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It all started when I thought I was just running a demo at a convention.
I was given two scenarios of a game called Metal, Magic, and Lore to run at SnowCon 2012 in Bangor, Maine. By the time I had finished reading the material, I knew that this was a game far superior to any I'd ever played before (I started playing RPGs with D&D 1978 and am still going strong). I am one of those people who love crunch over fluff in my RPGs, but understand that not everyone in my game group feels the same way, including my wife. This is the reason we never got to play Rolemaster, GURPS, or even HackMaster 4th edition in our home games (despite my protests).
The first time I ran the demo, it was a simple one-on-one battle between a female dwarf wielding a two-handed axe, and a fighter with sword and shield. The battle lasted maybe a half hour, due to my lack of knowledge of the rules (it ended with the dwarf seriously kicking some human tail), but the second demo was over in fifteen minutes. I could not believe how a game could be so realistic, yet so easy, fast, and fun to run. The game is non-traditional, not having a class-based system, so that players can truly create the character that wish to play. The game deals superbly with gender, having males be more in tune with fighting, and females have an innate magical affinity. In my opinion, this just makes sense. The magic system is one heck of a fun time, and very logical. Even the rules for initiative wowed me. This is not a game where characters are nothing more than numbers on a page - this is much, much more. The characters are living, breathing entities whose lives hang by a thread in a very realistic world of monsters and magic. A world in which combat can be extremely deadly, and every die roll is exciting (and with meaning). I knew that I had to buy this game as soon as I could.
When my order arrived, I was impressed with the quality, as well as the quantity. I purchased the core rulebook (with the classic cover), the GM Travel Sourcebook, and the two GM Resource discs. The main rulebook itself is a tome, and has the look and feel of a codex right out of the game itself, yet it wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. The sourcebook and CDs are chock-full of information, additional bestiaries, a character generator spreadsheet, and even a starter adventure to kick off a campaign.
I have not been this giddy over wanting to try out a game system so badly. I love it for not being a "d20" based game of fluff, and my players will love it for not needing a PhD to play.
One suggestion I do have is to purchase it through the company's own website, as it is much cheaper with their specials, and they even have bundle deals, and no shipping charges in the US.
Game on!