Legacy: War of Ages RPG

Closer Look Reviews

by E. Ken Cox

Be prepared for a fantastic exploration into the past, present and future. In Black Gate Publishing's new role-playing game Legacy: War of Ages you play one of these enigmatic beings. While firmly rooted in the present, the past - your past - still can affect your role in society.

Being an immortal in the 21st century is nothing if not interesting. The fact of the matter is that between the War of Ages and the Watchers, there is no rest for the Immortal. Unless that would be the final rest, the true death. That's right, I bet you thought you were immortal. Well, that wouldn't be any fun. Where is the challenge in surviving for millennia with no real goal other than hiding from the mortals?

From the beginning of time immortals have existed among the human populations, sometimes perceived as gods, sometimes as devils, always with a hidden agenda all their own. Born to mortal parents, it is a mystery how or why the immortals came into being.

All that is known for sure is that as they grow older they cease to age. They can heal all damage dealt to them except for one small exception: if they lose their heads it is all over. When this happens the essence of the immortal exits the body.

If there is another immortal around at that time, she acts as a lightning rod, drawing that essence into herself. This is called the rapture and makes the immortal that much more powerful. The stronger the immortal, the greater the foreboding, a feeling the immortals get when another of their kind is near. When only one immortal remains he will contain the essence of all the immortals. To him will go the greatest gift, the Legacy. So the war goes on - the War of Ages.

Legacy is one of those games that I would pick up for a number of different reasons. First of all, the themes closely resemble one of my favorite movies. I have for a long time reworked systems to play in this environment. The real joy I found was in the fact I didn't have to change much of my original materials to work within the Legacy System. I have for a long time been a proponent of what can be termed Simple Systems. I usually seek out these because the background materials are so wonderful. Legacy, while not very strong in background, did not disappoint me in this area. The materials are presented in a well organized format with artwork that communicates the techno-gothic experience.

This, the first book, is an overview. Many topics are covered and no single book could completely cover the realms of immortal exis- tence. I very much look forward to seeing more detailed information pertaining to these basic concepts. The system itself is very clean, with only a few very minor inconsis- tencies in my prerelease copy. They have been taken care of in the final release version.

Legacy presents a system that is skill-based with statistics filling in the gaps in the realism. This D10-based system provides simple task resolution with common formulas applied to basic skills. Combat is quick and only lags in the ways roleplaying combat situations have always lagged, at initiative and damage resolution.

Legacy handles these in the most efficient method possible. As I have been looking for a system for years, fixing these inherent problems it is not really a disappointment, just an unfortunate fact of dice-based systems. Overall, I give the system two big thumbs up and encourage those unused to looking at new systems to take a definite look at this one.

To immortals, time is a weapon. To those whom time does not touch, the future and the past merge together to form a whole. The immortal fives in the present as a reflection of the ages.

As a roleplaying experience Legacy - War of Ages offers rich possibilities at character development. The rapture now burns your blood. Are you good or evil? What deeds will you perform? Are you strong enough? The Legacy could be yours.

More Closer Looks edited by Jolly Blackburn

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