Thank you kind sir!  I am now downloading Shadow Magic  Oh, hey look, all those $45 to $100 price ranges on Amazon and E-bay just went out the window.  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yay!  Glad to see you put the other games up!

Awesome!!

Question: If someone ordered Age of Wonders when it was initially offered on Impulse and now they're interested in purchasing the Trilogy, can they contact support to "upgrade" for the difference?

I can't speak specifically for Stardock, but I've had that same problem pop up at GG. I purchased a game there, and that weekend the bundled the game and 2 expansions for less than I paid. All it took was one polite email to customer support and they added the expansions to my account. I'm pretty sure that's the normal response to issues such as these.

I don't understand why someone would buy "Age of Wonders" instead of "Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic".  Doesn't the latter include the original game plus a whole lot more?

No it doesn't.

First came AoW I, then AoW II, then AoW SM (which was a sequel to AoW II).

The reason for getting AoW II in addition to AoW SM would be for the campaigns.

I actually ordered AoW SM but would be interested in AoW II.  If I do that, I might as well get the first game for free since AoW II + AoW SM = the price of the AoW Trilogy.

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Wonders:_Shadow_Magic

yeah - I'll probably pick up the whole trilogy, but I was advised that shadow magic is pretty much the best of series. 

Shadow Magic is the best. It added 2 (or three?) races, each with some unique mechanics, a third plane (on top of caves and surface) etc etc.

Still, the others each have their worth. AoW I was oozing with an odd charm, AI issues aside. I also enjoyed its campaign more. AoW II was a great successor, and SM was a very solid expansion. I still break out the map editor from time to time, when I'm feeling creative but don't want to actually, you know, play anything.

To bad this was not out in time for people that get the game through Impulse could join the AoW:SM 1 v 1 PBEM tourneyment at Age of Wonders II Heaven.

Just bought whole trilogy.

It's 3 new races in the SM. Shadow Demons, Syrons and Nomads.

Also Shadow Magic is not a sequel but rather expansion of AoW 2. It has a tons of content though so it could almost pass as sequel.

AoW had 12 races and allowed 12 players in single game (as opposed to 8 in AoW2 and AoW2:SM). It also has tactical combat that is arguably even more tactical then later AoW games. For starters, units start further away from each other giving you time to position them on the battlefield before engaging enemies. I recommend people to try all these games. Whole trilogy is dirt cheap in the Impulse now and you are guaranteed tons of fun playing them.

Did I mention still live and kicking community that still produces maps and mods for these games?

I want to buy Shadow Magic, but I'm definitely going to wait till it comes to GoG.com or just get it off ebay/amazon.  I want it 110% free of DRM.

The one on Impulse is also free of DRM.

Nope:

"* Impulse must be installed in order to download and update software."

So you install it and then forget about Impulse. You don't need Impulse or internet connection to play it. Just like you don't need to have Impulse (or internet connection) for any other game you buy on Impulse. Impulse isn't like Steam. Also, there won't be any more official patches for AoW:SM so you don't need to worry about updating it.

Impulse is simply a downloader for it, you don't need to keep it running or have it installed to play.