<p><span style="color: rgba(51, 51, 51, 1)">Roleplaying games have hit the college scene in 1980s Portland, Oregon. But as an eighth-grader, Steve has already mastered the craft, finding his muse in the new girl, Tess Arthur, and in her dark-priestess alter ego, whose backstory hints at Tess's own troubled past. Together Tess and Steve build an imaginary world of horror and heroism to unite against real-world bullies, jaded teachers, and sudden grief. However, monsters are one kind of challenge; a relationship, quite another.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgba(51, 51, 51, 1)">Set in Portland and other locales in Oregon state, </span><em style="color: rgba(51, 51, 51, 1)">Age of Monsters</em><span style="color: rgba(51, 51, 51, 1)"> describes the subculture of Oregon high school and college students exploring roleplaying games during the early eighties, and follows a parallel story from a novel written by one of the players, chronicling the fictional world. It's based on the author's own experience, first as a young gamer and then as a professional in the roleplaying game industry.</span></p>