Earthdawn Survival Guide

* Paths Series: Windmaster * Background on windling-specific racial Disciplines from previous editions. * Role of the Windmaster in fourth edition. * Being invited to the path. * Disciplines suited for the path. * Reminder that paths are organizations that have obligations and responsibilities. * Windmaster testing and initiation. * The mask and its importance to the path’s followers. * Advancemen...

* Emails and more dragon backgrounds! * Email from K Scott: How about talking about secret societies? * Email from Brian: What about all the great stuff on Panda Gaming Grove? * http://pandagaminggrove.blogspot.com/ * Email from Rasmus: Replica Throalic coins as a stretch goal for a Kickstarter? * Reason for design choice behind Claw Frenzy for Beastmasters? * Email from Tim: Praise for Attitudes...

* Great Dragon Backgrounds: Mountainshadow * Far Scholar, “the meddler” * Mountainshadow is toward the top of the list of ostensibly “good guy” dragons. * Appears in Shadowrun as Dunkelzahn, where he is a fan of humanity in general, but not as blatantly in the Earthdawn era. * He and his brother Icewing were clutched by All Wings. * Primary lair is in the Dragon Mountains, rumored to have a second...

* Email Madness! * Email from Scott: Yes to dragon biographies, but also maybe Horrors? * Email from Graham: Windling party is still going! Yes to more dragon stuff! * Email from Leamon: Praise for paths and his growth into the Windmaster. * Email from Lee: Spell Matrix item legend point cost and rank restrictions? * Possibility of paths for Lightbearers, Bodyguard, other secret societies, or the...

* Mystic Paths: The Fire Eater * Essay by Opti from the Legends of Earthdawn podcast and Fraggin Unicorn games! * The Fire Eater is the fully original ork-focused mystic path, built around the gahad trait. * Like the Brother of Stone explores obsidimen, and the Woodsman explores elves, Fire Eaters explore orks. * Not strongly organized or structured compared to some other paths. * In-setting, is s...

* New short series Earthdawn actual play from the Thornvale podcast, run by Rob from the Namegivers podcast! * Email from Tom: Episode on adventure and campaign design? * Josh provides some thoughts, including a campaign idea called “Scavenger Hunt”. * Foundry VTT and the new Earthdawn Player’s Guide Compendium in the FASA Games shop! * Josh gets on a soapbox about advice, complex mechanics, the r...

* Mystic Paths: The Woodsman * The development history from first to fourth edition. * Originally the elven racial Discipline. * Originally fit the “ranger” archetype, like the elves of Lothlorian. * Lacked anything unique or particularly “elfy”. * Shift to the flexibility of the talent option design style. * Developed in line with Elven Nations from fourth edition, very heavily elf-oriented, but...

* Email from Brian F.: Shaman Spells feedback * Email from Maciej P.: Question about dragons and the immortal elves. * SPOILERS FOR DEEP LORE (About 6 minutes) * Second question from Maciej: Mad Passions and following them. * Email from Jesse: Lightbearers and their exclusion from Mystic Paths? * Dragons, part the second! * Dragons can speak all Namegiver languages, dragonspeech, body language. *...

* Mystic Paths: Brother of Stone * Development history and origins of Paths. * Broad overview of how a character joins and a path and the basic mechanics. * Paths as a function of character development and campaign focus. * Brother of Stone. * Origins in the original Purifier Discipline. * Three concepts each broken out into separate pieces. * Focus on obsidimen in the broader sense; Liferocks are...

* Dragons! * Dan brings up an old review of Earthdawn that says the game “does dragons right.” * In Earthdawn, dragons are characters. They have goals and motivations, sometimes in line with the PCs, sometimes not. * Dragons are not, generally, “nice.” They tend to take the long view and may have an alien mindset of a kind. * Dragons might be fond of individual Namegivers but might not necessarily...

* Talk about the weather! * Email from Travelling Wizard: Josh made a mistake about who is working on updating old spells to ED4. * Email from Leamon: Story about Death’s Sea. * Email from Lee: Suggestion to announce upcoming topics in advance to prompt questions. * “Steel Trap” and “Sewer Grate” memory * Shaman Spells. * Shaman talent progression is covered in Episode 56! * Shaman spell design in...

* Episode 73 is a grab bag of optional rules! * Piecemeal Armor * First appeared in the first edition book Denizens Volume 2 * Attempt to simulate making a full suit out of fragments of different types of armor for style purposes. * Could be used in relation to using hit locations, but that’s not an aspect of the standard Earthdawn rules. * Chain Casting * Developed in ED4 to offer guidelines for...

