it it was overrun by Raiders centuries ago by the looks of it and of course there is a secret chamber a set of ancient surgical tools perfectly preserved the instructions speak of a complicated procedure that involves inscribing glyphs directly into the bone on the other side of the parchment is a handwritten message these words will hold now we require a qualified surgeon to operate on us I had the finest tutors and my hands are as steady as ever the sealed medical facility in the mountain Monastery becomes the operating [Music] room Master guus can you hear me how long was I out 3 days I thought I lost you now we go to alakia and place ourselves in a sarcophagus a God is created when an entity from the plane Beyond bonds with a human host the invader reshapes its new body devours the host's Consciousness and wears their flesh like a suit a fate worse than death awaits the unprepared but I am not unprepared I am Gus the Kings Slayer I am demon Bane bring it Casper balzar the chief of demons attempts to possess gaos our mouth begins speaking weird syllables we press our lips together and it stops slowly but painfully we gain ground forcing balzar to submit to our will all at once the left side of our face goes numb gaas steals the power of a god while keeping most of his mind intact many that live in darkness that must be shown the way for it is the dawning of a new [Music] day the problem with this ending is that guus or anyone else in this game doesn't seem to possess sophistic icated political beliefs what is a just world according to Gus the God we don't know we never had this conversation so let's reload and try something else the Temple of Agatha the artificer was part of a much larger facility several terrons in size most of it is dust but the zigurat remains the Showcase of artificer's inventions power armor spider robots he had his ups and downs when balzar Fury tore the land asunder it was Agatha's knowledge and weapons that turned the tide but after the demons betrayed them the mai never fully trusted agatho the order was given to reverse the ritual banishing him back to the void there was a Civil War the faction of Magi loyal to agatho sealed him inside a sarcophagus so that one day centuries later he could be reawakened and reassume his position as a god of the Empire no being mortal or Divine ever does anything without a reason what reason would they have to help the poor old us everyone needs something whatever these Gods want worship gold temples is a small price to pay for their help so eager to give away anything that is not yours huh the spells that bind him will fade away one day and he'll be free if it's unavoidable I'd rather him being in our debt the creature wakes up he clearly made changes to his host body how long centuries the Maji gone who rules in the maji's stead Petty men lording over pitiful city states agatho understands the humans will never accept someone as alien as him as their ruler so he needs a proxy he will Elevate one of the local Lords and Rule through them it's up to guos to to decide who it would be we go to car Tor without delay the agatho endings are the most involved and feature a lot of additional scenes quite a mess can it be killed we don't know can we work with him I believe so all that traveling to caror and back took around a month there is a settlement growing around the zigurat the ornate mask to conceal the tentacles smart kneel and we do kneel at this point it's not clear if guus even has free will many others will serve me but you and you alone will be the tip of my spear the scourge of my foes a warrior king who' Forge the greatest Empire this world has ever seen I like that agatho despite being the last character to be introduced still goes through a mini Arc of sorts but what is a good life according to agatho we don't know the political Theory of the age of decadence is technocracy qualified people should rule philosophy and ethics are for nerds guo say something of a nerd time we get our PhD the old magic is like fire it can keep you warm cook your food help you forge tools but it can also burn down your house or a forest the moment you lose control there is a special music track just for the final battle agatho can protect himself from damage with this cool force field ability this animation means he is doing a unique sigh attack as far as I can tell it's impossible to avoid Agatha's conventional attacks can be blocked however and he is vulnerable to bleeding and also to explosives the creature is in disbelief that a mere mortal can damage him I'm a God how can you kill a god well there is a technique to it but based basically you just poke it until it stops moving liquidated the temple contained neither salvation nor an engine of war the passing of the last of the Gods from this world goes unnoticed at best you can now spin a fantastic prospector's tail and earn yourself a few free [Music] drinks honestly that s s like a fine life so here is a picture of Del to estize this video as smart you know we can appreciate the age of decadence for being a fun adventure on a deeper level we can appreciate the age of decadence as a set of ideas some of these ideas failed like the teron chapter RPG isn't just about systems and choices and consequences the structure is also important but many of the game's ideas