Earthdawn Survival Guide

* Paths in Depth: The Scholar

* Originally the dwarf racial Discipline of Traveled Scholar.

* Background on the original version.

* Mindset of the Scholar and contrast to the Troubadour.

* Inspiration drawn from present-day academia.

* Inspirations for Scholar-type characters.

* Indiana Jones, Doc Brown, Atomic Robo, the Librarians, Daniel Jackson from Stargate, Giles from Buffy.

* Venturing into the field and getting involved.

* Look back at the talent selection from the original Traveled Scholar.

* Moving away from “Race as Culture”.

* Highly organized and structured path.

* Could involve politics and personalities of Barsaivian academia.

* Suitability for game styles and flavor it can contribute to a campaign.

* Becoming a Scholar; entrance exams and academic presentations.

* Custom GMC: The character’s advisor.

* Passions, Questors, and the Scholar.

* Initiation.

* Possible source for humor and contrast to typical adventuring activities.

* Karma Ritual Modifications.

* Focused on a particular field of study, not simply the “know-it-all”.

* Scholar Half-Magic.

* Path bonuses and talent options.

* New talent: Expansive Expertise

* New talent: Applied Knowledge

* Scholar Knacks.

* Closing thoughts.

* Email from Rasmus: Purchasable thread items from earlier editions?

* Armor layering or stacking?

* Dwarves getting lower initiative penalties for armor?

* Flame Weapon on arrows?

* Multiple Wounds from high damage results?

* Chain casting-type ability for extended duration talents?

* Creature Challenge Ratings?

* Email from Jason: Thanks for the show.

* Email from Shane: Taildancer tongue twister.

* Email from Jonathan: Visibility of an active Bone Circle?

* Picture or imagery for a bone spirit?

* Why can’t wing rats from Travar be used as animal companions?

* Perspective of Journeyman following other paths.

* Journeyman path talents and karma usage.

* Dragons in Review: Vestrivan

* The Horror marked dragon.

* Vasdenjas’s sibling, twin-shelled eggs.

* Curious like his brother, reached out to the Horrors on purpose to learn more about them.

* Thought by the Outcast to be two minds in one body—the dragon and the Horror.

* Despoiler’s lair in the Twilight Peaks, leads a cult of Horror worshippers.

* Possible story hooks involving Vestrivan and his cult.

* Vestrivan’s game statistics and possible powers.

* Vestrivan’s appearance in the Second Theran War.

* Episode Ninety and our two-year anniversary!

* A look at our numbers over and after two years.

* Paths in Review: Journeyman

* Development history (with design insights)

* Overview of the “original recipe “Discipline.

* Morphism talent.

* Rewards system mastery.

* Josh reminiscences about a Journeyman from his old campaign.

* Philosophy of the Journeyman path.

* Effectively adds additional Versatility slots to learn additional talents.

* Initiation into the path.

* The Journeyman, Passion worship, and other paths.

* Devoted to expanding their perspective and learning new things.

* Karma Ritual modifications.

* Morphism in Fourth Edition.

* Morphism knacks.

* Journeyman path knacks.

* Reasons to play a Journeyman.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* Josh is back from GenCon

* Great Dragons: Usun; aka “Vast Green”

* Solitary and does not look well on other Namegivers.

* Classic dragon stereotype: physically powerful, vicious, territorial.

* Straightforward, not complicated.

* Believes dragons should rule over the younger races.

* Outcast refers to him as a ‘throwback’ to earlier days.

* Short-sighted when it comes to the ability of people to work together.

* Usun’s appearance.

* Usun’s domain: Liaj Jungle.

* The Tamers: Those who live under Usun’s Eye.

* Outcast speculations about Usun.

* Vast Green’s Lair.

* Servants and messengers: Elemental spirits and creatures.

* Josh speculates on a reason for Usun’s distrust of intelligent servants.

* Common uses of magic.

* Asked to clutch numerous eggs.

* Using Usun in campaigns.

* Original edition storyline plans: Loci from the Wastes.

* Reminder that dragons in Earthdawn are characters, beyond simple “good guy/bad guy” labels.

* Liaj River and the t’skrang

* Usun’s role in the Great Dragon council.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* Paths In Review: Taildancer

* Historical development background from the Earthdawn Journal to present day.

* One with the rhythm of the world.

* The epitome of t’skrang combat style.

* Requirements to follow the Path.

* Association with the War College of House K’tenshin.

* Review of the four schools presented in Mystic Paths.

* Edo: Area control and movement.

* Skora: Using tail as shield for defense.

* Ch’tard: Subtlety and stealth, surprise, and ambush attacks.

* Shivoavara: Offensive style, most traditional/iconic version.

* Draws on ideas of martial academies from history and pop culture.

* Less “secret society” and more “elite fraternity/sorority”.

* Initiation into the Taildancers.

* Rivalries between different schools.

* Mechanical Review: Requirements.

* Karma Ritual modification.

* Half-Magic additions.

* Path Bonuses: Physical Defense, Social Defense, Initiative boosts.

* Primary path talent options.

* New talents: Dance Partner, Tail Dance, Tail Spike, Engaging Dance.

* Ch’tard school talent options.

* New talents: Ch’tard Dance, Ch’tard Pierce.

* Sidebar about general design intentions: Expand physical combat into a more complex, crunchy system.

* Edo school talent options.

* New talents: Edo Dance, Edo Sweep.

* Shivoavara school talent options.

* New talents: Shivoavara Dance, Shivoavara Escalation.

* Skora school talent options.

