A few days ago we gave you the news of an interesting Kickstarter project, Age of Ambition. Since we found many interesting ideas, we thought of asking for some more information in a written interview. Our interlocutor responds to the name of Thorin, author and designer of Age of Ambition.
How did the idea of writing Age of Ambition come to mind?
Age of Ambition started out years ago as a homebrew game world. It’s a favorite of mine and one I kept coming back to, time and time again. There’s been a lot of love put into it over the years.
The Saga Machine System has aroused a lot of curiosity in our readers. What are the strengths of the system applied to your game concept?
I think the Saga Machine system provides a nice balance between streamlining game play and providing clever character options. It also allows characters to grow in ways that reflect the changing times. Furthermore, we wanted a system that handles all levels of temporal power, from peasants to kings, and built the system with that in mind.
Ambitions are statements about what the character would like to do or get. Is it also a way to allow the master to understand the wishes of his players?
That’s correct. Ambitions are both a way for players to stay focused and a way for Game Masters to plan sessions based on what most interests the players.
Have you had any games or mechanisms that inspired you? The Ambition system reminds me of Burning Wheel Beliefs, for example.
I play a lot of different systems, so I take inspiration from all over. Ambitions, as you mentioned, are similar to Burning Wheel’s Beliefs or Chronicles of Darkness’ Aspirations. The fast-turn and slow-turn combat rounds are similar to Shadow of the Demon Lord’s turn structure. The Status system is somewhat similar to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay’s. Boons and Banes are similar to Through the Breach’s fate modifiers.
Both in the kickstarter and in the quickstart there is mention of the creation of the character via lifepaths but there is no more information. Can you give us a preview explanation?
The character creation system walks you through your characters’ lifes from birth until they’re ready to begin the game, prompting you to make a few choices or flip on a few tables along the way. For example, you may flip a random birth fortune, choose a childhood event that shaped your past and then pick a career. Along the way, these choices or events give you skills or special abilities. In this way, the character that is generated begins with a full backstory, built in plot hooks and ties to the game world.
It is not easy to balance magic and technology in a single system and in a single setting, how was your experience?
When I started designing the game I expected this to be difficult. However, as my design progressed, this ended up being not as difficult as I at first imagined. I think the trick was to the make magic and technology complement each other. In a way, magic in Age of Ambition is a sort of technology.
You have divided the armor value by cutting and piercing damage and by damage from any other cause. Where does the choice come from?
Since Age of Ambition is set in a fantasy analog of the 1500’s-1600’s, we really wanted to embrace that era. It’s the era when armor really reached its height, and weapons grew bigger in order to penetrate full plate. Shields fell out of favor, and eventually firearms were able to penetrate armor. Dividing the armor value lets the system better reflect how fighting worked in that era.
The theme of change is always current and can be easily found in various circumstances. At the same time, it is often a sudden and not too long lasting event. Since evolution is the centerpiece of the game, does this make Age of Ambition a RPG suitable mainly for short or medium-term campaigns? There is doubt that with a long campaign you will lose the thrill created by the basic concepts of the game.
The game is suitable for all campaign lengths: short, medium and long. I think the trick to running a long campaign is giving the players freedom to change the world and then exploring the consequences of their actions. How does it help things? How does it go terribly wrong? What unexpected events happen?
Will other publications follow for Age of Ambition? What will they focus on?
Once it’s released, we plan to support Age of Ambition with a variety of adventures and other game supplements. Our stretch goals already include a book of player options, a bestiary and several adventures. Beyond those, I have outlines for an adventure path campaign book outlined, as well as gazetteer of locations and plot hooks.