So, as stated previously, I have little love for d20 style games, but there are exceptions.

13th Age is one of those.

Looking at the books I own (most of what is available), I would like to do a very basic overview of what they offer and where they sit in the “desire or necessity” pecking order.

The Core Book and 13 True Ways are the building blocks of the game.

Obviously the Core book is required to play at all. To its credit, it does a good job of matching the three core books of D&D 5e, all in one book, mostly thanks to the smaller monster stat blocks, simplified equipment and weapon classes and the openness of the writing style, effectively removing the need for a GM’s manual. Not only that, there is a fully realised game world inside complete with Icons (ascended demigods) who have the potential to guide, aide or impeded story lines. Rating; Mandatory (I have 2, a sign I rate this game).

13 True Ways is not mandatory, but adds much. Apart from more classes (one is actually a one of a kind), it has information on a couple of the main cities in the default world (or an equivalent), lots more monsters (including a full section on Deviltry) and several take-it-or-leave-it rules options. Rating; Highly recommended to must have.

With this book and the Core rules, you truly do have enough to go on with, but……

The two Bestiaries, probably two of the best I have owned and I love Monster Manuals, are several resources in one. They have the required monsters, but each also comes with a variety of variants, adventure hooks, battle options and usually an entertaining story (Frog Folk, Briar Elves, Hell warped Beasts, just to name a few). Most come with optional ways to use them in any game world. Rating; Highly Recommended to Must Have, hell buy them on their own and convert them over to any d20 game.

If you are stuck for an idea, just reading one of their entries is usually enough to get things going.

The first book is a classic and I must admit to neglecting the second for a while, treating it as a poor second option. There are fewer individual monsters in the second Bestiary, concentrating more on developing variety within a smaller range and adding the same variety to previous foes. Lately though it has become my favourite, because the entries are deep and highly entertaining (Purple Dragon party animal anyone?). You get more long term, campaign defining ideas out of the second book, where the first does the regular denizen a day to day heavy lifting. Rating; Highly Recommended to Who Are You Trying To Kid.

A note on art style here. I love the Wayne Reynolds art in Pathfinder books, but found that system a drudge. In 13A I admit to having to warm to the art over time, but the writing and interesting nature of the creatures won me over and the art fits it’s task. I think some of the Pathfinder illustrations are actually better suited to the 13A feel (the over the top Barbarian with the massive sword for example), but I suppose there is nothing stopping me using the inspiration. When I parted with pathfinder, I did keep my Wayne Reynolds art book.

One that almost slipped through is the GM Screen and Resource Book. I have often been disappointed by screens, but this one is strong and useful, if a little physically flimsy.

The sleeper of the set though is the surprisingly solid GM Resource Book.

It has some really useful ways of dealing with some of the more bespoke problems that can come up in this and most d20 games, especially due to its more “indie” style story telling mechanics like the “One Unique Thing” or backgrounds. This is obviously a fix for unforeseen issues arising when people new to the concepts struggle and is a welcome addition.

It also has some useful ways of expanding the combat narrative, mostly using terrain.

There are also a chapter of evocative and entertaining NPC’s (Frog Nob is a fave, frogs clearly being an ongoing theme!) all aligned to an Icon, but again, you don’t need to cement anything in. Like most things in this game, there is a solid adventure or even a small campaign seed in each NPC.

Lastly they give you an oversized map of the Dragon Empire (hey, again you don’t have to play it as given), making now several copies in total scattered through the books. Rating; Highly recommended.

Next up are the three “Battle Books”.

I have promoted these up the order a bit, because they are so useful.

What you get in each is a series of interconnected combat encounters, each set linked to a level range and one of 4-5 Icons per book with enough back story to connect them (roughly 10-12 sets of 2-4 battles each or 40 odd per book). You can literally pick one up and throw a nights gaming at your players, use them as set-pieces in a campaign, or just mine them for ideas. Rating; Highly Recommended.

Oddly, these are smooth-mat finish covered, more like high grade magazines, but still perfect bound with gloss pages. Optionally you can also get map sets for these, but 13A does not need mats or miniatures generally, so I have not bothered.

The following three are likely a sign of things to come. They are smaller, more specific books aimed at themes or regions of the world in need of more detail.

The Book of Demons balances out the Deviltry section of 13 True Ways with their more chaotic cousins. It brings a class, The Demonologist, which adds a Warhammer “Old World” or even Elric feel to proceedings and makes the second “ambiguously” aligned character class after the Necromancer. Just fitting these two into your party can be a game in itself.

