If they don't actively resent your boss, they're terrified of what you represent - and even if you're there to help with the best will in the world, your presence is a lingering reminder that Avadon has Noticed Them. People call on you to solve their problems as a last resort, and begrudge being expected to pay for, or rely on, your services. What this means in real terms is that no matter how heroic you think you are, you're no hero. Your choice, bearing in mind that this is the kind of world where it could well be the maggot-filled lump of evil it appears to be, or the stern rod of protection it claims to be. Or alternatively, work to destroy it from the inside. Your job? To keep Avadon's power secure so that it can keep 'protecting' the land.
He's one of the luckier ones who survived. There's a man in Avadon's dungeons who's been alive, numbed, for decades in a stasis field, purely as a salutary example for any future assassins. but also sets wolves on them to make sure they can handle themselves, and guarantees that anyone who tries to screw with him regrets it for a very, very, long time. Your boss is a man called Redbeard, an avuncular chap who makes a point of welcoming all his new recruits with a big smile and a welcoming pat on the back. Think of it as the UN, with the Gestapo as its intelligence division, and an approach to keeping the peace that involves burning a troublesome city to the ground and pointing out that at least the ashes aren't going to be causing any more trouble. The high concept of the game is that Avadon, your new employer, is the power that holds together several neighbouring countries with a careful mix of support and fear. What interested me far more was the story and its characters, both of which offer some refreshingly different gimmicks. I can safely say that this side of the game never bothered me, though it's worth noting that combat is usually the thing I care about least in an RPG - as long as it's adequate - and I was playing through on Normal difficulty, which was a reasonable challenge without forcing lots and lots of replay. Hardcore fans have already complained that this makes the game feel dumbed down, although 'simplified' and 'streamlined' are arguably better words. There's more focus to the action too, with the titular fortress of Avadon acting as a central base, and your missions sending you out into the wider world via teleporters in a largely linear way - albeit with choices to make while actually in the field, and plenty of optional quests to take on for extra XP and resources. Levelling up is based on a very rigid skill tree that makes it tough to screw yourself over with a bad choice. You start by choosing one of four pre-built characters, choosing just their name. This one actively tries to be a friendlier game, stripping out some of the complexity and making it easier to get started. Vogel's RPGs aren't as hardcore as they might look - at least not on their regular difficulty settings. Yet hidden behind their simple sprites and old-fashioned tilesets beat some of the most entertaining concepts around, from Geneforge's focus on your character being able to create life on a whim, to all of his games' emphasis on making important choices that affect the world around you in ways that really, only The Witcher has bothered offering commercially in recent years.Īvadon is slightly unusual. There's no orchestral music - no music at all, really - and no voice acting. It's the latest RPG from Jeff Vogel, and if you're an RPG fan, that's a name you should either know already or prepare to get very familiar with.
This is the kind of moment that makes a game special, and Avadon has many of them. It wouldn't be any fun for her otherwise. Lavish rewards! Pounds and pounds and pounds of gold, straight from Zhethron's very own hoard! "You can negotiate a better deal than that!" roars the dragon, and while you can't actually see him, you just know he's clawing his eyes in frustration. Thara just rolls her eyes, winks, and promises great riches if you help her out with a relatively minor errand. "I shall devour you the next time you return to me!" "I hear every word of this!" screams Zhethron, his voice echoing through the chambers of his endless volcanic lair. The sort of things asked for by dragons, the lazy, and invalids." What does he demand as the price of his advice? "More cows," Thara confides. Her name is Thara, and her hobby is teasing her giant red boss. Dragons have arrogance and age and power, and very little patience for the ramblings of fools. but will it show you a good time as you slay giant spiders and screw with the fate of nations? Well, let's see Wot I Think. It'll give you hours and hours of questing. Avadon is Jeff Vogel's latest RPG a roaring saga of dark politics and glorious face furniture.
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