Tell me about Earthdawn
- Thread starter GlassJaw
- Start date
It has been a long time since I read over the Earthdawn rules. But, I can tell you it most certainly is not Shadowrun in a fantasy setting. Different rules, different setting. Different raison d'etre for the PCs. While in theory the game is set in a prior magical cycle of the same world, the two games have very little in common.
I never really did like the Earthdawn mechanics. They always seemed clunky to me. YMMV.
I never really did like the Earthdawn mechanics. They always seemed clunky to me. YMMV.
Ruined
Explorer
I really enjoyed my years playing Earthdawn. The scaling dice mechanic was easy to grasp. Gaining levels was nice, as you gained quasi-magical feats with impressive abilities. The range of classes was good, leaving many that I wanted to try should anything happen to my current character. The races that were not in Shadowrun (i.e. Obsidamen, T'Skrang, Windlings) added new flavor to the game. And to me, I think it was by far the best magic item system I've seen presented in a fantasy setting. Many magic items were unique in nature, and you could use lore research and side quests to unlock new abilities in the items.
Of course, not everything was perfect. The Taunt ability that the Troubadors and Swordmasters had was quite broken. A good roll could reduce an enemy or a character down where they could do absolutely nothing. I've heard they've fixed it in later editions, but I haven't checked.
Also it seemed that the game could break down at higher levels. Creatures with high defense would become nigh-impossible for any class to hit, dragging combats on forever. Of course, this could have been due to my GM at the time.
Oh, and Prelude to War and Barsaive at War were great Mega-Modules. The other modules were enjoyable, although they all seemed to have a Horror (staple villain) as the bad guy at the end. I would hope that if they had more time, we would have seen more variance, like the War modules I mentioned before.
All in All, if I had to run a system that wasn't d20, this would be my first choice.
Of course, not everything was perfect. The Taunt ability that the Troubadors and Swordmasters had was quite broken. A good roll could reduce an enemy or a character down where they could do absolutely nothing. I've heard they've fixed it in later editions, but I haven't checked.
Also it seemed that the game could break down at higher levels. Creatures with high defense would become nigh-impossible for any class to hit, dragging combats on forever. Of course, this could have been due to my GM at the time.
Oh, and Prelude to War and Barsaive at War were great Mega-Modules. The other modules were enjoyable, although they all seemed to have a Horror (staple villain) as the bad guy at the end. I would hope that if they had more time, we would have seen more variance, like the War modules I mentioned before.
All in All, if I had to run a system that wasn't d20, this would be my first choice.
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
Personally, I thought that the dice mechanics were very groovy...
Basically, you roll one or more dice of varying types depending on your skill value and add them together (1d8 for a skill value of 4 or 1d6+1d10 for a value of 9, if I remember correctly) to beat a certain target number depending on the difficulty of your task. But every time you roll the maximum number with a dice (6 with 1d6, 10 with 1d10, and so on), you keep that number and you may roll that dice again, adding it to the old value. This can be repeated as often as neccessary, creating spectacular results in some cases...
And as for the setting... Well, it basically has all those D&D cliches, but in it they make sense! For example, there are lots of dungeons dotting the landscape because people needed to take shelter for a couple of generations to protect themselves from demons roaming the surface - and some of these shelters were breached by demons who killed all the inhabitants, leaving their possessions behind (but the demons are still out there...).
There are character classes, of sorts - but they are better seen as "magical archetypes". When you progress to become a master thief, warrior, sword dancer and so on, you learn all sorts of magical stunts that make you peerless in your discipline. This isn't spellcasting, but more like some of the supernatural abilities that some D&D classes (or creatures have), and every class has them.
The links to Shadowrun are there for those who are interested in them, but they have little impact on the game.
Basically, you roll one or more dice of varying types depending on your skill value and add them together (1d8 for a skill value of 4 or 1d6+1d10 for a value of 9, if I remember correctly) to beat a certain target number depending on the difficulty of your task. But every time you roll the maximum number with a dice (6 with 1d6, 10 with 1d10, and so on), you keep that number and you may roll that dice again, adding it to the old value. This can be repeated as often as neccessary, creating spectacular results in some cases...
