Editing Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic (section)

==Core game elements==
[[Image:Shadowmagic.jpg|thumb|left|''Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic'' overworld screenshot, showing a Wizard to the left of a city with a Wizard's Tower]]
The key element of the ''Wizard's Throne'' and ''Shadow Magic'' are the player's leader, the [[Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)|Wizards]]. In contrast to other iterations of the series, they do not gain experience and are weaker in direct combat than Heroes, who can be hired. As with preceding games, players can research spells from chosen elemental spheres of magic, cast at vastly longer range when residing in ''AOW2''{{'}}s defining Wizard Towers, returning less prominently in ''[[Age of Wonders 4]]''. There are fifteen races in the game, of varying good and evil alignment. 

The overworld contains basic ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]''-style cities, with unit and building production, along with gold and mana strategic resources and locales like dungeons. Game scenarios offer three different layers, the Surface, Underground and Shadow World, added in ''Shadow Magic''. The Shadow World returns in ''[[Age of Wonders 4#Eldritch Realms|AOW 4: Eldritch Realms]]'' as the more hostile, [[Dungeon#In_fiction|dungeon]]-focused Umbral Abyss. The campaign focuses in part on its titular antagonist, the Shadow Demons.

As with its predecessors, ''Shadow Magic'' was designed for single-player and multiplayer, retaining a more active multiplayer community versus AOW2 TWT. While the graphical engine is the same as that of ''The Wizard's Throne'', every race received new buildings and at least one new recruitable unit, three new races, and new maps. Much requested by fans, Shadow Magic introduced random map generation to the series.

After the end of the official support with [[Patch (software)|patch]] 1.3, the game was unofficially developed by the [[Game community|fan-community]] via a [[community patch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.triumphstudios.com/shadowmagic/communityupdate.php |title=Massive Unofficial AoW:SM Game Update Available! |publisher=Triumph Studios |access-date=2012-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217015838/http://www.triumphstudios.com/shadowmagic/communityupdate.php |archive-date=2005-12-17 |date=2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://aow2.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=661&f=&st=40&ci= |title=Unofficial Patch v1.4 |access-date=2014-09-19 |archive-date=2023-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820190228/http://aow2.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=661&f=&st=40&ci= |url-status=live }}</ref> The franchise was re-released on [[Stardock]]'s [[Impulse (content delivery)|Impulse]] [[digital distribution]] service in September 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aow2.heavengames.com/ |title=Age of Wonders II Heaven |publisher=HeavenGames |access-date=2010-09-22 |archive-date=2023-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820190226/http://aow2.heavengames.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> soon after via [[GOG.com]] and [[GamersGate]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.triumphstudios.com/press3.php |title=AGE OF WONDERS® SERIES DIGITALLY RE-RELEASED! |publisher=Triumph Studios |access-date=2012-03-30 |archive-date=2012-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519074359/http://www.triumphstudios.com/press3.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> and finally through [[Steam (service)|Steam]] service.