succeeded the age of decadence invented a new genre of RPG G someone should come up with a real name for it but Vince game is an RPG where you are required to use every tool in Your Arsenal in order to succeed the character building tricks the consumables the item enabled tactics metagaming it's the forums Theory taken to its logical conclusion say whatever you want it's not for everyone there is a learning curve to it but these games certainly never treat you like a [ __ ] furthermore some of the most Innovative things in aod have nothing to do with its systems it's the art Direction the characters music writing every square inch of this game has 10 ideas and you know what I just realized they never made a second Oblivion game but they did make a second age of decadence huh truly I should be charging you for these lessons wait I do give me all your money via the crowdfunding platform patreon Game of the Year 2023 is Colony ship Patron credits and then we'll see the true ending these videos are made possible by the contributions of the veterans of rpce Legion including Jim Lawrence Kyle Shadow Simmons darkbot pumpkin ton spagoni Ilia Rubin Ganso BMA [ __ ] source is the best engine ever made you got my ear I feed my parrot chicken Yuri solodov Neno my next video will be on I Divine cybermancy Miracle Moses Porter a Zazzle and banful the doggo Frog Nathan kabisa a two room apartment in babis bellarus alt gang Warfare Enthusiast 1967 Ford Mustang Eric Lu khans Ray nurs snafu Billy strahorn C6 Danny Kilpatrick Dmitri U and buck Swope there doesn't appear to be any footage of the true ending on YouTube or on the Goon LP website so in order to get here I had to replay the entire game this time as an assassin a very different Adventure this version of guos befriended a demon and got to use the interdimensional internet more importantly meu survived the siege of gitar so when agatho orders us to bring him a lord we go to meu miltiadis is already here a permanent fixture at the court nobody knows what he does agatho not bzar but the voice said one of the Exotic endings has the player wake balzar agree to serve him then wake agatho and agree to serve him and then nuke balzar with a Divine spare but this is not that ending are you sure asks miltiadis after we explain the situation to him the man sees an opportunity in every Calamity the bigger the Calamity the bigger the opportunity Gus Takes Maru to agatho with miltiadis taking along while traveling we are ambushed by The Boatman the truth is says the Assassin the world will be a better place with without meu I agree says miltiades slashing his dagger across meu's throat in a practiced motion so who am I supposed to take to agatho now me every character in the age of decadence is a schemer miltiades is The Game's way of laughing at itself just because he asked for a lord doesn't mean we should bend over backwards and fetch him one right away you don't want to look too eager you know what I mean we had a Lord and you killed him look maybe I misread the sign but I thought that's what you had in mind when you asked me to tag a either way might as well go and meet this agatho first if he looks at me and says I'm not what he needs we'll go and fetch him someone better see problem solved agatho is not a God but he's pretty damn close yet you don't seem to be afraid at all afraid of what I'm not going to fight him what is there to be afraid of he needs a head servant to keep all his other servants in check I am the best choice I don't have any delusions of grander what they see is a humiliating submission I see as an opportunity I couldn't even dream of the way to the zigurat is blocked by the Imperial guards miltiadis fights on our side this version of guos ended the game with more than 250 kills the Critical Strike assassin does stupid damage the [Music] zigurat Neil From This Moment forward you speak with my voice and in so doing you will grow your domain far beyond your petty Ambitions your enemies are my enemies now miltiadis reassures him just say the word uh your Holiness taking a back agatho looks at gas miltiades isn't what he expected but then again miltiades isn't what anyone's ever expecting I shall make you the absolute Lord of men you will serve me Faithfully just just as men serve you I know how it works don't worry about it I'm going to be pretty honest I'm getting a strong partner Vibe here but I don't want to overstep my bounds your first task is to raise a great Army while the fact of milad's divine favor is beyond doubt why the gods have chosen a man missing so many of the attributes of a religious leader piety humility dignity is a mystery that Scholars will struggle to unravel for a very long time wielding the God's favor like an oversized Club his most radiant Holiness miltiadis the first expounds the authority of the Creed like a street Thug driving the competition from his Block in the slums possessing an uncanny Instinct for weakness the high priest knows exactly when and where to strike to get what he what the gods desire

Channel: Warlockracy

Views: 235,409

Keywords: video games, gaming, game design, warlockracy, review, narrative review, the age of decadence, age of decadence, the age of decadence review

Id: bHakQgEoXd8

Length: 69min 58sec (4198 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 30 2023