I believe that you'll be able to fight your way up from apprentice to king at some point, but I don't think mechanism is there yet: the game is still getting regular (free) updates.

I'm not sure I entirely understand your complaint.
Do you not want to have to go online to do stuff? It sounds like you want to download the game, put it on a disk, then put it on a second PC that isn't connected to the internet? That should work fine for single-player (AFAIK). However, all of the player-created content (at least currently) lives online. Player-created content is submitted for community moderation via an online system. Online feels like a pretty natural way to share stuff with other players. As I understand it, all of the extra-purchase stuff is to do with the PvP/ online-realms part of the game anyway. E.g., I don't think you can use forge gear in the offline singleplayer campaign (it might be good to pose the question on the official forums, however http://forum.chaos-reborn.com; generally questions over there will get some dev attention, and if they're sensible, can influence the direction of the game).
Are you concerned that the developer will fold and the servers will cease to exist? I believe the developer's stated they'll run the servers for at least 10 years and open-source them if necessary.

I do see some hate for in-app/ post-play purchases, but I've never really understood that as a black-and-white thing either. Snapshot are not trying to sell you the game again after you've bought it. EA sell the Sims 3 for around £340, plus further IAPs, I don't think a team of maybe 10 developers belong on the same pyre. I just finished the free "Emily is Away" and when I was done bought $10 worth of nothing via Steam because the game was cool and I wanted to give something to the dev.

If you think the gameplay looks interesting, the tutorials, first realm and all PvP modes are available for free via the Steam demo. I don't see the demo on GOG yet?

Cool, this game even runs on my 2010 MacBook Air (with all of the settings turned to min., of course). Hopefully the game doesn't get too crazy when the action gets intense.

Runs fine on my 2009 MacBook MC207B/A and on Linx 8 tablet (£50 on eBay) if you fiddle with the resolution/ quality.

Unfortunately, GOG doesn't host demos.

At least they must sell 35 $ Forgemaster Tier as DLC because other things are achiveable with playing but Forgemaster only available via buy .

I hope they "up" the single player campaign some...

Excellent game that only keeps getting better with every update.
Shame I already own it on Steam. :D

In-app purchase doesn't sound good.

So these "supporting" ranks do not have any effect on the game play? Then I can live with it, I guess.

The more I read about the game the more I get confused what this game is about. Is it more like an (online) RPG where you develop your character over time, as it is described on the kickstarter page, or is it more like a strategy game, as it's labeled by GOG, where players always start under the same conditions in every battle?

Unfortunately I can't try out the game as there seems to be no demo available for public download.

One of the best tactics games I've played in years. I already have this on Steam, so I hope we can get cross-platform multiplayer. What this game needs is exactly more players!

Just a warning for tactics buffs: if you hate RNGs then you won't like this game, definitely. However, if you're ok with RNGs then you're in for a deliciously fine treat.

This is a tactics game: every battle is played out in hex-based fields, with differing terrain configs. You control a wizard, and the objective is to defeat the enemy wizard by using summoning spells. The summoning spells you get are random every time, because it uses a card system, so you can be sure that every battle is distinct.

That's the base upon which the entire game is built.

Now, there's an RPG side to it that I wouldn't yet describe as essential, but which is fun nonetheless. To make the story short, you can play in 'realms' that are basically stripped down Heroes of Might and Magic maps, the objectives of which are to defeat some final wizard boss, always. The enemies you find in those maps can be played by other humans if you allow it, and you can 'invade' others' maps if you want and they've allowed it. By completing these HoMM-styled sessions you get gold, with which you can buy new gear for your wizard and which allows you to specialize or have very, very mild 'aces up your sleeve', so to speak. Equipment will change battles, but it's not going to give you an unfair edge.

With this in mind, you can join random matches with your geared-up wizard, or play forever as some enemy in a map. It's your choice, but what needs to be clear is that this is, at heart, a tactics game.

Ok I'll buy myself a Christmas present :)

So is this worth a purchase/play for someone who only games solo/offline?

I have been checking youtube videos, it looks like your wizard can go from level 1 to level 7 max in couple of online battles (like under 50), which will give him somewhat stronger cards in the deck. That's probably about RPG aspect in online, so it has some progress few days till you max out, then it's pure tactics.

In single player you can buy some gear which will further alter your options during battles, I'm not sure if these do apply in online too, from the videos it didn't look like that. Anyway the meat of the game is tactic battle in small hex map, the level/gear is just minor-medium adjustment to deck of cards and some attributes, I can imagine level 1 wizard winning over level 7 with some luck (and tactical skill)... or with lot of luck and almost no skill, obviously, as the RNGs look fair. :)

Well, it depends on how much time you spend offline. I am fairly certain you need to be online to access the Realms bit (the HoMM-style maps), but you don't have to play with anyone if you don't want to. In other words, the SP needs the internet, but you can decide not to have any contact with other players. You can also play cooperatively, if what you don't like is PvP - you can block player invasions but call for allies if you get to a difficult battle.

All in all, in my opinion this game utterly shines when played with or against others. It's brilliant in many ways, but you have to conceive of it as a scenario-based tactics game. A new SP campaign has been included (I still have to check it out), which would definitely appeal to you, but I do insist that the game is at its most fun when there's a human behind the other wizard(s), because people think and make you think in very interesting ways where the AI can often be predictable.

In short: I wouldn't recommend it so much if you only play solo, but I would urge you to try it out nonetheless :)

Levels are more of a reflection of time spent playing than any actual advantage over others. In this game, all creatures can kill each other with one hit, and the more powerful creatures really only come into play after several turns because of initial casting probability failure. What you can be certain when facing a higher leveled wizard is that he or she's got more gold and therefore more runes equipped, which means he or she's got a few quirks, like being able to cast summons one hex further, or the certainty of having a certain card in the deck. However, that only really applies to the first few levels; after about level 10 you'll have more than enough equipment stashed, so everyone sort of equalizes in the teens when it comes to gear. You'll be just as decked out at level 15 as a level 30 will be, so it's just up to your skills and luck.