Introduction

What the heck is this?

The Age of Decadence is an isometric role-playing game developed by Iron Tower Studio, a small indie team that prides itself on creating hardcore RPGs. Work began on the game in March 2004, but a full release didn't happen until October 2015. I discovered the game on Steam about two years ago, played it, died a bunch, then put it away out of frustration. This year I gave it another shot, and after much trial and error (and combing through guides), I discovered it was a damn good game.

It's not perfect: the graphics are a bit rough and the combat is clunky as hell. What shines is everything else -- the story, the characters, the extensive dialogue trees, character customization, choices -- I can't say how many times you'd need to replay the game to see absolutely everything, but it'd be a lot. Every quest has some point to it, even if it's not apparent in the beginning, and many decisions you make have big consequences. Sadly, like most niche games by indie devs, it's not a well-known title, which is a shame. That's why I'm going to LP it.

So, what's it about?

Centuries ago, the Empire and the kingdom of Qantaar waged a magical war that devastated the known world, leaving a few broken city-states ruled by noble houses as the remnants of civilization. Today, various factions struggle for dominance among the ashes while progress relies on the discovery of arcane artifacts and ancient knowledge. Greed, betrayal, and ignorance are the norm.

There's much, much more to it, but we'll learn more throughout the LP. To show off the maximum content, there will be one main playthrough and several "side" playthroughs focusing on some of the different factions and quests we can take.

Oh, and if you're one of the few who played this game, then refrain from spoilers, please.

Does that mean goon participation?

To an extent -- if I asked for input on every decision, the LP would take over a year to finish. Still, I'll let the thread vote on some of the major choices.

Speaking of which: tell me if our main character is male or female, and give me a name -- a Roman name, to be precise.

The Let's Play Archive

The Age of Decadence

by rudecyrus

Introduction

Table of Contents