And as for the setting... Well, it basically has all those D&D cliches, but in it they make sense! For example, there are lots of dungeons dotting the landscape because people needed to take shelter for a couple of generations to protect themselves from demons roaming the surface - and some of these shelters were breached by demons who killed all the inhabitants, leaving their possessions behind (but the demons are still out there...).
There are character classes, of sorts - but they are better seen as "magical archetypes". When you progress to become a master thief, warrior, sword dancer and so on, you learn all sorts of magical stunts that make you peerless in your discipline. This isn't spellcasting, but more like some of the supernatural abilities that some D&D classes (or creatures have), and every class has them.
The links to Shadowrun are there for those who are interested in them, but they have little impact on the game.
twofalls
DM Beadle
I own all the Earthdawn products and ran my Magnum Opus campaign using that system in a three year long game. The games success was due in part because of a great story and to a larger degree by an amazing cast of people playing in the game. I will always fondly remember the system for it.
There is far too many good things to say about the game for me to fit it into a reasonable thread. Some aspects of the game that needed fixing were a few of the talents (taunt being a great example, another be riposte, and yes they were both fixed in second ed), and a couple of the spells that were over powered as well.
I've enjoyed all the suppliments and I highly recommend this game.
There is far too many good things to say about the game for me to fit it into a reasonable thread. Some aspects of the game that needed fixing were a few of the talents (taunt being a great example, another be riposte, and yes they were both fixed in second ed), and a couple of the spells that were over powered as well.
I've enjoyed all the suppliments and I highly recommend this game.
Last edited:
Thanee
First Post
I only really know the original Earthdawn from FASA. Very cool system and a lot of fun, and also a fairly unique flavor. Not much like Shadowrun, tho, actually pretty much completely different. Some ideas, like the weapons, which gradually grow more powerful as you bind them to you, or the way magic works in general, are really great.
Some classes are a bit strange, like the thief, who cannot really do much in terms of roguish things, but all in all, they are pretty cool.
Not everything about it is good, tho... Earthdawn is extremely repetitive, the thematic concept is rather narrow, unlike fantasy worlds like Forgotten Realms. Of course, a crafty GM can make things interesting still and find new avenues for adventure, but the system doesn't make it easy, so to say.
Multiclassing is a joke (not sure, if anything has changed there). Multiclass characters are easily two times as powerful as single-class characters, because costs grow exponentially (while benefit is linear) and later, instead of raising a few talents from 7 to 8, for example, you could also learn a whole new class with a dozen or more talents from 0 to 7 for the same cost.
You really need a step-dice table printed on the character sheet.
All in all it definitely deserves a thumbs up.
Bye
Thanee
Some classes are a bit strange, like the thief, who cannot really do much in terms of roguish things, but all in all, they are pretty cool.
Not everything about it is good, tho... Earthdawn is extremely repetitive, the thematic concept is rather narrow, unlike fantasy worlds like Forgotten Realms. Of course, a crafty GM can make things interesting still and find new avenues for adventure, but the system doesn't make it easy, so to say.
Multiclassing is a joke (not sure, if anything has changed there). Multiclass characters are easily two times as powerful as single-class characters, because costs grow exponentially (while benefit is linear) and later, instead of raising a few talents from 7 to 8, for example, you could also learn a whole new class with a dozen or more talents from 0 to 7 for the same cost.
You really need a step-dice table printed on the character sheet.
All in all it definitely deserves a thumbs up.
Bye
Thanee
I enjoy it, the dice was the biggest issue seemed to have with it but once it hit you it was a very good system. Magic, monsters, and concept was very good.
Note: you may want to do some searching as the 1st edition book was converted to CD and given away FREE! It had everything but the art.
Note: you may want to do some searching as the 1st edition book was converted to CD and given away FREE! It had everything but the art.
Shemeska
Adventurer
It's the prehistory of Shadowrun, set during the last upcycle of magic and in the waning days of that age following the rise of the Horrors. Outside of giving lots of plot fodder for an evolving Shadowrun universe it and SR had little in common. Magic was different in many ways, but I can't really comment on the game mechanics since I never actually played it. I do adore the setting books however and they're just plain fun to read (and that's one of the things about Earthdawn and Shadowrun, the books are indeed just fun to read unlike a good many 3e DnD books; they ooze flavor and depth.)
I've slowly been collecting the ED books as I can find them in used book stores and ebay.
I've slowly been collecting the ED books as I can find them in used book stores and ebay.
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