Earthdawn Survival Guide

* Mailbag (the Sequel)!

* Josh is neck deep in final week of rehearsals and didn't have time to do full show notes!

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* Mailbag!

* Email from Matt: Anything we feel the narrators of the books got completely wrong?

* Josh can't think of anything offhand

* Talking about in-character vs out-of-character information

* Email from Bernard

* Sidebar about Josh listening speed

* Table tales from Bernard

* Josh talks about Names and Naming

* NPCs getting a life of their own

* Looking at the world through an Earthdawn lens

* Context for difficulty for learning Key Knolwedge

* Question about what happens when Horrors are defeated?

* TL;DR: It depends on the Horror!

* What is up with the weight of windlings?

* How did citadels work?

* Archers and fire cannons?

* Finer points of the Icy Surface spell?

* Astral space in relation to our world and magic level.

* Pop culture references for adepts

* Closing

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* Vivane Adventures: Shadows

* Written by Teeuwyn Woodruff

* Upper Novice Tier (3rd & 4th Circle)

* Jailbreak in Vrontok

* Helping Aberdeen; recommended to introduce him before the adventure

* His son Thillik was arrested and made a slave in Vrontok

* But also... Thillik doesn't recognize his father.

* Primary purpose: Free Thillik

* Secondary purpose: Learn about the amnesia

* Mervyn and his goons: Lackeys of the Mayor

* Shakedown highlights the corruption in Vrontok's society

* Not a real physical threat, but group is trying to lay low

* The Wingsticker Tavern; information gathering from NPCs

* Complication: Mervyn and his goons drink at the tavern

* Caravath's Laboratory and rescuing Thillik

* Soul Spiders: Make their victims submissive and pliable

* Likely outcomes and complications

* Straightforward adventure with a dark secret

* Potential follow-up stories

* Final commentary and discussion

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* Vivane: The Theran Quarter

* The Mailbox is empty!

* Catching up with life stuff

* GenCon and upcoming product delivery

* Theran Quarter: aka The Old City or the Walled City

* Walled off from the rest of the city.

* Overgovernor's Palace

* Least damaged by the Scourge and most rebuilt since then

* The Grand Walk

* North and South Barracks

* Walls along the Flamewalk River

* Contrast with Barsaivian Vivane

* Wealth, class, exoticism of influences from other cultures

* Aquaducts providing water from the river, also used for riot control.

* Presentation and design; white, clean, imposing.

* Inspired by 19th and early 20th Century impressions of ancient Rome and Greece

* The Hanging Ziggurats

* More exoticism; display of magical might

* The Wedge: Middle class homes and businesses

* Artisan District

* Theran Quarter Slave Market

* Presenting things to the player characters; experiences and sensations

* Play up the differences and cosmopolitan influence of the Empire

* What's in store for the future?

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* Vivane/Sky Point Adventures: A Message to Vivane

* A quick update on where we are.

* Which came first for Josh--theater or gaming?

* Shakespeare!

* Josh has run this one.

* Espionage and combat

* Part One: The Commission

* Hired to deliver information to the Vivane Resistance

* How Josh tweaked the intro for his group.

* What is the information being delivered?

* Part Two: So This is Vivane

* Arriving in the city and meeting the contact, Kron

* Introduction to Theran corruption and get a taste of the exotic

* Part Three: Delivery

* Meet contacts and get raided by the Red Squad

* It's just a coincidence! The Therans don't know about the group.

* Chase scene!

* Part Four: At the Manor House

* Safety after the chase... for a moment.

* Another Theran Raid

* Another escape

* Part Five: The Secret Room

* Into the Undercity (reference to previous adventure in this collection)

* Learn the scroll was sold to a crime boss.

* Decide what to do; help recover the information, or escape the city.

* Reasons why groups might take either option.

* Part Six: Marikis's Gang

* Attacking the crime boss

* Opportunity to get out some frustrations through combat.

* Adjustable difficulty of the combat and the dozen or so gang members

* Aftermath: Slipping out of the city and meeting Kron later in the campaign.