* New talents: Skora Dance, Skora Slam.

* Taildancers have a lot of talent knacks, sometimes restricted by school.

* Potential downside of Taildancers hogging the spotlight in combat, expectation of system mastery.

* Unlike some paths, Taildancers are easy to incorporate into a campaign; don’t dominate narrative themes the way some paths do.

* Possibility of other schools.

* Intentionally designed for a more intensive game mechanical focus.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* Email from George: Coming back to the game and praise for the show.

* Email from Jonathan: Can a Journeyman path join racially restricted paths by taking on aspects of that race?

* Ogres as Namegivers?

* Horror Stalkers relationship to the Grim Legion or Lightbearers?

* Great Dragons: Earthroot

* Secretive and mysterious, domain below the Throal Mountains.

* Very rarely seen in dragon form outside his domain.

* Served by the Pale Ones, a subterranean variety of t’skrang.

* Exceptionally skilled in Elemental magic.

* Three drake servants that act as his eyes and ears in the outside world.

* Works with Icewing to shepherd Throal, but they sometimes disagree.

* Sidebar about ‘fracture points’ between the dragons and difficulty of controlling large populations as part of their plans.

* Description of Earthroot.

* Insights into the Outcast’s personality.

* Extent of Earthroot’s domain and his ability to traverse it.

* More Outcast insights.

* Earthroot’s shaping of Throal and some concerns about Asian exoticism.

* The White Tree, artifact connected to All Wings and the fate of dragonkind.

* Using Earthroot in a campaign.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* Mystic Paths: Horror Stalker

* Development history of the Horror Stalker from first edition Discipline to fourth edition path.

* Uniquely Earthdawn—few fantasy games take an aspect of the setting and build a class or profession solely dedicated on it.

* Problems with older versions of the Horror Stalker.

* As with other focused Disciplines, it defines the style of game you are going to have.

* Path essay provides some setting detail and path structure that was lacking in earlier versions.

* Nature of the Horror Stalker and their mindset.

* Horrors, their presence in the setting and your game.

* Themes and ideas you can explore with the Horrors.

* Horror Stalkers and Questors.

* Pop culture inspirations for Horror Stalkers.

* Becoming a Horror Stalker.

* Lessons for new initiates and the mission.

* Expanded roles beyond simple combat.

* External sources for horror-style games—Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green.

* Modifications to Karma Rituals

* Path Half-Magic

* Path rank benefits.

* Path talent options—tools that help track down and deal with Horrors, but no basic combat abilities.

* New talents: Bear Mark, Call of Harrow, Bane Strike, Gaze Into the Abyss, Purge Karma, Sense Horrorspawn.

* Path Knacks

* Wrapping up.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* Email from Anthony: Where can vendors get books?

* www.studio2publishing.com

* Email from Tim: Digital Travar map?

* Now available free on the FASA Web Shop

* Email from Insaniac99: Path requirements – Josh made a mistake!

* Dragons in depth: Charcoalgrin

* No physical description is presented in any official published material.

* Very talkative, vain, and self-important.

* Lairs in the former Imperial Palace of Parlainth.

* Game statistics for Charcoalgrin are in the ED4 GM Guide

* Josh muses on her role in Parlainth and the city being “walled off” from Earthdawn’s greater storyline.

* Charcoalgrin’s involvement with Parlaith, and possible role in the ritual that hid the city.

* Obsessed with events in the city during the Scourge and the fate of its residents.

* The Unforgiveables: Charcoalgrin’s eyes and ears.

* Josh muses on Charcoalgrin’s clutch-parent.

* Shut-in, depressive personality because of her backstory.

* Speculation on her friendship with Torgak.

* Goal to return Parlainth to its astral pocket to find possible survivors?

* Charcoalgrin in campaigns; revolve around Parlainth.

* Discussion of her game statistics and the difficulty of using a single powerful creature as a combat encounter.

* Possible consequences of Charcoalgrin’s death.

* As always, remember that dragons are characters, not merely sacks of health you can stab.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* 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.

* Advancement in the path.

* Mechanical explanation of Initiative benefits from extra successes.

* Windmaster Karma Ritual modification.

* Windmaster half-magic abilities.

* Windmaster rank bonuses and talent options.

* Dive Attack–the first Windmaster unique talent, enhances damage.

* Wing Blitz–the second Windmaster unique talent, enhances Initiative.

* Windmaster knacks

* Closing thoughts.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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

* 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 and Favors discussion.

* Email from Anthony: Questions on thread items and the spontaneous creation or growth of them.

* Email from Kogorsi: Catching up on his life so far and commenting on our recent episode topics.

* Dragon biographies: Alamaise!

* A lot of the most blatant spilling of dragon and immortal elf secrets is in the Alamaise chapter of the dragon sourcebook.

* Alamaise is considered one of Barsaive’s dragons but has not been involved in their affairs since long before the Scourge.

* Josh expresses regret that Alamaise was not referenced more in the Elven Nations manuscript.

* According to the Dragons manuscript, Alamaise persuaded Jaspree to plant Oak Heart and developed Wyrm Wood as his lair and domain.

* Discussion Alachia and other elf stuff.

* Alamaise’s temperament and personality; petty and grudge-bearing.

* Lofwyr, Alamaise’s brother.

* Alamaise’s description.

* Alamaise’s involvement in the death of Queen Dallia.

* Connections with Wyrm Wood/Blood Wood.

* Potential roles of Alamaise in a campaign and his goals.

* Josh muses on some possible deep secrets.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

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

FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc

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

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