There is a section on Hell Holes, nasty blights on the land spotted around the Empire and of course lots of Demons and rules on how to handle them. Rating; Recommended.

The Book of the Underworld is one of the newer books, departing from full gloss pages, but sporting a glossy cover. It is still a very solid look at the Under World and its denizens. Probably my least favourite at this stage, but that may be subject matter or simply time taken to get to know it. This is often the case with 13A books. Rating; Handy to have.

My favourite of the three is the Book of Ages. Makes sense to look at these as the name of the game is the 13th Age, so what came before? You are provided with 12 very different Ages. There is no set timeline or even any hard rulings on the flavour of these ages, just lots of ideas, adventure seeds and options. I have always felt an affinity between the 13th Age and the Malazan books by Steven Erikson and this closes the loop. Erikson’s books span ages and now, so does 13A. Rating; Highly Recommended

Coming soon are similar books on specific cities, magic types, the walking Behemoths, flying cities, Elves etc.

The Loot books are good resources to have around. 13A gives you the tools and inspiration for full creative license and the game mechanics compel these realities. Magical items in 13a have personalities and there is a limit to how man you can carry before they start to complicate life (your level), but sometimes coming up with them can still be a strain.

The Loot books to the rescue.

The first one gives you plenty of the standard item types, all aligned to an Icon (again suggestions only). Some are a hoot and all are imaginative. Magic items in 13A are less common and more powerful than in regular D&D, with dire consequences if you over do it. Often hilarious, dire consequences. Rating; Recommended.

The second book Loot Harder is to me as useful, just differently. Rather than just being a quick resource, this one goes into more detail about items in general rather than specifically, which makes sense (following a similar pattern to the Bestiaries). There are plenty of Items in this book, but also more powerful options and a feeling of tinkering flows through. Rating; Handy to have.

Maybe the first is best for the GM just wanting a bit of quick help, the second for the more creative GM, wanting to use the items included as a base only.

Now, the adventures.

I am not usually one for buying published adventures, being more of a “sandbox” GM (which 13A also supports well, is even possibly designed for), but the reviews on Eyes of the Stone Thief wore me down and to be honest, I just love having another 13A read around. What a resource. Not only is there a lot (I mean a lot) of depth to this full developed adventure/campaign/life’s calling, but as usual it spawns adventure seeds in all directions, then offers some really cool characters and monsters.

The very nature of the Dungeon has such a unique way of hooking characters in. The thing moves around and eats cities, towns and the like! Tends to piss people off and lure treasure junkies. Not only that, it is never the same place one expedition to the next as the insides move as well as the whole. Rating; Highly Recommended as either player or GM and a great resource for other games.

If someone said to me “I would like one really good adventure to play and system to run it with, just to say I have done it”, I would, against all likelihood and in the face of my own general preferences, recommend a d20, D&D based combo of 13A and Eyes of the Stone Thief (second would be either one of the AIME campaigns or Warhammer 1 or 4e and The Enemy Within Campaign).

Shards of the Broken Sky was going to be, I hoped, a second Stone Thief.

It is not, but it is still good. The scope and physical book are smaller, the location fixed (but weird enough) and the feel is less compelling. Against the Stone Thief, that comparison is probably unfair.

Compared to any other D&D style adventure it is imaginative, fun and full of all the good stuff. This is more of an “explore the lost (fallen) city for forgotten treasures”, where the Stone Thief is more of a “rid the world of a serious menace, while you explore the lost cities found inside….”. Rating; Nice to have to Recommended.

Not mentioned is the little Shadows of Eldolan adventure book aimed at low level characters and beginner GM’s. It’s fine and shows the game in a more investigative vein, which is helpful. Rating; PDF this one.

To come….Glorantha (mainly because I don’t have it yet, but it is on the way). From what I know at this point, 13A is a good fit for the over the top, high saga play of Runequest/Glorantha, possibly an even better fit than the d100 version it was made for (Ironic really as I don’t have any interest in d100 Runequest, the progenitor of my usual preference).

I hope this is a help to someone looking at this game. I bought it at a time when I was a rampant collector/completist and any good review was usually enough. For a long time the base book sat amongst many others unused, then just as I was about to let it go in one of my regular culls, I bought 13 True Ways on holiday* and that cemented the relationship. I even listed the whole collection again recently in my big clear out, but thankfully it did not sell (bargain folks, nobody out there?). Kept now and no regrets. Even if I do clear some games out, this one will stay simply because I like it, against all odds.

My constant struggle with d20 games has its moments of nostalgic, main stream, low stress acceptance, as does the desire to occasionally just play a high octane heroic level game. 13A scratches both itches perfectly.