* Espionage in the way James Bond or Jason Bourne is espionage

* Linear in the way Josh likes linear to be; it plays fair

* Relatively simple task, just dealing with complications and problems

* Vary "Shadowrun", spy thriller

* "A bunch of stuff is happening, we just need to deal with it."

* Lessons on making a situation, not a plot

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* Mailbag!

* Some discussion of why we've been away for so long

* Email from Felix: Non-adepts humans and Versatility?

* Email from Kevin (Jacklifear): Kudos and stuff going on.

* Email from Aaron: Update on his home game

* Coming at some point... the FASA Games Wiki

* Upcoming Kickstarter and products?

* Josh talks about Urupa book

* Suggestions for Horror minions and theming

* Another email from Felix: Garlen's ideals taken to extremes

* Josh sidebars about "Survival of the Fittest"

* Josh plugs summer Shakespeare!

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Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant

Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com

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Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

A quick note from Josh about recent silence and what this upcoming summer is liable to look like, release-wise.

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Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Vivane Adventures: Chasing the Snakeskin Boots

* Lower Circle Characters

* Written By Carl Sargent

* Lots of background action

* Feels "Shadowrunny"

* Act 1: Group hired to recover stolen property

* Original owner (Daragast), current owner (Shand), Barsaivian thief

* High pay for what seems to be a simple job, but urgent

* Best for a group that doesn't have a problem working for Therans

* Act 2: Track the thief through the Broken Quarter

* Different avenues of investigation

* Low risk; no real danger of violence

* Act 3: Into the undercity

* Multiple possible encounters that don't relate to the group's goal

* Resistance meeting, triplicant ambush

* Find the (dead) thief, all but one coin taken

* Act 4: Recover the coins

* Beastmaster who killed the thief

* Complications: Agents of the original owner, Resistance members

* Possible consequences and fallout that can establish relationships and low-grade enemies

* Not especially heavy on "plot"

* GM needs to be flexible and willing to roll with character choices

* Strong feeling in the climax of "What *now*?"

* Final verdict and summary

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Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Vivane: The Broken Quarter

* Largest region of the city

* Bisected by the Longwater River

* Much damage from past Theran bombardment

* Only about one third of the buildings are undamaged

* Part of Barsaivian Vivane, no interest from Therans to fix it

* Few clear cobblestone streets, mostly mud and overgrowth

* Neighborhoods of the Quarter

* The Warrens, The Arrow, High Gate, Ratside

* Historical inspiration: Lower class areas of Elizabethan London

* Patrols and militia

* Old City Graveyard and the Deeptombs

* Burial laws in Vivane

* Not criminal or corrupt, but its own "flavor of wretched"

* Bottom of the class pyramid in Vivane

* Residents squabble among themselves, but unite against outsiders

* Conflict between Green Squad militia and Broken Quarter locals

* Hotbed of anti-Theran resistance

* Strong place to highlight the cost of Theran Imperialism

* Brief aside about novel "Shroud of Madness"

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* Exploring Vrontok

* This is our second go at this topic

* Located in the shadow of Sky Point

* Desperate, lawless, crowded town built on the slave trade

* Not a vacation spot!

* Like Bartertown... but darker

* Combination of town, slave market, and military base.

* Stealing slaves is the most serious crime.

* Only punishments for crime are enslavement or death.

* Fortified by a high wall and dry moat with sharpened stakes.

* Three gates: Empire Gate (SE), Vivane Gate (NE), Outlaw Gate (NW)

* Theran citizens are not subject to laws in Vrontok

* Mayor T'rask, former slaver with large force of thugs.

* Taxes: House Tax, Guest Tax, Exit Tax

* T'rask focused on keeping the Therans from getting upset.

* Lots of business that serve the slave merchants: taverns, gambling halls, brothels.

* Result of imperialism; empires thrive on exploited labor.

* Reflections on Thera and Vrontok in light of present-day economic and political systems.

* "Keep politics out of rpgs!" is a crock.

* Contrast of Sky Point's wealth and power to Vrontok's "wretched hive"

* Fourth Edition changes and updates

Find and Follow:

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Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant

Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com

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Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn

FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u

Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW