This Sleek, Accessible 2d10 Fantasy RPG has been a -BLAST- to play! Old School Flavor with Tactical Depth! An extensive, versatile Spellbook will have you slinging Tier IV Spells in no time! Or take the brute force route, unlocking talent trees that trounce your foes into stunned submission! The XP-based advancement system lets a Player purchase Traits & Proficiencies, which offer bonuses to rolls, as well as special perks & abilities, letting Players create fully customizable PC’s. Want to be a half-dryad Yakuza druid, healing & buffing her allies while standing up for the downtrodden denizens of Mollston, the mystic floating city? Or a Blood Paladin, defeating his enemies in the name of his forsaken God? Choose Luck or Fate… & roll the dice!

Overall I’ve found Tales of the Elder Days to be a great game. It plays smoothly, most of the rules and dice rolling is pretty intuitive. The game’s core mechanic is solid and easy to manage while still providing a range of success and failure, something I like in an RPG. Spells and traits play out much like they do in other games, giving plenty of options when character (and enemy) building.

As a GM I appreciate that the GM’s workload is not exacerbated by the rules, and I have found that prepping games for Tales of the Elder Days is relatively easy. Similarly, the rules don’t rely on gimmicks to get by and tend to make sense in context with each other. There’s a nice mix between hard and fast rules (so plenty of crunch) without being bogged down in minutia. While this isn’t likely to appeal to everyone, Tales of the Elder Days is definitely hitting the sweet spot between crunchy and fast-play that I am looking for in my games.

The book is organized well for use during the game, though maybe not entirely approachable for rookie gamers. The game seems to assume some familiarity with RPGs in general and doesn’t do much in the way of introducing folks to the hobby. That being said, I don’t think that new players would have trouble playing the game if they had a bit of a nudge in the right direction. (So, a veteran GM could include new players without trouble, but a group of folks trying to break into the hobby might struggle a bit to get up and running). Lists of spells and traits are compiled in their own sections, allowing easy reference during play, all in all it makes for a pretty good experience.

It’s also free, which is pretty great that you can check out the game without investing any cash, and in this case it seems to be actually free. There isn’t a paired down version that you get for free to urge you to buy a premium version. This is a full on RPG that can stand on its own and offer a robust gaming experience, not something you see all the time in the world of free digital RPGs. There is plenty of art in the book as well. Most of it seems to be stock art, and it is somewhat mismatched, but it offers some visual appeal at least. This isn’t just some word doc that was thrown online, it seems some serious effort went into this game.

Tales of the Elder days is going to be a win for those GMs out there that like to generate their own content, as it is easily customizable and has a lot of leeway for the GM to bring their own flavor to the game. It seems more and more that RPG’s are being rooted in specific settings and have game systems that specifically support the setting. Not necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy the setting, but in my case I really prefer to use my own homebrew settings, and in that respect Tales of the Elder Days is pretty much setting neutral, assuming you like to keep your games in the fantasy genre.

As a brand new game there is a bit of a gap as far as content goes, the bestiary and magic item lists are somewhat sparse, but those are easy remedies for those who prefer to write their own adventures, and here’s hoping that more content (monsters, magic, and modules) are on the way for Tales of the Elder Days!

My friends and I have been playing this and really enjoying it. We really love the way can "FULLY" customize your character, let me explain briefly. Rather than a traditional system where you gain XP and level up with a set of predetermined options based on your class, in Tales of the Elder Days you buy (with XP) your Traits (Feats), increased health, magic spells, might (str), saves, everything by itself. If you want to be a fighter buy higher might (str) and prowess (dex). Also include traits like weapon specialists (boon to a specific weapon, roll 3d10 and pick the 2 you want). Also if you feel like you never have time to drink a potion take “quaffer” and you can drink a potion for the price of a move action, we all have this trait it’s so useful. I could go on and on with the customization options but they are so numerous, I’ll stop here. Great game, give it a try and if you like it share it!

When I play fantasy RPG I'm looking for the right mix of crunchy, by which I mean some level of detail and complexity in the rules, and fast play. This has exactly what I like. It doesn't feel like some games where everything is the same mechanic but with a different name, like a fireball and lightning bolt do the same damage with the same range and same casting cost but "look" different when played. That's not this game. Spells in this game progress nicely with some really awesome effects as they improve in power.

The lists of lists is an awesome resource for the GM and players. Origins, traits, spells, gear and magic items all in handy tables. This isn't Shadowrun where you have to look in six different books to figure out how your character works.

The core mechanic works great for this setting. Tests are resolved quickly but are still very unique to each character with the boons and flaws, the bumps, kinks, crits and botches. Leveling up proficiencies and vocations gives a cool way to further make your character your own.

The best thing about the combat system is it just makes sense. The action economy works well with the way that traits are tied to the action types. The inventory system of readied gear makes it where your characters need to think about what they want to use, not like other games where a character seemingly always has everything they need within arms reach. It's fun to put some thought into how to kit out for a particular mission and having limits encourages good gaming. Combat is fast, even at high levels, and doesn't grind on and on like in some D20 systems. There is plenty to like here with combat options that are fully realized including clear rules for grappling, different types of damage based on attack type and healing that feels fantasy-real.

I love how this game uses consistent terms that mean the same thing. You ever play a game and they use a bunch of words that are all interchangeable but they don't make it clear so its confusing? Like roll, test, challenge, task all mean the same thing? This game does not do that. Every spell, every weapon, every stat, all the gear use common terms that mean the same thing every time. Its a beautiful thing.

The book itself looks great. The art is fantastic and adds to the layout perfectly. Headers and footers are nicely done. Pages are laid out nicely. You can actually search this thing and find what you are looking for. The table of contents is clear, the layout is logical and the appendicies give you everything you want in a fantasy game. Superb work!

This system is so flexible with the way you can customize your character. After adventuring and gaining XP, there is no leveling. You can spend your XP in many different ways. You can spend it as soon as you get it or save it for later for a big upgrade. You can raise your core stats, improve defend saves and spells, gain proficiencies, vocations, luck, fate, get a new trait, a new language, spells or remove a fault that your character had since its creation. You can spend it all on one of those or split it between all of them. It's easy and it makes sense.

I like the probability distribution with the two D10 system, you can add one more D10 and drop the lowest/highest of the three depending if you have a Boon or a Flaw. If you hit an enemy really well, so many points above their defense, you get a Bump and you add a dice to your damage roll. Increasing your stats can make a huge difference. On other systems with a D20 you have the same chance to roll any number. With two D10s most of your rolls will be in the middle of the bell curve, it's more rare to get a roll the further you get from the average, that why every additional points added to your roll is crucial.

Encounters need to be taken seriously, make sure that you are prepared with potions and protection spells. it's very easy to loose half you hit points in one hit if you are not careful.

There are plenty of races you can choose from, we had a party that included a giant and a centaur.

It's a fun game, well thought out and put together. I recommend it to anyone who like me use to play DND and Pathfinder for years and is looking for a more refined system.

Solid gameplay with generally short but deadly combat. It deviates from the standard Vancian magic system of DnD, instead using Spirit (think Mana) points to cast spells. This system also allows for a greater flexibility in creating unique characters that are not bound to a single class, as well as in customizing those characters over the course of the game with different vocations.

Highly recommend it for both new and old players.