AM is an amazing game, but it is very, very different from D&D. While there is adventuring, many of the "adventures" take place over the span of years, rather than a couple of sessions. People you did wrong (or right) by in the far past might suddenly reappear to help you (or hinder you, depending on the situation).
Two major differences between AM and D&D are touched on here: Time & Community.
The first deals with the passage of time. D&D tends to (not 100%, but tendency) deal with immediate activities and immediate consequences. There is little sense of the passage of time built into the D&D and certainly the only mortality you have to worry about, realistically, is in combat. AM, conversely, deals in terms of Seasons and Years; it is quite possible to have a character retire and even die of old age, rather than to fall in combat. My first AM campaign lasted 5 real years and over 45 game years -- while some of the original magi were still quite vigorous, none of the original grogs were still in play. OTOH, several of their children and grandchildren were.
The other difference is the sense of community. D&D is about a band of adventurers. Sometimes they become lords of their own demains or suchlike, but still the emphasis is on specific individual characters. In AM the ultimate focus is on the Covenant as a whole, the magical community you create. Characters come and go, die, retire, fade into the background, but the "character" of the Covenant remains and grows, gaining and losing resources, friends & allies, enemies and adversaries, in its own right. Newer characters find themselves suddenly asked to shoulder enemies far greater than they are themselves, because of something the Covenant as a group did in the past.
Another interesting aspect of the game is the ability to play it many different ways simultaneously. It is rare that any given session would have everyone bring their magus along. More importantly, it is possible to run games with no magi, even with no companions -- I have run some great Grog-Only adventures that are not so earthshattering in nature, and are a lot of plain, simple fun. One session of the game might well be political intriguing at a Tribunal meeting, followed by a session involving driving a demon out of the land, followed by another one where a troup of grogs drive off bandits, followed by another one in which the group must, individually or collectively, sweet-talk a local lord into giving a trade benefit to the Covenant. Sometimes you play multiple characters in a session; sometimes you only play one. But even if your character is not involved in the session, s/he is probably doing something "Back Home", such as creating a magical item for the Covenant, sowing crops, copying texts, researching new spells, or whatnot.
If ever you wish to discuss the game, feel free to contact me off-board. I have been involved in the game, both as a gamer and as a playtester, for several years now.