* Follow-ups from Episode 71: Reviews and ratings depend on what the individual platform allows! * Lou Prosperi comments on Josh’s commentary about Landis. * Email from Edward: T’skrang physiology and sexual dimorphism. * Praise and thank yous. * Earthdawn soundtrack. * Urupa book? * Email from Nils: Magicians taking additional matrix options beyond the one listed? * Discussion of First Circle Ill...

* Email from Insaniac99: Ideas for questors of Garlen going too far, whether healer or protector. * Sidebar about movies related to overprotective parents. * Geographic Exploration: Cara Fahd * Cara Fahd has everything! Variety of terrain types to cover many different campaigns. * Josh bursts a bubble by talking about things you can’t do in Cara Fahd. * Areas near Cara Fahd and what they can offer...

* Final entry in our series on Passions and Questors! * Lochost: Passion of Rebellion, Change, and Freedom * Often associated with adventurers, and with games that feature anti-slavery themes. * Symbols: strong winds, uprooted trees, open gates. * Powers: Inspire rebellion, comfort the imprisoned, unlock doors, transform into wind. * Rebellion can be awkward; ideals don’t always live up to reality...

* Episode 69. Nice. * Shipments from Empty Thrones have been showing up in people’s mailboxes in the US and overseas! * Email from Leamon: Thanks and talking about group Names. * Email from K Scott Rowe: Flame Weapon on missile weapons or shields? * Purify other elements? * Email from Clare: Windling racial astral sight and taking a Discipline that gets astral sight as a talent? * Review of First...

* We took a week off from our regular recording due to life issues, but Dan brings us another special episode. * From The Book of Exploration: * A Plea for Help * The Fountain Parchment * Masquerade of Death’s Dreams * Carrul and the Therans * And from Legends of Earthdawn: * The Book of Scales Email: edsgpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @EarthdawnG Josh on Twitter: @mataxes Dan on Twitter: @boice_voice...

* Part Five of our series on Passions and Questors * Passions to the extreme: Briefly revisiting Garlen and Dis * Mynbruje: Passion of Justice, Compassion, Empathy, and Truth * To the extreme: Batman, Judge Dredd * Role of justice in society, breaking or fracturing the social contract. * Justice versus Law * Compassion and nuance; the role of society to provide for members of that society. * Power...

* Books from the Kickstarters in 2020 should be on their way to backers very soon! * Email from Brian: Wizard Fifth Circle Karma ability and how it interacts with their spell utility. * Clever uses of the Rope Ladder spell. * Illusion spells and removing potential targets with extra threads. * Email from Leamon: Airships and Karma Rituals in kaers during the Scourge. * Josh sidebars about division...

* Part Four of our series on Passions and Questors * Garlen: Patron of Hearth and Healing. * Very popular, easy to work into a game. * Questors often have Alchemy, Physician, or Medicine to supplement. * Hearth and Home aspects often overlooked, defenders and protectors. Not just healers! * Powers: Heal the wounded, comfort the frightened, travel to any home at a moment’s notice. * Discussing the...

* Email from Kendall: Kudos and comments about Sky Raider followers of Floranuus. * Email from Sebastian: Magic use by dragons and Horrors? * Where do spells known by Horrors and dragons come from? * Email from Bryan: Questor Devotion abilities? * Email from Riley: Undead association with Dis instead of Raggok? * Email from Joel: Sensing tests with Displace Image? * How obvious is it that somebody...

* Part Three of Passions and Questors * Floranuus: Passion of Revelry, Energy, Motion, and Victory. * The thrill of speed or exhilaration, anything that makes you “feel alive”. * Strong association with the element of fire. * Shares some ideas of classical or mythological sun gods driving across the sky. * Powers include increased stamina, turn depression into exhilaration with a thought. * The an...

* Most of the recorded streams from FreedoniaCon are available on the FASA Games YouTube Channel . * Email from Riley: Ways of handling magician spell acquisition. * Josh reveals Virag has 44 spells in her grimoire and talks spell scarcity. * Email from Ted: True Ephemeral Bolt and how its secondary effect interacts with other tests. * Email from Lee: Interpretations of Robin Hood and the Sheriff...

* Passions Part Two * Chorrolis: Passion of Wealth, Trade, Envy, and Desire * Overlap of aspects and how that is expressed in different Passions. * Even the Passions that aren’t Mad can have toxic or destructive expressions. * Trade and exchange; Throal’s cultural dissemination as an expression of Chorrolis’s ideals. * Symbols and powers of Chorrolis. * Ways to show devotion to Chorrolis. * Not ju...

* Into the Weeds: Spell Acquisition * Historical Retrospective: First Edition * Start with PER Step in spell points. * No free or granted spells after creation. * Spells must be acquired through training with mentors, finding in kaers, or looting from dead enemy magicians. * No codified cost in silver, no Legend Point cost. * Second Edition * Starting spells based on WIL Step (possibly to diversif...